21 Days for a Habit/Day 5

It's day 5 today!!! This cold is almost out of my system. I woke up feeling groggy. I had breakfast and watched "Almost Famous." I had never seen it and I've always wanted to watch it. There's actually a long list of old movies that I want to see and this was one of them. 

After movie time I took a nap because I was starting to feel weak again. That had to have been the most magical nap because I felt so alive when I woke up. I did a little bit of cleaning and went back to lounging around. I made a quick trip to PetSmart to get Maisey's food and I made another stop at Target to buy a blue nail polish. Tonight will be a pampering night and I've been eying powder blue nail polishes for a while. 

To relax (like I haven't been doing so already) I popped a blue Lush bath bomb into the bath tub. The scents of the bath bombs are incredible! I think the one that I used today had sea salt and lavender. 

Usually when I'm going to do my nails or take a bath my husband will take care of Maisey. Well, my husband is currently in San Antonio for a video game covention. I didn't put Maisey in the cage while I got in the bath and my bath time for cut short :( Maisey loves the water and loves to hop in the tub so I spent the majority of my time keeping her out of the tub while she growled at me. Very relaxing! At least I got that perfumey scent on me. 

I'm going to top off this "me time" by watching House of Cards and painting my nails with my new polish. I have one more day of total relaxation and I'm going to enjoy every second of it. 

Here is today's food. I made the pita piazza again because I was so congested uesterday that I couldn't taste it. Today I could and it was delicious! 

Breakfast: vanilla almond cereal

Lunch: whole wheat pita pizza with turkey pepperoni, green bell pepper, and pineapple

Snack: banana 

Dinner: quinoa, onion, green bell pepper, shrimp, and a dash of sriracha 

21 Days for a Habit/Day 4

Today has been the worst. I have had a fever on and off for the entire day. I'm starting to feel better right now but I'm so exhausted. Today's post will be short because I'm sure you have no desire to read about how sick I feel. Tomorrow will be a better day. 

What I ate: 

Breakfast: cinnamon pecan cereal

Lunch: wonton soup, broccoli and white rice

Dinner: whole wheat pita bread pizza with turkey pepperoni, green bell pepper and pineapple 

Drink: tons of water, chamomile and ginger tea, cup of powerade 

See you tomorrow :)

21 Days for a Habit/Day 3

Well what do you know.... I'm sick! I'm really sick!!! It all started with a tiny scratchy throat feeling last night and I woke up to full blown sickness. My throat was so sore and swollen I could barely pass my saliva. I ran a fever all day long. By 2:00 p.m. I was completely run down. A few of my coworkers even told me I looked pale :(

My drive home was torture! There were two wrecks and the rain was being annoying. Mind you, I felt as if my head, arms, and legs were going to detach from my body. As soon as I got home my husband also pointed out that I looked very pale. I took a look at myself in the mirror and let's just say that "pale" is not a good look on me. My husband offered to get me something to eat and of course, I chose Pho!!! The weather and my sickness joined forces to go for the Pho. I also had a grilled beef Banh Mi to go with it. I barely even ate today, so by dinner time I was starving. I actually did more drinking than eating today. I drank three teas, coffee, and a lot of water. I am expecting for all of these liquids to flush this nastiness out of my body, NOW!

Here is a little glimpse of what I had today. Not 100% healthy, but it's the best that I could do while having zero energy to cook. Tomorrow will be a better day :)

Breakfast: Red Berry Special K cereal, again

Lunch: half of a ham, egg, cheese sandwich from Starbucks (I picked this up on my 30 minute lunch break after picking up meds from Walgreens)

Dinner: Beef flank Pho and a grilled beef Banh Mi

Drinks: Chamomile tea, ginger tea, green tea, coffee

I am taking tomorrow off from work so I can rest up and be ready to go on Monday. I try to not miss work too much because I feel guilty leaving my students but it's pointless for me to be in the room feeling like mush, trying to teach. My health comes first and rest is exactly what I need to feel better.

I will be back tomorrow with a healthier menu as I am expecting to feel less like a zombie and more like a human. Goodnight!!!

HNY! 21 Days for a Habit/Day 1, Day 2

I'm about 21 days late, but...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I cannot believe we are almost one full month into 2015!!!

This new year has been great so far. I am officially done with school and I am still unable to wrap my head around the fact that I don't have any homework or paper due. Sadly, I kind of miss it. I'm sure I'll find my way back to school in a few years. Meanwhile, I have been enjoying my weekends and relaxing every now and then.

School would consume a huge amount of my time and I am slowly getting my life back together. Somewhere in this whole getting my life back together, I need to focus on my health. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I have put myself in the backburner for a looooong time. This last semester was probably the toughest I had in my two years of grad school. My research was a mess, I didn't even know if I was going to be able to finish my work, and my job was extremely demanding. I stayed at work for so many long nights. All I wanted to do when I got home was eat and sleep.

This is not what my life looks like now. I have forced myself to get out of work at a decent time. By decent I mean 4 p.m. This is allowing me to have enough time to drive home, eat a snack, go to the gym, cook dinner, and go to bed. I didn't know life could be this good. Ever since I can remember I've been running from one job to another, from one activity to another, that I never realized how much I enjoy living a simple life. My job is still crazy demanding, but I feel like I can breathe again!

Back to my health, it's tough trying to get a healthy lifestyle going when you're so used to being unhealthy. I don't eat fast food every day, but I do love my carbs :(  I am setting realistic goals for myself so that I don't fall off the bandwagon. Ideally I would say my goal is to lose 60 pounds. I mean it really IS my goal, but that won't happen tomorrow, in a month, or in half a year. I need to start off small and build my way up. Some might say this is lame, but I know myself and if I don't have tiny celebrations from time to time I lose interest.

My first goal is to form a habit. People always say that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Others say it's not true. Who knows, but 21 days is a steady amount of days in which I can be forming new habits and establishing my routines. My first goal is to make my better eating choices and regular gym visits a habit. I am going to keep myself accountable by taking a picture of everything I eat during the day. This will help me remember what I ate and think twice about what I'm putting in my mouth!

I started snapping pictures of my food on Tuesday and will continue until I reach my 21 days. Join me for this picturesque food journey in which I will try my best to make a positive change for myself. I know I can do whatever I set my mind to. Slowly but surely I'll get to where I want to be. :)

So here are my first two days:

Day 1:

Breakfast: All Bran cereal/lactose free milk

Lunch: Chicken w/quinoa (I remembered to take a pic AFTER I ate)

Dinner: Tuna lettuce boats with celery, carrots, mustard, lime, and jalapeno

Snack: Vanilla Chai Greek yogurt (new obsession)

Day 2:

Breakfast: Special K red berry cereal/lactose free milk

Lunch: Chicken, mushrooms, spinach w/quinoa, banana (scarfed this before the pic too, oops)

Dinner: Grilled fish tacos w/steamed cabbage, onion, and jalapeno

Snack: Apple with 1.5 teaspoon of peanut butter

1 tiny Snickers bar while venting with my coworker :(

So there you have it, this is what I have been eating these past two days. I hope this visual food diary keeps me on track, helps you stay on track, motivates you to make a change, or gives you ideas for future meals. 

See you again tomorrow with a new pic of what I ate :) 

Currently listening to: Hyper Love-Ferry Corsten