Week 1 - Day 5

Breakfast: Half a green apple

Lunch: Boloco teriyaki bowl with tofu, a few chips, half a cookie.

Dinner:  Cardboard pizza

Thoughts:  Blah.  Not happy about my food today.  Super tired and worn out from the week. Just feeling completely lazy and didn't even care by dinner.  Ate what was served and that was that.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Week 1 - Day 4

Breakfast: Salad with peaches in place of strawberries. Very good.

Lunch: French fries and bites of the crust of David's calzone, carrots sticks and broccoli.

Dinner:  Out to dinner with two of my dearest friends.  Olive Garden salad, breadstick, and Ravioli di Portabello

Thoughts:

Not a perfect day, by any means.  The lunch thing really through me off.  David brought home some lunch to have with his parents who had stopped by for a visit.  I just went with it.  I told him to get me french fries because it was the best I could come up with on a short notice from the pizza place.

Out to dinner, I had intended to just have soup and salad. But then I realized I was out to CELEBRATE and I wanted to have something just a little bit special.  The mushroom ravioli was quite good and I'm really happen I ordered it.

And I got in a walk today! Unexpectedly, but my friends and I headed to a park after dinner and took a short stroll on a nature trail there.  That was really nice.  Especially after spending all day buried in piles and messes in my house. So refreshing to get outside and enjoy some great company and the beautiful evening.

Heading to bed early tonight, if I can.  Day two of my cycle and I'm feel pretty tired.  I'm glad to report that I'm not struggling as much as I was a few months back. My cycles are shorter by a few days and I'm not getting as heavy a flow as I was before.  I'm also not having to stay in bed for the first two days because of fatigue.  All good things. I'm quite confident that cleaning up my diet is helpful in this as my body is learning how to regulate.

Week 1 - Day 3

Breakfast/Lunch: Breakfast salad

Dinner:  Kung Pao Vegetables with a bowl of frozen mixed fruit and decaf coffee for dessert.

Thoughts:

Just a quick update today because I'm sooooooooo sleepy.

Woke up early and headed to the store. Got home and got to work on the house.  Lots of projects to work on, more shopping, and our date night spent in our freshly painted basement enjoying a new show and resting before bed.  The house is coming along so nicely and I'm so grateful for David's help in getting it in order before school begins.

That said, all my walking I did today happened at Walmart, Home Depot, and a few other stores.

I did well with my food choices, though. Chinese food isn't the best, but I stuck with veggies, so at least I was able to get in some nutrition under all that oil and salt.

Week 1 - Day 2

Breakfast:

Salad at the lake!  Really nice way to enjoy a meal.

Lunch:

Medium bowl of romaine topped with indian spiced lentils, 2 corn on the cob, half a green apple, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (NOT a great choice, that was an emotional deal)

I was hungry. Not sure why. I guess my salad was smaller than usual and I did get in a walk, but I didn't think I would be that hungry.

Dinner:

Black bean soup, green smoothie, green tea, carrots & broccoli (though I haven't finished the carrots and I was given way more than I could ever eat in one meal anyways.)

Thoughts:

Today was another not-so-stellar day.  A lot of emotion coupled with a headache. My family has been battling a cold for a week and I think my body is really working hard to fight it. My head just hurt today so I spent the afternoon lying down.  The evening too.  I just hope the extra rest can help me shake this before it gets worse.

I didn't have a perfect plan day. Too much bread/starches. I'm also on fats, now that my daughter just brought me a few date balls that they just made. How can I resist my favorite chocolate date balls?? I can't.

I got in my walk today. :)

Another 6 Week-er

I joined in with some friends for some accountability for the next 6 weeks.  I already know I do better in groups, and I do better when I have to report, so here I am for my daily breakdown.

First, my goals:

1. Dr. Furhman's 6 week plan, paying close attention to hunger cues, likely sticking with 2 meals each day.

2.  Blog my food, exercise, and thoughts each day.

3.  Daily prayer walk, daily floor exercises

4.  No snacking (see #1), especially when dealing with the high stress of my days and/or the afternoon slump.

5.  Rest. I'm adding this in because I'm really strung out right now. It's been a rough year and some good, quality rest on a consistent basis would really do me a world of good in healing and equipping me for an even more intense season ahead.

6. Reward for a week well done (still undecided on the reward)
Week 1: Day 1

Breakfast: Cofee with cream (not ETL),  Big breakfast salad (chopped raw kale, strawberries, green apple, frozen blueberries, raw oats, cocao powder, ground flax) at the lake while watching my girls at swim lessons.

Lunch:  A small bowl of chopped romaine topped with a black bean veggie taco soup type thing.

Dinner:  Mushroom stroganoff sauce served over green beans, about 1/4 cup whole wheat egg noodles (not ETL), two corn on the cob, and a medium salad (romaine, roasted chickpeas, raisins, raw sunflower seeds, dijon mustard).


Thoughts:

I feel really good about my day. I acknowledge that I wasn't 100% on plan, but I sure was close. And, considering how close I was compared to how far I've been lately, I'm extremely happy.

 I won some great victories today:

1. Beat the emotional eating while out at the store today, resisting the desire to treat myself just because I was out of the house.

2.  Beat the false hunger cues by hydrating my body and easily chasing away those fake cravings.

3.  Beat the emotional eating several times throughout the day while dealing with many parenting struggles including, but not limited to: sleep deprivation, screaming, whining, never-satisfied toddler, unexpected guests, necessary corrections for multiple children, and...worst of all...insolence and a crushing realization with a young man that I pray truly does have his heart broken over these issues and finds the Lord's grace...SOON. :(

With all of that, I have to tell you, resisting the ice cream that David brought home for dessert is HUGE.  Insert Your Candidate for Presidency here _________  HUUUUGE.

So, there's my day one. I'm off to bed with my glass of ice water, praying for deep, sweet sleep, the bags under my eyes to one day disappear, the ache in my heart to be lifted, and The Lord to keep showing Himself strong to me during this time of weakness.

So grateful for Him and who He is.  I can be sure I never am without HOPE.

Daniel Fast - Finale

So, the fast is complete.

Truly, I learned a lot about myself.  Reading Piper's book, Hunger for God, was remarkable. So much there for me to meditate on in the days ahead.

A few key points for me:

I want to embrace God's gift of food as a GIFT rather than abuse it or replace the Giver with the gift.

I am free from the coffee addiction once more and feel SO MUCH BETTER without it.  I don't even crave it like I used to.

I am challenged FAR BEYOND my own petty struggles with stress eating, food triggers, and binges.  There is much...much...much more that the Lord wants to do in me through prayer and fasting that reaches outside of my small little world.  Learning to think and act beyond my reach will help me lose this daily obsession with food and weight struggles.

Fasting needs to be a regular part of how I learn to worship and hunger for my loving Savior.



The nitty-gritty on some physical changes I noticed:

I was losing about 1 pound a day for the first week and a half or so. Then I guess I stalled. Not sure what happened. I did stop the morning walks.  It seemed after my cycle ended the weight loss ended too. That wasn't why I was fasting, but I find it interesting to note.

As I mentioned above, my taste for coffee and cravings are gone.  Even with the freedom to enjoy the gift as I choose, I find that I don't choose it as a treat or reward for myself.  I'm seeing it as more of a way to enjoy the company of another, savoring it's warmth and flavor while soaking up a good friend.  I prefer it like that.

I really feel better eating less.  Skipping a meal each day rarely felt like a hardship.  I feel lighter and my day is less hectic without having to stop and feed myself so often.

Now I'm on to making some choices about where I go from here. I like sticking with two meals a day. That has been a great help to giving me more time to rest, read, and just feel less rushed in my day.  I'm still working on making wise choices because I continue to give in to eating food that is empty as far as nutrition goes.  I don't want to keep putting things in my body that aren't meant for good. Hopefully, as I learn to point my heart upwards and outwards, this will become less difficult.

In the end, I'm grateful for another fasting time with the Lord. He's challenged me once again to see myself in new ways and draw closer to Him and His truths. So much to reflect on and ponder as I move forward in the days ahead. I guess my primary focus is this:  How can I continue to increase my hunger for the Lord and serve him whole-heartedly?

My end of fast pic.  Again, not really seeing any big changes, but I sure do FEEL great and free from many of the things that have been weighing me down.

Daniel Fast: Week 1

My first week of this Daniel Fast has been wonderful.  Of course, I'm struggling to keep up with the early rising and morning walks due to some late nights and a head cold that came to visit at our home.  BUT, the time with the Lord has been essential to rebooting my wrongful habits and "life-rut".

That's my new term to describe what I've been living.  It's not a life-style...as that sounds like it should be productive, pleasing, attractive, fulfilling.  I've got a life-rut going on.  Slow, sluggish, lazy, cluttered, chaotic,stuck.  A life-rut.

But that is starting to change, and I'm so grateful. Right now, it's just this time of seeing it for what it is. Seeing what's causing it.  I'm praying in the weeks to come I'll keep learning how to change it so it move from "rut" to "style".  Style sounds so much better.

Here's my one week selfie.  The left is the start of the first week, the right is the start of the second week.

Not sure I'm seeing any huge difference, but I feel it. My clothes are looser, my energy is growing, my head is starting to clear, and I'm even starting to find some of that long lost motivation that is so helpful in accomplishing at least some of the never-ending list that stares at me each day. 

Fasting for Hunger

My husband and I are finishing our first week of another Daniel Fast today. We will continue for another two weeks.

I strongly felt that I needed to reset my heart and habits regarding food and my choices that are effecting my health.  So many ways that life has presented upheaval, stress, challenges in the last two years, but especially in the last few months have left me making the exceptions to my healthful choices the new normal.  And I was feeling it all over.

This fast has been wonderful so far.  We have chosen a Daniel Fast because it's a long-term focus on keeping foods healthful, simple, and centered on God's provision.  It's long enough for me to really dig in and deal with the sinful habits that are surfacing.  We've altered it a bit to provide more time to focus on prayer and the word so that our time fasting is truly not about bread alone but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Our Daniel Fast plan for June 2016

Read together John Piper's book, Hunger for God, discuss and journal
(I'm also having an email discussion on this book with a dear friend for added encouragement and accountability)

I'm reading Psalm 73, journaling

Rising at 5:30 for a morning walk together

Limiting computer time to once in the morning for checking emails, groups, and other internet related needs/uses

Food plan:
Daniel fast foods for breakfast (basically, breakfast salad)
Fasting lunch (not eating at all)
Daniel fast food for dinner
Water only to drink

We chose to skip lunch to cause us to really see this as a fast and a reason to have a focus on the Lord. To create hunger, so to speak, since the Daniel Fast isn't really all that different from our "normal" diet. (though we've drifted too much from that normal in the last few months)

We also wanted to skip a meal to provide a way to allow more time for prayer, study, and reflection on what the Lord is teaching us.  This isn't always feasible during the busy lunch time, but I'm learning to at least pray and keep my heart on the Lord as I battle those lunch time cravings and those late afternoon hunger signals.

I have become consistent in a time of morning devotions with the Lord. That has been a huge blessing. We've also enjoyed our morning walks together and evening reading and prayer.  In short, this time of fasting has created a lot more time for us to be together and be together focused on the Lord. That's really creating a special bond between us.

So, we press on.  We both are feeling much better. My first three days were a struggle. Headaches and fatigue that left me feeling awful.  That seemed to lift by day 4 and I'm beginning to feel more energy and strength as the days move on.  We are both less sluggish, bloated, and our clothes are feeling loose.

Even more, we are so encouraged by our time with the Lord.  So many beautiful ways we are learning that God is enough.  He is our portion.  He is the Rock of my heart.  He is the Giver of all these abundant gifts that surround us and we are learning to long for Him above those precious gifts.

As John Piper states in his book, "Food is good. God is better."  This time of chosen testing causes me to sing this to my own soul daily.

Week 3 - Day 6

Well, yesterday was great.  Wednesday wasn't so much.

And, well, I thought I was have a really great week, overall, but the scale doesn't agree.

I certainly didn't eat like I should have gained 4 pounds. No way.

Sigh.

So, I guess I just keep going forward.  I don't know why that number showed up. Is it the salt from eating out?  I have no clue but I'm pretty frustrated at this point that I can eat right and not see that scale move.

Other points to note, however:

My head cold is almost completely gone
I have had much more energy this week
I'm getting to bed earlier and not waking in the middle of the night with insomnia
I'm not battling awful cravings so much at the mid-afternoon time
I'm satisfied with eating less

So, aside from the scale, I feel like those are certainly worthy places of improvement. Definitely enough to keep me focused and moving forward.

Still, I see my guy binge eating do deal with stress and, I have to admit, it's hard not to join in. This is a really crazy time of life around here. If I can get through without completely giving in to comfort food, junk, and food-as-my-salvation, it will definitely be the grace of God.

It's Friday.  Gulp.  Always a hard time for me.

Week 3 - Day 2

My food:

Breakfast - out to eat with my guy, fried potatoes with spinach, broccoli, mushrooms; 1 slice ww toast with jelly, decaf coffee with flavored creamer

Lunch - Breakfast salad

Snack - trail mix (dried fruit and nuts and seeds) and about 4 bbq potato chips (boy, are those hard to resist!)

Dinner - bowl of Broc-n-shrooms covered with mushroom gravy; decaf coffee and frozen cherries dusted with cocao powder for dessert

My Thoughts:

I feel good about my day. It wasn't perfect and I did cave with those few chips. BUT, it was a FEW chips instead of half a bag or so like I have been doing while out and about with my guys. I was really happy with myself. 

Dinner was filling and I was so happy that I got my lazy self to just cook up some easy food. A bag of broccoli from the freezer with some mushrooms, onion and garlic powder and I have a great meal.  Bonus was the leftover mushroom gravy in the fridge that I reheated for a topping.  A bowl of healthy goodness stepped up to Comfort Food just like that. 

 

I feel like I've got some good momentum going. My step is lighter, I'm getting better sleep, my energy I increasing.  I'm hopeful this continues. The fog of battling illness, sleep deprivation, and the high stress have been getting the better of me.  The stress is still lingering but the others things seem to be lifting a bit. 

I'm hopeful for the days ahead.

Oh! I finally tried this little treat that I learned about from my friends at Love Chard (check out their website and fb page, great, encouraging folks. :) 

Grapefruit wedges dusted with cinnamon.  It's good! I never thought to cut my grapefruit like this and I never dreamed to sprinkle with cinnamon.  What a great taste.  I love finding something new to enjoy. :)

Week 3 - Day 1

My food:

Green Apple, black decaf coffee, bottle of water

Two bowls of leftover 15 bean and veggie soup, head of romaine leaves, whole grapefruit, tea

Cup of decaf coffee with flavored creamer

Bowl of frozen cherries dusted with cocoa powder

My Thoughts:

I feel so great about my day today.  What you don't see above is that I ate that wonderful lunch while my family was pigging out on KFC while visiting after church today. So, there I was in the midst of some of my favorite SAD food, even having to feed some to the baby, and I didn't cave!!! Yay me. :)

I feel pretty good about this week. I stepped on the scale on Thursday and saw a new decade, even. That made me smile. :) 

Saturday I crashed by eating pizza. Way more pizza than I should.  That stunk. But I followed up today with a great day cleansing with raw foods and lots of water.  I'm really happy with how I finished the week. Hopeful for the days ahead. 

I have this thought in my brain that I've got about 1.5 months before life gets packed up in boxes. I'd really like to not even take the size clothes I'm in now with me. Wouldn't it be great if the only clothes I pack to bring to the new house are the next size smaller ones?? :)

Week 2 Day 2 - March 1

My Food:
Breakfast salad

Romaine topped with black beans and a scoop of buffalo chickpea dip, carrot sticks

2 chocolate date balls

My thoughts:

I've been missing, but, overall, I've had some really great days.  I haven't stepped on the scale recently, so I don't know if I'm making progress, but I've been trying and avoiding junk.

That said, we are fighting colds here and I wish we were eating even better so we could get it out of the house for good.

I shared our presentation again tonight at our library. I love doing that. It's so fun to talk with other people and encourage them to make changes for their health.  Two teenaged girls came on a whim and I think they really enjoyed the talk and I know they loved the food. It makes me so happy to think about them being there. 

We've been pretty overwhelmed with some stressful things going on in life right now. I am trying my best to keep focused and eat well so that it doesn't make it all worse. Sickness, intense work schedule for David, and some big changes on the horizon leave me with all sorts of excuses to deal with stress in wrong ways.  I'm really grateful that for the last few days, at least, I've made good choices and am doing pretty well.

Week 1 Day 3 - 2.23.16

My Food:

Breakfast salad

Lunch was taco lentils with rice over romaine and a small scoop of a breakfast salad I made for our friends for lunch (light on the kale, heavy on the fruit)

Dinner was baked falafel burger wrapped in romaine with mustard, oven baked fries with ketchup, green beans with mushrooms

Dessert of frozen cherries dusted with cacao powder.

I did have a cup of coffee while visiting with my friend today. Then I had a cup of decaf with flavored creamer when I got home.  Ugh with the coffee, already!

My thoughts:

Overall, good day.  I'm feeling good about my food choices today. Still need to keep working on those coffee binges. I didn't mind sharing a cuppa with a friend, but I could have easily skipped the cuppa after. David asked me to get one for him on my way home. I didn't need to get one for myself too.  Especially with the creamer.

I got myself to bed on time last night.  Hoping to do the same tonight. 

Week 1 Day 2 - 2.22.16

My Food:

Breakfast salad

His, mine, and theirs

 

For lunch we had our usual Monday Taco Salad.  I was on schedule today so I had it all prepped by 9am.  Just needed to cook up the veggies and add the beans, corn, and seasoning.

 

 

And then it happened.  Stress.  Emotion.  Emotion overkill, to tell all the truth.  And I caved.  Two slices of whole grain bread with mustard.  Down it went. :/

 

For dinner was still just so emotional.  I had two small bowls of the pasta the kids were eating. I was just too fried to come up with something more.  It was good.  The sauce had a buttery texture and taste even though it was made from cauliflower.  Great recipe here.

 

 

Evening dessert was a green apple with peanut butter and decaf black coffee.

 

My thoughts:

 

I just really stink at dealing well with stress.  Especially mothering stress.  I need a coping tool. I prayed. I breathed deep breaths.  I tried stuff. Really I did.  I need to try other stuff.  But I did NOT have the soda, chips, coffee or cookies that people were offering to me.

 

Week 1 Day 1 - 2.21.16

Food:

Breakfast - Breakfast salad
Lunch - leftover Creamy Broccoli Rice Casserole
Dinner - Buffalo Chickpea dip, carrot sticks, broccoli, corn chips and shared a chocolate bar with my guy. *ahem*

Coffee with flavored creamer at evening rehearsal

Exercise:

Family walk this morning.  Walked home from rehearsal tonight.  It's just so lovely out there. Feels like spring.

Thoughts:

I've been fighting some kind of bug. I was battling some bad stomach cramping yesterday and spent the afternoon in bed.  Today I was able to be up and out but still felt queasy and heavy-headed this afternoon.  I did perk up this evening, though, and felt great during rehearsal.

I'm not sure what kind of bug it is, but those of us that have it seem to be doing pretty well fighting it without too much interruption in life.  A little icky, a little tired, but mostly able to keep on with life.

Tomorrow is a new week. I'm looking forward to getting out for more walks and fresh air. We've got a lot of busy work to do around the house, getting ready for our next new adventure.  I'm feeling determined to keep on task with my goals:

> Tea and water, not coffee
> No snacking, fill up at meal time instead
> Work on rebuilding good habits (these and more)
> Begin giving serious prayer to the issue of emotional eating, *pray, don't pick* (at food)
> Bed by 10pm

Just some thoughts on a restful Sunday

New Challenge

Okay, so I didn't quite finish my last challenge, but I will say, I wasn't seeing the results I was hoping for while doing it, so I think I just felt defeated and gave up.

And got busy.  It's a little tricky to keep up with the soup making every day when life gets crazy.

And, well, it's gotten *really* crazy in the past few weeks.

We have a major life change coming up in the next few months. No, not a new pregnancy. (I knew you were thinking it. ;) )  So, with major stress comes major bad choices for me. Especially when it comes to food since I'm so very prone to use food as a coping mechanism. 

So, I need a new challenge. Something that will keep me excited about making good health choices as well as give me some motivation to stay away from being lazy which always leads to falling back into bad habits.

Thing is, I'm just unsure what the challenge should look like. 

I know, beyond a doubt, that my primary issue is that I need to form and build new, healthy habits.  But, building habits is hard. And, well, which ones do I start with first? Which ones are the key habits that are the foundation to the others that are messing me up? This is where I feel stuck.

Last week a friend joined me in working on tweaking two bad habits I've developed. Coffee and snacking.  I see these as pivotal to other poor habits I've got going on.

And, well, I didn't do so well at breaking the habit. But, I guess I could at least feel good about making progress.

1.  I did drink a lot LESS coffee this past week than I have been, replacing it with hot herbal tea and water.
2.  I did have LESS snacks between meals this week than I have before.
3.  I did choose better snacks, which was my goal, if I couldn't skip the snack altogether.

Okay, so instead of feeling like a failure, I'm going to call it progress.  But I'm also going to give myself a kick in the pants so I will get my head in the game and work harder on doing this the right way.

In the meantime, I'm going to make sure I'm sticking to Dr. F's 6 week plan for eating. 

For me, that typically looks like this:

Breakfast: Breakfast salad
Lunch: Head of romaine topped with other raw veggies and/or cooked legumes and a nut-based dressing
Dinner: salad, cooked veggies, starch or grain, fruit for dessert

Daily blogging and the support of a really great friend. :)

SSS - Day 20

I have to post before I totally forget my day.

Breakfast - black coffee...that's it.

I was too busy working on a deep clean in the girls' room and a bit in my room as well.

Lunch:  Breakfast salads for everyone!

 

I added avocado to the baby's bowl. I think that made him happy. ;) 

Dinner: Warmed up the last of the Creamy Broccoli soup and had several romaine leaves stuffed with the last of the buffalo chickpea dip.  I also had about 2 peanut butter ball cookies (pb, raisins, flax seed, oats). 

I think I did munch a bit on the spicy peanut mix that was left on the table before dinner.

That was my day.  I missed my smoothie. I could and should have had more veggies.  But, man, when you spend over 2 hours cleaning your kitchen, you kinda don't want to spend MORE time in there making another mess. 

SSS - Day 21

BAH. 

I am not liking this day.

Breakfast: No time for smoothie, ate a green apple and half-caf coffee on the drive to church.

Lunch: salad bar at the grocery store. Which stunk. Lousy selection. Had to buy a bottle of dressing because what they had out was all junk.  Added some spicy peanut mix to the salad.

Dinner:  Buffalo chickpea dip with broccoli, carrot sticks, and tortilla chips. More spicy peanut mix.


Just a stinky day. I wasn't able to follow my SSS plan and it bummed me out. And, of all things, the scale was UP this morning. What the what??  Argh.


One bright spot: our local library has asked us to come back and share our plant-based family presentation again in March.  I'm excited that others are encouraged and eager to explore the benefits of making changes in their eating habits. 

And that helps me take a deep breath and remember, this is NOT about a scale. This is about a life of health, enjoyment, energy, healing, and serving well. 

Lord, forgive me for always getting so distracted with myself! This is about you. How to serve you well in ALL I do.

SSS - Day 22

GOOD. Day. :)

I really nailed it today when I could have easily crashed. 

Nothing available to make a breakfast I wanted before heading out for groceries this morning. I stopped for coffee but resisted the junk food I could have had to eat.

Got through my shopping a little over budget, but the carts were filled with greens and all the other good stuff for the week. 

After getting home, unloading, and unpacking, I was FAMISHED.  I knew I had to get choppin'.  I was SO excited to sit down to this giant bowl of deliciousness. :)

 

 

After a busy day, we had a late dinner and it was lovely.  We tried a new recipe: New England Glam Chowder.  Which, of course, is supposed to taste like a good ol' bowl of New England Clam Chowder. We skipped the nori, simply because I couldn't find any at the grocery store.

 

Personally, I think it's silly to name plant-based foods after a familiar food.  I mean, if you want to eat Clam Chowder, then eat Clam Chowder.  This was a silky, rich, flavorful chowder full of creamy goodness and perfect, chewy shitake mushrooms.  So good.  But, really, don't call something what it isn't. Call it Creamy Shitake Chowder or Melt in your Mouth Mushroom Soup or something like that.  Just be real. ;) 

I also made a Banana Split Smoothie for myself and a few others in the family to share.  The rest of the family enjoyed a new dessert: Maple Apple Blueberry Crumble.  Good stuff. :)

Even though I had a good day, I'll admit I'm feeling rather discouraged.  I stepped on the scale today and I'm pretty much where I was back in November.  My clothes aren't feeling looser. The scale isn't moving.  Sigh.  I don't know. I guess I was just hoping to see more result from the effort.

I suppose I need to stay focused on the other progress besides the physical.  I'm not battling headaches anymore like I was.  I've got a lot more energy these days.  I'm less emotional and moody.  And, well, that's actually pretty good considering we're in the thick of the dark and dreary winter days. 

SSS - Day 23

S  Breakfast was a smoothie....Slim Pickin's Smoothie. I'm running low on produce and almost completely out of frozen fruit.  So, in the blender went two oranges, the last of my frozen cherries, some frozen blueberries, a kiwi, pumpkin seeds, and water.  It was okay. I only drank half of what I normally would.

S  Lunch was a taco salad.


S  Dinner was a bowl of Three Bean and Lentil soup.  I did have some chips and salsa while hanging out with one of my girls tonight.  Nice treat on a Friday night after a good week.

I'm looking forward to getting groceries in the morning.  Especially since I really don't have much for breakfast until I do. 

I spent some time on the menu for next week. I printed off several new recipes to try for the week. Tomorrow will be a busy kitchen day doing some prep work. 

I sure am hoping to see some progress soon in losing the weight. I know I've started feeling a lot better. More energy, though I've been really tired at bedtime.  That's a good sign, though. I'm glad I've been able to fall asleep at a decent hour. 

I got my first pp cycle this week.  No cramping or discomfort, which is a relief.  I wonder how this shift in hormones will impact how my body is working right now.  I'm pretty certain it's the main reason I've been so sleepy this week.

I've also been working to decrease my decaf and increase the herbal tea.  I think that's also helping me get better sleep.  And, truthfully, as long as I've got a pretty cup full of something hot, I'm happy. :)

 

SSS - Day 24

Busy day. Full day.  Productive day.  Good day.

I got in all my goals.


S   Smoothie for breakfast.  I'm leaning toward the chocolate orange smoothie as my favorite these days.  I increased the orange since I was a little low on berries. (2 oranges, frozen strawberries, raw pumpkin seeds, cashew milk, cocoa powder, vanilla)


S   Salad for lunch. Just your basic, huge, lovely, crunchy, delicious breakfast salad.  I look forward to that bowl every day. :)


S   Soup for dinner.  I tried a new recipe tonight from my Vitamix recipe book, Acorn Squash Soup.  I didn't love it.  I served it over the leftover roasted radishes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli.  I still didn't love it.  I'm just not crazy about squash or the soups that are real sweet.  But, it was worth trying. :)

 

 

I'm not sure how tomorrow will play out. I'm out of frozen fruits and low on fresh fruit for smoothies.  Out of berries for breakfast salad.  I'll need some serious creativity to make it through to grocery day. 

 

I haven't been on the scale.  Still looking for a change in my clothing to make me want to see what those numbers might be.  I honestly don't want to see any numbers until they are in that next decade I'm aiming for.

 

David is finishing up his juice fast. He's down 10 pounds.  Amazing.  He's thinking to join me on my SSS plan now.  It'll be nice to have some company. 

SSS - Day 25

Another fantastic day for me, though I realized as I was heading to bed...I forgot the SOUP!! Argh!


S   Smoothie: Breakfast was a Banana Split Smoothie (cashew milk, frozen strawberries, raw pumpkin seeds, cocoa powder, ground flax, bananas, vanilla)


S    Salad:  Breakfast salad, a few carrots sticks and celery with peanut butter and a few raisins

 

 

S    Salad: Dinner was a bowl of chopped romaine topped with some leftover taco style lentils and rice and hot sauce.  I was heading out for a drive with my guy and needed a quick, grab-n-go meal to eat in the car. This worked!

But it just occurred to me that I didn't get in any SOUP today. Bummer!  But, really, it wouldn't have worked well at all to try to eat soup while cruising in the jeep. ;) 

Tomorrow will be CAH-RAZY so food is going to need to be SIMPLE.  I am pretty sure I can make that happen. :)

I'm tempted to try the scale tomorrow.  Probably won't, but it's starting to tempt me.

David is down another couple of pounds. He's pretty happy about that. He's trying to decide how long he wants to go with the juice fast. He is finishing day 5 tomorrow.

SSS - Day 26

Another good day.

S   Smoothie for breakfast. Yummy new one with kiwi and raw pumpkin seeds added.  I've been adding more seeds and nuts to my S's to help me not feel hungry between meals. It's working pretty well.

S  Salad for lunch. Breakfast salad, that is, with cocoa powder.  Mmmm, so good I'm craving another
one as I type. :D

S   Soup for dinner for me. :)  I reheated a huge bowl of Three Bean and Lentil soup for dinner.

I had a few roasted radishes with the soup. I've been dying to try cooked radishes ever since my friend told me about them this summer.  They are interesting. I want to try cooking them on the stove in vegetable broth and see if I like them better. They were okay. Not bad, not amazing. I've got two more packs in the fridge so I'll try them again this week. 

David is doing well on his juice fast. Three days down and he was down about 6 pounds this morning.

I'm drinking a large bottle of water tonight. I had a lot of decaf coffee today trying to keep warm.  The tea just wasn't doing the job for me.  I don't like that I'm drinking so much coffee these days. I know it's not my best choice. 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Feeling like seeing how creative I can be with my smoothie again.  Sure am having fun with my Vitamix.  Boy, do I love that machine. :)

SSS - Day 27

I did well today. Stuck to my plan. Even when I didn't want to. Even when I was STRESSED.  Even when that mac n' cheeze looked so good and, technically, a few bites wouldn't hurt because it really is made with some great ingredients...and, it's pretty hard to say no to such a lovely chef. ;)

But I stuck to my plan. :)

S  Smoothie for breakfast: cashew milk, orange, frozen strawberries, vanilla, cocoa powder, kale


S  Salad for lunch: head of romaine, roasted chickpeas, raisins, nut-based Italian dressing

 

Ss   Soup and Salad for dinner:  Creamy Broccoli soup, small salad with romaine, roasted chickpeas, raisins, and brown mustard

And fruit for dessert.  Frozen cherries dusted with cocoa powder.

Good eating day. I sipped herbal tea until this afternoon. I'm sipping decaf coffee now with my dessert.

Tomorrow should be easy to stick to the plan. I've got a fridge full of leftovers that make it easy.

Did I mention David is juicing? He started a juice fast yesterday.  He felt pretty awful yesterday but is much better today. 

SSS - Day 29 & 28

Day 29....

Smoothie for breakfast.
Spinach salad with roasted chickpeas and mandarin oranges for lunch.
I had a snack that afternoon.  It started as tortilla chips and salsa. Then a green apple. Then I loaded a lavash bread with  mustard.  Sigh. Binge snacking.
Dinner was a bowl of Vegetable Chowder.
Then my boy shared two of his chocolate filled oreos with me. *wince*

Day 28....

Feeling really frustrated today.  My clothes are NOT feeling loose. I know I haven't been on plan but I haven't been so OFF plan that my I shouldn't be seeing some kind of progress, right?

Breakfast was a smoothie.
Lunch was a bowl of Three Bean Lentil Soup.
Snacked on a green apple.
Dinner was a head of romaine leaves, some carrot sticks, three apple slices, and a serving of cookie dough hummus.

Today I ate well. Today was totally on plan. 

And I guess I'm deciding I need to just push for being totally strict in the coming weeks if I'm going to see any real progress.  Total SSS.  ONLY S for each meal. If I'm hungry, I add more raw veggies or a piece of fruit. 

And, well, it's time to figure out how to add in the exercise.  Not sure how it's going to work but I need to figure a way to add in something. 

Here's to a good start to a great new week.

SSS - Day 30

Okay, so not as great a day as I hoped. 

Breakfast was good....

Then I munched on roasted chickpeas through the morning during lessons.

Lunch...well.....

We ended up going out for lunch. I had a veggie burger with mushrooms and fries.  With some bread as an appetizer.  Total carb-fest.

Dinner I skipped.  But I did munch on a bowl of chopped romaine and some roasted chickpeas while watching a tv with my oldest.

Very little veggies.  Too much starch/grains, and salt.

Tomorrow I begin again. 

I'm glad for new beginnings.

SSS - Day 32 & 31

AHHHH!!!!

Man, I'm having a hard time keeping up. The last two days have been so nuts and so hard to keep up with.  I haven't had time to log my food but I also haven't been able to keep totally on plan.

Here's where I detoured. That's all I have time to report for now.

Last night for dinner we ordered pizza for the kids.  I planned to have a smoothie and reheat some soup.  I was able to get the smoothie made to take with me to my meeting but I didn't have time for the soup. So I caved and grabbed a half piece of pizza and the baby's crust.  Sigh.

Today I didn't pack a dinner to bring with us to karate. We stopped at the corner store and I got a coffee (with flavored creamer) and a bag of Cajun peanut mix to share. I also had a few pita chips that David got.  When we got home I made a sandwich with toast, romaine, and brown mustard. 

So, no soup for me today.  Bummer. I just wasn't hungry for soup tonight. 

I'm still working to stay on track, though.  I did skip all the snack foods at my meeting.  I did decide to come home to make a sandwich instead of going out for something at a restaurant tonight.  So, while I'm not making the *best* choices I am making choices that are good for the circumstances.  They are also much better choices than I've made in the previous weeks.

Okay, so, tomorrow is another new day. I'm almost done with this week. And, while I didn't rock it like I could have, I'm still on track and still determined to finish strong.  This will still be a good week. Simply because I'm progressing in building better habits.

SSS - Day 33

It's late. Here's a quick run-down of my day.

Breakfast: Smoothie (pom juice, swiss chard, mixed fruit, orange, lime, ground flax, water), big breakfast salad

Lunch: Out of romaine so a plate of baby spinach, cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli with hummus, mandarin oranges, pecans, pumpkin seeds, and a cup or so if Indian Spiced Lentils

 

For dinner I had a chickpea bean burger, mushrooms with green beans and peas, and a reheated bowl of Kole's Creamy Cauliflower soup.  

 

But BEFORE dinner I did munch on corn tortilla chips with salsa. I was hungry and, well, gave in to a bad habit of eating while waiting. 

 

AFTER dinner I also gave in and had two truffle chocolates with my husband.  Sad how one "giving in" leads so easily to another.

 

I will be happy that I did NOT have any concession foods at the movies tonight. :)

 

Long day. Another one coming tomorrow.  Need to get to bed and hope I get to sleep the whole night.

 

It could happen. ;)

SSS - Day 34

The tasty side of my day...in pictures!

Breakfast: Smoothie and a breakfast Salad (not pictured, but it was a big one. I didn't finish it until almost lunch time!)

 

Limes??? YES!!! Limes and pom juice in my smoothie?? Oh, the deliciousness! :D

 

Lunch: Taco Salad with a celery stick with peanut butter and carrot sticks and a bit of hummus

 



And my dinner on Pasta Night:  Minestrone Soup with broccoli, mushrooms, and a small salad. (the kids had their soup over elbow macaroni)

 

I attempted to make orange creamsicle sorbets tonight for dessert. They didn't turn out right. Tasted mostly like banana and it was too much liquid. Everyone loved it though. Except me. I'm not a fan of the actual taste of bananas.

 

 

After a few bites I gifted mine away.  It wasn't hard to do. ;)

 

Good day food-wise. I'm sipping some Sleepytime tea right now and hoping I'll actually be sleeping very soon.

 

Tomorrow I begin again.  Good thing I have such great food to look forward to. :)

SSS - Day 35

Started a new week! I don't feel like I was 100% last week and, even today, I was off plan a bit. But, I still got in all the SSS's and am determined to do well in the week ahead.  School is starting and, in a crazy way, I'm feeling like having this plan and controlling my food will help me face the scary days ahead. This term feels daunting. 

For breakfast I had a smoothie in a quart jar: cashew milk, frozen mixed fruit, Swiss chard, ground flax, vanilla, and an orange. 

At lunch I heated up some leftover cabbage soup, a corner of my 3yo's scone (ETL compliant), and then I enjoyed a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and a decaf coffee with almond milk while out grocery shopping with my son.

For dinner I had a bowl of cole slaw (I'm pretty sure the recipe is on my tab at the top), an orange, and a handful or so of potato chips. (not ETL compliant. *eyeroll*)

Now I'm sipping some sleepytime tea and battling a fierce headache.  Not sure if it's a detox headache due to all the coffee I've been drinking lately or if it's because of the chips, but it's pounding.  Could be from the lack of sleep and water. I haven't been drinking enough water, that's for sure. 

Even though I've completed a week on this 6 week challenge, I'm not weighing in. I've decided I want to wait until I start to *feel* and notice changes in my body and clothing before I step on that scale. I don't want to defeat myself by seeing any scary numbers right now. ;)

Also, as I mentioned above, I'm not feeling like this week was "reward worthy". I did well, but I can do better. 

SSS - Day 37 & 36

Two days in one post! I got to bed late last night. I knew I needed sleep. ;)

Day 37 (Friday)

We headed out on New Year's Day to have some fun with friends. My morning was rushed packing gear, food and family so my breakfast had to be FAST.  I whipped up a DELICIOUS new smoothie creation. 

Frozen mixed fruit, frozen swiss chard, cocoa powder, an orange, vanilla, and cashew milk.  Oh my! I already knew chocolate and orange together were a lovely combination. But, well, this was simply Delight in a Jar.  And mobile too!

For lunch I had a wrap filled with a large helping of salad (romaine, carrots, broccoli, purple cabbage, roasted chickpeas, homemade ranch dressing), carrot sticks, a few corn chips, and some Buffalo Chickpea dip. 

While sipping my coffee, I also savored a lovely piece of dark chocolate my friend kindly shared with me. :)

At dinner I got to try those trendy new "Zoodles" that everyone is raving about.  You know, the "noodles" you make out of zucchini using a spiralizer?? Yeah, those.  Amazing! They really have the exact texture of a pasta noodle and don't even taste mushy like cooked zucchini usually does.  I was impressed. :)  I had mine topped with delicious spaghetti sauce. I also had another half plate of salad topped with our own Italian dressing and a bowl of my Cinnamon-Cocoa Chili. 

For dessert I made baked apples with blueberries but skipped having any. I'm not crazy about cooked apples but I was glad everyone else enjoyed them. :)

On the way home (long drive) we stopped for coffee. I had a bit of flavored creamer in mine and David and I shared a cookie. :)

All in all I was thrilled with the day.  Great fun, great food. No guilt. :D

Day 36:

Breakfast was my usual: Breakfast salad and a smoothie. I had a smaller serving of that same Chocolate-Orange yumminess using the same ingredients from the day before.  Breakfast salad was a pretty small bowl. I'm having less salad since I'm having a smoothie with it.

 

Lunch: Buffalo Chickpea salad with home made ranch dressing, and orange, and some leftover movie popcorn that David brought home. *ahem*

Dinner: Mushroom Barley Soup with Irish Soda Bread

For dessert I enjoyed frozen cherries topped with a dollop of this amazing Chocolate pudding made with avocado...bananas...and...mmmm.....peanut butter. :)

Rich and creamy, right?? NONE of my kiddos guessed it had avocado in it. Last time I made this, they turned their noses up. Tonight, they raved. :D 

 

The recipe is here.  My dd used date paste as a sweetener in it.

 

So, I know you all (I imagine there is a small army reading this every day. A VERY QUIET, small army ;) ) think I'm loopy for taking photos of my food.  Thing is, there are days when I wouldn't even remember what I ate if it weren't for these photos. 

 

Today was one of those days. :/

 

So, bring on the pics!  Besides, food this good is too pretty not to see. :D