Day 6

I'm here at the end of Day 6 and I want to start off by saying I am very proud of myself so far. A friend of mine pointed out to me that I'm being too hard on myself for not working out, and that I should be commending myself for the progress I've made so far. She's right. I know I essentially signed up for a consistent 90-day program, and I've basically been "rushing" myself into thinking I need to just start up "hardcore" right away. I have to realize that I haven't worked out in almost 6 months, and that I need to learn how to work the exercising into my schedule as well, which is a problem I've mentioned here before. With that said, I am truly happy with the progress I've made in 6 days, and the fact that I have stuck to being better to my body and treating it the way it deserves to be treated. I've not only started eating more pure, but I've also started taking even better care of my skin, hair, etc. I started deep conditioning, wearing clarifying masks at night (god help whoever run into me in the hallway in the dark with one of those on!) moisturizing daily, wearing less makeup instead of piling it on every day and using better-quality beauty/body products overall. I've also decided to go back to my natural color after years of dying it every shade under the sun and I'm going to really nourish my body inside and out for once.

Today I was out running errands almost the entire day, and I noticed once I got home how easily I made it through the day without the urge to grab some fast food or a snack. I also noticed that at home I don't feel like eating more than is necessary. I think the fact that I'm consuming less sugar and no processed foods makes a difference in what I end up craving throughout my day. I did some more food shopping today so I could add some variety to my meals. I bought marinated frozen chicken breasts (10 4-oz servings in the package, 100 cal. a serving), some fat free mayo (we'll see how that tastes!) some very thin whole wheat burger buns, morningstar veggie burgers, kashi whole grain breakfast bars (for if I have to run in the a.m.), ready to serve brown rice (always handy) and some sugar free puddings (to satisfy the chocolate craving i occasionally encounter). When I was shopping, I was so tempted to just buy some frozen lean cuisines so i can grab one if i need to run or if i'm somewhere where cooking a meal just isn't an option. But I thought hard about it and said NO, since all that food is processed and prepared, none of it contains whole grain, and they all contain sugar-filled sauces. Even if it IS a controlled amount of calories, the quality isn't there. I like the fact that I'm starting to cook (a miracle for me) and cooking really allows me to SEE what I'm putting into my body versus just nuking something for 2 minutes before I stuff it down. The prep time allows me to BOND with my food and see all the quality ingredients I'm consuming.

I already cooked my food for tomorrow and I even bought glad containers to put it in. I won't tell you what I made (since I'll be posting that tomorrow!) But here is what I ate today:

Breakfast:

-2 slices whole wheat toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

Lunch:

-Turkey & Low fat swiss with dijon mustard on a whole wheat wrap

Snack:

-Blueberry nonfat greek yogurt with 1/4 cup blueberries

Dinner:

-A cup of beef stew (home made with tender beef, potatoes onions in beef broth) poured over a cup of brown rice

-Steamed broccoli

Snack:

-Sugar free vanilla pudding cup

Water:

-on my 4th glass (so almost 2 liters)

Food analysis: I enjoy having the peanut butter, and I liked that I ate it in the morning rather than at night. It kept me really satisfied (I ate breakfast at 10:30 and lunch at 3 and didn't feel hungry in between) and it was a good way to get protein in the morning. However I wonder if I should get a more natural peanut butter, this was regular peter pan kind. I can't go TOTALLY natural, that stuff is gross! My wrap was delicious, simple, I sat eating it while reading a book as I waited for my car to get an oil change, and I drank a bottle of water with it. I was definitely satisfied! The yogurt was good, I enjoyed adding the actual blueberries to blueberry yogurt haha. The brand I've been eating is yoplait greek style...it's not as good as real greek yogurt (i like chobani the best) it doesn't taste much different than regular yogurt, but it was less expensive...next time I'll splurge for the real stuff! I was proud of dinner! I was going to cook and then saw the beef stew, which I knew was pure since my mother made it herself, and took it as an opportunity to have some of the brown rice i bought (which comes in an individual cup and takes 1 minute to microwave!) instant (natural) dinner for once! The pudding was a nice indulgence (at least it felt like one) and gave me the sweet taste I sometimes crave even though it doesn't have sugar. The only qualm I have with how I've been eating is I notice I have a lot of dairy, and a lot of bread still, so I modified this for tomorrow's meals (you'll see later on).

So after 6 days I feel good, will work my way back into exercising tomorrow with some cardio & abs, I am proud of myself for making it through even 6 days. I'm a little scared for this weekend in the poconos, as even though I'm bringing my own food I know the temptation will be fierce! Someone is cooking pancakes one morning, and I'm in charge of cooking bacon, eggs, sausage, etc. one morning...Usually how I end up feeling in situations like this is ANGRY, because I hate how everyone else can have a good time, party with friends, eat junk all weekend and have fun like normal 20-somethings and I always have to watch. I can't spend friday-monday eating crap because I'll basically undo what I've already done! My only strategy would be to bring foods that are similar enough to what everyone else is eating but healthy enough so i can eat them. For example, if someone makes burgers, i'll eat a veggie burger. or if someone makes hoagies, i'll make sure to use my own wheat bread and low fat cheese. The first night someone is cooking baked ziti I think, so that's going to be tough to handle. Maybe I will eat it, but just a small portion? I don't have wheat pasta on hand and I would hate to ask anyone to alter their recipe for me. If there's going to be any alcohol involved I'm sure I won't have a problem declining that, I'm not a big drinker to begin with. I will just make sure I'm constantly drinking water and adhere to a somewhat normal sleep schedule! Tomorrow will also be my last post until monday, since we won't have any internet access up in the mountains. Will everyone be in suspense wondering if I caved? We'll just have to wait and see. But I have massive amounts of faith in myself and I'll be surrounded by people who only want to see me succeed so I think I'll be ok. Adios for now!