Day 17

Not so much fun today. I think the "tiger blood" has worn off because I am tired and grumpy. I did a lot of snacking today because I was irritated with life. I wonder how many pumpkin seeds are not good for you??? At least I won't have any issues being regular for a few days... Pumpkin seeds are an anthelminthic so I also won't have any issues with tapeworms, either.....

Okay, enough of that talk. I am sure the last two people who were following this blog have just unfollowed it.

I did pull it together to make a great dinner of meatballs, sauce, and zucchini "fries" from the Against All Grain blog. Everything was super good. Even the meatballs were good considering the unlabeled package of ground meat I grabbed from the freezer was probably lamb and not beef. My kid approved of them so the must have been yum!

Day 17

I broke a rule today and weighed myself this morning. After feeling discouraged yesterday I needed to see what was going on. The weigh in showed I have lost 7 lbs. I was disappointed at first because that is less than a half a pound a day. Then I reasoned with myself and decided that was pretty good results for only 16 days. The take-home message is to remember how much work it takes to loose weight when I am thinking about putting it on. That dry brownie or stale donut sure doesn't taste good when you think of that.

Food today:
Smoothie
Coffee
Leftover parfait (a mixture of various leftovers in a bowl)
Big ass salad with roasted Portobello mushroom
Pumpkin seeds
Grapes
Raisins
Almonds

Day 16

I am feeling discouraged today. The reason is that I don't feel like I am losing very much weight. It doesn't seem fair to work this hard and eat this little and not have amazing results every day. I haven't weighed myself since that is the rule but my clothes are not as loose as they could be. I do know from past experience that I tend to loose a lot of weight the first few days of a diet and then not as much after that. It's like my body catches on to the lowered calorie intake and goes into full famine survival mode and doesn't let me give up anymore fat reserves. Hopefully after thirty days my body will give it up. We'll see...

Food I shoved in my mouth:
Smoothie with applesauce, strawberries, blueberries, OJ, kale, and coconut milk.

Leftover soup layered on top of leftover roasted veggies, with avocado and cilantro.

Pumpkin seeds, banana chips, coffee

Pork chops pan-fried in olive oil, roasted white potatoes (yes, these are Whole30 okay as long as not fried or eaten everyday)

Day 15:Halfway There

Halfway through! Today was good. I went to a work meeting at a nearby city. Lunch was included and thankfully it did have some Whole30 options - plain salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots, and a veggie sandwich with roasted veggies (they didn't look or taste marinated or covered in anything off plan), and dill pickles. After the meeting I stopped at Trader Joe's. My purchases were freeze dried banana chips, pumpkin seeds, and Larabars. Yum! Dinner was leftover soup from last night.

I am gearing up for a Super Bowl party. I would like to make chile lime wings from Nom Nom Paleo, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, and bacon wrapped pineapple, also from Nom Nom. A veggie plate and fruit plate are a given. It should be good!

Day 14

Still hanging on to the Whole30. It's going well. I am very used to the plan by now so I really don't feel like I have to cheat or break the rules or quit. I do still get frustrated with the restrictions and the level of thought involved in simply eating but I am enjoying the results so far and that makes up for the frustrations. Also I am terrified of going back to my old habits and weight so I am motivated to stick with it. I want to see what 30 full days has for results. I think I could continue with the plan even after thirty days.

Food I have had lately:

Smoothie with OJ, kale, blueberries, strawberries, banana, flaxseed, and coconut milk (coconut milk makes it soooooo yummy!!).

Raisins and almonds. An apple and an orange.

Leftovers for lunch.

Soap of Hubbard squash, tomatoes, kale, onion, garlic, and bacon. This recipe called for cinnamon and cloves. I was worried that it would be weird but it was great!!!

Day 12

It was the "Day of Me" today. I started with a one hour cross country ski with a neighbor. Then some yummy fajitas and a good smoothie. Then some shopping in the big city with a friend. Then I came home to a crockpot of curried goat ribs. It's super rare that I get time without my kid on weekends. My husband usually works on the weekends so I have all the kid duties. It was a treat to get two times in one day to hang out with someone other than a four year old.

The menu today:
A banana and black coffee while skiing.

Steak fajitas with peppers and onions, avocado, and homemade salsa.

Smoothie of OJ, coconut milk, blueberries, strawberries, kale, and banana.

Black coffee from Starbucks while shopping.

Day 11

Today was much better than yesterday. I was craving steak fajitas so I made some for lunch. It was a little weird to make a full meal from scratch on a Saturday for lunch. My usual Saturday lunch is either leftovers or granola bars, cookies and chips. The fajitas were pretty good and I didn't even mind spending a lot of time and energy making them. For dinner we bought roast pork meals that the local town was selling for a fundraiser. The meal came with pork, baked potato, stuffing, gravy, green beans, salad and pie. I ate the pork with no gravy, the plain potato, no stuffing, the beans, and plain salad. No pie, of course. It was good and lots of food.

So why am I doing the Whole30? For a couple of reasons:
1. To be forced to cook every day. I tend to get in a rut of boxed foods and quick fixes on most days. Or I resort to large cheese-based casseroles to provide several days worth of leftovers. With the rules of the Whole30, there is no way to stay on target with anything from a box or jar. I am forced to cook and use fresh ingredients.

2. To broaden my cooking horizons. I am making new recipes and using different ingredients. It's fun!

3. To lose weight. Duh. Nobody changes their diet in major ways without wanting to lose weight as a goal. I am a tall, big person who hasn't ever been their goal BMI. I am 5'9" and have been 200 - 220 lbs for at least six years (okay maybe more like since at least the eighth grade). Losing some weight would be great. I am shooting for losing twenty pounds.

Day 10

I really wanted to throw in the towel today. We went out to a new place in town for dinner. I was looking forward to it and had already previewed the menu on their website. When we got there we realized that they only had four tables for thirty people. The place was packed. So we wound up standing in the hallway waiting for an hour for takeout. We went to a friend's house to eat. I was super pissed the whole time because I was freaking starving and tired from working all day. So I spent the wait time growling at my kid and throwing some major shade at any fool who looked at me. Of course karma is a bitch because when we unpacked my dinner salad with grilled shrimp, it was a damn iceburg lettuce side salad with two dried up shrimp thrown on top. I really wanted to cry. Actually I wanted to binge eat my kid's pizza and chase it with a gallon of beer. It was hard to sit there and choke down that little pile of crap while everyone else ate fajitas and pizzas. Oh well. I fully plan on making fajitas for lunch tomorrow to make up for it. That's something to look forward to!

Day ummm... I've lost count.

Today was way better than yesterday. It's amazing what a good dinner and some snacks can do. I made salmon, sweet potato cakes today. They were amazing! I also threw together some fresh green beans that I fried with onion and garlic. So good! I ate some raisins on the way home from the grocery so I was homicidal by the time dinner was ready. That means I will be carrying boxes of raisins with me at all times to keep me from going cuckoo if some hunger sneaks up on me. Good times.

Day 8 - blah

Oh man, I was so over the Whole30 today! I was frustrated with stuff going on so I really wanted quit today and just binge on chips and ice cream. I didn't. Ugh. Dinner was touchy because I was super hungry and not in the mood to spend an hour cooking to make something I didn't really want to eat anyways. I got it done and plowed on through the day. In a stroke of genius I did prep some salmon cakes for tomorrow night from extra baked salmon leftover from tonight. Hopefully tomorrow's dinner goes better. We'll see.

Food today:
Breakfast - Smoothie of OJ, applesauce, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, pumpkin puree, ginger, and flaxseed meal.

Lunch - Salad, sweet potato, two egg quiches with veggies.

Dinner - Salmon baked with mango, peach, avocado salsa, spaghetti squash with coconut milk and spinach.

Snacks - Coffee, roasted almonds, strawberries and blueberries, raisins.

Day 7 - Benefits so far

After a week, I am feeling great! The annoying cravings are gone and I actually look forward to a plain salad. I have noticed some benefits so far. I have lots of energy during the day. I feel caffeinated all the time, even though I only have my standard two cups of coffee per day. Lots of aches and pains are gone. I didn't have many big health issues before but I was starting to feel older and not move as well. I am pretty active compared to some people but can get a little sore now and then. Those aches are gone. I can stress my lower back without feeling it for two days. Of course my clothes already fit better, which is always a great benefit of any nutrition program. A final great benefit of getting to day 7 is that I feel like I could do this forever. Whoot!

Chow down: nothing exciting today...leftovers.

Day 6 - I cheated

I cheated today. I cheated bad. I had some store bought almond milk in my smoothie. It had carageenan in it. That's a no no on the Whole30. I was out of OJ and needed some liquid to add to the smoothie. I didn't want to do plain water and milk was totally out. So I used the almond milk. My reward for cheating was .... a bland smoothie. It didn't taste as good as the OJ and probably would have been just as bland with non-cheating water. So the moral of the story is: don't cheat, it's not worth it.

Food I chowed down on:
Breakfast - Smoothie with fruits and yucky almond milk.

Lunch - Leftover cubed steak, sweet potato, and salad.

Dinner - Crockpot pork roast chili on top of sauteed cabbage, some fresh strawberries.

Day 5

So all that stuff about not wanting snacks was BS because I totally was craving snacks yesterday. I was good and didn't break the rules but I did almost rip the cookie out of my husband's hand and gobble it up. I think the problem with snacking is more related to my Sunday afternoon ritual of relaxing by watching TV and pigging out, than actually needing to eat. I should change that ritual to something more productive but it feels so good to laze out after a full work week. Plus I am addicted to cheesy romance novels on my Kindle so most of my Sunday is dedicated to reading with the TV on and not just watching TV. And reading is good for you so that cancels out some of the slothfulness, right?

Stuff I ate:
Breakfast - Smoothie with applesauce, spinach, orange juice, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pineapple, strawberries, fresh ginger, and ground flaxseed. Black coffee.

Lunch - Leftover "Damn Fine Chicken" and some egg and veggie mini-quiches.

Dinner - Fried cubed steak, roasted sweet potatoes, and sauteed cabbage.

Snacks - Almonds and golden raisins.

Day 4

Day 4 and still with it. It's a little exhausting to think about food all the time, though. I suppose this focus on eating will relax as I get in the grove of cooking and eating under the Whole30 rules. I have been carefully following the rules so far. If I am in doubt about the ingredients of something, I just don't eat it. I did have to break that rule because tonight because I went out to dinner and had to hope that the grilled chicken and veggies weren't secretly doused in sugar. It's hard to know if what you order will follow the Whole30 unless you grill the server about every part of the meal. I am not the sort of person to question the server or make annoying demands about my food. And I would never refuse something that was served, even if it isn't right. I have eaten moldy food at two different restaurants before and never said a thing, for crying out loud! So I am really not going to ask if my food has sugar, dextrose, or carageenan in it. It took all I had to ask to switch out the potato for a salad tonight.

One of the more interesting side effects of this diet has been a complete lack of desire for snacks. I really don't get the urge to eat outside of normal meals. Before the Whole30 I used to eat only snacks some days. It used to be a constant train of food down my throat. Today, I ate three normal meals and no snacks. I wasn't hungry. I just didn't feel like eating extra stuff. Interesting.....

Food in my face today:
Breakfast - smoothie and black coffee

Lunch - leftover coconut curry chicken and cauliflower

Dinner - grilled chicken with onions, peppers, and zucchini, and a plain garden salad

Day 3 - 10% Done!

I am rocking out the Whole30 so far. Day 3 is usually my dieting downfall because I get tired of avoiding food I want to eat and frustrated with being hungry with cravings. This time I am focusing on what I can eat, and not what I can't. Also whenever I am craving something, I tell myself it is a mirage and not real. I am feeling better than the first two days because the sugar headaches are stopping. I stocked up on veggies and fruits for the weekend. The key to the Whole30 is not getting caught without a meal planned. I am going out to dinner tomorrow and I have already Googled the menu to make my choices (grilled chicken with peppers and onions, switch out the potato with an organic greens salad).

Food shoved down my gob today:
Breakfast: smoothie, hard boiled egg, black coffee (I actually enjoying black coffee now)

Lunch: chicken from last night, sweet potato chips made two days ago, salad with spinach, pea shoots, avocado, and romaine.

Dinner: coconut chicken curry from OMGPaleo blog, riced cauliflower with lime, cilantro, and scallions with avocado. So good!!!

Day 2

Well, I haven't quit or killed anyone yet. Today was hard because I woke up with a headache and a clogged ear. Luckily I had an appointment to get my ear flushed out. I felt much better once I could hear again and once I didn't feel lopsided anymore. The sugar withdrawal is tough and giving me cravings. I have a food trigger of 3pm because that is when I am hungry from lunch and also bored. That's typically when I give up a diet. I made it through today just by being swamped at work and by looking forward to the dinner I had planned. Tomorrow will be rough but it gets better after day three.

Food in my face today:
Breakfast- same as yesterday with some flaxseed added to the smoothie.

Lunch- leftover coconut chicken and broccoli with a salad of lettuce, spinach, peppers, pea shoots, and avocados.

Dinner- "Damn fine chicken" from the Nom Nom Paleo blog and roasted green beans. The chicken was really good. The green beans were frozen ones that I rolled.in olive oil and fish sauce and then put in the oven with the chicken. (Tip: if you want to get the smell of fish sauce off your hands, wash them with toothpaste and then soap.,)

Whole30: DAY1

Today was the beginning of thirty days of thoughtful eating. I feel ready to follow this through and ready to take on the challenge of analyzing food choices. Of course, it is only Day 1 and I typically quit diets at Day 3, thus all this talk about being dedicated is cheap at the moment. Check back in two days to see how much I really want to fight cravings and stick with it.

Food in my face today:
Breakfast - smoothie of banana, peaches, strawberries, grapes, cranberries, blueberries, orange juice, and spinach ( I know the Whole30 says smoothies are not good because you shouldn't drink your calories but, DAMN, I really love a good breakfast smoothie). One hard boiled egg yolk (my kid ate the white part so all I got was the yolk).

Lunch - salad of spinach, avocado, peppers, hard boiled egg, hamburger patty from last night's dinner, and cucumber. Raisin and almond trail mix. Apple. Black coffee (yuck! If I didn't mind a caffeine headache on top of sugar withdrawal then I would not be drinking black coffee).

Dinner - chicken with coconut breading, steamed broccoli, roasted sweet potato chips. Apple. Banana. (Only problem with dinner is that it took a long time to make and that was after work, shopping, and doing chores, so by the time I ate I was so hungry that I was seeing double).

So far so good.....

New Year, New Me!

This year I am ready to take the steps to finally button up some personal goals and get things finished to benefit myself.

First, I want to challenge my crappy way of eating and clean out my diet. I eat a somewhat good diet, usually, but I tend to rely on convenience foods when tired or hungry. I am going to do the Whole30 challenge for a month. It's thirty days of veggies, fruits, and protein. The goal is to change from processed foods that aren't closely related to their natural origins and go to foods that are whole and nutritious. It's not about weight, it's about eating good food and feeling healthy.

Second, I want to finish the house. We have trim and molding that been needing to be put up for ten years. Also there's some minor painting and finishing from the original renovations (10 years ago). It's that farty little stuff that always gets left for last. I would like to finish the house before it's time to start renovating again. I vow that the next house we move to will only require fresh paint to consider it finished. No renovating or rebuilding.

Third, I want to tighten my goat care program to make my goats stronger and healthier. I have had issues with kid growth and maintenance and I would like to do the work to get ahead of the issues this year. No more slacking.

That's the goals for 2015. Happy New Year!