Chapter 1: Progress Report

You've got this! Let's keep the momentum going!

Transitioning from crafting a lengthy post for Day 3 to a more concise one for Day 4 feels a bit odd. I can't help but wish for the return of the in-app writing feature on Medium. But, there’s no use dwelling on that now; let’s dive into how Day 4 unfolded.

Moment of Achievement: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We've reached Day 4! Hooray!!!! I'm absolutely thrilled! Making it to Day 4 without giving in is a testament to divine support. Thank you, Allah! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

And that's our highlight for today. We've successfully made it to Day 4.

Moment(s) of Setback: I indulged in ice cream tonight—specifically, butter pecan. However, that's not the crux of the matter. I previously committed on Day 2 to bid farewell to ice cream for the duration of this challenge. Here I am on Day 4, having strayed from that promise.

On Day 3, my sister brought home macarons, and I ended up eating four, despite declaring that day a junk food-free zone. Clearly, going cold turkey on sweets isn't working for me, but I also can't have them every night. There must be a middle ground, and I’ll ponder that as I wrap up this post. If I come up with a solution, I’ll share it on Day 5.

Two-Week Mini Challenge Update: Great news! I managed to avoid purchasing any food today, relying solely on what I had at home—woohoo! That’s all for today’s update, so let’s take a look at what I ate.

Today's Menu: I woke up at 12:16 AM this morning. Since I couldn’t fall back asleep, I dedicated four hours to my Day 3 post, which turned into a lengthy read. I truly hope these posts aren’t boring anyone. I need to brainstorm other ways to convey my stories, but that's a discussion for another day. For now, here’s today’s menu.

Both my snack and dinner were spontaneous—seems to be the trend this week, which I need to address. For my late-night snack, I had a medium pear, a medium yellow-fleshed nectarine, and a Chobani yogurt.

For my pre-dawn meal, I enjoyed salmon, greens (kale and spinach), roasted veggies, and green tea. I also drank about a quarter of my 64-ounce water jug.

Surprisingly, I sailed through the daytime fast without feeling hungry at all. This is quite unusual for me. I suspect it was due to the substantial pre-dawn meal, or perhaps the fact that I was awake from 12:16 AM until I napped at 3 PM.

For my evening fast meal, I had two small bowls of my mother's spaghetti, a serving of salmon I prepared earlier this week, a Sargento balanced snack, and, of course, the butter pecan ice cream I mentioned.

That’s a wrap for today. It was a laid-back Thursday. See you on Day 5!