Whole30 Day 13-14 & Feeling the Symptoms!

Thank goodness it is the weekend. I have made it! It has been a stressful week for sure and while normally I would have just quit any sort of "diet", I am keeping strong on Whole30. I think I can keep this up for a bit longer. I have noticed a lot of changes regarding my other health issues. One thing of note from the book they speak of is regarding those with IBS/IBD as they continue on the program, their gut bacteria begins to "clean itself up" and you will continue to feel like you are having an IBS/IBD episode when in fact your system is beginning to regenerate the good bacteria and remove the bad. It is a part of the whole 'reset' process they speak of and this past week. The first week, I endured no issues and felt great, but during week 2 I have noticed a lot more trips to the bathroom. Let's hope this goes away. It does make me feel miserable. Is this what withdrawal is? I hope it is over soon. *If you would like to read Why I started, go here. For Day 1, go here. For Days 2-4, go here. For Days 5-7, go here. For Days 8-10, go here. Days 11-12, go here.

Day 13 Saturday mornings are for relaxing. Even though I was up early, and normally I would have a cup of coffee, I decided to get into my book instead. It was a calm December morning and it just felt like a good time to curl up with a book and cup of hot tea. It was amazing. A stess-free morning was exactly what I needed after the work week I have had. Paired with my coloring book afterward, and it was time to start my day.

Meal 37-Breakfast. Again, I am loving this mix of banana, almond butter and coconut flakes. Another dupe but it is super filling and really easy to make. It looks to be a busy day around the house so a filling and easy breakfast was a sure-in this morning.

Meal 38-Lunch. I really love sliced meat roll-ups. I had a tad of dijon mustard in the middle. This is the same chipotle season I used last week (and same pack of sliced turkey breast) so of course I had to finish this before opening a new pack. Paired with a few strawberries and a La Croix was a perfect lunch in the midst of cleaning and getting all the Christmas decorations together.

During our grocery trip, we hit the organic meat jackpot. We grabbed all of their clearance steaks we could get our hands on - about 8 total packages. It was awesome. With each steak about $11+ a steak (something we would split in half anyway), each package ranged from $6-$9 so we were thrilled. We decided to toss all but one in the freezer to save. *Note: pay attention to sell by date. What I have learned is if you freeze the meat and decide to later thaw it, you have that many days you would've had to cook the meat itself. In this case the sell by date was 12/6, since we purchased it on 12/4 and froze it that night, we have two days from the time it thaws to cook it. Each piece varies but i always mark the package with the date we freeze so I can anticipate how much time I have.

Meal 39-Dinner. So since I had one of my amazing steaks thawed, I decided tonight was the perfect night to make it. I dry-rubbed the steak with paprika, fine herbs and garlic. Once the cast iron was hot enough, i added it to cook with leftover duck fat from an earlier meal. Meanwhile, in another pan, i cooked my green beans in avocado oil (once plated, i added the pom seeds). This was a really great meal; I love steak so this is always a treat to have.

Day 14 (Meals 40-42) Sunday is made for brunch. I love brunch. It has been a love affair for some time now and I confess is one of my favorite weekend activities with friends. I love catching up and laughing over one of the best meals of the day.

Meal 40- Breakfast. Poached eggs over avocado slices. Bacon. Sausage. Wilted spinach and hasbrowns. It was a great meal. I did ask the server about the bacon and sausage and she did say it came from a local farm (one i know to use only grass-fed methods) which does not use sugar in the processing. Happiness!! It has been difficult being without bacon. Side of local black coffee and a glass of water.

Meal 41- Lunch. Since I was over at a Holiday party (neighborhood open house), they had a potluck at each house you visit. I was lucky to find one of the houses had made guacamole and sliced cucumber and carrots, so i had that. Since brunch was so filling, i didn't have much for lunch. I did drink two cups of black coffee and a bottle of water.

Meal 42- Dinner. Now, while I know it does not look appetizing, it really was amazing. I had chicken sausage sliced and sweet potato pureed and it was divine.

So far these past two weeks have been nothing short of easy to troublesome but I think I have a good handle on things. I have realized how much more stress plays into my life. I have learned to deal with my "emotional eating" in a very different manner and I have found that not all cravings are created equal. Snacking is still very much a troublesome area for me, but with two weeks to go, I have no doubt I can conquer that head-on!