BREAKFAST
Bircher Muesli and Green Tea.
MORNING SNACK
3 slices of Applegate Farms Oven Roasted Turkey Breast ....
.... a sugar-free, gluten-free Organic Sesame Pumpkin Cookie ....
.... and a cup of Wild Sweet Orange Tea.
LUNCH
Last night's leftovers. Organic Grass-Fed Beef Burger Stirfry ....
.... and half an Apple.
PRE-GYM SNACK
An Organic Green Tea ....
.... and 14 Raw Organic Almonds.
Gym time!
Gym time!
AFTERNOON SNACK
I really didn't want to go to the gym today. I should've listened to my soul. (It wasn't my body talking this time. I was totally physically up for it, but my mind is overloaded and stressed out and not in the mood for exertion. It just wants to rest).
I did weights, but half-assed and spent the whole time dispising the process. This is not good. I should be loving exercise and revelling in the endorphin rush. But something about PMS and my no-bidge scales the past week have really killed my motivation.
I knew I had chocolate on the brain for afternoon tea, and I wished I'd brought some of my delicious new Chocolate Fudge to work, but alas ....
I began my afternoon snack like a good girl. With protein. 3 slices of Applegate Farms Oven Roasted Turkey ....
I did weights, but half-assed and spent the whole time dispising the process. This is not good. I should be loving exercise and revelling in the endorphin rush. But something about PMS and my no-bidge scales the past week have really killed my motivation.
I knew I had chocolate on the brain for afternoon tea, and I wished I'd brought some of my delicious new Chocolate Fudge to work, but alas ....
I began my afternoon snack like a good girl. With protein. 3 slices of Applegate Farms Oven Roasted Turkey ....
.... then it went downhill. I bought not one, but two bars of Noir Infini 99% Cacao. Granted they're only 30 grams each, but I'm supposed to be on a Skinny Bride Mission here.
Here's the second bar. Halfway through I'd had enough, but I decided to finish it anyway. What was I going to do with a measly 15 grams of chocolate hanging around the place?
I decided to go the full hog and have a Decaf Tea with 2 Tbs of Half-and-Half (cream).
Then I had another.
Ugggh. I just want to go home to bed.
Ugggh. I just want to go home to bed.
(UNPLANNED) TREAT MEAL
I have a confession to make. I'm not perfect. (Who is, right? But it's amazing to think of the pressure we put ourselves under most days).
At the moment I'm feeling totally overwhelmed, and it shows in my diet. I'm a stress eater. Unfortunately I'm genetically predisposed to really bad PMS, which means I'm battling my stress eating a quarter of my life. That is really bad odds!
Right now I'm also planning a wedding, (which is pretty much under control), but even more pressing, I'm attempting to wind up a 2 year life in New York City to move back to Australia. The move is happening in 2 weeks time. Aaaarrrgghh!
I am so incredibly excited to get out of this frozen winter and back into the loving arms of my family and friends, but there's so much do do between now and then. Oh, and of course it's not as easy as boarding a plane at JFK and disembarking in sunny Sydney. No, no, no. Dave and I had to get home the traveler's way: slowly and crammed with adventure. We''ll be flying to San Francisco, bike-riding through the Napa Valley for a few days, returning to San Francisco, hiking through Yosemite National Park for a week, back to San Francisco again before flying off to The Big Island, Hawaii, for a weeklong pre-honeymoon.
We than have 2 weeks in Sydney, (in which time Dave whips down to Melbourne for a week of Bucks party madness), then we're off to Fiji. It's all happening now. I feel like I'm on a freight train to Marriageville.
As you can imagine, I'm slightly concerned about my Skinny Bride Mission amidst all this hoo-haa. Our travels focus on exercise: biking, hiking and our bag of workout tricks: skipping rope, light weights, yoga mat and resistance bands. The diet part will be interesting though.
Anyway, back to today's Treat Meal. I broke a few rules. I didn't eat protein first, (but I squeezed it in midway if that counts?). I also didn't plan what I'd eat beforehand, put it on a plate and sit down to enjoy. In my defense, I wasn't sure this was going to be a Treat Meal until it morphed into one. The best I can do is learn a few hard lessons from this experience and get back on the wagon tomorrow.
It began with the 2 blocks of chocolate at work I guess. It was too much. The overload of caffeine fuzzed my brain and stressed me out.
Lesson 1: never eat more than 30g of 99% cacao at one time.
I then grabbed a bag of Smart Foods popcorn, and a String Cheese Stick to balance the protein. On my way out the door from work I made a stupid split second decision to grab another bag of popcorn. The thought flickered through my mind to leave it, but I grabbed it and opened it before my mind could object. I also ate another String Cheese Stick for more protein.
Now here's was my downfall. I had kept that damn gluten-free WholeFoods Carrot Cake from last Thursday's Treat Meal. It was far too sugary for my liking, but still tasty. I thought I could keep it in the house for a week until my next Treat Meal. Boy was I wrong.
Lesson 2: throw out all remaining treats after a Treat Meal, (or better still, only by treats in single-serve portions).
I have been obsessing about that cake since I bought it. And it's very presence in my house was what turned tonight into an unplanned Treat Night. As soon as I got home I cut 2 slices, slathered one with organic butter and another with organic coconut butter. The overpowering sugar really ruined the taste for me, but my cells latched on and wanted more. I am too sugar sensitive to enjoy sugar even in my weekly Treat Meals. It knocks me about and gets me back on the sugar-addiction rollercoaster.
Lesson 3: avoid sugar in Treat Meals, (and always). It doesn't taste good and it doesn't feel good afterwards.
Here's where sanity kicked in and forced 1/2 cup of Herbed Pink Salmon down my throat. Protein. Aaahh. But I then stuffed in a piece of sugar-free Chocolate Fudge and decided to whiz up a smoothie I've been obsessing about all week. Banana, Date, Coconut and Cardamom. I had a few sips, but it was far too sweet so I left it for Dave to enjoy.
At the moment I'm feeling totally overwhelmed, and it shows in my diet. I'm a stress eater. Unfortunately I'm genetically predisposed to really bad PMS, which means I'm battling my stress eating a quarter of my life. That is really bad odds!
Right now I'm also planning a wedding, (which is pretty much under control), but even more pressing, I'm attempting to wind up a 2 year life in New York City to move back to Australia. The move is happening in 2 weeks time. Aaaarrrgghh!
I am so incredibly excited to get out of this frozen winter and back into the loving arms of my family and friends, but there's so much do do between now and then. Oh, and of course it's not as easy as boarding a plane at JFK and disembarking in sunny Sydney. No, no, no. Dave and I had to get home the traveler's way: slowly and crammed with adventure. We''ll be flying to San Francisco, bike-riding through the Napa Valley for a few days, returning to San Francisco, hiking through Yosemite National Park for a week, back to San Francisco again before flying off to The Big Island, Hawaii, for a weeklong pre-honeymoon.
We than have 2 weeks in Sydney, (in which time Dave whips down to Melbourne for a week of Bucks party madness), then we're off to Fiji. It's all happening now. I feel like I'm on a freight train to Marriageville.
As you can imagine, I'm slightly concerned about my Skinny Bride Mission amidst all this hoo-haa. Our travels focus on exercise: biking, hiking and our bag of workout tricks: skipping rope, light weights, yoga mat and resistance bands. The diet part will be interesting though.
Anyway, back to today's Treat Meal. I broke a few rules. I didn't eat protein first, (but I squeezed it in midway if that counts?). I also didn't plan what I'd eat beforehand, put it on a plate and sit down to enjoy. In my defense, I wasn't sure this was going to be a Treat Meal until it morphed into one. The best I can do is learn a few hard lessons from this experience and get back on the wagon tomorrow.
It began with the 2 blocks of chocolate at work I guess. It was too much. The overload of caffeine fuzzed my brain and stressed me out.
Lesson 1: never eat more than 30g of 99% cacao at one time.
I then grabbed a bag of Smart Foods popcorn, and a String Cheese Stick to balance the protein. On my way out the door from work I made a stupid split second decision to grab another bag of popcorn. The thought flickered through my mind to leave it, but I grabbed it and opened it before my mind could object. I also ate another String Cheese Stick for more protein.
Now here's was my downfall. I had kept that damn gluten-free WholeFoods Carrot Cake from last Thursday's Treat Meal. It was far too sugary for my liking, but still tasty. I thought I could keep it in the house for a week until my next Treat Meal. Boy was I wrong.
Lesson 2: throw out all remaining treats after a Treat Meal, (or better still, only by treats in single-serve portions).
I have been obsessing about that cake since I bought it. And it's very presence in my house was what turned tonight into an unplanned Treat Night. As soon as I got home I cut 2 slices, slathered one with organic butter and another with organic coconut butter. The overpowering sugar really ruined the taste for me, but my cells latched on and wanted more. I am too sugar sensitive to enjoy sugar even in my weekly Treat Meals. It knocks me about and gets me back on the sugar-addiction rollercoaster.
Lesson 3: avoid sugar in Treat Meals, (and always). It doesn't taste good and it doesn't feel good afterwards.
Here's where sanity kicked in and forced 1/2 cup of Herbed Pink Salmon down my throat. Protein. Aaahh. But I then stuffed in a piece of sugar-free Chocolate Fudge and decided to whiz up a smoothie I've been obsessing about all week. Banana, Date, Coconut and Cardamom. I had a few sips, but it was far too sweet so I left it for Dave to enjoy.
I then ate about 60 gluten-free Pretzels ....
.... a handful of Dates ....
.... a sugar-free gluten-free Organic Sesame Pumpkin Cookie ....
This was one of the best treats of all. It was so refreshing to eat something wholesome and not overwhelmingly sugared.
This was one of the best treats of all. It was so refreshing to eat something wholesome and not overwhelmingly sugared.
.... a sugar-free gluten-free Organic Lime Chia Slice ....
Ditto. Nice and mild on the sweet scale. My homemade goodies that I slide into every day are sooooooo much better than all that store-bought crud.
By then I was over full and feeling guilty. Dave reminded me to think of this positively, as a metabolism boost, not a failure.
He had a point. I learnt some lessons, and now I'm committed to detoxing off sugar once and for all, and engaging in a bit of Paleo Eating for the next week.
Ditto. Nice and mild on the sweet scale. My homemade goodies that I slide into every day are sooooooo much better than all that store-bought crud.
By then I was over full and feeling guilty. Dave reminded me to think of this positively, as a metabolism boost, not a failure.
He had a point. I learnt some lessons, and now I'm committed to detoxing off sugar once and for all, and engaging in a bit of Paleo Eating for the next week.
.... I ate half a Coconut Water Icypop. I couldn't even finish it ....
.... and then another stick of String Cheese.
What on earth was I thinking???
What on earth was I thinking???
PRE-BEDTIME SNACK
I wanted another slice of Carrot Cake. But I put it in Dave's bag so he could take it to his mates at work. I threw out the bag of gluten-free pretzels and I settled down with a nice glass of 2% Milk to balance my blood sugar levels overnight.
P.S. my stats today are shocking and disgusting. I'm finding it really hard not to beat myself up about this. I ended up eating waaaaaay more than any other planned Treat Meal, all thanks to giving myself permission to keep returning to the kitchen as I pleased.
Lesson 4: always pre-plan Treat Meals, lay everything out on a plate and once I get up from the table the Treat Meal is over.
P.S. my stats today are shocking and disgusting. I'm finding it really hard not to beat myself up about this. I ended up eating waaaaaay more than any other planned Treat Meal, all thanks to giving myself permission to keep returning to the kitchen as I pleased.
Lesson 4: always pre-plan Treat Meals, lay everything out on a plate and once I get up from the table the Treat Meal is over.
STATS
TOTAL CALORIES: 3379
CALORIE DEFICIT: -1383
EXERCISE: Brisk Walk 90 mins + Arm Weights 30 mins + Elliptical 10 mins.
CALORIE DEFICIT: -1383
EXERCISE: Brisk Walk 90 mins + Arm Weights 30 mins + Elliptical 10 mins.