Interlude: What to do now?

I needed a place to get all my thoughts down as I'm nearing the end of this.

Here's what I have gotten out of the Whole 30:
1. Hopefully at least some weight loss- will edit this post with exact numbers tomorrow after I weigh myself.
2. Feeling better in my body- You know that feeling when you eat too much crap and you feel fat and terrible right after? Like I did on my birthday night? I havent had that at all in the last 30 days and thats pretty awesome.
3. Feeling confident- I feel pretty proud that I've stuck to this for 30 whole days. A month! I never thought I could do it. I thought the cravings would overtake me, or I'd be too hungry, or I wouldn't be able to survive unsweetened coffee or no cheese. But guess what- I DID! I feel like I can do anything now and certainly have no more excuses to myself.
4. Awareness of my cravings and control over them. I am more keenly aware of why I eat when I do (am I actually hungry or just bored/stressed/sad/happy etc) and also when and what I crave. I have learned that if I just ignore my cravings, stay distracted, or drink some water/tea, or even eat something healthy (like a banana with almond butter) the craving will eventually fade and I will get over it. I *never* have once regretted not giving into a craving. That should be saying something!
5. A reset for eating healthy foods as a lifestyle. I was at a good place before my pregnancy and then fell off the rails. This has set me back up with a good framework to continue mostly eating healthy.


Here's what I plan to change on Day 31:
1. I am going to add a select few foods back into my regular, every day diet that aren't allowed on the whole 30. These include
* quinoa
* greek yogurt
* peanut butter/PB2 (i do like almond butter and will continue to eat it, but its expensive!!)
* breakfast shakes- made with protein powder, spirulina, flaxseed meal, almond milk, frozen bananas
* feta cheese (sparingly)
* gluten free ezekiel bread (sparingly)
* maple syrup & honey (sparingly as sweeteners)
* salad dressings that may have some honey or a small amount of sugar in them while still trying to choose wisely

I'm hoping to continue to avoid processed foods, most dairy, most gluten/grains, and refined sugar.

2. I do plan to make and partake of desserts, being careful not to USE them to feed cravings or make them a routine after dinner thing. Instead, just making them as small treats for the family occasionally. However, these desserts will be paleo/gluten free usually and not include refined sugars. There are so many good dessert recipes that are paleo and "healthier", I don't think this will be a problem!

3. While my taste for unsweetened coffee has definitely improved, its still not a great experience. I'm going to try to add either a little bit of the nestle natural bliss creamer to my coffee (instead of practically 1/2 cup like I used to) or a bit of maple syrup to make it more tolerable. I'll continue using nutpods, coconut milk or almond milk for creamer.

5. I am not going to beat myself up for eating desserts or foods socially and sparingly. These episodes will NOT be part of my regular diet, but I will allow myself to have things I don't usually eat for a special occasion. For example, at my brother's wedding I am definitely partaking in the cake/donuts/etc that will be there! Hopefully I can continue to use moderation and savor these treats instead of mindlessly throwing them back. And continue to consciously choose which of these items is worth eating.

AND....if I feel like I'm slipping off the rails again, or to be an accountability parter for someone else, I will go back on the whole 30 in a heartbeat. I know people usually do multiple rounds of this, and I'm definitely not opposed. I now know I can do it!

Day 29

I can't believe after tomorrow I will have made it 30 days! I think I am achieving what I wanted to out of this, mainly that it doesn't feel that hard anymore (minus the prep work) and I feel good and not hungry. My cravings feel in control for the most part. I've been thinking so much about how I want to live when this is over. I am filled with both excitement and nervousness! I don't want to undo the last 30 days. I hope I've lost at least a little weight. I will weigh myself tomorrow morning!! Eek!

For breakfast this morning I had scrambled eggs. I am so excited to be able to expand my breakfast repetoire soon!

Lunch was a mish-mash as I was at the park. I had some plantain chips with guacamole and some more strawberry/cucumber salad. Then I came home and had leftover chicken tikka masala.

Dinner was our old faithful recipe, turkey chili.

Day 28

Day 28! Wow! I do feel like I'm feeling more relaxed as far as the rules go, not breaking them necessarily...but more with SWYPO potential foods and plantain chips. Eek!

Breakfast today was at work at the hospital, so I got 3 boiled eggs and ate them cut in half with salt. I also had coffee and brought nutpods with me so I could drink it!

For lunch I had leftover zoodles and chicken soup with some avocado.

Dinner was a chicken burger from trader joes which was much better than the turkey burgers! And bigger, so I only needed one. I put some dijon mustard on it.

Of course that left me hungry so I had some leftover strawberry/cucumber salad from yesterday and then a banana with almond butter.

2 days to go!

Day 27

Today was Mothers Day! I got to sleep in and didn't have breakfast until noon! Jay made me some scrambled eggs and I also had a banana with almond butter.


I went to Trader Joes in the afternoon and found a potential problem food for me...plantain chips! Oh my goodness they are good. While they are approved, they are definitely going to be a "food without breaks" for me, as I ate the whole bag. Oops! Definitely satisfies my chips craving, but I probably shouldn't be giving in to that anyways! I'll still eat these, but try to moderate a bit better!


Dinner was the delicious chicken tikka masala over cauliflower rice. I also made the strawberry/cucumber/almond/lime/balsamic salad that I made early on in the whole 30.


On to night call....hoping for sleep/not snacking! Haha.

Day 26

Today was a busy day, we were out and about for most of it. LOTS of temptations today which was tough but I resisted!

Jim made me a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and sauteed tomatoes with avocado. Yum!

Lunch was at church, where everyone had delicious looking pizza. I brought myself a jar salad.

Then we went out for ICE CREAM with my in laws. Seriously! I brought a banana and almond butter so that I wasn't too sad.

For dinner, we were out with friends and they ordered from Panera and Chipotle. What I got was a burrito bowl from chipotle with lettuce, chicken, mild salsa and guacamole. I read online that *technically* the chicken is not compliant because they cook it in soybean oil. But I made the executive decision of who the F cares because that is not a "cheat" in my mind at all. If I was really cheating, I would have been knee deep in Panera mac & cheese and chips by then. I actually stopped at the grocery store and bought some cauliflower rice to add to it. Besides the fact that it smelled up the entire house (it was fresh, not frozen), it was very good and satisfying!

My friends then proceeded to make s'mores which was also pretty tempting. BUT, instead I had a lara bar.

Can't believe I made it through today. Good thing my stubbornness and persistence > desire to cheat!

Day 25

Today was another work day. I had 2 boiled eggs (the last ones! I cannot bring myself to make anymore right now. I am tired of boiled eggs!) cut in half and sprinkled with salt.

Lunch was a jar salad and an apple pie lara bar.

Dinner was a citrus/lime chicken soup with zoodles topped with avocado. It was actually really good and the zoodles were yummy and so easy to do with my spiralizer!! It felt like there was spaghetti in the soup.


I woke up this morning feeling the "tiger blood" a little bit that they talk about. I feel pretty good. I'm getting nervous about ending it and what kinds of foods I want to incorporate, to check my weight, and to go forward, but I am super excited that I've almost made it all the way through!

Day 24

Today I had scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Lunch was two turkey burgers with avocado and dijon mustard. These turkey burgers from Trader Joes are edible but not very good, I must admit. Haha!


Dinner was turkey chili, the go-to staple at this point! A winner meal that all 4 of us like! Pretty rare in this household!

OH MAN. I may have made a SWYPO  "dessert" but I don't really care. This is why?
1) Its day 24 and after these 30 days I fully plan to incorporate healthier versions of desserts into my life
2) All the ingredients were whole 30 approved. No sugar, no chocolate, no honey, no maple syrup, no fake sweeteners at all.
3) I didn't make it in a desperate urge to satisfy a sweet tooth. I was actually just curious what it would taste like after seeing the recipe and needed something new and exciting to eat after feeling like I was in a rut.

So here's what I made. Sautéed 2 apples in coconut oil, sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg and topped with a spread of mixed coconut milk and almond butter. It was AMAZING. Jay didn't like it. I think maybe I did like it quite a bit because it was really the first sweet thing besides natural fruit I've had in the past 24 days, so the natural sweetness really shone through and it tasted like a decadent dessert treat. I may have eaten it all myself. Whoops.


Definitely going to keep that one in the recipe drawer!