Day 15

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with green chili sauce, leftover roast chicken, leftover sauteed veggies from a couple days ago, and some watermelon.
I woke up feeling wonderful!! First night of solid sleep in about a week.. Due to J's surgery we were getting up 1-2 times a night so he could eat and take more meds but last night was the first night he didn't take any all night.

We were a military family for 8 years..for 8 years I knew exactly how much our paycheck would be and could fully budget 3-4 days before we even got paid.  The transition from that to the fact our paycheck can be different every time we get paid is very hard on me.  I'm a planner, I budget... I'm very number focused...  We also get different pay checks at different times every month.  It's been the hardest part of transition.. Not knowing until we actually get the money, how much we'll get or IF we'll even get it.    For the past 3 1/2 years I don't sleep very well the night before we get paid.  I'm up 2,3,4 times a night checking to see if we got paid and how much..then after I see it's in our account I lay in bed and budget (in my head) quickly.   It's a huge stress for me.   As a one income family I have to be on.the.dot. with the budget or else we're in for a world of hurt. It's my job to make everything "work".. 99% of the time I'm on the dot and I like it that way.   There's no room for uncertainties..   Nights before we get paid are very stressful for me.   Waiting on money..that is a different amount every month..and that comes at different times every month is probably one of my biggest stresses.  So for 3 1/2 years my sleep is horrible the night we are to get paid...I always slept fairly light and I would wake up and the stress would hit me and the cycle continued all night.
For the first time ... in 3 1/2 years.... I slept last night..the night before we got paid.  I actually slept all night and it was an incredibly deep sleep.  I woke up refreshed and remembered "OH..it's payday"..
HUGE!

I can feel my stress is lower.. My day to day stress is still very high but the constant feeling of being overwhelmed and stressed and unhappy on top of my daily stress is gone.

We grilled every bit of our dinner tonight.  Steaks, veggie kabobs, and pineapple.  Super yummy and my kitchen stayed clean! yay!  Win win!

Day 15... Rocked it.

Days 12-14

Today is day 14.. I'm almost 1/2 way done.

It's been a difficult few days .. With J's surgery, being away from home.. I was very tempted.  But no cheating..no giving in.

I had a bad bad craving for pizza last night.. I was tired, I wasn't feeling well, I was taking care of a husband who just had surgery plus 3 kids.. I was D-O-N-E.    Thankfully I didn't give in and made a delicious "spaghetti"  It rocked my world!!!!   Spaghetti squash, Whole30 approved sauce and Italian sausage.  It was amazing and totally hit my spot.


I kind of broke the rules... I had to go to the Dr this morning and I had to weigh,.....
When I began this I was hoping to lose 10 lbs total... I was hoping to see 5lbs lost on the scale at the dr office................

In 2 weeks I have  lost 12 pounds!! 12!!  I am so so super shocked and overwhelmed.  I can't believe it.   I was eating 12 lbs of JUNK in just two weeks.  Thats just GROSS.  I can't believe it.  
I have been trying for 3 years to lose weight and no matter what i haven't been able to..through running a 5k..working out every day.. I just could NOT lose weight.

Otherwise I feel amazing.  I'm sleeping well.  My sleep is so much deeper than it has ever been.  I have lots of energy.. I don't even drink coffee every morning because I don't need it.

Tiger Blood.

Day 11............ I must confess... I ate a chip.

So far so good!  

We took an impromptu night away last weekend and I didn't *Purposely* cheat on Whole 30  (I'll explain that later) ,...    I was SUPER proud of myself.. The Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt was SO tempting.. like.. way way tempting.. The bread at Outback was another HUGE temptation.
The food I had maybe wasn't the *best* but it -was- all Whole 30 Approved.

I did have one small problem.... We were in Whole Foods getting some food for breakfast and they had a sample of Guacamole and I thought "OH! YAH! I can have guacamole".. Sooo I took a chip..scooped a big dollop of Guacamole on there and munched away.. Man it was good guacamole...........  We continued walking and I gave the girls samples of veggie chips and they asked if I was having one.. I told them no, I can't have...............................and it hit me....... I stood there in Whole foods and said...louder than I maybe should have .. "NOOO!! I ATE A CHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"    Of course J is all like "ya  I saw that".. Dude.. WHY didn't you smack it out of my hand!?!?   "well I figured you knew what you were doing" .. ya.. I don't.  apparently.    It was completely 100% unconscious and it didn't hit me until 3-4 minutes later that I ate a chip.. *sigh*

Anyways.. I'm overall very pleased with this weekend! Not one on purpose cheat.

We've tried spaghetti squash for the first time...even the kids.. Can't say it's my total favorite but.. it's alright.

I'm not struggling with hunger anymore except for in the evenings, which was my main snacking time.  

Mentally..I've kinda hit a wall.  My hands have gone back to hurting over the past 5 days and I'm not sure why.  It's a downer as it was the one thing that was huge for me to fix.   Overall I kinda feel like a whale..,...I hope by the end all of this will level out.

We're getting ready to head out again tonight for another night away.  J is having surgery tomorrow so we will be staying with his parents for the night and then his surgery tomorrow.  This time I have food prepped..snack bags of carrots, Larabars, apples... ect.. While I'm at the surgery center waiting.

I've also prepped some food for this week.  J will be on  bed rest for 2 weeks and then in a boot for 3 weeks ..so due to the nature of his job he will be home for a total of 5 weeks.. so I needed to get ahead of the game for this week at least and have some quick/easy meals.. I boiled some eggs, riced some cauli-flower.. I plan to cook a whole chicken and portion that up.

I'm learning that being prepared is key!

Day 5/6

Day 5 was a tricky day...  I really bulked up and ate a lot of breakfast because Wes had 3 hours of therapy and I knew food wouldn't be available.  I made an avocado egg bake.  Take 1/2 an avocado and put an egg in the middle then bake for 25 mins.  It was super good. I didn't think I'd like it because..well..hot avocado..yuck.  But it was really good.  I had some bacon, yes I found Whole 30 approved bacon. and a large bowl of watermelon/cantaloupe.  

It kept me full and for the first time in a long time I didn't have the dreaded 2pm "I just need to sleep now" crash.  Therapy days are hard. They are very exhausting, mentally and physically and I was really worried how it would go yesterday.  Happy to say it went fabulous and I felt great all day.

Dinner was turkey burgers with avocado.  Not the best because I normally have a "filler" like bread crumbs to thicken the turkey up and I couldn't use any of that so I didn't like the consistency.
Lunches are pretty much the same.. a stir-fry of sorts.  A meat and then an assortment of veggies all sauteed together.

Day 6..so far so good.  Feeling great. Ring is lose.  Hands not swollen or hurt in the least.  I'm even starting to feel a difference in some of my tighter clothes fitting better. I haven't dared to step on a scale for fear I would get cocky and allow myself a treat.
My energy is great.. sleeping really well.  

I feel really good.  

I tried Cauli-rice tonight.  Pretty good! It was a nice alternative to rice.

I'm learning that just because I want to eat, doesn't mean I need to. I'm learning that when I want to eat I need to stop, slow down, and find out the real cause.. Am I *really* hungry? or am I stressed? Do I need to rest for a minute? Do I need to drink some water?   I don't *need* to snack in the evenings.  I'm learning that grains and sugar and the occasional wine make my body feel bad..which is it? all 3? just 1? Is it an issue of over consumption?  I don't know the answer to that right now.

Day 6 and I'm really glad I'm doing this!

Days 3 and 4. Also HUGE progress that my body is changing for the better!

Day 3 dawned and I felt like I had downed a fifth in the night. My head was pounding, my teeth hurt, I still had the jello limb syndrome.  After I got up and ate though I felt 75% better.  Breakfast was 2 hard boiled eggs, sauteed squash, 1/2 an avocado, and watermelon.   I feel like I'm starting to get a better grip on how much I should eat.
Another huge thing on day 3... I woke up and my hands weren't swollen!!  PEOPLE!  This.IS.HUGE.  I wake up every morning and my hands are so swollen they are stiff and I couldn't get my rings off if I tried, it's painful! It's not uncommon for me to get up at some point in the night and take off my rings because my hands are already so swollen.  Woke up, day 3, and my rings were able to be turned on my finger!!  I'm seriously so in shock! This is huge!! 3 days, just 3 days and my hands don't hurt this morning!  Major victory!

Dinner was baked chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and fresh steam broccoli.  I have always, always, always hated sweet potatoes and tonight I tried 3 pieces... (I still don't like them)  But I tried them!  yay me!!


Day 4 dawned and not only were my hands not swollen, my ring was lose!! Crazy!!   This morning was a smoothie.  I was very watchful of my portions.. Large handful of spinach, blackberries, almond butter and coconut milk.    I also had a hard boiled egg and 1/2 an avocado.   We were at the park this morning and by the time we got home at noon I was having HUGE hunger issues.  I can't seem to manage my hunger today.  I feel like I'm over eating.   Lunch was leftover baked chicken with squash, broccoli, and 1 small potato all sauteed and some watermelon.

We had our first dinner out tonight... I got a strawberry grilled chicken salad.  Maybe 1/2 tsp dressing which was a vinaigrette and I'm sure it wasn't whole 30 approved. I didn't like the taste..salad was great though and not a bad combo of healthy fats, with walnuts in it.    All in all I'm really proud of the choice I made.

Felt great today besides the worlds worst caffeine headache.  I hope tomorrow is better, hunger-wise. I couldn't seem to get full today.. had a couple snacks...

All in all.. feeling great for day 4!

Day 2 "Day of the Jello Limbs"

Woke up feeling like I had completed an Iron man in the night.  My arms and legs feel like jello.  My back feels like I was hit with a 2x4.   Mentally I feel alert and great...  but My limbs are screaming "Why must I do things"  I shall hereby dub today "Day of the Jello Limbs"     

I made a smoothie for breakfast... I know smoothies aren't a preferred food on Whole 30 but I think if I am really careful I can make it work. I'm not a huge breakfast person and it's really hard for me to eat a substantial meal in the morning.. but it's something I can work on.   I'm pretty proud of today's smoothie and was very cautious about my fruit intake.   I shared with Josh so that makes it better, right?

approx 10 frozen blackberries
coconut cream
TBL almond butter
2 tsp flax seed
1/2 a banana
2 handfuls spinach
Water to thin it out a tad

It was REALLY good! I need a better blender as my immersion blender didn't do too well.   I'm following it with 2 poached eggs and some iced black tea. 

Lunch was a HUGE salad with nearly everything Whole 30 I owned.  It was really good and 3 hours later I'm still pleasantly full.   

I made Dallas' Watermelon Salad and tried a bit of that.  Whole 30 approved and SO SO yummy! I'm becoming excited for "healthy food",.  All too often, before, my "excitement" would be Happy Hour at Sonic or ice cream and I'm happy that even just 2 days in I am excited and totally satisfied by watermelon salad. 



Dinner is grilled hamburger patties topped with avocado and lettuce,  "Zucchini fries" broiled in the oven and maybe some broiled white potatoes seasoned with Dill. 

Whole 30.. Day 1

Here we go.  Getting ready to start Whole 30.  I'm fearfully excited.   4 1/2 years ago I made huge changes to my diet and exercise level and ending up losing 50 pounds. I looked better than I ever have before.. Looking back though, I wasn't eating healthy. I changed how I ate, I changed the quantity, but I wasn't eating healthy. I drank an insane amount of sodas and energy drinks and I took supplements. Sure, I was skinny, but I wasn't terribly healthy.  Doing Whole 30 will be the most daring thing I've done.  Cutting out all junk and processed foods.  Over the past year we've cut down on processed foods considerably.  We don't eat boxed foods, I've cut my soda intake down from 1-2 a day to once a week yet I still don't feel healthy.  I'm a busy mom of 3 and I have no energy.  I constantly feel sluggish, almost as if I'm in a fog.  I don't sleep well. I toss and turn all night.  My hands constantly feel swollen and unable to grip things. I tell myself it's my carpal tunnel but I'm curious to see if it's actually diet or if it's carpal tunnel. I'm curious to see if I have a food allergy/intolerance and that could be contributing to the bloated, swollen feeling that I always seem to have.

My goals for Whole 30...

* I want to have more energy.  I hate that at almost 30 I have no energy.
* I want to feel better, generally
* Losing some weight would be awesome, although not my main goal.  In my heart, I'd love to drop 10lbs
* I want to stop feeling so bloated and swollen



Day 1: 

 I decided to take a before picture... not going to post it until after the 30 days but I took one.
I survived Whole 30 coffee...although I already screwed up the program before I even drank my coffee... I thought it would be a lovely addition to add some vanilla extract.   Ya..vanilla extract is a no no.   I did add coconut cream and cinnamon.  It was actually pretty good. Like, I'd drink another cup. I can survive on that I think.
Second hitch.... My avocados weren't ready to eat. I somehow went to the store and decided buying only green ones would be great.... So I had to improvise... We ended up with spinach/mushroom egg scramble, 1/2 a banana, a handful of blueberries, and a Tbl almond butter.   I don't like blueberries..never have.  Actually I don't even care for bananas... But I ate them all.  Gotta put on my big girl panties and eat adult food.   I survived.   And I feel pleasantly full. yay!

I let myself get too hungry before I had lunch.. it was all I could do to not put that cheese puff in my mouth as I was making the Kids' lunch.  I've never wanted a cheese puff so bad in my life.    Lunch was less than satisfying.  Lunch meat, celery, carrots, and blueberries.  Josh made a olive oil/herb dipping sauce which was pretty good.     Snack: Apple and almond butter.   I really like almond butter.

Dinner was a HUGE hit.  I made Italian sausage, peppers, and zucchini all sauteed together.  Super delicious and really filled me up.

Im not quite sure how to portion my food yet as I'm finding I get hungry between meals and in the evening still.. maybe my body will adjust to that as time goes on.