The Whole 30 – Week 4

As the checker at Trader Joe’s was scanning my purchase of apples, shaved brussel sprouts, zucchini, chicken burgers, dried fruit, and Lara Bars, he chuckled and commented, “This basket is way too healthy for me.” I take that as high praise. That has most definitely never happened before!

I really thought the first few days of the Whole 30 would be the hardest and they were difficult, but nothing compared to the level of self-control I had to bolster to survive our women’s retreat last weekend. I had planned ahead and I had prepped all of my meals and snacks to bring with me. Laurie made sure there were lots of fruits and vegetables at meals that I could eat and I brought cashews, almond butter, Lara Bars, and dried fruit to help resist temptation.

First, the popcorn was tempting. There were massive bags of kettle corn that people snacked on throughout the weekend. They made a huge crockpot of steel cut oats that people were doctoring up with brown sugar, blueberries, and slivered almonds. I wanted that big time. There were chips on the snack table. Then Laurie had made Ghiradelli brownies and cinnamon chip cookies that were passed around after dessert.

Confession – on the first night that the cookies were passed around, I snuck one into the pocket of my hoodie. My plan was to go back to my room and eat it and nobody would ever know. Then, all of a sudden, I was having flashbacks to my childhood, sneaking entire boxes of fruit snacks and Nutty Bars into my bedroom…and I just couldn’t do it. Mostly because of you all. I didn’t want to sacrifice my integrity for a cinnamon cookie. So, I stayed compliant. And Laurie saved me some cinnamon cookies for when I was done with the 30 days.

Then came the birthday cake. One of our lovely ladies had a birthday while we were on the retreat and her husband made his famous chocolate cake and brought it up to her at camp. That one was a killer. I’ve had this chocolate cake before, so I knew exactly what I was missing. There’s a reason it’s famous! It’s moist and butter and rich and everything a chocolate cake should be. Everybody assured me that there was no judgement if I just wanted to eat a slice (I love those ladies). I was so close to giving in…but I just couldn’t do it. So, I compromised and I brought a piece two pieces home to eat a couple days later when the 30 days were complete. The sweet guy even offered to make me an entire cake on Wednesday when I was done, but the two pieces in the Tupperware were all I needed to resist.

By the end, I. was. done. I was cheery about life in general, but so grumpy about my eating and that is very abnormal for me, because I love food! I get excited at the very thought of food! Food is my artistic medium. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have stuck with it and stayed compliant and, most of all, to be DONE!

Day 22

Breakfast : Broccoli Spinach Frittata with Caramelized Onions (I roasted my broccoli first and added in Trader Joe’s garlic & herb chicken sausage)

Snack : Apple

Lunch : Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Chicken Burger w/ avocado and grilled zucchini

Dinner : Baked tilapia w/ salsa, roasted green beans, orange

Thoughts : I’m a little down today. It’s probably just Laurie withdrawals since she’s been out of town for 5 whole days.

Sleep : Still an unsolved mystery. Woke up once every hour except for 1am. By this time, most people report sleeping soundly and feeling rested, which I was really hoping for at this point. Less than 10 days left…here’s hoping!

Day 23

Breakfast : Broccoli Spinach Frittata with Caramelized Onions

Snack : Apple

Lunch : Baked tilapia w/ salsa and roasted green beans

Dinner : Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Chicken Burger w/ avocado, shaved brussel sprouts (sauteed with coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and onion), and baby carrots

Thoughts : It’s a good day! Laurie is home, I was first in our Fitbit step challenge for the majority of the day, and I switched up my morning running route to meander through a lovely neighborhood.

IT Band : Feeling great! 2.5 miles this morning at a 10:22/mile pace and that included a giant hill.

Sleep : It took me an hour to fall asleep and I woke up twice.

Day 24

Breakfast : Broccoli Spinach Frittata with Caramelized Onions and coffee w/ coconut milk

Snack : Apple and raw cashews

Lunch : Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Chicken Burger w/ avocado and shaved brussel sprouts (sauteed with coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, garlic, and onion)

Dinner : Sweet potato topped with salsa and avocado w/ grilled zucchini

Mood : Tired, but anticipatory. I’m looking forward to some really cool potential things and it’s getting me all motivated and excited.

Sleep : I didn’t get a full night of sleep, because I was up late researching a new opportunity I’m pretty excited about, but for the time I slept, I only woke up once!

Day 25

Breakfast : Broccoli Spinach Frittata with Caramelized Onions

Snack : Apple

Lunch : Sweet potato topped with salsa and avocado w/ grilled zucchini

Dinner : Sweet potato topped with salsa and avocado w/ grilled zucchini

Thoughts : I am so sick of the restrictions. Even though I know there are a ton of recipes out there, I just feel very limited in my options.

Sleep : Not a restful night. It took me 2 hours to fall asleep, then was restless and awake for most of the night barring a 1-hour chunk of good rest.

Day 26

Breakfast : Aidell’s chicken sausage, sweet potato/apple/onion hash, orange

Lunch : Mango chili tilapia with steamed broccoli

Dinner : Aidell’s chicken apple sausage, roasted carrots, roasted spaghetti squash

Thoughts : Today is the first day of our women’s retreat. Eating like this at home is 10 gazillion times easier than eating like this in this environment, even though I planned and packed all of my meals.

Sleep : Awake 6 times, but slept soundly from 1-4am! I’ll take it!

Day 27

Breakfast : Hard boiled eggs, bacon, shredded sweet potato/apple/onion hash

Snack : Apple

Lunch : Aidell’s chicken apple sausage, roasted carrots, roasted spaghetti squash

Dinner : Lettuce, shredded beef, salsa, baby carrots

Thoughts : This is the hardest day yet. I’ve gotten pretty good at eating things in moderation when not on the Whole 30, so I was having trouble talking myself into sticking with it and not partaking in birthday cake, post-hike trail mix, and steel cuts oats with blueberries.

Sleep : Not good. Had a hard time falling asleep and woke up at least 6 times, but there were 3 contributing factors tonight. #1 – I slept on a camp bed, which is not nearly as comfy as my own. #2 – Boots wasn’t there. #3 – Cockroaches were.

Day 28

Breakfast : Hard boiled eggs, bacon, shredded sweet potato/apple/onion hash

Lunch : Shredded beef, guacamole, baby carrots, watermelon

Dinner : Shrimp, baby carrots, snap peas, guacamole

Thoughts : Is it over yet? We were all pretty tired after coming back from the retreat. I went to a friend’s house and pizza was ordered for lunch. After I had resisted the birthday cake, I knew I could resist the pizza, but I sure wanted to eat it with them! And for dinner, I was just done. I wandered through the grocery store, hoping for ready-made compliant things to pop out at me. I ended up with cooked shrimp and threw it together with whatever else I had in the fridge.

Sleep : Awake 6 times, including a random wide-awake hour from 2-3am.

Day 29

Breakfast : Broccoli Spinach Frittata with Caramelized Onions

Snack : Apple

Lunch : Shrimp, baby carrots, snap peas, guacamole

Dinner : Hamburger with salsa, avocado, mashed white sweet potato w/ ghee, grapes

Thoughts : Is is over yet? My fridge is nearly empty, but my Whole 30 motivation is just gone.

Sleep : Slept terribly for the first half of the night, but slept soundly from 1-4am! That piece was good.

Day 30

Breakfast : Scrambled egg, salsa, and Aidell’s chicken apple sausage

Snack : Apple

Lunch : Hamburger with salsa, avocado, mashed white sweet potato w/ ghee

Dinner : Aidell’s chicken apple sausage and sauteed broccoli

Thoughts : Thank goodness. I just want my Greek yogurt back.

Sleep : Asleep after 30 minutes, awake 4 times.

Stay tuned…the results post is to come!