Category: A Healthy Me

Woohoo! It’s Battle the Sugar Dragon day! Yes, folks, day 4 is the day you’re ready to “cheat just a little bit” by indulging in something just a tiny bit sweet. Don’t do it. Just a tiny bit leads to just another tiny bit, and another tiny bit, and before you know it a “tiny bit” becomes half a chocolate pudding cake, or two cream-filled donuts, or [fill in your sweet indulgence of choice and triple a “tiny” bit]. Whatever the cheat, you get the picture. Just. Don’t. Do. It. We made it to Day 4! So grab your armor and choose the fruit instead. I’ll get back tot he Sugar Dragon in just a bit.

As life is not as monotonous as it sometimes seems, this morning I had a doctor’s appointment before work (routine vision exam), so it did throw a few monkey wrenches into my breakfast routine. The good news is no oatmeal for me this morning. The better news is the vision exam was great in terms of no changes or issues spotted. But this meant that my breakfast was delayed by almost 3 hours, so I had plenty of battle time with the beast, and I came out victorious with only a few minor [cravings] cuts and scratches.

It was tempting to just forgo packing something for work and adding an egg and cheese wrap to my normal black coffee Dunkin’ order, but then that would lead to having to find something on plan for lunch, and then no snacks, and I knew I’d be starving by 4pm and would most likely overeat at dinner time. So I settled on, “I’ll at least pack a salad.”
Battle #1: Valerie – 1 |Sugar Dragon – 0.

The mere act of packing a salad for lunch then lead to needing salad dressing, then pulling out the raisins and tomatoes to add to the salad, and then quickly throw in a banana, and the grapes I washed last night, add almond milk to the Yeti that Pattie gave me a few years ago, and before I knew it I was all set for the whole day.
Battle #2: Valerie – 2 | Sugar Dragon – 0 !

But even with everything packed, I was still tempted once 10am rolled around as I was leaving the Optometrist’s office. Dunkin’s was just two doors down and I could smell the coffee as I walked to my car. Battle #3 began with that sneak attack! I could not run, I could not hide, I was going to meet it face on! Thank GOD for Dunkin’s On-the-Go App. I entered my order using the app, just the coffee while constantly reminding myself “there’s a banana in the lunch bag, there’s a banana in the lunch bag, …” over and over until the order was submitted. Now I only need to pop in, grab my to-go coffee, transfer it to the Yeti, and make a quick exit and I may not even need to speak a word to anyone (but I do always still throw in a “hello” or a “good morning” just to acknowledge the hard work they all do to get my order ready quickly.
Success! Battle #3: Valerie – 3 | Sugar Dragon – 0 !

Once at work, the next few hours should be battle free. I’ll have the banana, drink the coffee, and enjoy the grapes. I’ll be eating lunch at my desk instead of the cafeteria today, but forgot to pack a fork so I’m clumsily and slowly eating it with a spoon!
Battle #4: Cancelled 😉

That’s all I have to today. There were no more battles to fight, so the Sugar Dragon slinked away to fight someone else another day!

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It’s only day 2 and things are off to a great start. Another pound down and ambition is running high! Feeling good, feeling healthier, and looking forward to getting this post up for y’all to see!

All-in-all this was a pretty good day despite the foggy drive to work in the snow/ice. One good thing about this weather is it tends to slow all the other speed racers down a bit! Weather aside, day 2 on any program is usually not bad as cravings typically don’t set in until day 5, and I’m determined to not let it knock me off my path.

Why this B/Vlog: For me this b/vlog (blog and vlog) serves four purposes: community, journaling, coding, and videography/photography. I want to create a community here for anyone looking to improve their nutritional and activity health: share our struggles, observances, and successes; give encouragement; and engage with each other about our unique journeys. The journaling part pairs nicely with the community goal as it is the perfect jumping off point for starting the discussion. Journaling has also proven to help the author succeed with their goal because it allows him/her to be deliberate in their reflections and increases motivation. The final two are more personal in that they are a way for me to keep myself active in two of my favorite activities: web/html coding and photography/videography. This is my first blog and I have two new cameras (both with video capabilities) that I’m yearning to use more. Ultimately, my hope is that this b/vlog will improve with each new post as I get used to working with all the different pieces that go into it.

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Today’s Stats

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NOTE: We (me and a few early adopters—thanks Katie and Jenn!) tested out the log-in requirements and I made a few adjustments on the back end. If you are having any problem logging in, let me know (via a comment on facebook post). Tip: This site was created using WordPress, so the signup/login will take you to your WordPress account. If you already have a WordPress account, you can use those credentials to sign up here.

After a 10-day break from the healthy eating plan, the damage is minimal. If you recall I was following along with the Whole 30 plan which began in late December. I did successfully complete the 30 days, and wanted to take a vacation between rounds to allow for a few parties and dinner plans that had already been scheduled prior to the first round.

I expected that some of the benefits earned from Round 1 would be at risk with “10-days-off,” and was pleasantly surprised that the damage was minimal. I only regained 0.2 pounds, which quite honestly could have happened ON the program as well. But one thing I did also notice was my mood started to change around the 5th day off the program whereas my patience with stupidity seemed to vanish (and this statement reflects said lack of patience). The fact that I DID notice this change is a major milestone! Now I just have to identify what food group is affecting my moods going forward!

This very short video was recorded while waiting in the drive-thru line at Dunkin Donuts, and the only thing on my mind at that moment was getting a very short video to launch this new round off, and breakfast! Lunch was packed away neatly in a lunch bag in the back seat: slow-cooked beef brisket leftover from Saturday, along with salad and home-made ranch dressing. I haven’t thought about dinner for tonight yet, so I’ll report on that tomorrow.

My hope for this new b/vlog is for daily entries (so check back daily), video entries (most days?), humor, and a sense of community—so please add your healthy and encouraging comments, make suggestions, share your journey, or anything that supports this journey. Enjoy!

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Update: I pulled out my new Instant Pot and whipped up some Cumin Sweet Potatoes, added a couple of fried eggs, sunny side up, and had myself a very delicious dinner. No, this was not the original plan, but I got home late and this was a quick and healthy fix.

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Stats
Day 01: ##9.4