Kelli's First Whole30 (42)

[KelBelle]

Why 42? Because thats how many pieces of paper I cut to do the countdown. Its an even 6 weeks and my boyfriend was on board so here we go.

Breakfast was Breakfast Egg Loaf (eggs, grassfed ground meat, pork sausage w no nitrates/nitrites, etc, shredded zucchini and squash all baked together).

I have been looking forward to doing this since the beginning of the year but seeing that there was Carnival season (I'm in Louisiana) and many king cakes to be eaten, we postponed starting until after Mardi Gras. We also are doing on no TV for Lent (I hope for longer), so I'm excited to see what changes are in store.

For lunch, I have filet mignon and green beans with ghee in the refrigerator at work. My office mate already said "Filet mignon? I need to go on THAT diet!" (I didn't go into the fact that its not a diet but a lifestyle change...I'll get to that later.)

Yay!

[kmswip]

I started my first Whole 30 yesterday so we are in the same boat! Here's to a new lifestyle!

[KelBelle]

So Day 1 went well. Didn't even think about my usual 10:30 am snack...Worked right through to lunch without even thinking about my tummy wanting food.

Bfast: Breakfast Egg Loaf

Lunch: filet mignon w greenbeans and ghee. A coworker was eating a sandwich and I felt envious that he got to eat bread with mayo even though I had filet. I like bread more than steak. I couldn't finish the steak - I'm not a huge fan of meat and by the end it started tasting too fleshy for me. I only left one bite though.

Dinner: Pan sauteed catfish (using a mix of ghee and coconut oil just as an experiment) with smothered okra (fresh okra, tomatoes, onion and grass fed ground beef) and beets and carrots. Not sure if beets are recommended as they are so sweet, but I figured they are "real food" so I didn't stress about it...I just ate them up.

Onward to Day 2!

[KelBelle]

I have been keeping this log as well as a personal journal in a notebook. I don't want to do both, so this one is going to become more candid.

I think I am feeling grumpy/agitated/hurried. I don't know if its because I'm no longer eating the food that made me feel calm or if I am just busier preparing my new food and really am more hurried.

Day 2:

Breakfast: Egg Loaf (egg, compliant pork sausage, gf ground beef, shredded zucchini and squash) - Its so heavy and filling and I didn't enjoy it as much as I did on Day 1. Maybe I'm just not used to feeling full from protein. Had to force myself to finish it.

Lunch: I was still feeling queasy from breakfast when lunchtime rolled around. Had leftovers of pan sauteed catfish, smothered okra w gf ground beef and beets and carrots. I at the fish and beets and carrots and while I love the okra, I was stuffed and only ate half. After eating, our receptionist brought in some leftover pizza from a meeting that had just ended. This pizza came from my all time favorite pizza joint in Baton Rouge (Fleur De Lis yum) and while everyone else at the table dug right in, the thought of taking a slice didn't enter my mind. It was like it wasn't even a decision that had to be made, which was nice and a not-so-small victory for me. I didn't get a lot of peer pressure from the guys either...only one asked if I was having any and I said "no" and that was that.

Dinner: Ribeye mushroom red pepper zucchini kabobs marinated in fresh orange juice, olive oil and fresh cilantro. Tasted good, didn't eat much though due to me not liking meat. The mushrooms were DELICIOUS! Oh, plus half an avocado on the side. Yum.

I fell asleep with a purring kitty on my chest before 9:00 and slept hard all through the night.

I am not having cravings yet, am LOVING black coffee especially while I'm eating breakfast and feel mentally great about the food I'm eating. Now, if I could just start enjoying the taste/texture of meat. The boyfriend is worried that I'm not eating enough (I used to eat nearly as much as he did and now I'm only eating half)...I don't feel hungry and don't want to stuff myself. I need to figure out if I'm really full or if I'm just being a brat because I don't like meat.

It is strange writing this much publicly...I hope no one reads this and is bored and I certainly am not writing this because I think anyone out there is waiting to know whats going on with me...I just don't feel like writing with a pen in a notebook.

[KelBelle]

Day 3 was a mix extremes: I felt physically tired and mentally grumpy for the first part of the day and by the afternoon/evening I was energetic and happy. I went to Jazzercise (CrossFitters - don't judge me. Its fun and a great workout ) and during the warm up I was already fatigued. Felt like I had cement blocks on my feet. But I pushed through and an hour later I ached all over and was glad I went.

Breakfast: sweetpotato, scrambled egg and steamed spinach. I could only eat half before work as I felt queasy and not hungry at all, so I brought it to work for when I got hungry. Around 10 am, I ate the rest and it was SO yummy I kinda developed a crush on sweet potatos. They aren't a trigger food though - when I was done, I was done and didn't feel the urge to go look for more food.

Snack Time: I didn't eat anything, but a coworker had open on her desk Sweet Salty M&M packs as well as a bag of choco chip cookies. I just looked at them, felt angry and envious and figuratively rolled my eyes and walked on.

Lunch: Leftover smothered okra (finally finished it) with leftover steak and veggie kabobs. I couldn't eat all of the steak from the kabob but I ate all the okra and definitely all of the mushrooms.

PM Snack: 4 strawberries with about 15ish almonds.

Dinner: Was cooked upon my arrival at home! (I love my boyfriend.) It was very delicious steak with sauteed spinach, carrots, onions and maybe some other veggie. I ate a small plate of this with a whole avocado. I felt GREAT. He was grumpy and tired. We laughed about it.

Bedtime of Day 3: My tummy felt fatty and round. I thought "Hm I hope I don't get healthier but stay chubby!" I woke up this morning (Day 4) to a flat tummy. So weird! The boyfriend's was also noticeably flatter. Okay I am hungry...I will eat Day 4 bfast. Woot.

[KC Sunshine]

Looks like you're doing well!! I think the fatigue and grumpiness/irritation is a side effect of giving up carbs / sugar / other processed foods. I went through the same thing when I gave up booze & caffeine, and have been going through it again over the past few days with the switch to Whole30 living.

Just remember - it gets better! A hard time in the first few days just means your body was relying too much on bad stuff, and you'll reap the benefits in the near future

[KelBelle]

Okay what day am I on? Ah Day 4 (yesterday.)

Felt amazing in the morning - very energetic and bouncing off the walls with giddiness and excitement. It was fun. No physical pain, cravings, etc.

Had an issue to deal with around lunch time that brought my mood way down, but I didn't have the urge to eat eat eat as I did in the past. Another victory!

Breakfast: Breakfast Egg Loaf AND Spaghetti Squash Breakfast Loaf - one square of each. Actually, I only ate half a square of the one with sausage because I was so full. Also had black coffee.

Lunch: Whole Foods Cochon de Lait with WF Broccoli with Chilis (both all compliant.) For years I have detested the taste of all pork except bacon and proscuitto. This roasted pig was amazing. So much so that:

Dinner: MORE WF Cochon de Lait (yes, I went back and got more - had the same cashier and everything.) For sides I had Broccoli with Chilis and sauteed rapini. The rapini was okay but the rest was VERY good.

Sleep: I was drowsy around 9:30 and drifting off to sleep when the boyfriend started talking to me. He had so much energy - he had the bouncing off the walls issue I had earlier in the day. Once awake, I had a weird stuffy nose attack that has been happening off and on for a few months. All of a sudden, my nose will clog, I'll get a nasty drip in the back of my throat and I will cough like I'm trying to cough up a lung. So, I got out of bed and violently coughed for a while until I took a Benedryl (didn't check if compliant - just wanted sleep) which knocked me out around 1:30. Unfortunately, the boyfriend woke up early and at 7:00 he woke me by asking if I wanted to go on a run. I didn't fully wake up to tell him NO! I DID fully wake up a few minutes later when he opened the back door BEFORE turning off the alarm, which scared me and the pets to death. I wanted to hide under the bed with them.

What happened next - well thats Day 5 and I'll write on that tomorrow. Preview: Farmers Market - Goat chops in our future!

[JenniB]

I love Jazzercize! (and Zumba) I am not a Crossfiter (is that a word?) so you will get no judgement from me for liking to boogy as your form of workout.

As the saying goes; the most effective workout is the one you actually do!

[rach91]

Sounds like you've had an excellent start. I really wouldn't worry about not eating as much portion-wise as you used to- just eat what you feel like eating

[KelBelle]

Thanks you guys. I have read several other posts this morning and one thing that stuck with me is the shared experience of not having eater's guilt! I'm not lying when I tell you that 95% of the nights for the past AT LEAST 15 years, I have gone to sleep feeling guitly for what I ate during the day. It is amazing to eat, feel full and not say ugly things to myself for eating way too much bread, cheese, pasta, whatever because I felt like I couldn't stop. Who needs cheese when there are avocados? (Well, cheese and wine will one day be in my life upon occasion.)

Day 5.

After a rude wake up (alarm - see previous post):

Breakfast: black coffee, leftover pork with a slice of Spaghetti Squash Egg Breakfast Thingy (I forget the real name - its from Paleomg.com)

Trip to the farmers market where we bought LOTS of veggies (including broccoli rabe which I've never had) as well as some gf ground beef and (gulp) 1 pound of goat.

I felt anxious during the day and not hungry at all. I had lots to do and had plans to go out for a friend's birthday and all I wanted to do was SIT and REST.

Lunch: gf bround beef with random spices stir fried with leftover veggies from dinner the night before. I cooked this around 1, but was not hungry so I didn't eat, except to taste the bits from the stir spoon which were yum. Almost had a sweet taste.

After a trip to a few more stores for food items, I was amazingly GRUMPY and anxious. I got home, at 1.5 bowls of my beef veggie meal and got in bed.

I didn't nap, or if I did it wasn't awesome but I got up about 2 hours later and felt better; I even felt hungry. Luckily I had been brining chicken breasts per the Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat recipe from paleomg.com. Which leads me to

Dinner: Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat with Moroccan Dipping Sauce. The brine made this chicken so moist and tender that I probably won't ever cook chicken without brining it first again. I didn't love all the spices - I may have put too much of the spice blend on each piece. I will play around with this next time. This chicken dish is a victory for me because it has been probably 3 years since I've even attempted to cook much less eat chicken that wasn't breaded and fried. I didn't know I could like healthy chicken. The brine took that fleshy poultry taste right away. Sides were steamed broccoli (meh) with pan fried eggplant slices (yum yum.)

After dinner, the boyfriend and I actually went to a bar where we met friends for a birthday celebration. This place had Chunky Monkey Bread Pudding on the menu and I only felt a tad bitter and angry at the chef for even coming up with such a horribly delicious sounding concoction. The water was delicious . We were home before midnight.

I had deep deep sleep (was physically uncomfortable because one or more pets sleep by/on me throughout the night) but I slept through it. Just woke up once or twice to adjust positions. Had very strange dreams that I think served the purpose of catharsis. Um I'll just say it was beyond R rated. Very strange.

Day 6 is today. While its fresh, I'll write about it too.

Woke up around 7:45, black coffee and a spoonful of almond butter and went for a walk/run. Its blue sky, dry air beautiful outside.

Breakfast: Nom Nom Paleo's Sweet Potato Hash w Fried Eggs and half an avocado. My love affair with the sweet potato continues. This breakfast makes me question why I EVER wanted McDonald's breakfast, even after a hangover.

As I type this, the boyfriend (Matt I will call him as that is way shorter and is his real name) is cooking Goat Stew for our lunch.

My mood so far is up there. The walk/run was bleeping HARD. I felt like I had cement bricks on my feet, and I'm glad I did it.

Now, I will clean and get dressed for the day. Peace!

[KelBelle]

Day 6 Continued:

Breakfast: NomNomPaleo's Sweet Potato Hash w 2 fried eggs and half an avocado. So very yummy.

I didn't get hungry until about 4:00.

Late Lunch: Leftover Best Chicken with Steamed Broc, Eggplant all mixed together with the Moroccan Dipping Sause. Delish!

Dinner: Beef and goat stew over sweet potato. I meant to cook some broccoli rabe, but a project took 3 times as long as I thought (hanging a storm door is very difficult) so I didn't take the time to be mindful of veggies in the fridge that I wanted to cook and eat.

My mood was generally fine and weirdly I am experiencing no cravings. I do have a butternut squash on my counter and, because it was partially hidden under something, I thought it was a loaf of bread for a second. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I got a little nervous that there was bread on my countertop.

There wasn't much fun happening today due to the storm door installation that took 3 hours and still isn't finished. That on top of cooking food, planning food, thinking about food, etc left not a lot of time for relaxation. I feel like a spoiled brat - I don't have kids and I'm talking about being too busy for relaxing. Lets just say I didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done. Such is life.

[KelBelle]

Day 7

Breakfast: 1 slice of Spaghetti Squash Breakfast Bake; 1 strawberry and 3 almonds.

This was not enough food as I was hungry before lunch and stayed feeling a little unsatisfied all day. Lesson learned.

Lunch: Leftover goat and beef stew with sauteed broccoli rabe. Holy moley this was good.

Snack: 7 strawberries and 10 almonds

Dinner: Roasted salmon with Cauliflower Celeriac Soup (I got this recipe from Freerange Crossfit's site) with roasted beets, sauteed beet greens. The soup tasted good but I don't know how necessary it was as far as feeling full. I suppose it provided different nutrients so I may make it again. The rest was very tasty. The beets were tiny - very sweet - and the greens, while not very many of them, were delicious.

Went to sleep with a slightly hungry tummy.

Overall, today I was off my planned meals due to being behind on cooking. I was at the grocery store after work while I was hungry, shopping for protein to cook with dinner. I didn't buy nearly enough salmon. My new mantra is "Buy More - We Will Eat It."

No intense cravings, energy level very good, sleeping great. Usually on days I don't have food to cook for dinner I become lazy and stop caring about my health. Not on this day! Going to the store and staying on track even though I was/am stressed about feeling a little unorganized is another victory for me.

We took our Week 1 photos last night and compared them to Day 0 photos. Not sure if we were just standing taller because we feel better or if those shadows showing up on our abs are real results.

Tonight I am going to dinner with my aunt, which will be my first restaurant challenge.

If you are reading this, thanks!

[KelBelle]

Day 8 - Tuesday:

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with chicken Italian sausage and veggies

Lunch: Leftover Best Ever Chicken with broccoli. I poured the Moroccan Dipping Sauce prepared the other night over all. Tasty. I couldn't finish the broccoli, but

Snack: Leftover broccoli from lunch

Dinner: Salad bar salad: raw spinach, spring mix, romaine with grape tomatos, olives, mushrooms, other raw veggies, kalamata olives and 2 boiled eggs. Dressed with olive oil and vinegar. My only concern is that I topped it with slivered almonds. I don't know why the almonds worry me...It could be that I associate them with what I usually do at said restaurant: Put them on top of soft serve ice cream. I will try to be mindful of ruminating on this and stop myself.

Matt had his first craving dream last night. He hasn't had caffeine since April 2012 and he dreamed he had a sip of Coke and undid not only his Whole30 work but the nearly year he's gone caffeine free. I haven't dreamed about food, but as of yesterday I have this irrational worry that I've been being non compliant without even knowing.

Eating out wasn't tempting and was kind of anticlimatic. It makes me wonder WHY food had such power over me in the past. It seems so easy now to make smart choices. I'm not even tempted to cave a little bit and I'm waiting for a time in the future when it isn't easy - when I'm overwhelmed with temptation that I can't resist. Today as I write this is Day 9 and the absolute longest I've ever followed rules regarding eating. If I slip now, I will forgive myself but I will be very disappointed. There is that worry - Not sure where it came from.

Asleep by 9:00 last night, up at 6:00 to put a pork roast in my new slow cooker. Okay, now I will do some work. Happy Wednesday!

[KelBelle]

Day 9:

Bfast: Leftover Cauliflower Celeriac Soup with chicken italian sausage and sauteed beet greens (leftovers from the other night.)

Lunch: Smothered okra and ground beef

Dinner: Slow Cooked Pork with sauteed kale and purple cabbage.

The first bite of pork I took was delicious. It was moist, tender, fall-apart good. It went downhill from there. I don't know if it was not being able to tell if a piece had a big gross hunk of fat on it or what, but I found that the more I ate, the closer I came to gagging. I had homemade bbq sauce on top and that only covered up the pork flavor a little. The veggies were good at least. Its too bad I don't love the pork because I made a LOT of it. Matt likes it so it will get eaten.

Yesterday at lunch, a coworker pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and I thought it was an ice-cream-sandwich. Hallucination?

I dreamed last night I ate a spoonful of ranch dressing (which I have never craved before in my life) and woke up feeling anxious. The fear that I have somehow been non-compliant is still strong, even though I am very mindful of what I eat.

I saw a picture of some "paleo" cereal on Facebook and for a few minutes I sat dreaming of how delicious granola in ice cold milk is. I drank a lot of water and moved on.

So, Matt has been weighing himself. He is not as much of a rule follower as I am - he also bought some vitamins and one was chewable and he said it tasted good. We looked at the ingredients and there are 2 types of sugar/sweetener in it. He isn't starting over (his call); I would.

I'm going to workout today even though my arms are tired from typing this .

My sleep last night was not as amazing as it has been...I think the sheet and blanket were not on straight. When that happens, I never sleep well but am too lazy to get up and straighten them, so I toss and turned all night.

Rambling now. Adios.

[KelBelle]

Okay now I will continue on to today's food while I'm thinking about it. OH Did I mention its DAY10! Double digits!

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with compliant italian sausage, red and yellow pepper, mushroom with avocado on the side. Cooked by the boyfriend. I had to force myself to finish it I was so full but it just tasted so good...

Lunch: Unfortunately, lunch was leftover slow cooked pork with kale and cabbage. As with last night, the veggies were better than the gross pork. I ate all of it though. I have gone from near vegetarian to eating meat with 99% of my meals, and this was the first time I had to tell myself "Be a big girl" to finish my food. I'm having to force myself to not think of how cute little piggies and cows and goats, etc., are to do this.

I am not hungry, but feel unsatisfied. I will drink lots of water, but I can't get the smell of a friend's coffee out of my mind. It was full of sugar and cream. My mouth is very dry these days - I think thats why I want milk - and I feel thirsty most of the time, even though I'm drinking more water than I used to.

Okay I'm feeling whiney. I might go for a walk around my office building to boost my mood. I'm SO ready for the weekend!

[KelBelle]

OH one more thing:

Yesterday, a coworker who is like a brother to me or like a 7 year old with a crush on me came into my office and hovered a Girl Scout peanut butter cookie in front of my face. He almost made it touch my nose and lips. For like 30 seconds he was saying "You want it...you want it..." while swinging it about 5 inches from my face.

Now, in his defense, he didn't know I am doing Whole30; he just thought I was attempting to avoid eating a cookie, like I always did in the past, and then give in after he harrassed me a little, like I always did in the past.

Never once did the thought of eating it cross my mind. It was easy to resist.

Today, my office mate walked in eating a Samoa (my fave kind of GS cookie) and my mouth watered a little and I felt a little sorry for myself for not getting to eat them/angry at the rest of the world for getting to eat them and then I remembered its MY choice. I can binge on Samoas if I want to; I choose not do. I do feel more than a little sad about it - maybe its just a general down mood I'm having today. Or maybe I just didn't like my lunch so I'm still "wanting."

I will exercise today to boost my mood and have yummy leftovers of something other than swine for dinner and remember that Tomorrow is Friday! Hooray!

[SashaySwonk]

Congrats on reaching day 10!

Oh NO. Girl Scout cookies. My neighborhood is weirdly void of children, so I didn't realize it was that time of year. Three snaps and a thumbs up to you for handeling that situation! I feel like understanding and accepting that you always get to choose how you react to things is such a big deal. An even more big deal when you choose to do things that are good for you.

Also, I'm not entirely sure what's going on it your profile picture. I just know that I like it.

[KelBelle]

Lolz re: profile picture. I'm in Louisiana and that was at a Mardi Gras parade known to be generally not safe for children. This man was in the most fabulous costume - he had on knee high gray pointy toed spikey heeled boots too. I had to get a pic with him. I'm wearing the pink wig, but his costume put mine to shame.

Also, this morning there are girl scout cookie boxes EVERYWHERE at work. It is like a comical horror film...everywhere I look, they are looking back at me. My office mate has eaten about 10 of them for breakfast right in front of me. I only want to punch him in the face a little. **That is a joke. I don't condone punching.

[SashaySwonk]

Ohmygoodnessyes. I am so please with all of this (not the fact that you are being accosted by girl scout cookies, but I enjoyed reading about it).

[KelBelle]

Day 14

(and 11 12 13)

Going A-Okay. I feel the need to log and be hypervigilant about what I eat decreasing. I still feel anxious about going off track and not even realizing it. I had a dream I made lettuce wrapped tacos, but in the middle of eating them I noticed they were wrapped in flour tortillas. In my dream I screamed "NNNOOOOOOOOO!!!" Luckily it was only a bad dream. That was Friday night and I haven't had a dream about food since.

Bfast is my favorite meal. I love putting fried eggs on everything leftover from the day before.

Lunch was accidentally skipped on Saturday - I found myself in New Orleans at a friend's house with no packed food. I managed. When I got home, I ate a large snack of half a sweet potato and a handful of cashews.

Dinner is going well. I don't really even remember what I ate on Friday or Saturday to report it here. I will say that I know it was compliant EXCEPT:

So I made salad dressing on Saturday using mustard olive oil and vinegar. The olive oil was Jack Daniel's brand. I swear I read the ingredients more than twice and failed to see the "whiskey" as the last ingredient! Not sure how the brand name didn't make me take note...I don't consider this a slip as I don't have a problem with alcohol. My addiction is to bread and noodles and all things made of white flour. And chips. And Pizza. A little whiskey is so far off my radar of cravings that I am NOT starting over. I figure if anything, I was on Day 31 when it happened, so I still have a solid 30 days left to be 100% compliant. I am moving on and have thrown said mustard away.

We made slow cooker green chicken curry last night over cauliflower rice. Who in the hell would have known that nasty cauliflower, when shredded and sauteed in ghee, will taste delicious? Amazing. I can't see me ever needing to cook real rice again. That being said, it could become a "food without brakes" for me as it felt like rice and butter in my mouth and that is something I would binge on in the past. But its cauliflower so I'm not overly concerned even if I DO eat TWO bowls instead of one.

I have another confession: I stepped on the scale this weekend. Matt said "Just step on it and I'll look. You don't have to."

So I did and then I started playing a guessing game and he caved in and told me what I weighed. It was encouraging even though I KNOW thats not the point of this. I am still focused on eating healthy food and breaking my sugar addiction, but its nice to know its not my imagination that my pants are fitting less snug.

I ate whiskey mustard, skipped lunch and stepped on a scale. Confession is good for the soul, so there.

Okay bye!

[KelBelle]

Correction. Above I said "I figure if anything, I was on Day 31 when it happened, so I still have a solid 30 days left to be 100% compliant."

I was not on Day 31. I was on Day 13 and am doing Whole 42 so thats why I still have 30 days to be 100% compliant. This error was nagging my brain so I had to come here and explain. I know 42-13 is 29, but somehow the days work out.

Wow what a ramble over nothing!

Update: Food is still good. This way of eating is becoming more and more habit and taking less and less brain power and planning. Another thing: curry is GOOD. That is all.

[SashaySwonk]

curry is GOOD.

The truest of statements!

Glad things are goin' strong, KelBelle. High fives aplenty!

[KelBelle]

Still here. Still compliant...food wise .

I stepped on the scale...I had a moment of curiosity.

Emotionally/Mentally I feel great except I have a slight fear of pizza and going crazy eating it when this is over. I have few cravings - mostly I want ice cold milk - and all this cooking has become normal. We still aren't turning on the TV, so there is lots of extra time to do said cooking. I hope the TV is off for good as I do not miss anything about it.

I found myself mindlessly eating a trail mix (nuts, coconut, dried blueberries) and at another time just plain raw almonds just because I saw them. I wasn't hungry, just wanted to eat.

Lesson: Don't look directly at nuts or trail mix.

Favorite foods: fried eggs, seasoned and pan cooked gf ground beef, gf beef burgers topped with roasted yellow and red peppers, broccoli rabe, sweet potatoes and without a doubt avocados. Oh, butter lettuce is yum in salads dressed with almond oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Least favorite foods: PORK and whatever that was that I cooked in my slow cooker last night. I found it to be inedible. It was a chuck roast from Whole Foods, but they should have called it Fat Roast. I don't like meat enough to have to search for it through mounds of fat. And while I have been eating chicken, there is something about it that makes me hesitate before each and every bite. Sometimes I want to spit it out, but most of the time I think "Wow how did that chicken get to tastin' so dang yummy?"

Tonight I'm cooking and eating swiss chard for the first time ever. I'm pretty excited about that.

Did I mention this is Day 24!! 19 days to go! (Unless I keep going.)

Today's ramble has concluded. Thank you for reading .

[Lynnefair]

Ok, we have similar reactions to nuts, trail mix and fatty meat.... so, what did you think of the swiss chard?

[KelBelle]

Ok, we have similar reactions to nuts, trail mix and fatty meat.... so, what did you think of the swiss chard?

The chard was delicious and I bought more Saturday to enjoy this week. I haven't been on this site for a few weeks, thus my delay in answering .

Still going strong, though. Day42! Last day!

This morning I got to work and there was the most fluffy delicious looking white cake with white icing that nearly brought me to tears.

I wish that kind of food would just stop existing.

If anyone is reading this, I will do a final update, but here is a short version:

42 days of Whole30-compliant eating almost finished! We bought whole milk and goat cheese at the farmer's market and are anxiously awaiting their reintroduction.

More later. For now, I do work!