Day 15, 16, 17

Day 15 and 16 are kind of a blur. I got little sleep. I prepped. I thought I had a cold which is actually allergies. I had little time to do much of anything than take care of a sick baby, prepare my food, and and eat it. 

So here I am on day 17 feeling great due to some much needed Claritin and Derek taking a til midnight shift with Lil and I going to bed somewhere between 8 and 9. he probably isn't fond of this scenario, but it seems fair to me. Six solid hours for him and 3-4 solid hours with a few hours collectivley sprinkled in the second half of the night. I went for a trip to the mall on my break to return two shirts that I will never where. I felt good. I felt incredible actually. Loads of confidence. Walking tall. I think people could feel it. I got looks. From men and women. I smiled. I bought a size large shirt. Not XL. LARGE. Yea. And it fits beautifully. I am starting to see who I could be. The healthy version of myself emerging. I am wearing a belt again on my pants because they don't stay up on their own anymore and when I sit down it doesn't hurt. The belt doesn't press into my guts making them hurt. This is amazing. This non-bloated alive version of me is AMAZING and I still have almost two more full weeks of this. I hope this feeling lasts. I hope it lasts longer. I am ready to shift my eating for a lifetime. I am ready. 

Switching gears, Lil is 9 months old today. Where did the time go? She does this adorable nose scrunch and breaths in and out really quickly while smiling and it cracks me up. She talks in tongue. La-laing it against her teeth make songs. She is feisty and hates getting dressed and diaper changes. She prefers the nude. She opens and closes doors. She is mesmerized by traffic and other moving things. She smiles at strangers when their own lips turn at the corners and if someone gets too close she buries her face in the crook of my neck still giving a cheeky grin.  She still cuddles with me and cries out in the middle of the night to make sure I'm there. I scoop her up and hold her close and we both sleep until the next time she wakes. She has been here on this earth for about the same amount of time as she was growing inside me. She is amazing. She is only 9 months old. 

Day 14

Being sick while on a Whole30 sucks. Being a sick Mama who has a sick babe while being on Whole30 is miserable.

Lil's sleep last night was a joke. Of course she will only eventually settle down with me. Not Derek. Ever. I know. This is on me. We've made her accustom to this arrangement and I am a believer in the path of least resistance, but when she is waking several times a night, I cry. I can't help it. Last night I got angry because all I wanted to do was eat my dinner and go to sleep. Yeah. That doesn't happen with a sick babe in the house. She can't get comfortable and tosses and turns then rubs her face till her paci falls out and the whole things just sucks.


Other craptastic day. Don't feel like going in to details.

Food:

Breakfast: Surprisingly really good. Two fried eggs with leftover chicken curry. Side of cucumber and red onion salad. So good I even took a picture of it....

Lunch: Zoodles with pesto and a small bowl of meat sauce

Dinner: Shredded BBQ chicken thighs over half a sweet potato and broccolii

Day 13

Day 13 should be labeled, No Filter because I do not have one today. Not that I'm being rude about how I say things, I'm just being stern and getting my point across when I otherwise would think a little more before I spoke to make sure I didn't offend other parties. Today, not the case. I've apologized a few times to my coworker about my snarky comments. Thankfully he understands.

Exhausted today. Feel crappy. What I was hoping was allergies I'm pretty sure is a cold. It sucks. The pressure sucks. The feeling that I'm going to sneeze every five minutes and then don't, sucks. The post-nasal drip sucks. The dripping out my nose at random times throughout the day sucks. It kind of all sucks and all I want to do is go home and curl up on the couch and nap. But that won't happen because I have to make effing curry because I'm doing an effing WHOLE30 and I need to make every damn thing I put into my body. Yeah. So Day 13 should also be labeled, this sucks, eff all the things!

Food:

Breakfast: Leftover sausage with onions and peppers

Lunch: Small bit of sweet potato hash, an egg, some shredded chicken with a big ass bowl of stir fry veg from Whole Foods.

Dinner: Chicken curry over cauliflower rice. Making this while feeling miserable and caring for a miserable babe left me tired and hungry quickly as well as crying while cooking.

The evening all around sucked.

Eff it.

Day 12

We managed to get a couple good chunks of sleep last night, but the sweet girl was miserable this morning. All we can do is wait it out.

I on the other hand feel pretty good minus the post-nasal drip and need to sneeze every hour or so. Hoping its just allergies. We have a lot to do this weekend and most of it is socializing... I took a probiotic and will take some vitamin C when I get home. I wonder if bee pollen is Whole30 compliant?

Whole30 has definitely lost its sparkle. Yes, I still feel good. But I'm tired of cooking every night. Thankfully Derek made the zoodles while he was home with the babe yesterday. I'm looking for dishes that are simple and easy. I would feel differently if I was okay with eating the same thing every night, but I'm not, and I can't. I need variety. I'm done with breakfast being breakfast too. In the Whole30 forum one of the gals gave us a quasi recipe for her butternut squash soup and it sounds divine. I think I'll whip that up this weekend and have that as part of a breakfast plate.

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Thought chain reaction: Talking to a coworker about zoodles ---> remeberring a nick name for a guy in my high school french class (zoobles) -------> because he looked like the fox on a childhood show---->   ZOOBILEE ZOO!

I don't know why I get so excited when I remember things I had previously forgotten from my childhood. The pink lady in the bottom right corner (Whazzat Kangaroo) I thought was secretly played by my mother. They look so similar. And no joke about the guy from french class. He looked just like the fox. 

Just like him.

Food:

Breakfast:  1 1/2 hard-boiled eggs... one half fell on the floor and sweet potato hash with ground turkey

Lunch: Leftover zoodles with meat sauce

Snack: apple with sunbutter and a small handful of coconut flakes and toasted almonds. I was a little hungry, but could've forgone this. But I am feeling a little woe is me today.

Dinner: applegate sausage with peppers and onions with a side salad. Ate more than I think I should have of the sausage, but I wasn't full.

I couldn't get full tonight. Rather than try to get full I am ending the evening with a box of kleenex and chai tea.

Day 11

My poor sweet Little Lady. Had a chunk of two hours worth of sleep and then around 8:15 pm started waking. She'd fall asleep in my arms and then immediately wake if I set her down. She only cried out once when she startled herself awake. I imagine she was having that falling feeling. Isn't that the worst? I too got little sleep. I've had a few foggy moments during the day, but for such crap sleep I am functioning beautifully. I don't have that "crash" feeling. I came into work and was ready to work. I don't look like hell either and there is always something to be said for that. Derek stayed home with her and I called her pediatrician this morning when her temperature checked in at 102.5. She was in good spirits, but so warm. Went to the docs to confirm/ rule out an ear infection. Not it. Probably Fifths diseases. Tylenol and Ibuprofen is the plan of attack to help her feel better. Lots of cuddles too. Hoping for a good night of rest for all of us. 

Food:

Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs, sweet potato has with turkey

Lunch: Leftover bacon meatloaf topped with pesto, baby carrots with "ranch" for dipping

Dinner: Ground beef (conventional, yuck) with tomato sauce over zoodles

Posting this on Day 12 because we had another rough evening with Lil. Poor thing. Hope she gets better soon.

Day 10

Stayed home with the Little Lady today. She has a low grade fever (101.5). Its Fifths disease or her top teeth coming in. Who knows. Either way we'll be riding it out. I did notice that I had no guilt about staying home with here. Normally if I were the one not feeling well I would have toughed it out and gone to work. There was no question whether or not I would stay home with her. Even though she didn't feel good, I sure did love all the extra cuddles I got today. I love so mush just being in that moment and soaking it in. Nothing like being needed.

After breakfast we went for a walk to Walgreens to get some more baby Tylenol just in case. I noticed that I felt much taller and stronger on our short walk. I haven't really been doing any other form of exercise. Not that I struggled walking before, it just seemed easier. 

I have a confession to make. I broke a rule. I weighed myself. Better than eating non-compliant, but I don't feel bad about it either. I've already forgotten what the scale said, but it was in the 220's and that is good news to me. Today is the first day that I've physically noticed a change. I'm in-between sizes right now which sucks because all my pants are falling down, but the next size down gives me a muffin top, not so cute.

Food:

Breakfast: One and a half hard boiled eggs (Lil had the other half) with sweet potato hash and ground turkey. 

Lunch: Chicken thighs on salad with a vinaigrette. Simple and easy. Served its purpose. 

 

Dinner: Bacon wrapped meatloaf, oven roasted carrots, and green beans. Purdy, ain't she? Delicious too. A little dry because I was so worried about getting some good crispness to the bacon. We devoured the carrots too. None for Lil for tomorrow night. Sorry babe.

Feeling: It was hard being home alone today with Lil. I certainly had moments where I thought about digging a spoon into the carton of ice cream knowing no one would know but me. But it just wasn't worth it. I feel good. Why waste all this effort?

Day 9

I'm struggling to find balance. I have a to do list that is umptine pages long and zero time to do it. Especially now that I spend most of my "free" time in the kitchen cooking. I need to go through Lil's clothes because she is growing like a weed and only has two sets of pj's that currently fit. I know she has at least a couple of sets as hand-me downs, but I haven't had the time to actually go through any of those clothes.

Our anniversary is a week from today and I haven't even begun to think about what to get Derek. I know we aren't doing anything big this year. I asked my Mum if she would take Lil for an overnight so we could catch some uninterrupted Z's. We shall see how that pans out.

Lil is so silly after her bedtime routine . The lights are out and we are just laying on the futon in her room together and she is rolling all over the place gabbing away. Blowing raspberries all over me. I used to get irritated that it would take her so long to settle down before bed sometimes, but tonight I relished in it. Loved every moment and kissed a raspberried her back. She fell asleep cuddled up next to me then rolled around some more till she found her spot. Soaking it in.
 

Food:

Breakfast: Sweet potato has with ground turkey and sage & coconut coffee.

Lunch: Leftover pesto chicken thighs and frozen green beans with Penzey's BBQ3001 spice. Chicken was way better the next day and I am normally not a fan of frozen green beans. But these were delish. Topped them with some ghee and couldn't get much better. Oh, also some olives for more fat.

Dinner: Quick chicken taco salad with a cilantro lime vinaigrette. simple, but good. Should have made a bigger salad. Left feeling unsatisfied.

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Feeling: Good. Digestion is kind of all over the place. I noticed last night that my forehead looks like its breaking out a little. Nothing major. Just a few bumps. But not normal. My rings are spinning like crazy. As time goes by I will probably have to get them re-sized. Other thoughts, prep day sucks. Lil was super clingy yesterday and I would much rather play with her than spend my afternoon in the kitchen.

Day 8

Crazy ass dream last night. Involved food (non-compliant of course) and taking a nap at work with Lil. Think I'm short on sleep to be dreaming about sleep???

I always seem to get way less done on prep days than I need to. It just makes the weeknights a little shorter, that's all.

Felt pretty good all day till about 4:30 we sat down for an early dinner and I started feeling very sleepy. Like droopy eyes, the whole bit. Thankfully Lil was too. After dinner was a tubby for the two of us and then bed for her. I still have some cleaning up to do.

Food:

Breakfast: I am staying away from cooked eggs in any scrambled form. Turned my stomach this morning when I made a 3 egg scramble of onions, peppers and spinach. Lil liked it though. Topped it with avocado and salsa. Still only ate half. Having my eggs boiled or over easy from here on out.

Lunch: Left over chicken thighs on top of red lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, kalamatta olives, and topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Delicious and I was very hungry for this meal at noon.

Dinner: Eh... Tried making cauliflower mash with turnip and roasted garlic and I thought it would be genius to roast the veg instead of steam. Yeah, well...not so much. The flavor and texture was way off. Lil liked it a lot though. Boneless chicken thighs rolled up w/pesto and asparagus. The whole meal was sub par and I wasn't really feeling like eating once I realized the mash didn't turn out. Ate most of the chicken and some of the asparagus. Hopefully I won't be hit with a craving before bed.

Did I mention I NEED A BIGGER KITCHEN?

Yeah, prep day sucks with about 5 square feet of work surface.

I'll end this with my little snuggle bunny giving her devilish grin.

Day 7

Posted on day8 because Lil started crying out as I was about to post and would wake and cry every time I left.

Trying to bang this out before doing some dishes and hitting the hay. I think my internal clock is set for sleep at 9pm.

Curry from last night stained the plastic part on the blade of my food processor....It might have been because I didn't clean it till this morning. Whoops.

Went to Derek's company party with huge success. I didn't eat a single bite. Wasn't even tempted. I also didn't look at the food either and spent my time feeding Lil lunch and then socializing. We left after a couple hours because Lil was ready to crash. 

Went grocery shopping and still have to stop at Whole Foods for a couple of items that were ridiculously more expensive at Shaw's. Made a delicious pesto, then started dinner....mmmmmmmm good. 

Food:

Breakfast: 1 hard boiled egg, 2 deviled eggs (made these on the fly and they were quite tasty), melon. Yeah. Yeah. No veg, I know.

Lunch: Forwent the party food and had some grilled chicken and baby carrots in the car on the way home.

Dinner: Another home run. Hot plate consisting of the following: red cabbage, onions, zucchini, ground beef, onion powder, garlic powder, s&p, Penzey's spice blend Tsardust Memories. Yeah...I had seconds.

We go to load a Dexter for after dinner but apparently we are all caught up, so Derek goes searching on Amazon Prime for a movie to watch and asks if I want to watch a food documentary. That's right. My husband asked ME if I wanted to watch a documentary about the perfect human diet. My husband whose diet prior to me cooking for the Whole30 was comprised of cereal, oatmeal bars, ice cream, rice, pasta, and bread is showing interest in nutrition. THIS IS HUGE.

Off to wash some dishes then snoozing.

Oh, right. Feeling good still. Really good actually.

Strange note. I always change directly into my yoga pants when I come home. Stayed in my jeans for hours today. Maybe because they are looser and becoming more comfortable like yoga pants? Is my logic straying while on this Whole30? 

Day 6

Woke up feeling pretty good again even though we had another night of very interrupted sleep. Worse than the night before. Around 11 or so my eyes started getting sleepy, but my mind still felt on top of it. Digestion is off too. Not sure what to make of it. I've been putting clove oil on the inside of my cheek to aid in the pain relief and hoping it will hurry up and heal. It's more of a nuisance than anything, but I must be re-aggravating it in my sleep.

I'm behind on my menu planning  this week and forgot my food bible at home today. Hopefully I'll have everything wrapped up this evening. 

I need to start incorporating exercise again. The nights bring the crisp autumn air, great for running. That, and I discovered I'm starting to get "mom ass." You know the one. Squats it is.

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After last nights dinner I realize I am am getting really good at making homemade dressings, something that I always use to not be great at. Okay. I sucked at it. Might throw out a few bottles now that I have some good flavor profiles in my pocket. 

Food Recap

Breakfast: 3 hard-boiled eggs, a sliced cucumber in apple cider vinegar, melon, and of course my coconut coffee.

Lunch: Leftover chocolate chili over baby spinach w/half an avocado, and some leftover brocolli slaw salad sans chicken (mmmmm...soggy lettuce).

Dinner: MMMMM... coconut curry with peppers, onions, spinach, and chicken over cauliflower rice. The picture does not come close to doing it justice..never said I was a photographer.

Derek: Is this couscous or quinoa?
Me: Neither. I'm not allowed to have any grains.
Derek: What is it?
Me: Cauliflower.
Derek: Fooled me.

The meal was a definite hit. My cooking skills have always been good, but I've been branching out into uncharted spice territory while on this Whole30 and they have improved greatly. Maybe it's the confidence? Who knows.

Eyes are getting heavy and its just past 8pm. Still feeling really good physically and mentally. Tomorrow will be the end of my first week and I am greatly surprised at how easy this week has gone. It really is all about planning.

Thought- Is Lil a crappy sleeper because I tell everyone that she sucks at sleeping? Power of positive thinking?

Day 5

Even though my little Lady only let me have one chunk of fours hours of sleep and some 20 minutes to an hour here and there throughout the night, I woke feeling really mentally rested. I feel very clear. My eyes still feel a bit tired, but my body feels great. No lower back discomfort. No headache. I wasn't anticipating feeling good this early in the program. From what I've read days 1-7 are tough and my body would still be adjusting at this time.

Breakfast: 3 hard-boiled eggs, tomato basil salad in olive oil, and melon

Lunch: Chicken breast, kalamatta olives, carrots & peppers with ranch for dipping

Snack: Handful of toasted coconut with slivered almonds. This 2 hours after my lunch...I might have confused this with thirst, or I didn't have enough protein.

Dinner: Broccoli and cabbage slaw salad with chicken, mushrooms, cucumber, peppers, lettuce, snap peas, toasted almonds, and a creamy Asian vinaigrette.It was humungous. Couldn't finish it. Not sure if its because I was full or because I was tired of chewing raw veg for what seemed like forever....

I need to start planning next weeks menu. This week worked out pretty good so far. I have strayed from my original plan but I knew that would happen anyway. Having it all mapped out gave me a great jumping off point and made it so I have plenty of compliant food on hand. Where as if I hadn't planned I would have probably given up by now.

9:30 and I am ready to hit the hay. Till tomorrow

Day 4

Random thoughts of the day:

I tried. I really did. I tried to eat the overcooked frittata again and I just couldn't do it. The egg consistency was just too gross. I don't think I really like frittata in general. Sweet potato hash will be on next weeks menu for sure. I love hard boiled eggs, but I'm struggling for ideas of what to have with them for a veg. The smoothie definitely did not hold me yesterday. A simple spinach salad maybe? 

Fermented foods are something that the folks over at Whole9 suggest consuming daily and I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't even think I've tried sauerkraut.... I love pickles. I want to try kimchi, but it's just a matter of finding the time to make these things.

Lil was a total doll this morning while I made some mayo and dipping sauces for my veg. when she was tired of playing on her own I put her on my back in the carrier and she was happy as pie back there while I finished prepping dinner in the crockpot, making tuna salad, and chopping my veg. This is the first morning I've ever had her in the carrier for my "chores" and it worked for us beautifully.

Speaking of Lil, I spent some time yesterday researching baby sleep. I've come to the conclusion that I am just going to accept where we are at and not sleep train her. I read studies, blogs, asked advice and then I dug down deep and really thought about how I feel and I am trusting my intuition and I am not going to do a damn thing. Yes, I am running on less sleep. Yes, it sucks that I work full-time and evolution has not had the chance to catch up with how fast our society has evolved and my little Lady still needs to know her Mama is around in the night. It sucks even more that I am not able to nurse her and instead have to get up and make 2-3 bottles in the middle of the night because it is the only thing that puts her back to sleep if she fully wakes. But I am changing my night-time expectations and realize that this is how it is and I only have these moments today, or in our case tonight. She will be a teenager soon enough and I'll be trying to drag her out of bed.

My Penzey's spice order came! How did I not hear about them sooner? A whole box of goodies for not a lot of dough. Very exciting!

I might be grinding my teeth in my sleep again. I don't know how else to explain the swollen bit on the inside of my cheek. 

SeaSnax came in my Amazon order today. I've never had seaweed before. I probably never will again. Not a fan. Tastes like the ocean. Strong. Like strong fish. Strong fish which I do not like. Now I have a six-pack, minus one square of Spicy Chipotle Seaweed Snacks. Yum..... Not.

Food:

Breakfast: Bleck. A few bites of overcooked frittata with avocado and salsa, then is went in the bin. I'll be throwing out the rest I have packaged in the fridge as well. And always my morning joe with coconut milk.

Lunch: Tuna salad which I ate quite proudly with my homemade mayo on lettuce and peppers with some very salty homemade ranch dressing, made from the mayo. I was a little overzealous with my salt this morning during prep. It needs to be thinned out anyway. I wasn't really hungry for lunch, but I didn't eat much for breakfast, so around 1pm I ate anyway knowing that if I pushed it any later dinner would be just before my bed time. I was stuffed and could not finish what I had prepared.

Dinner: Balsamic chicken thighs cooked all day in the crockpot with roasted asparagus and baked sweet potato. I've been trying to not overload on the super starchy veg because I do believe I have  a carb/sugar addiction. I've also not been doing a lot of fruit for the same reason.

Feelings: Physically sore and tired. Part of this is because I'm sleeping on a mat on Lil's floor and waking every couple of hours in the night to be with her, but I think some of the tiredness and the headache I had today is partly from the carb-flu that the Whole30 peeps talk about. Who knows... Day four feels good. This feels sustainable. Nothing like when I did a juicing detox a year and a half ago. That was miserable. I gave up on my fifth day. I was never hungry, but the headaches and roller coaster of emotions were unbearable.

On to day five.

Day 3

Lil sucks at sleeping.

I know that part of this is probably my fault. I know she has sleep associations and at almost nine months old wakes twice on a good night, many more on a bad. I know all of these things. I'm struggling with what to do. I need to figure out a plan and stick to it. I just don't want her to feel lonely. My sweet little Lil. But we are both tired. She was so exhausted when she woke at 5am that she cried and cried till I finally gave her a bub at 6:30 to go back to sleep after the the bub that I gave her around 5 am so she would hopefully stay asleep. Did that last sentence even make sense? Ack! Thankfully it is dead at work. 

Needless to say I am sucking at the whole getting good sleep part of Whole30. I am trying. I really am. It's my daughter who is putting up the fuss. Thankfully I have coconut milk for my delicious coffee, although I'm trying to remember not to be reliant on the caffeine. 

I took two Excedrin this morning due to the lingering headache that won't get the hint that I do not want it around.

Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs, spinach/pineapple/banana/chia/spirulina smoothie, coffee with coconut milk (I know, smoothies are not the greatest choice because of the fruit. It's cool). 

Lunch: Leftover Chocolate Chili over spaghetti squash topped with avocado

Snack: Apple with sunbutter

Dinner: A delicious hot plate with zoodles, ground turkey, onions, spices, and tomatoes.

Feelings: Besides tired? I was hungry for lunch before 11am and ate around 11:15. Yeah. yeah. The smoothie didn't hold me. Started feeling hungry around 1:30pm and knew I couldn't possibly be real hunger with how much I ate for lunch, so I kept on drinking water. I desperately wanted another coffee, but without my coconut milk and it being after noon, I thought otherwise. The hunger dragon reared its real head around 4:30...and I just couldn't wait any longer so I had a snack. I continued to feel great and was just a little hungry by the time Lil went down for sleep at 8 pm.Derek had bread and butter with his meal and although it looked really crusty and yummy the craving wasn't that intense.

I was hoping to stay up and watch Extreme Weight Loss, but I have a feeling I'm about to crash. I know. I know. I'm not supposed to eat and then go straight to bed, but today has been all kinds of messed up.

Day 2

Note to self: Get bigger kitchen.

Prep is, for the most part, done. Thankfully. The whole house is running on little sleep. Poor Lil woke up screaming after 40 minutes into her afternoon nap because she was so damn tired and couldn't fall back to sleep. It took a good hour for her to stop crying and make her way back to slumber. I napped with her till my sleeping arm woke me up. It was needed. That headache from yesterday morning stayed with me through the night. You know the kind that makes it so you can't even lay down and sleep even though that is the very thing your body needs most? The kind that throbs to the point of making get out of bed to stand under a hot shower? This family took advantage of the rainy day and took our mandatory rainy labor day naps.

Other than the crap headache which I don't think had anything to do with Whole30 and everything to do with the one glass of wine, little water, sugar, and lack of sleep from the night BEFORE starting my Whole30 that did it, I really feel quite good. I have been putting the recommended amounts of protein/fats and eating till I'm full which, so far, has been carrying me over nicely to the next meal. No snack cravings last night. 

On to todays food:

Lil and I had a quiet little breakfast together while her Daddy slept. I ate some reheated green pepper and onion frittata (which I overcooked, bleck...) topped with avocado and salsa and a side of melon. 

Lunch consisted of a ginormous grilled chicken salad with lots of veg, raw cashews, and balsamic vinegar and olive oil to dress.

Around 4:30 I had a handful of toasted coconut and slivered almonds simple because I wanted to. I wasn't hungry, but it smelled so damn good toasting in the pan, how could I not?

Dinner was delicious Pad Thai from Well Fed. Oh. My. Goodness. Sunshine sauce is going to get me through the next 28 days no problem. I was stuffed and couldn't finish my portion, but there was no room in the fridge for leftovers, so Derek gladly ate what I couldn't.

I should prep lunch and breakfast for tomorrow, but I'm zonked and still need to get little Miss to fall asleep. There is always the morning.

Day 1

Weight: 233

Measurements

Under Bust - 40"

Waist - 40.75"

Belly Button - 47.75"

Upper Arm -  16.6"

Thigh - 30"

Calf - 19"

Neck - 14.5"

Yep. There I am in all my glory. Definitely have some work to do...

Our little Lady did not sleep well last night which means that Mama did not sleep well last night. I also woke up feeling very dehydrated, a tension headache, and pain in my lower back and calves. How comical to wake up on the first day of my Whole30 and feel this crappy...

Also comical, the in-laws are up from VT and the whole family thought it would be great to go to IHOP for breakfast. I spent some time last night thinking about what I would have that would be Whole30 compliant and toying with not eating anything, but came to the decision that as long as this is one of the few times I go out to eat this month that I am okay with whatever oil they cook my batter and dairy free omelet in.

Lunch was well.... kind of non-existent. Although I had a snack of an apple and some sunbutter around 1:30. Note for next Whole30: Do the food shopping the day before starting. Because of running around, a tired baby and a riduliclous headache, I didn't get to start prep until four in the afternoon... 

We had Well Fed's Chocolate Chili for Dinner made with some grass-fed beef I got at the farmers market yesterday. I spooned mine over some baby spinach and cooked zucchini. It was really quite good. Loads of flavor. I also had a hard-boiled egg about 15 minutes before we sat down for dinner (I was REALLY hungry).

Overall the day went well. Granted it is only 6pm, but so far so good. I have a feeling I'll be hitting the hay after picking up the kitchen a bit. I'll have to continue meal prep tomorrow. Thankfully it is a holiday....

Think Lil will let me sleep tonight?

Here's the plan....

Mmmmmmm..... Coffee ice cream with chocolate chunks. Savoring every. Single. Bite.......

Finished my pre-prep for my first week of my Whole30. I'm starting this Sunday 9/1. Thirty whole days of whole, unprocessed, real food. So here I am devouring one of my last bowls of ice cream knowing it will reek havoc on my digestive system, but enjoying it all the same.

It's a bit strange. As soon as I set the date for my Whole30 my good eating habits of avoiding dairy and limiting grains went right down the tube. What happened? Maybe my subconscious is justifying this crap eating knowing I'll "make up for it" in the next month or so....maybe that's a load of bull as well.

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Well Fed was a God sent when it came to planning for this experience. I couldn't quite figure out how I was going to swing cooking all this food when Derek is the one who normally makes dinner while I put the babe down to sleep. Melissa's idea of banging out a ton of prep work on one day and making Hot Plates (simple easy dishes that can be thrown together like bam) for most of my dinners and lunches has lightened any mental stress that I have been carrying. I am so siked to try the Chocolate Chili and the Pad Thai from Well Fed this week. Between Melissa's cookbook, It Starts With Food, and the Whole30 Forum, I am ready to tackle this beast. No excuses. Just purely awesome positive attitude coming at this full force.

Here is the meal plan:

 

and the corresponding grocery list: 

Thankfully I have a stock-pile of frozen protein in the deep freeze to burn through first. No, it's not grass-feed. But I know I won't have the financial luxury of purchasing high-end proteins for all of Whole30. Money is tight as it is.... Hoping to save some dough and do a little shopping at Trader Joe's , then make my way over to Whole Foods. Sadly my order from Penzey's won't arrive till Tuesday because of labor day and my procrastination of ordering, but I'll plan those dishes that need some spice love that I don't have on hand, later in the week.

I'll be measuring and weighing on Sunday morning as well as taking my before photos. Ah, I cannot wait.

The Start

I'm making the jump into a Whole30 soon. This will be where I journal, reflect, and track my journey for the next month or so. I decided to write about it online rather than in a journal for the simple sake that I could not find anyone in a similar position who had gone on this adventure before.

photo credit