I would say that the number one question that I get asked is “How do you stay motivated?”

Honestly, at this point in my life it is as second nature to me as getting up in the morning, brushing my teeth and getting dressed. Did this healthy lifestyle become second nature to me as soon as I chose to pursue it? NOT AT ALL. Staying motivated was the hardest part of this journey and continues to challenge me throughout different seasons in my life. Let me tell you again just in case you missed it.. it took me 3 solid years to actually turn this craving for becoming healthy into an actual “lifestyle”. I wish their was one good solid trade secret I could pass to you all but one word to describe your new journey would definitely be consistency. 

If you are interested in becoming healthy- start training your mind, body and soul to changing your life. This is something you do to lose a few pounds for that sexy white dress that has been sitting in your closet for a bit. This is NOT a hobby nor a temporary thing. If you want results, it takes CONSISTENCY. Not a month, or two or even six… but the rest of your life.

Now to answer some more of your questions:

1. What can I do for meals that do not include meal prepping? One pan meals are everything. You are able to cook two different meals on one pan for lunch and dinner at once. The larger the pan the better (TJ Maxx has amazing deals all of the time). Check out my post on Easy Meal Prepping Guide & Recipes
2. Do you cook every night? I have the best intentions to cook every night, but meal preps are usually my go to. UNLESS I’m trying a new dish and need to stick to the recipe!
3. What did it take for you to realize you needed to begin a healthier lifestyle? I have a blog post on this topic. A short and sweet answer would be I was basically sick and tired of being sick and tired. I knew that if I didn’t just START cold turkey, that was just a day further from me reaching my goals and continuing to feel “sick and tired”
4. I have a sweet tooth. What are some alternatives for healthier ways to cure it? I have a blog post on this coming soon!! Check out these snack ideas; Chocolate Chip Protein Balls and Chocolate Covered Strawberry Protein Smoothie for a temporary fix. They are my favorite snack to have when I’m in the mood for something sweet. Obviously just a simple apple would work great.
5. Do you really eat oatmeal every morning? Yes, yes we do. It is a staple in our family. Running out of oats in our home is equally as bad as it is to run out of gas. I think my Husband would agree with me on this one!! We have noticed that anytime we do not have oats for breakfast, we are prone to snacking or having lunch much quicker than usual. We do like to change it up every now and than but rolled oats are a must. Especially because they have helped me keep up my milk supply for  7 months strong!
6. How do you work out while having two kids? Honestly it is so difficult for me to workout at home unless both kids are napping and that is not as often as I wish it would be. I was fortunate enough to join a boxing gym that has helped me tremendously. When I’m not able to make it to the gym, I turn up my favorite songs, put on my favorite leggings and just do it. Kids climbing on my head or not. Sometimes my mini me just joins me which is awesome. 
7. Do you struggle with shopping for clothes? Right now I’m 6 months pp and I’m definitely not at my pre- pregnancy weight (Nor do I expect to be). I luckily haven’t had the need to buy new clothes because I’m determined to be back at my pre-pregnancy weight soon and most of my clothes still fit. If I do go shopping, I buy leggings or shoes because at least my shoe size remained the same. 
8. Do your Husband and toddler live a Vegan diet? No they do not, I cook vegan and plant based meals. We do stay away from cooking meats at home but when we’re out and about my Husband might order something not so Vegan/ Plant Based.
9. What do you usually eat in a day? Again, I have a blog post coming on this topic soon but here’s how my diet usually looks: Oatmeal, Snack, roasted vegetables, snack, tofu chili and maybe another snack. Since I’m still nursing my son… I have days where I feel like I’m constantly hungry. On those days, I try to eat as many oats or foods containing healthy fats as I can to stay satisfied and full. 
10. Do you ever crave meat? I don’t ever really crave meat, however I do crave how easy it was to just choose anything off of the menu or go anywhere and not have to worry about staring at the menu (for what feels like forever when you are hungry) to customize my own meal. Now, this doesn’t happen often since we try to not eat out at all and when we do- we go to restaurants we have been before and love already. 
11. When you started working out, did you go all out in buying w/o clothes? Absolutely not, I first bought a pair of black tights that I knew would stay strong and last me a bit. Once I got to my goal size, I allowed myself to buy leggings. I personally felt it would be a waste to spend hundreds of dollars on clothes that I wouldn’t be able to wear for a long period of time. 
12. What does your Husband think about you being Vegan? My Husband is super supportive with pretty much anything I do (he’s amazing), except excessive trips to Target. That he doesn’t support so much. I’m so thankful that he is happy with me cooking Vegan/ Plant Based meals!!
13. Will you raise your kids to live a Vegan diet? I would like to give them a choice in what they think is good or not. I will raise them with a plant based lifestyle but let them choose what they want when they get older. I’m pretty flexible and feel that if I push them too much in one direction versus gently guide them with why I think certain things are “good” or “bad”, I might push them away completely just with being close minded. 
14. Do you take any multivitamins? Yes.. well I try to. I’m currently trying to get through the last bit of my multivitamins in pill form. I would much rather eat gummies but I try to push myself towards the pill form since they contain little to no sugar compared to the gummies (which usually contain anywhere from 5 to 10 grams of unnecessary sugars). Being an adult is tough. Ugh.

Well, there you have it folks. Let me know in the comments if I missed anything or if you would like me to make a designated blog post on one of the questions answered above. I have more questions to answer but I didn’t want to make this post a novel.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by, see you on the next post.

Xoxo,

M.M.