Tag: januarywhole30

Whole30 Day 7

Whole30 Day 7

by spoonfulofjun ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This morning, I could not get out of bed. The alarm went off at 7am, and I just could not bring myself to do it. It took an hour for me to finally open my eyes and wake up – to a sore throat and heavy body. Concerned it was a sign of the beginning of a cold, I loaded my body up with vitamin C: freshly squeezed lemon water and lots of fruits.

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My tiredness lingered on the rest of the morning, and I was clearly cranky. I lay down next to my husband who was also working from home, and tears started streaming out of my eyes. I was stressing out about my career again. He listened to me and walked me through my thoughts, and helped me feel a little bit better. When I was done, I blurted out “I sort of want Rice Krispies.” I don’t think I’ve eaten or even thought about them in a couple of decades, so I’m not even sure why this came to me at this time.

I had a big lunch, because I was extremely hungry. Lunch was a little bit of everything: leftover grilled coconut-curry chicken, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and salad. Since I couldn’t work out in the morning, I had planned to work out in the afternoon. I could run outside where it was finally above zero but wet from the previous night’s rain, run inside on the dreaded treadmill, or do leg exercises. When the afternoon came, my body still felt tired and my mind foggy. One thing the Whole30 is making me better at is listening to my body. It was begging me for a day off. Once I made a decision to make today my “rest” day, I felt a huge weight come off of my shoulders.

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I continued to feel a little bit off throughout the rest of the day. It was probably due to this low-carb diet, but it also might have had to do with the weather. It was dark and gray and gloomy outside. The one upside was that I was able to get more research and reading done than other days, so perhaps it was just that kind of day. Mid-afternoon, I grabbed a snack of a couple oranges and some nuts. Snacking is a habit, not necessarily a necessity.

For dinner, we cooked stuffed peppers and sweet potato soup. I could have roasted the peppers, which my husband described as “warm raw peppers,” a little bit longer. But the delicious stuffing more than made up for it. My husband made sweet potato soup, which I may have had a little too much of. Like that time I grabbed one too many walnuts and forced myself to finish the handful, I took too much soup and felt like I had to finish it. Again, the recipes in the Whole30 never disappoint.

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A week has gone by since starting the Whole30. I definitely feel less bloated than before, and my nails, which have been breaking every other day from the cold and dry weather, have gotten stronger. But my mood is still very much up and down, and I still have to reenergize with an afternoon snack. The things I miss most are beer and wine. It’s funny that I don’t miss cocktails at all, since that’s what I’ve been more into recently. The key to not craving non-compliant carbs or snacks has been “out of sight, out of mind.” As long as I don’t see it, I don’t miss it. I definitely appreciate my husband going on this diet with me. Cooking together everyday and discovering new recipes has been fun and exciting, and it’s nice to be in it together. My husband and I both travel quite frequently for work, so I’m worried about how we’ll hold up once that picks up again and we’re eating more meals out and at airports, with coworkers instead of each other. So far, the Whole30 has been good. They say that the hardest days are still ahead. “This is not hard. This is not hard.”

 

Whole30 Day 6

Whole30 Day 6

by spoonfulofjun ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Whole30 Day 5

Whole30 Day 5

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A few days ago when I had my low-energy day, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a very pale face. This morning, my face was glowing. I take care of myself and am pretty obsessive about skin care to begin with, but my skin is getting visibly better. Could it be that I’m feeling more positive and therefore have more self-esteem? Maybe, but I do truly believe that what I’m putting into my body has everything to do with it. I started my morning with an arms workout from the Kayla Itsines app. Even though arms are my least favorite and I didn’t eat a snack beforehand, I felt good throughout my training. I listened to my usual NPR Up First, New York Times The Daily, Marketplace Morning Report, and an NPR Planet Money episode on Bitcoin. Yes, I missed out on it. I had told best friend how crazy she was for investing in it, and now, I’m feeling the pain. Once back home, I grabbled the already chopped up vegetables from the fridge and scrambled some eggs with it. And of course, I couldn’t forget the berries.

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Work was fairly busy but I didn’t once feel like I wasn’t going to be able to tackle everything. Lunch was leftover vegetables with roasted red pepper sauce and a piece of salmon. I love the frozen fish fillets from Whole Foods. They are individually vacuum packed so they’re quick and easy to use. I usually put one in the microwave for a minute, then transfer it to a skillet and cook for a few minutes on each side.

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In the afternoon, I had a rather unpleasant work call with two other teammates. I immediately noticed that one was in a bad mood, sensing from how he defensively responded to the other guy on the call. Once it became clear that I was agreeing with this other guy, he started attacking me too. It wasn’t common for him to be acting this way; he’s usually a nice and relaxed guy. Any other day, I would have taken this personally. I would have played it cool while secretly hurting inside. But today, I was able to distance myself and recognize that he was having a bad day, and remained calm and collected.

After the call, my husband and I made a quick trip to Whole Foods to stock up on frozen fish and some fruit. As we were checking out, I saw protein bars from RXBAR. I had seen these before, but never bothered to pick one up. I turned it around to look at the ingredients – Whole30 compliant! We ended up buying a couple – mixed berry and blueberry – and split one as soon as we got home. Not too bad.

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My husband cooked dinner tonight. He made cute little sliders made of sweet potato, eggplant, and portabella mushroom buns. What a creative replacement for the pretzel buns we usually like. We layered small beef patties with slices of avocados and tomatoes. So good. More than anything they were fun to look at.

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Eating a Whole30 diet doesn’t feel hard. When a Tastemade video for a butternut squash gratin made from heavy cream and various cheeses pops onto my Facebook feed, or when I see a sign in our building elevator about a hot chocolate party, of course I think about it, and for a second, want it. But as long as these foods are out of my sight, I don’t have any desire to eat outside the Whole30 diet. I also feel good mentally. I feel like I’m getting stronger inside and can tolerate uncomfortable situations with more ease. I am hopeful that the Whole30 will change me in a positive way, both inside and out.

Whole30 Day 4

Whole30 Day 4

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This morning started with waking up to my husband already dressed in workout clothes, a banana for some energy, and a trip downstairs to the gym. I knew that if I didn’t work out in the morning, I would be too tired to later in the day – the main reason I always exercise early in the day. I scrolled through my phone to choose my podcast of the day – Bulletproof featuring Gabrielle Bernstein. For the past few months, I’ve been using the Kayla Itsines “Sweat” workout app. It’s been a game changer. I’ve always been a runner, so I’ve never struggled with cardio, but I’ve always hated lifting weights and doing any strength training. As my wedding was approaching late last year, I knew I wanted to tone up my arms. I remembered a few friends telling me about the BBG program, and what better time to do this than before my wedding? I invested in a three-month subscription. Surprisingly, I stuck to it. The app has a meal plan, a gallery to upload photos of yourself to track your progress, and a workout menu. Before the Whole30 I liked to eat what I wanted, and I am not millennial enough to take selfies and other photos of myself, so I’ve only used it for the workouts. The workouts are divided up into “resistance” which consists of 30-minute interval trainings for legs, arms, and abs that get harder every week, “cardio” where you record any cardio workouts, and “recovery” which includes various stretching exercises for different parts of your body. I love the trainings in “resistance.” It’s super easy to follow. In any given week, I usually don’t get to all three. Before my wedding, I prioritized abs and arms. Now I focus on abs and legs with ski season coming up. Today I did legs. I have been doing this program for over half a year now, and I can definitely see changes in my body. And more importantly, I feel stronger.

After my workout my husband cooked me scrambled eggs. He first made the jalapenos, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Then, in a separate pan, he cooked some chicken with “Acapulco Gold” seasoning. “Hmm it smells sweet. Are you sure this spice is Whole30-compliant?” I asked. “Yes, it’s fine,” he said grabbing the spice to read the ingredients list. His face slowly changed, from slightly irritated to concerned. “It has brown sugar in it.” It’s surprising how many foods and condiments have sugar in it. All of the bacon we saw yesterday at Trader Joe’s also had sugar. Not wanting to waste the perfectly good pieces of chicken, my husband assured me, “Don’t worry, I’ll eat it. I’ll make yours without the chicken.” The scrambled eggs were delicious, and we also ate a side of blueberries and raspberries. It was a perfect meal after an intense workout.

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While still in my workout clothes, I vacuumed and mopped the floors while my husband washed the dishes and wiped down the kitchen counters. I was surprised at how energized I felt. This was a huge change from yesterday when I couldn’t do much of anything. Lunch was leftover Shepard’s Pie from last night, and salad greens topped with leftover roasted red pepper sauce. I can’t get over how much I love the Shepard’s Pie. And I absolutely love the roasted red pepper sauce. The meal was delightful, and I continued to go about my day feeling pretty good.

At a little before 3pm I started thinking about making myself a snack. For about an hour, I debated whether to make mashed potatoes or not. We had just gotten ghee last night for the Shepard’s Pie, so we had the ingredients, and it was simple to make. But should I just wait until dinner? Just then, I noticed my husband taking out a handful of cashews from the food pantry. “I was going to make mashed potatoes. Interested?” I asked. “Yeah, I’ll have some,” he said. The mashed potatoes were a success. It’s funny – I never appreciated potatoes before going on the Whole30. I always thought they were too filling, bland, and just plain mushy. If there were potatoes on my plate, I would often take a bite and leave the rest. But now, I appreciate how they taste and how full they make you feel.

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Dinner again was fun to make. We cooked the classic chili and the broccoli, mushrooms, and yellow squash with red pepper sauce, both straight out of the Whole30 book. The first bite of chili was strange. The lack of beans sent a signal to my brain that something wasn’t right. But after a couple of bites, my taste buds took over and my brain finally understood that it was actually really good. I even had seconds. The recipes in the book have been impressive so far, and there hasn’t been a single one we don’t like.

Today was a good day. I felt good. I felt clear. I did however feel extremely thirsty throughout and still do. I’m assuming this is because of the low-carb diet.

The Whole30 is reminding me to be mindful of not only my food but also my thoughts. Getting ready in the morning: “I’m too lazy to wear makeup today. It’s too cold out and we’ll probably stay in all day anyway. Wait, I do it when I go out with my friends or have a business meeting. But isn’t my husband the one I want to impress most?” Relaxing on the couch this afternoon: “I should really continue to read my book right now. But I want to catch up on all of my favorite blogs. What do I truly feel like doing right now? Read the blogs! It’s Sunday; do what you want!” Preparing dinner in the evening: “He just spilled water on the floor. And there’s an onion on the floor again. Do I point this out and irritate him, or does this not really matter? No, it really doesn’t matter.” I’m having rational conversations with myself in my head, and it’s helping me get closer to the version of myself I want to be. I’m excited to see where this journey takes me.