My Whole 30 Journey: Week 1

For those of you who know me, I LOVE my coffee. And, negotiating life without coffee creamer has by far, been one of my biggest challenges over the past few days. First world problems, right?

Let me back up a little bit. Over the past three or four weeks, I have seriously been contemplating a shift in my eating to a more whole foods, natural lifestyle. We all know that eating healthier is important (mom didn't make you eat your vegetables for nothing!), but actually doing it and sustaining the motivation to do it is often where our life-long behaviors seem unmodifiable. Seem being the perception rather than reality here.

If you know me, I am not one of those people who fad diets or is overly concerned about my weight. I work out 4-5 times a week and (thought) I ate moderately healthy.  I love my body, but internally, I could hear my body screaming at me through numerous ailments that many of us experience - sugar highs/lows, cravings, heartburn, digestive ailments, nausea, headaches, join paint, insomnia, and the list can go on.  So, I dug in and began researching about food - our relationship to it, how our bodies and minds react to it, and what I could do to create change.

On Super Bowl Sunday, I was still teetering on the fence of what I wanted to do. But then - BAM! - it hit me. Standing in a sea of food that ran the gamut from chicken wings, to crab dip, to double chocolate brownies, I knew I had to make a change. I didn't start that night (that would have been a holy disaster!), but I did discretely throw away the Oreo Cheesecake bite I was holding and draw my line in the sand - my Whole 30 journey would start the next day. I think I even said this to someone at the party.

If had not crossed my mind to blog about this experience, but after numerous people encouraged me to put the information out there, I agreed. The will not all be this long (sorry) and I did my best to include photos and recipe links. I also want to throw in a shout out to my mother-in-law, Lori, who is taking this journey with me. Hopefully she will post picks and recipes in the comments as well. Maybe this will help you, motivate you, or perhaps you are reading just for the humor  - I am good with that. Whatever it is, know that you must be the change you want to see in yourself and remember that only a lunatic continues to do the same things over and over and over, expecting change but getting the same result.

Monday (Day from Hell)
My Seahawks lost and Eric was out of town, so my mental stability was already wonky. But, I had made a commitment and thus, the ride began.

Thought of the day - "Put cinnamon in your coffee, they say. It is great, they say." That was bullshit. I honestly thought about quitting and it was only 7:30 am. I can't believe I was that reliant on hazelnut creamer. Thank you to the friends who came to my rescue on Facebook - the motivation and encouragement was invaluable.

Breakfast - Lara Bar, apple and coffee

Lunch: Rotisserie chicken over romaine lettuce with olives, carrots, and tomatoes. Vinegar dressing. 

Dinner: It was my first time cooking with coconut oil so I had "blackened" salmon with roasted root veggies (parsnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower).

Snacks (and lots of them) - Apple, tangerine, pistachios, and I discovered a new "fruit salad"

Banana, raw unsweetened coconut, raisins and raw pecan "fruit salad"

Tuesday (Still in the INFERNO)

The entire day, I felt like I was being hit by a truck over and over and over. It was bad. And I remember thinking, "My body hates me." What saved me was that I had read so much information and knew to expect sugar withdrawals and the impact of all the other unnatural crap filtering out of my body. I sat down and read the Whole 30 manifesto again, and this helped to dig me out of my pity party:

It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Birthing a baby is hard. Losing a parent is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You’ve done harder things than this, and you have no excuse not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. - See more at: http://whole30.com/step-two/#sthash.HPGDJ4JH.dpuf 

Pretty powerful stuff, huh?

Breakfast: Egg, homemade turkey sausage and kale bake (Recipe link), banana, coffee with unsweetened almond milk (worse than black coffee). 

Lunch: Rotisserie chicken and leftover veggies with arugula. All this despite the devil conspiring against me as I loaded 5 of the best smelling pizzas in my car and took them to the college for a presentation. I have to admit, the smell was a little intoxicating! 
Dinner: Mexican soup with avocado, cilantro and green onions. I did not add the tomatoes per the recipe only because I did not have them on hand. (Recipe link)

Snack: Pistachios, apple, celery sticks, freeze dried strawberries. 
9:00 pm meltdown - Almond butter, 100% cocoa and coconut chips. 

Wednesday (Good, but not great) 

I had a CRAZY work day and that left me so busy that I didn't focus on my cravings - I just ate what I brought and dealt with it. I wasn't in great spirits, but I did apologize to my officemates for my bitchiness the two days prior. Progress, right? 

Breakfast: Egg bake (I made a huge pan on Tuesday), but added chopped sweet red peppers, a banana, and coffee with the right combo of cinnamon and almond milk (it is growing on me). 
Lunch: Repeat - Mexican soup with avocado, lime, cilantro and green onions.
Dinner (at a presentation): Lara bar, two tangerines and a handful of mini sweet peppers.
Snacks: Raisins, applies, almonds, coconut chips.

Thursday (I can see the light!)
I knew Eric was soon returning from his Seattle visit, so I was anxious to see my love, but also nervous that I had started this without him and how he would feel about the drastic change. 

Breakfast: Repeat - Egg bake, banana, coffee. 
Lunch: Repeat - Mexican soup with avocado, lime, cilantro and green onions.
Dinner: Basil lemon chicken sauteed in coconut oil rather than olive oil (Recipe link), Sauteed broccoli and mushrooms, roasted veggies

Snacks: Coconut chips, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apple, tangerines.

Friday (Oh Boy, This is Good)
This was the first day in the history of my memory that I did not have food cravings. I was hungry, but did not crave a particular item (sweets, pasta, cheese, insert your addition here ________).

Breakfast: Egg bake, banana, black coffee. 
Lunch: Grilled chicken salad with walnuts,  olive oil and vinegar. 
Dinner: I worked super late, so Eric was in charge of dinner. He kept it simple (but amazing) with organic sausage, steamed broccoli and 1/2 apple. *Store-bought sausage is not encouraged but Bilinski's makes an Organic Italian Chicken Sausage with only four ingredients - chicken, water, sea salt, herbs and seasoning (green pepper, paprika, fennel seed, and onions). 
Snacks: all repeats - I am a creature of habit, and well, I haven't had time to shop.

Saturday (Working at 5:00 am - Whew!)
There are a lot of repeats during the day, but dinner was Green Chili Chicken (Recipe Link), green beans, a baked potato with salt and pepper and frozen organic strawberries for dessert. 

Sunday (Pumped and Ready)
I really wanted to weigh in or take my measurements today, but that is a BIG no-no with the Whole 30 challenge. I do feel "lighter," which is hard to explain and my skin feels different. Who knew? 
We still have to head to the store, but breakfast consisted of everything left in the refrigerator that was Whole 30 approved, topped with an over-easy egg. I guess you would call it a sausage-kale-pepper-onion-mushroom-potato hash. And two cups of black coffee - my nearest and dearest friend. *Note, Eric's coffee is the one shown in the picture, so no comments haggling me that it looks like there is coffee in my creamer. I know some of you too well...

Next week I am going to try and be a bit more adventurous, so stay tuned!