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katieblue

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Thanks so much, Wendy!! The interview was hard but I feel maybe 50% confident? Haha. I definitely know a lot of people I work with who are retired and just do it "for fun" and they all seem to love it! :)

Do you guys have the meat sauce recipe handy? I'd love to try it, I'm a tomato sauce junkie. I could eat it with a spoon!

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katieblue - I hope you have fun on your date night tonight!!  You definitely need to set aside time for yourself to unwind.  It sounds like your life is hectic, but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders.  If you can sleep in a little bit tomorrow, I totally would.  I wish there were more hours in a day!

 

CGinDC - I know that apprehensive feeling.  Just go with the flow, and try not to stress out too hard!!  I would wake up early super hungry, and would usually have some food before hubby woke up and we had 'real' breakfast.  Gyros are one of my faves!  Top 5.  ;)  Alton Brown has a great recipe for gyro meat.  I bet we could find a good W30 tzatziki sauce, and make a bomb-ass gyro salad or lettuce wraps.  I'll do some searching.

 

I feel like once I addressed my stress here, I am dealing with it MUCH better.  I really think writing things like this is so helpful in analyzing my feelings and how I'm dealing with them.

Last night I made some Buffalo Chicken Legs and Thighs and coleslaw.  I saw this Buffalo Chicken Casserole that looks really good too.  I'm going to try it with diced up chicken, or ground moose.  I've been eating an insane amount of halibut, and lots of moose, so sometimes all I want is some chicken or pork!  :P

My husband's secrets to his tomato sauce:  Sauté a bunch of shredded carrots in olive oil first, and when the veggies are soft, add some tomato paste and let it brown on the bottom of the pan.  Stir it around a couple of times and let it brown before deglazing with the tomato puree/sauce.  It gives the sauce the caramelized flavor that the edge of lasagnas get!  And add a bunch of smoked paprika!

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Thank you, ksea!! I did decide not to set my alarm, but I woke up early anyway. But it's okay because it's still way different than waking up to the stupid alarm going off. Haha. And the date night was fantastic and not cooking was wonderful and I'm so glad that I did it. I have new energy to tackle homework today. :)

They make this cold sweet potato salad at the restaurant we went to that's dressed in some kind of oil and vinegar and has red onions and green and red peppers diced up really tiny, and I wish you could try it because with your skills you'd probably be able to determine what's in it so we could replicate it!! It is seriously the most delicious side dish I think I've ever had as far as cold salads/slaws etc. They won't give me the recipe even though they assured me it's compliant. :P

 

I'm so glad that you feel like getting your stress out here was helpful!! I felt the same thing yesterday after my rant! Taking care of ourselves goes further than what we put in our bodies. I feel like this whole journey is so transformative and I love it.

Buffalo chicken!! :wub: Looks delightful!! I was surprised to find out how much Frank's hot sauce tastes like buffalo sauce, but without the nasty additives and stuff. 

Thanks for the tomato sauce tip!! At dinner last night Rob and I had a discussion about me wearing myself out feeling like I have to cook, and I promised him I'd ease up (no more cooking dinners for us this week, and only planning one next week) so we can work on cleaning some of the stuff out of the freezer. But I do really want to try this trick with the sauce now. I mean, I want to try everything that you and everyone else suggests, there's  just not enough time in the day!

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Hey all.  Happy Thursday.  Thanks for the recipes and tips you've been sharing.  I think that meatball and grapes dish will be on my list for next week.  It looks so good!  I don't have any pans that can go from the stovetop into the oven.  All of mine are Reverware and have plastic handles.  I have an enameled dutch oven on my wish list, but it's out of my budget to just go buy on my own right now.  I'm assuming I can transfer from a skillet to a Corning Ware but won't get the yummy glazing happening in the same way.  Thoughts?  

 

katie, good luck with the job!  You have so much on your plate and taking a night off was probably a very healthy thing for you to do.  And having a week of pulling from the freezer is a great plan too. 

 

CG, I can completely relate to the overwhelming feelings of considering baby, budget, health, and everything else.  Try to put your feet up with a cup of tea and rest your eyes at least once a day.  I'll say prayers for a good ultrasound for you!

 

ksea, I'm glad you feel you can relieve stress here by telling us about it.  That's what we're here for!  It's such a great thing about this group!

 

galaxigrl, I've been asked the same thing.  It's frustrating but reminds me that I have work to do.  The honest truth is that my "baby belly" has looked that way for a long time and my "baby" is turning 10 years old next week!  Yikes.  But W30 has made a big difference and will continue to help.  Don't worry about what others think.  You know you're doing the best for yourself right now and that's all that matters!

 

I had a lunch date with my husband yesterday.  Hooray!  He only had a short time available so our options were limited to places close to his office, which doesn't leave much outside of Mexican or fast food.  We went to Dickie's BBQ, which is not my favorite bbq by any means, but it tasted like GOLD!!  I had beef brisket, waffle fries, green beans, and bbq sauce.  I made my choices based on their allergen list and made sure to avoid dairy and gluten since I've not reintroed those yet.  The brisket had soy and I'm sure the oil for the waffle fries wasn't compliant but otherwise the food was clean.  As I ate to beyond fullness, I was thinking, "If there's something worth going off the rails for, it's bbq brisket!".  And I loved every bite.  I can only imagine what it would have been like to go to a REALLY GREAT bbq joint.  Lol.  And then morning came . . . that whole "hit by a truck" feeling that people talk about?  Yep.  A little bit of that going on.  Digestion-wise I feel fine, but couldn't bring myself to eat much breakfast. Instead I made a green smoothie with spinach, avocado, cucumber, and pear.  I had some simple chicken and warm coffee.  (Doesn't that all just sound so great!?!  Oh yeah.  Lol.)  I don't know how to really describe how I'm feeling because it's not all that bad, but I feel the need that everything I take in today has to be gentle and "quiet" food.   

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Hi girls!  Thank you all for the encouragement about the pregnancy comment!  Ramona, I wish you were here to TCB ;).

 

jen: I think you can definitely transfer the meatballs/grapes to an oven-safe dish, and it will be just as delicious!  The grapes will still get roasty.  Is that a word?  Ha ha.

 

Katie: Glad you enjoyed your night out!  What movie did you see?  If you ever figure out the sweet potato salad, please share!  Hope the interview went well!!

 

ksea: Thanks for the recipes.  Adding those to my Pinterest board.  And I'm glad you're feeling less stressed.

 

I went out for a girls dinner last night to a fancy restaurant and totally overdid it!  2 glasses of wine, a glass of sangria, scallops, mac & cheese, pimento cheese ravioli, short rib ragu, biscuits.  So good but I woke up with a belly ache overnight and then was feeling pretty lousy this morning.  Definitely not worth it!  I think it was just too much rich food.

 

Have a great Thursday!

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Hey jen! I definitely agree with Galaxigrl, you could totally work that recipe by transferring it to a different dish. I've had to do that before, too, because I don't have any interchangeable cookware, either. You might miss out on the glazing, but I think you'll still get the flavor and deliciousness.

 

Sorry you're feeling all hit by a moving vehicle. :( I know BBQ portions are generally way off the template recommendations because it's a LOT of meat and a little bit of sides (most of which are swimming in oil of some sort). I could definitely see why you feel all sluggish today. I hope it passes quickly, though! And props for you to avoiding the things you haven't reintroduced! (I would have had such a hard time avoiding cole slaw... putting that with BBQ sauce on any meat is just about the best combination on earth, ugh.)

 

Galaxigrl, we saw 10 Cloverfield Lane! My boyfriend loved it, he thought it was amazing, but he is a huge J.J. Abrams fan. I thought it was alright, but I may be biased because I was falling asleep throughout it. :P I did email Cave and ask them for the sweet potato recipe, so here's hoping!!

 

Sounds like you had a LOT of amazing food - but definitely rich! At least you know that it wasn't worth it, and you can remember it moving forward. :)

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Wow I've missed a lot! Don't have time to respond to everyone as I'm at work right now, but I just wanted to update on my reintroductions.

Sunday we did dairy and it seems that other than slight bloating, I'm fine with it! So totally worth it sometimes to indulge in cheesy goodness.

Yesterday we did gluten. I bought a loaf of sourdough bread from Panera and over the course of the day, had four slices of it. Oh it was so good! I didn't reintroduce anything else because I didn't want to confuse things with yeast vs whole grains, etc. So, I was extremely gassy after dinner for an hour and in wondering if it was the gluten or the yeast, because let's face it, we eliminated yeast also when we eliminated gluten and alcohol. Other than that, so far, knock on wood, gluten is doing fine in my belly.

Compliant today and tomorrow and then we'll try beer.

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Katieblue - I am super busy today, have 50 million things to be done AND STILL I just spent 15 minutes googling Cave sweet potato salad recipe. First I googled "Paleo restaurants Jersey Shore" and went from there. Which  might be creepy..I realize as I'm typing.. but it looks like an amazing restaurant! Anyway, couldn't find the recipe. I wonder if my boss will understand when I say I don't have the policy written for her?

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Kalina, considering how many people have a hard time with gluten, it would be so awesome for you if you just got a little bit of bubble guts from it! I know I get so seriously sick if I have too much, especially without anything else in my stomach. I know I can handle a little bit here and there if it's immersed in other non-gluteny foods (like breading on chicken tenders or something). Although I do wonder if I would react differently to it now that I've 100% had it out of my system for so long.

Good luck with the beer!! I really admire the super slow roll you're doing.

 

Ramonax, thank you for trying to find it, that was really sweet!! Sadly, I don't think there are even any copycat recipes out there because it's just one itty bitty restaurant in a beach town where most places are closed in the off-season. But I hope you're able to get the policy done anyway!! And I will absolutely let you guys know if they decide to be nice and give me the recipe. Or if you're ever in Jersey, stop by and we can let y'all try it for yourselves. :) Lol! And in the meantime, I'll try some other sweet potato salad recipes I can find and see if I can get even remotely close!

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katieblue - Those alarms are a nasty thing to wake up to!  We set ours on the phone to a little jingle so it's not so harsh, but we always find ourselves waking up like 5 minutes before it's set to go off anyway.  I'm so glad you had fun last night, and you are going to take a little break from cooking dinners!   Trying to find balance in all these different areas of our lives is tricky.  I saw some people on these forums are doing a 2016 Whole9 Challenge, where you focus on a different aspect every month.  I'm thinking of starting one myself once I finish this Whole30/or however long I go with this one.  How have you been sleeping this time around?  I seem to remember you saying your sleep was not so great before?

That sweet potato salad sounds soooo good.  You know how I feel about cold sweet potatoes! :wub:  I wonder if Cave would be willing to give the recipe to the Whole30 Blog?  That way they would get a little publicity too?

I'm making your sweet potato casserole to go with dinner tonight!  I put it in my recipe binder as "Katie's Kickass W30 Casserole". :D  I don't have any pecans, though.  I'm thinking of using walnuts, but I also have almonds and cashews.  Maybe I'll put all three separately and see which is best, but I have a feeling they'll all be good!  I'm having it with steak, zucchini fritters, and I think I'll try roasting some red grapes too!  You guys have piqued my interest on the grapes!

 

jen c - YAY for lunch dates!  :) BBQ brisket sounds yummy.  Was there a bunch of sugar in the sauce?  If there was, I wonder if thats why you feel that way today?  I know exactly what you mean by only wanting "gentle and quiet food".  It's like our bodies are like, "whoa whoa whoa, calm down!".  No wonder I never really ate breakfast before, probably after I overdid it on goodies the night before.  :unsure:

 

galaxigrl - YAY for ladies night!   :) I forgot about sangria, yum!!  Sounds like a good time.  It seems that every once in a while I needed to way overindulge in order to remind myself why I didn't do it all the time.  Hopefully moving forward that won't be the case! 

 

KalinaM - I wonder if you could try nutritional yeast one of these days to see how it affected you?  Or brewer's yeast?  I too love this slow approach you're doing. Hope the beer tastes as good as you remember and it treats you kind.  :P  What's your beer of choice?

 

Ramonax - You just made me smile!  :D And your response those due date questions while you're super pregnant is genius.  I'll have to use that if I have another.

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I wish I could respond to everyone, but I missed galaxigrl's "are you expecting?" post, then had to go back and reread a bunch.  Oh, that question is SO RUDE AND OUT OF LINE! Makes me want to punch them in the face, too!!

     I remember when I was mailing a baby shower gift at the post office many years ago (like 22, and I still remember!), and the post office guy asks, "When is your baby due?" I just glared at him, and said, "She was due about 3 months ago."  Seriously, that is such a dangerous question, as I know SO many women who have struggled to get pregnant, then lost the baby, or just were never able to get pregnant.  I lost a baby once at 24 weeks, and then had to bear all those, "Did you have the baby already?" questions for months from people who didn't know me well.  <sigh> Ok, I'm done venting now, but I'm still mad at that lady, galaxigrl!!

 

katieblue, hope you get good news about the interview! <fingers crossed> Also, for the meat sauce,  I just did the tomato sauce in the W30 book, then did the "perfect ground meat" recipe, then added the meat to the tomato sauce.  Do you have the book?

 

ksea, I'm interested in the 2016 Whole9 Challenge, going to have to look into that...

 

I'll try to catch up with more of you later...

 

Wendy

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ksea, I bet the bbq saw was full of sugar.  That hadn't even crossed my mind.  I ate a small salad at lunch today but no room for added protein or fat.  And then I remembered that I never ate dinner last night either.  I'm amazed/appalled at how much that lunch filled me up yesterday leading me to skip dinner and skimp on both breakfast and lunch.  That will definitely make me reconsider next time.  I should just ask for a to-go box and immediately put half the food into it to start with.  Then I can still enjoy the food, but without such drastic impact on the following meals.  It sounds good in theory . . . .  ;)

 

So are you all ready for a laugh??  This made me think of the comments we've shared about galaxigrl being asked when she was due . . . .  My sister-in-law and I met today with an event coordinator at a local restaurant.  The coordinator asked what kind of event we're planning.  "A 50th Anniversary party", I said.  In total seriousness, she looked at me and asked, "Oh, is it yours?".  I thought my sis-in-law's eyes were going to pop out of her head!  Hmmm, doing the math, I would have gotten married 7 years before I was even born!!  What???  Okay, I do have a few grey hairs, but there's NO WAY I look like I'm in my early 70s!  Holy cow.  :blink: :blink:   So it just goes to show that some people speak before they think and you can't take them too seriously.  :lol:

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ksea - Alarms are the worst! I have mine set to a jingle, too (and sometimes wake up WAY before it - but I kinda feel like it's better that way, so you don't have to get jarred out of sleep) but my boyfriend literally has a foghorn sound for his because he can't wake up to save his life. The house could be burning down and he'd roll over and go back to sleep, I swear! I have been sleeping MUCH better in general, but the past few nights I've had trouble again. I think it has more to do with anxiety than what I'm eating. The more work I know I have to do, the less I sleep so I have more time to do it... just not on purpose, haha. Thank you for remembering and asking, though!

I actually really love the idea of the Whole9 challenge! (And I like that they planned it so it's over by the holiday season - I feel like that would be the most challenging part). I wonder if this level of cooking and prep is sustainable for that long (think it'd be easier if I wasn't also in school) but I do also think we're getting used to the flow of things so it might not be as bad as it sounds. (9 months is a long committment... CGinDC will have had her baby by then!)

I can definitely suggest the blog as an idea to Cave and see!! If they haven't heard of the Whole30 (which I can't imagine) then it would be great to get them in the know.

And I am SO touched you have the sweet potato casserole in your binder!! That's an exciting compliment. :D I have your ginger pork shoulder on the schedule to make in week 3!! You definitely don't have to use pecans, they're just my personal favorite. I've made it with walnuts, too, and it was also delicious! Never tried with almonds or cashews, so let me know if you use them and how it came out!

 

Wendy, I agree with you on being pissed on Galaxigrl's behalf - you just never know and it's never good to ask that question!! And it's just straight up rude to not consider the 10,000 other reasons someone might be carrying weight. <_<

And thank you for the luck!! I did have the book for my first Whole30 but I took it out from the library so I had to return it (there are a LOT of people on hold/waiting for it.. which I think it awesome!). I will have to get it again though, because I feel like I missed a few good recipes from it!

 

Jen - I've never personally asked for the to-go box up front, but I know that if I divide everything in half on my plate when I go out and think, "and I'll have the other half for dinner/lunch tomorrow" that's always helped me to not over-eat! I've honestly never found I was still hungry halfway through a restaurant meal. Maybe not STUFFED, but definitely full enough to go on, especially if it was lunch time! And then you get to have the deliciousness all over again. :) (BBQ is never the same, though; ribs and things lose their crispy caramelized outside when you nuke them or dry out in the oven.)

 

And OH MY GOSH, again with the rude questions!! I can't believe people just burst out with this crap! At least you can laugh about it, though! I probably would have made up some ludicrous, "Um, I'm actually 30, but I've had a really hard time lately, you see, so-and-so is terminally ill and my dog has rabies, etc."

 

Also, Day 8!! :) I kinda feel like this is going slower this time around, but then, there aren't such drastic day-to-day changes to make it interesting. Also each day feels sssoooo long when filled with homework right now. Lol.

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katie - I hope you can get back to sleeping better.  It's amazing how stress can have such an impact on us, especially when we need quality sleep the most!

I'm pretty sure you don't need to be compliant for the entire 9 months of the Whole9 Challenge, just the first one.  I don't think I would be able to commit to that long!  Whole270ish  :wacko:

The sweet potato casserole turned out magnificent.  I agree that pecans are the best on there, with walnuts coming in second.  The almonds and cashews were good too, but the flavor/texture of them weren't as complementary as the other two.

I forgot that I also put a chopped up onion in with everything else in that ginger pork shoulder, but you would totally leave that out.  Are you still avoiding high FODMAP foods?

 

I'm attempting to make a kombucha scoby.  I've had a half gallon of sweet tea with 1 cup of kombucha sitting on my counter for the past week, and hopefully a weird looking rubbery disk will grow on top, so I can brew my own kombucha.  Looks good so far!

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I like the idea of a 9 month thing - would you guys be interested in doing our own. the 2016 one started in January. We could look at all the components and start one now (April)

 

Here are the components (the months are wrong, we would have to start in April) We have all talked about many of these things being goals or challenges in our life - sleep, stress, exercise, moderation, getting out side...

 

Jan: Nutrition & Whole30

Feb: Personal Growth - including Reintroductions & Healthy Eating Habits
Mar: Sleep
April: Stress
May: Training & Healthy Movement 
June: Natural Environment & Getting Outside
July: Fun and Play
Aug: Socialization & Connecting with Others
Sep: Temperance 
Oct: Refining and Reflecting- an additional synthesis, troubleshooting, etc. 
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ksea, it's definitely funny how that works, with sleeping less when you really need it! But I finally took a ZQuil last night and just knocked out straight through til my alarm, so I feel better. Not that I love that solution, but going on six nights with no real sleep was gonna get to me soon. I could feel myself starting to get kind of mean to myself and to my boyfriend again. Crazy how lack of sleep can change our personalities up, too.

Thanks for the insight into the casserole! I'll reserve almonds and cashews for tossing in salad. Although walnuts and pecans go magnificently in salads, too. I really haven't eaten any nuts at all since we started Whole 30, except for as a topping on the casserole; I just saw too many people having issues with them on the troubleshooting boards so I decided to stay away.

I am still doing my best to avoid high-FODMAP foods (I've had a little bit of broccoli and sweet potato here and there, because most lists say it's okay to have a small amount of them), so onions are apparently a big red flag. But we did put an onion in the carnitas and I seemed to be okay with that. Still a lot of experimenting there.

 

I would definitely love to make a Whole9 experiment happen if we don't have to be 100% compliant the whole time! We might have to change the order of our focus months based on the time of year we decided to start, but I think it would be cool to put so much focus on taking care of ourselves in different ways. :)

 

So, I've got a complicated thing. All of my jeans just keep getting tighter on me, so I went to Kohl's to try some on last night after work and see if I could find a new pair or two. They had such a sad selection (mostly shorts and capris at this time of year), I couldn't find anything that worked. Most of them sat on my waist too high and were really unflattering to my stomach. But instead of getting all depressed and angry at myself, I just sort of shrugged and decided to try again another day. This is also a HUGE NSV for me -- normally I would have been sad and yelling at myself internally for DAYS. I did feel a compulsion to weigh myself and see where I'm at, but I resisted! But, I'll be honest, I am feeling pretty down about it today. In general, I have really cared less and less about my actual numerical weight, but the hardest part is trying to jump and squeeze into my way too tight jeans that just seem to be getting tighter. And to not be able to find any new ones was sad. I feel like I'm taking such good care of myself and yet still gaining weight and that's frustrating. :/

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Oh Katie! I'm glad to read that you weren't beating yourself up over jeans shopping. But I understand how frustrating it can be! I just don't have patience for it. I hate shopping for pants, not because I'm necessarily worried about the size but because it is maddening that there is no standard in sizing and I can be four different sizes depending on manufacturer and cut of pants etc... I usually buy two of three pairs of the same pants when I finally find one flattering to me just because I hate shopping for pants so much! Good luck with it. Hope you find some cute jeans soon.

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Galaxigirl, that was a lot of "junk food" to reintroduce all at once! Hope you're feeling better. Have you found any sensitivities or do you just think it was a night of overindulgence?

As for me, I had diarrhea last night and I'm confused. Was it because of the gluten I had on Wednesday? OR is it because my period is coming either today or tomorrow and even last month when in the middle of whole 30-ing I had terrible diarrhea the day before and the first two days of my period? I consulted Dr Google and it does seem to be common to get diarrhea with your period... Shoot! Now I'm super confused.

Also, just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be missing in action next week! My husband and I are going on vacation and our rule is to take a vacation from social media as well. So I'll be back after that. I'm really hoping I don't go off the rails too badly! But I know where to come for support no matter what.

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Hey Kalina! Thank you for the sympathy! You're right, pants shopping is ALWAYS frustrating!!

 

Also frustrating is not knowing where the digestive issues came from! I guess you might have to try gluten again when you aren't expecting your period and see if you get the same results? This is why I admire those of you doing the really slow roll; there is always so much to consider!

 

That's awesome you get to go on vacation AND that you put social media away while you do!! Where are you headed? :)

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kalina:  yes, I recovered from the bbq overindulgence.  I think it was too much sugar from the sauce, as suggested here, and eating enough food for 3 people!  Lesson learned.  :)

 

katie:  I admire you for your perseverance through the frustrations.  You've said before that you under ate for many years and I wonder if your gaining right now is your body trying to normalize itself and heal from that.  I hope your sleep improves and that this current W30 will see some things start to regulate better for you.

 

Shopping for pants is the worst!  I've always thought someone should open a chain store for women that only sells jeans.  They'd carry tons of brands and sizes and would specialize in fittings.  Each customer would get her measurements taken and then the sales rep would bring a selection of jeans to the changing room based on the measurements.  It sure would eliminate a lot of frustration for us. 

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jen, glad to hear you're feeling better!! :) And thank you so much. You guys are really just the best. I don't know how I'd be getting through the challenging parts of this journey without you. :wub:

We're on Day 10 of the second Whole30! 1/3 of the way done after today - this feels awesome!! I definitely do think that my body is just going to take time to adjust, gotta keep reminding myself that's why I'm here, that's why I'm doing this. I want to take care of myself and I'm doing everything I can to make that happen. And I feel a lot better. I may not want to gain weight, but if my body needs to, I have to let it do its thing.

 

Also, SO glad it's not just me on the jeans frustration. I like your idea of a chain just for that. They do it with bras, why not with jeans? They're always too tight in the thighs and too loose in the waist or they fit in the waist but they bunch up at the bottom (I'm 5'3, #shortgirlproblems). I would LOVE that kind of service!! Maybe someone will, someday... maybe we should all collaborate and start a business. :P

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Update - it's 5am here and I've been craving wings for, like, 3 days. I just want to go and devour a plate of hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. Anyone have a good buffalo wings recipe? :) (I know I said I wouldn't be cooking, but wings!)

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Galaxigrl, I finally tried the lavender kombucha with my lunch today - you were right, it was SO yummy! I saved the other half to have with dinner. :)

 

I don't know about you all, but today is Day 11 of the second Whole30 and I feel AMAZING. I'm tired, but that's because I've had screwy sleep again (not food related, I'm sure, just anxiety from the 3,000 tons of homework currently sitting in my lap). But I actually looked in the mirror this morning and stretched around and flexed and stuff and was like, "Wow. I actually look pretty good." I feel like I still have some squish around my tummy, but my arms and back look so lean and muscular! Even my thighs, which have been getting bigger (hence the need for new jeans) have some muscle definition. I feel so encouraged and excellent!! I literally thought to myself, "Who cares what I weigh if I keep looking like this??" (WHO AM I?!)

 

Then, I was communicating with my academic advisor about my summer schedule, and she congratulated me on my "exemplary grades" and said I must work very hard. I AM DYING, I'm about to burst with pride!! I feel like I've been able to focus and be much more efficient with my work since I have been eating clean and my attitude has totally changed and I can actually accept this compliment and my self-esteem is skyrocketing and I just had to share these huge NSV's because I've totally turned around since my last rant on here!! And I found out I didn't get the full-time job I interviewed for but I really don't even care because now I can keep focusing on school and moving forward and get an actual career when I'm done in a year - and all of this is motivation to keep going, to keep eating right and exercising and being awesome!!

 

 I hope you're doing as well!! :)

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katie - I'm SO happy for you!!  :lol:

My husband has never understood why I was never really that confident.  If I was down for whatever reason, or being hard on myself, he would brush it off and basically tell me to get over it.  For people without an abundance of self-esteem, it is definitely easier said than done.  I feel like I have more confidence then I've ever had now that I am eating clean.  I am totally convinced of the powerful affect of the food we're putting in our bodies.  I think it is a combination of consuming wholesome foods, and adopting a mindset of "I'm going to take care of me."  Everyone deserves to be kind to themselves!

That is so awesome you can look at yourself in the mirror and think so positively!  :) And having someone like your academic advisor recognize all the hard work you've been doing must be an amazing feeling!  Keep on kicking' ass girl, you're a rockstar!!

 

Did you ever get to have some hot wings?  I'm still trying to find a good way to cook wings that doesn't involve deep frying.  I can only get a big bag of frozen, raw wings here.  I've tried boiling them for about an hour from frozen, which makes a good soup stock and renders off some of the fat.  Then I put them under the broiler, flipping them around until they get crispy and tossing them in Frank's Red Hot.  I've also cooked them from frozen in the slow cooker with some Red Hot, and broiled them before tossing them with more hot sauce.  Both methods make a decent wing, but the meat can get dried out if it's under the broiler too long.  Maybe I'll try thawing some out, and baking them the whole time.

 

Last night I roasted a spatchcocked chicken.  I forgot to season it ahead of time, but it still turned out wonderful!  I have the bones, along with the bones of 4 thigh/leg quarters, in the slow cooker making bone broth right now.  My house smelled delicious all night!  

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