Day 2: 3 Day Cleanse

I woke up yesterday morning feeling really great, despite the sub-par sleep. The challenges of yesterday did not repeat themselves, however a few new challenges surfaced.

I ended up programming the recipes into MyFitnessPal on my phone to see exactly how many calories I was getting. I was sure it was going to be way low, but it was actually around 200 calories over my daily budget for weight loss. Luckily, I had done 30 minutes on my stationary bike on Day 1, so I had come in under budget that day. Yesterday I had a 2 show day, and normally I don't bike on 2 show days, so I had to come home between shows to bike for 20 minutes to break even on my calorie budget. It wasn't a tragedy, though. Normally, that 20 minutes would've been spent preparing a meal and Brandon and I watched "How I Met Your Mother" on TV while I biked, so it worked out.

The toughest part of the day was after lunch and before the evening "snack." I think I drank my lunch smoothie a little too early and got hunger pangs in the late afternoon. I was at work during this time, so I actually couldn't cheat even if I had wanted to. I rushed home and was a teensy bit grumpy with Brandon, but as soon as I took a drink of the snack smoothie, I felt great again.

I did not feel the consistent energy level of the day prior. I felt a crash around 6:30pm, right when I had to go back to work. I'm wondering if this had to do with the spacing out of my meals, or if the 20 minutes on the bike just did me in. Regardless, I was tired.

My sleep was pretty much the same. I took my melatonin supplement this time, and it helped me fall asleep faster but I still woke up in the early hours when my housemates got up for work. Interesting side note: Not sure if this is related or not, but I woke up recalling my dreams in the morning. Hmm.

2 days down! 1 to go!

Day 1: 3-Day Cleanse

So, it was tough. But I survived.

Something I think is really helpful is Brittany's daily e-mails of encouragement. I forgot to sign up the night before, so I'm getting them on a delay. But it pretty much summed up exactly what I was thinking, and reassured me that this is going to be great.

I think the hardest part of the day was just after the breakfast smoothie. I was hungry and no amount of water would suffice. Brittany does say, in her instructions, to listen to your body, and if you have to cheat, then do it. Don't feel bad about it. But part of my goal was to come out of this feeling satisfied with eating smaller meals, so I chose to wait. And I was distracted by the completely immersive video game I was playing (The Walking Dead Game) and couldn't be bothered to get off the couch... except to pee... which I did a lot.

As for the rest of the day, it went pretty smoooooothly (get it?). I didn't think any of the smoothie were particularly bad... just different. And the dinner smoothie was actually pretty good! I was so worried about lying in bed, trying to sleep and feeling hungry (which happens to me almost every night, and I give in to the hunger) but I actually felt fine.

My energy level throughout the day was pretty consistent. I didn't feel like I had more energy than usual, but I felt less tired as a whole... so I guess that is more energy... By the end of my work day (which is 10:30 at night) I was pretty tired, but it felt like a good kind of tired. Like I was supposed to be feeling this way. Normally, after work, I'm either WIRED or just ridiculously exhausted. Last night I was just pleasantly tired.

I was hoping that I would sleep better than normal, since my tummy wasn't busy digesting the crappy food I binge on before bed, but actually it was about the same. I always have a tough time falling asleep and when I'm finally asleep, I get woken up by one of my housemates or my cat and have to do it all over again. Maybe tonight will be better.

Here's to day 2!

A new adventure

This will be a short blog post, as I have a busy week planned. I'm embarking on a new adventure today. I'm starting Brittany Lynn Kriger's Soul Fueling 3-Day Cleanse! Brittany is a friend of mine from college, (and a member of Berk Clerb) and she has become certified as a wellness coach. Her website just launched this month and I think it looks fabulous! She is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegetarian (hence the clever name of her show: Delicate Princess Tummy) and she has amazing recipes and natural remedies. I highly recommend you check out her website.

My live-in boyfriend, Brandon, is also trying the cleanse. He's done this before, but with juice he buys at the store. So, I know he can do it, he's just a fickle eater and a handful of kale in a smoothie doesn't appeal to him. But he has promised that even if he doesn't like it, he's going to do it. So I'll be posting our progress and feelings each morning right here. We're both hoping this will help jump start our weight loss. Brandon is more prone to giving in to junk food than I am, but I think we could both use this as a respite and help us kick bad habits.

Okay, see you tomorrow. I'm off to start my day!

P.S. Here's another picture of my cat.

Delicious Abomination

So I set out this week to fix something new for dinner, and I did! I had bought a spaghetti squash at the farmer's market a long time ago, intending to fix it that week, but promptly forgot about it. But at a very opportune moment I saw it and had a stroke of genius. I'll get into that more later. First, here's how I prepared my spaghetti squash...

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Then cut your squash in half lengthwise.

Scoop out the guts! Just like a pumpkin!

I decided to toast the seeds, also like a pumpkin. There weren't very many and the end result wasn't bad but ultimately unsatisfying.

I did find a couple that had sprouted, so I looked up how to grow spaghetti squash, and it seemed pretty easy.

So I planted it in my weak-sauce window sill garden.

Anyway, then you grease a pan (I used a mixture of half olive oil and half water in a spray bottle) and set the halves face down on the pan.

Then bake it for 30-40 minutes. I did 30 minutes, and it was fine but I think next time I'll do it a little longer to get more mushy.

Then you start the stringing. Just take a fork and start raking the flesh. It's super easy.

Look how much I got off of one half!

Now here's where my stroke of genius comes in. Spaghetti squash is pretty tasteless by itself (like spaghetti noodles) so you could put all manner of toppings on it. I chose left-over turkey chili and low-fat cheese to make a delicious abomination: Spaghetti Squash Bean-less Turkey Chili Mac Supreme.

Everyone makes their chili differently. Here's my recipe:

1 lb. of ground turkey

1 can (19 oz.) of Progresso Tomato Basil Soup

1 can (12 oz.) of Hunts Tomato Paste

1 can (15 oz.) of Hunts Seasoned Diced Tomato Sauce For Chili

A bunch of random spices (You could do whatever you wanted, but throw in cinnamon, paprika, seasoned salt, Italian spices, red pepper flakes and chili powder)

Put it all in a crock pot on high for 8 hours

YUM.

How does this compare calorie wise to the classic Steak 'n' Shake chili mac supreme?

    1,080 calories

 378 calories!!!

That's just unbelievable. And it even tastes like your cheating! Also, this recipe is insanely versatile. Make the chili with just beans for a vegetarian option, or just the sauce, or without cheese for dairy-free! The possibilities are limitless. And spaghetti squash itself can be prepared many many ways as well. I put a little olive oil, parmesan cheese, and Italian spices on some and even that was great. Go and spread the word about spaghetti squash. Be my disciples.

Plug, Plug, Plug

Yay! Tech week for Sense and Sensibility is over! This is my most challenging show yet but I also think it's the best show we've done this season. Go see it!

Ermahgerd! Berk Clerb! is having our 4th meeting on Saturday, February 16th at 9:30pm CST! Add me on Google Plus to watch. Join our group on Goodreads and comment in our forums!

A friend of mine just launched her business as a wellness coach. She's gluten-free and dairy-free and a really cool person. She's also a member of Ermahgerd! Berk Clerb! Even if you're not looking for one-on-one coaching, she has a really neat blog. Check her out!

WHOA! So many plugs. Sorry y'all, just excited about everything. Speaking of excited, I joined an a capella group and we have our first rehearsal tonight. I'm kinda nervous but yeah... so excited. I've been wanting to be in an a capella group for forever but I always thought it was never going to happen. But then one day a good friend of mine asked me, very randomly, if I wanted to join one she was starting up and I immediatly responded with, "It's only my greatest dream ever!" I'll let you know how it goes.

On the nerdier side of things, we may be starting our weekly Dungeons and Dragons sessions again, this time with a new Dungeon Master, who isn't trying to get his master's degree, and has a bit more time on his hands. I'm sooooooo happy we're doing this again.

So, since the holidays and vacation is over, I need to get back into the swing of my life, and the point of this blog. I haven't done any recipes in awhile! My goal for this week, will be to cook up something yummy and blog about it next Monday. Also, I am hoping to get started on starting my business of making and selling hair fascinators. If any one has any recommendations for website designers or programmers, let me know. I'd like to do this for realz.

Sorry this post is short and busy. Here's a picture of my cat: