Hope everyone's well and feeling festive this season!
*Guidelines:
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Compliant - Victory: I discovered frozen fruit this week...lol! We usually have heaps of frozen fruit in our freezer for smoothies; my kids LOVE smoothies! By accident, one of my kids left a bag of mango chunks in the fridge, not the freezer. I was just about to get huffy-puffy but decided to taste a chunk to see if the half-bag was ruined. IT WASN'T! The slightly thawed chunks were so good & refreshing! Since we're traveling next week, I didn't want to buy a bunch of fresh fruit that may or may not get eaten before our trip. I was able to use slightly thawed frozen fruit as a starter option this week, which was great.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Compliant - Victory: This became very natural this week as I built my plate, each meal.
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Compliant - Victory: Working well! I have eliminated adding sugar.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Compliant - Victory: I had a few temptations, as other people ate dairy products in front of me. I did not compromise!
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Compliant - Victory: I have purposely stopped buying avocados and tofu.
6. Eliminate any added oil.
Compliant - Victory: I put oil out of convenient reach and only used it one time for my family (food I did not eat) to complete a recipe. This is HUGE for me!!
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Compliant - Victory: Pleasantly surprised that I wasn't tempted/swayed by the holiday goodies that surrounded me this week. I feel like I'm walking into the holidays prepared because of the guidelines.
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Compliant - Victory: I've been focusing on more water.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself.
Compliant - Victory: This week, this guideline was a little tricky for me. I have gotten used to feeling satisfied (not stuffed) since jumping back into the Group. One night, I felt full, which felt weird. It wasn't uncomfortably full but I struggled to figure out how close I got to the line. An interesting situation.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Not Compliant - Non-compliance/reason: I've worked out everyday, this week, except yesterday (Friday). I did not have a clear fitness plan for my very full day.
- Decision to Adhere: On super packed days (like yesterday), I need to be proactive to schedule my fitness plan BEFORE those days come. I rely on my phone calendar to keep my day flowing. A scheduled workout time on super busy days will help me remember to follow the schedule. I had an "I'll figure out as the day goes" attitude, which obviously didn't work.
- Victory: I continue to use scheduled phone chats with friends as opportunities to walk. I schedule them early in the morning which helps me start my day with exercise.
*Weight Change:
1.6lb loss*
*SUMMARY/THOUGHTS*Overall, I was intentional about my week! (That feels good to type.) I think the biggest challenge was a heavy schedule yesterday. It didn't feel right to go to bed without completing my exercise for the day but I had to focus on what I could learn rather than carrying deep regret. My biggest victory this week was having food prepared & ready to eat, on-the-go! My kids had several appts + activities this week...more than usual. I ended up taking lunch with me in the car a couple times. And I had everything I needed, including my starter. I had to make it work...AND I DID!! We had days this week that normally would have resulted in a drive-thru episode, with me trying to make vegan modifications. No drive-thru episodes this week AT ALL! I only ate food/meals I prepared according to the guidelines. This week really built my confidence that I can be a Mom on-the-go AND compliant to the guidelines. It's not one or the other. (Honestly mind-blowing!)
We plan to hit the road on Monday. We will travel for 2 weeks. A little nervous about eating on the road but I have started planning. My extended family booked our housing. I asked for a kitchen. They said I will have one. We'll see...
Thank you, Mark, and everyone in this Group for your support
-Chesca