I don't need to drop 10 pounds... but I could be taking better care of my body (and if that means losing a few pounds, I wouldn't complain!). It hit me when my yoga teacher said to our class,
This is your one body. Considering that, I felt like my body deserved better.
So when I saw the
Drop10 Challenge in
SELF's April issue, which includes workout and eating plans, I was intrigued. I'm always looking for new healthy foods. The recipes seemed straightforward and incorporated various "superfoods" (and allowed for some "cheating"), so I decided to give it a try.
Some of the "trial" happened over my spring break from school and from nannying which gave me more time for planning and prep. But I also told my perfectionist self that I would not follow it exactly, just try and make some of the meals and snacks over the next couple weeks, see what I liked and go from there.
I'd say I ate according to the plan about half the time over the past two weeks. That's a win in my book.
What I learned...
- I don't love plain Greek yogurt but vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt is pretty good.
- Quinoa is so versatile (believe it or not, this was a new food for me!).
- Variety is the spice of life... meaning I spent about 45 minutes in the produce section picking out a million different fruits and veggies, but it was worth it.
- Portability is key.
- Flavor is a must (spicy salsa, a little fat-free cheese, onions, guacamole, etc). Sometimes I added extra dressing or syrup or whatever, but hey, if it means I'm eating more veggies, that's fine.
- Some combinations just don't do it for me... and that's okay because there are endless healthy options out there.
- I am pretty addicted to/dependent on sugar and salt. Chips and candy are my main downfalls these days. Yikes.
- I love "everything in the fridge" salad, where I combine whatever random stuff I have left over and top it off with Ken's Lite Caesar dressing. It helps that the toppings I had on hand were similar to the Potbelly's salad I talked about
here. (Scott even liked it!)
And one of the biggest things I learned...
Eating well makes you feel better and
want to work out.
It was crazy how I craved exercise when I was eating healthy foods. And once I started working out more often (3x a week, which hasn't happened in a long time!), I wanted to continue. Let's hope this keeps up now that school started up again!
There are a lot of recipes included on the plan, but I just made some of them. Here's a visual peek at my Drop10 eating experiment... (I starred my favorites of the group, but I would try any of them again. All the recipes are available on
Self.com or in the April issue.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25paye2CIWlA_V7jLt_ZF9s-KH_borTnxDhPAsk27ALSPZ3j_1Yw_n4RPazRK1XCD1Iy2IscJFV_yt_LglmccKZdsWQ1bJj8Dof7zKxdFOV1OKo-wFdpYyS1ezlGC-5YjYnpVWcDySTM/s400/Drop10+plan+%286%29.jpg) |
Tropical Treat (Greek yogurt, kiwi, granola, almonds) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuj9Yh9c2n6USCFBJplZUszjDmgTdqAMXhXLQUkUtyEouvqMKj_-xKld7jw1_YmVqIAmzpb7mu6ChjcvoWvhVwVfxnnBdcO-PaOSaPmWQfwyGHdxDlK6iHaLZQxE8WxnAPKsLx9OnfJXw/s400/Drop10+plan+%2811%29.jpg) |
Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich* |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8LT15G4sbGjSouAdUZTeX5GjQqU_wdYnvQJJKf-UWL2rVjnexs-9RP4u90Wp15tZZwMyE_VjAudjeMFzzF-DMT2zdO8yUvg-bN7q5RjWcMO2rgoXlQQI7M-Uh6pXjjT3j3hynRliV7A/s400/Drop10+plan+%2818%29.jpg) |
Honeyed Ricotta and Apple Wrap |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyncBAYaHstKlF7rSnAN84teVuRWVIhe7dPrKle3LVfCGKH7BkOp_wCMDapdlfPtfQ9e5shTCUkF3UM_NgEt4B-H9vuOqjwyYD7zdf0kj5zNhAwVnlqGTYJWkGQTMb7D4kSwBJLXoISi0/s400/Drop10+plan+%2822%29.jpg) |
Chicken and Quinoa Tossed Salad* |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkieuRtpO1fsXiLIC6be0jGQQhkStMZ_J7sap4Qfld4xlmeP2nWYfNkAokFU0ym8kzI7DU6pHivxMI4MtyEhUpg6_hhIGOcbUa_03oQWCqEximlre_e4uV_wUCWKkAIqNiEo1rnJchE4/s400/Drop10+plan+%2823%29.jpg) |
Chicken and Quinoa Tossed Salad* |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhbDSNnwaDULeV_YgD4EAGwqRUwWN8p0Eq4G93z5kXnC95SfZ-lxlU_RcWTsQDNbNZw_ag9kR8zgOXQppOeQ1Gfyy0oQ3URNXunY6zZv15fQNnW105bm8Arlg95s9RJOF8yecLqzmQ80/s400/Drop10+plan+%2827%29.jpg) |
Fruit Shake (strawberry-kiwi) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcC1dFGB2cbJ_MRUIvaWGhx9LK-Pmk_C2_FCViBcwmQO73YhyhAaRgZNkNc3IdfjxkCNqhBlPoy3dvRk4s3ye36strm05xszbzr8Y-4OswTCPtB2Vk3DFDT0vTJWlzS9REgr_zuMyok_o/s400/Drop10+plan+%2835%29.jpg) |
Baked Beef Taquitos* (I used ground turkey instead of beef, and yes, the sour cream and guac were my own additions!) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsntUdjXucaOOTndGUv-PYQWBufqeu0fyFM47A8s0xDYMnOe_j1RHKqYUbUUUo0xnOSqXpQufDEtUi1kJ1KCuXD9V4D1uPVkygLJMEYoyqc53OkJX-gji8Ex6L0ggWAj2yQwlXFJXZv4/s400/Drop10+plan+%2832%29.jpg) |
Sweet Potato with Almond Butter-Maple Sauce |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkwcoVx_1FOQvS8XX29qqeYWiJP5h3Zkym7517V6AL0zX4c6gijZ0ey5yYMSKKvStDvRTS7fCzsc2YF9QthB5yZ9uTJmUafa1NIgnfd_82p_2UL6NWQaEj4CvOEtTHamrTx39_H34uXU/s400/Drop10+plan+%2839%29.jpg) |
Quinoa-Edamame Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing* |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Gn-Lg29WS3nfl5znW1oXPJSZ3KDNRdXRBDwZnRElDT2TqaN9xmdJYHOpeq5xgz4MrfQq3eit7V6jQ9C-HfZLiC66cqCzPU_KvtdViDUBvWBQc1jlc74whPHzQnyEFlcQOLKqNUZf44g/s400/Drop10+plan+%2843%29.jpg) |
Cucumber Salad* (much tastier than this picture looks!) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDTwU0uHRJ_dZjQzcObSwVwHa12Qcl4ORtqWyLk7e60RHksd-pChe0RW9XSQvpDSymcAhsqs6i8NOQO4UAMHjCTdVOEr9AXoeyqzs13ehPiwFKVxLJML4p5H9N0-nINfZLegNkx5UT4GI/s400/Drop10+plan+%2847%29.jpg) |
Banana-Nut Pancakes (mine ended up more like a scramble!) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_TbYgFfNu9k_VBJ4THdxTSV-YBrYnyRxG-LsKUbjjwvbP6sravgJBrbeFDTwr5PjA5tlYnQRgpdVAKv5JDW475S9Th05GlgrojqB7Kwzt9oRsUQGcWyIY6iKfVO-iW-V7OJaFYQSd8U8/s400/Drop10+plan+%2850%29.jpg) |
Fried Egg over Spinach Quinoa |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHnNb52O-pV6MhPZZ52wIy81OpcONtxXz_fjDMRrVi4uRWyTBeO0iE7abWESnKExDGpGaletxr4ut7UMZFnng9xi6g310LtIiBsSnSK24__sM-JCivgrrVPOQNMgWQzPgHTxmIr0sgG4/s400/Drop10+plan+%2852%29.jpg) |
Blueberry-Maple Hot Cereal (made with quinoa; I used strawberries instead of blueberries) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42lN6GPj_nwb9XChZ2jzNSUfuoYpsXvyoFIixbf5Ki3435EhU-vmgaYbEB_GeB2y0yaPgXZfEDHi6uCPl1yiY-3gXFCFNOg-3l1njlrPpqomEcrAf23l8GriwnsWbe22gMaP9HP5zBG8/s400/Drop10+plan+%2856%29.jpg) |
Salmon and Apple Salad Wrap* (I used a sandwich thin instead of a wrap) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6u7lvjiGW3B8_SD74caKlvKQo0IC9qECKy1OyO1Ysi1tZ4yBnq50rdRfMM43eYjFsAKcfGpFdTq4j1Sv76P2XNPuiNEQ5XY6hcCi_bdCXimEkIFFqxhk2quuKbAaE_M8QYI2h6JiieVk/s400/Drop10+plan+%2857%29.jpg) |
Sweet potato "fries" and brussels sprouts (see below) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcQH57ZDNAGCUouJlIgEa0ITtgQPvlxWmfodbnaM0me3TGZBzIPl5lqPJUB7SMfuHTqDtpZgEfizKhF8KX8_mp4e5095PDg9CH2hG_qt43dLw4MhXReStTXe4kQA62iBr82G5GgHeCJA/s400/Drop10+plan+%2859%29.jpg) |
Stuffed Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries (I cut the "fries" into slices... didn't want to chop off a finger) |