My 2.5 Whole 30!

[dotamy]

Ah, third times the charm!

Did my first W30 last June, lost 9+lbs and wow - the comments, the compliments...all super inspiring! Hung on with decent (and not so decent eating) until January, when W30#2 was attempted. Lasted 15 days, it just wasn't as easy? I got super frustrated. My training also increased dramatically preparing for a triathlon, and I just felt like I needed "more." I found it so difficult to figure out how to eat while requiring so much from my body. I lost 5lbs, and gained it back almost immediately the week after the tri! Finished a big race on Saturday, and W30#3 began Sunday morning!

I don't remember what I ate yesterday, just that all of it was compliant! I am taking photos of my meals rather than putting it in a calorie log. Those are too easy to abuse.

So, Day 2 Meals:

Breakfast:

Kale sautéed in coconut oil

2 eggs fried in same pan

Corner of chicken breast leftover

Black coffee

Cherries

1/2 funky avocado - ick patacky - I am having bad luck with avocado lately.

Actually, all of breakfast was funky. But I made it through with only giving away a few bites of my egg to my 3yr old!

Lunch:

3 mini bell peppers stuffed with Tuna salad (homemade mayo)

2 slices pineapple

Small handful cashews

Ginger kombucha <3

Leftover tomato & cucumbers

Snacky:

Crazy belly-aching hunger!

Cappuccino Lara bar

Banana

*Dinner:

Curry Beef stuffed bell peppers

Broccoli

Probably some more cherries

Maybe a half sweet potato?

* haven't eaten it yet, cooking in progress

No training today, taking an unscheduled but much needed rest day. The couch and I are buddies.

[dotamy]

Day 3!

Feeling excellent today. Last night I ended up in bed at 8:30, talking with my oldest (he's 13 and still likes a snuggle occasionally , and fell asleep dead to the world around 10. The last few months I have been battling (3-4x week?) mid-night insomnia. Wake at 3am and just never go back to sleep. Last night, I woke only as much as I needed to to shuffle to the bathroom for a quick visit and as my brain started up its regular chatterbox momentum, I fell right back to sleep. LOVED IT!

Last night for dinner, I bailed on the sweet potato and cherries, and just had a half green pepper with curried beef (and a mini red pepper stuffed the same) and a huge mountain of broccoli.

Today, spent the day relaxing with kids, took them to the pool, and had a really calm day. About 3pm, I felt really lightheaded and weird, but took a quick nap (also wildly out of character), and was fine 15min later. Energy is lowwww.

Breakfast:

Three eggs scrambled in coconut oil with a tablespoon of coconut milk

Whole tomato sliced (from my own garden!

Local pork & apple sausage

Peach

Coffee blended w coconut cream

Lunch:

Small handful cashews

Three mini stuffed peppers (leftover)

Whole sweet potato w a little coconut butter and a little unsweetened coconut flake

Dinner:

Crispy chicken legs in the oven

http://angieanew.com/crispy-chicken-legs/

TJ's Southern Greens in the pot

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/2953673557/fridge-staple-trader-joes-southern-greens

And....maybe something else? Depends on how hungry I am. Maybe some hot tea and some cherries later?

Just super happy with how happy and calm I'm feeling. I forget how good eating like this makes me feel (and how damn long it takes to eat a meal!).

Thinking of going on a slow jog tonight, really stretch things out. Masters swim in the morning.

[dotamy]

Ah, Day 4.

Slept like junk last night. My legs/body kept wanting to jump out of bed and dance around. My brain thought my body was out of its mind. I was up and down all night. But was soundly sleeping finally when it was time to wake for early-morning Masters swim practice! But of course.

Quick pre WO meal:

Hard boiled egg

Tiny handful (half handful?) of cashews

Swim went well. Countless yards. My brain was fuzzy so I just kept swimming until my lane mates stopped LOL. Thank god for drill sheets. Oh, fin time? Yay! Overall, swim was strong (for me). Happy to be in the water.

Post WO:

Baby food Sweet Potato pouch (Happy Baby

Two thin slices of roast chicken

Coffee w coconut milk/cream, blended

And this is where the wheels almost flew off and down the street.... I'm a stay-at-home mom. I came to this when the youngest was born (she is now 3.). We are having lots of fun, and on the way to the dollar early-morning movie. Oooooops! Bc of brain sludge, I forgot we had a 10AM birthday party. On a Wednesday. Crapppp. Turn the car around, race home, change BACK into swimsuit, race to target, buy gift with my three-kid parade in tow (who the hell said they loved a parade?!?), drive 30min to party. Now, I was tempted to say hell with it, but I promised last week we would be there. I don't break a promise.

But crap! Are we missing something? Like BREAKFAST PERHAPS? After swimming 2200+++, hunger is a very real thing.

So my sad breakfast:

Banana

Lemon Lara bar

Big handful of cashews in a ziplock Baggie I shamefully inhaled.

Thankfully, party had veggies, so four fat wedges of cucumber. Was mildly tempted by sloppy joes in the crockpot at the party, but no to that!

At 2pm, finally home, I threw together my lunch:

Can wild planet tuna

Homemade mayo

capers

Hard boiled egg

Huge huge bowl of collards, turnip greens from last nights dinner.

And DAY FOUR headache began in earnest. We were tired, cranky, weepy and all I could think about was a huge iced bakery brownie. Thank god I was in no condition or even nearby to get one. But the thought! Ugh.

Fought cravings for a while. I ate a peach. I know that wasn't ideal, fruit and all, sugar dragon whatever, sometimes I will take my time killing him. I drank something that seems 100% compliant, but seems? It's called a Hi Ball energy drink? Sugar free, sweetener free, sparkling water with "natural flavoring," caffine and 150% vitamin b6, b12. I read that label three times, and my gosh did it help.

Dinner next:

Salmon

Sweet potato

More green things

And day 4 will be over. Day 5 has to feel better than this. Feeling this level of aggravation isn't quite my favorite.

[dotamy]

Zzzzz... Day 5

Slept awfully again last night. What gives? Went to bed too late, again with the feet and legs and body in general ready to party. Brain, not so much. Decided to skip my weekly optional 5:15am workout. Zero energy.

Woke at 7:15, but never really felt like I woke up! I guess this IS the 'need a nap' stage. I don't remember this from before. Maybe I was just so focused on the rest of the program.

Breakfast:

Three eggs scrambled with coconut oil

Local pork & apple sausage

Whole tomato from my garden

Half small avocado

Coffee blended with coconut cream. (Thank baby angels in heaven for trader joes)

It took me a long time to feel ready for lunch, and to get interested in what I was going to eat. Just felt so blah.

Lunch:

Leftover half bell pepper stuffed w curry beef

Half garden cucumber

Half small avocado

Half sweet potato with a little bit of coconut manna and a little shredded unsweetened coconut

Hours later, still with the sludge brain. Decided to go to the gym for some time on the elliptical. Wondered if that would impact my hunger or alertness.

Pre WO, a tbsp of compliant sun butter

Post WO, I do feel better. Love the boring 35min elliptical routine - it's the only time I ever watch TV! I feel so girly. Very different from my usual routine, so swishy; but still wiped out.

I have mahi mahi, Swiss chard and roasted cauliflower on the dinner menu, but my husband fed the kids while I was at the gym (which was a very sweet thing), so it may be a carrot Lara bar and my Patented Kitten Sleep sleep routine -- hot bath with Epsom salts, hot tea, no lights, red grapes as snack before bed. Usually works like a charm.

Tomorrow I HAVE to be more alert! I've put off a lot of things feeling so drowsy last few days.

[dotamy]

Day 6, done!

My Patented Kitten Sleep technology worked , all it took was a hot Epsom salts bath, a little meditation and a super cold room. Dinner last night was so Yums - husband pan fried my mahi mahi in coconut oil with a bunch of spices, and I had a big romaine, cucumber, tomato salad to go with it. Lucky girl.

So I slept fabulously, and woke up early to swim.

Pre WO meal:

Hard boiled egg

Tiny handful cashews

Good swim, came home not too tired. Actually, barely tired at all! I love swimming outside. And I (hopefully) am getting better every day at it. (I started swimming again in January.)

PostWO meal:

Leftover half bell pepper & beef curry

Breakfast a little later...

Three eggs scrambled with pork apple sausage in coconut oil

Leftover romaine/tomato/cucumber salad

Matteo's salsa - YUM

Errand followed - hey! Look! More energy! Frustrating trip for camping supplies for big kids, little kid took it upon herself to make it really stressful. Big kids, of course, want lots of junk food. But wasn't difficult buying what they wanted and not wanting it myself. The stress got to me, and I certainly entertained the idea of a cookie, but it passed. victory!

Lunch:

Quick chicken curry of...

1/2 zucchini

sm Asian eggplant

Plain roast chicken

Half can coconut milk

Half sweet potato

All cooked up with curry powder & turmeric

Half a mango

Delicious!

More errands, more packing kids for camp. While I was busy, I realized my Day 21 (I know, thinking ahead is my birthday! Briefly considered that being extinction burst HQ, but I think I can come up with something beside a cupcake to celebrate.

Dinner will be "Steak Date," broiled steak after the kids are (fingers crossed) in bed, fast asleep.

Dinner Plan:

Ribeye steak

Half sweet potato

Green beans or broccoli

Tomorrows the weekend, then everyone leaves for camp.

[dotamy]

Day 7

Busy day, packing two big kids and my husband to go to overnight camps next week. (Yes, my husband too. He's the scout leader.) We went to the movies this morning for a special preview of the snail movie (that I can't think of the name of...) too...

Breakfast:

Leftover chicken curry from yesterday's lunch

Movies - I'm not a fan of popcorn in general, so my water bottle and I hung tight.

Lunch:

Made up salmon patties when I got home, and zapped a huge family size bag of broccoli. Salmon patties were delish, topped with homemade mayo. Lots of lemon on the broccoli.

Ran last minute errands, had a Bilberry kombucha and three dates. Had a fierce sweet craving. I know it was stress, and I'm totally having some separation anxiety leaving my middle girl for the first time. (not a lot, just a little!) But it's enough to send my brain looking for the soother. I was happy that feeling was so clear in my head, and I was so frustrated that I handle stress in that fashion. I am super type-A in general, and eating during a stressful moment is my classic downfall.

I don't have a plan for dinner, but lots of great options to choose from. I need to get going in that direction now, rather than when I'm finished packing everyone.

Packing lunch & road trip food for tomorrow too. Not sure what to do with that one. Possibility we may have lunch with a family we are going with, and just the (perceived) awkwardness of my little holier-than-thou lunch box has me a bit unsure about how to handle it gracefully.

[dotamy]

Day 8! Big day.

Slept great, but dreamt about sharing ice cream with my husband - a big, huge bowl of it. I dreamed of eating the ice cream, and woke swallowing and feeling guilty and wiping my mouth with the sheet! I couldn't even eat ice cream if I WANTED to cheat. Crazy dreams.

But also, woke with ENERGY! Threw on my running clothes and practically lept out the front door.

PREWO: sm handful cashews

98% humidity and a crappy heel injury (plantar fasciitis?) made it a gross run. My splits were horrible, but worse was around 2.5 mi, my body was really struggling. I was much more overheated than normal, and so...uncomfortable. It felt like my body was out of glycogen and the red alarms were going off - like it was saying What do i do??? I didn't push it. Just walked home, trying to not feel badly about it. Felt nausea and was shaky and just feeling yuck.

Breakfast: (there was no way I could eat post WO) - ate 3/4 of all of it.

Three eggs scrambled in ghee (ate only 2)

Pork/apple sausage

Bowl broccoli

Half small avocado

Took husband and oldest to their camp meetup site and drove big & little girl on to her camp two hours away. Before I left, tossed dinner in crockpot and made my lunch.

Stopped at fast food for lunch w girls & big girls BFF & her family. Sigh. I brought in my Tupperware and sat in Wendy's with my salad.

Lunch:

TJ's plain roast chicken breast

Half of the rest of my salad + half bag olives

I wasn't finished, but when people eat fast food, it gets gobbled up!

Had a citrus kombucha in the car

Big girl got settled into camp, no tears! Yes! (From me, certainly not from her LOL and we drove the two hours back. Starving during car ride.

Snack:

Cappuccino Lara bar

Plum

Little girls Apple Berry organic apple sauce

Dinner almost ready!

Roast w tons of sweet potato, onion, carrot, bell pepper etc. So hungry!!!

[Physibeth]

When I made the switch to paleo my running tanked for a good solid 2 weeks (I run 20-25 miles a week) even though my overall energy was vastly improved. This is normal. It will get better. Make sure you are getting enough starchy vegetables and hang in there. Heat and humidity certainly do not help. I can never eat immediately after my runs either. All I can think about is the shower.

[dotamy]

Physibeth, thanks for the response! I guess - so glad to hear that? At least that its normal. My first round I remember feeling run down during workouts, just not the struggling feeling. I ran the last half mi, and that was all I had. Today was better, workout wise!

[Physibeth]

I pushed through my workouts on those first two weeks. Some were run down...some were struggle. If you did your first whole30 in June perhaps it wasn't as hot either? And it sounds like you have ramped up a bit since then?

[dotamy]

Day 9...hmmm...

Woke happy, refreshed, with a terrified three year old at 5:45AM bc she was worried no one was every coming home again...She calmed down, and we slept another hour or so.

Breakfast:

I've hemmed and hawed on this. I've done W30 now enough to know what I can/can't have, do/don't do. Familiar territory. So all of the sudden, this breakfast I had has driven me crazy all day with should I have eaten that? Is that swypo? It doesn't feel like it, but what if it is??? I've eaten this before, and never thought twice about it, until now.

"Egg Bake"

Microwave two eggs, 1tbsp coconut flour, half a banana (and a little salt & vanilla bean) for three minutes. It sure as hell isn't reminiscent of a food I have ever eaten outside of W30, but...gah. I really do love it. I eat it w a bit of unsweetened coconut flake and a big splash of coconut milk/cream. Tho

[dotamy]

Day 9...hmmm...

Woke happy, refreshed, with a terrified three year old at 5:45AM bc she was worried no one was every coming home again...She calmed down, and we slept another hour or so.

Breakfast:

I've hemmed and hawed on this. I've done W30 now enough to know what I can/can't have, do/don't do. Familiar territory. So all of the sudden, this breakfast I had has driven me crazy all day with should I have eaten that? Is that swypo? It doesn't feel like it, but what if it is??? I've eaten this before, and never thought twice about it, until now.

"Egg Bake"

Microwave two eggs, 1tbsp coconut flour, half a banana (and a little salt & vanilla bean) for three minutes. It sure as hell isn't reminiscent of a food I have ever eaten outside of W30, but...gah. I really do love it. I eat it w a bit of unsweetened coconut flake and a big splash of coconut milk/cream. Thoughts? I don't eat it often, just when scrambled or HB eggs sound tired. My biggest thought is that it crowded out room for veggies, so I didn't have anything until lunch.

Swam, lost lap count, but I didn't really care. I felt strong, in control, and happy. Afterwards, took little one to the waterpark at the gym for an hour of fun for her.

Lunch:

Chicken breast - grilled TJs

Compliant marinara on top

Romaine & cucumber

Blueberries

During little's nap time, I ate two dates and had a cup of coffee with coconut cream. I thought I had such an idea with the coffee -- it's really hot, and I wanted it iced. I threw ten ice cubes in the blender with the coffee and coconut cream. LOL - disaster. Coconut cream got GROSS and the oil chunks just made me want to gag. I sipped it thru my teeth (I really wanted my coffee!) and gave up after five sips. Won't be trying that again!

Took little girl on a long walk through the greenway, played at the playground and came back for dinner:

Leftover roast w extra veggies

2 small plums

And that was my day! Still mulling that egg bake.

[dotamy]

Yes re workout ramp-up. Last June I was doing two bootcamps a week and some occasional running. This year, I do three bootcamps a week, three swim practices a week, an optional early morning workout and fit in running or biking on "lighter" days or just when I feel like it. I had an unusually slow week last week, but this week is definitely ramping up.

Sorry for that double day 9 post! I hit post on accident and thought I had caught it in time!

[Physibeth]

 My biggest thought is that it crowded out room for veggies, so I didn't have anything until lunch.

 

 

I think this sentence answers your question. Whether it was SWYPO or not it pushed vegetables off your plate so not really in the spirit of the W30. 

[dotamy]

Agreed - when I reread that, I thought the very same thing. So maybe it's okay as half a portion, with the very obvious 'veg must come first.' Ah, order.

[dotamy]

Day 10!

Slept like a rock. Like, I think even a rock would be impressed. It felt like I'd taken a melatonin, but definitely had not. Love it! Was so difficult waking up though, with the little one yelling for me bc she needed to go potty. Took me a while to shake the cobwebs.

Breakfast:

Two egg / prosciutto cups (holy salt crazy town - those were intense)

Whole yellow squash (fresh picked!) and zucchini sautéed in coconut oil

Coffee & coconut cream

Took little to the summer movie again. I'm so happy popcorn doesn't tempt me.

Lunch:

Grassfed beef patty

Romaine & cucumber

Rest of zucchini & squash from bfast

Most of a mango

Ginger kombucha, my favorite

Next up, I'm leading my bootcamp group tonite, so dinner when I get home and just a little egg snacky before. Taking the little one with me...she will act as the "sled" in her weighed-down jogging stroller on our suicide course tonight! She's going to love that...

Dinner (will be):

Grilled chicken breast

More cucumber (they have gone crazy in my backyard...)

Sautéed kale in coconut oil

Leftover sweet potato

[dotamy]

Day 11

Dinner plans turned into dinner dreams last night. Had a leftover hamburger patty, half a sweet potato and manna and called it a night.

I never thought I would ever complain about sleep like this -- I'm almost sleeping too hard! My daughter was yelling for me at 7:30 when she woke up and it was almost painful waking up. Will go to bed earlier tonight and see if I can't log more sleep.

Breakfast:

2 egg/prosciutto cups

Blueberries

Kale sautéed in coconut oil

Coffee/coconut cream

Took little girl to the kids museum today. She had a blast! I packed lunch ahead, proud of my planning ahead...so lunchtime came...

Lunch:

Sm grilled chicken breast

Romaine, cucumber, baby carrots, red pepper

Olive oil

Blueberries

Kombucha

(I threw in a little baggie of cashews just in case)

Sat down to eat and realized, no fork! Had dressed my salad with oil when I packed it...sigh. I ate what I could with my fingers. Opened my kombucha...it's never exploded on me...until today. Allllll over my salad. Sigh. I ate what I could, thought some really @-$:@/ words in my head and forced a smile. Ate my cashews.

Starved on the way home. Ate dinner early - 4:45 early. Leftover steak, eggs and half a banana.

The CRAVINGS for super-normal junk food are at a peak today. I saw some guy pretend to put mustard on a plastic piece of pizza in the kids museum restaurant and I swear - MY MOUTH WATERED. The sicker thing is that it still sounds good four hours later! Ridiculous. I almost feel sorry for my brain. Almost.

[dotamy]

Day 12:

Went to bed earlier last night, and it helped some. Will try and go to bed even earlier tonight.

Breakfast:

Two egg/prosciutto cups

Sautéed kale in coconut oil

Coffee & coconut cream

Took little girl to the pool. I snacked on some cucumber slices and baby carrots while we were there.

Lunch:

Leftover roast / sweet potato

(Lots of addl veggies in the roast)

Coconut La Croix (where has this been all my life??)

Was still hungry a little later, ate a banana.

Tonight is another boot camp, and then tomorrow I pick my oldest girl up from her camp. Saturday, my guys come home from their camp. I told my husband I'd be packing for my week at the beach when they got home. (I wish.) He laughed - I swear - I've owned two businesses, I've had a professional life, and stay at home motherhood has whipped my ass. Some weeks it's like never being allowed to leave the office. Work is always piling up. Anyone who glorifies it has watched too much TV. I still love it, but one day I really am going to book my own private vacation!

So aside from my complaining , my w30 is rolling along, I see my collarbones, maybe even see some abs showing up? My poor legs still have a ways to go though. But health! Lots of glorious health.

[dotamy]

Yesterday! Day 13

Breakfast:

Three eggs scrambled in coconut oil

Spinach sautéed in same pan

Amazing strawberries!

Served as my preWO bc I went for a swim immediately afterwards. Swam 1800 in a new PR (!) and then got my little one for some splishy splashy time at the kiddy pool. Home for lunch...

Chicken breast covered w lots of marinara

Cucumber/carrots

Ginger kombucha

Drive up to big girls camp, waited for an hour in the shade for them to all come marching down the dusty road singing their camp song.

Went to dinner with big girls BFF and her mom...ugh. My salad was revolting. It was as compliant, but gross.

Chicken (wet? Canned? Who knows - not oil or anything...just oddly wet)

Iceberg lettuce

Tomato

Measly orange slices

I tacked on a "half avocado" and got three atrocious slices instead. :/ Sigh.

Came home and *crashed.*

Today shaping up, I think I'm feeling the beginnings of tiger blood (!) and also am definitely feeling a dead appetite. I've barely eaten anything and its almost noon. Gotta get in gear.

[Guest Annie B]

Hi dotamy! If I may contribute my little experience, with regards to exercise and detox. I personally choose to cut way back on my training.... but this is my first whole30.  I figured my body would have a lot going on with these dietary changes, and it could be hard to get the amount of calories needed to maintain strength and stamina for high level training (like your triathlon). I personally go for powerlifting and kettlebell training, and its really the same... the amount of energy output is so much, that when I am training for strength gains, it takes top priority. I guess I approached this with more of a detox kind of context (rather than 'diet'), where rigorous exercise would be an added stress, at least in the beginning. But we are all different! And it sounds like you are rocking it! So rock on sista!

[dotamy]

Thanks, Annie B! I appreciate your thoughts. I have definitely considered that (and told my husband I wanted to find some plantains for dinner tonight too!) and this whole 30 couldn't have come at a more perfect time training-wise. I skipped several workouts in the beginning of this w30, bc I knew they just weren't sustainable - I know myself so much better this time around! My week next week is pretty full, but I think my golden ticket this time is knowing when enough is enough! No ego in running at the back of the pack or doing half a workout if I'm by myself.

I have a little baby triathlon (shorter than a sprint) in September, and after that (I hope! I think? Spartan Beast is in my neck of the woods this winter...) my schedule is clear! But thank you, what you wrote was timely.

[dotamy]

Day 14!

Woke up early for my Saturday bootcamp I run with an amazing group of women. Love them! We did all kinds of fun things.

PreWO

Half a cappucino Lara bar

One scrambled egg

Post WO was crazy-town. Grabbed a coffee, brought it home and spun it with some coconut cream in the blender and vroom - tiger blood was in full effect. Zero hunger (and I thought about eating. Nothing was appealing, I felt oddly full for not really having eaten anything), and I wound up deep cleaning a bathroom, stripping beds, generally going house cleaning berserk. Picked my guys up from their camp meeting point. Came home and worked some more. (Seriously? Still not remotely hungry......?)

Forced a handful of carrots and a boiled egg

An hour or two later, got ravenous. We picked up amazing shredded smoked chicken, and lunch was:

Huge pile of smoked shredded chicken

Kale sautéed in coconut oil

Two big slabs of tomato

Homemade mayo (on my tomato. Yum!!!)

Now, had I been able to eat everything I put on my plate...LOL. The most insistent full-feeling took over - I was actually disappointed bc I wanted to just eat ALL THE THINGS, and was completely incapable of it. So I ate maybe 3/4 of my plate. :/

Looked at my workout schedule for next week and decided I need to throw some more starches back in. And I'm going to bed early tonight too. Sunday is my one morning a week I get to sleep in. Took a quick trip to whole foods for bnut squash, more sweet potatoes, and plantains.

Had a little bowl of Apricot Applesauce when I got home.

Tonight's dinner is:

WF Cucumber Pineapple Gazpacho (sooooo wildly delicious)

Pork chops

Plantains

Shopping at WF made me sad. I wanted yogurt so bad I could cry. And, LOL, a German chocolate cupcake. such a strange experience to go to a grocery store, especially one with such yummy things, and there's almost "nothing" there to buy. Of course I mean "nothing" that I "want." Which is frankly a good thing every few months. but man. I miss yogurt. Happy I found that gazpacho. Cold and had little bits of pineapple (and jalapeño). Almost as good.

[dotamy]

Day 15: Sunday

Anti-hungry. It felt like every time I tried to put something in my mouth, my body wanted to spit it back out. I ate anyway, not everything, maybe 60% of each meal.

Day 16: Monday

Same

Day 17: Tuesday

Same

Day 18: today

First workout since Saturday! Three whole rest days whaaaaaattt??? Masters swim, super strong, happy and in control.

Pre WO

Boiled egg, sugar snap peas

Post WO

Sugar snap peas

(I know, I know. No protein. Eggs were still in shells, had to drive my husband in to work today, pick my middle kid up from a sleepover, take a shower, prep middle kid for next play date. Sigh. I was really wishing for just some protein powder and water. So easy to just grab a bottle of something to tide me over. I will go back to occasional whey shakes when this is over for that reason.)

Breakfast

Egg bake, extra egg, carrots & spinach sautéed in coconut oil

Coffee & coconut cream

The appetite thing is killing me. I remember this in previous W30's, but not quite this intense. It's (almost) food revulsion. I'm rarely hungry when I eat - I just eat when it's time. How long will this last??? Nothing sounds appetizing. I still make my plate template-based, I'm not just picking what sounds good (which is new for me!), so I'm eating a rainbow, protein, just very small amounts. Tiger blood is a little anemic still.

My husband also asked me if I would consider extending my W30 into a W60. He is doing a big overnight military style challenge on Aug 2, and wanted to start his W30 the following day. I'm mulling it over. I had my heart set on a big bowl of Greek yogurt! (And a belated birthday cupcake, no lie.

[dotamy]

The rest of Day 18:

Total slump after brekkies. My appetite however, gleefully RAGED back to life at around 3:30pm. I found a quick recipe for salmon & sweet potatoe patties, and had them (3! They were amazing!!) on a big bed of romaine with avocado and a quick grapefruit vinaigrette. (Grapefruit, olive oil, salt!) I'm sad I have no more cans of salmon!!

Dinner tonight:

The last of leftover roast & veggies

More sweet potato thrown in

Now the triumph here: on my kitchen counter right now is an enormous, greasy, holy-*#^+-that-looks-yum pepperoni pizza. Oldest has a friend over, and like ever parent in SAD-ville, we give in every now and then and pizza gets tossed on the kid menu. It's not even REMOTELY appetizing. I opened the box. I stuck my face in to smell it even. **IT SMELLED LIKE CHEMICALS.** no lie. It smelled FAKE. I swear, I feel like I took the red pill (or the blue? Can't remember my 1999 trivia...) and it was seriously gross. I closed the lid, (smelled a candle to clear my nose!) and made my dinner. TRIUMPH!!!! Also triumph? No one is home! I'm all by my lonesome for an extremely rare quiet meal - my husband took everyone shopping for my bday after dinner.

I WIN. ))

[dotamy]

Day 19 went great!

Day 20, yesterday, was my birthday! I knew this would be my biggest challenge this time around, but not worth avoiding doing a W30 for. Started off with a great swim with the team. Ate pre-WO, HB egg & maranatha sunbutter. Missed post-WO in typical fashion. :/ Big yummy eggs breakfast and took kids to the movies. Came home and was wildly busy the rest of the afternoon. Didn't eat lunch until 4pm. (Whatever I ate was compliant but totally unforgettable.) My husband made amazing ribeye steak, marinated shrimp, broccoli, sweet potato and asparagus for dinner. We celebrated with watermelon, coconut cream, strawberries and toasted almonds.

Today, Day 21:

Choked down a sm handful of cashews & a little piece of chicken before I left to lead my lovely ladies bootcamp group. Love them! Didn't love eating that early! Came home, and avoided eating again. My body & brain seem to do whatever it takes to avoid my eating post-wo. I hate it! Made a sausage and sweet potato before going on an adventure! It was totally rained out (had plans to paddle board and do a ropes course), and wound up getting soaked an eating a hamburger on lettuce with guac for lunch. Leftovers probably for dinner.