Days 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22

Wow that is a lot of days I have missed. Sorry!

 I have not fallen off the band wagon! I just fell off the blogging band wagon. As far as the Whole30 I am day 23 today. I am still going strong.

I even had 2 people (not my family) tell me I looked like I had lost weight! That is such a bonus for me! I am getting back to where I want to be.

This last week was so temptation filled! I am pretty sure I have had more temptations this week than I did the first 2 weeks.

We went to Texas roadhouse this week. Their rolls and cinnamon butter is SO good and mostly my favorite thing there. I asked the hubs if we could just tell them not to bring any to the table, ya know out of sight out of mind type thing? Well he said no. he said “you don’t have to eat them but I sure am”. So mean. I sat and looked at them drooling. Just kidding it wasn’t that bad. I just told myself walking in that I wasn’t going to touch them. And I didn’t. Will power! I did have to ask them not to put seasoning on their steak though. They wouldn’t tell me if it has sugar or soy in it because it’s “a secret blend”. So I just nixed it all together. It was still good though. And come to find out they put MSG in their steak seasoning so I was EXTRA glad I didn’t have it put on.

On Sunday we had turkey dinner. Talk about torture. My Mother in law makes the world’s best stuffing. I could eat a plate of that by its self and often I do. So I sat and looked at the mashed potatoes and gravy and the most delightful stuffing ever and ate my salad and turkey. The Turkey was actually really really good. It was smoked. The flavor was tasty. I was content with my turkey and salad. After we played games and everyone ate ice cream and licorice. Torture! My sweet sister in law felt bad for me so she got out a big fat huge container of grapes. Crispy, sweet luscious grapes. I was so grateful. I ate my grapes and was super happy.

On Memorial Day we went and saw Star Trek. Captain Kirk….. YUM! Luckily eye candy isn’t against the whole30. I had a major sweet tooth for him. I LOVE POPCORN! The fake butter they put on movie theater popcorn is my favorite. I love it love it love it! I brought a little baggy of dried fruit to eat in my movie with me. Smelling the popcorn was a great big huge test of will power. Once again another thing this week that tested my resolve to do this.

I told myself when I started this that I would be 100%. I didn’t want to do this part way. If I was going to do the whole30 I was going to DO the WHOLE30. I know my brain and it doesn’t like being told what to do. I will fight to the death just to prove a point. It hasn’t been very excited about me doing this. But my body has been SO happy! I sleep better. I haven’t had caffeine in 3 weeks and I have more energy than I did before. (Sorry Diet Coke). My body is just really happy with me. My back boobs have gone from a D cup to a training bra. J Hopefully they go away all together.

I am kinda getting nervous to be done. This has been such a huge part of my life the past few weeks and now it is coming to a close. Can’t I just do a whole365? I feel scared to not have “oh I can’t eat that I am on the whole30” as an excuse. I know I still have 7 days and I don’t have to go back to the way I was eating before but it’s just easier to explain when you have an excuse. When this is over I will do a whole5days a week. I want to stay away from soy and dairy as much as possible all week long but as far as being as strict as I have been during the whole30. There are some things I will relax on. SCARY!

My mom introduced me to a really cool store today. Is a raw, vegan store. I know whole30 isn’t raw or vegan but there was some really awesome stuff. I got some spirunella, seed chip things that had nothing bad in it. They were really good. And some cashew spread that is really yummy on lettuce sandwiches. I also got some magic water. Its alkane water.  It’s called Kangen water. It’s supposed to react better in your body. It’s supposed to go to all your cells and hydrate your body better than just regular water. Look it up! You can buy it for only $1.50 a gallon. Its magic. I really like that store. The people that own it are 80% raw. I don’t think I could do that but a lot of what they say is similar to the ideas in It Starts with Food. I am learning so much more about clean eating and I love it. I want to stay a clean eater forever!

Sorry this is kinda a week wrap up. I am not very good at blogging. The only thing that has kept me going is the whole30. Its amazing and worth it and has taught me so much. I love the whole30!

Days 12, 13 and 14

This will be an entire weekend re-cap.

There isn’t really much to say anymore. I am past the sucky stage. At this point it’s just kinda second nature. The beginning really sucked. It seems like there was so much to say and so much to talk about in the beginning, now I feel like it’s just life. Which I am very grateful for. It’s awesome to think that it’s easy for me to say no to donuts, ice cream, bread and Diet coke. I don’t even really have to think about it.  

Not saying I don’t still have cravings, because I do. I still want all those foods but when offered or when I see them I don’t even have to fight with myself anymore. The first two weeks my entire day was consumed with whole30. All my thoughts actions and thoughts were focused around my food.  It’s not like that anymore.

Friday-

 I had 2 hardboiled eggs and a larabar for breakfast. I haven’t ever had a larabar before but have read on the forum that they are ok in moderation.  I know I should have had veggies with my eggs but I was running late and didn’t have time so a larabar it was.

Lunch was left over hamburger in lettuce bun with mustard, tomatoes, and avocado. Then my tasty sweet potato fries. (I seriously love them)

I worked a 11 hour day on Friday so when I got home I needed a pick me up. I made a green smoothie. I know they say you should have your snacks be a mini meal but I just needed a pick me up. It was good but I only had half since I didn’t really need that much.

For dinner I got a salad from kneaders minus everything that wasn’t ok. I used a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It had sunflower seeds, orange slices, chicken and red onion on it. They also put cheese on it. I specifically asked for NO cheese. I spent the first 15 minutes of my meal taking all the cheese off. Luckily they were big chunks so I was able to take them off.

Saturday-

I ate scrambled eggs with a sliced tomatoes and half a green apple sliced. I love the tomato and egg combo. Definitely one of the things I will continue to eat.

I went shopping with a friend Saturday and she wanted Rumbie. After grilling the girl at the counter and making them pull out their ingredient book so I could look at the salad ingredients, dressing included I got a salad that had chicken (sugar free), orange slices, balsamic vinaigrette, and some other things I can’t remember. I had to again ask them to leave all the bad stuff off.

For dinner we went to chipotle. My little brother lost his job earlier in the week as well and both him and my husband found a job that same week so we went out to celebrate. I had read that Chipotle is a big favorite of a lot of the forum users so we chose to go there. It was ok. They didn’t give me enough lettuce so all was left with at the end was meat, salsa and guacamole. It was still good but next time I will definitely ask for more lettuce.

It was a little rough after, because usually we would go get ice cream or some sort of goodie. But we couldn’t. Another good lesson for me that we don’t always need sweets after a meal. I didn’t have it and the celebration was just as fun, and the food was just as good, no dessert needed.

Sunday-

I didn’t eat breakfast because we woke up and went straight to church. When we got home I had a tuna fish and pickle sandwich in lettuce and a few cherries. Yum! I love summer with all the fresh produce!

We went to my parents after and my mom and I went to the grocery store. I wanted to see if there were any fruit leathers or fruit snacks that were approved and I found some! They are pretty much just dried fruit cut into little pieces and they are SO satisfying. I wouldn’t recommend eating them all day everyday but as a substitution for a serving of fruit every once in a while they are a very good choice, for me anyway.

For dinner we had baked pork roast, homemade apple sauce with no sugar added, a big green salad, asparagus, and broccoli. Very healthy and very yummy dinner.

All in all this weekend was much easier than last weekend. I think I am getting the hang of this.

The weekends challenges:

·         No celebratory dessert.

·         Having to look at the ingredient book when you go to a restaurant

·         Being out and about with you best Diet Coke buddy ever and not having a luscious Diet Coke.

·          

Things I learned:

·         Once you get used to it the whole30 is not that hard.

·         All the promises they make you are true. You sleep better and just all around feel better

·         I am on day 15 tomorrow HALF WAY THERE!

Whole30 fact of the weekend: Whole30 does seminars you can sign up for. They are inspirational, information and pretty much awesome. Go to www.whole9life.com for information.

Day 11

I am going to make this work. This is important enough to me that I will make it work. I have picked up extra shifts at work so I will be able to keep up this program.

I am starting to feel so much better. I don’t that I have hit the “tigers blood” phase yet. (Refer to the timeline here http://whole9life.com/2013/01/whole30-timeline/) but I can definitely feel a difference. My clothes are fitting better. My stomach is flatter. I just all around feel better.

This morning I was really sick of eggs. I didn’t want to eat them. I wanted something sweet for breakfast, or hash browns. I love hash browns. I need to make sweet potato hash. That would be tasty!

I was being stubborn and didn’t want to eat my eggs so I waited too long to eat. I finally just accepted the fact that I was going to do it and ate my eggs. They weren’t bad. I enjoyed them. I did an egg scramble again. Spinach, mushrooms and eggs. I ate it slowly enjoying the feeling of being full and by the time I was done I was completely satisfied. I didn’t even need that cinnamon bun. Win for me!

I was full all the way until lunch too. Another win for me.

For lunch I ate left over chicken from last night. The best chicken you will ever eat to be specific. A recipe from Well Fed (I love that cook book). And left over broccoli.  I was so full after the chicken breast that I didn’t even eat all my broccoli. Bad girl!

After work I went to my laser hair removal appointment at Elase medical spa. They are doing a weight loss program called Vive. It’s an awesome program. My friend is on it and she has lost 26lbs, 30 inches and 8% body fat. But you also never eat. I don’t want to bash on this program but it’s a diet. Its not a lifestyle change. It’s a meal replacement program with shakes. Hearing about it I thought “this would be so nice to be able to lose that much weight” but then I stopped myself. I don’t need to be thin, I need to be healthy. I am so grateful that I can eat good food. I have a whole vast variety of food that makes me healthier! I can go to a restaurant and mostly find something to eat. I GET to eat eggs in the morning. How lucky am I?! Not only are my outside looking better but my insides are getting better too. My blood sugar is stabilizing. My lipids are getting better. My skin is looking brighter and people have even said I look “glowing”. How cool is that?! I am only on day 11 and I already feel this way. Think about what day 30 will look like.

After my appointment I went to the store to get stuff for dinner at winco. I made turkey/lean beef burgers, with tomato, mustard, avocado, onion all wrapped in a lettuce bun. Then I made sweet potato fries. My most favorite thing in this world. I sat and watched everyone eat their buns and their chips while I ate mine and you know what? I didn’t even need that stuff. I was 100% content with what I was eating. It tasted good, it felt good and I didn’t even need it. Today is the first meal I have had that I don’t feel like I am lacking.

Sugar-sauras-rex has really been beating me up hard today. After dinner the sweet potatoes totally satisfied my sweet tooth. I was 100% satisfied. I am starting to really enjoy this whole 30 thing.

Oh and ps. Jeremy got a job today! He is so amazing! He went from employed Monday, unemployed Tuesday, signed up for school Wednesday, job interview Thursday and started a new job Friday. What a guy! I am so impressed with my awesome husband. He is truly one of a kind and I am so grateful to call him mine. Now I have no excuse not to finish this bad boy of a program and rock the whole entire time!

Today’s challenges:

·         Wanting chocolate, or candy or fake sugar of any kind.

·         There were mints at Elase that I always eat when I am there. Not today

·         I could really use a chocolate milk

·         My family had ice cream sandwiches after dinner. Sad day.

·         There was Diet Coke on the counter. My first love.

What I learned today:

·         Everything Melissa and Dallas promise is true. You really do feel better on this program.

·         Sweet potatoes that are a little crispy satisfy a sweet tooth very well!

·         Being thin is awesome but being healthy is even more awesome.

Whole30 fact of the day: if you have any doubts about this program read the book “It starts with food”. They go into so much detail and anytime I am feeling discouraged I read it and it’s a total boost to keep going.

Day 10

Discouraged isn’t the word I would exactly use, if there was a word that meant half discouraged that is the word I would use. I woke up determined to continue. Even if it was hard I really wanted to finish.

It just seems that as soon as I started the whole30 my life said “I am going to make this as hard as I can for you” and it sure has.

Breakfast was eggs again. An omelet with tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach. I think this is the one I prefer. It has a lot of veggies in it, it tastes good and it fills me up. I brought my kombucha today so I drank some after breakfast. I think kombucha is sweet and it was a sweet little treat after breakfast.

I am just so blah. I don’t love this, I don’t hate it. I am just here.

For lunch I had a salad with chicken on it and my lemon TessieMae’s dressing. It was filling and good. We got to eat outside for the first time in a long time and that made my mood and my lunch a lot better. Salads don’t usually fill you up for very long and I had a Dr’s appointment after work so I was worried I would be starving. I drank lots of water and drank my kombucha in hopes it would keep me full for the appointment.

While I was at the appointment the Dr was running really late so I read my “it starts with food” book. I am reading about the science of food and the way we eat. I won’t be very good at explaining it so you should just buy the book. But pretty much all the food we normally eat is engineered to over stimulate our taste buds and our brains so that when we eat normal food that gives our brains and taste buds the normal signals it is too weak to pick them up. Therefore we think healthy food isn’t good because we are so stimulated. Does that make sense? Probably not. Read the book. There is an entire chapter on this, and they explain it very well. It resonated as so true to me. Of course that’s the way it is.

 It also talks about the way your body tells your brain it’s full or nourished. Processed food doesn’t and the right signals, so you keep eating and end up over eating. Eating way too many calories. But when you are eating healthy food your body gets the right signals for being full or says “I am properly nourished” so therefore you eat less. I have noticed that I have been eating less on this. Smaller meals fill me up. It makes sense though. My body is finally getting healed to the point that it can recognize “I am properly nourished” and I don’t need to eat as much. I thought my stomach was shrinking but now I know that’s not it. I haven’t been eating smaller portions; my meals are just as large as they were before they are just MUCH more nutrient rich. Pretty interesting stuff.  Now that I know how much sense that makes I probably won’t ever go back to eating the way I did before. No I won’t be whole365 but the majority of my diet will be nourishing food.

My Dr’s appointment took WAY too long and I had to make dinner before going to scouts at 7. I thought I would make it until the lovely road construction crew decided to put a 6 lane road down to 1. It took FOREVER! Sugar-sauras-rex was screaming at me to just get pizza. It would be quick and easy. It would be cheap and I could grab it, eat it, and be at scouts on time. Luckily I had planned a head a little and had everything bought. With Jer losing his job I couldn’t justify buying two meals or else I probably would have caved and gotten something quick and easy, and terrible for you. I asked my husband to brine the chicken beforehand so all I had to do was put it on the grill. I was going to make “the best chicken you will ever eat” from Well Fed. It seemed pretty easy, and with brining it knew it would be really juicy. I got home with 30 minutes to spare. I made the spice rub as fast as possible, threw it on the grill and got the broccoli steaming. The chicken was BOMB! It tasted smoked, like it had been in a smoker all day long. It was so flavorful and super tasty. I used some ghee on my broccoli and at as fast as I could (not whle30 I am aware but it was better than not eating).

At scouts we played games outside, tag, mother may I, red light green light. I was able to play with the boys the entire time without getting tired. It was pretty cool. I went from feeling overwhelmed and depressed this morning to really starting to see the results this evening.

After I got home I got out some of my 100% juice ice cubes and put them in some sparking water. It’s so refreshing. I love it. This will be something I continue even after the whole30.

I thought today would be a good day to introduce you to someone. He is my sugar demon. I call him Sugar-sauras-rex. For those of you that don’t know me, I am terrified of dinosaurs. I know they are extinct, doesn’t matter. They scare me. I don’t watch Jurassic Park; I can’t even watch night at the museum because the dinosaur bones chase him. I don’t do dinosaurs. Because of this I thought this name was fitting.

Sugar-sauras-rex has lived with me my whole life. He is big and huge and has control over every decision I make. He decides my moods. He decides my vacations. He has affected my self-esteem for years. I’ve done every diet known to man. And he is just as big and mean as ever. I am afraid of him. He doesn’t limit terror to only sugar though, he loves carbs, greasy food, potatoes, diet coke. He roars really loud in my head and I can’t drown him out. When I read about the whole30 it really made me realize this could help me quiet him down. Reading how people that used to not be able to control their cravings took a hold of their life sounded wonderful to me. I still struggle with him every day. He is mean and abusive and tells me I cannot finish the whole30. It is a constant fight. But it’s a fight I am willing to make. Hopefully soon I will be able to beat him down and tell him he has no place in my life anymore. I cant wait to say “no way Mr. Sugar-saruas-rex, you don’t have the power anymore”

Today’s challenges:

·         How the heck do you do whole30 when you have NO time to cook

·         My sugar demon Sugar-sauras-rex is mean and won’t leave me along

Things I learned today:

·         Sometimes you just have to stick it through. Life isn’t always easy but you can’t always just quit

·         Preparation is a good thing, it helps when you are in a bind.

·         Reading the book really helps you understand why you should do this

Whole30 fact of the day: for all you fact based people: there has been so much research and so many studies that went into the whole30 program. It’s not just a willy nilly on the fly thing. There is actual evidence as to why this works.

Day 9

Today was an awful day.

First off let me say that as much as I will try to continue, I might not be able to keep up with doing this whole30 program.

The morning started out fine. I made a Greek omelet for breakfast. It had green olives, tomatoes and spinach in it. I am trying to venture out a little more. I am getting really sick of eggs. The things sounded good but the olives made the eggs taste funky. Not the best omelet I have made. Probably won’t make that again.

I read all sorts of good things on the website and even posted my first post on the forum.  I read today that you should be eating breakfast within an hour of waking up. I can’t because of the thyroid medicine I am on. I asked if it was ok or if I was ruining my whole30 try. The Moderator said it was fine.

Lunch was left over taco meat with avocado on top. I was going to buy some lettuce to put it on but I wasn’t very hungry. I think my stomach must be shrinking because my eggs really fill me up a lot in the morning. Maybe my body is just getting used to eating food like this.

I stopped at the store to get another apple as my one fruit serving of the day and got a call from my hubby saying he lost his job.

My mind immediately went from whole30 focus only to holy crap what are we going to do.

I enjoy the whole30. I know I have been complaining but it’s finally starting to get better. I don’t feel like crap anymore, I feel better, lighter and happier with my decisions. It is very expensive though. Our budget just got cut by about 40%.

I will do my best to continue this. I have 20 days left. I am 1/3 of the way through. I really want to prove to myself that I can do this. I just don’t know if I can afford it.

My sweet mother in law made dinner tonight and she made lemon chicken, lemon broccoli and salad.  I appreciate her so much! It was so kind of her to make a healthy whole30 inspired dinner.

I will do my best to share my good finds and good recipes on here still, I just don’t know what to expect. It’s all kinda up in the air right now.

Today’s challenges:

·         The entire day

·         Trying to stay with it, without the income to support it

·         Just life in general

What I learned today:

·         It’s best to share all the rules with family and friends. That way they can help you

·         Sometimes whole30 just isn’t realistic.

Whole30 fact of the day: there is a really good idea in the Well Fed cookbook called “hot plates” it’s a quick easy meal with all the different cuisines represented. You should get the book and read about them. they are awesome when you are in a time crunch

Day 8

Not much to say today.

I had scrambled eggs and carrot sticks for breakfast. Boring.

Work was too busy for me to look at the website at all so I didn’t really have anything motivational to read during the day.

Lunch was left over steak and brussel sprouts from mother’s day.

After work I went to the grocery store and bought an apple to snack on while I drove home.

My in-laws came home from a weeklong vacation and brought all their goodies back with them. one of the was a thing of Oreos. They are my ultimate weakens. I could eat an entire carton of them, in one sitting. I sat and stared at them for a minute, cursing the fact that they were so good to my mouth but so bad for my body. Curse you stupid Oreo!

Dinner was taco salad. I found a great recipe for taco seasoning (since the stuff in the store has yucky stuff in it).

Taco Beef:

·         1 tablespoon chili powder

·         1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1/4 teaspoon onion powder

·         1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

·         1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

·         1/2 teaspoon paprika

·         1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

·         1 teaspoon sea salt

·         1 teaspoon black pepper

I make like 3 or 4 times this recipe and store it in a glass jar. Just add a tablespoon or two to a pound of cooked ground beef and get creative.

This is courtesy of the whole9 forum moderator Johnny M.

The meat turned out great. I had salsa, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado.

This is my go to meal. I feel like we eat it a lot. I don’t mean to its just easy and good and it’s something that I can easily eat.

We have some pretty epic family issues going on right now. I mostly want to curl up in a ball and cry, or just eat a pint of ice cream. I guess I was asking for it when I said I wanted to “break my addiction to food” and “get the most out of this program”. I will surely eat my words.

We went and saw iron man. I was going to grab my toasted coconut I made the day before but we were running late and I didn’t have time. The smell of popcorn was so hard for me not to have any. I LOVE movie theater popcorn so much!

I had a killer head ache all day today. It was the type of head ache I get when I don’t eat enough. I don’t know how that is though. I feel like I ate plenty. It was the kind of head ache that made me want to quit. I knew that if I ate more it would go away. I seriously contemplated. I felt awful. All I wanted to do was go to bed. My sweet husband held me close and told me it would be ok so I stuck with it. I am glad I did. I would have been bummed if I would have quit.

Today’s challenges:

·         The head ache from hell

·         Not eating an Oreo

·         Not eating any of the yummy things on my counters

Things I learned today:

·         Not every day has to be some big huge revelation

·         Life sucks sometimes and you don’t always need food to make you feel better

·         How to make my own taco seasoning

Whole30 fact of the day: read your labels! You will be surprised what you find in everyday items.

Day 7

Happy Mother’s day!

I love mother’s day. I love my mom so much that any reason to celebrate her is a good day to me. 

I slept in today, so lovely. I haven’t been sleeping very well since doing the whole30. I toss and turn all night feeling restless. I fall asleep late and wake up early. My dreams have been vivid and crazy. All this adds up to not very restful sleep. But I was able to sleep in a bit which was nice!

I made scrambled eggs and sliced a few tomatoes on the side. The cold fresh tomatoes were so yummy. I like cold things for breakfast. I ate that and watched one of my many favorite shows “Mr. Selfridge”. It’s so good! I really enjoyed eating my breakfast to it.

I think this is getting easier. It seems like just part of the routine now. Hopefully it stays that way.

I got all my goodies together; Salad stuff, salad dressing, berries, my kitchen aid, coconut milk, and my coconut flakes. It’s hard when you eat this way. You have to BYOF all the time. You can’t really eat whatever on this. If you want to eat a salad, you have to make sure you bring your own dressing.

I got to my parents’ house and we played outside. My mom got a new rug for mother’s day so we put that under her table and swept off the patio. We just enjoyed the outdoors. My dad and I didn’t get all we needed on Saturday so we went to the store to pick up some last minute items. At the store I found these adorable little ice trays in the shape of stars. I remember reading on the whole9 website that people sometimes freeze no sugar added fruit juice into ice cubes then add a few to sparkling water to give it a little flavor. I looked at the organic juice and found an Orange Mango, no sugar added. So I bought that, the ice trays and some Club soda. When we got home I filled up the ice trays and put them in the deep freeze, hoping that they would freeze fast!

 I was starved and there was still hours until dinner. I had to eat something fast! My mom and Tori and I went to Whole foods so I could see if they had some lunch meat that was whole30 approved that I could snack on. They had Applegate turkey Bolognese, and Applegate turkey hot dogs. I bought some spicy mustard to go with it and also picked up some coconut aminos (to make the world’s best chicken). The Bolognese was actually really good. I put the mustard on it then rolled it up and ate it plain. It was really good. The hot dog however was horrible! It was so gross! Don’t ever buy them. It tastes like chicken broth watered down the with nasty spices thrown in. I couldn’t even finish one. What a waste of money!

While we were waiting for time to dinner time to come I played outside with the kids. We played crack the egg and dead man on the tramp. Then went out front and played red light, green light and Mother may I. We made a delicious dinner of Steak, brussel sprouts, zucchini, and sautéed mushrooms (sautéed in ghee) and a big salad. I ate to my heart’s content. It was so yummy. Once again I am so grateful my family is so supportive. They made me my own little bag of veggies cooked without butter and my mom wanted this dinner because I was something I could eat. I really have the best mom on the planet. The dinner was so good! The steaks were HUGE! I couldn’t even finish half.

I wanted to eat dessert today (I know, I know no dessert on the whole30) but in the Well Fed cook book there is a recipe for whipped coconut cream on berries with toasted coconut on top. It looked so tasty! And in the book they said every recipe is whole30 approved. I felt ok about it. I try not to eat more than one serving of fruit a day. I specifically didn’t eat any fruit with breakfast or lunch so I could eat this after dinner. I put my coconut milk, bowl, and mixer in the freezer, then we did gifts and played outside more. I whipped up my coconut milk after 15 minutes and it was interesting. If you are going to make this don’t expect it to taste sweet like cream. At first I hated it. I love whipped cream and it was nothing like that. But once you accept the fact that it’s going to taste different I actually loved it. The toasted coconut I put on top was unsweetened and had salt and cinnamon on it. The salt and the sweet of the berries was such a yummy combo. It was a very special treat! I put my juice cubes in some seltzer water and put that in a cute little cup my mom gave me for “going to be a mother someday day” and it was a perfect combo.

It was a lovely mother’s day. I did an entire celebration day without cheating at all. If you think you couldn’t do a holiday while on this, trust me, you can! I did it. So can you!

Today’s challenges:

·         It’s a holiday, and holiday means sweets

·         There was baked potatoes at dinner, I love baked potatoes and I couldn’t have one

·         Finding lunch meat that is whole30 approved

Things I learned today:

·         Applegate turkey hotdogs are NASTY! Don’t ever buy them

·         Bolognese isn’t too bad

·         Coconut milk can whip up exactly the same as heavy cream

·         I need to be nice, the “kill all the things” stage is lasting too long

·         No sugar = a very grouchy me

·         Frozen juice cubes in sparkling water is a nice once in a while treat

Whole30 fact of the day: There is a whole30 specifically designed for Vegans and Vegetarians. Go here for more info:  http://whole9life.com/2012/03/paleo-nutrition-for-vegetarians/

Day 6

It’s the weekend. Scary!!!

We woke up and did crossfit. This is the first real hard workout I have done since I have been doing my whole30. I was worried that I wouldn’t have the energy to do it. I was fine though surprisingly enough.

I am obsessed with  A Game of Thrones both the books and the TV show. So I walked about to work out not expecting anyone to be there and there was Jon Snow. Ok not the real Jon Snow but he looked so much like him! Usually Ben (my brother in law/trainer) is hard on us, telling us to “keep going” “push harder”. But Ben was nothing compared to Jon Snow, he made us work so hard! He kept yelling “30 more seconds, don’t stop now” “get to your new position, hurry, hurry, hurry”. He was Jon Snow in looks and in intensity.

After working out I made eggs with mushrooms, spinach and avocado. I drank my strawberry kombucha and ate my breakfast outside on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful day while I watched my sexy husband mow the lawn. It was a perfect morning.

I headed out to my parents’ house, it was such a pretty day! The sun was shining, it was wonderful! And what does a sunny Saturday mean? Diet coke. But I didn’t cave. I was strong. I got to my parents’ house and had a water balloon fight with my little brother. Then I microwaved a sweet potato and ate that for lunch. My dad and I then went mother’s day shopping. We went to Costco and I was SO strong! There were so many good samples out there. Sandwiches, licorice, and cheese. My dad got a hot turkey sandwich after we checked out. Usually I can be ok with people eating around me but I was hungry and having him eat that in front of me killed me. I tried to stay strong but my resolve was slowly eating away.

We still had a few more errands to run so I stayed strong as best I could. We went to big 5 and I lost it. I called my mom and my husband saying I couldn’t do this for one more second. I was hungry, I was tired, and I wanted to just eat something easy and filling. I want sugar, I want candy. Both of them were my cheerleaders and told me that I could do it. They told me not to give up. I would be so bummed if I did and that it’s only one more day. I only need to make it through today. We hurried home and when I got back to my parents my mom had made me 3 hardboiled eggs, and a sliced tomato. She had it all ready when I got home. It was so thoughtful and I was so grateful! I have such supportive family! I honestly feel like that is the number one thing while doing this. Find a support group. People who you can cry to, and complain to. People who will cheer you on and make you hard boiled eggs when you can’t make it one more day.

Not eating protein with my lunch of a sweet potato was a bad idea. It made me almost quit. Lesson learned there!

After I ate that I was still hungry. That sounds like the hungry caterpillar. We had planned to go to Chipotle for dinner because you can have a carnitas salad with pico, salsa and guac on it. Well Jeremy and my dad wouldn’t go there. Jer said he didn’t want Mexican and my dad wont support them because they pulled their funding from the boyscouts. So I had a yelling moment. Told them all that we needed to decide right away before I ripped someone’s head off. I am definitely in the “kill all the things” stage. And we decided to go to In-N-Out.

You can have their hamburger protein style with pickles, mustard, tomatoes and onions.

 I ordered two……

It was so yummy! Exactly what I needed. Then I felt nice again.

I have still been SO tired since doing this. I passed out after dinner as if I was drugged.

Today’s challenges:

·         I wanted to quit

·         Not eating sugar, candy, cake, ice-cream

·         Going to Costco and not eating samples

·         Being tired of eggs, protein and veggies

·         Being tired in general

Things I learned today:

·         I need to eat protein with every meal!!

·         Having a strong support system could make or break this

·         Chipotle has a meal you can eat

·         This is harder than I thought

Whole30 fact of the day: I have been asked this, an you might too. “how do you get enough calcium?” they have it broken down in an easy to read page

http://whole9life.com/2012/02/what-about-calcium/

Day 5

I woke up this morning feeling much better than yesterday. I didn’t feel like my body was going to shatter into a million pieces. I had more energy, I was happy; this program doesn’t seem so bad after all. Everything was working out.

I made egg scramble with mushrooms and spinach for breakfast. I really tried to like the sausage I bought but I just don’t. The flavor is SO over powering it makes everything else taste like it, which isn’t bad because it’s not a horrible flavor. The texture however is a little rough. It’s a smoked sausage in a casing and it’s pretty chewy. Think old hot dog chewy. Not the best. But I did like the scramble much more without the sausage in it. I put avocado on top with salt and pepper. Yum.

Today my sugar demon Sugar-saurus-rex was especially rowdy. I have officially been without sugar for 5 days now and my body is really feeling it. I never thought my body relied so much on sugar until I wasn’t giving it any. Now I realize how much I really consumed. I know 5 days doesn’t sound like a lot but trust me on this one, it is!

For lunch I had left over spaghetti squash with the homemade marinara sauce. I honestly wasn’t very hungry when lunch came around so I hate what I needed to get me through the rest of the day but I didn’t eat much. I got my hair cut and colored after work so I knew that if I didn’t eat lunch I would be starving.

There is a whole foods right by the place I was getting my hair done so I was going to stop by and get some kombucha before. I always stop and get treats before getting my hair done. Its tradition. It was hard to think that I wouldn’t be getting one before. Well work got crazy and I didn’t leave early enough to make it to whole foods so I showed up to my hair appointment with only my water and my wow drops.

My wow drops! I tried them for the first time today, they are awesome. Not what I was expecting at first. I was expecting a sweet little drop that made your mouth all minty and fresh. Kinda like Ice drops. Do you remember these? I LOVED the cinnamon when I was younger.

 Well the wow drops don’t taste these. There is no sweetness to the drops at all. In fact there really isn’t much taste at all, maybe a slight mint taste, but not the mint you are used to. You lick the drop, and wait. Then all of the sudden it’s like a punch in the face of fresh air. They are called Wow for a reason. It makes you say “WOW”. I shared them with some co-workers today and all 3 said wow after the initial hit. They are awesome. I am really starting to love these!

 After my hair I walked out and there was an epic thunder storm rolling in. It was SO cool! As I watched the super black clouds roll in over the mountains you could feel the humidity getting higher and higher. The thunder was rolling long and low and you could feel the electricity in the air. I LOVE summer thunder storms. It was so amazing to watch it roll in.

I went to whole foods and got 2 bottles of kombucha! Strawberry and mango. I learned today that the mango has 10g of sugar per serving. That is a lot when you are watching your sugar, so I need to find a new favorite. The strawberry exploded everywhere when I tried to open it but it still tasted good.

Then I went to winco to get the last few things I needed for our pizza night. Friday night we usually order pizza, (Jer really loves it) but tonight I made meatza. I used the directions found in the well fed cook book. They were a little smaller than I thought but I made sweet potato fries with them and it was perfect. Just enough food and it was super tasty! I even made my own Italian sausage and that was good too! It’s amazing that you can make things that taste almost as good as the real thing with super nutritious food! The only thing that sucked is by the time I got home it was already 7:30 so by the time I made everything and we ate it was 8:30. Gone are the days of just getting something quick to eat.

All in all today was a really good day. I was dying for something sweet and the sweet potatoes hit the spot perfectly.

Today’s challenges:

·         Not getting a treat before my hair

·         Not eating something sweet. It really getting to me

·         Having to cook even when I didn’t want to

Things I learned today:

·         I love thunderstorms (that’s not new knowledge but I do love them)

·         WOW drops are awesome and make you say WOW

·         The meatza that I made was easy and tasty

·         I really really love sweet potatoes

Whole30 fact of the day: They believe food either makes you healthier or less healthy. There is no in between. In the whole30 you learn how to choose food that makes you healthier.

Day 4

For the love of everything holy and lovely in this world…….

Why did I choose to do this program?

I don’t think I have felt this tired in, well…… probably ever.

On the whole9 website there is a time line that goes over how you will feel while doing this program.

http://whole9life.com/2013/01/whole30-timeline/

Now this isn’t how everyone is going to feel, but it’s funny to read and to see where you are in line with most others. I am only on day 4 and hit the tired stage already but my goodness. I am tired! It’s nice to know that it’s totally normal to feel like this.

I don’t want to be a whiney-pachiney, I know I chose to do this but today was really hard! I woke up feeling like I had just run my half marathon again. My legs ached, my head was pounding, I had the chills and sweats, and I felt like I could have slept for another 100 hours.

For breakfast I had an egg scramble with sausage, spinach and mushrooms. I did 3 eggs this morning instead of 2. I was feeling like I needed the extra oomph.

Around 9 I busted out the Kombucha and guzzled some of that down. It was such a nice treat! It gave me a little energy to make it to lunch.

I had left over pork chop, salad and green beans for lunch.

My brain has been really fuzzy the past few days. I feel like I can’t concentrate. I fumbled my way through the rest of the day and then got a call that my sister and her family were in a bad car accident. It was SO scary! After making sure there weren’t any life threatening injuries, my first thought was I need food. I don’t deal with stress very well and my first reaction is to go to food. It helps me, it comforts me, and I needed a cheeseburger! I was sitting in the ER room thinking “I am going to get Smashburger tonight; I don’t even care about this diet anymore”. Most people get the flight or fight response; I get the flight or feast response. When something happens I bolt to the nearest food place. Thursday is the day we go to my parents and we always get tasty food on Thursday nights. I was worried about going there in the first place but then when all of the other stuff happened it shot that worry through the roof!

When we finally finished at the ER I went to my parents’ house and my mom and I went up to Smith’s to get food for dinner. I begged her to get me something I could eat. I know I shouldn’t snack but at this point as long as it was a good snack I felt it was ok. I got coconut water and macadamia nuts. It was just what I needed! I felt a lot better after eating my lovely little treats.

For dinner my mom made homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes and Italian seasoned turkey burger. It was SO tasty! My mom is a fantastic cook! Then we made spaghetti squash and I had a huge heaping plate full. I love spaghetti squash as noodles much more than regular noodles. The only thing that sucked is that my mom made a lovely salad, with cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and avocados and as a finishing touch she put grated parmesan cheese on top. I didn’t see until after but it was already on. I almost cried. The pieces were so small that I couldn’t possibly have picked them out. I was so sad. But the spaghetti squash and sauce filled me up. Then I ate some grapes and my life was good!

It’s totally crazy to me how much I used to rely on food to help my moods. If I am sad, I eat. If I am bored, I eat. If I am mad, I eat. Yesterday I had to deal with all my emotions all by myself. Without anything else to sooth me. I did it. I didn’t die, I didn’t fall apart. I was able to make it through.

I am worried for the weekend. Being home with all the unhealthy food around me makes me worried. This will be my will-power super test. But I know I will be ok. I finished 4 days, so I am already doing it. What’s another 26?

On a good note I am continuing to feel lighter and lighter each day. My belly chub and muffin top haven’t shrunk at all. My mind isn’t feeling as clear as I want but I feel lighter! Hooray for lighter!

Today’s challenges:

·         Dealing with my emotions on my own

·         Feeling so tired I could have fallen asleep standing up

·         That little devil Sugar-sauras-rex beat up hard on me after lunch

Things I learned today:

·         Tuna fish has soy in it. I will have to find a brand that doesn’t

·         I can make it through this

·         I don’t need food to comfort me

·         I kinda feel  like a food snob, and I like it

Whole30 fact of the day: whole30 has a facebook and instagram account. Follow them if you start the program, they have good little motivators.

Oh! And I got my Wow drops tonight in the mail. I can’t wait to try them tomorrow.