Whole 30 Week 4

I have had a few dreams over the past month about food, off-plan food to be exact. Most of my dreams have involved me sticking to my Whole30 guns even while dreaming about delicious cake and pizza. Tuesday night I dreamt about a huge cupcake and I ate. I ate it ALL! Then I felt guilty about it. *shake my head* It had been 23 days since I started this journey and my mind is still trying to drive me back to those off-plan foods.

I see the light at the end of the tunnel and have been thinking a lot about what I'm going to eat as my first non Whole30 food after my 30 days are up. I think I've decided it is going to be a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Sugar, dairy, and peanuts all at once...maybe that isn't such a great idea after all.

How I am feeling:

I'm feeling really good. I'm still tired a lot but I think that is because I haven't been getting in bed early enough. I still have high blood pressure so I'm taking my medicine. I'm going to have to stick to a Whole30 way of eating for awhile before I see changes there. I had a doctor visit about this and forgot to get my blood work done again so I have to do it before I go back in 6 weeks. I'm planning on eating a few off-plan foods but then going back to Whole30 eating. We go on vacation in about 3 weeks so I'll probably try and eat 80% Whole30 and 20% off-plan. 

What I ate:

I share what I eat on other social media sites and get lots of compliments about how good the food looks which is kind of surprising as it is ONLY real food. Nothing fancy. It is sad that our country has moved to a fast food, processed food society. We need to bring back cooking at home!

It's already Wednesday and I don't remember all that I've eaten so I'm going to give the short version this week. In addition to my usual boiled egg and fruit/veggies for breakfast...

• Turkey salad @ Subway
• Chicken Primavera leftovers
• Protein salad, sweet potato
• Stuffed Portabella mushrooms. They were extra yummy!
• Steak and steamed broccoli
• Omelet with steak and spinach

Watch for my final end of Whole30 post...

Whole 30 Week 3 DONE

I have to admit something.. I broke down this morning and weighed myself. The scale was just laying there calling my name, how could I not? So since starting 3 weeks ago I have lost...6.3lbs!! That is about 2lbs a week. A good healthy weight loss. I have lost this ONLY changing my diet. I haven't even been working out during this time.

How I'm feeling:

I'm really feeling great. Lots of energy, my clothes are looser, I am getting lots of compliments about the weight I have lost. I have learned more about cooking in the last 3 weeks than I have in my entire life. Picking what I eat when I do eat out is getting easier and eating like this daily is almost second nature now.

Physically I have had some bloating but I've noticed that was after I eat at a restaurant so I'm guessing there may have been something in the food that wasn't compliant but I don't know for sure. I make sure I ask what they cook the food in and have them remove anything that isn't Whole30 compliant. If they can't then I order a plain salad with oil & vinegar dressing or nothing if they don't have that. I also have a canker sore which I haven't had in a long time so that is something that has concerned me. Not really sure what would have caused that.

What I ate July 13 - 19:

I ate out more than I probably should have this week. I don't want to slip back to my old ways plus eating out on W30 is hard. I really don't trust restaurants when ordering my food. I felt more hungry this week too. I attribute that to eating out and not getting a well rounded meal at the restaurants.

Monday

• Spinach Frittata
• Stuffed Bell Pepper and cauliflower rice

This night my daughter decided to jump off our bed onto a pile of pillows. While this sounded like a great idea in her head she didn't account for the floor that was very hard. Missing the pillows and hitting the floor with her mouth she managed to knock a tooth loose. She is only 3.5 and wasn't supposed to be loosing any teeth for a couple more years.... Usually at bed she gets a cup of milk but with her tooth very loose she couldn't drink from her regular cup. I found a sippee cup that she could let the milk drip out of into her mouth and demonstrated this for her (milk and all) without thinking. It was only a few drops as it didn't come out very fast but technically I guess I broke my Whole30 by doing this. No I am not starting over as it was an innocent mistake and I swear it was only a couple drops of milk. Not even enough to swallow, really. 

Well after a visit to the dentist the following day we decided the tooth needed to come out. Here is my daughter's beautiful new smile. 

Tuesday

• Egg & tomato slices
• Grilled Chicken & grilled veggies @ Logan's Roadhouse
  -- I had some major bloating after eating this. Not sure what was on it that caused this as I asked before ordering to make sure it was compliant ingredients. 
• Roasted Chicken, asparagus, and a pear

Wednesday

• Boiled Egg & pear
• Stuffed Bell Pepper & Sweet Potato

Thursday

• Boiled Egg & Banana
• Chicken w/ almond butter, sweet potato, and carrots.
• Plantain Nachos
  -- Yummy but didn't have that crunch I was looking for. I think I needed to cook the plantains a little longer. 

Friday

• Boiled Egg & Pear -- I was hungry by 11 am today...
• Steak Fajita (just the meat & veggies) @ El Patio. 
• Grilled Chicken salad @ Fuddruckers

Saturday

I don't remember what I had for lunch today. I get slack on the weekend with tracking on here. lol

• Hashbrowns
• Burger with Sauteed mushrooms in OO with a salad @ Comedy Cabana

Sunday

• Sweet potato hash & fried egg with fresh fruit
• Left overs - Sweet potato hash & nacho meat
• Chicken Primavera 

Whole 30 Week 2 DONE

How I'm feeling:

The end of week two and I'm feeling really good. It has gotten easier to eat Whole30 foods. I'm more comfortable with reading labels and picking out food that I can eat. I'm starting to really feel more energetic during the day. I'm having trouble laying down for bed at a reasonable time because I don't feel tired and want to make stuff in the kitchen but that food processor is really loud. lol

I'm dying to know what I weigh and if I've lost any inches yet but I'm sticking to the program and not doing either until the end. When I look at my stomach I feel like it is smaller than it was and I can tell my face is looking thinner. It also seems like my pants are getting looser so those are all good signs. 

What I ate July 6 - 12:

Monday - Day 8

• Leftover Spinach Frittata
• Leftover Protein Salad with carrots & almond butter
• Spaghetti Squash with ground meat and marinara sauce

Tuesday - Day 9

• Boiled Egg & apple
• Baked chicken breast with sweet potato. Carrots & almond butter
• Cubed Steak w/ almond flour. Patty pan squash stuffed with sauteed spinach & onion

Wednesday - Day 10

• Boiled Egg & Banana
• Leftover Spaghetti Squash with ground meat and marinara sauce. Carrots & Bell Pepper slices
• Chicken Sausage with potatoes and a Spinach salad w/ Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, carrots. Balsamic dressing on top. 

Thursday - Day 11

• Boiled Egg & Banana
• Leftover Spaghetti Squash with ground meat and marinara sauce. Carrots & Bell Pepper slices. Yes, I had this two days in a row. I forgot to bring the leftover sausage and spinach salad for lunch today. 
• ....Don't remember what I had for dinner....

Friday & Saturday - Days 12 & 13

I ate out a couple times over the weekend while staying Whole30 compliant. I have forgotten what I ate these days but I know I had salad, grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and lots of sweet potato over the weekend. Oh and I had a Beet and Pear salad at this restaurant that was really good. I ate a couple slices of the pear but was afraid it had been marinated in some sugar sauce cause you never really know what they do to the food. After asking about it though I was presently surprised that they only roasted the pear. It is amazing how sweet food is naturally when you cut out all other sugar. 

Devils on Horseback - I made these at some point during the week too. They are delicious.

Sunday - Day 14

My proudest accomplishment was making dinner on Sunday night. I made a whole roasted chicken, coconut cauliflower rice, and sweet potato toast. If you know me then you know this is completely out of my comfort zone as far as cooking goes!! I have NEVER in my life done anything with raw meat except ground beef.

So what great recipes have you found since starting Whole30? Share them in the comments below. I'd love to see what you are eating. 

Whole30 Week 1 DONE

I can't tell you how proud of myself I am for completing my first week of Whole30. I have managed to eat clean and healthy all week long. Although I had planned on starting July 1st with the Whole30 community my official start date was June 29th. I quit drinking coffee cold turkey which wasn't that hard since I only drank a cup a day. I quit eating all sugar. Did you know that sugar is in just about everything you eat?!! I am surprised at how many foods contain some form of sugar in them. You really don't know how much sugar you are eating until you read your labels.

I found the weekend was harder on me with keeping my meal plan going. I just didn't know what to eat for some reason. With this past weekend being July 4th we went to a friends house to hang out. I was only able to eat a burger with toppings and some deviled eggs that were made with avocado instead of mayo plus my wonderful fruit tray pictured below.

Back to work this week I feel more at ease with what I will be eating. Shopping is the biggest thing for me right now to make sure I have the right foods at home to eat. If nothing else comes of this meal plan it will be that I am learning to be comfortable in the kitchen and cook more. All my adult life I have cooked dinner maybe 3 times. It has always been something that my husband handled and I have never needed to learn. Working with whole foods and simplifying what I'm cooking makes it a less scary task for me to tackle. PLUS the The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom* lays it all out for you with step-by-step instructions to get perfectly cooked EVERYTHING.

How I'm feeling:

I'm not as tired as I used to be other than the last couple days. Whole30 Timeline: Days 6-7 (I just want to nap.) I've noticed that I'm not as hungry between meals either. I'm staying full or satiated longer now.  Also I haven't had any heartburn or bloating like I was before. Overall I'm feeling pretty good. Sure I miss some of the foods I used to eat like ice cream and cheese but I have no problems not eating them. We have a key lime pie in the fridge I haven't even considered eating. It is a little hard doing this when others in the house are still eating off-plan food but it can be done and I'm DOING it.

What I ate:

Breakfast:

• Boiled Egg and fruit/veggies (Carrots, Apple, Banana)
• Spinach Fritta (Recipe in Whole30 book)

Lunch:

• Salad with grilled chicken. Oil & Vinegar dressing
• Stuffed Bell Pepper (Recipe in Whole30 book) - Left overs from dinner
• Protein salad on spinach

Dinner:

• "Sandwich" of celery & carrot that my 3yo daughter made for me. (Totally Kidding)
• Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Steak with roasted root vegetables
• Pork chops with asparagus

So that's it Week 1 is done and over with. Go me!! 

So tell me....
What did you struggle with your first week?
What did you eat?
How are you feeling?




*This post contains sponsored links from Amazon.

Whole30 Journey

I'm embarking on a journey to learn more about my body and the way the foods I eat affect it. Wanting to blog about my journey to keep a record of my progress I have chose to do so here.

I have commited to starting this process on July 1, 2015. I am aware that July 4th is right around the corner but the Whole30.com community is doing the reset starting this day so I thought what better day to start? It will be their 6th anniversary of starting Whole30 and I will be following right along with them!!

How I'm feeling.

Overall my health has been great over the years but in the last year I have been diagnosed with High Blood Pressure, gout, and PCOS. Depending on what I eat I can feel bloated, gassy, have heartburn, or just be sluggish. My brain has been foggy and I find it hard to focus sometimes.

At the end of the Whole30 I hope to have an increased amount of energy and have my blood pressure medicine reduced.

What I'm most nervous about.

I'm so nervous about cooking, I'm going into this without much knowledge on how to cook and as a 32 year-old woman that just isn't going to work any longer. I have always relied on my husband to cook our food or we go out to eat. Since he isn't planning on doing this with me I will need to learn how to cook. The meals I plan on eating will be simple ones that I can cook ahead of time and freeze or eat over the week. Since I work full-time and have a toddler in the house my time is limited during the week to really meal prep.

I'm using init4thelongrun.com as a source of inspiration on what to cook and how to do it. She has some great pages that lay it all out for you.

Want to join too? (Taken from Wholesome #19 newsletter)

If you want to participate in the July Whole30, here's what you do. (Note, all of these steps are totally optional. You can always just say to yourself, "I'm in," poke around our website for resources, and start your program on July 1st. We just think it's way more fun and effective if you do it as part of our huge, supportive group!)

• Review your copy of The Whole30. We'd recommend reading at least the program rules (page 13), our Getting Started guide (page 17), and the newly expanded Whole30 Timeline (page 32) to get you off on the right foot. You could also peruse our extensive FAQ (starting on page 53), or use our Whole30 Program Guide Index (pages 410-415) to look something up as you go.

• Join our Whole30 Forum and drop a comment on the July 1st thread in the "Join the Whole30" section. (We guarantee someone will start one between now and then--but if you're the first one there, go ahead and post!) Finding a Whole30 buddy and connecting with others on the same day as you can give you extra motivation and accountability to succeed.

• Sign up for the Whole30 Daily by June 30th. Our daily emails will provide you with resources, tips, previews of what's to come, and all the accountability you need in the form of an "I did it!" button at the end of every email.

• Follow us on social media (Instagram @whole30, @whole30recipes, Twitter @whole30, Facebook /whole30) to stay connected with us and all of the resources, fun, and encouragement we'll be offering throughout the month. 

Walk to Remember Oct 13, 2013

Three years later and I couldn't have guessed that the loss of my little girl would lead to me being interviewed for the news.

Today I'm excited to share with you the news article and video from the interview. The local hospital holds the Walk to Remember at their birthing center every year to honor those children who are gone too soon. I have attended every one since losing Brinley. The first one not even two months after she was gone. It has definitely been a growing experience for me. Last year I got to share my story and read a poem. I also shared my Face 2 Face MB group I started locally through www.FacesofLoss.com.

I will be doing the same thing this year although I still need a poem. So give them to me. What are your favorite poems, sayings, or stories?

So...its been a while, sorry.

Life has not stopped for me. I have had a lot going on this year between school, work, and home. I have had some depression creep in on me and seeked help for it. I'm feeling better these days and have had blogging on my mind a lot lately. So today seemed to be the right day to jump back in. Last month was Brinley's 3rd angelversary. I raised money for Molly Bears for her birthday. I ended up raising just over $300 through Jamberry Nails sales and from personal donations on Rally. If you would like to make a donation you can click on the Rally link to donate. :-) I would be forever grateful.

I'm keeping this post short since I have school work I need to work on so I'm going to leave you with this crazy dream I had last night.

I had an old friend from high school that I ran into ask if she could get a tattoo of my dead baby. She wanted her to look all bruised up in the tattoo and have Hang Gang written under it. At first I thought she wanted to get the tattoo to remember Brinley but then she explained it was to represent this gang she had joined! I told her HELL no she couldn't use my baby's picture for that. Then she pulled out this picture and long post I had written saying that anyone could use her picture for tattoos after she was first stillborn. 

I mean, WTF was that about? I don't often dream about Brinley. Actually I don't think I've ever had a dream about her living. I'm really sad about that.