Jenny’s May2018 W30 Log

[JenJenRN]

First things first...My name is Jenny! I’m an active, adrenaline junky, 40-something RN that is tired of being tired...and achy...and sleep deprived, when I can DO something about it by making better choices! I’m not considered overweight, but my body composition is not what I know it should and can be. I’ve been gearing up for this W30 for a couple of weeks now. I half heartedly agreed to do the January W30 with a friend, before I knew what I was getting into, and quit before I started. This time- I’ve read the books, psyched myself up, and even *pats herself on the back* got my husband on board to do this together! (Albeit a decided lack of enthusiasm on his part- though he gets HUGE kudos for his dedication and commitment!)

PREPARE:  So, to prepare, I actually read the book and have the rules posted in the pantry, kitchen, and a convenient “to go” in my purse for shopping.  I have meals planned for week one.  I have a daytimer that I wrote the Timeline for each day (i.e., WHY do I want to Kill All Things?!) so I know I’m not alone in this journey and I can write down my thoughts for the day.  I have purged All The Things from pantry and fridge.  Been doing a “slow roll” with reading labels, google What is this Gadget and why must I have one, lovingly eyeballing my scale that is now packed into the depths of a closet, practicing recipes, what works for us and what doesn’t, and how to mince vs chop and what does that mean anyway?! FYI- good pans are a must! Thank you Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons! You will discover this too if you ever try to clean your nonstick pans that were gifts 20 years ago.

COFFEE:  I haven’t had REAL creamer in my coffee in a week. I tried it black- Just. Can’t. Do. It. But I have found that adding a dash of cinnamon, 2 drops YL Thieves EO (which I always do anyway), almond milk, and a bit of Nutpods French vanilla it is actually pretty good! My husband thinks he is going to cold turkey stop coffee. Pray for our marriage. :D haha

Yesterday I was terrified because Today is Day 1 and I had food apathy. I have been slow-rolling with mostly compliant things for almost two weeks and I couldn’t think of one tasty thing to eat. At all. I barely choked down my spinach and kale salad with canned salmon. In fact, I ate less than a third of it. Bleh. Luckily, Amazon delivered “It Starts with Food” (because let’s face it- who doesn’t love to know the science behind why your body can’t decide between pooping pebbles or squirting goo!- give me a break, I’m a nurse, gross body stuff is FASCINATING!! haha) and the Whole30 Fast & Easy recipe book- which is AMAZING. Money well spent! Passion renewed! 

DAY 1:  It’s on! We’ve totally got this! My coffee is good! My scrambled eggs with sautéed spinach and kale, avocado, salsa, and bacon are tasty! My husband skipped coffee and breakfast and is hiking right now. It’s okay, he hasn’t read the books and wants to do it his way. He has the rules and a loving wife that reminds him occasionally *coughs* of those rules. Looking forward to Tiger Blood!!!

[JenJenRN]

May 1- DAY 1

Dinner was steak, garlic mashed potatoes, and greens. My husband thinks he will be able to do this now and enjoy it! I’m snack-y. I want All the Crunchy Things and All the Sweet Things. I ask myself if I am so hungry I could eat a fish and steamed broccoli - no. So, it’s a craving and I’m not really hungry. Hard habits to break but day 1 a success!

[GoJo09]

You're going to smash this! And be entertaining in the process, I hope  

[JenJenRN]

DAY 2:  This morning I woke up refreshed and looking forward to the challenge! My husband, on the other hand, made coffee with GHEE and Almond Butter while looking for a creamy substitute to his usual luscious Italian Sweet Cream creamer.  In my defense, I did TRY to stop him...well, kind of. Ha Ha. After tossing that cup of java away, I think he agreed that maybe coconut cream isn't SO bad.  Our son is finally home from deployment to Iraq.  Having my menfolk all under one roof certainly makes my heart happy!  In the meantime, my heart is happy but my gut is being bipolar.  You have diarrhea! You're bloated! No wait, You're constipated! BWA HA HAA! Take that for taking away my sugar!  And speaking of sugar... does anyone know how to get in touch with Khaleesi? I've got to hire someone to help tame my hubby's Sugar Dragon! Oy.  Lol, I'm pretty sure he would be okay with that, too.   

M1: The guys had eggs over medium, leftover sweet potato home fries, and bacon for their breakfast.  I chiffonade-d my kale (I don't know if that's technically a word, but I love saying it. Chiffonade. So fancy!) and scrambled three eggs and made a kale omelet with salsa, bacon and a side of berries.  My son is amazed that, with the steaks last night and the breakfast this morning, that someone actually called this a "diet".  I smugly shovel kale omelet into my face as the bacon sizzles.

M2: My husband and I both work the afternoon shift, so we are still working out the kinks for getting 3 meals into a day and not just snacking.  He ended up having a naked hamburger with lettuce, tomato, and mushrooms.  I took tuna mixed with compliant mayo, and compliant dill relish, wrapped in romaine leaves with avocado.  YUM!

Energy: 7/10. Great day!

I noticed around 4pm that I started to get a bit of a headache and foggy brain.  Eating lunch and making some green tea helped a bit.  Still feeling strong around all of the sweet treats that people bring in to work.  Ate a few raw almonds and an apple around 8, but not really counting that as M3.  Going to bed hungry, or maybe its just a novel feeling to NOT be stuffed with nachos or ice cream and fall into a carb coma for bed?!  Anyway, tomorrow is another day!

[JenJenRN]

Well, I guess no more midnight posting when I’m exhausted... did NOT realize that one cannot edit ones post.   *palm to forehead*

[JenJenRN]

Round 1 DAY 3: Whoop! There it is!

I thought everything was going well as I sat there drinking my cup of coffee and reflecting on the tiny victories made in the last couple of days.  This is a breeze! I thought.  This is going to be EASY I thought *cough*.  Then my darling husband joined me and now I know what they meant by wanting to Kill All The Things.  I skipped over "The Hangover" days.  Yay. Me.  Everyone and everything got under my skin!  I knew I was being irrational and cranky and it was almost like an out of body experience... Wow, look at that crazy lady...Oooh! wait it's me! 

M1: I made the recipe for Melissa's Chicken Hash.  My husband had eggs, bacon, and avocado. *we're still working on the guidelines, but technically compliant so just gave one little kindly reminder. Lol, if you think that's true, see paragraph one...  Those darn sweet potatoes keep showing up Everywhere, like the hash... 

Here's a little side bar about me.  Textures are a BIG DEAL when it comes to food.  I have a really hard time choking down things like apple sauce, cooked carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, and butternut squash.  Squishy baby poo texture is NOT my thing.  These items are supposed to be SO packed full of nutrients!  I really don't know how to fix this! And besides that, I know it's just weird of me! 

M2: Left over sliced steak and an apple with almond butter.  Hubby had grilled chicken breast with mushrooms and tomatoes over lettuce. Must try harder, but I was literally grabbing and running out the door.

We work afternoon shift, so we usually get up around 9am.  Breakfast around 11-12 ish, then off to work with dinner in the ball park of 5-7pm (depending on how busy the unit is) .  Looking at this written down it's no wonder we are coming home hungry.  By the end of the shift, I have no imagination.  Looks like I need to do some better planning and prepping!

M3: I have leftover tuna salad and some raw almonds with me at work.  It's better than nothing even though it's 9:30pm.

I am hoping that tomorrow I'll be back to being a sweet, kind-hearted, and caring person without the laser beams shooting out of my eyeballs.  I think my husband and coworkers would like that too.  

[GoJo09]

Haha, I had a Kill All The Things day around day 25! Quickly followed by crying over nothing day... Lucky I live alone!

Re: the texture - have you tried roasting chunks of sweet potato/pumpkin? They come out nice and firm if you cook them too long. Actually, I roast nearly all of my vegetables as it's easy and they taste good cold (I hate reheated food, so generally all of my lunches are cold leftovers from my weekend cook up).

Make sure your husband is eating enough for his palm size, not just plating up the same amount that you eat, and having fat as well - grilled chicken with salad ain't gonna keep nobody full!

[JenJenRN]

Well, my back went out on day 4 so got behind on the log.  

R1 DAY4: No urge to Kill All Things today ha ha but feeling pitiful for a bit.  Lying on the floor with ice packs and doing mild stretches for back spasms. Luckily work wasn't busy, so was able to leave early.  Hubby and I are on track with being compliant so far.  He loves the Chicken Hash leftovers.  I had no desire to do anything, so threw together my M3: "Kitchen Sink" soup- *everything compliant* vegetable broth, sausage, okra, kale, spinach, zucchini noodles, diced tomatoes, diced green chilies, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Delish!!!

R1 DAY 5: Ice packs, back support, TENS unit, slept on the floor (mattress too soft) but I am up and mobile! Hubby and I took a much anticipated trip to Sprouts today and hit the jackpot!!!  Compliant lunch meat, grass fed pasture raised organic meats, etc.  So excited to try out some new recipes.  Had myself a lovely deep tissue massage and feeling partially human again.  M3: Missing Olive Garden so made a Whole30 Zuppe Toscano by just swapping out for compliant ingredients.  So good.

DAY 6: My lovely friend graduated with her DNP and we are going to a restaurant for the first time.  Checked the menu ahead of time and know what I'm getting- no anxiety here- Except it was catered and everything was covered in cheese sauce, syrup, or dressing!   M1:Black coffee and some fruit wasn't very filling, but stayed compliant!  Actually don't even want any of the junk food thats been around.  M2: Naked burgers wrapped in lettuce with roasted potatoes.Hubby and I watched a movie at home tonight.  Strangely didn't really miss popcorn- frequently it upsets my stomach, especially when drowned in faux butter sauce.  Bleh.  We did each have a small portion of pistachios so maybe that was just a convenient substitute, but I was happy with the choices.  Baby steps.

DAY 7: NO ENERGY!   I just want to crawl back into bed and my husband is like the energizer bunny.  I had two cups of coffee and attempted to roast a chicken- which happened to be a disaster- smoke alarms, doors open in 100 degree weather with the A/C on, so I crawled back into bed for a bit before I had to work.  My husband, on the other hand, cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, unloaded the dishwasher, did MY laundry, scrubbed the shower, worked out for an hour, carved what was salvaged from the chicken, took the trash out, hit the grocery store, bank, etc, and this was all before Noon.    Felt better after having some of the salvaged roasted chicken for dinner, but went to bed early around 11pm.

DAY 8:  Feeling normal today!  Looking forward to doing some prep for the rest of the week.  My clothes are fitting better and I don't feel like a have one of those "pregnancy suits" on- you know, the one that men can wear to get an idea of what their wives are feeling like all big and bloated and heavy?  I call it my fat apron.   It's getting smaller.  Struggling with not puling the scale out of the back of the closet.  Also NSV- I keep getting complimented on my complexion.  Feeling good!

M1: sautéed spinach omelet with diced tomato and green chilies.

[JenJenRN]

I should probably label this one as MY RANT  haha 

DAY 9:  Exhausted, cranky, achy, LOL and obviously WHINY. I’m starving. I’ve been eating all the right combinations and even keep going after I feel full. It’s not like I’m skimping on meals. I’d give anything for a pizza and a Dr Pepper but it’s just reaffirmation that I’m a stress eater. I was so hungry when I got off of work at 10:30 last night that, while driving home, I managed to reach my lunch box, open it, and snarfle down day old, cold broccoli like it was my last meal. If there had been people on the road I’m sure they would have given me wide berth. 

At 11pm I ran through the door and made a hamburger, wrapped in lettuce with pickles and mustard. It probably took me three minutes flat to finish eating it. In the meantime while the burger was cooking, I finished off a chicken breast and some nuts and had a swig of Naked Green Machine. 

I don’t know what to drink.

I. Am. SO. Sick of WATER. I have my coffee in the morning, herbal tea in the evening, seltzer water with my lunch and water. That’s it. I feel completely dehydrated and overwatered all at the same time. I’ve had dry mouth for the last week. 

DAY 10:  It helps to know that most people (according to the Whole 30 book) feel like giving up these next two days. Is it worth it? Probably. Does it feel like it? No. 

However, seeing the change in my husband, makes me want to keep going. He is not hurting at all, has tons of energy, is more considerate and kind than usual (and he’s pretty awesome anyway). He says he feels great and it shows. 

I woke up with muscle cramps in my back and legs so I know my electrolytes are off. No Gatorade for me though, so I guess I’ll just suck it up and have some more water. Yay. 

Oh my word. I really am not usually this cranky. Looking forward, still, to TIGER BLOOD!!!