Monday, December 14, 2015

Whole30 Day 18-19 & The End of the Week Wrap-up

Kind of exciting to be wrapping up Week 3. As it is coming to a close, I have thought back to the first couple of days when I first started. I was in disbelief I would have gotten this far. I figured I would cave in on my cravings of dairy and sweets & go back to eating the way I was before.  *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. For Days 13-14, go here. For Days 15-17, go here!
Day 18. Holy Thursday! It has been a super busy week so far. I have a holiday birthday party to attentd tonight so I am thinking of just attending for the happy hour portion and coming home for dinner. I have been pretty good at disguising my "mocktails" as actual drinks. I just use seltzer water with a lime and lemon wedge. Most people think its a tonic-type drink and do not think too much past it. It has made it super easy to get by without having a cocktail during these festivities so it has worked well in my favor. Explaining Whole30 every time you are at a party gets tiring and answering the same questions repeatedly gets overwhelming when you get strange looks. However, most forget this is for my health and it makes me feel better to omitting these items from my diet so I do not think past that.

Meal 52- Breakfast. I really have not been hungry for breakfast this week so I opted for something a tad lighter. Instead of skipping a meal (which you are not supposed to do), I opted for a green apple and a LaraBar with seltzer water. It got me through breakfast and into lunch so it was exactly the amount I needed. I was not hungry in between as I thought I would be. Not pictured, my cup of hot pomegranate oolong tea.
Meal 53- Lunch. I had a couple of errands to run during lunch so I had to come back home and whip up something super fast to eat. I made a large salad with mixed greens, yellow peppers, carrots, sliced turkey breast and pom seeds. I topped it with a homemade dressing (EVOO, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper). It was really hearty thanks to all the veggies I had added in. Next time, I think i may add some green apple for a bit of extra crunch. A bottle of water was perfect with this.
Meal 54- Dinner. One of my good friends was having his birthday at a local restaurant, so I was prepared to go enjoy happy hour (with my club soda and fruit) and go home. However, I asked about their mussels and found they were Whole30 compliant. It only had chorizo and garlic as flavoring and they were amazing. So, dinner was a success and super delicious! I may have to make my own version of this at home soon! A lot of people did inquire about my diet and I was open to explaining it to them. The funny thing is I gave all the Whole30 information to one of my girlfriends who may start Whole30 herself- as she has stomach issues similar to mine.
Day 19 TGIF! Another work week has come to an end and I feel that Whole30 is getting me into a new food groove. From last night's event to other events I have been able to enjoy some parts of the meals or event food even on Whole30. I talked last night to a friend of mine (who is an MD) about Whole30 and he stated that as difficult as it is to quit sugar, once you quit (health-wise) you should never go back to it. I told him my main struggle had been with sugar and dairy, two of my favorites to quit on this diet. He even suggested, if i just cut back what i had been doing prior, that would help my health long-term, and he said if I followed Whole30 past the initial 30 days (as in doing it long-term), I could even retract some damage done to my GI track. It makes me consider doing this past the initial 30 days not only to implement certain foods back in but to see how much further I can keep going. I dare say as good and as high-energized as I feel, I really have not missed removing these items to feel better than I have in many years.

Meal 55- Breakfast. I really loved the last meal with this chicken sausage, so I figured it would make a great breakfast. I added sweet potato hash and it is super filling and I am really happy with it. I sliced it similar to what I do with Kielbasa (for sandwiches) and it cooked quickly so that made for a great quick breakfast. I had a cup of hot green tea with breakfast since it was chilly this morning.
Meal 56- Lunch. I had a lot to do so I did not have a lot of time to make a huge lunch. So, i just wrapped some avocado slices in sliced turkey breasts and added carrots and a LaraBar (just in case I got hungry later- which i did). This was perfect and light for lunch, but I am thankful to have had the LaraBar as well since I was not full. La Croix to drink with lunch.
Meal 57- Dinner. So, having friends in town means one thing: going out to eat to celebrate their arrival. We decided to venture to this German pub in town and I was really excited about trying new fare. I had not been here before but was excited to try something new. We had an appetizer of mussels in vegetable broth that did not disappoint. It was a unique flavor profile but very enjoyable. Next on the menu was my deconstructed sandwich. Instead of having my meat on bread, I opted to have my fixings on a mixed greens and they were happy to accommodate. Unfortunately, they had bison that looked like pot roast but i had to decline that since it had a honey sweetener in it - bummer. Otherwise, an overall good meal. My steak salad was really well cooked and the mussels were so big, the three of us split the pot!
Overall, with holiday events, birthday and friends in town, it has been trying when people are offering to give you a sample of their plate or buy you a drink and you must decline. But, I am trucking along fine. I still have some issues still with eating out and limited menu options but you make do with what you can. It is my suggestion if you can offer up places you know you can have, it will make the experience smoother. As much as I enjoyed dinner, I did come home and have a LaraBar, since limited options often mean not always filling options. However, I can see why Whole30 does not recommend starting the program over the holidays - as it offers a more trying time than most would deal with in the new year.

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