February Challenge - Day 28: Final thoughts of February's Challenge

Well, 28 days later and this month's challenge is going to get mixed reviews. While I was able to stay away from fast food, there were a few times I strayed including one day where I heffed down haagen daas. This experiment has taught me a couple of things:

1) I can't put dietary restrictions on myself because I love food too much. I can never be a vegetarian, or cut out carbs or say no to cheese. Food is my weakness, and there's nothing I can do to change it.

2) Balance is key. I've been able to plan a lot of my meals for work (both lunch and dinner) and it really helped me stay away from eating poorly this month. By cooking my meals in advance, I was able to plan and portion control the meals very well.

Unlike the drinking challenge, the food challenge was not so black and white. By withholding temptations, you're just setting yourself up for failure. So the lesson learned here? Never do a food challenge again.

February Challenge - Day 27: Oscar Ice Cream Party

OSCARS = time to eat a lot of ice cream.

March Challenge - Read and Write

As my February Challenge of eating healthy comes to a close in two days, it was time for me to reflect upon what I should do for my March Challenge.

First off, to set the expectation, I will take a small hiatus for 2 days at the beginning of March. With 31 days in March, I'll be working on my challenge from March 3 - 30, banking another hiatus day at the end of the month...blogging on an everyday basis is tough!

When thinking of what to do for March, many things crossed my mind. One thought was to do a random act of kindness everyday. But in my mind, if you're going to do an act of kindness, you should do it because you really want to, and not because you're going to brag about it on a blog later. So that was out. Another thought was to reconnect with religion again, but I quickly abandoned that idea after Satan told me not to. (I'm joking about the Satan part.)

Finally, I figured out one thing that I haven't been doing enough of lately, and that was reading nearly enough books, magazines and newspapers, as I mostly rely on television to provide me with the information I need. Well, that's just lazy.

So my challenge to myself this month is to read (I have 3 books on my desk that I got for Christmas that I haven't read yet) and reflect about them on this blog. And I shouldn't limit it to just books, I have a couple of subscriptions to magazines - so I'll also be looking at those to reflect upon in my blog.

Here's a preview of what you can expect starting March 3:

- MacLean's magazine's 6th annual student issue - is getting students hired the only goal of a post-secondary institution?

- A book called Connected - The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives - How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think and Do.

- A book called Future Babble - Why Expert Predictions Fail and Why We Believe Them Anyway.

Enjoy!

February Challenge - Day 26: Breakfast Sandwiches

Most of this month, I've realized I've actually been posting about my cravings for food than how I've been eating healthy. That's what happens when you deprive yourself of the foods you love the most. I've been really good this month at eating breakfast before leaving the house (particularly for work) in order to get the day going right and keeping me good and full until lunchtime.

One thing I miss the most is the comforting breakfast sandwich. Whether it be a bacon with egg on a cheese bagel from The Bagel Stop or a Sausage and Egg Breakfast Muffin from Tim Horton's, I cannot resist the calorie-tastic, artery-clogging breakfast sandwich.

So it was a surprise I was able to hold out this long until I had to have one. Let me set it up for you as to why I got one this morning.

I got to bed late last night...around 1am due to a delayed flight into Pearson landing at around 10pm. I got home, got settled in, showered, did some work, and then, it was 1am. Blah. I had to get up at 630am today to get to a conference that started at 8am...or so I thought. I woke up at 715, panicked that I was late, and grabbed a cab to Yonge & Dundas Square, near the conference venue. With little to no options at 730 in the morning, I ran into Starbucks, and grabbed a venti green tea with 2 teabags (of which they charge you $2.30 for - seriously, $2.30 for two teabags and hot water...seriously.) and a bacon, egg and brie breakfast sandwich.

When I sat down to eat it (after running a block and a half to get to the conference) I was sadly disappointed. It was puny - 4 bites and I was done (granted, they were big bites). It was bland and well, not as great as the other breakfast sandwiches I mentioned earlier and hold with such high esteem. And usually, when you're starving, the food you eat tastes that much more incredible, not with this.

So Starbucks, I don't think I'll be buying anymore of your breakfast sandwiches. For $3.95, give me two Tim Horton's heart attacks, I mean sausage and egg English muffins, anyday.

February Challenge - Day 25: Airport Food

It's 7pm. I'm stuck at Logan International Airport. I'm tired. I'm hot (it was freezing in here, and now it's like 100 degrees). And I am clearing out emails. Yes, my Fridays have become the social life everyone dreams of.

What's worse is the limited food selection here at Logan. It's either Starbucks or good ol' American bar food. Picking out the healthiest option on the menu, I went with a grilled chicken brioche. It did come with cheese and a "healthy" serving of mayo. It also came with a side salad and fries. I wolfed down the chicken burger like my life depended on it, but I had 3 or 4 fries and was less than impressed. Have I really gotten over fried foods? Or was it just a really terrible french fry?

The only saving grace was the salad, which, not surprisingly, was a miniscule portion compared to the fries. Hey, it could have been worse. I could have been sitting at a Denny's or an IHOP, where everything is fried or comes with a side of butter.

Another hour to go here at Logan. Lord, help me!

February Challenge - Day 24: Chocolate Covered Strawberries = Overrated

Chocolate covered strawberries. The idea is great and slightly romantic. However, to eat one of these things is nothing but messy and highly unromantic.

My co-worker Amber was kind enough to share some of her strawberries (she had an entire box of them - from a secret admirer no doubt) with me tonight. They were very pretty - large strawberries with a thick layer of dark chocolate and a light drizzle of white chocolate to top it off. I couldn't resist, so I took two (FATTY, I know.) I quickly plowed through my dinner (stirfry, again...) and then started to eat my reward...I mean, dessert.

After one bite

It all went downhill from the moment I touched the chocolate-covered strawberry (CCS for short). First off, there was no stem to grab a hold of, so my fat fingers tried to grasp the leafy parts but they fell off quicker than a prostitutes clothes. Fine, I thought, I'll get my fingers messy and grab the chocolate part. The chocolate immediately started melting an

d the CCS became uncontrollably slippery. FUCK! I silently screamed, as I was only able to eat half the berry and the rest of the chocolate went flying EVERYWHERE. Thank God I wasn't wearing a white shirt...or white pants.

So after picking up all the chocolate bits, I attempted to bite into the second

CCS, with even worse success. Strawberry juice squirted everywhere, the uneaten part of the berry fell out of my hands and landed on my desk. A total bucket of fail all around in trying to enjoy a nice dessert. It makes me wonder, do people actually find these desserts romantic? It's nothing short of messy and cumbersome. I guess the only upside to it is that you'll get to lick the chocolate off the person you're with afterwards, but that just takes so much extra planning and cleanup efforts that I find these desserts a big waste of time and money.

February Challenge - Day 23: Dim Sum Desserts

I've been dreaming of mango pudding all day today. Mango pudding should really be more readily available. I had a bit of a sweet tooth this afternoon. It didn't help that I have a can of caramel pecans and tupperware container of cookies at my desk...but what I could have really go for was some nice cold mango pudding with condensed milk.

In fact, I could go for any Chinese dessert this afternoon - not sure why I was so nostalgic. But a bowl of shaved ice with grass jelly and tapioca also made an entrance in my food fantasies. It is one of the things I miss from Taiwan, being able to go out to the night markets near my grandmother's house and picking up awesome desserts. Then again, I did gain 10 pounds when I went back last year.

5 days left. Starting to think about what my challenge will be for March. I'll decide by this weekend!

February Challenge - Day 22 - Happy Margarita Day!

Did you know that today is National Margarita Day (likely in the US, but hey, we can celebrate too!)?

Now that I can drink, National Margarita Day was a nice excuse just to have a nice drink. I had a beer today with agency partners after a great brainstorming session (although, one can imagine what awesome ideas we could have come up with if we had a couple at the beginning of the session).

Granted, I didn't have a margarita, but one can dream of the cool, tasty drink laced with salt on the brim and heavy amounts of lime to cover the disproportionate amount of tequila to mix. It just reminds of you sitting on a beach in the Carribean watching the waves come in while getting wasted in a lawn chair.

The link above takes you to a site that refers you to a great recipe but also the origins of where the margarita comes from. We all have a showgirl named Marjorie and the pervert bartender that wanted to get with her for inspiring such a great drink back in 1938.

Big thank you to Christine Kay for forwarding the article!

February Challenge - Day 21 - Cooking and Cookies = Procrastination

As mentioned earlier this month, I've been perfecting my cookie recipe ever since my friend Lindsay's cookie party. Today, rather than working on stuff I brought home this weekend from work, I was super distracted by two things - cooking and baking.

After my workout from the gym, I had a great meal (salmon and brown rice) and then proceeded to cook my meals for the week (brown rice and stirfry). Having finished all of the cooking by about 2pm, I thought, I should work now.

Seconds later, I was distracted by laundry. Four loads of laundry later, I asked myself, what more can I do to procrastinate? Oh yes, let me bake some cookies. There is a purpose for these cookies as it is the last day of work for one of my co-workers, who likes my cookies, so I wanted to make sure I make a batch for her before she leaves.

Four dozen cookies later, I sit here wondering, where the time has gone. As I type, time is ticking away and I have not started on any of my work.

At least there's one good thing that has come out of this...I haven't had one cookie yet (so the challenge has gone well today). Here's the finished product:

February Challenge - Day 19 & 20: Food shortages and waste

Every so often, I can be known to be serious and talk about a subject other than myself and my struggle this month with food. Having just come home from the grocery store, I am still in sticker shock. For the past couple of weeks, I've only had to spend about $60 bucks/week at the grocery store on food. Okay, I had to pick up some more staples this time around, but I walked out of the grocery store with a $100 receipt and a feeling that I was just robbed.

Now, I shouldn't complain. Most people with families would have laughed at me and said, "you only spent $100/week?" - I can imagine how much a family shopping at Costco must feel after they leave that place with $300 - $400 less than they had before they went in. However, rising food prices here in Canada are just something to complain about, in other parts of the world, people are fighting, starving and dying over the rise in prices.

Several factors have contributed to food shortages around the world including: population growth, climate change, monoculture that has led to poor soil health, over-production of food crops that have led to waste, increase of protein in human diets that has led to the diversion of food crops for human consumption to animal feed, bio-fuel production, and the list goes on. We all see pictures of famine stricken third world nations on our news channels, but food shortages are hitting closer and closer to home. Our own farmers have struggled with producing enough crops for local consumption.

Food shortages and rising food prices are one of the main factors in the political uprisings in the Middle East. The populus there are protesting how a basic need has now become out of reach as wheat price increases are preventing them from buying bread to feed their families. While most people around the world think that the main issue is about overthrowing dictators and installing democracy to this region, they fail to realize that most uprisings start with citizens upset that their governments are not providing them with their basic everyday needs. The French Revolution started with the same thing - as the lower class protested at the palace gates, Marie Antoinette asked why they were so angry, to which one of her advisors said, "they want bread, " and to which she famously (and cluelessly) responded, "bread? let them eat cake!" Good thing for Hosni Mubarek and Ben-Ali that they didn't meet the same fate as Miss Marie.

Back in 2008, the Washington Post and other news organizations did a big feature on world food shortages (click here to read more) it's first article is an eerie prediction of what is happening in the Middle East - food shortages sparking unrest from country to country. Of course, there are more factors that leads to the passionate revolutions that are happening, but food is still at the base of it.

Another reason for food shortages are the extreme consumption that is happening now more than ever. You might ask, wait, more consumption should mean that there is more food correct? Yes, that is correct. Food production has increased but consumption has increased more than production. Obesity in Western countries is a sign of this overconsumption. Not only limited to the North American continent, the UK and Australia are also up there on the list of the fattest countries in the world. And what country will soon join them on that list? China - as the most populous country in the world, is starting to consume goods in the same fashion as the Western world. It's also started to see a new social problem developing in the form of obese children, overfed by their parents and living sedentary lives in front of televisions and computer devices.

Overconsumption also leads to food wastage (surprisingly). In order to keep up with the demand for food, farmers, manufacturers and groceries pump out more perishable foods like eggs, milk, cakes, produce - those foods that do not get purchased gets dumped in garbage bins, food that could have gone to feeding those that are hungry. In homes, consumers buy more food to stock up their fridges and every week, people go through the ritual of dumping out the rotting food in their fridge.

So what? - you might be asking. With all of these macro issues, what can I do to make a difference? Well, two things I can think of are the two things I've been struggling to do this month: portion control and buying only the food you need, not what you want.

Portion control is something that has been lost since food has become more and more available. Everything is now in Econopack or Club Sized formats that we're encouraged to consume more with consequences to both our weights and our wallets. We're often surprised at nutrition labels and the portions we see that contribute to the calorie count. How can anyone live off those portions? But those are regular servings and we've been conditioned to think that they are not enough.

Buying only the food you need is another way you can limit your food wastage. Go shopping on a full stomach, not on an empty one as you normally buy more than you require.

Small steps to take while governments go about trying to solve the larger issues.

February Challenge - Day 17 & 18 Feeling guilty

This hasn't been the best couple of days for my healthy eating challenge. Two nights of eating and boozing in a row have now made me feel like I'm carrying a boulder of food in my gut. To add to that, not having the motivation to head to the gym, has made me feel like a true lazy lump.

With 10 days left to my challenge, I want to make sure that I stay focused on at least getting in 10 good days of eating healthy. With five of those ten days being holidays or weekends, it shouldn't be that hard to be disciplined by not eating out and controlling my meals.

Fingers crossed for the next 10 days!

February Challenge: Day 16 - Seafood

I feel bad for people with seafood allergies. Lobster, crab, oysters, mussels, scallops...I can go on - seafood is just incredible. From a young age, I've loved seafood, and on Wednesday night, I had an incredible seafood feast.

Two of my co-workers and I had the pleasure of going to Harbour 60 and having an incredible surf 'n turf meal. The seafood tower for two, loaded with a full lobster, two giant crab claws, crab salad, and oysters was a feast. We followed that with filet minion. I won't mention how much the bill came out to, but it was probably close to 1/3 of the amount of calories I consumed in that meal.

So, day 16 and it is not looking like I've followed my healthy eating criteria all that well. Was breaking the rules on Day 16 worth it? Yes, it was.

February Challenge - Day 15: Cake

Cake. The epic solution to birthdays, special occasions and stressful situations. Today, we celebrated a co-workers birthday with a vanilla cake, decorated with loads of whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and topped with 10 Oreos.

This cake came at such a great time...4pm. The apex of a stressful day. It's close enough to the end of the day that you know you only have an hour left to get anything approved by client, and there's an hour left that your coworkers are started thinking about what they are doing for dinner. Basically, the perfect storm of no one delivering on anything you are asking for.

Therefore, you turn to cake. I cut myself a small sliver and after two bites, I inhaled the rest. Is this cheating? Perhaps. But I'd like to say I've balanced off this cake by walking to work this morning. A simple trade off for a sugary treat at a time where everyone else is in a diabetic coma like I am.

February Challenge - Day 14: Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. The day that helps raise flower, greeting card and chocolate sales up by 1000%. Definitely not the best day to be on a diet or on a healthy eating streak like mine.

Not only was the office filled with temptations today (boxes of chips and a bowl of truffles), walking into the supermarket to pick up groceries was not the best idea. As the picture on the left shows, this was the desserts section for all the singles this Valentine's Day. For all those who don't have others to share a sweet dessert with, these single serving slices of cake and pie serve as small reminders to those lonely hearts, you are eating for one. I'd hate to pass the bakery and the number of Valentine's inspired cakes, pastries and pies available for last minute purchase.

Thank goodness I quickly shuffled by this display and onto the produce section and reached for a pint of strawberries. While not covered with chocolate, it's the healthy alternative, and at $1.97 a pint, a great deal.

One last thing - to all those men who think picking up flowers at your local convenience store or grocery store is a good idea, you should think again. That might have worked when you were under 12 and getting a bouquet for your mom on Mother's Day, it's not going to work with the one you supposedly love. I don't know how guys still don't get this as I saw at least 4 people in line with bouquets in hand.

The simple fact is...show up with shitty flowers, don't expect any hanky panky tonight.

February Challenge - Day 11 - 13: A whole lotta eatin'

So yes, I've been incredibly delinquent in posting this past weekend. I've missed both Friday and Saturday's posting. As much as I'd like to make an excuse for it, sadly, I can't come up with one as I passed out after coming home from work Friday afternoon as I was sooooo tired, and I went out last night until after midnight...and passed out in my bed.

So with that being said, since I woke up late this morning, I had brunch, which consisted of 2 eggs and six mini slices of ham. Fuck, that's a lot of food, you might be thinking to yourself. Yes, it is. However, I plan on (a) going to the gym shortly to work it off, (b) go grocery shopping soon, so this food will keep my stomach from doing all the buying, and (c) I plan on making this my breakfast and my lunch.

There's nothing better than eggs and ham. I know there are some people who have trouble with the thought of eating unborn chicken, but thank god for eggs. Also, thank god for pigs. The cute Babe-like creatures are also super yummy, especially bacon (which I'm staying away from for my challenge this month).

I was told by my co-worker Simonne, to have a good protein based meal in the mornings. Most of us start off the day with cereals that are laced in sugar and salts that end up making you crash before lunchtime, and making you feel tired throughout the day. She suggested that I change my breakfasts so that I get a good serving of proteins to avoid unnecessary sugars - and let me tell you, it's worked wonders! I no longer feel tired before lunchtime. It should be something everyone tries!

Okay, enough about breakfast, let's talk about dinner. I went to dinner with my friends Alex and Sandy last night to Brassaii to celebrate a new journey they are taking in their lives. I haven't been to Brassaii for dinner (only for boozing) so I was curious to try them out. The food was pretty impressive. I had the short ribs, Sandy had the swordfish and Alex had ravioli. All three were big hits, although the swordfish came with a white foam none of us could really figure out what it was supposed to be. The portions were reasonable and paired with an app, desert and wine, the price was what you'd expect at an establishment like this...pretty pricey (and I had a LivingSocial coupon!)

We balanced off the meal with some bubble tea afterwards. Not healthy true - as its loaded with sugar, so I count that as my cheating moment of the week.

February Challenge - Day 10: Pub Food

Two words. Pub food.

Pub food = trouble to my healthy eating streak.

Here's a haiku tribute to me cheating on my healthy eating tonight as the work crew went for drinks at a bar.

Nachos, Chicken Wings.

Deep fried food. Hard to say no.

Cheating? I think so.

Good news? I had only a few nachos and pieces of calamari. And only one beer...and one Caesar.

February Challenge - Day 9: Cookies don't help

So ever since my friend Lindsay's Christmas cookie party, I've been obsessed in perfecting a cookie recipe. I've in fact been baking cookies pretty much every weekend, like a 45 year old mother of five.

I'm super competitive so I want to make sure that my cookies are the best anyone has ever had. Recently I made a batch that had co-workers saying "mmmm" and "can I have another?" Yes. Success. My secret? Chocolate...lots and lots of chocolate.

Thankfully, they helped me eat most of the four dozen cookies I made this weekend or else I would surely be breaking my February challenge. I imagine each cookie is about 100 - 150 calories each with the amount of chocolate and sugar in each.

February Challenge - Day 8: Addicted to Almonds

During my first 8 days of eating healthy, I've managed to go on a small drinking bender, bake a huge batch of cookies (of which I've had at least a dozen), and succumbed to a new addiction. Almonds.

These tiny seeds, shaped like golden teardrops, are my new snacks in between meals. And within the last couple of days, my stress eating has led me to consume at least a container and a half worth of almonds.

Not so good. 50g of almonds = approximately 200 calories. And since I haven't gone to the gym since Sunday, these tiny teardrops are turning into lumps of saggy flesh around my waist. Well, better it be almonds than bags of chips or turning to smoking.

Perhaps March's challenge will be to stop eating almonds.

February Challenge - Day 7: A day with no lunch

Have you every had one of those days where you are booked back to back with meetings that you don't have a chance to sit down for lunch? And then it's 530pm and you finally have a chance to sit and eat? And when you do, you inhale everything around you?

Yes - that was my day today. Out of the ordinary, but still, terrible for my stomach. I've been used to having my three meals a day at regular times, so today totally threw me off schedule. Then I believe I ate so much near dinner time that now I feel like crap.

Fingers crossed there won't be another repeat this month. If there is, I'll likely gain weight in my month to try to eat healthy. :S

February Challenge - Day 6: Thank God I don't like the Superbowl

Beer. Nachos. Pizza. Hot Dogs. Chicken Wings. Garlic Bread.

For me, the above is junk food heaven. It's also a staple of any good Super Bowl party. (It's a good thing I don't like the Super Bowl - therefore, will not be attending any parties where this tempting food is present).

However, there are several healthy food options and the following link is probably the best link I have found with somewhat appetizing looking food. So whichever team you are rooting for - the Packers or Steelers, here's to healthy snacking.

February Challenge: Day 5 - A night out drinking

A friend's birthday = a reason to drink like you're Charlie Sheen in relapse. Last night, I was at the Biermarkt for my friend Shannon's birthday. It was great since I got to see a lot of my old co-workers from TBWA.

Shannon was celebrating a milestone, a second 29th birthday, so what better way to do that than to drink our faces off? After 31 days of not drinking, my tolerance level for alcohol was low. I had two Steigls, one porn star and one orgasm shot, and I woke up this morning with a terrible headache.

Now, how does this night of drinking contribute to a month of healthy eating? It doesn't, it's more like a set back. The good news is that I didn't go grab any fast food afterwards. And really, two beers and two shots isn't that bad...right?

February Challenge: Day 4 - Fat Fridays

So normally on Fridays, I would go with my coworkers to McDonald's for a Big Mac combo with a Junior Chicken chaser.

Since my pledge to eat healthy, I swore to myself, "no fast food." Well, I did not go for fast food today, but I did eat out and it wasn't too healthy. I had a pulled pork sandwich with a salad. Then I had a third of a piece of chocolate cake. Man, it was delicious.

Oh well, I should get a pass, it's a Friday. The reward for a very stressful week.

February Challenge: Day 3 - Jam Bars and Breaking the Streak

I've discovered a new treat that's going to make my healthy eating challenge an actual challenge. My coworker Simonne recently brought these treats called Tricopilia back from her visit to Trinidad. These snacks taste like a more solidified packet of strawberry jam...but better. Simonne came by and dropped off three of these treats on my desk. And she laughed her face off when I called these "jam bars." I must admit that besides the brand name, I still don't know what they are called. I had two of these treats. Total discipline fail. Oh well, I had a long day.

It started at 3:30am - I got up, all excited to go to Boston to meet my clients. Get to Pearson, and the grumpy check in counter lady informed me my flight was cancelled and that nothing was flying into Boston until 1130am. My meeting was for 10am. I race to the other end of the airport to see if United or US Airways was flying out. Neither of them were. So it's 430 at this point, and I had two options...go home and sleep for an hour and get up even grumpier than I already was, or go to work. The latter won.

The great thing about getting to work early (and 4 hours earlier than everyone else) is that you get a lot of work done. When 9am hit, the flood of emails came in. By 5pm, I was pretty rundown, so when my coworker Christina offered me a Heineken, I accepted, thus ending my 31 days of not drinking. Was it worth it? Yes. It tasted like apple juice and I immediately felt a bit buzzed. Is this what happens to my tolerance after 31 days? Terrible.

Needless to say, today wasn't really a healthy day. One beer = 150 calories. Jam bars? Full of sugar. It's only day 3 and the healthy food car is just slowly backing out of the garage.

February Challenge: Day 2 - Happy Chinese New Year!

Xin Nian Kwai Le! Happy New Year to all - it's the year of the Rabbit in the Chinese lunar calendar, and with that, comes great celebration.

And with celebration comes food. Lots and lots of food. I thought it would be a good idea today to go with some co-workers to go get Dim Sum at Dynasty restaurant in Yorkville. Between seven of us, we ordered 23 dishes which came out to $175 after tax and tip. Ridiculously expensive Dim Sum, but so worth it.

Needless to say, I wasn't that disciplined in my food intake today. I probably had enough food at lunch to make up for dinner (in fact, I didn't eat dinner because I was still so full). And sadly, I didn't get a chance to go to the gym because I'm heading to bed early tonight (gotta be up at 330 tomorrow for a 640am flight).

Definitely not a good sign that I pigged out on the 2nd day of my 28 day challenge. Tomorrow won't be easy either as I'll be travelling for work.

Sigh...damn you dim sum...you're so tempting.

February Challenge: Day 1 - Cookies are not your friend.

So it is the first day of my healthy eating challenge and boy, it was tough. While I mostly stayed in control, I will say I did break at one point (as it was a stressful day at work) by endulging in two of my homemade cookies. I balanced that out by going to the gym and jumping on the bike for 1/2 hour.

So, what did I eat today? Here's a breakdown:

- breakfast: 1 egg and 3 slices of ham

- morning snack: 1/4 cup of almonds and 2 cookies

- lunch: beef stirfry with vegetables and brown rice

- afternoon snack: 1/4 cup of almonds and 2 cookies

- dinner: chicken stirfry with vegetables (see picture) and brown rice, with blackberries as dessert

Okay, not bad for the first day, but I'm sitting on my couch now (after a good workout) and my tummy is rumbling. I can't see this challenge lasting much longer. Really, I can't.