Clean Eating - Day 20

Hi guys! It's the second to last day!

I want to talk a little bit today about how I've been feeling through this whole process. And it's really very simple - I've been feeling AMAZING.  That's the best word to sum it up. I feel younger. I have more energy. I sleep better. I wake up almost every day feeling rested and ready for the day. I'm generally happier and nicer to people. I just feel amazing.

Some of you know that when I get hungry, I often get shaky and experience a headache. This is typical sign of a blood sugar drop that occurs when you haven't eaten in awhile, but I experience it more intensely than most people. I know I've been tested for diabetes, and thankfully I don't have it. But it seems like my body is more sensitive to those spikes - not only do I have physical reactions, but I get very grumpy and feel sick. It's pretty terrible. I often eat when I'm not hungry if I think I won't be able to eat again for awhile as a "just in case" measure to keep my mean self at bay. And I haven't experienced a single one of these problems since starting this challenge. I get hungry, sure, and sometimes it makes me a little grumpy. But none of my physical symptoms occur. It's one of the best things I've noticed about the diet.

I know I talked about this a little bit at the beginning of the challenge, but I wanted everyone to know it has absolutely continued the entire diet. If any of you have tried to do "cleanses" before, you know you usually feel run down, exhausted, deprived and generally awful. Calorie counting diets often leave you quite hungry at the end of the day, and even lacking some energy if you're not eating enough through the day. But not on this diet.

The only thing I have noticed that when I don't get enough sleep the night before, I will go to sleep early the next day. I've been really trying to listen to my body's signals, and when I'm tired, I usually try to go to sleep. (What an amazing concept!) Sometimes though, it's just not possible. It's not that I get tired more easily, because I truly have more energy throughout the day. But when I get tired at night, I am a lot more aware of it. I know it's time to go to bed. And as long as I get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, I feel great  all day long!

Alright - on to the food log:

8:45am - Wake-up

9:30am - Chocolate Coffee Protein Shake

12:30pm - 2 eggs with onions, orange bell peppers and salsa. A small portion of organic blue corn tortilla chips. Water.

2:30-3:45pm - Workout! (see below for details)

4:30pm -  Leftover spaghetti squash with ground turkey and marinara sauce. Water.

6:30pm - Blue corn chips. Salsa. Water.

10:00pm - Carrot sticks. Grandma's Hummus. Plantain Chips. Sparkling water.

12:00am - Bedtime!

Food-wise, today was a weird day. We worked out kind of late in the day because we went to a farmer's market in the morning and got some amazing looking veggies and protein. And since we worked out a little later, we ate at an odd time. Then we went to a concert at 8pm, so we didn't want to eat too much beforehand. When we got out, we hung out at a friends house, and we were a big hungry so we got some snacks from Whole Foods. But just because you're not eating at "standard times" doesn't mean you can't follow your plan!

Workout - Another killer circuit, this one designed by yours truly! Warm-up on the treadmill for 15-20 minutes. I personally walked for 3 minutes, jogged for 2. Get your heart rate up nice and high for as long as is comfortable for you, then bring it down to a more normal level for a bit. Don't stay at that low level too long, though! This is about training your heart to handle high intensity activity, and also training it to recover well. (This is good advice for ANY cardio you ever you do, whether you do weights after it or not!) Now, on to the circuits:

Circuit 1 (repeat 2X with rest in between)
- 15 step ups (each leg), while holding an 8-10 lb. medicine ball or kettlebell overhead
- 15 Bosu ball bicep curls (each arm) 12-15 lb weights.
- 15 Bosu ball squats holding same hand weights
- 15 Bosu ball tricep extensions (each arm), same weight
- 25 Bicycle crunches

**If you don't know what a bosu ball is, it's the blue thing in the gym that's flat on one side and round and squishy on the other side. I place the squishy side down and balance on the flat side, but you can also do it the other way around.

Circuit 2 (repeat 2X with rest in between)
- 30 Russian twists holding 8-10 lb. medicine ball
- 15 wood chops (each side of the body) with medicine ball
- 25 jumping jacks
- 15 deadlifts into overhead press with 12-20 lb. bar (choose based on your fitness level)
- 5 burpees


That's it for today! Stay tuned for the LAST POST of this challenge coming tomorrow! Love health and harmony to you.