Karen is coming to the end of her VLCD and volunteered to share a week of her VLCD-friendly eats and exercise for some inspiration for the end of your week.
**Disclaimer: Please be aware that this post contains content that some readers may find triggering. This is not intended to be dietary advice. Anything written here is not necessarily appropriate for the Enara program you are on or consistent with your particular goals.
Friday
I usually don’t eat breakfast, but I have been trying to get better at it! I had steel cut oatmeal with raspberries at 9 AM when I went to work. A change of scenery with lunch: I packed food for my lunch break. I usually like to eat outside, and as I was walking with my container of food, it fell on the floor and scattered everywhere! But that’s okay. Starbucks was to the rescue!! I grabbed the Spinach and Feta Wrap (not technically on VLCD, but it was the best choice available) and some black coffee to survive the day! I had dinner plans with a friend that got cancelled, and I was also out of groceries and leftovers, so for dinner, I had a low-carb tortilla with peanut butter and half a banana. Saturday was a better day 🙂
Saturday
I had a very long day: three hours at the clinic, and then I offered to cover my friend’s shift at my other job (I work at Lululemon). I had a late breakfast around 11 AM of the same oatmeal with raspberries. Lunch and dinner was combined into one meal that was eaten around 4 PM. I prepped it the day before: chickpea and spinach stew from the Enara blog. The recipe has farro in it, but I chose not to add it because I wanted it more soupy because the weather is SO cold!
Sunday
I started at the store a little later, so I decided to book a Rumble boxing class in the morning and go work out! Rumble is a 45-minute workout split between two segments: boxing and strength training. They say you burn 13 calories per minute! My Fitbit said 560 calories so that was about right 🙂 Really fun workout. There is a studio in Palo Alto and San Francisco. I wouldn’t really call it breakfast, but I had a string cheese before showing up to class, so I could have something in my system! For lunch, I took my first break at the store around 2:15 PM, so I had my oatmeal, which I added almond milk to this time plus raspberries like always! For dinner, I asked for my last break to be before 8 PM so I could have dinner at a reasonable time! I picked up the Lentil and Ancient Grains soup from Trader Joe’s (I love this soup with my heart). Definitely ready to go home and relax!
Monday
When you can’t get out of bed because your legs are sore, you know that’s the feeling of a great workout!! It is also the feeling of a long day at work 🙂 This morning I started at 10 AM, so I used some time to catch up on some school work with a cup of green tea. For lunch, I had the last of my oatmeal with some almond milk and raspberries. Four days was enough of oatmeal, so I was ready to change it up a little bit the next couple of days. I had the same dinner as yesterday: a cup of the Lentil and Ancient Grains soup from Trader Joe’s. Since I’m on VLCD, I try not to snack, but I got home from work around 8 PM and was really tired while cooking for the next couple of days and working on school assignments, so I had a string cheese. My challenge is my long days because I get home and I feel tired and want a snack. Viveca recommended I come up with a list of things to do when I need to unwind, which was a great recommendation! Some of the things on my list: drink tea, call a friend, make a healthy grocery list (it works), play music, look at my calendar and see what is coming up…or anything you can think of!
Tuesday
I work up a little later and worked on some homework with a cup of green tea. I had a workout scheduled at 11 AM, so I grabbed string cheese and headed to the studio. We did a full body workout for 40 minutes! I had school after this until 4:30 PM, and I packed lunch with me to eat between my classes, but I had a study group during my break and I didn’t have time to sit down and eat it (I also wasn’t feeling hungry at the time – I think the coffee worked its magic). I had my dinner finally at 5 PM. I made the Greek Chicken Meatballs from our VLCD Guide and had Greek yogurt with cucumbers with it. I was excited to have leftovers because it was delicious!
Wednesday
My longest day of the week! I always tell myself that the day is going to pass and it is going to be fine 🙂 I have work in the morning until 4:30 PM and then a night class from 6 to 8:45 PM. I took my lunch break around noon. I usually like to take a quick drive and listen to some of my favorite music – that’s my way of taking a break and really enjoying it. I packed grilled chicken with me and planned on going to Whole Foods and picking up a soup there. I usually look for the Lentil and Spinach soup (4 oz. is 180 calories, and it is so filling and delicious!), and if I don’t find the soup, I just use the salad bar and put something VLCD-friendly together. I found the soup on Wednesday, so it was a good day and had it with grilled chicken. Night class ended a little early so had dinner around 7:30 PM of leftover chicken meatballs with Greek yogurt and cucumbers.
Thursday
I woke up not feeling very hungry, so skipped breakfast and just had a cup of green tea while I practiced for a 20-minute presentation for my class. I was very nervous! I spend all day at school on Thursdays, so I try to pack lunch with me. I packed the last of the chicken meatballs for lunch with some cucumbers and yogurt, which I had after my presentation at noon, which went well 🙂 After I was done with classes at 4 PM, I went to the studio to get some exercise. I did a full body workout for 40 minutes. I wasn’t feeling really hungry when I went home so I sliced half a banana with Greek yoghurt and ate it around 6pm. By then, I was definitely ready to call it a day.
