This week 23 was overall pretty good. 4 of the 7 days I got my uncooked veggies in, but I need to do a little better to eat my salad daily. However, what happens when I forget to write in my food diary for just a couple days? Old habits die hard. If you are struggling right now, don’t beat yourself up! Change is hard!
I managed to stay away from temptation mostly, until we decided to take our boys bowling on the weekend….
Why is it that everything in our society pretty much revolves around food? It is so hard to go do any kind of entertainment and not have unhealthy food choices staring you in the face.
So, we decided to go bowling on Sunday to a more upscale place called Pinstripes. I looked at their menu online and they had several plant-based options and I was ready to make good choices!
I ordered the hummus/veggies/pita bread for an appetizer and the roasted veggie pizza w/out cheese. Which I was proud of myself for only eating 1/2 the pizza because it was kind of a large single serve size. And water to drink, thanks!
The Brussel Sprouts Debacle
But what got me was the brussel sprouts.
My husband ordered several different vegetable sides for himself including…. roasted brussel sprouts.
He says to me, “Oh you have to try this. It’s so good!”
And me without thinking or looking at it, takes a bite of the roasted brussel sprouts.
Yall.
If there is anything in the world that is my drug and will make me overeat even dirt, it is oil.
There was soooooo much oil that the brussel sprouts were practically swimming in it.
The problem is that my intellectual brain of knowing NOT to each another bite gets shut down by the immediate, knee jerk reaction, to the taste of oil. I can’t stop.
I think I have the tiniest understanding of what an alcoholic goes through if they were to take just one sip….
Unfortunately, I kept eating those oil-soaked brussel sprouts and couldn’t stop. Finally, my brain caught up with my mouth and I told my husband to take it away from me.
You can’t take me anywhere…
THIS. THIS is why I can’t eat out at restaurants without losing complete control.
I had planned ahead what I was going to eat, researched the menu, made those choices when the waitress came, yet even then when non-compliant food is presented in front of me, I can’t say no. Or I should say, I DON’T say no.
I have a choice of course. But the problem is it’s such an emotional, visceral reaction, that it still just triggers me. And once I taste it, it’s so hard to stop.
I could have taken that one bite, realized it was covered in oil, and made the decision to stop. But I didn’t…. I probably ate 1,000 calories of those oil covered brussel sprouts. Damn.
Getting back on track with my food diary
What I realized on Monday after the Brussel Sprouts debacle, was that I hadn’t written in my food journal all weekend. Eating healthy wasn’t at the top of my mind, so old habits just took over my mind. As I tried to remember what I had eaten Saturday & Sunday (which was hard to recall….), I was reminded of why writing in my food journal DAILY and RIGHT after I eat is so important.
I’m still trying to break decades-old habits that are so ingrained. It’s like autopilot still sometimes. And I’ve been at this for over a year!!! (So don’t feel bad if you are just starting out. It takes time!)
And the only way to rewire my brain is to keep writing in my food diary. Keep making it a priority. Keep reminding myself WHY I’m doing this.
I can’t give up and won’t give up.
Progress not perfection.
The good thing is after I wrote everything in my food journal Monday morning, I was super motivated to get back on track and had a HUGE salad with no-oil dressing from Salata. YAY!
And even after the oil-soaked brussel sprouts incident, I was still able to have a 2 pound weight loss this week. I’ll take that!
Related Reading: Start from Week 1 of my Eat to Live Food Diary
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Eat to Live Food Diary – Week 23
Day 1:
- Breakfast – fruit & greens smoothie, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch – raw broccoli, celery sticks, vegan nacho cheese, split pea soup, & raspberries
- Dinner – Easy Vegan Spinach Lasagna
Day 2:
- Breakfast – Homemade Muesli w/ unsweetened almond milk, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch – Kroger salad bar – spring mix, romaine, kale, arugula, spinach, corn, edamame, chickpeas, purple cabbage, carrots, green onion, red onion, black olives, quinoa, pecans, dried cranberries, red wine vinegar
- Dinner – Thai Red Curry w/Tofu & Brown Jasmine Rice
Day 3:
- Breakfast – Everything Bagel Avocado Toast w/arugula coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch – Thai Red Curry w/Tofu & Brown Jasmine Rice
- Snack – almond milk yogurt, apple slices, almond butter
- Dinner – Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich, Homemade Muesli w/ Blueberries unsweetened almond milk
Day 4:
- Breakfast – Everything Bagel Avocado Toast w/arugula coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch – Thai Red Curry w/Tofu & Brown Jasmine Rice
- Dinner – Tofu Marinara, steamed broccoli, strawberries
Day 5:
- Breakfast – Everything Bagel Avocado Toast, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch/Dinner – Pinstripes bowling/restaurant – hummus, veggies/pita bread, roasted vegetable pizza no cheese, roasted brussel sprouts (omg they were soaking in oil…)
Day 6:
- Breakfast – Homemade Muesli w/ raspberries & unsweetened almond milk, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch – Salata salad bar – spring mix, kale, spinach, arugula, edamame, chickpeas, green onions, black olives, bell peppers, dried cranberries, cabbage, strawberries, mushrooms, quinoa, walnuts, fat free sun-dried tomato dressing
- Dinner – Curry Red Lentil Soup, brown jasmine rice & tofu marinara.
Day 7:
- Breakfast – Homemade Muesli w/ blueberries & unsweetened almond milk, coffee w/unsweetened almond milk
- Lunch – whole grain wrap w/ classic hummus, coleslaw mix, red cabbage, shredded carrots, broccoli, avocado, balsamic glaze, & a fudgy brownie.
- Dinner – Green Giant Cauliflower Gnocchi w/marinara sauce, & tofu marinara
My weight loss on the nutritarian diet this week:
- Starting weight this week – 153.8 lbs
- Ending weight this week – 151.7 lbs
- Weight loss this week – 2.1 lbs
- Total weight loss – 4.7 lbs
Keep following my Eat to Live Journey with Week 24!
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