Elspeth's Day by Day

Hello All! 

Happy Easter! I hope you all had enjoyable Easter Celebrations if you celebrate. It was so nice to get home for more than a weekend. During my time home, I was able to see family, get errands done, and relax for a few days. Today, I am back to school and ready to finish out the semester strong with the last few weeks. 

Today, I wanted to take the time to share with you something that I have been working on for the last 40 days. Every year, I was always try to make my Lenten sacrifice something meaningful, whether it’s giving up fast food, desserts, or a certain thing I use every day. This year, I wanted to make a big change not only for the spiritual sacrifice but for my health. I decided to give up carbs. Now, that might seem huge and vague so let me explain it down more. 

I wanted to really challenge myself, but I also wanted to see a change in myself. While I was in Rome over spring break. I kept saying how hard it was going to be from eating delicious authentic, Italian food to go back to eating American food. I also indulged a lot while I was in Rome and I wanted to change my eating habits when I returned. I realized this would be the perfect opportunity to make changes in my diet. 

When I returned from Italy (although it was a few days after Lent had started), I cut out a lot of things from my diet. I cut out bread, pasta, chips, crackers, and potatoes (I love potatoes whether it’s baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, French fries, tater tots, waffle fries etc). That’s all I cut out, so yes, I did eat a cookie here or there, some popcorn when I went to the movies, or cereal in the morning. I didn’t cut out all carbs but certain foods that I would eat daily.

It was quite a challenge. The bread and the pasta were the hardest things to not eat especially since it is in so much of our food, I couldn’t eat pizza, sandwiches, waffles, donuts, pancakes, Mac and cheese, and more foods that I would have grabbed without taking a second thought. This challenge did force me to step out of my comfort zone by eating more vegetables, fruits, and meat. With all this food out of my diet what did I eat? 

For breakfast, I would often eat fruit or a bowl of cereal (yes, I know that has carbs but I needed to find a balance), for lunch in the past would typically get a grilled chicken wrap-but during Lent I would opt for just grilled chicken and lettuce instead of a wrap. For dinner I would often have a big salad with grilled chicken, or soup, or another type of meat. Although, the options of food choices would sometimes get boring, I would try to change up my meals with different fruit or vegetables. 

Through the 40 days of Lent I did notice a change in myself, I had more energy and I felt more full by eating cleaner and not having a lot of processed foods in my diet. I also noticed that by reaching for water instead of a sugary drink made me feel more healthier.  I also attempted to take pictures each week to see my progress but that stopped after the second week. Plus, I didn’t necessarily do this to lose weight, but rather to sacrifice something and be healthier.

Now that my 40 days of no carbs will I go back? Yes and No. Yes, if I want waffled fries and a burger, I’m going to get waffle fries and a burger. But I want to try to eat more greens and lean meats instead of turning to bread and pasta all the time. When I am at school I eat healthier since I am on the go more and busier, however, when I am at home, it’s hard to resist homemade meals, but with summer approaching I’m going to try my best to keep choosing healthier options in my diet. 

I hope this inspires you to try to make changes in your diet, it doesn’t have to be as extreme as this but maybe opting to cut out soda or fried food from your diet, you will be amazed at how you feel at the end of it. What did you give up for Lent? Would you be interested in giving up something this major?