Start'er Up
Technically my new diet began on the 9th, but since I sort of eased into it somewhere in the afternoon, I'll begin counting and logging at the 10th. Not that anyone but me cares about the particulars, but we all know that if you publish your progress, you are more likely to stick with it.
So the diet "cleanse" I'm doing involves no processed foods for 30 days. No processed sugar, no processed flour, no processed meats, and no dairy. I've decided on the places where I can have leeway and where I can't, because it is such a change right now I want to be able to stick with it. I can have a little bit of honey in my tea, or if a make an aqua fresca, so long as I don't put in a great heaping amount. I think this sort of violates the spirit of the diet, even though honey is technically only processed by bees (I get organic raw honey).
I can eat things made from whole grains, so long as I'm pretty sure they are "real" whole grains, not the white/wheat mixes or heavily processed "whole wheats" that are common to some commercial breads. But mostly, I'm sticking to grains like brown rice, quinoa, couscous, etc. I will probably include injera (made from teff), just because Ethiopian food has other things I can eat and it will be nice to have a restaurant or two I can visit.
Technically bacon is cured, not processed like cold cuts or chicken nuggets, but even if it weren't, it's bacon. I may sneak in some bacon in small amounts, just not the "half pound at a time" amounts I can normally consume if you let me. Two strips is plenty *sob* for being on a diet. As for dairy. I'm going to try really hard to stay away from dairy, as I'm really not supposed to have it anyway. I'm in the middle of a debate with myself as to whether or not I can have organic ghee (which is basically clarified butter), since it's very low lactose. I may just avoid that for the first thirty days, and it will be something I can add back in after.
In fact, things like bacon, ghee, honey in any amounts, and whole wheat products may be things that, even though I have given myself permission to have in small amounts during my cleanse, I may still avoid them for the 30 days, and add them later to the permanent diet once the initial cleanse is over.
To aid my sleep, I am also restricting my caffeine intake after 1900.
DAY ONE
Started with some coffee, a little soy milk.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with banana & cranberries.
Snack: Apple
Ordered a Grande Soy Chai at Starbucks because I didn't want any more coffee; I'd forgotten how sweet they were. Oops! Drank it anyway.
Dinner: Ordered a hummus plate from cafe. Hummus, carrots, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices. Got the option to replace the bread with homemade potato chips. #nom
Exercise: Also was my walking day, so I hobbled along my mile. I think I covered 1.5 miles total. Even picked up a few things from the store that we needed.
Came home exhausted, took a nap.
Woke up hungry (of course), and reheated some of the leftover pasta from day before. Whole grain (semolina) pasta with carrots, bell pepper, chick peas, and jicama, in a tomato sauce.
Drank some water, went back to bed.
So the diet "cleanse" I'm doing involves no processed foods for 30 days. No processed sugar, no processed flour, no processed meats, and no dairy. I've decided on the places where I can have leeway and where I can't, because it is such a change right now I want to be able to stick with it. I can have a little bit of honey in my tea, or if a make an aqua fresca, so long as I don't put in a great heaping amount. I think this sort of violates the spirit of the diet, even though honey is technically only processed by bees (I get organic raw honey).
I can eat things made from whole grains, so long as I'm pretty sure they are "real" whole grains, not the white/wheat mixes or heavily processed "whole wheats" that are common to some commercial breads. But mostly, I'm sticking to grains like brown rice, quinoa, couscous, etc. I will probably include injera (made from teff), just because Ethiopian food has other things I can eat and it will be nice to have a restaurant or two I can visit.
Technically bacon is cured, not processed like cold cuts or chicken nuggets, but even if it weren't, it's bacon. I may sneak in some bacon in small amounts, just not the "half pound at a time" amounts I can normally consume if you let me. Two strips is plenty *sob* for being on a diet. As for dairy. I'm going to try really hard to stay away from dairy, as I'm really not supposed to have it anyway. I'm in the middle of a debate with myself as to whether or not I can have organic ghee (which is basically clarified butter), since it's very low lactose. I may just avoid that for the first thirty days, and it will be something I can add back in after.
In fact, things like bacon, ghee, honey in any amounts, and whole wheat products may be things that, even though I have given myself permission to have in small amounts during my cleanse, I may still avoid them for the 30 days, and add them later to the permanent diet once the initial cleanse is over.
To aid my sleep, I am also restricting my caffeine intake after 1900.
DAY ONE
Started with some coffee, a little soy milk.
Breakfast: Oatmeal with banana & cranberries.
Snack: Apple
Ordered a Grande Soy Chai at Starbucks because I didn't want any more coffee; I'd forgotten how sweet they were. Oops! Drank it anyway.
Dinner: Ordered a hummus plate from cafe. Hummus, carrots, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices. Got the option to replace the bread with homemade potato chips. #nom
Exercise: Also was my walking day, so I hobbled along my mile. I think I covered 1.5 miles total. Even picked up a few things from the store that we needed.
Came home exhausted, took a nap.
Woke up hungry (of course), and reheated some of the leftover pasta from day before. Whole grain (semolina) pasta with carrots, bell pepper, chick peas, and jicama, in a tomato sauce.
Drank some water, went back to bed.