Tag: 31-Day Challenge

Woke up early after a good night’s sleep, which is unusual for me. Maybe it was the wine and extra fat, in cheese format. Veg box arrived and contents as expected. Have most of the week’s menu planned and only a short shopping list to hunt and gather at the weekend. Will probably increase tonight after I’ve read my new book which arrived a day early. Yay! Fancy some new breakfast options but might have to get this book too.

Good start today with a positive meeting at work. Celebrated with a latte 🙂 Decided to make Friday a canteen day and not eat at my desk; good choice as got a really good chicken Caesar salad with anchovies. Lush. Trying to plan a night out with my immediate team, but it’s a bit of a minefield when it comes to food. Aiming for more of a pub-grub evening, for cost reasons, but that somewhat limits what I can eat. Might have to be ‘that person’ who orders a burger and leaves the bun. And the chips. And probably the franken-food burger too 🙁

Went for a 4km walk after work, with a pub stop midway 🙂 but managed to put together dinner when we got back; beef, pork and chorizo burgers with sweet potato wedges. Did have 2 glasses of wine at the pub tho, and another half glass with dinner, so not much left in credit for dinner out tomorrow night.

No more than 1 latte a day =  Achieved

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 0 (does a long walk count?)

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week  = 4.5 units total

New Paleo book due to be delivered at the weekend – bit excited 🙂 Also got a batch of biltong arriving so that’ll be nice. Having looked over the last week I’m making a few adjustments.

Things to do this week:

• Keep track of the amount of tea I’m drinking instead of the coffees. Have some nice ‘loose-leaf’ fruit infusions to drink at home, but it’s not ideal for taking to work. Will pick up the bagged version from Whittards when I go shopping on Saturday.
• Schedule to go out for a walk every day after work; that way I’ll be changed into gym gear anyway so no      excuse not to make it a run if I’m feeling good. Worst case scenario I only go for an hour’s walk.
• Keep up the alcohol avoidance. Hopefully going out for dinner at the weekend, so that’ll be more of a challenge 🙂
• Get some suitable snacks so  I’m not going hungry, or having to eat ‘bad’ stuff. In theory I shouldn’t  need to snack if I eat enough at meals, but until I get that balance I need something to keep me going.

Planned ahead today, packing carrot sticks and guacamole as mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks to keep me going, and filled a big water bottle so no excuses for a cuppa. Apart from my morning wake-up tea (which doesn’t count as it’s bought to me while I’m asleep and is required for me to complete basic functions) had just 1 cup of tea, but only after downing 2 litres of water.

Had a MASSIVE salad for lunch (thanks B!). A square of nice choccy would have been good, but that’s just me being greedy. Was fit to burst after all that.

Dinner is a pork and veg stir-fry; basically using up all the veg in the larder before next batch arrives tomorrow morning. Decided to treat myself to half a small glass of wine. Meh. Had a little blue cheese on pear slices to finish. Yum.

No more than 1 latte a day =  Achieved (espresso machine at work broken)

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 0

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week  = 0.75 units total

Not the best day. Got some fruit and yogurt down before hitting the motorway this morning with a beaker of tea. Stopped to get petrol and treated my car to an ‘Ultimate’ carwash – can’t say I see the difference between that and the results from the cheapy-basic wash but hey ho.  

Managed to avoid buying any provisions but didn’t pack any lunch, leaving myself at the mercy of the canteen.  I’ve heard they do ‘salad’ but I’ve yet to see it among the huge portions of stodge. Located it today – 2 soup bowls of potato salad, some sliced cucumber and tomato wedges. Lunch was a latte 🙁 Spent an enjoyable few minutes scouring a tannin-stained spoon as a distraction – at least I remembered to bring my own tea bags today. Don’t you just love the Civil Service?! 

Had to stop off for food on drive home; carrot sticks and guacamole, prawns and a bar of organic dark chocolate. Ooh, and some yummy ricotta and speck roll ups.

10k road race in Hampshire this evening (I wasn’t competing) so dinner was a nice quick spicy beef larb on lettuce cups, with sesame prawn skewers. Had some kabanos and a few veggie crisps with guacamole before dinner last night and felt a lot better for it, so think I may have been under-eating. Or maybe I’m just too used to being a piggy 🙂 Good enough excuse to have some more tonight. Home too late to go for a run, so didn’t. Found a beer in the fridge I’d saved from the weekend but just didn’t fancy it. 

 

No more than 1 latte a day =  Achieved 

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 2  (must try a different approach for this one) 

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week  = 4 units total (impressed – but didn’t have any wine) 

Meant to get an early night last night, but made mistake of staying up and watching a Rick Stein programme about German food 🙂 Roast ham hocks and sauerkraut looked mighty tasty. Will put on menu for next week, along with these tasty morsels I found on NomNom: Lamb dosa purses. Not quite sure how they are ‘dosa’ – look more like koftas or dolmdos to me, but who cares if they taste good!

Needed some new inspiration, so have ordered a Paleo book I’ve been meaning to get for ages. It covers Whole30 and I don’t think it’s padded out with fake-flour ‘paleo’ muffins and the like.

Going to pick up some snacks I can have during the week, to make sure I’m eating enough and to keep the cravings at bay while I’m travelling. Thinking some biltong will do the trick, but no decent biltong to be found in or local area. Tried the Unearthed version from Waitrose (too dry for me) and Sainsbury’s own (just tasteless). Will just have to get an order in from Uncle Larry.

11:00 and the latte called, but got caught up in work stuff (nothing exciting, just a sandwich delivery for a meeting – drama!) which meant I made it to lunchtime without coffee 🙂 Smoked mackerel and beetroot salad with dill mustard dressing. Yum. Treated myself to a post-lunch coffee after a long walk around campus searching (unsuccessfully) for a bar of dark chocolate.

 

Squeezed in a half hour of running before dinner; leftover cold chicken and roast beetroot with peas and beans, and roast sweet potato.

 

No more than 1 latte a day = Achieved

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 2

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week = 4 units total

Monday morning and a bad night sleep. Not good. Woke up with a banging headache, and no good reason for it. Could be grinding my teeth in my sleep – never go to bed angry. Seems like clean-living doesn’t suit me 🙁

Usual tea, fruit and yogurt breakie. Got a tea when I got into the office but headache didn’t shift. Held out until 11:00 for first coffee but just with a splash of milk, not a full-on latte, and went for a walk outside. Can’t say it helped.

Lunch was left over smoked chicken with salad. Yummy but needs more fat so will add bacon and or eggs next time. Getting the munchies for bread, which is odd as I’ve been off it for months and not missed it.

Have planned a nice, big dinner of pork agro dolce with sweet potatoes and cabbage for dinner so should feel better after that.

Scheduled a run tonight but it kept raining too long, so couldn’t be arsed. 

No more than 1 latte a day = Achieved

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 1

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week = 4 units total

Sunday’s are normally a 2-meal day for me; brunch and early dinner, with cheese and wine and choccy snacks up to Top Gear time. Didn’t get an early start today, but got a coffee around 10:30 before preparing a big brunch/ lunch ready for man getting back from his 2hr Sunday run. Weirdo. Sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomato to keep us going until dinner time.

My weekends are treat time, especially when the sun is shining and hubby is home to spend time together, and for us treats are usually food or drink based – surprised, eh?! Been thinking about the stuff I’m missing out on so have decided to make list as they come up and, if I still want them after the month is up, I’ll have them 1st September.

Some of it is just breaking habits and finding better alternatives, like for today’s brunch I thought a few Bellini’s would be a nice accompaniment. Stop! Have also been drinking a lot more water, and sticking to my alcoholic drinks limit. Just to be clear, I didn’t spend my evenings and weekends getting wasted down the pub, and I didn’t wake up for work with raging hangovers and the shakes. I just became aware that the number of ‘treats’ I was having during week (wine and snacks) were increasing, and add to that a regular 2 rounds at the pub on a Friday night plus a nice bottle of wine with weekend dinners – quality Pinot Noir, of course – soon adds up. Just because it’s expensive, doesn’t stop it being alcohol.

Have been surprised by my self-discipline with snacks; only pouring out half a packet of parsnip crisps and putting the rest away, not feasting on cheese and keeping the after dinner choc to 1 square. They may be Paleo-friendly but should still only be consumed in moderation.

Had a very virtuous dinner of grilled trout and 2 veg, so don’t feel quite so bad that I didn’t run at all this weekend. Have a nice bottle of beer in the fridge but saving it for later in the weekend when I’ll REALLY want it – god, that sounds terrible, doesn’t it?

No more than 1 latte a day = Achieved

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 1 run/ walk (but did take a long walk to Waitrose and back)

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week = 4 units total

Lovely sunny morning, so kicked off with scrambled eggs and sautéed beetroot stems. Had 2 Nespresso machine coffees with a little milk, but significantly less than in a latte.

Made the school-boy error in Palo by not planning lunch and had to muster something together about 4pm – by which time I was broaching on hangry (hungry/angry). I’m not nice when I need feeding. A very tasty wagga-beef burger topped with bacon came to the rescue!

I let the man deal with dinner preparation. Chicken cooked on the braai with applewood chips for even more yummy smokey flavour. Drool. Served with roasted beetroot and a broad bean, feta and mint salad.

As we’d been over to the Windsor & Eton brewery, I had 2 half-pints of their Parklife ale. Only 3.2% so 1.8 units per pint, and tasty too so win-win 🙂

Finished with some braai’d banana and plums, sprinkled with cinnamon.

No more than 1 latte a day = Achieved

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 1 run/ walk (must squeeze in a run on Sunday)

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week = 4 units total

Dog tired this morning. Combination of the long driving, not sleeping well in this unexpected hot weather and I blame the running 🙂

Usual breakie with extra strawbs and pear – leftovers from last week. Swapped my mid-morning latte break for a nice tea from the café – less scum included than with the free vending machine offering.

Veggie box arrived this morning so get to compose menu for the week. Double deliveries of broad beans, beetroot, carrots and tomatoes, so will have to get creative. No idea what to do with gooseberries that doesn’t require a ton of sugar. Hmm, might take the same approach I used for the rhubarb.

Think I’ll treat myself to a beer tonight 🙂 Well, it is Friday.

Got prawn and avo salad, followed by chicken wings and slaw for dinner, so rounding out the day quite virtuous.

No more than 1 latte a day = Zero lattes today 🙂

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 1 run/ walk

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week = 2.2 units total

Day 1 – of being good.

Knackered from 2 days of early starts and driving hundreds of miles, but am determined to stick with this.

Usual breakie of fruit and yogurt, with a cuppa tea. Made another tea when I got into the office – oops, force of habit.

Had scheduled a mid-morning break outside in the sunshine, so that’ll be my 1 latte for the day. Did give in and make another tea to go with lunch; a rather tasty Salade Niçoise – thanks Hubby 🙂

Barely finished lunch and gagging for another tea. Fetched a bottle of water instead – pat on the back for me.

Felt like I could manage a run, so changed straight into the lycra when I got home. Hadn’t realised quite how hot it was outside, so it was an hour of walking/ jogging/wheezing and sweating.

Dinner of Asian chicken and cabbage ( no-dairy) but hubby tempted me with cheese and pear for afters.

Now for the Bridget Jones’ Diary bit…….

No more than 1 latte a day = Achieved

Go out for a run 3 times a week = 1 run/ walk so far

Limit alcohol to 7 units a week = 0 units so far

Been a bit quiet of late due to being away on hols, then coming back to work. Full-on, post-holiday blues 🙁

Managed to stay mostly Paleo whilst away, apart for drinking WAY too much, so was considering going Whole30 for a month to re-baseline. For those who don’t know, it’s a stricter form of the Paleo diet than the one I follow, but it’s normally only followed for a set period e.g. 30 days, to the clear the effects of sugar on the body. Some might call it a detox. I’ve been reluctant to try it before as items on the banned list include cheese and alcohol. My raisons d’etre! That said, I have been ‘cheating’ a lot since returning to work and indulged in too many lattes and evening vinos, and I might have picked up breakfast from a certain Scottish restaurant this morning……. my skin is paying the price and concentration levels are…. oh look, a squirrel!

So instead of signing up for Whole30, and probably managing WholeSweetFA, I’m setting myself a few resolutions for August:

1. No more than 1 latte per day
2. Go out for a run 3 times a week
3. Limit alcohol to 7 units per week (not in one go!)
4. Post every day on progress