Happy Hump Day Everyone! Man this week is flying by so fast but’m thankful for that because I hate when they drag on and on! Breakfast yesterday morning was something new for me, I had a….

2 Ingredient Sweet Potato Pancake

I first saw sweet potato pancakes on one of my favorite blogs carrotsncakes.com here. You’ll have to head over there to get the recipe, but I will tell you I made this the night before (covered with a paper towel for 30 minutes, then with plastic wrap) and reheated in the morning. I topped it with sun butter, almond butter, and raisins. Although I’m not into hot breakfast right now, it was a nice change and definitely very satisfying… it will definitely be appearing in the line up this winter for sure!

Right before lunch I heard there would be cake in celebration for the head of our department’s birthday… so I went a little light on lunch. Simple Salmon with half a plate of veggies!

She graciously shared this beautiful edible bouquet that was sent to her…

and there was Costco sheet cake with buttercream frosting which I was too embarrassed to take a picture of. I’d like to say I had some fruit, but there was cake… so COME ON!

After the cake extravaganza I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. I was thinking to myself: Why did you have to get such a big side piece AND a frosting flower. Why couldn’t you have grabbed the simple middle piece with minimal frosting? Now you can’t have dinner.

STOP AND REDIRECT YOUR TRAIN OF THOUGHT

When I was calorie counting I would have used this as an excuse to blow the whole day, since I didn’t know how many calories was in the cake then the whole day would be shot (meaning no more logging so I could have whatever). Or I would have left myself out of the fun completely for fear of not being able to log it. Today, I struggle with the negative self talk I mentioned above. In any case I have now learned to stop and redirect my train of thought by reminding myself these things:

– Health is an accumulation of all that we put in our body. I ate mostly healthy today and I can eat healthy the next meal. This puts me back in control.

– Healthy food fuels the physical and emotional parts of us, treats feed the soul. So in other words, we should enjoy them when we have them.

– Today is a workout day, I can go a little longer than planned no big deal.

– One piece of cake is to be enjoyed otherwise what’s the point of having it? It is never something to worry about when you live by the 80/20 rule.

Workout and Dinner

With that little pep talk I headed to the gym after work and had a fabulous super sweaty workout. I did a total of 3 miles split up before, midway, and after the Hot, Hot, Hot workout from PBfingers.com. THAT’S 100 BURPEES, 100 PUSH UPS, 100 CRUNCHES, 100 PLANK JACKS AND 100 SQUATS!!!!!!! WHOAHHHHH FOR ME! I ended the night with a muscle milk shake.

If I was hungry I would have had something else, but I actually just wasn’t. So I listened to my body’s subtle cues and fueled according to that. NOT according to how many calories I think I had already consumed. Learning to listen to my body tell me what it needs has taken quite some time and practice, but now it comes much easier. As a result, I’m simply a happier healthier person.

Questions of the day:

–Any mantras you use to retrain your brain when negativity sets in?

-Why do you eat healthy? What motivates you?

For me it’s because I love the way it makes me feel physically, I feel energized not sluggish. I also just love the idea of naturally nourishing my body, taking care of myself isn’t a bother but instead a privilege.