90 Day Challenge : Carrots

Ok, two weeks down! Weigh in today to check your progress. I'm down a solid 5 lbs. from when we started which is exactly where I want to be. Hopefully slow and steady will win the race and we will be able to keep it off long term. Don't get discouraged by gradual results, in 2 more weeks we will be down 8-10 lbs. and that is a significant change!

Today I want to talk about something close to my heart… baby carrots. So among other things on my bucket list (like riding in a hot air balloon, and dying on my birthday) I have wanted to go myth busters on baby carrots and see if a person really can turn orange by eating enough carrots. The verdict is still out on that one. I eat so many carrots that I feel my skin always has a slight orange tinge to it, but I have yet to go full-blown umpa-lumpa.

Besides helping me fulfill my bucket list dreams, carrots serve other purposes as well. Carrots fill your body with some great nutrients such as beta-carotene. They are a GREAT filler for those times when you're snacky or just plain hungry and want a low-calorie treat. I also love feeling full and when I'm trying to lose weight that feeling doesn't happen often, so carrots give me the "full" gratification I'm looking for.

Eating carrots alone is boring for me. Because carrots are semi-sweet, I like pairing them with salty snacks. I like to counter my carrots with 100 calories of a salty treat. My favorite carrot couplings are pretzels, nuts, goldfish crackers or cheese. If you load up on the salty snacks you have defeated the purpose of eating carrots in the first place, but 100 calories extra will make your carrots as satisfying as a bag of doritos… (false, but close).

This is my carrot match up for the week… so good! Don't worry that huge bag of carrots will be gone in 2 or 3 days.

What is your health food obsession?