Days 2 & 3 - The Cheater in Me

These past few days have been very busy and stressful, and therefore my Fast Forward phase was a challenge. At first I thought it was easier this time around, but with the added stress in my life (6 daycare appointments and working 2 jobs this week), it was actually harder.

I managed to eat the same meals as Day 1 with a few exceptions and additions (unfortunately...) Here goes me being accountable again:

DAY 2:

I sticked mostly to my meal plan except at dinnertime when I had to make dinner for my husband and son, and then again late at night while I was working on a project my 2nd job. At dinner, I ate a few of the sweet potato fries they were having, and then I had a handful of pretzels around 10:00. My stomach was rumbling, and it was hard to concentrate on writing my report. I had the will power last time, but this time I was weak.

DAY 3:

I woke up this morning, and the scale was down 3 lbs. I was thrilled and super motivated to have a perfect day. And then, I realized that I was out of slivered almonds and raspberries for some of my meals today. I ended up substituting strawberries in my parfait, and my favorite Very Berry Cherry Blend frozen berries for the smoothie. I took the smoothie to work for my afternoon snack, and then I forgot to eat it! On my drive home tonight, I realized that I left it there. I worked on a really hard report all day today, so my focus was completely elsewhere and not on my diet.

Then, when I got home tonight, I fell off the wagon. I had my hard-boiled egg & spinach, and some other random stuff. :-(


I really liked the idea of doing the "detox" part of the Cinch diet again after completing the initial 30 days. But I realized that all of the added stress of this past week really didn't help me very much. I'm ready to get back to the yummy meals again starting tomorrow, and after evaluating myself these past few days, I certainly have all 4 meals planned for tomorrow already. Planning ahead is critical to my success.

On the plus side, I now fit into 3 additional pairs of pants that I haven't been able to wear since before I was pregnant -- Yippee!!

Day 29 - So Exhausted...

As I mentioned yesterday, my posts will be short for the next few days. I've got so much going on with my husband starting a new job, finding daycare for our son, and 2 freelance projects that I am working on in my 2nd job...

I've been so incredibly unmotivated today. Plus, I haven't slept well for the past 2 days. Hence, some random snacking habits today. I will start anew tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to the FF phase this upcoming Wed.-Fri.

BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Peanut Butter & Jelly Lara Bar
Yoplait Honey Vanilla 100% Greek yogurt

I originally packed the Raspberry Brazil Nut Pita for breakfast because the recipe looked delicious in the Cinch! book, but I made the mistake of using thawed frozen berries. When I got to work, I opened my pita that was wrapped in foil, and apparently I didn't drain the water from the berries enough because it completely ruined the pita. Luckily, I had a lara bar in my desk drawer and a yogurt stashed in the fridge at work.

And now I'm in love with the new Yoplait Greek yogurt. As everyone knows, I can't stand plain yogurt, and I've had some remorse about the fact that the vanilla yogurt I've been eating has HFCS in it and goes against the Cinch plan. But this greek yogurt was all-naturally sweetened, and I just can't believe how much I loved it. I only bought one at the grocery store last weekend (as a test just in case I didn't like it), so now I'm going out for more!

LUNCH (1:00 pm)

Cinch! Caesar Salad:

2 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 serving whole grain crackers
1/4 cup fresh shredded parmesean and asiago cheese
1 TBSP EVOO
Dash lemon juice and fresh pepper


SNACK (4:30 pm)

Peppery Kiwi Almond Crunch:

1 medium kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 slice whole grain bread (omitted)
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 TBSP slivered almonds
Dash black pepper


DINNER (9:00 pm)

Minestrone Soup with Whole Grain Crackers:

2 cups mixed veggies (carrots, onions, spinach, zucchini) and 1 cup vegetable broth
1 serving whole grain crackers
1/2 cup kidney beans
No plant based fat (due to my animal cracker binge - see below)
Lots of seasonings in the soup

And way too many animal crackers... Unfortunately, I went on a major pig out session with them this evening. Again, tomorrow is a new day.