Day 9

Things are better today.  I'm seeing results, so I don't feel like all of this hard work is in vain.  That is encouraging.

Still plugging along with the same old breakfast.  Today was just an egg veggie scramble with a half a TJ's spicy chicken sausage mixed in.  No time for anything else, since I had a dentist appt.  That was more than enough to satiate me until lunch, though.

Lunch was leftover taco salad (ground meat/spices/jalapenos/onions with sliced black olives, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, 1/2 avocado, salsa and Tessiemae's Spicy Ranch dressing.

For dinner, I'm making a paleo moussaka.  I've prepped the sauce already, and it is REALLY good.
http://www.theironyou.com/2013/11/paleo-moussaka.html

Still no cravings.  I literally could watch my son eat brownies or any number of treats and not flinch.  I am so grateful for that.  It would be so much harder if that were not the case.

On to Day 10!

Days 6, 7, and 8

I'm back.

This is the official start of Week 2.

According to the timeline, days 7 and 8 should be days that I'm just tired.  And day 7 (yesterday) that was oh so true.  Today is too soon to tell, but I have a feeling that it will be the same.

Some random musings:

1.  I'm sick of vegetables.  Sick of them.  And that makes me sad because I actually love vegetables.  I have no idea how I'm going to keep this up if this aversion doesn't go away.

2.  After sitting down to do some thinking, I'm wondering if I'm blindly following this plan, restricting myself needlessly, when I should be asking more questions.  Some of the rationale makes sense.  Some of it seems pretty arbitrary.  I don't like arbitrary.

3.  I would really like to see this plan modified with guidelines for meal planning and portion control to make it a full-on ketogenic weight loss plan.  If I'm going to go to the trouble to be so restrictive, give me the tools to take it one step further and practically guarantee weight loss.

4.  This weekend was Father's Day weekend, and I would have loved to treat my husband to something special - a meal, a dessert, something.  Not being able to share a bottle of wine, or a special meal made the day feel completely ordinary.  I felt terrible, especially since we aren't doing gifts this year.

5.  I don't have cravings, and haven't had them, for which I am grateful.  It would be 1000x harder to do this if I did.

6.  My will to live is being sucked out of my body.  I find joy in meal preparation and dining.  Eating out or getting take out or just getting a frozen dinner to heat up at home is a convenience that I rely on when days get too hectic, and I can't do that.  And when I find myself explaining why, I hear how wacky some of these rules sound when I say them out loud to another person, and I have to ask myself "why? -- why am I doing this???  I don't even know if I'll lose any weight!"  Because, let's be honest here - I don't have any demons that I'm battling,  I feel the same, I don't have a sugar demon, and I'm not someone that has an unhealthy relationship with food.  At least I didn't.  Now, though, I find myself having to constantly think about food, and when I'm not thinking about it, I'm preparing it.  It's consuming my life, and I hate that.

That's all for now.  My strategy for this week and beyond is to rely a bit less on big portions of fat/protein to fill me up, and try to rely more on the non-starchy veggies to do that.  This will be a challenge because I'm so sick of vegetables, but I am determined to lose weight on this journey, and I think this is a necessary step.  I'm also going to be less heavy handed with the oils and ghee.  I've been using them a bit too liberally, and it's time to measure and use less.

Day 5

Day 5

1/6 of the way done.

25 more days to go.

*sigh*

Veggie egg scramble for breakfast.  Threw in a couple of yolks this time just to see if that made me more or less enthusiastic for them.  Verdict: more.  They were good.  That was it for breakfast, though.  My schedule got thrown off this morning, so I did not eat the full breakfast that I intended.  Despite this, though, I wasn't hungry and ate lunch as regularly scheduled.  Lunch was a stirfried zucchini (sesame oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder), apple with almond butter, and the remainder of the Asian turkey lettuce cups that we ate the past two nights.

Dinner tonight will be simple.  Strip steak, grilled avocado, potato, and brussels sprouts.

Although it might be a complete coincidence, that my milk production has been up a bit these last few days. I'm a breastfeeding mama, with not a great supply, so anything beyond normal is significantly more in my book.  Can I attribute this to the change in diet?  Not sure.  Maybe.

Also, my shorts are definitely looser.  I know this is too early technically speaking, but I did start the switch over to Whole30 7 days before I officially started.  This switch entailed making 2 meals a day Whole30 compliant.  So a lot more veggies, and a lot less dairy and grains than I'm used to. I don't know if this is also a coincidence or if it's real, but I'll take it.

. . . Day 4 . . . yay.

Well, here we are.  Day 4.  Only 26 more days to go . . . That seems like such a long time . . .

Today's post will be short.

Just to get food out of the way, all meals today are going to be exactly the same as yesterday, with the exception of having a bigger lunch or adding in an apple with almond butter to stave off hunger in between lunch and dinner.

Today, I'm not in "kill all the things" mode, but I am decidedly less gung ho today.

I had to make a market run this morning for a few fresh items and coconut milk, and I found myself looking at the produce with disdain.  I mean, I like vegetables, but not this many, ALL the time.  I'm worried that I'm going to end up eating the veggies I like so much to the point that, once this is over, I'm never going to want to eat them again.

Otherwise, I'm here.  I'm not great, but I'm not terrible.  I slept horribly because the baby slept horribly, but I'll get through the day somehow.  My body feels pretty good.  No headaches.  Aside from the natural consequences of eating so many vegetables, all is well.

I just really want these next 26 days to fly by.  I realize the likelihood of that happening is very very low.

Day 3

I had a dream last night.  I dreamt that I was sitting with some friends, and someone took out a huge, and I mean HUGE, Reese's PB cup.  It was easily 10x the size of a normal one.  I picked it up without thinking, started eating it, and then, in my dream, I remembered that I was doing this meal plan, and I was devastated.  Even in my dream, I knew I was only on Day 2, but the reality that I had to start over was crushing.  I hope I can remember that feeling because I was utterly defeated and so incredibly relieved when I woke up. 

The reality is much better.  So far, so good.  I'm really doing OK and not yet resenting the restrictions of this meal plan.  I'm holding my breath for the next 2 days, though, since those days are supposed to be the "kill all the people" days.  Days when many people have reported that they were so irritable and so difficult to be around that they didn't know how they would make it through the day, let alone 26 more.  I am really hoping to bypass that speedbump.  I'm irritable enough as it is!

Not much else to speak of here.  I feel fine.  Tired, but that can be attributed to my 10 mo old that has a cold and is waking up 5 times a night.  Cravings?  Not really.  Not really any at all, so that's good.  It makes it easier, for sure.  Also, my husband is joining me in eating compliantly at night, so I don't have to make special meals, and I don't have to watch him drink a beer or have a glass of wine.  I appreciate that greatly.

(ETA - He had a beer with dinner.  He was "stressed".)

So, what's on the menu for today?

For breakfast, the same egg/white veggie scramble (this time with mushrooms and green olives along with the peppers, onions, and jalapenos), leftover grilled cabbage, and 2 sausage patties.

For lunch, the same exact meal as yesterday.  It was so good.  SO good. (ETA - I need to be sure to add in a potato or nuts or something here, or just have a bigger salad - I got hungry way too quickly after lunch)

For dinner, turkey lettuce wraps, sweet potato hash browns, and Asian grilled asparagus.

Link to wraps:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asian-turkey-cabbage-cups
No sugar, sub lettuce leaves

Dinner was wonderful, but I let myself get hangry, and I was miserable.  After work, I had to pick up the baby from daycare, take the older one to basketball (during which time I raided my emergency Larabar), come home and feed/bathe the baby, feed the older one, and then I could start prepping dinner.  Very bad planning on my part.  Won't do that again.  Luckily, I have a ton of leftovers, so tomorrow's dinner is hassle free!

See you on Day 4!

Onward to Day 2

Yesterday was a good day overall, but I suppose that was to be expected.  Ask me in a week - haha! Taking it one day at a time here.  Today, I anticipate smooth sailing as well.

Breakfast was a half shredded sweet potato cooked in 1 tsp ghee, 2 sausage patties, and the same egg white/veggie scramble with salsa as yesterday.  I also gave myself half a banana, but I decided not to eat it.  I was full, and there was no point in having it just yet.  And my coffee with coconut milk (the one I use is below).

Lunch was a pan-seared salmon filet (seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and pepper) with fresh greens and a citrus vinaigrette dressing, a small avocado, and a half banana with some unsweetened coconut flakes. Originally, I was going to make this dressing:

Steph's Lemon Vinaigrette 

3 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dijon (Whole30 compliant)
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp minced red onion
1 minced garlic clove
Salt and pepper to taste

But I found Tessiemae's Lemonette dressing at Whole Foods and decided to use it instead.

http://www.tessemaes.com/products/lemonette

Verdict:  It's good, but not zippy enough for me.  A lime spritz over the salmon and the salad made it perfect.

Dinner was shrimp scampi, grilled cabbage (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-grilled-cabbage-wedges-157671) and a smashed potato.  It was terrific!

Whole30 Compliant Breakfast Sausage

Whole30 Compliant Breakfast Sausage

3 tbsp ghee or other compliant cooking fat
1 cup diced onion
2 lbs ground pork
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage leaves
2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp fennel seed

Fry onion (medium heat) in 1 tbsp ghee until translucent.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Mix together the onions with the rest of the ingredients. Form 16 patties.  Fry patties in 2 tbsp of whatever cooking fat you desire (I used ghee) over medium heat.    I browned them on both sides (4-5 min/side), but removed them just before they were completely cooked through, as I planned to freeze and then reheat them.  Reheating will finish the cooking process.  If you plan to eat them right away, slightly reduce your heat to allow them to cook longer without burning. 

(adapted from Alton Brown's Breakfast Sausage recipe)

Dreaded Day 1

Ok, so here goes nothing.  

Ordinarily, when I think of "paleo", I can't help but pause and observe a moment of silence for all of those poor souls that willingly deprive themselves of the very best things in life.  Wine.  Bread.  Wine.  Bread.  That about sums it up. In fact, if I'm ever forced to choose a last meal, it's going to be . . . wait for it . . . wine and bread.  I love bread so much that just the thought of a freshly baked baguette, pieces torn and dunked in olive oil, can evoke a Pavlovian response. 

The problem is that I'm almost 10 months postpartum, and, well, I'm running out of excuses. Now, if you know anything about Whole30, you know it's NOT touted as a weight loss program, and you can conceivably follow the plan but not lose weight.  I understand just enough about metabolism, however, to be dangerous, and I know that this plan can yield weight loss if done correctly.  It's this last part-- the "correctly" part, the exact details of which I have yet to nail down--that I imagine may be the source of some consternation, but I figure I have 29 more days to sort that out. P L E N T Y of time.  Ha!

So, here I am on Day 1.   How did I get here?  I have an old friend from my college days that introduced me to this plan.  She declined a glass of wine when we reconnected recently, because she was currently midway through the program, and she explained the concept to me.  I might have discarded it as a piece of useless (to me) information if not for the fact that she served me an amazing Whole30 compliant meal.  It was then that the wheels started turning.  I can cook. I like good food.  Why CAN'T I do this?  The more I researched, the more I felt increasingly confident that I actually might be able to pull this off.

As a little experiment (I'm a scientist by training, and I love little experiments), I decided to Whole30ify two meals a day for a week in preparation of going all in.  I stuck to the rules for those 2 meals, and I made some of the recipes from the books that I ordered.  That strengthened my resolve, because, yes, I liked the food, yes, I was satisfied, and yes, I could manage the time commitment needed for the simpler meals.  And I work from home, so I can cook my meals on the fly, eliminating some of the advance prepwork that most folks that work out of the home would need to do.  Truth be told, I might have been scared off otherwise.

This weekend I planned my dinners for the week, grocery shopped for all meals, and did a few little things.  I roasted a spaghetti squash.  I made some breakfast sausage (which is awesome).  I grilled some veggies for my breakfast eggs.  That was pretty much it.  I have to be honest that I'm relying a LOT on Trader Joe's to keep me on track for lunch.  They have an array of Whole30 compliant foods that take next to no time to prepare.  For breakfast and dinner, though, I'm doing all of the cooking.

So, here I am.  So far, so good (haha!).  Today's breakfast was an egg white (not a fan of yolks) scramble with grilled veggies and salsa, 2 sausage patties, and a half banana.  I had two cups of coffee with coconut "beverage" (try it!  It's not bad!).

Lunch was two Spicy Chili Lime Chicken patties from TJ's, 2 tbsp of guacamole, a half sweet potato with a little ghee, and an apple.  About an hour ago, I grabbed a handful of almonds and a date (yes, one measly date), and that seemed to help stave of an oncoming wave of low blood sugar. 

Dinner was spaghetti squash with a homemade bolognese sauce and a grilled portobello mushroom.  Super filling and excellent!

Tomorrow I will weigh myself - I didn't have a chance this morning.  At the end of this, I will report on any weight loss (or lack there of).

That's all for now!