Torena's Whole30 Log

[torena]

I don't know how I missed this forum topic, but I just saw nsquared's log in her signature so now I think I'll do my own.

I've really understood what paleo was about for 1 1/2 years. I had heard it for a year or so before that, but it was from my fit friends and their superfit, crossfitting, marathon-running, MMA, self defense friends talking about making their performance better. I am not fit and I have never been fit. Sure, I was skinny as a teenager but I still had pudge on my belly. I can still remember being 16 or 17 in my Renaissance Festival garb lamenting how straight I needed to keep my back while sitting so that my stomach didn't push out.

In high school I had chronic acid reflux to the point that the school nurse and I were pretty close. Eventually I was diagnosed with GERD, and finally when I was 19 I was under the care of a gastroenterologist. After colonoscopies and endoscopies it was determined that I had no celiac disease, and no other understandable cause for the bloat and pain in my gut (so I basically self diagnosed myself with IBS, not many doctors were diagnosing that at the time) and lots of little ulcers in my stomach with no esophageal sphincter left and a minor hiatal hernia. In one of the preliminary tests for my surgery was to do a 24 hour measuring of the stomach acid splashing up into my esophagus. I had a tube up my nose and down my throat for 24 hours attached to a monitor. My GI doctor told me he had NEVER seen that amount of acid in a 20 year old. They did a nissin fundoplication where they pulled my stomach out of my diaphragm then wrapped it around itself to recreate the esophageal sphincter. The gut issues continued, my PCP handed me a book called Sugar Busters but I brushed it off as the latest fad. Oh how I wish now that I had paid attention but I was young and invincible right? The gut issues continued.

I quit smoking at 23 (almost 10 years ago!). The gut issues continued. I did not drink alcohol, it would make me hurt. Eventually I learned that drinking soda also made my stomach hurt. I could still drink coffee, though. I started putting on the pounds fairly gradually.

I've been an asthmatic since I was a child, and after I quit smoking and then switched to raw dairy from pasteurized I was able to get off my control medications. Up until a few months ago I only had about a week in June where I had to use my emergency inhaler. I don't know why it has flared up again.

I have suffered from various intensities of depression and anxiety. I have been medicated in the past but felt it wasn't severe enough to continue. I have had acne since puberty. Seasonal allergies. Some joint pain especially in my hips/knees after a day on my feet.

I gave birth to my daughter at 27, had some CRAZY anxiety during my pregnancy that required medication, and ended in an unwanted, unnecessary cesarean. Learned a few months later that I had hypothyroidism, but because my numbers fell into the (VERY LARGE) normal range it had never been taken seriously. In fact, my PCP told me he didn't think I had it, and wanted to put me on antidepressants. That's when I found my endocrinologist. We have played with different levels of medications, I got pregnant at 29.

At 6 weeks pregnant with my son I was sitting at my computer when I felt discomfort like diarrhea in my bowels. I suddenly got hit with the feeling that something was TERRIBLY. WRONG. The discomfort went up into my stomach and my chest, and into my back, and my shoulders, and I thought I was having a heart attack. I was on the floor writhing in pain and screaming while my husband called 911. EMTs said I was not having a heart attack, and I later learned in the ER that I had gallstones. The next year after a Christmas season of binging on all kinds of treats I had another attack, though this time I was prepared with pain medication. In June 2012 I was at work (in a retail store, so this was really embarassing/my worst nightmare) putting orders in packages to be shipped out when I got hit with the terribly wrong feeling and was suddenly very warm. I sat down with my coworkers and they asked if I was okay and all I could say was that I didn't know. The attack hit, and my pain meds were at home, and my husband was with my kids 30 minutes away. I tried to wait and couldn't and 911 had to be called. They didn't do an ultrasound because my symptoms matched my history. I continued to have attacks that week, and went to my PCP who ordered an ultrasound. They found numerous tiny stones and "probably" some sludge (I really like that term "probably", because I don't think you should make medical decisions on probably). Also, my liver was slightly enlarged. My doctor wasn't concerned about that. At this point I was maybe 50/50 paleo though I thought I had done a good job increasing my fat intake and that would solve my gallbladder issues. My PCP understood I had no desire to have it removed, so she recommended dietary change and I said I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I tried to have a salad with avocado but that made me go into another episode. I got a juicer and went no fat for a few days and then slowly started adding fat in.

I started researching. I found that a lot of people starting on their paleo adventure have a gallstone attack because your gallbladder is doing what it is SUPPOSED to do. I learned that no test for celiac disease is 100% accurate, and if you feel better without gluten then assume you have it. I learned through studies that celiac can account for delaying your gallbladder to squeeze out bile to digest fats, causing your bile to sit around and crystallize and cause gallstones. I learned that the majority of hypothyroidism is caused by Hashimoto's, just not to the degree of actual Hashimoto's disease, which is an autoimmune disorder, which may be caused by celiac disease.

I tried really hard to do paleo full time in the last 6 months. Only I was trying to get my husband and children involved at the same time. They are all picky eaters. My husband will have a bite of a vegetable he doesn't like to appease me but it just doesn't taste good to him. My kids don't like much protein (my daughter just started to enjoy garlic baked chicken thighs finally). They'll eat potatoes and rice at least, but they don't do sweet potatoes or butternut squash or cauilflower or green beans or brussels sprouts. Every new recipe I tried, even SWYPO, was not going over well. So far in my arsenal I only have Elana's Pantry's dark chocolate orange scones that they like. My farmer's bacon (which is sugar free thankfully) they do love, but scrambled eggs with bacon gets boring after a while and they only eat it with ketchup. I think I'm starting to make my point. I just constantly felt like a failure.

I bought ISWF and Practical Paleo. I decided that my only resolution for this year was to take care of MYSELF. The Whole30 has the guidelines in place, the support I need (I am so glad that the 1/1/13 forum is so active), and I finally have the motivation. It hasn't been as difficult as I expected and I think that is because I wasn't completely on the SAD when I began.

My goals:

1) Finally be free of ProActiv for treatment of my acne.

2) Have my mind be free of depressed/anxious thoughts.

3) Increased energy to live my life, take care of my family and my home.

4) See improvement in my thyroid numbers, maybe even get off my medication one day.

5) Have an ultrasound of my gallbladder in 6 months and see how it and my liver are doing.

6) Be able to breathe without wheezing.

7) Shed my excess weight (On day 1 I was 201.2 lbs, I am 5'3").

8) Could this heal my hemorrhoids?

My son is 30 months old and nurses. I am not hyperfocused on increasing carb intake to maintain my milk supply. I think that whatever supply I do have is probably well established and if it's going to go away because of a dietary change then so be it but I think we'll be fine.

I've fallen into a system of cooking big batches every 3-4 days. I have brussels sprouts, butternut squash, cauliflower, mixed greens, swiss chard, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemons (mainly for salad dressing but also for making water kefir), garlic, onions, celery, carrots, and ginger in the freezer. I have lard, coconut oil, EVOO (in dark bottles, even some Kasandrinos), and 4 packages of Kerrygold butter to turn into ghee. I'm not eating many nuts/seeds or fruit because it just isn't appealing to me as much. I have ground lamb, ground beef, whole chicken, and wild salmon (both a frozen side and canned). Apples, oranges, and bananas exist here but they are mostly for the family.

As much as I feel like I "failed" over the last year to get on board, I did build up a repertoire of recipes. I am trying to tell myself that I just spent the last year preparing.

I am on Day 10 today. Good things I have noticed so far:

1) An increase in energy, though it fades pretty quick come the afternoon.

2) Lessening of love handles.

3) Mental clarity. I don't think I've had any negative self talk in a few days!

4) I don't feel as much plaque buildup on my teeth throughout the day as before.

5) I don't need coffee!!! I do have a cup of green tea in the mornings because it's warm and it feels like a nice transition from sleep to awake.

6) My asthma is slowly fading. I have not needed to use my inhaler during the day for a few days now.

7) I am more hydrated because I'm not drinking coffee and I'm listening to my body (I have even noticed that there are times I think I am hungry that I drink water and I am not hungry anymore)

8) Increased performance in my pilates class, specifically on my plank (despite having a 3 week winter break from it).

I am looking forward to seeing how this is going to affect PMS/my period (sorry guys!). I saw some ladies having theirs at the beginning of this journey and I am so glad this timed out for me. I should be on the border of the Tiger Blood stage (haha) when it comes.

I know this is terribly long but this is my log right? I'm trying to make sure I get all the information into one post here. Something else I have added in that I got from Practical Paleo: baking soda and apple cider vinegar to clean my hair. I have gradually led up to this point as I have tried it on and off over 6 years. I think I've finally figured it out. I also don't clean my house with toxic products most of the time (I do a deep clean every so often with chemicals). We also only use soaps with basic non-toxic ingredients (made from natural oils, essential oils, natural ingredients like herbs, honey, etc). Basically lessening our overall toxic load, you know? I know it doesn't fall under the Whole30 but in case there's any kindred spirits reading this..

From a parenting perspective I also breastfeed my kids (my daughter til 4, my son is 2 1/2), cloth diapered and babyweared (babywore?) them. They are mostly gluten-free at least at this point - GF bread for sunflower butter and jelly (fruit sweetened only) sandwiches, GF pretzels, fruit snacks, fruit, cereal. I figure it's a start for them. I forgot to add that as a goal. I hope to have enough energy, clarity, understanding, patience, etc. from doing this Whole30 to then be able to add in transitioning my family. My husband is sweet, and after seeing the sacrifices I have made, has decided to finally drop his soda habit. It's a big deal for him because he's got narcolepsy and uses it to augment his excessive daytime sleepiness medication. We stopped at 7-11 on our way out over the weekend and he actually came back to the car empty handed and said he just didn't want to do it, that he had the cup in his hand and actually said NO. It's a start, and I'm very proud of him.

I'm going to stop rambling now. I think I've been writing this for 30 minutes. I'll make another post later with my daily stuff.

[torena]

Breakfast today, at around 9:30/9:45am, was 2 scrambled eggs, a couple hand-formed sausage patties (little), half an avocado, and about 1/4 to 1/3 cup Bubbie's sauerkraut.

I had kind of an energy slump today, but I promised myself I was going to listen to my body this month and just follow it's lead. I finally got moving around noon and hit a second wind or something, and got some work done around the house for 2 hours. I kept up my water (and a couple mugs of green tea) intake and finally got hungry again around 3:45. I "poached" a couple of eggs in mugs in the microwave because I had my stove taken apart and washing in the dishwasher. I heated up what was left of my butternut squash and brussels sprouts to go with it, and then I had a Larabar. I know Larabars are technically allowed but discouraged, but I've only had one other one in the last 10 days so I think I'm doing alright.

My fruit/veggie delivery that normally shows up around 4 has not arrived (it's 6:45 now), and of course the one day I am waiting for ingredients to make something with they are late. Husband has been sent to procure Chipotle. I understand chicken has some oil in the marinade but carnitas is just not that appetizing. I understand through reading some of the forums that people, when they go out to eat, focus on everything else but understand that the oil is the last of the things to worry about so I'm just giving myself a pass.

Tomorrow I will get my bulk cooking done. My kitchen is no longer a wreck (my husband injured his arm and between that and having two children constantly under foot it is difficult) so I think I can manage to clean as I cook.

[30Canandaigua]

Torena,

You have some SOLID goals woman! Good for you! I went to a PCP about my ailments and they too wanted me to take medication. I also have some acne type issues, but it turns out it is not acne, it is rosacea. Since starting the whole30, my skin has cleared up... I'm thinking because I have an allergy to alcohol

I wish you the best of luck! ***wishing my husband gave up soda LOL***

[torena]

Thank you 30Canandaigua!

Breakfast today was at 9: Two scrambled eggs, a couple of small handformed sausages, sauteed mushroom and shallots, and sauerkraut. I didn't finish all of it. I think I need to adjust my serving sizes here, this isn't the first time it's happened.

Lunch was at around 1:30/1:45: Mixed greens with lemon/olive oil/Fox Point seasoning dressing, avocado, tomatoes and a few slices of prosciutto.

Dinner was spread over about 30-45 minutes while I cooked the family's meal: Roasted butternut squash, roasted cauliflower, 4 or 5 Asian Meatballs (by Nom Nom Paleo).

I went out to Penzey's with some friends this morning. I bought the biggest tub possible of Sunny Paris because I use it so much. I also got chili powder (for my husband's chili), paprika, rogan josh seasoning, sweet curry powder, Fines Herbes, and more Ruth Ann's Muskego Ave seasoning.

Once my husband got home today I plated their meals and then left (they had lentils). I went to Starbucks for the first time since starting my Whole30. I had a pretty bad habit. I got an iced grande unsweetened green tea. A friend joined me, I ended up eating one of her slices of green apple from a bistro box, and once I got home I ate a handful of almonds. If I would just follow my body's signs here I probably could have made it to bed when I should (around 9 or 9:30) and not have had those almonds!

GOOD NEWS: I have not used my asthma inhaler in at least two days. Tonight I noticed my wedding ring is looser. I don't know if I mentioned this before but my heart rate is at 83 when it used to be consistently over 100. I think some of my skin is clearing up - my forehead is smoother but my cheeks still have raised bumps (which never went away despite using ProActiv). My bowels are moving way better than before.

[torena]

HALFWAY! Wow.

My weekend went well. We grilled out on Sunday with some friends who are mostly vegan so it was easy to make burgers, shrimp kabobs, a cole slaw (cabbage, grapefruit, serrano peppers, cilantro), a mixed salad (greens, tomatoes, pine nuts, avocado, red onion with a Fox Point seasoning/olive oil/sherry vinaigrette), and I brought a steak because I felt like I deserved it.

Breakfast: Sausage patty, 1 scrambled egg, handful of diced roasted butternut squash, handful of roasted brussels sprouts, sauerkraut.

Lunch: Baked chicken thigh, roasted cauliflower, green olives (marinated in water and sea salt).

Dinner: Chicken, artichokes hearts, roasted garlic, mixed greens with tomatoes and vinaigrette (Fox Point seasoning, olive oil, sherry vinegar), leftover grilled pineapple from Sunday

Snacked on some roasted/salted pistachios. Nuts are tricky and very addictive to me! Eek.

[torena]

Breakfast: Sausage patty, 1 scrambled egg, handful of diced roasted butternut squash, big serving of sauerkraut. Sauteed mushrooms but they were WAY too salty. Ooops.

Lunch: Leftover chicken thigh, leftover artichoke hearts, roasted garlic (literally like 7 cloves.. I love garlic).

Dinner: Leftover chicken thigh, roasted brussels sprouts, roasted cauliflower and polished off the last two pieces of grilled pineapple.

Snack around 9:30: Two soft scrambled eggs in olive oil with salt and pepper to help tame my tummy.

Post-ballet/pilates I wasn't feeling too hot. My stomach was grumbling, I had gas (how embarrassing while trying to exercise :/), and by the time I got to my car my entire abdomen was very angry at me. I had a similar experience the last two days and I am suspecting the grilled pineapple of all things. I was never a big pineapple eater to begin with, so I don't know, but I'm going to keep an eye on it. And hey, I have this handy food log here. I scrambled my eggs and it was very soothing and my gut seems to be relaxing now.

[torena]

Day 16

• Breakfast: Half a cup of coffee with coconut milk, Bacon, 2 soft scrambled eggs (a la Gordon Ramsay's video with olive oil instead of butter and no creme fraiche), roasted cauliflower.
  
• Lunch: Prosciutto, and I kind of snacked a bit here and there. More coffee.
  
• Dinner: Chipotle.
  

I did snack earlier in the day on 3/4 of my son's Larabar he didn't finish. Obviously my breakfast was not as good/big as it should have been since I got hungry around 1.

The night before this day was difficult. My daughter had kept my husband up rather frequently which had deemed his sleep medication (for his narcolepsy) useless and he decided to tell me all about it at 4am. I took over, alternating between my nursing son and my daughter that wanted cuddles. I did not fall asleep until some time between 5:30 and 6, then the alarm went off at 6:15, and I at least got to snooze until 7 though it wasn't deep sleep. Hence the first coffee in 3 weeks for me.

I had an intense sinus headache. It mostly centered around the area just above my nose between my eyes. I used my neti pot and tried to sniff in the water to get up there and blow it out but it just didn't help. The pain spread to my teeth (the roots of my teeth nearly touch my sinuses) and into the joints of my jaw. I'm not sure if I'm sensitive to something else after the pineapple incident or perhaps I am not hydrating like I should.

[torena]

Day 17

Rough night again last night with the kids. Cup of coffee this morning. We're having a coworker of my husband's over on Sunday so I need to CLEAN ALL THE THINGS so I really need this coffee to give me a boost. The headache was back when I woke up.

Breakfast: Coffee with coconut milk. Next thing I knew it was lunchtime. Oops.

Lunch: Leftover chicken coconut curry thing.

Dinner: The most delicious meatballs I've ever had with coconut milk raita (made with lemon juice instead of the lime juice, I'll do lime next time) and Balanced Bite's Tomato Olive Salad. I underfilled my plate to start, not knowing if I would like it, so I was pleased to get a second helping. I even snuck another meatball dipped in raita while I was putting leftovers away.

I put two more pounds of ground lamb on my order for next week... That was just so, so good.

I don't think it was just the coffee, but my energy continued beyond the caffeine. I cleared out a (small) closet of unused/incorrectly sized warm weather clothing for the family, then moved all of our current stuff in there to make my foyer look less cluttered. It echos in there now. I also went through the kids toys, bagged up some stuff for donation, and minimized it to the point that I could get rid of a toy box (hooray freecycle). The only downtime I had was when my son napped in my lap. Oh, two loads of laundry. And cleaned the windows in my car.

[Nila]

I'm so sorry you're not getting even close to the sleep you need. Any way to catch up soon?

[torena]

Hopefully this weekend. I should go to sleep now but I'm not quite tired enough yet. Though, now that I have said that I just yawned!

[Nila]

So...how was last night?

[torena]

Still rough, but not as bad as previous nights. My daughter woke me up and I was able to sneak away from the toddler to go sleep with her for about 2 hours before he realized I was gone. I had one cup of coffee today and then put it away. I want to avoid drinking more coffee if I can. Thanks for checking in on me.

[torena]

Day 18

• Breakfast: 1 cup coffee with coconut milk, 2 soft scrambled eggs, a sausage patty, about 1/4 cup sauerkraut, and some of that leftover yummy tomato/olive salad.
  
• Lunch: Leftover meatballs, raita, tomato/olive salad. A few hours later I was hungry again, and I suspect I didn't get enough veggies. I had another serving.
  
• Dinner: Damn Fine Chicken, roasted butternut squash, leftover roasted brussels with a squeeze of meyer lemon..
  

Today was a really good day. No headache! I wasn't as crazy busy as I was yesterday but I didn't drink as much coffee. I finally managed to fold all the laundry starting from before Christmas. Then I had to carry it up two flights of stairs (hooray for LHT! ). It's hard to believe how much that flu knocked us down. Well, and I gave myself a free pass the last few weeks.

[torena]

Day 19

• Breakfast: Bacon, scrambled eggs, sauerkraut, tomato/olive salad.
  
• Lunch: Mixed greens, olives, pine nuts, tomatoes, bacon, sherry vinaigrette with two leftover Damn Fine Chicken drumsticks. I had a coffee with coconut milk afterward.
  
• Dinner: Chipotle.
  

I'm finding that as I clean up my insides, psychologically I want to clean up and declutter my outside. Of course it helps that we have company coming over tomorrow, but things that don't pertain to that like getting in the back yard and dumping out all of my terra cotta pots to give away on Freecycle. I reorganized the kids craft drawers, then reorganized mine and DH's desk spaces, and also reorganized the kids toy cubby. I've been sorting stuff all week, putting it into bags for donation, and it feels GREAT. Having a clean and organized home is so important to my sanity. I still have plenty to do though.

I've been starting to think about what I'm going to do on Day 31, since we're nearing the last week. I'd like to continue this, however there are a couple of important things happening. One is that our favorite local sushi place put up a For Lease sign last week and we love it there -- they adore our kids, and the kids love going there, too, so that helps. If they're closing then I want to go at least once before they close. Second is that my birthday is on February 26th and I'd like to have a treat. I'm okay with coconut milk ice cream if I have to but it'd be nice to just.. go out. So that means I need to reintroduce both dairy and sugar before then. I still need to read that chapter in ISWF. I definitely plan on continuing with less "cheats" in the long run because I feel so damned good.

[torena]

Day 20

• Breakfast: 3 slices of bacon, 2 fried eggs with tabasco sauce, 1 sliced tomato fried in whatever oil was leftover
  
• Lunch: Coconut chips, olives.. I may not have really eaten a lunch.
  
• Dinner: Chipotle
  

2/3 of the way through and I am finding myself a little nervous about the end. I know I want to continue eating but I think I need hard guidelines to follow. I am afraid of what will happen if I have sugar again. I know gluten is right out. I do want to have cheese and raw dairy occasionally so I still think that will be something I'll test. I'm thinking I will need to bake my own cupcakes for my birthday on 2/26 or something. I am feeling rather confident in my cooking this week. After my vegetable box was stolen on Thursday I had to make a run to the store to buy everything that was in it. I got home, I made a big batch of ghee (which I've been meaning to do for, erm, 20 days), started a batch of water kefir and a batch of green tea kombucha (though it's got a cup of black tea starter but whatever), and my sausage stir fry: 1 1/2 lbs of sausage, 1 yellow onion, 1 red onion (both onions were kind of small), 1 package baby bella mushrooms, 1 package broccoli slaw, 2 bunches rainbow swiss chard, a handful of chopped parsley and a few dashes of fish sauce. I still have some roasted butternut squash from a few days ago. I have found I feel better without carbs in the morning and then I forget about it later. I haven't had fruit in a few days. I wonder if that accounts for my better mood. I bought more ingredients for the coconut milk raita with lime for the meatballs I'll make later this week. Well Fed has a recipe for sauteed apples with bacon and pecans that I might do over some pork chops. I don't know what I'm doing with those pork chops yet. I do know that my whole chicken will be cut up into breast pieces for a coconut chicken curry (with broccoli, carrots, snow peas and cauliflower), legs/thighs for baked chicken (I am going to make mayo so maybe for chicken salad on top of the mixed greens I bought) and the carcass for stock. I also am going to make the salmon cakes from ISWF, and I have a pound of clams in the fridge in water filtering out their sand and those will probably be lunch tomorrow. I will saute garlic in olive oil in my spanish cazuela, add the clams, some chicken stock and lemon juice and parsley. Yum.

I worked my ass off this weekend around my house. We were supposed to have company over today (a coworker of my husband's) but she had to back out at the last minute. It's been nice to have things so pretty and organized, and it allows me to focus on other projects like organizing closets and bedrooms. That's what I'll be working on this week.

[Nila]

I am afraid of what will happen if I have sugar again.

My doctor put it to me this way (he has a similar make up as I), "You just can't have sugar. Sugar is poison to you and me." So, I have to look at it like it's gluten which I feel the effect of. It's hard though. I mean, sweet is good stuff, huh? I'm trying to wrap my head around "no sugar." Now, I also know he's said that if I can do it without going off the deep end, chocolate now and then isn't the end of the world. But, I don't know about my ability to stick with now and then.

Nice work on the house. That's my favorite when I end up with a freebie in terms of a clean house and time to enjoy it.

[torena]

There are other sweeteners at least, and scoring this ice cream maker will help me with that. But that'll just be for random treats. You know, at this point I think I'm okay saying no gluten, no sugar. There's just so much that can go wrong and so much from my lifetime of too much sugar.. I probably have eaten enough of it, haha!

[torena]

Day 21

• Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1/4 cup sauerkraut, sausage stirfry
  
• Lunch: 2 leftover Damn Fine Chicken drumsticks, handful of raw snow peas, a few kalamata olives
  
• "Snack": Spanish mackerel in olive oil, handful of grapes
  
• Dinner: Baked chicken thigh, handful of chopped up butternut squash (that I only ate one piece of as I remembered how carbs have made me feel), big mixed green salad with tomatoes, avocados, pine nuts, lemon and olive oil.
  

Yesterday was a tricky day. My daughter was home and threw my whole schedule off. Every time I'd start working on something there was an interruption. We left around lunchtime (I chowed right before we left) to go run some errands and my son fell asleep in the car. We ended up driving to my inlaws to visit. She saw me go to pull out my sardines from my purse and said she had Spanish mackerel in the fridge and fed me some. Tried to give me some roasted peppers but I read the jar -- sugar. Seriously. Ugh. I had a handful of the grapes my son wasn't eating and a slice of a blood orange that my MIL was serving to my daughter. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich my son ate smelled sooo good. It smelled of my childhood. Went to sleep at 10 tonight instead of 11 the previous few nights.

[torena]

Day 22

• Breakfast: 2 cups of coffee with coconut milk, sausage stir fry, 1 scrambled egg.
  
• Lunch: Chicken thigh, big mixed green salad with tomatoes, twice as many avocado as yesterday, olive oil/apple cider vinaigrette with Fox Point seasoning.
  
• Dinner: Made some clams but used water instead of wine (BORING) but redeemed myself with 2 of the the ISWF salmon cakes. Yum!
  

Period showed up today. I know where some of that angst is from now! I kind of want to just curl up in bed and sleep so I'm going to see about doing that earlier tonight. I'm going to limit my coffee to one cup tomorrow instead of two. I have work/errands to run tomorrow so I can't be loopy.

[torena]

Day 23

I feel like I totally pwned today (for non-gamers that means I beat the shit out of it). It's 7:30, and aside from the regular grumpiness of dealing with children that don't like what I made for dinner, I'm in a pretty good mood.

• Breakfast: 1 cup of coffee with coconut milk, 2 scrambled eggs, sausage stirfry (and it tasted so much better today, I don't know why)
  
• Lunch: I didn't get hungry til about 3:30 and I had some chicken thigh/legs, some almonds, some dried cherries, some coconut (can you tell the kids were snacking at this time..?) because I didn't want to fill up before dinner..
  
• Dinner: Coconut Chicken Curry (chicken, red bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas in coconut milk with red curry paste)
  

I have to say I have continued gradually to have better interactions with my kids as I start to feel better. I have more patience than I did 3 weeks ago, and more desire to spend time with them (as awful as that sounds, it's just hard for me to get on their level).

[torena]

Day 24

• Breakfast: 2 cups of coffee with coconut milk, 1 salmon cake
  
• Lunch: Leftover chicken coconut curry
  
• Second Lunch (around 3:45): 1 salmon cake, half an avocado
  
• Dinner: Pork chops, mixed green salad with tomatoes, avocado, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.
  

Yesterday was a 2 hour delay because of the snow for school to start and my husband had to take his car to the shop so it was a weird morning. After going to the bus stop at 9:30 I got back and cleaned a little bit but the next thing I knew my son needed a nap and my eating times were skewed. When we were getting in the car to go to the bus stop in the afternoon and then the store my stomach was very angry. I don't know if I didn't eat enough or if a piece of baby corn snuck in to my lunch (I put it in there to tempt everyone else to eat it and said I would pick it out but I think a piece made it in my mouth, either that or cauliflower) and my body doesn't like it. Either way, it's over, and we didn't go to the store. I drank some fresh homemade chicken broth with lemon juice in it that was pretty soothing. I did have to take some ibuprofen just to get through the last bit of the pain. After the kids fell asleep I realized I was pretty tired and I probably fell asleep by 9:15!

[torena]

Day 25

• Breakfast: A cup of green tea, sausage stir-fry, sauerkraut, 2 scrambled eggs with ghee.
  
• Lunch: Mixed green salad with red onion, pine nuts, tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, squeeze of lime, salt/pepper and a leftover pork chop.
  
• Dinner: Well Fed's Chicken Pad Thai with broccoli and julienned zoodles instead of snap peas and spaghetti squash.
  

Today has been a very good day! The alarm went off and I was not groggy. I'm going to need to sleep at 9/9:30 I think. I got a bunch of work done in our spare room before the phone call came that they were closing schools early because of snow so then it was the mad dash to shower and eat and time my sons nap in the car so I could wait at the bus stop. Ran to Walmart afterwards for a few things and did not even crave the junk at the checkout! Got home, made Well Fed's mayo and sunshine sauce. I was going to make this avocado chocolate mousse for my daughter but my avocados were long gone and streaky inside. I am going to steam some green beans to dip into mayo tomorrow.

[Callan]

Glad you're doing well - isn't that pad Thai amazing?! As a fellow gamer, I am amused by your use of pwned! XD

[torena]

Yay, another gamer! I have wondered how many of us there are.

[torena]

Day 26

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sausage stir-fry
  
• Lunch: Chipotle
  
• Dinner: 12 ounce sirloin, green beans almondine, side salad
  

We had an impromptu date day today, just me and my husband. We took the kids to his parent's house and then saw The Hobbit and got to go out to eat afterward. The waiter was wonderful (and we tipped him well for it) about my requests for no butter finishing, no butter on the veg, when I said I couldn't eat dairy I was happy to see he even made sure there was no cheese on my salad and he brought me a bottle of olive oil and a bottle of vinegar.