I'm an Astronaut!

Well...not exactly...but the food sure looks like it!

On my orientation day with my coach, one of the first things she said to me was, "you're going to be eating food that looks like it was made for astronauts." I laughed along with her, and after the hour long intro, I walked out of there with a HUGE bag full of Ideal Protein silvery looking food packages. 3...2...1... Blast OFF!

When I first started it was hard to know what I'd feel like eatting, since I had no idea what the inside of the packages would turn out to be as I experimented.

To be honest, some of the foods are not bad at all. For example, I love the spicy flavour of the Southwest Cheese Curls, and I don't mind the maple oatmeal in the morning for breakfast. I've gotten used to, and even enjoy the chocolate pudding. The ready made vanilla drink is absolutely delicious poured over a Doppio and ice.

The part that I have fun with is creating my evening protein in new and exciting ways, and once in awhile treating myself to a "fattier" protein, such as a sausage on the BBQ.

I'm loving turnips! I had no clue they could be such a great alternative to potatos. I even slice them like fries and throw them on parchment paper and put them in the oven with a tiny amount of olive oil and spicy paprika.

I've made these spicy burgers that I top with sugarless salsa, and eat on top of a bed of romaine lettuce.

For a treat on Sunday this week I had my big protein meal at lunch after church. My husband took me out to Korean BBQ and I enjoyed the pickled turnips, the kimchi, sliced beef, pork and chicken.
When I got home I made myself some more veggies to snack on so that I met my 4 cup quota of veggies for the day.

Going back to the whole astronaut thing, ...some days on this diet, I totally feel like I am on another planet. I count the days, the weeks, the hours until I can reach my destination. I celebrate the victories, but quickly critique how far I have left to go. I have dreams about dieting, and meeting with my coach. I dream of failing, giving up, and disappointing those around me. I dream I'm pregnant, and I have to quit the diet. I dream of playing basketball again and jumping around like I did at 14, full of energy, tight skin, long fingered but comfortable in my own awkward 14 year old way.

Sometimes it doesn't feel real. I take my foster kids out for lunch and watch them eat the burger, the fries, the soft serve icecream, as I wait 10 minutes longer for the place to make my salad, without feta, without croutons, without dressing. I feel like I'm the alien.

Even though I may be in outer space for now, maybe my time as an astronaut will teach me something, inspire me, encourage me, test my patience, test my strength, make me rely on God. That's truly what it's doing. I can't believe I've made it this far --over 50 days, without cheating, without caving, without giving up. Yes, I've cried a few (okay more then a few) tears, I've sniffed the bag of cheese, I've heard my tummy grumble at the smell of garlic bread, I've craved a summer icecream or freezie, and I've longed for this period in my life to end.

But what have I gained!
Love for others, compassion and new realizations (more on that later), support from my family, weekly accountability, appreciation for what I can have (ice water with lemons!, fish, chocolate flavoured things, fresh produce etc. etc. etc. ). I am truly blessed. I can't complain about the things I can't have right now, I must remind myself that truly we are blessed to have clean running water that is drinkable --imagine some of our own First Nation communities STILL do not have potable water --here in our own nation!

I have access to so many veggies and choices!

So here's to enjoying the view while I'm an "Astronaut", and here's to the anticipation of making it back to Earth, sometime...somewhere, I can make it.

"Competence means keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts. It encompasses ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything." (Chris Hadfield, astronaut)