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