FITNESS CHALLENGE: CHECK IN WEEK 1

HELLO one week check in :). <--- Smiley face means things are going well. Very well.

154lbs

Let me tell you. I feel AMAZING! Drastically changing my diet was hard the first few days, but now I find it exciting to figure out healthy ways to eat. I'm not sluggish at all, I'm practically jumping off the roof with energy. My weigh in after three days was already 2 lbs less and my workouts have been getting easier.

I get a lot of questions, why mostly vegan. There's no short way to answer that, but I definitely recommend you watch two documentaries. Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Both were life changing for my household. We're not fully vegan. We still do eggs, seafood and feta cheese. The occasional meat dabbles in once a week. But I PROMISE if you try making a huge shift, you'll come to be me and be like oh my god I feel amazing.

I made some very conscious choices when this challenge started, that I know in the past have worked really well for me

- Going mostly meatless again

- Going mostly gluten-free

- Drinking green shakes everyday 

- Drinking green tea every night
- Taking two fish oil pills a day and a multivitamin 

On the green shake note, it is NOT a few measly spinach leaves and a bunch of fruit. The reason is because I am drinking one as a meal. So in order for it to actually be a meal, I have to put enough food in there to equal the liquid form of a salad. Every night I've made one for the hubby and I. My go to is 3 cups spinach/kale mix, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 apple, 1 stalk celery, 2 ice cubes and some water. 

The consistency is thick, (you can thin it out by adding more water) but the taste is great. The apple really makes it something that you can drink everyday. The shake itself ended up not being enough for me not to try and munch later, so I added in a black bean patty. Perfect combo.

Lastly, I chose to do the green shakes for dinner out of all meals because it's super light. Dr. Oz mentioned in one of his shows a fast way to lose weight is to eat liquid meals for dinner - soups, shakes...something that is easy to digest and your body will thank you for it. After doing these for dinner, I don't feel sluggish at all and my digestive system is thanking me times ten! <--- TMI?? Lol.

15th  Bfast: Eggs, whole grain toast w/ pb&j, watermelon
          Lunch: Top Ramen & salmon
          Snack: Carrot and ranch
          Dinner: Steak Salad and green tea
16th  Bfast: 2 eggs w/ kale and feta, 2 strawberries, whole grain toast w/ Nutella
          Lunch: Chicken, red potatoes and brown rice
          Snacks: Piece of salmon, butternut squash, dark chocolate, greek yogurt
          Dinner: Green shake
          Activity - 20 minute walk with the peanut, 20 min on elliptical doing speed intervals
17th Bfast: 2 eggs w/ feta, 1 pear, gluten free toast w/ pb&j
          Lunch: Kale salad w/ carrots, onions, feta, jalepenos and balsamic vinaigrette
          Activity: BAR Method (1 hr)
          Snacks: Greek yogurt, almonds, Fiber One bar
          Dinner: Green shake, black bean patty, green tea
18th Bfast: Veggie chorizo and eggs, gluten free toast w/ pb&honey, 1/2 pear
          Activity: BAR Method (1hr)
          Snack: Fiber One bar
          Lunch: 1/2 Whole Foods tofu wrap, asparagus salad
          Activity: Swimming 30 minutes
          Snack: Watermelon, almonds
          Dinner: Veggie shake, black bean patty, green tea
19th  Bfast: Egg whites w/ kale & feta, 1/2 pear, gluten free toast w/ pb&honey
             Snack: Rest of bfast, coffee, almonds, greek yogurt
             Lunch: Quinoa, salmon, 1/2 avocado, black bean and corn salad
             Activity: BAR Method (1hr)
             Snack: Fiber One bar, almonds
             Dinner: Black bean patty, black bean salad, hummus

20th   Bfast: 1 Egg w/ kale & feta, watermelon, gluten free toast w/ pb&honey
           Snack: Almonds, greek yogurt, watermelon
           Lunch: Quinoa bowl with raw chard, onions, celery, bell pepper and 1/4 avocado.
           Activity: 40 minute walk with Peanut, 22 min intervals on elliptical and treadmill
           Snack: 1/2 bag of popcorn w/ hot sauce, five dark chocolate chips, Fiber One bar
           Dinner: Top ramen w/ tuna & 1/2 veggie shake
21st  Bfast: 1 egg/1 eggwhite & feta, watermelon, gluten free toast w/ pb&honey
             Snack: Coffee, almonds, watermelon
             Lunch: Veggie shake, black bean patty
             Snack: Fiber One bar
             Snack: Fiber One bar, protein shake
             Dinner: Prime rib, mashed potatoes and broccoli

WHAT WORKED:
- Green shakes for dinner were super quick, much easier then making a full meal like usual
- Spending a day to pre-cook large batches of healthy things we could eat throughout the week
- Bringing a snack. When I wasn't starving I was willing to put in the time to make better decisions
- Logging my food
-Pre-cutting all veggies. When I need them I just throw em in to whatever I'm eating
- Buying new clothes that are my size before I was pregnant
- LOTS of water. Have some with you at ALL times!

WHAT DIDN'T:
- Not pre-making the green shake. Dinner time one night was right at Penelope's fall asleep time. I chose letting her fall asleep over the loud blender.
- Forgetting to bring my snacks with me. It was all I could do one night NOT to just grab Burger King.
- On the go meals. I didn't want to spend money on lunches when I was out but I had to because I didn't think to pre-make a lunch I could take on the go.