Week 1 In The Books!

Whole30: Day 7

Week 1 is in the books, ladies and gents!  And I've gotta say...I feel pretty incredible.  Forget the good food I'm ingesting, or the caffeine I've inadvertently weaned off, or the the fact that I've successfully avoided the candy bowl in our CFO's office.  Beyond all of that, I'm so proud of myself for DOING IT.  I did it.  Yes, it's only 1 week, but IT'S ONE WEEK.

Breakfast: Potato and Bell Pepper Frittata and... shocker, Green smoothie

Lunch: Another slice of frittata from breakfast

Dinner: Went out for family dinner as my planned indulgence for the week for some delicious steak, broccoli, and baked sweet potato

Snack: Raspberries

In Soul Body System we're supposed to plan our indulgences, so given the constraints of the Whole30, my indulgence was to simply go out to eat with the fam.  I've gotta say watching them eat amazing appetizers that I would typically help devour was so tempting at first, but then I found such empowerment in choosing not to eat it!  I mean, in just a couple of weeks I'll totally join in with the knowledge of how it'll make me feel. 

Andrew, the most incredible guy imaginable, is still absolutely slaying this Whole30 bizness.  While he really wanted the cheesy, bacon-covered french fries at dinner, he held off too.  He made the comment that all 7 of our dinners thus far are things he'll want even after Day 30.  I'm a lucky gal.

Day 6 -- All The Feels

Whole30: Day 6

Day 6 felt better but still emotional on some level.  I had this weird sensation of nothing feeling quite right.  I had a good workout after work, but I was still mad about the cold temperatures.  It's FREEZING out there!!!  I came up with a schedule for the weekend which includes catching up on "House of Cards" and prepping my meals for Week 2 ahead!

Breakfast: Green smoothie -- this is gonna be every day.  So just, yeah.

Lunch: Leftover mashed potatoes and broccoli from the previous night, and some delicious Boar's Head hotdogs that I found with no added sugar or added chemicals

Dinner: After MFF class I made some garlic lime chicken, garlic cilantro cauliflower rice, and smashed potatoes.  Oh, so good.

Snack: No snack today.

Tomorrow will mark one week of Whole30 living.  I'm terribly excited.

Day 5: Stay Away

Whole30: Day 5

 Day 5 was emotional.  The Whole30 Timeline says that Day 5 will make you want to "kill all the things."  I can attest to this.  Everything irritated me.  And the massive snowfall in March did not help.  I can't even CAN as Dakota Johnson and the SNL guys said last weekend.  It's exactly the way I feel.

 

Breakfast: Green smoothie -- this is gonna be every day.  So just, yeah.

Lunch: I ran over to Food Emporium at lunch and grabbed some of the Boar's Head All-Natural Organic turkey and some raspberries.  It was good.

Dinner: After MFF class led by the incredible Steph Wilberding, I made coconut coated chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, and leftover mashed potatoes from Wednesday.

Snack: No snack today.
 

Andrew really loved the chicken tenders, so we'll definitely have those again.  He is seriously doing so well, and once again I have to say how grateful I am to have him.

 

Ready for Day 6...

Day 4: So Much Busy

Whole30: Day 4

Day 4 was BUSY.  So busy I didn't have time to think too much about food.  There was a train delay in the morning, so I had to take the bus to the E train to get into the city.  Then I went straight into back-to-back meetings.  And on Wednesdays I leave a little early to catch my American Sign Language class -- which I love.  Luckily with a day like that I'm also blessed with the best boyfriend ever.  So when I got home around 9pm, he had made dinner...and it was AMAZING.
 

Breakfast:  Green smoothie (again...I really should've put some protein with this)

Lunch: Salad with all sorts of #Whole30Approved ingredients -- really good, but I can't keep this up financially.  A good salad blows my lunch budget.

Dinner: Here's what he made:  chicken breasts stuffed with jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro, lime, and scallions.  Also some #Whole30Approved garlic mashed potatoes.

Snack: Grapes

 

Andrew was also pleased with his cooking efforts and is finding his way through Week 1 beautifully.

 

Next up: Day 5....

Day 3 -- A Little Late

Whole30: Day 3

Day 3 was grand.  I'm late in posting because we went to see "If/Then" after work, then had Dinner #2 post-show, and then realized my computer was dead.  So I'm updating from work.

 

Breakfast:  Apple and my ever-faithful green smoothie (I really should've put some protein with this)

Lunch: Salad with all sorts of #Whole30Approved ingredients -- really good

Dinner #1: Quick meet-up at Food Emporium where we had some leftovers from Day 2 of the turkey and bought some berries before we went to the show
Dinner #2: Home for some turkey bacon and scrambled eggs in front of the TV (our DVR is becoming over-run and I STILL haven't seen "The Women Tell All" from Monday night!!!

Snack: Grapes

 

I brought my own canned coconut milk and added it to the coffee at work -- it was serviceable and didn't give me a throbbing caffeine headache, so maybe I'll do that again for Day 4.

 

Andrew is absolutely killing this.  I'm super proud and extremely grateful to have a great partner.

 

On to Day 4!!!

Whole30: Day 2 -- Lizard Brain

Whole30: Day 2

It's Day 2.  Day 2, people.  Not day 22.  And my body did a HALT on me.  It was like, "um, hey, I'm here and I need GARBAGE!!!"  The Whole30 website says that days 2 and 3 are like a hangover, so this nagging headache and all-around uselessness is completely normal.  I had to get some support from my fellow Soul Body Warriors and coach where I was told how grateful I'll be for this in a week or 2.  So I didn't go run downstairs to Donna Bell's and eat my weight in biscuits.  Even though I kinda wanted to.  In a way I've never really cared anything about.  But I didn't.  Whew. 

I mean... c'mon.  It took some willpower to avoid this when my body was screaming for it.

We did head up to Harlem after work for dinner and fellowship over RuPaul's Drag Race with the Fernandez-Reids and the Console-Browns.  They are amazing and made #Whole30Approved foods for us to share!!  Plus, we got to spend a chilly March evening enjoying what everyone should -- drag queens (I think I'm all about Pearl so far).

Breakfast:  Boiled eggs and my ever-faithful green smoothie

Lunch: Peppers and guacamole; Apple

Dinner: Turkey breast with herbs; sweet potatoes w/ tomatillos; brussel sprouts (ok I only had 2); guacamole; baked sweet potato chips

Snack: Berries

Around 3pm I realized that coffee was a necessity.  So off to Starbucks I went for a coffee with coconut milk.  Man, it was good.  So freaking good.  Alas I just looked up the ingredients in their particular coconut milk only to find that it has added cane sugar.... FAIL, STARBUCKS, FAIL I SAY!!!!  Guess I won't be doing that again tomorrow.  I do have some coconut milk at home that is pure, so I'll try that.  Wah, wah.

WITH CANE SUGAR.  Don't let it fool you.

Andrew didn't feel quite the craziness that I did.  He felt super energized, but he thinks he might be fooling himself and is sort of expecting his lethargy to set in soon.  I have a feeling he's just nailing it and will kill this challenge with his usual aplomb.

The Month Of Whole30

Whole30: Day 1

It started today!  I'm doing the Whole30.  I am not doing this for weight loss, nor am I doing this because I'm suffering from major food sensitivities.  I'm doing this first and foremost to make a commitment to myself regarding my health and fitness -- a commitment to honor my body fully for 30 days by making conscious decisions to put whole foods into my body.  And in the process if I lose a little weight or figure out some sensitivities I might have, then I'll have attained icing for my proverbial cake.

Day 1 was a success!!  I mean, it's day 1 though.  I'm still on the momentum from all the grocery shopping and pantry clean-out I did over the weekend (when I wasn't bingeing on "House of Cards" Season 3 -- it's not possible to love Claire Underwood more).  But my hopes are high for a successful month.

Breakfast:  Turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, sweet potato hashbrowns, and my ever-faithful green smoothie (nothing better than drinking some kale to start the day!!)

Lunch:  Boiled eggs and banana

Dinner:  Buffalo chicken stuffed peppers, sauteed arugula (next time buy 4 times as much.... that stuff decreases in size like whoa), and guacamole -- did someone ask for spicy?

Snack: Green grapes -- my favorite!

No coffee was fine for the first day, I hope I can keep that up.  Coffee is "allowed," but I like my coffee churched up, and unfortunately I can't have dairy or added sugars.  I may try some coconut milk later in the week, but right now I kinda liked not being dependent on the caffeine.

Andrew is doing this 30 days of enlightenment with me, which I'm super grateful for.  We do well at new adventures together -- Teamwork!!!  He said that he doesn't feel like he's missing anything yet, and that the meals we had were delicious!!  #success

PS - Today is my Mother's birthday!!  Happy birthday to the woman who taught me how to stretch a dollar, make a casserole, clean baseboards like a champ, and enjoy a made-for-TV-movie with the best of 'em!!  I hope your day has been fantastic!

My mother and I hanging out at The Olive Garden...like ya do.