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You guys are doing such an amazing job with your forbidden foods!! I love reading your stories! Keep it up!

And remember: all of you—bloggers and non-bloggers alike—are welcome to enter the challenge between now and Sunday! Either share your experience with your forbidden food on your blog and link to this post [challenge details can be found here], or leave a comment on the same post sharing your experience. At the end of the week, I’ll recap everyone’s stories, and a random participant will receive a special surprise package :-)

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On to today :-)

My dad accuses me of overexaggerating everything—of speaking “hyperbolically,” as he puts it. Reading over yesterday’s post, I can see why. I said “delicious,” “incredible,” and “SO good” multiple times, and also used “perfect,” “perfection,” “SO HAPPY,” “heaven,” and “SO delicious!” I really need some new adjectives to describe my food! I would be the worst food critic ever! (That may be an exaggeration too :-) ) In any case, I’ll try to “use my words” in this post!

Today started with a lovely 45-minute walk in the park and a yummy fruit-filled breakfast (I also cut up a canteloupe and ate a few unpictured pieces):

b'fastjuicy ripe mango, creamy Whole Soy yogurt, sweet + crunchy granola

I didn’t quite finish the yogurt mix and saved some for a snack. I’ve been cleaning my plate lately so it’s nice to remind myself that I don’t always need everything on there! For lunch/snacks at work, I packed a colorful spread:

lunchClockwise from the middle: another plain Whole Soy yogurt (can’t get enough!), fresh ripe strawberries, the other half of this morning’s mango, a forbidden cookie!, baby carrots, and a container of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, beans, okra, potatoes) with a vegan chik’n patty.

I had the carrots, strawberries, and cookie for a mid-morning snack around 11 (and despite spending the night in the refrigerator, the cookie still had that wonderful crumbly/chewy/chocolatey consistency! (Yikes, now I’m an alliterative hyperbolic!) Should I cut down on the exclamation points too? I packed the cookie because I didn’t want to obsess about them all day while I was at work, and this way, I “got it out of my system” early (sounds negative, but those of you who have struggled with disordered eating may know where I’m coming from). I enjoyed the cookie and then forgot about cookies for the rest of the workday, so I guess the strategy worked!

I had the chik’n patty/mixed veggie mix (with 1 tsp olive oil drizzled on top) at noon, more because I was craving veggies than because I was really hungry, and then went to my at-work yoga class from 1:20–2:20. Ahhh, it was wonderful! Our teacher stepped up the pace and I could really feel it, especially during the warrior sequence!! Post-yoga (around 3) I had the mango and yogurt. This kept me full all afternoon—even through my 2-mile after-work walk with Arthur! I haven’t had a “perfectly full” afternoon like this in awhile, and it boosted my confidence in intuitive eating :-) PREPARATION is definitely the key!!

I started getting dinner together around 7:30 (could’ve eaten earlier, but I knew dinner would be quick to throw together and I knew I would enjoy it more if I was actually hungry):

apertifMy leftover breakfast with a couple tbsps. of Udi’s Vanilla granola for crunch

messy dinraw swiss chard topped with super-spicy salsa; Ezekiel wrap with spicy Sabra’s hummus, 1/4 an avocado, 1/4 a block “cajun”-spiced tofu, and fresh parsley!

sweetdried pineapple ring for somethin’ sweet

Just got back from my last walk of the day w/ Arthur (~1 mile)—I kinda want a cookie with a glass of soymilk but kinda just want a cup of tea—I’ll check back tomorrow to let you know what happens :-) . In any case, it’s a lovely feeling knowing that they’re there, and I can have one if I want one. No more mind games!! If this were pre-Forbidden Foods challenge, I’d probably be having a little argument with myself (you had cookie dough and 2 cookies yesterday and one today—no more allowed. None tomorrow. If you have one, you have to run in the morning . . .)

What mind games do you play?