Last week, I woke up feeling kind of blah. We had gone to the MN Wild Game the night before and I stayed up way later than I usually do.

As I was up and moving around, I decided to just grab one of the breakfast sandwiches I had made & frozen for Carlos a few weeks ago. It was good, quick and easy. As I dashed off to work, I enjoyed my sandwich.

By about 10:00, my stomach was screaming and I could clearly hear what it wanted. CARBS. BREAD. GRAINS. I didn’t have anything, didn’t want to go to the vending machine so I grabbed a pack of croutons we had in our drawer from a to-go order a couple weeks ago. Then I grabbed a 2nd.

I had subway for lunch (aka more bready carbs)

That afternoon, I proceeded to eat EIGHT pieces of chocolate from the office candy bowl. And then, I was so frustrated with everything, I called Carlos on the way home & told him I was picking up his favorite fried chicken & french fries from a neighborhood dive and that I was getting myself chicken strips & fries.

REALLY?

What in the world?!

As I sat on the couch that night, fuming over my day, it dawned on me.

I hadn’t had a day like that in awhile. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I hadn’t binged like that since my eating transitioned to REAL foods at the beginning of April. Had I just had a self-inflicted binge? Are all binges somewhat self-inflicted? I’m fairly sure there were other things that led to a day of lotsa eating, more a complex storm of events however, had I set myself off on the wrong foot?

The one thing I’ve realized over the years is that healthiness never get’s easy. Sure, it can begin to feel routine, but I can never let my guard down. And just when I think I’ve figured it out, something changes and I have to readjust. What worked for me yesterday may not work for me today. It’s always changing. That’s what makes being healthy and losing weight/keeping it off so difficult is that there never comes a point where I can just relax & not pay attention to what I’m doing.

Every. Thing. Counts. Not any ONE thing can break my journey, but every ONE thing builds my journey.

Each of my decisions alone cannot ruin where I’m headed but every decision I make moves me along one way or another on my journey. I don’t beat myself up if I have a breakfast sandwich in the morning and I can tell you now, I will probably have one for breakfast at some point in the future. But the point is, when I do, I need to make sure I am quiet enough to stop and listen to my body, and make the choices that will help move me in the right direction.

Two things I’m loving right now? Our friends who stayed with us a couple weekends ago sent us a small token of appreciation – some coffee from the coffee shop across the street from them in Milwaukee:

It’s so so good, I may have to have them send us more every month! It’s very smooth and has a slight nutty flavor.

Also, I’ve worn a few tops  I was sent recently from YMX and am in love with their fabric. It is like workout silk! So far, I’ve gone running and also done elliptical and both times, the fabric felt very light weight & soft, but absorbed the excess sweat.

To top it all off, on one of the shirts had a little pocket on the back so when I went running, I could put my key in the pocket.

Now your turn, what are YOU loving right now?

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I was thinking this past weekend how my previous couple posts have included all the amazing food I’ve been eating enjoying while out and about. And while I did go out to eat the past couple weeks, most of my meals have been home-made and fairly simple.

So what have I really been eating? REAL FOOD!

So much fresh food! I really do love eating the way I have been, not a ton of processed foods, chemicals, pre-made food and focusing on fresh vegetables, fruits & meats.

Our fridge went from empty to FULL.

We stopped at a grocery store and at Cotsco. Items include:

• Spaghetti squash
• cauliflower
• broccoli
• spinach & mixed lettuce
• watermelon
• creamer
• feta cheese
• carrots
• greek yogurt
• orange/red/yellow peppers
• eggs
• hummus
• strawberries
• pork & ground turkey

We only put 1 package of meat and some strawberries I had cut up in the freezer. Things I’ve been eating include:

Eggs cooked in butter for breakfast

Spinach, greek yogurt & fruit smoothies

Baked zucchini

Roasted chickpeas

Vegetable & chicken omelette with un-pictured bacon

Spaghetti meat sauce on greens 
(Carlos had his over spaghetti squash, he loves that.
I hadn’t had enough veggies so decided to have mine on greens)

Carrots & hummus

And lots of salads with amazing toppings

Dinners include meat and vegetables. I’m trying to eat my carbs from non-bread/pasta/rice sources but, I don’t want to completely avoid them either. I’m fairly impressed, thankful & appreciative at how much of the transition Carlos has made as well, at his own insistent . We had been having some pretty good conversations the past month about getting away from sugar-overload, chemicals, preservatives and the such. From those conversations, he was beginning to be aware of looking at labels. And then this weekend, we watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead last week and now is very much on board with getting more vegetables in as well.

He actually wanted to get an actual juicer but I am thinking maybe if, for the next couple months, we just try smoothies with the bullet & blender, if we still think an actual juicer is a good investment, we look into it juicers then. I don’t want to buy an expensive juicer and then have us not use it.

I still don’t feel a huge difference in my day-to-day activities but I do feel lighter, cleaner and just more… healthy. It’s hard to describe what I feel but I can describe what I don’t feel: heavy, clunky, lethargic  and sluggish. If you would have asked me six months ago if I felt sluggish and lethargic, I would have said no but now, I can look back and realize how much better I feel.

I decided to take last week off from working out and now, I’m wishing I hadn’t. I did go running both Saturday and Sunday but just don’t want to work out anymore. BUT I WILL. TONIGHT. I will go right after work. Healthy is forever!

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Our friends from Milwaukee were in town this weekend and we had such a blast hanging out. Friday night, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Samba’s. Our friends from Milwaukee, Eno & Andy, had invited their friends, and then we also invited Matt & Laura.

The table split the bruschetta & cheese bread appetizers. I loved the bruschetta so much, I ordered a plate for my dinner. Then, I ate most of the veggies off Carlos’ plate (bottom right) and a few pieces of the steak he got. I also split the pineapple coconut cake with our friend, Laura. AH-MAZING.

We ended up going back to our house, having a few more drinks, and playing a few games. The only picture I have from the night (aside from the food) is this, with Eno, myself, Iggy and Carlos in the background.

Saturday morning, while everyone was sleeping off the late night, I got up and headed over to my sister, Melinda’s house to celebrate her birthday. The breakfast did my stomach good

When I took a picture with my niece, Kayla, and nephew, Colton, I looked and realized Colton was in a SILLY mood.

Kayla saw the picture and wanted to take another picture so she could be silly too.

Before I knew it, I had a lap full of kids wanting to take silly pictures.

Until I insisted on taking one picture of all of us smiling pretty.

When I got home, Carlos, Andy & Eno were finally up and moving. Since they hadn’t eaten yet, we went to Muddy Waters for brunch (well, their brunch, my lunch.) This place is oh-so-good! I ordered the pear & brie on croissant that came with a green salad.

After brunch, we walked around Uptown a bit. I found the most amazing jacket at a vintage shop that I made mine.

Saturday night, Andy & Eno went to a wedding so Carlos and I hung out at home. On Sunday, after Eno & Andy left, Carlos and I spent a few hours googling “Cape Verdean” on YouTube and getting lost watching random videos. Very very interesting! Iggy spent most of the day staring outside, dreaming of nice weather.

And now, the work week begins. I’m meeting a friend, Jillian, for happy hour and then will go home tonight to curl up & embrace the Minnesota late April snow.

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