Quick Post: Try 2, Day 1

Nothing like picking a challenging day to start Whole 30! But I did the best I could.

Here's what I ate:

• Breakfast: My go-to protein smoothie with almond milk, cinnamon, frozen banana and vanilla protein powder, and black coffee
• Lunch: Ground beef chili with cocoa powder and chipotle chiles (plus red pepper, onion, and diced tomatoes), with sliced strawberries
• Snack: A few slices of dried mango, and a large handful of pistachios later in the afternoon.
• Dinner: I didn't quite look over the menu when I suggested a meeting place for dinner with friends, but I think this place ended up working pretty well. I had Brussels sprouts with pancetta and seasonings (ate around the Parmesan, though I'm pretty sure there was butter in there) along with a green salad with grilled chicken. Again, no guarantees that the chicken was 100% compliant, but overall I felt good about the meal.
• Dessert: Still a habit to want something sweet after dinner, so I had a tiny pink lady apple. I will break this habit like I did last time.

I wanted to badly to start the week and my Whole 30 with a morning run, but I was exhausted when I woke up this morning, as I have been recently. I think I'm in a vicious cycle: not exercising means I'm not sleeping as well and have lower energy levels, which makes me feel more tired and not want to exercise. It's a cycle I need to break NOW.

And the good news is that I did manage to get out for a 3 mile run after work. My lungs burned the whole time but I was so happy to be out there... I realized how much I've missed running like that. On my own, on the roads.

Onward!

Time to restart

Okay. I am failing at my second Whole 30. I have loads of excuses, but no really good reasons. So I will start over on Day 1 next Monday, Feb. 17. (I am being realistic about a weekend out of town visiting my family.)

Why I'm struggling:

• Though it doesn't excuse me dropping the ball on Whole 30, I'm currently spending a week away from home while I house and pet sit. It is easier when you have your own kitchen and supplies to stick to the plan. 
• I am eating way too much sugar in the form of dried fruit and fresh fruit.
• I am not eating enough vegetables... I'm mostly eating sweet potatoes and carrots, which means I'm hardly getting any greens or other non-starchy veggies.
• Again, tied into not being at home, but my breakfasts haven't been as satisfying as I need them to be, which gets my day off to an off-kilter start.
• I am not exercising. At all. I attempted a run last Saturday, but between taking care of the dog in the morning, staying up late because I actually have access to cable right now, and weather conditions, nothing is happening. I am CRAVING a good workout.
• I am not listening to my body, so I'm cleaning my plate when I probably don't need to most of the time.
• While I do still intend to make an exception for alcohol, in the last 10 days I've made too many other exceptions. I get one exception: a drink when I'm on a date. That's it.

The other thing I think will help is that I will have had two weeks of laziness after Uwharrie, but I created a new workout schedule for myself to get me through my half-marathon in April. I think getting back into a training routine will help--I'm always more disciplined in other areas of my life when I have a good exercise routine going, so it just needs to happen.

So there's the update! I'll be back next week and ready to start again, stronger and with greater resolve. In the meantime, I'll enjoy a snow day tomorrow and a weekend on a modified Whole 30.

Then it's back on Whole 30, and back on track.

W-30 Take 2, Day 2

Day 2... I slept horribly last night. Kept waking up, had very stressful dreams, couldn't get comfortable. I know it's a combination of not working out (recovering from my race and trying to let my blister heal) and likely the lack of junk food!

I tried to get up to work out this morning but didn't have a real plan, so that fell through. Note to self: Put it on calendar and commit.

Here's what I ate:

Morning:

• My go-to protein smoothie (not 100% Whole 30 because I use protein powder, which isn't approved even though it's from a veggie source) with almond milk (NO carrageenan!), almond butter (no added sugar), a frozen banana and ground cinnamon.
• Black coffee.
• Finished up that dried mango (note to self: can't keep this stuff around).

Afternoon:

• Turkey & sweet potato chili.
• 2 clementines.
• A few raw veggies with a smidgen of tahini dressing.
• Snack of Larabar Carrot Cake flavor.

Night:

• Sweet potato

Tomorrow, my goal is to a 6am Spin Class, work, eat well, and get a decent night's sleep.

A New Whole 30 (plus alcohol)

Saturday, I wrapped up training for my latest endurance event: a 20-mile trail run in the Uwharrie Forest in NC. It was a grueling event (made worse by a blister on my baby toe that popped the night before the race... and worsened with every mile I ran of the race).

The race itself would make a good post, so I may try to get to that this week. Suffice it to say, it was incredibly challenging and not something I think you could truly prepare for without regularly running the course itself. Steep climbs, frequent stream crossings, mud pits, and rocky terrain, coupled with leaf or pine straw covered trails, made for a challenging, exhausting day of running.

As someone new to the Paleo lifestyle and still experimenting with it, I wasn't at a point where I felt prepared to train without my historic go-to staples, like pre-run bagels. (To be honest, a lot of it tied into convenience, too.) So the closer the race got, the worse my diet became... a bagel with egg soon added cheese, then I started eating bagels with just cream cheese again throughout the week, then cheese and crackers for dinner now & then, then pizza became my pre-long run dinner. My eating habits these last four weeks quickly devolved into my poor diet before my first Whole 30 in November. (My waistline tells the tale!)

So it is with some relief that today I've started another Whole 30. I'm surprised at how comfortable it feels to slide back into it and know that my food decisions are being made for me... a sign that I really am better off with the "all or nothing" approach because moderation isn't something I've mastered. Guess it's good to "know thyself," right?

That said, I am planning to keep alcohol in my diet this month. Why? Well, first of all, I really don't drink all that much--maybe one or two drinks a week. (It's one of the areas of food where I'm able to be completely moderate.)

Second, being on the dating scene and not drinking (especially when you normally drink) is a hassle--it's nice to have the option to meet someone for a casual drink when you're getting to know him.

Third, I enjoy having a cocktail or glass of wine when I'm out with friends. So drinking in moderation will be allowed. (I will avoid cocktails with sugar, and I foresee my preferred choice of drink being whiskey or bourbon on the rocks.) I know this approach will seem blasphemous to Whole 30 purists, and others may find my reasoning lame... but it's my approach and I feel good about it.

So, all that said, here's what I ate on Day #1:

• Breakfast of 2 eggs scrambled with a chopped chipotle pepper in adodo sauce, one piece of pan-fried prosciutto, and half of a plantain pan-fried in coconut oil and seasoned with salt. I drank my coffee (unsweet chocolate lavender infused flavor) without any creamer. 
• Mid-morning, I snacked on some dried, unsulfured/unsweetened mango strips. I suspect snacking is as much about habit/boredom than hunger at this point and I'll soon break myself of the habit.
• Lunch was a soup with sausage, collard greens, Japanese sweet potato and a little bit of coconut milk adapted from this recipe. (I also used a spicy cilantro chicken sausage instead of Italian sausage, and added a pinch of ground ginger.) I supplemented the soup with some raw veggies (carrot, tomatoes, celery) and two spears of pineapple for some sweetness.
• An afternoon snack comprised some cashews and more dried mango. I was feeling ravenous... my body has become so accustomed to gorging the last two weeks that I'm sure it's protesting!
• I get huge points for resisting the free dinner option I had of BBQ chicken, delicious looking macaroni & cheese, cornbread and apple crumble. I realized that I wasn't really prepared to eat Whole 30 this week (I need to make some more food!) so I headed to the store and grabbed a rotisserie chicken and salad with Tahini dressing, olives, sunflower seeds, and veggies. My sugar demon, as the Whole 30 folks would say, is in full force, so I closed out the meal with an orange.

I will once again do my best to check in a few times a week and update you on Round #2 of Whole 30! I'm curious to see how it all plays out this time around. And looking forward to feeling better on healthier foods again!