Hello beautifuls.
As I stated in this post HERE, I have decided to get my food choices back on track for April with an eating challenge. I’m being quite restrictive for this month, but there are no hard rules, more like guidelines.
I promised to keep you updated on my progress, so here goes!!
Monday April 02:
I did NOT stick to my own “wish list” and here is what happened- change of plans! When I decided that April would be the month to get back on track, I was at my mom’s house in Saskatchewan (Hi, Mom!) but the plan was to be home on Sunday night. Monday, the day after a vacation, seemed like a great time to start eating healthy again. However, the kids begged me to stay one more day, so we ended up getting home Monday night.
I hadn’t planned on one more day so didn’t plan ahead for eating on the road. We ended up finishing off junk food, protein bars and juice boxes on the ride home, with A&W burgers for lunch- NOT the healthiest day.
I was also going to quit drinking coffee that day, too, but driving eight hours on six hours sleep WITHOUT caffeine seemed foolish. Haha. So I drank three cups of coffee as well. It was definitely a fail that day, except supper because Josh had made beef soup for us with homemade beef stock. That was a win for my stomach and health! It renewed my interest in eating healthier. I was determined to start fresh the next day.
Tuesday April 03:
Morning: In the morning, I really wanted coffee, so I treated myself to 3/4 of a cup. Tomorrow I am going to kick caffeine for ten days from the start date to let my gut take a rest from it. I am not very good at following my own guidelines! I hate driving home since it is so hard on the body and makes me feel hungover, if you know what I mean. In fact, even with the small cup of coffee, I am dying to take a nap….right after I unpack, do laundry, prep supper, check the mail…seems like a nap isn’t in the cards! It is VERY hard to eat better when you’re tired. My brain thinks I want chocolate, candy (I hear those Easter baskets calling), chips and poutine. (I have done really well resisting).
For breakfast, I had a kefir smoothie with frozen mango with a bowl of scrambled eggs. I took two eggs, put them in a bowl with a smidge of almond milk and butter and whisked it with a fork and added salt and pepper before popping it in the microwave for a minute. For some green. I added some fresh parsley on top. An easy breakfast!
Afternoon: I was successful in no snacks between breakfast and lunch but I think it was because I was so busy answering emails, writing and unpacking. For lunch, I had leftover beef soup and a giant glass of water. It was surprisingly filling at first but I did end up having a few almonds at 1pm to tide me over until suppertime.
Evening: Leftover roast with cauliflower, carrots and broccoli. I made sure to eat extra veggies as my second helping. I ate so much cauliflower that my stomach hurt. Oops.
I didn’t snack since I was getting up early to eat and go to a workout class. It was extremely hard to quit eating after supper since the habit is so strong.
Wednesday April 04:
Morning: I didn’t have coffee today! It seems like a win, but my stomach was off so I was babying it and it wasn’t hard to avoid coffee. I had eggs again because they seem a bland and safe choice with my upset stomach- still feel like I am fighting off a cold mixed with stomach issues. I am extremely tired and feel off. My mom and I both felt sick before I left so will be careful with myself, even though this cold isn’t “life-stopping”, if you know what I mean. (I am very tired and making up words, it seems!) As a mom, I am used to just going on with the schedule, even if I don’t feel 100%.
So my breakfast was eggs, with avocado, tomato and arugula with a glass of herbal tea. YUM.
I even made it to my workout class. Ballet Barre Workouts are so difficult but I held my own, mostly. I did take more water breaks but I am proud of my effort.
Afternoon: Leftover soup again! I am always happy to eat soup but it is especially soothing when I feel off.
Snacking seemed essential at 2 pm when I felt lightheaded. I had a small handful of almonds and later ate an apple which made me feel sooo…. much better. I made tea as comfort at around 3 pm and that helped, too.
Evening: I made the MOST delicious stir-fry. The kids loved it so much, they made me write out what I did, which I will share soon. We named it “Strange Stir-fry” because it had non-traditional veg in it, such as Swiss chard. It was great and I made sure to take the smallest amount of rice noodles and a lot of veggies.
I did snack……just really wanted to- was it cuz I felt sick? I think I want to blame it on that. The fact is, the habit is so strong. I wasn’t even hungry. I had some Greek yogurt and berries, which is a healthy choice, but I was way too full after.
Thursday April 05:
Morning: I woke up to more snow flurries and felt instantly defeated. It was cloudy, cold and grey outside. I dropped the kids off at school and came home to eat. I had some Earl Grey tea, forgetting that I wanted to quit caffeine for a week. But I hope I balanced it out by having oatmeal. I had some instant Stoked Oats “Stone Age Oats” , which also has chia, pumpkin seeds and coconut in it, (so GOOD) with a little bit of unsweetened almond milk mixed in. I was so full, I didn’t feel hungry until lunchtime, which was good since I was out at appointments and running errands until noon!
Afternoon: To use up the rest of the roast, I chopped that up and added it to scrambled eggs along with a tomato and some nutritional yeast. I ate it with some arugula topped with olive oil and a bit of salt, and, since I was bad about drinking water in the morning, made up for it with lunch, drinking two large glasses after lunch.
I did snack, eating a banana and some peanuts, since I feel a little lightheaded if I don’t eat something.
Evening: The wind has picked up and the air pressure here in Calgary has changed, causing a migraine. Feeling like absolute crap and losing my eyesight to visual auras, I definitely didn’t feel like making supper. I was aware that a pressure change might effect me and planned ahead. Running down to the freezer, I grabbed sausages, frozen broccoli and french fries- I put it on the stove and it basically cooked itself. I did have seconds.
On a whim, I made some popcorn as a treat for the kid’s lunches and ate the leftover plain popcorn as a snack before 8 pm. I planned breakfast for 8 am the next morning to give my stomach a suitable fasting time in between.
Friday April 06:
Morning: I broke down and had a cup of coffee but I am okay with it. The day is grey and it’s snowing again! Is winter just going to last forever, a la Game of Thrones? Ugh. I really wanted to just shove a protein bar in my mouth as breakfast but decided oatmeal is just as fast and ate Stoked Oats again. Josh is home tonight so he can help the kid’s with breakfast again, yay!, which frees me up a little.
Afternoon: I had leftover supper- so antibiotic and hormone free turkey sausage, broccoli and french fries. Maybe TMI, but I am PMS-ing, so not overeating was incredibly difficult. I did have a snack at 2 pm because I felt lightheaded. I had a banana, some Greek yogurt and almonds. And then more Greek yogurt with berries again at 3 pm because I was SO hungry. I didn’t want to get toooo… hungry and make bad choices later on. Still whole food, so proud about that, especially since I was eyeing up my kid’s Easter candy!
Evening: Josh is home!! I made veggie burgers, then realized that the kids have a school dance and can eat there, so was left at home to eat them by myself. Since I started supper late (oops), the kids went with their dad to the dance while I stayed home to finish supper and eat. I had my veggie burger with an arugula salad and a glass of kefir. This stomach thing was still hanging on, so I was overjoyed that it settled in my stomach okay! And it was delicious- would definitely make this recipe again! Isabella has been eating them for breakfast, they are that good.
And that was it for the week! I did okay and next week is a fresh start. I’ll try to remember to take photos next time.
I hope this helps you see how I structured my week! It is all about stocking your kitchen with real food and a teensy bit of planning ahead. I really want to plan meals ahead of time again so that next week is less scattered and last minute. Any suggestions?
And have you seen the weekday eggs ad? It’s my fave- funny and so true!
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