Round 2 Whole 21 Day 14

There's a week left! I've done well. I was hoping to see more reduction in inflammation and pain, (stuffiness and stiffness in particular) but those are still daily occurrences. On the other hand, my rings fit again, so I've definitely shed water and maybe weight. My clothes fit better and some items feel loose. 

Cravings have been more or less constant, especially at night. My kid just kicked it up a notch into toddlerhood and I find myself wanting a glass of wine to get through the end of day routine.

I'm going to make a more concerted effort to exercise in the new year. I just find its a trade off because I want to take exercise classes in the evening, but with tutoring and choir and workouts I will be away three nights a week and so I miss bedtime with my kid. I'll have to figure something out and exercise at lunch.

Whole 21

Clean eating for the next three weeks. I can do this! I need to feel healthier and happier...so stressed lately and I want to feel in control.

What I want to see change: (non scale victories)

-less stiffness

-stop sinus congestion and sneeze attacks in the middle of the night

-better skin

-better mood

I've been eating pretty well since the whole30 I did in August but I need a reboot!

Day 35

I Posting on day 36. I haven't given up clean eating! I also have not reintroduced anything but those treats I mentioned and yesterday I had red wine. A little too much red wine. I had maybe 1/3 of a bottle over 3 hours and it was too much. It was organic minervois (my favourite!) but had added sulphites. I woke to a pounding headache. Not feeling hungover so much as poisoned. Double whammy of booze and sugar. Proud to say I didn't disintegrate into bad eating habits but I definitely had sugar craving while I drank. It sucks that I am so sensitive to everything, double edged sword for sure. I'd love to research the headache as a response to eating sensitive foods--why does the body respond like that? So here I am, chugging water with an aching head and BACK. Oh yes, the wine triggered a back ache for sure. So not worth it!

Meal 1

Meal 2

Meal 3

These are spicy buffalo drumsticks. Backed with salt and pepper for 40 mins at 400 degrees and then tossed in franks red hot and coconut oil and garlic powder which I simmered on the stove. Then I put them back in the oven for 5 mins and then broiled for 2 minutes. Served with extra dipping sauce which is just the leftover sauce from coating. Amazing!!!

Going out to dinner tonight. Not drinking red wine. Limiting to one glass of white wine and not eating grains. Open to dairy tonight and we will see how that goes.

Day 34

Meal 1

This wasn't enough food but it was very tasty.

Meal 2

I made up for the puny breakfast by having a big lunch. Cauliflower rice and leftover chilli and avocado.

Meal 3

The merguez sausages were amazing. Definitely getting them again! Unfortunately the plantain was too ripe so tasted like bananas. It's ok because I just ended up giving them to my kid. I made some coleslaw and tried to recreate the creaminess with coconut milk and cashew butter. Not too bad.

So I ended up having a treat last night. Coconut bliss ice cream! It was good, but I think all the food obsession is definitely a mental thing. The anticipation of having it was way more exciting than actually eating it. I had a bit of a headache after but I feel fine today.

Day 33

Just a normal day eating whole30 style. The only annoying part of the day is that I was super unmotivated at work. It's so hot out and I made the mistake of working from home so lots of procrastinating happened. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan on leaving the house to work! 

I also had a tight chest, anxiety-like heart fluttering. I think my herbal supplement I'm taking might be causing it.

Meal 1

This breakfast was awesome. I can't believed I lived all my life without cashew butter until today. I've been missing out!

Meal 2

The beloved tuna salad. Never disappoints!

Meal 3

Beanless slow cooker chili and an avocado. I didn't have enough starchy veg today so I'm already hungry! It's gonna be a long night. I might have to eat some more chili just to tide me over.

I'm going out to dinner Friday and I want to be able to test out either dairy or gluten, so I might just skip reintro until then, otherwise the schedule will be off. But, maybe I will treat myself to some coconut bliss before then!

Day 32

Day 2 of reintro went well, since all I had to do was eat compliantly. Yesterday I had wine, and I have felt tired today but I'm attributing that to menses rather than wine. I also felt cranky after a walk but it's 40 degrees outside and I had to cart a kid up a flight of stairs with grocery bags and sweat in my eyes so pretty sure it's that and not wine.

Meal 1

Husband made this while I slept in (ie hid in bedroom from toddler while drinking coffee and watching I am Cait). Egg pie with bacon rashers inside it, peppers, onions, arugula and fresh basil. Asian slaw and watermelon that I actually found to be too sweet. Wow, tastebuds on LSD.

Meal 2

Classic tuna salad. I've taken to this lunch option. I have it a lot and it always makes me happy.

Meal 3

Husband cooked from Whole30 recipe book. Baked cod with roasted pepper and mushroom salsa. In our case it was baked sole. Really good! I can see using the salsa, which is more like a stirfry on top of anything: shrimps, steaks...

Sweet potato hash which is really just caramelized sweet pot in coconut oil. Tasted like desert. Salad and roasted salted cashews from Prana. The cashews were so much better than the ones from the cheap grocery store. Damn you expensive health food nuts! I'm going to do nuts as my fat more often as I am officially. Sick. Of avocados.

Looking forward to going shopping for more produce and meat later this week. I like having options.

Tomorrow is another day of regular whole 30 eating, then I will decide what to reintroduce.

Day 31

Heyo!

Today I look back on all the improvements I saw on w30. I finally weighed myself and lost 11lbs. I feel so much better now than I did 30 days ago:

- 90% less back pain

-less bloated

-great digestion

-great energy

-awesome mental outlook, like the feeling  that I am able to tackle any problem or any task without worry

-I learned that if I am stressed I want to eat

-I broke the habit of snacking

-stopped eating after dinner

-no cravings!

-no obsessing about food

-no guilt about what I am putting in my body

-tried new veggies

-learned new recipes

-I was able to commit to something that benefits my health

-improved sleep, waking rested 

-sounds weird, but my eyesight improved

-I really love that the 30 days made healthy eating seem normal and become habitual. 

Before and day15 face

So there you have it! I'm still taking pictures of my meals as I am still eating compliantly as I reintro different foods.

Meal 1

Hard boiled egg, Toulouse sausage, avocado (unripe, sob!) and some lettuce to make wraps with all that stuff. I also had Starbucks coffee (yay!) made at home with coconut milk. 

Meal 2

Picnic style at the park so no photo. I had Asian slaw, Toulouse sausage, plantain chips and guac and my beloved glass of white wine. It was terrific but not as awesome as I was anticipating. I'm pretty sure it was the fact that I couldn't have any for a month that made me want it even more. I kind of have a headache now...

Meal 3

Taco salad!

Tomorrow I go back to eating whole30 for two days and then onto reintro of legumes! I'm thinking peanut butter and hummus and black beans, oh my!