Day 7 means you are about to complete your entire first week!

Do a check-in with yourself today.

If you’ve been playing the game by the rules, then you haven’t had fruit for 7 days, not to mention any other types of sugar. Holy Moly… did you think you could do it? Being a sugar addict myself, I have cleaned up my diet before, only to the spend the entire time munching down a ton of fruit, thus never truly ending the sugar craziness.

Check in with yourself and be honest by answering the following question:

Am I still craving sugar?

If the answer is “yes”, then I would highly recommend keeping the fruit intake to zero until you can get through a few days without even thinking about it. Make sure you are taking your L-glutamine at least 3X a day on an empty stomach before meals. And make sure you are getting enough rest. Sleep can make a huge difference in your cravings.

If you truly feel like you have no attachment to whether you eat the fruit or not, then start with zero to one serving a day. And for the purpose of keeping things under control, go for an apple, or berries.

The same ole’ same ole’

If you look at my meals below, you will see they are quite boring. This is on purpose. There are a ton of studies to prove that keeping it simple, especially when big changes are being implemented, is the way to go.

And lets get real here.

You don’t need some study to prove this to you. Your best intentions to try a new recipe each night and a new vegetable each day, and a grocery shopping trip every-other day…. yeah right! If you just went from not cooking to having to cook… you need to keep this as simple as possible. Because even the most well-intended person will easily fall of the wagon once the excitement wears off.

So keeping it simple is the way to go. If you have 5-8 veggies that you love and are used to, stick with them for now. If you have never cooked lamb, but know how to do up a mean sloppy joe (no bun… of course), then stick with what you know. After a week or two, if you feel like you’re getting bored, find a new recipe and have at it. I’m almost there. It’s time to start looking! And incase you are ready for a small change, make sure you check out the “Meal Of The Day” Tab to your right.

Meal #1: Left over dinner cold (I know! I never thought I’d eat dinner for breakfast… but I was in a hurry and it did the job!)

Meal #2: 2 Tbl Almond Butter (I gotta be careful with this stuff. I use a measuring spoon to keep me on track)

Meal #3: Left overs from last night, but I did it right this time: Sauteed onions in coconut oil. Added a head of Chard and let it cook down. Ate the entire head of Chard with last nights taco seasoned beef and kale dish. Added some Avocado slices on top. So yummy!

Meal #4: 1 package of Almonds from Trader Joe’s

Meal #5: 1/2 cup sweet potato and the last of the beef/kale. (this was a small serving, since I ate it about an hour before bed)

Give us all an update below on how your 1st week went.

1. Reflect on the good and share any wins

2. Share your Challenges… someone else out there is probably going through the same thing.

3. Set you plan of attack moving into week 2. Steady focus is all you need.

I can’t believe I made it through my 1st weekend and already into day 6! Whooo Hoooo!

Although my food choices are very similar each day, I’m sure I’ll be getting very bored very soon.

Meal #1: Very Typical. 2 Eggs, avocado, chicken sausage.

Meal #2: Single pack of Trader Joe’s Almonds

Meal #3: Small pre-cooked grilled chicken breast with pre-cooked veggies from the Food Movement. These pre-portioned foods have saved me in a pinch.

Meal #4: I finally got in the kitchen and cooked. : ) Unfortunately I was starving (note to self: stop waiting too long to eat.) So here’s what I put together completely on a whim:

1. I sauteed coconut oil and onions in a sautee pan.
2. Then I added the organic (91% lean, grass fed, of course) ground beef.
3. Cooked it all the way through, then added taco seasoning blend, some tomato paste, a little water, and a whole head of chopped up kale.

There you have it. Dinner was served in about 15 minutes.

My ultimate intention was to put it all over a bed of salad greens, but as usual, since I wasn’t shopping with a list… I forgot the greens at the store. : (

Ended up being delicious and satiating. Even though I added a whole head of Kale, it felt like it needed some more veggies.

Lets talk about seasonings here.

Eating this way really doesn’t have to be hard. Seasoning make everything taste good. So if you are anything like me and don’t have a clue how to mix and combine seasonings, just buy them pre-mixed. There’s nothing like a label that says “Southwestern Chipolte Grill”, or “Kick-ass New Orleans Chicken Rub” to give you easy ideas. Do I have a clue what the different spices are? No. But they all taste good together. The most important thing is to read the labels and keep an eye on a few things:

1. Make sure you can read all the ingredients and that your 3rd grader can, too.

2. Check the sodium levels. I’m never overly concerned with this number, but if you find one with 0-90mg vs one with 600-800mg… steer toward the former.

Here are a couple of my favorites that you can purchase from one of my favorite websites: vitacost.com

Document your eating below if you want accountability.