I always start my week off with good intentions. I like to go grocery shopping on Sunday and plan for the week ahead, considering my meal choices, what kind of workouts I’ll do, and the kind of self-care I’ll engage in. Sometimes, though, even with good intentions, the week can kind of get away from us. This was one of those weeks, but I’m not going to lose my mind over it. I’m going to get back up and keep trying. I don’t want to live a life that’s completely restricted, and I don’t want to punish myself for missing the mark on certain days. All I can do is try my best and keep going!
So, Sunday – this was a rainy day in Chicago. The weather was in the 50s, though, so I got up and took a two-mile walk around my neighborhood before it started raining. When I got back, I made a weird breakfast of over-easy eggs, broccoli, and zucchini, and I drank a ginger kombucha. After spending some time stretching, I went grocery shopping.
This was my small haul from Aldi. I got chicken tenderloins, roasted vegetable flatbread, pineapple poblano guacamole (so good!), tuna, broccoli, zucchini, blackberries, salad kits, salmon, and green pea crisp snacks. I had an easy dinner of the roasted vegetable flatbread Sunday evening and spent some time with my husband before calling it an early night.
Monday, I started off with a green smoothie – it had pineapple, ginger, blueberries, strawberries, spinach, chia, flax, supergreen powder, collagen peptides, and hemp seed oil. I had the Caesar salad kit for lunch, and I did an arm day workout. I prefer to work out in the women’s section of the gym, but it’s pretty small, so it can get a bit crowded. If the machines or weights I want to use are in use, I grab a resistance band and do a bunch of different arm exercises with intervals of triceps dips and push-ups. After finishing up with cardio, I made my way home and ate some broccoli and zucchini with hummus. I took a walk later that day, and I tried not to go to bed too late.
Tuesday was a very long day at work. It felt like I was there forever, and I had such anxiety during the day that I decided to skip lunch to go out and take a walk. Sometimes, I need to step away from the chaos and breathe in the spring air. In Chicago, once the weather hits 50 degrees, everyone wants to be outside. It seemed like there were several bonfires going on in the area, so I was able to relax and breathe in the intermingled scents of fire and rain on my walk.
When I finally got home, I decided to do some yoga to unwind. This was the “anxiety relief” flow with Sanela. After stretching for 20 minutes, I drank a blueberry kombucha and made dinner (in my previous post!). I enjoy evenings where I get to take my time doing yoga or lighter exercises while preparing dinner. When my husband got home from work, we watched Hulu and went to bed!
Wednesday was a gorgeous day! I felt like a prisoner in the office. I spent my whole lunch break outside (I did eat a quick sandwich on wheat with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and provolone cheese) and couldn’t wait to get out of work. I rushed to the gym and did a quick (but very effective!) workout on the step-board. I did three rounds of this circuit (10 reps for each move): box jumps, single-leg jumps, side-to-side jumps, knee-raises, lunges, reverse leg raises, and sumo jump squats. After a fast-paced incline treadmill walk, I ran out of the gym to get back into the weather and took Oliver for a long walk. He was super-happy! I was too tired to cook when I got home, so I just ate some gluten-free cracker crisps with the pineapple poblano guacamole.
Thursday was an even nicer day weather-wise. My friend and I mourned being stuck inside on such a beautiful day, but then we got super-lucky with a really rare software outage at work. None of the programs were working, including Outlook, so we couldn’t do anything. In a shocking move, our boss let us leave at 12:30. We were so excited, we almost didn’t know what to do ourselves! We walked down to the local brewery and hoped to sit on the patio, but they didn’t have it set up yet since it’s only March. They did have the doors open, though!
I had a Black Cherry White Claw and a Kentucky Buck – it had bourbon, ginger beer, muddled strawberries, and lemon juice! For lunch, I had a turkey sandwich that came with fresh avocado, tomato, and lettuce, and a side of coleslaw. It must have been my lucky day, because my husband got out of work early that day, too. We never get out at the same time! We decided to head over to a forest preserve to enjoy the weather.
By the time we got there, the sun was hiding, but it was still beautiful. We saw an eagle! We also saw several fish jumping out of the water, a hawk, and some ducks. We sat there for a few hours listening to music and talking. Once it started to get dark, we decided to head to Burger Antics in Brookfield. They have an awesome veggie burger! I got their black bean and rice veggie burger as the “Midland,” which comes with honey mustard, grilled onions, and English cheddar. I couldn’t finish the whole thing, but it was definitely an off-plan meal!
Julian can finish anything! Burger Antics has a really fun atmosphere. They always change the paintings on their walls (which are done by local artists) and have new specials and drinks every month. They usually play a cool mix of metal, punk, and alternative rock. I definitely recommend stopping by!
Friday, I had to be at work early for missing half of Thursday. We had a conference call that I wasn’t really looking forward to and the rest of the day went by super-slowly. When it was finally over, I headed to the gym and did a workout with my resistance band. It finally broke on me. Even though it was only $10, I was still disappointed because it snapped off of my legs in the middle of my workout! I focused on strength training my legs and abs, and I ran a mile and did a hill interval on the step machine.
I had my leftover veggie burger for dinner and did some laundry. Wild Friday night, I know! I wanted to keep watching The Act, but I ended up falling asleep pretty early! Sometimes I am resentful of falling asleep early on weekends since that’s my only free time, but I guess I should listen to my body.
I was up early Saturday to head to the gym. I tried the new Reign energy drink. It’s supposed to be a lot like Bang, and I definitely see the similarities. I did my usual heavy leg workout at the gym, but I found myself getting really annoyed with one of the members. This guy claimed the only squat rack in the entire gym and then answered THREE phone calls while he hung all over the rack. Then, he took time changing his shoes and socks while sitting on the edge of the rack. I think he was probably hogging the rack area for about 20 minutes before he even started using it. I didn’t have a chance to do squats. Normally, I don’t really care about people’s use of things since everyone is paying to be there, but this dude’s gym etiquette/general courtesy was seriously lacking!
When I got home, I quickly ate a siggis vanilla yogurt with dried cherries and almonds and then got ready to go to Julian’s cousin’s daughter’s birthday party. They had it at a roller rink that was within walking distance from our apartment. I absolutely adore skating! I have a pair of rollerblades that I’ve been using for years, and they still work perfectly. It’s one of my favorite workouts and it always takes me on an amazing journey zipping around outdoors. I was definitely not a fan of the big crowds and someone seemed to fall on the rink every 5 seconds, but I got to skate for about an hour and I had a ton of fun!
After the party, we went to grab something to eat. I just had an egg sandwich with some hash browns. I also had a fresh-pressed juice with beet, tomato, cherries, lime, and apple. Now, I’m home blogging. Tomorrow, I am planning to go to Trader Joe’s (one of my favorite places!) for a grocery haul. I will need to exercise some serious self-control! I will also probably walk Oliver and make some plans for my meals and workouts for the week.
While I didn’t exactly have a “bender” this week, I didn’t plan my meals as well as I could. Getting out of work early was unexpected so it was sort of a special day, but I try not to drink too much during workdays or go out to eat multiple times a day. However, life happens, and like I mentioned earlier, I’ll look back fondly on these memories and won’t remember that I ate potatoes instead of a salad. I still stayed hydrated, I still got veggies in every day, I worked out 5 times, and I did two face masks (that makes everything okay, right?!). So, remember that you are human and have the right to have fun and enjoy life, and one day off doesn’t mean you’re not mindful of your health!
I sign off in this cozy hoodie. Have a great night!
Breeanna Living Brilliantly 