W30 at 8750

[mokiki]

Whole45, Day 2!

 

I'm super excited because today, my husband is officially joining me in Whole30. I'm not sure if he'll stick it out or not, but I really hope he does! 

 

Yesterday was a great start to 2015. I spent the day cleaning the house, organizing the fridge and pantry, and of course eating clean all day. Our grocery delivery was delayed, so we didn't have too much food to work with -- I had a larabar for breakfast, went out to lunch (burger patty, grilled onions, side salad w/ oil & vinegar), and for dinner we had delicious ancho chile shrimp over wilted greens. Not bad!

 

On top of the Whole30, I'm also doing a 30 day yoga challenge, and will be doing a different 30 minute yoga video each day. Yesterday's focus was strength, and it really felt good! 

 

Thankfully, today is Friday so I just have to get through 1 workday before the weekend. Here's hoping it doesn't kill me! 

 

Day 1 Win: Accomplished a ton around the house and went to bed with fresh clean sheets.. always the best feeling.

[mokiki]

Whole45 Day 3!

 

I'm completely shocked and thrilled that my husband actually stayed 100% Whole30 compliant ALL DAY yesterday! His main downfall is beer, and he's said that he may still have one or two while watching football, but I can accept that. I have a feeling that if he gets too "deprived" he'll just give up altogether and keep eating a terrible diet, so at least this way he's staying motivated food-wise. Baby steps, right?

 

All went well with me yesterday! Other than a dull headache, I haven't had much of a "hangover" to speak of (yet). I had hard boiled eggs and olives for breakfast, chicken sausages and brussels sprouts for lunch, and Michael made some awesome roasted chicken legs with root veggies for dinner. 

 

I couldn't be happier that it's the weekend. Since I got so much done around the house throughout the week, today is all about just relaxing, cooking, and enjoying the day. We're experimenting tonight with some elk livers -- we'll see how that goes.

 

Day 2 Win: It was a coworker's last day with our company, so we all went out for drinks after work. I was completely satisfied with my club soda with lime!

[littleg]

I'm assuming 8750 has something to do with your elevation?  Very jealous.  The NE has been pretty much devoid of snow this winter.  

 

The beer compromise seems good for your husband - the W30 certainly is much easier when a couple/household does it together.  

 

What are you doing with the elk livers?  

[mokiki]

littleg, yes, I live at 8750 feet. Hopefully more snow will come for all of us! January tends to be pretty dry here.

 

When I did the W30 before, I was alone, and it was definitely more difficult! My husband was good about eating W30 compliant foods at home, but when we went out, he had no problem eating everything I was craving right in front of me. I'm so happy he's joining me this go-round!

 

For the elk livers, we actually decided to make a pate, so we didn't have enough time to make it last night. Instead we cleaned them and soaked them overnight in coconut milk, and today we'll cook them off with apples, onions, blackberries, rosemary and thyme, puree it all together, and hopefully we'll end up with a really decadent treat! I've never tried elk liver, so it'll be a good experiment.

 

Best of luck to you in your Whole30 journey! I love that there is such a huge community that started on Jan 1 -- the amount of support we have is amazing!

[mokiki]

Whole45 Day 4 -- Sunday Funday!

 

Yesterday was the perfect dreary, lazy Saturday that I needed. Since it was so cold, we skipped skiing and instead stayed home to plan and prep some tasty meals. Our fridge is officially stocked with salad dressings and snackable foods that will keep us satisfied in a pinch! 

 

There were football playoff games on yesterday, and since we don't have cable, the husband went out to a sports bar to watch. He decided that he's going to give himself a 3 beer maximum on weekends for football only, and shockingly, he stuck to it! He kept texting me pictures of his 3rd beer and how slow he was "milking" it, and when it was done, he drank water until the end of the game. For a Wisconsin boy who can put down more beer in a day than most people can in a year, that's a pretty big deal. He also wasn't tempted to order fried cheese curds or a burger and fries like he normally would! I'm hoping he'll slowly wean himself off of the beer completely and actually be doing a by-the-books W30 by the end of it, but for now, I'm proud of this small feat.

 

While he was at the bar, I decided to relax on the couch and watch the Sex and the City movies. I had some strawberry kombucha in the fridge, so I poured it into a martini glass with a lemon twist and called it a Cosmo! 

 

For dinner, our elk livers still needed some time to thaw, so we had a couple gorgeous ribeye steaks with roasted onions and sweet potatoes. I went for seconds on the sweet potato, which I didn't need at all. Today's focus is to really stop eating when I'm full! 

 

Day 3 Win: The husband and I did yoga together, and now he's hooked! Looking forward to continue trying new things together this month!

[littleg]

A few months ago I got some grassfed beef liver and soaked it overnight in milk (not on a W30 at the time) with the intent of trying to cook with them.  My grandmother ended up in the hospital and I had to leave town so they got tossed in the freezer post soaking.  No idea if they are still good but if that pate recipe works would you mind posting it?

[mokiki]

Littleg, the pate turned out great! I'm not sure if it's a problem that you had to freeze your livers, but it's definitely worth a shot. Ours turned out very gamey so we probably used more fruit than you would need with beef. We adapted the recipe from several pate recipes we found online, and didn't keep exact measurements, but here is the general idea:

 

2 lbs liver

2 onions, sliced & carmelized

1 apple

1/4 cup ish of water

a few dashes of allspice

2 cans coconut milk (1 for soaking and 1 for cooking)

1/2 cup olive oil (coconut oil would be great, but we were out)

handful each of parsley, thyme, and rosemary

2 cups blackberries

salt & pepper

 

Cook all the apples and onions together with water and allspice, salt & pepper. Once the liquid is evaporated, add the livers, rosemary, and thyme and continue on the heat until they're cooked through. Let them rest for a few minutes, then throw everything into the blender! At this point, add the oil, coconut milk, parsely, and berries. We also added a splash of rice vinegar for extra acidity (to offset the gameyness). You could strain the mixture to make it extra smooth, but we skipped that step. Just pour it into small containers and let it chill. We served it with crudités -- it was especially delicious with sliced apples! Pic is below. Let me know if you have any questions!! 

[mokiki]

Whole45 Day 5! 

 

Still going strong! Although the husband has definitely entered the "kill all the things" stage, my mood is staying pretty stable. Good thing, too -- I don't know if we could handle both of us being grumpy! 

 

I'm bummed that the weekend is over, but this Monday is definitely a little easier to handle since my Sunday afternoon wasn't filled with drinking too much at apres ski! We enjoyed a super lazy morning, cooked a big breakfast (egg scramble with power greens and leftover ribeye), walked the dogs, and finally got ready to hit the mountain. After a few hours of skiing, Michael needed to get to the bar for more playoff games, so he went and had his 3 beers while I enjoyed my "kombucha martini" at home!

 

Yesterday was also a friend's birthday so we stopped by the pizza place where everyone was hanging out, and surprisingly, I wasn't in very much pain while being surrounded by pizza and beer! Luckily I had the excuse of "I left dinner on the stove" so we didn't stay long, and came home to start our pate. It turned out awesome (I may be having some with breakfast right now). We also made a frittata using all of our leftover veggies, eggs, and coconut milk, and put it straight in the fridge for my weekday breakfasts. We were both a little worried about frittata without cheese, but the coconut milk still made it feel really decadent. 

 

Day 4 Win: Got new snowboard boots, and felt AMAZING while riding! It is definitely the step I needed to take to start improving. 

[littleg]

Thanks for the recipe!  I ended up defrosting the liver and just gave it to the dogs  But I did find a chicken liver recipe I want to try - they say chicken liver is the gateway liver

 

How many days a year do you guys ski?  I don't think I really want to know the answer

[mMm]

I just have to tell you-- I've read through your first whole30 log and the start of this one and i really appreciate your positive attitude! Even with tempting events and half marathon training- you're a great inspiration  

[mokiki]

littleg, please share your chicken liver recipe after you've tried it! And it's funny that you gave your beef livers to the dogs -- we had a deer liver that was WAY freezer burned, but our dogs really enjoyed it. 

 

When it comes to skiing, we're mostly weekend warriors (aside from the occasional powder morning when my office opens a few hours late), but we tend to get around 30ish days/season.

 

mMm, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so thankful for this awesome community and all the support it provides. There were plenty of times that I REALLY wanted to cheat, but powered through because I didn't want to have to admit it in this forum! ha! 

[mokiki]

Whole45 Day 6! 

 

I slept like a BABY last night. First real benefit of this W30! Thank goodness, because I really needed to wake up feeling rested today. I definitely hit the "exhaustion" stage at work yesterday, and I'm surprised I was even able to get anything done! 

 

Other than that (and the fact that it was Monday), the day went pretty well. I snacked too much -- had two larabars throughout the day -- and I could do away with that. Now that I'm almost a week in, I'm feeling settled and realizing that I'm really eating WAY more than I need. Today's focus is making those adjustments! 

 

We made a big batch of turkey meatballs and canned several jars of homemade marinara sauce last night, which made for a fun evening together! I love that we're making huge amounts of food to freeze/can so now we really have a stocked house of quick and easy meal components. It definitely takes away the temptation to eat out, which has been my biggest problem as of late.

 

In addition to eating better, I need to work a little harder to exercise in the winter (now that the only outdoor exercise I've been getting is snowboarding), so I decided I'm going to add my workouts to this log for extra motivation! 

 

Today's WOD: 30 minutes pilates, 2 mile run

 

Day 5 Win: One of my best girlfriends officially started her first W30 yesterday! Instead of having wine together, we met at a coffee house after work for a cup of green tea. It's great having her on board! 

[mokiki]

One Week Down -- W45 Day 7!

 

It feels great that Week 1 is already under my belt. It's actually been fairly easy -- no huge cravings or bad side effects. If only it would stay this way! Week 2 is chock full of challenges, but I'll get to that in a minute.

 

My focus for yesterday was to not overeat, and I may have under eaten instead! Breakfast was a slice of frittata and a turkey meatball, lunch was elk pate with celery and carrots, and dinner was a turkey meatball with marinara sauce and some snap peas (thank goodness for all the prep work we've been doing.. there was no time to cook last night!). So plenty of protein, but not enough veggies! Today's focus is to completely follow the W30 Meal Planning Template: palm size of protein, fill the rest of the plate with veggies, and incorporate a little fat.

 

When I was preparing for this W45, I made a list of all (known) obstacles I would be facing, and the vast majority of them are occurring in the next week and a half! Tomorrow is my office's holiday party (when you live in a tourist town, you celebrate the holidays after they're over  ), and Saturday I'm traveling back home to Georgia for a few days. Then, in the beginning of Week 3, my best friend is coming to ski over MLK weekend. I'm preparing for lots of eating out, meals prepared by other people, and a huge temptation for cocktails. This won't be easy, but I can stay strong!

 

Today's WOD: 10 sit ups, 25 minutes pilates

 

Day 6 Win: It's officially springtime in January -- yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and it nearly hit 50 degrees! I took the dog for a short run on my lunch break and felt awesome. More sunshine is in the forecast today!

[mokiki]

W45 Day 8!

 

I'm not feeling great about my day yesterday. I stayed completely compliant, but I don't think I treated my body as well as I could have.

 

Breakfast was frittata and a sweet potato, and late morning snack (I had to take a late lunch, and I was famished) was an apple with a handful of almonds. My office always buys us lunch from a sandwich shop on Wednesdays, so I ordered a Salmon Wrap, without cheese or dressing. I brought it home, removed the wrap, and made a big salad out of the greens, salmon, added snap peas, and homemade mayo. It was great! So I'd say my day started out well. However, around 4pm, I stopped at the house to pick up something for work, and found myself devouring the jar of elk pate. I wasn't hungry at all, and I didn't even think about it -- it just happened! Granted we're talking about pate with apple and celery slices, rather than a bag of potato chips, but still. It became "food without breaks" and I'm angry with myself for succumbing to that! Dinner was a delicious pork prime roast with homemade apple sauce and a sweet potato. I kept my portions small, but I really should have skipped the meal altogether. I definitely wasn't hungry after the pate.

 

Today is all about breaking that pesky habit of eating out of boredom. I'm going to listen to my body, and prepare a nice healthy meal when I'm HUNGRY, not just because I feel like it's time to eat. 

 

I also have my first big obstacle today: the holiday party. We're going to an awesome new restaurant that will be serving heavy hors d'oeuvres and, of course, plenty of drinks. I'm planning to eat a small meal beforehand so I'm not hungry while I'm there, and hopefully finding SOMETHING that is compliant. We'll see how the husband handles this situation. I'll be super proud of him if he sticks to it while literally being surrounded by off-plan food! The great thing is that we're a very small company and I'm close with my coworkers, so they're all very aware (and supportive) of my Whole30.

 

Today's WOD: 30 second plank, 20 minutes pilates

 

Day 7 Win: On my first W30, I had a few big, cystic breakouts on my cheeks around this same time, and I noticed one starting to form under the skin yesterday morning. I resisted my usual urge to constantly touch and mess with it, and instead used a hot compress throughout the day. Today, it's nonexistent! All the little bumps on my face are gone now, and my chest/back are smoothing out as well!

[mokiki]

TGIF, W45 Day 9!

 

I successfully navigated the holiday party!

 

Michael and I didn't have much time to make dinner before we left, so we just cooked off a bunch of chicken legs and ate them like savages with our hands.  I finished it off with an apple, and was nice and full by the time we got to the party. None of the food even looked appetizing to me -- win! I was able to keep my glass filled with my go-to club soda and lime all night, and didn't miss the cocktails (well, until everyone else was 4 drinks in and I started feeling super lame and bored). Michael resisted all temptation for food (woohoo!), but definitely surpassed his 3-drink-maximum. This morning, he woke up with a pounding headache, and I woke up feeling awesome and refreshed.... I even went to a 7am yoga class to start the day. Double win! 

 

The only downside is that I drank WAY too much water during the party (probably 8-10 cups in a 3 hour span), and was up several times throughout the night to go to the bathroom... Oops. Even so, I slept great otherwise and am ready to conquer my last day of work before a mini vacation!

 

Today's WOD: 10 burpees, 1 hour yoga, 20 minutes pilates (inner thigh focus), headstand work

 

Day 8 Win: I'm really impressed with my willpower from the holiday party! It was much easier than I expected and I'm feeling like I can handle just about anything. Hopefully it keeps up!

[mokiki]

W45 Day 10!

Yesterday was fairly uneventful. I had to grab a lara bar for a quick breakfast after yoga, and lunch was a frittata over mixed greens with a little elk pate (we obviously made a huge batch). Neither of us were in the mood to cook dinner after work, so we went to one of our favorite restaurants, that happens to be fairly paleo-friendly these days. There were several options on the menu that we could easily make compliant, and I went for roasted spaghetti squash with sauteed kale and chimichurri sauce. Other than the fact that it was absolutely swimming in olive oil, it was pretty delicious! Michael, on the other hand, decided not to go for any of the compliant options because none of it looked good to him. Instead he had duck tacos (including the flour tortillas and sour cream), and drank a beer. Oh well.

Now, I'm getting ready for my first attempt at traveling on the W30! I'm going back home to Georgia for 5 days, and am pretty confident that I can stay compliant the whole time. My mom and I did our first W30 together in August, and she's been eating paleo ever since, so she obviously knows the drill and has the house stocked for me with plenty of compliant foods. We will be going out for a nice meal to celebrate my dad's birthday, but it sounds like it will be a steak restaurant, and that should be fairly simple to manage. When it comes to seeing friends, they already know about my W30 experience and are in healthy places themselves, so I don't think there will be much temptation to indulge. We'll see!

However.... there is one thing. Thanks to a completely full flight when we booked my trip, I'm flying first class today! How fancy! I'll be flying coach on a crappier airline on the way back (sorry United), but today will be first class on Delta -- nice and luxurious. The 3 hour flight does include a meal for us important first class folks, but I'm bringing Primal Pacs because I figure they won't have a "paleo option" for the meal. Honestly though, if I want a glass of wine on the plane, I'm going to have one. Why not? Nothing counts in airspace. Besides, I'm on Day 10 of Whole45 -- That means I have 35 days left. I'll still have a completely compliant 30 days even with this exception. So, if I get on the plane and realize that I don't even want the wine, fantastic. But if I do, I'm going to sip it slowly and enjoy the heck out of it with zero guilt. Then it'll be nothing be water and kombucha for the next 35 days!

Today's WOD: rest day

Day 9 Win: Zero snacking! I actually spent the majority of the day NOT thinking about food.

[mokiki]

W45 Day 11!

I could also call this W35 Day 1, but I'm not going to do that.

My flight yesterday was really enjoyable... If only I could fly first class all the time! The lunch they served was "spinach and arugula salad with chicken," so I went ahead and ordered it... Turns out the chicken was breaded, and of course all the dressings had sugar. At this point it was too late to just say "nevermind," because it was sitting all nicely on my tray with a mini tablecloth and everything, so I ate what I could. I used a small amount of the least-offensive dressing (balsamic vinaigrette), and ate a little bit of the chicken. And oh yeah, I had a glass of red wine as well. The salad was NOT worth the cheat, but the wine definitely was! It was really nice to sit and read my book and slowly enjoy a glass of wine. So there, I did it, and I don't regret it!

When I got to my parents house, we had stone crab for dinner with mustard and homemade mayo for dipping, with roasted sweet potatoes and a kale salad. I would have loved to partake in the wine, but I enjoyed some home brewed kombucha instead.

Today's WOD: rest day

Day 10 Win: Although my travel day wasn't perfect, it was still leaps and bounds better than what it would normally entail (fast food, beer, chips/candy, more beer, more fast food), so I'm happy!

[mokiki]

W45 Day 12!

My trip has been pretty quiet so far, but I've stayed compliant since I've been here... Today is my day to visit with friends, so we'll see how that changes things!

Today's WOD: unplanned rest day. Ugh!

Day 11 Win: It's that time of the month, and no side effects to be found! Not even a breakout (yet).

[Chocoholic382]

Day 11 Win: It's that time of the month, and no side effects to be found! Not even a breakout (yet).

 

I am extremely jealous and will be thinking of you with envy in approximately 4-5 days.   Congrats!

[mokiki]

W45 Day 13!

Yesterday was a slight fail.

Breakfast was a hard boiled egg with sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and smoked salmon. I met a friend for lunch and had a salad (probably some sugar in the dressing), and had a primal pac as a mid-afternoon snack. I made another quick snack of chicken with sweet potato hummus before going to a friend's house for the football game. I didn't know what dinner was going to be, so I didn't want to be starving!

Once I got to Atlanta, I realized that dinner was some incredible pork tacos... The host worked hard on the meal and didn't set out silverware since tacos are a finger food, so I made myself a taco with a small corn tortilla and all. It was wonderful, and I don't care. So there! I did skip the cheese, so it wasn't a total loss.

Day 12 Win: Still just feeling better overall than I would this time of the month normally. I do have a new breakout on my right cheek, but I've been using new moisturizer, so that could be the culprit. Who knows!

[mokiki]

W30 Day 1.....

 

I really handled myself well for my entire trip, until it was time to head back to Colorado on Wednesday. I even tried to prepare for the worst... I had to get to the Atlanta airport very early in the AM, so I brought a hard boiled egg, smoked salmon, dried mangoes and pecans for breakfast, and 2 primal pacs for emergency snacks. Well, I'll spare the details, but after a delayed flight, missed connecting flight, and an unplanned long layover in Denver, I broke. I had a beer ("would you like the regular glass or large glass?" "large, please."). OK, maybe I also had some wine on the plane... It was free because of the delay. By the time I finally got to Denver, I was STARVING and just craved a warm meal, so I ordered a veggie cheese steak, no cheese, no bun. I did munch on a few of the french fries that came with it, but other than that, stayed strong.

 

After lunch, I still had a while before it was time to board my next flight, so I stopped at the wine bar for, you guessed it, more wine. Whatever, it helped pass the time. After another flight and a 2 hour shuttle ride, I was finally home! It was dinner time, and Michael had to leave for a work trip to Salt Lake City the next morning, so he wanted to take me out to eat. We sat at the bar at one of the nicer restaurants in town, and a friend was bartending, and although it'd been a few hours since I had anything to drink, my willpower was definitely off. So I had a flatliner martini, charcuterie plate, a few bites of Michael's steak, and foie gras. It wouldn't have been that bad if I didn't get the dairy-filled martini... but I did. And I slept HORRIBLE, woke up exhausted, didn't feel like cooking a thing, and had a ham and cheese croissant for breakfast. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! 

 

So, today is Day 1. I'm brushing myself off and committing myself completely to these next 30 days, because I know how great it makes me feel. I also know how badly it makes me feel to eat (and drink) horribly, but for some reason that isn't enough to keep me from doing it anyway -- so it's time to break some bad habits and really focus on starting new, healthy habits!

 

Of course I'm starting off with another obstacle -- my best friend is coming to visit today for a long weekend. I've already told her I won't be drinking, and her response was along the lines of, "you have to have a celebratory drink with me" and, "just champagne or wine, it'll be fine" and, "I can't believe how difficult you're being." So, it's a far cry from my supportive coworkers at the holiday party saying things like, "good for you, that takes some serious dedication."

 

Wish me luck...

[mokiki]

The weekend was a mess! I stayed compliant food-wise for the most part, but did partake in some drinking while my friend was in town. At least I did tons of skiing? 

 

Starting fresh today. 

[mokiki]

Just over 2 years after embarking on my first Whole30, I'm back!

 

Happy Day 1! 

 

I loved reading over all of my posts with the successes and failures of my first and second Whole30s. This go-round is the same time of year as my first, with plenty of fresh produce, farmers markets, and very few major obstacles. 

 

A lot has changed in the past 2 years, and although I've maintained some good healthy habits, the bad habits have started to creep back in as well. My weight reached an all-time high this past April (thanks to several factors - divorce, hormonal issues, etc), but I've managed to take the majority of it off this summer. After a few weeks of "falling off the wagon," the W30 should be just what I need to get me over my plateau. 

 

I took my weight and measurements this morning, and vow to stay off the scale until August 31 (I've been a chronic scale addict these days). This month is also a good time to refocus and better myself in other areas of my life, so I've set goals in every aspect of the "Whole9 Life":

Nutrition: Obviously follow the W30, cook at least 5 dinners at home/week, drink at least 3000mL of water/day
Sleep: No screens 1 hour before bed and NO snoozing in the mornings
Training: Follow my Nike+ 10k program, paddle at least once/week
Stress Management: Do 30 minutes of yoga every day
Socialization: Get together with friends at least once/week
Natural Environment: Spend 30 minutes outdoors daily
Personal Growth: READ and study French daily
Fun & Play: Less screen time overall
Temperance: Stay focused throughout the day, and use NO social media, unless W30 related.

My plan is to revisit these goals every morning as a reminder, and use them as an outline for my posts. I'll continue posting my "wins" and workouts from the day before as well. 

 

Let's do this!
 

[mokiki]

Day 2! 

 

If every day goes like yesterday, I'll be in great shape for this month. 

 

It was a hectic day at work, which would usually lead to some serious snacking, but I am doing my best to stick to the "3 meals only" rule. With the exception of some dried figs when I started to crash at the end of the day, I held strong! 

 

At home, I made myself a tasty mocktail while fixing supper (almond crusted salmon with spinach and tomatoes), then ended the day with a cup of tea. Other than feeling a little uncomfortable (stomach) after supper, no side effects to speak of yet. 

 

Day 1 Workout: Rest day, 30 minutes yoga on the deck

Day 1 Win: Already feeling like I'm taking great care of myself, mind, body and soul. This is going to be a great month! 

[mokiki]

Day 3! 

 

It's possible that I've entered the "Kill all the things" phase. I just haven't really been in a great mood. Hopefully I perk up a bit! I was also feeling very "off" on my run yesterday. 

 

Aside from that, everything is going well. I'm enjoying starting my days with yoga, and being less connected to social media. I had a long day at work yesterday and was a little unprepared, but I had some prosciutto with olives for lunch (yum!), which perked me right up! I depended heavily on Larabars on my first Whole30, and I'm going to try to avoid them the best I can for this one. Too much of a "candy bar" effect. 

 

Today I'll be getting my big grocery delivery, so I'm looking forward to stocking the freezer with local meats and having a fridge FILLED with veggies!

 

Day 2 Workout: 4 mile run that turned into a nearly 5 mile trail adventure, 30 minutes yoga

Day 2 Win: After (unexpectedly) working into the evening, my usual response is to scrap my homemade dinner plans and pick up a pizza. I resisted the urge, and instead came home and whipped up basil meatballs with almond butter sauce and some sautéed spinach. The boyfriend enjoyed it, and I'll get to have leftovers for lunch!