Well it’s only been 3 1/2 days, but I’m really loving my healthy diet so far! I think it could be the perfect lifestyle for me. Yes, it’s tough and requires mental commitment, but it’s not SOOO tough that I can’t sustain it.
Just to recap….my new diet lifestyle right now is basically this:
- Don’t eat any sugary treats (brownies, candy, cookies, cake, etc.)
- Don’t eat any fried foods.
- Stay away from diet beverages.
- Eat lots of fruits, veggies, lean meats, certain dairy products (Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, a little bit of regular cheese), whole grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice, Ezekiel bread) and other healthy grains.
- Eat foods that will strengthen and fuel my body; stay away from foods that won’t.
- I can have 100 “cheat” calories every day. This will usually be in the form of chocolate chips added to oatmeal, yogurt or by themselves!
- I will have one weekend (Saturday and Sunday) off a month. I can eat whatever the heck I want for those two days.
That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.
FYI, I don’t drink alcohol or coffee, so thankfully I don’t have to worry about restricting those things. However, if you are an alcohol and coffee drinker, I would just recommend coming up with a plan to restrict/limit those things. It would be best to completely cut them out, but if that’s not a possibility, maybe have just one cup of coffee a day or one drink of alcohol a week. Whatever works and is sustainable.
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We had a great discussion with the kids on Monday night. We were talking about the Boston Marathon and what an amazing accomplishment it is to run that marathon, or any marathon at all!
I also just want to say…Way to GO Meb! He seems like such a cool dude and I was SO happy he WON!
My sister Holly also ran the marathon and it was her first time running it. I was SO PROUD of her! Woot!
Anyway, we talked about how in order to run a marathon, especially one like Boston, it takes a lot of time, commitment, determination and hard work. It is such an amazing accomplishment.
We also talked about things in our own life we would like to accomplish and what it takes to accomplish those things. We talked about setting goals, being disciplined and making our lives what WE want them to be!
We mentioned that it might be a lot of fun to eat a bunch of junk food, watch TV all day and just have a nice lazy day, right?
Yes, it’s a lot of fun for ONE day. However, if you live that kind of lifestyle day after day after day, it’s not much fun. In fact, it would be very depressing. Eating junk food and living a sedentary lifestyle is “fun” short-term, but it’s MUCH more fulfilling to push yourself, plan and achieve goals, be strong, disciplined and motivated…don’t ya think?
So, that brings me back to my healthy diet. I enjoy junk food as much as anyone else. I LOVED eating my yummy donuts last weekend, but the entire “donut eating experience” lasted about 2 minutes tops. Yet, the effect from eating junk food lasts a lot longer than that. It immediately messes with the body; spikes blood sugar, puts extra strain on the pancreas and liver, jacks up hormones and just leaves you wanting MORE and MORE! If junk food is consumed on a regular basis it causes weight gain, kills the immune system and increases the chances of getting a bunch of terrible diseases.
Is that worth the 2 minutes of yummy bliss?!
Yes, I think it is sometimes. 😉 LOL. BUT, on a regular day-to-day basis….HECK no!
Now, even though I know how damaging crappy food can be on the body, I also know how hard it can be to eat well and avoid yummy, decadent, convenient, processed food. It really is addicting and takes real strength and commitment to stay away from it!
That is why I’m really loving this new diet plan. It’s full of real, healthy foods that help fuel the body, but it also allows for occasional, planned treats too. It’s perfect for me.
Now, I know there are a million other healthy plans out there that are wonderful too. I’ve heard a lot about the 80/20 rule….eat well 80% of the time and eat what you want 20% of the time. I think this plan is great, but I just know if I were to follow that rule, it would eventually get to 70/30 and then 60/40 and then 20/80 if I wasn’t careful.
I know my limitations and know I need to stay away from junk food (especially sugar!) as much as possible. Yes, it’s hard, but I know I’ll find a lot more joy and long-term happiness from working hard and accomplishing my goals.
Anyway, sorry for all the babbling and deep thoughts. I hope I even made sense.
Moving on. Here are some of things I’ve been eating the past few days.
I’ve been starting every morning off with this…
A cup of warm water with 1/2 of a lime squeezed in it. I would have used lemon, but I happen to have a bunch of limes that need to be used.
I’ve read NUMEROUS times about the benefits of warm lemon (or lime!) water on the body. It cleanses the body, aids in digestion and removes toxins. I also think it’s refreshing too! The warm citrus water feels so good and clean goin’ down. I really LOVE it and think it will be a daily thing for me from now on.
I’ve been having this for breakfast every day this week…
2 eggs + 2 egg whites scrambled with peppers and onions, topped with cheese and salsa and wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortilla. I would have added spinach, but I’ve been out! I just went to Costco today though so now I have spinach. Happy day.
I just wish I would’ve remembered to buy avocados too, dang it. 🙁
Oh, and I really like these tortillas…
I’ve had better tasting low carb tortillas, but these aren’t bad. I especially love that they are big, yet only 80 calories, 12 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein! Pretty dang awesome. I bought this big pack at Costco, of course.
I gotta tell you guys something funny. I was eating my Breakfast Burrito this morning and it was pretty messy, so I decided to just leave it open (instead of rolled up) and just eat it with a fork. My 6 year old was eating his breakfast next to me and he looked over at me with a disgusted look on his face and said, “Uhhh, how can you eat that mom!?? It looks like alien food!”
I laughed and had to agree it looked pretty scary.
Sorry, this half-eaten pic is pretty gross, but it tasted really good and not at all like alien food! LOL!
I’ve been trying to drink a protein shake every day as well. They’ve tasted so good to me! One day, I made a quick chocolate, spinach one as I ran out the door…
Yesterday, I made a YUMMY Mint Chocolate Chip one that I loved so much!
I might have to make me another one of these today!
Oh, and told you guys about the Power Greens I’ve been lovin’ lately, right? It’s basically a mix of organic kale, spinach and chard and I love it! Sadly, it doesn’t last too long though. I’ve found that it starts to wilt and die after about a week. Sooooo, I decided to start freezing it to use in shakes once it starts to wilt. It’s worked out great!
Here are a couple things I’ve had for lunch…
A yummy Subway sandwich. I was out with Kev the other day and we decided to share a footlong sub. It was a turkey/ham sandwich on wheat bread with all the veggies, no cheese and topped with a little mustard and balsamic. YUM!
I had this for lunch yesterday…
Leftover salad and fruit with some cottage cheese on the side. I love leftovers and this tasted great to me! I topped it with some Brianna’s Creamy Balsamic dressing and it was amazing.
I love all of Brianna’s Salad dressings. They’re full of real ingredients and I only use a drizzle so it doesn’t pack on a ton of calories.
Here are some of the snacks I’ve come up with…
1/2 banana with peanut butter (my fav!) I really love this snack so much, but I can’t ever seem to take a pretty picture of it, lol.
1/2 of a chopped apple topped with peanut butter. Love it.
A slice of Ezekiel bread topped with peanut butter, bananas and honey with a Babybel cheese on the side. Seriously so good!
We had this for dinner Monday night…
Cheesy Vegetable soup with homemade Pita Chips (yes, that’s purple cauliflower in there!) This soup is so so good! I will share the recipe later this week. 😉
Yesterday’s dinner was insane. I pretty much grabbed a protein bar and fruit leather as I ran out the door and called it good. Later on, I had a yogurt mixed with cottage cheese and it was just right.
Well, that’s all the food pics I have to share! I will just keep pluggin’ along and will keep you all posted on my progress. Oh, and several of you expressed interest in doing this “diet” with me. Yay! If you want to do this with me, keep me posted on your progress. Send me food pics, motivating tips, questions or whatever the heck you want!
I hope you all have a great night!
Your meals and snacks are awesome. For one thing, they keep you full, they’re packed with nutrients and they look delicious. I love the healthy eating plan too. My downfall is coffee and alcohol. I know I could look and feel a lot better without them. I don’t know if it’s addictive tendencies or habit, but I literally crave a glass on wine by Friday night ( I never drink in the week.) I start each morning with a cup of coffee and may have another on my lunch break. I wish i could change this, but it’s so hard. I’m very good about my food choices though.
I know weekends are hard, but I know you live a healthy lifestyle and seem like you have such a great balance. I always crave more sugar and junk food on the weekend. It’s tough!
Seriously fabulous post, Melanie! I love how you built such a good personal eating lifestyle designed just for you, but with tips other people can apply to easily design their own personal plan too.
I have gained so much insight from reading your blog! You keep inspiring me to make changes I never even thought of before. For instance, I’m a serious coffee drinker. Morning, noon and night. My super power is caffeine does not affect me. But I drink it with cream… lol, my super powers do not protect me from that. You made the lemon water sound so appetizing, I am excited to try that tomorrow morning instead of coffee!
I also appreciate the tip about freezing fresh greens. I never knew they would freeze well and never thought to try it.
Thanks so much Deborah! You’re so sweet. I know we all have our vices; mine is definitely sugar! I’m sure I’ll always love it the rest of my life. I hope you enjoy the lemon water. I’ve really loved it and found it to be so refreshing. The frozen greens have worked out perfectly too!
I have some spinach in the freezer because I couldn’t finish it before it went bad. I haven’t tried eating spinach I’ve frozen before, but I think it would work well in a smoothie. I like to make mint smoothies, too!
I worried it wouldn’t freeze well either, but it’s worked out great!
I seriously love your ideas. I wish I could pin it all so that I could remember it all!! I didn’t grow up in a super healthy family, so I love getting healthy ideas from you! Um I love the idea of freezing my spinach for smoothies! And also, to follow up your comment on my blog… YOU ARE NOT OLD. 😉 So happy I can read your blog and be inspired by your life. I love that you guys are active and family oriented!!
Aw, thanks so much! My family wasn’t super healthy while I was growing up either. I’m just learning as I go…. Oh, and thanks for saying I’m not old. 🙂 I still feel 18, but it’s just so crazy how fast time flies and how old I keep getting! Sigh.
OK, so I don’t think I can ditch the diet drinks yet but I have been increasing water and putting lemon in it! What I really want to do but need to work on my willpower/coping mechanisms is get rid of the sugar intake (besides the 100 calories worth). I like this monthly idea..so if I start today my “free” weekend would be the 17th..I may make it the following since it is will be Memorial day. I don’t drink coffee but I do like light beer or a glass of wine on occasion…I need to set a limit on that….for the most part that is easy depending on weekend plans! I also want to incorporate a limited calorie intake to help me lose the weight! The sugar thing is my biggest challenge:(….
I can definitely relate to the sugar problem! I love sugar so much!! Once I set a goal to not eat it and get it out of my system, my cravings go way down though. My cravings never go away 100% unless I go on a low carb diet and completely eliminate everything sweet though. I hope you do this healthy diet with me!
Good for you for increasing the water intake. I also think it’s great you don’t drink coffee and your alcohol consumption sounds reasonable too.
I don’t know why I’m not getting your updates in my email anymore…or maybe I’m a complete ditz and missing them. Anyway, you are so smart about your approach to your new lifestyle of eating. You are so right about everything and know your own strengths and weaknesses and have to do what is best for you. It’s been so long since I’ve had processed, junk food that I don’t even crave it, honestly. If I crave sweets, I just make them at home so they are made with real, whole ingredients and try to give a bunch of the batch away to friends and family so i don’t eat all of it, lol.
That’s weird you’re not getting my emails anymore! I will look into it and see if there’s a problem on my end. Thanks for the heads up. That’s amazing you haven’t had processed junk food in so long! I much prefer homemade treats as well and I love how all of your treats are so healthy!