Whole30 Round 2 - Go! (10/13)

[shii]

My first one made me feel so darn good, I want to keep it going! In the meantime, besides a two-day baklava/Greek food binge, I've been pretty darn compliant. However, I think another 30 days of strict no soy, no legumes, no dairy, no grains, and no added sugar will help me a lot! (yes, I know it's no alcohol too, but that hasn't been an issue.) 

 

Day 1: (10/13)

 

M1: 1/6 of a 9"x13" pan of egg and veggie casserole. Ingredients: 1lb ground pork, curry powder (compliant), garam masala (compliant), half a yellow onion, 5 spring onions, avocado oil, 1/2 can coconut milk (5oz? 6?) 1 zucchini, 1 red bell pepper, red cabbage, purple and yellow carrot medallions (about 5 carrots of varying sizes in total), 1 lebanese/mexican grey squash, and maybe some other veggie I'm forgetting. Oh, and 14 eggs and a bit of water.

 

M2: Salad! today's offering: diced chicken breast and pulled pork w/onions, red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, carrot medallions, diced red/yellow/orange peppers, thinly sliced radishes, spring onions, red cabbage, and broccoli. Topped with olive oil, garlic powder, and Old Bay seasoning.

 

M3: Needed comfort food. 8 eggs, pulled pork w/onions, more fresh onions, fresh garlic, more vegetables (squash, 2/3 a jeweled sweet potato shredded, 1 green bell pepper), all sauteed together in a big scramble. Had at least 3, 4 cups of it. A banana afterward.

[shii]

Day 2 (10/14):

M1: Leftover egg, veggie, and meat scramble from last night, with two new fried eggs on top of it. (I love the runny yolks.)

M2: Salad! Once again diced chicken breast (definitely at least a palm) and a bit of pulled pork. (Love that stuff.) Red leaf lettuce, yellow/orange/red diced bell pepper, broccoli, spring onions, red cabbage, rainbow carrot medallions, cucumber, and tomato; topped with olive oil, garlic powder, and steak seasoning (compliant).

M3: Chicken, potato, onion, and cauliflower soup. Made in the crock pot - dice a large white onion, lay in 3 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, add some celery salt and diced garlic (and a titch of garlic powder as I didn't feel I had enough), and fill the pot halfway with water. Cook on low in the crock pot for 6 hours; shred the chicken, slice the potatoes and cauliflower, add the veggies into the pot, add more water, add spices (italian seasoning and red pepper flakes, along with some salt, pepper, and paprika), and cook on low in the crock pot for another 3 hours. Delicious. Had at least 2 cups.

Was a bit hungry after dinner but ignored it - I don't think it was hunger per se as much as wanting a piece of fruit or something. I did consume a lot of fruit this past weekend on a camping trip, so I need to get my sugar dragon back in its cave. For me, I want fruit to be a "sometimes" treat, not an everyday occurence. (That, and for my long hikes/mountain climbing; taking an apple and a banana along with my baby carrots on my 4-6-8 hour hikes would be nice.) I think this is just the normal getting settled back into a whole30 thing.

[shii]

Day 3: (10/15)

 

M1: 1/6 of the egg, pork, and vegetable curry casserole. (1/6 of a 9x13" pan)

 

M2: Salad, same as yesterday; however, the olive oil mysteriously disappeared out of the house (seriously. it is an absolute mystery. Either someone came in and stole the olive oil alone, or my spouse accidentally threw it out. both of us are baffled), it was avocado oil on my salad instead of olive oil. Topped with garlic powder, steak seasoning (compliant), and italian seasoning herbs.

 

M3: 2 bowls of potato/chicken/onion/cauliflower soup. The first bowl was distressingly light on the veggies, so the second bowl loaded up on the cauliflower and potatoes. I feel good and satisfied.

 

Discussed paleo philosophy with my spouse this evening. Spouse is still in the "oh no, screw that, sounds like too much effort" feelings. Sigh. Spouse just got put back on a blood pressure med as spouse's blood pressure was 150/?? (spouse does not remember the other number). Spouse is also about 60-70 lbs overweight, but has no desire to cut donuts, pizza, cheese, bread, or soda out of life.

 

SIGH.

[shii]

Day 4 (10/16)

 

M1: 1/6 of the pan of the egg/pork/veggie curry casserole; also the leftover stuffing (~1C) from the acorn squash last week. By "stuffing", I mean pulled chicken, onions, red cabbage, and yellow and green squash (I stuffed squash with squash - it was squashception!).

 

M2: Salad again. Same as the rest of the week. Today's dressing: olive oil, cumin, mild california chili powder, and oregano

 

M3: Roast chicken with thyme, tarragon, and cumin (and salt and pepper); we roasted the whole fryer. I had mostly breast and wing meat... and delicious, crispy skin. Veggies were steamed broccoli and steamed yellow squash. Also had the last honeycrisp apple in the house. Might have to go grocery shopping tomorrow, as the fridge is pretty bare....

[shii]

Day 5: (10/17)

 

A bit rough, to put it mildly. 

 

M1: 1/6 of the pan of the veggie/egg/meat casserole. All good on this meal.

 

M2...which ended up being extended into M3:  In order, I ate:

1 large bowl (2C) of cauliflower/chicken/onion/potato soup

1/2 bag baby carrots

1 peach

1 tomato off the vine

1/3 of a sweet potato, baked in the microwave, with Vietnamese cinnamon on top (no sugar, I promise.)

1 more peach

1 more large bowl (2C) of cauliflower/chicken/onion/potato soup.

 

This was... I'd say between 3 PM and 6 PM; a 3-hour extended grazing period.

 

I'm not terribly proud of today. About the only thing I can say is that M1 was on point, and that I didn't go off plan for my binge/anxiety/poor timing M2-spiral-into-continuous-grazing-into-M3. Still, it was WAY too many carbs and way too much food. 

 

I had to go into work somewhat unexpectedly today, and didn't pack lunch as I expected to be out at 12:30 - late for my M2, yes, but not so late that it would be a problem. Instead, I was stuck at work for a couple more hours and didn't get home (and get to eat my M2) until after 3 PM. At that point, it turned into a I'm-so-hungry-I'm-never-satisfied mess.

 

Lessons learned, don't do that again, always pack lunch, never put myself in this situation ever again.

[shii]

Day 6 (10/18)

Uhh, didn't I say I'd not do this again? Wow, this weekend was quite a bust. Stress has absolutely complicated and contributed to this. So -

M1: (about 3.5 hours after I woke up, ugh) another piece of the egg/veggie/meat bake

thennn....

Fruit.

It was D&D Sunday, and my compatriots brought fruit for me to enjoy as I couldn't partake in the normal pizza and chips of D&D (or any board game/tabletop geekery). SO - I grazed on fruit for 4 hours. Pineapple, apple, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I drank lots of water and herbal tea, but nothing really changes the fact that I just grazed on tons of fruit. At some point I ate a 1.25 palm size of chicken breast.

After everyone left (we hosted), I put the pizza away, and spent a lot of the day getting a container of pizza out and sitting it in my lap. Wanting it. Sigh. I ended up mixing a little bit of apple cider with an apple rooiboos tea and cinnamon (no sugar). I drank that and more water, and was too stressed and emotionally exhausted to eat dinner. Yes, I should have eaten - but after that fruit sugar binge, I just wasn't feeling hunger signals.

So... another mess. At least binging on fruit isn't going to send me into a horrible downward spiral of oreos and tea-cakes, but I could live without the stress (really) that's making me grumpy and crazy, and I wish I didn't feel the necessity to add food to gaming/tabletop times. (Of course, when you see EVERYONE ELSE snacking away on veggie chips and pizza, or worse, it's difficult to remind yourself that it's not necessary.)

Day 7 will be better, or I will die trying! Really, my weekdays haven't been problems, it's weekends - so I'm gonna get my week going great, and I'm going to plan for next weekend way better.

[shii]

Day 7 (10/19):

 

Much better. No need to die trying.

 

M1: last bit of the current egg/meat/veggie casserole. 1/6 of a 9x13 pan

M2: salad - rainbow carrots, green onions, red and green leaf lettuce, leftover chicken from the roast the other day, red cabbage, cucumber, tomato, red and green bell pepper, olive oil, italian herbs, and steak seasoning

M3: cauliflower (steamed, at least 2C, probably 3) and pan seared, oven finished lamb shoulder chop. mmm. thyme, olive oil, and tarragon on the lamb. one gala apple.

 

Salad stuff fixing was finished yesterday, but today I needed to do something about salad meats. This evening I have chicken thighs in the crock pot with a bit of salt, pepper, and coconut oil; tomorrow morning I will have pulled chicken for my salads.

 

I also had to make the new egg, veggie, & meat casserole that I rely heavily on for my M1 (I don't feel much like cooking in the morning). This week: ground chicken, sauteed with minced onion and minced garlic in olive oil and ghee, flavored with curry powder and chana masala. Veggies: diced rainbow carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, lebanese squash, green onions, and tomatoes. layered in a glass baking pan (meat, veggies, meat, veggies) and then topped with a dozen eggs scrambled and 1/2 of a can of coconut milk. It's out of the oven now and smells heavenly! Mmm.

[shii]

Day 8: (10/19)

 

M1: the newwww (and improved) egg/meat/veggie casserole. It's definitely the chana masala taste that I adore. So delicious! 1/6 of a 9x13" pan. Also an apple on my way out the door.

 

M2: Salad - red & green leaf lettuce, rainbow carrots, green onions, red cabbage, cucumber, tomato, and overcooked shredded chicken thighs I cooked in the crock pot last night.  It looked more like canned tuna than chicken, but it was delicious on the salad with the olive oil, italian herbs, and steak seasoning (and garlic powder).

 

M3: adapted the apple & onion pan-fried porkchop recipe to work with chicken instead. By adapted, I simply mean we cut a large chicken breast in half and used it instead of the porkchops we used last time. So, an apple before dinner (last 10 minutes of dinner cooking) and then a delicious sweet and savory mess of sliced apples and sliced onion, cooked & caramelized in an apple cider (compliant) and ghee reduction, and a large helping of chicken breast. Delicious!

[shii]

Day 9: (10/20)

 

M1: slice of the egg/veggie/meat casserole (1/6 of a 9"x13" pan), and an apple

M2: salad as described in previous days (hey, it works, why change?); this time olive oil, garlic powder, and old bay as my dressing

M3: pork roast with beets, red potato, and onions - topped with thyme, tarragon, and olive oil. All roasted in the oven!

 

sigh - I also ate one more apple after dinner last night (day 8). I'm glad they're out of the house.  I was snacking too much on them...

[shii]

Headache today. Took some tylenol. I also had to go get the Pneumovaxx 23 vaccine as per my doctor's orders (for a blood test in 3 weeks), so we'll see what that does.  I'm well on track today, M1 was good, M2 is packed and here, so no issues there - it's just a case of staying motivated/working through the splitting headache and the ache in my arm. I'm checking out the side effects. Hopefully nothing too bad.

[shii]

Ended up going to bed super early last night, because one arm hurt from the vaccine, my other arm hurt from tweaking my shoulder yesterday morning, and my head just hurt.

 

Day 10: (10/22)

 

M1: egg/veggie/meat bake, 1/6 of the pan

M2: salad as described above

M3: 2 slices of the pork roast, a potato and a half, and a sweet potato (baked in the microwave) liberally sprinkled with vietnamese cinnamon. mmm. No sugar required - the sweetness of the sweet potato is more than enough to balance the cinnamon.

[shii]

Day 11: (10/23)

 

M1: same as every other day, Pinky (aka egg/veggie/meat bake, 1/6 of the pan)

 

M2: another serving of the meat bake, plus a jeweled sweet potato (it's not a yam) baked in the microwave and a healthy helping of saigon cinnamon sprinkled on top

 

M3: squash/pepper/onion/garlic/chicken stir fry (garlic, dried coriander, basil, paprika, salt, pepper, coconut oil) and beet tops/stems sauteed in ghee, salt, pepper, onions, garlic powder, in a deglazed pan

[shii]

I fell off the wagon. I'll start again tomorrow; maybe? 

 

Here's the thing, the whole30 round 2 was starting to become a huge bundle of anxiety for me that was making eating not only a chore, but a guilt-trip of ridiculous feelings. That's not good, that's disordered eating.

 

Instead of having the uber-committment of doing a 2nd whole30 hanging over my head, I think what I'd like to do is commit to living healthily, and keep my food very whole30 compliant - while occasionally throwing a slice of bacon in the pan without freaking out about nitrates, things like that. I've already decided that dairy just isn't for me - I found that out doing the reintro after my first whole30. I'm also just fine living without grains and legumes. 

 

So, I think I'm gonna take a few days and figure out how I do without the strictness of the whole30 forcing me to eat compliantly (because that's disordered eating, too - craving the structure of the rules because it takes away the choice, because the choice is too much). If I end up sticking 99% whole30, then that's great! If not, and I start off-roading like whoa, then I might come back and do commit to another strict whole30, because my relationship with food hasn't healed appropriately.

 

I'll be around.