Fat Tuesdays are Back!

The longest 2 weeks of my life have finally passed.  Actually, I'm being dramatic.  The 14 days of clean eating and drinking did not drag by as slowly as I had expected.  Now that Charming and I can once again build up our chip supply without guilt, a few questions remain.

Results?  Have you seen that commercial where the husband and wife both try to lose weight and the husband sheds pounds like magic while the wife stays the same?  I think it's an ad for a diet pill.  Or for e-harmony.  Anyway, that's pretty much what happened.  I don't have a picture to illustrate this statement (and I do not recommend googling "fat wife skinny husband" images) so here's one that doesn't relate:

Cupcake loves this picture.  "Mama!  Daddy!  Aw!  Cute!  Daddy cute!"

On the first day of the challenge, I weighed myself.  We don't own a scale (I wonder if someone would accept my iron as a trade for one?) so I weigh in at the grocery store, which necessitates the wearing of clothes and shoes.  I've debated a while, and can't come up with a good reason not to share the actual number: 129.5.  I realize, of course, that my horror of horrors number is the same as another person's dreamy of dreaminess number, but please don't hold that against me.  When I delivered Cupcake, I weighed 136.  This number is the highest I've seen when I've stood on a scale as just one person; not weighing for two.  Charming, too, had put on some weight after we got married.  You've heard of the Freshman 15?  I think there's also a Newlywed 19.  However, after running consistently for a little over a year, he had lost many of those extra pounds, and was happy(ish) with his weight.  He kept forgetting to step on a scale until the end of the 2 week challenge, so his weight loss is from when he last weighed himself in early December.  11 pounds!  I lost 2.5.  I knew I wasn't going to shed a year's worth of late-night fried food snacks and 52 Tuesdays' worth of tacos in two weeks, but I must admit, past experiences had me hoping for a bigger jump start in the direction of my goal weight.  It's just another reminder that I'm not 22, and how unforgiving women's bodies are as we age.

Process?  Charming and I both held up pretty well throughout the challenge.  No candy, no chip snacks, no* alcohol, breakfast every day, and significantly smaller portions for our meals.  Neither of us experienced any ill effects from the deprivation of our usual sugar, fat, and alcohol intake.  We both tried some of the Shakeology stuff, and reached the conclusion that it will not be a regular addition to our diet.

Lessons Learned?  The most meaningful and surprising lesson I learned was that I actually do have willpower!  Ice cream in the freezer, a huge bag full of Halloween and Christmas candy, a couple of beers, and an open bag of chips, all were left untouched by me!  I know, I do things that are difficult for some people (like run double digit miles) and it might seem obvious that I have willpower because I get up early to run or go to the gym.  However, those are activities I enjoy.  Yeah, it's difficult sometimes to crawl out of the warm, cozy bed to run in the cold, dark, morning, but I do so because I want to, not because I feel like I need to.  This diet challenge was different.  I wanted to feel healthier, lose weight, and set a good example for Rip Claw and Cupcake; I didn't want to deny myself the pleasures of candy, beer, tacos and chips.  I was quite proud to discover that I can, indeed, make difficult changes that will be beneficial in the long term.

Guiltless homemade chicken tacos with quinoa on the side.

I also learned that:

• The absence of alcohol does not equal the absence of migraine headaches.  Boo.  
• Eating breakfast, 2 healthy snacks, lunch and dinner does satisfy my hunger.  
• I don't need a second helping to feel full; I need to eat more slowly and let my body do the work it is designed to do.  
• Based on the amount of time I spent each day thinking about pizza, I think research should be performed to determine whether it is an addictive substance.  
• It's easier to be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30 a.m. if I haven't had that glass of wine the night before.  
• Preparing healthy meals and snacks in advance and in bulk makes it much easier to make healthy choices.  
• I don't necessarily need motivation and support from a coach or health professional.  Making the commitment is more important than following the exact plan, in my experience. 

Now what?  As you may have realized, this 2 week challenge did not produce life-, body-, or fit-of-clothes- changing results for me, but I didn't really expect that it would.  I did happen to read some articles about dieting during the challenge, and was able to confirm what I already knew: a long-term commitment to eating a healthy diet and staying active is the best bet for getting and maintaining your ideal weight.  The things that Charming and I learned during the clean eating challenge have inspired us to make some permanent changes.  We will keep eating breakfast, keep our portion sizes on the smaller side of reasonable, and stay active.  We will buy and consume fewer bags of chips each week.  We will buy and consume fewer alcoholic drinks each week.  We will close our ears to the siren call of the candy and ice cream, at least most of the time.  Perhaps most important, Taco Tuesday will be a treat, not a lifestyle.  

*Full disclosure: Charming had 3 drinks during the two weeks, I had 2.  We also ate enchiladas and apple pie at his parents' house 2 days before the challenge ended.

The Last Enchilada

So long, dear friend.  See you in a while. :(

I'm about to do something I've never done before in all the years I can remember.  I have committed myself to a Clean Eating Challenge.  Me.  Mrs. I don't have to try to lose weight.  Mrs. Bucker of trends.  Mrs. I can button my jeans.  One of those links may have been a test to see whether or not you click on them. The truth is, my jeans don't button without a lot of breath-holding, these days.  I have some bad habits, which started to catch up with me as soon as I stopped running after my stress fracture.  There was no cost to commit to this challenge, and although I know being coached through a detox-ish diet-type thing like this via social media goes a teensy bit against what I've said before, I've accepted the fact that I do need to change some things.

Charming agreed (voluntarily!) to accept the challenge with me, so for the next two weeks, our diet will consist of all gross food and nothing delicious.  Okay, I know that isn't true.  Actually, I do cook healthy meals most of the time.  We eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins.  We don't keep soda in the house, and rarely eat fast food.  We do eat tacos from Tijuana Flats every single Tuesday.  My sister says our lives revolve around TF's Taco Tuesdaze promo, which is only partly true.  Only our Tuesdays revolve around it.  But still, it shouldn't be a problem to indulge one night each week with a soda, tortilla chips, and a couple of shells filled with juicy meat, crispy lettuce, lots of cheese, crunchy onions, seeds-removed jalapenos, briny black olives, fresh tomatoes and a generous drizzle of jalapeno hot sauce.  The problem lies with what happens after our other healthy, balanced, appropriately portioned meals.  Chips.  Chips.  Lots and lots of chips.  We eat a shameful amount of chips.  Go on.  Get a mental picture of a "shameful" amount of chips.  I bet you imagined low.  I won't exaggerate and say that our chip habit keeps Frito-Lay in business, but I will tell you that I calculated how much money we could save by cutting the chips from our grocery bill, and the number fell right between "embarrassing" and "nauseating."

It seems contradictory to tell myself (and others) that I'm passionate about health and fitness and doing what I can to maintain both, when all the while I'm giving in to every food that cries, "Eat me!" I don't believe that cutting out all sugar, all fat, all carbs, or all meat is a good way to go.  But I can't deny that eliminating all the super-processed, deep fried, nutritionally void foods will be of benefit to me.  I don't need the leftover holiday candy.  I don't need ice cream.  I don't need beer.  I'm pretty sure that I've passed the point in my life wherein I can indulge in those things without consequences to my body.

Cheers!  No adult beverages for 14 days!

So, here's the plan:  Coach Jasmine will provide recipes, online motivation, workout guides, de-stressing yoga poses, and all the Shakeology a person can drink.  (I've never tried Shakeology.  I really dislike drinking anything that comes from a blender, unless it is, like, peppermint-chocolate flavored vodka with vanilla ice cream and brownie chunks.  I also tend to gag on things made with powder, except when I've mixed a hot chocolate packet into a cup of coffee and added some toffee flavored creamer.  So, I'm not too eager to try the shakes, but we'll see how things go.)  Those of us participating in the challenge are responsible for eating 3 "clean" meals and 2 healthy snacks each day, and drinking lots of water.  We are to abstain from alcohol, processed foods, and lethargy.  We are encouraged to share our successes and shortfalls, to post pictures, and to track our workouts online for all to see.

Day 1.  Whose jeans do you think are happier: mine, or Alessandra Ambrosio's?  I think mine are under an awful lot of stress, and that can't be good.

I don't actually plan to cook any different, except that I'll not be taking Tuesdays off from my kitchen duties.  On the menu for tonight is spaghetti.  I made a big batch of my vegetable-chocked sauce last month and put some in the freezer.  Today, I just have to heat the sauce and cook some whole grain pasta, and throw together some salads.  Tuesday, I'll make tacos (surprise!) with chicken breasts instead of ground beef and with more vegetables than cheese.

You know what's cool?  You can join, too!  The internet is wonderfully inclusive like that.  You don't necessarily have to change in every way the challenge suggests, either.  You could be like me, and just push yourself to break your worst habit(s).  I would love to hear about it, whatever you do!  Wait-- unless it's eating at Tijuana Flats and gorging yourself on chips.  I can do without your telling me those things.