The 40-Day Health Dare: Days 4-7

Now that the first week is done, I see where my weaknesses are (they mostly come in the form of chocolate) and what I need to push myself with.

Wins:

Green Tea Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of green tea
1 cup of lacinato kale
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of frozen blueberries
1 tbsp of coconut oil
1 tbsp of bee pollen
1 tbsp of raw, local honey

Mixed well in a blender and sipped throughout the morning. This is a super energizing smoothie!

Watermelon Juice

Ingredients:

half of a watermelon (rind included)
5 apples
1 grapefruit
4 leaves of lacinato kale

Juiced. Sweet with a hint of tartness and super refreshing!

Diet wins:

• chicken marsala
• grilled chicken with red and orange peppers
• grilled chicken salad (with kale, hardboiled eggs, carrots, tomatoes, avocados)
• restocked fridge and cabinets with colorful fruits and veggies, whey powder mix, and green superfood mix.

Exercise wins:

• long evening walk on Day 5

Fails:

• I reached for some (and by some I mean a dozen) leftover Cadbury Mini Eggs from Easter. 
• I keep forgetting to drink water throughout the day until I realize I'm dehydrated.
• I keep pushing exercise for the evening, but by then I'm too tired to get out there.

Resolutions:

• exercise in the morning/walk in the evening
• drink at least 7 glasses of water throughout the day
• make more smoothies/juices in the afternoon
• resist the chocolate, for now

The 40-Day Health Dare: Days 3 & 4

I'm starting to gain some traction with my 40-Day Health Dare!

Day 3:

Breakfast:

Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 cups of organic milk
handful of frozen blueberries
1 banana
heaping tablespoon of chia seeds
heaping tablespoon of ground flaxseed
tablespoon of coconut oil.

Blended well and consumed with a smile. : )

Whole food multivitamin
Vitamin A and D supplement

Lunch:

Total fail: chips and salsa (not too bad)
BROWNIES! (Oh, no!)
an orange (nice recovery)

Dinner:

Grilled chicken
Zucchini and onions
Baked potato

Exercise: None. :(



Day 4:

Breakfast:

Green Energy Juice

Juiced 5 leaves of dinosaur kale
4 stalks of celery
2 handfuls of spinach
4 medium-sized carrots
1 apple

Blended with an avocado, banana, tablespoon of bee pollen, tablespoon of ground flaxseed, and a half cup of water. Stirred in chia seeds to finish it off. Super green and delicious.

Lunch:

Leftovers from previous dinner: grilled chicken with zucchini
Lots of flavored water (filtered water with sliced grapefruit, blueberries, cherries, and chia seeds)

Pre-workout snack:

handful of pretzels
homemade flavored water

Chocolate-PB Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 cups of organic milk
2 tbsp. of carob powder
1 banana
2 teaspoons of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of peanut butter

Blended in the blender and guzzled with gusto!

Exercise:

My husband and I are doing the Couch-to-5k program, and I'm on Day 1 of Week Two, so I:

Walked briskly on the treadmill for 5 minutes
(then, for 6 intervals)
Ran 90 seconds
Walked briskly 2 minutes
Rinse and repeat.

10 minutes of strength training with free weights and gym equipment to work upper body, biceps, triceps, deltoids and pecs.

Dinner:

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

dinosaur kale
green lettuce
hard-boiled eggs
grilled chicken
carrot slivers
tomatoes
avocados
bleu cheese dressing

Anytime I included chia seeds in my juice or water, I felt a wonderful surge of energy. It was actually the flavored water with chia seeds that fueled my drive to exercise this evening! So far I am meeting most of my specific habit goals, only I need to up the exercise time considerably. 

The 40-Day Health Dare: Goals and Day 1 & 2

My friend, Martin, started a 40-day Health Dare inspired by Joe Cross, unhealthy-workaholic turned juicing health machine, who filmed his journey in the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Martin invited me to join him on his 40-Day Dare, and I am using my blog to document my progress.

My goals in kickstarting this Health Dare include:

• increase energy/stamp out the fatigue I have been feeling
• lose the recent 10 pounds I have gained
• detox and replenish my body with healthy nutrients and eating habits
• learn about healthier lifestyle habits and influence my family to choose healthier habits
• increase my aerobic activity and get back into running

Specific habits that I am aiming for:

• regular juicing of fresh fruits and veggies (and blending in whole foods)
• increased water consumption
• dedicated vitamin supplementation
• increased exercise
• breaking up with fast food dining establishments (it just ain't working out)
• eating more colorful fruits and veggies
• simplifying my family's meals to focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy protein sources

Day One:

My husband and I restocked our fridge with colorful fruits and vegetables including:

• apples
• oranges
• grapefruit
• avocados
• peppers
• pineapple
• spinach
• blueberries
• bananas
• zucchinis
• tomatoes
• broccoli

We also purchased chicken (for dinners and salads), fish, Greek yogurt, granola, and eggs. Yesterday for dinner, we made large chicken salads with spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, olives, cheese, and real Ranch dressing (less than 6 pronounceable ingredients!)

For dessert, we had homemade avocado ice cream that Aidyn and I made last week when we were learning about avocados. It was amazingly delicious!

Day Two:

For breakfast, we juiced a pineapple, oranges, apples, and blended it with bananas. My son made eggs (as a Mother's Day service) and whole grain toast.

I made a pitcher of water flavored with grapefruit slices, blueberries, cherries, and chia seeds, and I have been drinking water throughout the day.

Lunch: chicken salad for lunch with fresh juice. : )

Dinner: Tuna steak, brown rice and broccoli.