La Grande Orange Santa Monica

I stopped into La Grande Orange for breakfast the other day before hitting the beach, and was happy to find I could eat there and still stick to my new healthy regimen. I had the "Venice Beach Burrito"- whole wheat tortilla, egg whites, spinach, corn, tofu "chorizo" w/ fire roasted salsa on the side- super yum! It was quite large, so I only had half. La Grande Orange is located on the corner of Main and Bicknell in Santa Monica. http://lagrandeorangesm.com.

Dinner

Have a small dinner composed of protein and veggies, like a grilled chicken salad....

Afternoon Snack

Choose something healthy, such as an apple- Sima says this is the best choice!

Lunch- The Biggest Meal of the Day!

Lunch is to be the largest meal of the day- composed of carbs and protein. I love Tacos- Filled with chicken beans, salsa- cheese on the side.

Early Snack

Sima says to choose a healthy snack about 2 to 3 hours after breakfast, such as
mixed nuts- 10 almonds or cashews or both. Raw or unsalted.

Breakfast Options

My fave- Up to 4 egg whites, scrambled or omelet w/ veggies. 1 slice of whole wheat bread or 1/2 bagel w/ real butter or small amount of cream cheese.

The Food Plan

Sima doesn't believe in dieting. This is great because either do I. Before she customized a nutrition plan for she had me keep track of everything I was eating for a week. It wasn't pretty- hot dogs, pizza and tacos were regulars. I used to make an attempt at eating healthy, but somewhere along the way I gave up. Sima was honest and told me my eating habits were horrible. I knew it, and was ready for a change. She then had me make a list of my favorite and least favorite foods. I'm not a picky eater, so my favorites list was considerably longer than my leasts. Sima managed to fit all my faves (with the exception of bacon) into my food plan. I was amazed at how many options she gave me- and I'm even allowed one cheat meal a week! That meal will most likely contain bacon :)
In the next few posts I will lay out the options she provided me for each meal. I'm to eat 3 meals a day with 2 snacks in between. Read on for inspiration for your own daily food plan....

The Journal

One of the first assignments Sima gave me was to go purchase a nice journal- something I would cherish. I was to record everything I ate for the next week, as well as write down what I wanted to change about myself and my short term goals. More about that later... for now I have to show you the lovely leather journal I found at Barnes & Noble. Its the Puntini Mocha Italian Leather w/ wrap tie- $39.95 in store or at Barnesandnoble.com. It was one of the priciest- but I figured it was worth the splurge sice I would be recording my transformation within its pages...

And so we begin....

I have recently decided to start working with personal trainer/nutritionist/life coach Sima Sorensen- and document my journey in this blog. I feel blessed to have met Sima- she has come into my life at a time when I most need her. At 31 I am about 15 lbs overweight, and my eating habits are a mess. Sima is conviced she can help me- lets see what she can do!