My morning + My weekend: happy Monday!

“Your body only has the ability to love what you let it get used to”.

So this morning I woke up with the intention of running but then I was going back and forth on whether I should do my Jillian Michaels DVD instead. Well, I looked out the window towards the track and in less than a second confirmed that my body was craving a run instead.
I found the quote above on instagram and it made a lot of sense to me. Lately, Ive been on a “running every other day” plan and I think Im getting used to it in a way that if I don’t run on a day when Im set to do so—it just doesn’t fit right. So, off I went on a wonderful jog this morning and felt amazing. What makes me feel really motivated as well is the fact that I am usually not the only one out there. Several people in my neighborhood are also out bright and early: jogging, running, biking and walking. Its just the right amount of people which allows me to feel “support” around me (even if they are complete strangers) and motivates me to keep going. What a great feeling.

Today’s Jog Summary:

 

For breakfast, I decided to give the almond-butter on ezequiel bread a break and opted for granola with Greek yogurt + blueberries. Had to sprinkle some wonderful cinnamon on top and it definitely hit the spot (plus my café w/ almond milk, of course).

So I had a wonderful weekend overall. On Saturday I took out my 13 year old cousin on a shopping date and we had a wonderful time. We went to Panera for lunch and it was delicious. The Panera is literally down the block from me. I don’t know why I don’t go there more often!

What I had (1/2 veggie sandwich and ½ Greek salad):

 

What she had: Grilled chicken salad (yes. This 13 year old said she wanted to get a salad because it was “sooo good” last time she had it. Not because she is trying to be on any kind of diet but because it actually tastes good to her. For some reason, that put a smile on my face!):

 

I then brought her back to my apartment for a bit and she watched something called “pretty little liars” while I finished laundry. I am not sure why everyone is obsessed with that show. I tried to watch an episode to get in to it but it just wasn’t what I was expecting. Sorry to all the fans out there!

Sunday was also a great time. I went out to the lakes with friends. We ate veggie burgers, fruits, salads (apparently everyone was trying to eat healthy) and played everything from Frisbee (its been ages!) to volleyball. We also took a dip on the lake for a bit. We had a wonderful time and started to wonder why we don’t get together more often.

 

The weather did not disappoint!

And that my friends, was my weekend on a nutshell. Cheers to the summer!

Question: What are your thoughts on the quote above? How was your weekend?

I DID IT! (no meat) And The highlights of my week

So I did it guys! I went meatless for over a week. The "experiment" was supposed to end on Tuesday but I kept going. To be honest, I think im getting the hang of this and may continue forward with this for as long as I can tolerate it. I'd like to see how I feel after maybe 30 days for now. I am wondering how my body would react. In reality, all I really gave up was chicken and any kind of red meat. I still allowed myself eggs, cheese, and seafood.

Ive only been eating the cheese sporadically and is from trader joes. Per the container, there are no added hormones, preservatives, etc (which is the main reason behind the experiment). So, based on that Ive allowed the cheese.

Some thoughts:

1. I feel good. I have to admit the first few days (and maybe even right now) I miss chicken. Eating chicken in salads, wraps, with rice, etc. has always been such a huge part of my diet (my whole life!) and now that its missing I actually miss it. Not tnecessarity o the point that I want to say :"forget this" but in a way that I randomly think about it and then have to remind myself that I am temporarily not having it.

2. Ive never been a big "red meat" eater so in terms of that, i dont really care much for it nor miss it at all from my diet. So, thats good.

3. I feel "healthier" (in my head) it may all be an illusion or a "placebo" effect or maybe not eating meats is actually making me healthier. I dont know. only time can tell.
4. Ive been eating really clean for the most part and it may have a lot to do with the fact that I am making a conscious effort to eat clean ('cuz we all know thats not always easy) this may go hand in hand with the "feeling healthier" thing. By eating clean I mean that Ive given up a lot of my trigger foods such as sweets, granola bars, sugary cereals, etc. The first few days were a nightmare but my craving for it have died significantly.

5. Ive noticed some other physical changes, but I want to see how much longer I can do this and see if i continue to see significant changes in my overall well-being.

The plan going forward: To continue this and complete 30 days. Meaning that I will come back with a full 30-day review of my life without meat on or shortly after 08/02/2013 (which is when I'll complete a month).

So, what have I been eating? in a nutshell:

Breakfast: I always have either one of these items: 1. Greek yogurt with granola 2. almond butter and organic jelly (from TJs) on Ezequiel bread OR 3. Whole wheat bread with egg whites/boiled egg + Cafe w/ almond milk.

Lunch: Stuck to either a tuna sandwich, eggs sandwich OR 100% whole wheat pasta with tuna and I'd have organic chips and fruit on the side

Dinner: this is where I had to get creative. See below for some of the items I had for dinner:

 

I leave you with some of the highlights of my week:

1. My dad's birthday (full post coming up dedicated to my dad, because he is simply awesome).
2. Emails that made my day! :)
3. Having such a close knit family and amazing parents (both of them)
4. I spent about 3 hours at barnes and noble after work this week and it was amazing. I grabbed some cafe with soy milk and journaled about different things going on in my life. Such great therapy which gave me clarity on a few things.
5. My virtual running team. Okay this is extremely weird but I was so excited to get up and run on Thursday morning that I could barely sleep the night before. isn't that crazy?! the power of support keeps astonishing me.

QUESTION: What are your thoughts on meat? (I love it. I admit it. But just curious on what a life without it is all about :)

Doing anything exciting this weekend?