Nutrition Is...

Another Smoothie Day!

Yesterday, I woke up later than I should have, and thus missed the opportunity for my breakfast green smoothie...and then went out for a large late lunch and didn't want to make it when I got home.  Oh well...on to...

Day 3!

I awoke this morning, and the first thought I had, after "aaaack the sun is too bright!" was "smoothie time!"  I wanted to make a Caribbean-esque smoothie, so what I ended up making was:





2 big handfuls spinach
A little bit of kale
A small handful of parsley
1 banana








1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup peaches
1/2 cup mango
1/2 avocado
1 tbsp chia seeds
About 2 cups of coconut water






I learned a few days ago, that in order to have the smoothest consistency when you don't have a turbo-super-duper blender (which I don't), to blend the greens with the liquid first.  I tried that out today, and boy did it make for a smoother smoothie!  I highly recommend it!

I've been hungry relatively soon after having my smoothies both days, but I think it has to do with the fact that I was approaching lunch time by the time I had it, and therefore was in need of more food, if you know what I mean.  I've had smoothies until dinner in the past, and wasn't hungry at all.

I love how quick they are to make too!  I couldn't run to the local coffee shop for a bagel and back, in the time it takes to make my green smoothies.  In fact, how long I'd be in line is more than it take to make them.  Crazy!

Looking forward to tomorrow!

A Smoothie A Day, Day One

Welcome to Smoothieland!

Today is October 1st, which marks the first day that I'm drinking a green smoothie each day, preferably/hopefully for breakfast.

I woke up in the morning this morning, and thought, "I'll just lay in bed for a few mins to wake up."

Well, I woke up...again...and it was almost NOON!  What the HECK?!  I know I'm off this week but sheesh!  I gotta nip this in the bud!

As soon as I woke up, I was STARVING.  By that point I should have been almost at the point of eating lunch.  FAMISHED!  Not good, when you still have to make almond milk, make a smoothie, and THEN eat...

Anyway...bygones...  Lesson learned?  1) Set the alarm AND get up, and 2) Make the smoothie the night before!  Problem solved.

So here's the ingredients (for the most part) and what it looked like in the end.  Well, it was greener than the army-green that it appears in the pic (ruddy cell phone camera).

I ended up not using the vanilla like in the pic, and added a little bit of kale.  A very little bit of kale, actually, because I had to use my regular blender for making the smoothie, since my Nutribullet blade is currently AWOL.  Chunks of kale in a smoothie are ICK!

I also added the tiny bit of fruit that was left in one of the bags of frozen fruit, which turned out to be mango and a few strawberries.

So, for those interested, the ingredients list is:

1 banana
1 large handful baby spinach
A little bit of kale
A handful of strawberries
About a half cup of rasperries
A few frozen mango pieces
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1.5 tbsp hemp hearts
4 dates (I should have used a few more)
2 cups (approximately) of almond milk

Nutritious and delicious!

And would I have eaten all that for breakfast?  File that under, "Heeel Naw!"  I'm not the salad for breakfast kind of person. ;)

Want to make your own almond milk?  Click here for instructions!

How To Make Almond Milk

How to make almond milk, the quick and easy way!

What you'll need:

1 cup almonds (about a large handful), NOT roasted
Water

A blender
A nut milk bag/soup strainer bag
An airtight container to hold the almond milk (preferably glass)
A large bowl with a pouring spout

Instructions:

Soak the almonds overnight in water, in the fridge.  This step isn't strictly necessary, but it makes for a much nicer and nuttier milk.

Up to 24 hours later, give the nuts a rinse, and stick them in the blender.  Fill the blender with water to the 4-cup mark.  **Tip--if you want thicker almond milk, just use less water.**

Blend 'er up!

Let the blender blend for at least a minute, at its highest speed.  The longer it blends, the better the milk will be.  I blend around 1-2 minutes I think.  Not that I've ever timed it or anything.

Take your nut milk bag and open it.  I found soup bags for super cheap at the local Asian super market, so that's what I use.  $1.29!

Put your bowl in front of you, and pour the nut milk in the blender into the bag, allowing it to drain into the bowl.  You'll note in the pics that I'm not using a nice big bowl with a spout.  Don't do this.  It can be very messy!

When it gets to the point where the last of the liquid is straining through the bag, give the bag a gentle squeeze to help it out.  Don't be too aggressive though--I learned the hard way that trying to make sure you get every last drop with too much enthusiasm resulted in some of the almond meal getting through the mesh of the bag.  Which meant that I had to strain it again.  Oil.  Trust me--gentle but firm works best!

The end result is beautiful isn't it?  So purdy and white.

Fresh-made almond milk in an airtight container will last in the fridge for about two days.  The 4 cups that I made today will also last me 2 smoothies.  Coincidence?  Hmmm...

**Quick Tip:  Soaked and rinsed almonds will last about 4 days in the fridge.  So why not save some time, and soak enough for 2 batches?  That way you only have to soak the almonds every 4 days, instead of every 2.**

Check out this cool "how-to" infographic I found from nobeefhere.com!

The only difference in how I make mine, is I just use tap water (if I'm using water as a base) because the water here is pretty good, and I don't have a filter anyway, and if I use any sort of sweet, it's almost always dates (because they're sweet, have a flavour, and are quite good for you), or occasionally raw honey.

Stevia I personally don't care for, I prefer raw honey to agave, coconut nectar and palm sugar are SUPER expensive here, and I can't have maple syrup in my home. Seriously, I have a PROBLEM.  The problem being I LOOOVE IT and find way too many reasons to inhale it if it's in my pantry!!

Whew!  What a crazy few months!

Luckily, things have returned to a semblance of normalcy, so I can return to this blog!

So!

Tomorrow I'm starting a little "challenge" to have a green smoothie each day.  I love smoothies anyway, they're so easy, cheap and delicious!  And of course nutritious!  I'll post the ingredients and pics as often as possible, for those who are new to the green smoothie idea, if you want to take part.  There are also lots of recipes out there--just be SURE that all your ingredients are whole foods.  Adding something like white sugar pretty much defeats the purpose!  If you have any doubts at all, shoot me a message/comment, and I'll do my best to help you out. :)

Green smoothies are incredibly good for you.  Think about the last time that you had fruit and vegetables for breakfast.  And no, fruit danishes don't count!  If you do it right, you can have 2 or even 3 servings (or more, depending on the size of your blender!) of fruits and veggies, just with your breakfast!

I found the image on the right online (click here for the website and page), which illustrates just how much you can put in a smoothie.
Isn't it amazing?!  Would you eat all that for breakfast?  Maybe some would, but I can say for me, definitely not.  And not every day!

Tomorrow, I'm going to buy apples and frozen fruit.  Well, after I "spring clean" my freezer.  I just have a regular old fridge freezer, so it fills up quickly.  It seems like just a month or so ago that I clean it out last, but I know it was a lot longer ago than that.  I always apply the "if I haven't reached for it recently/don't know what it is, it's gone" part of spring cleaning, so it won't take long.

I have some strawberries, a few persimmons I found at the farmer's market this weekend (they were quite the find!), baby spinach (I prefer baby for smoothies because they're tender and blend better), kale, and bananas in the fridge.  I also have raw almonds I'm soaking, to make almond milk tomorrow morning (since I have a vast amount of almonds but no almond milk in the pantry).

I think I have frozen cherries, the very end of a mango/berry mix (well, it was berries, and mango, which I combined to save space)...maybe some blueberries...and I think that's it for the freezer.  So I think I'll buy pineapple (which is GREAT in a green smoothie), mango...we'll see.  Maybe something will be on sale!

Frozen fruit is great for smoothies, particularly off-season.  They're frozen at the peak of their freshness and nutritional density, and they're MUCH cheaper Autumn-Spring in northern climes.  Just make sure you look at the ingredients.  It should ONLY say the fruit that's in it, and nothing else. Some brands even add sugar!  I mean really!  It's FRUIT PEOPLE!!

Tomorrow I'm going to make roasted root vegetables for lunch or dinner.  A work friend of mine from work, asked if I'd help her to try to figure out what's in a spice blend she bought from 10,000 Villages a couple of years ago.  She loves it, but had poured the spice blend into a container when she bought it, throwing away the bag.  D'OH!  Apparently she's been trying to make it last as long as possible, but hasn't been able to figure it out yet, so decided to sacrifice a bit.  I think I have about 1 tsp, so that should be enough to cook with.  I could taste it before cooking, but "raw" spices often taste so different than cooked, I think making a dish is a better idea.  It smells like some sort of Moroccan blend, so that's a good start.

Anyway, it's after midnight (!! How did that happen?!) so I'm hittin' the hay.  See you tomorrow!

Now you know!

It's day 72!  So what you might ask?  Well, day 72 means that I successfully completed the "no sugar for 70 days challenge" 2 days go!

I'm so so so so SO proud of myself.  Honestly!  I could jump for joy!

I feel different now, somehow.  Not physically (not that I noticed anyway) but inside.  Like I've crossed a threshold, and I'm now moving to a new stage.  Dunno what it is but I like it!

I've finished Phase One (no sugar) and Phase Two (lots of days of juice until lunch), which means now is time for Phase Three!

Phase Three has two parts:

1) 2 juices per day plus a smallish raw snack, then a sensible dinner
2) 3 juices per day, then a sensible dinner

Phase Three is about transitioning and detoxing so I'm ready for the next stage--I'm going to do a
juice feast (not fast) for as many days as I can, from June 1-10th.  I don't know how long it will be (it's my first time), and I'm going to take it day by day.  Or juice by juice if necessary!

I've found that all it takes to make things easier when I was juicing until lunch, was my body (and mind) getting used to it.  The first few days were a challenge, but as time went on I found that I was satisfied until just before lunch.  I was happy to be eating my lunch, but I wasn't eating my desk either.  Which is good, because it's rather difficult to chew...

So that's why the 2-part plan for Phase 3.  2 weeks of part 1 and 2 weeks of part 2 ought to be enough to help me transition to just juices and tonnes of water starting June 1st. :)  I have no doubt my mind is going to play a big part of it, for good or bad.

I'm planning on being as kind, and non-judgmental to myself as I can be, both during the juice feast and in the month leading up to it.  Over the 70 days of the processed sugar challenge, I learned that I got a LOT further, a LOT easier, by being kind to myself and not stressing about it, just doing it.

So that's going to be my M.O. over the next 6 weeks or so.  Being kind, patient with myself, and allowing it to happen.  To enjoy myself, and enjoy the benefits of the juice, including detoxing.  Definitely better out than in!

Will I juice for 10 days?  Dunno.  Will I juice for 1 day, then eat for a day, then juice for a day?  Dunno.  Will I juice all day and have a snack?  Dunno!  What I'm going to do is explore what is good for me, what feels good to me, what works for me, because I know that it's MY juice feast, and therefore it'll be customized to me! :)

Why juice fasting/feasting?  Check out the video below. :)

Happy sunny FINALLY WARM(ish) DAY!

It's been a while...well let's be honest, it's been a looooong while...since I've posted, but I'm...

...to say that today is DAY 49 of a processed sugar-free me!!!

I really can't get over it.  It hasn't always been easy.  It's still Easter Junk Season.  I have random chocolate-bunny-cravings...not just chocolate, oh no nothing so simple.  I mean bunny chocolate specifically.  Once in a while I can quite literally taste it.  Weird eh?

Nevertheless, I have stayed strong.  Last week was my boss's (unexpected and emotional) last day, and nearly everything that was brought for the goodbye coffee was sugary.  But it didn't even really tempt me very much, which really surprised me.  I had some cheese, and some fruit. :)

Afterward, a co-worker who knows how hard avoiding processed sugar has been for me my whole life, and has seen me attempt to be processed sugar-free before, commented to me that it seemed a lot easier on me this time.  I thought about it, and had to agree.  It's not that it didn't look good (they had CARROT CAKE, PEOPLE!!) but, I'm not eating processed sugar.  Period as it turns out.  

Cool!!!

Anyway, so very happy that things are progressing!

There's another, more secret thing that I've been in the process of doing and which I'm excited about--juicing!

I've been having wonderful, fresh, raw mostly veggie with some fruit juices for breakfast on many days over the first few weeks.  No pressure, just enjoyment.  

It's been great!  At first, my body was all "WHAT THE?!" but surprisingly quickly it seemed to understand the massive amount of vitamins and nutrients it was getting, and settled down.  Even more than that, I started to feel satisfied!  That was a shock, and it really didn't take much to get to that part, which is amazing.

On Saturday (3 days from today) I'm transitioning to Phase 2 (of 3)--fresh nutritious juice for breakfast, everyday.  I'm so looking forward to it!  The only reason I'm not starting tomorrow, is because I'm attending a book launch of a friend's new cookbook tomorrow, which is in Toronto.  We'll be there until Friday evening, but just TRY to stop me from starting after that!!

It just feels like now is the time to make the final push in my health.  To finally reach my long-dreamed-for goals.  I think I'm finally ready for the big change which is sure to come.  But as a friend just said (like 10 minutes ago lol)--"Stop thinking about it.  Just juice.  Don't make it a big head thing." which I thought was brilliant and frankly kind of profound.  I love fresh juice, I love how it makes me feel, how good for me it is.  So, I will just juice, and enjoy it--both the juice itself, and the path it will bring me down.  Wherever it leads!

If you're interested in juicing, and want to know all about it, there's a great YouTube channel called Raw Raw Life, which quite literally will answer any question you might have, if you watch enough of the videos!  The lady on the videos, Carla Douglin, is so insightful and honest, and frankly HILARIOUS a lot of the time.  I definitely recommend checking it out.

You can find the channel here: Raw Raw Life On YouTube  

Here's one to get your started. :)

Visions of chocolate bunnies are dancing through my head.

For whatever reason, I'm so totally wanting chocolate bunnies specifically.  Not just chocolate (though I'm sure that would do) but bunnies.  Are bunnies tastier?  Who knows.  But I want to bite their ears off with gusto.

Today is Day 10 processed-sugar-free.  Or 14% to my goal.  Not sure how that makes me feel..."Yay 14% already!" or "OMG only 14%?!"

I'm ultimately the one who is in charge here, and I'm not going to give in, no matter how much the little chocolate-bunny-loving sonofabitch devil on my shoulder is whispering in my ear.

This is the single most important thing I can currently do for my health, and to take a big leap toward the me I want to be.  I spent the first 40 years of my life in its grip.  I won't be a sugar addict anymore.  I simply refuse.

  

KOMBUCHA!!

About a month ago, I started brewing my own kombucha.  I was never a huge drinker of it, partly because of the cost, but I had heard a lot of really great things about it, and wanted to check it out for myself.

Things started out small, owing to the fact that I started from scratch by not purchasing the "scoby" but growing them myself.  (Type in "how to brew kombucha" on Youtube, and you'll get lots of videos on the subject).  As time went on, and I had more scobies to work with, my volume of brew...grew!

Stuff for growing the first two scobies (there's organic white sugar there too, just not in the pic):

A batch with a couple of toddler scobies doing there thing.  I use all organic ingredients:

The brew is expanding!

And two pics from today.  On top, two large bottles on their second brew--the one on the left was made today, and is peach, and the one on the right is blueberry, which I started drinking today; and the pic below that is my brew area.  I drank half or so of the blueberry bottle so put the other half into one of the green Grolsch bottles (you can see it in the right hand pic--there are three toward the front of the desk, and the blueberry is the darker one).  Empty bottles at the back.  The jars with "sweaters" on them are smaller batches of kombucha brewing (it's winter here), and the large jar to the left is what I hope will turn into a "continuous brew".  I didn't want to spent a lot of money on an "official" jar, so tried this one instead--it was $17!

So have I felt any benefits since starting to drink kombucha everyday a month ago?  You betcha!!!

Two things actually.  One, I can now breathe through both nostrils.  I didn't even realize this was an issue, until I suddenly had access to tonnes of Oxygen!  HAHA!  The other has had a profound effect on my life--after 40 years of pretty maddening sleep issues, I have fallen asleep all but 3 nights with no problem.  I have never in my LIFE had this much success with falling asleep.  It's ASTOUNDING I tell you!

Given the fact that each serving, despite being made with organic ingredients, is just a few cents per serving, and the benefits I'm already feeling, I can see myself brewing kombucha for quite a long time.  I can't wait to see what effect not having processed sugar, AND drinking kombucha on the regular will have on my life!

This is a year of change.  Big change if I have anything to do with it.  Big honking change, which will fundamentally alter the paradigm that is my life...BUT will enable me to become the person I've always felt I was, but was actively denying myself from achieving.

In order to change my paradigm, I have to be willing to be uncomfortable.  Perhaps very uncomfortable.  Comfort comes from the familiar, and since that will no longer be the case, I'm bound to be...uncomfortable.

It simply must be done, however.

Step One was to figure out what I wanted to accomplish this year, and I believe I've mostly figured that out, though it may be updated as time goes on.  Then work them into steps to accomplish.

Step Two is upon me.  Step Two is to deal once and for all with my processed sugar addiction.

The deets:

*  Stop eating processed sugar in obvious things like sweets.  I started Feb 19/14 and it will go for 2 months until April 20th.
*  Limit processed food.

I'm limiting processed foods for a few reasons.  One, there's processed sugar in virtually ALL
processed food, even things you wouldn't expect in, like savoury snacks and "diet" ready-made meals.  Two, I have found that if I eat less sugar, I crave more salt and unhealthy fats.  Since sugar, salt and unheathy fats are in all processed foods in varying amounts, limiting it seems like a good proactive step. :)

The reasons WHY I'm doing this are many, and in no particular order:

I enjoy it at the time, but shortly thereafter I have a lot of rather clear symptoms that tell me my body does NOT like processed sugar, including fatigue, mood wings, heaviness in my body, and of course ultimate weight gain.

The other part of it is I now know the APPALLING effects that processed sugar has on my long-term health.  When I was younger, I could kind of brush off the idea that consuming so much processed sugar was bad for me, saying that I didn't feel affected by it at all (which wasn't really true, because I didn't know how I COULD feel without it, thus had nothing to compare my supposedly "fine" feeling to), but now, as I enter my 40's, I'm starting to feel my body rebelling.  There are days when I feel like my body is falling apart.  And that is SCARY.  What in the world is my life going to be like when I reach retirement age?!

Premature aging is usually something talked about by cosmetic companies who mean what you look like on the outside as you get older.  But premature aging can also mean the speeding up of the aging of your body.  When your body is prematurely aging, it likely will lead to not only a diminished quality of life, but also a diminished quantity of life.  I already feel far older than I did
just a few years ago, and I know it's because of the not-so-good food choices I've made.  I do also eat healthy, clean, whole foods, so the fact that the "unclean" foods I consume has affected me so much is alarming, not only for myself, but for the many people in the world who eat FAR more junk than I do!

I also know that it can be reversed with good food choices, and moving my body.  The biggest part of that is the removal of the vast majority processed sugar from my diet, permanently.

So!  For these 2 months, processed sugar will be all but eliminated.  NO obvious things like sweets with processed sugar in them, and very limited processed foods since I know they also contain processed sugar (among other things).

Today is day 4.  I wanted to blog about this when I started, but I also wanted to have a few days behind me so I could talk about my experiences as I go.

Day one wasn't bad at all, since I've gone a day without processed sugar before.  Day two was a bit more of a challenge, as at the end of the work day I kept thinking that I'd stop by the grocery store after work and "pick something up" which of course means something either ready-made or pre-made that just needs heating in the oven.  AND lately has also meant buying chocolate.  You know, "Just this one time" which of course is a lot more than just that one time!

Day three was my first real challenge, because I was hungry at one point and wanted to "pick
something up" SO badly, and I was also really wanted chocolate.  It wasn't a full-blown craving, where you're doubled over, clutching your stomach (went through that was sugar in the past), but I really wanted it.  I didn't have it however.

Today is day 4.  So far it's been good, but I'm at home, and there's no junk at home.  There's junk at the store, which is only a block away, but I'm too lazy to go out in the cold and "pick something up" LOL!  Hey man, whatever you gotta do, right?

Up until about 2 or 3 years ago, I took FOUR sugar in my tea.  FOUR people.  I whittled it down and down, until I was to 1/2 a sugar.  Then one day when waiting for the bus, I thought that if I was at such a small amount, why am I taking any sugar at all?  So I started drinking my tea with no sugar.  If you'd told me a few years ago that I'd enjoy my tea with NO sugar, I'd think you were daft.  I'd tried going cold-turkey before with sugar in my tea, and found it disgusting.

My experience with my tea gives me hope that I can and will adjust my lifestyle to where I want it to be, I just need to keep working at it.  I know sugar (and processed foods my extension) are my biggest hurdle, and are also the things which are the worst for me, which is why I decided to tackle them first.  Get the worst part over with right away, instead of worrying about it in the future, right?
 
Onward and upward from here!  Here's a great video about processed sugar that I watched today.  You may never look at the "white stuff" the same again!

Whole, Real Food, Day 56

November was great, the first half of December was good…and then it all went to pot!  HA!

But, you know what?  I’m not giving up.  Why?  Because I want to make big changes in my life, and the only way to do that is to learn from my mistakes, try new ways of accomplishing what I want to, and find the right path that will take me to the life I want to live.

So!

Earlier this month, I started to realize that I was on the same slippery slope as I've found myself on before, which would lead inevitably to a return to the life I used to lead.  I do NOT want to return to that version of myself, in fact I REFUSE to, and I will fight, kicking and screaming to keep from returning there.

When I realized what was starting to happen again, I decided to do something about it.  Right then my sister texted me saying that if we are what we eat, she was a potato chip.  And I was a chocolate and caramel-coated piece of popcorn.

Coincidence?  Hmmmm…

Anyway, I thought about what to do to put myself back on the path to the life I wanted to live.  In the past, I've made elaborate plans to work out xx amount each week, eat 100% healthy, walk everywhere, etc.  The problem was I wasn't considering what might actually work. 

I've also been dreaming for quite a while about what life would be like when I reached my goals, and therefore could start to live the life I wanted.  And to my mind, achieving the life I wanted could only be achieved by the elaborate and unrealistic plans I mentioned above. 

So what happened?  Well you don’t have to be a fortune-teller to see what happened:

I got nowhere.

Since I’m now of a mind of learning from my previous experiences, rather than “failing” and beating myself up for my failures, I tried another tack—to make a plan of sorts, but make it with a mind to what I’m willing to do for the long-haul, and what makes allowances for real life.

Revolutionary!  Well…at least for me. J

Phase one was starting to think about what I would do when I lived the life I wanted, and therefore what I was going to start to do right now.  In other words, stop dreaming and do it. 

Phase two was figuring out how to manage my food intake, while still living a real life, and in no way shape or form being ridiculously restrictive, what could eventually become automatic, but while still working toward my health goals.

So far, the form that’s taken is a plan to eat healthy, whole foods 90% of the time, stay in my calorie range 90% of the time, and try it for 35 days.  Why 35 days?  Because every 35 days our livers are renewed, and if our liver is clean and healthy, it has a much better chance to clean out the rest of our body!  Cool right?

I’m also thinking of things in terms of what I've done for the week, rather than just for a day, because I've often fallen for the trap that has also snared so many others—the “oh just for today, I can start tomorrow”.  Well that might be true, but when I repeated it to myself over and over and over, time went by and I not only didn't “start tomorrow”, I found myself further away from my goals, and on that darned slope again!!!

I really like how this plan allows for flexibility.  The end plan, after I try 90x90x35 for a while (35 days to be exact!), may look more like 80x90 or 90x80 or 95x95 for all I know.  Somewhere above 80% clean, 80% of the time.  It’s about trying new things to see what works for me, so we’ll see!

For now, it’s 90x90x35, the Liver Plan (lol). 

Phase two week one ends on Friday (two days from now), and it so far has been a mixed bag.  That’s OK, since I’m making some pretty serious life changes, and discovering what will ultimately work for me.  I’m also PMSing (sorry guys) so the junk cravings are in full swing!

This week I have given in a couple of times (a non-healthy muffin today, and too much chocolate a couple of evening’s ago) and tracked it all.  It doesn't disappear just because it’s not acknowledged!  This week so far I've also made some healthy choices, and planned for some life events as well.  I knew I was going out for sushi earlier this week, so I planned for that.  Normally I’d go nutso (I love sushi) but I figured out how I could have what I wanted and enough of it to feel satisfied, without leaving full and round like a teletubby.  Yes, it was a large meal, but it was smaller than it could have been.

Because I’m thinking of things in terms of a week, not a day, I’m going to do what I can to make up for my little PMS-y indiscretions (lol) get my exercise in for the week (activity as much as I can, actual workouts at least 2x), and try to make sure I’m as close to where I hope to be in a “good” week.  If there’s a discrepancy, I won’t beat myself up, as that is what I used to do, but I no longer do as the new me.  I’ll learn from my “mistakes”—be prepared for the PMS and have healthy versions of comfort foods at the ready!—and move on to next week. 

For those who like to track, here’s a snip of what each week will look like, before I enter the data:

To translate, 1600 cals per day is just under my max (by 50 for a little wiggle room) at the moment, per day.  The “remaining cals” line is 11200 because that’s 1600 x 7 days.  Since I’m currently allowing myself up to 10% of my food as unhealthy (anything not whole and clean, including things like alcohol) I track per day how much, if any, of my cals are unhealthy each day, and tally at the bottom.  The tally is currently at 1060 because that’s the unused portion.  My week starts on Saturday, because that’s market day!

This plan is also going to allow me to see trends.  Like “just this one thing” thinking, which will show up each time in the “unhealthy” column.  Or if my resolve wanes toward the end of the week, or Mondays mean more comfort-eating, or whatever.  I’m not just trying to reach my health goals, after all, but reach my “me” goals too, which means I want to figure out why I found myself where I did.

I’m a bit of a planner.  Not sure if you noticed.

Luckily, the hard work is done as far as the planning, and now all I have to do is copy a new little chart at the beginning of each week, be a good girl and track my food and exercise, and move forward to a rosy future!

OH!  And did I mention that I’ve started not only drinking but brewing kombucha?!  Stay tuned for a post about THAT!  So EXCITED!!!