June 2, 2014 – Day 2

What did I eat?

Meal 1

Leftover ground pork patty

2 boiled eggs

Banana

Apple

Meal 2

Urban Fare Roast Chicken Breast

Mixed steamed veggies

Coconut Crème Larabar

Meal 3

2 Lamburger Patties

Brussels Sprouts from frozen, steamed then sautéed in Ghee

The Day

I woke up and looked in the fridge, instantly regretting that I hadn’t shopped. Luckily, despite all my bad eating in the last few weeks, when I did cook at home, I stuck to Whole30 foods! I grabbed a leftover ground pork patty that I had made on the weekend, and some boiled eggs that I made last night, then headed to work.

Work went by fast; a typical summer Monday. I head to Urban Fare for my old standby, chicken and mixed veggies for lunch and buy a coconut crème Larabar. This one is decidedly my favourite.

When I got home, Sean (aka my ride) was having some tummy pain (to do with his impending surgery) and asked if there was any chance we could grocery shop tomorrow. I looked in the fridge and decided I could get by with what we had. I steamed some veggies and made seasoned patties from ground lamb to throw on the grill.

I wanted to go swimming but there were a lot of people in the pool this evening and I didn’t want to go down alone. This will be a mental hurdle that I will have to overcome if I want to move my body like I said. I was disappointed in myself but not discouraged.  

Today wasn’t very exciting, just a typical day. With sunshine.

I will make tomorrow better.

How I am Feeling

My energy is good and consistent. I am feeling less bloated. I have had a bit of hunger between meals but will adjust accordingly. I’ve had to pee a lot as I up my water intake but I know this will balance out. I am still really pumped and excited to be doing this. I am enjoying the flavours of W30 food more this round and looking forward to meals.

Day 12 - So Much Chicken

It was so hard to get out of bed this morning.

I attribute this to having the early shift at work on Fridays more than to the Whole30 though. One person has to be at the office by 6:30 am every day to accommodate our Eastern Clients, so we rotate the shift among my team and on Fridays, that person is me. I chose Friday because being off at 3:00 pm is nice. But being off at 3:00 pm on a Friday is fantastic!

Since it was so hard to wake up, I scrambled to get ready and get out of the house and I did not pack food today. I figured it would be a good opportunity to see how easy it is to eat out in a pinch on Whole30.

I wouldn't call my breakfast successful or technically compliant. Not in the sense that I will have to start over. The food that I did eat wasn't against the rules, but I did not eat enough food, or any protein for that matter. In the book "It Starts with Food," they describe how this teaches your body to store fat, when done regularly, as it does not know when the next nourishment might come.

I got to work just on time and did not have time to go out for food - not that there is much open at 6:30 am either. I had an apple on my desk when I arrived at work. I brought it a day or two ago and never ended up eating it. I thought it would at least tie me over until a relief person arrived and I could step out.

This is the portion of food you get for $8 - $10!

Work got crazy and before I knew it, it was 10:30! Since I take my lunch around 11:00 or 12:00 on my early day, decided to just power through and I grabbed a Cashew Larabar out of my drawer. I keep them in there for just this type of scenario. I have mentioned these before, but if you don’t know, Larabars are fine if all the ingredients are W30 compliant AND you do not eat them to satisfy your sweet tooth. That is a habit we are working to break with W30.

I went out at 11:00 am in search of a Whole30 lunch. I ended up at the usual Urban Fare hot bar as it was pouring rain and that is the closest place to work that I trust. I want to clarify that I only have roast chicken if I make it myself, or if it is from somewhere like urban Fare or Whole Foods, were I can be sure it’s good quality and that I can ask how it’s prepared. I would not trust just any place to make a roast chicken that is compliant.

Lunch was chosen without much forethought because when I got home I remembered we still have Duey and Louie, 2 of the 3 previously bought chickens, in the fridge! I quickly pull out the bag to check the date. Sure enough the best before date is tomorrow! I season them both differently and throw them in the roasting pan together. I figured I could prong the life of the bird if I cooked it to reincarnate it into leftovers, versus spoiling raw meat. We had the one that I seasoned with paprika, garlic powder, S&P and olive oil tonight. I made a big homemade salad also. This dinner made me crave summer sun and fun for some reason. It was a gooder.

Sean and I went for a short walk to check out a carnival hat suddenly appeared in the mall parking lot across the street. We walked over, walked around the carnival, and walked home. It looked like it could have been fun but neither of us brought cash for ride tickets and the only other attraction was mini-doughnuts and cotton candy. Off home we went. Plus I have an early, busy Saturday planned…

Day 4 - Office Potluck

Today there was a potluck at the office. 

I am actually the one who suggested it. I suggested it about a month ago, heard about Whole30 three weeks ago, committed to a W30 start date two weeks ago, and remembered about the potluck last week. I couldn't put off starting any later than I did though, in order to be done before my birthday. My birthday is kicking off the May long weekend this year, it's the last birthday of my twenties, and I want to enjoy it. 

Plus it's one thing to put off starting like I did last weekend, but now that I have started, I am not going to stop for anything.

I initially felt silly that I had planned a potluck that I likely wouldn't be able to participate in, but I wasn't going, postpone it, cancel it, or make special requests for my own benefit. I soon realized that all I could do was bring a W30 approved dish and hope something else might comply. I remembered that I could always ask what is in things and hope that someone would bring something with basic ingredients. 

So I brought a huge bowl of veggies from Whole Foods and some dips. I wanted to cook something Whole30 compliant, yet tasty, but I am still new at this and I didn't want to spread myself too thin. Last night I made dinner, breakfast for today, plus Sean's lunch, so by the time I was done all that, it was already late and I was very thankful for my earlier decision to buy the veggies. 

When I got to work, I looked at the list and summed up really quickly that I wouldn't be able to eat anything on it. Though it wasn't for a lack of trying; one of my co-worked brought butter chicken. I had a brief fantasy that it was made with coconut milk, but I asked (yes I did) and he passed me a link to the recipe - sure enough, it had milk, butter, and sugar in it, so it was out. Next I saw deviled eggs. "Deviled eggs are just boiled eggs," I thought to myself. "With Mayo!" the angel on shoulder piped up. "She could have made her own mayo with compliant foods" the shoulder devil chimes in. (See what I did there? Deviled eggs…) I perked up optimistically, then sighed... Nah! I am not going to even bother asking about that one. How many people make their own mayo if they don't have to? 

Soon enough the whole boardroom table was a buffet of amazing creations. Everything from spring rolls to sushi, chocolate covered strawberries to cassava cake, butter chicken to bacon popcorn and it looked great! Co-workers started coming in one by one to fill their plates. There was chatting and laughter, discussions of the food, work, and weekend plans. And then it hit me; I was truly enjoying this potluck. 

This isn't even all of it...

It doesn't hurt that I work with a fantastic group of individuals. We are all around the same age, which helps. Many of us share the same sense of humour. There is often laughter in the office every day. Bringing everyone together was my drive to do this in the first place. It worked and everyone had a good time, enjoyed the food, and got to step away from their desks, stretch, and socialize. I am satisfied with that. 

I eventually had to step out to get food that I could eat. Same as yesterday, chicken and steamed veggies from Urban Fare. When I got back to the office, I had an array of emails to say thank you, and what a successful event it was. This put me over the top with happiness. Those who know me, will know that when others are happy from my actions, I am happy. So, I am happy. 

(And if I am being honest, it didn't hurt that many of them also said we should do this more often, so I can always make sure that I don't miss out next time!)

What did I learn? How truly dedicated I can be to my body. How strong my willpower really is! (It was a close call with the deviled eggs). How gatherings are about more than just the food, even when they are about food (like a potluck). It was hard not to give into temptation, but it was worth it because I am writing today on day 4 and not day 0. 

Most of all, I learned that there will always be things in life that I will want to do, that I will consider postponing for, that I do not want to miss out on, but that if I post put off doing this for everything I want, then I will never follow through. I am reminded that I am doing this for me, and me alone.

Sean and I had a big dinner to celebrate. I made pan-seared steaks, with sautéed onions and mushrooms, and I sautéed slices of zucchini in the steak juice while the steaks rested. DELISH!!

What is the biggest temptation you have had to face so far? How did it turn out? What did you learn?