I owe you guys a recap on my 10 Day of Clean Eating Challenge. First things first, let’s be honest – I only made it nine days before throwing in the towel. In summary, it wasn’t life changing but I did learn a few things.
- I am definitely addicted to caffeine. I had terrible withdrawal headaches the first couple days without it. I really love coffee so I’m not going to give it up but I am going to be more mindful of how much I drink and try to switch out tea a couple of times a week.
- It was easy not to drink wine. I seriously missed coffee more than wine! It was nice to break the routine of having a glass of wine most nights of the week. Also, I slept so much better at night.
- I love dessert and I missed ice cream. Avoiding sugar was really hard for me. Things pretty much went downhill after the night that I baked the peanut butter chocolate chip bars. I will say that it was good to break the habit of having something sweet after every meal but think I’ll still be eating dessert most nights of the week moving forward! 😉
- Meat was really easy. I’m convinced that I could easily go vegetarian (although I am not going to). I have no problem omitting meat from my diet.
- There was no noticeable change in my yoga practice. The original plan was to practice every day but there was just no way that could happen with my schedule. Even if I had practiced every day I don’t think that it would have made a huge difference.
Overall, I think I’ll stick to my “everything in moderation/balance is key” philosophy. I don’t enjoy completely omitting things from my diet or the mentality that I can’t have something. The challenge was a good way to break some bad habits though!
So that’s that. Let me know if you have any other questions about it!
Today’s recap…
I started my morning with an ashtanga practice. My body was feeling pretty open so I dabbled in second series a bit…always good to humble me and make me feel like a beginner again!
Breakfast at my desk.
The last of some Fage plain Greek yogurt, Bob’s Red Mill Muesli, almond milk, blueberries, bananas, cinnamon, chia seeds, dried cranberries, almond butter and Crofter’s.
I came home for lunch.
Brandon and I dined al fresco – it was 80 degrees! I had a grilled cheese with colby-jack, spinach and avocado. I have been craving a grilled cheese for a few days now so this totally hit the spot!
I spent the whole afternoon with butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of the yoga class I was teaching after work. Seriously. I don’t even remember the last time I was so nervous to teach a class! My sweet husband came to class to support me and overall I think it went okay. I had about 20 people in class and I took them through a basic power flow. I definitely just need a lot of practice teaching yoga so that the words begin to come naturally and I can infuse a bit more of my personality and style into it.
We had a fun dinner planned. Late last week I came home to find a surprise package from a PBR reader that I’ve been emailing a lot with over the past few months.
The AMAZING Canyon Ranch: Nourish cookbook. Thank you so much, Louly! Brandon and I have already gone through it and picked out about a ton of things that we want to make.
We got started tonight with a mahi dish.
Coconut-Crusted Mahi with Horseradish Orange Marmalade. Here is a link to the recipe online. I served it with coconut lime rice and a salad with mixed greens, blue cheese, almonds and orange segments. This was such a delicious dinner!
Off to bed. Eight hours are a necessity tonight!
Glad to see you were able to come out with learning something about your ten day challenge. I definitely agree that I would not be able to omit things from my diet. I would probably go stir crazy.
Your dinner looks so good! Looks like a dinner I was hoping to make: coconut encrusted tilapia with a mango salsa, with the coconut lime rice. I have so much coconut oil to use up. 😉
Have a great week!
Alaina – I haven’t tried coconut oil yet. I must! I love mango salsa…I think I would have liked that better on the fish last night than the orange marmalade.
Hope you have a great week too! 😀
Hi Jen! I’ve recently discovered your blog and have found myself playing catch up and now look forward to what you have to share everyday. Like you, I am a runner with a peanut butter addiction and now exploring new things through yoga. Thank you for sharing your teacher training experience, it is a goal of mine but I know I am about a year away from that. Congratulations on teaching your first class! It is a great accomplishment of how far you’ve come. Plus, now the first ones out of the way! Hope to take a class with you in the future, until then keep up the inspiring words 🙂
Sarah – thank you so much for your comment! I am so happy to hear that you are enjoying my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions about teacher training!
I think it would be impossible for me to give up caffeine! Those withdrawl headaches are not fun! I could give up meat easily too. I’m not the biggest meat eater. You did much better than I would have with alcohol! I love an ice, cold beer the night after a long run 😉
Mmm…cold beer after a hot run. Now your talking!
Once I got through the withdrawl headaches, I quit drinking caffeinated coffee. I pretty much only drink decaf now, so when I DO need the caffeine it is very effective! I just didn’t want anything having that kind of ‘power’ over me, so quitting caffeine gave me a lot of freedom. I realized in the morning I just wanted the coffee flavor, so decaf does the trick.
I think for me it’s less about the caffeine and more about the ritual of drinking coffee in the morning. I’m actively trying to cut back now and just enjoy a smaller amount! Unfortunately, something about decaf coffee makes me sick so that isn’t an option for me. 🙁
I think caffeine can be scary. I’m not drinking any now (preggers), but even before I didn’t drink much. Years ago I remember I liked having a diet coke everyday at lunch and I forgot it one day and got MOODY. I was cranky, snappy, and got an awful headache until I got a diet coke. That was the last time I drank one. Now when I have any caffeine it makes me so jittery, so it’s nice to reserve it for special occasions when I’m really dragging 🙂
I’m with you on the everything in moderation thinking. The more someone tells me I can’t have something, the more I want it!! I have been craving grilled cheese like crazy lately, it’s time to fulfill that craving 🙂
I gave up caffeine in January, and it was really hard for a few days – the headaches were the worst!
That mahi mahi looks incredible. Must try that recipe!
Have you tried half-caf coffee? I am not addicted to coffee as in I don’t need it every day, but I do enjoy it. I actually drink it more on the weekends because I love to lounge around with a cup of coffee or take a walk to the coffee shop. So I totally get the ritual aspect:) When I was pregnant I drank half-caf when I felt like a cup.
Ha I can totally relate! I could fairly easily give up meat but dessert? NEVER! 🙂