I tossed and turned and stared into the darkness, until I finally gave into picking up my phone to scroll through Instagram and health blogs and read more about the Whole30. I know you’re not supposed to use your phone in bed, but I had nothing else to do and it was the only thing within reach. I could already see that waking up was going to be rough.

This morning, I was surprised how easily I got out of bed. I’m far from a morning person; I have trouble falling asleep at times, but I never have trouble sleeping in. I quickly stepped into my workout clothes and headed downstairs to do some abs. Abs are my favorite. One of the reasons I am doing this diet is to see if I can uncover my six pack. I lied on my mat to start my first set of toe lifts, and my stomach growled. I immediately regretted not grabbing that banana before walking out. My next exercise, I couldn’t complete all 24 reps in one go, and had to take brief break in-between. Pitiful. “Next time, I’ll remember to eat something before I work out,” I told myself.

Breakfast was again scrambled eggs with pre-cut vegetables and a side of berries, along with half of that banana I didn’t eat this morning. As much as I want to experiment with different style breakfasts, I feel like I’ve got a rhythm going. At around eleven, I started feeling hungry again, so I ate half of the Whole30-compliant protein bar I bought yesterday. I still didn’t feel fulfilled so I had two satsuma oranges. Yum. I guess my body was really craving sugar. Not sure if it had anything to do with my office feeling chilly today. Either way the snack made me feel significantly better.

Lunch was leftover kale, squash, portabella mushrooms, onions, and ground turkey. I never ate this much protein before going on the Whole30, but now my body expects some kind of protein at every meal. It’s hard to say whether I had a productive afternoon or not. I tackled a lot of work, but when it came to creative brainstorming I struggled a bit. I took mini breaks, reading cookbooks and running a quick errand, hoping to get my attention back on track, but nothing seemed to work.

After my husband came home, we cooked dinner together. Tonight’s menu was grilled coconut-curry chicken and cauliflower fried rice. I pulsed the cauliflower in the food processor, skeptical. Being a rice lover, I couldn’t imagine how in the world one could make this white vegetable taste like fried rice. I tasted my first bite. Strange, but not too bad. Tasty, even. My husband took care of the coconut sauce for the chicken. We had never heard of getting coconut cream by sticking coconut milk into the fridge, so we were positively surprised to open up a refrigerated can and find the cream had formed and risen to the top. I noticed that my husband was a little bit hangry. I was hungry too, and any other day I would have been hangry with him, but I managed to keep my cool. Thinking back, I’m not sure if this was because the Whole30 was affecting my mental health in miraculous ways, or I was too tired to care.

We plated the two dishes onto our plates. My husband got the big piece of chicken, and I the little one. We dug in. The chicken was so tasty, especially with this coconut curry sauce, my new favorite. “Oh no, mine is not cooked all the way through,” my husband said. “Oh no, it’s getting late so we should cut it up into pieces and cook it some more,” I said. I offered to share my piece while we waited for his to get done, but he insisted I keep eating. “Okay,” I said, without pushing back. I couldn’t stop eating this chicken! And the cauliflower fried rice was a perfect combination.

Throughout the day my mood was positive and stable. But looking back, it’s clear that I was lacking in energy. Maybe the lack of carbs is hitting me. Or maybe it’s just my lack of sleep. I’m planning to watch an episode of “This is Us,” read a bit more of my Pachinko book, and go to bed early.