Whole30 Week Four: Holy Crap I did it!

DAY 30, Y'ALL!!!! As of today I survived my Whole30. Here is what I ate over the last nine days, and then some thoughts.

1 - Tuna salad on cucumber slices instead of crackers. It's a sneaky way to get a veggie serving in, it's crunchy and refreshing, and it's a nice snack. Warning: this hardly qualifies as a meal so don't pack it for lunch. I used canned tuna (oops, learned later it contains soy) so next time I will use the packets of tuna. Add in a hardboiled egg, a chopped stalk of celery, homemade mayo, salt and pepper and you're good to go.

2 - Pot roast with onion and carrots (again... it's cold and I wanted some warm comfort food) with a side of sweet potato (I buy a steamer bag of whole sweet potatoes and do them in the microwave at the beginning of the week and then refrigerate them until I need one.) Paired with a spinach and cucumber salad with a homemade dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard.)

3 - Scrambled eggs, bacon, and spinach sauteed in bacon fat. I mean. I love a diet that is cool with me eating bacon or bacon fat at every meal.

4 - Dude, did I mention it was cold here lately? I was having a rather emotional night and decided I wanted some MORE comfort food. I opted for Neece's spicy sausage, sauteed carrots, onion, garlic and celery, with some red pepper and salt. Delicious. Go easy on the salt because the sausage is salty, too.

5 - Lemon chicken (recipe here) with sweet potato and spinach salad.

6 - Leftover chopped lemon chicken from the night before ON a salad of spinach and cucumber. I didn't even need dressing because the chicken was so (god I hate this word...) moist.

7 - Bacon Acorn Squash Patties. They are a little crumbly but they are delicious and bread-like, and still paleo (recipe here). 

8 - Grilled burger patty, topped with spinach, a slice of tomato, and grilled onion. Grilled zucchini (sliced, tossed in olive oil, chili powder, and salt), guacamole, and of course... a sweet potato.

9 - Leftovers for lunch. Burger with mustard, grilled zucchini, and a tangerine.

10 - Those acorn squash pancakes topped with a fried egg or two. Perfect to soak up the gooey yolk!

11 - Roasted carrots. I had a bag of baby carrots that I needed to burn through, so I chopped them in half length-wise, tossed them in olive oil, chili powder and salt (my old faithful spice mix) and roasted them in the oven at 400* for 40 minutes.

12 - Roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. Tossed in olive oil, spread on a pan, sprinkled with sea salt. Divine. Maybe my favorite thing I ate all month.

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Impressions: This has begun to feel like something I do, not something I think about constantly. You'll see most of these meals are just improvisations based on what I had in the fridge. I love that this "diet" makes it possible to use odds and ends and has, for the most part, eliminated any food waste in my kitchen. I eat most everything before it goes bad and dinner leftovers become healthy, fulfilling lunches.

I feel like I'm doing something good for my body, for the environment, and for my wallet. Yes, it's expensive to eat real food, but I don't spend money on processed crap and then throw half of it away. I'm actually getting my money's worth in terms of nutrients and not putting it in the garbage when it goes bad in my fridge.

Biggest accomplishment: I finished it.

Biggest setback: My friends don't get it. Everyone has their opinions about the paleo lifestyle, and for the most part, these friends eat like crap so there's really no point in trying to explain it to deaf ears. It's really frustrating when they say things like "but corn is natural!" and "but wheat is good for you!" Also, I've had a few friends who were self-righteously just waiting for me to fail (one even placed a bet on it), which kind of shows me they aren't friends at all...

Biggest surprise: I'm not interested in reintroducing dairy or wheat into my diet. When I started this, I swore the no-cheese thing was only for 30 days and then I would jump head-first into a swimming pool of queso and find some tortilla chip to float on. I'm sure there will be occasions where eating paleo isn't possible (at holiday functions, family functions, etc.) but so far I've found a way to do it, so I know it's possible.

And the biggest surprise? I want to maintain the paleo lifestyle. I have not felt the intense burst of energy or the better sleep or anything, but I feel less bloated, I've lost over 15 pounds, and I don't feel guilty and beat myself up before I go to bed every night for eating badly. I'm worth more than that.

There, I said it. It's an emotional thing.

Next steps: Join 9Round? CrossFit? P90X? Trying to decide!

Whole30 Week Three: Down 12 Pounds

I broke two cardinal rules of Whole30 this week:

1. I weighed myself.

2. I ate two flour tortillas. To soak up the beer.

OK, so I broke 3. I do what I want. I survived divorce week, and I'm still not divorced. 

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Here is my Whole30 roundup for week 3:

1 - This is what a typical lunch looks like for me.

2 - Steak (not cooked in butter!). Spaghetti squash. Grilled Zucchini. From Ruby Tuesdays, which has a ton of paleo options. 

3 - Sauteed chicken, homemade garlic/spinach/basil pesto, spaghetti squash.

4 - Leftover chicken salad with bacon, wrapped in a lettuce leaf. Sweet potato with coconut oil and cinnamon on top.

5 - The office ordered fried chicken so I begged them to get me a grilled chicken salad so I could participate in the office lunch. The dressing is oil and red wine vinegar.

6 - Travel food, Whole30 style. Ella's Kitchen has baby food in this on-the-go tubs. All the ingredients are veggies and fruits and nothing else. It was perfect for the ride to Augusta last weekend. In this picture I'm eating the peas, pears, and broccoli.

7 - Breakfast for dinner before derby practice-- bacon, eggs, and cantaloupe.

8 - Larabars make nice snacks, but only some of them are Whole30 approved. You have to read your labels. This one is the Banana Bread flavor and it has ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS: bananas, dates, and almonds. It's a win.

9 - Almonds. Almonds all day long to the point that I will be totally fine if I never look at an almond again. I eat these in the car on the way home after derby to replenish some protein. Almonds are often roasted in stuff, so make sure that whatever kind you get has only one ingredient-- almonds.

Biggest accomplishment: I didn't stress eat during divorce week. Which is good, since now I have to go back to court. I know ahead of time that I can get through it without eating an entire chocolate cake with no hands.

Biggest setback: Alcohol. I drink socially. That will probably never change. I've been trying to choose the best paleo options of alcohol when I drink, but sometimes... sometimes you just need a shot of whiskey, am I right?

Biggest surprise: I've already lost over 12 pounds since the beginning of the year. No calorie counting, no real hunger, and no guilt. Yes, I still miss cheese, but I feel better, and cheese never gave me that.

Whole30 Week Two: Divorce Week

I survived week 2 to tell about it. Here's a quick guide to what I ate this week.

1 - Paleo Fiesta Bowl. By far the best thing I've cooked in my entire life. I totally winged it. Sauteed peppers and onions and four cloves of garlic. Browned meat, added 1/2 cup of Herdez salsa (paleo friendly) and chopped cilantro. Topped with fresh tomato and guacamole. Nom.

2 - Angus beef patty topped with peppers, mushrooms and onions. Sliced cucumber chips and chipotle aioli* (see note at the bottom about this.)

3 - Frozen grapes... as close to a "sweet treat" as I've gotten this week.

4 - Chicken salad made with Nom Nom Paleo's mayo recipe, grapes, and chicken sauteed in bacon grease. I ate these in endive "boats" which added a nice crunch and a ton of fiber.

5 - Sweet potato, steamed and topped with coconut oil and cinnamon. Steamed broccoli (originally frozen!) with sea salt.

6 - Snack at work of sliced cucumbers and red seedless grapes.

7 - I went with my friends to get frozen yogurt, but I chose a nice bowl of fresh fruit over the processed dairy and sweet stuff. They had mango slices!

On a personal note, Sweet Frog was part of almost every date night with my and my ex, so I chose to go there despite my diet restrictions with some of my best girlfriends in hopes of making new memories there without him. Ouch, it hurts. Everything about this week hurts. That's a post for later, though.

8 - Went to a tavern after roller derby scrimmage. Got portobello sirloin steak (asked for it to not be cooked in butter) and steamed veggies.

9 - Weekly prep. Sauteeing veggies and making bacon and chicken to be used in meals throughout the week. One pan, lots of bacon grease.

10 - Went to a Mexican restaurant for a meeting. I ordered fajitas with no cheese, no sour cream, no tortillas, no rice, and no beans, but instead I asked for extra guacamole salad. Satisfying, and I didn't feel left out. Guacamole is my new love language.

11 - Grilled chicken salad, no cheese, with oil and vinegar dressing (not vinaigrette, which generally has a ton of added sugar.)

12 - Hawaiian slow cooker chicken (chicken breasts, a jar of Herdez salsa, and a can of crushed pineapple in water... put in slow cooker for 6 hours) in endive "boats" with sliced kiwi.

Biggest accomplishment:  I'm getting divorced in two days. I am an emotional wreck and want to climb head first into a bathtub of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and emotionally-eat my way out. I have not done this, despite the stress of this week. I literally feel like my chest is filled with concrete. This emotional collapse has caught my by surprise. I am just holding on with white knuckles until court on Friday and trying not to eat my feelings.

Biggest setback:  I haven't skated this week. I haven't been around my derby team, who keep me positive and focused. I haven't gotten my usual cardio. I've mainly just been crying on my couch while watching comedy movies. I'm feeling the effects of stillness... I'm sluggish and not sleeping, despite my deliciously healthy diet.

Biggest surprise:  I froze my leftover coffee in ice cube trays, and when I want frozen coffee, I just pop 6 or so of those into my blender with 1/2 can of coconut milk and a whole banana. Sweet. Creamy. Frozen. Tastes like a milkshake. Keeps me caffeinated (read: tolerable.)

*About the Chipotle Mayo:  I found this recipe, which I tried to make. It was very liquid-y and never thickened up, and it was soooo salty. Her spice combo is pretty good, though, so I ended up mixing the entire thing with a plain batch of Nom Nom Paleo's mayo recipe and it toned it down enough to be edible. This could definitely be a user error thing, so try it before you pass it up. That being said, next time I will make Nom Nom Paleo's mayo and then add in Living Loving Paleo's spice palette (minus the Cajun seasoning... I think this is what made it way too salty for my taste buds) at the end.

Whole30 Week One: I didn't die and no one else did, either.

Let me start this post off with this:

I love cheese.

That being said, a few of my teammates and I have embarked on the Whole30 for the month of January. I did this with three specific goals in mind:

1. Be a healthier person.

2. Be a stronger athlete.

3. Lose weight.

In that order.

That being said, I thought this journey would be a lot harder. Having my teammates in my corner has made all the difference, and the support system is invaluable. The first three days I was on fire. I love the challenge of coming up with different meals that are a) easy, b) cheap, and c) compliant to the plan.

Days 6 and 7, I just wanted to nap and/or punch people. But I stuck it out. And no one died. It did, however, get a little touch-and-go when my coworker tried to have a full-on conversation with me before I had my coffee on Tuesday. 

Here were my meals for the week, as some of you requested.

1 - Sauteed pork chop with salt/pepper. Steamed sweet potatoes, mashed with cinnamon and chili powder. Braised cabbage in the pork drippings. Sliced tomato.

2 - My version of Monkey Salad, but using almonds instead of cashews. Fried bacon. Coffee with steamed coconut milk.

3 - Spaghetti squash with meat marinara (easiest most delicious marinara ever), spinach salad with tomatoes and homemade balsamic dressing (equal parts dijon mustard, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar), and a tangerine.

4 - Cobb salad (no blue cheese, no chicken because I didn't have any) with same balsamic "dressing" from above. Leftover spaghetti squash with meat marinara.

5 - Cheeseless omelette with veggies (spinach, onion, tomato), and my version of Monkey Salad.

6 - Pineapple salsa, fresh avocado, and a freaking plate full of bacon. No really, though, that's only 4 pieces cut in half.

7 - Another veggie omelette sans cheese, fresh avocado.

8 - Pot roast (chuck roast, 1 onion, bag of baby carrots, beef stock, cook, super easy) and homemade paleo tomato basil soup (delicious and only takes 20 minutes.)

9 - Last bit of leftover spaghetti squash deliciousness, steamed broccoli with sea salt, and strawberries.

Please note that the strawberries were the first "sweet" thing I had had in seven days at that point, and they were so sweet and delicious. Seriously.

Biggest accomplishment:  Prepping ahead. I generally am terrible at this, but I took the time to make grocery lists and meal plans, and I packed my breakfast and lunch before I went to bed. This was vital in not being caught unprepared and hangry, which would be my downfall.

Biggest setback:  I had to find a way to drink my coffee. I finally found a brand of coconut milk that is compliant, and I am learning to like the way coffee tastes without sugar.

Biggest surprise:  I don't miss cheese as much as I thought I would. But I still love it. BFF for life.

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Sources that I have found helpful (info, recipes, blogs, etc.):

Stupid Easy Paleo (MY FAVORITE. Recipes and research. Follow her on Facebook, she interacts.)

Nom Nom Paleo (Recipes, but some are a little intense for my cooking level.)

Broccoli is my BFF (...written by a friend of mine who is hilarious.)

Paleo Comfort Foods (It's been cold here, so yes please.) 

I will post week by week, mainly because I imagine I'll do this Whole30 thing more than once. I feel good, and I know I'm doing good things for my body. Win/win.