If I could describe the first week of clean eating in one word, it would be overwhelmed. The biggest blow came when I realized that we would not be able to eat Chipotle (they use rice bran oil, which is a highly processed oil, and a no go for clean eating). Which meant, that we would be eating in absolutely every meal of the day. As the main cook in the house and the meal planner, that meant that a lot of work fell onto my shoulders. Thank goodness my husband was home on grocery shopping day to help out.
Meal Planning
We had to plan out our dinners for the week, which was pretty easy. We normally plan out 6 meals a week at home and most of our dinners were easily made clean. Where my stress came in was in thinking about what breakfasts, lunches, and snacks we would eat. Also, fretting over if the organic red potatoes would be in stock this week. (Spoiler: they were not.) Here was our basic meal plan for week one:
Breakfast
- Oatmeal/Overnight Oatmeal
- Smoothies
- Toast w/ Avocado or Peanut Butter
Lunches
- Veggies & Hummus with Jerky (Josh)
- Taco Bowls (Josh)
- Tofu Bowls with Spinach and Onion (Amber)
- Leftovers (Amber)
Dinners
- Spaghetti (x2)
- Taco Bowls
- Steak/Chickpea Patty & Veggies
- Stuffed Peppers
- Soup
- Chow Mein
Snacks
- Smoothies
- Fresh Fruit
- Baby Carrots and Broccoli
- Trail Mix
Sugar Withdrawals/Detox
So, the first week was rough. There was an entire day where I was in a mental fog and had to limit myself to simple tasks that day. I felt pretty tired for most of the week, but I was also up until midnight many nights editing photos. The two Americano’s I had were like a previous gift that I savored.
We did not go to the gym at all. Partly because we were super busy last week, and party because we didn’t feel up to it. It is probably for the best. I had headaches for most of the week, but that is really not uncommon for me (especially when the weather is changing so quickly). Also, I had a breakout on my back. (Seriously, how old am I?)
We Ran Out of Food
Yep. I did not buy enough food, apparently. I already made a run to the store for bananas, just so that we could run out of frozen fruit for our smoothies the next day. We are almost out of apples, avocados, oats, peanut butter, rice, and yogurt. We are totally out of bananas (again), hummus, and blueberries. It looks like grocery shopping is going to come a day early.
Results
I am down two pounds without exercising or even meeting my step goals last week. I woke up today feeling refreshed. My breakout has cleared up. And at the gym today I felt like I was able to do more with less fatigue than normal.
So, week one was rough, as expected. But I am looking forward to week two and seeing how I feel at the end of the month!
