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Guest bfree11

Day 62 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: 2 eggs (was going straight to a yoga class)

Lunch: tofu stirfry with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and coconut aminos

Dinner: apple, almond butter, 1/2 bell pepper, kombucha

Exercise: Hot Power Flow (by far the hardest class because it combines the fast-paced flow with the heat, oh man!)

 

Yesterday I took before and after pictures to compare Day 0, Day 30, and Day 60. I saw some improvements in the pictures and was happy about that. I decided that I would only weigh myself if I saw a difference in my before and after pictures, that way I'd be sure to see pounds lost on the scale. I can feel that my stomach is smaller and that my clothes are looser, so I figured I'd see some nice weight loss on the scale after 30 more days of clean eating. NOPE. I was down ONE POUND. Over 30 days, ONE. STINKING. POUND. This just didn't add up for me because I know I'm eating well and exercising, how could that not reflect on the scale after 30 days? From Day 0 to Day 30, I lost 9 lb. This made sense to me because I was eating like crap before my Whole 30, so naturally when I made the switch, some weight came off. But after 30 more days, I would think the scale would continue to show weight loss, even if I am gaining muscle. 

 

I was convinced my scale was broken! I was so convinced, that I went to the hardest yoga class this morning just so I could use their scale there, and sure enough, my scale at home was right. In fact, on this scale, I had actually gained a pound. My sister found this just as perplexing as I did. We've both had success losing weight in the past and are nutrition focused. I really trust her opinions when it comes to this kind of stuff. Her and I spent an hour and a half (God bless her) on the phone today analyzing my current diet and exercise plan and seeing if there were any possible tweaks that could be made. I'm serious about changing old behaviors and making this a lifestyle change so that I can be a healthier person in general, but let's be real, I want to lose this weight too! After losing no weight in 30 days, I am open to trying a few tweaks to see if my body might run better a different way.

 

So here's the plan:

 

1. No snacking at work or elsewhere on unhealthy snacky things. This is a firm rule, no exceptions.

2. Keep 6 days of yoga a week, but add 1 or 2 fast-paced bike rides as well.

3. Reduce fat intake slightly. No more clarified butter, just olive oil and coconut oil. 1/2 avocado a day max, be super careful with nuts.

4. Listen to body and eat less if I'm not feeling hungry. 

5. Don't follow Whole 30 meal template. Hear me out: I think I've been going overboard on veggies and forcing myself to eat too much sometimes when I'm not hungry just to follow the meal template, so I'm going to tweak this and observe how I do with it.

6. Incorporate in goat cheese (goat's milk is lactose free and I don't have stomach issues with it) and Siggi's yogurt (recommended by my sister)

7. Main protein sources: chicken, lean beef, organic tofu (it doesn't hurt my stomach and I don't like a lot of meats, so it's good to have another protein source), Siggi's yogurt, eggs.

 

So my meal plan looks like this:

 

Breakfast: 2 eggs, Siggi's yogurt, berries - Notice there are no veggies here. I want to see what that feels like for me.

Lunch: salad with avocado, nuts, seeds, chicken, veggies, balsamic & oil, kombucha - This is where I'll be guaranteed to get a few servings of veggies in and healthy fats. 

Dinner: tofu sirfry, cauliflower pizza with goat cheese, spaghetti squash with chicken and broccoli, etc. - Basically Whole 30, but I'm not going to force myself to have meat on the cauliflower pizza if I don't want to. I'm going to listen to my body.

 

So there you have it. That's my plan. I'll give it a try for this 3rd month and see how it goes. I'm really excited about it! I have to find what works for me. I'm still not adding in any grains, sugar (besides the sugar in the yogurt), treats, or alcohol. It's not too far off from Whole 30, but I think it addresses some particular things that weren't working for me. Time will tell!

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Congratulations with sticking with this for 2 months!   Question for you, I noticed that a lot of your breakfasts were eggs and a hot dog. May I ask which brand?  I'm thinking that might be more cost effective than bacon or steak. I could just stick to eggs and veggies. Although I'm only on my third day and I'm already tired of eggs and spinach. :P

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Congratulations with sticking with this for 2 months!   Question for you, I noticed that a lot of your breakfasts were eggs and a hot dog. May I ask which brand?  I'm thinking that might be more cost effective than bacon or steak. I could just stick to eggs and veggies. Although I'm only on my third day and I'm already tired of eggs and spinach. :P

 

Thank you, and congrats to you for choosing to make your health a priority! You're going to love the way you look and feel with Whole 30! You can do it! I buy Applegate Farms hot dogs. You can find them at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, probably at other places too. They've become pretty mainstream. 

 

http://www.applegate.com/products/natural-uncured-beef-hot-dog 

 

They're grass-fed and Whole 30 approved. 

 

Let me know if I can help you with anything else along your journey!

 

Rebecca

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Thank you, and congrats to you for choosing to make your health a priority! You're going to love the way you look and feel with Whole 30! You can do it! I buy Applegate Farms hot dogs. You can find them at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, probably at other places too. They've become pretty mainstream. 

 

http://www.applegate.com/products/natural-uncured-beef-hot-dog 

 

They're grass-fed and Whole 30 approved. 

 

Let me know if I can help you with anything else along your journey!

 

Rebecca

 

Sweet!  There is a Trader Joes near me so I will look out for those. Thanks for the advice.  I can't wait to try them. :)

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Day 63 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: Siggi's plain yogurt, berries, chia seeds, 2 eggs

Lunch: Tofu stir-fry leftovers, 1/2 bell pepper, kombucha

Dinner: Cauliflower Pizza! made with goat cheese, cauliflower, tomato sauce (sugar/chemical free), onions, and garlic

Exercise: 9 mile bike ride

 

Eating was so much fun today! I felt like I could eat whatever I wanted, without having to be so rigid about vegetable, protein, and fat ratios at each meal. The yogurt didn't upset my stomach and neither did the goat cheese, phew! Eating plenty of vegetables and protein is still important to me, but if one of my 3 meals doesn't have vegetables or meat, I'm okay with that. 

 

I'm proud to announce that I didn't finish my lunch or my dinner because I had the discipline to stop when I was full! This is something I've struggled with my entire life. The cauliflower pizza is great because the crust is so dense and filling that it's hard to have the appetite to eat too many pieces. Out of the 9 little square pieces, I had 3 and felt totally satisfied! It made me realize how lame grains are because they don't fill you up fast enough so it's easy to just keep eating more. That's why I can eat tons of regular pizza or crackers without getting full for awhile. 

 

I feel really hopeful about the future now that I've made these tweaks. I also noticed that I had zero cravings today because I was excited about what I was eating and felt satiated. I'm so excited to see how much progress I can make in the next few months. I remember weighing 260 lb back in 2008, and just wanting to be under 200 lb so badly. Now I'm about 173, and the end feels so near! I don't even know what my body would look like if I were thin, I can't even imagine! 

 

It also just feels so good to be "healthy." I love that people consider me a healthy person. My thin friends at work still look to me for nutrition and fitness advice and think I'm so disciplined! I'm looking forward to having my outside match my inside. I watch my good friend at work sneak pastries and crave french fries everyday. She is always tired and doesn't feel well. She's also in complete denial about her eating habits. I used to be there, I remember it vividly and I'm just so thankful that those days are over for me! 

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Guest bfree11

Day 63 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: Siggi's plain yogurt, berries, chia seeds, 2 eggs

Lunch: Tofu stir-fry leftovers, 1/2 bell pepper, kombucha

Dinner: Cauliflower Pizza! made with goat cheese, cauliflower, tomato sauce (sugar/chemical free), onions, and garlic

Exercise: 9 mile bike ride

 

Eating was so much fun today! I felt like I could eat whatever I wanted, without having to be so rigid about vegetable, protein, and fat ratios at each meal. The yogurt didn't upset my stomach and neither did the goat cheese, phew! Eating plenty of vegetables and protein is still important to me, but if one of my 3 meals doesn't have vegetables or meat, I'm okay with that. 

 

I'm proud to announce that I didn't finish my lunch or my dinner because I had the discipline to stop when I was full! This is something I've struggled with my entire life. The cauliflower pizza is great because the crust is so dense and filling that it's hard to have the appetite to eat too many pieces. Out of the 9 little square pieces, I had 3 and felt totally satisfied! It made me realize how lame grains are because they don't fill you up fast enough so it's easy to just keep eating more. That's why I can eat tons of regular pizza or crackers without getting full for awhile. 

 

I feel really hopeful about the future now that I've made these tweaks. I also noticed that I had zero cravings today because I was excited about what I was eating and felt satiated. I'm so excited to see how much progress I can make in the next few months. I remember weighing 260 lb back in 2008, and just wanting to be under 200 lb so badly. Now I'm about 173, and the end feels so near! I don't even know what my body would look like if I were thin, I can't even imagine! 

 

It also just feels so good to be "healthy." I love that people consider me a healthy person. My thin friends at work still look to me for nutrition and fitness advice and think I'm so disciplined! I'm looking forward to having my outside match my inside. I watch my good friend at work sneak pastries and crave french fries everyday. She is always tired and doesn't feel well. She's also in complete denial about her eating habits. I used to be there, I remember it vividly and I'm just so thankful that those days are over for me! 

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Man, I am such a creature of habit. So I've been MIA because my work schedule has changed temporarily. I"m used to getting into work, having breakfast at my desk and going through the forum. I'm now not going into work until later in the day, I'm not working out of my office but in this giant room with dozens of other people so I don't pull anything personal up on my screen. Also, my meals have been soooo messed up! Technically my shifts are shorter than normal (working about 130pm-8 at the latest), but the second I get into work I start eating. I have been CONSUMED by the sugar dragon.. not even exaggerating, I've gone through a bag of gummi bears every single day. I can't even get into the other crap that I've been eating from the numerous snack bars. My biggest mistake early on was not figuring out how to best combat a new work environment. I thought I did an ok job of planning out meals, but since I'm waking up later I'm eating lunch too early which makes me hungry at work, and I thought I'd be eating dinner at work but most of the time I'm getting out with enough time to come home and have dinner, so I feel so out of whack! I'm also working through the weekend, so today will be my 15th day at work straight.. wah.

 

Everything you said about not missing breakfast is SO TRUE! I gave the hubs the meal plan for the week, but because of the wonky schedule we still had food in the house on Friday when he normally goes food shopping. The problem was... I ran out of eggs and he didn't go to the store to get more. Come breakfast this weekend I had nothing to eat, so that made me grab more unhealthy food at our shoppette before going into work. Yesterday I decided to introduce quinoa so I made that into my breakfast (German grocery stores aren't open on Sundays). Luckily we now have eggs in the house and I had breakfast so hopefully today won't be too terrible.

 

Quinoa reintroduction: I've also thought that quinoa bothered my stomach.. not so much with pain but with how I feel the next day. I never reintroduced quinoa since I eliminated it in my first round in February mainly bc I was scared to so i knew I had to this time to know for sure. I had some at all 3 meals, and during and after I felt alright. This morning I woke up with a slight headache, but my stomach is a little off... I'm sure part of it is from the quinoa but I"m trying to do my best to not make up symptoms because I think they might be there. I think I'll know best by the end of today.

 

Tracking: I'm glad you took another round of pictures, I took a photo from the end of this 30 and the beginning of my journey in January. Just looking at my recent photo I am like eh not a big deal, but putting the two next to each other I can actually see the difference and its pretty incredible. As far as the scale goes... I have gained a pound in the past 30 days, that is all. I'm ok with that because I've added in some not so good foods and I need to get that back under control. For you... the pound you "gained' is probably a) because you weighed yourself later in the day and/or B) because you are adding in some muscle with all the yoga you're doing. I can't really speak to why you may not be losing additional pounds, but if you think your clothes are fitting better then yes, you're doing something right!

 

My only thoughts on your new rules are about the fats and the veggies. I really do find that making sure i have enough fat at meals keeps me from being too hungry. I don't know if you've been overdoing it in your meals, but make sure to have at least some with every meal. Prior to my whole 30 I knew avocado was a "healthy" fat, but I really had no idea why we needed them and the difference i feel when I include them in a meal. I can also understand what you mean about forcing yourself to eat more food than you actually think you need. My own opinion (not right just mine) when I see people say that is to keep the ratios of meat to veggies to fat but scale the portion size down. Or maybe I've just been following the meal template wrong.  I've been having some sort of a meat, typically about 1/4 lb uncooked, plus veggies and a small salad. Usually my fat is on my salad in the form of olives and avocado. When I'm hungry, I don't like to increase the meat size just the amount of veggies I'm eating. During my 30 I never felt like I was forcing myself to eat, I think I just scaled the template down to what the portion size is for me.

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Guest bfree11

Day 64 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: Siggi's coconut yogurt, chia seeds, like 4 berries, 2 eggs with onions and garlic, black coffee

Lunch: My typical salad with chicken, avocado, veggies, balsamic & oil

Dinner: Leftover cauliflower pizza

Post Dinner Drink: 1/2 glass red wine

Exercise: Hot Yoga

 

I wasn't super hungry when i woke up, but I know how important breakfast is, so I ate it anyway. The flavored Siggis have cane sugar in them and my taste buds were in complete shock when I had my first few bites. I hadn't had something that sweet in a long time! I like it, but it just took a little getting used to! I think in the future, I'll stick to the plain ones or maybe a flavor that's less sweet. It's funny, I used to love sweet things, but now the flavor just feels so intense! To be honest, my stomach hurt the whole rest of the day. My stomach just felt kind of off. Then it finally went away, but after eating more cauliflower pizza for dinner, the feeling came back again! I wonder if adding goat cheese AND yogurt back into my routine was just a little much for my system to process? I'm going to stick with the yogurts, but limit the goat cheese and see if that helps. I really think it was just too much goat cheese because the yogurt didn't bother me the day before. 

 

Now for the good stuff. I went on a DATE tonight. I met the guy online and he talked about being a craft beer guy and asked me if I wanted to go to this place called World of Beer for our date. Ugh. I would have so much rather had a cup of tea somewhere or gone for a walk. I don't even like beer so it's not worth the sugar, gluten, etc. to me. Plus, weight loss is my focus, and I really don't have interest in drinking right now. I felt bad shutting down his idea because I didn't want to seem like I was high maintenance or stuck up, but if I'm going to drink, I want it to be a nice glass of red wine! I was assertive and told him, and he didn't mind at all and picked a way better place where we both were happy. The bartender poured me the tiniest glass of merlot, it was like she read my mind. I slowly sipped it while he had 2 beers. 

 

It got me thinking. I get that going out for a drink is s normal thing in our society, especially for a first date. I suppose I could have ordered something non-alcoholic, but I also didn't want to make him feel bad for drinking or feel like I was lame for not drinking. I know the "right guy" wouldn't judge me or be uncomfortable with it, but I still felt like I had to order an alcoholic beverage. I was kind of annoyed about having to go out on a date. It messed with my routine and caused me to have to drink something that I didn't really want to drink. It truly made me realize how important it is to me to be with someone who is health-conscious. I've always gravitated toward men who were out of shape so that I wouldn't feel so fat, but now, I'm starting to feel differently! I looked at this guy tonight, and I thought, man, you should take better care of your body! ...who am I? I would have never thought this in the past. I definitely don't want to date a beach bod, model type, who's obsessed with going to the gym, but there's gotta be a dude out there that enjoys living a healthy lifestyle, right???! If you find a single one, send him my way! :)

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Guest bfree11

Day 64 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: Siggi's coconut yogurt, chia seeds, like 4 berries, 2 eggs with onions and garlic, black coffee

Lunch: My typical salad with chicken, avocado, veggies, balsamic & oil

Dinner: Leftover cauliflower pizza

Post Dinner Drink: 1/2 glass red wine

Exercise: Hot Yoga

 

I wasn't super hungry when i woke up, but I know how important breakfast is, so I ate it anyway. The flavored Siggis have cane sugar in them and my taste buds were in complete shock when I had my first few bites. I hadn't had something that sweet in a long time! I like it, but it just took a little getting used to! I think in the future, I'll stick to the plain ones or maybe a flavor that's less sweet. It's funny, I used to love sweet things, but now the flavor just feels so intense! To be honest, my stomach hurt the whole rest of the day. My stomach just felt kind of off. Then it finally went away, but after eating more cauliflower pizza for dinner, the feeling came back again! I wonder if adding goat cheese AND yogurt back into my routine was just a little much for my system to process? I'm going to stick with the yogurts, but limit the goat cheese and see if that helps. I really think it was just too much goat cheese because the yogurt didn't bother me the day before. 

 

Now for the good stuff. I went on a DATE tonight. I met the guy online and he talked about being a craft beer guy and asked me if I wanted to go to this place called World of Beer for our date. Ugh. I would have so much rather had a cup of tea somewhere or gone for a walk. I don't even like beer so it's not worth the sugar, gluten, etc. to me. Plus, weight loss is my focus, and I really don't have interest in drinking right now. I felt bad shutting down his idea because I didn't want to seem like I was high maintenance or stuck up, but if I'm going to drink, I want it to be a nice glass of red wine! I was assertive and told him, and he didn't mind at all and picked a way better place where we both were happy. The bartender poured me the tiniest glass of merlot, it was like she read my mind. I slowly sipped it while he had 2 beers. 

 

It got me thinking. I get that going out for a drink is s normal thing in our society, especially for a first date. I suppose I could have ordered something non-alcoholic, but I also didn't want to make him feel bad for drinking or feel like I was lame for not drinking. I know the "right guy" wouldn't judge me or be uncomfortable with it, but I still felt like I had to order an alcoholic beverage. I was kind of annoyed about having to go out on a date. It messed with my routine and caused me to have to drink something that I didn't really want to drink. It truly made me realize how important it is to me to be with someone who is health-conscious. I've always gravitated toward men who were out of shape so that I wouldn't feel so fat, but now, I'm starting to feel differently! I looked at this guy tonight, and I thought, man, you should take better care of your body! ...who am I? I would have never thought this in the past. I definitely don't want to date a beach bod, model type, who's obsessed with going to the gym, but there's gotta be a dude out there that enjoys living a healthy lifestyle, right???! If you find a single one, send him my way!  :)

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Man, I am such a creature of habit. So I've been MIA because my work schedule has changed temporarily. I"m used to getting into work, having breakfast at my desk and going through the forum. I'm now not going into work until later in the day, I'm not working out of my office but in this giant room with dozens of other people so I don't pull anything personal up on my screen. Also, my meals have been soooo messed up! Technically my shifts are shorter than normal (working about 130pm-8 at the latest), but the second I get into work I start eating. I have been CONSUMED by the sugar dragon.. not even exaggerating, I've gone through a bag of gummi bears every single day. I can't even get into the other crap that I've been eating from the numerous snack bars. My biggest mistake early on was not figuring out how to best combat a new work environment. I thought I did an ok job of planning out meals, but since I'm waking up later I'm eating lunch too early which makes me hungry at work, and I thought I'd be eating dinner at work but most of the time I'm getting out with enough time to come home and have dinner, so I feel so out of whack! I'm also working through the weekend, so today will be my 15th day at work straight.. wah.

 

Everything you said about not missing breakfast is SO TRUE! I gave the hubs the meal plan for the week, but because of the wonky schedule we still had food in the house on Friday when he normally goes food shopping. The problem was... I ran out of eggs and he didn't go to the store to get more. Come breakfast this weekend I had nothing to eat, so that made me grab more unhealthy food at our shoppette before going into work. Yesterday I decided to introduce quinoa so I made that into my breakfast (German grocery stores aren't open on Sundays). Luckily we now have eggs in the house and I had breakfast so hopefully today won't be too terrible.

 

Quinoa reintroduction: I've also thought that quinoa bothered my stomach.. not so much with pain but with how I feel the next day. I never reintroduced quinoa since I eliminated it in my first round in February mainly bc I was scared to so i knew I had to this time to know for sure. I had some at all 3 meals, and during and after I felt alright. This morning I woke up with a slight headache, but my stomach is a little off... I'm sure part of it is from the quinoa but I"m trying to do my best to not make up symptoms because I think they might be there. I think I'll know best by the end of today.

 

Tracking: I'm glad you took another round of pictures, I took a photo from the end of this 30 and the beginning of my journey in January. Just looking at my recent photo I am like eh not a big deal, but putting the two next to each other I can actually see the difference and its pretty incredible. As far as the scale goes... I have gained a pound in the past 30 days, that is all. I'm ok with that because I've added in some not so good foods and I need to get that back under control. For you... the pound you "gained' is probably a) because you weighed yourself later in the day and/or B) because you are adding in some muscle with all the yoga you're doing. I can't really speak to why you may not be losing additional pounds, but if you think your clothes are fitting better then yes, you're doing something right!

 

My only thoughts on your new rules are about the fats and the veggies. I really do find that making sure i have enough fat at meals keeps me from being too hungry. I don't know if you've been overdoing it in your meals, but make sure to have at least some with every meal. Prior to my whole 30 I knew avocado was a "healthy" fat, but I really had no idea why we needed them and the difference i feel when I include them in a meal. I can also understand what you mean about forcing yourself to eat more food than you actually think you need. My own opinion (not right just mine) when I see people say that is to keep the ratios of meat to veggies to fat but scale the portion size down. Or maybe I've just been following the meal template wrong.  I've been having some sort of a meat, typically about 1/4 lb uncooked, plus veggies and a small salad. Usually my fat is on my salad in the form of olives and avocado. When I'm hungry, I don't like to increase the meat size just the amount of veggies I'm eating. During my 30 I never felt like I was forcing myself to eat, I think I just scaled the template down to what the portion size is for me.

 

Thanks for your advice on my new rules, that was so helpful! I think you're right! I'm going to take your advice and try scaling down the template, good idea! I'm so sorry that you've had to work so much lately, that's no fun! I can't imagine how hard sit must be to stay on track with that kind of routine. That's why I think it's so great that we write about our experiences. Just admitting it and putting it out there forces you to reflect on what's working and what's not working. I know you'll get back into your groove when things mellow out and you'll learn of ton of lessons along the way! You can do this, I'm cheering for you!

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Rebecca oh my gosh thank you for posting this! I can so relate to the inner turmoil of trying to eat everything in moderation like those other people do...I have never been able to do that! I too am all in this and seeing this IS the way for ME. Gosh I really like your calendar too! I don't remember reading that days 10-11 are the hardest. This is day 10 for me and tonight has been HARD!! I think I'm going to bed to put myself out of my misery...I am looking forward to my morning coffee. Thank you for helping me feel a part of with your post. I too am trying to engage in the community this time (did it once last year too). I want to change and have it stick. Have a good night! You got it girl!

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Blah dating is hard. I met my husband online... our first date was a coffee place (we lived outside of Seattle, how cliché), but it went well so we ended the date at a bar. At that time I was no where near as health conscious as I am today, but I think there is a delicate balance of staying true to your nature, but not overwhelming someone on Day 1 with all of our "crazy". My husband has been along for the ride and has been very supportive of all my ups and downs, but I think if I met him today with all my crazy restrictions he would probably have shied away. I think its great you changed the scene from World of Beer (and I've totally been to one of those) to a place where you can enjoy a drink as well. I think people go towards places like a bar because they're public, its a social event, and the alcohol will loosen you up. However, I think there are roundabout ways to stick with our rules without being overwhelming. I don't drink beer here in Germany, and everyone thinks I'm crazy. Rather than going into my entire backstory with everyone I know, I give a short, "the gluten in beer makes my belly hurt so I try to stick to the wine" and suddenly everyone is cool.

 

Another thought to add to this point is how much of our "social" events revolve around eating. Oh, theres someone I haven't seen in awhile and I'd like to get together... what do we do? We go out for dinner and drinks! I read an article or listened to a podcast on this awhile ago and it never really occurred to me... I enjoy being social and going out, but if you do it a lot and you treat every outing like a special event you're going to overdo it. We haven't made a lot of friends here yet so I've been trying to think of non-food/drink related things we can do to meet up.

 

Now onto my rules... I like that you laid out some new rules for your lifestyle to reign yourself in, and I felt like that was a good step. I've found that I really like the primal idea of eating going forward (reading on marksdailyapple.com or listening to the primal blueprint podcast). Its paleo but with some allowable dairy, some local honey, etc,

 

- No grains (Keep on making Cauli rice in place of regular (except for the rare sushi dinner), salads in place of tortillas for tacos/fajitas... maybe an occasional corn tortilla but chips are foods without brakes)

- Limit Legumes- beans bothered my belly so chili in the future is out, but if beans are in something otherwise good and "compliant" I'll have to see if its worth having a small amount

- Real dairy in small doses- This means GOOD cheese, and only in something where you can taste it, no toppings for anything. Almond or coconut milk instead of milk or cream, BUT maybe some real ice cream every once in awhile, but try to have fruit sorbet if tempted

- No added sugars - I've let up on this rule post-Whole 30 but we still need to stick to this. I'm using local honey in place of sweeteners if I need it when cooking

- Wine 1x week- No wine on worknights, but cracking open a bottle on a Saturday with the hubs will make it more enjoyable

- Limit soy- no tofu, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, edamame when going out for sushi, and if its in my can of tuna so be it

- Dinner (and lunch leftovers) will have two veggies plus a fat

 

Other notes-- I'm eliminating nut as much as possible, they totally tear up my stomach but I'm not making it a rule because every time I have them I learn my lesson. I also need to get a reign on snacking, but due to my meal timing its inevitable, so I need to be proactive with what I choose.. like hard-boiled eggs in the afternoon or something. I'm also trying to add homebrewed kombucha to my regimen, I can't brew enough of it to have it every day but I'm getting in the swing of it now and I really enjoy it.  

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Guest bfree11

Rebecca oh my gosh thank you for posting this! I can so relate to the inner turmoil of trying to eat everything in moderation like those other people do...I have never been able to do that! I too am all in this and seeing this IS the way for ME. Gosh I really like your calendar too! I don't remember reading that days 10-11 are the hardest. This is day 10 for me and tonight has been HARD!! I think I'm going to bed to put myself out of my misery...I am looking forward to my morning coffee. Thank you for helping me feel a part of with your post. I too am trying to engage in the community this time (did it once last year too). I want to change and have it stick. Have a good night! You got it girl!

 

Hey Camille! I'm so happy you found my posts! On my calendar, I added the titles of each of the "phases of the Whole 30" from the book so that it would remind me to go and read that part on that day. I kept those pages bookmarked and would read it and feel super validated. I think it's awesome that you're getting involved in the Whole 30 community this time around. I can't tell you how amazing these people are! The moderators are so supportive and give great advice and it's so nice to know that you're not alone! Today is my 65th day of clean eating and I'm STILL here giving and receiving support. Keeps my head in the game! We are so awesome for respecting our bodies enough to make these changes toward a healthier life! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help you on your journey! :) 

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Guest bfree11

Day 65 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: plain siggi yogurt, berries, 2 eggs with onions and garlic, black coffee, ginger kombucha

LunchMy typical salad with chicken, avocado, veggies, balsamic & oil, kombucha (I rarely have it twice in one day, but I was still feeling weird tummy stuff and it helped a lot!)

Dinner: spaghetti squash, broccoli, onions, chicken, red kale, tomato sauce (thanks to the best sister ever for another great meal idea!), apple, 1 tbsp almond butter (I ended up not eating all of my meal so that I could save room for the apple and almond butter)

Exercise: Power Flow (I can officially do real, strict push-ups for the first time in my life!!! I added them to my vinyasa sequence!)

 

My stomach felt a tiny bit off this morning, but not as bad as the day before. I think it's because I went from having no dairy whatsoever, to having yogurt and goat cheese. I felt much better after breakfast. I don't think I need to remove the yogurt or goat cheese from my diet, but I will try to have small doses of it. For example, I would have liked to add some goat cheese to my salad at lunch or to my spaghetti squash at dinner, but I decided to give my body a little break. Maybe I'll add a little to my dinner tomorrow and see how I feel. Baby steps! I never used to listen to my body or trust my body. Now I really pay attention to how foods make me feel and make feeling good a priority in my life!

 

As I mentioned in the exercise section above, I did legit push-ups tonight! I didn't test to see how many I can string together in a row, but I suspect I can only do one or two consecutively for now. When I used to try to do a push-up, my entire body would just collapse to the floor. It was just too much weight for my arms to handle and I had very little core strength. Starting today, I decided to incorporate a push-up or two into my vinyasa flow. This means that every time we flow (could be like 20 times in a class), I go from Plank, to strict Push-Up (elbows going back, not out to the sides), then Up Dog, then maybe one more quick Push-Up, and then Down Dog. By the end of class tonight my biceps were jello! I really feel like I'm becoming athletic! Woohoo! I just can't wait to see what I can do in a year...

 

And now for a few words about confidence and self-esteem. It's easy to go through life with a lack of confidence and low self-esteem when you're overweight. Especially during adolescence, omg, it was the worst. The way I used to eat was unhealthy and I wasn't treating my body with respect. It was just a cyclical mess of self-hatred and junk food. Now, after 65 days of consistently treating my body with respect when eating, it's sort of affecting the way I feel about myself. Of course losing weight and looking thinner helps boost my confidence, but even just the action of repeatedly eating clean meals and exercising consistently has slowly changed the way I view myself. I mentioned yesterday that I went on a first date. As a 27-year-old single girl who has had low self-esteem her whole life, I worry a lot about whether or not I'll ever find someone to settle down with. In the past, I've settled for not-so-great guys that I wasn't even interested in because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find anyone else.

 

When I look back at the series of events that have occurred since the beginning of my date last night, it has come to my attention that I quite possibly may have gained some self-esteem and confidence! When I met the guy, I immediately could tell that I wasn't attracted to him, but I didn't want to be superficial, so I tried to keep an open mind and give him a chance. As the date continued, it became evident that this guy was not for me. I was polite, humored him, offered to pay for my drink, thanked him when he insisted on paying, and then went home, relieved that it was over! He was a very nice person, but I finally gave myself permission to be a little selective and be okay with not feeling compatible someone. I realized that this means that I've gotten to know myself a lot better and have a stronger idea of who I am and what I like and dislike. 

 

Of course this guy writes me a very sweet text message this morning saying how wonderful of a time he had and asking if I'd like to go for a bike ride this weekend. Now the guilt starts flowing through me, especially because he mentions a healthy activity for us to do together, which totally shows that he paid attention to my interests. However, I'm telling you, there was zero chemistry on my end! The very same coworkers who helped me decided whether or not I should meet this guy the day before were once again recruited to help me figure out what to do now! (I'm lucky to work with the most amazing people EVER.) The debate was about how to respond to his text. We decided that my choices were to either "ghost" him (a term my coworkers used to describe ignoring his message and not responding) or to be honest and tell him I'm not interested. AHH! He really was a nice guy, so I felt badly "ghosting" him, but I was WAY too scared to be honest with him. My boss's wife, who is retired but helps out at work for fun, finally decided to write her own response to him and send it! But first, she challenged me to think about why it was so scary to tell him how I felt. It finally occurred to me that I had never really told a guy how I honestly felt before. I never had enough confidence to stick up for me and my feelings! Until now!

 

Here's the message we sent him: "It was a pleasant evening and I appreciate your time, but I do not see a relationship going forward."

 

I was freaked out. I thought it was so cold and mean. My boss's wife felt that it was direct, left no hope that he could grasp onto, and was honest. She said to treat him like a vendor that we aren't interested in doing business with! I never felt like I was worthy or rejecting someone. I've always felt like I should just be lucky that someone is even giving me the time of day. This was a huge step for me and I really appreciated the push I got from my friends. He responded and actually thanked me for my honesty, but expressed that he was disappointed. Then he asked me if there was something in particular that I didn't like about him... I did not reply, and then a few minutes later he said that he changed his mind and that it was an unfair question to asked and just wished me luck and said goodbye. WOW! The whole thing was very intense. 

 

Now that I'm having some time to process what happened, I can see that healthy eating has become a catalyst for big, positive changes in my life. I'm starting to see that it's okay for me to be honest and direct with people, and I don't have to date someone just because I feel badly saying no and don't want to hurt their feelings. Phew. I'm so glad I'm gaining some self-confidence! 

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Guest bfree11

Day 65 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: plain siggi yogurt, berries, 2 eggs with onions and garlic, black coffee, ginger kombucha

Lunch: My typical salad with chicken, avocado, veggies, balsamic & oil, kombucha (I rarely have it twice in one day, but I was still feeling weird tummy stuff and it helped a lot!)

Dinner: spaghetti squash, broccoli, onions, chicken, red kale, tomato sauce (thanks to the best sister ever for another great meal idea!), apple, 1 tbsp almond butter (I ended up not eating all of my meal so that I could save room for the apple and almond butter)

Exercise: Power Flow (I can officially do real, strict push-ups for the first time in my life!!! I added them to my vinyasa sequence!)

 

My stomach felt a tiny bit off this morning, but not as bad as the day before. I think it's because I went from having no dairy whatsoever, to having yogurt and goat cheese. I felt much better after breakfast. I don't think I need to remove the yogurt or goat cheese from my diet, but I will try to have small doses of it. For example, I would have liked to add some goat cheese to my salad at lunch or to my spaghetti squash at dinner, but I decided to give my body a little break. Maybe I'll add a little to my dinner tomorrow and see how I feel. Baby steps! I never used to listen to my body or trust my body. Now I really pay attention to how foods make me feel and make feeling good a priority in my life!

 

As I mentioned in the exercise section above, I did legit push-ups tonight! I didn't test to see how many I can string together in a row, but I suspect I can only do one or two consecutively for now. When I used to try to do a push-up, my entire body would just collapse to the floor. It was just too much weight for my arms to handle and I had very little core strength. Starting today, I decided to incorporate a push-up or two into my vinyasa flow. This means that every time we flow (could be like 20 times in a class), I go from Plank, to strict Push-Up (elbows going back, not out to the sides), then Up Dog, then maybe one more quick Push-Up, and then Down Dog. By the end of class tonight my biceps were jello! I really feel like I'm becoming athletic! Woohoo! I just can't wait to see what I can do in a year...

 

And now for a few words about confidence and self-esteem. It's easy to go through life with a lack of confidence and low self-esteem when you're overweight. Especially during adolescence, omg, it was the worst. The way I used to eat was unhealthy and I wasn't treating my body with respect. It was just a cyclical mess of self-hatred and junk food. Now, after 65 days of consistently treating my body with respect when eating, it's sort of affecting the way I feel about myself. Of course losing weight and looking thinner helps boost my confidence, but even just the action of repeatedly eating clean meals and exercising consistently has slowly changed the way I view myself. I mentioned yesterday that I went on a first date. As a 27-year-old single girl who has had low self-esteem her whole life, I worry a lot about whether or not I'll ever find someone to settle down with. In the past, I've settled for not-so-great guys that I wasn't even interested in because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find anyone else.

 

When I look back at the series of events that have occurred since the beginning of my date last night, it has come to my attention that I quite possibly may have gained some self-esteem and confidence! When I met the guy, I immediately could tell that I wasn't attracted to him, but I didn't want to be superficial, so I tried to keep an open mind and give him a chance. As the date continued, it became evident that this guy was not for me. I was polite, humored him, offered to pay for my drink, thanked him when he insisted on paying, and then went home, relieved that it was over! He was a very nice person, but I finally gave myself permission to be a little selective and be okay with not feeling compatible someone. I realized that this means that I've gotten to know myself a lot better and have a stronger idea of who I am and what I like and dislike. 

 

Of course this guy writes me a very sweet text message this morning saying how wonderful of a time he had and asking if I'd like to go for a bike ride this weekend. Now the guilt starts flowing through me, especially because he mentions a healthy activity for us to do together, which totally shows that he paid attention to my interests. However, I'm telling you, there was zero chemistry on my end! The very same coworkers who helped me decided whether or not I should meet this guy the day before were once again recruited to help me figure out what to do now! (I'm lucky to work with the most amazing people EVER.) The debate was about how to respond to his text. We decided that my choices were to either "ghost" him (a term my coworkers used to describe ignoring his message and not responding) or to be honest and tell him I'm not interested. AHH! He really was a nice guy, so I felt badly "ghosting" him, but I was WAY too scared to be honest with him. My boss's wife, who is retired but helps out at work for fun, finally decided to write her own response to him and send it! But first, she challenged me to think about why it was so scary to tell him how I felt. It finally occurred to me that I had never really told a guy how I honestly felt before. I never had enough confidence to stick up for me and my feelings! Until now!

 

Here's the message we sent him: "It was a pleasant evening and I appreciate your time, but I do not see a relationship going forward."

 

I was freaked out. I thought it was so cold and mean. My boss's wife felt that it was direct, left no hope that he could grasp onto, and was honest. She said to treat him like a vendor that we aren't interested in doing business with! I never felt like I was worthy or rejecting someone. I've always felt like I should just be lucky that someone is even giving me the time of day. This was a huge step for me and I really appreciated the push I got from my friends. He responded and actually thanked me for my honesty, but expressed that he was disappointed. Then he asked me if there was something in particular that I didn't like about him... I did not reply, and then a few minutes later he said that he changed his mind and that it was an unfair question to asked and just wished me luck and said goodbye. WOW! The whole thing was very intense. 

 

Now that I'm having some time to process what happened, I can see that healthy eating has become a catalyst for big, positive changes in my life. I'm starting to see that it's okay for me to be honest and direct with people, and I don't have to date someone just because I feel badly saying no and don't want to hurt their feelings. Phew. I'm so glad I'm gaining some self-confidence! 

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Guest bfree11

Blah dating is hard. I met my husband online... our first date was a coffee place (we lived outside of Seattle, how cliché), but it went well so we ended the date at a bar. At that time I was no where near as health conscious as I am today, but I think there is a delicate balance of staying true to your nature, but not overwhelming someone on Day 1 with all of our "crazy". My husband has been along for the ride and has been very supportive of all my ups and downs, but I think if I met him today with all my crazy restrictions he would probably have shied away. I think its great you changed the scene from World of Beer (and I've totally been to one of those) to a place where you can enjoy a drink as well. I think people go towards places like a bar because they're public, its a social event, and the alcohol will loosen you up. However, I think there are roundabout ways to stick with our rules without being overwhelming. I don't drink beer here in Germany, and everyone thinks I'm crazy. Rather than going into my entire backstory with everyone I know, I give a short, "the gluten in beer makes my belly hurt so I try to stick to the wine" and suddenly everyone is cool.

 

Another thought to add to this point is how much of our "social" events revolve around eating. Oh, theres someone I haven't seen in awhile and I'd like to get together... what do we do? We go out for dinner and drinks! I read an article or listened to a podcast on this awhile ago and it never really occurred to me... I enjoy being social and going out, but if you do it a lot and you treat every outing like a special event you're going to overdo it. We haven't made a lot of friends here yet so I've been trying to think of non-food/drink related things we can do to meet up.

 

Now onto my rules... I like that you laid out some new rules for your lifestyle to reign yourself in, and I felt like that was a good step. I've found that I really like the primal idea of eating going forward (reading on marksdailyapple.com or listening to the primal blueprint podcast). Its paleo but with some allowable dairy, some local honey, etc,

 

- No grains (Keep on making Cauli rice in place of regular (except for the rare sushi dinner), salads in place of tortillas for tacos/fajitas... maybe an occasional corn tortilla but chips are foods without brakes)

- Limit Legumes- beans bothered my belly so chili in the future is out, but if beans are in something otherwise good and "compliant" I'll have to see if its worth having a small amount

- Real dairy in small doses- This means GOOD cheese, and only in something where you can taste it, no toppings for anything. Almond or coconut milk instead of milk or cream, BUT maybe some real ice cream every once in awhile, but try to have fruit sorbet if tempted

- No added sugars - I've let up on this rule post-Whole 30 but we still need to stick to this. I'm using local honey in place of sweeteners if I need it when cooking

- Wine 1x week- No wine on worknights, but cracking open a bottle on a Saturday with the hubs will make it more enjoyable

- Limit soy- no tofu, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, edamame when going out for sushi, and if its in my can of tuna so be it

- Dinner (and lunch leftovers) will have two veggies plus a fat

 

Other notes-- I'm eliminating nut as much as possible, they totally tear up my stomach but I'm not making it a rule because every time I have them I learn my lesson. I also need to get a reign on snacking, but due to my meal timing its inevitable, so I need to be proactive with what I choose.. like hard-boiled eggs in the afternoon or something. I'm also trying to add homebrewed kombucha to my regimen, I can't brew enough of it to have it every day but I'm getting in the swing of it now and I really enjoy it.  

 

That's so cool that you met your husband online! That gives me some hope! There's gotta be a health-conscious guy out there for me somewhere! (I hope!).

 

I LOVE your rules! It's so nice to have some solid structure to follow. You're gonna do great with that, nice work! Mmm kombucha, yum! What do you put in yours? I've never made it!

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I'm jealous whenever I see anyone post spaghetti squash... I miss pasta hard and would love to use it as a replacement but I have not found Spaghetti squash in the markets here since we got here, no joke! To be honest, I'm so brainwashed with America's import system that I have no idea what vegetables belong to what season, but in Germany you can only buy things that are in season locally, so we'll plan on a certain veggie and it won't be in the stores. I searched for Brussels spouts for the longest time before someone was like ah yeah you'll need to wait two more seasons for those.

 

I really know what you mean about self-esteem, especially in college, I felt really bad. I played rugby in college and loved it, some of my friends were overweight like me but they were powerhouses, but my best friends were flipping in shape and beautiful, I always felt out of place and needed attention. I'll never forget, this one time we had to run around campus for practice and I was running down a major street and someone yelled at the window making fun of me for how slow I was running. I'm pretty sure I ended up in tears, but it wasn't enough to make me change my habits... I'm sure I ended that day with alcohol instead. I've become a lot kinder to myself, trying to appreciate what I'm able to do, and not beat myself up over my faults. After college before I met my husband I can't believe the guys I went out on dates with, not that they were "bad" guys.. but they weren't right for me. I remember one particular guy I always knew I didn't see a future with but I just didn't want to be alone, so we kept hanging out... he would have been a fun friend, but not a potential mate. Good for you for not ghosting that guy, even if you needed help sending the blunt answer. I'm also glad he changed his mind on asking something like that!

 

Ok so onto my kombucha... I never had kombucha before 2 months ago. My husband and I used to make fun of my best friend for drinking it. I'd heard it was good for you but tasted terrible so I never desired to pay $3 or more to try it. But when I started this journey I was like I want to try it, I want to get my stomach aligned properly... well of course, living in a foreign country, I can't find it anywhere! So I had this bright idea of, well let me try to brew it myself...and seriously its so easy. If you drink a lot of it, you should invest in doing it yourself. You need to buy some containers, tea and the SCOBY for brewing... and then the brewing process is as easy as making tea, letting it cool, and putting it in your container (very simplified I know). When its done brewing and time for bottling, I've flavored with strawberry mint (my fav), strawberry ginger mint, lemon ginger, and mixed berry. They've all been really good, and not overwhelmingly fruity. My husband thinks its gross, and I admit the SCOBY itself is really weird, but I love popping open a bottle at night, I've put it in a wine glass and the hubs has made fun of me, but I can drink it when he has a cocktail and its great!

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Guest bfree11

Day 66 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Siggi yogurt (tastes exactly like pumpkin cheesecake, omg), a few berries

Lunchsalad with chicken, avocado, veggies, nuts & seeds, balsamic & oil, kombucha

Snack: grass-fed sugar-free beef jerky, protein bar

Dinner: spaghetti squash, chicken, broccoli, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, red kale, tbsp goat cheese

Exercise: Hot yoga

 

​I had to run out of the house quickly this morning and didn't have time to make eggs. I knew that having a small breakfast would mean that I'd get hungry for lunch earlier, so I promised myself to eat again as soon as I felt hungry so that I didn't start having cravings or get tired or something. I had lunch around 11:45 and then a few hours later, I was starving. I didn't really understand why I got so hungry again after I had a nice big lunch. I grabbed some jerky, had a few pieces, then decided I didn't really like it.

 

I was still hungry. I went searching for the healthiest protein bar I could find.

 

I wanted to get a bunch of protein in so that I would feel satiated. My coworker recommended a protein bar called 22 Days. It had 20 grams of protein, but 17 grams of sugar, 10 grams of fat, 280 calories... I was so hungry that I just ate it impulsively. It did get rid of my hunger, but then came the guilt. I started thinking really terrible thoughts. I felt so ashamed for eating something so sugary and was convinced that my stomach was bigger when I was changing into my yoga clothes. (It's also that time of the month, so that could be a factor here, but I hate using that as an excuse.) I felt so worried that this choice was going to set me back so much. I'm going to see my sister in 2 weeks and a month ago, her and I talked about how motivating it would be to think about how different I'll look by the time we see each other in August. After the stupid protein bar, I immediately starting thinking that my sister isn't going to notice my progress when she sees me and I "blew it."

 

I'm so thankful for having this routine where I reflect on my day each night because it helps me see the difference between my fears and reality. Those fears and that shame spiral felt so real today, but reflecting back now, I was pretty mean to myself. I knew from the very beginning of the day that I was going to be extra hungry today, and I should have thought of some healthier snack choices to eat in an emergency. I know I will not make this same mistake twice. The reality is, sometimes I don't have a lot of time in the morning to deal with breakfast, but that doesn't mean I have to make choices later in the day that I'll regret. There's plenty of healthy stuff I can eat at work when I'm hungry! 

 

I did realize today that I haven't had any cravings in a long time. Sure, I wanted snacks this afternoon, but that was because I was HUNGRY. I'm totally okay with eating when I feel hunger, I just refuse to fall back into the trap of eating for other reasons like happiness, sadness, boredom, etc. I was doing some work yesterday right next to a display of cookies and they looked SO good. I was so curious what they tasted like... and then honestly, I moved on and forgot all about it until just now. Cookies don't have any power over me. Cravings don't matter anymore. I care more about treating my body with respect. Over the past 66 days, there's been a small handful of times where I've seen snacky, bingey, behaviors try to creep in, but I've spent a lot of time reflecting and growing from those weak moments. They happen so rarely now. What if I eat clean and have healthy eating behaviors for a year? I bet after that long of practicing, I'll behave even better with food!

 

I practiced push-ups while I was waiting for my yoga class to begin this evening. I wanted to see how many I could do in a row. I gave up after 3. My form for the 2nd and 3rd one was not as good as the first one, and I struggled with getting low and keeping my elbows back. But, this is still serious progress because before, if I tried to lower into a push-up, my body would literally collapse. I continued today with incorporating push-ups into my flow during class. It's so cool to see things that were really hard at first become easier. Not all things have become easier, but a few things have! 

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Guest bfree11

Day 66 (of healthy eating)

 

Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Siggi yogurt (tastes exactly like pumpkin cheesecake, omg), a few berries

Lunch: salad with chicken, avocado, veggies, nuts & seeds, balsamic & oil, kombucha

Snack: grass-fed sugar-free beef jerky, protein bar

Dinner: spaghetti squash, chicken, broccoli, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, red kale, tbsp goat cheese

Exercise: Hot yoga

 

​I had to run out of the house quickly this morning and didn't have time to make eggs. I knew that having a small breakfast would mean that I'd get hungry for lunch earlier, so I promised myself to eat again as soon as I felt hungry so that I didn't start having cravings or get tired or something. I had lunch around 11:45 and then a few hours later, I was starving. I didn't really understand why I got so hungry again after I had a nice big lunch. I grabbed some jerky, had a few pieces, then decided I didn't really like it. 

 

I was still hungry. I went searching for the healthiest protein bar I could find. 

 

I wanted to get a bunch of protein in so that I would feel satiated. My coworker recommended a protein bar called 22 Days. It had 20 grams of protein, but 17 grams of sugar, 10 grams of fat, 280 calories... I was so hungry that I just ate it impulsively. It did get rid of my hunger, but then came the guilt. I started thinking really terrible thoughts. I felt so ashamed for eating something so sugary and was convinced that my stomach was bigger when I was changing into my yoga clothes. (It's also that time of the month, so that could be a factor here, but I hate using that as an excuse.) I felt so worried that this choice was going to set me back so much. I'm going to see my sister in 2 weeks and a month ago, her and I talked about how motivating it would be to think about how different I'll look by the time we see each other in August. After the stupid protein bar, I immediately starting thinking that my sister isn't going to notice my progress when she sees me and I "blew it."

 

I'm so thankful for having this routine where I reflect on my day each night because it helps me see the difference between my fears and reality. Those fears and that shame spiral felt so real today, but reflecting back now, I was pretty mean to myself. I knew from the very beginning of the day that I was going to be extra hungry today, and I should have thought of some healthier snack choices to eat in an emergency. I know I will not make this same mistake twice. The reality is, sometimes I don't have a lot of time in the morning to deal with breakfast, but that doesn't mean I have to make choices later in the day that I'll regret. There's plenty of healthy stuff I can eat at work when I'm hungry! 

 

I did realize today that I haven't had any cravings in a long time. Sure, I wanted snacks this afternoon, but that was because I was HUNGRY. I'm totally okay with eating when I feel hunger, I just refuse to fall back into the trap of eating for other reasons like happiness, sadness, boredom, etc. I was doing some work yesterday right next to a display of cookies and they looked SO good. I was so curious what they tasted like... and then honestly, I moved on and forgot all about it until just now. Cookies don't have any power over me. Cravings don't matter anymore. I care more about treating my body with respect. Over the past 66 days, there's been a small handful of times where I've seen snacky, bingey, behaviors try to creep in, but I've spent a lot of time reflecting and growing from those weak moments. They happen so rarely now. What if I eat clean and have healthy eating behaviors for a year? I bet after that long of practicing, I'll behave even better with food!

 

I practiced push-ups while I was waiting for my yoga class to begin this evening. I wanted to see how many I could do in a row. I gave up after 3. My form for the 2nd and 3rd one was not as good as the first one, and I struggled with getting low and keeping my elbows back. But, this is still serious progress because before, if I tried to lower into a push-up, my body would literally collapse. I continued today with incorporating push-ups into my flow during class. It's so cool to see things that were really hard at first become easier. Not all things have become easier, but a few things have! 

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Guest bfree11

I'm jealous whenever I see anyone post spaghetti squash... I miss pasta hard and would love to use it as a replacement but I have not found Spaghetti squash in the markets here since we got here, no joke! To be honest, I'm so brainwashed with America's import system that I have no idea what vegetables belong to what season, but in Germany you can only buy things that are in season locally, so we'll plan on a certain veggie and it won't be in the stores. I searched for Brussels spouts for the longest time before someone was like ah yeah you'll need to wait two more seasons for those.

 

I really know what you mean about self-esteem, especially in college, I felt really bad. I played rugby in college and loved it, some of my friends were overweight like me but they were powerhouses, but my best friends were flipping in shape and beautiful, I always felt out of place and needed attention. I'll never forget, this one time we had to run around campus for practice and I was running down a major street and someone yelled at the window making fun of me for how slow I was running. I'm pretty sure I ended up in tears, but it wasn't enough to make me change my habits... I'm sure I ended that day with alcohol instead. I've become a lot kinder to myself, trying to appreciate what I'm able to do, and not beat myself up over my faults. After college before I met my husband I can't believe the guys I went out on dates with, not that they were "bad" guys.. but they weren't right for me. I remember one particular guy I always knew I didn't see a future with but I just didn't want to be alone, so we kept hanging out... he would have been a fun friend, but not a potential mate. Good for you for not ghosting that guy, even if you needed help sending the blunt answer. I'm also glad he changed his mind on asking something like that!

 

Ok so onto my kombucha... I never had kombucha before 2 months ago. My husband and I used to make fun of my best friend for drinking it. I'd heard it was good for you but tasted terrible so I never desired to pay $3 or more to try it. But when I started this journey I was like I want to try it, I want to get my stomach aligned properly... well of course, living in a foreign country, I can't find it anywhere! So I had this bright idea of, well let me try to brew it myself...and seriously its so easy. If you drink a lot of it, you should invest in doing it yourself. You need to buy some containers, tea and the SCOBY for brewing... and then the brewing process is as easy as making tea, letting it cool, and putting it in your container (very simplified I know). When its done brewing and time for bottling, I've flavored with strawberry mint (my fav), strawberry ginger mint, lemon ginger, and mixed berry. They've all been really good, and not overwhelmingly fruity. My husband thinks its gross, and I admit the SCOBY itself is really weird, but I love popping open a bottle at night, I've put it in a wine glass and the hubs has made fun of me, but I can drink it when he has a cocktail and its great!

It's so nice to know that yo've been through similar self-esteem stuff. You give me hope that I'll find a nice guy someday! Another kombucha question: how do you add the flavors? Do you add actual strawberries and stuff, or is it just a flavoring or some sort?

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So after I brew the kombucha like normal, I put into flip top jars and put real fruit/herbs in there. For lemon I put a little lemon juice and pieces of the rind but only the yellow part not the white pith underneath or it will be bitter. I'll chop strawberries and other fruit up small and tuck it in, for the mint I left it as leaves and I minced the ginger. Its a guessing game on how much you put in. I put enough to coat the bottom of my bottle, poured the kombucha over it, and let it sit for 3 days, burping the bottles once a day so they don't explode, and then I put them in the fridge.

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Guest bfree11

Love the non-scale victories - and there are so many of them in this post. You are doing great - don't let the IBSC* tell you otherwise.

 

*itty-bitty sh***y committee

Awww thanks Karen! How's your journey going?!

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Guest bfree11

Day 67 (of healthy eating)


 


Breakfast: Plain Siggi yogurt, a few berries, 2 eggs, black coffee


Lunch: salad with chicken, avocado, veggies, nuts & seeds, balsamic & oil, kombucha


Dinner: spaghetti squash, chicken, broccoli, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, red kale, tbsp goat cheese


Exercise: Power Flow Yoga


 


Big non-scale victory today! I went to the DMV to become an official Floridian, and when I handed over my passport, I did a double take at the picture on my passport from 2009. Man, do I look different now! It's a little weird for me though because I've been losing my weight very very slowly in chunks for about 6 years now. In 2009, I went from 260 lb to around 200 lb, spent a few years around 200 lb, moved down to 185 lb, spent a few years at 185 lb, and now I'm in the low 170s, hopefully getting close to the 160s shortly. My passport picture was definitely at my highest weight, but I haven't been that heavy in so many years, so it's not as exciting as it would be if I had major weight loss changes since I started this particular journey 67 days ago. 


 


However, my friend helped me see something kind of powerful about my weight loss journey. Notice that my weight kept going down in phases, but never once did it go back up. I never "gained it all back" or anything. I've either been losing or maintaining for the past 6 years. That tells me that I will be okay once I get to my maintenance phase because apparently I'm already kind of a pro at it. I ate pretty healthy over the past 6 years (way healthier than before) and got into exercising, but I still had plenty of cheat meals, which is why I maintained without losing for so long. It's been interesting losing the weight slowly in phases, rather than just all at once. It's exciting to finally be in the home stretch! 


 


I've got another date tomorrow. This guy looks like he's going to be a lot more attractive than the last guy, which makes me really nervous. For the date earlier this week, I felt confident and pretty. But for this date, since he's really handsome (I think!), all of my "fat girl" insecurities are flaring up. I am just so worried that when he sees me, he will me disappointed with how overweight I am, especially since I've told him how into health and fitness I am. I worry that my pictures may not show exactly how big I actually am! These worries really get to me because there is some truth to them. I am technically overweight still, even though I've made progress, and he might not like that. I'm still going to go and be brave because who knows what will happen, and it will be good for me. 

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