Whole 30 Day 26

Up and at 'em at 5:30 this morning.  This Whole30 is really doing some great things with my sleep.  #ilovesleep. 


As I said before, I've been highlighting the hell out of my "It Starts With Food" and I've pulled a few random passages out to share with you.  Enjoy!


"Thanks to nature and biology, our brains have been hardwired to appreciate three basic tastes:  sweet (a safe source of energy), fatty (a dense source of calories), and salty (a means of conserving fluid). . . But there is one very important point to keep in mind with respect to these signals from nature.  They weren't designed to tell us which foods were delicious - they were designed to tell us which foods were nutritious.


Food scientists caught on to the fact that our brains respond strongly to specified flavors (such as the aforementioned sweet, fatty and salty), and armed with this knowledge, they began to modify our whole foods.  They sucked out the water, the fiber, and the nutrients, and replaced them with ingredients like corn syrup, MSG, seed oils, and artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors.  All of this with the specific intention of inducing cravings, overconsumption and bigger profits for food manufacturers."


Breakfast:
Black coffee
Cactus fruit
Egg muffin


Snack:
About 10 pistachios


Lunch:
1/2 lemon LaraBar
Salad from Freshii with lots of veggies, eggs and chicken for protein, olives and olive oil for fat, and lemon for flavor.  Except they forgot my lemon which made my salad taste...well, like lettuce.  And I found a soy nut mixed in with the greens.  Get it together, Freshii.

The culprit

Dinner:
Leftover chicken and sweet potatoes from yesterday
Plantains and salsa w/ a few tablespoons of guac (aka my daily snack)

Activity:

Strength - Build up to a heavy 3 rep overhead squat.  I stopped myself at 90 pounds.  To be totally honest I probably could have done more but with the way my lifting has been lately, I was a little timid to keep going up while squatting with a weight over my head.

WOD:
10AMRAP of:
60 over the bar burpees
20 overhead squats
10 muscle-ups

Followed immediately by:
2 rounds of:
20 box jumps at 20 inches
15 sit ups
10 push ups

Slept great last night and my anxiety is low low low.  I'm also really excited it's the freakin' weekend! Only 4 more days - I can hardly believe it!!!!!!

Whole30 Day 25

I've been slightly less motivated today than I have been lately. I don't know if it's because this week has been crazy, this weather is driving me to the edge or because I didn't sleep quite as well as I have been. Either way, I got home from work and hibernated. And sort of felt guilty about it, but mostly didn't.

Breakfast:
Black coffee
Egg cups
Organic blueberries

Lunch:
Organic baby carrots
Last of the chocolate chili

Snack:
Plantain chips with salsa and guac

Dinner:
Chicken nuggets from The Domestic Man
Sweet potato

Whole 30 Day 24

I'm glad I don't mind eating leftovers....or the same thing everyday. Because that's what I've done all week.  And I'm good with that.  Some of you may not be. That sucks for you.

Breakfast:
2 egg cups
organic blueberries
black coffee

Lunch:
(the last) of the pizza spaghetti squash pie :(
pistachios

Dinner:
Chocolate chili
Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, olive oil and vinegar

Activity:

Strength - work up to heavy 3 rep thruster.  I pooped out at 110 pounds.

WOD:
12 minute AMRAP
3-6-9-12-15-18......

Wall balls
Power cleans (95 pounds)

Days 22 and 23

So earlier today I was trying to remember what day I was on and I thought it was 21...and just now I saw it was 23!  Yay 23!  I'm pretty bad at posting these blogs everyday like I said I would.  But you'll probably just deal with it.  Especially because I posted all of my recipes on Sunday and I've basically been eating the same things since then.

Day 22 meals:

Breakfast:
2 egg cups
Organic blueberries
Black coffee

Lunch:
Chocolate chili

Dinner:
Spaghetti squash pizza pie
Plantain chips and salsa/guac

Day 23 meals:

Breakfast:
Banana
Black coffee

Lunch:
Spaghetti squash pizza pie

Pre-workout snack:
Baby carrots

Dinner:
Chocolate chili
Plantain chips and guac that I snacked on while I was waiting for the chili to heat up.

I realize that I eat plantains a lot.  In the same way.  Specifically baked into chips and used as a dipping vessel.  That's probably not that great for me.  I wonder what Sam would say.  Except I really, really like plantain chips and I like to dip crunchy things in salsa and guacamole.  So I guess I don't really care what Sam has to say about this.  What's new?

Whole 30 Day 21, aka 3 weeks in!

Hiya.  It's Sunday and I'm posting earlier than normal.  Mostly because I've felt super productive today and I wanted to keep that feeling going before I laze around on the couch for the rest of the night.  I was up and out of bed around 8am and to Meijer before 10.  The roads were still pretty hairy and I have decided I hate people who drive trucks because they barrel down the road like it isn't snowy and icy and make those of us in toy cars freak out.  Stupid trucks.  I wish I had one this winter.

Today I spent most of the day working and cooking, cooking and working.  I have a lot going on this week and knew that cooking would be pushed to the back burner so I prepared myself.  Plus I sucked last week with all my turkey tacos, Freshii, pistachio/coffee meals so I figured I'd throw out some recipes like a good little amateur blogger.

Because I've been cooking all day, I've been sort of snacking on things as they come out of the oven.  Ok, not sort of.  Definitely.  I started off with lunch that consisted of black coffee, a few ounces of leftover steak from last night, and about 5 leftover homemade sweet potato fries.  Then I made some homemade salsa and plantain chips. And I ate some.  Ooops.

Next, I made some chocolate chili that people on the Whole 30 forums rave about.  It's from the Well Fed cookbook and is also up on her website right here.  I know the whole unsweetened cocoa powder and chili combo sounds kinda weird but I'm telling you, the chili is amazeballs!  I should know, I ate about a quarter cup of it after I let it simmer for about 3.5 hours.  Yum!

Next I made Juli Bauer's Pizza Spaghetti Pie.  I've been reading good things about this and then after Whitney told me she loved it, I decided it was a perfect meal to have on hand this week.  To make mine, I substituted ground pork for the italian sausage as most pre-made sausage has sugar in it.  I then seasoned the sausage with oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and italian seasoning.   I also added caramelized onions and baby portobellos that I sauteed in bacon fat.  I found some organic, sugar free pizza sauce at the store, too!  I tried a few bites of this when it came out of the oven too (obvi!) and for realzies, people are right about this one.  It's really, really good!

For some easy breakfasts, I made some egg muffins.  I took the leftover caramelized onions and mushrooms from the spaghetti pie, cooked up some bacon, and mixed it in with some eggs and coconut milk.  Whisk it all together and throw them into muffin tins at 350 degrees and boom! Breakfasts for the week!

To round it all out, I made another batch of DIY ghee from Nom Nom Paleo.  And now I'm feeling accomplished, full and ready to relax with some Sunday night tv.  Have an amazing week, everyone!

Whole 30 Day 19 & 20

Apparently I'm not great at weekend blogging.  I'm also not good at driving my teeny, tiny car in massive snow piles.  Worst car decision ever.  Until it's warm again and then I'll love my life.

Friday - I'm going to put it out there and say I did NOT eat well on Friday.  Meaning I didn't eat much at all which is NOT the point of a Whole 30.  This week has been a lot of quick food, leftovers, put together what I can kind of meals which isn't really helping you readers who keep telling me you want recipes.  I'm sorry for that - next week I'll be better.

Breakfast:
Banana
Pistachios
Black coffee

Lunch:
1/2 bottle of Evolution Organic V Juice

Dinner:
Leftover turkey tacos w/ plantains and guacamole

Saturday:

Breakfast:
Black coffee
Baby carrots

***I don't usually eat before Saturday morning WODs so this was pretty typical for me

Lunch:
Leftover turkey taco meat with guacamole

Dinner:
Steak
Baked sweet potato fries with homemade aioli
Salad

As a final note, I slept GREAT last night and had insane energy during this morning's WOD.  There was no lifting involved so I don't know how my strength situation is but in terms of hustle I really felt great!  I can't believe I'm 20 days down and 10 days to go.......it's incredible how simple it became when I just put my mind to it. I'm telling anyone who thinks they could never go 30 days with such "restriction" - you truly can.....just try it!

Whole 30 Day 18

Sorry I forgot to post last night.  But I think you'll forgive me...mostly because these posts are becoming boring and uneducational and I kinda doubt many of you continue to read them. But I committed to writing them, so I'm going to finish out.  So....sorrynotsorry.


Two major things I noticed today.  First of all, in the Whole 30 book, It Starts With Food, they discuss the natural rhythm of your body and your hormones and how they automatically help put you on a schedule. Your body is supposed to be tired at night and awake in the morning.  Your hunger is supposed to wane throughout the day (not withstanding outside forces like workouts, etc.) and ramp up when you get out of bed.  That hasn't happened with me in a very long time, on both counts.  The past two days, however, I've noticed that about 20-30 minutes after waking up, my stomach growls and I want breakfast.  Before doing the Whole 30, I could go all morning on minimal nutrition and be generally ok; in fact, many times the thought of food right away made me feel nauseous.  On the sleep front, I fell asleep fairly easily last night at a decent time and woke up this morning more awake than I have in awhile.  Not to say I wanted to jump out of bed and do a jig, but I can see the slow changes occurring and the move in a positive direction.

The second thing that happened was during my mani lunch (who needs food when you got shellac?).  Anyway, my mani/pedi diva Chris looked at me and said, "You're glowing."  Now, this may sound crazy but many, many people have reported that a side effect of the Whole 30 is this exact comment. I'm not kidding - read the forums.  I personally don't think I look any different but it can't be a coincidence, can it? 


So, those are my Day 18 (posted on Day 19) revelations for you.


Breakfast:
Eggs
Organic raspberries
Black coffee


Snack (I was kinda hungry today):
Raw mixed nuts
Baby carrots


Lunch:
Leftover spaghetti squash with marinara


Dinner:
Turkey tacos with cauliflower tortilla
plantain chips with salsa and guac


Activity:
Boxing

Whole 30 Day 17

Breakfast:
scrambled eggs
organic raspberries
black coffee

Lunch - I had a professional lunch today with the bar association so I made due with what was offered:
chicken breast
asparagus
baby carrots

Snack:
raw mixed nuts
banana

Dinner:
leftover spaghetti squash from last night

Activity:
I didn't make it to the gym because I worked pick up at the coop tonight.

Whole 30 Day 16

I literally have nothing to say today.  Not that I've been saying much lately anyway.  Soooo....ummm....let's see.  Juan Pablo kept a few girls last night on the Bachelor that he totally should have dissed and dismissed.  And that show is way predictable.  Jake agrees.  Like we didn't know that JP (that's gonna be my new nickname for him) and Chelsie were going to have their first kiss while hanging upside down after bungee jumping.  Le duh.  Also, getting an unexpected flower delivery at your office makes you smile every time you look at them.  No matter what anyone says, every girl loves flowers.  Annnnnnnnd I'm mad at winter because it's put me three weeks behind on my house.  Boo to you, winter!

Breakfast:
Black coffee
Banana

I admit I've been pretty shitty about breakfast this week.  I didn't plan well enough and I've been lazy. Don't follow my example.

Lunch:
I might have went to Freshii again.  Ok, I definately did.  Whatever.  I created my own bowl with spinach, avocado, tomatoes, olives, green onions, mushrooms and half steak/half chicken.  I topped it with olive oil and lemon juice. It was filling and got me through the rest of the day.

Pre-workout snack:
Baby carrots for some quick carbs

Dinner:
Spaghetti squash with ground beef and marinara sauce

Activity:
Boxing

Anxiety:
Remaining at a steady low.

Sleep:
Same.  I like that once I fall asleep, I sleep through the night. I hate that I still feel tired when I wake up.  I don't know what that's about.  Where the hell is the Tiger Blood these Whole 30ers rave about???

Day 15 - Halfway Bitches!

Well that was kinda a crass blog title.  Oh well.  I keep forgetting to blog these days.  Like right now - I'm laying on my couch watching The Bachelor with Jake and then I realize that it's almost 10 and I still haven't done it.  I would fail at being a full-time blogger.  F+

Breakfast:
Black coffee
Banana
Raw organic nuts

Lunch:
Cobb salad from Freshii.  I really liked Freshii because they were totally cool with me taking a bunch of stuff out of the salad (cheese, corn, dressing) and adding a bunch of stuff in (olives, avocado, chicken). I brought some Tessamae's Lemonette dressing to the office to use on my salad and I stayed right on script.

Dinner:
Leftover turkey tacos on cauliflower tortillas
1/2 plantain with guac and salsa

Activity:
Decided to put my big girl pants on today and realize that, at least right now, I'm going to have to reduce some of the weight on my lifts while I'm eating this way.  Hit to the pride but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and realize that not everything can be achieved at once.  Right now the focus is on the Whole 30 and not PR'ing on my lifts.  And I'm ok with that.  I swear.

Strength:

3 sets of 6/7 front squat/back squat at 95 pounds

WOD:

7 minutes of burpees followed immediately by 3 minutes of muscle-ups

Anxiety:

Low

Sleep:

Better but still tired.  Still waiting for this to turn around any time now...

So I'm halfway done!!!!!  I can't believe it. It feels like forever and like yesterday all at once.   Now if I could just get better about remembering to blog...

Whole 30 Days 13 and 14

So I forgot to blog yesterday. Sue me....I had priorities.  You know, such as drinking water at a polish club which celebrating my wonderful friend Bear's 30th birthday.  You'd think drinking water while everyone else is partying would be hard but it wasn't.  I swear.  It wasn't.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Ok, so Day 13...

Breakfast:
Raw almonds
Black coffee

Lunch:
Green chicken
Plantain with salsa and guacamole

Dinner:
This is where it gets interesting.  There was a walking taco bar at Bear's party.  Towards the end of the night I started to get hungry so I put some taco meat over lettuce and topped it with guacamole and some salsa.  Within 30 minutes, I had a headache and a small stomachache.  I went to bed last night and felt more anxious than I've felt in a long time.  I'm not saying I felt super anxious but I did feel more than I had.

So....was all of this because the spice mix on the taco meat or the ingredients in the salsa were less than ideal?  I don't know but it was honestly the craziest thing I have experienced thus far on my Whole 30.

Day 14

Meal 1 (I'm not calling it breakfast because it was a strange time of day):
Black coffee
The last of the green chicken

I didn't have lunch and instead had some earl grey tea during the day

Dinner:
Turkey tacos with cauliflower tortillas
1/2 plantain with salsa and guac

Two weeks down and just about halfway.  How is everyone feeling??

Whole 30 Day 12

Not gonna lie, I don't really have much to say today so let's get right down to it.

Breakfast:
Black coffee
"Oatmeal" with apple and cinnamon

Lunch:
1 piece of green chicken
Mixed raw nuts
3/4 bottle of green juice

Dinner:
Leftover zoodles from yesterday

Sleep:
7ish hours - still tired when I woke up.  Felt tired in the afternoon

Anxiety:
Low

Activity:
Crossfit was TOUGH for me today.  The squats felt ridiculously heavy even though it was a fairly light  back squat weight for me and I had very little energy during the WOD.  I talked to Sam and he thinks it's because of the Whole30, and wants me to up some starchy carbs before a workout (i.e. sweet potatoes, carrots, plantains, etc.).  I'm going to try that next week and see if it helps.

Strength:
4 sets of 5/6 front squat/back squat combination at 105 pounds

WOD:
12 minute time cap

50 wall balls
20 snatches at 52 pounds
40 wall balls
15 snatches at 62 pounds
30 wall balls
10 snatches at 72 pounds

I got through the set of 15 snatches before time was up.  Like I said...dragging ass

Whole30 Day 11 and My Introduction to Zoodles

Ok, ok yesterday got a little hairy, but I promise it's safe to come out now.  I have officially retired my crabby pants (for the time being, anyway). I have also started reading It Starts With Food, the book that started the Whole 30 and the device that provides the in-depth information on how Whole 30 got started and why it's amazing for your health and well-being.  A little forewarning:  I have been highlighting the hell out of that thing so be prepared for some tidbits to start making their way into these posts.  Yay for education!

Breakfast:
Same ol', same ol'

Lunch:
Leftover fajita beef topped with salsa and guacamole
1 cauliflower tortilla

Pre-workout:
1/2 piece of green chicken

Dinner:
Zoodles!!!  So this dinner was legit thrown together in 15 minutes with what I had in the house. No pre-planning or recipes - just flying by the seat of my pants.

I started by spiral slicing one zucchini.  If you don't have a spiral slicer (I REALLY love kitchen gadgets) you can make the zoodles with a julienne slicer, a mandolin or a plain old knife!

I'm so glad I don't have a food blog where I'm required to take good pictures. 

After the zoodles were sliced, I threw them in a bowl and microwaved them for 2.5 minutes.  Watch these carefully because you don't want your zoodles to get soggy.   They're best when they still have a bite and a crunch to them.  By the way, I really like saying zoodles. When you take them out of the microwave, place them in a strainer over a bowl and slightly salt them and let them sit.  The salt will allow the zoodles to drain some of their liquid. Zoodles!

Next, I sliced up some shallots and garlic and sauteed them in some olive oil.  Once they started to become fragrant, I added halved cherry tomatoes and cooked until they started to wilt.  Then I threw in a bag of Trader Joe's langostino tails that I had in the freezer.  Some salt and pepper, a few minutes on the heat and it was right as rain.  I tossed it with the zoodles and topped with purple sea salt and Trader Joe's lemon olive oil and there you have it...zoodles!!!

Sleep:

I slept about 8 hours last night.  I could have slept more.  I am finding that the more "good" sleep I'm getting, the more I need.  I'm hoping that in the coming weeks, my body will start overcoming my long history of bad sleep and start feeling rested.

Activity:

Boxing.

Anxiety:

Very low.

Additional note:

Today, for the first time, I started feeling "not bloated."  To be honest, I never thought I felt bloated before at all but like many people who cut out grains start to realize, I apparently did.  My body just feels "clean"....I can't really describe it much better than that but something is definitely going on.

Hope everyone else's Day 11 went as well as mine.  Until tomorrow...

W30 Day 10 Crabby Pants

The title of this post should say it all.  According to the Whole 30 timeline, days 5 and 6 are supposed to be the days where you want to kill everyone.  Didn't happen me.  Until today.  Day 10 is the day I officially got cranky.  Did I want to kill everyone?  No.  Do I want to quit? Nope.  But still...it kinda sucks.  Today was also the day where I wanted to eat all of the things.  Not necessarily non-W30 things, but just....something.  Anything.  Constantly.  Basically, I was hangry today......hungry, cranky, tired. And if I see another pizza commercial I may shoot my television.  Yeah, not my best day ever.

Breakfast:
The usual

Lunch:
Two hardboiled eggs
Organic cherry tomatoes
Pistachios

Dinner:
Steak
Sweet potato fries w/homemade mayo
Brussel sprouts

So let's talk about this dinner.  I originally intended to eat leftovers (either tacos or chicken). But as the day progressed and my crankiness grew and my hanger started to get cray, I decided that I wanted steak and starch.  I realized I haven't had much in the way of starchy carbs while on the plan and haven't once had a sweet potato.  As soon as I ate dinner, I felt A TON better.  Lesson learned - and leftovers for another day.

Sleep:
Last night I had a hard time falling asleep. I probably got 5 hours which for me is not enough.  Lack of sleep directly contributes to my anxiety.  It's a little higher than it was but still fairly low...and no panic attack last night which tends to happen when I lay in bed for a long time without falling asleep. So I'll label that as progress.

Activity:
I took an involuntary rest day as I had a meeting that ran way late and I missed both CrossFit classes.  I could have worked out at home or ran on the treadmill, but given how my day has been, I decided to relax a little.


To copy directly from the Whole 30 site...

Days 10-11: The Hardest Days

Fact: you are most likely to quit your Whole30 program on Day 10 or 11. By this point, the newness of the program has worn off. You’ve made it through most of the unpleasant physical milestones, but you’ve yet to experience any of the “magic” the program promises. You’re still struggling to establish your new routine (read: you’ve eaten eggs prepared ten different ways over the last ten days), and while you’ve been trying really hard to have a good attitude, today you are incredibly aware of all the foods you’re “choosing not to eat right now.”  Everywhere you look, you see the things you “can’t” have: the melted cheese on a greasy burger, the creaminess of that double-scoop cone, the cold beer in your best friend’s tailgate cooler. Dammit, this is hard! And right now you’re wondering if the results will really be as good as “they” all say it is.

You’re cranky, you’re impatient, and you’re really, really tempted to just eat the stupid cheese.

This is where you really start to experience the psychological hold that your food habits have on you. You’ve put in a lot of effort to get to where you are right now, but you’re still waiting for the results you’re hoping to see. Your  brain tells you that you deserve some kind of reward (don’t you?) and, of course, we’ve been conditioned to think of food as the best reward out there. Right now, you’re craving that ice cream, beer, or whatever treat you think would make for just the right reward. But, instead of that treat, you’re standing face to face with the realization that you have 20 more days of deprivation ahead of you.

The key here is to redefine your idea of reward.  Think long and hard about the foods you’re grieving and ask yourself what need you’re expecting them to fulfill.  Are you feeling anxious and looking for reassurance?  Are you feeling sad, and looking for something to cheer you up? Are you worried you won’t successfully finish the program, and it’s easier to self-sabotage than fail? Remind yourself that food cannot fill that void for you—cannot make you feel truly accomplished, comforted, calm, happy, beautiful. Then, find another way to fill that need that does not involve those foods. Prepare yourselves for these days, knowing that all you have to do is see them through to the other side before things get much, much easier.

Don't give up people, cuz I'm sure not.  The best is yet to come.  But I could really use some boost from all of you.  How is your Whole 30 going? Where are you at? How are you feeling?  Please share and let's do this!

W30 Day 9

Man these blog titles are boringsauce.  I need something catchier.  Maybe tomorrow.

Did you know that it's pretty impossible to over-roast brussel sprouts?  It's true.  I feel like the darker they get, the more delicious they are. I got to test this theory tonight when, in the middle of taking them out of the oven, Riggins started banging his bowl around in the other room, clearly attempting to tell me that the prince was ready to eat.  And then I got distracted and forgot even longer. And they were still amaze.  Yay, brussel sprouts!

Breakfast (can you guess????):
Black coffee
Big bowl o' "oatmeal" with organic blueberries

Lunch - I didn't have lunch today until almost 2 pm.  The oatmeal kept me so full that I completely forgot!  So, at 2pm I had 2 hardboiled eggs.  I also brought pistachios and cherry tomatoes for lunch but the eggs were enough for me today.

Dinner:
Green chicken from Nom Nom Paleo.  I'm telling you - make this. It was SO good and I didn't even get to grill it because my stupid propane tank decided it was out of gas.
Roasted brussel sprouts
Sauteed swiss chard.  I made the swiss chard by sautéing garlic, shallots and the stems of the chard in duck fat from Fat Works. This company is great, by the way - you should order their fat.  When they started to soften, I threw the greens in, along with some black pepper.  Once the greens had wilted, I added the juice of half a lemon and finished it with a drizzle of chili oil and pink Himalayan sea salt.

Though the chicken had been marinating with the intention to be cooked today, the side dishes were a lesson in taking what you have in the fridge and throwing it together.  Making it work people.....just making it work.

Sleep:
I got a solid 7 hours last night.  I woke up feeling like I could have slept longer but I think that's because I am still making up for a long history of shitty sleep. I'm hoping this starts to get better as the days go on.

Workout:
I went to boxing today, which is essentially 60 minutes of straight cardio including running, obstacles, boxing and calisthenics.  Nothing can replace my beloved CrossFit Grand Rapids but I thought I'd mix it up a little for the next few weeks and add in something new.  That's the best part about exercise - there's always something new to add to the mix to spice things up.  Don't get stuck in a rut!

Anxiety:
9 days in and my anxiety is pretty low.  I haven't had a panic attack since I started and my general level of anxiety during the day has been pretty non-existent.  I'm not saying this is due to the Whole 30 but I'm almost positive it's playing some role in it.  Can't wait to see how the rest of the month plays out on this front.

And done.

Whole 30 Day 8

Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a. . .oh wait.  It's back to work week.  I can no longer let this pesky little upper respiratory bring me down, man.  It feels good to pretend to be a normal human being again (key word, pretend).

So writing a blog every day is kinda boring.  I can't be blog-witty everyday.  Real life witty is easy but it takes a little extra to be witty in the written word.  Witty in the written word - say that five times fast. Betcha can't.  

Ok, food.....annnnnnnnnnnnnnd go!

Breakfast:
Black coffee
Whole 30 "oatmeal" topped with blueberries

Lunch:
Two hardboiled eggs
Cherry tomatoes
Pistachios

Pre-WOD snack:
1/4 bottle of green juice

Dinner:
Taco salad with fajita beef, peppers and onions topped with guacamole and salsa

Sleep:
I slept about 6 hours last night with minimal interruption. I was tired when I woke up but less so than normal so that seems to be a step in the right direction.

Activity:
Went to crossfit for the first time in a week.  My body, especially my lungs, were NOT ready for that.  I powered through as best I could but it's going to take some time.   Workout was:

Strength - 3 sets of 7 front squats/8 back squats (back squats immediately follow front squats) at 100 pounds.

WOD: 7 minute AMRAP
3,6,9,12,15....
Clean and Jerk (95 pounds)
Toes to Bar

Rest 3 minutes
Run 800 meters (I rowed this as I didn't think the lungs were quite ready for cold air running)

I know several people that started their Whole 30 today. I'm waiting patiently to hear how it went.  Comment on here, Facebook, or Twitter.  Bring it on!

Whole 30 Day 7! One week down!!!!

Did you know that cinnamon has a ton of health benefits?  On top of being super, duper delicious, cinnamon regulates blood sugar, reduces cholesterol levels, can help reduce pain, and is shown to reduce chronic inflammation, making it helpful for people with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors and meningitis.  I just like it because it tastes amazeballs.

For breakfast today, I made the Whole 30 oatmeal I've been digging with LOTS of cinnamon.  It looked like this: 

Soooo filling

I intended to have beef fajitas for dinner.  In fact, I threw everything into the crockpot after running errands today, using this recipe.  While I was waiting for it, I made a big batch of homemade salsa, some guacamole and one of my favorite cauliflower recipes, cauliflower tortillas.  These are so amazing! 

In a typical case of first world problems, I got hungry before the fajitas were done.  So I made dinner with with the leftover chicken that I had in the fridge.  Oh well, I guess tomorrow's meal is done.  And they were still yummy with chicken.  Win win.

That's a horrible picture. I should have taken a better one. But I got hungry and it smelled good so I ate it instead.  My bad.

To round out my Mexican fiesta, I made plantain chips for dippin'!  I love plantain chips. They're crunchy and neutral and are the perfect paleo dipping vessel (because, let's face it, people who say using raw veggies is the same as chips are just stupid).  To make plantain chips, find the greenest plantain you can. Plantains go from green to yellow to black the more they ripen. The riper they are, the softer and sweeter.  You don't want this.  You want them green and starchy.  Cut the plantain out of the skin, and then slice it with a mandolin into chips.  Toss them in oil and sea salt and then lay flat on a baking pan.  Bake at 350 until they are just starting to brown and then take them out.  They go from perfect to burned really quickly so keep your peepers on these guys.  When they're done, they look like this: 

Again...bad pic with bad lighting.  Don't care.

So that's all.  Day 7 over, week one over, bronchitis (almost) over.  Next week I may actually get to see how this works out on a normal schedule where I actually go to the office, work out, and resume a normal sleeping schedule.  How did everyone else's first week go??

Whole 30 Day 6

I heard a little rumor today. Apparently, someone has been reading along getting ready to start his own Whole 30 (cough, Ryan, cough cough) and panicking because what I'm eating isn't enough for him to "survive."  All that I want to say to that is that my Whole 30 journey isn't going to be the same as everyone else's.  I may have different taste buds, food likes and dislikes, daily activity level, etc.  I've also been suffering from a cold/bronchitis this week which has affected my meals.  You can't go into this thinking you are going to eat exactly everything that I am going to eat and make it through. You have to eat what makes YOU happy and satisfied.  Ok, enough of that.

Today, I spent much of the day at the Living Well Expo.  We also met Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Amanda Beard who, it turns out, does CrossFit. Awesome!  That being said, it was very much a "snacking" day for me.  It looked a little something like this:

Breakfast:
Black coffee
1 hardboiled egg
Banana

Lunchish/snacks - Throughout the afternoon I ate the following:
1 Banana
2 clementines
Pistachios
Lots and lots of water

Dinner:
Leftover spaghetti

It ain't always glamorous, folks

Almost one week down and I actually feel pretty good (absent the upper respiratory infection). I haven't felt unsatisfied or hungry or feeling like this is impossible.  I've just taken it one day at a time, which is what I think everyone needs to do during one of these.

Ok, back to the Bachelor! See you tomorrow, kids!

Whole 30 Day 5

Today I had my first difficult encounter on my Whole 30.  I had an all-day work meeting out of the office which included two things: continental breakfast and catered lunch.  I thought I was well prepared, packing a hard-boiled egg to eat instead of the provided breakfast pastries and supplementing with the fruit platter.  Totes easy!  Lunch, however....not so much.  As per the usual professional catered lunch, I anticipated the typical "chicken and something" and planned on working with it the best that I could.  Boy, was I ever wrong.  Lunch consisted of the following: pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw, wraps and chips.  Any of that look Whole 30 to you??  Yeah, not so much.  However, what surprised me most was that there wasn't even a second where I thought, "Oh well, I guess I have no choice..."   Instead, I grabbed a veggie wrap and a club wrap, opened them up and ate whatever I could from the inside of each.  Thankfully, I also had a survival pack of pistachios in my purse that I snacked on alongside my lunch.  So thanks, guys.  I honestly think that it's because of this blog and because of you that it was so easy NOT to cave.

The takeaway?  Be prepared!  I should have had more food with me but even having what I did made a huge difference in my ability to stay compliant.  It's honestly not as hard as you think, I promise.

PS - Dinner tonight was spaghetti (spaghetti squash instead of noodles, obviously).  Quick, easy and filling.

PPS - Bronchitisgate is (I think) almost over.  Hooray!

Whole 30 Day 4

I'm slowing feeling semi-human again and much less like road kill.  Plus the stuff I'm coughing up is wicked.  I'm so disgusting.

This Whole 30 isn't really starting the way I wanted.  I pictured a daily blog complete with pictures of all my meals and an activity and sleep log.  That hasn't happened since I haven't worked out once this week and my sleep has consisted of several hours at a time on the couch between hacking fits.  Seriously, so disgusting.

Anyway, today's meals have consisted of bananas, pistachios and, later, a bowl of the "oatmeal" I made yesterday.  Finally, this evening I reached a point where a meal sounded good.  However, the only thing that sounded palatable was steak.  My, my don't I have champagne tastes in times of illness?  Anyway, so I pulled a filet out of my freezer and had a side of some leftover roasted broccoli.  It was good and I feel better having eaten a real meal with some good iron and protein.

Now back to the couch.....day 4 done!

PS - I swear this blog will get better next week when I get back to a normal schedule.

Whole 30 Day 3

Well my cold has turned into bronchitis.  That's fun.  I feel like there's a barbell sitting on my chest.  Awesome.

Food today has been touch and go as I've had little appetite and have tried to sleep as much as possible. Generally, I've been snacking on pomegranate seeds and pistachios.  My two main "meals" today have been a bowl of bone broth with some chicken, and a version of oatmeal which is whole 30 complaint. To make this oatmeal, I took about 1/4 cup of coconut milk, 1 mashed banana (thanks Amanda for bringing me bananas and cinnamon!!!!!), I diced apple and lots of cinnamon.  After about a minute I added a combination of raw ground flax seed and raw whole chia seeds.  I added unsweetened almond milk as it cooked to achieve desired consistency.  I added some more cinnamon and a little sea salt at the end and topped with raw walnuts.

No pictures. No witty banter.  Sorry.  Goodnight.

Whole 30 Day 2

Happy New Year - I'm sick again!  Ugh....WTF, immune system?!?  Started feeling it last night but woke up this morning with razor blades in my throat.  Literal razor blades.  I'd be fine with the sneezing and stuffy head if the razor blades would just. go. away!  :(

Given that, I'm gonna make this short and sweet.  It's only day 2 and I'm feeling fine. I will say, however, that I woke up hungry (which never really happens) and there was a while this morning when I just could not get full.  I'm not a big breakfast eater - my morning meal usually consists of coffee and some raw almonds (did I say this yesterday?) but I do not think that's gonna be doable this month. I'm going to have to get creative because skipping breakfast can't happen.

My meals today were as follows:

Breakfast:
1 cup of black coffee
1 cup of bone broth

Mid-morning snack/breakfast continuation:
Package of raw almonds
About 7-10 organic cherry tomatoes

Lunch:
3 Nori rolls.  This is gonna be a Whole 30 favorite I think.  Remember when I talked about using healthy fats to feel satiated?  These did that for me.  I spread homemade mayo on each piece of Nori, added crumbled bacon, lettuce, cucumber, carrots and shredded chicken breast.  They were filling and delicious!

Make sure you buy the pre-toasted Nori for convenience

I left work right after lunch and came home to sleep.  When I woke up, the razor blades were still there.  Yippy! I also could not get warm, not even with long pants, knee socks, a sweatshirt and my down comforter with the heat up to 75.  Not cool.  A hot shower after I woke up seemed to help though - my gas bill is gonna suck.

After waking up, I sipped on some more bone broth and ate some pomegranate seeds. I keep trying to hydrate my throat - it helps for the moment but not for long.  So I'm consuming LOTS of liquids. Fun.  Do you even care about this?  Probably not. On to the important stuff...

For dinner, I made a salad by crisping up some of the pork from yesterday in a pan, and tossing it with lettuce, avocados, veggies and Tessamea's Lemonette salad dressing.  I LOVE Tessamea's - it's an all nature dressing and marinade company.  So far, I haven't been able to find it in stores so I order a bunch online. They even have bbq sauce and hot sauce and everything is Whole30 compliant.  My favorite is the Lemon Garlic - try it and thank me later.

So there we are.  Day 2 in the books.  How did you do?

Whole 30 Day 1

Snow daaaaayyyyy!  Who said snow days are reserved for teachers?  Given the arctic climate and the fact that my little toy car is not as much fun in the winter as it is in the summer, I was late getting into work this morning.  Before I could get myself dug out, my office closed and sent people home.  Who doesn't love when their employer does that?  So, in between emails and other work-related activities, I cleaned my fridge (literally), did laundry, meal prepped, caught up on my DVR and hung out with my puppy.  This also means I failed to get to CrossFit but I didn't want to risk getting stuck again.  Oh well, life goes on.

So, today was Whole 30 day one.  How did everyone do?  I think it went pretty well myself, and a lot of that is because I was prepared.  I'm telling you, preparation will be key during this thing.  My meals today were as follows:

Breakfast:
2 cups of coffee (one regular and one decaf) with steamed coconut milk and cinnamon
Eggs and bacon with a sprinkle of pink himalayan sea salt
Pomegranate seeds and cactus fruit.
I'm not generally a breakfast eater absent some almonds or a LaraBar but I was home so I figured why not?  We'll see how long the breakfast train lasts this month.

Snack:
Because breakfast was later in the day and I planned an earlier dinner, I had a snack in between instead of a full lunch-type meal.  Pistachios and half a bottle of organic green juice helped to tide me over until dinner.

Dinner:

I had pulled pork that I had marinated the night before and cooked all day in the crockpot.  I also made homemade barbeque sauce.  Both recipes came from Civilized Caveman.  I modified the bbq sauce recipe by adding fresh pineapple for the canned (no added sugar) and I didn't use that much sauce so I bottled the rest up for another time.  I served the pork with half an avocado, some burnt broccoli (my favorite!) and garlic mashed cauliflower.  I subbed ghee for the butter in the cauliflower recipe and bam! Whole 30 compliant!  Burnt broccoli is essentially roasted broccoli.  Cut your broccoli into pieces, toss it with some good olive oil and roast it in the oven at 350 degrees until charred.  I didn't season the broccoli at the time of roasting because I topped it off at dinner with some fresh ground pink sea salt.  

I also spent some time today making homemade mayo, defrosting some chicken, beef and bone broth that I had in my freezer and planning some meals for the remainder of the week so I'm stocked and ready to go.  

I know it's only day 1 but so far, this Whole 30 thing is feelin' just fine!

The Obligatory New Year Blog Post

Happy New Year!  I know I'm a few days late, but given the main content of this post, I thought today would be the best day to write it.  How was everyone's NYE?  I, for one, did the most amazing thing ever:  I.  Stayed.  Home. YESSSSSSS.  No bar crowds, no bar tabs, no heels or dresses or sleeping on couches or taking cabs.  I stayed home and hung out with my neighbors in my Lulus, made a big (totes not paleo) Mexican feast, played some cards, had some cocktails, and watched Miley shit the bed on her performance in Times Square.  Did anyone else see that?  The fur and the midget and the tone-deafness, oh my.  Apparently, she also did this:

#awkward

And now here we are, one day away from the Whole 30 challenge.  Since my last post, I've been surprised at how many people have said they want to try it with me.  Ok, let's be honest, I'm surprised that many people are still reading this blog.  But seriously, it's been almost overwhelming.  Everyone has their own reasons for doing these types of challenges or committing to the almighty new years resolution.  Whether it's about getting fit, nailing that promotion, changing your personal style, calling your grandma more often (that reminds me, I need to call my grandma...seriously) or, like me, experimenting with ways to restore calm into your life, the new year gives us a sense of hope of what's to come.

A few tips about the Whole 30 before we start tomorrow:
#1 - We are in complete control over ourselves.  No one can force us to eat non-compliant food.  Will parts of it suck? Maybe.  As I sit here drinking my creamy, hot coffee I am slightly sorrowful that I'm going to be without for the next 30 days.  But it's only 30 days, which brings me to my next point...

#2 - It's only 30 freaking days!  If we can't show a little restraint for 30 days, then there are likely some other issues happening in our lives that we should evaluate.  Just sayin'

#3 - Some days will be harder than others.  The creators of Whole 30 posted this timeline of what to expect during your challenge.  This may not apply to everyone but it's there to let you know that whatever you may feel in the next 30 days is probably very normal.

#4 - Plan ahead.  Have you visited the Whole 30 site?  Browsed their blog?  Searched the forum?  Have you planned ahead for the week, been to the grocery store, cooked some complaint foods so they're on hand for when you're hangry (yes, I said hangry) after your workout?  Do you have some quick foods to grab when you need a snack (think avocados, nuts, seeds, (some) fruit, sliced veggies).  You will not survive the Whole 30 unless you prepare.  This isn't a "quick" program - you need to shop and plan.  There are very few compliant take-out and fast food options.  This may sound scary but...you will have to cook.  ::gasp::

Get over it and get in the kitchen

#4.5 - Use the intraweb to your advantage.  There are a ton of websites that have Whole 30 compliant recipes.  You don't just have to eat chicken and broccoli (yeah Ryan, I'm talking to you).  Get creative, have fun, eat well.  For ideas, start (obviously) on the Whole 30 site and forum.  Also check out Nom Nom Paleo, Chowstalker, The Clothes Make the Girl and other paleo/Whole 30 blogs.  Many of these bloggers have Whole 30 compliant recipes or paleo recipes that you can tweak just a little to make them work.

#5 - Eat.  Yes, eat.  Eat good fats that will keep you full (avocados, nuts, homemade mayo, good oils and animal fats).  Eat lots and lots of veggies.  Have some compliant starches if you're feeling like you're gonna cheat (sweet potatoes (remember: NO white potatoes), plantains, etc.). This will keep you satisfied.

#6 - Continue to work out but listen to your body.  I have no intention of dialing down my CrossFit workouts. I'm also starting a boxing class for the next 8 weeks.  That means I need to feed my body because both of these workouts tend to wipe the floor with you.  You can't be starving or hungry when you go to the gym.   You'll hate your workout, you'll hate the Whole 30 and you'll hate your life.  So....eat fucking food.

Ok, I think that's enough tips.  I always like to end with an f-bomb.  Thanks for reading my blog and for somehow thinking that I'm motivating enough for you to join me on this journey.  That's pretty awesome.  I hope you know that as much as I would like to motivate you, you motivate me too. Knowing people are doing this with me and will be following along on the blog has added an extra level of motivation (and a little bit of healthy anxiety) for me to make it through.  So, if you're planning on joining me, comment on the blog or on Facebook or Twitter. Let me know you're doing this as well so I can be just as motivated by you as you are by me.

I'll see you tomorrow!