Whole 30 Confessions: Week 2

Let's hop on the fun train and hear me whine about something that is self induced, shall we?

Now, if you were around last time, you know I was brutally honest about how much I was hating Whole 30. I held nothing back and was pretty miserable, yet I felt great. That is what prompted me to do this crazy thing all over again.

This go around I am doing about 85% Whole 30 and the other 15% is a combination of Paleo, or just straight up not good for you foods.

Being a rule breaker (ha!), this time I am allowing myself creamer in my coffee. I teach and if you've ever been around 21 kids at 7:30am, then you feel my pain. Coffee is a necessity and I have come a long way from my cream and sugar days. Just a little cream does the trick.

I am also eating Greek Yogurt. This is my favorite and it curbs my sweet tooth.

Friday night Chris and I had a date night to our favorite burger place. I had a burger and fries and my stomach hurt after. I won't be doing that again.

Last Saturday night we went to a gender reveal party. Everyone got a cake-pop and one cake-pop was the color of the gender, so if I didn't eat my cake-pop, then I could have ruined the surprise! Mine ended up being vanilla, but I ate every last bit. I did skip out on the pizza!

I went to brunch on Sunday and had eggs, bacon, and potatoes with ketchup. I tried the whole make your own Whole 30 ketchup thing and it was freaking nasty. Not doing that again. A little ketchup every now and then isn't hurting me. I am also not skipping out on meeting up with my friends just because the restaurant is not Whole 30 approved. I didn't check on the eggs, potatoes, or bacon....I just gobbled them up!

Monday I went to brunch, again, with another friend and I had chicken salad and fruit. I am getting tired of eggs :) The chicken salas obviously had some mayo in it, but I tried Whole 30 mayo and it was just as terrible as the ketchup. Nas-tayyy! There were a lot worse items I could have chose on the menu.

So, as you can see, I haven't been perfect, but I have seen major changes in my body, and the way I feel. For all the other meals that I didn't mention, I've been doing Whole 30. My snacks throughout the day are strawberries, carrots, plantain chips, almonds, etc., so all Whole 30 approved items.

This second time around is much more manageable and I am enjoying the process a lot. Every night I make a Whole 30 approved meal and Chris eats whatever I cook. He usually adds in some sort of noodle or other carb, but I skip out on that. I have been getting enough protein and calories to be able to go to the gym every morning, which is another reason why I think I am seeing changes in my body happen a lot quicker this go around. Last time I had to stop going to the gym because I was constantly so hungry.

Overall, I would say I am using Whole 30 as a guide. It truly helps my acid reflux and bloating. I feel better when I don't fill my body with junk. And, I've come to realize that having things that are not Whole 30 (oats, peanut butter, yogurt) are still not bad things. My choices could be a lot worse, so I am proud that this is becoming more of a lifestyle change and less like a 30 day challenge.

Whole 30 Meal Plan: Week 1

When I did my last Whole 30, I was unaware of the prep time that went in to this adventure. Being that I work full-time, at the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is come home and make a meal that's going to take hours to prep and cook.

This time around I've got my guns loaded and I'm headed into this Whole 30 battle fully prepared.

For breakfasts I'm allowing myself a protein shake and Greek yogurt, neither of which is Whole 30 approved. As a teacher, I don't get the luxury of eating whenever I want, so I need to make sure I am full until lunch. I've been having a protein shake and Greek yogurt for breakfast for a couple weeks now and it doesn't upset my stomach and I stay full. I don't mind eggs, but they always make me nauseous when I eat them after I workout.

For lunches I plan on eating leftovers.

Here are my dinner plans for Week 1:

Sunday: Taco Salad - I made guac to go with it and it tasted great!

Monday: Crock Pot Pork Roast with fried cabbage - I could eat this all day, everyday. Chris kept saying, "This is Whole 30?! But it tastes so good..."

Tuesday: Kickin' BBQ Chicken with baked french fries - Neither of us were a fan of the bbq sauce. It was really tangy and just not what we were used to, but I still ate it. Chris put regular bbq sauce on his portion of the chicken.

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner: eggs, bacon, (baked) hash-browns. Yum. This was s simple meal and I ended up added left over taco meat to my eggs.

Thursday: Mini Meatloaves with veggies - We have another snow day today, so I'm currently thawing the meat to make these!

Friday: Kalua Pork with roasted broccoli 

Saturday: leftovers

One of the problems with my first Whole 30 was that I couldn't ever get full. I was constantly hungry and ended up having to stop working out because I wasn't getting enough calories. I don't want that to happen this time, and so far, so good. We have been eating a lot of pork and beef because neither of us loveee chicken. We especially hate grilled chicken.

I am almost done with week one and I can tell you that I already feel better. I started this Whole 30 journey again because my acid reflux was flaring up again and I haven't had any pain related to reflux all week. I've been full after every meal and even though I'm craving a cookie, my morning protein shakes are doing the trick.

Since I'm stuck inside all day today, I hope to work on next week's meal plan!

Happy Thursday!

Back on the train.

After properly weaning off the Whole 30 diet, I diagnosed myself with having a mild allergy to gluten. It's 2014, so isn't everyone allergic to that stuff? 

Anyways, I feel for the people who are truly allergic to that crap because holy stomach pain.

While in New York I thought, "I am living it up!" in the food department. My stomach soon told me otherwise.

We welcomed the trip with a stop at White Castle. How can that chain be in business? I can tolerate a lot, but that, yuck. I had two of their "burgers" and two packets of applesauce and felt as fine as you can after eating mystery meat on a bun. I didn't want to chance it with fries because we were eating at 10:45 at night.

The rest of the time at West Point I tried to be aware of what I was stuffing in my mouth. Friday, the continental breakfast curbed my craving for fake eggs and sour fruit. For lunch I opted for chicken strips (no fries) that probably were not the best idea, but the West Point dining hall didn't have many options. And, for dinner Friday night, I had pizza....then ice cream Oops. 

After we got back to the hotel room I felt so awful. My stomach felt crampy and I felt my acid reflux symptoms. I took an antacid and finally fell asleep. It was that night that I realized the indulging was not worth it.

Saturday we went to the Army vs. Air Force game where I dined on coffee and peanut M&M's. I had ate a big breakfast, plus it was freezing, so there were other things to take my mind off of the hunger. The concession stand only offered nachos or a hot dog, so no thanks.

For dinner Saturday night I ate the most delicious chicken pot pie, but owwweeeee. Pain. I guess the pastry on top of the pie got me.

Sunday we headed into NYC. Since my stomach had been uncomfortable the majority of the time at West Point I decided to try my best to not overdue it in NYC. For brunch I had minestrone soup and for early dinner I had one slice of pizza and a salad. For dinner I had a chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat bread (I only ate one slice of the bread). My stomach felt better than it had the previous days, thank goodness. 

Monday I was careful because the thought of being uncomfortable on a plane was enough to make me not want to upset my stomach. Then....KARMA. 

Chris and I met up with a friend of mine and we went to this little Italian restaurant and I had the most delicious spaghetti with bolognese sauce. I was so hungry from walking around Central Park and we had yet to have any Italian food while up there, so....

That plane ride was painful. I felt bloated and crampy. I eventually felt hungry, but was too scared to eat anything. It was not my best feeling day.

That leads me to Tuesday when I called Chris and told him to pick us up Spoons for dinner. It had been raining all day and I was craving their grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Y'all, I couldn't even eat the whole sandwich because I was in so much pain...which never happens because Spoons has the best grilled cheese ever.

So, at that moment I decided we were going grocery shopping at Sprouts and I was getting back on a modified version of this Whole 30 train. I bought most of the stuff I had been buying, plus gluten free bread and gluten free chips. 

I'm sad to say that I think I may just have to lay off that big bad gluten wolf for good...which makes my heart hurt a bit, but the pain is not worth it. 

I am just thanking Jesus ice cream still does a body good :)

10 Takeaways from Whole 30

1. I can do without corn and black beans. I never once missed either of them and I think from now on I may pass on both, if given the option.

2. People told me my taste buds would change and my beloved Blue Bell would be too sweet for me. Wrong. That stuff is like heaven in a 1/2 gallon carton. Pure bliss.

3. I get really grumpy when I haven't eaten anything good for weeks. Poor Chris, he was a trooper.

4. Homemade ketchup should not even be in the same category as real ketchup. They don't even compare. And don't even get me started on homemade mayo. Anyone who tells you that stuff is good is lying to your face.

5. I'm going to start buying organic, sugarless marinara sauce because it was actually really freaking good. Prego may have to take a backseat for now.

6. Almond butter with apples is like candy to me. I could eat those two things together for snack everyday.

7. I lost six pounds and probably a couple inches off my waist and that is motivation to keep up a version of this diet. I don't want to fall back into my old ways, so I am going to have to come up with a plan to keep incorporating in some version of these Whole 30 meals.

8. Lettuce wrapped burgers are actually pretty good. I don't even miss having a bun, but the fries, that's another story. I missed those little things so much!

9. I have had more energy and been able to workout all week, compared to on the diet when I only had the energy to workout four times. Working out for me is something I've been doing my whole life due to playing sports, so to not be able to was stressing me out. I don't work out to be a fitness model, but it truly does relieve my stress and I am happy to be back in the swing of things.

10. It is doable. This ice cream eatin', chip dippin', fried food Texan girl made it 22 days, so you can too! I know the program is 30 days, but I chose to do it in October because Lord knows I am not giving up my Thanksgiving meal for no rabbit food! Nor am I giving up my Christmas meal either! It just so happens that we are going on vacation, so I am not going to beat myself up for not making it the full 30 days. I know I could have had it not been for our vacation. You get into rabbit food mode and it just becomes a habit to eat healthy, so going another eight days would have been a breeze.

A few FAQs I've got:

Do you feel better?
Honestly, yes and no. I feel skinnier and less bloated, but I had no energy. I did sleep really well, better than I ever have, but I also felt exhausted all the time. I think there is a happy medium somewhere, I just have to find it.

Would you do it again?
Probably. I always love a good challenge, so I'm not going to say no, but I'm not planning my next Whole 30 by any means! I think if I can continue some of my new eating habits then I'll be less inclined to cut everything out cold turkey like I did this time.

What was your favorite recipe?
These sausage balls. So good! I will continue to make them because they are great for breakfast and as a snack.

What did you miss most about having such a restricted diet?
Food brings people together. Not sure about your family, but everything my family does is centered around food and when that is limited, it is just no fun. I missed the ease of being able to grab a snack or a sweet treat. I also missed eating with my husband because we would eat apart because he didn't want to tempt me with his meals! There were some meals he would eat that I cooked, but he isn't a fan of such healthy food.

You have the willpower of ____. How do you do it?
My parents always have pushed me to push myself. I have a sports mindset and there is very little I am not willing to do or try. I think that is how I approached this challenge. Was it something I wanted to do? Not really. But the fact that some people said I wouldn't be able to (cough cough, husband, brother, and dad) that gave me the motivation to suck it up and do it.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask!

Whole 30: The Weaning Process

I successfully completed three weeks of the dreaded rabbit diet, also known as Whole 30. I am happy to report I started the reintroduction phase where I am bringing back old foods in order to try and pinpoint what makes my stomach upset.

Since we are going to New York later this week, I really didn't want to be restricted with what I could eat while I was there. After many of you suggested me starting the reintroduction process a little early, I happily took your advice and am on my happy way to eating delicious food again.

Before I get into the foods I've introduced, let me confess what went on last week.

It was awful. I was hungry all the time. I ate protein, lots of it, but couldn't seem to stay full. I was grumppyyyyy and almost to the point of tears from being so hungry all the time. The food prep is ridiculous, and I don't even have kids. I can't imagine having to prep these dishes with kids needing your attention. Sometimes you just want to order a freaking pizza and call it a night. Not happening with Whole 30!

I was getting really fed up with chicken and Chipolte. Eggs for breakfast were starting to make me gag. And I just wanted some ice cream, dangit! Plus, having a husband and friends who 100% supported me, but ate whatever they wanted right in front of me made me want to cry. Chris was really the best about concealing whatever he was eating, but it didn't hide the fact that I knew his meal was better than mine!

I am in no way bashing this program, because it has proven to rid me of my acid reflux for the time being, but this is something that takes a lot of willpower and time...geez the time to grocery shop and food prep, whew! I don't have that kind of time! Nor, do I want to make time for it. I was cooking all day during the weekends and that was no fun. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking, but when it isn't even something that tasty, it started to get annoying.

Friday night I forcefully decided to start reintroducing legumes into my diet due to having to eat fast food while driving down to Houston. We went to Wendy's and I had their chili and a baked potato. The chili had beans in it and I felt nothing. No upset stomach, no bloating, nothing. Check!

Since I am a skilled dietitian (sarcasm), I decided that by Saturday morning it was time to reintroduce dairy. Bring on the cheese! I went to The Egg and I and got a Mexican omelet that had cheese all over the top of it. It was the best, BEST thing I've had in three weeks! I was instantly in a better mood than I had been in almost a month! With the smile on my face you would've thought I won the lotto. Nope, just finally had some freaking delicious food!

After pigging out on the omelet and potatoes I waited to see if anything would happen with my stomach and...nothing. Yipee!! My biggest fear was being intolerant of dairy due to my obsession with ice cream, so this was a relief. Naturally for lunch I had to test the waters again with ice cream and...nothing! Fist bump.

At the wedding Saturday night I resisted anything with gluten and dairy in it, just to make sure I was pinpointing the symptoms, if there were going to be any. We went to the hotel that night and throughout the night and into Sunday I felt better than I had in a long time! My malnourished body was finally feeling energized! Hallelujah!

Sunday I decided to stay off the gluten until dinner just to make sure I was able to pinpoint any problems that may arise. At breakfast I had a completely gluten-free, so by dinner I was feeling good and ready to tackle the gluten monster!

What better way to fill your body with gluten than to go to a pizza place, dun. Cane Rosso it was and I devoured an entire 14" Margarita pizza by myself. And then it hit...the stomach pain. Surprisingly, not bad, but this was the first time in three weeks I felt bloated and had some acid reflux. No bueno.

Now it is Tuesday and I haven't had gluten since Sunday night. I think I am going to ease back into it with gluten just because I am thinking that is what makes my acid reflux flare up. Am I going to give it up completely? No! Heck no! Is that a dumb idea? Maybe. But at this point in my life, I love food way too much, and I have learned from this experience to modify, modify, modify, so I am confident I will be able to turn things away that are not my favorite and be able to splurge here and there.

Thursday I hope to have some things I've learned from this experience for those of you interested in doing the challenge!

Whole 30 Confessions: Week 2

Hey guys, I'm alive! I survived two weeks of this crazy Whole 30 challenge and I'm feeling...like I could eat a gallon of ice cream and chips and salsa for days.

FOOD:
Besides my cravings still in almost full force, things were better last week. I was way more prepared and that helped a lot. I made several meals that lasted me almost all week, and Chris was out of town, so I wasn't tempted at all.

Some hits for the week were:

- this chili

- this sausage 

- potatoes fried in coconut oil

- all natural turkey sandwich meat

- homemade ketchup: 8oz organic strained diced tomatoes, 4oz organic tomato paste, 2 tbs lemon juice, 1/2 tsp dry mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Blend all together in a small blender.

- potato chips made in the microwave (I microwaved mine for 7 minutes)

- guacamole

- almond butter

- bacon, eggs, and hash browns

Let me say something about these hits. As much as I'd like to sit here and say that these hits were delicious, that'd be a lie. Yes, each items is/was pretty good, but nothing so far has compared to how it tastes normally. Out of that list, the only thing I plan on making after this challenge ends is the breakfast sausage. That is some good stuff right there. And of course the bacon, eggs, and has browns.

Chili isn't the same without cheese and cornbread. Potatoes fried in canola oil or crisco are just better. Natural turkey meat is dry. The ketchup is nothing compared to the real stuff. The potato chips are a great replacement for now, but not even in the same category as out of the bag chips. The guacamole is just about the same recipe as I've always used: an avocado, scoop of salsa, and some lime juice. The only difference is the salsa is organic and has no sugar. And yes, that makes a difference. The almond butter is delicious!

Some misses:

- I tried frying chicken patties and they were alright, but probably not a repeater. I mixed ground chicken, an egg, and some spices together, then battered them with almond flour and fried them in coconut oil. Not terrible, and they might have been a hit with real ketchup, but they just weren't my favorite.

- Beef stew meat. Just eww. I need to remember to never buy that again. I might as well just chew on Chris's boot.

- An egg, spinach, onion, a steak frittata. It just wasn't that good.

- Banana ice cream. Specifically this banana ice cream. Don't get me wrong, it was okay, but almost too rich after caramelizing the bananas. Let's just say it wasn't Blue Bell.

As for the misses, although they weren't the best tasting things around, I still ate every last bit of them. I refuse to waste the food that I am cooking and, to be frank, sometimes I don't have the time or energy to fix something else, so gross leftovers will just have to do. I'm not that picky.

My theory on the foods I don't like is...watch tv or distract yourself while eating and you won't pay so much attention to how gross the food is. In the end, I get full on eating a healthy meal and that's what this is all about.

Sunday Chris grilled chicken and I devoured two huge pieces. It was by far the best thing I have had in two weeks and he will be grilling much more this week.

MOOD:
My mood the first week was similar to dancing with a lion; dangerous, and something you probably wouldn't want to do. I was moody and cranky and if Chris Tucker were writing this post he would probably tell you that I was extremely unpleasant to be around.

I am happy to report that last week I felt like my mood was better. Chris wasn't in town to witness my gleeful attitude, but I'd say I felt less groggy and out of it. I did have some moments of fog, but for the most part, my mood was more upbeat and I felt like I had more energy than the first week.

Can I just say something? I felt like I had a lot of energy before I started this challenge. I was working out every morning, eating pretty healthy, for the most part, and was feeling really great about my body and how I was feeling. I'm not sure I can credit this diet to making me feel great...just a thought.

HEALTH: 
Y'all, I am so freaking excited to say that I have not thrown up/had any stomach pain at all since I started this!! My acid reflux hasn't bother me at all!! I used to have stomach pain after every meal, like piercing pain, but I haven't felt that in over two weeks. That makes me think my stomach may not agree with something I was eating and I hope to have an answer to that at the end of this whole challenge!

WORKOUTS:
These are few and far between. The first week I think I only went to the gym twice. Last week I only went once. I am starving, STARVING the moment the alarm clock goes off and the last thing I want to do is go to the gym when I'm starving. I am eating a lot, but I feel like I can't eat enough. Everything I am eating is healthy, but not calorie dense, so I need to work on eating more protein later in the day, so when I wake up, I have enough energy to make it to the gym. I did make it to the gym Monday morning, but felt a little nauseous when I got home because I was so hungry.

OVERALL:
Overall, I feel...I'm not sure. I love how my clothes are fitting and I know I've lost inches. I tried on my best friend's bridesmaids dress (for her wedding in January) a week before going on this diet and it fit perfectly snug, with no room to spare. I tried it on again on Sunday and it was almost too loose! I no longer have any love handles and I am starting to see all my abs, so that is nice. But, if I'm being honest, the biggest motivator in this is my acid reflux being under control. That has been such a huge pain in my butt for almost eight years now, so to know I potentially have that under control is a great feeling. On the other hand, there is no way I could keep up these eating habits forever. The meal prep and lack of delicious (to me) food is something I'm not willing to give up. Call me crazy, but ice cream and chips are just too delicious to never eat!!

And no offence at all to those people who live this healthy lifestyle all the time, because I commend you for doing this because it is really freaking hard, but no, Paleo ice cream is not better than real ice cream and homemade ketchup doesn't taste like the real stuff. So, for all those items you claim to have mastered to taste like "the real thing," I'm sorry. Pillsbury has perfected the cookie and there is just no substitute for that. Blue Bell is the master of ice cream and no frozen banana treat is even close to tasting as delicious as Cookies N Cream. And kale chips dipped in homemade organic no-nothing ranch are nothing like Chuy's chips and jalapeno ranch dip. Sawwrryyyy.

I have ten days left until we go on vacation and I am going to try my hardest to eat healthy for breakfast and lunch, then splurge for dinner. I am a little worried about upsetting my stomach, so I am going to try and take it easy, but no guarantees when you're in NYC!

Has anyone else tried Whole 30? Do you have any delicious recipes? I'd love to try them out!

Whole 30 Recipes and Meal Plans

I am no meal expert, y'all. Some nights I eat cereal and call it a day. Other nights I am on my game and concoct a yummy meal that I put on repeat.

Since cereal is not in the cards right now, and whipping meals up on the go is not the name of my game, I've been diligent about scouring Pinterest and other websites for recipes and ideas to keep this girl from going hanngryy. (You can see my Whole 30 Pinterest board, here)

Saturday mornings are when my meal planning/grocery list prepping goes down. The only bad thing about Pinterest is that 99% of your pinning friends are not on board with your clean eating so they be pinnin' stuff like this:

source

and you be like:

source

The struggle is real. I love you, Pinterest, but I hate you oh, so much!

Moving on. 

Monday, October, 6th:

Breakfast - Eggs baked in avacado skins with the avacado baked in the middle of the cookie sheet. Basically you scoop out some of the avacado, place it in the middle of the cookie sheet, crack an egg in each of the halves, and bake at 350 for about 15 mintues.

Verdict - Freakin' disgusting...literally I was gagging.

My friend Caitlin told me about this recipe and it has been her favorite so far from Whole 30. I texted her telling her that it was gag worthy, and I'm going to say I just screwed it up, someway, somehow. The texture of the eggs was like rubber and the flavor of the whole things was awful. Never will I ever do this again because I can't get the taste out of my head. Cait, you need to make this for me!

Snack - Apple with almond butter.

Verdict - This is like candy to a person who isn't allowed to have sugar...so good.

Lunch - Leftover crock pot pork, broccoli, carrots, and strawberries.

Pork rump roast, coconut aminos, whatever spices you want. Cover pork in aminos and spices, put in crockpot on love for around 4 hours. We got a pretty small roast, so it didn't need a full 6 hours.

Verdict - It was alright.

The pork was't bad, but it wasn't good. It was edible and just blah. It was sort of dry and the gravy from the crock pot wasn't enough to make it taste better. Maybe using better spices or something would do the trick. 

Dinner - Beef stir fry. 

Cup up steak sauteed in cocout aminos. Then add any veggies you want and add about 2 cups of water, simmer until veggies are soft.

Verdict - Once again, it was alright. Not Chinese food stir fry worthy. The meat was tough and it just needed more spices.

Dessert - Another apple with almond butter while staring at Chris was was eating this:

Rude.

Tuesday, October 7th:

Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs, a banana/strawberry/spinach smoothie.

Verdict - Compared to yesterday, delicious! The eggs were eggs and the smoothie was interesting with no milk or yogurt. I just added ice and a little water. It wasn't bad, but I won't be putting in the effort to make it again. Plus, Whole 30 suggests that you not have smoothies because drinking your food messes with your brain and a lot of this program is training your brain to not be emotional about foods.

Snack - Apple with almond butter.

Lunch - Leftover stir fry, carrots, and a kiwi.

Dinner - The last bit of the pork with veggies. 

Chris's dinner? Just a large pizza and a Pepsi. Kill me now.

Dessert - A kiwi...a lone little kiwi.

Wednesday, October 8th:

Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs, a banana, and strawberries.

Snack - Apple and almond butter.

Lunch - Leftover stir fry, carrots, and a kiwi.

Dinner - Baked chicken thighs with veggies.

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20 minutes. I just added random spices and a little olive oil.

Verdict - Really good! Chris said this recipe was a "repeater." Winning!

Thursday, October 9th:

Same breakfast and snack as the day before.

Lunch - Left over baked chicken and broccoli. And, as usual, a bag of carrots.

Dinner - Chipolte! I had parent/teacher conferences this whole day so during my break I found out that I could have Chipolte! If you're doing Whole 30 you can have the salad with carnitas, guacamole, and tomato salsa. That's it! Because of the oil they use, you can't have the fajita veggies and they glaze their other meats with honey, so those are a no-go. 

Verdict - It was gone in 3 minutes when I got home...

Chris came home with a foot long Subway sandwich, a bag of Cheetos, a large Coke, and three cookies. I could have swatted his toosh into the next county. Fo' real, dude?! I didn't know he had cookies until he warmed them up in the microwave that THE WHOLE HOUSE SMELLED LIKE A COOKIE!

Friday, October 10th:

Same breakfast and snack.

Lunch - This was a struggle. Because I had ate all the leftovers and had Chipolte the night before, we literally had no meat I could eat. Our fridge was empty of options for me. All that was left was pico de gallo, an avocado, and some spinach leaves. So what did I have for lunch? Spinach leaves topped with a diced avacado, pico, and lemon juice. I also had carrots and strawberries.

Verdict - To be honest, it wasn't that bad! I was dreading it, but it was not as bad as that egg thing I ate on the first day! It was fresh and the lemon juice was a smart addition.

Dinner - Mooyah! I got a lettuce wrapped burger with onions, pickles, avocado, and mustard.

Verdict - The smell of the fries were killing me, but the burger was pretty good. I miss my ketchup though.

Some recipes I tried out last weekend:

- This chili recipe. The best thing I had made yet, plus there are plenty of leftovers.

- This homemade mayo recipe. This went straight in the trash. So gross.

- These sausage balls. I can't wait to finally have more than eggs and fruit for breakfast. These are SO good!

- These sweet potato fries. Not bad! I still prefer regular white potatoes, but these were better than nothing! I just found out we can have all potatoes, so I am pretty pumped about that! I also looked up the sugar grams in a regular sized serving of Mooyah's sweet potato fries...yikes! 25 grams of sugar in those babies! You might as well drink a Coke or have a shake!

Whole 30 Confessions

Hello friends!

After Thursday's post revealing that I am doing the Whole 30 challenge, I had no idea so many of you had done it, are doing it, or want to hear all about it. I can tell y'all are going to be what keeps me going because Chris and his Cokes and cookies are not helping the cause.

If you have been around here for awhile, you know that I keep things pretty honest and I'm not good at the whole "of course eating celery instead of cookies is great" thing.

So, let me be honest, last week sucked. I was hungry, grumpy, in a brain fog, and all around pretty much wanting to gorge on pizza and ice cream. I was irritated at having to cook so much, only to wind up with a meal that wasn't even 1/100 as good at the Little Caesar's pizza Chris was eating. It was not good.

After some requests, each week I will try to let you know my grocery list and the meals I plan on eating. I think this will help me stay organized and it will help you decide if this is for you or not!

I have found the hardest thing is snacks. When I get home for school, I want a snack. It used to be a bag of chips or bowl of ice cream. Last week it was an apple, banana, orange, or a bag of carrots. Noting equivalent to ice cream, or chips.

Before I started this, I thought my eating habits were pretty good. I felt like my protein shake with fruit and Greek yogurt was a good start to my day. The Belvida breakfast biscuits I had for snack were delicious and a better choice than other snacks I could have opted for. For lunch I usually had left overs from the night before, and my dinners were normally a meat and some veggies, or spaghetti and some veggies. On the weekends Chris and I would normally go out to eat, but then again, nothing I ate I ever felt was terrible or loaded with carbs and sugar. Oh how wrong I was.

During the Whole 30 challenge you can consume absolutely no sugar, added or natural (fruits don't count). None. That eliminates basically everything. Almond milk, yogurt, bread, spaghetti sauce, noodles, grains, cereal, granola, Belvidas, and pretty much everything else I was eating. Of course my beloved Cokes, pizza, and ice cream are out the door, which has not been easy.

Last week I could tell that my brain was lost. I made so many dumb mistakes that even I was dumbfounded as to how much my brain relies on sugar to get through  my day. I am usually pretty with it and I wouldn't be one to consider myself to have a lot of "blonde moments." By Wednesday I had: put face wash on my loofah, opened the deodorant and just stared at it not knowing what to do next, put leftovers in their containers and went to the trash to throw them away, got out an apple to cut, but stood there for two minutes thinking about what I needed to do with this apple, left the bathroom door at school unlocked and someone walked in, called my classroom phone looking for a parent, walked around looking for my keys and they were in my hand, walked around looking for my phone and it was also in my hand, and this is just to name a few.

Y'all, that is bad.

I went to bed before 8:30pm every night last week. As in I was dead asleep by 8:30pm. I also noticed that I did not toss and turn as much as I used to and never once did I feel sick from my acid reflux, something that is a huge blessing.

I am typing all of this out to say that here I sit on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon feeling really good. Do I want sweets, yes, 100%. Do I crave them? Yes, 100%. But, I feel better. My brain is functioning better, I feel more alert and less like I am about to pass out at any moment. I feel skinnier and less blah. I feel healthy.

Tomorrow I will be back with some recipes I made this weekend, the hits and the misses! I won't lie to ya...if I say is is bad, it is probably pretty nasty! I was a cooking fool this weekend and I feel much more prepared going into my second week of the challenge.

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Leann and Kimberlee!

Whole 30 Challenge

A couple weekends ago I met up with Caitlin to talk about The Lovely Lookbook (click here to go link up your fall colors since my linky wasn't working last Wednesday!). While we were talking she mentioned that her and her husband are trying out the Whole 30 program. She explained to me the premise of it and I thought it sounded doable.

I left Starbucks and called Chris and told him about my new plan to only eat whole foods for 30 days. He said, "Can I still have Blue Bell and spaghetti?" to which I replied ," Nope." He quickly came back with, "Yup, I'm out." Then he decided to say, "I'll bring you home some wooden pallets from work since that's just about how your food will taste during this challenge. Plus, they're organic since they are pure wood, so they fit all the challenge rules." Hardy-har-har, Mr. Tucker.

Jokes aside, I chewed on the idea of only eating whole food for 30 days. No sugar at all. No added sugar, no fake sugar, no sugar. No pasta, bread, beans, or ice cream. No yogurt, no almond milk. Basically, I can't have most of what I eat. I thought about the idea for a week and, after a night sitting on the bathroom floor because of acid reflux, I decided, I'm in.

This is my thought; I can do anything for 30 days. YOU can do anything for 30 days.

With Chris a no-go, I knew I needed to get mentally ready for Cokes to be opened in front of me and ice cream to be ate every night after dinner. So what did I do last weekend? Ate ice cream and drank Coke basically for three days straight. No wonder my stomach hurt so bad.

Just like my year of no shopping challenge, I knew some planning had to happen.

Last Saturday I read all there was to know about this challenge. I made notes and wanted to be really educated since screwing it up would completely defeat the purpose. I scoured Pinterest in search of edible whole food recipes, made my grocery list, and set out to Sprouts for the first time in years.

Why am I doing this, you ask?

Mainly because I am working my tail off in the gym every morning. I have come to love going to workout in the mornings, but I am definitely negating what I'm doing by chowing down on crap day in and day out.

Another main reason, my acid reflux. I have struggled with this since my freshman year in high school. I have been on every medication for it and nothing seems to work except getting my diet right. I am tried of waking up during the middle of the night with a sour stomach, and Chris is tired of waking up with me.

So, for roughly 30 days (at least 25, I started the challenge Monday) I will be eating nothing but whole foods. I say roughly 30 days because we go to West Point and NYC at the end of this month and I don't want to starve if nothing is available for me to eat. I am going to try my hardest to stick to it while in New York, but my main goal is to make it to October 30th.

I will be tracking my progress, not my weight. I am not doing this to lose weight and it is not a diet because the program says I can eat as much of any whole foods as I'd like. I will be tracking inches around my waist and I will just be keeping tabs on how I am feeling. I want this to be a lifestyle change, not a thing I do for 30 days then toss it to the wind.

And as for Chris Tucker, well he gets what I cook, so like it or not, he is doing a version of the program as well!

I can't wait to share recipes with y'all and let you know how it is going!

Have you ever done a whole 30 challenge?