I notice a change.

I do feel better. After 9 days of Whole30 I notice a little difference. I can feel it in my joints and I haven’t had any migraines. There really is something to eating healthy!

For lunch  today I had crockpot chicken over a sweet potato. It was super tasty but I expected it to be spicier. I will for sure make it again and add more hot peppers for spice.

I also purchased the Primal Mayo to finish off my dill chicken salad recipe from the other day. (I really don’t think it is worth it to make my own mayo!) Primal will definitely be an acquired taste but it is also not something I expect to use often (especially at $9 a jar!).

I noticed the amount I am eating has decreased quite a bit. Before Whole30 I would have downed this salad and probably still had something else. I ate only half before I was full. I use to wake up hungry, now I don’t. I don’t think the past couple days I have felt hungry at all. I kind of like that!

Tomorrow for breakfast I am going to try a sweet potato latke… kind of excited to try something new again!

Sunday Funday

Yah! It is my Friday! Today was a good food day. At the beginning of the Whole30 I felt like I needed to snack in between meals. The past couple of days not so much. I packed pistachios and tomatoes today and didn’t touch them. I have noticed a big difference in the days I get up and cook versus the days I eat the RX Bar. (Confession: Apparently I didn’t finish my RX Bar yesterday, I found half the bag in my work bag! OOPS!)

Breakfast was DELICIOUS! I had an egg white omelette with raddichio, radishes, walnuts, dill, carrots, and red onions. I know it sounds like an odd combination but it tasted so good! I had one slice of Apple Smoked Uncured Bacon from Trader Joe’s and some fresh blueberries.

Lunch was the dill salad that I tried to make yesterday but failed miserably on the mayonnaise!! I just put the dill salad on top of kale. I decided I am not a fan of raw kale though and therefore ate around the kale.

Dinner was by far my favorite! A basil curry chicken… YUM! I ate this over steamed kale and cauliflower rice. It was so good, but once again I left most of the kale behind. This portion was too much. I will have to pack less next time! The recipe calls for this to be made in a crock pot but my crock pot was in dispose with another recipe.

Today I am feeling better about eating and food. And just because I can, I will even share a selfie from some glasses we found at work. I am kind of fond of them!! Only because they are rose gold and look at that hair sticking up!!

 

 

Two AM Wake-up Calls

Today was a tough day. If I had my brain on straight I would have washed my face before I cut garlic and jalapenos and onions instead of after…. My eyes are pretty red, but at least they aren’t burning anymore. I also tried making Whole30 approved mayo and I failed miserably. It was looking great and then it just went back to liquid…. I have a feeling I will be going through a lot of eggs and olive oil trying to perfect it!

Today was also tough eating day again… I think it is just stress but I really did not eat at all. I needed the extra rest so I tried another RX Bar. Chopping it into little pieces and eating it on the way to work is really the way to go. It lasted the whole commute. I drank my water, went on with my day and then as Saturdays at work go, it got crazy!! One of my coworkers had to leave for a couple hours and the care managers didn’t make it to relieve me in the dining room in time which meant no break for me. This also meant no lunch because the front desk was so busy after lunch. On my quick trip to get supplies for the residents I picked up some carrots and celery, cashews and La Croix. And that was all, until I came home and started cooking. Not good today but could have been way worse. A week ago if I was stressed I would probably have stopped and got French fries extra crispy for the drive home.

An awesome thing about dieting is that I am trying new recipes and foods I may or may not have tried (like radicchio, which I know I have probably had but not intentionally and planned). I have been craving Pad Thai and Mexican food so I made recipes reminiscent of both. I have to thank my health coach (who is also the Director of Life Enrichment at Aegis, who better to hold me accountable than a direct supervisor and someone I fear letting down?) for sharing yummy looking recipes with me.

In the crockpot, but not pictured is a Mexican style chicken. I should have written down where it came from, but I didn’t and now I can not find it…. It has chicken, Ro*tel, chicken broth, Whole30 homemade Worcestershire sauce, and a medley of spices… OH MAN! I just realized I forgot to put oregano in the crock pot, I need to go add that…. A similar recipe has it atop a sweet potato. I will keep looking for the recipe I used and make sure to update this post when I find it.

I also made two other recipes but I will spread them out as to not bore you all!

Because I started the crockpot at 7:00pm, I will be getting up at 2:00am to turn it off. I probably could have planned that better but because I am working tomorrow I will not have my normal meal plan day and I ran out of the food I cooked for this past week.

 

Cheat Day

This morning I just needed extra time to get out of bed. I woke up to my alarm but definitely needed extra time to wake up. I should have known that sleeping through  the night Tuesday night would mean having a hard time falling asleep Wednesday night. Needless to say, I will not be cooking breakfast  this morning. I am taking a “cheat day” for breakfast. By cheat I mean I am not cooking. I am opting for an RX Bar from Trader Joe’s instead. Trying something new BUT most importantly it is Whole30 Compliant!!

I have also struggled with even skin tones and with how I perceive my skin. I don’t think it is any secret that a guilty TV pleasure is watching The Bachelor/ette. I even listen to some podcasts by the contestants. Many of them advertise for Bioclarity. I can honestly truly notice a difference between my twice a day ritual of using Bioclarity and just using soap. I am sold on it! I have always felt it selfish when I spend extra time on frivolous things like a face wash routine, or make up, or extra time on hair. I felt like there may be more important things to do than spend this time on myself. This is ridiculous. It feel it is just fine to spend this selfish  time. I don’t need to feel guilty on something so stupid. Plus, as my parents have quoted,  “Even a barn door looks better painted.”

So today on my journey, I have decided it is okay to take extra time for myself… it is okay to eat a bar for breakfast instead of cook (every once in a while). It is okay to spend time twice a day to make myself feel beautiful. I deserve it!

Apple Crisp

Oh it smells so good when you can’t have it! So did the mashed potatoes and meatloaf I served the residents tonight!

Day 4 is complete! Although that food smelled good, it really wasn’t much of a temptation. On the way home at 7:45pm I ate some carrot sticks and yellow peppers and am going to bed full. Do any of you  find a different in the taste of baby carrots and peeling and cutting the regular carrots? Regular carrots taste so much better to me.

Anyways, I have this! I mean, yes, there  is still 26 more days… but I am going to do this!!

Worth it!

I think with any goal you try to complete having support can be the key to success. This getting healthy business is going to be hard work BUT I have the support. Financially I feel it 100% worth it to get messages that are real and truthful and don’t sugar coat things. PRAY I don’t  bite any heads off today!!

Sonic

I love Sonic Burgers. That fast food restaurant has so many good memories attached with it. Driving home from my brother’s house set into motion so many cravings. Something sweet, something sour, something greasy. But… I drove right past it and sipped on my cold water.

Photo is proof that after multiple days of unsuccessfully flipping egg white omelettes I CAN actually do it.

Do the Puyallup

Just a couple photos from the fair. I brought my salad, grapes, and sliced veggies and didn’t cheat at all! A French fry even landed on my Tupperware lid and there it stayed. It would have been all too easy to eat that little piece of fry… but I didn’t! 

So, what were my temptations at the Fair? Definitely the French fries and even worse the Dole Whips. I have always wanted one. I guess another day I will try.

After the fair I finished meal prep for the week. I roasted chicken and veggies, cut fruit, and packaged it all up. If I can just stay in this meal prep ahead of time I should be good.

Labor Day

Today I am going to the Washington State Fair with my sister and her babies. Do you know what that means? FAIR FOOD! Or, not!

Breakfast this morning was originally a cheese-free egg white omelette… but it didn’t flip, so scramble it was.

I prepackaged my lunch to avoid needing to buy food. Once again No Name salad… it is just so good, carrots and tomatoes, and frozen grapes. I do have almonds not pictured also. Tonight I will post about the fair. And possibly post about temptations at the fair.

Meanwhile, DO THE PUYALLUP!

My Newest Journey

Is re-journey a word? Today I begin the Whole30 Challenge! I have been so unhappy lately and I know it is because of weight gain and just not feeling healthy. I am not going to blame it on illness, or stress, or any other life factor. It is my fault I gained weight and now I am taking back control! So, you can follow along with my journey or just ignore it, but by being open and vocal about my successes and failures I hope my “community” will hold me accountable.

This Whole30 Challenge does not scare me at the moment. I feel like there is enough options that I can successfully manage this phase with “real” food. What does scare me? The word diet…. I don’t want to eat too much or not enough… I don’t want to get bored with what I am eating. What if I fail? What if I disappoint my health coach and friend (and coworker)? Obviously none of those are a goal. Today I vow they will not happen.

Last night after work I did my grocery shopping and even better came home and prepped. I chopped up vegetables and froze them for breakfasts, prepped a crock pot beef stew, and made a plan.

Here is my food for the day:

Egg white scramble with squash, onions, peppers, and herbs

A handful of unsalted pistachios

1/2 cup red grapes

No-name salad

No-name salad? I don’t know what to call it. But here is how I made it.

I love Trader Joe’s. Whenever I am trying to be healthy this vegetable mix is a must-have for me. I put it in soups, in salads, and when I could eat quinoa, steamed with quinoa. It includes broccoli, carrots, green bell peppers (with an occasional red pepper piece snuck in), green and red cabbage, jicama, radish, and celery.

1 cup Trader Joe’s Healthy 8 chopped veggie mix

1 small avocado, chopped

Two 2″ patties of pork sausage (I mixed the spices by hand, and steamed the meat to a crumble)

A splash of olive oil

2 tsps apple cider vinegar

A shake each of garlic powder, ginger powder, onion powder

2 shakes of chili powder

Stir and enjoy. I only ate half of the prepared dish. I probably could have eaten the whole amount but feared that over eating.

It was delicious!!!

Tonight for dinner I am excited for crock pot beef stew!

Tuesday, I begin the physical fitness which I truly feel will be the hardest part. More to come soon including my “why”.