Day 30 of 30

So, March 30th was the last day of my Eat Cleanish, Train Mean challenge. How did it go?

Eating: 
I had a few slip-ups (especially with STEALTH POTATOES!), but over all I managed to maintain a diet for 30 days, which is impressive because I tend to rebel against the idea of food restrictions.

Things I learned...
-It's a good thing that I don't have food allergies, because I suck at paying attention to what is in stuff. I got thwarted by stealth potatoes at least 3 times, and on my very last day I forgot that Yakisoba is not made with soba (buckwheat) noodles even though soba is in the name.

-I have good willpower about not ordering things I shouldn't eat, and I even managed to give up some cookies that came with my meals, but by golly if my dinner comes with garlic bread I am going to eat that stuff.

-I get bored with diets really quickly. I didn't even really crave most of what I wasn't allowing myself to eat, but I craved more variety in my food.

-People on diets have depressingly limited choices when they go out to eat. Why is it so hard to get a delicious meal that comes with veggies on the side? Why do so few things come on yummy multi-grain breads?

-I can live without potatoes, white bread, white pasta, and cheese-based dinners, but wow did I miss my cookies.

-Smoothies are awesome for lunch.

Training:
It got really warm here really quick but our cooler still isn't on, so that made it hard to want to train. Add to that Chris has been way too busy to go running. I thought training was going to be my main deal on this but I really dropped the ball. Guess I will just have to do better in April!

Other stuff:
This month really flew by and I didn't really find much time for fun or journaling or friends. Another thing to work on in April.

Results:
I lost a little weight. Most of it came off of my waist, so I look like I lost a lot! Sadly, I also lost enough that my fabulous Melos that fit like a glove when I bought them in January now shimmy right off my booty (as I learned when I wore them for a private lesson. *sigh*). I have to decide whether I want to lose more weight (because I still have a lot of fat on my belly), or if I want to stay about where I am. Whatever I decide, I have to stay pretty much whatever size I am in May because I am going to buy so many costumes at Tribal Fest and I don't want to shrink out of them like I did with my Melos.

This confirmed my opinion that restrictive diets are not for me. But it has inspired me to want to continue to eat a little healthier than my already pretty healthy lifestyle. I want to continue having smoothies for lunch. I know smoothies have a lot of sugar, but they help me make healthier choices in general. Before I would just snack for lunch and then also snack all afternoon, which meant I was eating a lot of junk throughout the day.

I made a couple of good changes during my diet. I stopped sweetening my oatmeal and I broke my reliance on granola bars. I've been getting lots of fruit and vegetables thanks to my smoothies, and I got a lot better at hydrating. So I feel like I can maintain a good, healthy lifestyle while still allowing myself cookies and garlic bread. I'd call that a win.

12 Days In

This image is from the comic Happle Tea, so if you find it funny, please follow the link and read some archives. It's a favorite of mine!

Well, this month has just flown by already! Here I am, 12 days into my 30 day challenge. I planned to post weekly updates but it's taken me over a week and a half to do one, so whatever. Diets are boring to read about anyway, right?

So how am I doing? Amazingly I have managed to stick to my diet pretty well. I've only slipped up once by eating a cookie (and it was a really good cookie, so I regret nothing), and I've only had one cheating meal and even then I kept it pretty healthy other than, you know, having a milkshake for dessert. I am finding that it is really easy to stick to my diet when it comes to planning meals at home, but when we go out I have to run a mental list of the menus at our favorite places and think of where has something that fits my plan and tastes good. Snacking is also a bit of a struggle, because I'm accustomed to just going into my kitchen and "grazing" when the mid-afternoon hungries hit.

I've rediscovered a love of smoothies. Chris and I have been having fun figuring out what all fruits and veg we can throw in the blender for delicious combinations. That's been my lunch of choice most days, especially after a jog.

Hydration has proven to be a little more difficult, as some days I just plain forget to drink my water for most of the day. I've always been like that.

Training has been iffy since I was so busy getting ready for WWWC, but now that that is behind me I'm looking forward to working hard for the rest of the month! The weather is really nice for jogging, I'm hoping it will stay that way. I'm also hoping to rediscover my dance inspiration and practice a lot at home between classes again.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled non-diet-related programming.     

30 day challenge for March

Belly dancers are strong and fierce! Rarh! Skirt Full of Fire and Fire & Gold Bellydance performing "Jednou." Photograph by Pedro Romano.

I'm doing something very unlike me this month... I'm going on a diet. Ish. Jolie challenged the troupes to join her on a 30 day Eat Clean, Train Mean thingie for March. Out of solidarity and a desire to shake myself out of some bad habits, I decided to get on board... with my own modifications. I'm not a big fan of super-restrictive diets. In general I don't like being told what to do, and I really don't like to be told what to eat. And at this point in my life, I don't feel like I NEED to be on such a strict diet. I'm pretty healthy and I only need to lose a small amount of weight. But I do feel like I could eat healthier than I have been.

In general, I tend to eat right. I gave up soda a long time ago (occasionally I'll indulge in a gourmet root beer, cream soda, or ginger ale, but it's rare), I don't eat fast food if I have a choice, and I drink alcohol less than once a week. I also generally avoid fried foods, red meat is a rare indulgence, and I prefer multigrain bread over white. But I also have a few vices. I'm pretty sure my entire mouth is full of sweet teeth. Chips and salsa are an addiction for sure. And when the weather is cold, I love me some grilled cheese and soup. Or pizza. Or a quesadilla. Or a loaded baked potato. Basically any sort of carbs topped with melted cheese. I consider these to be fine in moderation, but I have not been moderate this winter. So it's time to cut myself off and force myself into a healthier mode.

That said, I don't want to go on a diet so strict that it inconveniences Chris (he's supporting me, but not joining me), nor that prevents me from eating out (something we do often due to busy schedules). I need a diet that is practical and still allows me to have some things that I enjoy. So starting yesterday, here's what I'm trying to do:

1. No more carb and cheese meals! I can have carbs, and I can have cheese as a garnish, but there will definitely not be any bread bowls full of baked potato soup.

2. No cupcakes, cookies, or other baked treats. This one really makes me want to cry. I love baked goods, but I know they're bad for me, so we have to take a break from each other. That said, I'm not giving up sweets altogether. I will be eating dark chocolate covered dried fruit or nuts, in moderation. Because life without chocolate is not worth living.

3. No chai lattes or hot chocolate. The fact that the weather suddenly warmed back up will make this one a lot easier.

4. No potatoes. This will force me to choose sweet potato fries or a side salad over delicious, delicious french fries. Honestly, I love sweet potatoes anyways, so this isn't a huge sacrifice.

5. Whole wheat whenever possible. No white pasta or white breads. I'll also be getting brown rice over white rice when possible.

6. More fruit and veg! Fresh when possible, but also frozen or cooked or whatever. Smoothies for lunch, salads with dinner (or for dinner!), fruit as a snack. Hoping to hit some farmer's markets for a little fresh produce from time to time.

7. Water, water, water. I live off of tea when it's cold. I need to hydrate, especially if I'm going to be training harder. At least one 16 oz bottle of water per day, no matter what else I am drinking and doing.

8. Cheat, but cheat wisely. One day per week I will throw these rules aside for a special meal. After all, I am going to Ren Faire this month and our anniversary is coming up, so I'm going to let loose a couple of times.

And that brings us to the "Train Mean" half of things. Oh yeah. Now this I can get behind! I used to do CrossFit when I first started dancing, and while I found the high cost and semi-cultish atmosphere a bit offputting eventually, I do sometimes miss being a total freaking badass (a badass who still couldn't do a pullup, but whatever). I don't think I'll be doing that level of training, but I do want to work hard to make up for a winter of sloth. My workout plans:

1. Really buckle down and do Couch to 5k 3x a week when possible (I'm vending at WWWC for three days next weekend so obviously I won't have time to run then, but otherwise, no excuses unless I am sick and can't breathe). Take corgis for brisk walks around the neighborhood on non-running days. Corgis love walks!

2. Finally do the lower body conditioning videos on Datura On-line. Maybe some arm and ab conditioning too, if I have time.

3. Get back to drilling at home. I have not been practicing much and my technique is suffering because of it. My troupe and my audiences have certain expectations of me and I want to exceed them!

4. Stretching. I've made some progress but my hips are still stupid tight. Honestly, right now this is even more important than building strength or losing weight.

There's also an optional mental/emotional/spiritual improvement aspect to this challenge. My goals on that front:

1. Get back to daily dance journaling. I failed on this yesterday, because I was exhausted by the time my guests left, but I want to get back to recording my thoughts and also using my journal to work on my self esteem.

2. More time for fun. Didn't I already set this goal at the new year? Yeah, haven't really been sticking with it. My life is all work, work, work, or being lazy on FB. I need to dance for fun and create just for the sake of creating, and maybe go out and do some fun things.

3. Spend more time with friends. I've been a little anti-social lately. I wasn't even particularly excited to see my gem show friends, and that is weird for me.

My over-all goals for this 30 day challenge:

1. Force myself out of the bad eating, non-exercising, and being antisocial habits that I fell into over the winter.

2. Be super-supportive of my troupemates who are also participating in this challenge.

3. Lose a few pounds and increase lower body flexibility.

4. Emerge from this month healthier and happier than I entered it.

5. Figure out which changes I want to keep in my life beyond the end of March.

I'll post occasional updates on my progress. Wish me luck!