The Cauliflower Catastrophe

Okay, I have to share this--one, because it was a lesson in preparation and two, because even though it was terrible, it was funny.  My lunch yesterday was just plain unpleasant.  Part of it was fine, it was the bad planning that made it bad.  I had cottage cheese with shredded cheddar, diced tomatoes, and black pepper and it was amazing.  I had some wheat crackers.  They were great.  But I had to get my veggies in and by the time I made that meal on food prep day, I did not even care anymore.  I just threw two giant servings of cauliflower (the green containers!) into a baggie.  So I had to just sit there and mindlessly shove giant pieces of frackin crunchy, raw cauliflower in my mouth for like twenty minutes.  haha. I'm sorry, I do like veggies, but two huge servings of raw cauliflower with no condiments and no seasoning is not my cup of tea.  That was truly awful.  Frackin cauliflower.  By the way, does anyone else think it's annoying when people say collie-flower instead of call-i-flower?  I do.

Dramatization of recent events.

Moving on.  Honestly, yesterday was just a mess.  I really felt completely discouraged not only in my workouts but just in life.  It's so easy to focus on setbacks instead of successes and just get really pessimistic.  I went from being so excited and optimistic to really just thinking "I am going to fail at this.  I'm not going to lose weight, I'm not going to be able to make this a business, and I'm going to be poor and chubby and tired and unhealthy forever."  Yeah, it was not good.  Thankfully, I had my godly Mama to tell me that I was letting the enemy get me turned around.  Then it was like a lightbulb: if the opposition is this strong, something amazing is about to happen.  I don't know what it will look like.  Maybe it will be a financial revolution in my life, maybe spiritual, maybe just physical.  I have a feeling it will be all three.  And now, more than ever, I am determined to fight for it.

That said, yesterday was truly brutal!  I started doing the Lower Fix and had to pause it to stretch.  My body hurt so badly it wasn't even funny!  Rough stuff.  That session had me saying EFF you, Autumn Calabrese.  If you don't hate the workout leader even a little, you're probably not being challenged. haha.  BUT I finished it and I gulped down some "Results and Recovery" formula (which tastes like a creamsicle!) and I am not at all sore today.  Happy times.  Today was Pilates Fix, which they call an "active recovery day" workout.  Challenging, but with plenty of stretching.  There's a series where you're laying on your side and doing all of these movements with your leg and the side of your thigh and butt is just burning and you're like 'OH THE INHUMANITY!' but then you're like, 'I guess I have literally never worked those muscles before' and you feel happy.

Last thing I will say, especially for anyone doing the "fat blaster" version of the 21 Day Fix eating plan: you can't eat your yellow or purple containers after 6pm (grains/fruits), and that had me craving sweets in the evening in a painful way.  It was a bit demoralizing.  However, I wasn't using my teaspoon portions (I get 5 a day on my calorie level).  It can be used for oils in preparation, but most of my meats were cooked in water.  It can also be used for nut or seed butters.  So I used a few teaspoons of peanut butter and had a cup of hot tea with stevia and felt 100% better.  *Nutrition tip: artificial sweeteners make you crave sweets and carbs.  Liquid sugars (like in a White Mocha, which is basically sugar lard) aren't recognized by your brain as quickly and can cause more weight gain than a solid sugar--like cake. Stevia that is made without additives, according to my mom's oncologist, is the only no calorie sweetener that is actually helpful instead of harmful.  Just make sure it doesn't have things like 'erythritol' or 'dextrose' as those are processed artificial sweeteners/sugars.

That about sums it up for today.  Today's takeaway: don't pack several unprepared portions of a veggie you only kind of like, don't let negativity ruin your life, and don't be afraid to post an unflattering picture if you think it might make somebody laugh.  Just keep swimming, folks!