Challenges Check-In

Posted by Nicole

TGIF! That means one week until I am home and free from the stress of finals.

Speaking of, I am halfway done with my tests; I had two finals this week and I have two more next week. I’ve been spending lots of time studying, both indoors and outdoors.

in my apartment with breakfast

in the Marshall School of Business building (I figured just being in the building would make me smarter)

in the center of campus on a bench in Alumni Park

….with coffee in hand

LA “winter” can’t be beat

Workouts have been really good this week. We didn’t have as many dance practices, which gave me more time to work out on my own. I’ve been running more than normal and really enjoying strength training. It’s a welcome change!

In terms of food, I’ve been surviving off of oat bran, bananas, apples, eggs, random veggies, popcorn, yogurt, and snacks from the sorority house (cottage cheese and PB below). My most time-intensive meal this week was a can of soup with added carrots and spinach. Kinda pathetic…

Speaking of food….. two weeks ago I posted about some personal dietary Challenges that I was going to work on. Let’s see how I’ve done:

desserts: no cookies, candy, cake, brownies, ice cream, froyo, etc. – this won’t be too hard because I surprisingly don’t crave these too often

• 9/10 – the closest I have gotten to dessert is granola bars or over-sweetened yogurt (I’m looking at you, Yoplait). This challenge has been a success!

bad beverages: no energy drinks; alcohol and/or soda limited to once per week – this will be difficult because hello, I’m in college… and I randomly crave soda like crazy!

• 10/10 – perhaps I should thank finals season because this challenge has easily been a success! I’ve also noticed a decrease in my soda cravings.

unnecessary carbs: no white bread/rice, cereal

• 8/10 – this one could still use some improvement. I’ve had my fair share of snacky chips/etc. lately, but overall, not too bad. I haven’t had any cereal and that alone is an accomplishment.

I cannot stress enough how much my diet influences my motivation to exercise, go out with friends, do chores, study, etc. Also, it greatly affects my mood. I feel good when I eat well. Easy as that.

- Nicole

What are your thoughts – Does your diet influence your mood?

How are your finals going?!