nutrition challenge - through day 16

daily updates seemed to get boring as there has been no real change.


tales of my travels

i went out of town last week for work. i was gone from early wednesday morning through saturday late afternoon. i spent a lot of time in airports, eating in restaurants, and driving around the beautiful state of pennsylvania.

staying on top of my eating was difficult. cheating did happen but not in large enough amounts to count for a -5 on my points for the day which would have resulted in burpees.

i made my own jerky for the airport. i didn't know how i'd be able to get quality protein in the airport and didn't think i would have much time in them to eat. sometimes more time became available! (oh... a 5 hour delay in chicago, how you toyed with me..) but anyway, i brought a lot of nuts and seeds, my whole30/paleo approved homemade jerky, and carrots.

overall i was very proud of the choices i made while i was away.


no exercise for many days :(

the problem with traveling for work and getting delayed in airports, is that i didn't manage or budget my time well enough to exercise. not that that has a lot to do with eating or nutrition, but it does fit with the package of overall health. not to mention it's just an enjoyable thing for me to do.


day 15 - results

in a real whole 30 program, you aren't allowed to step on a scale, but i did anyway! after 2 weeks of being on the program, complete with a stressful business trip and no exercise, i lost 2 pounds of fat! i'm very proud of where that puts me right now. hopefully more good things will come.


day 16 - 3rd wedding anniversary

i cheated yesterday. it was a planned cheat. i knew darn well when i began this program that yesterday was my 3rd year anniversary. some nutrition programs tell you that you should not sweat when you want to eat something bad, as long as it's a controlled decision and doesn't get you off track. whole 30 is an eating plan that tells you not to cheat for 30 days no matter what. i lean toward the 1st option...

brennen and i eat at red lobster every year on our anniversary. we don't eat at red lobster any other day of the year. for reasons i won't post on my blog, because it's special to me, those stupid cheesy biscuits of theirs are delicious. i did eat some. i don't feel bad about it. the rest of my meal was on point and that decision is not going to define the rest of my experience


looking forward

this challenge hasn't been as challenging as i originally expected it to be. i've learned that i can eat well, feel good, and not feel like i'm missing out. it's just a matter of decisions. i almost feel like i did when i took control of my soda intake during high school. i quit drinking soda cold turkey, after i was addicted to code red mountain dew. it was easier than i thought, and i felt such a sense of self-control and accomplishment. i feel the same way with this.

nutrition challenge - day 7

things taper, but still go well


feeling good overall

no new news. i'm still feeling really good. still no cravings. today was another day that i didn't cheat nor did i have a desire to do so. my head was still clear the entire day.

i was tired, but i don't think that had anything to do with my diet. after watching the last session of general conference, i feel asleep for two hours. our room gets so hot. so after being idle for the entire day (watching conference and eating between sessions) and being so hot, one just falls asleep. brennen fell asleep right beside me for 2 hours himself.

(for those of you who may not know, generally conference happens twice a year. it's hosted in 4 two-hour sessions over the first saturday and sunday in april and october by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. there is technically another 2 hour session for priesthood holders, but that has never involved me as it's not broadcast live like the other sessions. i could watch it at a later time if i want to, or read the talks in the church magazine.)

nutrition challenge - day 6

the trend of good continues...


still feeling good

i still felt very similar to day 5. although the excitement of feeling so clear and focused, and light and bouncy, wasn't quite as exciting. it's a shame that once a good thing becomes a standard, we seem to be less grateful for it, but alas, tis the way of a typical human. i am no different.

as i now ponder how good i felt, i feel quite grateful. i hope i can always think about how good i feel and be grateful for it. i know many continued and additional blessings can come from recognizing our blessings and being grateful for them. it's when we take good things for granted that they can be neglected and taken away.


food dream

i can't remember what they were, but i know that many of my dreams at the end of day 6 were focused on food. i don't think they were focused on junk food. in fact, i think they were focused on meat. ha ha :) meat does seem to be the focus of my life. it makes more sense then the dream of my coworker and i stealing money!!


no cheating and no cravings

pleased to report another good day without cheating or desires to do so. boy, am i grateful for that, too!!

nutrition challenge - day 5

a good day!


clear and focused

although i woke up tired (i haven't been a morning person for years and years), my brain was clear! oh, it was so nice! after a few minutes of being up and about, i realized that i could focus and think really well.

that clarity and focus lasted all day. i stayed at work till about 7 or 7:30 and was able to focus the entire day and be very productive. it felt really good!


light and bouncy

i'm not sure if the light and bouncy phenomenon occurred only against the backdrop of feeling absolutely terrible for 2 days, but my body felt great! the only way i could describe it is light and bouncy. i felt like my body was smaller and lighter! i am not thinking that it actually was, but who cares?!? it felt so good!


energy abounds

whether i actually had extra energy, or i was just so happy that i wasn't sick, i seemed to have a ton of energy. i think my coworkers must have thought i was on drugs. nope! just meant, some fruit, and quite a few veggies.

the energy plus feeling light and bouncy truly made me want to skip about like a little child. (probably should add in there that i often have the intellect and desires of a little child, so perhaps that should be added into the equation!) i didn't skip, because i would have been embarrassed, but now that i think about it, i should have!


still no cheating and no cravings

i didn't cheat at all, and i haven't really craved anything. it's a lot easier to stay clean when you don't want to eat dirty. i'm grateful for that. i'm really shocked actually. i thought that after the march sugar binge of 2013, that i would not be doing very well and that the life long love of pasta would really be causing havoc on my cravings. so far so good. i won't count my chickens before they hatch, but i am grateful that they haven't been a problem thus far!

nutrition challenge - day 4

sick sick sick

after going to bed at 7 the night before, i woke up around 7 in the morning feeling... i've been hit by a freight train. my brain had a physical headache, and was very fuzzy when trying to think.

i expected this to hit sometime. after talking to my partner (who's done whole 30 before) and reading about results, this isn't such a surprise.

after a day home from work, getting some more healthy food in, and lots of rest, i started feeling better at the end of the day.

so i had a hit by a freight train body, another headache.

that was pretty much day 4!


no cheating

1 more day without any cheating. i still haven't had many cravings for anything weird!


weird dreams

i read about this, but thought it was fake. it isn't! i've been having such weird dreams. i can't remember any of them but one where my co worker and i were in some building breaking into an office. for some reason (not the reason we were there) my co worker broke into a safe (who knew she could do that?!). we found lots of money and stole it! definitely not my real life or real life thoughts! i'll try to be better about remembering dreams, cuz they are worth retelling!

nutrition challenge - day 3

oh so tired

i was behind in work (not due to this, just a busy day) so i wanted to stay late to hash everything out. at about 6, my brain wouldn't focus or even think anymore. all i wanted to do was sleep. i got home around 7 (not that long of a commute, a coworker was just talking with me) and immediately went to sleep. when brennen would wake me up (mostly offering to make me dinner if i wanted) i felt like i had been hit by a freight train and i couldn't really concentrate on anything, nor did i want to. i think i answered only "i don't know" to every question he asked.


the headache continues

i didn't fully lose the headache from day 2. it kept going throughout pretty much the entire day and anytime brennen would wake me up during my early bedtime.


not enough food

i went without any dinner. i didn't eat from about 2 in the afternoon on. i'm not thinking that's the best way to get healthy...

i just got involved in work and forgot about my healthy snack of almonds. i was hungry when i left work with plans to eat when i got home, but by the time i got home, nothing mattered except laying down.

at least i did eat a decent lunch after my noon workout.


no cravings

i don't know if i'm just too tired to think about sugar or anything, but i haven't had any cravings. i think that's weird, given what a sugar addict i am and the sugar binge i came off of on the weekend in preparation for this cleanse. i'm not complaining though!

i'm still not going to tempt fate! on day 1, brennen and i were watching tv and i decided to close my eyes on all food commercials. :) i feel like looking won't help anything and can only cause problems. i don't think i'd necessarily use this as a life lesson metaphor (close your eyes and all your problems go away!) but as far as controlling cravings, i don't want my mind on things that could cause me problems

nutrition challenge - day 2

day 2 was alright.

headache

so i did have a slight headache by the end of the day. i'm not sure if that has anything to do with withdrawals from sugar or if i just had a headache. my coworker has done this program before and noticed that because she was already susceptible to headaches, that she would get them more often at the beginning of the whole 30 cleanse.

my guess is that is what i'm going through, too.

tired

i was absolutely exhausted yesterday. i'm not sure if it's because of my body, or if just going through the emotional changes of how i view food and live my life:

my daily routine is tiring. most of you know, i'm not very culinary, and i don't like to cook. this cleanse requires that i get up early to make myself breakfast and prepare my work snacks and lunch. as soon as i get home, i have to think about what i'm going to eat for supper and i need to make sure i am going to have the food i need for the next day's breakfast and work.

i hope i'm tired because of my body, because if i'm already tired because of food preparation and life processes, this may be a bit of a long process! oh well, one day at a time, right?

in any case, i went to bed at about 8 last night. i got up around 7. i'm still a little tired.

minor cheat

i had a minor cheat resulting in 0 points for the day. i was upset last night and left the house without eating supper. which is dumb because i worked out after work and i hadn't eaten anything. i knew i had to eat, but that there was no fast food option. i could have gone to texas roadhouse or something but i didn't want to spend that much money.

i remembered something online about jerky being an okay option. so i went to the store and bought jerky. after i bought it, i looked at the ingredients and saw sugar. i ate it anyway cuz i was upset and felt i had no other option. after i ate it, i felt emotionally terrible. i shouldn't have cheated on day 2. i only ate until i felt satiated. i didn't eat a ton, but i still ate.

the jerky is now on brennen's desk.

one day at a time

i'm trying very hard today to not define myself by the mistake i made yesterday. i was accountable to my partner for what i did. she encouraged me and made me feel better. i do have my plan for today, and i will try to focus on the execution that plan. i need to forget about yesterday (except for the lessons learned) and just worry about today. that's the goal right?

nutrition challenge - day 1

3form bootcamp

3form is a pretty awesome company to work for. we have bootcamp classes every day on site. these classes are taught by a certified personal trainer and/or a certified crossfit instructor. most of our classes are crossfit style training. 3form invested quite a bit of money for equipment: olympic weights and pullup bars and med balls and all sorts of things that every crossfit gym has. i have access to all of this equipment and personal training for a mere $15 a month. it's fantastic!

i could blog every day about the things we do in class, but that's not the point of this blog series. if you're really interested you can check out our WODs (workout of the day) at http://fitness.3-form.com/. i post how i've done after every workout. (for the record, i sprained my ankle a little over a week ago, so i'm taking it easy for the moment.)

30 day nutrition challenge

my group is doing a 30 day nutrition challenge. yesterday was the first day. it's kind of based on a paleo/whole 30 diet.

the "rules" are that for 30 days you rid yourself of potential problem foods or addictive foods. all processed foods and sugars need to go. dairy and all grains need to go. no legumes or alcohol (not that i project problems for me to "give up" alcohol since i've been alcohol free for about... 28 1/2 years now). it's basically a lot of meat, a lot of veggies, and some fruit. if you eat well for the day, you get a point. if you have a little cheat, you get zero points. if you have a major cheat, you lose 5 points and you and your partner have to do 200 burpees. i do love pasta and cream sauces, but i don't want to make my partner and i do burpees! it's only 1 month, right?!

at the end of the 30 day cleanse, you can start slowly adding things back in (probably shouldn't add a lot of sugar or any processed foods) but you can add back in grains and dairy to see your tolerances and how your body reacts to them.

my first day

yesterday marked day 1 of the challenge. around 3 in the afternoon i had some sugar cravings, but i chalk that up to the fact that in preparation for this challenge i sugar loaded last weekend. stupid, but delicious! i have heard of the "paleo flu" and expect that to happen tomorrow or the next day as my body starts going through withdrawals.

i didn't cheat yesterday, but i can tell already that i'm pretty sick of meat. i don't eat that much meat generally. brennen is all for it! we went to the store and got some cheap steaks. he decided that we should probably do that every day. we tend to eat out a lot, and the steaks every day would be much cheaper than eating out. plus, his mom tells me that he pretty much loved meat from the moment he started eating solid foods.

all in all, day one (like most first days) went well. no cheating and only some small cravings.

one day at a time

i have decided that the only way this challenge/cleanse is going to actually happen for me is if i only focus on one day at a time. i tend to look long picture on things and get overwhelmed. yesterday went well, but today is today and that's what i'm going to think about.

... well, i'm going to think about that, and about how i hope neither my partner nor myself makes us do 200 burpees!