Day 24

Food:
Green smoothie
Kara's Quick Veg Soup: whole wheat noodles, can of diced tomatoes with liquid, veg broth, can of mushrooms, fresh spinach, 17 seasonings

Day 23

Food:
Green smoothie
Sauteed tofu
Zuchinni & squash with provolone cheese & walnuts
Sauteed tofu
Luna bar
Tofu with apples, carrots, onions, mushrooms
Snowcaps

Exercise:
1 hour of walking while babywearing

Day 22

Food:
Green smoothie
Tofu with red, green, yellow, orange peppers, portobello mushrooms, spinach, arugula, sesame seeds, Braggs liquid aminos
Luna bar
2 whole wheat waffles with cream cheese
Kara's Mexican bowl--sauteed bell pepper, onion, tomatoes with veg refried beans, brown rice, 1/2 avocado, salsa, sour cream, mexican cheese
Snowcaps
4 'chick'n' nuggets

Exercise:
25 minutes of running/speed walking (Day 1 of the Couch to 5K Running program)
W1D3 of 200 situps/squats

Day 21

Food:

Green smoothie
Eggs and hashbrowns
Wheat bread with roasted portobello, roasted red peppers, arugula, provolone cheese
Avocado tomato salad
Luna bar
Vegetarian fajitas (peppers, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, guac, rice, cheese, sour cream)
Instant breakfast with organic milk

Exercise:
Walking while babywearing

Day 20

Food:

Green smoothie
Salad with spring greens, arugula, peppers, onions, tomatoes
Mozarella cheese
Yogurt
Luna bar
Vegetarian burrito with beans
Organic puffed rice cereal with soymilk
Snowcaps

Exercise:
Walking while babywearing

Day 19

Food:
Green smoothie (turnip greens, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries)
Luna bar
Tofu with rice noodles and raw veggies
Yogurt
Mozarella cheese
Lemon quinoa with zuchinni
Wilted turnip greens with walnuts
Organic rice cereal with soymilk
Snowcaps

Exercise:
2-3 hours of walking while babywearing whilst shopping

Day 18

Food:
Green Smoothie (can't remember what fruits and veggies, but it's always 2-3 servings of greens and 4-5 servings of fruit)
Tofu with raw veggies and rice noodles
Spicy pumpkin seeds
Mozerella cheese stick
Cliff bar
Tofu with raw veggies and rice noodles
Nori roll salad (seaweed, carrots, arugula, romaine, tomatoes, sprouts, olives, avocado)
Wilted turnip greens and walnuts

Exercise:
A bit of babywearing

Day 17

Food:
Green Smoothie: Spinach, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries
Chik'n nuggets (veg)
Beans and rice
Luna bar
Boca burger on wheat bread with romaine, sprouts, cheese
Whole wheat pasta stuffed with cheese, potato, and broccoli (organic)
Walnuts that were sauteed in balsamic vinegar, agave nectar, and Dijon mustard (makes a thick sauce) tossed with turnip greens
2 oz dark chocolate with soymilk

Exercise:
1 hour walk on beach
3 hours shopping while babywearing
Squats and situps

Comments:
I have been getting away from my salads because I was tired of them, but today I picked up some ingredients for a few new salads...avocado and tomato salad, as well as a grilled summer veggie salad. I am doubling up on the greens in the morning since I am not really getting as many throughout the day. I also got the ingredients to make nori rolls (which I've found make better salads, as I can't get them to stay together!) Another snack I plan on making this week is a whole foods recipe called 'nuts and bolts' as well as their recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds. I also have yogurt, energy bars, tofu salad, Boca burgers, chick'n nuggets, whole grain waffles, and edamame's for various other meals/snacks. Our dinners planned for this week are going to be oh so yummy!! Portobello mushroom sandwich, tofu and sesame noodle salad, quinoa with lemon zuchinni, and sauteed tofu and apples...I'm excited to try all of these new recipes!! This stuff BETTER be good, because we spent twice as much as we normally spend at the grocery store and health food store today...well, we also had to buy a lot of stuff we only buy once in awhile (Braggs, Veganaise, toffuti cream cheese, soy sauce, etc) because I've been eating at home so much and eating it all up!!

I don't feel like there is much of a difference in my body so far, which is disappointing. I really want to lose my baby weight and more, but I know I have a long ways to go. I was reading tonight that when nursing it's okay to lose around 6 lbs a month...that means, if I'm actually losing that much, that it will take me approximately 4 months to get to my goal weight. And we have to get through the holidays at that!! But my hope is to be at 125 by January 1st. If I'm not, I won't beat myself up...I can see just from the last 3 months of eating healthy, and yet still not quite to my pre-preg weight, that losing weight is not going to be as easy as it used to be. And the most important thing is to be healthy for my baby any way, so if I'm not where I want to be by January 1st, it will just be my New Year's Resolution!!

I am going to be borrowing a jogging stroller from a friend that I can put Samara in, so I plan on starting this "Couch to 5k" plan that I found online (I love workout plans that tell me what to do, can you tell?) I'm looking for a race to run in November/December, as I plan to start the 2 month plan in the next week (as soon as I can get some running shoes!) I will probably be doing my running on Monday/Wednesday/Friday instead of walking. I'm soooo excited, because I LOVE RUNNING!! Can't wait to get back into it :)

Day 16

Food:
Green Smoothie: Kale, bananas, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
Cliff bar
Leftover pita with hummus & tabbouleh, vegetarian grapeleaves
Cheese stuffed pasta
Sesame seed tofu and spinach
Luna bar

Exercise:
Walking and babywearing

Comments:
Not enough food, and too many carbs! At least I'm getting plenty of protein though!

Day 15

Food:
Green smoothie: kale, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, banana, agave nectar
Whole wheat bagel with egg, cheese, sprouts, tomato, onion
Caribbean rice and beans
Luna energy bar
Whole wheat pita with baba ganoush (sp?)
Edamames
Middle Eastern food for dinner: spinach pie, vegetarian grape leaves, falafels, hummus, and tabouleh with pita bread

Exercise:
1 hour walk on beach while babywearing
Approximately 2 hours of walking while babywearing
Last night I did my squats and situps!

Comments:
Way too much carby foods today!! I'm out of salad stuff and won't make it the grocery store until Wednesday unfortunately. Decent day overall, although my dinner wasn't exactly green.

Day 14

Food:
Green smoothie: endive, kale, bananas, strawberries, mango, agave
Half a sandwich: whole wheat bread with tofu, avocado, hummus, sprouts, tomato
Half a wrap: lots of veggies, Toffuti, hummus
Spring mix salad with basil vinaigrette
Dark chocolate (approx 1 oz)
Brown rice with coconut, black beans, and green onions
Spicy taco style tofu
Vegan organic ice cream

Exercise:
Babywearing...

Comments:
OKAY! I'm going to do my situps and squats right now. Like, right this minute. Also, I'm walking tomorrow. Yay!

Day 13

Food:
Green smoothie: endive, bananas, peaches, rhubarb, agave nectar
Sesame seed tofu with spinach
Boiled peanuts
Dark chocolate
Beans and rice, salad, breadstick (birthday party)

Exercise:
Babywearing

Comments:

I'm starting out my situps and squats workout routine Sunday night! I've found myself feeling burnt out on the whole green thing. I think it's mostly that I wasn't getting enough green smoothie because Cody's been stealing it all (1 cup instead of 2). Starting tomorrow, I will be getting my 2 big smoothies every morning again, and hopefully it will assuage my cravings. I also am looking at some recipes for some variation with the salads...I was getting tired of the same thing, but I know there's plenty of salads you can make that aren't typical.

Day 12

Food:
Green Smoothie: escarole, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb, banana, OJ, agave nectar
Bean burrito, chips and salsa, from Chipotle
Nori roll salad (seaweed, romaine, arugula, carrots, green onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado)
Steamed artichoke
Yogurt

Exercise:
Babywearing

Comments:
More exercise!! More water. I also need to bring snacks with me so that I can eat when I'm out and about.

Day 11

Food:
Green Smoothie: (kale, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, banana, OJ, agave nectar)
Mozzarella cheese stick
Yogurt
Taco soup leftovers
Homemade falafel with cucumber yogurt dressing on whole wheat pitas

Exercise:
-Babywearing...otherwise I've been lazy :-P

Comments:
I've been slacking on the exercise, so I need to be more active. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blog so my entries may be shorter but I will continue to record my food and exercise in order to keep myself accountable!

Day 10

Food:
Green smoothie (romaine, banana, OJ, agave nectar, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, rhubarb)
Taco soup leftovers
Fake chick'n nuggets
Spinach/spring greens/tomatoes/sprouts/red onion/pumpkin seeds salad
Boca burger on wheat bread with sprouts, moz cheese, Veganaise, romaine
Snowcaps :-O

Exercise:
Walking while babywearing

Comments:
Movies last night=snowcaps. I know, I'm bad. They were so yummy though!!

Too much fake meat yesterday!! I need to work on that.

I'm in a hurry so sorry I don't have much else to say.

Day 9

Food:
Green smoothie (Escarole, OJ, agave nectar, peaches, cantalope, strawberries, pineapple, banana
Tofu sauteed in Braggs and garlic
More tofu sauteed in Braggs and garlic
Dark chocolate chips (handful)
Nori roll (seaweed with avacado, romaine, arugula, sprouts, tomato, olives, green onions)
Kashi blueberry waffle with cream cheese
2 cups of milk with 2 packets of Instant Breakfast

Exercise:
A one hour walk while babywearing

Comments:
I skipped my green salad yesterday! :-O I meant to eat it for lunch, but had a crazy day at work and didn't. Then had a crazy evening and forgot to eat it for dinner. So it's in my fridge, waiting! I think I got plenty of greens even in my nori roll though, so I think I'll count that :-D

I was also supposed to start my situps/squats last night but like I said, it was a really crazy day so I forgot. I will do them this morning and count them for last night.

I am glad I am keeping this blog. Yesterday afternoon I got coupons in the mail for $1 burgers at Burger King...man, did they sound good! But I didn't get them because I thought, 'I have to write it in the blog.' Regardless of whether anyone reads this, it's very helpful to me. It keeps me accountable as well as actually details what I'm eating. It feels good to see all those fruits and veggies listed out.

Day 8

Food:
Smoothie: Endive, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, rhubarb, orange juice (not from concentrate), banana, agave nectar
4 Veggie nuggets
Salad: endive, spring mix, spinach, tomatoes, red onion, pumpkin seeds
Cliff energy bar
Boca burger on whole wheat with Veganaise, sprouts, moz cheese, tomato
Taco soup (beans, tomatoes, chiles, avocado, fake sour cream, etc)
Thinking about an avocado/banana/chocolate smoothie in the near future...

Exercise:
A bit of babywearing but no walking since my walking partner woke up late this morning

Comments:

Not a huge fan of endive in a salad, but it was great in the smoothie. This morning's smoothie, with orange juice, was yummy! I was thinking of adding an orange but am worried about too much fresh fruit making it into fruit puree again...I'd already put 2 bananas in...so I put some OJ, which is Tropicana all natural, not from concentrate, with Vitamin D and all that. I loooove it, and it made my smoothie delish! Once again, I drank two big glasses (I'd guess 20-something ounces) and it held me over for about 3 hours. I had a bit too much fake meat today...must make more of my own food!! Although fake meat sure is an easy, low fat way to get a bunch of protein, that's for sure.

Missed my walk on the beach today, but am looking forward to getting some exercise tomorrow morning, if it's not too terribly hot.

Day 7

Food:
Green smoothie: a conglomerate of a little bit of every fruit I had left in my freezer, plus copious amounts of kale that was about to go bad
Boca veggie burger on whole wheat bread with Veganaise, sprouts, tomato, and Dijon mustard
Edamame
Grapes
Luna Women's energy bar
2 Kashi whole wheat blueberry waffles with Tofutti cream cheese
Spinach, mixed greens, bell peppers, onion, sprouts, tomatoe, Pomegranate vinaigrette, pumpkin seeds
Tofu sauteed in soy sauce, Braggs liquid aminos, 17 spices seasoning, and sesame seeds
Odwalla fruit and grain bar

Exercise:
90 minutes walking around grocery store while wearing baby
1 hour walk on the beach while wearing baby

Comments:

I feel like I ate hugeee amounts of food today, but it was mostly good stuff, so yay! I tried this Luna Women's energy bar today. I normally hate granola bars, energy bars, meal bars, etc, other then Nutri-grain bars and Special K bars, both of which are full of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. I've tried tons of different healthier bars and just couldn't find the love...but Luna bars are AWESOME! I had a S'mores flavored one, and I felt like I was having dessert, except it was dessert with calcium, folic acid, antioxidants A, C, E, 9 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fiber. I can't believe the thing tasted as good as it did for having all that in it! It didn't fill me up but was a great snack, something that could be thrown in the diaper bag and eaten to hold me off until I get home, versus eating out. I've been looking for something HEALTHY, that could live in my purse as a snack, for YEARS, so you must understand my excitement at this discovery. I thought perhaps my tastes were changing, so that I like healthier stuff, but then I tried the other energy bar in a different brand (Odwalla) and it wasn't horrible but DEFINITELY tasted like an energy bar.

The other food discovery made today (after visiting a Target, which has a much more diverse frozen veg food section then the commissary--duh) was Boca burgers! Again, I have tried MANY veggie burgers over the years, and yet somehow I've never tried a Boca burger...or maybe just not this flavor of Boca burgers. Because mmmmmmmmmmmm! I am quite excited to find a quick, easy, low fat, high protein meal that I enjoy. I try not to do fake meat too much, but there aren't many veg meals that are easy to eat on the run (minus things involving nut butters, which I can't tolerate for some reason, or fruit, which I already eat huge amounts of) so I'm excited.

Cody and I are considering doing a vegetarian challenge next. We eat mostly vegetarian already, with the very occasional seafood meal at home and sometimes eating meat when we are out. I pretty much eat meat (minus the occasional fish) three places: Chick Fil A, any kind of Hibachi (steak & shrimp), or a good steakhouse. Anywhere else, I am completely, 100% satisfied to eat veg, and can usually find a great veg meal that I enjoy just as much. I also tend to eat way more meat when I'm trying to cut carbs out...I have a hard time finding a balance. I think I've eaten a lot of meat lately...too much for my comfort. I feel like a huge hypocrite because I know how bad meat is for my health, for the environment, and for the animals who suffer in factory farms. And at the same time, I question whether I want to be a true veg for myself or just so I can really call myself one (and therefore not feel like a hypocrite.) I wish I could find the determination I had 1 1/2 years ago when I became a vegetarian and didn't look back...until I became pregnant and eating/cooking/etc became such a chore that fast food and microwaveable items became my main staple for several months. It wasn't until I was 6 months pregnant that I started eating even a semblance of a healthy diet, and went back to being mostly veg. I've gotten better and better at eating better...my diet the last 5 months or so has been the best it's ever been...and yet I'm still not veg. I honestly am afraid to just come out and become vegetarian for fear of falling off the wagon again! Well, something to think about any way.

I start my 200 situps/squats program this week and I'm quite excited. Still on the lookout for a good workout video...I'm working my legs out with my walk and squats, and my core with the situps, so I'm hoping to find something that does all over, but that also does something with my arms. Although really, lifting my humongous 13+ lb monster--I mean, baby--should do the trick.

Day 6

Food:

HUGE Green smoothie: Kale, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apple
Chick Fil A (!) chicken nuggets, waffle fries, sweet tea
Pistachio/walnut/pecan/almond/dried cranberry mix
Tofu salad
Small spinach salad with Braggs/sesame oil/sesame seed dressing
Grilled mahi mahi with roasted red pepper pesto
Creamy mashed cauliflower

Exercise:
A few walks around apartment complex while wearing baby, totalling 2 hours

Comments:

Today I purposefully broke my diet...I had a mom meetup at Chick Fil A, and alas, there is just really nothing 'green' to have there. I could've had a salad, which would've been mostly iceberg lettuce, and I don't like their dressing, and I wouldn't have been full, and yet I would've spent a bunch. So I went in knowing I was going to break my diet, and here's how that's different from past diets: in the past, when I was on a diet, I was constantly feeling the pull of every piece of food I saw. I would usually give in to the craving, and then I would say, "Well, this day is ruined. Might as well eat what I want today and start over tomorrow." Today, I said to myself, "I will eat fast food for lunch, but I will still do my green smoothie in the morning, I will still walk, I will eat healthy the rest of the day." And I did! I even made a really healthy homemade meal for dinner, and made sure that my snacks were less carby/processed, and I took a few walks throughout the day, voluntarily, all on my own (during the week, sometimes I drag myself out of bed to walk only because I feel accountable to the friend I walk with, but I end up glad that I went any way.) I feel like I'm really learning self discipline, and learning to enjoy eating good foods.

I had 2 full glasses of smoothie today, and felt really full for about 3 hours. Even when I felt hungry, it wasn't the knawing, sick hunger that I usually feel in the morning. I also found that I wasn't craving sweets at all today--a first for me! I watched someone at Chick Fil A eat a cookies n cream shake (my fave!) and didn't even seriously consider getting one myself. I really think this was because I got plenty of (good, natural) sugars from the fruit.

I still need to drink more water. I also need to focus on finding more snacks that aren't starchy, because right now Wheat Thins and Kashi waffles are my go-to. I've been scouring the internet but it seems my choices are either something starchy or fruit or meat...I don't want starchy, I don't want to eat more meat (and am contemplating becoming a veg again--actually, I know I will, I just don't know when since I'm being lazy about it), and I'm already eating a TON of fruit in the morning. I also am not big on raw veggies unless they are in a salad. I think like a lot of other things in this diet, I just need to force myself to try stuff. Any ideas for snacks? Quick, easy things? Things I can eat on the go? Things that don't require a microwave, since I don't own one? Any or all of the above would be appreciated, all 3 of my readers!

Day 5

Food:
Green smoothie: Spinach, mango, strawberries, bananas
Creamy pumpkin soup leftovers
Tofu salad (tofu sauteed in Braggs till crispy, mix sour cream and Veganaise, add chopped raw green onions, YUMMY!)
2 Kashi whole wheat waffles with Toffuti cream cheese
Organic dark chocolate-1/2 bar, with milk
Sesame seed spinach salad
Tofu salad
Organic dark chocolate-1/2 bar, with milk

Exercise:
1 hour walk on beach while wearing a baby
Walked around Target for quite awhile wearing the baby too

Comments:

Today's smoothie was a definite improvement...I used more frozen stuff. The spinach and bananas were not frozen, but the rest was, and I added a little more water and some ice, too. It was a nasty color brown but it tasted better. I'm looking forward to trying some different greens, if I can track them down...I've heard good things about purple kale and dandelion greens. I think I'm also going to buy all frozen fruits from now on...I definitely need frozen stuff to make the smoothie a good consistency. I caved to chocolate again today...I've got to quit that! But, I did weigh myself on the same scale I used throughout pregnancy and post-pregnancy, at my midwive's office, and I've lost 5 lbs in the last 3 1/2 weeks! 5 lbs to go till my pre-preg weight, but I still have a ways I want to go after that...I was wanting to lose 20 lbs, then I got preggo. So I have about 25 lbs to go. Mostly, I want to be healthy though--not gonna focus on the weight! If I'm doing the right things for my body, it will look better, and more importantly, I will FEEL better.

I definitely think I do feel better not eating all the carby stuff I was eating before. I'm planning next week's meals and looking forward to trying some new recipes--new meals and smoothies! Tonight at Target I also bought a nut mix and dried cranberries...something I'd never have eaten before, but am going to try now!! I also want to buy the stuff to make muesli, something that honestly sounds gross to me, but I'm going to force myself to try it. Maybe I'll like it! I think this is the best thing about the green smoothie challenge so far...because I can't fall back on the foods I usually eat, I am forced to plan ahead, be creative, and try new things...all of which are normally NOT my strong points. However, I'm figuring it out as I go and am glad I've been sticking to this pretty well so far.

I'm REALLY looking forward to starting the 200 situps and squats next week!!

Day 4

Food:
Green Smoothie (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, kale)
Wheat thins (10)
Creamy pumpkin soup leftovers
Salad (spring mix, spinach, red, yellow, orange bell peppers, sprouts, tomatoes, vinaigrette dressing)
Grapes
Cascadian Farms Organic whole grain flakes with granola clusters, freeze dried blueberries, milk
Rattatouille (onion, eggplant, yellow, red, and pablano peppers, tomatoes, squash, zuchinni)
Light Eggplant Parmesan (not fried--eggplant with tomatoes and mozarella cheese + spices)

Exercise:
Wore my fussy baby for about 6 hours today
Walked several hours with aforementioned fussy baby whom began crying whenever I was still

Comments:

Managed to drink a little more water today--yay! I also bought some sea salt and am using that instead of regular salt. Tonight's dinner, which Cody made entirely on his own, was DELISH! I'm having some issues with the smoothie though (which is pretty much the cornerstone of my diet right now.) It's coming out less like a smoothie and more like a fruit/veggie puree...I feel like I'm eating baby food. I'm sensitive to textures already, but yesterday and today I had to force the smoothie down. I think I can solve this problem by adding more frozen stuff (we don't ever have any ice, lol) but if anyone has any suggestions it'd be appreciated.

Day 3

Food:
-Green smoothie (spinach, kale, apple, banana, plum, raspberries, grapes, almond milk, soymilk)
-Banana
-Bucca Di Beppo's mommy lunch--grilled chicken with proscuitto, capers, artichoke hearts, and Fettucini was substituted by a side salad
-Cheerio's with milk (at my mom's house)
-1 oz dark chocolate
-Salad (kale, olive oil & salt to soften it, tomatoes, green onion, avacado, olives, sunflower seeds, fresh lemon juice)
-Tofu (sauteed in soy sauce, Braggs Liquid aminos, agave nectar, cumin, curry powder, allspice, and fresh lime juice)
-Fresh pineapple

Exercise:
-1 hour walk on the beach while wearing a baby
-15 minute walk around my mom's neighborhood while wearing baby

Comments:
Today was HARD. At my mommy group lunch, I desperately wanted pasta and breads with olive oil and a big, chocolatey, fatty dessert. I also wanted to be totally stuffed and full because I knew I'd be at my mom's house this afternoon and didn't want to cave to junk food there, so I didn't want a plain old salad at Buca's, despite the warm spinach and tomato salad sounding yummy. The chicken I ended up eating is probably the second time I've had meat in the past month, but it was REALLY delicious. I WAS still hungry (how does a giant plate of fettucini equal a tiny bowl of iceberg lettuce and balsamic vinegar?), and ended up eating a bowl of cereal at my mom's house--but it could've been worse. I also ate the other half of my organic dark chocolate bar with a big glass of milk, and I'm totally ok with that. The dinner Cody and I made was DELICIOUS! AND left me feeling really full.

My exercising is going well. I enjoy walking on the beach with Samara and our friends Amanda and little Parker. It's so nice out there in the morning!! I'm on the lookout for a good workout dvd...I heard there was a good fitness one that also incorporates some, um, dancing...Don't tell Cody--I'll make it a surprise :)

Goals for the next few days: drink more water and avoid meat, since I'm trying to be 'green' in every sense of the word. Can't wait to start my situps and squats next week when I'm in less pain!!!

Day 2

Didn't get a chance to update yesterday and I'm in a rush today so this will be quick.

Food:
Green smoothie (spinach, grapes, mango, papaya, kiwi, pineapple, orange, banana)
Mixed greens, spinach, bell pepper, red onion, tomato salad w/ a French vinaigrette dressing
Sesame seed tofu
1 oz dark organic chocolate
Creamy pumpkin soup
Shake (banana, chocolate Instant breakfast, avacado, soymilk)

Exercise:
None! I'm in terrible pain from doing my 'test' for the 200 program. The program recommends you wait a week after the initial test to actually start, which I originally thought was kinda silly, but now I see why...Cody and I both have been groaning every time we get up or sit down or have to bend down, haha.

Comments:

I feel really good. As you see, I gave in to my chocolate today, but I only ate 1/3 of the candy bar I bought, and it was dark chocolate, organic, so not as much sugar and not as processed. Also, the reason I gave in was because I didn't eat anything from 3 pm until dinnertime, because I went to the store after work....I think I need to plan to always have food on me, so I'm not tempted to eat something I shouldn't! I did better at not eating processed foods yesterday, as everything I ate I made myself. I also didn't exercise, which I'm not going to feel too bad about since I'm still in a lot of pain from Sunday's workout. I want to start out when I have a full week to do it, so even though I feel better today and will be 100% by tomorrow, I'll probably wait until next week to officially start. It's a 6 week program so doesn't entirely coincide with the 30 days, just was good timing. The truth is that I wear a baby for at least an hour a day, usually more, so I think that's a pretty good workout...she's getting heavy!! I also do a lot of walking and moving every day in general. I may not be doing a target workout but I am being active.

I have still been getting hungry after my smoothies, so I think I'm going to need to start actually eating breakfast. I like starting my day out with a bunch of fruits and veggies though, so I will continue to do that in the morning and then try to come up with a less carby, healthy alternative to the bagel/cereal that I usually do mid-morning.

Still pretty proud of myself for eating so healthy, for trying new things, and for staying so active. I'll update tonight about my day today.

Day 1

Today:

I ate:
-Green smoothie (banana, orange, grapes, kiwi, mango, spinach)
-Wheat bagel with egg, swiss cheese, and raw onion, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, red and green bell peppers
-Tofu sauteed in random spices
-Spinach and spring mix salad with red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, onion, and cherry tomatoes
-Kashi whole wheat strawberry waffle with Tofutti cream cheese and 1 tsp brown sugar
-Banana
-Avacado, provolone, onion, sprout, romaine, tomato sandwich on wheat bread
-Portobello mushroom stuffed with moz cheese, sundried tomatoes, and spinach
-1 cup organic whole milk with chocolate Instant Breakfast

Exercise:
-1 hour walk on the beach
-Approx 1 hour of babywearing

Comments:

Overall I am feeling good. Honestly, I am MAJORLY craving some chocolate. But I have been craving chocolate since I first got pregnant. The difference is that today I didn't give in...minus the Instant Breakfast, which was my 'cheat' for the day. I plan on continuing to use that as a cheat for 3 reasons: 1) If I'm going to cheat, it might as well be a cheat that gives me a bunch of vitamins. This pretty much satisfies my chocolate craving while still giving me some nutrients. Although there is also a lot of carbs and sugar, and this is processed, I still think it's better then the box of Snowcaps I reallllly wanted to go buy today. 2) I recently bought two giant boxes with 30 packets each, and I can't waste that much. 3) When compared with the rest of my day, the Instant Breakfast is really a relatively small thing. I am going to pick my battles. I ate a TON of fruits, veggies, and protein today...so I refuse to feel guilty about the 25 or so grams of non-fruit sugar I got today. I also had a bit more processed stuff then I wanted today, and more grains, but they were all healthy grains, and as I move into this, do more research, and find more recipes, I'm hoping that I will be able to eat less and less of that stuff.

I think tomorrow I need to make a bigger smoothie...I am guessing I drank about 10-12 ounces today, so not a full 16 oz. I ate it at 6:30 and was starved by 8:00 or 8:15. I am hoping that it gets easier to resist my cravings over time...and I think it will. When I did low carb, the first few weeks were soooo hard, but after that, I got used to it. When I gave up Diet Coke, I longed for it hourly for a few weeks, and then when I tasted it again after a long time, it was really gross to me. I have started to develop this philosophy in life, after being pregnant, giving birth naturally, living a few very sleepless weeks with a newborn, etc: nothing is really as bad as you think it is going to be. When you think about it beforehand, or when you hear about it, you think "Geez, that sounds so horrible!" You just have to decide you're going to do it, and DO IT. And in the moment, you just do it, and it really isn't all that bad.

I am proud of myself for sticking to the challenge today, because I had both a mommy breakfast and then Cody, Samara and I had dinner with friends (didn't mean to plan two restaurant meals in one day) and yet I still managed to eat really healthy. I was in MELLOW MUSHROOM and I was able to turn down pizza. I really want to stick to this. I really want to feel good. I really want to become physically healthier. And most of all, I really want to learn healthier habits. I know I can do this, and the longer I do it, the more of a lifestyle it will become. These are the things I want to pass on to my daughter. I won't even have to tell her that it's good to eat healthy and exercise because I'll be leading by example. Whenever I thought about cheating today (which I did a few times!) I thought about Samara in 5 years. What do I want to be teaching her? Will I be teaching her to diet, lose weight, then eat crap and gain it all back, then try to diet again? Will I teach her to have a love-hate relationship with food? Will I teach her to feel guilty about what she eats, to feel sick after she eats, to be exhausted all of the time? Will I teach her that being active is a chore?

No! I will be teaching her that our bodies were meant to eat whole foods thats grow in the ground, and they were made to dance and run and play--healthy eating and being active are fundamentals of life. I will be teaching her that soda and candy aren't 'food'. They aren't a staple. They may be a very occasional treat, but overall, life FEELS better when you are living a healthy lifestyle. Because it DOES feel better. Yes, it takes more thought--it's way easier to get fast food or something from a box--but it feels so much better to make something yourself.

I think this is going to be an interesting journey for me. Food is such an emotional thing for me! Up until recently, I've had a pretty emotional, and like I said, love-hate relationship with food. I do feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster today, and it's only Day 1! But the important thing is that I did it and I'll continue doing it.

Yay for the 30 Day Green Challenge!!!

What I'm doing for the next 30 days

Here's what I'm doing:

I'm doing my green smoothie in the morning with a little fresh orange, some fresh pineapple, fresh banana, frozen mango/grapes/mandarin oranges/papaya/kiwi, LOTS of fresh spinach. I have a green leafy salad for lunch (I have spinach/sping mix or a kale/avocado salad to choose from), and our dinners all week are veggie based with no bread or pasta. For snacks, I have avocados, cottage cheese muffins (made from scratch), a creamy sundried tomato dip eaten with sliced cucumbers, Kashi whole grain blueberry waffles with Tofutti cream cheese and bananas. I'm also breaking the Sprite habit I picked up when I gave up artificial sweeteners, and I am quitting the chocolate kick I've been on lately. If I must have chocolate, it will be dark chocolate at least. But I'm going to attempt to do that very rarely.

For my exercise, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will be walking for one hour. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I will be doing a program that my hubby and I found called Two Hundred Sit ups, and also Two Hundred Squats (http://www.twohundredsitups.com/complete.html and http://www.twohundredsquats.com/).

I'm really excited about this, and I'd be even more excited if some other folks wanted to join me! So if you're interested, join the Facebook group and let me know that you're doing this along with me :)