Trying out Carb Cycling: 01/27-02/02 Menu

So I went through a period of time (*cough*all 2018*cough*) where my ordering food for delivery got a little out of hand.. I mean ordering from places multiple times a day not just multiple times a week out of hand. One of my goals for 2019 was to stick to ordering food a maximum of once a week. That being said, I have recently been much better about getting back into the kitchen and cooking the majority of my meals. I will have a whole different post about how this change has occurred aka when I tried and then forgot to skip HelloFresh.  Since I have been cooking more, I don't have the urge as frequently to order food which is amazing for me and my wallet. Now that I'm cooking again, I want to give carb cycling a try.

I've hit a plateau. I am actually surprised that I was actually able to maintain my weight while ordering delivery so much. Additionally, I haven't been feeling super great and am hoping that my changing up my diet a little bit may help me out with that. I have a trip coming up at the end of February that gives me a perfect amount of time to try out carb cycling to see if I like it. I'm planning to use the template from Choosing to Lose by Chris Powell - Monday, Wednesday, Friday are low carb days; Tuesday, Thursday and the weekend are high carb days. This week I'm going to have the one "cheat" day (on Sunday - hello Super Bowl) instead of 3 "cheat" meals. With Sunday being my free day, if I decide to order food it will be on Sunday. The only thing I'm doing differently for this week is having some milk.

Here is what I'm planning for the week:

(today I ordered food from the Cheesecake Factory - starting off really strong)

Monday (low)

• Breakfast: banana pancakes, scrambled eggs & berries, coffee
• Snack: berries & yogurt, green juice
• Lunch: caesar salad with chicken meatballs and avocado 
• Snack: egg salad with cucumber 
• Dinner: Trader Joe's cauliflower stir fry

Tuesday (high) 

• Breakfast: English muffin egg sandwich & coffee
• Snack: protein donut and banana
• Lunch: rice, broccoli, chicken sausage 
• Snack: first tee bar and coffee 
• Dinner: mashed potatoes, dill chicken meatballs, green beans

Wednesday (low) 

• Breakfast: overnight oats with banana & coffee
• Snack: apple with peanut butter and cinnamon, green juice
• Lunch: salad with chicken, bacon, lite honey mustard dressing
• Snack: deli turkey slices and babybell cheese
• Dinner: Trader Joe's cauliflower stir fry 

Thursday (high) 

• Breakfast: English muffin egg sandwich & coffee
• Snack: protein donut and banana
• Lunch: egg salad sandwich 
• Snack: cheerios with protein non-fat milk
• Dinner: rice, broccoli, chicken sausage

Friday (low)

• Breakfast: poached egg, hashbrown, bacon
• Snack: protein smoothie
• Lunch: turkey lettuce wraps, pickles
• Snack: yogurt with berries, green juice
• Dinner: cauliflower mash, barramundi, broccoli & zucchini

Saturday (high) 

• Breakfast: English muffin smoked salmon sandwich
• Snack: protein donut, green juice
• Lunch: Trader Joe's arrabbiata with barramundi
• Snack: roasted acorn squash with PB and cinnamon
• Dinner: steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli

On Saturday I'll check in we'll see how well I was able to stick to the plan this week. I'm going to have some flexibility as long as I stick to the premise of high/low carb days. If I make substations I'll show the changes in the post on Saturday. 

Until then,

xox Sarah

I'm Deciding to Care

about me, myself, & I. For a while I've been putting self care on the back burner & blaming this on fatigue but no more. I am making a few commitments to myself for the remainder of this calendar year. I can add small things to my all day binges on Grey's Anatomy (or Jack Ryan) that all focus on taking care of myself.

I am using eye masks that I keep in the fridge on the bags under my eyes. Being a nurse my sleep schedule is inconsistent and after working multiple days in a row I look how I feel - tired. These eye mask things feel amazing and actually help with my puffiness.

Instead of a big self tanning day, I'm going to use the Jergens gradual tanning regularly after my showers. I am very pale and in the fall and winter my skin begins to look translucent/glows. I want to add a little healthy looking color to my skin and maybe even embrace the skirts and high boots look..

Food freedom (which I talked about in my last post!) - It's going pretty well so far. I'm working on balance but my craving for take out had decreased dramatically and I'm actually burning through the food that has been sitting in my freezer for months. Keeping it simple and not making anything off limits is definitely benefiting my mental health.

GO FOR A WALK. The weather is absolutely beautiful and I'm working to get in regular walks around the city. I can still binge watch my favorite shows but it is good to take a quick pause and get moving. It actually helps me be less sore than when I'm laying on the couch all day.

Finally I'm adding a little time to care about my appearance before leaving the apartment. I have tons of cute clothes that I would love to wear but regularly end up in leggings or sweats.. I'm putting some effort into my appearance and not letting all of that spending go to waste. I'm working on throwing together quick, easy, comfortable outfits and throwing a little tinted moisturizer and maybe some bronzer on my face before traipsing around the city or going to the grocery store. I'm not at the point where I'm getting dolled up to go downstairs to grab my packages - let's not get ridiculous here.

I'm going to do my best to regularly add these 5 small things into my routine & will update how things are going and if I'm adding or subtracting anything from this list.

Let's Talk About Food..

Or maybe let's not.. I have set myself a new goal for the end of September. For a long time, probably elementary or middle school, I have thought a lot about food. The majority of the time I was thinking about food, it was in regards my weight. I counted calories, tried different diets, and even tried counting macros. I've gotten a few nutrition plans and followed them loosely. Everything I have done has always increased my focus on food. However, when I think about food, I want to eat food. If I think about limiting something in my diet, it makes want it more and want it now. Recently, the harder I try to clean up what I'm eating, the harder time I'm having - I've decided that I'm over thinking things. I'm complicating things too much and as a result I don't want to make my own food. It is so easy to get wrapped up in articles and social media; frequently I find myself going down the rabbit hole.

So I'm trying something new & I want to see how this goes.

For the remainder of the month of September I am going to simplify things. I want to eat like someone who isn't constant thinking about food or how the food they're eating is going to effect their weight.

1. I am not going to buy an obscene amount of groceries and plan multiple recipes for the week. I've been very inspired by instagram/meal plans and trying too much to plan ahead to the point I'm overwhelmed. 

Instead: I am going to only get what I need or run out of and prep components that are easy to throw together in addition to maybe one meal. 

2. I'm going to use up what I have. I buy things that I often get pushed to the back because I would rather have something else or I at some point decided it really wasn't that healthy to eat. Balance is healthy and not focusing on food is healthy. Yes, there is some food with more nutritional value than other food but all food will provide energy. I can have cereal for breakfast and maybe add fruit if I want or if not and still eat the damn cereal because it tastes good.

3. Minimize my take out. It is great to eat in a social setting and I will never limit that however, I do not need to order delivery regularly to my apartment ESPECIALLY when I have perfectly good groceries that I'm not using sitting in the fridge.

These are the changes that I will be making for the rest of the month. 

I want to see how my body and my mind feel at the end of my month and will go from there in October. I want to find a way that I feel my best both mentally and physically. I want to find balance in my life and actually be able to focus on my life instead of where I want myself to be or the things I am going to do when I hit XYZ weight. 

Let's see how this goes.. Updates to come at the end of the month! Let me know in the comments below if there are any posts that you want to see from me!

xox Sarah

Welcome, Welcome

I'm starting over. I've had this blog for a long time and never fully kept up with it because I didn't exactly know what I wanted it to be. So here goes round 497. 

My name is Sarah and I will be the first to tell you that I have no clue what I am doing. I am passionate about all things beauty and health. I'm a nurse trying to navigate the world of being an adult. I make mistakes (lets call them mishaps) on a regular basis. So, if you are looking for the perfect blogger who seems to have their sh*t together, that may be goals but it is definitely not me.

I have loved all things beauty since my freshman year of high school. I was OBSESSED - I knew what collections were coming out when and I needed to have them. In college I calmed a bit but still very much cared. Then, I graduated. I threw myself into the hustle and bustle of adulting and working and my passion for beauty began to fall to the wayside. I was rolling out of bed, slapping some tinted moisturizer on while still half asleep and was lucky if my hair was in a ponytail by the time I got to work.. Glamorous, I know. I was going through the motions daily, I loved my work but was definitely putting myself on the back burner. Im going on my third year in the "real world" and I am starting to get the hang of things, including taking care of myself again. Am I going to work in full glam? No. Am I making at least a little effort with my appearance and really enjoying it.

Now let's talk about health. Working in healthcare tends to include promotion of a healthy lifestyle but my journey started before that. My journey has been a long one that will get it's whole own post but it has helped me to learn a lot of things about myself and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Two of the most important things I've learned is balance (which everyone talks about but what does that really even mean?) and that I LOVE cooking and baking. Some days I'm super motivated to workout and others I spend resting watching TV on the couch. There are weeks I cook all my own meals and try out new recipes in the kitchen; then there are times that I really just want pizza and French fries delivered.. 

This is life and this is my life, as it happens. 

Do I have it all figured out? No. On this blog I'm going to work to share the things I've learned so far, things I'm working on figuring out and any mishaps that someone may find useful or entertaining. I'll talk about products I like and those I shouldn't have spent money on. I'll share the recipes that work out and the workouts I'm enjoying (or doing regardless to build the habit).  If someone reads a post, great! If not, this blog is more for me than anything else. Something huge I've learned since graduating to the "real world" is that you will find more success in doing things for yourself then if you do them because that's what others want or expect you to do. So welcome, welcome! Here we go again.