Back to Whole 30 - the 7 Week Challenge

After this trial, I can already tell that I want to go back to Whole 30 eating.  This trial has been a huge catalyst for my food addiction.  I know now that I thrive on the rigid structure of the Whole 30 way of eating.  I can already tell that I've gained weight with eating these not healthy for my body food.  Being back on this rigid schedule works best for me.

Of course, there are going to be times where I want to eat off plan.  Luckily, the next time that is, is 7 weeks away on Thanksgiving Day.  I decided to create another challenge for myself.  It's a lot easier to say no to bad things when you can trick your mind into thinking that you are doing this to "win" something.  At least thats what I am telling myself :)

So today I embark on my 7 week clean eating challenge.  This challenge takes me to the day before Thanksgiving, where I KNOW I will want to eat like everyone else.  But, by that time I might not be able too or want too.  I also know I will plan some Paleo friendly dishes.

I am so excited about getting back on track with my eating.  I felt so good and healthy when I was eating food that helped my body fuel itself rather than hinder it.  I am also planning to add in working out to my routine and schedule.  The key to this challenge is planning and preparing.  I got an amazing cook book, Well Fed, that is based on preparing meals on Sunday that you can just reheat on the week nights.  I will be doing a better job with planning all of my meals for next week.

I am so proud of my sister, Anne, for starting her 30 day challenge.  She has a pretty awful auto-immune disease and we are both hopeful that this change in diet will help at least put it into remission.  She is a week into it and is doing a fabulous job!

I am planning to blog during this 7 weeks, because it keeps me accountable and I love sharing information that I have learned about this process.  Food addiction is a horrible thing and I am hoping that one day, it won't be the all consuming disease that it is.

Here is what I had to eat for Day 1.

Lunch - Coconut Chicken Curry with Spaghetti Squash with some grapes

Dinner -  Chocolate Chili from the Well Fed cookbook and some grapes

I didn't have breakfast since I went back to sleep after taking Emma to daycare.  I did have some coffee.  Yes, I am offically a black coffee drinker and I don't think I can go back!

I hope that some of you consider doing a challenge with me and we can support each other on this crazy food journey.  I promise it is worth it!!

Reintroduction updates.

Well, it's been an interesting couple of days as I've started to reintroduce foods.  Honestly, I think I am going to stop and just go back to eating like I was before.  Not only has it caused me physical pain, but it's been an emotional hardship as I have started wanting food that I shouldn't have because I can have them now.  Even after taking the first bite of bread, I knew that I just needed to give it up because not only did it make me feel horrible, but the emotional connection I have to this food is such a hard one to break.  The only foods I am considering adding into my diet once in a while would be some beans and oatmeal.  I just can't eat sugar, bread and those other trigger foods for me.

While reintroducing gluten and dairy, I have felt horrible.  I've had major bloating, gas, my stomach hurts, my brain feels "foggy" when I eat these foods.  I don't like it.  I just think this way of eating will be my new norm and once in a while I will have these foods, like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I did purchase a fit bit flex, but will be returning it in exchange for a fit bit one.  I think it will be a better fit for me.  I love my body media, but I don't like how visible it is.  I have started working out at the gym again too and I felt so good!  I am looking to purchase a heart rate monitor for when I am working out to help track my calories.

This afternoon I am planning my meals for the week.  I should be getting my new "Well Fed" cookbook in the mail on Tuesday so I can't wait to pick out some new recipes to try.  I know I will be making some spaghetti squash and paleo meat sauce this week and some chocolate chili.  I am ready to get back to eating like I was before.  I am so excited!

Day 31....up first, dairy, plus tips, tricks and thoughts!

Before I tell you all about my tips, tricks and thoughts about my 30 day challenge, I am going to talk about my experiences today with dairy. First, I am sad to inform myself that I probably will need to give up dairy in my diet, or at least significantly reduce my consumption. This morning I got the pumpkin latte I've been dying for and I felt awful. Not only was it too sugary, but I almost instantly got a headache from the dairy and sugar in it. It wasn't worth it at all. At lunch, I had an all natural Greek type yogurt and some cheese curds and again felt awful. My stomach hurt, I am bloated, and an feeling lethargic. For dinner I had some organic shredded cheese on my taco salad with the same results.  I might've had some ice cream too, knowing that ice cream probably won't be in my future again.  I know I should try to eat some dairy tomorrow and Friday, but I might pass. I feel gross.

Onto my tips and tricks.

1. Plan, plan, plan. This is essential to being successful with this challenge. I had to make sure I had food that was easy to make, cook and grab when I was hungry.

2. Be a label reader. I became a ridiculous label reader. I think I spent double the amount of time in the grocery store reading everything that was in the food I was eating. Sugar is everywhere and has a million different names, so watch out. And I mean everywhere!!

3. Know that the cravings and thoughts will pass. Everyday I fought the demons of my food addiction. Honestly, sometimes I would just have to go to bed so I would stop thinking about food and then I would dream about it.

4. Read "It Starts with Food" and watch the documentary "Food, Inc." You will never look at food the same way.

5.  Get enough sleep. I could tell when I didn't get enough restful sleep. When I didn't sleep enough my food cravings and thoughts were way worse.

6. Workout. I didn't workout as much as I wanted to during this challenge. I started back at the gym today and it felt amazing.

7.  Track your progress. Honestly, this blog is what helped me stay on track. Knowing all of you  fabulous people were reading this blog helped me stay focused.

8.  It is worth it. Seriously, this challenge has changed my life. I don't think I will ever go back to what I ate before. I will have things once in a while, like a beer, ice cream, and jimmy johns bread, but in can't eat like this all the time.

If I think of anymore tricks, tips or thoughts I will continue to share

And now for the big news. The weight loss.  This is huge. I did this challenge not to only to change my eating, but to change my relationship with food and of course the weight loss was a bonus.

In 30 days, I lost 17.2 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And as I said before I didn't workout in this challenge.

I am motivated to continue and I don't think I will be eating dairy again. Yuck.

Day 30......I DID IT!!!!!

HOLY CRAPOLA!! I did it. I made it 30 days without grain, legumes, dairy, sugar or pop and I didn't die. I wasn't so sure about this whole process, but I am sold. I know when I start introducing things in the next 2 weeks it's not going to be pretty.  I stopped at the store this afternoon and picked up some dairy products for the next 3 days. I got some all natural yogurt, some cheese sticks and some shredded cheese for taco salad tomorrow night. I am bracing myself for bloating, gas and other not so great things.

I will write my tips, tricks and reveal how much weight I've lost this month.

Food for today.

Breakfast- 3 scrambled eggs

Lunch - leftover beef curry from last night and some grapes

Dinner - Lara bar and a mint tea

Stay posted on my reintroduction phase! Up first, DAIRY!!

Day 29....holy crap I'm almost done!!

Time has flown by. I can't believe I am already at day 29. This is crazy!! I am going to save my huge Whole 30 review post until Day 31 so I can really go in depth with my experience. I will continue to blog about my reintroduction phases though, so you're stuck with me for a little while longer. :)

I didn't eat enough today. I could feel it in my body. After having grad school this weekend, I wasn't as prepared as I should've been and I suffered today. It wasn't pretty.

Breakfast - Lara bar and some grapes, along with a black coffee

Lunch - beach club unwich from jimmy johns with some grapes

Snack - Lara bar

Dinner - I did cook this and plan to make this yesterday which was good! I made a yummy beef curry with some stew meat I bought last weekend.  It was so good. I really like Indian food!!

Day 30 tomorrow. I can't believe I actually stuck with something for 30 whole days. I am so proud of myself!!!

Day 28...no cheese puffs for me!

I did it! I made it through a grad school weekend without stuffing my face full of crap. It wasn't easy, but I did it! Luckily, we went to a museum in the afternoon which helped.

Food for today

Breakfast was an amazing steak power breakfast bowl from Panera bread. It had some steak, avocado, 2 eggs and tomato. It was really good. I also had a fruit cup to go with it.

Lunch was a balsamic chicken salad with strawberries from D'Amico and Sons.

I had an iced coffee in the afternoon with some coconut milk.

Dinner I had with Brandon and Emma in the cities before we changed parenting roles. We ate at Qudoba as it has more Whole 30 acceptable meals there. I had a naked (no tortilla) burrito with a double serving of their pulled pork, salsa, lettuce and guacamole. It was so good!!

Only a couple more days!!

Day 27....I survived Day 1!

Grad school day 1 was a success.  I made great choices while we were eating lunch and dinner and didn't give into the snacks that were here, like cheese puffs, marshmallow popcorn or amazing pumpkin bars.  It was so hard, but worth it.

I felt so loved as I walked into my grad school cohort with my friends, as they are so supportive and loving with my journey.  There was no pressure to eat what was here or where we would go for lunch. I love these people for so many reasons.

A big step for me this morning, was that I drank my first cup of black coffee.  I am normally a non-fat, sugar-free latte kind of girl, but after this month of no sugar and no sweets, I decided to see if I could handle a cup of black coffee.  So, as I was leaving at 6:00 a.m. I drove through Caribou Coffee and ordered a cup of their light roast coffee.  As I drank it, I was surprised with how much I liked it.  It was no Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, but it was something I could handle.  I always thought my mom and dad were crazy for drinking black coffee, but I am starting to like it.  Now, I'm not saying I will always have black coffee, but I will learn to like it.  I kind of feel it's like drinking beer.  You have to drink it a lot to learn to see what you like.  So, that's my plan.  Drink more black coffee and less pumpkin spice latte's that are filled with diary, fake sugar and chemicals.  But, I will have several before they disappear again until next fall.

I can't believe I only have a couple days left.  I am looking forward to introducing things back one at a time.  I feel like my body is a science experiment.  I love it!

Alright, food for today.

Breakfast - Coconut Cream Pie Lara bar and some grapes

Snack - an apple

Lunch - a Baja Cobb salad from Smashburger with no dressing and had the chicken and bacon cooked dry (well hopefully that happened)

Dinner - the power steak lettuce wraps from Panera Bread

I had a great day!  Day 2 of grad school tomorrow!  Here we go!

Day 26...the night before the biggest challenge so far

Day 26 went well.  I was pretty hungry today between lunch and dinner and my lara bar isn't cutting it anymore.  I think I might need to add more veggies to my lunch and/or more healthy fat.  Also, I know I didn't get enough water today for sure.  I am bringing my gallon jug to class this weekend.

Speaking of class, this is going to be my biggest challenge yet.  Grad school weekends are filled with good (bad for you) food.  What do you expect when you are sitting in class for 16 hours?!  I am planning to drink a lot of water, bring some lara bars, grapes and of course not so healthy food for my wonderful friends who can eat what they want.  I have been trying to pre-plan our meals out so that I know where I can eat and what I can have.  I will make good choices, because why would I screw this up at the very end.  I am almost done!

I have done some research on the reintroduction phase that is coming up this week.

Day 1 reintroduce and evaluate dairy
Day 4 reintroduce and evaluate gluten-containing grains a.k.a. bread, pasta, etc.
Day 7 reintroduce and evaluate non-gluten grains a.k.a. rice, soy, gluten-free bread, corn
Day 10 reintroduce and evaluate legumes a.k.a. beans, lentils, peanuts,

What you do during this phase is reintroduce "less healthy" foods back into your diet one at a time and keep the rest of your diet as Whole30-clean as possible.  But, you cannot combine test groups during this phase.  You are trying to figure out how each group makes your body feel so that you know whether or not it's worth eating that food all the time.  I am so curious about this part of the Whole30 challenge.  I can't really see how much body could react to this food yet, but I am sure it will be super interesting!

Alright, onto my food for today.

Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs

Lunch - a Beach Club unwich from Jimmy Johns and cotton candy grapes - delivered to school to me by my wonderful hubby!

Snack - Apple Pie Lara bar and a banana

Dinner - jalapeño chicken and roasted califlower, with some cotton candy grapes (i'm obsessed)

Here we go!  Weekend of being strong!  Almost done!

Day 25....5 more days!!

Today was a weird food day and just a weird day in general.  I am getting to the point in this challenge where I need to start looking and planning at what I am going to reintroduce and when I will do it.  I think this part is going to be just as much planning, because I want to really make sure I know how my body feels as I eat different foods.  All I know is that one of the first things on my list is a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.  And maybe a Jimmy Johns turkey tom sandwich.

Food for today...

Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs

Lunch - leftovers from last night.  Almond meal breaded turkey cutlets, salad, avocado and salsa, with cotton candy grapes.

Snack - Pecan Pie Lara Bar

Dinner - Jimmy Johns Beach Club unwich with no mayo and no cheese and some grapes

I have a huge headache so I am headed to bed.  Goodnight!

Day 24...insert catchy title here

I couldn't think of a catchy title tonight. I'm exhausted after 2 nights of conferences I'm ready for an early bedtime. Nothing new with me and the challenge. Hanging on until the end and looking forward to introducing dairy back into my life. Not sure how much my body will like it, but we will see.

Food for today.

Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs

Lunch - leftover pot roast again! And some cotton candy grapes

Snack - carrot cake Lara bar and a banana

Dinner - almond meal coated turkey cutlets cooked in a little olive oil on top of a bed of mixed greens and an avocado. I also had some cotton candy grapes.

I know I'm not getting enough veggies and am trying to up my intake.  I know I need veggies with every meal and green veggies at that. It's always a challenge that's for sure.

Onto tomorrow! I'm having a party tomorrow after school so I will be filling my house with food I can't eat. Luckily, Brandon is coming home so he can hide it from me. HA!

Day 23....7 days to go!!

I can't believe I only have one more week left of this 30 day challenge. I am feeling healthy, awake, energized, but I know one of my biggest challenges is coming this weekend at grad school class.  Let's just say when you have 16 hours of class in a weekend, you tend to eat a lot of food. And most of it isn't healthy. I am going to have to pack a lot of my own food to eat while the others either join me or I will watch them eat our usual Cheeto puffs and amazing baked goods. I will be strong and I will finish strong. I am so looking forward to stepping on the scale next Wednesday to see my progress and to continue on my whole 9 journey to see what works for me.

My food is getting pretty boring and I am looking forward to having some more time (and money) to try out some new recipes and get some new cookbooks. I am especially looking forward to purchasing "Well Fed" and a slow cooker paleo cookbook from amazon.

Food for today.

Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs

Lunch - leftover pot roast with sweet potatoes, onions and carrots and some cotton candy grapes

Snack - chocolate coconut Lara bar

Dinner - leftover pot roast with sweet potatoes, onions and carrots with some pineapple slices and cherries

I have one more pot roast meal left to eat and then it's onto something else thank goodness. This is the hard part of cooking for 1!

Day 22....finally tiger blood!!

Day 22 the start of week 4. Holy crap!! I've been doing this almost a month already. It's been long, but fast at the same time. I am going to make this a short and sweet post as I need my beauty rest for the long 12+ hour day I have tomorrow.

I felt great today. Not too tired, rested and felt ready to tackle the day. My dad is here to take care of Emma while I have conferences so it is nice to have another adult to have in the house with me. However, I don't really get to see him since I'm at conferences! Emma Kate sure is happy to have grandpa here.

Food for today.

Breakfast - banana and a coconut cream Lara bar

Lunch - jalapeño chicken and asparagus sauté from last night with some cotton candy grapes.

Dinner - beef pot roast that I put in the crock pot this morning with carrots, onions and sweet potatoes with some garlic powder and salt and pepper.  I also had a salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and some pineapple.

I am getting to the point where I can totally see where this type of eating is what we should all be doing. However, I still am dying for some nordeast, a cupcake and some pizza. Some habits die hard.

Peace out!

Day 21.....cotton candy, what?

It's the end of week three and I can't believe it. It's been tough, but I am so proud of myself for sticking with this.  I feel so much better. It's been a great weekend having Brandon home.  Distance does make the heart grow fonder.

Today I had a blast singing at church and running some errands with Brandon and Emma. We got to FaceTime with my in-laws in California. It's always nice to chat with them and they love being able to see Emma Kate and boy did she perform for them. She's so funny!!

While we were running errands, we stopped at our local grocery store, Hy-vee and as we walked into the produce department I couldn't believe my eyes! There were bags of COTTON CANDY FLAVORED GRAPES!! Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE cotton candy.  Everything cotton candy! Gum, ice cream, cookies, candy, anything. So, when I saw something healthy that was cotton candy flavored I knew I had to try it and boy was that worth the $13 I spent on them. I couldn't believe that they actually taste like cotton candy. If you can find them, buy them!! I did some research and they are nt genetically modified, but the developers spent 8 years and over 100,000 tries to find the perfect tasting cotton candy flavored grapes.  They also only come around once and a while as they have to have the perfect growing conditions.

Food for today.

Breakfast - cherry pie Lara bar and a hot cinnamon tea from caribou

Lunch - a beach club unwich from jimmy johns

Dinner - jalapeño chicken and a an asparagus sauté from trader joes

I have conferences tomorrow night so I am making a pot roast tonight to pack in the morning for tomorrow nights dinner and Tuesday night. I am trying to plan ahead so that I stay focused.

I am feeling great!! Here's to the next 9 days!!

Day 20....the countdown is on!

First, I am so happy that Brandon came home this weekend. After almost 2 weeks apart it is so nice to have my hubby home with me. Emma was sure surprised when she woke up in the middle of the night to find daddy had come home. Brandon and I decided not to tell her that he was coming home, so it was so fun to see her face when she saw daddy this morning.

Weekends are always tough for me. I thrive on routine, so not having one is hard. However, I was super busy today so that helped me not think of food all day.  Lol.  I started my morning at a wonderful bridal shower for my friend Jess who is getting married in October and then Brandon, Emma and I went to do some shopping in Rochester for most of the afternoon. It was so nice to be a little family again. And have help with Emma Kate too. :)

Food for today.

Breakfast - a banana bread Lara bar and some fruit at the shower

Lunch - an amazing Mediterranean turkey salad from the hidden menu from panera, I was sad to give Brandon my fabulous bread that came with it. I so wanted to eat it.

Dinner - my creamy jalapeño chicken dish and some green beans

We are on the downward spiral on my challenge and I'm already thinking about what I am going to  I afterward. Luckily, in the book they have a reintroduction phase for the 2 works after you finish the challenge so I am planning to do that. I am so interested to see how the foods I HAVEN'T been eating will affect my body after I bring them back in. I plan to blog about that phase too.

Brandon leaves again tomorrow, but will be coming back on Thursday so he can help me with my 31 party on Thursday and I have grad school this weekend. My dad is coming to help me watch Emma on Monday and Tuesday while I have school conferences.  I can't wait to see him and Emma is so excited that grandpa is coming to visit.

End of week 3 tomorrow! Crazy!!

Day 19.....so sad.

I can't believe I'm almost at the end of week 3. Today hasn't been easy as I've been thinking about all the food I can't have. It's so frustrating that those thoughts don't go away like magic. I keep reminding myself that it took 30 years to create these habits, they aren't going to go away in 19 days. It's going to take awhile for this change to happen. It's going to be a never ending battle, but I am so focused on changing the way I am eating and changing the way Emma Kate is eating. I've been talking to my mom about the increase in autism in children.  I am no expert, but who knows how much of this is coming from our genetically modified food that we are feeding our children. I don't want Emma to grow up on processed food, so I am slowly taking away the snacks that I've given her and replacing them with non processed alternatives. I know I can't cut her off cold turkey, but I am going to try to slowly ween her off of those foods.

I had a pretty good day.  I had a headache for most of the day caused by sleeping funny last night. Luckily, Brandon is coming home tonight so I will make him give me a neck rub :)

As you know I have been tasting a whole bunch of different flavors of Lara bars to find my favorite flavors. I had the pecan pie and lemon bar flavors today.  The pecan pie one was pretty tasty.  I was kinda surprised that there wasn't any added sugar to it as it tasted super sweet. I liked it. The lemon bar was very lemony and pretty tasty. It didn't taste anything like a lemon bar though :)

I also came across some super sad news today. As I've said several times on this blog, the ginger snap flavor is my favorite flavor of Lara bar. I found out today, in searching for a large box of them to order, they are DISCONTINUED. I almost cried. Like seriously. The only good part about my searching today, was that I found a recipe to make my own. But, seriously. I can't believe they are discontinued.


Food for today.

Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs and a pecan pie Lara bar

Lunch - pork chop leftovers from a couple days ago with green beans

Snack - lemon bar Lara bar

Dinner - steak stir fry - the recipe I created a week or so ago, celery and guac and chai tea

Day 18....calcium works wonders

I got some amazing advice from a fellow whole 30er (is that a word?) who said I could be lacking some calcium in my diet. I took a couple calcium pills this morning and felt amazing today.  I am planning on taking my second dose tonight. I also went to bed last night at 9:15 which was amazing.

Every day I look at food differently.  I am now looking at food for energy reasons and not for boredom, stress relief, etc. My brain is changing, slowly but surely.  I can't imagine going back to my old ways.

Had the carrot cake Lara bar tonight, it was okay, but I am still in love with the gingersnap and coconut cream pie flavors the best.

My food for today.

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs, salsa and water

Lunch - leftovers from dinner last night and some berries

Snack - carrot cake Lara bar

Dinner - steak, roasted Brussel sprouts and winter squash

Off to bed I go!!!

Day 17......yummy, yummy curry!!!

Day 17...I really think I am not getting enough of something in my diet. I think it could possible be potassium, as I've been having some Charlie horses in my legs at night. I'll be getting bananas this weekend!

I had another flavor of Lara bar today and I was disappointed. I was SO excited about the key lime pie flavor and I was so let down. It wasn't as tart as I would've hoped it would be. Tomorrow, I am trying the carrot cake version. That better be good!!

As the stress levels rise in my life, I am finding it hard not to turn back to food and alcohol to help me feel better. Slowly but surely I will retrain my brain (HA) to find other ways of coping.  My current favorite way is watching How I Met Your Mother.  I've never seen the show before and it's a nice 22 minutes long.

Onto my food for today

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs, salsa and guac with some watermelon

Lunch - pork chop left overs from last night, green beans and berries.

Snack - key lime pie Lara bar

Dinner - Red Curry Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and some watermelon

http://www.thekitchenprepblog.com/2013/06/coming-clean-red-curry-spaghetti-squash.html

I left out the soy sauce from the recipe since its not allowed. 

It was amazing!!!!

I'm aiming to be in bed by 9:00! 

Day 16.....my new favorite thing!!

Day 16 started with me being super tired.  No tiger blood here! I think my brain and body are still getting used to the fact that Brandon isn't sleeping in bed with me. I'm not sleeping well that's for sure. As much as I don't miss his snoring, I miss him!

Are you ready for my new favorite thing!!! LARA BARS!! Not only are they Whole30 complient - make sure you don't get the ones with peanuts or added things like chocolate chips or vanilla extract - but they are amazing!! I went to our local grocery store, Hy-vee, and saw they had like 16 different varieties. I picked up 8 different kinds that I could have and am in love.  The main ingredient in them are dates and nuts, like almonds or cashews, and then they add in amazing things.  I've had GINGERSNAP and COCONUT CREAM PIE! Seriously, they are incredible. Tomorrow I am going to try key lime pie. Oh Man! So excited!

Onto the food for today.

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs with salsa

Lunch - celery slices wrapped in natural turkey breast, dipped in wholly guacamole (random I know)

Snack - coconut cream pie Lara bar

Dinner - Pork and Baked apples from this website - so good!!

 http://www.paleoprincessrecipes.com/3/post/2013/01/paleo-apple-pork-chops.html

Green beans and watermelon too!

Seriously, check out the Lara bars!!

Day 15.....I hate secrets.

Day 15 and I didn't drink enough water and I can feel it. I haven't been drinking my gallon a day lately and it's bad. Tomorrow, since its day 16 and when tiger blood is supposed to kick in, I need to get back into my water drinking.

I just want to take a little moment to thank all of my fabulous readers of this little blog.  I started this blog to help keep myself on track and accountable. Little did I know I would get 2000 page views in 2 weeks.  So thank you for your thoughts, prayers, encouragement and excitement as I go through this journey.

Here's my food from today.

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs and a left over chicken sausage

Lunch - leftovers from last night - jalapeño chicken and Normandy veggies

Dinner - a jalapeño brat, green beans and sweet potato "chips"

So the title of my post "I hate secrets" is that I think there were some hidden ingredients in my brat tonight. I instantly got a headache and started feeling horrible. I guess I wouldn't be eating those again. Which sucks, cause they are so good!

No idea what I'm having for lunch tomorrow since I can't have leftovers. I guess I'll whip something up tomorrow morning!

Again, thanks for reading my journey and know I appreciate everything!!

Day 14....another yummy dinner creation and big news!!

The end of week 2.  I can't believe I've made it this long!! Nothing much to report today.  I had a little afternoon slump that I think was caused by not enough water today. I desperately need to go grocery shopping so I'm trying to create some dishes from what I have in the house. And tonight was a success!!

I know this program isn't about weight loss, but more a lifestyle change to help you feel better, but I'm not gonna lie, I was hoping for a lot of weight loss.  Your not supposed to weigh yourself until day 31, but I couldn't stand it. I weighed this morning and I have lost 12.2 pounds in 2 weeks!! Woohoo!!!

Onto food!

Breakfast was an apple pie Lara bar - not ideal but was in a hurry this morning.

Lunch - leftover chicken fajitas with some guac

Snack - apple with raw almond butter

Dinner - I'm calling it Katie's jalapeño creamy chicken and some grapes

2 chicken breasts - (boneless skinless) coated in almond meal from trader joes
I sprinkled some chipotle pepper seasoning, salt, garlic powder and pepper on the chicken once I put it in the baking dish. I topped the chicken with some jalapeño slices and put some of my homemade mayo in the bottom of the dish.

I baked them for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Once it was out of the oven I topped one chicken with a little more mayo. It was spicy and delish!

Day 13....I can overcome. I am strong.

The weekend! The glorious weekend! It's been a good day so far.  Emma Kate was nice enough to let me sleep in a little bit which helped recharge my batteries from this first week of school.  We didn't do much, but I am trying to keep myself busy so that I'm not thinking about food. It's not so much the cravings, but thinking about food all the time and trying to refocus my brain on why I don't need the bad things in my body.

I read an amazing post on the whole9 website (and posted on my Facebook page) about the stages of grief that go along with this lifestyle. I am definitely going through the stages as I realize I will never be able to eat like I used to again and that's okay.  I ate and ate mainly because I was bored and lazy. I didn't want to cook for myself or do the dishes for that matter. Eating out is easy and convenient and of course not healthy at all for you.  This whole process has taught me not only am I strong, but I can change what the last 30 years has taught me. I can overcome. I can change my lifestyle.

Alright, enough philosophy mumbo jumbo, here's what I ate today.

Breakfast - 3 scrambled eggs with some spinach, kale and sliced chicken sausage mixed in.

Lunch - cherry pie Lara bar I know that this isn't a real lunch, but I ate breakfast at 10:30.

Dinner - WAS AMAZING!! I thinly sliced up some up steak from the other night and cooked it in a pan with some coconut oil.  I added some organic frozen pineapple tidbits from trader joes, some frozen pepper mix and onion.  I cooked it all up on high heat so it was almost like a stir fry. It was seriously amazing!!! It was like a sweet and sour dish from a Chinese restaurant.

End of week 2 tomorrow.  So crazy!!

Day 12....short and sweet

Tonight's post is going to be short and sweet as I'm exhausted.  It's been a great first week back at work, but I'm beat. I just pray Emma let's me sleep in.

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs and berries

Lunch - steak, broccoli and a sweet potato

Snack - grapes

Dinner - chicken sausage from trader joes and green beans.

See you tomorrow!!!

Day 11....Step away from the doughnuts!!!

I'm on an overload at work this year, which means I am working more than my contracted hours and thankfully getting compensated for it.  I think they best part of this hectic schedule is there is no time to think about food. Especially when there are the best doughnuts in Austin in the teachers lounge. Luckily, I was so busy today I couldn't even think about eating one. Cause, those are amazing doughnuts.

It's been a long day, but I am starting to feel the affects of clean eating. This afternoon when I usually would be hitting my slump, today I felt great. I finished out my classes feeling great. I was so happy!! And I'm sure my kids were happy I wasn't crazy.

Breakfast was my usual 3 fried eggs and a pluot.

Lunch was leftover chicken fajitas from last night, some guac and grapes.

Dinner was an amazing grass fed organic tri-tip steak that I grilled, with some broccoli and a sweet potato.

Day 12-15 is stated as having boundless energy and dreaming about foods you can't have. Only 4 more days until the tiger blood is supposed to kick in.

Day 10....staying focused

Day 10.... It's not a great day. It was a rough day at work and a tough day of single parenting. It took every ounce of my being not to order pizza and pick up some beer. But, I pushed through and am just finishing my dinner. I am making it an early night and heading to bed.

It's days like today that I fear for when I'm off the challenge. Will I be able to resist? Will I stay strong? Will I just fall back into my bad habits? These are the questions I need to pray about and know that I will have good and bad days and that's okay.

My food for today.

Breakfast - 3 fried eggs with a pluot

Lunch - a salad with my leftover turkey tenderloin from last night with onion and my homemade ranch dressing and some berries.

Dinner - the best oven baked chicken fajitas with some guac and some grapes.

Praying for a better day tomorrow.

Day 9.... Feeling good!

Well, here we are at day 9 and I'm starting to feel good.  I'm shocked at my energy levels as I didn't sleep much last night (what teacher does before the first day of school) and I taught non stop from 8:30-2:30 with a 30 minute (healthy) lunch break.  I'm not overly exhausted. Maybe you should talk to me on Friday though after doing that all week. Lol.

My husband left tonight for the next year or so while he finishes up his degree at St Thomas so I'm on my own food wise.  Luckily, my friends have jumped on board and so have my mom and sister so we can hold everyone accountable. :)

Food today!!

I can't upload pictures as brandon has the computer now and I have our iPad. You'll just have to trust me :)

Breakfast was 3 fried eggs with fresh salsa and guac with a glass of water

Lunch was a taco salad with kale, spinach, and shredded carrots with taco meat from last week, some creamy avocado dressing and some extra guac cause I love it. Lol. I also had some berries.

Snack was an apple pie Lara bar

Dinner was grilled turkey tenderloin with a little mrs dash on them, with some shredded sweet potatoes and green beans. I'll probably have some grapes right now while I'm relaxing before bed.

Days 10-11 are notorious for the days of giving up on this challenge, but I'm not going to be one of them! I will stay strong and move forward to that Tiger blood that's coming my way!!

Day 8...We are into week 2!!

Day 8!  We are into week 2 and I am staying strong!  It is going to be a tough rest of my challenge as my rock, Brandon my husband, is leaving to live in the cities for the next year while he is going to school at St. Thomas.  It is going to be tough to be a single mom and work full time, plus eat healthy and work out, but I can do it!

Because Brandon is the morning person in this relationship, today was one of my last days to get to sleep in.  I love him for that!  Because I slept in, I only ate 2 real "meals" today.

I decided to forgo breakfast and have my left overs from last night as my lunch.  It was good the second time around!  

For a snack I had a cashew cookie lara bar.

Tonight was another tough moment in this challenge.  I went to a labor day potluck tonight for the AMAZING singing group I am in here in Austin, Northwestern Singers, and it was FILLED with food that I would normally eat.  Potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, brownies, cupcakes, pizza, etc.  It was so hard to resist and watching people eat the things I normally would was tough.  

But, I just kept thinking that I can do this for 30 days and then if I want pizza or a cupcake I will indulge, but it might not taste as good as I think it will.  I know these 30 days are going to change me and they will change me for the better.  I look forward to the day where food doesn't consume my mind and my every thought.  

Here is a funny moment from last night too!  I had a dream last night where I ate a half a slice of pizza and FREAKED OUT and started crying in my dream because I messed up my Whole 30 plan.  I woke up feeling guilty!  Too funny!!

Onto Day 9 and the 1st day of school at my other new school!  So excited!!

Day 7...End of Week 1

I made it through Week 1!!!  WOOHOO!!!!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I've been known to stay on track with my food Monday through Friday around lunchtime.  After that, all bets are off.  So, for me to stay on track, with all these cravings, temptations, etc. I am so proud of myself!  

Alright, enough bragging.  I am looking forward to getting through this week so I can get to what they call "Tiger Blood."  This is the ultimate feeling of what everyone wants in this experience.  This week is supposed to be filled with tighter pants, wanting to give up, and dreaming about food.  Oh great.  But, if I can make it two weeks, I can do anything!

Today was particularly hard as we were running errands and needed to eat somewhere for lunch.  I didn't know what would be Whole 30 friendly, but I knew you could get a sandwich there in a lettuce wrap, so I went for it.  As I said on my facebook, it was torture watching Brandon and Emma eat their amazingly delicious bread while I ate my turkey, bacon and lettuce wrap.  It wasn't horrible, but of course I wanted to eat the yummy bread and thinny chips.  But, I survived.  

I keep telling myself that anyone can do anything for 30 days.  

Food for today.

Breakfast was a leftover hamburger patty, some guac and 2 fried eggs.  It was good!  The hamburger was a little dry, but it was probably just the way I cooked it.  

Lunch was my Jimmy John's Club Lulu unwich without mayo.  It was as good as a lettuce wrap can be!  HA!

Dinner was amazing!  I made this recipe from http://paleomg.com/paleo-coconut-ginger-mushroom-chicken/  This blog is amazing and is filled with recipes that are whole 30 compliant.  I used what I had in my house, dried ginger, chicken breast and asparagus saute from trader joes.  I highly recommend it!

Here is my meal plan for the next 5 days.  

Day 6....I want, I want, but I can't have...

Today has been tough.  Seriously tough.  I've been craving horrible things all day.  Like Phish food ice cream, cookies, pizza, cinnamon sugar toast, the list goes on and on.  I pushed forward though and fought my mind and tried to think of everything but those things and have made it to the end of the day.  

It definitely wasn't easy, but I know I am in this for the long haul.  One day I will be able to have those things, but for these 30 days I am making it my mission to stay on track, because I don't want to start over again.  I will keep going!

Here are my meals today.  It was much like yesterday where I got up late and didn't really have a set meal time or meal plan, but I made good choices.

Breakfast was 3 fried eggs with some organic salsa from trader joes and some sweet potato strips.  I need to come up with something different for breakfast.  Eggs are getting boring!

I didn't have lunch, but had an apple pie lara bar and an apple with some raw almond butter.

Dinner was an organic hamburger patty with some organic guacamole, a slice of bacon and some onion and some steamed broccoli.  It was so good!  

I am heading to bed so I can stop thinking about food, but I know I will probably dream about it.  Ugh.  I can do this!

Day five - staying strong

Day five was the first day on the challenge that I got to sleep in, which in turn threw off my food schedule.  It was a shot into real life when you don't always have control over when you eat or what you eat.  It was a good day food wise.

Let me just fill you in on what happened yesterday though!  I bought some Lara bars yesterday and as I said I ate a Peanut Butter cookie bar yesterday for my snack.  I forgot that peanuts are technically a legume which isn't allowed on the Whole 30 challenge.  Well, let me tell you I felt that bar last night.  I got such a headache, felt nauseous, and almost felt like I was coming down with the flu.  I had chills and a fever, it was crazy!  I guess even after 4 days your body a "cheat" food has a crazy reaction to your newly clean body.

YAY!  A breakfast picture!!  I had a sweet potato hash with a couple fried eggs and 2 slices of bacon.  It was so good!!  I also had a pluot.  Because of my late waking, I ate breakfast around 10:30 and so I wasn't too hungry for lunch until 4:30.  I had a Cherry Pie Lara bar for a snack until we could make dinner.

Dinner was FABULOUS tonight.  I made some white ruffy fish seared in a little olive oil with a little lemon with the homemade tarter sauce I made last weekend.  I also had sweet potato "chips" that I baked in the oven.  I sliced them up thin with my food processor and put them on a sprayed sheet pan.  I baked them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, flipped them, and baked them again for 5 minutes.  It was so good!!  I also used my homemade ranch to dip my sweet potatoes in.  

It was a good day!!

Day four....starting to get the hang of this!

Day four and it's getting easier.  I didn't want to kill anyone today, like the Whole30 timeline said I might feel, so that's good.  I am starting to get a little headache, but I think I will just go to bed soon and sleep it off.  It was a good food day.  Not too many temptations and I wasn't very hungry, which is a good sign.

My food for today.

Apparently my breakfast pictures don't like to sync with my iCloud, which is frustrating.  I will work on that!

Breakfast was 2 slices of the MSG free, no nitrate bacon, 3 fried eggs with the healthy 8 veggies from trader joes mixed in as well as a pluot.  It was really good!  It's amazing when you eat a great breakfast how you don't feel the need to snack at all in the morning.  I'm not really hungry at all during the day.  

Lunch was a veggie stir fry with shrimp.  I cooked the shrimp and veggies in a little sesame oil and added some rice wine vinegar at the end.  I had some mixed berries as well.

Dinner was a fabulous shredded chicken that I made in the crockpot today.  It was just boneless, skinless chicken breast and a sprinkle of southwest chipotle seasoning.  It cooked for 8 hours in the crock pot and then I shredded it and just let it warm in the crock pot until we were ready to eat.  I also made sweet potato hash browns!  They were AMAZING!!!  All I did was shred some sweet potatoes, probably about 2 large ones, heated some unrefined coconut oil in a pan and let them fry for about 15 minutes, flipping them over when they started to get crunchy.  

I did have a peanut butter cookie lara bar as a snack this afternoon too :)

Okay, I am really going to go to bed.  My headache is coming back and everything I've read says, when your body needs to rest, do it!  Off to bed I go!!

Day three....a day of temptation

It seemed like the universe was trying everything to make me give in.  The cake, the candy, the homemade cheese curds, the overwhelming urge to eat the peanut butter pie in the teachers lounge.....

I think this was the hardest things I've done in a long time.  It was a great snapshot of what I am up against for the next 30 days and let me tell you, it wasn't easy.  All I kept thinking was, "do I really need this? why do I want to eat this?"  These cravings today, really made me think about why I was reaching and hoping to eat these foods.  This journey is about changing not only my food, but mainly my brain and why I am reaching for these horrible foods.  Now, let me just say, I know I will go back to eating these foods someday, but not in the regularity or quantity as I used too.  I mean, I can't go the rest of my life without a cheeseburger, reeses peanut butter cup or a bowl of cotton candy ice cream, right?

It was a long day.  I worked all day and then had conferences/open house at my other school and didn't have time to get dinner before I was done at 8:00.  I was SO tempted to run through the drive thru, but instead I stopped at the healthy/organic section at our grocery store and picked up some things after I was done.  Probably not the smartest thing not eating for almost 9 hours, but I will plan better next time.

Here are my meals for today.

I cooked up a pound of organic 85/15% ground beef this morning and turned it into taco meat with cumin and chile powder so I used that for 2 of my meals today.

Picture isn't showing up for breakfast!

Breakfast was my taco meat mixture with onion, 3 fried eggs (fried in the taco meat fat) 1/2 an avocado with lime and cilantro and a pluot.

Lunch was a taco salad.  It was another 1/3 of the taco meat mixutre with my lettuce mixture, healthy 8 chopped veggies, 1/2 an avocado and avocado dressing.  I had a La Croix sparkling water to drink with it.  All while staring at the chocolate cake sitting next to me.

I'm not gonna lie.  My dinner sucked.  Not healthy wise or whole 30 wise, it just wasn't tasty.  It was 2 organic all beef hot dogs and organic butternut squash.  I choked it down.  I had some grapes for "dessert."

Day two.....the hangover begins

I'm not gonna lie today was rough.  I was expecting it, but it still sucked.  My headache was out of control today.  In the book, it says the more crap you ate before the Whole 30 challenge the worse this phase will be and I agree.  Tomorrow, according to the plan, is going to be more of the same.  I am not taking any medications for my headache as I know it is just my body trying to heal from all of the horrible food I've been eating this summer.

Alright, enough complaining, here is what I ate today.

Breakfast was the same as yesterday, but I added some left over sweet potatoes from dinner last night.  It was probably 1/3 of a potato.  

Lunch was also the same as yesterday, except with my homemade avocado dressing and herb turkey meat instead of chicken.  

Dinner was a yummy pan seared chicken breast.  I used a little bit of coconut oil in the pan and seared them on both sides for about 6 minutes a side.  We also had green beans and I added 1/2 an avocado with lime juice and cilantro with my chicken.  

Tomorrow I am going to try and make a sweet potato hash with fried eggs for breakfast.  I'm excited!  Tomorrow night will be a challenge since I have open house for my other school I will have to pack both lunch and dinner and avoid the food they will have at school.  Will power!  A shout out to my friend Candice who decided to do the Whole 30 challenge with me!  It's so nice to have a friend to talk with and vent with!

Day One...So far, so good

I think what I am looking forward to the most in this challenge is to not be ruled by food anymore.  After reading "It Starts with Food" it made me understand that chemically my brain is wired this way after I eat certain foods and that if I eliminate those foods, the cravings will go away.  I look forward to that day since I already day-dreamed about eating part of Emma's left over peanut butter bender.

Moving on!  My day started fabulously!  I made great choices and had some really great meals.  I found myself full most of the day except for between lunch and dinner.  I might need to incorporate a mini-meal there, but I am going to keep monitoring my hunger in the next couple days.

Here are my meals for today.

Breakfast was 3 organic, cage free eggs mixed with 3/4 c. Trader Joe's Healthy 8 chopped veggies with 2 slices of MSG free, no nitrate bacon and a pluot (plum/apricot).  It was SO good!!

Lunch was a yummy chicken salad made with a kale, spinach and spring leaf mix, 1/2 avocado, more of the Trader Joe's Healthy 8 chopped veggie mix and my homemade ranch dressing.

Dinner was a grass fed, organic steak with roasted balsamic brussel sprouts and a sweet potato.

Apparently my pictures aren't working for my lunch and dinner, but I will see if I can get my iCloud to work.  I have a little bit of a headache,which I know is normal.  I am drinking a lot of water and will be going to be early.  Tomorrow's meals will be prepped and ready tonight so I don't have to waste time in the morning.  

I'm ready for the carb hangover that is coming my way tomorrow and Wednesday.  I will overcome these challenges and cravings!

*updated with pictures!

Day Zero - Prep, Prep, Prep

Whole 30.  Have you heard about it?  Many people associate this challenge with the Paleo diet.  I kept hearing about how amazing you feel when you eat unprocessed, whole foods and after several of my friends tried it and felt so amazing afterwards, I decided why not try it too?  

I did my research and found an amazing book called "It Starts with Food" by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig and instantly fell in love with this way of eating.  Food has always been a struggle for me and I struggle with sugar and carbs especially.  This book was so eye opening and made me understand why the food I am eating makes me feel the way I do.  Their website whole9life.com is a great resource for understanding the program and the science behind it.

I can't say I'm looking forward to the next 30 days after I read their "what to expect" on each day.  I am scared, nervous and praying that I have the strength to stay on track each day.  I plan to blog everyday or as much as possible to help inspire, rant, experience this whole 30 challenge that I'm doing.

Today was spent meal planning and prepping for the week.  

I found this meal planner on pinterest (of course) You can find it here: http://www.thejoycottage.com/search/label/free

Preparation is going to be the key to my success.  If I plan well, I know I will succeed. Tonight I made homemade Olive Oil Mayo that can be found in "It Starts with Food."  I was a little nervous about it, but it turned out amazing!  Here is the recipe I followed.  I doubled the recipe so I could make some ranch dressing, tarter sauce and avocado dressing.

1 egg
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c. + 1 c. light tasting olive oil (not extra-virgin) 
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Put the egg and lemon juice in a blender or food processor, cover and let it come to room temperature, about 30 minutes.  Add in 1/4 cup oil, mustard, salt, blend on medium speed until all ingredients are combined.  With the motor running drizzle in the remaining 1 cup of oil in a very thin stream, this should take 2-3 minutes.  Store covered in the fridge.  

You can't go wrong!  I think this challenge is really making me think about what is going into my body and what food is really made of.  I am ready for tomorrow, knowing I will feel great and then the carb flu will take over my body.  I know what to expect and I am ready for it!

Here we go!