One week left!

Since I have been eating healthy (except for one or two occasions) for almost a month, I am having a familiar sensation. That sensation is one of being in control of my life. Things are so much clearer in my head, my tasks at hand are more salient to me. It is a good feeling. It is something I lose when I start to eat processed foods or any of a number of foods that seem to control me (ie refined sugar, alcohol, dairy products).

The other day a friend of mine posted on facebook that anyone is able to check just what marketing Google thinks defines you. Some of my female friends were listed as male, and either much younger or much older than they actually are. Mine was pretty spot on. Google thinks that I am 28-34, (check), female, (check), interested in fitness/nutrition, (check/check), and wedding planning....(sigh, check, I'm jumping the gun by about a year....). So what does that say about me? Not much. I fear that I'm not an interesting person. I feel as though I have no hobbies. My roommate said that diet and exercise are my hobbies. Which, I guess is okay. But I feel the need to expand my life, although I'm not sure what that means or how to do it.

I've lost weight and not felt hungry. This feels good. I tried the new vegan cheese "Diaya" the other day. It is melty, it is cheezy, but really it tastes like butter (at least the mozzerella style). So it didn't satisfy my cheese craving. Plus it is a highly processed food, so I gave the rest away.

11 more days!

So I've been eating healthy now, with only a couple of slips, for the past 19 days. I did have a few beers this week and .... french fries (gasp!) but now I'm back to the healthy eating that I'm trying to make a permanent habit of.

Today I tried tempeh. It was good and I definitely like the texture. For the taste, which isn't bad per se, I am going to experiment with grilling and marinating it. I think I'm going to make some crockpot chili tomorrow and I may crumble some up and throw it in to simmer in the juices for several hours. Overall, I like it!

It's Friday night, but I'm feeling a little under the weather. I think going out two nights this week and having beer was not a good thing to do. Since alcohol suppresses the immune system, I made myself vunerable to the nasty germs floating around the campus.  I'm going to cozy up in bed with some reading and a cup of tea. :)

Day 14, with a recap of 13

Yesterday I went to a 6 yr old's birthday party! It was really fun seeing a ton of little girls giggling and chasing each other. Not a shy one in the bunch. But it reminded me just how vicious little girls can be. Anyway, I did NOT eat cake or popcorn (it was at a movie theater). Both of those items were incredibly hard for me to give up. Instead I snuck in my own bag of 'healthier' home popped popcorn (popped on the stovetop with spray oil) and an apple for when the sweets got passed around. I was pretty proud of myself.

I'd really like to go to the gym today, but my car is snowed in to it's spot. My roommate is out borrowing a shovel so we can dig. We also need to go to the grocery store. I have a feeling that after I shovel I won't need to go to the gym anymore....

Days 11 and 12

Although I'm shooting for 30 days of blogging, I knew I was going to get behind. But that is okay. I have a LOT of stuff going on in my life right now and everything is pretty stressful. I am moving to LA in 6 months and I also have classes to take, classes to teach and MAJOR exams to study for. But I can do it! I know that I won't have much of a social life for the next 6 months or so, and that is okay. Really it is the way it has to be if I want to achieve all my goals.

A big part of achieving all my goals is staying sober. Alcohol affects my judgement with food and behavior. It also makes me sluggish and if I drink one night, I don't work for several days afterward. It most definitely affects my sleeping patterns negatively. So, my drinking days for the next 4 months are already planned out. (Feb 25, Mar 9, April 25, May 5)

Foodwise, I'm continuing to do well! I stay full, I base my meals around vegetables, spices, whole grains and healthy fats. I plan my meals out a few days in advance and I haven't had cravings for sugar (although I did have a bit this morning, agave syrup). After these 30 days, I'd like to make two new goals to try and reach. Perhaps it will be about water consumption, or trying one new recipe a week. Not sure yet, but I am excited to see what they will be!

Day 10 SO much SNOW!

There is at least 2 feet of snow outside today with another foot coming tomorrow. Luckily I got up extra early this morning and I took the bus to the store and stocked up on healthy foods! They didn't have everything I wanted (no tempeh!) but I still was able to find all I need for at least another week and a half.

I made up a new recipe today! Nothing fancy, just a basic white bean and broccoli soup. But I love it and I think it is going to go into the soup rotation. The trick is an immersion blender. It makes it creamy without any dairy.

My bootcamp class was cancelled today due to the snow, which made me sad. BUT I came home and did half the work out on my own! (I couldn't run laps in my apt, but I did all the other weight training and cardio)

Goals met:
Eating vegetables and two fruits
60 minutes of exercise!

Oh, and in case anyone wonders, I've lost 7 lbs in my journey so far. :)

Day 9! And the end....

Things were going fairly well today and they still are really. I did not make it to the full 10 day cleanse mark, but I'm not upset about it. I was holding on until about 4:30 this afternoon. As I sat at the dining room table I realized that I really wanted to eat some walnuts. So I said to my roommate "Hey, I really want to eat something. Not a vegetable, not an orange." And she said the smartest thing, "Then eat something. You should listen to your body." So, I'm still following the anti-inflammatory diet I had planned for, I just started a bit early. About 32 hours early or so.

I feel it was a job well done because:
-I am committed to planning out my meals again.
-I remember how important it is to base my meals on vegetables and fruits.
-I know that my body only needs 'healthy' fats to survive. Other fats are bad for me.
-I'm still refraining from SNACCs (sugar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, chemicals) and I don't miss them.

So I will leave you with a list of things that I broke my fast with, as you will see, they are all good foods.

White beans, plain popcorn, walnuts. :)

Days 7 and 8

Hello!
Yesterday was really a blur. The snow started and I went to the gym before it got too bad. I ate my fruits and vegetables and didn't really have any weird cravings. I will be happy to move into a more full anti-inflammatory diet.

Things are good, but I'm starting to daydream about the food that I want to eat. I've had several temptations today, but I backed off all of them and made better choices. Tomorrow is really going to be difficult because I have a long day and only a few minutes to eat lunch. I'm really going to have to plan tomorrow out.

I did something new and made some vegetable soup today. It was delicious and really helped keep me full when I felt hungry.

In my non-food based life, I've gotten sooo much done. I completed all of my required readings for the week as well as made significant progress on cleaning and organizing my room.  I'm really quite excited about this last semester. I want to do well and work hard, rather than do okay and do the minimum work required like I usually do.

The snow is unbearable due to the fact that I can't drive in it. On Wednesday I need to drive about 10 miles to get some window work done on my car. I might even have to put chains on. It is the last day of my cleanse so hopefully everything works out and I am able to make it there and back safely.