Thoughts I've had this week:
"This is awesome. I could eat like this forever!"
"How in the world did I get myself into this?"
"If I eat one more avocado I'm going to puke."
"I have so much energy!"
"I just woke up before my alarm on my own."
"If I don't eat that brownie I might die."
"I'm so cranky. I need bread. And chocolate. And Diet Coke. And coffee creamer!"
"I don't think I know how to make chicken very well."
"Cannot get out of bed. Snooze." (X 5)
It's been up and it's been down. But low and behold I've made it through the first week of the Whole30. I've wanted to pull my hair out, puke, sleep, eat, binge, and cry but I've also had days/moments when I felt great and I can totally see why this is worth while.
I've also learned a lot about myself, my body, and my food by reading, "It Starts with Food." If you've never read this book, you really should give it a try. So far chapter five has been my favorite because it examines all of the hormonal imbalances that food causes, and I've really struggled with that side of things for over a decade.
I'm not going to go through all that I've eaten because it would bore you, but I will give you a little snapshot into my crazy mind/emotions/thoughts/feelings from the past week.
Whole30: Week 1
Day 1 (New Year's Day): I woke up today feeling empowered and ready to go. Jason and I are both off from work today, so we didn't have to rush out of the house which is always a treat. I made my breakfast and after that we decided to take our new bikes to Crestline Village (about 5 minutes driving a car from house). We made it about 1/4 of the way there and realized that it's called "Mountain Brook" for a reason. At the end, we could barely get up the small hill near our house...but we made it! Time for lunch. I can totally eat like this all the time. This is awesome! I never put this much effort into my lunch and when I do, it comes out fantastic. After some lazy time around the house with Swanson, I cooked dinner and then made some herbal tea and called it a night. This Whole30 thing is going to be great.
Egg, chicken apple sausage, and spinach scramble with a nice juicy orange.
Day 2: Jason had to work today, but I am still on vacation! Whoohoo! I think I could get really be happy working from 12-5 everyday. Hmm...maybe someday. I got so much done before noon...Slept in. Cooked breakfast. Went to the gym for OVER 60 minutes (which never happens).. Played with Swanson. Made lunch. Anywhoo, that's beside the point. I have so much energy today! I did all of that before noon and then after lunch I completely cleaned out the guest room and reorganized. Now it's actually ready for guests (sorry Mom & Dad that you've had to stay in that schlump of a room for over a year when you come to visit). Tonight we had dinner with one of Jason's friends from high school who is in town for the Birmingham Bowl. I was very proud of myself that I was able to go out to dinner and stay on the Whole30 and I didn't even get jealous of the guys' food! I can definitely do this! Still feeling empowered.
Closet before (left) and closet after (right).
Day 3: "I think I'll go to the gym today," I said. "Body Pump is at 12:15," I said. Man, I'm regretting that now. My entire body hurts. And I'm SO HUNGRY I COULD CRY! I don't want to cook. I don't want to eat compliant foods. I just want to eat bread and be full and lay on the couch. I thought I'd planned ahead so well and put dinner in the crockpot this morning, but it was a complete dinner fail. I ended up having to make eggs and sausage again for dinner, which is exactly what I had for breakfast. Boo. I hate this. Why am I doing this again?
Day 4: Today is grocery shopping day. Nevermind the $100 I already spent at Target on Friday night, I need a lot of food. I'm constantly hungry and I need to eat more. Must. Buy. All. The. Food. And while I'm at it, why do some people get to buy sandwich stuff (ehum...I'm looking at you, Jason Morales) and I just buy every veggie known to mankind? It's. Not. Fair. Oh, and even though I've only been awake for a grand total of three hours at 1:30 in the afternoon, I think I need a nap. My stomach hurts. Do I have to get off the couch to make lunch? This sucks. I'm a terrible person for self inflicting this on myself. If I see one more piece of lettuce I'm going to punch it in the face. Yes, I know lettuce doesn't have a face, but don't tempt me! Thank God for church tonight - people, perspective, and prayer. Those are the things I need for the next 26 days. Oh my gosh is it really 26 more days of this?!
Day 5: Back to work today! I'm ready, I'm prepared, I can DO THIS! But then 11:30 came around and I don't think I want to work anymore. Can I be a stay-on-the-couch wife? Finally, an appropriate hour to each lunch rolled around and I realized that I'm not super good at cooking chicken. Maybe I should ask someone for help in that department. Overall, I'm full but feeling weak. When I got home I took Swanson for a brisk walk in the park so that we could both stretch our legs after our first day back in normal life. I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed and it definitely gave me the burst of energy I needed to get through the next few hours. At about 7:30 I realized that I could easily get in bed and go to sleep, but I fought that urge and waited until 9:30. Go me.
Day 6: Workout this morning was H-A-R-D. I was tired and just wanted to lay in bed for 15 more hours. After I got home from the gym I just laid across my bed for a solid 10 minutes without moving. Did I need to take a shower and get ready for work? Absolutely. Was I going to move until I was ready? Absolutely not. After prying myself off the bed and into the shower, I packed my lunch for the day (sans chicken, add boiled eggs), heated my little breakfast up (three frittatas and some blackberries), and sat down to enjoy my baby Swanson for a few minutes before heading off to work. Overall, I feel pretty good today. Around 1:30 I realized I hadn't eaten lunch. I went to make my lunch at work and realized that I wasn't very hungry. I only prepared about half of what I brought and evaluated my hunger level after I'd finished off my boiled eggs and my orange. I still wasn't hungry, and felt pretty full. When I got home around 5:15, I started on dinner (almond chicken and asparagus). Still not having much of an appetite, I just kind of picked at my dinner. After dinner finally felt hungry, but it was more of a craving than real hunger (I think). We had plans tonight to go to a coffee and dessert farewell get-together for some of our close friends who are moving. Oh my gosh I wanted a brownie so bad. But, I stuck to my black decaf coffee and I conquered my craving! Honestly, I think this is the most proud I've been of myself in a while. If you know me at all and know my love for chocolate (or dessert in general), you'll know that this was HUGE for me!
Day 7: Cannot. Get. Out. Of. Bed. Finally, after pressing snooze five times, I got up, showered, and got ready. I'm still loving my frittatas that I pre-made on Sunday and I'm thinking about sharing that recipe later on this week. The coffee situation (black coffee or coffee with full fat coconut milk) is getting better every day. I'm pretty proud of myself for that! My sister came to visit me at work for lunch, which was such a treat!! It almost made my spinach salad and leftover almond chicken taste super good because I was so excited she was there. After work, Jason and I went to community group where we did a "bring-your-own-meat" dinner, which is a popular dinner option within our friend group. The hardest part was bringing and cooking my own sweet potato rather than eating the Pioneer Woman potato casserole that someone made. But I was able to eat the steak that I brought to grill, green beans, salad, my sweet potato, and blackberries for "dessert". I've had a little lingering headache today, but I'm hoping that it's just my body still adjusting to this new way of eating. Hopefully a good night's rest will do the trick!
Week One Overview: The first week had it's moments of being really difficult, but I'm getting used to this and the temptation isn't had bad as I thought it would be. I feel like the Lord has been faithful in allowing me to live a normal social life without my cravings completely taking over. I'm ready to get over the day 10-11 hump because they say those are the days people are most likely to quit. I will not quit, I will do this for 30 days!
Stay tuned for recipes and a week two update next week!
