Welcome to My Food Journal

So I know I was supposed to blog more and I know I DIDN'T blog more so now I make no promises, only attempts to chronicle the craziness that is my life.  For my latest act of craziness I have chosen to do a whole foods cleanse.  For the next 21 days I will be eliminating sugar, alcohol, caffeine,  gluten, dairy products and processed foods from my diet.  The first week is all vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and a few condiments.  The second week you add back in legumes and lean proteins.  The third week you add back in gluten-free grains.  So far I am two meals and two snacks into it and I have realized a few things about my relationship with food. 

The first thing I realized is that eating is less about hunger and more about an occasion.  I missed my coffee while I had my quiet time this morning.  Not because of the physical need for coffee but because that is just what I do and it feels luxurious to have a creamy (yes I add cream and stevia to my coffee) cup of coffee while I talk to God before the rest of my world is awake.  I found myself struggling today after church.  I was mildly hungry but even after eating my snack and satiating the hunger I was still having a hard time with cravings.  I realized it is because we normally go out to breakfast as a family after church. I was able to bounce back once I got home and saw the fridge full of produce that I most certainly will not waste. 

I also realized that I eat off of the kids plates a lot.  I made Emelia a peanut butter sandwich and normally I would have licked the knife clean.  I gave Sam and Emelia each a few chips.  As I put the chips on their plates I had to fight the urge not to eat the chips even though they are not a type of chip I love.  Sam had a cookie and left most of it on the table.  Normally I would eat those two bites instead of throwing them away. 

Interesting, very interesting. 

As part of this cleanse you are supposed to keep a food diary, not just of what you ate but how it made you feel.  So this is my place for that. 

I am going to start by writing down my goals for this cleanse so that if I need moral support I can come back and look at this.

More energy
Better sleep
Better moods
Establish healthier habits
Weight loss

I think this is the first time I have ever attempted any food related thing that was not all about being skinny.  I have come to the realization that I will never be skinny.  I can be healthy and toned but skinny just is not in my genetic repertoire.  Kate Winslet maybe, Kate Moss not a chance.  So, here's to new habits and new knowledge.

Food Diary 1/8/2011
Breakfast: Grapefruit/Carrot/Ginger Juice
Tasty, would drink again on my own, felt satisfied, missed coffee.

Snack: Cranberry/Blueberry/Nut Trail Mix
Good, helped me hold out for lunch.

Lunch: Kale/Carrot/Red Cabbage/Parsley Salad with Dijon vinaigrette and sunflower seeds
Good, hurt my jaw with all the chewing, felt full.

Snack:  Fruit and nut balls (finely chopped dried fruit and nuts rolled in to one inch balls)
They were actually much better than they sound.

Update 3:45
I have a mild headache, probably from the caffeine withdrawal.  Took one ibuprofen and it feels better.  I am struggling to drink my water.  I have only had 1.5 liters thus far.  I guess I can guzzle while I cook dinner because that is often when I have a glass of wine.  Roasted Beet and Garlic Soup is on tap for dinner, my bathroom habits should be CRAZY tomorrow between the roughage and the beets.  I had to laugh when I looked at the recipe for dinner Iand saw it required leeks had to look them up on the internet to figure our which end you are actually supposed to eat.  

I am not hungry but still had to fight the urge to eat the leftover chips from Sam's lunch plate.  Dumb chips!  I'll post again after dinner.   

6:27 p.m.
Dinner: 1 cup roasted beet and garlic soup
The soup was a pain to make.  I should have made it in a small pot because it was not deep enough for my immersion blender which meant I had to puree it in batches - drag! However, it tasted really good and it was very filling.  I am currently eating half of Sam's leftover pear but that is allowed as a snack.  I think this will be it for the night.  Hopefully I can avoid the evening munchies.  I am pretty sure I know why this supposedly helps you sleep better...because I am EXHAUSTED from cutting, chopping, shredding and otherwise preping all these veggies.  : )  Looking forward to my apple/beet/carrot juice for breakfast.