DAY 30!!!!!!!

I really can't believe today is Day 30. I'd like to do a more thoughtful recap tomorrow or later this week, and do some measurements. But, honestly, nothing is going to change tomorrow. I love this new way of eating. Cutting out the sugar was key for me. I plan to have a glass of vino with dinner tomorrow though as a celebration :)

Workout: Barre class, walk to work

Breakfast: Sweet potato, veggie, sausage hash

Lunch: Salad with grilled chicken

Dinner: Cauliflower rice, ground beef, tahini sauce; apple; coconut butter

Day 29

Workout: HIIT

Breakfast: tea with coconut cream, 2 eggs, sweet potato and some ground beef

Lunch: apple, handful of nuts, carrots, dried cherries

Dinner: joulwan Rogan josh, cauliflower rice, coconut butter, orange

Day 28

Exercise: barre, spinning, lots of walking

Pre workout: 3 oz chicken, coconut butter

Breakfast: sausage veggie hash

Snack: apple and carrots

Dinner: paleo pizza, mango, coconut butter

Day 27

Exercise: Barre

Breakfast: 2 egg omelette with 1 pepper, 1/2 onion, 1 zucchini, and 1/2 sweet potato in coconut oil

Lunch: Zucchini with some ground beef and tomato sauce, apple, carrots, coconut butter

Dinner: grass fed rib eye steak, grilled veggies, frozen mango, coconut butter

Day 26

Exercise: Walk to and from work - 6 miles

Breakfast: Sweet potato hash with sausage

Lunch: Tuna salad

Dinner: Grilled chicken, brussel sprouts, carrots, apple, and coconut butter

Day 25

Breakfast: Post Barre class, hash with one egg, a little bit of coconut cream

Lunch: Leftover paleo pizza, carrots

Dinner: Salmon, green beans, apple, coconut butter

Day 24

Workout: HIIT at 730 am; 3.5 mile walk after work

Breakfast: hash with one egg, little bit of coconut cream with tea

Lunch: lettuce with grilled chicken, avocado, olives, 1/2 pure wrap, eggplant dip

Dinner: bag of baby carrots, 1/3 paleo pizza, apple

Day 23

It's hot in here!

Breakfast: sweet potato hash, egg, coconut cream in tea after barre class and walk to work

Lunch: tuna salad, coconut butter

Dinner: baby carrots, grilled chicken, baba ghanoush, grilled veggies, mango, coconut butter

Day 22

Breakfast: hash, omelette, tea with coconut cream

Lunch: chicken breast with cuc, radishes, olives, and coconut butter

Dinner: rotisserie chicken with broccoli, coconut butter, carrots

Snack: primal pac plus apple

Back from vacation! I did it! Stuck to whole30.

Day 21

Breakfast: turkey and sweet potato hash, egg with zucchini, tea with coconut cream

Lunch: carrots, cucumbers, radishes, chicken, coconut butter

Dinner: chicken, ribeye, grilled veggies

Day 20

On vacay so no pics.

Breakfast: 2 egg whites, 1 egg, baby carrots, coconut butter

Lunch: first meal out! Chicken and shrimp fajitas in olive oil, guac

Dinner: chicken and sun chokes in lemon and olive oil, green beans, apple

Snack: carrots

Day 19

Blurry breakfast: last of the sweet potato hash and sausage topped with a bunch of egg whites. After my HIIT class this morning. Also had some tea with coconut cream. Lunch: Tuna mixed with olive oil, lemon, olives, dried unsweetened cherries, and almonds with some lettuce. Coconut butter blob.
Dinner: Lots of baby carrots, barammundi sauteed in coconut oil, broccoli, spinach, and a side of pesto (basil, parsley, walnuts, olive oil, s and p). Apple and coconut butter for the finale.

Day 18

Breakfast: Post barre - sweet potato hash and sausage with 1 egg. How many pics of it can I take? I've also been having some black tea with cinnamon and coconut cream in the morning.

Lunch: Squash with leftover meatballs and tomato sauce
Dinner: Leftover paleo pizza, 1/2 a chicken breast on salad. Apple with coconut butter.

Day 17

Breakfast: Post intense HIIT 1.5 hour gym session. Sweet potato and sausage hash with 1 egg and 1 egg white. Lunch: Green beans with salmon leftovers. Also had a ball of coconut butter
Dinner: Walk home 3 miles. Garden meatballs from every day paleo, zucchini, and tomato sauce. Followed up with an apple and coconut butter.
No need at all for a snack anymore. And only 1 serving of fruit today. Feel GREAT. My pants are fitting looser.

Day 16

Breakfast: Post barre class, I had sweet potato and sausage hash and 1 egg. No pic because I was on the run!Lunch: Lettuce topped with grilled chicken, 1 egg, avocado, fig, and snap peas and some dressing. Had 1/2 an apple.

Dinner: Post 3 mile walk home - green beans sauteed in coconut oil topped with some mac nuts. Sweet potato topped with coconut butter. Salmon baked with some olive oil. No fruit tonight! That is my challenge :)

Day 15

Breakfast: Frittata with 3 eggs, lots of egg whites, 1 sweet potato, kale, and onion. Split halfsies with the husband. Lunch: grilled chicken breast with sweet potato and coconut butter and some snap peas. Ran 5 miles 2 hours after consumption.

Citrus carnitas, green beans, and guac with some carrots for dinner. Had a bowl of mango, and some more coconut butter later in the evening.

Day 14

Breakfast: Sweet potato and sausage hash topped with an egg! Look familiar? After breakfast, I went to a barre class and spinning class - 2 hours of exercise need good fuel. Lunch: Romaine topped with grilled chicken, peppers, avocado, tomatoes, snappeas, and a fig.
Snack: We walked 6 miles yesterday afternoon - I had an apple and some carrots for a snack.
Dinner: 2 pieces of paleo pizza (fun Saturday treat!), 1 orange, and 1 serving coconut butter.

Day 13

Breakfast: Post barre class, last of the leftover sweet potato hash and egg.

Lunch: Salad with leftover carrots, meatballs, an egg, roasted red pepper and fig topped with tessamae's. Also had 1/2 an apple.
Dinner: Post 3 mile walk home. This is how we do it! Salad with snap peas, peppers, olives, and figs topped with grilled NY strip steak (on sale at WF!) Dressing with olive oil, balsamic, and truffle oil. Side of sweet potatoes and a bit of coconut butter. Plus a lot of coconut butter and mango for dessert. It's Friday!

Day 12

Breakfast: Day off from working out today! Just walked to work. Had some sweet potato sausage hash with an egg for breakfast. Lunch: Leftover brussels, squash, and 2 eggs in one coconut wrap. 1/2 an apple
Snack: Carrots, coconut flakes, and an apple. I was at Whole Foods grocery shopping and was starving, so ate an apple.
Dinner: Lamb meatballs (parsley, onions, garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper) sauteed in some coconut oil. Once cooked, took them out, and added shredded carrots, a bunch of pinenuts and a few chopped dried apricots. Topped with some tahini sauce (tahini, lemon, and salt). Delish!

Day 11

Breakfast: Workout was intense today! I am incredibly sore from all the curtsy lunges I did yesterday. I basically have to waddle my thighs are so tight. So taking a barre class was not the smartest decision I've ever made. At one point, the instructor had to ask me if I was okay!!! Once I got to work (I was a hot mess), I had some sausage and sweet potato hash. Lunch: Baby spinach salad with rotisserie chicken, 2 eggs, peppers, carrots, figs, olives, and a splash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. 1/2 a fuji apple.
Snack: I had some carrots after I walked home from work.

Dinner: Scallops sauteed in coconut oil and topped with truffle oil to finish. Roasted butternut squash (thank you whole foods for cutting this for me in advance) with coconut oil, cinnamon, and salt and pepper. Roasted brussels with balsamic, olive oil, mac nuts, and orange sections. Finished it off with some frozen mango.

I'm literally exhausted. I feel like a mac truck hit me. I think it might be seasonal allergies. They are definitely better than normal but they just make me drag. Plus I didn't sleep well. I gave in to the Zyrtec beast and took a nap and I'm feeling slightly more human. But food wise, feeling good.

Day 10

Breakfast: I had a kickbutt high intensity interval training this morning. Ran 3 miles and then lifted for about 45 minutes. My legs are feeling it. When I got to work, I fueled up on my favorite breakfast - sausage and sweet potato hash topped with one egg. Lunch: Had the same salad again (that grilled chicken was soooo good - I grilled on Friday and just topped salads with this chicken for lunch). Also had 1/2 an apple. Got to eat outside and catch some Vitamin D with a friend.
Dinner: Walked home 3 miles - beautiful day. Then had Well Fed's chicken pad thai. I prepped the ingredients on the weekend and made the sunshine sauce so I just threw it all together. I also had a ton of baby carrots while cooking. I ended my meal with a banana, raw cacoa, spinach, coconut milk smoothie, a bunch of coconut butter, and some coconut chips. I think I overdid it a little with the coconut. I notice when I eat a lot of it, I get a headache. I probably could have done with just one of those coconut products ;)

Can't believe its Day 10! I am 1/3 of the way through. Honestly, it feels more like a way of life than a "diet." I could really see this as being sustainable post Whole30. I am experiencing less and less thinking about food, and really feel more like I am "eating to live" rather than "living to eat." That being said, I do miss eating out, and I have elected to make everything this month to ensure I am following the Whole30 to a t. I also have found I really don't need the afternoon snack, and that walking home in the afternoon is a nice pick me up.

Day 9

Breakfast: I went to Pure Barre again this morning. I think I am addicted - it is really growing on me. Such a different workout than what I normally do but I am seeing results! I forgot my breakfast since I wasn't planning to workout today so I made do with a primal pac, half an apple, and some coconut chips.

Lunch: This salad was amazeballs. Lettuce with green beans, one fig, 1/2 an avocado, olives, beets, and 1/2 a chicken breast. Topped with Tessamae's salad dressing. I ate this with a Pure Coconut wrap.
Dinner: 2 pieces of paleo pizza, a boatload of carrots, and a grapefruit after a 3 mile walk home.

Lunch kept me full till dinner time!

Day 8

Breakfast post Pure Barre - 2 pastured eggs cooked in ghee on top of 1/2 a sweet potato. Green smoothie with coconut milk, 1 banana, and lots of kale. Lunch: Delicious leftovers. 1 piece pizza, 1/2 chicken breast, 1/2 guac, carrots, and red pepper. Mmmmmm.
Snack - ended up eating just the beet chips, carrots, and coconut butter. Also had a few bites of the delicious stew that was cooking all day for dinner. Also had some coconut chips (unsweetened flakes toasted in a non-stick pan with salt and cinnamon)

Dinner: Cauliflower rice (grated cauliflower with tumeric and garlic powder) topped with Melissa Joulwan's cinnamon beef stew and green beans with coconut flakes. The stew was amazing. Seriously, is there anything in this cook book that isn't outstanding?

Day 7

Breakfast: Sausage and sweet potato hash with 1 egg cooked in coconut oil. Great fuel for my spinning class which kicked my butt in the best way possible!

Lunch: Leftover grilled chicken, zucchini noodles, and leftover broccoli sauteed in coconut oil and sunshine sauce. Also had an orange and herbal grapefruit tea.

Snack: Carrots, coconut butter, 1 dried fig. This was before a birthday party we went to where there were sandwiches, cake, gluten free cupcakes and lots of booze. I abstained!!!

Dinner: I was hungry when we got home. I made the paleo pizza from the Every Day Paleo cookbook. Now, I know I'm not supposed to "paleofy" recipes but it sounded delicious and I felt like I earned it after FROSTING GF CUPCAKES AND NOT TASTING THE FROSTING!!! :) The base of the pizza is almond flour, olive oil and eggs. You bake that for 20 minutes at 350. Then you top with stirfried sausage, veggies, red peppers and olives, and cook for another 30 minutes. This was really heavy but delicious - 2 pieces filled me right up. I also had some pineapple, mango, and blueberry to end the night.

So there goes Week 1 of the Whole30! Can't believe it. I knew the weekend would be tough, but it was actually better than I thought it would be. Overall, I felt really good the first week. I did have a lingering headache Fri/Sat but I'm not sure if it was due to a) allergies, b) too tight headband, c) too many fruits.

Now that I've got a week under my belt, I'd like to challenge myself this upcoming week. I want to really listen to my body and not just eat because I feel like I deserve it. Like last night, I really was full but still wanted fruit, just because. So I am going to try to experiment with either cutting out the midafternoon snack or fruit with dinner. So either or is fine, but not both (unless I am truly hungry in which case, I will eat vegetables).

I also have to note that Melissa Joulwan's cookbook has given me so many good ideas for recipes. She is a true rockstar. She cooks with lots of flavor which I find sometimes paleo recipes lack.