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Welcome to Week 4 of The Cardboard Box Diet! To see previous weeks, click here. The rules are simple: Fill out our weekly survey, post to your blog (including a link back to this blog/post), and link up via Mr. Linky (below). Comments are also great too. The point of this diet is to form a small community (which seems to be coming along quite nicely!); linking back here via your blog and Mr. Linky are how we all find each other.
This week was much better than last week. It’s getting easier to find a balance between smart choices and splurges, my runs are getting less painful, and I saw the scale move in my favor. What a difference a week makes. I know I will have many more hard weeks, but it was nice to have a good one. I hope y’all had a good one too. I loved interacting with some of you on Twitter and hope we start doing that more often. Remember, we’re all in this together. If you need help or encouragement, reach out. We’re here for ya.
- Weigh-in: Down 2 pounds total, so about a pound since last week. I might have done a happy dance when I stepped on the scale.
- Exercise completed: Still just running, but I’m getting faster, and I do at least 2.5 miles (usually 3) every time. My goal is to get to 3 miles in under 30 minutes regularly before the summer is over. I’ll start yoga once school starts and the schedule at the gym offers more options for times, I promise.
- Splurge/Guilty Pleasure: This weekend wasn’t so bad! Saturday night, my friend and I went out to eat, then we had drinks and Oreos at my house, but we went to the gym the next morning, and I ate well the rest of the weekend. Today (I’m writing this Wednesday night), my parents were in town, and we ate a lot of things that probably won’t work in my favor as far as the scale goes. But you know, that’s what this “diet” is all about — making smart choices and good decisions most of the time, then splurging and not feeling guilty about it the rest of the time, because you know you’ll make it up with exercise and more healthy choices later.
- Success story: There were a few times I wanted fast food this week, but I resisted. A couple of times, I actually packed sandwiches, fruit, and unbuttered popcorn and took it with me as I was out working and running errands, so I wouldn’t be tempted. Maybe I looked like a crazy person with her Ziploc bags of food, but every little bit helps, and it sure made me feel good.
- Recipes/photos:
red bell pepper, salt & pepper, and light italian. So refreshing.
Viv @ vivikare.com says:
All that food looks amazing! I think it’s all about moderation and it’s perfectly fine to eat out every now and then and in my experience it won’t hurt if you go over your calories every once in a while, as long as you make sure it’s an exception, not an everyday thing. Congrats on the loss.
Amy says:
I’ve never made it, but supposedly you can do a faux-Hollandaise sauce with yogurt. Here’s one I just googled quickly – I’m sure there are a gazillion varieties though. http://voices.yahoo.com/low-fat-hollandaise-sauce-recipe-4655319.html
I like putting avocado on my “Eggs Benedict” at home to give it a little extra creaminess and sumthin’ sumthin’ :)
All your food looks delicious and it’s awesome to read about your progress!
skye @ neathering our fest says:
Your story about having a sandwich and popcorn with you made me remember a story! I was at Walmart once and there was a woman there, totally fit, in workout clothes, not an ounce of body fat within a mile of her. She was shopping and had a little ziplock container with grilled chicken and green beans that she was eating as she shopped.
At first I was grossed out because Walmart is gross and I can’t imagine the thought of eating in there. But then it occurred to me that THIS is what healthy looked like. Granted she garnered a few crazy looks but behind those stares of astonishment were also a little bit of envy. This woman clearly had her goals set and wanted to make good decisions, rather than have a package of McNuggets from the Wal-Donalds.
SO anyways – looks like you had a pretty successful week! Have fun with your parents this weekend!!
Chrissy (The New Me) says:
I’m not participating in the CBD, but I am really enjoying your weekly posts. I’m definitely of the moderation ideology, meaning I occasionally drink two bottles of wine and eat all the bread in the house, and then make sure I’m really healthy the rest of the week. :)
Nice job this week!
Amanda says:
Totally in agreement that moderation is key! Good for you for running so consistently. I really need to just suck it up and run even though it’s hot.
Miemo says:
I was sick and had to combine my post into one, but I said NO a lot. That is an achievement for me. I love that you said its about making smarter choices and not feeling guilty, if you are going to balance it out with exercise!
Julia says:
Do you know about Skinny Pop?! It’s amazing and 39 calories a cup. Totally beats unbuttered!
Julia says:
I always pack my own meals, even when I’m out of town, especially for business do get some weird looks, but I’m the only one whose not bitching that she ate the cheesecake and the brownies… But yes, I get a ton of looks
Beth says:
I’m glad you had a good week! That is a great idea to take food with you. I am getting better about stuff like that – especially drinks. If I take some water or Crystal Light with me I can resist the sodas (even diet ones!)
Nichole says:
Glad you had a good week! Good for you for packing up your food and taking it with you! It’s definitely easier to resist temptation when you’re not starving!
Nicole says:
Your vulnerability about your cardboard box has really changed the lives of a lot of us. If you ever have a week without any other success stories, that is enough. Good job with thinking ahead and planning for munchies.
And I’m pretty sure you can add Stoli to any low calorie beverage and make it #cbdiet approved. So, yes. Let’s.
J says:
Glad you had a good week! I really should start packing my lunch on the days that I work, but I never do, so I’m stuck eating plain salads. =/ Thanks for sharing the egg mcmuffin thingy, I had three this week, they’re so good!!
Keep up the great work, and thank you so much for hosting this!
Hannah says:
The roasted baby Portobello mushrooms and grape tomatoes look amazing! Thanks for sharing! :)
Chels says:
Found this inspirational quote today on pinterest “It took more than a day to gain it, It’ll take more than a day to lose it. Don’t give up!”
You should check out kefir (our HEB sells it) I bought the unsweetened, plain kind and blended in half a banana and frozen strawberries. Delish!! Also, if you like tea there’s some awesome tea called “yerba mate” it’s worth checking out!