Day 15: whole 30 challenge

Breakfast: ham boiled eggs and fruit
Snack: pomegranate and nuts
Lunch: salad and chicken soup
Dinner: chili with avocado and grapes

Day 14: whole 30 challenge

I'm really happy that I'm 2 weeks down.  Today was a little tricky.  When I sat down to eat my lunch I just couldn't.  I think I fixed myself one too many chicken salads.  So I went to the store and got some deli meat and pistachios instead.  The Boar's Head rosemary sundried tomato ham is my new favorite.

Breakfast- egg salad and fruit
Lunch- ham pistachios and fruit
Dinner- turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash and salad

Day 13: whole 30 challenge

Today I forgot my salad dressing at home :(  As a result my lunch was not feeling and I was so hungry all afternoon.

Breakfast- chicken soup and orange
Lunch: salad and pumpkin soup pomegranate and a piece of fruit leather
Dinner: fruit salad, summer squash, sweet potato and steak

Day 12: whole 30 challenge

Today's salad was the best ever!  I made my own avocado ranch dressing and I'm pretty sure I will never go back to Hidden Valley again.  The only downside to fresh dressing  is buying all the fresh herbs.  I'm not sure how it will go because I've never grown anything from seed before, but I started a little herb garden.  I'm really excited to see what grows.

Breakfast: butternut squash and soft boiled eggs With grapefruit
Lunch: salad and pumpkin soup
Dinner: chili and salad With pomegranate

Day 11: whole 30 challenge

Tonight I was hungry for a snack again before bed.  I reminded myself of a quote from the book it starts with food.  If you're not hungry enough to eat some steak then you're not really hungry, it's a.craving.   So I drink some chamomile tea instead and went to bed.

Breakfast: egg salad and an orange
Lunch: chicken salad and collard greens
Dinner: mixed nuts chicken soup and grapefruit

Day 10: whole 30 challenge

Today was the first time since I started the whole 30 that I went an eating binge.   It started with getting a smoothie.  Smoothies are technical no-no (kind of like pancakes)  Nick and I were out shopping and I decided I wanted a treat.  I ordered a smoothie that was mango, pineapple, ice and water.  Its actually really difficult to order a smoothie without added sugar.  At Tropical smoothie they use a lot of fruit concentrates with added sugar.  When I got home I kept eating.  I ate chicken salad and avocado for dinner.  Then I snacked on some pomegranate seeds.  Then I ate a piece of bacon, some mixed nuts, and grapes.  Needless to say I wasn't hungry for all that food and I woke up the next morning with a sour stomach.  It wasn't as bad as one of my normal eating binges but still a lesson learned.

Breakfast: fried eggs and sweet potato hash (this is becoming a weekend staple for us)
Lunch: seafood salad at my favorite Greek restaurant
Dinner: chicken salad and avocado

As I wrote what I ate for lunch it hit me that is probably where my eating binge started.  I did miss the feta cheese and pita bread.  I think that stirred up a case of "the wants".

Day 9: whole 30 challenge

Today was another stressful day at work and I found myself craving sweets.  Someone left a packet of French caramels in the lounge and it was very difficult not to try one.  After lunch I was sitting at the computer and snacking on mixed nuts and dried apricots when I wasn't hungry.  One of the good things about this diet is that food doesn't taste satisfying when I'm already full.  I ate a little bit too much but I stopped pretty fast.  When I came home I was exhausted and nothing sounded good for dinner.  I ended up taking a nap and felt renewed.  The deconstructed pizza meal that I had planned to make didn't even sound good so I made steak instead.  Tonight was the perfect example of how delicious simple food can be.  I grilled my steak in butter with seasoned salt.  The butternut squash was cooked in butter and salt.  The green beans were made with butter salt pepper and garlic.

Breakfast: Grapefruit, Bacon, fried eggs and spinach
Lunch: roast beef lettuce wrap, chicken broth, mixed nuts, dried apricots and a clementine
Dinner: steak, butternut squash and green beans

Day 8: whole 30 challenge

Today was good.  Nothing new to report.
Breakfast: egg salad and grapes
Lunch: pumpkin soup, avocado, and clementine
Snack: mixed nuts and prunes
Dinner: turkey meatballs over zuchinni noodles

Day 7: whole 30 challenge

I’ve been putting off writing today’s log because yesterday was horrible. Work was really stressful and I never had time to sit down and eat lunch. I was trying to eat my chicken salad while teaching in the computer lab and it tasted disgusting. I ate about a third of it before giving up. The whole rest of the afternoon, I was feeling anxious, picking my skin, and having a bad attitude about this new way of eating. I was craving one of my usual afternoon treats like a greek yogurt. Or better yet, a piece of chocolate. When I was driving home, I almost stopped at the store to pick up the ingredients for my family’s ambrosia recipe (oranges, canned pineapple chunks, coconut, and banana). I could totally make that recipe Whole30 friendly, but I recognized it as a sugar craving and resisted. Once I got home and ate dinner with my family I was feeling so much better. Even though the tilapia was left over from the day before it was still delicious. The strange thing was, I wasn’t that hungry considering that I barely ate lunch.

Since I had a bit of a down day, I want to take the time to list some of the reasons I love this diet:

· I love having my meals planned ahead of time. I can’t tell you how many times Nick and I used to eat out because we were too exhausted to figure out what to eat for dinner. It’s so relaxing to come home and know what’s for dinner. Meat is already thawed out and main components have already been prepped. · I love not feeling guilty about the food choices I make. Eating used to be a constant cycle of giving in to cravings and guilt. On this plan, as long as I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full, I know I’m making a good choice. Along the same point, I love not counting calories or points. · I love having clear guidelines about what I’m eating and what I’m not eating. The neighbors brought over a lovely loaf of banana bread and I was able to easily make the decision to not eat it.

Breakfast: Salmon frittata, tomato, and avocado

Lunch: chicken salad over fresh greens

Dinner: California-style tilapia with sun-dried tomatoes an green beans

Day 6: whole 30 challenge

Today was a good day. Nothing new to report.
Breakfast: sweet potato pancakes banana and shredded beef
Lunch: chicken salad and a grapefruit
Snack: mixed nuts
Dinner: Tilapia, mashed sweet potatoes and green beans

Day 5: Whole 30 Challenge *Breakthrough in Self-Awareness*

Today was an awesome day.  My two biggest goals during this challenge are to stop picking my skin and stop binge eating.  I had a breakthrough with both today.

When I pick my skin, I usually don't notice until I've already picked a few spots.  Once I realize what I'm doing, I feel guilty and bad about myself and I usually keep picking.  I always pick when I'm driving alone.  This morning, I noticed every time I started to pick and I stopped.  My mantra was simple, I kept telling myself, "I do not want to do this."  When I was reading a success story on the Whole9 website, this quote resonated with me "When you take such care with what you feed your body, you can’t help but take equal care with what you feed your heart, soul, and mind." - See more at: http://whole30.com/2012/10/i-lost-185-pounds-on-the-whole30-and-i-miss-him/#sthash.Ha4z8ox7.dpuf I think this is part of the reason why this lifestyle change is helping me stop picking.  I'm spending so much time and energy thinking about and preparing what to feed myself, the drive to take care of myself is spilling over into other areas of my life.

This morning I fixed myself sweet potato pancakes and banana slices (This is a technical no-no on the whole 30 plan, but I just wanted to add some protein to my sweet potato, I wasn't craving pancakes).  When I took my first bite, I was thinking, "This is so deliciously sweet, I wouldn't want to add maple syrup even if i could."  Then, about halfway through my meal it didn't taste that good anymore.  I checked in with myself and realized I was not hungry anymore.  So, I stopped eating.  This is a HUGE breakthrough for me.  Until now, I would always clean my plate.  At lunch, it happened again.  I only ate half of the chicken salad I served myself.  And even then, I think I ate too much.  I felt overly full for about an hour after eating.  It was also the first day I wasn't hungry for an after-school snack.  I felt full and satisfied until dinner.  

After my last post Sarah asked why I have to cook for the entire week. The diet is made up of protein, vegetables, fruit and healthy fat. That's it. One of the biggest challenges is having to cook everything from scratch. I don't have to cook for the week but if I don't I won't have time when I get home from work to prepare everything I need for dinner. All of the vegetables are fresh so I have to cut and wash them. Every sauce is made from scratch like the mayo, ranch, salad dressing or pesto we've been eating. Breakfast has to be made ahead of time because we don't have time to cook in the morning. And lunches have to be packed the night before. I love to cook but this process has been overwhelming. Hopefully things will level out after we're done unpacking and moving. Breakfast: sweet potato pancakes and banana and a grapefruit Lunch: pumpkin soup and chicken salad dinner: shredded beef lettuce wraps  

Day 4: whole 30 challenge

Today was definitely the hardest.  I stayed up till 2 a.m. trying to get all the cooking done for the week.  My failproof recipe for mayonaise turned out broken.   I put too much liquid in the food processor and spilled it everywhere. I tried to use the food processor to cut up meat and accidentally made puree.   My mini quiches turned out this strange shade of green.  I was beyond frustrated.  For the rest of the day I was thinking "why am I doing this again?" 
The day wasn't a total loss.  Nick and I found some cool tools at Costco to help us with our new lifestyle.  My favorite are the water pitchers with the infusing tube to make flavored water.
Breakfast: Fried eggs and sweet potato hash
Lunch: chicken salad
Dinner: bacon wrapped roast and carrots

Day 3: whole 30 challenge

Today was exhausting but wonderful.  I woke up at 3am full of energy and went straight to the kitchen.  I made homemade mayonnaise and homemade ranch.  Then this afternoon I made a roasted chicken, a boiled chicken for chicken salad, sweet potato fries, and pumpkin soup.  For Hollin I made carrot and tangerine puree and banana plum grape puree.  Sitting down at the table and eating as a family for the first time in our new house was great :)

Breakfast: leftover salmon frittata and avocado
Lunch: leftover turkey and acorn squash soup and a grapefruit
Dinner: Pumpkin soup roasted chicken and sweet potato fries

Day 2: whole 30 challenge

Today was pretty good.  The hardest part was how long it took to cook dinner.  Prepping food on the weekends is going to be key.

Breakfast: leftover turkey and acorn squash soup
Lunch: chicken salad and chicken broth
Dinner: tomato and avocado salad, salmon frittata with pesto, pureed roasted eggplant and clementines

Day 1- Whole 30 Challenge

Today was pretty easy because I planned ahead.  The hardest part was coming back to Nick's parent's house full of food I'm not eating right now.  But it was only tempting when I was hungry.  I'm feeling full and satisfied and ready for day 2.

breakfast: scrambled egg and pineapple
lunch: chicken salad with walnuts and grapes, green salad with vinaigrette, grapefruit
snack: mixed nuts
dinner: turkey and acorn squash soup, banana, and macadamia nuts

Day 0- Whole30 Challenge

So, I am starting the Whole30 challenge tomorrow.  A few months ago, Nick's doctor suggested he try a gluten and dairy free diet.  He researched and decided that the paleo diet might be interesting to try.  At first, I thought that I might be willing to try it as long as I could still eat greek yogurt and oatmeal on the side.  But as I read more blogs and articles written by other people who struggle with emotional eating, I noticed that many people had breakthroughs while doing the Whole30 challenge.  So, Nick and I agreed to start it as soon as we moved into our new house.  I know that this will be hard so I wanted to jot down a few reasons why I'm committed to this goal.  I might need to look back for inspiration soon:

1.  I am going to have more energy and actually feel like I'm in my 20s.
2. I will get a better night's sleep.
3. Cooking dinner will be low stress since I've already planned and prepped the meals.  I'm hoping this high level of organization will spill over into other areas of my life. 
4. Hollin will be eating healthy home-made baby food.  Since I'm cooking a lot of fresh veggies, It will be so convenient to mix some up for him. 
5. Nick and I are taking this journey together and it will bring us closer together.
6. Nick and I will learn from this experience and lead a healthier lifestyle from this point on.
7. This is a challenge, so when I successfully complete this month I am going to feel like a rock star.