My Whole30 Experience - I made it 15 days - I'll get you next time Whole30

DAY 1

Dinner Day 1

This dinner made the whole thing feel easy.  My husband and I already eat a lot of whole, nutrient dense foods. I pride myself on making nearly all of my recipes from scratch and from whole foods.  I have cleaned my recipes up quite a bit as my little site has grown.  I have always preferred vegetable over fruit, so staying away from sugary fruits is not an issue for me.  

I didn't find this first day to be too challenging.  As I have stated before, this isn't that different from how I normally eat.  However, I must admit that I am a complete quesophile as well as a coffee junkie.  The only thing that was hard about Day 1 was not having coffee.  While I realize that I am allowed to have coffee during my Whole30, I can't drink it black.  I am a cream and sweetener type of girl.  If I'm being honest, I would drink a quad caramel sauce mocha every day if my waist line and pocket book could afford it.  It is a little sad to admit this but by the end of day 1, I had a pretty raging headache that I can only assume was from a lack of caffeine. First world problems!

WORKOUTS - Today I went through a pretty extensive warm-up and then did my WOD at Rainier Crossfit - Run 200m, 15 cleans, 10 Jumping Pull-Ups (5 Rounds for time)
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DAY 2

Dinner Day 2 

This was dinner tonight. This is a little something I like to call "The tail end of the groceries" a.k.a "We need to go shopping" BUT it still tasted delicious. It was a mixture of ground turkey, ground beef, garlic, mushrooms, water chestnuts, organic tomato paste, avocado and green onions. Served with lemon pepper green beans. I'm feeling this whole30 thing out as I go and constantly researching.  Not sure if I was supposed to have tomato paste but the only ingredient was organic tomatoes so I think it was fine. So far it is proving easier than I thought it would. Although I really wanted a glass of red wine tonight.  Okay, let's be honest... I really wanted 2 or 3 glasses of red wine tonight.


WORKOUTS - Today it was a chilly 32 degrees but sunny.  I decided it was the perfect day to get outdoors for a run.  I did a 5k around my neighborhood.

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DAY 3

Snack Day 3 

I had hoped to get a better picture than this but it was the only one I remembered to take.  This is not an uncommon snack for me on any given day.  At some point throughout the day I will usually have anywhere from 1-3 hard boiled eggs.  I LOVE them.  Can't get enough.  I hated them for many years and now I am surely making up for lost time.  Eggs and avocados...Two of my best fatty friends!

 Today I learned that I am such a coffee junkie that I can actually tolerate just having my coffee with a splash of approved almond milk and with putting a little bit of cinnamon in with the coffee grounds.  If you know me at all, then you would know what a sacrifice this is.  I should stop my whining now.  Overall I am loving this challenge so far.

WORKOUTS - Today is did a wod at home. Run 200m, 21/15/9 Kettlbell Swings, Vertical Rows, AbMat Sit-Ups, Run 200m.

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DAY 4

We have done the last three days just trying to use up the very last of our groceries while we waited to get paid so that we could go grocery shopping.  I was actually pretty impressed with what we were able to throw together.  But today we went major grocery shopping and got ourselves set up for the next week or two.  I love to photograph food.  It is just a naturally beautiful subject.  Today I felt great and had a lot of energy.  I still really want a glass of wine :)

Lunch Day 4

Today for lunch I made a steak salad with balsamic marinated flat iron steak, with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and garlic.  It also had sun-dried tomatoes, yellow and orange bell peppers, and avocado.  Not only was it paleo and Whole30 approved, it was also low-carb, gluten-free, and dairy free.  It was so good just as it was, that we didn't even miss the dressing.  You can find the recipe on my HERE

WORKOUTS - Today was a rest day

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DAY 5

Breakfast Day 5

Breakfast today was with the leftover steak from yesterdays steak salad dinner, sauteed onions, mushrooms, and garlic, on top of scrambled eggs.  I would not have thought that balsamic marinated steak would taste good with eggs, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I was so full of energy that I had a really hard time falling asleep last night.  My mind was reeling with new recipe ideas, workouts, blog posts I wanted to write etc.  It took me forever to finally fall asleep and then I still woke up bright and early ready to tackle the day.  I'm not sure if the increased energy is a direct result of the Whole30 or not, but I'll take it. I felt a little thinner all over today.  I think the dairy bloat has subsided and my insides are already thanking me for treating them so well this week. 

Snack Day 5

This snack shows what "Taste the Rainbow" should actually mean.  My husband and I noshed on organic baby carrots, sun-dried tomatoes, raw almonds, avocado, and yellow bell peppers.  It was surprisingly satisfying.  I do have to confess that I obsessed about having a mocha all day today.  I'm not sure that the thought left my mind even once.  BUT, I am determined and will see this through.  It's only 30 days and so far I love it. 

WORKOUTS - Today I did the RKS Kettlebell Routines 1 & 2 - Workout One: (20 min) This workout is 16 sets of kettlebell swings. You perform a two handed swing for 30 seconds which is followed by 45 seconds of active rest.

Workout Two: (16 min) This is a five exercise circuit; each exercise is performed for 30 seconds followed 30 seconds of active recovery. Exercises include: deadlifts, rows, goblet lunges, sling shot, plank. Each circuit is followed by a one minute recovery.

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DAY 6

Dinner Day 6

Dinner tonight was grilled pork loin chops, oven roasted sweet potatoes, asparagus and a couple of pieces of bacon just for good measure.  I was missing my daily bacon fix.  Finding bacon that contains no sugar is not an easy feat but it was worth looking for.  I love, love, love sweet potatoes and easily could have eaten 10 times the amount that I did.  But, I was good and only had a serving.  This was the first and only real starch I have had this week so far.  I was sleepy and crabby all day and had to force myself to workout.  I don't know if the lethargy was related to Whole30 or not as sometimes I can just be a complete crab apple. I still really want a mocha and a glass of wine or 10. That hasn't changed.

WORKOUTS -  20 minutes Tabata Intervals - 20 seconds work - 10 seconds rest
Warm Up
4 rounds - High Knees
4 rounds - Mountain Climbers
4 Rounds - Squat Jumps
4 Rounds - Burpees
4 Rounds - Jumping Lunges
4 Rounds - Speed Bags
4 Rounds - Speed Skaters
Cool Down

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DAY 7

 Breakfast Day 7

Are you noticing a theme here with the avocados?  I am obsessed.  I simply can't get enough.  They are so creamy and delicious.  Not to mention an amazing source of healthy fats and a great source of Vitamin E.  This breakfast was two 3 oz. Grilled pork loin chops, 2 over-medium eggs and half of an avocado.  Today I had crazy amounts of energy.  I felt like I was flying high on some nice organic sumatra.  But I wasn't :(  I was just so energized after my workout and it stayed with me all day.  In fact, it stayed with me a little too long and I could not sleep at all.  I managed about 5 low-quality hours at best.  Now that I am a full week in, I am noticing quite a few changes already.  I have zero cravings.  This is a pretty monumental thing for me.  In the past, even when I was staying 100% on plan, the cravings were still there but I just got through them by sheer will and determination.  My inner fat girl had an epic love affair with nacho cheese Doritos for many years and even though they broke up, she still beckons for them.  My inner badass strong chick kicks her in the face and tells her to eat some bacon and get over it.  I love my inner badass chick.  She rocks!  At any rate, since eating so clean during my Whole30, the cravings are gone.  Food is finally just becoming the enjoyable fuel it is meant to be.  After only one full week, food no longer feels like a crutch, a shoulder to cry on, on a way to cure my emotional baggage.  I eat when my body tells me to and I eat whole foods that satisfy me.  It's pretty remarkable what a difference a week can make.  Our bodies truly are miraculous things. 

WORKOUTS - Today was another day at Rainier Crossfit - I worked on skills for box jumps, jumping pull-ups, snatches, and double-unders.  This was followed by a WOD that consisted of 21/15/19 - Snatches and Box Jumps.  Time 5:21

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DAY 8

Dinner Day 8

Tonights dinner consisted of sirloin steak, oven roasted vegetables and a nice big salad.  After playing around with a few different combination, I found a way to make a dressing I really actually love.  I mixed avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, onion salt and red pepper flakes.  I think this is something that I will continue to use even after my Whole30 is over.  Today was pretty stressful.  I was buried in a mountain of work coupled with a never ending to-do list.  Some of it will simply have to carry over to tomorrow.  The brightest part of my day was that I got to spend some time with my sister whom I adore.  We did our workout together, ate a healthy lunch and then wrote out some goals and planning for 2013. 

WORKOUTS -  My goal for today was to make double-unders my bitch.  I'm not quite there yet but I did make some progress and managed to string a few together. 

 For the double-unders in the WOD, I just tripled the number of the jumps for each round.  Example, instead of 50 DU for the first round, I did 150 single jumps.  Time 6:23.  My sis got me the WODBOOK in the picture below.  It's pretty awesome and so is she.

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DAY 9

 Dinner Day 9

Dinner tonight was lemon pepper flounder served with broccoli bacon amandine.  Both recipes will be up on my site soon.  It was nice and light and delicious.  I was pretty tired all day today.  I think it was because I got up at 5am to go do my workout.  Normally my morning workouts keep me completely energized throughout the day but today was different and I think it was just because my workout came about 4 hours earlier than normal.  Still no food cravings, which is great.  But I am really missing having more beverage options.  I am not a tea drinker and most of the other beverages I would normally drink are off limits.  It's just been all water, water, water.  I feel better each day that I get further into this.  It's hard to explain but I just feel all around better.  I feel like I am more focused and like my mind is not as foggy.  I can feel my body changing after only one week.

Today I deadlifted 175 lbs.  That was pretty exciting.  I felt strong but I also felt like my form had a lot of room for improvement.  But that's okay, I'm new to crossfit and I'll get there.

WORKOUTS - Today was another day at Rainier Crossfit -  

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DAY 10

Snack Day 10

Today for a snack I made some roasted spicy citrus nuts.  I used raw almonds, cashews, and pepitas.  They were delicious.  I definitely over indulged on these.  I feel like I ate too much today overall.  I ate all the right things but I just had larger portions of everything than I should have.  I was really crabby all day today.  I think it was because my back is pretty sore from yesterdays lifting and work was really frustrating.  On a cold, frustrating day like today, I would normally treat myself to a delicious soul soothing mocha.  No such luck today.  I'm 20 days away from that still.  Although I am still not having any cravings, the thought of a sushi date with my husband tonight sounded mighty appealing.  Obviously that did not happen either.  But this is what we did have for dinner.  A chicken saute with roasted sweet potatoes on the side.

WORKOUTS - Today was an unplanned rest day due to my back :(

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DAY 11

Breakfast Day 11

Today we watched the extremely intense Seahawks Vs. Falcons game.  Sad day for my Hawks.  My sweet husband went on a massive hunt to find Whole30 compliant breakfast meats.  This is no easy task but it was so worth it.  We had chicken sausage, uncured natural bacon, scrambled eggs with caramelized onions, and a sweet potato, veggie hash that my lovely friend Ashley brought.  It was absolutely delicious.  Rookie QB Russell Wilson joined us for breakfast.  He even went back for seconds.  

We had friends over for the game.  They were all very supportive of our Whole30 restrictions.  It was quite sweet actually.  They all brought things that were Whole30 compliant.  They even drank their coffee the way we were having ours.  This was the first football get together that did not include alcohol.  We felt very loved by our friends that they cared enough to ask all the necessary questions and be a part of this challenge with us, even if only for a day.  It was a great day. (Minus the Falcons winning in the final seconds)

My giant hand gives Day 11 a big wounded thumbs up.

WORKOUTS - Today was a planned rest day!

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DAY 12

Lunch Day 12

Today for lunch I had my Chili-Lime Grilled Prawns with Avocado-Feta salsa.  I of course omitted the soy sauce and the feta to make it Whole30 compliant.  It was delicious as always.  Meals like this hardly feel restrictive.  You can find the recipe for it here - http://peaceloveandlowcarb.blogspot.com/2012/09/chili-lime-grilled-prawns-w-avocado.html

Today I spent a little time doing some food prep for my husband and I for the next couple days.  I also wanted to do this so that I could post it on my Facebook to show people how easy it is to plan ahead and reduce the amount of temptation in your life. These meals took me just over an hour to make them all from scratch.  I made breakfast scrambles, salads, chicken and vegetable soup, grilled pork loin chops with orange cauliflower mash, and snacks.  I just love photographing food.  So many bright, beautiful colors. 

Anyone who knows me at all, knows that two of my favorite things are skulls and red wine.  This beautiful bottle of red is waiting for me come February :)

WORKOUTS - Today was another day at Rainier Crossfit.  I just love it there.  Every time I go there, I feel stronger and even more proud of myself.  My back was so sore for a few days that I was a little concerned when I saw the wod for today.  But I went in there and rocked it out and left feeling sweaty and accomplished.  

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DAY 13

Lunch Day 13

Today for lunch I had some of the chicken and vegetable soup that I prepped yesterday.  It was so delicious.  I love how some foods are better the next day once all of the flavors have had a chance to really come together.  This was definitely one of them.  Today I had a lot of energy all day and got quite a bit done.  I have decided to cut back on my sweet potatoes, and nuts for the rest of the month and maybe have them only once per week. I tend to go overboard and not be mindful of my portions when eating these two foods.  I am proud to announce that I drank a cup of black coffee today... and enjoyed it.  I never thought that day would come.

WORKOUTS - I started my morning off at Rainier Crossfit.  I love it more every day.  Each time I go there I see true athletes doing things that have me in complete awe of their strength.  It gets me so excited for reaching new PR's for myself and watching myself continue to develop as an athlete. 

Later in the day I did a "Deck of Death" workout.

I saw the idea on BL last night and loved it. You take a deck of cards and assign an exercise to each suit. Then you randomly flip the cards and do the corresponding exercise the number of times on the card. You keep doing this until you have gone through all of the cards. Face cards are ten reps. Aces are 11 reps. This works out to be 95 reps of each exercise. It is a butt kicker. But it was a super fun way to mix things up. I assigned mine like this:

Spades - Jumping Jacks
Hearts - AbMat Sit-Ups
Diamonds - Kettlebell Swings
Clubs - Double Unders

It took me 23:24 to complete (In the name of full disclosure I did not do 95 double unders. On about half of the DU cards I just tripled the number on the card and did single jumps.)

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DAY 14

Breakfast Day 14

Today I made my "Potatoes" O'brien using rutabaga and had it with over medium-eggs.  Delish!  You can find the recipe here - "Potatoes" Obrien.  I have found rutabaga to be a great alternative to potatoes and have made several recipes with them.  

Dinner day 14

Tonight for dinner we had grilled pork loin chops with oven roasted vegetables.  This is actually a pretty common dinner in our home.  I could eat roasted vegetables all day, every day.  The further into this we get, the more I am amazed.  Tonight my husband and I were talking about how great we feel.  My body is starting to feel like a well oiled machine.  My energy levels are increased, and my stress has decreased.  It's incredible.  I am normally a pretty emotionally cluttered person and my mind is always racing at a breakneck pace.  But being two weeks into this I feel a new sense of mental clarity and an overall sense of calm.  I am more focused, and tackling my never-ending to-do list in an organized and productive manner.  I just feel all around great. A girl could definitely get used to this.

WORKOUTS - I started my morning off at Rainier Crossfit again. I got to try something brand new to me.  It was called a Yoke Carry.  I felt so burly and awesome.  I carried 265 lbs.  Then it was followed by 10 Kettlebell snatches and 5 burpees (As many rounds as possible in 5 minutes.)  Brief but butt kicking. 

Here is a video of a yolk carry

In the evening I did another "Deck of Death" workout but I forced my husband to do it with me.

Spades - Tricep Extensions
Hearts - Bicep Curls
Diamonds - Mountain Climbers
Clubs - Abmat Sit-Ups
For added torture, we used jokers and did 10 Burpees when we flipped a Joker card

It took me 29:20 to complete and it took my husband 24:37 

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DAY 15

Snack Day 15

Today I snacked on some hard boiled eggs.  I eat hard boiled eggs every day and never get tired of natures perfect food.  I ground a little onion salt over them.  I could have eaten 10 more.  A lot of mornings I am simply not hungry but I realize how important it is to eat breakfast so when this happens I just eat a couple of hard boiled eggs to at least get something besides coffee in my stomach.  I read somewhere once that a good way to gauge whether you are actually hungry or just emotional eating or eating out of boredom is to have hard boiled eggs in your fridge and if you are truly hungry you would even eat the egg.  I see the logic behind this and I definitely agree that a trick like this could work.  BUT I love hard boiled eggs so much that I am not sure that it would work for me.  

Tonight for dinner we grilled up some steaks.  This is an old picture but we had the same cut and used the same seasoning.  I just forgot to take a picture of tonights dinner.  My husband is such a carnivore.  He could eat meat, with a side of meat on top of meat.  I asked my husband (his name is Jon) I'll just start calling him by his name... So, I asked Jon how he felt about Whole30 so far.  He said it was sort of hard to describe but that he felt like his body was no longer full of poisons and that he has a lot more energy and feels very clear headed.  He said he would love for us to keep eating this way.  I may add in some things here and there but I definitely want to keep my diet a lot cleaner.  I have't felt this great in a long time. The last few days I have really been craving protein shakes.  I think it is just because I have been doing 2-a-days all week and I love post workout protein shakes.  My workouts have felt so much more powerful lately.  I feel unstoppable. 

WORKOUTS - Today was another morning at Rainier Crossfit Thursdays are usually skills training days.  Today I working on Snatch balances, and squat snatches.  I was more focused on perfecting my form today than I was on the weight that I was lifting.

Later in the day I went on a brisk 2 mile walk with my bff.  It was so cold outside but also really sunny.  I love winter days like that.

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DAY 16

This is the beginning of my "Come Clean" post.  After 15 days of holding strong and feeling all the wonderful changes taking place from the first half of my Whole30 experience, I gave into temptation.  I started the day off strong.  I went to the crossfit and the wod was really intense.  By the end of it, I had a raging headache but I felt so strong and accomplished.  The headache stayed with me all day, even after I came home and ate a healthy breakfast.  My first mistake was not getting up early enough to eat before I went to the gym.  I also think I may have overdone it just a bit with my workouts this week.  My second mistake was poor preparation heading into week three.  We were getting short on groceries and I was getting bored with my food choices.  None of these things are meant to sound like excuses.  I am just explaining the things that in hindsight may have contributed to my demise.  Breakfast, lunch and snacks for Day 16 were right on target...  Then... This happened.

and then this...

I shouldn't say these things "happened".  I did these things.  I ate and drank these things.  Jon and I went out to sushi and then after sushi we stopped for coffee.  In the moment, I didn't regret it.  I told myself that we had done amazing for 15 days and that it was no big deal.  When I got home I was reminded of just how much your body can change in only 15 days.  I got violently ill and it all came right back up.  I felt like it was a waste of money and also a waste of 15 perfect days.  

WORKOUTS - I was up bright and early and at Rainier Crossfit by 6am.  Here was the workout for today.

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DAY 17

I started Day 17 off in a productive manner.  I was up early and I ran a 5k in 28 degree weather.  I didn't feel very great when I woke up but I pushed through it and did it anyway.

Then we went out for a post race breakfast.  I had every intention of getting steak and eggs and asking for all the necessary changes to make it a compliant meal.  Mistake #1 of this day was that we went to one of our favorite breakfast places.  Let's just say that I did not go with the steak and eggs :( I did however make much wiser choices than I would have before ever attempting Whole30.  That in itself is a win in my book, all things considered.  

For months we have had plans to go to a hockey game with a big group of friends.  Everyone was meeting for dinner before hand and we let them all know in advance that we would not be attending dinner and that we were not going to drink at the game.  I gave into a mentality that I thought I had long ago abandoned.  Some old behaviors crept in and I thought "Why not just make a day of it? And that we did.

I'm not mad at myself.  I'm not even really disappointed.  So this time I did a Whole15.  Next time I will complete a Whole30.  This is not to say that I don't take it seriously.  I have just spent enough time in my life beating myself up and making myself feel guilty.  I was the Queen of self-loathing for so long.  I can't live my life like that anymore.  The very best thing I can do for myself is to simply pick myself up and carry on.  I take full responsibility for my actions and I do not blame anyone else.  I also learned some important lessons that will help me make it 30 days on my next go at it.  I've learned that I can never underestimate the importance of preparedness.  Next time around I will not let us get low on groceries.  I will not take myself to places that I know will cause temptation.  Also, I may just have to succumb to the fact that outings with friends are nearly impossible while trying to successfully complete a Whole30.  

Things happen.  Life happens.  I am human.  I am not perfect.  But I can and will start this over and actually complete it. 

I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME WHOLE30!!!!!

Click Here - To learn about the Whole30 Program

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