However, I did have a very vivid dream last night, in which I was drinking a Diet Coke straight from the can. That was weird in itself because one, I prefer a glass with ice, and two, even in my dream I knew it wasn't paleo, and my subconscious felt guilty.
I'm so weird.
This time last week I was planning on starting this challenge, so I wanted to look back on a couple things I've learned and struggled with during Week One:
1. Plan ahead. If I don't have pre-cooked meat, pre-cut veggies and fruit or pack my lunch for work, I'm just setting myself up to be tempted to run through a drive-through or speed-dial Papa Johns.
2. I'm going to have massive swings in energy, cravings and headaches. Deal with it and move on. And by dealing with it and moving on, I mean cry and whine to your spouse every waking moment of the day and pop Tylenol Severe Headache like M&Ms.
3. Eat enough. I ate more yesterday than I have in three days, and the scale was down 1.2 this morning. But of course, I'm not weighing myself until this is over. For real. I promise. Maybe.
4. Get friends and family involved. Matt keeps me on track whether I want him to or not. It's the "or not" moments that are the most important, even if I want to bite his head off.
5. Plan your workouts and rest days. I made all four CrossFit sessions I was planning on going to, and I left it all on the floor. Literally. It's fun doing push-ups with sweat streaming through your contacts onto the floor beneath you.
I had to work today - and what I thought was going to be a pretty non-exciting day turned out to be fairly hectic. Just a simple visit to drop supplies off at a house turned into a two-hour transfer to the Hospice House. You never know what's going to happen each time you knock on people's door.
Anyway, I didn't eat lunch since I wanted to get to my last visit, a new admission. Those take quite awhile, but I wasn't feeling particularly hungry at that point.
Enter the patient's front door. They start offering me homemade meatballs (this was a for-real Italian family, by the way), Dunkin' Donuts, coffee, Diet Coke....the smells coming from the stove were nothing short of amazing. My stomach immediately started screaming at me, and I hadn't even started the visit yet.
Holy. Mother. Of. God.
Italian food and donuts? Together?
I keep dreaming of my first "cheat" food once I'm done with this challenge. Pizza and donuts. And Diet Coke. All together. In five minutes.
I get my sweet tooth from my Mom's side of the family, and my pizza/cheesy/pasta tooth from my Dad's.
I'm screwed.
However, I did resist. I sat in that house for a good 2+ hours smelling all the smelly goodness, and only took them up on their offer of coffee. Black.
I deserve a freaking medal.
After the visit I literally ran to my car and started shoving baby tomatoes and chunks of watermelon in my face like it was my last day on earth.
The cars at the stoplight next to me got to see a real treat, let me tell you. Nothing like a starving nurse to make you stop and stare.
So onward. Keeping on, keeping on. I printed out more recipes from Civilized Caveman, and I desperately need to try them to keep myself entertained.
Today:
Breakfast: Coffee with unsweetened almond milk, pumpkin pancakes
Lunch: Black coffee at my patient's house.
3:46 pm: Baby tomatoes, watermelon, cold sliced flank steak dipped in my BBQ sauce - I'm weird. I like cold sliced steak or cold chicken for lunch. It's also so easy to eat when you're on the road.
Dinner: Another Civilized Caveman recipe: Zucchini Almond Saute. Think Thai noodles in peanut sauce, except for noodles, it's zucchini and instead of peanut sauce, it's almond butter sauce. Sweet and spicy, my favorite.
And sorry if I'm starting to sound like a commercial for the Civilized Caveman...his recipes are just so easy and so yummy!! Remember, if it's underlined/highlighted, you can click on it to go to the website.
Snack: Apple and almond butter. Still have my Fuji's left over from Friday's Farmers Market raid.
I also made some homemade guacamole last night - my own creation.
Two avocados, scoop out and mush. Add some garlic powder, lime juice and chopped tomatoes. Stir. Eat.
Preferrably not on tortilla chips, of which 6 lbs currently reside in our cabinet to take to the Walters Family Reunion over the 4th of July. Yes, 6 lbs of tortilla chips. It's something to behold. My guacamole, I'm telling myself, would be awful on chips. Instead, it's quite tasty rolled up in ham or turkey slices, or on raw green/red/orange/yellow pepper chunks.
Or just with a spoon. That always works well too.
Today I love: My sweet baby sister! She officially turns 30 today, and I've already welcomed her into the "29 Forever!!!!" club. I love you, Sissy! Happy Birthday!!
