Day 17: 6/13

Activity:
took the bus
8:30am – 20 minutes at playground
1:00pm – 1 hour nanny walk
skipped the gym because i took the bus and i can’t get to the 5:30 class in time without taking a cab from work when I don’t have my bike, and I can’t justify doing that too often 😦 it’s been raining so much lately! shit adds up.

 

Food:
7:00am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1/4 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup cherries, cup coffee with almond milk
11:20am – 1/2 cup raw cashews, 5 prunes, 10oz coffee with almond milk
12:30pm – mixed veggies with e.v.o.o and sherry vinegar, sugar snap peas, roasted beets, cherry tomatoes, raw aged cheddar, two eggs fried in butter, 16oz water
3:30pm – couldn’t find another snack but was starving, so i ate a single serving greek yogurt with cherries (and added sugar) from nanny house, 16oz water
8pm – takeout from sitar indian buffet – mikey had a pretty bad day so we used it to justify a takeout meal. we tried to keep pretty good with rice and coconut/cream based dishes. indian food usually wouldn’t be friendly because a lot of folks don’t do dairy, but we’re doing moderate amounts of dairy in this challenge, so overall it wasn’t the worst except for some sweeteners probably

Day 16: 6/12

 

Activity:
7:30am – 5 mile bike ride to work
1pm – 1 hour outside at the playground
5:30 – 5 mile bike ride home
7pm – 1.5 hours of yardwork (weeding, spreading mulch, weedwacking, sweeping)

 

Food:
7:00am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1/4 cup strawberries, 1tsp raw honey, cup coffee with almond milk (forgot to photograph)
12:30pm – side salad with lettuce and kale, lemon juice, e.v.o.o., cherry tomatoes, carrot, sugar snap peas, 1 medium slice of veggie lasagna, 16oz glass of water
3pm – 1 apple with 3tbsp peanut butter (i just let myself do it even though peanut butter is not ideal)
6:30pm – 2 egg omelette cooked in ghee with red pepper, kale, scallions, horseraddish cheddar and salsa, asparagus cooked in butter and lemon juice with dijon and 1/2tsp raw honey
9pm – 1 square dark chocolate, big handful of cherries

I’ve gotten a little carried away with snacking on fruit and chocolate. I gotta tighten up on that and find alternative snacky things like veggie sticks and guac. or something similar. 

Day 15: 6/11

 

Still goin strong! Not bad.

 

Activity:
7:30am – 5 mile bike ride to work
1:30pm 30 minutes outside with the kids
5:30 crossfit class working on hang snatch, worked up to 71 pounds, 6 minute team amrap of twelve 24in boxjumps and 55# overhead squats, our team completed 111 overhead squats for our score, i averaged 15 each time i took a turn, so 45 or so.
6:30 – 3 mile bike ride home

 

Food:
7:00am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup strawberries, cup coffee with almond milk
11:30pm – big salad with mixed greens, carrots, cherry tomatoes, chopped onion, 1/4 avocado, 2 egg fried in butter, e.v.o.o., sherry vinegar
2:45pm – bowl of coconut cauliflower soup, handful of cherry tomatoes
3:45pm – two handfuls of grapes, 1/4 cup raw cashews
8pm – house dinner of sticky rice with celery, onions, red pepper, portabella, braggs, chili paste, a little raw honey, spices, with big side salad with lettuce, kale, avocado, veggies, vinaigrette
10pm – 2 dark squares of chocolate

Day 14: 6/10

Notes: I’ve really been phoning it in terms of getting to the gym, but at the same time, the nutrition seminars at my gym have been stressing to not go too often if losing bodyfat is one of your goals. 3-4x a week is the maximum amount you should go because intense training is a stressor to your body. As someone who is Type A, it’s hard to remember that more is not always more. Last year when I was crossfitting, my goal was 5 days a week. Now my goal is 3 days a week but I still have a nagging thought in the back of the head telling me I should be going more often. I often struggle with the fact that Crossfit, by nature, is a competitive sport. The gyms themselves are extremely welcoming and supportive environments, but people are training hard to get better numbers than they previously had and most people have pretty intense training goals and training habits. I do not. I want to get better and have fun with it, but Crossfit is a way for me to a stay in shape and feel confident and proud of myself, and nothing more than that to me. I have no interest in being a Crossfit competitor or to put up really big numbers. Of course, it’s exciting when I do get a PR, but I’m not training like it’s my life like many people at my gym are. Sometimes I start to feel guilty about that, but I remind myself that it’s fine that there are different levels of engagement and I don’t need to feel bad that I’m not a competitor or training like one.

Activity:
so much rain. took the bus 😦 skipped the gym like a bama
1pm – 45 minute nanny walk

Food:
7:30am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup strawberries
12pm – 1 slice of vegetable ‘lasagna’ that I prepared on Sunday night! eggplant, tomato sauce (homemade, tomatoes, butter, salt), zuchinni, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese
12:30pm – 1/2 cup raw chashews, 5 prunes
3pm – a power bar with coconut, chocolate and nuts
7pm – big salad with avocado, onion, red pepper, celery, carrot, lemon juice, e.v.o.o., goat cheese, 1/2 slice of lasagna, small bowl of cauliflower coconut soup
10pm – 1 cup of cherries

Day 12: 6/8, Day 13: 6/9

Day 12 was a big fat CHEAT DAY. I didn’t intend for it to be (I generally don’t plan for a cheat day but I’ll hang my head in shame and accept one if it would be more stressful than not to try to coordinate clean food. This was one of those days. Stress/sleep/recovery are just as important on the pyramid as nutrition, so I chose to manage my stress rather than my nutrition this day.) There was a big music fest in Philly this weekend that my friends spent months planning. On Saturday I was leading a workshop on drawing autobio comics, and then tabling at the fest and watching bands/supporting friends the rest of the day. I didn’t plan ahead well enough to have a lot of food prepared to pack with me and I had intended to try to just find clean food on the run, but there was food made available to us at the event and although surely not challenge friendly, it wasn’t the worst thing I could put in my body so I just accepted that the day would be a cheat day rather than racing around even more than I already was to try to find clean food. I ended up eating a breakfast burrito with eggs, beans, cheese, sour cream and salsa. And a homecooked meal of bbq tofu, collard greens, vegan mac and cheese (this was the biggest cheat), and corn bread. I ate this meal twice, for lunch and dinner, because it was free and available in abundance. To put the nail in the coffin, I ate some Weckerlies local sorbet at 10pm. Furthermore, I didn’t really get any activity. I was on my feet a lot of the day, but didn’t get in a walk or bike ride at all. I even drove my truck to the fest, which is not something I normally just drive around unless I’m carrying something in it, but I was hosting a friend who didn’t have a bike or a way to get around so it was just easier for our schedule. 

 

Day 13: 6/9

The fest was on Sunday too, but since I had just had a cheat, I vowed to make more of an effort on Sunday. The schedule was more relaxed as well so it was easier to think about food.

The biggest problem with Sunday was that I didn’t really eat ENOUGH.

Activity: 
30 minute walk home from ladyfest at 5pm

Food:
10:30am – sauteed kale and eggs cooked in butter, two bites of a banana bread my friend made
5pm – salad from sweet greens, not a cheat! big arugula and kale salad with pesto vinaigrette (my roommate asked what oil they use and which dressings have sugar – in the clear!), red onion, hard boiled egg, tofu, feta, beets
7pm – 1 cup plain greek yogurt with big handful of cherries, three squares dark chocolate. ate this while at ladyfest because i didn’t plan more food

 

Day 11: 6/7

 

Notes: Phewwwwwwwww this was a tough one. It was torrentially downpouring the entire day, and I was stuck inside for 9 hours with a clingy 11 month old baby, and a 14 month old who had decided earlier that week that he was going to start acting like a defiant teenager. It was the longest. day. ever. On top of that, I hadn’t really gotten enough sleep most nights last week. Because of my newfound limitless energy (thanks challenge), I wasn’t exhausted by 9pm any night last week and had to really make myself go to bed by midnight. Unfortunately, that isn’t extremely sustainable when I still have to wake up at 6am and spend a whole day wrangling small kids, go to the gym, and spend evenings working on projects around the house. I still need to sleep even if I feel energized and I need to keep reminding myself that so I don’t get burnt out. So coupled with the dreary weather, I was in a pretty awful mood and fighting some serious sugar cravings. I did let them get the best of me around 4pm when my day was in its 8th hour and had some dark chocolate covered espresso beans. They were sugary as fuck. I ended up skipping the gym because the rain meant I wasn’t on my bike, and wouldn’t have been able to commute to the gym, commute home by public transit and still have time for dinner before going to my Ladyfest volunteer shift. So that’s that. Only two days at the gym last week. What can you do? 

Activity:
took bus today =0( and it’s so rainy – no exercise! just on my feet all day chasing kids.

Food: 
7:00am – 3/4 cup strawberries, 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter, coffee with splash of almond milk
9am – needed some more substantial protein in order to feel full, ate a greek yogurt from nanny house, has sugar added
12:30pm – cauliflower coconut soup with one scrambled egg on top, cucumber “noodles” with spicy sunflower seed butter sauce – so good!
3:30pm – serious rainy day blues. fighting the sugar cravings so hard and broke down a little. ate a big bowl of raw cashews, raw almonds, prunes, and dark chocolate covered espresso beans, two slices of melon – was totally responding to a gloomy day sugar craving
6pm – had to race through dinner to get to ladyfest volunteer shift. made a quick omelette with zuchinni, red onion, kale, red pepper, habanero cheddar cheese, ate leftover sides of boiled peas with e.v.o.o. and lemon juice, kale salad with tomatoes and sesame oil an balsamic
10pm – late night snack on the go – ran to the grocery store toward the end of ladyfest night one and ate clean-ishhhhh – carrot and celery sticks with guacamole, sweet potato chips (bad oil) and bobbie’s hummous (soy bean oil)

 

Not the best day I’ve ever had, but not terrible considering what I was up against. I’m trying to be realistic about the fact that I’m not gonna be able to do this thing perfectly. 

Day 10: 6/6

 

Activity: 
7:30am – 5 mile bike ride to work
2pm – 45 minute nanny walk
5:30pm – 5 mile bike ride home

Food:
7:20am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1 cup of pineapple slices, 1 cup coffee with almond milk
10am – already starving, ate 1/2 cup raw cashews, 5 prunes
12:00pm – salad with mixed greens, lemon juice, e.v.o.o., carrots, 1/2 avocado, two eggs fried in butter
4pm – 1 slice of 2 year aged cheddar
7:00pm – raw kale salad with sesame oil, vinegar and tomatoes, fried tofu with butter, braggs, salt, pepper, and roasted brussels sprouts with coconut oil, spices,  boiled peas with e.v.o.o., lemon juice, and aged asiago 
10:00pm apples and various awesome cheeses

 

Notes: Gotta work on preparing snacks and recipes ahead of time so it doesn’t get too repetitive. Made some different things last night to eat for lunch today and I’m stoked for it! Gonna try to keep that up. Also need to watch my fruit intake and my sunflower seed butter! Kinding using them as a fallback to not have to prepare food. I checked in with my roommates and morale is very high! Everyone feels good and feel like they even see physical results at this point. 

Day 9: 6/5

 

Activity:
7:30am – 5 mile bike ride to work
1pm – 1 hour nanny walk
5:30pm – crossfit class, worked on snatches, got up to 75, back up to my old pr! did Fran, 21-15-9 thrusters and pullups, thrusters at 65 pounds, pull ups using light band, did it in 12 minutes, 6:45pm – 4 mile bike ride home

 

Food:
7:20am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1 cup of pineapple slices, 1 cup coffee with almond milk
11:45am – 2 eggs scrambled with 2 garlic scapes, 1/2 cup brocolli, 4 grape tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, aged goat milk gouda, 16oz glass of water
3:30pm – 1/2 sweet potato micro’d with one tbsp butter and salt, 1/2 cup raw cashews, 5 prunes 
9:00pm – omelete: 2 eggs (local from the mitten’s farm!) kale, zuccini, onion, horseradish cheddar, basil, cooked in ghee. one small dark chocolate square with cherries

 

Notes: sleep is totally slipping! because i feel way more energy throughout the day, I’m not crashing by 9pm like I was before. But that means I end up staying up too late (until midnight most nights this week) and only getting 6 hours a night as a result. I’ve been feeling really groggy and under slept in the morning, but really energized at night. Need to make myself go to bed even if I’m feeling awake.

Day 8: 6/4 The start of week 2!

Notes: A note on how we’re doing this challenge. Our gym doesn’t prescribe a certain “diet scheme.” Everyone wants to ask “so are you doing paleo?” More than ever, no. The further I get into learning about nutrition, the more I realize that subscribing to specific diet ideologies is not especially sustainable as a lifestyle change and lends itself to you stopping and starting. Real life means you’ll eat cake sometimes. Being an adult means you don’t eat it every day or even whenever the fuck you want to.  A lot of times it means saying no to yourself because it’s the better decision. I’m approaching the challenge this time around with less rigidity overall, knowing that I’m eating WAY better than I was pre-challenge, but not being militant about it. It feels good and my body feels really good. The main things I’m focusing on are preparing food at home and thinking in advance about my meals, eating mindfully and knowing that I’ve made every decision consciously instead of just mindless snacking or stress snacking, and getting enough protein.

Another note – Mikey, my boyfriend, goes to my gym now, so he’s doing the challenge for the first time, and my roommates Laura, Guy and Tiff were just interested in checking themselves with the way they eat and doing a challenge for fun. They’re all relatively health conscious and Guy already cooked at home way more than I ever did. Laura had an especially bad soda addiction and she’s using the challenge mostly as a way to hold herself accountable and break those cravings. They’re all doing an awesome job and everyone has been really encouraging. It rules to do this with support of the people around you.

Activity: This was a super busy day.
7:30am – 5 mile bike ride to work
2pm – 45 minute nanny walk pushing double stroller
5:30pm – crossfit class with snatch – worked up to 75 (almost back to my previous PR! super stoked), double under practice for 5 minutes – did 89 double unders in 12 sets. last time i did double unders i only got 40 because i didn’t have my rope. it was reassuring to know i hadn’t lost it if i was using the correct rope size
9pm: bike 3 miles to fishtown
11:30pm – bike 6.5 miles home

Supplements – 2 1000mg BCAA capsules before and after crossfit class

Food:
7:20am – 3/4 cup greek yogurt, 1/8 cup blueberries, 1/2 tsp fig jam (has sugar added, but serving size is 1tbsp for 11g sugar, so i would guess 1/2 tsp has only a tiny amount of sugar?)
10:30am – 1/3 cup raw cashews, 5 dried prunes
12:15pm – 3 egg omelet with garlic scape, 5 grape tomatoes, handful of brocolli, raw grass fed aged cheddar
3pm – 2 carrots with 2tbsp hummous, 1 wedge of aged as fuck cheese, cup of coffee with splash of whole milk
8pm – whole foods salad bar on the run – spinach and kale salad, roasted sweet potato wedges, one hardboiled egg, a small (1/4 cup?) helping of mashed potatoes cooked with cream, 1 strip of fake meat (made with soy and pea protein, no gluten!), greek salad with cucumber tomato and feta, asparagus with orange and fig – checked everything for ingredients and oils. not a cheat meal! a few things had canola oil cooked into them but i imagine it was very minor
8:30pm – one wedge of cocoa acai date power chunk from whole foods, all clean

Day 7: 6/3

 

One week in!! Overall, feeling good – more energized and getting better about planning my meals ahead so I’m not stuck without a meal and forced to eat out. This week I’m starting back on BCAAs (branch chain amino acid supplements. they stimulate protein synthesis in your body and help your muscles recover) and am trying to get better about drinking a whey shake each day when possible. I still struggle to get enough protein unless I drink it. 

Activity:
took the bus today 😦
1:30pm – 45 minute nanny walk

 

Food: 
7:30am – 1 mango, 1/4 cup blueberries, 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter, 8oz cup coffee with almond milk
12:30 – one micro’d/mashed sweet potato mixed with 1/4 cup greek yogurt and salt, topped with 2 eggs fried in butter, 1/2 cup kale, small chunk of crumbled feta, and some salsa verde
3:45pm – 5 strawberries
6pm – 3/4 cup rice, tempeh curry with eggplant