Day Nine – Challenge #2

Breakfast – My coconut granola with full cream milk

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Homemade beef and vegetable casserole

Snack – Coconut-blueberry muffin

Dinner – Beef  mince and vegetable bolognese served with steamed broccoli, few chunks of dark chocolate

Day Eight – Challenge #2

Breakfast – Coffee, followed by smoothie made of blueberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt, stevia

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Big salad with leftover beef burger patty and haloumi from BBQ

Snack – Homemade coconut-blueberry muffin

Dinner – Homemade chicken and squash coconut curry

Day Seven – Challenge #2

Today I did some baking, something I often do on Sundays to try to get organised for the week. I had plans to make quite a bit but ended up just making some coconut-blueberry muffins and this granola:

I based it it this recipe (and Maria based hers on someone else’s!) but I omitted the chia seeds and I only used almonds, instead of almonds and walnuts. It is delish!! It’s not something I would eat every day but it should make a nice change to my breakfasts this week.

Breakfast – Two eggs fried in butter with spelt sourdough toast and grated cheese

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Small bowl of coconut granola with full cream milk

Dinner- Another BBQ! Homemade beef burger and a couple of slices of haloumi with a big salad with avocado

Day Six – Challenge #2

I had what I would class as a good day. My low self esteem and high levels of anxiety have prevented me doing many things over the years and many ‘normal’ situations and activities have felt too hard. Day six of this challenge saw me test myself in 2 of the areas where I have struggled.

Firstly, the beach. Two months ago I moved from inner Sydney to the northern beaches. I LOVE being by the beach, I love watching the waves and walking in the shallows, going for long walks in the sand, sitting watching the world go by and I love breathing in the fresh air and soaking in the calm I feel being by the sea. What I find very difficult though is sitting on the sand and relaxing, reading my book or sunbathing. Swimming in the sea or actually swimming in general is also something I find myself reluctant to do too. Today though I was able to make a slight step forward with this. Me and my man took a rug, some towels and books down to the beach and sat for a few hours relaxing. I don’t know what it is I find so hard about it but nonetheless it is uncomfortable for me. I had hoped to go for a swim but didn’t manage it, but maybe next time! Either way though I am still really pleased with the progress.

At the same time as I moved to the beach, I also bought myself this bicycle, isn’t she pretty?

I loved the idea of cycling around the beaches and getting some exercise too. The reality though was that I was very unconfident and nervous about actually giving it a go. After having the bike for over 2 months, I FINALLY braved it today!! After our trip to the beach, my man and I went for a lovely quiet bike ride up towards the lake and I LOVED it! It was really good fun and the feeling of accomplishment at finally doing it was really great too. Big smiles all round for that one : )

Breakfast – Leek, mushroom, zucchini and haloumi omelette

Snack – Coffee

Snack – Smoothie made from coconut cream, banana, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt

Dinner – On such a glorious sunny day, there is something really summery about ending the day with a BBQ. So that’s what we did! I ate a homemade beef burger and a couple of slices of haloumi with a big salad with a lime juice and coconut oil dressing. I also had 3 glasses of red wine and a few chunks of raw chocolate

Day Five – Challenge #2

Breakfast – Coffee followed by a smoothie made from coconut cream, banana, raw egg, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt

Lunch – I went out on a work lunch and ordered a lovely chicken and spinach broth to start and then the black angus steak (it was either that or a prawn risotto) which came with mashed potato and a red wine jus but I was extremely disappointed to see there were no vegetables (!), glass of red wine

Dinner – Two eggs fried in butter served on spelt sourdough toast with some grated cheese, a few chunks of raw dark chocolate

Day Four – Challenge #2

Starting the day down at the beach is becoming a real pattern it seems. Not such a bad way to start the day that’s for sure, I would love it to be part of a daily morning routine but I do struggle to get up early every day!

Breakfast – Smoothie made from banana, blueberries, coconut cream, coconut oil, raw egg, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Homemade beef and vegetable casserole

Dinner – Slow cooked lamb shank with carrots, zucchini and onion with some roasted parsnip followed by some raw chocolate

Day Three – Challenge #2

A very low appetite day which was a good job as I was out and about in the evening and never did get round to dinner!

I went out to The Conscious Club at Bondi beach which I have never been to before but it turned out to be a very interesting evening. There was music by Appleonia, this short film which was very cute and touching, a group meditation and a talk by the lovely Sarah Wilson which I thoroughly enjoyed. She was very genuine and funny and I found the talk inspiring and heartfelt. She shared a lot of information and tips on living a better life from some of her extensive interviews with top health experts. I did get one photo but it’s a bit blurred and does not do Sarah any justice! (sorry Sarah!)

I started the day down at the beach with a coffee. I delayed breakfast as I wasn’t that hungry and then ate a vegetable and cheese omelette with a slice of buttered spelt sourdough toast.

I had an afternoon snack of a homemade blueberry muffin and a handful of walnuts.

And that’s it! Not a lot at all but I really just wasn’t that hungry.

Day Two - Challenge #2

Today was an anniversary of sorts so we went out for dinner to celebrate. Unfortunately when we got to the restaurant the healthy options were very limited! I picked what must have been the better choice but it was pretty disappointing.

Breakfast – Coffee, smoothie made from blueberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Beef burger patty and haloumi with a big salad with lime and coconut oil dressing

Snack – Homemade blueberry muffin

Dinner – Steak with carrot, zucchini and potatoes with a shiraz jus, 3 glasses of red wine

Challenge Two

As mentioned yesterday I have set myself a new challenge. I was so pleased with the success of Challenge One that I started Challenge Two the very next day!

Now I’m a bit of a believer that you shouldn’t fix what’s not broken and at the end of the day, Challenge One met my goals so when I started thinking about Challenge Two I was quite reluctant to make too many changes. On the other hand, changes of course can be good and can reinspire me to move further forward.

My naturopath suggested further tweaks to the eating plan of Challenge One but this would mean further elimination of foods and whilst this is something I am definitely open to, with my long history of binge eating I want to be cautious not to feel so deprived that binges creep in again. I know that this has happened in the past. Challenge One helped me eliminate processed foods without too many feelings of deprivation but my concern is whether further tweaks right now will push this too far.

Bearing all this in mind, I decided on a gentle approach. My new challenge is to simply continue with the plan from Challenge One with extra thought given to the following areas:

1.    Adding in more ‘good stuff’ with an emphasis on more herbal teas, more vegetables and more digestive aids including fermented veg, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice.

2.    Rather than ‘ban’ certain foods, I want to just be more mindful of my intake of alcohol, coffee, dairy, bread and sugar to increase my awareness of how I feel before and after I eat/drink them. If my consumption of these do not reduce over the next 6 weeks, then I am ok with that, it is more about the mindfulness for now.

3.    Adding in more other ‘good stuff’ such as exercise, relaxation, sleep and play. In regards to the ‘play’, although have only really discussed my food habits on this blog, my binge eating started at the same time as I developed (sometimes debilitating) social anxiety. I plan to blog about this more soon but over the next 6 weeks I am going to focus a little more on this side of things and perhaps even set myself a few challenges too! I think all of this will help me to start tackling the emotional side of things as well as just the food.

I’m hoping that by focusing on adding in rather than taking away will help move me forward in a very gentle and supportive way. So without further ado...

Day Two of Challenge #2

I went to bed on Day One of Challenge #2 with a bad headache. Unfortunately it got worse and I was awake through most of the night. It was also still there when I woke up as was a touch of nausea. When I eventually felt like some food at about 10.30am, I had a slice of buttered spelt sourdough toast. I felt LOADS better for this but it just made me want more. So at 12pm I had 2 more slices of toast with poached eggs.

Despite not being hungry, I continued to crave bread and sugar for the rest of the day. I kept visualising chocolate brownies! I had an afternoon of grazing which was not really to plan.

Afternoon snacks – a few spoonfuls of cream, a homemade grain free blueberry muffin, raw chocolate, coffee

Dinner – Lamb and vegetable ‘lasagne’ with zucchini instead of pasta and some grated organic Swiss cheese instead of a cheese sauce, a few chunks of raw chocolate

Thoughts

Still excited by my challenge completion and achievement, I thought it would be good for me to look back over the last 6 weeks and review the challenge and my thoughts around it.

So what was the intention and goal for the challenge? Essentially I wanted to get myself off the junk food, reign in or preferably stop the binge eating and lose some weight. Well, tick, tick and tick! It’s only a start, my habits have not been ‘fixed’ in a matter of 6 weeks however there is no denying that the challenge has succeeded on all those levels.

So what was good about the challenge?

• No bingeing
• No junk or processed food
• Finding that my appetite deceased over the course of the challenge
• Realising that I do not need food for comfort, I clearly do not need to turn to it
• That is was easier than I thought it would be!
• That for the majority of the time I did not feel deprived. This is very different to how I’ve felt when I have been on weight loss diets or attempts to stop the bingeing in the past
• I found real pleasure in eating foods that are traditionally classed as ‘bad’ foods like butter and have felt nourished and satisfied by them. They have helped me be less drawn to binges
• That I followed the challenge through to the end and that I really achieved something. This has given me a great sense of satisfaction

And what have been the challenges/things I have found difficult?

• Living through the tough moments when I really wanted to eat!
• Bread/sugar/junk food cravings, especially at the beginning
• Finding that I have found it tough to restrict certain foods – coffee, chocolate after dinner, a glass of wine. They have not been binges but they have been things I have ‘leaned’ on
• Eating out – I found it hard to be able to eat at just any old place as so few options followed the plan
• Continually having to be organised and plan ahead – it can be pretty time consuming! Being organised however definitely pays off

Given the success I’ve had with this challenge, I have decided to set myself a new one to help me further along this journey to better health. Details tomorrow!

So my eats for the day:

Brunch – Vegetable and haloumi omelette with a slice of buttered spelt sourdough toast

Snack – Smoothie made from banana, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, salt, stevia

Dinner – Beef burger patty and haloumi on the BBQ with a big salad

In the afternoon my man and I went for a long 3 hour walk up to the lake. It was hot and sweaty, but a good workout and pretty peaceful too walking through the forest! Lush.

Day Forty Two

So here we are at day 42! The 42 Day Challenge is complete and I am SO happy with how it went. I’ve often had problems finishing things and it feels like a huge success to know that I’ve done it! If I’m honest, at the start, I never thought I would actually manage it. So that makes it even more rewarding!

The best thing is that I haven’t just completed it, I’ve completed it with absolutely NO binges! This is such great news. Binge eating and comfort eating have been such a feature of my life for over 14 years so this really is HUGE for me.

Right now I am trying to really appreciate my achievement and soak in the feeling of it. Going out for dinner to celebrate was also a lovely way to mark the occasion!

Breakfast – Sweet omelette with chopped banana, a dollop of cream and desiccated coconut

Lunch – We ventured up to Avalon for lunch and tried The Healthy Chef cafe, somewhere I have been wanting to try out for ages. The menu was terrific, I definitely want to go back to try more things! I had a chicken and boiled egg salad with a pistachio and citrus dressing.

Dinner – Prime rib eye steak with half a baked potato and a pear and walnut salad, 3 glasses of red wine

Day Forty One

I didn't get up for sunrise this morning but I was down at the beach about 5 minutes after the sun rose. It was so beautiful when I did it on Wednesday, I thought I would make the most of it falling at this time of day. It’s also a great way to start the day before heading to work!

Early morning coffee on beach

Breakfast – Smoothie made from blueberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Beef patty with salad and fermented vegetables

Snack – 2 spoonfuls of cream

Dinner – Sausages with daikon ‘chips’ and sautéed onions and zucchini, raw chocolate, glass of red wine

Day Forty

Another weight loss this week – 0.4kg - which is great news! I didn't weigh myself on day 1 of the challenge and I don’t intend to weigh in on the last day but all up I have lost approx 2.5kg-3kg over this last 6 weeks so I’m very happy.

Breakfast – Smoothie of strawberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Chicken salad with parmesan cheese and avocado with lemon juice

Snack – Coffee, homemade blueberry muffin

Dinner – 2 eggs cooked in butter with spelt sourdough toast and grated haloumi cheese, raw chocolate

Day Thirty Nine

I was up at 5.30am to get down to the beach for sunrise. It’s one of my favourite times of day although I rarely get up quite so early!!

Early morning coffee

Breakfast – Vegetable and cheese omelette with a slice of buttered spelt sourdough toast

Lunch – Smoothie made from blueberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee on the beach

Dinner – Slow roasted lamb shank with squash, onions, carrots and zucchini with steamed broccoli

Day Thirty Eight

Breakfast – Smoothie made from blueberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Beef and vegetable Bolognese with grated cheddar

Snack – Homemade blueberry muffin, coffee

Pre-dinner – 2 glasses white wine

Dinner – Beef and squash coconut curry with roasted spiced cauliflower, raw chocolate, glass of red wine

Day Thirty Seven

Breakfast – Smoothie made from banana, coconut cream, raw egg, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch - Chicken and haloumi salad with avocado and a coconut oil and lime juice dressing

Snack – Coffee, homemade blueberry muffin

Dinner – Sausages with vegetable and cheese frittata, raw chocolate

Day Thirty Six

I started the day down at the beach in the glorious sunshine. I had a coffee and watched the world go by. I headed home for breakfast only to find my man was just waking up and wanting breakfast down at the beach! So off I headed back down there again for some food.

Brunch – Vegetable and haloumi breakfast with half a slice of sourdough toast, another coffee

Dinner – Salad with chicken, haloumi, avocado and pear and a coconut oil and lime juice dressing

Day Thirty Five

Breakfast – Vegetable and cheese omelette with a slice of buttered spelt sourdough toast

Snack – Coffee, homemade blueberry muffin

Dinner – I made chicken curry and spiced roasted cauliflower, 2 glasses of red wine, homemade coco-choc truffle balls

Day Thirty Four

Brunch – Sweet omelette with blueberries and coconut cream

Snack – Coffee, homemade blueberry muffin

Dinner – Slow roasted beef with roasted squash, steamed broccoli and gravy made from beef juices, raw chocolate sweetened with coconut sugar, glass of red wine

Day Thirty Three

I’m down another 0.2kg this week, only a small loss but it’s all in the right direction!!

Breakfast – Smoothie made from banana, strawberries, coconut cream, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Salad with chicken and parmesan cheese and lemon juice

Snack – Coffee, homemade blueberry muffin

Dinner – Eggs fried in butter on spelt sourdough toast and a small amount of organic grated cheddar

Day Thirty Two

I started the day with a lazy coffee on the beach with my man, lush. After he headed off to work I went for a walk in the sand before heading home. I work from home on Wednesdays which I LOVE.

Breakfast - Coffee, followed later on by a smoothie of banana, avocado, raw egg, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Lunch - Spelt sourdough toast with butter

Snack - One of my homemade blueberry muffins

Dinner - We ate out and I chose a meal which kind of fit the plan, but not really. Eye fillet with mashed potato, spinach and mushrooms in a creamy gravy, 3 glasses of red wine

Day Thirty One

Breakfast – Smoothie of strawberries, banana, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Salad with haloumi and roasted squash with a lime and coconut oil dressing

Snack – Coffee, homemade sugar free, grain free blueberry and coconut muffin based on this recipe

Dinner – Leftover slow roasted beef with steamed broccoli and cauliflower, roasted squash and gravy made from beef juices and lamb broth, homemade coco-choc balls

Day Thirty

Breakfast – Smoothie made from banana, coconut cream, zucchini, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Salad with roasted squash and haloumi with a lime and coconut oil dressing

Dinner – Lamb and vegetable ‘lasagne’ using zucchini as the pasta and grated organic cheese instead of cheese sauce. OMG it was delish!

Day Twenty Nine

Finally we had a gorgeous sunny day after all that rain! We had arranged to meet some friends in Palm Beach for brunch at The Boat House so it was great to have some sun! The Boat House has a great reputation and although I LOVED the decor and the location, the food was average and far from fitting with my plan. I was sooo hungry that I flexed the plan quite a lot. Oops!

Whilst I forgot to take photos of my food, I did get some lovely shots of the day.

After brunch we headed for a walk on the beach and a swim to cool off.

When I finally got home at 4.30pm I was hungry again so had a snack and then had massive cravings to binge. I turned to more bread, although this time it was at least to the plan. A difficult day all in all food wise but at least I steered clear of bingeing or excessive junk food. hardly what I would class as a super healthy day though.

Brunch – Poached eggs and ham on toast with pesto, coffee

Snack – Blueberries and cream

“Dinner” – Spelt sourdough toast with butter

Day Twenty Eight

Four weeks through! Wow, only two weeks left!

Today was a difficult day. At lunchtime I got a headache and I started seeing spots. We were in the shopping centre and I just had to get out of there. Whilst I didn't feel physically hungry, I felt like I needed some food. I also felt like I needed carbs. I’m not sure whether or not I did actually need them but I ended up having some bread and have to admit I did feel a lot better.

Breakfast – Sweet omelette made with eggs and vanilla powder, with chopped banana, blueberries, cream and shredded coconut

Lunch – Poached eggs and mushrooms on sourdough toast with hollandaise sauce

Dinner – Slow roasted beef with roast squash, steamed broccoli and carrots and a gravy made from the beef juices and a bit of lamb stock, chunk of raw chocolate, glass of red wine

Day Twenty Seven

So I’m not doing too well with photographing my eats! Yet another day when I have nothing to show!

On a good note though I weighed myself yesterday and am now down another 0.9kg which I’m really happy about!

Breakfast – Smoothie of coconut cream, raw egg, strawberries, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack – Coffee

Lunch – Roasted squash and haloumi salad with avocado and coconut oil

Snack – Spoonful of cream

Dinner – Sausages with 2 eggs cooked in butter, sautéed mushrooms and onions and a small amount of grated organic cheese, raw chocolate

Day Twenty Six

Breakfast - Smoothie made from coconut cream, avocado, strawberries, raw egg, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack - Coffee

Lunch - Chicken salad with avocado, parmesan cheese and lemon juice

Snack - Coffee, grainfree, sugarfree blueberry muffin

Dinner - Homemade beef burger with onions sauted in butter, roasted squash and sweet potato and a salad with coconut oil dressing, raw chocolate

Day Twenty Five

Our house sale completed today so it was time to celebrate! Unfortunatley my intentions of watching my alcohol intake through February suffered as a result!

Breakfast - Vegetable and halmoumi omelette with half a slice of sourdough toast, coffee

Lunch - Smoothie made from blueberries,coconut cream, raw egg, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack - Grainfree, sugarfree blueberry muffin

Dinner - Steak served with half a baked potato and a pear and walnut salad, 2 glasses of red wine, coffee

Day Twenty Four

Just over half way through my challenge and whilst I think I have been very good at sticking to the plan, I am aware that some days I am consuming very few vegetables and I still feel drawn to chocolate/sweets, coffee and bread. I’ve also been quite surprised by my alcohol intake over the last few weeks. I’m hardly a big drinker I know but I have had more than I normally do recently. I have been wondering if this is because I have relied on food as a comfort for so many years, that now that I am changing the food patterns maybe I have turned to a few more glasses of wine instead.

I am committed to my 6 week challenge and I don't want to start changing the plan (trying to do too much too soon and then giving up altogether being a common problem of mine). Tweaks to the plan will come at a later stage, but I don’t want to disrupt the current plan.

I have however decided to really watch my alcohol intake for the rest of the challenge. I have also chosen to sponsor Sarah Wilson for Febfast as part of my commitment.

Breakfast - Smoothie of strawberries, avocado, coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia, salt

Snack - Coffee

Lunch – Homemade beef and vegetable Bolognese with small amount of grated organic cheddar

Snack – Coffee, homemade grain free, sugar free blueberry muffin

Dinner – I made meatballs from beef mince and spiced with turmeric and garam masala cooked in passata and onions and served on a bed of zucchini ‘pasta’, a few square of raw chocolate