21 days of good health

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Ugh. You guys. I think I have maxed out on caffeine and sugar and chocolate and ugh. I feel gross. I have hit my limit. I’m grumpy mcgrumperson more and more and it is because I am fueling my body with shit a good portion of time. I need a reboot.

I actually eat great meals full of whole foods, organic and locally grown fruit and veg where I can source it easily. Meat is the best quality I can afford. And yet my body is still struggling because of all the shiz I put in it otherwise. It just goes to show what an impact this stuff has.

So I decided I needed some accountability. I know you don’t really care what I eat day in and day out but I am going to blog about it for the next 21 days so I am accountable. I respect you guys so I’m going to feel like a right twat if I have to blog that I ate a family size block of chocolate in one sitting while on my health journey.

I am keeping it pretty simple for now. Here are my rules:

1. 2 serves fruit per day

2. 3 serves veg per day

3. No refined sugar AT ALL. I can use stevia and coconut sugar for cooking.

4. No COFFEE. I have been going hard on this lately WITH SUGAR too which is not my usual AT ALL. It all started with the filtered coffee in North America and has gone downhill from there. I can have the odd decaf if I really want to but really just want to try cutting it completely at the moment to break the habit. After the 21 days we can go back to one here and there, decaf espresso only as then I have no addiction and I don’t add sugar. Say hello lots of herbal teas and warm water with lemon.

5. Try to eat around 1200 calories per day.  This isn’t entirely rigid. It is mainly as I’d like to shift a few kgs before the next round of IVF. It is OK if I go over if I am eating good nutritious food.

6. Treat food is allowed provided it is nutritious. So if I’m craving chocolate I can make something with raw cacao and dates yada yada. Nutrition is key. I have been dying to make a raw cheesecake so here is my chance.

These treats do still have calories so I am mindful that I may lose less weight if I’m indulging but if that’s what it takes then that is ok.

I’ll do you all a favour and blog any super delicious healthy treats I make so you can have a go at home too.

7. Blog about it daily. It’s all about accountability.

Have fun as you get a sneak peak into my food diary each day. Thanks in advance for being my cheer squad. You guys rock.

See you tomorrow for a weigh in. Eeeeeep.

~Ems~

One more thing!

You gotta check out this TEDx talk I happened to see today. I was already intending on starting this challenge and then I watched this and had one of those AHA moments. It all makes sense. It is only 18 mins long so do your life the favour and make time for it. It is valuable for any busy woman who feels crazy and like she simply JUST. CAN’T. DO. IT. ALL. And so worthwhile for any man/partner who thinks the wife might be losing her shit. Here you will get to understand why.

29 thoughts on “21 days of good health”

    • Hey! Thanks for stopping by and for the tip. I did a coffee detox once before when I was way more addicted and man, it was SO HARD. It is the part I am least looking forward to. I will pop over and check out your blog. Thanks!

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  2. Em I’m so on your boat it’s ridiculous. I was thinking the same thing last night about doing an adapted for pregnancy version of my 21 day “eat clean body lean” that I did a couple years back. It involved similar lines of what you described, but i remember having huge headaches for the first 3-5 days because of cutting refined sugar, coffee, dairy, gluten, red meat and basically anything that isn’t in its pure form. DD was about 9 months old at the time so I didn’t have to worry about cooking separate meals (the ones in this meal plan aren’t all very toddler friendly), and DW and I both lost 25 lbs with little to no effort. We didn’t even follow the exercise portion rigidly. Granted, she and I had extra weight to shed, but I was down to my slimmest & healthiest in about a decade. I managed to keep it up & off until I went back to work and the sitting all day & no constant breastfeeding meant my calories had to be cut further but they weren’t…within 6 months or so, I gained back 15-20 of it! :s that’s where I stand. Now, with the last few weeks of nausea I’ve packed on another 5+ lbs. I know from my first pregnancy that I don’t need to gain the extra weight very quickly (I gained only 23 lbs in my entire pregnancy with DD) so this 5+ lbs really deserves a slap on the wrist. Anyway. I’m with you. I commit. I may even blog about it too. This sugar /carb addiction has to end & I need to start bringing my lunches to work again! Good luck with yours and wish my luck with mine! Xx

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            • We so can! I am in 2 minds about whether or not to cut carbs in the gluten form. I wonder how long you can sustain the weight loss when you do it that way? It only really works if they are permanently slashed and that just doesn’t seem to happen for me. I am going to say I am aiming to do as little processed as possible so carbs will not feature heavily but there will be the odd thing here or there I think. So exciting we will be doing this together. Makes it so much more fun. x

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              • Yeah the gluten part is really hard. I’m going to stick to a focus more of major processed stuff… No pizza, no cookies, no chocolate (sigh), no store bought crap basically. I don’t think anything risky strict is wise for me right now, but I’m sure cutting processed foods, refined sugars & incorporating more veggies will make a big difference for me. Hopefully my nausea is subsiding because that’ll be my biggest roadblock.

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                • I think that is definitely a wise choice for you. You need some calcium and fibre when you are preggo and cutting whole food groups doesn’t make it that easy. Yes, fingers cross the healthy food helps with the nausea. It could go either way really. Pregnancy is such a guessing game! I am here to support you all the way. I am pretty much looking at cutting the things that you have listed here too. I wish the weather was warmer. I am so off salads and smoothies as it’s been too chilly!

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  7. Good luck with this challenge!! I keep telling myself that I’m going to start eating better…it certainly doesn’t help at the moment that we’re living in a hotel and eating out 3/4 the time!! Maybe I should try this as well…hold myself more accountable for what I eat by telling the world!! I’ll think about it 😉

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  8. I’ve been working on eating better, and making a lifestyle change with how I eat, and I’m telling you, it has made a difference, I feel better and I can feel myself getting better from the inside out! So, yes, please share and let us support you… and in turn, it will help me out, too! 🙂

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  9. Uhhhhhhh – I SO need to do something like this. It sounds brilliant. In fact, I am excited at your excitement. It’s horrible how quickly we get back into bad habits – like the coffee thing just kind of sneaking up on you. For me, at the mo (well for weeks on and off now), it’s been sugar and chocolate. Loads of it. It’s disgusting. I did really well for two weeks and my skin started to calm down and then we went camping, and campfire, and marshmallows, and holiday treats and eugh. Back to square 1 and a face full of spots again. ANYWAY, this isn’t about me, it’s about you and I am actually really interested in reading about what you eat!! Haha! I’m such a nerd when it comes to health and fitness and I love reading about what other people are doing in the hopes that it will osmosis into me and help me be a healthier person. Go go go!!! xxxxx

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    • I like it for that reason too. I figure the more in from others the more I am slowly changing my subconcious so I can automatically make better decisions. I think it has definitely worked with my main meals. Just need to strip the snacks. Xx

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  10. Just taking a quick scroll down your blog I’ve been oohinh and aahing at some of the pics you’ve posted! I can’t wait to read them more (I’m super behind as you can tell, lol). I’m proud of you for making these positive changes now and to prep your body for stims next month. Will have to come back to hear this Ted talk!

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    • Ooooooo I wish that too. That’s my strategy though. I’ve been meaning to make some for aaaages and now that’s my incentive to do it. If I want treats they have to be healthy and raw ones are a good options.

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