DAY SEVEN
I’ve made it one full week without any corner-cutting or back-sliding. Go me!
The Energy Smoothie I had for breakfast today was like drinking a Christmas cookie. (Perhaps I intuitively picked out the one recipe which closest resembles the most celebratory time of year? Hmm. . . ) The combination of the spice from the cardamom and the nuttiness from the almond butter really made a great base for the drink. I definitely have to say, however, that the peaches stole the show. They didn’t make the smoothie overtly fruity, but they did lighten up the overall palette and made it something truly tasty.
Lunch was a glorified tuna salad. (Proper title: Watercress Salad with Shaved Fennel and Seared Tuna) The recipe gives you the option of using canned tuna in water instead of a tuna steak, but that means you don’t get to do any fun searing. If you’re very hungry or cramped for time, however, the canned tuna is a blessing. I didn’t add as much fennel as was called for because I’d just had the apple and fennel juice the night before, and fennel is such a strong flavor it’s easy to tire of quickly. As it was I ended up with a tummy ache.
Before you go blaming the canned tuna, let me give you some backstory. I ate my breakfast at 8:30 this morning. I didn’t have any snacks between then and noon when I went swimming because I was preoccupied and not paying attention to my body. (That is something you should try to avoid. Trust me, your body will thank you for the consideration.) By the time I hit the water I was already hungry, but I willfully ignored that. What was I going to do? Hit up the vending machine down the hall? Don’t think so. A dozen laps later I was starting to feel my energy flagging and a cramp forming. I did a bit of lazy, cool-down swimming and decided I needed food. After all was chopped and mixed, I didn’t tuck into my lunch until about an hour later. In my desire for energy and no more hunger pains, I may have over-eaten. Apologies to you and me for being a little pig.
End-of-week-recap: I’ve lost one pound. I don’t feel any more mentally clear (although I flatter myself that that is not a usual problem for me). More energy? Nope. But I fully blame the heat for that. You know one major perk that has come out of this week? My stomach is starting to settle down. Hurrah! Check out the pics below to see the changes this week has wrought.