Day 2

Surprisingly, I woke up this morning feeling anxious. Could I keep this up? Would I give in and have a hunk of cake for breakfast? Am I getting enough protein? The start of this dietary program was happening outside of my food comfort zone. I was out of town visiting my family. I think this short-lived anxiety was derived from the realization that I had not adequately succeeded to plan each meal, especially breakfast on day two. So, as soon as I could have my wife look after this kids (hey, this doesn't happen in a bubble--you're going to have to plan for the foreseeable and unforeseeable challenges), I stole away to the store for some more supplies. Parking far away, almost at the end of the lot, proved to be a particular challenge in the 8 degree Michigan winter weather. I selected some lean, shaved ham, eggs for the whites, cottage cheese, raisins, and a new chip-like pretzel product for snacking. I actually had some of the black-eyed pea stew for breakfast and lunch, with some cottage cheese and raisins for balance, snacking on fresh fruit and pretzels for filler. If you're one of those that doesn't like to mix flavors, textures, and layers of the food pyramid, you're in for an additional challenge. Thankfully, I don't have that problem. Dinner allowed me to, again, max out on the green beans and get my limit of meat via some tasty baked chicken wings made by my talented cousin. One area of improvement that I already notice: making the time to spend 20 minutes eating each meal. I'll keep working on that one!