Day 14 & 15 of Whole30 – Halfway through!

Somehow I missed the boat that lentils were legumes and now I feel really bad. You know that soup I thought was Whole30 compliant? Not so much. It was a lentil soup. Because of the sinus infection, I only bought two cans–one eaten Monday, the other last night. These aren’t Whole30 friendly! And I didn’t realize it!

#shameonme

However, when I assessed how I felt after. I didn’t feel bloated, but I did feel comfortably full. I was stunned a soup could do that. My energy hasn’t changed or anything. I don’t think it made much of a difference… so I don’t have to start over, do I? Thoughts?

On Monday though, while catching up on my favorite shows on my iPad, I used the 90 second commercial breaks to punch out some pushups and bicycle crunches. Since I haven’t worked out in ages, I expected to be sore. Nope. Absolutely nada soreness. Thanks to Whole 30? I think so!

And sleeping… oh my gosh. It doesn’t matter if I go to bed at 10 or 12; when my Sleep Cycle alarm rouses me (best alarm app ever!) I’ve been tempted to press the green smiley icon for “how I feel.” Then I think to myself, no, I want more sleep… but my body refuses to listen! As soon as those pretty tones wake me up, I’m up. It both sucks and is awesome–it’s weird. And my sleep quality percent is consistently high now too. (You can check out Sleep Cycle here… you’ll love it, too, I promise!)

So I guess I’m seeing some cool positive side effects already from doing the Whole30! I’m down with that.

Day 14 meals

• Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with red bell peppers
• Lunch: apple, spinach, shredded carrots, topped with garlic beef I made at my friend’s over the weekend (delish btw)
• Snack: cashews
• Dinner: that not-so Whole30 compliant soup and a tablespoon of almond butter, Lara Bar for treat

Day 15 meals

• Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs and an apple
• Lunch: Cafe Rio tortilla-free tostada chicken salad with only guacamole and pico
• Dinner: lamb, red bell pepper and sweet potato topped with coconut oil
• Late night snack: almond butter… What? I get hungry right before bed!

Oh, and I can flip an omelet on a pan without it flying away from me. Master cook in training!

So things are starting to look up! Yay! :)

Day 13 of Whole30 – Sicky Sinner

Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned.

I’ve been sucking on Halls cough drops (damn sinus infection). They have stuff in them that I’m technically not supposed to be ingesting during the Whole30… but if you had my cough, you would totally understand. Halls are the only ones that work. One or two and I’m good for a few hours. With other brands, like Ricola, they are like candy, don’t work and aren’t on the Whole30 either. So pardon me for wanting something that actually works on my throat.

Not only that, but the vegetable soup that I found that I thought was Whole30 compliant really wasn’t. I realized that when I poured it for lunch and saw potatoes in there. Granted, the can said organic potatoes (and my eyes somehow missed that part), but still… not supposed to eat potatoes. But I brought nothing else for lunch, so what did I eat? The soup.

Sigh… curse being sick. Of all the times for me to fall ill, it just happens to be during a time when I can’t eat real chicken noodle soup. Figures.

I met a friend for dinner and he said that he’s reading It Starts With Food right now! That’s the book behind the Whole30, the science, the plan and everything. He says he’d like to try it soon. It would be cool to have another friend doing something like this. :)

Meal rundown…

• Breakfast: 2 hardboiled eggs & an apple
• Lunch: Vegetarian soup
• Snack: almonds, strawberries and pineapple
• Dinner: CPK chicken salad (avocado, slivered almonds, beets, hard-boiled eggs, dried cranberries, etc)

How I feel:
Body feels good, again, aside of the sinus infection. Strong drugs are kicking it out, but the coughing stage seriously sucks. This time the coughs hurt worse than they sound… and that’s saying something. That means they hurt like a beast. My tastebuds are certainly perking up at different flavors, and I feel like I’ve tasted some amazing things through this already.

Still waiting for that cookie though… ;)

Day 11 & 12 – Oh, the cooking…

My friends saved the day for me on Saturday.

Even though we were celebrating one of their birthdays, they were completely supportive of my new eating habits. And they taught me some valuable cooking tips that I didn’t know (stuff I clearly don’t remember from Home-Ec)! For example:

• Add spices WHILE the meat cooks… not after.
• You CAN microwave a sweet potato if you puncture it before you cook it (lifesaver!).

The only part that sucked of the whole night was when they were eating her birthday cheesecake and I sat there wishing I could have a slice. But it was weird–I wanted some but I didn’t feel like I needed it, so I almost felt… indifferent but wistful? Eh, I don’t know. I settled for almond milk with cinnamon in it. Have you tried that? Super yum.

So today I cooked an amazing lamb-stuffed mushroom dinner that was soooo delicious that I’m already wanting to make it again even though I don’t have enough mushrooms left to do the whole thing (requires 12)

Day 11 Meals…

• Breakfast: 2 egg scramble with pico de gallo
• Snack/Lunch: Lara Cashew Cookie bar, almond butter and a whole30-fied dirty chai (I know… but I had rehearsal and practically no time to eat and nothing to pack for lunch)
• Dinner: ground beef with garlic salt, sweet potato with coconut oil/cinnamon

Day 12 Meals…

• Breakfast/Lunch (got up at 11:30): 3 egg omelet with pico de gallo
• Snack: Almond butter
• Dinner: Lamb-stuffed mushrooms (12), followed with a Lara Bar and almond milk for dessert

How I feel:
Aside from trying to fight off my sinus infection, I’m feeling pretty good! I’m even noticing my pants fitting loser. My dentist office receptionist even asked if I’d lost weight since I was last there in August. However, I do wish I could have just one cookie. And that my dreams would stop making me feel like a crazy person (last night, pizza–a favorite–was involved and I ate TWO huge slices). What I wouldn’t give to have a slice of pizza or cookie… but I can’t. I won’t. I am finishing this 30 day challenge! Is it bad that I’m promising myself a cookie when I get done with this? ;)

So on the terms of cooking, what is your favorite pointer than someone has shared with you? :)

Day 9 & 10 – Struggling…

What I wouldn’t give for a big bowl of chicken noodle soup right now. With saltines. And hot cocoa.

One of the things that the Whole30 way of eating focuses on is consuming foods that don’t cause inflammation of the body. Well, I’m here to tell you this… they obviously weren’t talking about inflammation of the sinuses.

Girl has a sinus infection. And it sucks major balls.

Yesterday was just a hard day all around (doctor, friend frustrations, a snow storm, and leaving my groceries at the office on accident). I got ideas from my coworkers about making homemade chicken noodle soup with shiratake noodles, which are made from some kind of plant root kind of like a yam… or something like that. Since I didn’t end up having rehearsal due to a major snow storm, I was able to make the soup but it was… not good. The broth and carrots were the best part. The chicken was made from frozen chicken thighs from Costco (fairly old though) and tasted horrendous, practically triggering my gag reflex. The noodles turned out to be okay, but man… was that meal discouraging!

Least to say I made friends with a spoonful of almond butter and an organic nut-and-berry bar before going to bed uncharacteristically early. Yay for 10 hours of sleep though!

On the topic of gag reflex, mine seems to have gotten worse over the last couple days. Avocados are starting to be hard to eat plain. Gotsta be on a salad or in guacamole.

Another thing I’ve been struggling with is that it feels like this is getting really expensive! When you think of price per calorie, eating wholesome foods and satisfying yourself can cost quite a bit. Meats are expensive! Not to mention I now have to dump the bag of chicken thighs I’ve been holding onto. No joke when I say it tasted bad. I’ll be buying fresh, free-range chicken next time. Just the cost of all this food may put me over the edge.

More positive things! I bought some ground lamb yesterday while waiting for my prescription to be filled. The recipe on the back (lamb-stuffed mushrooms) seriously sounded delightful, so I’ll be trying that recipe on Sunday. I’m also intrigued to try cage-free, grain-fed chicken eggs. :)

Day 9 Meals

• Breakfast: 3-eggs made with almond milk, apple
• Lunch: spinach, shredded carrots, olive oil, avocado
• Snack: almonds
• Dinner: the failed chicken noodle soup, almond butter and nut-and-fruit bar

Day 10 Meals

• Breakfast: almond butter with apple (that’s all I had since I left my groceries at work)
• Lunch: leftover chicken noodle soup
• Snack: almonds and cashews
• Dinner: I plan on making sautéed vegetables with some of that new ground lamb

I’m finding more people who have done the Whole30 though and it seems like this tends to be the most “struggled with” time.

Looking forward to better times!

Day 6 & 7 of Whole30 – Catnap time!

Why does it keep getting harder and harder to get out of bed each morning? Although I barely scraped 7 hours of sleep Sunday/Monday night, today was by far one of the hardest mornings to wake up.

Oh, I just checked the Whole30 timeline and apparently I’m right on schedule to be wanting a catnap underneath my desk. If anything, today is my “kill ALL the things” because it’s such a struggle.

It was hard making it through the first choreography rehearsal since the dance was really fast, but it will get better. Some people have been concerned about my energy, but it’s just a slump. It’s how the Whole30 works! My body is cleaning out itself and shifting to a new energy source (fat rather than sugar). It’s hard on a body!

Since I’m writing this late (yesterday was absolutely insane with work), I can’t remember everything I ate. But I remember it all being delicious and wholesome! :)

—

And for day seven, things are going better than yesterday! I woke up feeling like I wasn’t going to fight off the day. I’m still working on getting my energy back up, but today started to head in the right direction.

And it’s weird but my need for snacks in the morning and afternoon have gone down. Sometimes I run into hunger right before bed, but tea helps with that.

Even better, my rehearsal got done early tonight so I’ll be able to get to bed early!

Meals…

• Breakfast: 3-egg omelet with pico de gallo
• Lunch: Cafe Rio chicken salad with guac and pico only
• Dinner: Lettuce wraps with beef and onions

Now this girl really wants to get an early start on sleep since I have to get up earlier than usual tomorrow. Check in later!

Day 5 of Whole30

So Zumba? A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea.

I wanted a workout and I thought day 5 would be okay to go workout. So wrong! I couldn’t make it 25 minutes before my brain was swimming and 30 minutes before my body wanted to quit. Apparently, the detoxing days (3 – 5), you’re supposed to rest as much as you can. But nope! I choose to have a more than elaborate schedule even on the weekends.

Meals…

• Breakfast: cashews and peppers
• Lunch: mixed green salad with balsamic/oil dressing, asparagus and grilled chicken atop
• Dinner: sautéed peppers, onions, garlic and ground turkey — so good! Followed by an Apple Pie Lara Bar.

How I feel:
Aside from the Zumba making me super dizzy, I feel like I just want to sleep! Seriously, the tiredness is getting to me and at times I act drunk. Struggling to keep my words straight too… luckily, I’m a better writer than I am at physically speaking.

When I went up to my parents house, my mom all but threw spices at me since they don’t use them. That’s going to be fun to experiment with for sure! It was my first day cooking with coconut oil and I’m quite pleased with the results. You really can’t taste it! Anyone else tried coconut oil before? Pretty neat stuff. :)

Well, girl needs some sleep. Nighty night!

Day 4 of Whole30 – Let me sit down…

Ever feel like you just want to… sit down?

That’s pretty much how I’ve felt all day. Not even two minutes standing while waiting for rehearsal to start and I’m telling the girl I’m talking to that I need to sit down. Here I was expecting that I would want to kill ALL the things today… not so much. If anything, I’d like to kill the zits that have popped up on my face in the past couple days (normal initial side effect of the detox of the Whole30). Find me a floor or a comfy chair (or, even better, my bed) though, and I’m a happy camper.

Found a Starbucks after rehearsal so I’d be okay to go birthday shopping for one of my best friends. Again, I catered my usual choice to something Whole30 compliant. I have a fairly new love for Dirty Chai lattes, so this is an adjustment. What I did is get brewed Tazo Chai tea with a shot of espresso… and it’s actually not bad! Much better than black coffee. The spices make it yummy though still somewhat bitter. A good balance is all it’s about!

Meal rundown…

• Breakfast: 1/3 avocado with S&P, 3-egg omelet and a Pink Lady apple
• Snack: Modified dirty chai tea & almonds
• Lunch: spinach, sautéed mushrooms & shredded carrots, ground turkey — experiment gone wrong, won’t do that again
• Dinner: Blue Lemon Steak Griller, sans gravy and sweet potato fry substitute for regular potatoes

How I feel:
I got a lot of sleep last night–about 10 hours. Despite that, I still wanted nothing more than to go back to bed most of the day. Brain has been quite fuzzy; at one point, I almost felt buzzed even though I haven’t had a sip of alcohol. Quite strange. I also felt really snacky after noontime hit. Even after a pretty substantial dinner, I feel like I could eat more to be satisfied. Unless it gets bad though, then I’ll do something about it other than downing water.

And I’m going for Zumba tomorrow. Girl needs to feel good and Zumba seems like just the ticket.

Here’s my motivational share for the day from Health Advocation! It’s a great list for making healthy goals and how to stick with them. More of the process part of making resolutions and goals. Here’s a preview:

I agree wholeheartedly with everything except the weekly weigh-in. I “broke up” with the scale once I moved out onto my own, but I do remember the days I loved my weekly weigh-in when I was doing WeightWatchers. I just don’t like being tied to a number on the scale. Personally, I think it’s better to focus on being healthy overall and your “happy weight” will come. Everything else on this list is gold though. Go. Read. :)

Have a good weekend!

Day 3 of the Whole30 – Eating Out!

One of the perks of the Whole30 is getting to eat wholesome and delicious foods…

Black coffee is certainly not the latter. ICK. Times like a thousand. How on earth can people tolerate it? Anyone who can must not have properly functioning tastebuds…

Again, it was hard to wake up this morning so I used my trusty Verismo to brew up a cup of Guatemala Antigua goodness only to find that it wasn’t good. At all. I got three sips in before I just bagged the whole thing. What can I say? I like my lattes and I can’t have them! I think I’ll just stick to my decaf green tea. Let’s just say I’m greatly awaiting the day where I have boundless energy!

Meal rundown…

• Breakfast: sips of horrible coffee & 3-egg scramble made with EVOO — the flavor is so much better, btw
• Lunch: Leftover Morning Mix on top of spinach with 1/3 of an avocado dashed with S&P. 100% Tropicana Orange Juice that I found in the office fridge.
• Dinner: First eating out venture — guacamole, dinner salad sans cheese, and a 12 oz. New York Strip steak cooked without butter

How I’m feeling:
Fuzzy brain, on-and-off minor small headaches sporadically throughout the day, and tired. I was hoping to work out tonight since it’s my first free night all week, but that may not happen. So I can lay in bed and finish one of my writing projects. Doesn’t sound too bad, but I’m craving a workout. Zumba Sunday! I’ll hold out for that.

I’m just glad I was able to eat out without any problems. The server was super accommodating and very kind. So a little tip: don’t be afraid to ask for what you want at a restaurant even if it is super specific and not quite what’s on the menu. Ask for substitutions. It’s easy and usually servers will be cool with it. After all, they want you to be happy and to leave a generous tip. ;)

So speak up!

And a little bonus thing I found out from my dinner: I can tolerate olives. That’s an adjustment from my usual hate towards them.

Day 2 of Whole30 – The Hangover

On the Whole30 timeline, day two is supposed to be the hangover day.

Not sure if this is a hangover, but I definitely did not want to get out of bed. Then I rushed cooking breakfast (though I’m sure I overcooked the turkey), ran and barely made it to my train on time to head to work. Now I have ADD all over the place and my head feels funny. And yes, my energy is kind of sappy. For those of you who have done the paleo or Whole30 thing, what was the “hangover” stage like for you? 

So it’s not entirely like the “hangover” described in the timeline, but I can feel it. I didn’t gorge on all unhealthy things right before I started this though, and that may be why. I wasn’t eating horribly, but I wasn’t limiting myself either. I wanted those chocolate oranges until they went out of season, dang it!

Now for the food stuffs…

• Breakfast: Morning Mix (ground turkey, apple, cinnamon skillet in EVOO), a few blueberries and a couple chunks of pineapples.
• Lunch: Romaine, smoked turkey breast, shredded carrots, cashews, EVOO and S&P
• Snack: 2 clementines and a handful of almonds (yes, again)
• Dinner: 5 oz of tri-tip steak with sauteed mushrooms — seriously delish

How I feel:
Lethargic and slow-minded a little… It took a while for me to get with it this morning. On the upside, I’m loving the opportunity to make myself cook more. Seriously, the mushrooms turned out so well (despite having to rush dinner too) and I can’t wait to try other new things! Not sure how I feel about the Morning Mix yet, but the apples definitely made it better.

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) is turning into my “healthy fat” crutch though. It’s delicious and it can virtually work with anything. I need to do an avocado tomorrow to shake things up, haha.

I’ve built up a short shopping list of things I’d like to have or try… salsa and coconut milk are on it.

And here’s a great quote that I got in one of my favorite daily newsletters, The DIY Daily, for a little inspiration today:

“Be not confined to calendar constraints, commit to change each and every day.”

That’s what we are doing right? Making changes to be better everyday?

Then let’s rock it! … Well, once I get some sleep. ;)

Day 1 of the Whole30

To help mark the new year, I cleaned out my parts of the pantry and the fridge and realized something.

I eat a TON of grains. The Whole30 recommends you throw it all away or donate the foods that promote a healthy psychological and hormonal response and support a healthy gut. And grains and dairy (among other things… like cookies) are not included.

Instead I hid most of it that I had too much of to toss, but I can’t tell you where. I don’t want that crap documented so I can look it up. ;)

And then I had a nightmare about messing up on my first day on the Whole30 when faced with a chocolate orange. So least to say, I didn’t sleep very well.

BUT this is a great opportunity to feed my body the food that can make it function at its best. That’s my goal! I’m super excited for it!

First day is done… and here’s what I’d like to do. I want to document how everything goes, the meals I eat, how I sleep and everything. So here goes!

• Breakfast: Omelet made with broccoli and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• Lunch: 4 oz. smoked turkey breast on a bed of spinach, shredded carrots, topped with S&P, EVOO and cashews
• Snack: 2 clementines and a handful of almonds
• Dinner: 5 oz. tri-tip steak and a bowl of steamed broccoli & carrots (with EVOO!), both topped with seasoning and S&P

How I feel:
Things feel okay! I’m just tired since I didn’t sleep well last night so I’m ready for bed. I did get hungry mid-afternoon so that tells me that I need a more sustaining lunch. Either that or I need to “rearrange” my eating schedule. There really is so much water you can drink before your stomach screams, “Give me food!”

After heading to Trader Joes today, I realized that I have more stuff to buy. Like salsa and cooking broth so I can make more than what I can make now.

But let me tell you something… that steak was YUMMY! ;)

Here’s onto Day 2!