Category: Healthy Living

Healthy eating/Healthy living: Day 17

On By Jenni C.In Finding meaning, fitness, Food, Health, Healthy Living, LifeLeave a comment

17 days into the healthy eating life, and I am still going pretty good. Last Friday we had a veggie pizza from Ledo’s for dinner, I immediately began to feel sick afterward. Not sure if it was the grease or the cheese. I guess that’s the cost of eating healthy for over 10 days.

A few days last week I began to feel really sick even though I was just eating fruits and vegetables. I felt tired, like I wanted to nap but worse. It was not a good feeling. I felt like my body was missing something. It wasn’t something like sugar or steak, it felt different, like nutrients were missing. Since I have decided that a full on vegan life is not for me, I returned to eating egg whites. My body felt like it was craving protein and I don’t think I was doing a good job getting it from just vegetables. I am still meat free. And I actually don’t think that there is harm in eating eggs. So I have been boiling eggs and eating hard boiled egg whites either for breakfast or before I work out. I feel normal again.  And I feel awake.

So the after the first 10 days I was down 7 pounds. Since then I haven’t lost anymore weight, but I guess that’s normal. I am proud of myself for staying away from candy and cookies. That is a huge accomplishment.

After reading up on the plant based lifestyle, I have realized that veganism is truly a serious thing. I am proud of anyone who is a strict vegan. It is hard! There are animal products in stuff that you would never guess have animal products, like vitamins. You really have to do a lot of research if you want to be a true vegan, and a ton of meal planning to make sure you are getting healthy nutrients. Since I have decided to lean more towards vegetarianism I will continue to eat eggs, and I will add cheese in sporadically.

It feels good to be healthy. The best part about this is that Stephen doesn’t complain about our lifestyle change, and he is open to eating whatever I cook. It’s super helpful to have a partner on this journey, I would fall off the wagon alone. Really, I have no will power. You need a partner, trust me! I am now less hungry at night, and my ability to be alert and awake is getting better each day. Today was a good day.

Workout:

Rest day

What I ate today:

Breakfast: Spinach, strawberry, pineapple smoothie

Muti-grain bread with almond butter

Snack: Watermelon slices and strawberries

Lunch: Spring and spinach salad with homemade coleslaw, quinoa and kidney beans

Snack: Raw almonds

Dinner: vegetable wrap with quinoa and kidney beans, roasted corn, homemade guacamole, peppers, onions, lettuce and tomato

Healthy eating/Healthy living: Day 9

On By Jenni C.In fitness, Goals, Health, Healthy Living, LifeLeave a comment

Did you know that oreos were vegan? Hmmm….No I did not eat oreos today. But I did do a google search for vegan junk food, and oreos just happened to top the list. I’ll just keep that bit of info in my back pocket for now.

Day 9 was not bad. I don’t feel the excess sugar cravings anymore which is wonderful. I like to chew gum. I am a chain gum chewer. Unfortunately gum is filled with a lot of artificial sugar that is in no way good for you. So I have severely cut back on chewing gum. Today I did not even chew one piece. Which is huge. I used to chew about two packs a day. Today I had none. My teeth thank me.

I am feeling satisfied with my meals, and I am not hungry during the day. I have kept my calories down, and I still attempt to drink as much water as possible. I had a day of vegan eating today, so it was a good day.

A lot of people have been watching What The Health which is great. However I am reading a stories about the dairy and meat industry publishing videos to debunk some of the facts in the documentary. I am wondering what is the point of wasting time to debunk facts of a vegan documentary? There is no way in the world that enough people are going to become vegan, that the meat and dairy industry will lose money. Like that will NEVER EVER happen. People will always eat meat and drink milk. Steak dinners will still be considered a luxury, and ice cream will never go out of style. So for the meat and dairy industry to fear that money will be lost due to a documentary on Netflix that just happens to be the talk of today is ridiculous. A meat free lifestyle works for some people, but I happen to think that the majority of people will continue to eat meat.

I am excited to try out more vegan recipes. Yesterday I ate a chickpea and mushroom burger from Wegmans, let’s just say that it was not very yummy. I won’t be trying that again. Hey some meals will be tasty, some not so tasty. For now I will keep trying and keep eating clean. My body actually likes this clean eating thing, guess I’ll keep it going.

What I ate today: 

Breakfast: Spinach, blueberries strawberries pineapple, flax seed smoothie

Multigrain toast with almond butter

Snack: Oatmeal with apple

Late lunch: Quinoa with stir fry vegetables

Snack: Cherries and blueberries

Pre workout snack: apple, handful of almonds

Dinner (light): Multigrain toast with almond butter

Workout: Crossfit

Metcon (AMRAP – Reps)
“The Dallas 5”
5 minutes of:
Burpees
Then, 5 minutes of:
7 deadlifts, 105 lb.
7 box jumps, 24-in. box
Then, 5 minutes of:
Turkish get-ups, 25-lb. dumbbell
Then, 5 minutes of:
7 snatches, 55 lb.
7 push-ups
Then, 5 minutes of:
Rowing (calories)Complete as many reps as possible at each 5-minute station. Rest 1 minute between stations.

 

Healthy eating/healthy living Day 8

On By Jenni C.In fitness, Food, Health, Healthy Living, Self DiscoveryLeave a comment

I went to paint nite  DC this weekend. I am really bad at painting. But I wanted to go. So me and Stephen (who is my boyfriend by the way), went on a date to paint nite in DC. It was at the Blackfinn Ameripub in Washington DC, it was our first time there, but I think we will definitely return for happy hour. The food was good. I was able to stay to a vegetarian diet eating a kale and quinoa salad, and having a vegetable flatbread. The flat bread had goat cheese sprinkled on it, so I may have ate a few bites of goat cheese. Stephen is on this healthy living kick too, well he actually has no choice since I do the grocery shopping, but he will be more of a “sometimes I eat fish” eater. Since he likes to go fishing, I guess he can eat the fish. He had the fish tacos which he enjoyed.

Paint nite turned out to be fun. No I didn’t drink, but even without alcohol it was a fun date night. I highly recommend if you are looking for a date activity.

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The acting like I know what I’m doing look
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This is actually pretty fun!
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The finished project….ummm

 

Today is day 8 of no meat, or eggs either. I am feeling healthy! Really I am. I am logging my food into my fitness pal to keep track of calories. My energy levels continue to increase, I didn’t feel like I needed much nap time today. I woke up with energy, and I am still up with energy. That is a huge improvement. The cravings for snacks have even decreased. Now I read that this would happen, but of course I didn’t believe it.
Now don’t get me wrong. Even though I have been clean eating for 8 days doesn’t mean that it is not a challenge. Sometimes I want a burger, or a layer of cheese just for the sake of eating tons of cheese. I keep my goals in mind, and I push through. When I am hungry, I go for almonds, or veggies. I only keep healthy snacks in the house, and stay away from buying packaged, and processed foods. I am taking it one day at a time.

I know I missed writing on days 6 and 7, forgive me, it was the weekend. But I will keep you updated on my workouts.

Workout:

Saturday: Crossfit

Partner WOD: Barbara

Five Rounds for time:
20 Pull-ups
30 Push-ups
40 Sit-ups
50 Squats

Sunday: Cardio

12 mile bike ride, 1 mile run

Monday: Crossfit

Bench Press (4 -4-4-4  @77%-80%)- 85 lbs
 
Metcon (Time): Since I can’t do a muscle up at all, substitute muscle-ups for ring rows and dips.
For time:
5 muscle-ups
50 double-unders
4 muscle-ups
40 double-unders
3 muscle-ups
30 double-unders
2 muscle-ups
20 double-unders
1 muscle-up
10 double-unders
What I ate today:
Breakfast: Spinach, blueberry, strawberry, banana smoothie
Multi grain toast with almond butter
Snack: almonds, 1 cup of cherries
Lunch: Tri-color quinoa and stir fry vegetables
Snack: apple with almond butter, 1/4 cup of pineapple and blueberries
Dinner: Zucchini noodles with basil pesto, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes

Healthy eating/healthy living: Day 5

On By Jenni C.In fitness, Food, Health, Healthy Living, self helpLeave a comment

Finally Friday and we are at day 5! The first 5 days of clean eating have not been as hard as I had anticipated. Cravings for sweet snacks were at a minimum and I pretty much felt satisfied with all of my meals. I don’t even want a bacon cheeseburger. I am even drinking more water. My energy levels have been up and down, but I don’t wake up as groggy, which is a very good thing.

I even feel lighter. But that could be all in my head. I did weigh myself this morning and I was at 173.8,  remember on Monday which was day 1 of the plan my weight was 177.0. So to be down 3.2 pounds feels good. My body is still in the detox stage.

Meal planning continues to be a bit of a struggle, mainly because I don’t know what I feel like eating. I think I should keep the meals as simple as possible for now, but I think that will get boring. I know I can eat tofu, and vegan meats, but I am staying away from that right now. I do like tofu, but I don’t miss meat that much yet. I am fine with veggie filled meals right now.

The diet will continue to be vegan lite for now, which really just means vegetarian. Although be a true vegan sounds like a good idea in my head, in real life I just know that it won’t work out. So instead of setting myself up for failure, I will be a 30 day vegetarian and then transition back to sparingly eating fish for the omega-3’s sometime in the future.

It is still close to 100 degrees in the DC area. I have not been running. I need to run. I also need to wake up at 6am. Goals for next week. In good news, I signed up for the Annapolis 10 miler today. The race is on August 27, so I have about 6 weeks to get ready. I would like to finish with a time under 2 hours. I also have about 6 weeks to get faster. I will run one day this weekend! Hopefully.

Here’s what I ate today:

Breakfast: Kale, banana, strawberry, pineapple, flax seed smoothie

Multi grain toast with almond butter

Snack: Watermelon slices

Lunch: Spinach with eggplant, sautéed zucchini noodles with basil and coconut aminos, baked sweet potato slices.

Snack: Raw almonds

Dinner: Vegetable stir fry with baby corn, mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, chick peas, half sweet potato with cinnamon

Snack Raw almonds

Work out: Crossfit

For Time:
2k Row*
*EMOM  4 burpees

 

Healthy eating/Healthy living: Day 2

On By Jenni C.In Health, Healthy Living, RelocationLeave a comment

I’m not sure if it is in my head or not but I think I am going through withdrawal. Like sugar and meat withdrawal. Wait it’s only day 2, I am fine.  I did have thoughts of pizza and cookies today, that is just weird. But today was actually a good day. I still felt tired, I think that just comes from working a 10 hour day. My mental energy did feel like it increased, so maybe there is something to this meatless living thing.

Today I received the book How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger. Surprisingly this book has a nearly 5 star rating on Amazon (4.8 out of 5). The book is based on how diet and nutrition can prevent and even cure some diseases. From glancing through some of the pages in the book, Dr. Greger does cover a wide range of illnesses. It is amazing how strong the impact food has on our body. Food will either kill us or save our life, we just have to choose to be smart about eating.

I am not sure how long it will take me to read this book, it is a pretty large book. However, since my family has a history of diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure I will cover those chapters first. Although the doctors say that I am healthy today, I am very sure that I can get sick at any time. With the uncertainty of the way health insurance is going in the country, the more control that I can have over my own health, the better.

I still want a cookie. 

That was a random thought.

I decided to weigh myself tonight since one of my goals is to lose 15-20 pounds. Today I weighed in at 177.0. I want to hurry up and lose these pounds, but I want also want to feel better and run faster. So I am hoping with less weight, I will gain speed. I may gain lean muscle in this process, so I won’t focus so much on the number on the scale. The true measure will be my performance and my overall ability to decrease fatigue.

What did I eat today? Here it goes:

Breakfast: Kale, strawberry, blueberry, banana smoothie

Mid morning snack: Oatmeal with blueberries, handful of almonds

Lunch: Spring and Spinach mix with peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, red onion, garbanzo beans. Primal Kitchen greek dressing

Mid day snack: strawberries, blueberries, cherries

Pre workout meal: 1/2 cup brown rice, (vegetable stir fry) eggplant, peppers, baby corn, snow peas, broccoli

Dinner: 1/2 cup brown rice, (vegetable stir fry) eggplant, peppers, baby corn, snow peas, broccoli, 1/2 cup red roasted potatoes

Work out: Cross fit

WOD

Strength: Heavy 2 set jerk, I did 112.5

Metcon:

For Time:
18-15-12-9
Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups- I did modified ring rows (still working on that 1 pull up!)
DB Push Press (35’s/20’s)- 20 pounds
GHD Situps- Modified to 15 pound ab mat sit ups

Time: 10:10