Status Post Clean Eating Challenge

Sorry I am not at work I should leave medical talk out! (status post, s/p).

Anyway, my 30 day clean eating challenge is complete! Let me talk about how I feel and what happened

How Do I Feel?

Amazing! Besides being tired from work, I had more energy to do things and could do my hour workouts no problem. My body felt nice and healthy from the clean foods I was putting into it, and I never once was sick! I was also happier because I felt good about the changes 🙂

Did I Cheat at All?

Nope! Not once! I am quite a stubborn person, so I refused to let anything tempt me. I checked labels religiously, and would not buy anything with a chemical or preservative. I didn’t even have tastes of things that weren’t clean. Followed clean every single day, even if I had a day where I upped my calories, I still kept it clean! 

What Did I Miss During These 30 Days?

Actually I thought I would miss lots of things but I didn’t! After the first week I thought oh my gosh how am I going to deal without creamer, without condiments, without salad dressings, and the forbidden coke zero!? But after week 1 I didn’t miss them at all. Once I started making my own salad dressing, it was a life changer, and I will NEVER go back to store bought dressings. Homemade vinaigrettes are so much better and have fresh amazing flavors without the added preservatives! 

The coke zero, I did have a few random days where my body really wanted to snag one, but I resisted. On the rare occasion I’d come home and take a nap, I would always wake up craving one, weird! I fought it off and had a green tea or water instead. 

Did my Body Change At All? 

You betcha! The first week or so I dropped a few pounds, water weight. Numbers wise, I didn’t change much at all after that and frankly I stopped weighing myself because those numbers mean nothing! In terms of muscle, my arms definitely show more definition and vasculature. My tummy is less bloated and feels more firm, and cellulite has decreased in legs (hey ladies, we all have it!- I had spots before on the front and back of my thighs and bum area). My skin is also more clear and smooth!

Will I Continue to Eat Clean?

Absolutely! Since I had no problems with this at all, I am going to keep going. I thought by day 30 I would be counting down the minutes, but I really don’t feel like I have altered my diet that much. Just some slight changes, especially the water increase. The difference in now and then is I am not going to deprive myself of certain things I want. For instance, in 30 days I refused to eat anywhere but home. I NEVER had one bite of food that wasn’t cooked in my own home, not once! This is not realistic for every day living. While it’s something I will still do, I will now allow myself to go out to dinner if it were to come up and just stick to something healthy instead. No more “oh I can’t go because it’s not clean”. Every now and then is fine!

I also might introduce creamer back into my diet, but JUST on weekends as a treat. I certainly don’t need it during the work days, but I do miss it on weekends sitting down to blog in the morning. I haven’t decided yet if I am going to use it or not…maybe 1 day a week?

Any Advice for Wanting to Go Clean?

If you are thinking about going 100% clean, I say do it! If you previously ate super unhealthy it might be really hard for you to transition, so start with healthy foods for a week, then slowly take out the preserved items. Give it more than 1 week! The first week is absolutely the hardest because your body is craving foods and chemicals that it is used to receiving. Once a week is up you will barely miss it! Promise! (You are talking to the former miss universe of diet soda). 

So that’s that on clean eating! My recipes will still be my clean items or what I am eating. No plans to go out to eat as of yet, and I still probably won’t have a big cheat meal. I never cheated when I didn’t eat 100% clean anyway!

Moving on…

I was so happy it was my last day of the work week yesterday. Phoebe has been lacking serious attention, so I need to spend as much time with her this weekend as possible!

I went to work with my hair out of my face to avoid another hair tie disaster!

It was a super busy morning, but I managed to snag lunch. It was good too!

I was finished on time and changed for the gym

Shirt says it all!

I started with 17 minutes on the stairmaster (15 full minutes and then 2 minute cool down doing leg extensions on the machine). I started doing this lately and it really helps. I will slow the machine down, skip a step and as I step up extend my other leg straight behind me (giving a little squeeze in the butt and low back area). I go straight back and a little to the side. It stretches the legs out and also gives a little extra something to those legs and booty! Try it out 🙂

Then I hit shoulders:

• Single arm cable shoulder press, 20 lbs, 12 reps x 3 sets each arm
• Single arm cable rotator cuff (open and close), 10 lbs, 10 reps x 3 sets each arm
• Cable Upright rows, 40 lbs 20 reps x 2 sets, then 50 lbs 10 reps x 2 sets
• Front arm circles using 5 lb kettles, 20 reps each direction x 2 sets
• Front arm circles using 8 lb kettles, 10 reps each direction x 2 sets
• Lateral delt raises using 8 lb kettles, 10 reps x 4 sets
• Rear Delt Fly’s, 20 lbs each arm, 15 reps x 5 sets
• Shoulder shrugs with 35 lb kettles each arm, 12 reps x 5 sets
• (these bold ones I alternated between the two without a break, such a calorie burner! Love shoulder shrugs!)
• Pushups on bosu (flat part), 12 reps x 3 sets

I also did 15 minutes on the arc trainer

And some of these in between reps exercises: standing crunches with 30lb kettle, side bends, and mountain climbers on the bosu

At home I did some picking again, but also made these truffle chicken sausages I found from Wegman’s. They are all natural, no preservatives, just ground chicken sausage and spices, and are made with truffles! Truffles are those really expensive mushrooms and they are delicious! I made two and placed on one piece of Ezekiel bread for a mini sandwich!

My recipe of the day is actually not something I made last night. It’s one I’ve had in my back pocket for a while, and has been in the freezer for quick meals. It’s my Clean Turkey Chili! Click the picture for the recipe. Slow cooker friendly and easy to make 🙂

I leave you today with a picture of my girl. Remember when I was worried she looked like a coyote and would not have a real tail? Well just look at her now!

And she’s not even finished with her coat! Beautiful! I knew she would be a stunner. Just had to blow the baby fuzz first 🙂

Happy FRIDAY!

XOXO With a Cherry On Top,

-Minnie