I am hungry.

We just finished our first week of "7". I have managed to eat a supersized container of spinach over this week. That makes me feel pretty good!!  Eating only 7 foods has been simple, but definitely not easy. For example, this thought has crossed my mind several times this week: If I have to eat one more peanut butter sandwich, I will explode. And the "guts" that explode out of me will probably have turned into peanut butter because of how much of it I've eaten. Confession: more than once I have resorted to just eating PB straight out of the jar. I used to do that in college too. Good times.

Here are some realizations we have come to over this first week:

1. Before "7", we never really let ourselves get truly hungry. At the first inkling of being hungry, we would grab something to eat. That, my friends, is a recipe for gaining 15-20 pounds in the past few years. We have learned it is okay to let yourself feel hungry. Makes you appreciate your next meal a little bit more.

2. There are a lot of ads on TV for food and restaurants! When you are only eating 7 foods, you definitely start noticing the ads for all of those foods that aren't on your list. :( Jake and I had a conversation last night about what foods we really missed at that moment--- for me, it was Chinese. For Jake, Mexican. Crab rangoooooooon..........how I miss thee.

3. A welcome side-effect of eating 7 foods is some weight loss! Jake has dropped 7 pounds this week, and I think I've dropped about 3 (side note: Men. I think he could have just thought about losing weight and it would've happened). We are eating healthier than we ever have as a couple. We are hopeful that the healthy eating aspect of this sticks with us long after month one is over. On another side note, I have started Jazzercise. It is way fun, and it totally works you! Thank you Groupon.

4. We wish we would have chosen the same foods. We have only 2 foods in common: broccoli and bread. We both chose our 7 foods based on how functional we saw them for ourselves. For example, as a fairly type A personality, I need a set breakfast and lunch everyday. It just fits better in my routine if I don't have to "think" about what those meals are going to be. So that really determined what foods I chose. However, we've learned that it kinda stinks to watch the other person get to eat something not on your list (I'm talking about you, Jake's chicken, rice, and beans).

Spinach/strawberry smoothie before.

Spinach/strawberry smoothie after.
Tastes better than the mustard-y color it looks.

5. On an awesome note, grocery shopping is quick and easy! But boy, were those Little Debbie snacks speaking my name. I really think I could have just grabbed a box of Valentine brownies (do you even know how many variety of Valentine Little Debbie snacks there are??? Unreal!) and scarfed the entire  box down in my car, and NO ONE WOULD HAVE EVEN KNOWN!!! It would have been so, so good.

6. It is fun to share with others about "7". For example, Subway. Subway has been super nice to me. I have visited the same Subway twice now to request a "sandwich" of bread and olive oil. The guys looked at me funny the first time, so I explained to them about "7", they still acted a little perplexed, but gave me my bread. I came back a few days later, and one of the employees recognized me and helped a sister out again! Shout out to Subway!

I also was able to share about "7" with one of the families I see for early intervention. On Monday morning, day 4 of "7", my stomach apparently did not think my spinach/strawberry smoothie was adequate. So it started to growl. And by growl, I mean monster growl. In the middle of my visit with this family. Kind of embarrassing. So I explained to the mom what Jake and I are doing this month, and she was so sweet! She asked me in the kindest voice, "Would you like some bread?" I replied, "Oh no, that's okay. I'll be fine." She responded with, "Are you sure? We have this really great 5-ingredient bread. We get it at a bakery, and it's so fresh that the bakery tells us not to close the bag all the way after we buy it so it's allowed to cool on the way home." And I said, "Well, sure then!" And it was DELISH. And kind of a bonding moment between this family and I. 

7. We are trying to have some grace for one another. Like when Jake ate some fried chicken at a spiritual retreat he was on because he was unable to cook there. Grace given! And when we ran out of sandwich bread on Friday,  I couldn't make a PB sandwich. I called Jake, explained the situation, and asked, "Can I just please go to Fazoli's and order 6 breadsticks and just enjoy the heck out of them?" (Forbidden due to garlic topping---not one of our 7 foods). He said, "Yes, yes, that's fine. But just make sure you pray before you take your first bite because it will be so good!" And I did. And it was.

All in all, successful first week. Not to say I'm not already tired of my 7 foods, but we're making it through.  P.S. I have discovered that the fried peanut butter sandwich (prepared just like a grilled cheese) is OUTSTANDING.

Jenni's Day 9 food log:
Breakfast: Glass of milk (we are out of spinach, so no smoothie)
Lunch: PB sandwich on sunflower bread from my new favorite bakery, Great Harvest Bread Company
Snack: Challah bread from GHBC.
Dinner: 2 eggs on toast and broccoli.

Jake's Day 9 food log:
Breakfast: 2 oranges
Lunch: Rice, beans, chicken, broccoli "medley"
Snack: Challah bread
Dinner: Challah bread