checking in

My two week "cleanse" is over. So how did I do? Okay.

The first week, sans the bridal shower brunch, I stuck to all of the rules I made for myself. The second week, I started to eat sugar again only because I had a little bit last Sunday and it activated my craving for it. If I stay away from it completely, I'm okay. When I don't, want it all the time.

Yesterday was Easter, and for the first time in years I got an Easter basket (well it was for both Kyle and I) and I only had ONE Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Egg (normally I scarf these down), a small amount of M & M's and Jelly Beans. I felt proud of myself for not eating as much Easter candy as I usually do.

For dinner last night, I made a pizza with all of my favorite veggies and antipasta toppings. It was DELICIOUS, and I did eat a little more than I needed to. I had the leftovers for lunch today, and it kind of hurt my stomach. The only dairy that was on there was goat cheese, which doesn't normally bother me. I'm thinking it might have been the gluten? I just felt weighed down and my stomach was unsettled for hours after eating it. I have avoided gluten for the most part during these past two weeks, so maybe this was too much? I really really hope I have not developed a gluten intolerance, because that would be added to my list of dairy and soy intolerance, which is already difficult to stick to.

Anyway, I have learned two major things from this cleanse:
1. Cooking at home saves a lot of money.
2. All cooking at home requires is a chunk of time at the beginning of the week to plan out meals & grocery shop.

Even though I felt like I spent a lot at the grocery store buying stuff to cook, I only ate out twice in the two weeks and I spent way less on food than I usually do. Which led me to reconsider how much of my paycheck on food. Verdict: too much. Because I have had an actual paycheck since September, I have been less budget-conscious when it comes to food. Before I started earning a decent wage, I was so used to eating whatever and whenever I could because I was so broke. I think not being so broke has led me to feel like I can sort of celebrate this by spending whatever I need to in order to feed myself. Suffice to say, it's time to tighten the purse strings a little, and cooking at home is definitely a key to achieving this.