The Aftermath

I know that it has been a few days since I've blogged. I really intended on writing a post on Monday, but I got distracted. On Friday I started reading a book series called "The Hunger Games." And it basically has consumed my life for the past few days (bad, I know). I have this disease where if I am reading a good book, I can't seem to put it down. I finished all 3 books in 5 days. Although the books were so good, I am kinda glad that I am finished with them so I can have my life back.

What I was going to write about on Monday was how life has been going after the challenge. Because I had been craving a few things during the challenge, I decided to let myself eat those things and then I would start back with the real food on Monday. Let's just be honest, that did not happen at all. I have pretty much been eating whatever I wanted, and mostly that didn't include any real food. Another part of the problem was that this weekend I couldn't put those stupid books down, and I refused to go to the grocery so I could continue reading.

The greatest thing about the past few days, though, has been that I have felt really terrible. I've been sick to my stomach and I felt the mysterious side pain a few times. That probably doesn't sound like a great thing, but it really just proves to me that what I learned on the challenge is true- I feel better when I eat better. So the new plan is this: after I get back from my vacation next week, I am going to go back to the real food.

Challenge Complete!

Wow, I can't believe I did it. And I really can't believe that I actually enjoyed the experience. As I have said so many times before, I learned so much from this experience and I want to share those things with you. Ah yes, it's time for another numbered list! So here are the things I learned/the benefits I experienced from the 10 day challenge:

1. Real food is filling- I hardly ever was hungry during the challenge and I ate so much less than I normally do. Looking back at the things I ate during the challenge, I realized that I used to eat double that and was still hungry multiple times a day.
2. Real food is delicious and so flexible- You can make almost anything with real ingredients and normally the food tastes much better than with the fake ingredients. Not once throughout the challenge did I think that what I was eating was disgusting, and I didn't get bored with my meal rotation system. I looked forward to eating the real food and didn't really think that I would before the challenge started.
3. You feel better when you eat better food- People kept asking me throughout the challenge if I felt better. The answer was always yes, but sometimes it was hard to explain. I wouldn't say that I had more energy, but I definitely felt healthier. You know, when you eat a really unhealthy meal and you feel kinda gross afterwords, well I realized that I had been feeling like that all of the time, but I didn't notice because I had nothing to compare it to. Not only did I feel healthier, but I am pleased to report that the challenge greatly reduced my stomach problems including the strange pain in my side!
4. Sweets and junk food should be seen as special-occasion food and should not be eaten everyday.- This challenge really changed the way I view food. Before the challenge, I would eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. So basically I was eating a lot of junk food. I don't think that I can/should cut out junk food completely, but I want to only eat it on certain occasions, not everyday.
5. I really do have time to make nutritious food for myself.- Because I am single and don't have any kids, when I get home from work I have as much time as I need to cook. Even though it takes a lot longer to cook a healthy meal than to heat up some non-real food in the oven or microwave, I have the time to do that. So I need to take advantage of that now, because in the future I might not have as much free time as I do now.
6. Throughout this experience I have felt more grown-up. When I got home from work, I pretty much had to start immediately doing something because there was a lot to do--cooking, doing dishes, food preparation for the next day, running, and blogging. I have definitely been less lazy for the past 10 days, and I think that's a good thing.
7. I really can make this into a lifestyle change- I definitely want to continue eating real food, but I will need to tweak some of the rules. I want to make sure that I am eating real, wholesome food that provides lots of nutrients. I want to buy items with as few ingredients as possible, stay away from processed foods, and buy more whole wheat items. I will not be able to buy only organic foods (they are so expensive).  I also will not necessarily stick to the 5 ingredient or less rule. (I do want to buy foods that I know what the ingredients are, but it is very hard to find some things with less than 5 ingredients.) And I won't always say no to junk food, but I also won't always say yes. During the challenge I always had to say no to processed food, and that did make me have a few cravings--cupcakes, pizza, and a big juicy hamburger. From now on I want to primarily eat whole foods, but know that it is ok to eat a cupcake or piece of pizza every now and then.
8. I lost 4 pounds! Even though the food I was eating was not always low in calories (granola, avocados, almonds), I still managed to lose some weight. And losing 4 pounds in 10 days is pretty good.

Wow, I am impressed with all of the things I learned in just 10 short days! Thanks for being on this journey with me. I have appreciated all of your support and encouragement!

Day 10

I can't believe that this is the final day of the challenge. In some ways it seems like years since I have eaten "non-real food", and in other ways the 10 days have flown by. I have learned so much from this experience and I can't wait to share those things with you. But I am going to save that for tomorrow, or maybe Saturday depending on how many parties I go to tomorrow night ; )

The end of the challenge is bitter sweet. I am sad that I will no longer be under pressure to eat healthy food. Doing the challenge with my co-workers, writing this blog, and having to sign a pledge to follow the rules all kept me motivated to do the right thing and eat well. Now I won't have those things driving me. I don't want to go back to my old way of eating, but I think it will be very easy for me to slip back in that habit. But at the same time, I am a bit excited that the challenge is over. There was a lot of pressure to make sure that I was not putting a single bit of non-real food in my mouth, and I want to be able to eat a slice of pizza on special occasions. But I think the thing I am most excited about is getting to eat a Muddy's cupcake tomorrow thanks to my friends Laura and Drew!

And finally, for the last time:
Breakfast- Granola with milk and blueberries
Snack- Almonds
Lunch- Tortillas with hummus, spinach, and cheese; and an apple
Dinner- Tortilla with pasta sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and feta (aka a Pizzatilla- pizza on a tortilla); and some carrots

I really wish I had taken a pic of my dinner. It was so delicious and it looked pretty.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Day 9

My commitment to this challenge was definitely tested today. A local restaurant owner provided a few free pizzas for our staff lunch today. The pizza sat in the office for about 20 minutes before lunch, and continually tempted me with its delicious smells. As we all gathered for lunch and the pizza sat in front of me, I felt my resolve begin to waver. Maybe just one bite wouldn't hurt, right? Thankfully I did not give in to temptation, and I left lunch feeling full and satisfied with my real food. One thing the pizza dilemma helped me to remember is that it really is ok to eat a piece of pizza every now and then, but what is not ok is eating pizza and other junk food every day for every meal.


Breakfast- Granola with milk and blueberries
Lunch- Peanut butter and honey sandwich and a banana
Dinner- Quesadilla with Monterey Jack cheese, black beans, and avocado; and some raisins
Post-dinner snack- I think I will treat myself to a powerball tonight!

Day 8

I just finished day 1 of my second week of the Couch to 5k program. I still hate running, but my motivation is to not make my coworkers wait on me at the finish line (you can't finish the race until all members of your team are there), so I definitely have a lot of work to do to make that happen.

Enough about running, let's talk about food! Only 2 more days to go. I think the Powerballs from yesterday were a hit at the office. One quick note: they are much better when they have been in the fridge for a little bit.

I had my first food fail today. I decided I wanted to make a smoothie for breakfast. I don't have time in the mornings to spend making a smoothie, so I decided to make it last night. That was mistake #1. Mistake #2 came about because the recipe called for 3 ripe bananas--the riper the better. There is, in fact, a point where the bananas become too ripe and start to go bad. Apparently I was a little over-zealous when I was choosing my ripe bananas. I tried to suffer through the smoothie, thinking it would get better, but it did not. So I had a handful of granola, and once again, I was full until lunch!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for:
Breakfast- a little bit of a really gross smoothie and a handful of granola
Snack- a glass of Simply Apple (sooo good!) and a powerball
Lunch- Whole wheat tortillas with hummus, spinach, and cheddar cheese; carrots, and a larabar
Snack- another powerball
Dinner- Whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce, and a spinach salad with feta, sliced almonds, and balsamic vinegar

Day 7

So, as I posted a few days ago, I have been craving sweets. During my initial grocery run, I did not buy any desserts. That's crazy! But today I thought that I would splurge and get the ingredients to make Powerballs from the 100 Days blog. This recipe is super flexible and extra extra delicious!
Here is how I decided to make them:

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey (I think next time I will reduce the amount of honey to 1/3 cup because they were so sweet)
• 1 1/2 cups organic rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raisins
• Unsweetened organic coconut

Basically, you mix the first 4 ingredients together. Form the mixture into balls and roll them in the coconut. You can substitute nuts or other dried fruit for the raisins, and you can substitute crushed nuts or granola for the coconut. I decided to half the recipe from the blog and was so glad that I did. The recipe on the blog says that the whole recipe makes 10-12 balls, but that is not accurate. The half recipe made 24 balls! And because I didn't anticipate making so many, my coworkers will get to try them tomorrow!
A note for my friends on weight watchers: If you reduce the amount of honey to 1/3 cup, these are only 2 points a piece. Not bad for a super delicious dessert!
Here are some pictures:

And finally, here is what I have/will eat today:
Breakfast- Granola with milk and blueberries
Lunch- Grilled cheese sandwich and an orange
Snack- 1 Powerball (I had to taste them to make sure they were good)
Dinner- Baked Tilapia, green beans, and a baked potato with a little butter and cheese
And let's be honest, I'm going to eat another Powerball for dessert!

Day 6

It's hard to believe that I'm over half way through the challenge! I'm still loving it, and I am learning/gaining so much from this experience. I am going to hold off on writing about all of the benefits I have experienced until the end of the 10 days, though. I don't want to jump the gun thinking I am learning something that turns out differently in the end. So, I'll leave you with that cliff-hanger and my meals for the day:

Breakfast- Granola with milk and blueberries
Lunch- Egg salad on Triscuits and raisins
Dinner- Quesadilla with Monterey Jack cheese, black beans, avocado and cumin; and broccoli on the side

 Here are some pictures of the delicious quesadilla. It looked much prettier this time around. The second picture is the inside of the quesadilla. Yum!

Day 5

Until today, I haven't had any major cravings for "non-real food". But I think the world has decided to gang up on me. I have been relaxing today and watching a little TV, and it seems like people are eating cake on every channel. Since I haven't had any desserts in 5 days, I'm beginning to crave something sweeter than a piece of fruit. And cake is my ultimate weakness. Maybe Muddy's makes a real food approved cupcake? Probably not.

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast- Oatmeal with honey, cinnamon, and raisins
Lunch- Grilled cheese sandwich and an orange
Snack- Carrots and hummus
Dinner- Spaghetti with meat sauce and a spinach salad with feta, sliced almonds, and balsamic vinegar

Day 4

Seriously, I am loving this 10 day challenge. It is so great to only feel hungry around meal times, and maybe it's all in my head, but I really feel healthier.

One thing that I am not enjoying is training for the 5k. I know it's only been 2 days, but I really don't like running. I will never understand those people who love to run. It's like torture. But at least I feel proud of myself for running on a Friday night, especially when I have a new Netflix that I can't wait to watch.

My food for the day:
Breakfast- Granola with milk and blueberries
No snack once again!
Lunch- Egg salad on Triscuits, apple slices, and cheddar cubes
Afternoon "snack"- 1 cup of coffee with honey and half and half
Dinner- Baked Tilapia, a baked potato with a little bit of butter and cheese, and green beans

Sorry, no pictures tonight. Starting today I am "recycling" some of my meals. Basically, since I am only cooking for 1 person, I decided on 3 different lunches and dinners that I would rotate throughout the 10 days (each meal would be eaten 3 times, with 1 random meal for the 10th day). One of the great things about this system is that I was able to cook some of the things on the first day I ate them, and then I will be able to just heat up the leftovers for the next 2 times. Tonight it was so nice to come home and have a delicious, healthy dinner and not have to cook anything!

It's Friday, Friday! Have a great weekend : )

Day 3

I think today was even better than yesterday. I didn't get hungry until noon, so I skipped my snack. And I got so full from my lunch that I only ate about half of the food I packed! I didn't get hungry again until around 6:30 tonight, so I am super impressed that the food I am eating is keeping me full. I hope that continues to be true and this isn't some random fluke.

Also, today I began training for the LuvMud 5k that I am doing with my coworkers in October. LuvMud benefits Habitat for Hope, and involves several obstacles during the race including a large mud pit. I am excited about the the mud pit, but not so excited about the 5k. One of my coworkers looked at me like I was crazy when I told him I needed to train to do the 5k. He thought that running for that long would be no problem. Hahaha! He obviously doesn't know me. I think the last time I ran was in college. I am doing a training program called Couch to 5k. The run/walk today was probably a joke for some people, but I am so out of shape that it was more challenging than I thought it would be. Let's hope I can keep up the training so I won't look like an idiot/die during the race.

Here is the delicious food I ate today:
Breakfast- Granola with milk and fresh blueberries (see pic below)
Lunch- Peanut butter and honey on whole wheat bread (made by my awesome coworker, Laura), a banana, and about 6 raisins (I was full!)
Dinner- Quesadilla with Monterey Jack cheese, black beans, avocado and cumin; and broccoli on the side (I'm not including a picture of my dinner because even though it was tasty, it didn't look very pretty)

This is a picture of the granola I made, and it is so delicious! Add a little milk and blueberries and it is the perfect breakfast.

Day 2

I'm feeling much better today than I did yesterday. I didn't feel overly hungry throughout the day, the dishes are washed and food put away from dinner, and all of my food preparations for tomorrow are done!

Here is what I ate today:
Breakfast- Homemade granola with fresh blueberries
Snack- LaraBar
Lunch- Hummus, cheese, and spinach on whole wheat tortillas; carrots; and apple slices
Dinner- Whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce and a little bit of cheese (I also grated some carrots into the sauce to increase the veggie content) and a spinach salad with feta, sliced almonds, and balsamic vinegar

My food today was absolutely delicious, kept me full all day, and was healthy. Success!!!

Day 1

This morning when I woke up I was so excited about getting started on the challenge. I had made my breakfast and packed my lunch the night before, so I was ready to go. But as I sit here writing this, I'm not so excited. I spent most of the day being hungry, I'm really tired, I have a pounding headache, and I still have a lot of food preparations/dishes to do before I go to bed. I wonder if maybe my body is in shock from all of the real food that I had today. Maybe you have to go through a "detox" period before you start to feel the benefits? Let's hope it gets better from here.

It may be kinda lame to post what I've eaten today, but I feel like it makes me more accountable if I have to write down what I ate. So here it is:

Breakfast- Oatmeal (straight from the rolled oats) with honey, cinnamon, and raisins
Snack- Carrots and hummus
Lunch- Egg salad on triscuits,apple slices, and cheddar cubes
Post-work snack- Granola- an unplanned snack but I was so hungry when I got home from work
Dinner- Baked Tilapia (in a lemon butter sauce), green beans, and a baked potato with a little bit of butter and cheese (see picture below)
Post-dinner snack- I wouldn't normally have a post-dinner snack, but I was still a little bit hungry and was craving something sweet, so I ate a few raisins

Grocery carts, reading labels, and rules

The last day of preparations for the 10 day challenge is going well. I've been to the grocery and have all of the items I will need for this week. I've made almost everything I need to make in advance. And I even spent some time cleaning out old extra-processed food from the fridge and pantry.

One thing that I really loved while I was checking out at the grocery today was to look at the items in my shopping cart and compare what I saw to what my shopping cart normally looks like. Today when I looked in the cart I saw a ton of fresh fruits and veggies, some locally grown meat, some bulk nuts and grains, a few organic dairy products, and a couple of spices/condiments. Normally my shopping cart contains lots of frozen items such as pizza, quick meals, and ice cream; lots of chips and crackers; and some cookies (so embarrassing, but I'm trying to be honest). I normally hope that I don't see anyone in the store that I know so they won't judge me based on what I have in my cart, but today I was very proud of my groceries!

Finally, I want to give you the rules that I will be following for the next 10 days. From my shopping trip today, I have already realized how much of our food is processed. I had a hard time finding items to fit the rules, and I spent a lot of time reading labels and putting items back on the shelf because they were off limits. It is incredible how many products that look healthy actually have hidden sugars and weird chemicals in them. So here are the rules that are taken from the 100 Days of Real Food blog:

What you CAN eat:

1. Whole foods that are more a product of nature than a product of industry
2. Lots of fruits and vegetables 
3. Dairy products like milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs, and cheese
4. 100% whole-wheat and whole-grains 
5. Seafood
6. Only locally raised meats such as pork, beef, and chicken (preferably in moderation)
7. Beverages limited to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and beer!
8. Snacks like dried fruit, seeds, nuts and popcorn
9. All natural sweeteners including honey, 100% maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrates are acceptable in moderation
10. Also check out the Recipes & Resources page for a more detailed list of meal options including links to recipes

What you CANNOT eat:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label-- I had to cheat on this rule with a couple of items
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

Real Friends and Real Food

Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day! I got to eat lunch with my sweet friend and former roommate, Emily, who now lives very far away. It was so great to see her and catch up on her life. I also got to meet her one-year-old daughter, who is super, super, super cute! I am definitely going to have to plan a trip to visit both of them sometime soon.

One of the reasons I really wanted to start this blog was to document the "10 Days of Real Food Challenge" that I am about to begin. I got this idea from the 100 Days of Real Food blog. Lisa, the blog writer, and her husband and two kids decided to try and cut out all processed foods from their diet for 100 days. She loved it so much that she started a blog encouraging others to do the same. She recommends that people begin by taking the 10 day challenge, and I decided to try it. Since I had so much fun creating a numbered list yesterday, let's try another one for the reasons that I am doing this:

1. I have a terrible diet. I am doing well if I eat a piece of fruit or some veggies 2-3 times a week. Some of this stems from the fact that I am a picky eater and don't really like vegetables, and some of it stems from the fact that I am lazy. Heating up an unhealthy meal is much easier than spending time cooking a nutritious one. Also, since I am only feeding one person, it has hard for me to buy fresh fruits and veggies because they normally go bad before I can make myself eat them. So I hope that over the next 10 days I will discover how delicious real food is, and that I really do have the time to make healthy meals for myself.
2. I have been feeling really terrible this summer--stomach aches, heartburn, random stomach pains, exhaustion. I hope that by cutting out processed foods some of these symptoms will go away and I will start to feel like myself again.
3. I want to take better care of my temple. I really do think that item #1 on this list is causing item #2, which means that my body is not functioning at its best. Recently, I have become re-convicted about the importance of taking care of my body so that the Lord will be able to use me without my body hindering the task He has for me. 
4. I want this 10 day challenge to be the start of a new healthy lifestyle--complete with eating well and exercising. And as an added bonus, I would love to lose some/a lot of weight along the way.
5. I think this actually sounds like a lot of fun! I'm not sure why I think it will be fun, maybe because I hope to have more energy/feel better or maybe I am just up for a good challenge in my life. Either way, I am excited and ready to get started.

My co-worker, Laura, and I will start the challenge on Tuesday. So yesterday, today, and tomorrow have been/will be preparation days. Yesterday I made a meal plan for every single meal over the next 10 days. I also made a grocery list of all the things I will need, and boy was that a long list. Today I went to the grocery because I wanted to check some prices so hopefully I won't break the bank over the next 10 days (organic/healthy food is expensive!). I ended up buying some items, including all of the items I needed to make my own granola. Right now it is baking in the oven and it smells absolutely delicious! My whole apartment smells like honey and cinnamon. Yum! You can find the recipe on the blog I listed earlier.

I guess that's enough for today. Tomorrow I'll be posting about the final stages of preparation and I will give you the rules I have to follow during the 10 days. Have a happy Sunday!