A few of my favorite things ...

I've been looking back through my blog, trying to remember what we ate last time we did this.  It seemed like a good idea to put ALL of the recipes that I loved in ONE place for me this time, for anyone else doing a Whole30 who needs inspiration.

My FAVORITE recipe recommendation when someone talks about getting sick of eggs: Sweet Potato Hash !!!  Do NOT skip the paleo bacon! (I link to what I use later in this post)  I am making it for breakfast for the week and it's the one thing I look forward to the most!  Add avocado and a fried egg on top for sheer delicious!


Crockpot Balsamic Chicken - I was chicken-thigh-a-phobic before we tried this recipe.  But this recipe - I ALWAYS use thighs!  I despise taking skin off chicken, but I will do it for this recipe. :-)   My kids love this recipe - as in, seconds, thirds, as much as I will let them eat!



Plantain Nachos - Whole30 or not, I will always use this recipe for my taco meat.  The plantain chips are so good they are almost SWYPO.... but it's approved, so I will go with it!



Old School Italian Meat Sauce - I make this, but without the "meat sauce" part. It's my go-to marinara for spaghetti squash, chicken and meatballs.


Good old burger - we splurged on grass fed beef, which we don't normally do. We grilled the burgers and added the Pederson's  bacon (PALEO - no sugar added!!) *

Prosciutto Wrapped Egg Muffins - Perfect for breakfast! Last time I made them, I blended spinach with the eggs and called it "Green eggs and ham" - my daughter had asked for them.  She, of course, hated them (green, ya know) but I loved them! This time I am going to try to put in peppers, onion and more spinach!


And my FAVORITE: Ginger Lime Shrimp. Mostly my favorite because we had them for dinner and my SHRIMP HATING daughter decided she loves shrimp!  It has a great flavor and I am definitely including it in my meal plan in the coming week!





Hubby's favorite - Buffalo Chicken wraps - I cooked ground chicken in ghee and Frank's hot sauce. I loaded that up in a lettuce wrap with celery, avocado and tomato.










*If this is your first Whole30, make SURE you are reading ingredients, NOT just sugar content!  Often times, lunch meats, bacon, ham etc will have a 0g sugar content but there is still sugar used in the preparation, often a rub or brine. THIS COUNTS!! 

Here we go again!!!

I miss this chick...

 I have felt like COMPLETE crap since my Whole30 ended. I've posted a few times, I've wallowed a lot more than that. I feel like I have no willpower now.  I don't even track my food obsessively in MFP anymore - because Whole30 was SO freeing about not doing it.  But when you're eating cheese and crackers, pasta and drinking half and half - and let's not get started about the amount of alcohol I've been drinking - tracking becomes MUCH more important.

I miss the clear headedness. I miss waking up refreshed. I miss not having any sore joints. I FELT stronger. I FELT thinner/less bloated and my head felt clearer.

Almost everyday I wake up and think "I'm going to eat Whole30-like today" and I immediately break it when I pour half and half into my coffee. Or when I lick the knife I just used to make my daughter's peanut butter sandwich.  Then I figure, "I slashed one tire, let's take care of the other three!"

So instead of beating myself up, mentally then at the gym, physically. . . instead of feeling guilt and denial that my eating DOES affect my life -- I'm going to DO something about it. I'm learning the truth - you really CAN'T outrun a bad diet!!  I can burn 500 calories or more a day in a workout, but if I come home and drink beer, eat chips and gorge on pasta - I might as well have stayed home.

Tomorrow I will start a Whole14. Just two weeks, 14 days, of "Whole30" eating.  I will go back to the basics of it.  Then, maybe on the flip side when I remember how GOOD it feels and how I DO have the willpower -- maybe then I can stick with something MODERATE.

I have 10 workouts left in the Jamie Eason training.  I apparently don't know how to deadlift because I hurt my neck on Tuesday doing them. I was out of commission yesterday. I PROBABLY could have gone back today but we had other things for school to get done. Tomorrow, I will head back.  Once I'm done with this training I am so excited to start running again. Maybe I'll start using all of those interval running workouts I have pinned on Pinterest! And of course, after a 12 week lifting program, I will be continuing with my training.

But for tonight, I drink up. 

Crickets...

I know things have been quiet. With the end of school for my daughter, my husband changing jobs and a fairly serious injury by my son, I haven't been to the gym like I should. I haven't been eating like I should. I certainly feel like crap and I can't wait to feel better. 

As soon as I feel like I can get out from under this giant black cloud, I will be back. I hauled myself to the gym today for leg day, which is always my favorite, and I think I'll be able to get back into my groove soon! 

I can definitely tell a difference between now and Whole30.  And every morning I wake up and tell myself "I will eat Whole30 today!" and fail by my first cup of coffee with my delicious half and half.  If I could even just get back to eating MOSTLY vegetables at my meals it would be mostly better, but I just haven't felt it. It's been all about the comfort food! 

I will get back, I promise. I'm excited to start my running training, but I MUST complete the Jamie Eason LiveFit training first. I have 2 days left in week 10 (weeks 9 & 10 have taken me about a month to complete.....)  then onto weeks 11 and 12.  

Small note.

1.5 wks post Whole30: unrestricted eating and I feel like crap. I want my rules and delicious food back, but we all know moderation isn't my strong suit!! Hoping to meal plan starting Sunday and make most-if-not-all meals Whole30 compliant. Without "broadcasting" that fact to my family! 

Final Stats from Whole30

I learned today that PEAS aren't allowed on Whole30. I truly had NO idea. So if you're looking to do one, don't eat peas!  

Aside from the whole "no peas" thing,  we finished a successful (as far as we knew) Whole30! 

Here are my stats ! 

 I've had more energy, I have successfully weaned myself from an antidepressant and I feel stronger. I didn't have the amazing results I've seen around the forums and Whole30 sites, but to be honest, I didn't have a ton of weight to lose to get to goal. I hoped to get closer to my goal weight, but I can't turn my nose up at a 6.5 lb loss in a month. 

I think I've said it here before, we won't be paleo after this - it's just not sustainable to us. Unless we find that someone in our family reacts poorly to something during reintroduction, we will return to "clean eating." My husband and I agree that this is an excellent "reboot" and we will try to complete 2 Whole30's per year. 

I won't even go so far as to say everyone should do this. It's NOT for everyone. But if you feel that you need a good body reset, if you feel like you have inflammation or AI issues, if you feel like you need CONTROL of it for awhile - this is for you.  I didn't hit my goal weight. I didn't even lose as much as I hoped, but I also am a lot closer to my goal than someone coming from a SAD (standard American diet) because of the small changes we've gradually made over the years. It's been hard for me not to compare my results to ALL THE OTHER people who have completed a Whole30. "Why didn't I lose that much?" "Why didn't I get the tiger blood feeling?"  But I can't do that. I am not them. They are not ME! 

I can only go so far as to be proud of my 6.5 lbs, my 1.1% body fat loss, the teeeensy tiny abs I see in my "after" pictures. The fact that I am off an antidepressant I've been on for as long as I can remember. That I don't NEEEEEEED coffee to get me moving in the morning (in fact, most mornings lately, I FORGET to make a cup until around 10am!) 

It's completely embarrassing to put these pictures out publicly, but I am proud of where I am now. I admit, the fact that there are baby abs pushing through in the bottom left picture is a little addicting and I want to keep moving in that direction.  We are a few days out now and I've been adding in "prohibited" foods - I feel them. I have been more bloated-feeling and I miss the feeling of thinning out. I am going to try to start making a conscious effort to get back to tracking macros (without such a RIDICULOUS number for my protein!) and go back to a "clean" approach - with whole grains and lots of starchy carbs instead of processed stuff. 

I've missed a few days of the Jamie Eason plan - and I'm ok with it. It was getting to be a LOT of time spent at the gym, when I really needed to be spending more with my kiddos (you know, the reason I left my job?).  So I'm spacing out the workouts a little more. I am going to complete day 61 tomorrow, which is the 5th day of week 9. Today is technically the 2nd day of week 10, so I am only 4 days behind. 

I am going to start adding some running into the mix too. I registered for the Halloween 10K (fourth year in a row!) and the Mo' Cowbell Half again for this fall, so I need to get my butt in gear! I registered my expected finish time for the half to be 2:15!! 6 min shorter than my last! So I have a lot to prove - if only to myself. 

So as always, I finished up one thing and I'm on to the next. We will revisit the Whole30 concept again, hopefully a few times a year. If NOTHING else, it's a good reminder that I DO possess will power. I CAN control my eating, I can accomplish what I set out to do.