Whole Life Challenge Progress – 1/3 There

A summary of my progress with the Whole Life Challenge after 3 weeks. This includes how I’m feeling and what foods I’ve been eating.

Hey there! I hope everyone had a good Monday, or as good as a Monday could be. Jesse and I have started getting into the Christmas spirit and pulling out the decorations. I know some of you may be upset that I’m skipping over Thanksgiving, but I really see it as adding a little extra festiveness to both holidays! 🙂 Aside from decorating for Christmas, and a case of the flu last week, the main thing that we’ve been up to is the Whole Life Challenge. Yesterday marked the start of Week #3 (technically #4 for me) so we’re getting close to being 1/3 of the way through! It hasn’t been as tough as I thought it would be and I’m already feeling amazing! I’ve lost a few pounds, my jeans actually fit again, and I’m loving my time at the gym. I’ve gotten a few questions about what I’m eating on the Challenge, so I thought I’d share a few meals I’ve been eating. The most important thing is that I have not given up Chipotle. I get almost the same thing, minus cheese and sour cream. My typical bowl is brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, chicken, mild salsa, corn, guacamole and lettuce, and it is still absolutely delicious. I’ve also been spending a lot more time at Panera ordering off of their “hidden menu.” Everything on the menu is WLC friendly. Now I haven’t tried it all, but I do love the Power Chicken Hummus Bowl. It has spinach, cucumber, tomatoes and chicken topped with hummus and lemon juice. Panera also has some great breakfast options. Pictured above is the Power Breakfast Egg White Bowl with Turkey, which has spinach, roasted red peppers, egg whites, turkey and pesto. Yum! Soup is also a great meal, this one is tomato based with chicken, sweet potatoes and tons of veggies. Unfortunately Jesse got the stomach flu, so he is anti-soup for awhile. (Sorry if that was TMI) Hummus has also been a life saver! I’ve been eating it with veggies and on salads and with delicious sweet potato chips! Yep, I can have chips, but only veggie chips or sweet potato chips. My biggest challenge has been meetings at work. Since I work on a college campus, my office likes to go to the campus dining hall for lunch meetings and there are SO many options. There’s pizza, pasta, burgers, nuggets, desserts, it’s ridiculous. Last week I had a grilled chicken breast, sweet potato fries, a salad topped with hummus, quinoa and an apple. It was delicious, and I didn’t feel terrible afterwards, which is rare after eating at a cafeteria.

For breakfast, I usually have two eggs, an apple and black coffee. My snacks are usually nuts or fruit (especially if I want something sweet).

My favorite thing about the challenge so far is that I don’t get bloated after eating. That may seem small, but I was a “button popper” after meals and now I’m not. It’s liberating.