Health, Fitness, & Lean Cuisine Honestly Good Meals

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Lean Cuisine, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #HonestlyGood, #adhttp://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

I’m in week three of the Christmas Crunch Challenge, a three month long health and fitness program aimed at making us stronger, healthier, and lighter by Christmas.

It’s called a challenge for a reason.

I’m three pounds down so far, but that’s only because my body went into absolute shock during the first week.

You see, I wasn’t born in spandex and running shoes.  In fact, I think I missed out on the workout gene altogether.  If left to my own devices, I’m just not a cardiovascular overachiever.  I’m more of a buy a cute pair of yoga pants and stroll around the block type of gal.  Sure I’d love the legs of a runner, I just don’t want to have to run to get them.

I find myself Googling every yummy food known to man in order to get a calorie count, only to realize I cannot eat it, because diets only let you eat the caloric equivalent of a piece of UN-buttered toast and water.

Liposuction is looking better every day!

I can’t swear off bagels for the rest of my life, and the thought of only drinking thick green shakes makes me want to run to the nearest fast-food joint and order a large fry.  I’m sorry.  I’m a fan of real food, the kind I can sink my teeth into.

Despite my lazy girl approach to health and fitness, I have been successful at losing weight in the past and I aim to find success again.

On the quest to lose my double chin, I’ve learned some things about health & fitness.

Health & Fitness Tips

• Calories Count, so I count my calories.
• I can save sugar-laden treats for special occasions.
• Exercise can be simple.  Just M-O-V-E my body.
• Food is not my enemy.  My appetite needs to be retrained.
• Drink lots of water.
• Eat because I’m hungry.
• Fad diets are not for me.
• High fiber & high protein will keep me full longer.
• Keep going, even if no-one notices my newly improved self.
• It’s not about a number on the scale.

The most important thing I’ve learned about losing weight and getting in shape is to have good food on hand and ready to eat.

If you don’t have good food choices on hand, you will make bad choices when the hunger pains strike.

Life is busy and we’re on the go more than we are at home.  It’s so easy to swing through the drive-thru and satisfy everyone’s hunger.  I’ve found that if I have a good, quick, healthy meal at home, I can say no to the food that is not good for me.  I can wait the fifteen extra minutes to eat, as long as I know my hunger will be satisfied with something even better than fast food.

That’s where the New Lean Cuisine Honestly Good meals become a necessity.  I can stock my freezer with healthy meals that taste great.  It makes it so much easier for me to say no to the “bad” stuff when I know I have delicious, 100% all natural meals waiting for me.

The new Lean Cuisine Honestly Good meals are made with all real ingredients.  I can actually read and pronounce every ingredient in my dinner and I like that.  They don’t have any artificial ingredients or preservatives either.

Lean Cuisine is partnering with farmers to bring the best quality produce possible.  The vegetables actually taste fresh and in my opinion, the glazes make the meal.  Don’t skimp on using the glaze all over the entire meal.  They are so yummy!

I found these meals to be the perfect portion size.  They range in calories from 320 to about 350 and are filling enough to swap out for my main meal of the day.

The meals are:

• Honey Citrus Chicken
• Lemongrass Salmon
• Plum Ginger Grain-Crusted Fish
• Pineapple Black Pepper Beef
• Pomegranate Chicken
• Roasted Red Pepper Chicken

Lean Cuisine is also partnering with farmers and donating a portion of the vegetables grown for these Honestly Good meals to our local communities.  I love companies that give back!

My quest for health and fitness is more of a marathon than it is a sprint.  I’ll be at this for a long time and I’m counting on Lean Cuisine to fill in the gaps for me.  They’ll cook for me on the days I just don’t feel like or don’t have the time to prepare a healthy, home-cooked meal.

You’ll have to wait until Christmas to find out if I’ve lost any more weight or if I’ll be ready to run the NYC marathon (extremely doubtful!), but good things take time.

And, well, I can’t afford liposuction, so I’d better start squatting, kicking, jumping and jacking.

For now, I’m off to Target to buy some more Honestly Good Meals.

What health and fitness goals do you have for yourself?

Have you tried the NEW Lean Cuisine Honestly Good meals?

Which meal sounds most appetizing to you?