Day 9 is here!  I feel much better than I did last week and I feel like each day is getting easier.  From other diets, like Keto or Whole 30, by now, I’d be wallowing in a pile of self-pity still confused about what foods to choose and frankly probably sneaking a Cheezy at Wayback Burgers.

Now, the thought of a burger like that today makes me want to puke because I know it’s greasy and heavy.  Y’all…that’s a humongous ginormous change for me.

I’m off the FreshStart boxed foods and now starting to eat more of the freezer foods that were included, but I find myself sticking the FreshStart plan for now because I’m not ready to add in the other items.  I’m good eating what I’m eating for now.

I’m also starting to realize that 100 calories can look very different in the amount of potato chips I eat versus something else, which is just a reminder of why I was always eating.  The foods I was eating were high in calories per bite leaving me hitting my caloric intake for the day by breakfast!  (Yes, even my favorite Chick-Fil-A.)

Today is going to be a work from home day.  Which means it’s a lot easier to not smell 10 different foods on the way to the kitchen from people and focus only on me.

I’m going to try and up my photography skills during this as well.  Giving you a picture of packages, food before cooked (with relative sizing) and after cooked on a plate to give you an idea of portion sizing.

Breakfast: 

Breakfast this morning was the Cherry Cheese Roll.  Y’all, I haven’t had this much sugar in one bite since I started and it was literally heaven.

This breakfast is warmed up in the microwave (it’s a frozen entree) for 30 seconds. I let it sit for about 1 minute after it came out, too.  It was so warm and squishy and covered in a yummy icing.  This one is definitely a treat!

I do not recall any filling, but did have a light cherry taste.  It was literally perfection, if that’s a thing with prepared frozen stuff.

Size wise, it’s a little larger than the muffins on the Nutrisystem plan, but it’s pretty close.  I’ve noticed that most foods are really about palm size for the most part.  Maybe I need to start thinking about the fact that your stomach is about that size, too.  A quick Google search leads me to find that that’s about right, but it can expand to 3 or 4 times its size depending on what you eat.  Holy crow.

Go ahead, click that link.  Read more on that.  The body is fascinating stuff, y’all!  Anyway, now that I’m over the shock of week 1 and the portion sizes, I think this is settling in and I’m getting used to what my new norm should be.  Doesn’t mean I would not try to down a pizza though if someone was going to offer me money for it.  Hey..if the price is right!

AM Snack:

Morning snack is my FreshStart Shake and some veggies.  I’m starting to get pretty comfortable with spaghetti squash.  I kind of like having it and realizing how much more my body is slowly starting to adapt to it.  Don’t get all crazy on me though…that doesn’t mean I like vegetables just yet.  Let’s do one crazy thing at a time.

I mean, I’m all for jumping out of airplanes.  Wait.  No, I’m not.  I’m not even partial to getting anywhere close to them.

I’m halfway through the day and have hit my water goal already. I find this is easiest to get through.  I think it’s easier when it’s room temperature and there’s a real difference to me in water taste.  Have you noticed how tap water and some filtered waters have this weird taste?  I like the filtered water we have at home because it’s literally tasteless.  I also like Ozarka and Smartwater, but that’s about it.  Other waters just taste funny to me.

Lunch:

I hear really good things about the burgers.  I’m not sure where those things are good, but let me tell you my first impression and how I think I can change it next time.

The bread was very hard.  Almost hockey puck and chewy in the very center.  I had it frozen until I was ready to eat it, so I think what I need to do next time instead of wrapping it in a paper towel as instructed is to wrap it in a wet paper towel.  I think this will help keep some of the moisture in.

Also, I think these might be better microwaved once thawed a bit versus frozen solid.  I plan to thaw mine out a bit (maybe an hour) before I eat it next time and see.  I was a little cautious of the meat because I’ve not ever had any good experiences with frozen beef.  But, this was pretty decent.  Next time, I’ll add lettuce and mustard, too.  I’m still at that I’m-trying-everything-as-is’ stage to find my true likes and dislikes.

Overall though, the meat was really great.  If you’re looking for a good hamburger option, these are nice.  They are a little larger than the frozen White Castle burgers I’ve seen in the frozen section, but are still about the size of the palm of my hand.  Which brings up my next question. Why are burgers in the restaurant industry so large?  I mean, it’s no wonder we max out on calories!  Think sliders y’all.  That’s a normal portion.  Sliders.

PM Snack and Dinner: 

I didn’t take a picture of my PM snack, but had the meat stick.  Pretty good.  No real spice to it which made me a little sad.  I like more spice to jerky type stuff, but a great option if you don’t like spice.

Dinner was the chicken parmesan.  Man, if pictures were real, this might actually be more appetizing.  Now, let me say that I wasn’t disappointed with the chicken, but the noodles, not so much.

The portion size was something similar to what you’d see in the frozen section for your lunches under 200 calories.  Small black tray and meat again the size of my palm.  I’m starting to notice a trend.  Palm size for meat y’all.  And thin.  Not a 6 oz. steak that is 3 inches thick.

I added some riced broccoli and cauliflower as my veggie.  This should also read “blended into super small chunks’ because it was not riced, in my opinion.

So entree wise, meat – great win.  Loved it!  Noodles, no way.  Tomato sauce was bland and flavorless and very watery.  I let it sit, too.  Normally I notice that letting it sit it does better. But, next time I have this, I’ll add garlic to the noodles.  I think that will make a difference.

I drank a ton of water today – over 200 ounces.  For some reason, I was struggling with getting my thirst quenched.  I also didn’t drink any coffee and didn’t go to the bathroom as much.  Maybe I’m getting used to it!

Anyway, until tomorrow!