Hold the Yellow #5

I will never again check up on what Kristen is up to in the world of Facebook because my innocent investigation yesterday has resulted in a month long "no processed food" adventure beginning today. When I read that Kristen and her husband Tim were looking for friends to join their unprocessed revolution, I was sitting at my computer feeling gross and overall unhealthy. Since the last month (::cough:: or two ::cough::) my diet has consisted of coffee, pop, fast food, beer, and, as of the last week, fudgecicles, I figured it couldn't hurt to try to detox a bit. So here goes nothin...

Now for the Eating Rules (at least the most important ones):

1. We are not going to be perfect, but we need to make a reasonable effort - If at a restaurant, at least choose something that is more likely to be non to minimally processed.
2. If you can make it yourself from scratch (I can make a grilled cheese myself but that doesn't make Velveeta ok...) it's ok to eat.
3. Only whole grains
4. No pop :(
5. Beer, Wine, and Spirits are ok and the more hand crafted the better (looks like I need to make my own distiller)

There are many other rules and guidelines for what constitutes unprocessed on the Eating Rules link but these 4 are the most important for me. Luckily I will have moral support from Kristen and Tim during this endeavour because give me one cranky day and I'm liable to hit an entire box of fudgecicles.

I had kielbasa, pirogi, and sauerkraut in my refrigerator calling my name last night so I took advantage of my last night of processed freedom and made a feast. I added sliced apples to the sauerkraut and separated that out so I could continue to eat that today. The kielbasa and pirogi were devoured or shared with a friend so they would be out of the house.

Today is day 1 and I'm off to a good start. Though I'm relatively certain as the days go on, I will be like this...

I did a little extra food prep last night so I would have things to eat today. The big issue as the days go by will be making time to fix meals for myself, especially on days when I am gone from sun up to sun down. This morning I had a small coffee with honey, a cup of fresh grape/plum juice (I love my juicer), and vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries. I came home from the hospital for lunch and Jackson and I went for a 30 minute run at the park. Afterwards, for lunch I had 2 turkey and cheese roll ups with the turkey and cheese I got at the deli.

Whenever I begin a nutrient modification program (I hate the word diet, I prefer life style changes, they are more permanent) the worst part is the first 3 days as my stomach shrinks back to normal size. Right now it is so stretched out, half of why I feel hungry is because my stomach feels empty even when it is full because it has gotten so stretched out over my month long binge of junk food. Nutrient wise, I think I'm doing ok.

My goal is not to rid my diet completely or forever of processed goods (a life without french bread is not a life), but I would like to return to a place where I feel like a healthy person instead of a blob. We'll see how this all goes...