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Uncategorized, Whole30 Journey

Day 5: Shop ’til I Drop

Exercise: Family walk/skate/bike ride, wholesale club shopping
Food: Eggs with Bacon, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes and Avocado, Green salad with tuna fish, Bunless Burgers with Potatoes, Onions, Bacon and Asparagus

Sams Club

A few of my many purchases this week.

Yay! It’s the weekend! When it comes to the Whole30, that means absolutely nothing! Well actually, it means Biff (that’s my mans) doesn’t have to work and is helping me out in the kitchen. He’s a really good cook. I knew he was a keeper when, shortly after we started dating, he made stuffed chicken breasts and homemade pita bread out of the random stuff I had in my kitchen. I honestly didn’t even know I had chicken.

Today, I know exactly what I have in my kitchen. Mostly because I’ve gone to the grocery store every friggin’ day since New Year’s. This morning, I hit up the Sam’s Club to buy some of the items we’ve been using the most in bulk. (I know Costco is generally better, I am a mom afterall. But something about our local Costco brings out the worst in every human who steps foot in it. Actually, the behavior starts in the parking lot. I can’t.) I stocked up on peppers and onions and organic beef. One of the criticisms about the Whole30 is that it’s expensive to eat this way. It can be, and I’ve definitely blown my usual grocery budget this first week. But I think if you stick to a few staples and buy what you can in bulk, it’ll even out. I’ve also purchased a few things this week, like specialty salad dressing and mayo, that I could make much cheaper. The time savings make these worth their price tag for me.

I didn’t go to CrossFit today since I went 5 days in a row this week. I thought I might go to Barbell Club (like CrossFit, but focuses on weights/strength training) but it meets at 7:45am. I slept decently last night and wanted to revel in that (and my jammies) a little longer. Instead, we went for a walk as a family. Well, I walked, Biff did some skateboarding, and Atticus (that’s my 6-year-old) rode his bike halfway. I dragged it the other half.

For breakfast, Biff made some eggs over potatoes with bacon, avocado, onions and peppers. It seems like all of our breakfasts are a variation of this, but it works and we’re not sick of it yet. Plus I just bought 400lbs of peppers and onions at Sam’s.

Lunch was the same old green salad with tunafish we’ve had a few times this week as well. I realized part of the desire for a simple lunch stems from the fact that our good pans are usually in the dishwasher from breakfast (or sitting in the sink) at that time.

Biff tackled dinner as well, and took my idea of bunless burgers to the next level by adding bacon,  onions and peppers, avocado and Sk8er Boi love. We had potatoes and asparagus on the side.

So…takeaways from today: having a husband who cooks rocks; dragging a Spiderman bike counts as cardio; don’t feel the need to explore new recipes until you’re sick of the ones you have.

Family Walk

Days like today in January are why it costs a zillion dollars to live here.

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Uncategorized, Whole30 Journey

Day 4: Getting in the Groove

Exercise: CrossFit, Lifting my son onto and off of a god damn motorcycle chair at his haircut
Food: Scrambled Eggs with Peppers, Onions, and a Side of Banana with Almond Butter, Green Salad with Tuna, Mini Veggie Meatloaves with Asparagus and Sweet Potato

Whole30 Book

Is under the candy dish really the best place to keep this book?

I’m happy to report my mood has lightened a bit from yesterday. I was able to interact with several people today and not only was I nice, but I was able to form complete sentences. I noticed a few other positive changes today too (in Whole30 forums they called those “non-scale victories” or NSV). First, I’m not feeling as hungry in between meals. I’ve found a better timing to when I’m eating and I think that’s helped: breakfast is around 8:30am, lunch at 1pm, dinner at 6pm. Even with a workout in between breakfast and lunch today, I wasn’t ravenous like I would often be way back in 2017. Second, it seems my skin tone has evened out a tiny bit. That’s really encouraging because the prospect of better skin was one of my reasons for doing Whole30. And the last one I can’t really write/talk about because I’m a lady, but let’s just say I’m spending less time in the shitter.

My workout was good today. I decided to go a little bit lighter on some of my weights, based on how I was feeling earlier in the week. I’m glad I did. We had quite a bit of rowing in today’s WOD and toward the end I really felt out of gas. Otherwise though, my body is feeling good. Despite not sleeping well last night again, thanks in part to a 6-year-old who likes to share my pillow, I wasn’t sore or stiff this morning. And it’s been awhile since I’ve made it to the gym 5 days in a row.

For breakfast, I quickly made some scrambled eggs with spinach, onions and peppers. I had a banana with almond butter (see pic below) which I think was a nice bit of extra fuel.

Lunch was another “easy” meal of a simple green salad with spinach, veggies, avocado, and tuna fish.

For dinner I tried a new recipe recommended by someone on a Whole30 group page on Facebook. It was mini meatloaves made in muffin tins and it turned out great. I have 3 servings for leftovers to boot. I served it with sweet potatoes and asparagus with some chipotle mayo on the side.

Bananas and Almond Butter

What I like about this photo is that you can see the exact moment I gave up trying to spread the almond butter on the banana slices. #skillz

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my little ol’ blog- and to those of you who have commented (in person and online) and offered up encouragement!

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Uncategorized, Whole30 Journey

Day 3: Stabby and Sleepy

Exercise: CrossFit/schmossFit
Food: Over-easy Eggs with Potatoes, Apples with Almond Butter, Chicken Nuggets with Brussel Sprouts, Left-Over Meatballs with Carrot Noodles

eggs

Oh look. More eggs.

One of the benefits people report after completing a Whole 30 is better sleep. But apparently, it gets worse before it gets better. I’ve read about a lot of people having trouble sleeping these first days. Especially if they, like myself, are used to having a glass or two (or seven) of wine in the evenings. My husband and I both tossed and turned half the night. We were so exhausted when we finally did fall asleep that we slept through a 4.4 magnitude earthquake. This morning, I was the embodiment of that clichéd saying “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee!” And I pretty much stayed at that level of cheeriness all day.

I had a haircut during my normal Crossfit class time (#priorities) so I dragged myself to a 5pm class. The brain fog combined with the logistics of a small gym space (and a full class) had me feeling stabby by the time class was over. The handstand push-ups didn’t help. I guess I’m glad I went. But after I was so zoned out that I watched”Creative Galaxy” for at least 20 minutes after my son had left the room.

Breakfast is getting easier. I made some eggs and put them over yesterday’s leftover potatoes, which I warmed up with some peppers and onions. We had apples with almond butter on the side– the first real fruit I’ve had since starting.

For lunch I tried something new and made chicken tenders in the air fryer. I first battered them, but in hindsight I left too much egg on as they were a little too “sticky.” For veggies I made sweet potato fries and Brussel sprouts. Some compliant mayo on the side made for a nice dipping sauce.

Dinner was leftover meatballs in marinara sauce from yesterday. I served it over spiral carrots from Trader Joe’s and I REALLY like those as a noodle replacement. They were a little more firm than zucchini noodles and enhanced the dish nicely. We also had a big ass salad on the side again.

So…takeaways from today: don’t interact with people more than necessary when tired, even in the name of physical fitness; leftovers are handy; this is really a good length for my hair.

don_t-talk-to-me-until-I_ve-had-my-first-cup-of-coffee

This business lady looks like she means business.

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Day 2: Old Habits Die Hard

Exercise: CrossFit
Food: Scrambled Egg and Spinach with Potatoes, Green Salad with Sausage, Meatballs and Zoodles

First Deadlift

They call ’em deadlifts ’cause you might die. This was from the first day I ever did deadlifts back in July 2016. I have better shoes now.

My son is on Winter break still from school, but today resembled a typical day in that we were busy. And that meant that I had to be more mindful of what I could eat quickly, without falling into old habits. In the past I’d have a protein bar, or waffle with peanut butter for breakfast. Easy, fast, provides enough energy for my workout (or so I thought). But now I actually have to cook! I didn’t know we had this many pans!

Another habit that I probably share with a lot of parents is eating off of my son’s plate. Today, I was putting a snack in a bowl for him, when I reflexively put a piece in my mouth. The horror! It touched my tongue! In what was perhaps a bit of an over-reaction, I immediately spit it into the sink, and washed my mouth out. Unfortunately, my son’s diet is pretty much the opposite of the Whole 30: yogurt, bagels, meats in animal shapes, etc. So having these non-Whole 30 foods around is an extra layer to the challenge, but I don’t think I have the strength to bend his 6-year-old will to a whole new way of eating. Maybe after the sugar detox.

Speaking of that, I think I’m feeling the withdrawal a bit today. I went to the gym at 10:15am. We worked on deadlifts, which I’m usually good at, but today I felt a little foggy and I didn’t finish my last set (it was a weight I’ve done plenty before, though I was also using a different grip, which threw me off ). We’ll play it by ear tomorrow. I know a lot of people will skip the gym the first week of a round of Whole 30.

Breakfast today was roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs with spinach and onions, bacon, and avocado. It was easy and filling. I made two extra servings of potatoes to have for another meal.

Lunch was a challenge as we didn’t have a ton of time. I quickly cooked up a sausage and made a side salad and wolfed it down while trolling people on Facebook. It was probably not enough food. I think I should have done a mini-meal as a recovery from my workout and then had a better lunch when we got home later.

As a result, I think I overserved us at dinner. I made beef meatballs in tomato sauce, served over zucchini zoodles with a big ass side salad.

So…takeaways from today: eat a bigger lunch; don’t try to be a hero at the gym; don’t speak again of that one Trader Joe’s puff that I nearly ate.

Deadlift 245

This was from when I lifted 245# for the first time, my PR is a little more now.

 

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Uncategorized, Whole30 Journey

Day 1: Now We’re Cooking!

Exercise: Crossfit
Food: Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash, Green Salad with Tunafish, Balsamic Chicken with Veggies, tears

 

Day one is in the books! Well, nearly. We still have to get through our nightly binge watch of “Game of Thrones.” That would normally be the time when the snacks and beer and wine would come out. Something about dragons just makes me want to indulge!

I started the day by making a sweet potato hash breakfast. It came out really nice but it was a lot more work than I’m used to putting into breakfast. As a result, I ate a little bit later than I would have liked, and went to the gym smelling like onions.

Today’s workout was a good mix of strength (deadlifts, goblet squats) and cardio (rowing, jumping rope, doing box jumps, trying not to pee while jumping). I felt like my hearty breakfast was more than adequate to push through.  I’ve also connected with a few people at our box (which is what Crossfitters call the gym. I dunno.) who are doing or have done the Whole 30 so I look forward to the extra layer of accountability.

I had lunch around 12:30 which is later than I would have before. Knowing that the Whole 30 discourages snacking made me much more conscious of my meal timing. I made a green salad with veggies and tuna salad on top. I was feeling pretty good until about 3pm, when I was doing one of my 3,000 pantry runs to get snacks for my son. I really wanted to grab something for myself. But I was saved by mommy’s littler helper- La Croix.

Dinner was a dish I’ve made before — chicken thighs and veggies tossed in balsamic and olive oil and roasted. I used to serve over rice or cous cous. Tonight I used cauliflower rice and made a side salad with some compliant dressing. And then I washed dishes for 17 hours.

So…takeaways from today: doing more prep in the form of chopping veggies will be helpful; sweet potatoes rock (I used 200% more sweet potatoes today than ever before); I can do 40 goblet squats without puking; I need to buy more food, already.

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