Day 16 of Whole30

Very tired today, so very tired. Want to give up the Whole30 but trying my best to hang on right now.

Breakfast
Two eggs
3oz raspberries

Paleo compliant coconut macaroon (boss at work made them herself)

Lunch
Chicken breast
Spinach salad

1 handful of natural cashews

Supper
Not too hungry but had...
Half a chicken breast
1 small banana

Day 15 of Whole30

Had way too many pistachios today. I can't trust myself around them, so I won't buy them anymore... unless it's from the Bulk Barn and it'll be buying one serving only.

Breakfast
Smoked salmon
Cucumber
Raspberries

Coffee

Lunch
Hamburger patty
Spinach salad
Cherry tomatoes

Pistachio overload! Three big handfuls.

Supper:
Grilled chicken with stir fired broccoli, eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms and a few cherry tomatoes to garnish

Day 14 of Whole30

Breakfast
2 Nori rolls with salmon and avocado and shaved cucumber and carrot

Lunch
Hamburger patty
1/2 Sweet potato
1 cup Spinach

3 Dates
1/3 cup Coffee

Supper
Coconut shrimp
Didn't burn them to a crisp this time!
Cucumber and apple salad
1 small white potato

So I caved in and ate a baked potato with Ghee with green onions... felt great and was very tasty and filled my cravings. Not planning a repeat. I plan to stick with the Whole30 until the end of the month but I am finding it long.  I'm still having intestinal issues that I thought would have resolved themselves, but haven't. I never had similar problems before. I'm not really feeling super-energised so I think I might revise my menus. Except for being a bit more alert overall, honestly,  I'm not feeling what is described here: Whole30 Timeline I wish I did. I hope I will.

Day 13 of Whole30

Breakfast
1 Egg scramble with onions, red and green peppers with 1 strip bacon chopped

Lunch
Chicken breast
Cucumber salad

Snack
5 Dates
1/2 cup Coffee

Supper
Tried to make coconut shrimp... Fail!
Hamburger patty
Avocado and sliced cherry tomato salsa topping
1/2 Sweet potato
Bed of Spinach greens

Feeling really tired today and that's a sure sign of PMS. We'll see if this Whole30 thing actually helps with the symptoms or not.

Days 10, 11 and 12 of Whole30

Day 10:
Since we ate out at a restaurant last night, I really wasn't too hungry for breakfast...
Breakfast:
2oz smoked salmon
1 Small banana
Handful of nuts
Break
Coffee with coconut milk
Lunch
1 hard boiled egg
Spinach salad with cherry tomatoes
1/2 Large Sweet potato
Supper
3 egg omelette with red peppers, mushrooms, smoked salmon
Snack
1 handful cashews
1 cup cantaloupe

Day 11:
Slept in...zzz....zzz.
1 egg
1cup pure juice
Supper
Roast Beast with carrots and mushrooms
1 small handful pistachios
1 cup cherries
1 cup grapes

Day 12:
Slept in again... zzz...
1 cup cantaloupe
Supper
1 grilled salmon
lettuce
antipasto

Really missing bread now. Watching family and friends eat pizza and other bready carbs in front of me is not easy, but I'm holding firm and not giving into temptation. Must remember matra: Food is only fuel for my body, nothing more.

Day 9 of Whole30

Breakfast
2 Eggs scrambled
3 Dates
Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch
Bison steak on spinach salad with cucumber and tomatoes
Olive oil dressing

Snack
2 dates

Supper
Ate out at a Restaurant... was able to find a few items on the menu but I decided on this:
100% Beef burger (no filler in the meat, just spices) topped with 1 strip bacon, avocado, tomato salsa and onion. No bun.
Mixed salad with olive oil and white wine vinegar dressing
Sparkling water with a slice of lime

Was craving sugar today, the dates seemed to help ease that. I wasn't hungry at all after supper, just drank a couple of big glasses of water once we got home from the restaurant and that was it for the night.

Day 8 of Whole30

Breakfast
Nori rolls with avocado, smoked salmon, green onion and shaved letttuce

This really didn't sit well on my stomach as the first meal of the day.

Lunch
Chicken curry with coconut milk, broccoli, green peppers, onions, curry powder, a dash of cayenne

Someone brought in TimBits (doughnut holes) into work... I popped one in my mouth, chewed it, then thought "What the eff are you doing?" Then spat it out. It's behaviour like this that scares me... automatically giving into temptation for crappy processed food.
Must fight these cravings! I never was the type to down a whole cake or demolish an entire pizza at one sitting, but those are the images that crop up in my mind.

Snack
Green apple

Supper
Grilled Bison steak
Stir fry of green peppers, 1/2 sweet potato, onions and cherry tomatoes on a bed of spinach

Snack
3 Dates

Thought I'd be feeling amazing and full of energy, but that hasn't happened yet. I am more alert in the mornings so I guess that is a good sign. Most mornings I'm on the run from the get-go, so having a long leisurely breakfast is just not possible. 

Day 7 of Whole30

Breakfast
Scramble of spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes (forgot to pick up eggs)
2 strips bacon

Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch
Grilled chicken breast on a large salad with balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing

Handful of almonds
2 dates

Supper
Pan fried cod in olive oil
Mixed veggies on the side (carrots, green and yellow beans)
Handful of blueberries

Still having some intestinal issues and still having a difficult time falling asleep. Looking to reduce or eliminate my need for coffee in the morning, I find that harder than giving up cheese !!

Day 6 of Whole 30

Breakfast
2 strips bacon
Small banana
Sunflower seed butter

Getting a bit tired of eggs...

Lunch
Chicken breast
Big salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes

Had to cut lunch a bit short... so had left-over salad after my meeting at 3pm.

Snack
1 cup salad
1 handful almonds
1 date

Supper
Nori salmon roll with sliced cucumber and avocado
Carrots

Dessert
2 dates stuffed with 1 tsp sunflower seed butter and topped with a bit of coconut

Feeling good generally but sleep is still an issue. It's still taking me a hour before actually falling asleep... too many thoughts in my head. Drinking camomille tea and spritzing lavender oil in the bedroom helps somewhat.

Days 3,4,and 5 of Whole30

Day 3:
 
Breakfast
2 eggs and wilted kale
3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch
Salad with cherry tomatoes and 1/2 avocado
6 meatballs
1 date
Supper:
2 pieces of cod
1 sweet potato
1 1/2 cup mixed veg (yellow, green beans and carrots)

Feeling different today. More relaxed, less anxious. Was hungry at about 4:30pm and was considering ordering in a pizza... something I haven't done in a long long time. I remembered the It Starts with Food book explaining that the cravings are normal so I just ignored the feelings. One thing I have to work on is eating more slowly! I ate supper in 10 minutes... too fast.

Day 4:

Breakfast
2 eggs scramble with wilted kale and a few cherry tomatoes
Lunch
1/2 can salmon on lettuce with avocado and few cherry tomatoes
Supper
Steak brochette on the grill with onion and red peppers
Spinach salad with mandarins and  walnuts with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing

Didn't feel too good today...allergies acting up (birch pollen is everywhere) and had some intestinal issues.

Day 5:

Breakfast
2 egg scrambles with mushroom, onion, a few cherry tomatoes
Handful natural almonds
Lunch
Nori seaweed roll filled with salmon, avocado, cucumber and carrots
Supper
Chicken breast
Spinach salad
1/2 sweet potato cut into rounds and pan fried in 2 tbsp coconut oil
1 date rolled in chopped almonds

Feeling less bloated and achy in the mornings. Took a long walk outside--it's too beautiful out there to stay indoors. Felt awful afterwards because of allergies. No rain forecast until later on in the week to wash away the pollen. Will be high on Benedryl until then!

Day 2 of Whole30

Breakfast
1 egg with mushrooms
1/4 large sweet potato

Was running late so had a quick meal. Forgot chicken breast for lunch in fridge... d'oh!

Coffee with coconut milk

Lunch
Salad with egg and 1 slice bacon
1/4 large sweet potato
6 small meatballs
1 date

Hungry at about 4pm. Had some organic ginger green tea.

Supper
Chicken breast with mediterranean spices
Wilted kale
Brocoli
Cherry tomatoes

Dessert
2 dates with 1 tbsp of sunflower seed butter and 3 walnuts

Since I used to "graze" all day, I'm getting used to the new feelings in my stomach... trying to differentiate between stomach actually working to digest food and the nagging of hunger. I figure after about 3-4 hours, then it's hunger, pretty simple. Had a bit of a sinus headache, pain under cheekbone and under the eyebrow, so that's probably allergies to pollen, mold and dust which as flying around like crazy here. Otherwise so far so good :)

PS I don't like to do any internet stuff on the weekends so I'll be retro-posting on Monday.

Day 1 of Whole30

Breakfast:
2 scrambled eggs with mushrooms
Half a large sweet potato
Tablespoon of pomegranate seeds

Found I really had to make time for a 20 minute sit-down breakfast.

Lunch:
Salad with grilled chicken and 1/2 strip of bacon
1 tbsp Organic EVOO as salad dressing
2 dates
1 apple

Felt tired and had a headache in the afternoon at work. Might be a variety of reasons like the six hours of sleep I got last night, the weather which is much warmer than usual or allergy season is in full swing.

Supper:
Piece of cod
Wilted kale with 3 mushrooms sliced
Carrots

Dessert:
2 dates stuffed with 1/2 tsp sunflower seed butter and 1/2 a walnut.

What I found was since my lunch was a bit skimpy, I was hungrier at the end of the day and ... not a good thing in my case as I tend to overeat and make bad choices in the evenings. Will try and incorporate more veggies, like maybe julienned beets into the salad. Drank a lot of water during the day, sometimes with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

I wasn't able to give up chewing gum... oh well, in the grand scheme of what I'm trying to accomplish, to me gum is the least worrisome of my bad habits right now.

Trying my best to realise that food is fuel for my body, nothing more.

Whole30 starts tomorrow

I'm starting the Whole30 and looking forward to a challenge or two or three!  I know the biggest challenge for me will be giving up chewing gum. It's been a useful tool for me when I'm in the company of friends and they are having dessert and I'm not, just to pop in a stick of gum and it'd make my cravings for sweets just disappear. I know gum is loaded with chemical goo so I'll hope that I can make it through the month of the Whole30 gum-free.

The other challenge will be no sweetener in my morning coffee. I've tried almond milk but it's not the same. Will have to give coconut milk a try.

Week in review: Fail

This past week has not been good and the scale shows it. Up four pounds. After a week of medical tests and more to go through in May, stress, worry and loneliness have been playing a big factor. My man has been semi-supportive, not sabotaging but not able to be really be there for me.

I over-ate in general over five days, had a cheese and cracker fest and scarfed down a few pastries and chips. Also had some diet soda and a few Gin and Tonics.  Very disappointed at myself that I couldn’t handle things like a normal person but turned to food (and a bit of alcohol) once again for comfort.  Actually, I’m angry at myself! I should know better that food will not solve my problems: it will only create more.

A bunch of people in the blogosphere are doing the Whole 30 beginning in May. I’m hopping on that band wagon. I need a kick in the ass.

Need Sleep!!

Having a hard time lately turning my brain off at night. Even though I turn off the TV, computer other stimulating devices early, my brain keeps whirring! So many thoughts, worries. Personal and work stuff all mixed together.

Lack of sleep is a big trigger in overeating, for me anyway, and I downed a small box of crackers I was given at work. What was I thinking? I was thinking it was an easy fix. Plus I've been overdoing it on the portion sizes... have to watch that like a hawk this week.

Workout wise I've started to mix it up by doing some weight training DVDs that I bought real  cheap from a going out of business sale.  First up Kelly Coffey Meyer.

Didn't lose anything this past week. I'm not surprised. Anyway here's a song from my favourite insomniac compatriot Dallas Green: Sleeping Sickness by City and Colour