New Blog Inspiration

Well.. it's time to announce that my blog will be changing. It's already adapted to my many needs... first it was used to keep in contact with my friends, family, and lovely students. Now I will be slowly transforming it into a "food" blog. You may notice more cupcakes than anything, that's because the Creative Cookie is now adding cupcakes!  (If you'd like the shorted version as to why then you should probably just scroll to the last paragraph... if you'd like to hear my 2 cents worth on working out and dieting then read on!) Here is where everything gets a little complicated, however. I have a constant struggle in my life between two worlds.

 In one world there is the chocolate lover in me that will devour anything and everything sweet that is dripping with chocolate, caramel, or any kind of sugar for that matter. I love nothing more than to sink my teeth into a moist cake, a chocolate chip muffin (even the packaged kind *gasp*), or cookies. I'm not too picky, which is kind of my problem. As long as there is sugar, I'm in.

In the second world I want a 6-pack and I eat 5 meals a day with 3-4 hours in between. Carbs in the morning, meat and veggies all meals following. Work out 5-6 days a week, even with a trainer. I want to wear tight jeans and not worry about a muffin top I'd rather not eat. I try to stick to 1 cheat meal a week, TRY.

If you follow me on Pinterest you will see that I am constantly posting back and forth to one board labeled "Desserts and Decadence" while simultaneously pinning to a board called "Healthy is the New Skinny". It's a battle of food that I am finally coming to balance. There's no such thing as having all or nothing in my book when it comes to food. Too many times I have tried to eat healthy only to feel guilt and shame when in a moment of weakness I shove a cookie down my throat so fast I can barely taste it... so then have to eat one more... or 5 more.

I have come to realize after several failed attempts at trying to look like a fitness model that I can have goals and still achieve them while satisfying my sweet tooth at the same time. It's called MODERATION. You heard of it? Yeah, me too, only I never listened. Sure I wait to eat a full cheat meal until Saturdays, but I also taste my recipes, lick the bowl, and sometimes let myself slide. It's how I keep my sanity. I'm not saying I do it every day. Some weeks I go the whole week without budging once until my cheat meal. Others I simply must have a cookie on Tuesday and a half a cupcake on Thursday. I have my goals and I'm reaching them one day at a time.

It's all in the mind. You have to stop thinking about what you can't have and start finding things you can that you LIKE. The first day I started on my new diet healthy lifestyle plan I forced a bowl of plain oatmeal and eggs down my throat and had to keep myself from gagging. I would have never stuck with my plan if I hadn't adapted and experimented. Now I look forward to almost every meal I eat and they are all part of my healthy and balanced meal plan!

Remember that little word I threw in up there called "moderation"... that's mod-er-a-shun....? It applies to exercise too. In college I went through a period where I ran 5 miles a day and ate 1200 calories. Sound psycho to you? It should. If you're doing this... stop immediately. I learned the hard way that you have to eat to lose weight. Sounds counter intuitive, but it's true. Anyone who knows anything about nutrition will tell you that starving yourself is going to get you nowhere...except unhappy and frustrated. I'm no nutritionist so I won't go into full detail.. but please don't count your calories. It was hard for me to stop but I did, and now I look better and feel better.

I am now at a point where I am finding tasty and satisfying healthy meals AND decadent-soul satisfying desserts. I love being fit and feeling great, but I also love dessert. Always have, always will. No need to fight it. I don't have to choose between the two worlds and neither do you! It's all about balance... so that's what I'm going to be blogging about! The healthy meals and desserts I make. I've learned to balance the two in a way to live a healthy and SATISFYING life. Trust me.... it wasn't easy.