Peyton Kathleen

I can't believe it's the last day of March! Having a week off of work definitely helped it fly by, but I still cannot believe it's about to be April! When it comes time for me to reflect on my goals from the beginning of the month, I remember that this is just about me. Not who I think I should be, not who I wish I was, just me as I am. Looking back on this month, I thought about where I started on March 1st to where I am now, 30 days later. In February I was in a major slump. I felt like I was living day to day life on autopilot. Wake up, go to school, leave, work out, come home, sleep, repeat. Just by tweaking a few things, like seeing friends on week nights, reconnecting with my spirituality, and fixing my diet, I feel much more balanced. In one short month I feel happier, lighter, and more confident. I accomplished every goal I set for myself, even exceeding them in a few areas! My continual mantra: "I am worth keeping a promise to."  What kept m...

I hardly ever go to Whole Foods, mainly because I live off of a teachers salary, and because there isn't one close to me. There were a few items I had been searching for but couldn't find at my local grocery stores. Sure enough, Whole Foods carries them. There is one near my boyfriends house so I made him go with me and holy paleo heaven! I could have spent hours in there.  I have been searching high and low for Malk. It's the only almond milk with just almonds, water, and Himalayan salt. Nothing else. Other almond milks have all kinds of ingredients that I can't even pronounce. I was also in need of some Kerrygold's Butter... And then grabbed some grass-fed ground bison, chicken thighs, bacon, and pasture raised eggs. Cutest egg carton of all time. I loved everything about my Whole Foods shopping finds. If I lived near one, I am fairly certain half my paycheck would go there. 

I often feel like weekends are what derail my healthy living progress. Between drinking, eating out, and my "treat yourself" mentality, the calories can add up quickly.  Being on this food plan the past two weeks and kicking butt at the gym, the last thing I wanted to do this weekend was backslide. I decided no matter what temptations came my way, I am sticking with my meal plan. I made a commitment to myself and I'm worth keeping a promise to! Even though I wasn't going to eat unhealthy or drink, I still wanted to see friends and have a great weekend. I had a little bit of anxiety that people would be put off that I wasn't drinking. Saturday afternoon I went with some friends to the pool. Everyone drank, I chugged about half a gallon of water. I had a BLAST and no one even seemed to notice that I didn't have a sip of alcohol! Later that night we all went out in Midtown, Houston and it was the same deal. I chatted, drank water with a lime in it (cocktail...

I had to double check my calendar this morning before I wrote this; am I really already half way done with this challenge? Sure enough, today is day 11 of 21. I took a picture this morning to track any noticeable progress. Day 5 Day 11 Terrible quality! But my first full body pic. I don't know if my arms are slimming down or if I was just flexing better in today's picture haha but I definitely am feeling great! I am not sure how much I weigh or how many pounds I have lost. I didn't have a great idea of what my starting weight was, there was about a 2-3 pound difference between my scale and my boyfriends. If I had to guess I would say I've lost around two pounds. I have not felt hungry at all, the opposite actually. I feel much more energetic and motivated. The hardest part is the weekend when I want to let loose, but I have a great support system to keep me honest and on track. The most drastic change is my food list! Here was the first list I show...

Eating clean is gorgeous. I once had a trainer tell me to "eat the rainbow". Every color should be represented in our daily diets! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple: find it and eat it! Pork chop, avocado, salad Ahi Tuna cabbage salad from Del Frisco's Grille (ask for no noodles) Prepped meals are beautiful too!

I've gotten such positive feedback from my last post! I cannot express how happy the texts, messages, and Facebook comments made me! What a great community I have surrounding me! I have had a lot of requests to post a clean eating grocery list. There are a ton you can find on Pinterest or in any paleo book you buy. Here are just the basic things I get on my weekly shopping trip. **Keep in mind with meat, poultry and seafood: look for grass-fed, free-range, or wild-caught. Sometimes I have a hard time finding them, so just do your best!  Meat/Poultry/Seafood: Grass-fed ground beef Chicken drumsticks or thighs Salmon Tilapia Bacon  Dozen Eggs Vegetables: Broccoli Cucumber Zucchini Squash Bell Peppers Jalapeno Brussel Sprouts  Spinach  Leafy lettuce Onion Tomato Avocado Fruits : Green apples Berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries) Lemon Other: Egg White protein powder Olives Olive oil Coconut oil Coffee Yellow m...

This week I was on spring break and went home to Keller, TX. I had a health-filled week, continuing my meal plan and working out daily. It was heaven! One morning I came in from a run and was feeling encouraged about the progress I was seeing in my body. I decided to open up Instagram while I made breakfast. The first things I see are spring breakers in bikinis and tiny sunning outfits; immediately, the positive feelings I had toward my body started to fade. I starting feeling envious and almost angry that those girls got to look that great while I was out here busting my butt looking half as good! Closing my app, followed by closing my eyes, I reflected and remembered this saying: This could not have been more true for me in that moment. I decided to stop the negative and bring about the positive: I decided to celebrate me. Celebrating MY journey through healthy living and MY progress. I can never be anyone but myself so why not love every second of it?! So I took a no ma...

Surrounding myself with healthy, knowledgeable people is the best gift I have ever given myself! I love (and need) to constantly learn and change when it comes to diet and exercise. I wrote down what I ate and what times I was eating and showed it to my trainer. He went through and highlighted in pink everything that contained sugar and everything that was genetically modified in red. I was so surprised!! I thought I was eating so perfectly! The highlighted items are: truvia (sweetener), plum, banana, hummus, dark chocolate, and edamame.   He wrote above the almond milk I was using "Malk" because that is the brand he wants me to buy. Here is the new food plan he has given me: I am personally challenging myself to do this for 21 days (20 now, I started yesterday) and then HOPEFULLY continuing it until my European vacation this June! If you are the Houston area, you have to go to Prestige Fitness. This is where I work out and received this mea...

Ingredient: 4 fillets of tilapia 2/3 cup of whole almonds 1/2 cup of dijon mustard 2 teaspoons smoked paprika salt & pepper coconut oil for frying Directions: 1. Place almonds in food processor and process until finely chopped. 2. Transfer almonds into a shallow dish, add paprika and mix together. 3. Lay out tilapia fillets. Lightly salt and pepper both sides, then with a brush, generously coat fillets with dijon mustard. 4. Lay fillets in almond mix and coat evenly on both sides. 5. Add coconut oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Cook both sides until the fish is flaky and exterior looks brown and crispy. This was a family approved meal! Even my ten year old brother gave it props! I had a hard time with getting the "breading" on the fillets to not fall off when I flipped them. I have never made fried chicken or fish before so if anyone has any tips on how to do this like a pro, I would love to know for next time! They tur...

Name: Peyton O'Gorman Age: 25  College: Texas A&M class of 2012 Profession: Middle School Teacher Selfie : Cozumel, Mexico 2014 1.  What is your favorite family vacation?   Seaside, Florida! I am a beach loving babe for sure. 2.  What would you change about yourself if you could? I have a hard time going with the flow and being flexible. I would like to be more relaxed and easy-going sometimes. 3.  What is your favorite book to read? I have read a book a week for the past three years, it would be impossible for me to choose just one! However, The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult really stands out to me right now, I recommend it any time someone wants a new read! 4.  How would your friends describe you? Overwhelming haha I talk a lot and at a loud volume.. It can be challenging to handle at times I'm sure. 5.  Where do you see yourself in five years? I would love to be married and a mother. 6.  ...

Something I have shared with very few people is my approach to goal setting. At the beginning of every month I look at the 7 areas of wellness. I actually learned about this in a college health class and it's value has stuck with me ever since! Here are the areas of wellness I focus on: I make a goal for each one. This month my goals are: Physical: Work out 5 times a week Intellectual: Read one book a week (I have been doing this since school started! 26 books so far!) Spiritual: Started studying the book of Ester (She Reads Truth) and will attend church 3 of the 4 Sundays this month. Financial: Save (x) amount of dollars  Social and emotional are personal goals, just for me to know about and work on, but you get the gist! Then on the last day of the month I reflect: Did I meet my goals? Why or why not? What got in my way? What can I change next month? If I was successful, what was keeping me motivated?  The reflection is important and should feel peaceful. It ...

I've been in a kind of blah place all of February. Then March hit and I feel like I've gotten my gusto back! I am logging my food in a journal this week to show to my trainer on Friday (yikes) and he is going to set me up with a day to day meal plan. I have been frustrated with my weight not budging so he is adding some in some cardio, taking away any wine/beer/alcohol, and tweaking what times I eat. A summer body does not come easily for this girl! Sweet potato, bacon, spinach, brussel sprouts, broccoli Cucumber sandwich with hummus, avocado, and turkey Trader Joe's pesto chicken sausage and sauteed spinach  Paleo chilli, hummus, turkey and veggies

Ingredients: One head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small florets 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons (grass fed) butter Sea salt, ground black pepper My mom told me about this and I thought there was no way I would like it. I caved and tried it, oh my gosh, delicious. Low carb, filling, and paleo! Directions: 1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, cut head of cauliflower in small florets. 2. Put cauliflower in boiling water, turn down to medium heat and cover. 3. When cauliflower is soft enough to easily push  a fork through, remove from heat and drain. 21 DSD in the background! 4. Put in a food processor or blender with oil and butter. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste! So surprisingly good!

I have read several different paleo books and countless paleo blogs and they all repeat the same message: ditch the dairy! I could not do them justice in explaining all the scientific reasons BUT I do know that the majority of the worlds population is dairy/lactose intolerant. The feeling of bloat or gas is most likely due to intake of dairy products! I would say give dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)  the heave-ho for a week or two and see what a difference it makes. I know I love how I feel without it! Great Dairy Alternatives: Milk- Almond milk (unsweetened)  Yogurt - Cultured Coconut milk Ice Cream- there is a brand called So Delicious with ice creams made from coconut or almond milk Butter- Ghee or Coconut oil  Cheese- learn to live without it! You can, I promise! I rarely buy yogurt alternatives (of all the cravings I have, dairy is never one of them) but I saw these at Trader Joe's and bought a few!  Raspberries, Blueberries, Local Honey ...

Ingredients: Four bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded 1 teaspoon extra virgin, olive oil 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half 6 strips of bacon, diced 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced 1 cup of spinach, chopped 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt Salt and pepper to taste 4 eggs Directions  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees 2. Cut tops off of bell peppers and remove all seeds from inside. 3. Pour olive oil into a pan and saute cherry tomatoes, bacon, onion, and spinach. 4. Saute over medium heat until spinach is cooked down and bacon is browning. 5. Spoon into bell peppers. 6. In a medium bowl, whisk 4 eggs. Evenly pour over vegetable mixture in each bell pepper. 7. Bake for 30 minutes. Yum!