Katie's Log, W30 Number 3

[KTinBK]

I'm on day 12 of my third Whole 30, wanted to write down some things I've noticed:

Start date: 9/24

First week: extra hard this time around. Because I'd done it before, I prepared a little less than usual and relied on meals/skills I knew I could do. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't have as many fun new meals to "look forward" to. Plus, it was just a tough week personally on top of it all.

I seemed to be experiencing a lot of the stuff from the Timeline all at once--vivid dreams (often about mindlessly/accidentally stuffing bites of bread into my mouth, and I'm not even a big bread eater!), lethargy (I could not get myself to the gym if you paid me), crankiness (work was very annoying, but I was also extra on edge).

Luckily, by day 7 I was ok, and thank goodness, because I did a triathlon relay! I did the swim, which was a little tough due to some high waves, but overall I was happy with my performance. The only real struggle was eating out with my teammates the night before (I really, really hate being "that person" at restaurants; I'd rather just cook for myself), but luckily I brought a big ole frittata with me on the weekend trip, so I always had some emergency food handy.

Week 2: this week has been a little better. I definitely felt VERY "blah" on days 8-10, but less irritable overall, and was able to get back in the gym yesterday (day 11) and it's really helped me feel better. Unfortunately I pulled my hamstring on day 8, so I'm really trying to balance wanting to work out with resting it fully so I don't re-injure it. (Can Whole 30 fix "getting old"?  )

Current update: This definitely hasn't been a super "fun" Whole 30 for me, but I have had a lot of nice home-cooked meals and I enjoy feeling accomplished having gotten this far. One of the interesting things I've noticed is my sleep--I've always prioritized getting at least 7.5 hours, but according to my fitness band, before I started W30 I was really not getting much REM sleep. Since starting my Whole 30, I've been noticing my dreams a lot, yes, but the data is also bearing it out: per the fitness band, I have tripled the amount of REM I was getting on an average night, and last night I actually quadrupled it! That has to be a good thing.

[KTinBK]

Week 3: I'm very, VERY pleased to be on the "back 15" days! Eating has become pretty straightforward and easy; dinner last night was skinny flank steaks and potatoes (regular and sweet) fried in a pan with summer squash, seasoned with Italian seasoning. Popped the veggies in a bit of compliant Primal Kitchen Aioli. Delicious and took all of 30 minutes beginning to end.

My pulled muscle feels healed and I had a good day in the gym yesterday. Planning to start a fitness challenge on 10/15 (day 22) and am looking forward to that! A big motivator for doing this W30 was to reset myself so I can get back in shape and really establish some good habits going into winter/the holidays/"hibernation season." In that sense, I think I'm on the right track.

Non-scale victories:

-I swear my face looks thinner. I think there must've been a decent amount of inflammation going on after a solid month of traveling and weddings, so it feels good to see a jawline again!

-Noticing less visible cellulite on my thighs. I have heard people attribute this to cutting out dairy.

-Less visible stomach! Not sure if it's weight loss or just bloat loss, but I'll take it.

[Swamp Yankee]

On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 1:59 PM, KTinBK said:

My pulled muscle feels healed and I had a good day in the gym yesterday. Planning to start a fitness challenge on 10/15 (day 22) and am looking forward to that! A big motivator for doing this W30 was to reset myself so I can get back in shape and really establish some good habits going into winter/the holidays/"hibernation season." In that sense, I think I'm on the right track.

 

this is exactly how I feel, I am feeling pretty strong here on Day 15 and back at the gym after the initial first week on W30.  I want some solid habits going into hibernation season.