Hello to the people still with me. I would love to tell you that the hiatus that I have taken has been due to being busy eating healthy and working out, but that would be a fat-ass lie. After months of trying to survive a stressful commute, a stressful job and a stressful family life, I decided to cut out some of that crepe. I left my job to be be able to concentrate on my family and my new dream (that I will totally get around to one of these days).
After leaving the job, I thought that I would spend about a week resting up, then about 2 weeks cleaning my house that has been left in shambles pretty much since we moved in 8 years ago. It has been a month. Other than maintaining laundry and dishes, I have done nothing other than sleep and catch up on Dexter. I can't even be bothered to do grocery shopping unless I absolutely have to. On the other hand, I have been present for my kids. The constant frustration I used to feel and the need to scream at everyone all the time has almost completely disappeared. I don't have pain in my shoulders anymore and I do not feel like I am about to jump off a cliff at any moment. So, the process is a little slower than I hoped, but maybe sitting back and enjoying what I have is not such a bad thing.
Every week, I convince myself that I still do not have the energy to do anything and that I will start my projects “next Monday.” I realized that April was coming and I decided that my countdown to summer is down to double digits. I am not expecting to be in a bikini or anything, but I did sign up for the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon in September, so I need to at least get off the couch.
Yesterday, I started the Whole 30, or at least something similar since I don't really like bossy diets that stress me out. I am not dieting again but trying to get rid of all the junk that has been accumulating in my body, and I figure that this is an easy way to get me to eat real food. I can handle 30 days. I am a bit of a food addict, but I also love veggies. The hard part will be getting rid of the cheese, but it is not impossible. I have been through worse.
With this in mind, I nervously proposed this to my husband who thrives on pasta, bread, butter and cheese. I am used to him not really being on board with my past attempts to get healthy (like eating a Big Mac while I eat my Jenny Craig meal), but he actually said that he would join me. He has also gained a lot of “baby weight” and hasn't been feeling well. Lots of injuries and illness over the last year has got him down and he wants to feel better. Wow. Great!! I have a partner finally! I spent the week searching the internet and making lists for the picky eater that doesn't eat plant based anything so that he would not feel frustrated. I was also hoping to get my kids into it a little. They are still hooked on dairy, so I am not cutting anything for them as of yet, but maybe giving alternatives. They got so excited with the raw hazelnuts that I brought home, that they forgot their sugary brownie snacks.
So, April 1st arrives and here I am so excited to get started. I am finally doing something! Half asleep in the morning, I realize too late that I had put milk in my coffee… Ok, no big deal, we'll start at lunch time. I did a big shopping that took forever from reading labels. I didn't realize just how much sugar is in everything! Why is there sugar in bacon? Is that why it is so good? I had sautéed kale with eggs and ground beef for lunch. Off to a good start, but then about an hour later, I was starving! 30 days is going to be rough if I can't even get through day 1!
I gave the kids a very non-adventurous dinner of chicken thighs baked with potatoes and carrots. Nothing new - no kale yet… They ate the chicken, picked at the potatoes and demanded that they be drowned in ketchup and wouldn't even eat the carrots. Hmm, this is going to be harder than I thought. When did they get so hooked on ketchup? Oh yeah, that might be me begging them to eat and hiding everything in ketchup just to get them to taste anything. So, I created these monsters. I needed dinner time to be easier. I wanted to make sure that they would eat, so I let them have what they wanted to avoid the struggle and the screams. Especially the screams.
Maybe the day was better for my partner. When I asked how his day went and what he ate, he said that everything was great. Good! At least one of us had a flawless day. So, what did he eat? Breakfast - Typical French bowl of chocolate milk with sweet brioche bread and butter. For lunch – chicken and rice (“because isn't rice a vegetable? - At least I didn't get fries”). For dinner – the leftovers of chicken, potato and carrot that I made but with a dessert of frozen fruit and chocolate with almond paste. So, now I am thinking that I stutter. What was so hard to understand about 'no dairy, no sugar, no grains?'
The first battle was not completely lost. I made some decent grub. If the kids will eventually start to try the food I prepare, then we will continue to move forward with baby steps. The bigger challenge is their father. I am afraid that I have already lost my health partner. It's ok, if he wants to do his thing at his rhythm, then I'm cool with that. At least this means that there is hope. It will be hardest teaching an old dog new tricks, but it is not impossible. As long as we don't consider a Big Mac as a vegetable.
After leaving the job, I thought that I would spend about a week resting up, then about 2 weeks cleaning my house that has been left in shambles pretty much since we moved in 8 years ago. It has been a month. Other than maintaining laundry and dishes, I have done nothing other than sleep and catch up on Dexter. I can't even be bothered to do grocery shopping unless I absolutely have to. On the other hand, I have been present for my kids. The constant frustration I used to feel and the need to scream at everyone all the time has almost completely disappeared. I don't have pain in my shoulders anymore and I do not feel like I am about to jump off a cliff at any moment. So, the process is a little slower than I hoped, but maybe sitting back and enjoying what I have is not such a bad thing.
Every week, I convince myself that I still do not have the energy to do anything and that I will start my projects “next Monday.” I realized that April was coming and I decided that my countdown to summer is down to double digits. I am not expecting to be in a bikini or anything, but I did sign up for the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon in September, so I need to at least get off the couch.
Yesterday, I started the Whole 30, or at least something similar since I don't really like bossy diets that stress me out. I am not dieting again but trying to get rid of all the junk that has been accumulating in my body, and I figure that this is an easy way to get me to eat real food. I can handle 30 days. I am a bit of a food addict, but I also love veggies. The hard part will be getting rid of the cheese, but it is not impossible. I have been through worse.
With this in mind, I nervously proposed this to my husband who thrives on pasta, bread, butter and cheese. I am used to him not really being on board with my past attempts to get healthy (like eating a Big Mac while I eat my Jenny Craig meal), but he actually said that he would join me. He has also gained a lot of “baby weight” and hasn't been feeling well. Lots of injuries and illness over the last year has got him down and he wants to feel better. Wow. Great!! I have a partner finally! I spent the week searching the internet and making lists for the picky eater that doesn't eat plant based anything so that he would not feel frustrated. I was also hoping to get my kids into it a little. They are still hooked on dairy, so I am not cutting anything for them as of yet, but maybe giving alternatives. They got so excited with the raw hazelnuts that I brought home, that they forgot their sugary brownie snacks.
So, April 1st arrives and here I am so excited to get started. I am finally doing something! Half asleep in the morning, I realize too late that I had put milk in my coffee… Ok, no big deal, we'll start at lunch time. I did a big shopping that took forever from reading labels. I didn't realize just how much sugar is in everything! Why is there sugar in bacon? Is that why it is so good? I had sautéed kale with eggs and ground beef for lunch. Off to a good start, but then about an hour later, I was starving! 30 days is going to be rough if I can't even get through day 1!
I gave the kids a very non-adventurous dinner of chicken thighs baked with potatoes and carrots. Nothing new - no kale yet… They ate the chicken, picked at the potatoes and demanded that they be drowned in ketchup and wouldn't even eat the carrots. Hmm, this is going to be harder than I thought. When did they get so hooked on ketchup? Oh yeah, that might be me begging them to eat and hiding everything in ketchup just to get them to taste anything. So, I created these monsters. I needed dinner time to be easier. I wanted to make sure that they would eat, so I let them have what they wanted to avoid the struggle and the screams. Especially the screams.
Maybe the day was better for my partner. When I asked how his day went and what he ate, he said that everything was great. Good! At least one of us had a flawless day. So, what did he eat? Breakfast - Typical French bowl of chocolate milk with sweet brioche bread and butter. For lunch – chicken and rice (“because isn't rice a vegetable? - At least I didn't get fries”). For dinner – the leftovers of chicken, potato and carrot that I made but with a dessert of frozen fruit and chocolate with almond paste. So, now I am thinking that I stutter. What was so hard to understand about 'no dairy, no sugar, no grains?'
The first battle was not completely lost. I made some decent grub. If the kids will eventually start to try the food I prepare, then we will continue to move forward with baby steps. The bigger challenge is their father. I am afraid that I have already lost my health partner. It's ok, if he wants to do his thing at his rhythm, then I'm cool with that. At least this means that there is hope. It will be hardest teaching an old dog new tricks, but it is not impossible. As long as we don't consider a Big Mac as a vegetable.