“Clean” start to the week
So, I would say that I am a fairly committed person when it comes to eating well and taking care of myself (years 2004-2008, when I was in college, DO NOT COUNT). After I graduated, I joined weight watchers to get me back on track after 4 years of destroying pizza and nachos at least 5-6 a week. I lost about 17 pounds and then decided to add a trainer into the mix. Sounds like a recipe for success, right?
For me, it was a mess. My trainer encouraged me to adopt a more protein based, higher calorie diet while I was in intense training. My trainer is very, very, smart and this diet definitely made sense. But for me, it was a train wreck. Becuase it interefered with my WW routine that worked so well for me, after training was over I went COMPLETELY off course. Now, a few too many weeks later, I am ready to re-commit. I’m not very good at easing back into things, so I am kicking things off with a week of completely CLEAN eating.
For me, that means: Only fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. Absolutely nothing that has been processed, including whole grain pastas, oatmeal, dairy products, etc. I eat as much as I want, but only food items that are basically in their original form. I will eat chicken, but it must be natural, vegetarian fed, antibiotic free chicken. No coffee, black tea, soda, juice, or alcohol.*
This works really well for me, to “shock” my system and get my back on track. Plus I feel so good when I eat like this, I don’t even really have cravings! The food is actually quite stellar. Today’s menu:
- Breakfast: 3 hardboiled egg whites with black pepper, bowl of fresh organic blueberries.
- Lunch: All natural chicken grilled with fresh garlic, organic rosemary, and olive oil. Large portobello mushroom cap grilled with balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and salt.
- Snack: Fresh heirloom tomatoes tossed with olive oil, fresh garlic, flat leaf parsley, and s&p.
- Evening snack: Fresh green grapes, handful of almonds.
- Dinner: Baby red potatoes grilled with olive oil, garlic, and organic rosemary. Summer squash, zucchini, portobello, and red onion skewers.
- Dessert: Ripe organic black cherries.
- All day: tons of water, a few cups of organic peppermint tea.
Wish me luck, or challenge yourself and do it with me!
*I am allowing myself Tuesday night as my only cheat night. My mom is coming up and making homemade eggrolls (they are baked and she only uses veggies. don’t judge). Trust, these are wayyyy too incredible to pass up.
