7 Down

Man....today was rough.

Part of my goal with this 10 day eat clean challenge was to break my emotional ties with food. I know that people eat for pleasure, they eat during social engagements, and they use food to make themselves feed better.

Well today's entire agenda seemed to revolve around food. It wasn't just that I had to say no to food that I like, but it seemed like today was the first day that I felt bad because of the choices I made in regards to food. That's what made me upset....I felt like I missed out on part of our day simply because I wasn't eating.

It started by going to breakfast with family...that right there was a challenge. I found myself surrounded by fresh blueberry scones, pecan french toast, bacon, toast...the list could go on and on. Thankfully the restaurant actually had fruit smoothies. So I ordered my smoothie and my single dry scrambled egg and ate. (or wolfed it down--or so I felt because I was done so much sooner than everyone else.) You would think I would sit there and just watch everyone else eat all of their access food and be proud of myself for not indulging and sticking with my goal, yada yada yada. Nope. I sat there and almost felt bad for myself...like I was "missing out" on something. Yuck. Apparently food and I still have an inappropriate relationship.

We then went swimming...




...and eventually came in to eat lunch before leaving. Bryson and Grandpa had a good time making lunch together and sharing food, etc. again, I know--petty and stupid but I felt like all I was able to do was sit there and watch them eat.

Dinner was slightly delayed because we had to make a quick trip to SAMS Club for our staple of frozen chicken breasts. I grabbed a fresh rotisserie chicken for a nice protein treat, only for my boys to grab hot dogs, soda and Icies for dinner. Bryson was so excited to eat his "big boy" hot dog and he sat at home with Joe and ate dinner so proudly. Where was I? Oh just sitting there eating my measly beans and chicken. (it really wasn't all that bad--but it makes me sad that their food made me feel that way)

Oh well....hopefully tomorrow will be better. I've lost 4 pounds and am only 2 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. (yay!) for a while I thought I would keep this upfront more than 10 days but as of tonight I'll be glad to just make it to day 10.


Until next time.....

Half Way There!

Well it's now day 5 and I have to admit I feel like I've been doing this forever. (well maybe not forever-just a long time)

Let's backtrack a bit through the last three days....

DAY 3: Today was probably the best day out of all 5. I had very little cravings and my energy wasn't too low. The family was out a lot and it was hard to sit with them and eat my salad while they munched on food from one of my favorite restaurants, but the best part was that I survived it all! I planned well and brought fresh fruit for a snack and again, drank plenty of water!

DAY 4: I felt like today I didn't plan well for my meals and I let my hunger get the best of me. Planning ahead--including bringing food with me when out-- has become imperative with staying on track. I tend to eat four or five smaller meals a day rather than the normal big three. I'm still pretty tired regardless of what I eat, and afternoon naps are seemingly becoming more "normal". Another thing I did allow myself were two other "natural" foods that a friend reminded me of--eggs and nuts. I don't eat them every day because I still feel like I am "cheating" when I do. But a good friend reminded me that protein is important, and both of those foods are a good way to get it naturally and "clean". So I do not eat them very day, but I have once or twice when I just needed a good, healthy, protein snack.

DAY 5: I joked above that today I feel like I've been doing is forever....to clarify, I feel like this new "diet" isn't as much of a burden. I'm starting to get in to a groove regarding meal planning, grocery shopping, and how to cook for my boys and incorporate my meals too. I will admit, it still is weird to have my baked potato "snack" at 3 PM but oh well!




It's funny how many things eating "clean" has showed me. I can't say that I don't miss my diet soda, but I am amazed at how little I miss it. Even more, I can't believe that the ONLY thing I've had to drink for five days has been water. Now I never disliked water, but if you told me it was all I could drink for a day I wouldn't have been too thrilled. But so far it's been great and is a big part of keeping me hydrated and "full" between meals. Also, it's amazing how much more you taste your food when drinking water. I guess not having any other taste to "wash it out" really helps foods bring out their flavor.

My other new kick has been smoothies! I started out be eating fruit cut up for breakfast. (generally all I eat before noon are fruits)




But now that I have embarked on the path of making smoothies I don't think I'll ever turn around! Now, remember, I am eating "clean" so these smoothies have no yogurt. (which is fine with me because yogurt is gross!) Smoothies each morning consist of some mix of either strawberries, raspberries, peaches and/or blueberries, crushed ice, water, and half a cup of organic 100% fruit juice. ( yes, the obnoxiously expensive kind that I happened to get BOGO this week) I have had a lot of fun mixing the different fruits to get various tastes each morning. I'm pretty sure that after the extreme "cleanse" phase, these morning smoothies will continue to be a part of my daily diet.

Well I'm half way to my goal! Until next time.....

Day 2!

So I'm on day 2 of this crazy "cleanse" eating plan. Yesterday-Day 1- wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Cutting the soda out cold turkey was hard, and the headache that followed wasn't any better. But as the day went on the fatigue and nauseated feeling started creeping in. I took a nice 2 hour nap which helped and a few Excedrin later I wasn't feeling too bad.

Well today is day 2 and I wish I could say that I'm feeling even better....yeah, NO! I feel like stabbing someone with a fork! I feel even hungrier today and a bit weaker than I expected. I'm drinking tons of water which helps, but I think I have a few more days to go before I start feeling better. Breakfast is my favorite meal.....





Today was like a comedy of errors when we went out. At the grocery store the deli clerk had fresh Colby Jack cheese sliced (my FAVORITE) and offered a free taste. Then later down the bakery was sampling carrot cake! If I didn't know how they tasted then it might not be so hard. To top it off we bought some Boar's Head turkey and both boys had nice, gigantic turkey sandwiches for lunch. That was hard....I think my craving for today has to be that darn turkey.

Oh well. I am going to keep being creative with meals. Today I tried a recipe for baked sweet potato fries that I found on Pinterest.




They weren't bad, but I like the good 'old fashioned version of the normal baked sweet potato myself. I also got the ingredients for a nice watermelon and strawberry summer slushy drink. That's the next recipe to try. Will have to post pictures when I get around to trying it!

Until next time.....

Crazy Idea...

So normally we are the family that sticks together....well almost always. This time my wacky ideas are being carried out all on my own with the boys just watching me with crazy eyes.

It all started after watching the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". It documented the life of a sick man who goes on a 60 juice fast. What was also inspiring were all the people he met along the way who also started juicing-just for shorter amounts of time. The health benefits all had we're very intriguing. (not to mention the weight they lost too!)

Now, even though the juice fast seemed appealing, in reality it would be quite costly and not really realistic with a two year old running around. And don't think I just watched this movie and was like "let's fast!" I had been contemplating ideas like limiting food to seven things, etc for while. But this idea of fasting actually made sense. I mean it's a no brainier right? Go back to eating things fresh grown--fruits and veggies?

So I adapted the cleanse from the movie to fit me more. The challenge: eat nothing but fruits and veggies for ten days straight. I made one exception with that one meal a day (lunch, or usually dinner) I would incorporate chicken. I feel like to be healthy I need the protein and in the end I'm not trying to become a vegetarian, so I don't want to be completely immune to it by the end.

Now I know this doesn't sound daunting, but if I can hold out, it will be the most I've restricted my diet ever. When nursing Bryson, I did have to go dairy free, but that still allowed all the carbs in the world. So I am embarking on this adventure and am excited to see if there really are as many health benefits as they say. I also thought it would be a fun time to try some new recipes. Being that all the things I'm eating are "natural" that means little man can eat them too!

So for the next ten days (and maybe even more!) I'm going to keep track of my progress and all the ups and downs.

Wish me luck!

Until next time.....

Sea World Summer

Well we made the trip again up to Sea World and this time it was extra special because we went with our good friends and Bryson had one of his best buddies with him-Piper!









We went around for two days and saw everything there was to see- and some things twice! Bryson still loves whales and sharks, but he also had a few new favorites this time. The dolphins he was so scared of last time turned out to be his favorite animal. We saw the dolphin show (twice!) and actually fed them breakfast!















We also had fun seeing some new animals. The sea turtles and manatees were new and a first time seeing them in person for both mommy and Bryson!





In the end we had a great trip and it was a bit sad to leave...I really love spending such good, quality time as a family but I also love seeing Bryson's eyes light up. He just soaks in everything there and I hate having to take him home. But it is inevitable that we will definitely be going back again real soon!




Until our next adventure.....

One Year Later...

I can't believe it's been over a year since we've posted on here! Looking back at our summer pictures from last year, I can't believe how small Bryson looks! It truly reminds me how fast time goes by and how we need to live each day the best we can.

Next post will be fun pictures from our most recent adventure....Sea World!


Until next time.....

Not in FL Anymore! (Part 1)

We have been having so much fun on vacation we are going to have to share our adventures in two posts! (at least) We have been exploring so many new things and playing with so many family members. Bryson has had so much fun with aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents and even neighbors!

First thing in NC was to go check out the lake...well for a baby who isn't very fond of the beach you can only guess how he felt about the lake. :(





So instead, we tried the pool. This was an instant hit! Bryson has really become a true "water baby" over the summer and now that he is comfortable with his swimmies is is off and floating all on his own! I think basic swimming lessons are in our near future!








Bryson is also getting to enjoy many things that we don't have at home! First he learned how to climb up into the old rocking chair and read his book all by himself!



It's been a LONG time since Bryson has seen grandpa Rudolph. He really enjoys their special reading time!



Also, Bryson tried a new treat after mommy and daddy came back from a trip to the grocery store--a gummy worm!








We have also had fun exploring the mountains! Bryson is absolutely fascinated with the very large and very tall trees. He loves to go up and try to wrap his arms around them. We thought he would love running up and down the hills, but he was a bit nervous when we actually venture down the big hill by the lake. But he sure had fun with his yellow ball!











We also took our FIRST trip to the library ever while on vacation. We had a lot of fun playing with all the puppets, stuffed animals, and most importantly the train table!





Where's Bryson?!



We play outside almost every night! This night's new game--bowling! I don't know if Bryson really got the idea of how the game is played, but he had fun knocking down the pins by any means necessary!









We've been having a great time on vacation together. I am truly blessed to have this time with my family and I can't wait to see what adventures the rest of our vacation has in store for us!