Lingering thoughts

Hi everyone!

Last post I spoke about my eating habits and how I seemed to be feeling lethargic/meh/bored with my choices. I’ve actually followed the little guidelines I wrote down in my previous post and can honestly say I feel a lot better consuming less sugar, caffeine and wheat. And guess what? I haven’t touched a bowl of cereal before bed in nearly two weeks! BUT,  I will admit I did bake a cake in the middle of the week and had a slice or two :x though, I am not guilty about it! I’m glad I’ve been more conscious of my whole food intake and believe that a delicious piece of peach upside down cake (I didn’t take pictures, sorry guys!) is okay to indulge in once in a while. The cool thing is that the cake I made contained two whole eggs! After eating the cake I did not feel cramps in my stomach at all. It was kind of like a victorious moment considering eggs have been absent in my diet for well over a year. I’m incredibly intrigued to try a whole egg fresh out of the pan with a sprinkle of herbs and salt + pepper. Will it upset me? I won’t know if I try it and that’ll be another story for another day...

Other than eating, this week I’ve been finishing up my premarital homework and have come across some very interesting realizations. The chapters that stood out to me focused on evaluating your prayer life and bible study practice. It helped me realize the areas in my life that I needed to improve and to seek God for strength in those places. I learned that I need to pray more through all areas in my life, for the people I love, the president, our nation and the world's events. I learned that prayer grants us with the spirit of wisdom. (Ephesians 1:17) The wisdom needed to discern false teachings and to comprehend the mystery of the gospel to share with unbelievers. (Ephesians 6:19)  Overall the whole study on prayer and bible reading opened my eyes to be more involved with my relationship with Jesus, and I was so blessed to have received that wakeup call through those chapters. I really look forward to Wednesday when we actually go over our notes as a couple with our counselors, Esperanza and Mike.
Well that’s all I have on my mind today, perhaps I’ll have a recipe of the delicious smoothies now that the weather is finally heating up. Aren’t you glad summer is here? I know I am!!

-Jessica

food diaries and self-written tips

Yesterday I noticed something unusual about myself. I’ve been in a rut with my eating habits and have noticed that the food I'm eating is making me more tired and down right “meh”. Saturday I felt bloated after eating a grilled goat cheese sandwich! I normally feel fine if I give into my cravings every now and then, but I’ve been giving in to them too often. I’ll admit I haven’t been eating enough whole foods and have been snacking on cereal almost every night. It sounds harmless but let me tell you I don’t like how it’s making me feel. It’s possible that I am not eating enough throughout the day which is making me crave carbs hardcore! There’s also the possibility that I am eating a lot of unnecessary foods throughout the day such as sweets, two cups of coffee with soy milk and too much bread…

Here are some ideas I can try:

1. Firstly, try getting enough sleep!

2. Limit wheat to once a day. I notice I feel better when I eat salads loaded with veggies, healthy fat and high in protein with maybe a sweet potato or an apple, I feel a lot less lethargic than eating a pb&j sandwich!

3. Limit coffee with soy milk to once day.

4. Limit sugar intake. (If this means limiting my baking to the weekend then so be it!)

5. Incorporating more foods containing probiotics such as goat yogurt, kimchi and kombucha tea.

6. Drinking A LOT more water throughout the day.

7. Eating a snack in between my breakfast like old times, especially if I work out a little after breakfast time.

8. Include more seasonal veggies into all of my meals. If I don’t eat any for breakfast maybe have some as a part of my post workout snack.

9. Eat whole foods that I know will benefit and satiate me.

10. Take more time to be a little more creative in the kitchen to avoid any future ruts! For example, making a pot of quinoa, chickpeas and/or roasting sweet potatoes the night before for future energy boosting lunches.

11. Lastly, ask myself if I really need to eat a bowl of cereal at 10:06pm. Really Jessica?

I’ll write an update about how I’m feeling and if these self-written tips lift up my energy and help make eating an adventure for me again!

-Jessica