Laura B's Whole30

[LizzyF]

Laura, I just read your whole journal and it's very inspiring! I'm just on Day 2 myself so inspiration is needed! Love your food porn too. Good luck with crossfit! I can't imagine being able to do that but who knows what could happen someday.

[Derval]

I can't wait to start CF! I will probably end up joining CrossFit Garage which is in Woodstock off Hwy 92. It's the closest to me, although CrossFit Marietta looks like it would be more affordable. I think they have a monthly punch card membership where you can go 3x a week for $110. I just don't know if I want to deal with that commute, even though it isn't that far. I LOVED my trainer...he is awesome, but I just need to do CF to grow I think. I don't want to get stuck in a rut of training, but I'm keeping my other gym membership (it's only $10/month) so I will be able to switch it up no matter what.

Crossfit in Dublin, 3 times a week package, 8mth contract, $190 p.m

I'd love to try it but it's never going to happen at those prices The box gym I'm in is $260 per year

[Laura B]

Laura, I just read your whole journal and it's very inspiring! I'm just on Day 2 myself so inspiration is needed! Love your food porn too. Good luck with crossfit! I can't imagine being able to do that but who knows what could happen someday.

Thank you! The Whole 30 has opened my eyes so much! Good luck to you

[Laura B]

LauraB - Best of luck to you whichever location you choose. I've met people that go to East Cobb, the one near Windy Hill, and the one in Roswell (North Fulton?). They all seemed happy with their choice.

I didn't like to cook when I was single, or when I got married, and I still don't like to cook and I have three kids. I don't mind cooking as much as I did before, but I still don't get too excited about it! And yes, yolks are very good.

I think I will be happy no matter which one I choose. I think the one in Woodstock is a bit more established and has more coaches, so I think I would be better off there. I'll keep you posted

[Laura B]

Day 27

I wanted to go to the high school to run sprints this morning, but the sun doesn't come up til about 7 here and I was ready to go around 6. I just went for my usual neighborhood run and I think I shaved off some time!

Pre: some chicken and coconut butter

post: chicken and sweet potato

Breakfast: Leftover meatza & 1 egg cup, leftover acorn squash & carrots, steamed spinach & mushrooms, blueberries

Lunch: Leftover sea scallops & brussels sprouts, raw zucchini & summer squash, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 sweet potato, blueberries.

Leftover lunch

Dinner: Grilled chicken thighs, grilled eggplant, and nom nom paleo's quick & easy kale

I added another piece of chicken because they are rather small.

This is the kale recipe: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/3082537932/quick-and-simple-stir-fried-kale-and-bacon

I highly recommend it

[Laura B]

Day 28

Hit the Gym about 5:45 this morning for a chest, shoulder & triceps workout. Normally I would have hit the treadmill or stepmill afterwards, but I decided not to punish my body any more. I was giving it enough stress to work with on those 3 muscle groups alone. I also really liked what I saw in the mirror today!

Pre: chicken & coconut butter

Post: chicken & sweet potato

Breakfast: 3 egg cups, 1/2 sweet potato, steamed carrots & onions, steam/sauteed broccoli & squash, blueberries & coconut milk.

And then....

Destruction!

Lunch: Chicken salad with frank's red hot on romaine leaves with tomato and cucumber, brussels sprouts & 1/2 sweet potato

Dinner: Baked salmon (a la Tom; squeezed a lemon wedge over top, S&P, garlic powder then slathered with mayo), leftover broccoli kale and grilled eggplant from last night and steam/sauteed red pepper, onion & mushrooms. Yum!

[Derval]

Did you not lick your plate?

Awesome start to the day, beats high fibre flakes & skimmed milk eh?

[Laura B]

Day 29!

Breakfast: Baked cod, leftover veggies--carrots, squash & broccoli, sweet potato & avocado. plus blueberries

Lunch: chicken thighs with some mayo dipping sauce, sauteed onions/peppers/mushrooms, brussels sprouts & sweet potato

Snack/pre workout: a bunch of cashews, a small tomato, some chicken and berries

Dinner: I finally made spaghetti squash!! Holy crap it makes a TON!! I will be eating it for dayyssss. I made a meat sauce with grassfed ground beef to go with it. It was not 100% grass finished, but I didn't drain the fat because there wasn't a lot and my le creuset is freakin heavy and it's hard to drain. Sauce had: onions, peppers, mushrooms, olives, beef and seasonings. Diced tomatoes from WF and Trader Joe's Marinara sauce (from the green can--shout out to jhmomi!). It was GOOD.

I also had some leftover carrots with it because I love them. This is the first time I am legitimately STUFFED and I always eat more veggies than I "should". I'm happy!

[Laura B]

Tomorrow is day 30!!! What!

[Laura B]

Hello day 30!

Breakfast: rather small piece of cod, roasted tomatoes (leftover from yesterday), sweet potato, leftover kale & bacon, small bowl of spaghetti squash & meat sauce, 1/2 avocado.

Today I am picking up ground beef and eggs from a local farmer. I feel like I should be having really lavish and exaggerated meals today since it's day 30, but I honestly feel as though I am going to carry this on. Vacation starts Saturday and it would honestly be a horrible time to reintroduce anything. I don't want to eat any grains or dairy, but if we end up getting sushi, I'm down! I am trying not to think about it because it is just one week (a well deserved one at that) and when we get back I think the boyfriend is going to give the whole 30 a try, so it will just be my #2.

Lunch: Chicken thigh on romaine with avocado, a tomato from the garden, steamed carrots & the last of the kale

I am legitimately obsessed with Trader Joe's Jalapeno Hot Sauce. Like woah.

Snack: chicken & carrots & cashews

DInner: leftover spaghetti squash & meat sauce, steamed broccoli. I am having a dessert tonight to finish off my whole 30. Frozen berries nuked in coconut milk.

[Lola]

That's funny I was just wondering about when your vacation was going to start, because you mentioned that your bf will be starting his W30 journey afterwards!! Congrats on getting to Day 30 and beyond! I've been loving your picture food journal!! Can't wait to hear all about your 2nd W30 with your BF!!! If I don't get a chance to post later, have a great vacation...

[Laura B]

Thank you, Lola!!

[bethcollins]

Congrats on getting to day 30! You definitely deserve a vacation!

[Derval]

Have a ball

[Laura B]

So, today is day 31. The first day of the rest of my life. I wasn't sure if I was going to weigh myself or not. I think curiosity got the best of me when I woke up this morning, but I had decided that I wasn't going to let a number mess with my head. I have been feeling great and I love my new relationship with food and myself.

I lost 6 pounds.

I am really happy, and I think I would have been happy if I had lost even 1 pound because my mental state is leaps and bounds beyond where I was. I am really moving closer to being good with how my body looks. I think there are many reasons why I had become so consumed with body image and I am really working each day to find something I love about myself.

Last night I gave myself a facial and my skin feels amazing. I think it was honestly waiting to purge a lot of the gunk in my pores. I also treated myself to an outfit from Lululemon--something I had decided I was going to do when I reached my "goal weight". Well I am still above my goal weight (by like 1 pound) and don't care! I have a cute new outfit!

I also have improved my gastro issues. I was constantly gassy and bloated, and now I hardly get gassy and my digestion is very regular!

I have suffered from psoriasis combined with this other skin ailment where I get patches of skin where the pigment depletes. I have read about it somewhere, not sure what it is called. Most of my psoriasis is completely gone, I have a couple small spots on my right hand that are still clearing up. I think most of my psoriasis came on due to stress which I have in check now thanks to a lot of sleep! My skin tone on my arms (where the pigment would deplete) is almost totally even. I think this will take a little more time to completely clear, but it's amazing! My arms had patches for something like 12 years!

The Whole 30 really did change my life. I have been trying to make positive changes in any way I can since I started. I have been exercising less, sleeping more and trying to be a little bit sweeter to everyone in my life. I want to thank Dallas & Melissa for being so passionate about this and the rest of the Whole 9 community for being super supportive!

I am really pumped about going on vacation and only slightly straying from the W30. I'm definitely gonna keep it Paleo (ohhh I bought a chocolate bar at WF for today though ) and I think I'll be back to W30 after vacation with the BF. Regardless, I'll probably need a Whole 7 to get my mind right!

Xoxo

[Derval]

Awesome report Laura, well done you

[SummerGirl]

Great results Laura! Enjoy your trip!

[Laura B]

Well, vacation was a great success! We did a TON of cooking at the house. We only had 2 meals out the whole week. Only ONE of my meals wasn't paleo and most of them were even W30! I brought organic chicken thighs, some grassfed ground beef, ground pork from the farmer's market with me. I also brought along my double boiler (that I use to steam veggies) and my coconut oil. I did imbibe in some booze over the week, but it was nothing compared to what I normally would have done. My friends were super supportive and none of them pressured me to drink or eat anything in particular.

Overall I felt awesome all week. I wanted to go out for runs most mornings but I fought to just relax the whole week since I never do. We were mostly active anyway and I did go on a solo leisurely bike ride one morning. I mostly indulged in more fruit than normal along with some alcohol. My non-paleo meal was sushi! I had seaweed salad as an app and then got 2 rolls. One was pretty basic and the other was a fancier roll that was actually very sweet to me. The other meal out was blackened grouper with steamed veggies. I asked for no butter--still not positive if that's what I got. Regardless, it was delicious!

Tomorrow starts day 1 for the boyfriend on Whole 30. I will spend at least the next week being strict whole 30 to regulate from the vacation. I did take some photos of my meals because it is such a fun habit now!

One of my breakfasts. Bacon (humanely raised--it did have sugar), cabbage steamed with carrots & zucchini, 1/2 avocado and fried eggs (pastured that I brought with me!)

All this was grilled for everyone to eat. I love having my friends eat awesome foods with me!

My morning bike ride

Another breakfast

Harbor Town lighthouse, Hilton Head Island, SC

We went on a fishing charter.

[Lola]

Welcome back Laura!! Sounds like you had a great vacation, and very conscious of your food and bevy intake!! Good for you.. Good luck to BF on his first W30!!!

[jhmomi]

Saw your pic of the lighthouse. We went to HH for 10 days in June.

So glad you are still going strong and your boyfriend is trying a Whole30 too.

[Laura B]

Today is day 3 for the boyfriend. I am really proud of him thus far. He has been such a trooper. It was fun to go grocery shopping and actually split everything right down the middle. I also enjoy eating the same foods together.

His first day was Sunday so it was super easy as we spent the day together and it was quite relaxing. Yesterday was not good. I am trying to let him figure it out for himself as I know this isn't the easiest thing to do and having me "help" (aka "correct") would not be helpful. He packed his lunch--a large salad with chicken a small sweet potato a peach and guacamole. Well he forgot his guacamole (to use as dressing) in the fridge and it turns out his peach was not ripe yet. I told him to eat some almonds to make up for missing the guac. He came home in a really sour mood. I sort of expected it. Then he did not sleep well last night. I felt really bad for him. I am going to get him some natural calm today so he can get some sleep.

I am trying to get him to eat more food. I think he is used to not eating a lot, and getting more calories at the end of the day from beer. I pushed him to up his sweet potato intake (he is a handy man so he works hard all day) and he remembered his guac today.

As for me...I contacted the CF gym near me yesterday. I was super nervous to send them the e-mail...I don't know why! I think just because it's so new and I'm a little nervous to get started even though I really want to. I am going tomorrow night at 6. I was going in at 5, but he called me back and said it would be good to come at 6 since they have a class and I can get a better feel for it. I am pretty stoked! I really want to push myself to new places and I really, really want some friends who are into this healthy/fit lifestyle!!

[Laura B]

Going to CrossFit tonight at 6. Super nervous/excited/anxious! Just had my pre-workout snack...some salmon, a tomato and coconut butter. Possibly too much coconut butter. I have a strange relationship with it...it tastes so magical but it's plain at the same time...and yet I keep going back. What do they put in that stuff?!

I haven't been super strict W30 since the return. Partly because I want to relax a bit and not feel like I am restricting, also because I am starting CrossFit. I want to give CF the attention it deserves. My meals are essentially W30, I have just had a few Steve's Orignals as snacks and a little dark choc

Meals today:

I'm not sure why it's so yellow...I think because it was pretty dark as the sun hadn't fully risen yet. Chorizo scramble with green pepper, carrots, onion, cabbage, 1 egg and 1/2 avocado. Was super yum.

Huge salad for lunch: baby spring mix, carrots, green pepper, 1/2 avocado, cucumbers, chicken thigh, lemon squeeze, on the side a small sweet potato and a dinosaur egg

[Lola]

Yummy food pics.. let us know how CrossFit went!! I bet you were nervous for nothing!