You wanna know what’s pretty darn cool?

These photos of Pluto.

Wanna know what else is pretty darn cool?

Looking through my blog and seeing progress in my health, faith, and maturity. I’ve only been blogging for {almost} two years, but what an eventful two years they have been!

I’ll save the teary-eyed talk for my actual blogiversary (which I have not even memorized), but today for What I Ate Wednesday, I want to do a little “then and now” comparison of my eats. The “then” photos are from early 2014, and the “now” photos are from yesterday. So this is comparing my eats between a 1.5-year period.

What I am taking away from this comparison of eats is that:

a) The eats don’t look all that different between then and now.

b) The volume of eats is more or less the same between then and now.

c) The caloric density of my eats is much greater now. (My eats last year were very “clean” with minimal sugar and oils.)

d) I’m doing much less activity now.

e) I’m pretty sure that I feel more energized now.

Breakfast

THEN

plain 0% Greek yogurt with a crumbled banana muffin, banana slices, and nut butter

NOW

full fat Greek yogurt + chia seeds with a crumbled berry banana muffin, banana slices, and giant scoop of nut butter

Snack

(In this instance, my “then” snack was more calorically dense than my “now” one.)

THEN

Coconut nut bar

NOW

finished off a bag of Enlightened wasabi crisps*

Lunch

THEN

grilled chicken on undressed spinach + grapes + carrots + BelVita

NOW

two fried eggs with goat cheese and honey on an English muffin + zucchini sautéed in sesame oil

Snack

THEN

plain 0% Greek yogurt with banana slices and nut butter // I would often only add the nut butter if I had just worked out

NOW

handful of almonds and the last Quest bar from Blend (finally!) // not post-workout, just hungry

Dinner

THEN

farro with baked salmon and steamed greens // little to no oil or sugar

NOW

quinoa with turkey meatloaf (included eggs and panko, topped with a sweet ketchup maple glaze) + salad dressed in a homemade maple mustard vinaigrette

Dessert

THEN

Greek yogurt with dried figs // I still eat this and love it, but today there’s a lot more of this…

NOW

peach blueberry cobbler a la mode + some unpictured 2% milk

Like I said, the eats may not look that different, but when I keep in mind the caloric density of my foods today and the absence of formal, intense workouts lately, I have to say that I’m proud of my progress.

And guess what. I feel so much better now. I don’t agree with those who say “clean eating” makes you feel better than ever. Yes, eating nutritious foods most of the time makes me feel great, but getting rid of sugars and oils from everything makes me feel crabby, not better than ever.

My goal in this comparison is not to judge my past self or ridicule myself for being a little restrictive, because that time period was just another part of my journey. I’ve learned that recovery seems to keep unfolding itself, even if you think you’re just about done, which is why I say I’m 99.9% recovered.

So tell me:

Do you notice any differences between your eats now and your eats a year (or two) ago?

What did you eat for lunch yesterday? That goat cheese, honey, egg sandwich hit the spot.

Do you like meatloaf? I LOVE MEATLOAF, and the one I made last night was fantastic.

*My friends at Enlightened sent me more of their crisps because I’m in love with them and I blogged all about it. Honesty = best policy.