Janine's Whole30 Log

[Janine Costanzo]

I've been eating mostly Paleo for about 4 months now. I've been gluten-free for all of that time, and other grains- and legumes-free for about the last month of that time (I did cheat during my birthday in July, though).

I haven't cut out added sugars or dairy yet, though I did stop drinking milk. Cheese, on the other hand...I love cheese.

And I do go out to eat a lot, so I'm sure I eat lots of stuff I shouldn't eat in the food I order, even if it seems okay on the surface (cooked in soybean oil, sugars in sauces and dressings, etc.).

A side effect of doing the Whole30 will be that I don't go out to eat nearly as much, since thinking about how difficult it'll be to keep to the plan at restaurants is very daunting. Especially since I eat at ethnic restaurants a lot (Mexican, Thai, Indian, Vietamese, etc.), where asking questions about how the food is prepared can be difficult due to the language barrier. I'm looking forward to saving money, even if it does mean I have to think about preparing lunch to bring to work with me.

My other Whole30 goals/desires:

1. I want to lose the small amount of fat that I have around my midsection (i.e. the lovehandles and the belly), or at least decrease it.

2. I want to learn to slow down when eating so I have time to feel full, and not get seconds just because I want more (as opposed to still being hungry).

3. I'm hoping that maybe my chronic neck, shoulder, and upper back pain will lessen during this program.

4. I want to wake up more easily and not be so tired in the mornings.

4. I want to experiment with new recipes and learn to cook more delcious, healthy things!

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Anyway, today was my first day of the Whole30! Here's what I ate:

* Brunch (I wasn't awake at breakfast) - Three scrambled, pastured eggs topped with mushrooms and onions cooked in olive oil. Sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, avocado, and raspberries on the side.

* Snack - Canned salmon and unsweetened apple sauce.

* Dinner - Grass-fed ground beef, squash, peppers, onions, and garlic in tomato sauce over zoodles (zuchinni sliced into noodles). Side of leftover Asian Cauliflower Fried Rice (with chicken instead of bacon and carrots instead of mushrooms).

I'm going to try to take pictures of everything I eat and include them with my write-ups.

[Derval]

Great goals and nice first day! Have a wonderful 30!

[Janine Costanzo]

I didn't get to post last night, but here's what I ate on Day 2! (Pictures are links to Facebook now, since apparently there's a very limited amount of space for uploads on here.)

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach, half an avocado, some blueberries.

* Lunch - From Chipotle - carnitas over lettuce with pico de gallo and guacamole.

* Dinner - From Texas Roadhouse - dry-grilled, plain 8oz sirloin steak, plain sweet potato with ghee, steamed broccoli and carrots.

* Snack - Couple of pieces of cantaloupe.

Still going strong and feeling just fine!

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 3! I did notice today that the fish oil+vitamin D supplement I'm taking has glycerin in it. I've read mixed things on the forums about whether this is okay or not. I decided to just go ahead and buy the Stronger Faster Healthier fish oil, since I know it's fine, and I'll look for a separate vitamin D supplement (if anyone has any suggestions, let me know!).

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach, half an avocado, some blueberries.

* Lunch - Leftover zoodle sauce (grass-fed ground beef, squash, peppers, onions, and garlic in tomato sauce), half an apple.

* Dinner - Two salmon and sweet potato cakes, side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

* Snack - Unsweetened applesauce with mixed berries.

* Snack - Some berries.

[pinkdiamonds]

Day's 2 lunch looks SO YUMMY!

[Janine Costanzo]

It was! I miss getting steak, cheese, and sour cream like I used to, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm just glad there's something I can get there...I was saddened when I read here that all of the meat (except the carnitas) and the fajita veggies are cooked in soybean oil!

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 4! Still feeling good.

Today I made an extra effort to not eat so much fruit, especially as snacks. I think I did well.

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach and artichoke/garlic chicken sausage, half an avocado.

* Lunch - Two leftover salmon and sweet potato cakes, side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots topped with ghee.

* Snack - Package of roasted seaweed.

* Dinner - Grass-fed beef burger with tomato and avocado dipped in a mixture of homemade ketchup and mayo. Side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, strawberries, olives, avocado, and canned salmon, all topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

[pinkdiamonds]

Someone once sent me the package of seaweed, but it was Wasabi flavour. I almost died. I gave it to my co-worker. I'm such a hot/spicy wimp.

[Janine Costanzo]

I love the wasabi-flavored seaweed! But I decided to stick with the plain kind this time.

Day 5, and still going strong. After dinner tonight I got really tired, so I'm going to go to bed after posting this. I can't be sure if this is due to the diet changes or if it's because I only got about 5 hours of sleep last night. Either way, early night for me.

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach and half of an artichoke/garlic chicken sausage. Side of mushrooms and half an avocado.

* Lunch - Leftover grass-fed beef burger dipped in a mixture of homemade ketchup and mayo. Side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, strawberries, olives, and canned salmon, all topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

* Dinner - From Chipotle - carnitas over lettuce with pico de gallo and guacamole.

I avoided snacking today. I'm trying not to snack during the 3-5 PM period, which is when I usually feel like I want something to munch on. I'm not convinced that I'm really hungry--I think it's just habit. We'll see if I can break myself of it. I might just include whatever snack I would have wanted with my lunch instead (e.g. olives, roasted seaweed, canned fish, etc.), so it'll be more filling and hopefully I can last all the way until dinner.

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 6 is done! Today I added olives to my lunch, and I didn't get hungry a few hours later like I used to. Yay for extra fat!

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach. Side of mushrooms and zucchini and half an avocado.

* Lunch - Two leftover salmon and sweet potato cakes, side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots topped with ghee, and a handful of olives.

* Dinner - Grass-fed ground beef and broccoli frittata. I combined that recipe with the one in ISWF (in particular, I used the ingredient amounts from the ISWF recipe so it'd be bigger).

[pinkdiamonds]

Good job on staying on plan, Janine. Again, day five's dinner looks tasty.

I love olives. I can eat them all day. Normally, I would portion out six large olives for a serving, but on this plan, I've been portioning out 1/2-c. In fact, I have some for lunch today along with my chicken. I have to pick up some sort of veggie at lunch to add to my meal.

[Janine Costanzo]

I'm going to have olives with my lunch again today too! It helped to keep me full longer. And yes, I love olives too--I'm glad they're a healthy option!

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 7 was yesterday...I made it through a whole week, yay! My boyfriend (who is doing the Whole30 with me) also made it through the week.

Last night was my first food-related dream. I dreamed that I was given rice and corn as a side on a dish, and I started eating the rice before I remembered I wasn't supposed to have it. And then later in the dream I ate more rice. I remember thinking to myself that I didn't have much, so I probably could still keep doing the Whole30 without starting over...and I felt guilty and like I was cheating. I'm glad it wasn't real!

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy. Side of mushrooms and spinach and half an avocado.

* Lunch - Shrimp and asparagus with a lemon-ghee-garlic sauce, side of olives.

* Dinner - Leftover grass-fed ground beef and broccoli frittata, dipped in some tomato sauce (not pictured). Side of mixed berry applesauce.

[pinkdiamonds]

LOL @ the dream. I've yet to have a food dream.

[Aberrantatavia]

Nice job making it through the first week!

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 8 went well too. I went to a party in the evening and resisted the temptation of delicious-smelling pizza. There were tons of snacks and booze, but the only thing I ate was a little bit of fruit.

Also, this was the first time I'd made spaghetti squash, and it was delicious! I almost like it more than pasta.

* Breakfast - One pastured egg scrambled with zucchini and mushrooms. Side of half of an artichoke/garlic chicken sausage and half an avocado.

* Lunch - Two leftover salmon and sweet potato cakes, side of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots topped with ghee, and handful of olives.

* Dinner - Spaghetti squash topped with a grass-fed ground beef tomato sauce with broccoli, zucchini, peppers, squash, carrots, onions, and garlic in it.

* Snack - Some melon, plus a strawberry and some blueberries (not pictured).

[Janine Costanzo]

And day 9 is a wrap! We did our meal planning and grocery shopping for the week today. Farmers' market and Whole Foods and Lucky. Plus lots of cooking (mmm slow cooker chicken!). But it felt productive at least!

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs scrambled with mushrooms, spinach, and half of an artichoke/garlic chicken sausage. Side of half an avocado.

* Lunch - Grass-fed beef burger with avocado dipped in a mixture of homemade ketchup and mayo. Side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, strawberries, olives, avocado, and canned salmon, all topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

* Dinner - Slow cooker roast pastured chicken and gravy, side of sweet potato with ghee and cinnamon.

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 10! I was hungrier today than usual. I'm not sure why--I ate the same amounts/types of foods I have been eating. I tried not to snack too much. I'm really hungry right now, but I'm going to go to bed instead of snacking, since it's bedtime anyway.

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs scrambled with mushrooms and spinach. Side of half an avocado.

* Lunch - Shrimp and asparagus with a lemon-ghee-garlic sauce. Side of olives and mixed berry unsweetened apple sauce (not pictured).

* Snack - Package of roasted seaweed.

* Dinner - Leftover spaghetti squash topped with a grass-fed ground beef tomato sauce with broccoli, zucchini, peppers, squash, carrots, onions, and garlic in it.

Made it through one third of the Whole30!

[maggief]

Love your posts! Keep up the great work

[Janine Costanzo]

Thanks!

I didn't have time to post last night, so here's the logs for both yesterday and today. I'm feeling less hungry between meals now, which is good. I'm also going to be slow cooking beef bone broth overnight tonight, which should be exciting! I'm not sure what I'll make with it yet, though I think I'll try one of the soup recipes in ISWF.

Oh, and today after lunch I was reading something and mindlessly pulled out the packet of Listerine breath strips that I have in my purse. I got so far as opening it before I realized what I was doing. It was weird because I haven't done that yet during my Whole30, but I guess the routine is still ingrained in me!

Day 11

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs scrambled with zucchini and spinach. Side of half of a sun-dried tomato chicken sausage and half an avocado.

* Lunch - Salad with mixed greens, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, avocado, egg, and canned salmon. Topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

* Dinner - Grass-fed beef burger and grass-fed beef hot dog with tomato and avocado dipped in a mixture of homemade ketchup and mayo. Side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, strawberries, olives, avocado, and canned salmon, all topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Day 12

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach. Side of onions, mushrooms, and zucchini, plus half of a sun-dried tomato chicken sausage and half an avocado.

* Lunch - Thai green curry with chicken, broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, onions, peppers, and sweet potatoes.

* Snack - Package of roasted seaweed.

* Dinner - Leftover slow cooker roast pastured chicken and gravy and side salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, strawberries, olives, and avocado topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Side of garlic cauliflower "mashed potatoes" (with ghee instead of butter), also topped with gravy.

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 13! Today felt good. My bone broth came out well and is in the fridge, ready for me to figure out something to make with it (probably the beef taco soup recipe in ISWF). I'm still tired though. I'm waiting for the extra energy part of eating well to kick in.

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs over-easy with spinach. Side of onions, mushrooms, and zucchini and half an avocado.

* Lunch - From Chipotle - carnitas over lettuce with pico de gallo and guacamole.

* Snack - Mixed berry unsweetened applesauce.

* Dinner - Wild-caught salmon over peppers and topped with a pastured over-easy egg. Sides of olives, mixed vegetables (broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, onions, peppers), and leftover garlic cauliflower "mashed potatoes" with gravy. Olive oil drizzled over everything.

[Janine Costanzo]

And Day 14 is done! I felt well fed today. It was nice. I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Oh, and after I scraped the fat off the top of my bone broth, it was nice and Jell-O like, just like it's supposed to be. I can't wait to try some.

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs scrambled with zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and spinach. Side of half of an avocado.

* Lunch - Leftover Thai green curry with organic chicken, broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, onions, peppers, and sweet potatoes.

* Dinner - Stir fry with grass-fed ground beef, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach, and leftover spaghetti squash noodles.

* Snack - Unsweetened applesauce.

[Derval]

Well done on broth success.

[Janine Costanzo]

Thanks Derval! I think we might make the beef taco soup from ISWF tomorrow for dinner using the bone broth. I can't wait to try it.

Day 15 is done--halfway there! We made the mocha rub that's in ISWF for our steaks tonight. It turned out pretty good, though a little pepper-y for my tastes. It was really good when dipped in the chicken gravy, though. I've found that most things are really good with that gravy. There's still some left, but I might have to make another chicken in the slow cooker just to get more of that gravy...mmm.

* Breakfast - Half of an avocado and some berries.

* Lunch - Leftover Thai green curry with organic chicken, broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, onions, peppers, and sweet potatoes. Side salad with mixed greens, olives, canned salmon, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

* Dinner - Grass-fed sirloin steak with mocha rub (recipe from "It Starts With Food") and dipped in leftover chicken gravy. Side of sweet potato with ghee and cinnamon and asparagus with leftover chicken gravy.

* Snack - Mixed raw vegetables dipped in guacamole, plus a banana.

[Janine Costanzo]

Day 16 completed! I finally made use of the bone broth that I had made last week--it was yummy in the beef taco soup!

I've tried to get enough sleep this weekend (about 8 hours both Friday night and Saturday night). I've been feeling more rested during the day. Hopefully I can keep that up during the upcoming week!

* Breakfast - Two pastured eggs scrambled with onions, mushrooms, and spinach. Side of half of a sun-dried tomato chicken sausage and half of an avocado.

* Lunch - From Chipotle - carnitas over lettuce with pico de gallo and guacamole.

* Snack - Mixed berry unsweetened applesauce.

* Dinner - Beef taco soup (recipe from ISWF) made from homemade broth (from grass-fed beef bones), grass-fed ground beef, zucchini, peppers, and onions. Topped with avocado, cilantro, and a little lime juice.