The Whole 30 – Week 2
Week 2 is done! Just 16 days left now! I have to say, I’m kind of shocked that I haven’t craved more carbs. I haven’t really missed bread, french fries, pasta, or even quinoa much at all. This week was actually easier, because I didn’t go out to eat and I’m more used to the “rules,” so I’m playing around more with seasonings and sauces. I made my own mayo and barbecue sauce this week. I wasn’t a huge fan of the oil mixture (extra virgin, sesame, and coconut), but I’ve heard rave reviews about homemade mayo using avocado oil, so that’s next on the list!
Also, Whole 30 places a huge emphasis on eating 3 meals a day and quite honestly, I just don’t like it. They say that if you get hungry between meals, then you’re probably not eating enough at meal time. I’ve been trying to follow their guidance, really. But I hate it. I feel like I’m overeating at meal times and still getting hungry mid-morning and mid-afternoon. I’m pretty sure their main concern with snacking is the habitual, thoughtless nature of it, which I’m surely guilty of at times. Sometimes I eat a mid-afternoon snack just because I’m used to it and I’m not necessarily hungry, so I’m going to snack this week, but I’m going to try to only snack when I’m legitimately hungry.
Day 8
Breakfast : Eggs in a Sweet Potato/Apple (& I added onion) Nest
Lunch : Turkey burger, guacamole, sauteed brussel sprouts
Dinner : Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork with Pineapple Coleslaw and roasted broccoli. The pork was so juicy and flavorful and the fresh pineapple chunks in the coleslaw made me so happy.
Mood : Lackluster.
Sleep : Not so great, but still better than a week ago!
Cravings : Cotton Candy Oreos. I’ve never had them, but my food blogger friends all seem to be trying them about now and I always have to try new Oreo flavors at least once.
Day 9
Breakfast : Eggs in a Sweet Potato/Apple (& I added onion) Nest
Lunch : Leftover Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork with Pineapple Coleslaw and roasted broccoli
Dinner : Easy Modified Paleo Meatloaf (though I tweaked the recipe quite a bit), half a baked white sweet potato topped with homemade Whole30 BBQ Sauce (again…really tweaked this recipe), and sauteed zucchini
Mood : Indifferent. My mood tends to correlate with the amount of sleep I get. See below.
Sleep : Not so good. Lots of tossing and turning and I was up for the day at 4am, which wasn’t the end of the world since I was getting up at 5am to run anyways, but still. Precious sleep time lost.
IT Band : Ran 2 miles this morning with NO PAIN! At all. No tightness, no aching, no tenderness. I can’t wait for Thursday morning’s run to see if the streak continues.
Cravings : Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Powerberries
Day 10
Breakfast : Eggs in a Sweet Potato/Apple (& I added onion) Nest
Lunch : Leftover Easy Modified Paleo Meatloaf, half a baked white sweet potato topped with homemade Whole30 BBQ Sauce, and sauteed zucchini
Dinner :Â Leftover Easy Modified Paleo Meatloaf (I had something else planned for dinner, but these were so good!), roasted cauliflower rice, sauteed sweet potato/apple/onion, and fresh pineapple & strawberries
Mood : Cranky morning with a minor existential crisis that improved throughout the day.
Sleep : Not good. After struggling to get to sleep, I slept in 20-minute increments for half the night, then I slept from 2:10am-5:40am uninterrupted.
Cravings : Cheesecake. My brother-in-law makes the best cheesecakes in the world and when I was Skyping with them tonight, he was already asking for my summer cheesecake request. I love him.
Day 11
Breakfast : Eggs in a Sweet Potato/Apple (& I added onion) Nest
Lunch : Leftover Easy Modified Paleo Meatloaf (I’m normally sick of the same leftovers by now, but I was thrilled to eat these again!), roasted cauliflower rice, sauteed sweet potato/apple/onion
Dinner : Leftover Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork with Pineapple Coleslaw, sauteed zucchini, and fresh pineapple & strawberries
Mood : Happy! I had the skip back in my step today. It was quite lovely and felt much more like my I-want-to-give-everybody-a-hug-and-a-cookie normal self.
Sleep : Way better! It still took about 45 minutes for me to fall asleep, but then I only woke up twice!
IT Band : Feeling great! This morning’s 5am run was my fastest 2-mile run ever with a 9:46/mile average pace.
Cravings : Nothing today! A few forbidden foods briefly crossed my mind, but not in a give-it-to-me-now kind of way.
Day 12
Breakfast : Eggs in a Sweet Potato/Apple (& I added onion) Nest
Lunch : Leftover Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork with Pineapple Coleslaw and roasted broccoli & cauliflower
Dinner : Dinner party with friends! Grilled chicken, salad, watermelon, and raisins for dessert
Mood : Chipper. I love Fridays. Especially when they involve spending time with so many people I love.
Sleep : 8 times awake.
Cravings : Cookies. Laurie was so sweet in getting me dried fruit for dessert and it was delicious, but it just isn’t the same as a cookie! A crispy, buttery Milano cookie with dark chocolate filling.
Day 13
Breakfast : Sweet potato with almond butter & cinnamon, bacon, sauteed spinach/onions/bell pepper, and strawberries & pineapple
Lunch : Leftover Easy Modified Paleo Meatloaf,
Dinner : Carne asada, roasted red potatoes, and cauliflower
Mood : Cheery. Saturday mornings are my favorites. My new normal is waking up about 7am, going on my long run, then making and eating breakfast while watching The Dog Whisperer and icing my knee.
Sleep : 6 times awake. I stayed out later than normal, but still woke up early, so it was a short sleep night.
IT Band : Still no pain! My long run was 4.5 miles, the farthest I’ve run since January. It feels fantastic!
Cravings : The new s’mores Starbucks drink. I’ve never had one, but I want one.
Day 14
Breakfast : Sweet potato with almond butter, bacon, sauteed spinach/onions/bell pepper, and an over medium egg
Lunch : Greek Meatballs with Avocado Tzatziki Sauce, grilled chicken (marinated in this), baby carrots, celery, cucumber, and grapes
Dinner : Leftover carne asada, roasted cauliflower, and sweet potato w/ ghee
Mood : Mirthful. Boots and I went to snake avoidance training this morning, which involved a lot of playtime with a plethora of border collies, then we had a group of ladies over this afternoon and it was all just lovely.
Sleep : Awake twice last night after about half an hour to fall asleep. I still just haven’t felt rested, but here’s hoping that will change soon!
Cravings : Dark chocolate covered cherries.
Thank you so much for including your meal plans! I need to search for your breakfast recipe! I think it’s hilarious that you included what you were craving, too! Have you solved your sleep issues? Girl, we need to get you started on Young Living ESsential Oils!
You are so welcome, Susan! My sleep is much better now than it’s ever been. It still takes me a long time to fall asleep and I’m still curious about the essential oils, so one of these days we’re going to do something about that!
Good job Becky-head! These recipes actually sound delicious, too! I will have to try some of them. 🙂 We aren’t on any specific diet but I am trying to eliminate a lot of our dairy and gluten to reduce inflammation for us both. I think we’re doing alright for the most part but I’m always in search of delicious, easy recipes that I know we’ll both like! SO glad your IT band is cooperating!
Looks like you’re eating healthy and making headway! 🙂 Also: I *love* how Boots is eyeing your plate in the Saturday morning shot. 😉
I’m so super proud of you for your perseverance! You go girl! I’ve been having super tough sleeping problems too…perhaps a change in the weather? I will say that melatonin can give you nightmares…has that ever been a problem? Magnesium and calcium can be helpful!
Hang in there girlie!