Whole30 Round 2 Day 6 - 9

Time seems to be escaping me, both good and bad! I feel in control, happy and full! Whole30 Round 2 is going great and I love seeing Ryan's success and watching him feel as amazing as I did my first round. He is having a few non-scale victories including his pants being loose and needing a belt, working out, going to sleep early, cooking every night and not ordering pizza, and getting so focused that he is now preparing to take the GRE so he can apply for PhD programs! He is excelling in his first week of Whole30 and I couldn't be more proud.

My first week went well too! It was a busy one and I wasn't home for meal 3 three nights, but now that Ryan is doing Whole30, I know the food he is cooking is compliant so I feel less stressed about eating, having leftovers, meal prepping and staying on track! A non-scale victory that I had this week was bringing meal 2 every day to work and not buying anything and because I meal prepped on Sunday, I had meal 1 prepared for my Bar Method mornings. I went to Bar Method Monday, Wednesday and Friday and am going this morning (Saturday, Day 10). I am even going to take a Level 2 course since that was one of my goals!

Another non-scale victory that I had during week 1 was hitting my NikeFuel Goal every day! That's over 10,000 steps per day. It feels great to be active and not be confined to a gym in order to do so. I know the warmer weather helps with my activity so I am more than excited for the warmer weather to arrive in NYC.

We ate really well this week and had some great recipes and meals that produced amazing leftovers!

Tuesday - Day 6
This evening I went to Hu Kitchen for meal 3 because nomnompaleo was doing a book signing. It was really exciting to see Michelle and have my huge red paleo cookbook signed, but it was also amazing to go to Hu Kitchen and have an amazing meal that was whole30 approved. I even bought leftovers for Ryan's meal 2 the next day. I went to the book signing with a friend who is also doing hole30 so it was a great evening talking about our new lifestyle and the success we're having as well as the hardships. Meal 3 was roasted brussel sprouts and Italian Meatballs. I got the same meal for Ryan's lunch.

Ryan's meal 3 was bison burgers with a homemade roasted peppers and fig balsamic sauce. He made extras for me for my meal 2 the next day!

Wednesday - Day 7
This morning I had a great Bar Method class and had my chicken and vegetable frittata for meal 1 at the office. Meal 2 was a huge salad topped with guacamole, salsa, and bison burger.

I promised Ryan we would cook meal 3 together since it was the only night that I was home to cook with him. He has been doing such a great job of cooking every night and I wanted to give him a break. We decided to make shepherd's pie using cauliflower mash instead of mashed potatoes! It was delicious! The cauliflower was creamy and light and we didn't even think that we were missing anything by not using white potatoes. The meaty filling was hearty and delicious and we had enough for dinner and leftovers for lunch! We made a side of roasted kale chips and used Tessamaes zesty ranch dressing which gave them an amazing kick! I ordered a lot of Tessamaes dressings that arrived so that Ryan would not get bored with a salad most days for lunch. We are using leftovers a lot but a side of salad at work is so easy but using oil and vinegar every day can get boring. I got lemon garlic, italian, raspberry vinaigrette, cracked pepper, zesty ranch and ketcup, hot sauce and bbq sauce!!

Thursday - Day 8
Meal 1, Ryan and I made spinach and tomato omelets with a sweet potato, carrot and zucchini hash on the side! I added cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to the hash to make a bit sweet which was so satisfying!

 

Meal 2 was left over shepherd's pie, kale chips and a small salad.

Meal 3 was at an Irish pub - not the best place for paleo food finds but it was a work event so I went and enjoyed the night. I didn't give in to temptations though of mozzarella sticks, nachos and chicken tenders. I was able to order a grilled salmon over mixed green salad with fruit. I didn't eat the fruit because I didn't want the sugar to derail me. If I had eaten the sugar, it would have been harder to say no to the fried foods in front of me!

 

I was out until 8pm which wasn't too late, but I think eating, drinking and socializing didn't allow me to focus on my food and what I was eating because even though I was full, I wasn't satisfied. On my way home I had a blueberry RxBar. I didn't need it and honestly didn't feel proud for eating it, but there are worse choices to make for late night eating. I was happier eating the RxBar though than going home and eating almond butter and dates which is what I would have done during Round 1 or after Whole30 ended. I guess that is another non-scale victory - I haven't had almond butter in a week and have not had any late night snacking besides this bar!

Friday - Day 9
Summer Friday has started! This means I am done working at 1pm so I didn't plan any meal 2. My morning still began early with Bar Method and the remaining pieces of chicken and vegetable frittata at the office!

Meal 2 was amazing. The food was filling, I was at home cooking and eating, and Ryan was there. It wasn't good weather so it was nice to spend the first Summer Friday at home resting on the couch watching TV and doing nothing, though in the future I hope to spend time outside and take advantage of the warm weather and afternoon sunshine. Meal 2 we made Trader Joe's chili lime chicken burgers over a large spinach and vegetable salad, topped with salsa and guacamole. I love using salsa and guacamole as dressing because it adds good fat, vegetables and a lot of flavor and spices! Ryan noted how full he was which made the meal a success.

I spent the rest of the afternoon laying in bed and being completely lazy! Ryan studied for the GRE's and got a lot of work done. Meal 3 was the amazing Chocolate Chili from Well Fed that we made during Round 1! I started cooking at 5:30pm and let it simmer for 2 hours so we ate late. But that was okay - the weather had gotten worse and a thunderstorm and pouring rain had started so we were staying in anyway and it felt good to eat late. Another non-scale victory is that we have been eating a lot of meal 3's together at our dining room table and not on the couch in front of the TV!

We made roasted brussel sprouts using Tessamaes lemon garlic dressing. We topped the sprouts with a fried egg! We topped the chili with crushed almonds and flaked coconut. I doubled the recipe so we have a lot of leftovers for te weekend and maybe even 1 meal during the week! I also used a combination of meat (turkey and lean beef).

 

It has been an amazing week 1 in terms of food and meal planning and working out. I am however feeling a bit tired and run down. Maybe my tiger blood hasn't kicked in yet but I am waking up most mornings feeling achy and tired. I also get tired mid-day to the point where I could fall asleep at my desk! I am 3 weeks without caffeine so I don't want to give in and have some to wake up. I am making great food choices and working out so my energy should be peaked. Maybe it was the week of not being home most nights so I will see how week 2 goes!

Have a great weekend!
XO