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

Easter and changing the menu

My mom used to cook up a storm for holidays but now she’s changing her tune.  This Easter was a little different. Only roast turkey--no added ham, no sugar and butter in the boiled carrots mashed potatoes and turnip, and much much much less chocolate than in previous years. Yes I wrote she used to ADD SUGAR TO VEGGIES!!

Since our family dynamic has changed, I see how much my father’s influence on the foods we ate really affected us all. He was all for meat and potatoes and only in the last part of his life he’d begun to enjoy leafy green salads. He was also one for insisting on having desserts and lots of chocolaty and salty snacks on hand at all times. This year, my mom baked one pie. One instead of the usual five! I was amazed. She is now finding her way in nutrition and realizing that food does not equal love.  I can say the changes are making for a more pleasant time at the holiday table.