April 14, 2014

Lent: Days 37-40

Lent: Days 37-40

Itโ€™s been a long, difficult week but there is just one week left to go on my Lenten clean eating diet! This past week, counting the juice fast, I had 5 fasting days and only 2 normal eating days. Amazingly, I didnโ€™t feel completely drained from all of this but at certain points hungry for sure!

Day 37

The next day after the 3-day juice cleanse was a fasting day.

Fasting salad of grilled salmon and greens with carrot ginger juice.
Fasting salad of grilled salmon and greens with carrot ginger juice.

Day 38

Finally, it was a normal eating day!

The first thing I wanted? The pumpkin pie shake of course! Creamy, sweet and packed with protein.
The first thing I wanted? The pumpkin pie shake of course! Creamy, sweet and packed with protein.
Breakfast: the huevos rancheros egg white omelet with black beans.
Breakfast: the huevos rancheros egg white omelet with black beans.
I had to do a lot of cooking today as I didn't have any leftovers ready to eat. Lunch was the butternut squash quinoa--another of my favorites.
I had to do a lot of cooking today as I didn’t have any leftovers ready to eat. Lunch was the butternut squash quinoa–another of my favorites.
For dinner, I tried the Italian-style meatballs. My only problem with them was that because Gwyneth does everything gluten free there are no breadcrumbs in them and therefore it was hard to get them to keep their shape. They ended up more like small turkey patties than meatballs but they were tasty and delicious.
For dinner, I tried the Italian-style meatballs. My only problem with them was that because Gwyneth does everything gluten free there are no breadcrumbs in them and therefore it was hard to get them to keep their shape. They ended up more like small turkey patties than meatballs but they were tasty and delicious.
My dinner: serving the meatballs with Gwyneth's tomato sauce over polenta/grits.
My dinner: serving the meatballs with Gwyneth’s tomato sauce over polenta/grits.
This was the first dinner where we all ate Gwyneth food! For my children, I served the meatballs over gluten free pasta. Everyone thought it was delicious (but who doesn't like spaghetti and meatballs?).
This was the first dinner where we all ate Gwyneth food! For my children, I served the meatballs over gluten free pasta. Everyone thought it was delicious (but who doesn’t like spaghetti and meatballs?).
Capping off the night with the "Sunset Juice" from the juice cleanse.
Capping off the night with the “Sunset Juice” from the juice cleanse.

Day 39

Breakfast: leftover meatballs and polenta.
Breakfast: leftover meatballs and polenta.
Using up some of the leftover produce from the juice fast in a pear-greens juice recipe from Joe Cross' website.
Using up some of the leftover produce from the juice fast in a pear-greens juice recipe from Joe Cross’ website.
The pear and greens juice. Delicious!
The pear and greens juice. Delicious!
Sweet quinoa with bananas and dates.
Sweet quinoa with bananas and dates.
Snack: an apple with a generous scoop of almond butter.
Snack: an apple with a generous scoop of almond butter.
Dinner: leftover quinoa with butternut squash.
Dinner: leftover quinoa with butternut squash.

Day 40

Today was a fasting day. My husband joined me in the effort.

His and hers fasting salads. Chicken with black beans and salsa (his with cheese).
His and hers fasting salads. Chicken with black beans and salsa (his with cheese).
I asked my husband if he wanted to try some carrot, pear ginger juice with me. I was surprised when he agreed! He agreed that this juice is "Good!"
I asked my husband if he wanted to try some carrot, pear ginger juice with me. I was surprised when he agreed! He agreed that this juice is “Good!”

Today was also a weigh-in day.

Weigh-in results Day 40.

With 5 fasting days in the week, these results don’t surprise me. I am now about 8 pounds under my goal weight. I am not worried about wasting away to nothing, however, because this week I also had to sort out all the Easter candy I purchased and plan the recipes for our Easter celebration. We will be eating well come Sunday and for me it will be all guilt free. I am sure I am going to bounce up again after the diet is over so being a bit under right now is OK with me.

Fortunately, I have just 6 days to go. This is going to be a tough week to get through on a diet. Preparing for major holidays is always major stress. There is so much to do on top of all the everyday stuff. This past week I also calculated that we need to double up on our homeschool math lessons to try to finish the textbooks by June so I have to devote more time there as well. My default is to up my sugar content on such weeks but that is not an option this week. It is a learning experience to cope with all this stress in new ways.

One of the Easter Bunny's many tasks: washing out the plastic egg collection and playing a huge game of memory to put them all back together.
One of the Easter Bunny’s many tasks: washing out the plastic egg collection and playing a huge game of memory to put them all back together.
Easter sewing in progress.
Easter sewing in progress.

Nutritional News

  • Why it’s so hard to stay slim – This was a fascinating article about weight maintenance from a Norwegian nutritionist. She claims that even after you have done all the hard work to lose your excess weight, you need to essentially stay on a diet constantly or your body is going to bounce right back. When commenting on a study of Americans who managed to maintain their weight loss, she observed, “โ€œThey ate low-fat foods. The kept track of their calories and stuck to diets of about 1,300 calories for women and 1,700 calories for men. They ate breakfast but stuck to a rather limited variety of foods, also during weekends.โ€ Those low calorie counts were a bit shocking but it is probably close to what I am eating now on this diet. According to the Web MD BMI calculator, I need to eat about 1730 to maintain my weight loss. Curiously, however, when I plug in the figures for 5 pounds heavier or 5 pounds lighter, the difference is only about 60 calories in either direction! That means if I overeat by as little as 60 calories per day, I would see a weight gain of 5 pounds! I am still trying to make sense of all of this weight maintenance information. Still, it gives further proof as to why weight maintenance is so challenging.

May this be a great week for all of us!

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