R2: Day 21/30 of Cooking More and Avoiding Ultra-Processed Food
Hello! This round has been much better than the last one: I have rarely had ultra-processed food ( 2 cookies and a sandwich during my menstrual cycle, which is fine because I was tired).
However, I've been cooking far less (outside of at-home single-serve sweets) compared to the first round, and also consuming FAR more from outside in the form of dietician cooked meals and also having meals from this Vegan, organic place. As a result, even though I've gotten into the process of shopping, I've also gotten into the process of putting all the food I bought into the freezer and now my freezer is full.
I'm thinking of a no-buy month - I have MORE than enough ingredients, I just haven't wanted to cook. Because of out-sourcing the cooking, it's been really easy to hit 100+ grams of protein and 30+ grams of fiber per day, which is probably why I'm feeling so great compared to the last time.
I've been having the following almost every day:
Breakfast: Cheese Stick, Pruscioutto, Protein Drink (easy to grab and go go to the office)
Lunch: one of the pre-packaged options below, which has a lot of protein and fat. Or I'll have a huge bowl of chia seeds and fruit with coconut milk
Dinner: One of the pre-packaged options
Snacks: Chia Seed Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookie (my own recipe, but no one else likes it but me - there's no added sugar)
I can't continue spending like this, so I think that for the rest of the challenge, I'll slowly taper myself off of relying so much on pre-packaged meals that someone else prepared that I know is organic and has the macros I need/want.
Because of this, I've ironically gotten really into budgeting because I wanted a plane ticket this month, but wasn't tracking my food budget. I think I'm done with buying groceries - I have far too much.
I hate the idea of food waste, which usually happens when I meal prep, even if I prepare just enough for 2-3 days. So what I did was I'd put the part I didn't finish in the freezer, and at this point, I need a second freezer (which I don't want to buy).
I'd love any advice on this! I'm definitely happy to be eating unprocessed food, but definitely not sustainable to have meals prepared by others very frequently.
On the plus side, I have stayed within my macro and calorie range and I've been able to lose weight. I haven't binged since the start of the challenge on sweets, and I think it's because I make my cookie every day. It's gradually gotten less and less sweet and more healthy - I think it's delicious, but everyone else thinks it's bitter, lol.
On the weight side, I finally started losing weight after being at the same weight for 4 years! I'm not exactly sure what triggered it. I love data, but I made a lot of changes during this round and I can't pinpoint it to 1: It could be due to the increased fiber/protein, sleeping 8-9 hours a day, Pilates, incorporating more cardio, and iron pills (very low iron). I've noticed less bloating overall, too!
I lost 6 lbs 2 weeks ago, then have been steadily losing 1 lb/week since. It may plateau again since I've been increasing strength training and increasing the weights.
What I could do is ask the people at the restaurant how they make their food - I get pretty much the same thing every few days:
1. Mushroom, Spinach, Chicken, and Cheese on Whole Grain Bread with Chia Seeds (I ask for that)
2. Acai Bowl with Protein Powder, chia seeds, flax seeds, and extra berries (again something I could do with frozen fruit)
3. Protein Chai Latte with Almond Milk, Celery, Spinach, Kale, Arugula
4. Almond Toast with Berries, Chia Seeds
5. Chicken with Cauliflower in Heavy Cream and other Keto inspired meals, that are mainly just cauliflower rice in some sort of sauce with heavy cream, chicken, salmon, broccoli, etc...
Maybe I need to create a meal plan and aim to only buy frozen fruit and vegetables in the future, especially since fresh vegetables go bad and I always end up chucking them in the freezer. Tomorrow is my last order for the week.
It's OK because I live by myself, but I definitely don't want the habit to continue - I didn't realize it! But there are meals I really liked... maybe I need to create meals and freeze them from the start? And I should also get a blender because a smoothie bowl isn't hard to make.
Protein Powder: Mix of Orgain and Collagen Protein
R2: Day 21/30 of Cooking More and Avoiding Ultra-Processed Food
Hello! This round has been much better than the last one: I have rarely had ultra-processed food ( 2 cookies and a sandwich during my menstrual cycle, which is fine because I was tired).
However, I've been cooking far less (outside of at-home single-serve sweets) compared to the first round, and also consuming FAR more from outside in the form of dietician cooked meals and also having meals from this Vegan, organic place. As a result, even though I've gotten into the process of shopping, I've also gotten into the process of putting all the food I bought into the freezer and now my freezer is full.
I'm thinking of a no-buy month - I have MORE than enough ingredients, I just haven't wanted to cook. Because of out-sourcing the cooking, it's been really easy to hit 100+ grams of protein and 30+ grams of fiber per day, which is probably why I'm feeling so great compared to the last time.
I've been having the following almost every day:
Breakfast: Cheese Stick, Pruscioutto, Protein Drink (easy to grab and go go to the office)
Lunch: one of the pre-packaged options below, which has a lot of protein and fat. Or I'll have a huge bowl of chia seeds and fruit with coconut milk
Dinner: One of the pre-packaged options
Snacks: Chia Seed Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookie (my own recipe, but no one else likes it but me - there's no added sugar)
I can't continue spending like this, so I think that for the rest of the challenge, I'll slowly taper myself off of relying so much on pre-packaged meals that someone else prepared that I know is organic and has the macros I need/want.
Because of this, I've ironically gotten really into budgeting because I wanted a plane ticket this month, but wasn't tracking my food budget. I think I'm done with buying groceries - I have far too much.
I hate the idea of food waste, which usually happens when I meal prep, even if I prepare just enough for 2-3 days. So what I did was I'd put the part I didn't finish in the freezer, and at this point, I need a second freezer (which I don't want to buy).
I'd love any advice on this! I'm definitely happy to be eating unprocessed food, but definitely not sustainable to have meals prepared by others very frequently.
On the plus side, I have stayed within my macro and calorie range and I've been able to lose weight. I haven't binged since the start of the challenge on sweets, and I think it's because I make my cookie every day. It's gradually gotten less and less sweet and more healthy - I think it's delicious, but everyone else thinks it's bitter, lol.
On the weight side, I finally started losing weight after being at the same weight for 4 years! I'm not exactly sure what triggered it. I love data, but I made a lot of changes during this round and I can't pinpoint it to 1: It could be due to the increased fiber/protein, sleeping 8-9 hours a day, Pilates, incorporating more cardio, and iron pills (very low iron). I've noticed less bloating overall, too!
I lost 6 lbs 2 weeks ago, then have been steadily losing 1 lb/week since. It may plateau again since I've been increasing strength training and increasing the weights.
What I could do is ask the people at the restaurant how they make their food - I get pretty much the same thing every few days:
1. Mushroom, Spinach, Chicken, and Cheese on Whole Grain Bread with Chia Seeds (I ask for that)
2. Acai Bowl with Protein Powder, chia seeds, flax seeds, and extra berries (again something I could do with frozen fruit)
3. Protein Chai Latte with Almond Milk, Celery, Spinach, Kale, Arugula
4. Almond Toast with Berries, Chia Seeds
5. Chicken with Cauliflower in Heavy Cream and other Keto inspired meals, that are mainly just cauliflower rice in some sort of sauce with heavy cream, chicken, salmon, broccoli, etc...
Maybe I need to create a meal plan and aim to only buy frozen fruit and vegetables in the future, especially since fresh vegetables go bad and I always end up chucking them in the freezer. Tomorrow is my last order for the week.
It's OK because I live by myself, but I definitely don't want the habit to continue - I didn't realize it! But there are meals I really liked... maybe I need to create meals and freeze them from the start? And I should also get a blender because a smoothie bowl isn't hard to make.
Protein Powder: Mix of Orgain and Collagen Protein