Aliem999

Started today!

Might technically be compatible since it is not specifically excluded, but I mean I would personally just avoid it. Plus how many foods out there use Caramel color and no other non compatible ingredients?

BTW - made it through day 25. I did have one mini egg white frittata on day 25 that I did ask if it was dairy free, etc. and was told I was good to go. After eating one, it tasted too good. Going to guess there was milk or cream in it. Did not eat more as I was worried that the person that laid it out maybe did not know, or I really need to ask them their secrets! Overall, very happy with results. Feeling good. Very rarely breathless (must have been weight related). Looking slimmer. Lost 10 pounds and several inches everywhere. Unfortunately I failed going back to whole30 after Disney. I ate okay on Thursday and and Saturday but crazy on Thursday and Sunday. Back at it today and plan to be Whole30 until Friday. I have one client lunch in the middle that I picked a place I should be able to get something good to eat being either fully compliant or very close. Seems like my bday will be celebrated early this year so going to attempt a 30 day run next week (possibly starting Sunday instead of Monday). Going to really be cutting it close assuming no plans change in late October. I'll be back next week!

Day 21 (Friday 9/8/23) Breakfast (8:30): Hard boiled eggs, garlic dip, carrots, potatoes Lunch (12:00): burger bowl Dinner (8:30): roasted sausage, cauliflower and broccoli with pesto 20 minute move goal: not sure if I achieved it on Friday. My day kinda blew up on me. I did run a couple of errands but nothing really notable. Day 22 (Saturday 9/9/23) Breakfast (11:00): Eggs, hashbrowns and bacon Dinner (7:00): In n out lettuce wrapped burger 20 minute move goal: walked around a jump place for a couple of hours. Hectic day. Slept in way too late so got nothing done, until I had to chuffer the kids to a birthday party. Day 23 (Sunday 9/9/23) Breakfast (10:00): Brunch! Veggies, fruit, prime rib, coffee and salmon. Maybe one or two other things, but nothing crazy. Dinner (5:30): roasted sausage, potatoes and broccoli with pesto 20 minute move goal: walked to and from brunch. So a little bummed. An opportunity has arisen for Wednesday. One where it probably won't happen again for a very long time. Doing an adult Disney trip with someone who has never done one before. Rarely get to do stuff like this with the kids so sadly I'll be completing day 25 and breaking before day 30. It also eases my mind for Saturday (Day 29) whether or not to divert the day before day 30. Plan is to eat Whole30 Thursday and Friday and through lunch on Saturday. Plan is to start back up either Sunday or Monday at the latest through my birthday in late September. Depending on when my birthday celebration and some late October things occur, hoping to squeeze 30 days in, but hoping to stick to this through roughly end of November, with a handful of exceptions and worst case doing a full Whole30 in early 2024. I have definitely been feeling better, clothes fitting better, nails are a lot stronger.

Day 20 (Thursday 9/7/23) Whoo! Three weeks in this morning. Very chaotic week. Ready for the weekend. Breakfast (8:30): Hard boiled eggs, garlic dip, carrots, potatoes Lunch (12:00): burger bowl Dinner (8:30): random assortment of onions, sweet pepper, small amount of carnitas scrambled in an egg. Was not really that hungry. Busy day. 20 minute move goal: 20 minutes walking around busy.

Day 19 (Wednesday 9/6/23) Breakfast (7:30): Hard boiled eggs, garlic dip, carrots, potatoes Lunch (12:00): chipotle chicken bowl Dinner (5:30): burger bowl 20 minute move goal: not sure if I hit the goal today. Nothing to really update today. pretty uneventful food wise. chaotic work wise.

Day 18 (Tuesday 9/5/23) Breakfast (7:30): Hard boiled eggs, garlic dip, carrots, potatoes Lunch (12:00): burger bowl Dinner (5:30): Thai red curry with chicken over potatoes. 20 minute move goal: walked around the building 20 mins. Nothing to really update today. pretty uneventful.

Day 14 update - log is pretty consistent. I did have a couple of compliant drinks. A kombucha and a tea Day 15 (Saturday 9/2/23) Breakfast (8:30): egg scramble with the last of the leftover grilled veggies, potatoes and bacon Lunch (11:00 ate about half since we were on kid meal time, snacked on the rest around 12:30): Picnic lunch. Decided to buy myself a bento box. Both kids have them and we do a picnic at least once a month. They are just pretty pricey. Prosciutto, turkey and lettuce roll up. Prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe (do not make this the night before...they before kinda slimly), carrots and garlic dip. I also bought some fancy marinated artichokes. Was not a huge fan. I had one, but decided to give the rest of the package to my brother. Dinner (5:30): Carnitas, cauliflower rice, pickled onions, salsa, guac. Was going to make some peppers to go with it but completely forgot. 20 minute move goal: Went to the park/mini zoo/nature center for over 3 hours. Tried to go to the splash pad after, but wound up being closed due to weather. There was a playground there but I mostly sat on the bench for that session. Day 16 (Sunday 9/3/23) Breakfast (8:30): over easy eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. black coffee Lunch (12:00): was not really hungry. snacked on a few salted cashews that my daughter opened and then ate only 1/4 of the pack. Dinner (4:00): Definitely early. Day was kinda weird. We went to the zoo and stayed way longer than I thought we would. Thought we would leave around 12:30 and would stop for lunch on the way home. Left closer to 2. So picked up chicken nuggets for the kids to tide them over (and they ate a million snacks at the zoo) and had an early dinner. Hamburger bowl for me and fries on the side. Made caramelized onions. My favorite. 20 minute move goal: Went to the zoo for several hours! Day 17 (Monday 9/4/23) Breakfast (10:30): More like brunch. Over easy eggs, hash browns, compliant red pepper sausage, slice of bacon. A few sips of cold brew coffee Had a snack of a couple of carrots and guac. Have not really been that hungry. I do think my hunger tapers off. Dinner (5:30): Thai red curry with chicken over potatoes. Very good. Excited to have the leftovers today. 20 minute move goal: Hit golf balls for 30-40 mins. Maybe not the most active thing ever, but I make the rule about what counts or not. It was a vacation day so did very little activity otherwise. Also, maybe why I was less hungry today. Breakfast was also large. Overall, feeling pretty good. Energy pretty stable. One thing I did notice was on Saturday I had a mild headache all day. I have been drinking a (reasonable amount of) coffee every day for the last 3-4 weeks. Something I have not done in a while. Used to have a huge coffee addiction (like 6+ cups a day bad). Seemed to go away Sunday morning after I made some coffee and drank some water while making breakfast. I don't think it was dehydration, as I had soooo much water Saturday afternoon when the headache hit at like noon. Kinda bummed. First time I have had a coffee withdrawal in a very long time. Kept Sunday's intake low. Monday's was very low and I seemed okay. Hoping not to have this issue next weekend, but we will see. Given the quantity I have been drinking, I don't find it too problematic as I have been drinking 1-2 cups a day max. Just weird. Also, Monday was the first day I have even really thought about the desire to eat off plan foods. Even things I typically would not get excited about (like churros). Did not stay. Was not tempted to. Just more of a ooooo that would be so yummy thoughts. Definitely loving the energy. Clothes are fitting better. Noticable results in the mirror. Nails are also growing like crazy. Feels like this is going by so fast.

Day 14 (Friday 9/1/23) Decided to do today now. It's a three day weekend so I don't want to forget if I don't post again until Tuesday. I things change, I will update. No times will be reflected after breakfast. Breakfast (7:30): last of the fufu, leftover grilled veggies, three chicken wings. Lunch: leftover grilled chicken and leftover grilled veggies/ zucchini. Garlic sauce. Bought some fun flavors at a farmers market. I love their dips. Most are made with canola oil, so not ideal, but I could not pass them up. They tend to be my "treat" on Whole30s. Dinner: Pizza night. I'll have mushrooms stuffed with sauce, veggies and prosciutto. Lacking some protein, but honestly have not been hungry much in the evening. Worst case I whip up some late night eggs. 20 minute move goal: Worst case I do a 20 minute walk in the late morning. Hoping to do it twice today.

Day 13 (Thursday 8/31/23) By 3PM I was soooo tired yesterday. Just wanted to go to bed. Tried eating a fruit bar since I did not have my carb heavy meal until lunch. Did not work. Also woke up today (day 14) soooo tired. Coffee and breakfast have helped. Ready for the weekend. Also spent a few minutes this morning mapping out meals for next week. A couple I have not finished deciding, but should get me through today's grocery shop. Breakfast (7:30): last of the egg bake with garlic sauce Snack (9:30?): salted cashews Lunch (12:00): leftover grilled chicken, fufu and leftover grilled veggies. Should have had an iced tea, but didn't. Snack (3:30): That's it fruit bar Dinner (6:00): leftover grilled chicken, tiny bit of fufu (mostly an accident since I was keeping it in the same container, and leftover zucchini. Think I made too many veggies this week. We will see how many I get through today. Otherwise I will have a bit leftover to add to my eggs tomorrow morning. 20 minute move goal: walked 20 mins before lunch, 15 mins in the afternoon. Had too much energy and about 30 minutes later my energy just crashed. Weekend should be fun. Need to figure out what chores I want to accomplish. Probably won't have a ton of time, but I am trying to get rid of stuff. Definitely want to wash my car.

Day 12 (Wednesday 8/30/23) This has been going by so fast. I think minus a few food freedom days sprinkled throughout late September and October, I think I am going to keep this up (maybe loosen it up a bit for SWYPO/paleo) through October. Loving the results. Stomach is definitely getting flatter and energy has been fairly stable. I am also getting used to food prepping again, which was my main goal (along with eating more vegetables). Just really want to reinforce that I can food prep. Breakfast (8:00): leftover zucchini, chicken meatballs and avocado lime dressing to dip. couple cups of black coffee. Lunch (12:30): chicken, roasted potatoes and veggies. Meal included a small hunk of corn on the cob, but it looked like it was cooked separately and I left it on my plate. Not really a corn fan anyway and would have probably left it even off of Whole30. Iced herbal tea. Dinner (7:00): salt and pepper chicken wings, buffalo sauce, carrots and a little bit of the avocado lime sauce. Probably ate too many wings, but dinner was kinda late. 20 minute move goal: walked to and from lunch. Definitely over 20 minutes and it was hot outside. Pizza night tomorrow should be interesting. Luckily most of the time we do homemade pizza anyway. Not going to do a traditional crust (and obviously no cheese). Thinking of doing a combo of mushrooms and potatoes fut flat with sauce, prosciutto and veggies so that I give the appearance of joining in the pizza making fun, but without the pizza. Thinking of other weekend meals and what I will make next week. Definitely doing burgers!

Day 11 (Tuesday 8/29/23) I think we have hit the time where I need to shrink meals a little bit. I find that the first week or two I am usually starving and then it tapers off, with maybe a spike in the last week or so. I am not a huge sweets eater, but had doughnuts in the house and did not even care. My car smelled like doughnuts, and I didnt sneak one. Usually when the kids get doughnuts, I get a bagel. While I would have enjoyed a bagel, I did not really even think about getting one. Overall, feeling pretty stable. Today we are going to go out to lunch, but I think I have swayed the lunch choice to something I can have a good lunch at. Hopefully that holds. Worst case I have zucchini with me and some cashews I can grab that are always in my car. Luckily the ramen place was shot down due to heat. That was probably the only one I would probably not be able to at least get a disappointing plain salad haha. Breakfast (8:30): leftover potatoes and veggies, garlic sauce and hard boiled eggs. Black coffee Lunch (12:00): chicken with mojo sauce and fufu, sparkling pineapple tea. Dinner (4:30): small portion of sauteed zucchini and chicken meatballs. Was not really hungry, but kids were starving so had an early dinner so knew I would likely be hungry later as this was more like a mini meal Dinner 2 (8:30): two slices of crispy prosciutto and an egg. Was going to cook up some veggies too, but I made this while packing kids lunches and got distracted and decided I was not hungry enough for more food anyway (but definitely needed something) 20 minute move goal: walked around my office building. Probably did closer to 25/30 mins so yay!

Day 10 (Monday 8/28/23) Back in the swing of things and I think I am pretty much prepped for the week. Tomorrow I have an eating out opportunity. We will see what the team picks and if not, I can bring food. Overall feeling good. Just kinda on autopilot. Breakfast (7:30): leftover egg bake with some guac and garlic sauce. black iced coffee Lunch (12:15): chicken with mojo sauce, fufu and leftover roasted veggies. forgot I have been having some of trader joe's sparkling beverages like the coconut water yuzu one (today) and the pineapple tea. Definitely not everyday (they are also kinda expensive), but a nice pick me up Dinner (5:30): small portion of grilled chicken and assorted veggies. Was not really hungry. Also seems like I have kicked my desire to snack at night. Whoot! Grilled a bunch of veggies again so I should have a few days of leftovers. Brother joined us for dinner so 20 minute move goal: walked around my office building. I almost decided to do some exercises before bed. Back hurt a bit (unrelated) so I did not, but weird I had some random desire to do something good for me. Hopefully I get that tonight.

Day 9 (Sunday 8/27/23) Food prep for the first few days of the week done and figured out how to pair down my food prep for the rest of the week. Tonight I am going to grill chicken, veggies and sweet potatoes. I definitely need some veggies for lunches this week. I will probably marinate two separate chicken flavors. Kids love teriyaki chicken. They will eat the other one, but since I probably will pack some in their lunches, I will probably do both. Breakfast (10:00): hash brown crusted egg casserole with guac. I have leftovers for Monday/Tuesday for two people. Yay! Packed with veggies and protein. Very light on the potatoes. In the future, I will probably add more potatoes, but it works out this week because I have so many servings of the plantain mash left. Lunch (2:00): Very large lunch of the chicken with mojo sauce, fufu and leftover roasted veggies. 20 minute move goal: Did a bit of walking and cleaning. I can't say I got my move goal in. Overall, feeling pretty good. I can definitely see results. No longer having issues feeling breathless over light activity. Not sure if my asthmatic issues are better. I have been taking a decent amount of allergy medications (lots of cleaning and the weather has been really weird), so while I think it is a tad better, it may be the medication. I know it is day 9, but I am not really missing my old diet. I just really needed a boost to get better at prepping. There will definitely be things I miss (I seriously love cheese so much), but definitely should significantly reduce the quantity. I think I figured out pizza night this week. I think I will do red sauce, onions, and prosciutto on a mushroom cap. Definitely not pizza.

Day 7 (Friday 8/25/23) Hectic day. But made it through. Random assortment of stuff at lunch. Just trying to make it through the leftovers. Shopped for the weekend too. Lots of yummy food to come. Breakfast (7:00): Two hard boiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning, leftover potatoes, leftover grilled veggies, chimichurri sauce. Black Iced Coffee Lunch (1:30): Random assortment of leftovers. grilled veggies, leftover chicken sausage, salsa, cilantro and homemade pickled onions. Dinner (6:30): sheet pan potatoes, shrimp, brussel sprouts and beets tossed in vegan pesto. 20 minute move goal: walk around the office buildings Day 8 (Saturday 8/26/23) Today's meals had less non-starchy veggies, but dinner was so so so good! Best news is I have so much mojo sauce leftover for another day. Breakfast (8:30): hash browns, bacon, two over easy eggs Lunch (1:30): pretty small portion, but was not very hungry. 1/3 of a sausage and leftover potatoes, brussel sprouts, and beets tossed in vegan pesto. Snack (3:00): carrots and guac Dinner (6:30): Cuban inspired dinner. Chicken with mojo sauce and fufu (plantains with onions and fried pork belly) 20 minute move goal: Errands. Mostly a lazy day. Dinner took some effort and ran a handful of errands. No regrets. Overall I am feeling pretty good. By the end of the weekend I will have a decent amount of food for the week so I am replanning for the early week meals. I had them designed for leftovers, but that will probably be too much. I have a ton of fufu left over so it will definitely take me until at least Thursday to finish.

Day 6 (Thursday 8/24/23) Day 6 was a bit crazy but made it out. No issues eating my lunch instead of the catered lunch. It was Corner Bakery anyway, so fairly easy to pass up. Kids had doctors appointments in the afternoon so dinner timing was early. Gave them the option of in-n-out or Whole Foods. To my surprise, they picked Whole Foods. Unfortunately they were out of carnitas, which is what they wanted, but they love selecting their own dinner and I like it, because even if it's pizza, mac and cheese, etc., it's at least made with real food (and they usually get to pick out some sort of treat when we are there, since to date, have never been to a restaurant that had a dessert my allergy kid could eat except maybe a $6 bowl of fruit). Breakfast (7:00): Two hard boiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning, leftover hashbrowns, leftover grilled veggies, chimichurri sauce. Black Iced Coffee and Lunch (12:30): Bowl with cauliflower rice cooked in onions and enchilada sauce, some of the grilled veggies, leftover grilled chicken, salsa, guacamole, cilantro and homemade pickled onions. Dinner (4:30): Whole Foods hot food bar. So easy to see what I (and my allergy kid) coud have since they list all ingredients under the dish name. I had herbed potatoes, brussel sprouts, paleo mushrooms with bacon, and a beef with cabbage dish I had never seen before but would totally eat again. The beef with cabbage was fairly greasy and the mushrooms had some bacon, but definitely a lower fat meal, but definitely kept me full. Also, was not that big either. I think it is pretty normal the first several days of Whole30 I eat more then when I autopilot through the last few weeks. 20 minute move goal: Chores. Night before trash day is always jammed packed running up and down stairs to get things done. So I realized I messed up my math on the start date. I have a mommy daughter day on day 29, that is a special meal that definitely has no options beyond fruit. The day literally includes a special lunch reservation that books up so pushing it back would mean pushing it back at least a month. So my Whole30 may be a Whole28. Little disappointed. I definitely will be doing a mini reset in October and plan to be mostly Whole30 throughout the fall/winter. Haven't made a decision about breaking two days early, but the point of the mommy daughter day was that it is a "yes" day (within reason) for my daughter. For some reason when I was counting days, I thought this was the weekend after and it would give me time to finish and do a couple of reintroductions. I was already thinking of doing another round in January/February.

Day 5 (Wednesday 8/23/23) Doing great. Already feeling a bit better. Already not getting as breathless as much. Pretty excited. Work brought in free sandwiches and I heated up my lunch happily. Today is the same. Have a training. They are bringing in lunch, but I am ready. Breakfast (7:00): Two hard boiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning, leftover hashbrowns, leftover grilled veggies, chimichurri sauce. Black Iced Coffee and banana Lunch (12:30): Bowl with cauliflower rice cooked in onions and enchilada sauce, some of the grilled veggies, leftover grilled chicken, salsa, guacamole, cilantro and homemade pickled onions. Snack (2:00): salted cashews Dinner (6:00): foil packets. kids love them because they get to choose what is in theirs. chicken apple sausage, potatoes (just a few), carrots, baby zucchini (saw them at Trader Joe's and they are sooooo cute!), onions, grape tomatoes, cauliflower. Yes! my kids eat most (or all of these veggies, though the zucchini got a bit mushy and one kiddo vetoed it.) I topped mine with lime, cilantro and an avocado lime dressing. 20 minute move goal: Failed at this. I did a 10 min walk, but forgot to do a second one. Really need to recharge my fitbit. Might need a new one. Was having battery issues.

Day 4 (Tuesday 8/22/23) I did it! Currently on day 5 writing this! I made it through the game. Yes there was like one or two foods in the box that I would consider "worth it", but it didn't really make sense for me to restart over a couple of things (one of them being garlic fries and I figured I could make my own extra crispy garlic potatoes this weekend and would call it close enough.) Overall, I think the day went well. The more salt and slightly larger portion or potatoes in the morning I think helped. I did not have the same afternoon slump yesterday. I had a large snack at 3pm. Was definitely not hungry, but was worried that if I got hungry at the game, there was no way I would not break. Breakfast (7:30): Two hard boiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning, leftover hashbrowns, leftover grilled veggies, chimichurri sauce. Black Iced Coffee Lunch (12:30): Bowl with cauliflower rice cooked in onions and enchilada sauce, some of the grilled veggies, leftover grilled chicken, salsa, guacamole, cilantro and homemade pickled onions. Snack (3:00): veggies and garlic dip and a chimichurri/tahini dip Game Snacks (4:30 - 8:30): assorted fruit and veggie sticks 20 minute move goal: Honestly forgot about this today, but I do think I did at least 20 mins of walking at the game. We are going to just count it. Overall, I think it is working. I do think I see results in the mirror and feel confident. I do think repeat Whole30s (for me) are easier in the beginning, but on the back half the willpower lessens because "I've already done this". Definitely failed a Whole30 around day 24 (if I am remembering correctly, because what are a few days of something I've already done. I am determined to get at least 30 in, maybe with a mini reset in October, because of how crazy my last year has been on the stress eating I have done to "cope" with it. Definitely not good. A reset was needed to kick my butt into a more reasonable lifestyle. I've generally been fairly successful at keeping moderate eating habits after a Whole30 for 6-12 month. That's the biggest thing I want out of this. Is to get back to reasonable. I am also hoping that some of the fitness (or lack thereof) lessen as I lose weight. I also do hope I lose weight (quite frankly I know I will). I have some long term weight goals that I hope this will kick start.

Day 3 (Monday 8/21/23) Lots to reflect on for the day. Also drank tea throughout the day. Breakfast (8 am): Two hard boiled eggs with everything but the bagel seasoning, leftover hashbrowns, leftover grilled veggies, chimichurri sauce. Black Iced Coffee Lunch (12:30): Bowl with cauliflower rice cooked in onions and enchilada sauce, some of the grilled veggies, leftover grilled chicken, salsa, guacamole, cilantro and homemade pickled onions. Small packet of salted cashews. Snack (1:30): Small packet of salted cashews and a fruit bar Dinner (6:00): sheet pan potatoes, sausage, brussel sprouts and beets tossed in vegan pesto. 20 minute move goal: 20 minute walk around my office complex. So I think I needed to up the salt and carbs in the morning. I was not really hungry after lunch, but after 1 pm, the energy I felt in the morning was just gone. I was exhausted, as if I hadn't slept in days. While I did not regain the initial morning bump, I felt so much better. Otherwise feeling good about the day. Today (day 4) should be interesting. Game day. Hoping I stay strong, but if tomorrow is a new day 1.....oh well. Meals are prepared for most of the week so I am committed. Plan on eating a mini meal before I go, I'll have some packets of nuts and such with me, but we will see. I love going to games and this is a box. It's unlikely I'll go back this year, but as of now, I plan to stay strong.

Also! excited I did not snack after kids went to bed. That is a bad habit I have developed a few months ago. Used to rarely do it (okay maybe some charcuterie every two weeks), but recently it has been a 4 times a week thing. Felt a bit bad about having a huge meal after their bedtime on Saturday, but looking back at the food intake and the fact that I was truly stomach growling hungry, I feel better about it. Should I have stopped when I was full, sure, but I am still relearning and giving myself grace.

Day 1 (Sunday 8/20/23) Whooo made it through day two feeling good! Sunday was a funny day because the kids have been begging to go to brunch so breakfast and lunch were combined. Luckily we are regulars and they will make stuff special for me and also with food allergies, I already know what is in most things. I also packaged my food for work for the week. This log is about to get really boring the next few days meal wise, but will all be delish! Last week I also checked all my snack drawers at work to make sure I had compliant back up food! Brunch (10am) : Coffee (black), omlet (no cheese, with peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and jalapenos), prime rib (they make and rub their own in house - yum!), steamed veggies, fruit, and breakfast potatoes. Light on fat but held me over until 6pm! Sad i missed mimosas, but still nice to socialize. Dinner: curried potatoes and leftover grilled veggies pan fried and smothered in coconut chicken curry! 20 minute move goal: house cleaning. Stripped all the beds, vacuumed, cleaned up, spot cleaned the carpet, laundry, etc. Did not get as much done as I wanted, but got enough done that I felt good about it. Overall feeling confident. Body wise, I feel less bloated this morning (morning of day 3) though usually end of the first week, the bloat will come back and then I'll lose a dress size overnight. Sleep wasn't great, but woke up energized. Hoping that this Whole30 will reduce the out of breath feeling I have been getting the last month or so. Also been having some more asthmatic symptoms the last week prior to the Whole30, which has been rare for me during the summer (but not unheard of). I assume it is because of weight gain (or weird weather we have been getting), but also wondering if it's dietary. Either way, my biggest goal is to reset my eating habits to be better going forward. Slightly worried that I'll go off the rails a bit when I am done because my birthday will be shortly thereafter, but already planning on possibly doing a second one or a mini reset in October, because I really want to make sure I am building good habits!

Day 1 (Saturday 8/19/23) Compliant - yes! Ideal? No. Did really well until after the kids went to bed. In all fairness dinner was very early so I was hungry again at 8:15. Definitely should not have eaten as much as I did, but oh well. Still whole30. Feeling fine. It’s day 1 and quite frankly no meals pushed the boundaries. breakfast (7:30) - eggs with spinach and garlic, hash browns and bacon. Probably could have used a bit more fat though between bacon and hash browns it was probably fine. Held me over until 11:30 so falls within not getting hungry for 4-5 hours. lunch (11:30) - picnic at the pool. baby carrots, baby tomatoes, turkey, proccuitto, and tahini/chimichuri dip. Also had a bit of slaw on the side. dinner (4pm) - grilled! Chicken, tons of veggies (onions, zucchini, carrots, bell peppers) and potatoes. All on the grill. Kids love this meal and it served as food prep for most of the week. Also had some avocado lime dressing for plated fat. second dinner (8:30) - egg fried with chimichurri, leftover hash browns, grilled onions, bacon and prosciutto . 20 min move goal - went to the pool for several hours. Definitely not active the whole time but enough to count! looking at the log, food intake may be appropriate given I was out and about a good chunk of the day. But I definitely should have cut back on the potatoes. I definitely ate more than I needed to (didn’t stop when I was full). Overall pretty happy and set up well for the rest of the week. Tuesday will definitely be interesting. I still haven’t decided if yesterday was day 1 or if I should just start Wednesday (still won’t cheat until then). Probably my last game this season so might be worth starting on Wednesday. Probably depends on what the dining package includes. Either way I know I won’t regret starting early. Plus I’m pretty much prepped for breakfasts and lunches for the week.

Goals! - Overall feel better - Feel more energized - sleep better - stronger nails - learn new recipes -get used to cooking more and less eating out (big for me) -stop food cravings -get more organized. I feel like when I organize myself for a Whole30, I organize other aspects of my life too. Would love to finally finish cleaning out the garage and house and get more regimented on chores. - I do have pounds to lose. I know they will naturally come off when I am not binge eating chips, which will also help my overall fitness levels (and self esteem) - bring back the daily walks at work. They stopped about the time I started eating WAY worse. -play more! - stop late night snacking. - have at least 20 minutes of movement per day. That can mean different things each day, from walks, doing an activity, hiking, pushing around a mop and vacuum cleaner. I would like to do more than that, but I know some weekdays can be rough and want to start with a goal that is very achievable and work my way up. I am also allowing myself to break it up (i.e. two 10 minute walks).

Well I am back and bigger (literally) and more out of shape than ever. The last two years have had some ups and downs and I am ready to feel better again. Ready to eat better and save money (yes, this can be cheaper than eating out and well, no more alcohol)! I have been eating way too big of portion sizes, food that is not good for me, and probably the most alcohol in my life (not problematic, but definitely more than what would be considered healthy). I can't wait to feel good about myself again! Today I have already planned out the week's menu and grocery list. After work I plan on stopping at Costco and Trader Joe's and stockpiling on essentials and groceries for the week. Going to have one last pizza and movie night with the kids and then start my journey in the morning (hopefully I remember to take starting weight and measurements). I will have a little bit of a challenge come Tuesday. Going to a sports game. I will definitely bring some nuts and snacks with me. My worst case scenario is that I have a couple of test days and really start on Wednesday. That should still leave enough time before the start date and my birthday (which I totally will want a glass of wine). Ultimate goal is to generally live a Whole30 lifestyle until the end of October (and then 80%/20% after). I really just need a big reset after going off track for so long. I should not be out of breath going up a couple flights of stairs! Other goals are to be more active and use meal planning as a tool to budget better for the holiday season coming up! Challenges for me: cooking for other people. I have two kids (one with food allergies so this will absolutely not work for him). I also work a lot, so always looking for shortcuts. That also helps since I will probably need to make sides of rice and such for the kids. Luckily they love most vegetables, so hopefully it should not be too difficult. Hopefully it should be a quiet weekend, so on Sunday I plan to cook in bulk. I also hope I can clean out the freezer enough to pre marinate some chicken for easy proteins through the week. In two weeks I plan to do another stock up (with hopefully some freezer space), since I know in weeks 3 and 4, meal burn out can get harder. Plan on updating this Monday-Friday (with maybe some weekend posts). Really just using this as a way to make sure I don't stray.

For those who care. I did lose 14.6 pounds and 2.5 inches around my waist. Though the pounds are probably skewed from brunch+fast food the day before I started and throwing up the night of day 30 (due to flu and not due to Whole30). I probably lost around 8-10 pounds I would guess based on my knowledge of my body. Pretty great! I did not stick to Whole30 on day 31 or day 32 because I was sick and barely eating. I do plan on doing mostly Whole30 (probably about 90%+) until my girls trip mid March. Want to make sure I don't blow up like a balloon on a fun weekend! After that weekend I do plan on going back to 90% Whole30 again. Maybe a mini reset after or a full Whole30 after. I do feel better (minus being sick) Good thing I did my NSVs on day 30 and not 31. I had nothing good to say about how i was feeling yesterday!