Kristen's Whole30 Journey

[3LilBirds]

Here I go. I've never really "dieted" before. Never stuck to a meal plan or given anything up for a certain time frame. This will be challenging, but I'm excited. I'm flying solo on this trip. My husband and our three boys (5.5, 4, and 14 months) are not joining me whole-heartedly. They will eat what I cook because that's just the way it is, but I'm sure they will all snack off-plan and he won't give up his beer. I will be using this thread as my diary to post food plans/actions, feelings/moods, goals/successes (NO FAILURES).

 

There will be a couple of days in the next month that will test my willpower and choice-making abilities. 1) My kids start baseball Saturdays, which would traditionally mean not-so-healthy breakfast on the go. Be prepared with leftovers/premade items for these days. 2) My dad's birthday is later this month which means a family dinner. I will offer to bring a dish so that I know there will be something I can eat. 3) EASTER. So. Much. Candy. The Easter bunny will be bringing less of that this year and more books? Chalk? Treasures? Stickers? Swimming stuff? She needs to work on that.

 

Tomorrow is Day 0. March 1st is circled on my calendar so it is official. This is happening. My goals for tomorrow are to take measurements and a starting weight. I know this is not about weight-loss, but my brain needs something quantitative to compare

to at the end of this thing. I'll grocery shop tomorrow after planning my meals for the week. I'd like to come up with a list of 10 reasons why I'm doing this so I'll be able to revisit them when (not "if") times get tough.

 

I also want to make exercise a regular part of my day and reduce my coffee reliance. Maybe I'll switch to tea.

 

I'm feelin' it.

[delen]

I'm starting today 29.2.16... Feeling positive but nervous!

[3LilBirds]

Rough start. Day 0 goals were not met. I did get the weigh-in done, came in at 149.6 lbs. (wearing jeans, belt, tank-top [for future reference]). About 5 lbs. more than I thought I was. Measurements were not done. I didn't even get to plan and grocery shop because my car broke down. I could have walked, but with 3 kids and that many groceries, I would have needed a bottle of wine when I got home. I still started today though! Since I had to work with what I had on hand (not much since the grocery-shopping plan for yesterday got derailed), I had a very light breakfast of plain scrambled eggs, orange slices and black coffee. Didn't get my veggies in, but technically stayed on plan.

 

I'll be following the 7-day meal plan from The Whole30 book for the next week and just wrote my shopping list. My amazing mom is letting me use her car and watching my little people so I can shop in peace! She's the best.  No excuses. Getting it done.

 

Tonight: no scheduled kids activities, so I'll have time to meal prep for the week. I'll try to get the kids involved so that when the food gets to their plate, they'll be more adventurous and less whiney. Ha! First, take the dog for a walk/jog when we get home.

[3LilBirds]

Day 1 Success! I made it through the first day pretty easily. I think I ate more than I usually do, actually. I have a bad habit of cooking for everyone, then being too lazy/distracted to eat anything other than their leftovers. Sad, I know. There's always stuff left on their plate, so it's better than throwing it away right? Not good for being deliberate about food choices though. Feeling pretty good physically. A little foggy-headed, but that could be caused by a myriad of things, We'll see if it continues tomorrow.

 

Breakfast and lunch were kind of random, threw together whatever compliant food I could find in the fridge, but dinner turned out really good! The kids didn't have it in them to do a super-extensive grocery trip, so I got some staples and a bunch of salad veggies. I didn't get what I needed to stick to my 7-day meal plan, but I was creative and surprised myself. First off, I made homemade mayo for the first time and it was GOOD! I was kind of shocked when it turned to a mayo consistency, who knew?! (Lots of people, obviously, but I learned something new, yay!) I used the miraculous mayo to make a curried chicken salad which I served with sautéed spinach (with a little garlic and onion) stuffed into a baked potato. The kids even approved!

 

Full grocery trip tomorrow? Dang, I should just shop online.

[3LilBirds]

Day 5. It's going better than expected. I haven't really felt hungry at all. If anything, I think I'm eating more than before because it's so intentional. The cravings are another thing. I never considered myself much of a sugar junkie, but watching the kids have their treats and not indulging is getting to me every now and then. And chips. Mmmm. So far, so good though.

 

I think the biggest change is how much time I'm spending in the kitchen. With three little boys, that can be trying. I should do better at finding a meal-prep day. I'm actually having a lot of fun with the cooking though, especially experimenting with sauces and making fresh salsa. Yum! I had a major blunder last night which shows how much of a rut I was in with my veggie variety before. Squash was never a favorite of mine, but I'm willing to try anything so I bought a butterneut squash and a spaghetti squash for a couple of recipes. I was planning pork chops with spiced applesauce and butternut squash soup. everything was timed out almost perfectly and as I was plating dinner for myself and the kids (hubby wasn't home yet), I realized I made the soup with the spaghetti squash, not the butternut! It was disgusting and I had to throw away the whole pot. Such a waste of ingredients, but I'll never make the same mistake again!

 

Lots of rain this weekend, making it hard to get outside and exercise. Need to find an indoor alternative.