Well hey there! Is it hotter than Alec Baldwin’s Schweddy Balls where you are as well? Is it honestly too much to ask to just want to not sweat through 90% of the day? Too much, too much I know. So, it’s Wednesday and it’s time to hide behind the peep hole that is the entire internet nowadays and stalk what all the cool cats ate for one day. Or at least whatever they decide to tell us. I’m not knocking it because once again I’ll be joining in. So everyone throw your leg over your high horse and get ready to judge. It’s just too easy and fun sometimes 😉
I started the day with a sweet rather than savory breakfast at about 8am. I had had dessert the night before which is rare, a coconut milk based dessert but heavily sweetened, and so that seemed to get me craving a sweet taste the next morning, even though my stomach wasn’t feeling great. I made a hash with pink lady apples (no skin) sweet potatoes, chicken apple sausage, and an egg. Sweet but definitely not too sweet – this hit the spot. I followed it up with coffee with coconut milk, although I probably drank only half the cup. 
We had plans to go out to Long Island to visit with my parents and do some back-to-school clothes shopping for the kids. I was rushing to get out the door, and packed food for the kids to eat in the car plus this salad for myself. 
This salad was fine except it was lacking a protein source, I just didn’t feel like my stomach could handle anything much heavier at the time. It consisted of a whole avocado, half a cucumber, a roasted golden beet, grape tomatoes, and topped with olive oil and lemon juice. I ate this in the car at about noon. While we were shopping I realized I was starving, so at around 3:30 I ate this Lara Bar brought from home. 
It was really hot outside and we were shopping at an outdoor outlet mall, so between the heat and shopping I was wiped out by the time we were done. We headed back to my parent’s house for a few minutes before going to for an early dinner with the crew. 
From people’s reactions it looks like something important is being said, but who really knows with us. 
Looks like it’s my daughter who’s saying the important thing. Here was my meal: the best I could do, it was fine but nothing special. 
I was starving by now and almost forgot to take a picture so this is halfway through – delightful, I know. Steak, broccoli with butter and a sweet potato with butter. I’m usually okay with butter but who knows because I didn’t feel great for another day after this. 
I skipped the chocolate cheesecake everyone else ate back at my parent’s house and stuck with fruit salad. I had another small serving after this and also a half cup of black coffee. I never usually have coffee past 10am but it was getting late and I was exhausted so went for it. 
We started heading home at about 9:15 (it’s a little over an hour to drive home) and I started getting hungry in the car so had some trail mix brought from home: almonds, raisins, cranberries and a few sunflower seeds. Not my favorite taste or digestive wise but it worked for the moment. 
At home I had some coconut water before bed. It definitely seems like the more I eat sweeter foods the more I crave a sweet taste. No new discovery there but since I usually don’t eat too many sweets I sometimes forget how that works. Also, although I drank a bottle of water in the afternoon (not pictured) I felt that I was under-hydrated for the day which might have also contributed to wanting a sweet taste. I went to bed way too late, slept poorly, and ran early the next morning. In terms of self-care, this was not remotely a good day for me but spending fun quality time with my family more than made up for any damage done. Now that we’re all getting back in a routine to prepare for the kids starting school, I’m feeling much more like myself, and my digestion seems back to normal as well. How do you make healthy choices for yourself when you’re away from home? How does consecutive days of poor sleep affect you? What do you do to get back into a routine after a week being completely off?
Hey MIchelle, not related, but I’m wondering how much dairy relieved you of your symptoms of IBS?
I seem to be fine with goat cheese, butter, and feta but dairy combined with sugar (like ice cream) gives me a little trouble. Not as much as wheat though. Dairy is far less evil than I always thought it was.
Consecutive days of not great sleep leave me crannnnnky. And things usually start to hurt. Well, more so than usual. When traveling for multiple days, I think you do the best that you can, but sometimes you have to do things yourself. There are going to be some meals that are winners, some that aren’t, but you just have to take care of yourself as best as you can.
So true, it’s not worth going nuts trying to make every meal work for you, sometimes it’s just the best you can do and that’s that. Plus, family time/travel time really isn’t about the food anyway 🙂
I absolutely love your intro to this post (yet again) had me giggling all the way through! Oh how I am with you on how eating sweet makes me crave sweet. A little dark chocolate after dinner has been doing the trick!
I think a little bit of a sweet craving is fine, but once I start wanting a sweet taste with every meal I know I’ve gone a bit too far with it. Plus all the sweet foods just don’t make me feel my best. A little fruit is fine though. I always want to get dark chocolate and then I freak out when I see the price of the bars!
I always feel like on days that I am busy and don’t work out I don’t hydrate enough. I’ll realize it at the end of the day but its usually too late. Isn’t it crazy how one meal thats different can do so much? I find that if I eat something that makes me feel “off” I’m more likely to eat something that won’t make me feel good at my next meal…and so on. I do my best when I can stop the cycle immediately!
Stopping the cycle asap is always a good thing, especially with marathon training when we need to feel our “best” as much as we can! When I look at my training plan it looks manageable, assuming I’m sleeping, not too stressed, and don’t have to move too many days around. Then of course life kicks in and things don’t always look nearly as manageable. I guess that’s where perspective needs to come in!
Helllo Michele!
Your daughter totally does look like she’s making an important announcement haha!
Ya know, I definitely don’t eat normal when I’m away–and I kinda LOVE that. I don’t feel out of control…more like a kid at a candy store.
For some shameful reason, I don’t feel that much different either (wouldn’t it be GREAT to say how horrible I felt compared to how GREAT I felt when I ate great?!). Good thing I like being healthy anyway.
Have a killer day!
I think it’s a great thing that you can still feel good even while off your routine! At least you know what’s healthy for you and can reign it in when you feel like 🙂
OK I was totally thrown by the shweddy balls comment, I nearly fell over at my desk laughing. That was winning!!! 😀 and actually I can relate, I live in Houston, TX, and the humidity is over 100%, even when I run in the morning at 4:30am, I am drenched after 15 minutes. It is seriously gross – but yet I take it over the treadmill unless it’s raining so I can’t complain. The things we do!
Eating healthy while traveling can be challenging, I try and research where we will be and get ideas of what the eateries have on their menus. I feel that if I can at least get eggs, I’ll survive. lol. The sleep issue is a whole other story, and a lot harder to recover from. I feel like you just have to plan on having a few days after for bouncing back, it’s a challenge. What I do is just set my bar ultra low, that way I feel good about myself for anything beyond getting out of bed after we return home!
I do not envy people in texas! I’m not sure I could survive there, I’m a total heat wimp and running might be impossible. Low expectations are a must after a trip, I need a few days to recover but often wind up planning things to do right away. Maybe next time I’ll learn my lesson!
haha! oh trust me, i set the bar low out loud with my family, but inside i have a secret goal!!! and that sometimes bites me in the butt, or hamstring, etc. 🙂 those pesky secret goals!
Your salad looks delicious with the avaccodo on it. I bought a whole box of those coconut cream lara bars revently since they were on sale. Even though it is good, I am getting so sick of that flavor. I need to find another one to try.
I think the lara bars start to all taste the same after a while! I’ve had the cookie dough and blueberry muffin and those are pretty good. They are fine for on-the-go but I never want them if I’m home 🙂 I must have avocado in all my salads!
I use being away from home as a I chance to treat myself – not great I know but occasionally you just have to! I really can’t cope with not sleeping, it gives me a case of the crazies. But when I haven’t had my usual 8 hours I up my coffee intake (a lot!)
Nothing wrong with treats if they make you happy! My next project is to work on sleep. I’m a sensitive sleeper but I’m realizing how important it is for me to stay healthy.
We are in Florida and it is so stinking hot here…beyond tolerable. I think the heat is making everyone cranky as well. I am with you on the sweet stuff…the more you eat it the more you crave it. For me it’s the same with nuts. I need a nuts anonymous program right now. Traveling is hard…I am a firm believer in routine (maybe I am just boring) but it does throw everything off. Hopefully things will calm down into the fall!
I’m with you on boring! Boring does not have to be bad at all 🙂 Can’t imagine the heat in Florida- I’m not built for that and couldn’t run there!
You made some decent choices, even if you were off a ‘routine’- Sleep, I find, can have a huge impact on my hunger levels- the less sleep I get, the more hungry I am the next day- especially in the afternoon.
I think that’s pretty common with missing out on sleep! It’s always a nice feeling to catch up and get back into a groove with routine.