amanda & nicole

Okay, so school started back (I'm a grad student) and in the process of getting back in the swing of school, I got behind on my food logs.  I am going to put them on here all together and hopefully get my time scheduled better so that I can do this everyday.  Speaking of time scheduling, it is amazing how much time it takes to eat healthy compared to eating trash before. My day used to go something like this: Wake up around 8:00 and either skip breafast or go get some fast food breakfast, go to school and eat out forlunch or skip lunch all together, grab some fast food for dinner or come home sit on the couch watching TV and call and order a pizza, a 2 liter, and some cheese sticks...consume half of all three share the rest with Amanda.  Physically, I felt like trash most the time and it was obviously horribly unhealthy, but it was fast.  Everyone at the food places waited on me and fixed me food while I sat on my fat, lazy butt.  Today is Day 7 of the challenge for us and my life is dramatically different.  Now a typical day looks something like this: wake up around 6:30 and fix breakfast for Amanda and me (which takes until about 7-ish), eat said breakfast and then get ready while Amanda fixes our lunches and snacks, walk or drive to school (depending on the weather), be at school and take the stairs instead of the elevator, at noon eat lunch that amanda made, back to school work, eat snacks around 4 or 4:30, go back home and make dinner (usually with Amanda's help).  By this time I might get an hour of veg-time or it might be time for bed.  I'm assuming that it will get faster as we get used to everything, but for now it's really hard!  I feel much better physically (except that I am tired since I'm waking up so early).  The hardest part for me has been giving up caffeine because I was addicted to it since I've been drinking several sodas a day since I was young.  I had headaches for DAYS, but I have been caffeine and soda free since January 1!!!  I don't tend to be an emotional eater so I haven't had that struggle.  My problem is that I have a whole mouth full of sweet teeth and I'm lazy and will eat whatever someone else is eating or will eat whatever is convenient, which is usually garbage for your body.  I've actually really enjoyed the food we've been eating.  The hard part for me has been doing so much cooking and dishes.  Also it's been hard because Amanda does have an emotional attachment to food, and it's hard to watch your best friend feel empty and hurt and not want to make it better.  I know that if I caved it wouldn't really make her feel better and that I would just be enabling.  She really has had some struggles and I, who tend to be a follower and the lazy one of the pair of us, have had to try to step it up and help her to make food choices.  I hope that I am being supportive and helpful, but I really don't knwo what to say or how to help her break her addiction to food.  All I can do is try to make sure that breakfast and dinner are healthy and filling and try to make eating healthy seem fillinf and satistying sometimes too.  I know that we can do this...I just hope that I can be motivating and kind enough.

Yesterday was day 2 and though it was easier than day 1, it wasn't easy.  It's hard to cook a lot when you aren't used to cooking at all...so much cooking, so many dishes!  I made it though and I hope at the end of the week it pays off :).