Whole30 Round 2 Day 2!

Today was a good day 2. I think Ryan is starting to feel the effects of the detox but he has a lot of support and I know he can be successful at Whole30.

For meal 1, he made fried eggs over leftover sweet potato and zucchini latkes. I was so happy that he used leftovers because normally they would have sat in the fridge for days! He has to see the benefits of leftover food as less cooking/prepping/planning! And next time he could turn them into a hash so that the food becomes less like leftovers and more of a whole new dish!

My meal 1 was a vegetables omelet made with spinach, tomato and mushrooms. I got it on the go since I was at Bar Method. Preworkout was a hard boiled egg and Postworkout was an Apple Pie LaraBar. I need to prep turkey/blueberry muffins for post workout so that I don't become reliant on LaraBars!

My meal 2 was a spinach salad with turkey, shrimp and vegetables.

After work, Ryan went to workout so he had a hard boiled egg pre-workout and a RxBar post-workout. I hope he can find an alternative to bars after working out but right now he sees them as convenience because he doesn't have to make a 4th meal. But he is still doing great and staying committed.

Meal 3 was absolutely delicious. We made pork ribs and brussel sprouts with prosciutto. I made homemade BBQ sauce since my order from Tessamae's hasn't arrived yet! I cooked the ribs for 1.5 hours and they were so juicy and sweet!

Now that Ryan is doing Whole30 and I see the portions that he is eating as a 6'5, 200 lbs male, I need to either make his portions larger (so that he is full longer) or I need to make mine smaller. We cannot eat the same portion sizes. We split the ribs and brussel sprouts, but really I should have had 1/2 of my portion and either saved the remaining ribs or given them to Ryan. I will play it be ear the next few days with portions. I don't want to start being hungry in between meals by making my portion smaller, but I don't want to over-eat. I am 5'1 and 112 lbs so Ryan and I should not be eating the same.

The homemade BBQ sauce ingredients included:
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tbsp coconut aminos
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, red pepper flakes, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder.

I mixed everything together over medium heat and then topped the ribs with the sauce.

We ate late at 7:30pm but by 10:30pm Ryan was hungry. I don't think he was actually hungry, but had cravings. Usually after dinner, he has a rice cake with peanut butter and nutella a couple hours later. He doesn't let his body digest and metabolize his dinner so he thinks he is hungry. He goes to bed full and doesn't sleep well because his body is too busy breaking down food rather than resting. His cortisol levels are thrown off because his body doesn't think it is time to sleep. He doesn't wake up hungry either since he ate so close to bedtime. I am sure he was hungry, but I also think he was craving the sweets as well as used to the habit of eating. He needs to see meal 3 as his final so he eats more fat and savors it. I am proud of him though because he did not eat and went to bed by 11:30pm.

Ryan could have 4 meals during the week if his body really needs it, but they need to be 4 meals, not 3 meals and a snack. It is up to him on how to divide his meals and time, but I do think 3 meals is enough.

He usually eats meal 1 at 7:30am/8am, meal 2 at 12:30pm/1pm and meal 3 at 6pm. The issue is then he doesn't go to sleep for another 6 hours. He needs to get in bed earlier so that he doesn't have late night cravings. But he has 28 days to figure this out and I know he will do great!

As for me, I know I am not going through the same detox I did in March because my body is used to the whole30 lifestyle. But with new goals of limiting nuts, nut butter and now lessening my portions, I have my own struggles. I know I ate too many nuts round 1 and used them as snacks. I would like to keep whole nuts to a limit, maybe 2-3 days per week and always with a meal. Whether that is on a salad or to encrust meat or fish! I also want to stick to healthy nuts like cashews, macadamia nuts, and hazelnuts and limit almonds and especially walnuts!

I had an amazing activity week. I went to Bar Method 3 days this week but my NikeFuel band was extremely active. I hit goal (2,000 fuel) every day Sunday - Friday and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I had record breaking goal day. I had my best Wednesday, Thursday and Friday since using the fuelband and yesterday I had 3,000 fuel and was active for over 7 hours during the day. It felt food to be active and walking and moving. I still need to do Bar Method 4 days a week so starting next week I need to do 3 weekdays or add on a weekend day. I also need to do a Level 2 class which is only offered on weekends so that will help with the 4 day a week goal. It is just difficult to go to weekend classes because I want to sleep in and also getting to SoHo isn't that easy. It's a lot easier to go to SoHo and then to work, but getting back home is a little more difficult. But I won't make excuses for not going to Bar Method. I just have to get my bar booty to the studio!

Have a great weekend everyone!

XO

Day 27 & 28: The Perfect Weekend

It was the perfect weekend! The perfect weather, the perfect food, the perfect activities...everything about this weekend makes me smile. I did have some hard times and a few struggles but everything is still on track!

Saturday, I wanted to workout but I didn't want to commute to SoHo for Bar Method so I went across the street to the Asser Levy Recreation Center (Ryan and I became members last week) and decided to join a spin class. Now this is not Pablo's spin, or soul cycle, or fly wheel...this is a spin class for 6 women who just want to ride a bike with an instructor. The NYC Recreation Center's are a great addition to the city and allow everyone to workout (it is $150/year to join! I pay $250/month for Bar). But the machines are old, the rooms are multipurpose and it is dingy and shabby. But it was perfect for what I wanted - a place to sweat. The girls I was spinning with were so nice and welcoming and I ended up have a great workout and a fun time! I will plan to go back some Saturday's when I don't have time for the commute and 1 hour bar class, or in the winter when it is too cold to even walk outside!

After spin, Ryan and I had Meal 1 (egg mcmuffins again).

Then we went downtown to The Elevated Acre. I had never heard of it, but a friend showed me photos - it is an elevated park (just like the highline) that looks over the East River, FDR, Heliport and has stunning views of the Brooklyn Promenade and the Bridge. Ryan and I were up there alone for a bit before a few other people came up but we laid out and just read. It was so relaxing, so peaceful and so much fun to have the views of Brooklyn when for 3 years we had the views of lower Manhattan.

 

After soaking up some sun we went for lunch at The Paris Cafe, opened in 1873 and had so much history!! They had just reopened after closing for 1.5 years because of Hurricane Sandy. Ryan ordered fish and chips (so tempting not to reach across the table and just grab a bite) and I ordered the warm mushroom salad. On the menu it was an arugula salad with mushrooms, pine nuts, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette. I kindly asked the waitress to serve it with no cheese and no dressing and add grilled chicken. 26 days ago I would have been to nervous to ask for these modifications but Whole30 has taught me to make it work so rather than not eat with Ryan, I found the best and easiest dish to modify and it was delicious!!!

After Meal 2 we took a 4 mile walk along the East River back home! It was so sunny, so warm, the skies were blue and everyone was so happy!

Dinner was leftovers since lunch was so late (3pm) so I had paleo pad thai.

Yesterday was just as incredible. I slept in a little (so no Bar Method in 3 days - yikes) and had breakfast. Ryan was craving donuts so I was a good wife and got him donuts and myself a vegetable omelette (topped with guacamole) served with a n'oatmeal muffin on the side.

Next, we headed out to the Roosevelt Island Tram. After living in NYC for 26 years, I have never taken the tram or been to Roosevelt Island and yesterday was the perfect day for it. The tram is at 60th street and 2nd avenue and it is a 10 minute ride over the East River (next to the 59th street bridge) and down to Roosevelt Island. Roosevelt Island is so small with only a few shops and we decided to walk to the North point. The views of Manhattan are gorgeous and there is so much history on the island and I can't wait to come back and go to the South Park. We walked 1 mile from the tram to the Blackwell Lighthouse and back around through the parks.

We headed back to Manhattan on the tram and went to Whole Foods and got lunch from the salad bar. I made a spinach salad with all of the vegetables, an endive and pomegranate seed salad and pulled chicken. And i topped it with Tessamae's Cracked Pepper Dressing. We took the salads to go and ate at home (again a really late lunch - 3pm) and hung out before cooking Meal 3. I had so much salad that I only ate half and saved the rest!

Meal 3 was incredible. It was a spice rubbed Ahi Tuna Steak cooked perfectly to rare/medium rare for Ryan. Ryan was so adamant that he would never eat rare fish and it had to be cooked but I told him to trust me! And he did...and he loved it! I had never made tuna steaks before but now I want to make it a lot more often. And it was so much cheaper than ordering sushi!

The steaks were coated with salt, pepper, paprika and coriander. Over a medium-high heat i added coconut oil and when the oil was hot (whips of smoke coming off the pan), I added the tuna. I seared the steaks for 2 minutes on each side and then let the fish rest for an additional minute. I sliced the steaks and served with asparagus, avocado and tuna topped with artichoke bruschetta. It was a delicious meal and Ryan loved it, which made me love it even more!

Now I know this sounds great and completely Whole30 compliant but I did have a few bumps in the road - nothing off plan - but some snacking! And I hate that I needed to snack and that I let food control me but some of it was necessary.

Saturday's snack was plantains and hazelnuts that I brought with me to the Elevated Acre. I snacked on them slowly throughout the day. And on Sunday I had 1/2 an RxBar while we were at Roosevelt Island and last night I had plantains, dates and carrots with almond butter and a fig/hazelnut spread. I know it doesn't sound crazy but for me it felt a little out of control. However, even though I snacked, I know why - and knowing why is just as important. We didn't meal plan so I brought snacks with me while we were out which was definitely great since I went more than 5 hours in between Meal 1 and 2 but not planning forced me to think too much about food. Eating late also led me to be a bit ravenous when we were home. And the pantry won.

Surprisingly, the past few days I have been craving something sweet which is why I keep going back to dates and almond butter and plantains after my meals. I shouldn't need sweet tasting things after meals but old habits are rearing their ugly heads again and I am not happy. Late night snacking of cooking and brownies is what got me in trouble 28 days ago and I don't want to feel out of control again. I was doing so well not eating after meals but lately - almond butter has been screaming my name. I don't know if I am craving it because it is in my pantry of if I really need it. I just don't know if I could not have certain things in my pantry because I do cook with dates, almond butter, figs - all of the sweet stuff!

Hopefully I can come out of Whole30 more control of my food choices, my activity and my outlook on happy and healthy living!

XO

Day 21!

Today's Whole30 email came at an appropriate time - it discussed building new habits, which ironically is my biggest struggle, as seen by yesterday's snacking!

The email states that although we have been going for 21 days to build new habits, it takes much longer, 66 days, to form a habit. The habits that I am changing have also been built over a long period of time so it is much harder to break them, change them, and create new ones than 21 days. My fear is the end of the program and going back to eating desserts all of the time. I'm only human and I can't deprive myself forever, so although I have already committed to continuing to eat Paleo after Whole30, paleo brownies, cookies and pizza will have to exist in my life, just not every day, every week or every month. I now know I can go 21 (hopefully 30) days without dessert so why would I give it up on day 31! I need to continue eating Whole30 for myself, my health and my well-being.

I want to start writing in a habit worksheet as suggested by today's Whole30 Daily email. This will help me keep track of where I was, what I was doing, who I was with, and what I was feeling when I craved sweet, or needed to snack, etc. I need to recognize the cues that triggered a habit so that I can create a new habit for the same cue. I already seem to have gotten over the 3pm snacking slump at the office, but what I really seem to be struggling with is the weekends at home with access to my pantry and fridge at all hours. I can't not have food in my house, especially because I live with someone else and we buy in bulk, so how can I not be tempted by the food I have on hand. How can I go into the fridge for water and not reach for a date? I also want to break habits like eating LaraBars or RxBars for snacks or post workout meals because those are like candy and they are my crutch - I look forward to them because they are sweet and remind me of dessert. That is not the point of the bars and I need to slowly rid my daily diet of them, except in the cases of emergencies.

I remember when I quit smoking cigarettes, I had to change the cues and triggers. I assocaited a cigarette with a specific route I walked every day to work so I had to take a new route so I wouldn't be reminded of having a cigarette. I needed to have dessert after dinner instead of a cigarette (I created a new habit by ending an old one and now I am trying to do the same with Whole30). The 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months and 3 years have always been the hardest for me (I am on 3.5 years now without a cigarette) so I expect this week, my 3rd week on Whole30 to be difficult. I am not home a lot at night so I won't be in control of dinner and have less leftovers for lunches so I need to stay focused and control and not give in to the temptations of snacking and meal replacement bars/treats.

I have been sticking to my Whole30 goal of going to Bar Method 4 times a week so even though this week will be tiring and long, I need to keep up my routines because they are new habits that I am working to create. I have started reading It Starts With Food and I hope to finish it in the next 10 days but even if I don't I will continue to read it because it is so important to learn the science behind my Whole30 program and since I might continue it after 30 days, I need to keep reading!

I have a few things coming up that I know will be difficult for me regarding eating:

1) Thursday I am having some friends over to hang out. I plan to cook a Whole30 approved meal but it doesn't mean they won't want dessert or snacks.

2) April 14 is Passover and even though I have planned my Whole30 approved dishes, I need to avoid my favorite dishes and desserts.

3) April 19 I am going to a Bridal Shower - should I eat before I go? Should I bring a LaraBar or RxBar to have in case there is no food I can eat? What food will there be that I can eat?

4) May 3 Ryan and I are going out to dinner for my birthday and although I will have steak and vegetables since it is a steak house, we have already planned to get the Baked Alaska for dessert. It is what this restaurant is known for in NYC and the point of going to this restaurant is for this specific dessert and I don't want to upset Ryan by not going here because we planned it months ago. It will be a special treat and maybe if I go all of April without dessert even after Whole30, it won't derail me and set me back into my old habits. I don't want to call it a "reward" for doing Whole30 because Whole30 has taught me not to reward myself with food because that was an old habit (do well at work, get cupcakes, go all week eating well, have cake). But I don't want to have regrets either so Baked Alaska will happen. And I don't want to feel guilty about it so it is 1 dessert, 1 time and before and after I stay focused and on Whole30 track!

5) In June we are going to Puerto Rico - a lot of meat and vegetables which is fabulous but I need to avoid the rice and dairy. Also, it is a business trip for Ryan and a vacation for me, so I will be alone a lot so I need to control my snacking. Just because no one is around to see me eat, doesn't mean it didn't happen!

6) SUMMER: ICE CREAM! Ryan and I love getting ice cream on a warm summer night. I don't want to always say no or feel left out. I need to look into sorbet and small portions and not every day or week!

7) September we are going to San Francisco. I plan to eat clean, but also not miss out on anything. We will not be gluten free or paleo for this trip, but we will be aware of the food we eat. I plan to do a Whole30 immediately after the trip!

I know these things so far ahead but I have to plan, I have to recognize my weaknesses and figure out how to overcome the tough moments in my life related to food!

This morning Ryan and I went to Trader Joe's early and bought a lot of meat and vegetables for this week. I still don't have a plan but I have food and I will work backwards to find recipes based on the groceries.

Meal 1 was a delicious omelette with turkey, spinach, bruschetta and avocado and almonds with a side of Spicy Chicken Sausage and zucchini fritters cooked in bacon fat.

We are going out tonight from 4pm - 6pm (prime cooking time) so we are not planning a big Sunday dinner like usual. I bought a steak for myself and have leftover brussel sprouts so it will be a cook, but Whole30 approved dinner! We are going to a cocktail reception for Clark University, where we went to college and met, to meet accepted new students. I plan to have Meal 2 around 1pm and will have a LaraBar in my purse for an emergency because I am sure none of the food will be something I can eat. I don't want to feel like I need to eat since I should still be full from Meal 2 before Meal 3 but being around the food is a trigger and I want to be prepared just in case! 

Have a great day!

XO

Day 20: A Bit of a Struggle!

We are in our twenties! And I don't know if it's all mental, but today was a difficult day. I think I hit a wall and realized that it is a lot of work cooking, preparing, planing and eating well. It is hard work, it is all worth it, but it is time consuming and sometimes it would be so much easier to order in food - whether it's a pizza, sushi, chicken, steak, vegetables...whatever it is, it would be easier. But I am learning and changing with Whole30 and it's not supposed to be easy. I am supposed to be working towards making the best version of myself and it is not just for 30 days, it is for the rest of my life. So although next week is really busy and I won't be home a lot to cook which means less leftovers for lunches, I need to stay focused, stay in control, stay happy and not go off track!

I didn't go off track today, but it wasn't my best day. And it was the first time in 20 days that I had a thought of "I feel fat." And I am not fat, and 1 day of "bad" eating does not make me feel fat, but I now know how I feel when I am following a strict Whole30 and how I feel when I don't. And trust me, I don't like the feelings I felt yesterday.

Yesterday started early, but I wanted a day off from Bar Method so Ryan and I had breakfast together. We had an egg omelette made with 2 eggs, coconut milk and applegate pork pepperoni, bruschetta, avocado, spinach and tomato and topped with avocado and pecans.

I thought at the time that it was great and delicious but a few hours later I found myself snacking. And I wasn't snacking because I was hungry, I think I was bored...I think I was a bit lost because I woke up early but didn't have a routine or something planned so I was watching TV and fell victim to HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired). Ryan was at the office working really hard and I went back to my old mentality, that if he didn't see it, it didn't happen. My snack (3 hours after Meal 1, so maybe I really was hungry) was plantains and almond butter and a frozen N'Oatmeal muffin. It wasn't bad for me, but it felt bad to be snacking. It was 3 hours after Meal 1 so maybe I should have had Meal 2 instead of the snack, but we didn't have dinner plans until 6pm, so I would have probably snacked at 3/4pm anyway. I wasn't focused on work or an activity, so my mind wandered to filling the time with food. And I felt guilty and bad about myself and all around negative the rest of the day. It wasn't fun and I miss not letting food control me, but today, I unfortunately took a step back in forming my new habits.

Meal 2 was the last leftover spaghetti squash pizza and a green salad topped with nuts and 100% cacao nibs and balsamic vinegar. Maybe it wasn't what I really wanted to eat and I just ate it because it was convenient because it was the first time in 20 days that I craved something sweet after the meal to "finish" it. I use to always need chocolate after a meal to feel full and this was the first meal that I felt like I needed more in order for it to be done. So after Meal 2 I had a few dates and figs with more almond butter. And again, I felt sluggish and down and negative and horrible about myself. I don't want food to be the enemy but I can't revert back to my old habits now that Whole30 is winding down. This is the time to take it seriously so I can end Whole30 with new outlooks about food and new habits and routines. Today I went back to my old crutches of sweets to feel full and I don't know why.

Meal 3, we decided to go out to dinner - the first time going out since starting Whole30. I wanted to be out of the house and out of the kitchen. We decided not to go out to eat just for a meal, but to make it fun, make it an experience and make it something to get my mind off of the negative aspects of the day. We went to Gyu-Kaku in the East Village which is Japanese BBQ. The menu is raw meats and vegetables that you cook at your table at your own grill! My concern was that all of the marinades were soy based because it is Japanese cuisine, so I called ahead to the restaurant and told them that I had an allergy to soy - they told me all of the food can be ordered with just salt and pepper!

Ryan and I loved dinner! It was fun, it was unique and the food was delicious. Ryan ordered beef with a miso marinade and chicken with pesto and corn. I ordered NY Strip Steak with salt/pepper, Duck with salt/pepper and Salmon. I only realized after I ate it that the salmon had butter (not whole30 approved because it is dairy) but it was only a little amount since the salmon steams on the grill. I tried to keep my food separate from Ryan's on the grill since I didn't want cross-contamination of the soy on my food and I think I did a good job - but this is real life and yes I may not eat it, but people around me do and I can't stop Ryan from having his meat marinated in soy and I didn't want to ruin dinner by yelling at him to keep his food on his side of the grill. We also weren't going to have separate grills. This is life. So yes, I may have had a little dairy and may have had some cross-contamination but all-in-all I think it was a really successful dinner out. Sashimi was the safe bet eating out but this was more fun. And the more I feel comfortable with my new eating habits, the more comfortable I feel requesting specific cooking instructions at restaurants and asking about ingredients in their food.

 

We came home and I didn't need dessert which was good and I was full and satisfied so even though it was a difficult day for me, I think I came out of the day recognizing my struggles and being able to recognize them so they don't happen again!

It was an incredibly beautiful spring day in NYC so I think with the warmer weather coming, my emotions will be lifted and I will be happier and more excited about life. And summer seems easier with cooking because it's a lot of fresh meats and vegetables and not heavy sauces and dips!

Day 9 Struggles - Too Much Food! and a fresh new Day 10!

Well, I over-ordered groceries this week. I meal planned and worked really hard to coordinate dinners and leftovers for lunch and had a large FreshDirect order delivered Saturday and yesterday my dinner plans were ruined as were tonight's due to spoiled food. I guess by trying to save money and buy a lot of food and have leftovers, I wasted money because now I have to throw food out and re-buy. I am starting to plan next weeks meals and I think instead of ordering FreshDirect, I am going to buy 2 nights worth of food at a time at the grocery store on my way home from work to ensure that my food is fresh. It is really frustrating to have meal planning sabotaged because that is when I would go off track and snack and binge and eat whatever I could find. Luckily last night I thought quickly about what to cook and only slightly went off plan.

Last night I had planned to make shrimp. I was craving fresh seafood since I had been eating a lot of meat this week and had ordered 1 pound of fresh shrimp (guess I should have ordered frozen). I was debating between coconut shrimp, shrimp stirfry and shrimp fra diablo. While I was deciding, I prepared cauliflower rice which wasn't too bad but I will have to work on the recipe to make it more flavorful and a better texture. Cauliflower rice was really easy to make - I put cauliflower heads in the food processor and pulsed until it looked like rice. Next time I might do this in batches because some was rice and some was mush from over-pulsing. Then I heated a pot with ghee and added the "rice" and covered and let cook for 10 minutes!

 This is where things got complicated...I was already making the rice, and I had vegetables frying in a pan with coconut oil and my shrimp was spoiled. Obviously I was making a stirfry at this point, but what to stirfry...I quickly looked in the fridge and grabbed the last remaining coconut chicken leftover and cut it up and threw it in the pan with the vegetables. I added some balsamic vinegar (I really need to buy coconut aminos because balsamic stirfry is just not the same, it's just a salad)! It was quick, easy and I was done thinking about cooking. I was full from the meal, but I guess I wasn't satisfied because my mind quickly started wandering to what I wanted to eat next. Trust me, I was not hungry, but being full and satisfied are two completely different feelings. I grabbed the last 2 dates wrapped in proscioutto and hoped this would fix me need for sweets - but alas, it did not and I ended up eating the remaining half of the cocoa RxBar. So although I didn't go off whole30, I still snacked and was not happy about it. However, I did not feel as guilty as I would have had I gone to the freezer and grabbed ice cream and other sweet treats. At least I knew that I needed protein to satisfy me which is why I gravitated to the RxBar. After that I was full and happy(ish) and had some peppermint tea before going to bed early.

Today I took the morning off from Bar Method to spend time with Ryan (tomorrow is class 500)! We had a wonderful breakfast together. He had an apple raspberry nutribullet and a sausage, cheese and vegetable omelette with a side of bacon. I decided to get a little creative and get away from my usual omelette and used the remaining cauliflower rice to make tortillas! They were perfect and so filling and I honestly liked them better than cauliflower rice (which was more like cauliflower mash). I added an egg to the leftovers (which were about 1 cup) and placed the mixture in 3 circles on a sheet of parchment paper and baked at 375 for 10 minutes on each side. Then I took them out of the oven and put them in the pan to fry them and make them crispy for 5 minutes on each side!

I used the last coffee-cocoa short rib and made vegetable-rib mix and topped that with an egg white and served it over the tortillas. Honestly, as similar as this was to dinner, this was so much better! It was a bit sweet from the ribs, a bit crunchy from the tortilla, and packed with vegetables (broccoli, peppers, cherry tomatoes, avocado). There is another lunch meeting today so let's hope this gets me through the endless platters of sandwiches that will be served. I brought leftover spaghetti squash and turkey bolognese and salad for lunch. There's still one more serving of spaghetti squash left so I have to figure out a creative way to use that (squash tortillas?).

Lately I have been feeling good - less bloated, full, happy...today, maybe because of the dinner situation last night, I am feeling a little down and frustrated. It is so upsetting to plan and get excited about meals only to be let down. I also woke up early this morning to marinade chicken for tonight, but of course, the chicken spoiled. So now I don't know what to make for dinner and will have to pick up some ingredients on the way home. I also have to buy ingredients for burgers tomorrow so it looks like I will be spending more money on groceries this week than I had planned. I am also feeling a bit "bloated" in the sense because I have been eating a lot of meat and vegetables and need some variety to my meals - that is why I was looking forward so much to fish last night. I just feel weighed down a bit and need to "lighten" up. A lot of my meals seem to be the same - a meat stirfry with vegetables. I think week 2 is hard because I was so excited and motivated week 1 and week 2 is a bit more "real." Hopefully I can prepare some exciting meals for next week and better plan grocery shopping. I don't want to lose my drive for Whole30 and eating clean - I am still not craving sweets or chocolate so I know everything is working, but in order to keep it up, I need to satisfy myself with better meals so I don't start snacking again!

Have a great day everyone!
XO

Day 5 Struggles

I don't know if the day is slow, I didn't sleep well, or what, but today is a difficult one. I didn't wake up with the greatest energy and felt a pain in my lower left abdomen all morning. I tried my best to stay hydrated but really didn't want water. So I drank a lemon tea and now I am having black coffee just in case I needed caffeine. But I am feeling very tired, very worn out and a little loopy - not a headache but not quite all there. I wonder if my body is feeling weak from the colonic - even though bad bacteria is taken out, so is good bacteria. I wish I had taken a probiotic when I got home but I was feeling so great I didn't think I needed it. I am feeding my body all of the right things so hopefully this is just a 24 Hour thing. I am having a hard time not reverting back to old habits like snacking on days when I feel like this. I didn't work out and I feel not normal and these are days when my chocolate and grazing and snacking habits come alive. I am so tempted to reach in my drawer and grab an apricot or a larabar but I really want to resist. I am really not hungry so this is obviously hungry from HALT. Steamed fish does not sound good right now so I know I do not need to eat. I think I am just ready for the weekend! I want to go home and make dinner (still haven't decided on that yet) and read all of my new Paleo cookbooks that I bought last week.

I made a meal plan for week #2 and did a FreshDirect order. I have to plan ahead otherwise I will want to take the easy way out and microwave something bad for me. I want to use the Paleo cookbooks for Week #3, #4 and #4.5 so that I am ready for the rest of the program. I just have to sift through the recipes for added sugar like honey, maple syrup, agave, etc. Anything with those ingredients will have to be saved for Week #5. I also need to figure out how to handle Passover, which falls on Day #29. I am hosting it at our new home and my mom is going to help me cook but I need to have some recipes on hand that are Whole30 approved. I guess I should have started Whole30 2 days earlier, Passover would have been such a treat for post-Whole30.

Lunch was salmon cakes and salad, nothing fancy, but delicious. Just trying to get through the next 2.5 hours. I would take a walk but I feel lightheaded and weak. So frustrating to have gone 4 days feeling fabulous only to feel horrible again.

Day 1 Struggle

I knew it would be a struggle but the good news is I have 29 more days to fix it. I have to break the habit of finishing dinner and craving something sweet. No matter how full I may be, I still crave the sweetness to finish the meal.

After a salad and soup I went to watch the news with Ryan. While I was sitting there, I was thinking "just make it through the next commercial break without dessert" and then the next "just make it to 6:45pm without dessert" and again "just make it to 6:50pm without dessert" and then I walked in to the kitchen to get water and I caved...not DESSERT or sugar, but the sweetness of a snack which is a no no with Whole30. My post dinner snack was 5 baby carrots, a small spoonful of almond butter and 1 fig. It was pure natural sugar but it hit the spot and I was able to walk away and feel satisfied. I am confident that by the end of Whole30 I can break the cycle of need and reward with sweet foods.

I worry for tomorrow, Day 2, at work where there is an abundance of fruit. I usually have a pear or orange in the morning before lunch, an apple at 2pm and a banana at 4pm. It's a lot of sugar and I need to eliminate it. I don't know if it is better to go cold turkey without the fruit or to slow it down to 1 a day.

I am going to Bar Method in the morning so this will be my first morning not home to make breakfast. As part of Whole30, I also need to have a pre and post workout "meal." Before I leave at 5:30am, I plan to have a handful of cashews. Since I won't be home to make breakfast I was planning to get a fresh made omelette at a deli near work where they have an omelette station and you pick your vegetables. Since eggs are an easy whole30 breakfast, it is safe to eat, but I have to figure out what to have at 7:30am after Bar Method but before 8:30am breakfast. I might have half a larabar post workout and save the other half for another day. I don't want to use the larabar often because it is made with dates which have a lot of sugar, but it is quick and easy. A hard boiled egg would be great, but not if I am having an omelette 1 hour later. I need to figure out other breakfast ideas for days when I work-out. I could microwave eggs and make scrambled eggs in a mug with a side of berries and almond butter - but there have to be other options besides eggs. That will be next weeks goals - slow cooking or meal prepping breakfast.

Hopefully tomorrow night after dinner I can fight the urge for the sweetness. I am planning on having soup again and maybe broccoli and pork seared on the stove. I have not bought coconut amino acids yet (soy sauce replacement) but maybe I will on the way home from work tomorrow and make a pork stir-fry. I have been researching a lot of recipes, but right now I need to cook what I have in the house already - this is getting expensive to buy lara bars, breakfast on the go and all of the paleo friendly condiments like ghee and coconut amino acids. I also bought Rx Bars which look great for whole30, but again, I can't have one every day because that just makes another bad habit. I have to find a way to incorporate them into daily routines and not create a pattern.