Day 31

Yesterday was day 31.  The day I woke up knowing I'd completed what I set out to do: 30 days of clean eating.  And now I could go back to the supercarbsumption (as the It Starts With Food book puts it) I had been used to.  I could eat cold cereal with milk again, cream in my coffee, a tamale for lunch, pizza and a coke for dinner... I was free!  But I was afraid of this freedom.  I woke up and without worry added a teaspoon of honey to my coffee but opened the fridge, looked at that half n half bottle, thought about how good my middle felt and put it back on the shelf.  My sweet black coffee was perfect!  My husband had ordered some Paleo Crunch Apple Pie mix that he couldn't have (walnuts in it) and I couldn't have during my Whole30 (honey in it), but now I looked at it like it was my chance to eat an apple fritter.  Honey, cinnamon, almond meal, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and dried apples never tasted so good!! Mmm. Mmm.


I packed my lunch: The rest of the Paleo Crunch Mix, some sliced strawberries and pineapple on a bed of spring mix with grilled chicken thighs and avocado, some herbal teas and a water bottle.

Strangely enough, I went to work and everybody and their brother had brought baked goods, valentine's treats, and other supercarb delectibles that were calling my name.  I kid you not, this happened not one time during my Whole30, but on day 31... geez!  Talk about a test. ( I couldn't help the whole day think of this as a picture of a spiritual truth I'll explore on my other blog.)  But, because I was scared I'd feel terrible, I resisted and didn't eat any of those goodies.

But yesterday was also a (INFORMATION VIOLATION WARNING!) bad menstrual cramps day and I think the volume of ibuprofen I had taken had done a number on my stomach- either that or my stomach was fighting the stomach flu about half the kids in the school I care for seemed to have- so I was not wanting to put ANYTHING in my mouth besides chicken broth or 7-Up.

This set me up for failure when my boss came into my office offering me a 32 oz. cherry limeade from Sonic.  (By the way, besides a handful of friends at work, most of my co-workers do not know I'm doing this Whole30.  People look at this tall skinny chic funny when she talks about eating healthy as though I were trying too loose weight (which I don't need to do) and I just didn't feel like trying to explain myself.  I'm not dieting.  I'm trying to be healthier.  I wish we all would think more that way.  Anyway, that's another post.)  My knotted up, aching stomach was crying, "Please drink some of that soda and ease my suffering!"  So I took one sip and waited half an hour.   I didn't spontaneously combust and my tummy felt a little eased, so I took one more sip.  I decided that's as far as I was going to go with sugar.   I actually intended to take the soda home and let my kids have it, but I forgot about it and left it at work which really irked me cause I hate wasting money!  (I was going to say wasting food, but then again, it's not really food.  It's something sweet you can drink.  I felt bad that my boss had purchased it for me and I just left it there on my desk!)

So I made it through my day at work basically fasting for fear of dying of sugar overdose and having nothing on hand that would ease my already aching abdomen (my salad with chicken, strawberries, pineapple and avocado sounded like acid to my wounded belly).

When I got home my husband was all ready to celebrate my 30 day finish with a dinner out, but that got squashed in favor of ordering in.  We decided on pizza and I decided on a gluten-free crust for me... I knew what would happen to my gut if I went with a standard pizza crust.  So we ordered the pizzas and I whipped up a chicken egg-drop soup and gobbled it up, hoping the ginger and vegetable broth would act like a healing balm on my torn-up tummy.  It did.  Awwww.  Better.  So while we further waited for the pizza I made another chocolate pudding using an avocado this time, based off of this recipe.  It turned out great.   I used a banana and a little more honey than she did.  Definitely a clean desert treat that tastes like it's a dirty-delicious processed delicacy.

When the pizza came the aroma was intoxicating.  I looked up, thanked God for whoever invented pizza, and dove into my gluten-free pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza.  I ate the entire 10 inch pizza myself in a half hour!  Honestly, I was quite surprised that I didn't feel that achy-head-burning-tongue-and-itchy-skin-knocked-out-fatigue feeling I usually get within 5 minutes of eating typical pizza.  So gluten-free has that advantage for me.  But sugar has a more stealth violence on me that I would later experience.

About an hour after we finished eating I began (WARNING- UNLADYLIKE WORDS AHEAD!) the loud belching that has previous plagued me.  Ok, this is something only close friends and family know about me:  Belching is very unladylike and its also something I live with and let out only in the privacy of my own home.  In the past, a swollen, gassy, bloated, tender, aching, belching, aware-of-my-heavy-throbbing-descending-colon me walked around everyday trying to act normal, holding her bloated belling in.  As soon as the belching came last night, I looked up at my husband and said, "You know what, I haven't burped in a month!"  "You're right!"  he agreed surprisingly.  By this morning I have an unhealthy awareness of my tender descending colon that I shouldn't have and am belching like a drunken brutish woman.

It's not worth it.

My resolve is stronger.  I'll keep honey.  I'll try kefir.  I'll creatively come up with tasty grain-free treats.  I'll eat a deconstructed pizza with veggies, but I won't go back to stuff I can eat, when I have the freedom to eat something real! 

My Whole30 Journal Part 2

OK, so this is a bit late following up on my first post.  It's also a bit (a lot) long.

Day 7:  Black coffee, eggs and chorizo, slice of leftover frittata, herbal tea, handful of cashews, banana, eggs and chorizo on a bed of baby spinach, blueberries, pulled pork, cabbage slaw, green beans, herbal tea.

I forgot to mention: On day six I did 6 sets of 10 strict pushups without having to go to my knees.  The last time I tried to do strict pushups (a couple weeks before this challenge) I could only do 5 strict pushups without going to my knees.  Five.  Not five sets.  Five pushups.  I did SIXTY pushups on day 6 of my challenge.  I don't know if its all in my head or this food is already making a difference.  But I feel strong and I like it!

Today I feel good.  No bloating, but I'm tired.  Probably still reeling from withdrawal from sugar.

Day 8: Black tea, 1/2 sweet potato, baked apple, 3 eggs with baby spinach, banana, cashews, pulled pork with green beans and 1/2 sweet potato, Lara bar, more pulled pork with cauliflower and broccoli.

Day 9: Black coffee, 2 eggs with baby spinach and a small sweet potato, apple, herbal tea, Lara bar, Thai curry soup with chicken, some bites of chicken thigh, Thai curry soup with chicken and butternut squash, bite of salmon frittata

 (Thai Curry Chicken Soup)

I weighed myself at work today.  I never weigh myself.  I don't struggle with weight so I just don't ever weigh.  But I thought I'd document, out of curiosity, any change in weight I might experience over this 30 days.  So on day 9 I (a 38 year old, 5 foot 11 inch, blonde, un-coordinated, non-athletic, skinny chic) weighed 152 lbs.

Day 10: Coffee, 1/2 grapefruit, salmon frittata, apple, Lara bar, Thai curry chicken soup with butternut squash, tea, chicken thigh with sweet potato, 1chicken sausage with sauerkraut, carrot and cucumber slaw, olives, 1/4 sweet potato.

 (Apple Chicken Sausage with sauerkraut)

 

(Carrot and cucumber slaw)

Day 11: Bacon, salmon frittata, coffee, apple, left over roasted chicken thigh, carrot and cucumber slaw, butternut squash, Lara bar, blueberries and cashews, Chipotle salad, apple with sweet potato.

My husband stopped at Chipotle for dinner on the way home and picked me up a salad.  Chipotle is the only place I can go out to eat right now and know I'm eating something clean.

Day 12:  Coffee, salmon frittata, apple with sweet potato, chicken sausage sauerkraut, butternut squash, Lara bar, tea, blueberries, Caldo with chorizo and pulled pork.

 (10 scrambled eggs with beef chorizo)

Day 13:  Coffee, applesauce, eggs with chorizo and spinach, Caldo, blueberries, Lara bar, a handful of the Paleo Kit granola, chorizo and eggs.


I found out after eating a handful of the Paleo Kit granola my husband ordered that it has honey in it!  Bummer!  It's totally delicious.  I'm not craving chocolate cake anymore, I'm craving this Paleo Kit!  It's the first thing I'm going to eat (besides my coffee with honey in it) when I finish this challenge.

Day 14:  Coffee, chorizo, eggs, spinach, unsweetened applesauce, Caldo, apple, blueberries, Lara bar, olives, applesauce, pulled pork and salad.

Day 15:  Coffee, chorizo, eggs, spinach, applesauce, Lara bar, Caldo, Chicken/Shrimp with veggies and mushroom broth from Hayashi grill.

As soon as I ate a bite of this, which I ordered specifically because I figured it would be sugar/grain free, I knew I'd been duped!  My tongue started to tingle.  I had a headache, diarrhea and hyperactive bowels that was making sounds like a washing machine by the time we got home.  UGH!  NOT WORTH IT!  Note to self: read labels, don't go out to eat, start your own clean food restaurant someday.

(This is probably what I ate on day 16 for dinner since I don't see it written down anywhere else. Pulled pork, sweet potato and salad)

Day 16:  I didn't write it down!  I was starting to get into the swing of what I'm eating at this point and two days past and I realized I hadn't written down what I ate.  I could remember the previous day, but not the day before that.  It was probably very similar to day 17's meals... I just don't remember at this point.

(This was a lifesaver for me.  When I really wanted the texture of smooth and sweet this did the trick!)

Day 17:  Eggs, shredded pork, spinach, coffee, Lara bar, apple, shredded pork, 1/2 sweet potato, cabbage slaw, applesauce, chicken and sweet potato/beet chips (Sweets and Beets), coconut milk banana ice cream.

Planning and preparation is a must.  I'm realizing what I buy and prep on Sunday only lasts thru Wednesday

(Sweet potato pancake fail!)

Day 18:  Tea, banana, zucchini, apple, sweet potato pancake (a recipe fail!), bacon, coffee, 1/2 grapefruit, pulled pork, cabbage slaw, avocado, tea, 1 1/2 organic grass-fed beef hot dog, broccoli, sweet potato, Lara bar, Sweets and Beets with homemade salsa.

Eating like this is expensive.  In two weeks we've spent about $450 on food.  Gulp.  I know.  So basically my job is so I can buy healthy food for the family.  Hmm.  I've got to work on making this more budget friendly.  Things like Lara bars, Sweets and Beets, organic grass-fed beef hot dogs, bacon and ground beef are going to have to go.  I'll give thanks and bless the industrial food beef and eat it.  

 (Sweet Potato casserole from failed sweet potato pancake batter. Redeemed, but not my favorite.)

Day 19:  Tea, sweet potato casserole with pork, Lara bar, cabbage salad with sweet potato casserole and pulled pork, 1/2 pink grapefruit, Lara bar, frittata with chorizo.

 (Tuna Salad with avocado and homemade paleo mayo)

 (Paleo Mayo: recipe here)

 (*Secret* Ingredient Spaghetti sauce and spaghetti squash)

Day 20:  Tea, frittata, tuna salad with avocado (made with homemade paleo mayo), veggie chips, applesauce, Lara bar, homemade spaghetti sauce with spaghetti squash.

I made paleo may today:  YUM!  Expensive to make, but if used only with tuna once a week I think its worth it!  The veggie chips are from the same people that make the Sweets and Beets and are just plain goodness.  I discovered a trick to giving the homemade spaghetti sauce the little bit of sweet it needs to not taste like plain tomato sauce with herbs.  The secret is unsweetened applesauce.  I know it sounds weird but it does the trick and thickens up the sauce too.  Tastes delish!

(Thai curry shrimp soup)

 

 (The coconut milk and curry paste I used)

Day 21:  Tea, coffee, bacon, frittata, applesauce, Lara bar, apple, Mediterranean veggie chips, spaghetti sauce on spinach, Thai curry shrimp soup.

I discovered the Mediterranean veggie chips have sugar in them.  Head slap!  I should know by now: If it has flavor and it comes in a wrapper, READ THE LABEL!  I just assumed cause it was made by the Sweets and Beets people it was good.  The Sweets and Beets are good, and the plain veggie chips, but not the Mediterranean flavor.  I'm experimenting with curry.  I didn't think I would like it, but I do! The soup was delish.  (By the way, I'll post all my recipes in separate posts so look for them later if you'd like).

(Pineapple coconut milk ice cream)

Day 22: Tea, coffee, bacon, 2 eggs, spinach, applesauce, Lara bar, apple, Sweets and Beets, Thai curry shrimp soup, pineapple coconut milk ice cream (YUM!)

Day 23:  Tea, coffee, chorizo and eggs with yellow squash and spinach, veggie chips, Thai curry shrimp and chicken soup, Lara bar, strawberries, Lara bar, eggs and chorizo.

Day 24:  Tea, applesauce, chorizo and zucchini, soup, pulled pork, apple, Lara bar, pulled pork, salad, sweet potato, tea.

 (Chicken sausage sweet potato and apple breakfast hash)

 

(Slow cooker green curry chicken on spinach)

Day 25: Tea, coffee, breakfast hash (chicken sausage/apple/sweet potato, YUM!), Lara bar, green Thai curry slow cooker chicken thighs on spinach, jerky and coconut with strawberries (Steve's Original), green Thai chicken with salad, strawberries, pineapple, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, applesauce.

(Frittata with pulled pork and chorizo)

Day 26:  Applesauce, coffee, frittata with pulled pork and chorizo, breakfast hash, olives Lara bar, Beets and Sweets, Paradise bakery salad with no dressing, tea, Sweets and Beets.

Day 27:  Coffee, tea, frittata, applesauce, ground chicken and veggie stir fry, apple, veggie chips, tea, organic grass-fed hot dog, frittata

 (Breakfast skillet: chorizo, apple, and sweet potato with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon)

Day 28:  Coffee, tea, eggs, chorizo, breakfast skillet (chorizo, apple and sweet potato), ground chicken/veggie stir fry, strawberries, Beets and Sweets, tea, chorizo, ground chicken/veggie stir fry, applesauce.

(Day 28 dinner: Leftover chorizo, Left over ground chicken/veggie stir fry with cabbage leaves to roll it up in.)

Day 29: Coffee, tea, chorizo and eggs, apple, 1/2 Lara bar, frittata, salted chocolate banana pudding, chorizo and eggs.

 

 (Salted Chocolate Banana Pudding)

Information violation:  I have had 2 periods this month!  I don't know if it's my diet or 16 months shy of being 40. Good news:  my salted chocolate banana pudding is as medicinally healing to me as a Dove chocolate bar at this frayed-nerve menstrual cramp state I'm in. 

Day 30:  Coffee, tea, 2 eggs, spinach, applesauce, strawberries, eggs, chorizo, sweet potato, spinach, sweet potato chips, salad with grilled chicken and fruit, 2 eggs and avocado.

It's done! I can live without sugar or grains and feel great!  Despite my terrible cramps and the few mishaps along with way because I didn't read labels or went out to dinner expecting clean food, I feel like a million bucks!  Normally, this time of month would involve a very swollen painful belly.  The pain is still there, but it's not swollen and there's not the sound of a washing machine on meth coming from my mid-section!  I am looking forward to sweetening my coffee tomorrow with honey, but I don't think this lifestyle change is something I'm willing to totally give up.  I wish everyone would do this.  I'd better our economy would improve, our need for advanced medical care would decrease, and we'd all be in a better mood.  We might even have more clean, not-overly priced, places to go out to eat!  Maybe I'll have a Something Real restaurant in my hometown one of these days.  I can dream.

My Whole30 Journal

I have an amazing sister.  She would tell you God changed her from the inside out.  She would also tell you to do the Whole30 and see if it doesn't change your life, just like she told me after Christmas.

I don't struggle with body weight.  I do struggle with joint pain, auto-immune weirdness, abdominal adhesions, gastro-intestinal troubles, headaches, fatigue and other such non-diagnosible abnormals.  Over the past nine years I've increasingly noticed that what I eat seems to have a direct impact on how I feel.  About a year ago I asked my doctor about food allergies.  He did a blood test which he said didn't show I was allergic to anything, but he encouraged me to eliminate the foods that were making me feel bad.  Several months ago I stopped working out much at all because my knee and hip pain has gotten so bad that I can't do the exercises I set out to do, such as squats, running, lunges... anything that involves impact.  I saw an orthopedist, had an MRI, and was told basically I have an old lady's knee, hip bursitis and possible IT Band pain.  He wants to do orthovisc injections in my knee and gave me some PT exercises to do on my hip and leg.  That's when I got mad!  I don't want to feel like an old woman at age 38!  I knew I could further dig in the medical world for answers to my mystery ailments but I decided to go with my gut.

So when my sister came after Christmas, thanks to her encouragement,  I decided to take the Whole30 Challenge.  I had already eliminated gluten, except for the occasional cheat which resulted in feeling like I'd been smacked around and kicked in the gut.  And I had already decidedly increased my intake of fruits and veggies and decreased my intake of fast food.  So I didn't think this Whole30 would be much of a change for me.  Boy did I underestimate the power (and hiding places) of sugar!

When we actually eat dinner together at the table as a family we usually do a thing we borrowed from our family in Oregon: everyone takes turns saying the best thing about their day and the worst.

So if you were sitting around the dinner table with me tonight and we were talking best and worst of my Whole30 I'd say:

Best: I feel good and I got to cook some yummy food!  Not glamorous.  My aches and pains aren't gone, but my daily GI troubles- gone!

Worst: It was expensive and I don't like black coffee... even after a month of drinking it.

Take-away Tip:  I did technically fail the Whole30 Challenge.  Not because I tripped and fell and my face landed in a pizza or chocolate cake, but more realistically because I didn't read labels of things I assumed would be sugar or artificial ingredient free. So my best take-away tip is READ LABELS!

That's the summary.  Here's how in went down in more detail:

Day 1 I ate: Black coffee, a bed of baby spinach with scrambled eggs and avocado, an apple, a banana, some roast beef with a sweet potato, caldo de pollo (Mexican chicken and veggie soup)

I know it sounds strange, but I felt good all day until after I ate the soup I had made.  My stomach started rumbling and feeling like the normal GI upset I frequently experience.  The thought occured to me to check the ingredients on the chicken boullion... sure enough- sugar and corn starch and other unpronounceable things.  GRRRRR!  I was ticked at myself for not reading the label.  I should know better!  Silver lining:  I could tell even after one day that sugar and other processed ingredients were having an adverse effect on me!

Day 2: I ate:  Black coffee.  Scrambled eggs on spinach with homemade salsa and avocado, roast beef with sweet potato and broccoli, cashews, an apple, grilled chicken thigh with salad, salsa, avocado and sweet potato.  Finished the day with hot chamomile tea- unsweetened.

My head felt like a bowling ball.

Day 3 I ate:  Black coffee. Scramble eggs with beef chorizo on a bed of baby spinach with salsa.  2 fuji apples microwaved with spices.  Kiwi with cashews.  Chorizo, eggs, 1/2 an avocado with salsa and spinach.  Olives.  Spring mix salad with mango vinegrette, chicken thigh, 1/4 sweet potato and cashews. Cinnamon Nutmeg Banana ice cream (YUM!)

 (Nutmeg Banana Ice Cream)

 (My first Frittata with ground beef and bell peppers)

I felt like I ate a lot today.  I didn't restrict myself.  It was the only way for me to get through the day with the getting-heavier-by-the-moment-bowling-ball-head.  From what I've read this is the normal symptom of withdrawl from sugar.  I discovered I'm allergic to kiwi.  After making the vinegrette my lips and tongue were tingly and weird.  Had to take a benedryl! Best discovery of day 3: This ice cream recipe! 

I purchased the It Starts With Food book today.  Mostly because I wanted to have some good recipes.  I started reading it though and its really a good book.

Day 4 I ate:  Constant Comment tea (unsweetened).  A fritatta (recipe template from the It Starts With Food Book) with ground beef and bell peppers.  Bacon.  Blueberries.  Coconut Lara Bar.  Another slice of the frittata. Vanilla roiboos tea (unsweetened).  A scoop of banana cocount milk ice cream. Another slice of the frittata.  Herbal tea.

I don't like black coffee!  So I decided to buy some teas and drink them unsweetened.  The taste is better but the caffiene is less so I'm dealing with a bowling-ball head due to sugar detox and caffiene with drawal.  I LOVE the recipe templates in the It Starts With Food book.  I can use different ingriedents with the template.  It's going to be a staple food in this house!  (I discovered about half way through the challenge that the bacon I had been eating has sugar in it... of course! Read labels!)  Lara Bars are candy!  Legal candy for the Whole30 challenge!  Thank God for coconuts, dates and cashews!

  (My baked fuji apple *pie* :)

Day 5 I ate:  A slice of the leftover frittata, tea, a Lara Bar, pulled pork and cole slaw, a baked fuji apple (Slice the apple, sprinkle with gloves, nutmeg, ginger, cinammon, micro for 3 minutes. Wala. Naturally sweet baked apple!), another slice of the frittata and a glass of hot tea.

My headache is gone.  I feel good and satisfied.  No cravings.  The pulled pork was total yumness.  And the baked fuji apple is my new apple pie!

Day 6 I ate:  A slice of frittata, black coffee, 1/4 sweet potato, blueberries, pulled pork and cabbage slaw, apple, blueberries, tea, Lara Bar, another slice of frittata, tea, bites of eggs and chorizo

Ok... can't do the entire Whole30 day journal in one post.  More tomorrow.

Oh, and, today is my official last day of the Whole30, but other than adding in some honey and the occasional out to dinner with loved-ones meal, I plan on this Whole30 thing being my whole way of eating my whole life!