We finally did it! 30 days of clean eating in the books! I lost 6 pounds total and my husband lost over 10. I can alllllmost fit into the smaller size of jeans. But, I still consider it a win. Especially because I was eating as much as I wanted and didn’t hit the gym all that much this month.

Week 4 Summary: Over It

I have been trying to summarize each week, and this one was so easy. Over It. I was so over all of it. To the point where I didn’t meal prep this week. Which was a really bad idea. I was just so over cooking every single thing I put into my mouth. By the time my $5 block of cheese was gone (don’t worry, it was only a few ounces), I was out of quick, filling snacks. There were days where I would only eat a piece of toast and small smoothie until dinner. Which then left me hangry by dinner time.

One particular day, I totally shut down. I ate a piece of toast and a small potato, and that was it. My husband graciously made me lunch (a smoothie and peanut butter toast) for lunch at 4 pm. Not my proudest moment.

Since I got my food allergy results a few years ago, I have had a very strained relationship with food. And every few months I tend to have some sort of total-shut-down. One time, it was when Sprouts stopped carrying a meat alternative I could eat. This time, it was salt on that wound of having to cook almost everything I eat anyways. The good news is that these melt downs are becoming fewer and further between as I live with my food allergies for more time.

Re-Introducing Our Diet

We always intended to re-introduce our regular diet. Partly because we saw this as an experiment and partly because of our undying love for Chipotle. (Though, my husband keeps talking about pizza lately….) However, we don’t want to make ourselves sick by going all out in one day. So, we have created a plan.

• Day 1 – Take our ‘unclean’ foods out of their hiding spots and back into view.
• Day 1 – Chipotle! Burrito bowls with chips and water/tea.
• Day 2 – Dutch Bros Caramelizers
• Day 4 – Movie Theater Popcorn (This is our anniversary, so we are going to celebrate by watching Avengers: End Game with real movie theater popcorn!)

Permanent Changes

We are definitely keeping some of these clean eating changes permanently in our lives. The main one, Ezekiel bread. It’s not all that much more expensive than the bread we were getting before, and it has wayyyyyy less ingredients. Also, Trader Joe’s spaghetti sauce, tempeh, and tofu. I have been trying to get my husband into the habit of putting plain yogurt in his smoothies, and I think that after this month it will finally stick!

Another permanent change is being more prepared. Honestly, I just got lazy about this and then would grab a quick burrito or some french fries on my way to and from places. I know when I am going to be out on an engagement shoot at dinner time. So, I need to make sure I bring a snack with me. Or eat before I leave the house. Simple as that.

Other Moderate Changes

We have decided to only eat out together in the month of May. Mainly so we don’t over do-it. So, no quick food at QT or Taco Bell runs on our way home from work/shoots. Making sure we are together if we are eating outside of the house will seriously help limit the amount of eating out we do.

My love of Dutch is real. I am honestly not sure how many Americanos I got this month. I plan on sticking to Americanos and half-sweet Kickers for the most part. I will save, my love, Caramelizers for Sunday mornings and special occasions.

Up Next

So, now you know our plan for May. If you were into this, check back in when we do it all again in July! My husband will be doing Keto and I will be clean eating again. Apparently, there are some vegan/vegetarian keto meals. So I may be incorporating some of those into my diet, just so we can eat together. I won’t be quite as strict in July as I was in April. Mainly, I will eat Chipotle bowls and won’t be buying as many organics. (It was seriously so expensive!)

Have you every done clean eating? Or do you have any great Keto recipes for us? I would love to hear about them below.