Elimination Diet Days 9 & 10 of 10 August 13, 2006

I’m a little behind in my wrap-up, but here are the details of the last two days:

Day 9

Breakfast: turkey bacon and tomato juice

Lunch: chicken salad with mandarin oranges, peppers, cabbage, and a ginger vinegar oil dressing.

Dinner: shrimp, vegetables, and rice.

Snack: yogurt, whole fruit popsicle

Water intake: great! I hit the 1.5L easily.

Day 10

Breakfast: fruit, yogurt

Lunch: I was at a restaurant with friends, so I ordered the all-you-can-eat salad bar. This particular bar has every vegetable and fruit one would ever want, so eating by the diet was easy. It also had shrimp, so I had that as my protein with a salad side, some vegetable sides such as artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and carrots, and a nice selection of melons. For the salad I used oil and vinegar as dressing.

Dinner: Baked potato, chicken, and asparagus.

Snack: fruit

Water intake: Not as good. I drank a lot while working out, but I think I only hit about 1L.

What I’ve learned: It might seem ridiculous to carry around a 1.5L bottle of water, but unless I do, I am never quite sure I’ve had enough water intake. So while I am still trying to establish the habit of drinking enough water, it is beneficial for me to go ahead and lug around the large bottle.

I’ve also learned that unless I have the meals planned, my eating goes to pot. There is no such thing as spontaneous healthy eating in my life. I have to be purposeful about what I eat.

I’ve learned that when I eat the not-so-healthy carbohydrates such as dinner rolls, it fills me up and keeps me from eating enough fruits and veggies. The only way I actually eat enough fruits and veggies is to eliminate the not-as-healthy bread products.

Last, I’ve learned that fruit can satisfy my sweet tooth cravings. I no longer have cravings for chocolate–for the first time in my life.

Elimination Diet Day 8 of 10 August 10, 2006

The water drinking is going great! I actually feel very deprived if I don’t keep my water count up. I am less and less dependent on the carbonated juice to satisfy my soda cravings, which is good since I know 100% juice isn’t that great on the teeth.

Here’s how the eating broke down:

Breakfast: yogurt, blueberry, strawberry, banana smoothie

Lunch: baked potato topped with yogurt, dijon mustard, and chives

Dinner: shrimp and veggies with rice.

Snack: nectarine

Not bad!

Minimizing the Morning Routine August 9, 2006

Looking for a way to streamline your morning to spend less time in the bathroom, less time cleaning up after yourself, and yet consistently emerge polished for the day? Try putting together a bin of the minimum items you need to get your hair and face ready in the morning. After showering, pull out your bin and do the basics. When you finish, store the bin back inside your cupboard. The clean up couldn’t be easier, your clutter is off the counter, you don’t waste any morning time looking for anything–and best of all, you ensure that you at least leave the house with a certain amount of polish. For harried work days, this keeps me looking my best when my mind is on other things.

Here’s what’s in my bin:

1. straighten & shine blow dry spray

2. mousse

3. hair dryer

4. round brush

5. hair spray

6. clear makeup bag (so I can quickly see the contents)

7. concealer

8. everyday foundation

9. dark brown mascara

10. bronzer

11. neutral, natural colored eye shadow

12. long lasting lip tint

Elimination Diet Day 7 of 10 August 9, 2006

Oh, what a difference a little bit of planning makes!

Yesterday’s breakdown:

Breakfast: herb omelet, tomato juice, and two slices of turkey bacon.

Lunch: turkey salad with garbanzo beans in a vinaigrette dressing. Accompanied with lots of water.

Dinner: turkey stew with corn, onion, celery, tomatoes, and carrots. More water and a 100% juice drink.

Water: 1.5L easily. I had glasses of water at two meals and I drank a 1L bottle while I was at the gym.

The good: Well, I ate a lot of vegetables and had a healthy protein with every meal.

The bad: I was low on the fruit intake, although I did sneak some in with the juice and the tomatoes. Additionally, I guess eating turkey at every meal is not really eating a wide variety of food. Thankfully I plan on cooking a vegetable baked potato for dinner tonight.

The ugly: Nothing too shabby!

Elimination Diet Day 6 of 10 August 7, 2006

Yesterday I went out to dinner with friends and when the bread basket was delivered to the table, I dove right in. And when I found one last York Peppermint Patty in our kitchen cupboard, I ate it. So I fell off the wagon yesterday. I am hoping to pick myself up, dust myself off, and continue where I left off.

I can tell that I set myself up for this because over the last day and a half, my initial meal-planning ran out and I was sort of eating whatever I could scrounge or walk into that fit the diet. I really wasn’t eating enough, and I wasn’t eating a good variety of foods–and my fruit intake drastically lowered. To be successful in this, I have to continue to plan out my meals and keep the fridge stocked. I was really having a terrible carbohydrate craving and didn’t have suitable alternatives available in the fridge.

Interestingly, I could really feel the sugar rush in the York Peppermint Patty and found myself with a splitting headache just afterwards. I felt awful.

Time to hit the grocery store shelves and stockpile some healthy foods.