Week 4: Dealing with emotions + what's on the menu

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. I believe it. Today is day 21 of Whole30 and I feel like we are in a pretty good groove. Shopping, meal prep, and cooking are all part of the norm and somehow we have managed to be successful with all of this despite busy schedules and a lot of chaos around here. 

I went back and forth about if I wanted to share details about the circumstances of this past week, but I've been pretty open and honest up to this point, so I figured why not? Whole30 is a comprehensive program focused on healing and resetting your body. Part of that is dealing with unhealthy cravings and habits. Well, I have had to face those unhealthy habits head on this week. I'm an emotional eater. Always have been. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble. If I'm sad, I'll look to find the nearest bowl of ice cream, cookie, cupcake...whatever. This week my beautiful Gram went to be with Jesus. She fought long and hard to beat cancer. As I spent the last few days with her at hospice, I was surrounded by cookies and cupcakes. Boy, did I want to stuff my face with those. But I resisted. I remembered why I was doing what I was doing, the promise I made to myself to complete Whole30. I didn't touch a single food that was off plan. I drank my La Croix and I walked the hallways. Even when she finally passed, I resisted the urge to eat my feelings. Instead, I did yoga. I may have cried my way through every pose, but it kept me away from the food. This was a huge step for me. Not only did it show me that I could do it, that I had the self control, but that I can find other ways to deal with my pain and sadness in the future. 

On a lighter note, tomorrow starts week 4 for us. We are both feeling much better- more energy, weight loss, clear skin. I am seriously amazed at how healing this has been. All from eating real food! No counting calories, no supplements, just real food. WHOLE foods. 

 

Day 1 to Day 20 progress 

We haven't really gotten bored with food yet because we have tried so many new recipes. Here is what's on the menu this week: 

Spinach cilantro meatballs

http://www.savorylotus.com/spinach-cilantro-meatballs-grain-free/

Roast chicken with garlic, lemon, and herbs

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16973/roast-chicken-thighs-with-garlic-lemon-herbs.html

Paleo Chili

http://poorpaleo.com/the-bomb-paleo-chili/

Roasted carrots

http://pinterest.com/pin/62417144811587304/

Ok, I am off to meal prep! I'm looking forward to sharing more of our progress as we reach the end of 30 days. Stay tuned! 

Half way there!

Here we are, wrapping up Week 2 of Whole30 and almost halfway finished (well, sorta. More on that later.)

As much as I have moaned and groaned about prepping or grumbled about constantly cooking, I am actually starting to enjoy it. Sundays have become our family shopping day and it's nice to go out together and pick foods that we enjoy as well as new foods that we want to try. Biweekly trips to Trader Joe's have been crucial for stocking up on staples (cans of coconut milk for $.99... Whaaaaat??!!!) I only wish we had one closer to us. Today we actually made it to Whole Foods and found some compliant bacon. Do you know how hard it is to find bacon without sugar? Very!

We are really starting to physically feel the effects of the program. More energy, clear skin, less bloat. My husband said he has noticed a huge difference in his skin and I noticed my face isn't as puffy. 

As we were talking about how well Whole30 is working, my husband said that he wants to extend it 15 days. He feels like, because he ate so poorly beforehand, that it's taking his body longer to reset. It's much easier to complete the program with support, so I am going to join him. We both foresee some pretty big changes to our diets when we are finished and have already discussed what we will not be reintroducing. 

On a side note, it was much easier for me to blog about this when I had snow days! I'm hoping to get a few more posts in before we finish. 

Bring it, Week 3!

Days 2-3: "The Hangover"

According to the Whole30 timeline, days 2 and 3 are referred to as "the hangover." Headaches. Fatigue. Malaise. Sounds fun, huh?  Basically, your body is working through all of the crap in your body. 

"And it is definitely true that the amount of suck you experience in this phase is directly proportional to the amount of crap you consumed before you began the program." (See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/01/whole30-timeline/#sthash.tp03xBvH.dpuf)

Yesterday wasn't too bad for me. A little bit of a sugar craving, but I did well. Today? That was a different story. First of all, I was up most of the night with my little girl. So I started the day already tired and cranky. Add to that "the hangover" and I was not feeling awesome. On top of that, we had a snow day and I reealllly had to use some self control so that I wouldn't mindlessly snack. I was tired, cranky, and bored. But I did resisted. I drank water, relaxed, and kept making good choices. I stuck to it and I feel pretty good right now. I even got a workout in! 

My hubby on the other hand...he is struggling. That quote up there? It's true. I came into this program with a diet that was already healthy and balanced, minus a bit of a sweet tooth. Not him. So this is really hard for him ( I totally busted him trying to cheat yesterday. I gently reminded him why we are doing this and he is back on track.) He is a trooper though and I can't wait to see how he feels once the "suckage" part of this wears off. When it's hard for both of us, we just have to remember we are doing this to heal our bodies. 

Here are a couple of our meals from today: spinach and avocado wrapped with turkey with a citrus vinaigrette and a tomato and basil salad for lunch and "zoodles" with meatballs for dinner. 

Keep an eye out for my next post... If we survive! Days 4-5 are known as "kill all the things." 😳

Whole30: Day 1 and some recipes

We are wrapping up day one and so far, we are feeling okay. Hubby said he is really craving some sugar but other than that we have really enjoyed our meals and have felt satisfied with them. Our dinner was so simple and we are using the leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow.

I know it's not the prettiest picture, but dinner was simple turkey breast with spaghetti squash. I threw about 4lbs of split turkey breast with skin removed into the crockpot with 1/2 cup of veggie broth, pepper, rosemary, and parsley. Turned it on high for 6 hrs and it was done. We had plenty to eat, plus some leftovers which we are using in our salads tomorrow. The spaghetti squash was easy, too. I just split it in half and microwaved it in a shallow glass dish with about an inch of water in the bottom for 9 minutes. I mixed some ghee and Penzey's Sunny Paris into it and it was DELICIOUS.

Since I don't have to prep breakfast or lunch for tomorrow, I got started on dinner. I deviated a little from my menu, but it worked out well- very easy! All I did was brown some ground turkey in my Dutch oven, add some chopped zucchini, carrots, leftover spaghetti squash, and seasonings then cover with tomato sauce and let simmer. It smells delicious! 

And now.... The dishes are calling my name. 😝

'Twas the night before Whole30

Whew! What a day! I have spent the last few hours getting everything prepped for us to start Whole30 tomorrow. It's a lot of work- meal planning, shopping, cooking, etc. But I know it's worth it. It seems that, with a good plan, most of the work will be at the beginning of the week. I'm excited to do this! What I really like about Whole30 is that it's not a diet. It's not about weight loss. It's about restoring and healing your body.  One of my favorite passages from the book:

 We only have one body... Gotta take care of it! 

Yesterday I did most of our shopping. We hit up the West Side Market and scored a ton of fresh, organic veggies for a great price.  Check out this bag of spinach I got for $5!

So, today I prepped breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both of us for the next two days. Some of our meals later this week rely on leftovers, which is a time saver. This is the current state of our refrigerator.

And here is our very first Whole30 meal!

I'm not quite sure what my "schedule" for blogging will be quite yet, but my goal is to post at least once a week. I'm going share our progress, as well as some yummy recipes. Stay tuned!