Pushing the Reset Button + WIAW

Hi there!

Long time no talk. I’m back in California, back to a normal routine for the week. My last weekend in Jersey was awesome, as I spent it down the shore drinking, eating, and boating with family and girlfriends…

I got back to San Diego at 1 AM on Monday after multiple flight delays, then had to get back to work on Monday morning. So as you can imagine, I started off the week pretty tired and jet-lagged! I think that weeks of traveling a lot visiting with loved ones and staying up late either out with girlfriends/family or watching the Olympics while still working during the day caught up with me… and I was exhausted!

Rather than forcing myself into my normal routine of hard workouts and getting unpacked and unorganized the first chance I got, I decided to take a day to chill out on that front. Besides working, picking up some food at the store, and taking Harley for a walk, I let myself get some rest. I didn’t work past 5:30 (very unusual for me!), I laid on the couch all evening, and I got 10 hours of sleep. Whew, I needed it, and I felt so much more like myself by Tuesday!

I think that sometimes we just need to give ourselves a break with time to relax. A day of rest and recovery from travel – and also sometimes just to de-stress from general busyness – helps us to restore our bodies and minds. Once in awhile the healthier choice is to watch a movie on the couch rather than be productive!

On that note, yesterday I decided to get my butt in gear in terms of healthy eating. While I was on the east coast, I ate lots of healthy meals, but I also overdid it some nights with booze, sweets and carbs. I’m leaving for Ireland next week (!!), so I don’t have much time to be in total control of my eats at home, but I know that I’ll feel better eating clean for at least a couple of days.

With that being said, yesterday was my first day of counting macros as I typically do and eating all of my meals at home in a few weeks. I’m joining in on the What I Ate Wednesday party, and here’s what I ate!

Breakfast was a post-early morning cycling workout cinnamon banana peanut butter protein shake, made with frozen banana, cashew milk, PB 2 powdered peanut butter, cinnamon and vanilla protein powder.

Lunch was a slice of Mediterranean avocado toast (so good!) with strawberries and blueberries. I also made extra roasted chickpeas to include in my dinner.

For a late afternoon snack, I ate a few of these raw chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies that I was testing out (the recipe is coming to the blog next week!).

I also ate a nectarine to hold me over until dinnertime.

In the afternoon, I got a surprise package from my friends at Lundberg Farms. I’ve almost exclusively used their rice since visiting their farm last year and seeing what a great company they are, and I was happy to find some goodies from them!

Post-strength training, I whipped up some dinner: a wrap with Gardein crispy tenders, shredded organic cheddar cheese, raw spinach, tomatoes, leftover roasted chickpeas, salsa, and brown jasmine rice from my Lundberg package. I used a package that you just throw in the microwave for 90 seconds. Usually I’m hesitant to buy minute rice like this, but I know that Lundberg makes such high quality products & I’ll definitely be on the lookout for their quick-cook products in stores!

My dinner was ready in 10 minutes flat & made for great re-fuel food! I ate with my hubby and chilled out on the patio for a few.

A couple hours later, I made an electrolyte drink to sip while I typed up this blog post and did some other work. I consciously drank lots of water during the day because I felt a bit dehydrated from traveling. And that’s a wrap on my eats for the day!

Tell me… Do you ever find yourself pushing the reset button on your diet? When was the last time you gave yourself permission to hang out instead of be productive?