A Surprising January Goal for Myself

January always calls for big goals around nutrition and fitness. This year my biggest goal is around mental health.

This is hard for me to share but I’m hoping that sharing it with the world will help someone else out there that may be struggling with the same thing. This may come as a shock to many of you, but I struggle with depression and have been for about a year now. I can specifically remember the day I realized what was going on, I was sitting on my living room floor curled up by my heater and I was crying. There was no reason for the tears other than I had this overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and I couldn’t make it stop. Those who interact with me closely may notice there are times where I am non-responsive or checked out, these are all times when I have episodes of the depression and usually my best coping mechanism is to disconnect. So, you’re probably asking yourself “what does this all mean Katelyn and how is this tied to your 2019 goals?”

Well let me tell you. I have decided to join some close friends and do a whole food challenge for the month of January.  I will still be 100% hitting my macros I will just be stepping outside of my comfort zone and giving up quite a few things. I am doing this because after lots of research about the links between depression and diet I am hoping to discover if there is in fact something I am putting into my body that is the cause of my depression. After that the goal is to stop eating that/those thing(s) so I can conquer 2019 without this added barrier in my life because let’s face it between my kids, clients, workouts, social life and SLEEP I really don’t need any additional stress!

You can check out my friend Tay’s Instagram post here for all the details on how to join us.

What I am eliminating for the month of January:
Gluten
Soy
Wheat
Coffee
Dairy
Peanuts
All processed foods

And now you’re probably asking yourself “how is Katelyn going to live without coffee, peanut butter and waffles?”

Well to be honest my current diet is pretty clean, but I will need to stop eating a few of my favorite things. After some creativity and recipe testing I have come up with some pretty amazing alternatives and I am going to share them with you!

1.)   No more waffles for me! Well at least the current pre-made processed ones I have been eating for years. They contain gluten and soy, so they are out! Instead I will be making my own 3 ingredient pancake/waffle mix.

Ingredients:
1 scoop John’s Killer Protein Proats
2 oz banana
4 tbsp egg whites

Instructions:
Mix in blender
Cook over stove as pancakes or use waffle maker

Macros:
28C/13P/2F (almost identical to my current waffles except less fat)

2.)   No more peanut butter for me! Yes, I even shed a tear typing this but hey peanuts are a huge allergen, so I am going to see if eliminating them will help. Instead I have made homemade almond butter.

Ingredients:
1lb whole raw almonds (I purchased mine at Sprouts)
Dash of sea salt
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of pure Madagascar vanilla extract

Instructions:
Bake almonds on cookie sheet at 350 for 10 minutes stirring them half way through
Let almonds cool from hot to warm
Put them in food processor (I used my Cuisinart mini which you can purchase here)
Blend and blend and blend (yes, this part seems like it takes forever to make the creamy texture but trust me it does happen)
After creamy put in blender (I used my Nutribullet which you can purchase here)
Add the dash of sea salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and blend

This stuff is AMAZING!

3.)   Coffee, also shedding a tear about this one because with my lifestyle I need any help I can get with extra energy. This one is pretty simple I am jumping on the matcha bandwagon. I am in love with the Vital Protein Collagen Matcha (check it out here) and I am mixing it with almond milk for a morning iced energy treat!

4.)   Finally, I will be giving up my daily afternoon sweet treat of Greek yogurt. Instead I made a simple 3 ingredient chia seed pudding. I am so excited to eat these!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp organic chia seeds (I also purchased these from Sprouts)
¾ cup cashew milk (I will be using almond milk once I use up the cashew milk I already had at home)
Dash of pure Madagascar vanilla extract
Dash of cinnamon

Instructions:
Put chia seeds in the bottom of a small mason jar (or glass cup)
Add the vanilla and cinnamon
Pour in the nut milk
Mix thoroughly
Refrigerate overnight

Macros:
9C/4P/7F (Also pretty close macros to my yogurt except way less protein which I will make up for with the matcha collagen)

So, there you have it, there is my plan for January and more importantly my plan to get my mental health back on track in 2019. Wish me luck on my journey and I hope you all join me in this awesome challenge.

Remember to never stop listening to your body!