Erin's Whole90

[eelopez]

Okay, so I’ve decided to do another Whole30, this time for ninety days. I did one last year and the changes I saw and felt were amazing. I slept better, my eczema on my hands and arms cleared up, I lost weight (no clue how much since I didn’t have a scale at the beginning), and my acne started to go away. Overall I felt fantastic but there was one problem, I wasn’t ready to go off plan and thus my I completely failed at reintroductions. I didn’t binge, but I wasn’t careful about not mixing dairy, grains, and soy. For a while I thought my eczema was caused by dairy until having Chinese food a few months ago (and getting a flare up that night) so now I’m sure soy’s the problem.

 

Other than failing at the reintroduction phase, I ate pretty well for a few months after my initial Whole30. I was feeling pretty good as long as I stayed within the meal template. Then Halloween happened. Let me tell you, those “fun sized” candy bars are anything but fun. My sugar dragon came roaring back as I snuck handfuls of candy during my daughters’ nap time. It was awful. I felt awful. Soon I slipped right back into my bad habits until the end of the holiday season. Afterwards I bounced between being “good” and “not so good” for the first half of 2015.

 

In general I’m healthier than I was last year. I don’t eat as much dairy or grains but my on plan/off plan ratio is closer to 50/50 rather than 90/10. If/when we go out to eat I don’t even try to make better choices. Physically I’m not doing all that great because I’m bloated, my arms and hands itch, my acne is slowly getting worse, and I’m also tired and cranky because my sugar/chocolate dragon is breathing hot and heavy. I just want to be at that good place I was at last year and I need to make the change now.

 

Starting August 10^th I’m doing it all again. My sister is visiting through July and it’ll just be easier to start after she goes home and my routine goes back to normal. I’m also extending it to ninety days. I want to be sure this time, when it is all done, that I can get back on track after I choose to indulge. I also wanted to get through Halloween because those fun sized candy bars will have nothing on me this year!

 

There’s also another aspect I want to track this time around, and that is my writing. I’m a writer and the first time I did a Whole30, the desire to write completely left me. I’m not talking about writer’s block,(I’ve dealt with that before) but the actual want and need to write. It was the first time, since discovering I wanted to be a writer, that I kind have had a “meh” feeling about writing. It was incredibly scary. I’m not sure if it was a weird side effect of the Whole30 or if it was because we were getting ready to move I was pretty stressed out. Either way, it’s something I want to track along with my food and fitness.

 

[eelopez]

Day 1 and 2:

 

Measurements pre-whole90:

 

Weight: 170 lbs

 

Body Fat: 38%

 

Day 1 meals:

M1: Sausage and sweet potato

M2: Kitchen sink scrambled eggs and a peach

M3: Pulled pork over spinach and some watermelon

 

Day 2 meals:

M1: Pulled pork scrambled eggs and watermelon/cantaloupe

M2: Pulled pork over spinach and veggies plus a dill pickle

M3: (planned) Turkey Meatballs and fresh veggies (I’m thinking salad)

 

It’s here! I’m officially on my Whole90! So far this one has started out easier than my last one. For one thing, I have a ton of whole30 approved recipes so whipping up a weekly menu has been a cinch. Also, I’ve incorporated prep days into my weekly routine. I make a meal or two (usually a main dish and a soup) to store in the fridge as left overs to grab for breakfast and lunch. It takes a bit more work and planning, but at least I have to food when I need it.

 

The hard part, of course, is taming the sugar dragon. Yesterday I was in a check-out line and glanced over the candy bars and chocolates. Oh my, it look so good! It took a few minutes to remember that I was on my Whole90 and needed to distract myself. I focused on the trinkets and calendars right next to me, but still, I could feel the chocolate’s pull before it was my turn at the cash register. How did this happen to me? I’d broken away from chocolate before and yet it always pulls me back. Even on stress-free days my palms itch for my secreted stash until I remind myself that I got rid of it all. I swear, If chocolate was a bone-fide drug then I’d be in and out of rehab every couple of months.

 

So, what about my writing? Well, to be completely honest, yesterday I got nothing done because I was being 100% lazy. I puttered around, watched TV, and then used my writing time to crochet. Not today, though. After I’m done here, I’ll be pulling up Scrivener (my word processor) and figuring out my mess of a novel. I have some serious outlining issues and scenes to rearrange. The good news is my unproductivity comes from me and not my diet.

 

Till next time!

[eelopez]

Day 3:

 

M1: Sausage and grated sweet potato

Snack: Banana and almond butter (didn't eat enough for M1 and needed to run out the door)

M2: Left over turkey meatballs, spinach salad w/ pesto dressing

M3: Spicy tuna cakes, jicama home fries, and melon

 

Today I actually felt very energized and upbeat. I know that's odd for day 3, but I think it's because my eating habits before I started were closer to Whole30 so my transition so far hasn't been so bad. I also remember last time, my "KILL ALL THE THINGS" phase happened around day 7, so maybe I'm just a bit odd anyway. Either way, I've felt good today, a bit lighter and well, joyful. It just felt good to be doing stuff.

 

Our first CSA box came in today. We got a bunch of tomatoes, some cucumbers, peppers and three different types of melons. I don't think I've ever had farm fresh melons before, but let me tell you, they were delicious! H, our two year old, loved them and I think she ate her weight in them. Z, our four year old, wasn't too impressed, but still she had a few bites. I think tomorrow I'll try and roast all the tomatoes we got with some olive oil and seasonings. I'm not a big tomato fan but I wonder if I ate farm fresh ones if it would be different. Guess we'll see.

 

Tonight I had a bit of a "temptation". I help run a church girl's youth group and we had an ice cream social with a full ice cream bar. Ice cream is one of my favorite desserts (especially if it comes with a brownie and hot fudge). Naturally I wanted to indulge (I've been so good these three days and I deserve a treat, right?), but I just told myself "no" and focused on talking to the other leaders and girls. The oldest leader, a cute, grandmotherly lady, did ask how I managed to not eat a sundae when everyone else was having a bowl. I just smiled and explained that dairy gives me digestive issues and I don't indulge in ice cream unless it's a very special occasion or worth the trouble. She nodded, seemed to understand, and then we went on to other topics. It was very interesting because just before she asked me she said that she had saved up her carbs today so she could have ice cream! I have no idea what type of program she's doing but I guess it's working for her because she's in her eighties and does yoga on a daily basis. Actually, I've always thought I'd want to age like her because she's always so energetic and happy.

 

Well, that's all for now.

[eelopez]

Day 4

 

M1: Tuna cakes (fried in coconut oil) and pear slices

M2: Pig in a skillet (pulled pork and fried eggs) and melon slices

M3: Chocolate chili over a sweet potato and topped with avocado (so yummy!)

 

"KILL ALL THE THINGS" Day is here, expect not really. Today was a rough and bumpy day but not because I was just plain annoyed with everything. Z woke up vomiting in the early morning and after getting her back to bed she asked if I would stay with her. How could I say no? So I told her to scootch over and tried to get comfortable enough to sleep. It didn't work because she tossed and turned or had to get up again because she was sick, poor girl. There was not much for me to do other than hold her hair back and let her watch Frozen and a zillion episodes of My Little Pony. At least by dinner time she was feeling good again and even asked for seconds of dinner (that never happens).

 

Other than that I also had to deal with my very-much-two-year-old. There was lots of screaming from her today because she's recently discovered the word "MINE." I'll leave you to imagine the rest. She can be cute as a button but we had about five tantrums today because I wouldn't let her have a pen, let her drink from her sister's water bottle or hold her all day long. Needless to say I took a lot of deep breaths and thought about eating those homemade cookies my friend brought over (for the record, my friend has no idea what I'm doing and so it really was a nice gesture on her part). Thankfully I only had a twinge of that particular thought and then was able to push it away.

 

Because of sick kid I wasn't able to exercise. I admit that I missed it but I'm also glad I was there for Z and we got some snuggle time this morning, even if she wasn't feeling good. Some times I worry I don't pay her enough attention with her little sister clinging to me all the time. I do try to make time for her but I wonder if it's enough. What I'd really like to do is go on a mommy/daughter date with her. I think she needs it. Life has been a bit hectic lately, but maybe it's always been that way and I'm just now noticing it. The busyness of life just creeps up on a person, you know? It's like you don't notice the burdens being placed on you until you're staring at a huge to-do list and wonder how you're going to fit everything in.

 

On the bright side, I did get some writing/editing done today. Read through the first scene and a half of my novel and made some changes. Honestly, those first few scenes are the most heavily edited of my novel, so of course it went quicker than usual. However, I took a little over a month off from writing when my sister came to visit and decided to start at the beginning to get my mind back in the right tone. Before my sister came I submitted a short story to a contest. It was a race for me to finish before she arrived because I new that I would not have time to write once she was here. We were running around too much and I wasn't eating well enough to keep up with the demands of writing and socializing. I'm such a crazy introvert that I was utterly spent by the end of the day and watched a lot of TV instead. Funny enough, sometimes even watching TV made me tense because it still felt too much like having social interaction. I just couldn't take the extra drama!

 

Well, till next time. 

[eelopez]

Day 5

 

M0.5: Two meatballs, banana and almond butter

M1: Tuna cakes and pear slices

M2: Pulled pork with cabbage and green salad with avocado oil

M2.5: 1/2 larabar, banana with almond butter

M3: Chocolate chili over sweet potato with avocado

 

Okay, so my meals look really weird today, but it did work out. You see, on Fridays my husband works from home and he gets to sleep in. I woke up a good hour and a half before him and decided to have a small "breakfast" before having our main breakfast together. Afterwards I exercised, which felt good after not doing much activity yesterday.

 

The Larabar/second banana snack was left over from my two year old's snack. Right after I pealed the banana she decided she didn't want it any more and so I ate it instead of throwing it away, same goes for the Larabar. It really did all work out because my husband and I went on a surprise date night/hike tonight and we didn't eat until we got back since neither of us was hungry. Overall I've had an incredibly active day so I'm glad I ate more. 

 

Since Z was 100% better today I decided to go out and do some fun stuff with the girls. It's been a long week and I figured we all deserved some enjoyment. I took them to this nature preserve that has a small farm on it. We could feed the cows, sheep, goats, and pigs lettuce or celery so I brought a whole bunch of celery stocks with me. Z loved feeding the goats and sheep but not the cows so much because they had huge tongues and that freaked her out a bit. After that we went to their little museum with info about the area before going a small hike to the lake. The lake was more like a pond because of the drought here in CA. Z had fun picking up sticks for her "collection" and H sang songs while we walked.

 

As for writing, I did really good today. Got through another scene although I'm not sure about the dialogue between two characters. I'm worried it might sound forced or out of character. I'll just need to let it rest a while before I go back to that section. I have to say, though, it felt good to write today.

 

Till tomorrow.