ashleycolette's Whole30 Log

[ashleycolette]

My plan was to start Whole30 on February 1st, but as with anything you REALLY want to try, it's hard to wait for the first, or Monday, or the new year, etc. I'm also hoping to get past the hangover, 'kill all things', and napping phases before I begin a kettlebell class on February 4th.

About Me - I'm 28. I have a desk job. I love, love, LOVE to cook. I've been overweight since the third grade. I weighed 203 today and it's going to be SUPER difficult to not weigh myself for the next 30 days.I try to exercise a couple days each week and stay motivated by signing up for 5k obstacle courses. I'm also planning to run my first half marathon at Disney in February in 2014 with my best friend. She is going to start the Whole30 on February 1st as well, so cooking with a friend (and having someone to accompany me on this journey) will be fun.

I ordered It Starts With Food and Well Fed, but since they haven't arrived yet, I'm using the web to get me through the first few days.

Here's what I've had today:

Breakfast - Three scrambled eggs with onion and spinach

Lunch - Ground beef with taco seasoning (homemade) over romaine with scallions, avocado, and salsa

Dinner - Pork Egg Foo Young using this recipe: http://www.theclothe...o-egg-foo-yung/

I actually couldn't finish all of dinner, so I put it in the fridge in case I'm hungry in a couple hours.

I also made my own mayo with pastured eggs that I picked up today. Here's the recipe: http://www.theclothe...-mayo-patience/

It actually turned out pretty well, but next time I'm planning to use apple cider vinegar, as I can slightly taste the lemon juice. I'm planning to make chicken salad with the whole chicken I have in the slow cooker right now.

Overall I'm excited about trying new recipes, nervous that I'll have no self control when it comes to temptations, and surprised that I feel as full as I do right now!

Here's to day two...

[ashleycolette]

Ok, I finished the rest of my dinner! I'm about to make the chicken salad and had a sample of the chicken (DEE-LICIOUS!).

Does anyone have suggestions for drinks other than water? I've tried pomegranate and key lime flavored water - both tasted horribly to me. I've been addicted to Crystal Light and MiO, so it may just be that it'll take awhile for my taste buds to adjust to something not at sweet.

[ashleycolette]

Day 2 -

Today went okay. I'm craving something sweet right now and trying to satisfy it with the Hint brand strawberry-kiwi water I picked up at Wegman's today. This is definitely a better alternative to the carbonated beverages for me. It's ALMOST satisfying my sweet tooth.

Last night I had a bit of trouble falling asleep because I was feeling nauseous. Before starting Whole30, I was trying to limit my meat intake, so I don't think my body was really prepared for the pork, chicken, beef, AND five eggs.

Funny, I just saw a Special K commercial, which I don't even really care for, but a bowl of sugary cereal right now sounds fabulous.

Getting up, I was just as groggy as usual. I'm definitely not a morning person. I made breakfast, went to work, left early to go grocery shopping, and drove home. My short ride home inspired a bit of road rage, but that's pretty standard when dealing with other drivers in the snow in Maryland (nothing from my lack of carbs or sugar). I think I'm lagging a bit in energy. I'm going to work out tomorrow doing SOMETHING, probably playing 'Just Dance' in my living room.

Here's what I've had today:

Breakfast - Two scrambled eggs with salsa and avocado (this wasn't as good as I was hoping for)

Snack - Clementine and some pistachios

Lunch - Salad with homemade dressing (mayo, apple cider vinegar, herbs, garlic, salt) with a couple bites of chicken salad

Snack - A few more bites of chicken salad

Dinner - Two chicken thighs and a can of green beans. I also had a mug of chili.

I think I'm eating too much meat and not enough veggies. I'll definitely add some more veggies to my meals tomorrow. I'm excited to try the cauliflower rice stuff that I've seen so many people post about. I also tried to make clarified butter today, but I think I burnt it. I'll try that again next week.

Tomorrow I'm planning to go to a coworkers house to have a game night and make dinner. I'm afraid I'm going to sound too picky and make it a hassle for everyone, but she already knows ahead of time what I'm doing and seems excited to try new recipes.

Man... I have tv on while I'm typing this, and I keep ignoring most of the tv shows, but pausing to watch all the food commercials. Helloooooo Olive Garden.

I'm planning to go to sleep early tonight (it's a great way to stop thinking about my sugary cravings). I downloaded the Sleep Cycle app I've read about in these forums. I'm eager to see what it reports after it's been calibrated.

2 days down, 28 to go!

[ashleycolette]

Day 3 -

I made it through a social situation without cheating! I just got back from dinner. I have a coworker that I really like and I've hung out with on a couple of occasions. We had dinner tonight at her friends house. I'd previously met her friend two times before. She was very accommodating with my dietary restrictions and set aside foods for me to eat without the added goodies that everyone else was having.

I've felt fairly energetic today. I don't normally drink caffeine, but I occasionally rely on a root beer or Dr. Pepper to give me that extra *pep*. Today I felt like I'd had that soda, but I promise it was only water.

I slept well last night. It was the second night in a row of having vivid (unpleasant) dreams. Hoping those stop tonight. I think it's really just because I've been analyzing so many things that it's hard for my brain to shut down.

The menu today:

Breakfast - Sweet potato hash with a small bowl of chili

Lunch - Large salad with some pork (from Trader Joe's) and homemade salad dressing from my mayo!

Dinner - Strip steak with sweet potatoes, green beans, and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Just because I feel so proud of what I turned down at dinner tonight, I have to share it with you...

-Baked brie with slivered almonds and butter on top with crackers

-Mashed sweet potatoes (butter, cream, etc.)

-Truffle butter on the green beans

-Montreal Steak seasoning (I ended up using Adobo Seasoning with cumin which was still pretty tasty)

- GEORGETOWN CUPCAKES. I've been wanting to try these for a long time, but I refuse to go to DC, really because I just don't like to drive more than 20 minutes, and certainly don't like busy streets, paying for parking, and paying outrageous prices for everything else. However, there were a dozen different cupcakes in this box that were provided for dessert and they all looked and smelled AMAZING. Man. I really wanted one, but really, I'm still satisfied from dinner and that was four hours ago.

The dinner was with six other people (three couples). Everyone knew I was eating Paleo and made a couple of jokes, but it was all in good fun and they understood. Granted, I'm not worried about people giving me grief for being on this diet. No one is responsible for buying or making my food, so it's not their problem.

I'm excited to try these tomorrow: http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/06/13/carmelized-coconut-chips/

Oh! I also got a work out in today. It was 30 minutes on the elliptical. Hoping to go again tomorrow.

3 days down, 27 to go...

[ashleycolette]

Day 4 -

Today didn't go as well as the past three. I had breakfast around 10:30, began reading It Starts With Food (just got it in the mail), and hung around the house for a bit. I played 'Just Dance' for about 20 minutes and got a horrible stomachache. After about an hour, I started to feel a bit better, but definitely no desire to finish working out. I skipped lunch because I wasn't hungry. I just finished eating dinner a bit ago and I'm waiting to see if that makes my stomach upset.

I'm planning to go to bed early tonight and hopefully I'll sleep through the night. Last night I was woken up by hearing my roommates boyfriend snoring around 5:30am. We share a vent, which is unfortunate on certain nights but fine most of the time.

I also tested out the coconut chip recipe I'd mentioned yesterday. I ate probably about half a cup of them, and I'm crossing my fingers that had nothing to do with my upset stomach... because they're DELICIOUS!

On the menu today:

Breakfast - Three scrambled eggs with spinach and some leftover sweet potato hash

Snack - Toasted coconut chips

Lunch - Skipped due to upset tummy

Dinner - Two chicken legs, cauliflower 'rice', and green beans

I have lots of food in my fridge that I need to use up before I start cooking anything else.

I'm REALLY missing bread, sweets, and cheese. Yesterday I woke up to half a pan of brownies my roommate's boyfriend had made, and then came home to a loaf of pumpkin bread they'd made. It's definitely testing my will power to keep turning so many things down. I also skipped on going to brunch with some friends today because I didn't see anything on the menu I thought I could eat. I suggested to her today that she join the program so she's doing it along with me and my best friend.

The three of us usually get together on Thursday nights for dinner and to hang out. I make the main course and they each bring something, including dessert. I haven't figured out how this will work for the next month if we aren't all three on the same program. Worst case scenario, I'll just postpone getting together with food as the focus for a few weeks.

I'm eager to read the logs everyone has as the month draws to an end. It's been inspiring getting to read about everyone else's journey.

4 days down, 26 to go... could this go any slower?

[ashleycolette]

Day 5 -

B - Stack of pancakes, maple syrup, sausage patties

L - Broiled crab cake sandwi.... Just kidding!

I have become obsessed with reading everything I can find about Whole30, between books, articles, blogs, and this forum. I spent some time today looking through older Whole30 logs, trying to find first timers that finished the 30 days (preferably without a slip) and then posted about how they felt at the end and the changes in their body. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of success. It seems lots of people don't come back to finish their posts. That leads me to believe they fell off the wagon and didn't want to return to write about it. I know, I know. That's the pessimist in my coming out. I understand everyone has weak moments, and sometimes the timing is just off. That's not going to be me. I honestly have no intention after this to go another 30 days without a sweet treat, grain, cheese, or sip of alcohol. I'm not saying that I plan to resume my old way of eating. I'm saying that I plan to treat myself once or twice within 30 days. I have NO desire to have to start over.

This log is helping me stay accountable. I like that I have a place, that other people can read, to come and report how the day went and track my progress.

Speaking of progress, I didn't (and haven't in years) take my measurements, so I figured I would do that today. This isn't very scientific, as I have to use string to measure it against my measuring tape

Bust: About 45" (wasn't sure if this was supposed to be with or without a bra)

Waist: About 38"

Hips: About 44"

Thigh: About 26.5"

I woke up right before my alarm today. That's actually been happening the past few days, but I have the horrible habit of hitting snooze and/or wanting to lay in bed way longer. I didn't fall asleep until about 1am last night, but slept well overall. I'm really enjoying this Sleep Cycle app! Can't wait to see the reports after it calibrates.

I've decided to jazz up my posts with a few pics of my food. For the past few months, my best friend and I have been telling each other what we're eating each day to help with accountability. We would occasionally send pics, and that's pretty much all I've been doing lately. HOWEVER, I can't figure out a way to just load a picture. Is that even an option? Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Here's what I've had so far today:

Breakfast - Sweet potato hash and some chili (I think this is my fave combo)

Lunch - Some Trader Joe's pork, mashed cauliflower (like it better than the rice), and green beans

Snack - About 10 pistachios

For dinner I'm planning to have a salad with chicken (taco type seasoning), avocado, and salsa

I'm feeling incredibly bloated right now. Really need that to go away! I'm about to play 'Just Dance' for 30 minutes, then have dinner, and later tonight my BFF returns from MI! Can't wait!

[ashleycolette]

Day 5 cont... -

I ended up snacking on some coconut chips, chicken salad, and a hard boiled egg with mayo when I got home from picking up my friend at the airport. Apparently my dinner hadn't be large enough. I went to sleep around 12:30, and tossed and turned a little bit.

This morning I'm eating two scrambled eggs with spinach and some sweet potato hash. I just got through chapter 7 last night of ISWF. Is a sweet potato really a good thing to start the morning with? I'm not really sure how many carbs it is. I've been averaging about half a sweet potato when I have it in the morning. It's probably one of my favorite things now. Should I be eating a different veggie in the morning?

Off to work!

[ashleycolette]

I love my mom. I try to have dinner at her house once a week. I told her about the program, and sent her a link to theclothesmakethegirl.com, and tonight all of the recipes came from whole 30! And it was delicious!

Today has been pretty good. I came home on my lunch break with enough energy to clean up my bedroom and bathroom. I can always tell when I'm starting to feel frazzled or down because my house becomes a mess. I may not dust and vacuum like I'm supposed to, but I try to keep clutter from piling up too much.

After work, I went to a boxing class. I had to take a couple breaks, but I didn't fall over or pass out. Then I went straight to my mom's for dinner. After dinner, I went home to shower and went to get my MASSAGE. I'm really hoping that getting a massage will decrease my recovery time from boxing class. It felt great. Now I have a pretty bad headache. I'm not surprised. I've actually expected the first week to be horrible, but feel I've done surprisingly well with cutting out most of my favorite foods. I had an upset stomach yesterday and Sunday, but was fine today.

Here's what I've had to eat today:

Breakfast - Two scrambled eggs with spinach, sweet potato hash

Lunch - Three chicken salad lettuce wraps - I added onion, celery, spinach, and red pepper to the chicken salad

Snack - 5 pistachios and a clementine

Dinner - Some sort of dijon chicken, mashed cauliflower, and the cinnamon/cumin roasted carrots

I'm hoping for the headache to go soon (I took some Tylenol) and to fall asleep shortly.

6 days down, 24 to go...

[ashleycolette]

Day 7 -

Is anyone out there? Today was absolutely horrible. Not because of food, but because my shower is leaking behind the wall, and now my tub, drywall, and downstairs NEIGHBORS drywall has to be replaced. I've called my home owner's insurance, and I don't think they're going to cover it. It's ridiculous. I feel like I can't catch a break with huge expenses. My AC broke in October, and I was researching companies to replace my furnace and AC (and water heater). Looks like 2013 is going to be record breaking with huge purchases. Last summer it was my car transmission (which isn't cheap for a Honda V6). Despite everything in my house falling apart (and ruining my neighbors), and wanting to just go out, get drunk, and eat a cheesesteak sub, I stayed on plan!

Breakfast - Leftover dijon chicken and mashed cauliflower

Lunch - Hard boiled egg with some mayo and chili (I was dealing with the plumber, so I was distracted and not very hungry)

Dinner - Garbage Stir-Fry with Curried Cabbage and diced tomatoes (from nomnompaleo) and baked butternut squash

Also, I have a confession. I have been weighing myself the past couple of days. I'm officially under the 200 mark! I know, I know... you're not supposed to weigh in for 30 days but if I'm going to cheat on anything, that's not so bad. At least it's not chocolate. My plan is to resist weighing myself at least until next week. It's just encouraging to see progress in that, but I can see how it'd discourage me if the numbers started going up.

So glad that my first week is over. Congrats to everyone finishing their Whole30 today! That's awesome and I'm enjoying all the posts.

7 days down, 23 to go...

[torena]

Hi there! First, last week you posted asking about drinks. Somewhere I read about rewarding that sugar dragon, that you really should just cut out the sweet, period. Aside from an apple or a banana here and there, I had two or three larabars throughout the whole month and that was usually in a pinch - in the car during errands and didn't plan appropriately. So lesson from me: be prepared! However, I recommend trying out kombucha. There's a post in the forums about what the limit is on sugar content. Do a search in the "Can I have ___?" forum for kombucha.

Ooof on your drywall issue! We had to replace our ac and furnace last year. It was rough. Thankfully they had a program with a credit card company to finance it. Even still the budget did not like that hit.

I see you made the garbage stir fry with curried cabbage! That's on my list to make. I don't have ground beef right now, and I have plans for my ground lamb (meatballs! seriously, the best ever, even pre-paleo!). I'll get there, though, it's bookmarked!

You're 1/4 of the way there and you're doing great! See if you can get your roommate to hide your scale. I made my husband hide it. I eventually found it but it was just a few days ago and I was able to tell myself to forget about it because I made it that far without it.

Also, hello from the metro DC area! I'm down in Manassas, VA but when I first moved up here I lived in Rockville and Gaithersburg. I'm following your posts, so if you need some support PLEASE reach out. I had a great support system in the 1/1/13 forum and if I hadn't seen other people going through the same struggles/successes as me I would have felt very alone and might have given up.

[ashleycolette]

Hi there! First, last week you posted asking about drinks. Somewhere I read about rewarding that sugar dragon, that you really should just cut out the sweet, period. Aside from an apple or a banana here and there, I had two or three larabars throughout the whole month and that was usually in a pinch - in the car during errands and didn't plan appropriately. So lesson from me: be prepared! However, I recommend trying out kombucha. There's a post in the forums about what the limit is on sugar content. Do a search in the "Can I have ___?" forum for kombucha.

Ooof on your drywall issue! We had to replace our ac and furnace last year. It was rough. Thankfully they had a program with a credit card company to finance it. Even still the budget did not like that hit.

I see you made the garbage stir fry with curried cabbage! That's on my list to make. I don't have ground beef right now, and I have plans for my ground lamb (meatballs! seriously, the best ever, even pre-paleo!). I'll get there, though, it's bookmarked!

You're 1/4 of the way there and you're doing great! See if you can get your roommate to hide your scale. I made my husband hide it. I eventually found it but it was just a few days ago and I was able to tell myself to forget about it because I made it that far without it.

Also, hello from the metro DC area! I'm down in Manassas, VA but when I first moved up here I lived in Rockville and Gaithersburg. I'm following your posts, so if you need some support PLEASE reach out. I had a great support system in the 1/1/13 forum and if I hadn't seen other people going through the same struggles/successes as me I would have felt very alone and might have given up.

Hi Torena! Thanks so much for the encouragement and advice. I've discovered I really like Hint Flavored Water, and I think I can really only taste the flavor in it because I haven't had any sugar at all. I have a bottle of kombucha at home, but I've been afraid to try it. I'm doubting I'll like the taste at all and I've been pretty happy to have a bottle or two of the flavored water. It was really the carbonated water that tasted HORRIBLE to me.

I finally had a plumber come out today. It's going to cost under $2k to get the new tub and tile in, which is probably about as good as the news can be for me. As far as eating the past two days, I'm going to post what I can remember (hope this is right)

Day 8:

Breakfast: Leftover garbage stirfry with butternut squash

Lunch: Salad with two hard boiled eggs and homemade dressing

Snack: Piece of proscuitto and a piece of shrimp (I was grazing at the work happy hour I had to set up)

Dinner: Law carb crabcake recipe with roasted red pepper/avocado sauce, salad with homemade dressing, and sweet potato fries

Day 9:

Breakfast: Leftover garbage stirfry with butternut squash

Lunch: Leftover garbage stirfry with mashed cauliflower (that was a GREAT combo, btw)

Snack at work: Grapes

Snack after work: Larabar (it was delicious and I was starving going grocery shopping)

Dinner: Chicken with gravy, mashed cauliflower, roasted carrots

Overall I'm feeling pretty good. The biggest change I've noticed is that I haven't felt like I needed a nap in the middle of the day, no afternoon slump for me! I still have plenty of cravings, but I've succeeded avoiding and declining anything that's not on the plan.

I'm on DAY 10 NOW!

Breakfast - Sweet potato hash with two scrambled eggs and spinach.

My friend started Whole30 yesterday. We cooked together last night and we will tonight as well. The plan is to spend Sundays making a few meals for the week and splitting them up. It makes it way easier to share the burden, helps increase our success by preparing in advance, and it's fun just to get to spend the time together.

We're going out tonight to celebrate a friend's birthday at Dave and Busters. Definitely planning to eat dinner before hand. It'll be hard not to grab an appetizer or drink, but the games should be distracting and it'll be much better to go there than to just a typical bar.

I'm thrilled that I'm pretty much one third of the way done. I don't think I've hit my 'Whole30 high' yet and still have lots of plans for what I want to eat when this is done. I won't torment you by listing out my cravings though.

9.5 days down, 20.5 to go!!

[ashleycolette]

The rest of Day 10:

Lunch - Chicken salad, salad with homemade dressing, sauteed zucchini and squash, and half a crab cake

Dinner - Boneless pork chops, leftover gravy, caramelized onion jam, velvety butternut squash, salad with homemade dressing

Snack - Chicken salad after going out to the bar

The birthday celebration at Dave and Busters was a success. I think I had 3-4 glasses of water while we were there. Every time I would glance at the plates of appetizers just hanging out at our table, I would try to fill up on water. I know if I wasn't doing Whole30, I definitely would have been snacking on the mozzarella sticks, or potato chips, or pigs in a blanket... BUT, I didn't. Instead I spent my time bouncing around from game to game and enjoying myself without eating or drinking. Yes, of course I missed it, and I wanted to try all of their colorful, sweet, alcoholic beverages, but I still had a good time without all of that.

Day 11 -

Breakfast/Lunch - I woke up rather late, so breakfast really happened around 1pm. I tried the jicama home fries recipe from Well Fed. I think it would have tasted better if we'd peeled all the skin off, and if the jicama had been in the slow cooker for 24 hours to become softer. Also had scrambled eggs with spinach and tried to make homemade breakfast sausage. It was kind of dry. Overall, I wasn't impressed with breakfast.

Dinner - Leftover pork with gravy and onions, butternut squash casserole, and made some mashed cauliflower

I also spent most of last night cooking with my best friend while watching the superbowl (Go Ravens!). We made:

-Spaghetti Sauce

-Chocolate Chili

-Chicken

-Smoked Tuna salad

This should be enough to not have to cook very much throughout the week except for the veggies. This is especially important since I'll have my new kettlebell class on Mon/Wed nights at 7:30pm and I need to find time to use up the rest of my boxing classes before the 13th (not sure I'm going to meet that goal). That'll definitely take away some time for cooking.

[ashleycolette]

Day 12 -

Breakfast: Leftover chicken salad and sauteed squash (and a bite or two of smoked tuna salad)

Lunch: Leftover shredded sweet potato and chocolate chili

Dinner: Spaghetti sauce (with beef) over spaghetti squash with a salad and homemade ranch dressing

Snack: Carrots with ranch

I changed my kettle bell class to start in March instead of the February session. I felt too overwhelmed trying to finish up the boxing classes AND going to kettle bell twice a week. Planning to go to boxing tonight right after work. I also have plans for dinner tonight at mom's. Can't wait to see what she decided to cook up! I felt kind of tired yesterday, but I think that's mainly because it's 'that time' of the month. I'm hoping today that I'll have more energy. We'll see...

12 days down, 18 to go!

[torena]

I hit a slump in energy, too, when I hit pms/period time. I'm hoping this month will be better! You're almost halfway there, good for you!

[ashleycolette]

I hit a slump in energy, too, when I hit pms/period time. I'm hoping this month will be better! You're almost halfway there, good for you!

Looks like my energy slump ended today! I felt pretty great all day, and my jeans for the first time (that I can remember) just felt comfortable. Normally I'm eager to get home and change in to my 'comfy' clothes, but I felt good all day at work. I also felt attractive in general. I guess feeling comfortable in your clothes can do that for ya.

Also, reading through the forums I noticed someone (can't remember who) listing their activity separately from their food. I think that's a great motivator, as I don't want to continuously post 'no activity today'. So here it goes...

Food

Breakfast: I TRIED to eat 'the best chicken you'll ever have' and I didn't like it. I heated it up with some mashed cauliflower and only ate maybe 1/3 of what I'd put on my plate before I tossed it. My taste buds are a bit more discriminating in the mornings so it just wasn't working out.

Lunch: Salad with homemade ranch and leftover spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce

Dinner: My mom made smoked paprika chicken and roasted veggies (zucchini, squash, onion, red pepper, asparagus) and it was delicious! I feel spoiled that she's making recipes specifically for me.

Activity

I had planned to go to boxing class, but the contractor left too late so I didn't make it. Instead, I went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical, one of the weight machines for arms, and another one for glutes. I need to start doing weight routines at home because I feel silly when I spend too long trying to read how to use the weight machines, or if other people are waiting to use them. I guess really I should be focusing on not caring about the people around me at the gym and just learn to use the machines properly, but in the meantime...

13 days down, 17 to go...

[CrazyCow]

Hi ashleycolette!

Wow you are doing a great job. I've just read all your posts in one go and you seem really on top of things!

I had a giggle about the best chicken posting you made, as my kids would say something similar. It's too spice infused for them (and they like spice)--but for me it's just great. I've enjoyed it with sweet potato mash, ghee and spinach. Reminds me a touch of the coronation chicken with jacket potatoes I love so much--and I am certain there is a way to work that into a W30 offering, but I just haven't yet.

I'm in post W30 days, though I've only tried reintroducing dairy, which I then took back off of the list, not because it made me feel one way or another--it just didn't leave me with the 'WOW I missed this!" sort of feeling. So I figured, why bother? That said I did not go for the ice cream, brie or gorgonzola that I remember loving, but I've just not been as in a rush this past week to go for it.

Today would have been a gluten intro for me. Your Georgetown Cupcakes reference reminded me of that. We had a 'special delivery' of super posh gourmet brownies, which I thought at the time would have been a good trial. Along with that, there were left over super sandwiches up for grabs. I looked, but just didn't feel the inclination to go down that road. So I didn't!

Good luck with the next half of your W30--I loved putting clothing on that felt one way pre W30 and now feels completely different. Long may it continue for us both!

[ashleycolette]

Thanks CrazyCow! Your board is actually one I've been following on pinterest recently. I love finding new recipes to try, but still going to have to disagree on the 'best chicken I've ever had'. I'm still feigning for a cupcake or something sweet. I wish that craving would go away. Kudos to you for not rushing back in to your old habits! Because, seriously... cupcakes. That's all I can think about right now. Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes!

As of right now, I'm planning to stay whole30 compliant until the 28th (when I'm going out for Indian food). That'll mean 35 days. I certainly won't penalize myself if I have a snack after the 30 days though. I've read a few entries about reintroduction and that's something that I definitely want to do to see how foods affect me.

Today has gone ok. I'm feeling sort of up and down emotionally, but I can only believe it's better than it would be if I was following the standard American diet. I'm trying to spend more time focusing on the positive in my life, but that seems to be an uphill battle. I've felt fairly bloated today, but I know that's from my period. I've had a few people comment on how much more energetic I've seemed, so that's a bonus. Also, I DID get some good news about replacing my bathtub and fixing the drywall at least. Now if I could just magically have a new furnace, AC, and water heater...

Food

B - 1/2 sweet potato and a mug of chili

Snack - Hard boiled egg with mayo and salt

Lunch - Leftover roasted chicken and veggies from my mom and some mashed cauliflower

PreWO - ANOTHER hard boiled egg with some mayo and salt, and maybe half a cup of smoked tuna salad

Dinner - My stomach is kind of upset, so I'm not really in the mood to eat ANYTHING. The plan was to make sauteed shrimp with the leftover spaghetti squash. I think I'll still make it and just save the leftovers if I can't eat it all.

Activity

I didn't go to boxing today. I REALLY am going tomorrow. I did go to the gym and do 45 minutes on the elliptical. My PLAN for the rest of this week with activity is to go to boxing tomorrow, do the elliptical on Friday night, then boxing on Saturday morning and relax on Sunday. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

14 days down, 16 to go... almost half way!!!

[ashleycolette]

Day 15 -

Yesterday went pretty well. I didn't sleep too well last night, so hoping to catch some z's tonight. Not a whole lot to report from yesterday in general. I did have my standard girls night dinner at my house with two of my girlfriends, and stayed compliment. I did binge eat a bit on pistachios and some toasted coconut in lieu of having our normal dessert (which is typically anything unhealthy), but still feel ok about that today.

Food

Breakfast - Leftover chili and 1/2 sweet potato

Lunch - Sauteed chicken strips with a bunch of seasonings in ghee and ate it with leftover roasted veggies, spaghetti squash, and mashed cauliflower.

Dinner - Salad with ground beef in taco seasoning, salsa, and guacamole

Snack - Lots of pistachios and toasted coconuts

Activity

I made it to my boxing class! It was a different instructor than usual, and I spend way more time on the bag than running around. I'm also not hurting today like I have following previous classes. I'm not sure if that's because the routine was different, or because that's a perk I'm starting to experience of recovering more quickly from working out! I'm really hoping it's the latter.

I know I'm half way through day 16 now, but I'm finding it easier to do one log per day to keep my thoughts more organized. Can't believe I'm halfway through!!!

15 days down, 15 to go!!!

[ashleycolette]

Day 16 -

I didn't make it to the gym. I've been super busy at work, excuse, excuse, excuse. It was just announced to my department today (which I've been in for 3.5 years) that my manager (the leader of the dept) and I are moving to a totally different group. So there were lots of questions for the meeting, plus I had to set up for the Chinese New Year luncheon we had. It smelled DELICIOUS. I kept having to stop myself from rationalizing how I have learned so much from the diet already, and it wouldn't hurt if I just had a few bites, or tried one of the spring rolls, etc. But I survived! I ate the lunch I brought to work and eventually my craving left me, unlike my craving for cupcakes. Or a brownie. I thought this was supposed to get easier?!?!

I stayed at work a bit late and went straight to meet my friend at the movies. We saw 'Identity Theft'. Just my opinion, Redbox it. Don't go see it in theaters. I noticed right before going that it was doing horrible on rottentomatoes.com, but we'd already agreed to go then and he already bought the tickets. I hadn't brought anything to eat dinner before the movie, and was already hungry. SO - I brought three mini lara bars with me and a small bag of pistachios. Yes, I know - none of those are really good things for me to snack on, especially all together. But I was hungry, I had nothing else to eat, and I wasn't getting home until 9pm. I actually just finished dinner and I'm still feeling kind of hungry. Not sure what/if I'm going to snack on. I have some more work to do this evening for a friend, but all I REALLY want to do is just go lounge on the couch.

Food

Breakfast: Hard boiled egg with some mayo and salt, and a banana

Lunch: Smoked tuna salad on top of a salad

Snack: Three MINI Lara bars (I'm assuming this equates to 1.5 full size ones), and a small bag of pistachios from the gas station

Dinner: Andouille sausage and 1/2 sweet potato hash

I'm reading back my day, and this was clearly not enough veggies. I mean, I got some in with the salad and sweet potato, but geez. If I snack on anything, it'll be carrots with ranch. I like that I can look back on my day and see where things could have been different and what I need to improve on. Feels like I'm learning more about how to nurture my body.

Activity

NONE! Totally slacked today. Planning to go to boxing tomorrow morning. Ugh, 9:30am class. That sounds horrrrrrrible, but I'm going to try!

Plus, I'm attending a 'how-to' class at Home Depot on tiling your bathroom shower and floor. Wish me luck!

16 days down, 14 to go...

[ashleycolette]

I'm on day 20 now. I'm at home and sick. This is the second day in a row. I sort of lose will power when I'm sick. I've always given myself permission to eat whatever I want when I'm not feeling well, and ice cream really sounds fantastic right now. Instead, I've had some scrambled eggs, butternut squash, and chili between yesterday and today. I did well during the weekend. I went with some friends for lunch at the house of one of their aunt and uncles. My best friend and I weren't really able to eat anything being served, but we'd brought food that we could eat and explained the situation. It felt kind of rude, but they totally understood and were very interested in learning more about the diet.

I don't remember everything I've had to eat over the past couple of days. I guess on the weekends I don't feel too motivated to post.

I did NOT make it to the 9:30am boxing class, but I DID go to the 1:30pm session. I didn't do anything Sunday or Monday for working out, and sadly won't make it today since I'm not feeling well. I'm excited that it's day 20, but I'm still having lots of cravings for sweets. I don't know if that'll ever change for me. I'm happy to know that this diet is something I'm capable of keeping up on a regular basis after the 30 days, but it will also include some cookies, or cupcakes, or something!!! Maybe I'll like the SWPYO paleo-fied sweets. I've never tried those before.

I've had at least five dreams that I ate something NOT on the Whole 30. It's driving me nuts. I think it's a bad sign that I'm SO concerned about these 30 days that it's showing up in my dreams. I'd like for these choices to just become second nature, but I understand it'll take time, my body needs to adjust, and habits take much longer than 30 days to establish.

I've been awake since 5am, which blows since I really need more sleep. So - going back to laying down on the couch and hoping to catch some more zzz's.

Cheers to day 20! (and kicking this crappy cold...)

[CrazyCow]

Not to worry, the dreams are part of the process--I promise. Mine were ridiculously realistic, too--so much so that I would find myself waking up disappointed in myself for not having made the 30 days. Looking back now it's funny--less so when I was in the thick of it! PS Feel better soon!

[ashleycolette]

Not to worry, the dreams are part of the process--I promise. Mine were ridiculously realistic, too--so much so that I would find myself waking up disappointed in myself for not having made the 30 days. Looking back now it's funny--less so when I was in the thick of it! PS Feel better soon!

Good to know others have had similar experiences. Last night, it was a burger and french fries. In the dream, I'd eaten one fry, and then started to chew on the second and realized I was messing up. I immediately spit it out and contemplated trying to throw up the first french fry. No, I have no history (or interest) in being bulimic. It was just a really messed up dream.

[CrazyCow]

Here's part of dream I posted several weeks back:

I was watching the game at the pub, and eating massive quantities of non-compliant food AND drinking tons of Guinness and Harp and even crap beer, too--which in my dream I justified because I had started it so I needed to finish. I woke up from that dream absolutely gutted that I had to restart the W30 again--until I realized that it was freaking DREAM.

At least you spat it out in your dream--me? I dove headlong into non compliance, lol!!

[ashleycolette]

Day 20 -

As I reported yesterday, I'm sick. Still sick. Went through almost a whole box of tissues last night. Eventually I just reached the point that I was chillin on the couch with a tissue stuffed up one nostril. I HATE having to blow my nose and not getting to a tissue in time. TMI? I went to the doctor this morning and it turns out I have a sinus infection, so I'm on antibiotics. Hopefully this knocks it out quickly. I didn't sleep so well last night either, but that's mainly because I couldn't breathe while laying down.

Food

Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs

Lunch: Sweet potato and chili

Dinner: Andouille sausage, sweet potato, roasted cauliflower

Snack: Hard boiled egg with a new batch of mayo!

Activity

Does channel surfing count? I'm so sad I'm not going to get to use the rest of my groupon for boxing classes. Guess I'll just be going back to the gym when I'm all better. At least I won't have busted up knuckles from that. Can't wait to get over this...

Aside from how tired I've been while sick, the biggest change I've noticed has been my energy has lasted throughout the day. I used to drag by afternoon time and just want to go home and nap. It's a welcome change to have energy throughout the day. Also, my pants are getting looser. I can't wait for them to just be too big for me to wear.

20 days down, 10 to go!

[ashleycolette]

Day 21 -

Yesterday wasn't much better. As I mentioned, I went to get antibiotics. I was hoping by the time I woke up this morning, I'd be ready to go back to the office, but I'm not. I worked from home most of the day. Not a whole lot going on other than being sick.

Food

Lunch: Leftover chili and sweet potato (I woke up late)

Snack: Sliced strawberries, blackberries, and banana

Dinner: Spaghetti squash, zucchini, diced tomatoes, onions, andouille sausage (parm cheese on top would have been PERFECT!!!)

Snack: Fried plantains with pecans (I was NOT impressed)

I'm still really wanting something sweet. I don't think it's a big deal that I want something sweet, and I know I have the self control to not eat it. I just enjoy the taste of it, because it tastes good. The past three weeks have shown me that I have way more self control than I ever would have imagined. I used to scoff at people that would make changes like this to their diet, thinking there's no way I could go a few days without pasta, bread, cheese, or sugar, but I CAN! and I HAVE! But I still want a chewy chocolate chip cookie right now.

I'm planning to try some desserts that are ingredient compliant after this. I'm fairly confident that I'll enjoy those foods. Guess we'll find out in about a week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

21 days down, 9 to go!