Hunger or Anxiety?

That's a good question and the answer isn't any easy one at all. There are many articles or how to recognize hunger, how to overcome cravings, how to control them with water/tea/distraction techniques and so on. All of which I have tried and experienced. The outcome of it, is that if one's strongly minded one can do it successfully.

Yes you can beat anxiety.

But a lot has been written on how to do it, so the purpose of this article is not to give you solutions but look at the base of the problem.

Over the past few year I have experimented a lot with myself (juices only, liquids only, raw diet, vegan diet, non gluten, etc)and I was controlling my self, with more or less health benefits, and at the same time observing other people. How do others behave with food? Do I think a lot about the quality and quantity of what I put in my mouth while someone else just throws in anything that's edible (or not, this is really personal) and maybe obsess about work or clothes. I personally don't understand why most women suffer to be beautiful wearing heels and miniskirts or using wax. That's why I love the world, because we're all so different!

As I started to take on a new behaviour towards food, I started to notice the "mistakes" people were making.

I have 2 very good advantage viewing points

1. my restaurant, where I see about 30 different people every day having lunch while fighting their demons

2. my entourage, specially the children point of view thanks to the friends of my own kids

In the restaurant I get different 

Spring Reboot - Day 10 and 11

Day 10 Wednesday - Reboot with lunch

was the plan, as the bug left me quite weak and felt like needed a bit more than just juice so had

breakfast my usual juice of carrot/ginger/apple, I make about a litre and share it between the morning and a mid afternoon snack when I get back home from work

lunch celery salmorejo with alfalfa sprouts and polenta with sauted veggies

dinner: fennel green juice and 2 pieces of rosemary organic goat cheese

Day 11 - On the scale 69.80kg totally over the moon

breakfast, the usual

lunch celery salmorejo with sprouts (I have little time, so that I like to cook at least for 2 days and I don't mind eating the same thing two days in a row)

polenta with stir fried veggies mediterranean style - divine

Dinner: red beet juice

Spring Reboot week 2 - day 5 to 9

Well, my daily journal got a bit boxed, but not my reboot.

Last Friday day 5 I weighted in at 70.70kg and did well all day BUT got invited over to a friend's house for dinner and managed to have my juice, some celery with homemade hummus, some mixed salad and, this was the mistake, 2 slices of toasted bread with tomato and spanish ham. God it was so delicious, but believe or not the next morning I weighted in at 71.6kg.
Come on it's not as if I've eaten 900 grams for dinner, but I believe it's fluid retention or similar.
I have discovered that lunch more or less I can have anything, but dinner has to be extremely light, even when not rebooting

Day 6 - Saturday, liquids all day again
Carrot/ginger/apple for breakfast
Pepper Gazpacho for lunch
Green juice for dinner

Day 7 - Sunday, not bad all together...
Sweet Potato Juice  for breakfast
mixed salad and some pasta with tomato for lunch
Carrot/Ginger/Apple juice for mid afternoon snack (and a piece of homemade apple cake)
Cilapple juice for dinner
Spent the whole day at home as kids got a stomach bug from the kids of the friends we went to see on Friday (not people to hang out with: give bugs and make me skip diet)

Day 8 - Monday, the bug got me
so spent the day on ginger and lemon water, then got hungry mid afternoon and had a small bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and a piece of apple cake
went to bed and slept 12 hours to recover

Day 9 - Tuesday, on my feet again
breakfast: small glass of my kids breakfast pink smoothie
lunch: lentil soup and bowl of pasta with pesto, asparagus and zucchini
dinner: vegetable soup

CilApple Juice

I must admit I was very skeptic about this juice and only went for it because I had a bunch of cilantro about to go off... But it turned out to be a very good choice, great balance between the cilantro and the lemon, will definitively go for it again.

Very good choice for when it's compulsory to keep the juicing interesting with challenging flavours

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch of cilantro

1 bunch of spinach

1 peeled lemon

6 thick celery stalks

3 golden apples

drink and enjoy!

It produces about 3/4 of a litre so it's a whole meal!

Sweet Potato Juice

I must admit it's no great picture, but I can assure it tastes great!

Not my recipe but from No Sugar Sweet Life, however, I have been promoting it withing my circle of juice lovers

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium sweet potato

4 peaches or nectarines

2 apples (I like Golden)

dash of cinnamon

before starting to put all the ingredients through the juicer put the cinnamon on the bottom of the juicer jug, so as the liquid comes out it mixes with the powder.

Spring Reboot day 4

well definitively today is the day I felt better in a long time, the vitamins and minerals are boosting my system and I have been happy, strong, powerful, positive and with tons of energy since I woke up.
And from here it's all going upwards!!!

I also had the gut to step on the scale (71kg) so I don't even want to wonder where I was on Monday morning...

Actually 71kg it's where I was after Christmas and I went back to 68-69 in a week, so my goal now is getting down to 65kg, which is where I was about 15 years ago!!!

I am nearly there, this is the last pull, my definite goal is to complete a 2 weeks reboot on liquids only to then introduce some salads for lunch and start maintenance.

Food log for today was more or less same as yesterday as I enjoyed it so much:

- breakfast: orange/carrot/Apple juice
- Lunch: guacamole soup
- Dinner: V8 juice (no picture as looks disgusting)

couple of litres of wáter and couple of cups of gree/red tea

Guacamole Soup

 

Ingredients:

 

2 small avocados or 1 big

1 large zucchini (peeled)

1/2 spring onion

juice of 1/2 lemon

dash of chilli

5 cherry tomatos

handful of homemade sprouts

 

blend all the ingredients leaving some chuncks (except from the tomatos and the sprouts)

quarter the tomatos and put them on top with the sprouts

sit and enjoy!

 

it's an extremely quick, healthy and tasty récipe that goes well for starter or mono meal 

 



Spring Reboot day 3

According to all detox gurus day 3 is the day to get past in order to make or break, well I definitively made it.
However, detox symptoms kicked in bad time since very early morning: terrible mood swings, headache, hunger just before lunchtime. I tought I'd give in, but then said to myself: hey, if you can control this, you'll be at the end of day 3, but if you don't you'll be again on day 1 and you'll have failed. We're half a way through May and bikini time is here, so no more excuses and a lot of Advantage Cards Reading (I don't have them phisically, it's all in my mind)

When I got home in the afternoon I did an enema to help me detox and the pain was tremendous, but took my mind off things and helped time pass.

With all this on my side I'll step on the scale in the morning

My food log for today:

Carrot, Apple, orange and ginger juice for Breakfast

Guacamole Soup with lentil sprouts

 



Green juice for dinner

Spring reboot Day 2



Breakfast carrot/ginger/Apple juice

Lunch Celery Salmorejo

Food log for today, day 2 of my reboot



Dinner red juice (beets, carrots, celery and cucumber)


Well today again I didn't have the gut to get on the scale, I feel I need to see a nice number...
So today also went well, I stuck to my planned food, no slip ups, no craving, had a lot of wáter and felt totally in control, just a tiny bit light headed through the end, maybe beacause I worked non stop from 8 am to 8 pm.
After having my dinner juice I still felt hungry and had to put my hands in my pockets and use all my power to control my instincts and walk out of the kitchen, where hubby was grilling hamburgers for the kids. Mind you, I don't like meat, I am vegetarian, but that's when I know I really am hungry: I could eat anything.
But I made myself a cup of tea and sat down at the computer to keep busy and my mind off food.
It looks like is working.
However, from my previous experience day 2 and day 3 are the worst.
I am confident!





Spring Reboot Day 1

Well, here I am back after a far too long break 2 months, where I went rollercoasting downhill with no brakes, back to glueten, cheese and some meat! SINNER, THAT'S ME!!! Anyhow, I decided that today was the day and I nearly did it, it's nearly bedtime so I probably won't fall off the wagon this late. As

 

As well as deciding it consciously my body has been demanding a detox reboot for the last week so my food log for today was:

 

- Water until lunch time

- Celery salmorejo with sprouts for lunch

- Sun burst juice for mid afternoon snack

- Green Juice for dinner

 

Couple of litres of wáter and 2 cups of red/Green tea

 



 

 



How do I feel?
Well, I didn't have the gut to step on the scale this morning, although I should've, but nevermind, will probably head that direction on Wed/Thu as I don't want to risk depression.
I woke up with a resolution and maintained throughout the day being in control of my eating all the time, so I feel very happy with myself and powerful to carry on
I did some light excercise this morning and moved a lot throughout the day
From lunchtime onwards I fell a bit light headed and I had to lie down in the sun just before dinner for about an hour as I was cold and tired, but my mood is good and cheerful

More to come tomorrow!!!