I'm Back!

Well, our first Whole30 has been over for about a month and a half now.  I can say that I am still eating about 80% paleo, and so is my family.  I'd like to get that back up around 95%, however, so I am firing up this blog again to help motivate me to keep on track.

This week I plan on focusing on the lunches that my kids take to school.  I did a great job making paleo lunches for my kids during the Whole30, but I have not made a dedicated effort to pack them great lunches since then.  They get an awesome lunch about 2-3 times a week, and then I feel guilty for whatever they are eating at school.

So, how do I erase guilt?  Do something about it!

I'll be back this week with pictures of their lunches!


-xtina

Day 37 by xtina

I'm still here!!

I had a MASSIVE cleaning undertaking going on around here so I could host my daughters' 11th birthday party.
I was able to cook everything here at my home, and all of it was Whole30 approved!

I never would have been able to clean for about 10 days in a row if I hadn't been eating well.  I'm so thankful that I decided to do this diet.

I have 4 days left & I don't feel like I am going to binge on anything crazy.  I'll post again and report what REALLY happens after the "diet" part ends!

Day 19 by xtina

Well, hello there.  I haven't been online as much the past few days because I actually feel well and happy enough to do some things outside the house.

I had a pulled leg muscle on Monday & I was stunned at how quickly it healed.  It would have been hurting for probably three days on my old, bad diet.  But it felt great by Tuesday morning.  The body is such an amazing thing.

Did a jump-roping and snatching WOD today.  10 minutes of constant motion & I did not use my inhaler.  Good sign.

My face looks so great - my skin loves this diet.  I haven't been as hungry this week as I was the first two weeks, so I think my hormones are balancing out.

Had some Aleve twice this week, but only due to my leg injury and the old shoulder/neck flaring up a bit today after the snatching.

So I'm on day 19 out of 43.  I don't think I would have extended the whole30 if I wasn't doing the challenge along with my gym.  It's a bit out of range for our budget to eat this way for a very long period of time.  I am most certainly not introducing dairy back into my diet except for the occasional piece of cheese.  And as I have not had any hankerings for soy, I'll stay away from that too.

My acupuncturist, though, recommended I use some legumes and grains, and I feel that I will incorporate those back into my diet.  I do know the difference now between "eating my veggies" and having one veggie per day.  I won't go back to that as I believe the veggies are what is making the difference in my body.

All right, time to cook dinner!

Day 15 by xtina

I'm still truckin' along over here.  Haven't had a headache in several days - maybe they are gone for good!  I did pull a leg muscle this morning at my workout due to not being warmed up enough.  Lesson learned.  But it did require me to pop a couple Aleve and ice the leg.

I did take a nap today too.  I was feeling pretty grumpy in the afternoon.  Feel much better now.  My body requires lots of rest in order to heal, so I think that is what is going on if I still need to nap.

Dale and I had our first date on the Whole30.  We walked around Target & then grabbed some steamed shrimp at Publix and ate them in the car.  It was nice and fun.  Good to know that you can always swing into a grocery store and have them steam some seafood for you in a pinch of hungry driving-around-town.

Of course, fresh local shrimp would be a lot yummier...Need to head down to Joe Patti's !

I absolutely cannot believe that I have made it this far - 15 days down!!!  I never would have thought I had it in me.

-xtina

Day 14 by xtina

I cheated again!  No, not on what I ate, but that I weighed myself again this week.

I lost four more pounds this week!!  So, I am down 8 pounds total in 14 days making my weight 200#.

The folks at Whole30 stress that this program is NOT about weight loss, but for someone who has been working out for a whole year and done nothing but gain weight, weight loss is definitely a big factor.

I received my lab results from the blood I had drawn on day 11.  Not looking as great as I hoped.  My total cholesterol was 225!  That is scary.  All of my other numbers looked good except for my hemoglobin which was 5.4.  The "at risk of diabetes" category starts at 5.7, so I really want to get that number down!!  Diabetes runs in my family very heavily, so I hope to kill it off before it starts.

I don't HATE cooking as much as I did two weeks ago.  But, my hands are so dry from washing so many pots and pans.  I'm finding that I love my cast iron pan more than I thought I would.  In fact, if it were a bit larger, I'd cook every meal in it!  We got rid of all teflon-coated pans and almost all of the plastic items in our kitchen, so our other pans are stainless steel.  While they may be safer, they are not much of a joy to cook in.

Several friends have asked what, exactly, I am doing to lose weight.  I was very excited to share with them as I really believe in this program.  After reading the Zone diet book and understanding what exactly our hormones do for our bodies, I cut down greatly on my refined carbohydrate intake.  This Whole30 is just a logical next-step for me.

All right - it's breakfast time!

Day 13 by xtina

Hi, everyone :)
I've been absent because I have been both very busy and very tired.

I did a hard workout on Tuesday (day 9) and then repeated that same workout on Thursday (day 11) as a benchmark for the official beginning of my gym's whole30 challenge.
I'll repeat that workout again in February to see if I have made an improvement.

What I have been noticing about my body this week:
My hair is way softer.  I have hardly any mucus in my chest and throat.  I feel a bit happier, so I guess my hormones are adjusting.  My skin seems to be brighter, and has fewer pimples.

I haven't really been craving any particular thing, but sometimes, when I am very hungry, I do wish I could grab some kind of junk food and eat it.  But as of  yet, I still have not cheated in the least bit.
Feeling proud of myself for that.

My kids have a long weekend due to MLK day & a teacher-planning day on Tuesday, so I will be busier than usual with my cooking.
I am hoping to get a bunch of meat cooked up on Monday or possibly Sunday afternoon so that I won't have to cook every time we are hungry.

This is so expensive.  We haven't eaten out, but have gone to the grocery store so many times.
We are at the point now that we have to decide what we are going to do to cut our grocery budget.  Decided to stop buying organic fruits & veggies, and just buy organic meats.  This is hard for me as I really wish we could afford all-organic.  But we can't.

Maybe some day!!

-xtina

Day 9 by xtina

I have energy today!  I take one of my daughters to physical therapy every Tuesday afternoon from 3:30-5:00.  I usually completely dread this task as I have been doing it at least once a week for the last 10 years. It is a very draining task because I have to drive across town and then sit in the car so that I can avoid all the drama and cigarette stench the folks in the waiting room cook up.
Today, as my other daughter and I sat in the car, a feeling came over me.  I wasn't completely mentally exhausted.  This is HUGE for me.  Maybe something inside is, in fact, bestowing upon my body a strength that I did not even expect to encounter.
I am very thankful and very hopeful that this feeling will only grow.  Maybe I won't be so tired in my mind and in my heart and I'll be able to DO the things that I dream about doing, as small as some of them may seem.  I envision my family all together in the garage doing WODs.  I can't say this thing inside of me is hope, but it sure feels like it is.  It feels like my cells are jumping around together inside of me shouting "WE CAN DO THIS!"

My sister, Ru, will be coming on board this Monday, YAY!!
We downloaded the paleo cookbook Well Fed today, and I made the chocolate chili tonight.  It is seriously good.  I am not a very good stovetop cook, but even I think I got this recipe right!  Give it a try.  This will definitely be on my family's menu often.

Some other things I am noticing about myself: my skin is looking brighter, my hair is much softer, my lungs do not have fluid in them (I've been trying to get rid of this for almost a year), and I can literally feel my tongue isn't as puffy as it usually is.  I haven't had a headache today or yesterday, but my TMJ feels very flared up.  I'm hoping that subsides or even goes completely away.

I watched Food, Inc. tonight because I couldn't remember what all it dealt with.  It's so sad that most people have no idea what our food chain looks like.  And that food chain is entirely scary.  I felt proud that I know enough and have enough money to buy mostly organic products.  It breaks my heart that others do not, and I wish there was something I could do to help.

I'm off to browse Well Fed some more now!
-xtina

Day 7 by xtina

Hey there!
Since it's Sunday & I'm a bit tired, I'll keep this short.

Breakfast: Smoothie & eggs
Lunch: Spring mix and stir-fry sirloin
Dinner: Chicken breast, spring mix, sweet potato fries (soooo good!)

I hopped onto the scale today (I'm a rule-breaker.  What can I say?) and discovered I have lost 4 lbs. this week!  Amazing!!  And I haven't been hungry for a minute.  Well, except for those minutes when I waited too long to eat...

Give the Whole30 a shot - it can't hurt you!
-xtina

Day 6 by xtina

Well, it's our first Saturday on the Whole30, and it has gone very well!
If you hadn't noticed, I typically cook very simple meals because I don't really enjoy having to go through several steps in order to get some food into my belly.  I usually use my crock pot at least once a week.
However, I LOVE to bake!  So, since we hadn't had any sort of foods that were exciting all week, I decided to give a very simple muffin recipe a try this morning at breakfast.
Here is the recipe:
1.5 cups almond flour
2 eggs
1/8 cup coconut oil
1 banana
handful of blueberries
Squish (or put it all in the food processor) the first 4 items & then gently stir in your berries.
Bake at 350 in a muffin tin for 12-15 mins (mine took about 17 mins)

They were truly delightful!  A bit different tasting due to the use of the almond flour.  But we all scarfed them down along with some Applegate Farms turkey sausages.

I'm so confused on what is considered "breaking the rules" as far as indulgences go.  I think if I were to bake a ton of paleo-cookies and eat a few per day, that is what they caution against...and that my breakfast was all right.  I know other folks probably don't worry about things like that as much as I do, but I have a very type-a personality.

OK Lunch: 2 slices of Applegate Farms deli ham, a cup of chicken/chicken broth, a cup of spinach.

Snack: A small handful of raisins and some macadamia nuts

Dinner: Hamburger patties seasoned w/ homemade mayo & fresh garlic; and spinach

I really want to make some chicken curry, so I will give that a shot probably on Monday while the kids are in school as I don't expect them to like it.

-xtina

Day 5 by xtina

Hey, it's day 5!
I slept great last night, and wasn't grumpy today.  Thankful for both of those things.


Here's what I have eaten today:

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, one large red delicious apple

Lunch: Chicken salad and a big chunk of broccoli, raw

Afternoon snack: Chicken broth w/leftover pieces of roasted chicken in it

Dinner: Haven't eaten it yet, but it will be sirloin steaks and mixed greens or spinach

Whole30 on a budget

Today, I want to talk about how much food to buy and how much it will cost.  All the blogs I see are always using organic everything, and I always wonder what kinds of budgets those folks have.  Mine is terribly small. Our family income is in the "Working Poor" status, so we have to make every penny count!

One thing we do spend a large chunk of money on is our food.  We realize that spending more now is an investment in our family's overall health.  Spending now on quality foods will allow us to make fewer trips to the doctor and to have to pay for fewer prescriptions in the future!  I am excited that we realize that we have control over these factors. It does take some creative budgeting and a true desire to make it work, but it can work, so don't be discouraged.

Before starting the Whole30, we averaged around $140/wk for our family of four: 1Male, 35 years; 3 Females - 30 years, 10years, 10 years.
This first week has been especially hard on our budget because we really had no idea how much food we would "need" to be eating.  And almost all of the food we have consumed so far has been fresh.  So that meant we needed to make a few trips to the store.  We made THREE.  I hate going even once per week, so what I am doing right now will help me consolidate my trips, I believe, and help others with some numbers.

Grocery Details

Based on what I ate this week, I can safely say that I am able to eat three bags of organic, fresh, washed greens per week.  So I know to buy that many now on shopping day (plus whatever I work out for the other members of my family).
As a family, we have gone through three cartons of eggs this week.  We have also eaten two big bunches of bananas, which I know are not the best fruit choice because they are very carb-heavy, but they're something everybody in the house will eat.
We also ate 32 oz. of strawberries, 2 kiwi, several apples and half of a very large bag of frozen blueberries.
As far as our protein goes, I am going to have to take a few minutes to tally that up, but I do know we have had two whole chickens, at least one pound of ground beef, four small sirloin steaks, and almost a whole pack of Applegate Farms beef hot dogs.

I do have a few things of meat in the freezer and still have some bacon and lunch meats in the fridge.  So I won't have to buy hardly any meat this week.
In total, we spent $250 on food this week, so I am going to make a very strong attempt to buy only $50 worth of food during the next week!  I think I can do it - I just need to choose some fruits that are in season, probably, instead of ones that are not.

Anyway, this is just a bit of reality on how this all works.  I don't work outside the home, so if you do, you will need to factor in your time as well.  It might be super hard, but it is ONLY for 30 days!!!  After that, you can add some of your old favorites back into your diet if they still work for you.  But for now - you can do this!

-xtina

Day 4 by xtina

I'm in such a bad mood today!!!
Are you supposed to get grumpy when you are having sugar withdrawals or something?  I need to google that.

Here's what I ate today:

Breakfast:  2 egg whites & two whole eggs, scrambled in olive oil;  Smoothie (same as before - I need to try a green smoothie here soon)

Went to CrossFit at 8am where we worked on handstands and handstand push-ups.  It was pretty hard for me as I have quite a bit of weakness still in my left arm and wrist.  So I am tired from that today.

Snack: Chicken salad (Roasted chicken, homemade mayo, granny smith apples, rosemary, S&P)

Lunch: Chicken salad, 1 cup mixed greens, 3 strawberries

Afternoon Snack (I was hungry today!): Banana w/ almond butter

Dinner: Applegate Farms Organic beef hot dog, mixed greens, 5 strawberries, some macadamia nuts

Snack: Larabar (the apple cinnamon kind, as it is Whole30 compliant - although they say use only in the case of emergency hunger.  Well, I'm sure other people bend the rules a bit too! It was really good, but I had a hard time eating the whole thing.)

I think I am finally full today.  It's just been a rough day for some reason.  And, yes, I have a headache.  I did take some excedrin, though, as the pain is at the base of my skull which leads me to believe it really is just a tension headache stemming from my shoulder/neck problems.  I don't know what a carb- or sugar - headache would feel like, but I don't think this is it.

I hope I wake up much happier tomorrow!!

-xtina

Day 3 by xtina

DAY 3, ALREADY!?

I'm waiting for this one big moment where I'm craving something I cannot have.  It hasn't come yet.

Here's the food I had for the day:
Breakfast: Smoothie (coconut milk, blueberries, banana) and one boiled egg, since that was all that was left.

I went to an 8am yoga class today, and it was lovely.  I feel good that I am using my old gym membership to take this class, and I may start taking some spin classes as well.  But, nothing beats CrossFit Five Flags! :)

Snack: Two slices of the Applegate Farms turkey breast and about 6 leftover sweet potato fries.

I read today that some of the meats from Applegate now include carrageenan, and that is not allowable on the Whole30.  BUT these meats had been endorsed by them even as recently as yesterday, which is why I purchased them.  I will finish them up, though, as I do my best to not be wasteful and respect whatever I plan on eating.

Lunch was AWESOMMME!
I had some more turkey breast and sweet potatoes, but also had a plain mixed-greens salad and some strawberries. It was all so simple and strangely (?) so good.  I always knew that I liked plain and simple things, but today I realized how much I ENJOY them.  It was a great moment of mindfulness.  Thankful for it.

Dinner: Roasted chicken, green beans, and strawberries with a handful of macadamia nuts.

I realized today that I need to eat way more vegetables than what I am eating, and cut down on the fruit.  I would have had another salad, but I ran out of greens already.  Trying to purchase only what I know will be used before it expires.

I'm still tired, sneezy, and pimply.  But something inside of me feels "fresh" I guess is the best word for it.
Happy Wednesday!

-xtina

Day 2 by xtina

Happy Tuesday!
Here is a rundown of how things have gone since yesterday.

I slept like total crap!  I couldn't fall asleep for hours, and I usually have a very on-time schedule of being in bed by no later than 10pm & waking up around 6am.  Not sure why I slept so poorly last night.  That was a bummer.

Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs w/ salt & pepper.  Black coffee.  Smoothie (coconut milk, blueberries, banana).  I was much more full today because I put a whole banana in the blender.

Dale and I did some yoga at the gym today at 10am - it was fun. I'm going back again tomorrow morning.

Lunch: Sirloin steak seasoned w/ S&P, cooked in a bit of olive oil on the stove top.  (It was amazingly delicious.)  Also had about a cup and a half of salad greens.  Very good lunch.

Afternoon Snack: 1 banana and a few macadamia nuts

Dinner:  Sauteed chicken tenderloins seasoned w/ S&P and paprika.  Sweet potato french fries.  These were really good.  I made enough of them for us to eat at lunch tomorrow.

I have a headache again this evening. My jaw also hurts pretty badly (I have TMJ).  And I am sneezing quite a bit today.  Dale did some vacuuming in our bedroom while I made dinner, so I hope my allergies will chill out now.

Oh, we purchased some Applegate Farms lunch meats and bacon today, so that will help a bit when I am starving and need to eat right away.

- xtina

Day 1 by xtina

Today went relatively well!
Here is a rundown of what I ate:

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled, cooked in ghee; smoothie (coconut milk, banana, blueberries)

On-the-go Snack: raisins & a few macadamia nuts; black coffee

Lunch: 1 filet tilapia, 10 shrimp seasoned with Old Bay, 1.5 cups of raw spinach, a small sliver of avocado.  I'm trying to learn to like avocado!

Afternoon Snack: 3 slices of a very large red apple with 1 tbsp. almond butter

Dinner: Meatballs and green beans.  I think this recipe has way too much cumin.  I used 1 tbsp and that was still a bit too much.  I think next time I'd make the meatballs about 1/2 inch instead of 1 inch.  They weren't bad, but my kids didn't care too much for them.

I've had a dull headache all day, but that really is normal for me.  It could be tension rather than a withdrawal symptom.  Also, my eyes have been very itchy today which I usually attribute to seasonal allergies.  Keeping an eye on this (ha) to see if, by chance, this improves due to diet.

I haven't had a strong craving for anything today.



-xtina

The Night Before by xtina

In the morning, I am starting the Whole30 challenge.  I have never done anything like this before, and I am certainly a bit nervous about being able to stick with it.  But, I am encouraged by the testimonials I have found via the Whole30's website, so I'm starting with a large reserve of resolve.

I am hoping to see changes in the following ways:
Weight Loss
Reduce Acne
Reduce Seasonal Allergies
Reduce Eczema
Reduce Headaches/Migraines
Reduce Sugar Cravings
Gain Energy

Right now, I eat sugar every day and take medication for headaches almost every day.
I am very tired; I take one nap per day almost daily.
My beginning weight is 208 lbs.  My height is 6'0".  At the end of the challenge, I will post before and after photos.

Joining me on this blog are Dale and Ru.  They will be posting their own stories here as well.
We hope to provide an in-depth look at what it is like to participate in this challenge, and hope that you will join one in the future!

-xtina