Week 2 has been ridiculous. I don’t know if I’m just THAT addicted to sugar, or if it’s all the temptation I’ve had to resist, but this week was pretty rough. My sister and bro-in-law came in to town last weekend for a memorial service and stayed with us, and I definitely was enlightened to how much I usually eat. Not only bad foods… even just food in general.

Gary & Lynette touring Living Water International, Ryan’s workplace

Day 7: This was the day Gary and Lynette flew in, and also the day of my friend Julielle’s fabulous art show (the art will be up for viewing until tomorrow (Saturday), so you should go check it out! Vine Street Studios, 2nd floor. I took photos for this event, so thankfully I was pretty busy and distracted and didn’t even take a glance at any of the snacks (aka temptation). Ryan, on the other hand, ate everything in sight. He kind of threw our eating plan out the window this weekend. Yes, I am telling on him. He abandoned me. He also ate the ENTIRE bunch of asparagus I bought for our lunches. It was cooling on the stove and he just assumed it was all for one meal. Do you know how long it takes to prep meals for a week’s worth of lunch? :)

Day 8: While Gary went to speak at the memorial service (with Lynette, of course), Ryan and I got a great workout in. Since I’ve been teaching so much it’s been hard for me to work out myself, so pushing it in the gym felt really great. We went to Black Walnut Cafe for dinner with the sis and bro (and I ate my gluten free, fruit free, cheese free salad), and then we took them to The Chocolate Bar for dessert since they’ve never been there. Pause here. This place is like my favorite place ever and they make my favorite ice cream. 1) My favorite dessert in the world is ice cream. 2) They make my favorite ice cream (creamy dreamy truffle, in case you’re wondering). I’m just trying to unpack for you how deep this struggle was for me. I did not eat ice cream. Yep. In all honestly, I’m really just ridiculously stubborn. Most of why I didn’t cheat this weekend is because then I’d have to say I cheated, and then I’d have to start all over again. A hard head can be a good thing….?

Day 9: Did the usual… wasn’t too bad besides the dozens of hot donuts classes bring in for church. But I can say no to donuts pretty easily, so that wasn’t terrible. Made a pretty healthy dinner for the fam that evening, but I used honey and I’m also not allowed to eat carbs for dinner and I made couscous, so I again ate my salad. :) Can’t wait for the day I can eat that Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken again (seriously, really healthy and delicious… try it!).

Can you tell the temptation is getting worse??? 

Day 10: Today I had a lunch meeting in the office and they ordered in Berryhill. It’s getting to the point that all I can think about is what I’m not eating. Hahaha. Queso. No one told me week 2 would be 10 times worse than week 1! I sipped on my water and ate the lunch I brought with me when my time to eat rolled around.
One good in all of this: I’m really seeing pretty clearly how much I usually eat and don’t even think about it. Were I not on this clean eating plan, I would have eaten fatty foods and desserts every single day this week.

Day 11: Seeing some progress in my upper body and also torso area, so feeling really motivated. Pushed it hard in a class tonight before teaching bootcamp, which was so needed (love a good sweat). I don’t feel like I look any skinnier (which isn’t the point anyway), but I have noticed that my core is tightening up and what was fat around the abdomen and back is minimizing to just skin and muscle. Just FYI, for me, I actually gain weight and muscle mass when I workout hard and eat clean. When I don’t, I get skinnier and lighter. I know, it’s weird. But I’m a small build and muscle weighs more than fat, so when I am replacing fat with muscle I both gain and grow. Which is why I think I don’t feel skinnier, but can still see a difference (which is what my goal was). I haven’t been around any bad foods accessible to me today, so it’s been a LOT better and a lot easier. Already half way through the 3 weeks!

Day 12: The weekend finally caught up to me, and felt super tired the whole day. We made dinner for our grow group (which I again didn’t eat, haha), and I taught my usual class before heading there. Today was much better. Feeling strong and lean.

Day 13: Did some cardio and strength training, and finished it up with some really great ab work. Had a lunch meeting at an Italian restaurant, but didn’t find it a problem to order grilled chicken and veggies with no cheese. The cravings are decreasing!

Day 14: This morning I taught a class, which started at 10a (my usual snack time). Since I was in class, I didn’t get to eat til an hour later, and felt like I could have hurt someone, hahaha. It’s crazy that when I first started I had a really hard time sticking to the 5 meals a day, and now my body expects and needs it! I took my weekly pic and compared it to my starting picture, and though I can’t tell a difference when I stand in front of a mirror, I can definitely tell in the picture. Weird how that works.

Most of what I see improved is my lower back. I’ve always worked pretty hard on my upper back, but the lower back is tricky because you can hurt yourself pretty easily if you don’t work it correctly (plus, we tend to work things we can see, and neglect what we can’t). Since I changed my eating and have been focusing on more oblique work and supermans, I’ve definitely toned up! I didn’t have much of “love handles” before, but I definitely don’t now. So cool! Also, my arms and legs are much thinner. At first I didn’t like that, because I looked stronger with more fat on my arms and legs. But the definition is there, and I’m getting used to it and liking it better.

Positives: Leaning up immensely, definitely feeling strong and encouraged by the progress. Super great for the motivation aspect. Structure is also really good for this busy body, so I’m learning how to juggle this eating plan with my crazy life (maybe I should slow down for a second?).
Negatives: If I have to be around it, food is a tough struggle to not give in to. It’s very enlightening how food has had such a stronghold on my life. I’m learning a lot about self control and how to not make other people feel awkward when I’m not eating with them (being honest here). I’ve had to truly pray about and balance how to stick with what I know is good for me without offending anyone else.

I’m letting you know upfront, Ryan and I are going to the Rodeo on Sunday, and I’m going to let myself eat a small portion of whatever it is we decide to get. We just realized Sunday is the last day until next year, and for those of you who aren’t Houstonians, the Rodeo is like our hillbilly version of Mardi Gras. It pretty much takes over Houston for a month, and there are people who hang out there all day long… some people go every night. It’s a big deal. They always come up with new foods and have competitions, and so this is the only time Ryan or I would ever eat fried cheesecake or chicken fried bacon. You feelin’ me?
I do realize this will push back my 6-pack goal, and I’m willing to take that hit. We’ve figured out that this eating plan is more than doable though, and we’re going to continue eating clean, though not quite as strict, when we finish up these 3 weeks. We’ll add back fruit, nuts, beans, and honey in moderation but pretty much everything else will stay the same.

Again, if you’re curious and want to give it a shot, just let me know and I’ll shoot you the link to our meal plans and recipes.

Hope you have a great weekend! We are going to help some friends move and get to hang out with their ridiculously adorable twin boys. Enjoy SPRING!!! Never know how long that will actually last here, haha.