January Whole30(+5): Days 11 - 17

Day 11, Thursday 1/19/17 - I got 8 hours of sleep and woke up feeling great.  I was really hungry in the morning and ate a compliant Rx Bar that I had hanging out in my desk drawer at work.  I need to make a big breakfast casserole for next week!  I never had my regular afternoon lag and felt full of energy all day.  Dinner was leftover chicken fingers and a salad.  I was happy not to cook!

Day 12, Friday 1/20/17 - Couldn't get my butt to bed early, so I only got 6.5 hours of sleep and I really felt it in the morning.  The WOD was 100 thrusters (45#), 75 wall balls, 50 pulls ups, and 25 burpees.  I broke it up into 5 rounds of 20, 15, 10, and 5.  The thrusters felt decent since they were so light, but halfway through the workout my butt remembered that I did a bunch of pistols on Wednesday and it got really sore!  I chugged along through the workout, but the 25 minute cap got me in the 5th round after 20 thrusters, 5 burpees, and 2 pull ups.  We went over to Jeff and Arley's for dinner and Chef Jeff's fajitas did not disappoint!  I was full of energy all day, but right around 10 pm I started to crash.

Day 13, Saturday 1/21/17 - I slept in till 9 something... I think I got almost 10 hours of sleep lol!  I woke up and felt amazing.  I made some sweet potato hash for breakfast before heading off to the grocery store.

I think I'm starting to become friends with the guys in the meat department at Wegmans.  I found my bacon and stocked up with 3 packs!  We headed to Applebee's for "lunner" for Tom's 25th birthday!  I ordered the bourbon street chicken and shrimp that came with fried onions, mushrooms, and potatoes.  I knew my meal wasn't fully compliant due to whatever the chicken was marinated it, whatever oil it was all cooked in, and it definitely came with a blob of herb butter.  But I avoided boneless buffalo wings, spinach dip, and later watched everyone eat chocolate cake, eclairs, and cream puffs.  The two clementines I had for dessert did not fill the void.

Day 14, Sunday 1/22/17 - Another night of tons of sleep.  Why not?!  I woke up and had some leftover sausage and sauerkraut for breakfast before church.  Afterwards I headed to Jes's for lunch and we tag teamed this mango chicken.  It came out so delicious!  I will definitely be making it again.

Dinner was good, but I still think my wing sauces could use improvement.  Glad I did a trial run before the super bowl.

Day 15, Monday 1/23/17 - I got 7 hours of sleep and really had to convince myself to get my butt out of bed for the gym.  The strength was snatches at 70-80%, every 30 seconds x 8.  I wanted to do 80#, but it didn't feel great for my back, so I stuck with 75# and they felt great.  The WOD was a redo of 15.2, I opted to scale to try and compare my numbers with last time.  I got 114 reps, which was 12 reps less than last time, but I actually worked out 3 minutes less so it was still better!  I finally made the Southwestern Frittata to have breakfast for the week.  After finishing, I really didn't want to make dinner, but I promised myself that it would be worth it and I could get Chipotle tomorrow when I'm actually busy.  My energy was up all day, I felt great. 

Day 16, Tuesday 1/24/17 - Another 8 hour night of sleep and getting out of bed was easy.  I skipped a lunch meeting with free pizza to avoid temptation (and to make up hours for the chili cookoff I'm hosting on Friday).  It was pretty cold out, but finally not raining so I took the dogs for a nice leisurely mile when I got home from work.  I went to barbell club in the evening and we did a bunch of snatches.  I was a little inconsistent, but I did hit some really great lifts.  We got Chipotle for dinner on the way home.  I'm glad the new chorizo is Whole30 compliant because the guy making our bowls told us the carnitas was super dry today.  I really miss dairy and I was pretty sad that my bowl didn't have cheese and sour cream in it.  I really wanted the rice too.

Day 17, Wednesday 1/25/17 - I slept like crap.  I think I'm going to blame the clingy dog who kept waking me up.  We've been pretty loose with the dogs sleeping in our bed since we got Butler's cancer diagnosis a few weeks ago.  They don't usually bother me, but last night wasn't great!  I was pretty annoyed when I woke up at 4:30, but I was seriously full of hatred when my alarm went off at 5:10.  I dragged myself out of bed and off to the gym.  My handstand push ups were so good (with one ab mat under my head) that my coach told me I'm not allowed to scale anymore.  My double unders were super hit or miss, I struggled through the first round of 45, only getting a few at time, but then the next round I did 30 in a row!  I need to get them completely consistent before the Open.  I was a little tired midday, but when I left work I was feeling energized by the great weather.  I took the dogs for a nice walk and then whipped up dinner.  More loaded fries!

Tomorrow marks my halfway point and things are really going well.  Not really sure when I'm going to post my next meal plan because I still have some leftovers and all I can think about cooking right now is chili.  I'm putting my own spin on this pulled pork chili and hoping to come home with the trophy.  Wish me luck!

January Whole30(+5): My Meal Plan for Days 11-16

Well I did so much cooking over the last few days that my fridge is full of leftovers.  And thank God because I'm honestly pretty sick of cooking right now.  Days 11 & 12 are just going to be cleaning out the fridge, but I'll be prepping some extra things over the weekend for breakfasts and lunches next week.

• Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs and Bacon - If I can freaking find Whole30 approved bacon!  When I went shopping on Friday Wegmans was out, so then yesterday I made a special trip to Whole Foods, just for bacon and now I'm not even convinced that the brand I used to get there actually makes it anymore.  They had a ton of different kinds from that brand and they looked high quality, but they all had sugar in them.  The only one labeled "Paleo" with no sugar was turkey bacon.  NOPE.

• Southwestern Frittata - This is an old favorite that I haven't made in a while, but I'm stick of hardboiled eggs and I've been starving in the morning.
• Mango Chicken with Coconut Cauliflower Rice - I've had this on my pinterest board forever and I was thrilled when my friend Jes suggested it as our meal for our lunch date this weekend.
• Lomo Saltado - Basically another take on loaded fries.  You can totally skip the cauli rice, but do not skip the green aji sauce.  It's so good!
• Paleo Asian Lettuce Wraps - These are so good and you'll only dirty one pan!  I'll probably use pork instead of turkey.  I'll also skip the honey and the dipping sauce all together, they are plenty flavorful (and messy enough) already.
• Grilled Chicken Drumsticks with Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Bacon - I want to do a little practice round before the super bowl, so I'm going to do enlist Dave to do some grilling and then finish the wings in the oven with some buffalo sauce just like my mom's famous wings! 

How do you get inspired when you get into a rut in the kitchen?

January Whole30(+5): Days 6 - 10

Day 6, Saturday 1/14/17 - After a wonderful 9 hours of sleep, Dave cooked us an omelet with onions, peppers, and prosciutto for breakfast.  We tagged team lunch and it came out great.  I have no idea how I was still tired, but I guess the Whole30 timeline is true.  Days 6 and 7 are "I just want a nap" so I didn't feel any shame about enjoying another hour of sleep on the couch.  I threw the pork I marinated last night in the oven mid afternoon so Dave would have dinner while I went out with the girls for sushi!  I knew almost everything on the menu would be iffy so I kept it simple and got a sashimi entree and brought my own coconut aminos and la croix.  My entree came with a salad that I topped with a squeeze of lime and the aminos, it was just ok.  The fish was amazing though and it was a great night out with friends.

Day 7, Sunday 1/15/17 - Even though I got another 9 hours of sleep, I still felt like a sloth all day.  I forced myself to be somewhat productive and take all the decorations off the Christmas tree (finally).  I kind of felt like I was hungry all day, but I'm not sure if I was actually hungry or just bored.  Either way, I kept all my snacking compliant.  Dinner was AMAZING.  I want to post a full recipe for the cubano loaded fries, but for now just promise me you'll make the mojo pork and pile it on top of homemade fries.  Do it!  The dijon I was going to use ended up having sugar in it, so I made a chipotle mayo instead and it went great.

Day 8, Monday 1/16/17 - I slept like crap and woke up multiple times during the night.  I felt kind of blah at the gym.  The strength was cleans, I picked squat cleans instead of power since I haven't done them in a while, and they felt heavier than normal at 95 lbs.  The WOD was a 9 minute AMRAP of thrusters (at 75 lbs, ew) and chest to bar pull ups.  I was really struggling with getting my chest to touch the bar every time and combined with the thrusters, it was not my favorite.  Open prep is so fun.  My pants definitely fit better today.  Praise the Lord!  Dave fired up the grill for our steaks and we ate dinner pretty early, so it was easy to get to bed early too.

Day 9, Tuesday 1/17/17 - 8 hours of sleep, so good!  I made an easy chia pudding for breakfast after my friend recommended it in our FB support group and I did not love it.  I'm still feeling pretty tired midday and my skin doesn't look great.  I went to barbell club at night.  We did a whole lot of squat cleans and I felt good.  I made the cubano fries again for dinner and confirmed how amazing they are.  I took some pics and will definitely be posting it soon.

Day 10, Wednesday 1/18/17 - 7 hours of sleep and back to the gym at 6 am.  The strength was push press & push jerk and they felt decent.  I was feeling kind of excited about the WOD of 50-40-30-20-10 double unders (with 10 toes to bar and 5 handstand push ups after each round) since it felt like a little redemption and Dave tightened the screws on my jump rope after Friday's incident.  My dubs went great and I did 20 in a row more than once.  I used one ab mat under my head for the HSPU and they felt surprisingly good.  The after party was pistols (aka one legged squats) and I did my best pistols ever.  I had a Kettlebell Kitchen meal for lunch because my coach was giving them away at the gym for people to try and I had never had the bison beef sliders before.  It was ok.  Dinner also didn't really wow me.  I turned these burgers into meatballs and made a pineapple guac and I wanted to love it, but I just didn't.  I probably would've liked them better if they weren't turkey.

I have to be honest, I'm a little burnt out in the kitchen.  Thankfully we have a bunch of leftovers to cover the next day or two.  I'm definitely planning some super simple recipes for this weekend and next week.  I have a few social events coming up that will definitely challenge me, but hopefully with (mental & meal) prep I can stay strong and abstain.  I had more energy today, but that may also have to do with how much sleep I've been getting.  I've been choosing bed over watching tv reruns and really making sleep a priority.

10 days down, 25 to go... eeep.

January Whole30(+5): My Meal Plan for Days 6-10

If anybody ever told you eating healthy had to be boring, well they lied!

• Flounder with Roasted Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes - I'll be topping the fish with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and old bay and baking it at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until it flakes easily with a fork.  The veggies will have olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic and be cooked for 15 minutes.
• Buffalo Chicken Salad - I love these Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tenders crusted with pork rinds.  The salad will be simple otherwise with lettuce, tomato, onion, carrots, and avocado topped with some Ranch Dressing and extra Red Hot. 

• Cubano Loaded Fries - I'm pretty much obsessed with loaded fries right now and I've been seriously craving a cubano so I thought why not?!  I'll be topping some homemade fries with this Mojo Cuban Roast Pork, some prosciutto (because I don't think Whole30 compliant ham exists), some pickles, and maybe even some dijon mustard.  Insert gasp noises from anybody who knows me well and understands my extreme hatred for mustard.
• Steak with Sauteed Balsamic Mushrooms and Roasted Broccoli - Beef, it's what's for dinner!  Can't go wrong with a ribeye seared in my cast iron.
• Hawaiian Turkey Burgers with this Bacon Lime Sweet Potato Salad - I adore this sweet potato salad.  Too bad Wegmans didn't have any of the compliant bacon.  I may have to make a Whole Foods run...

What's on your menu this week?

January Whole30(+5): Days 1 - 5

Paleo Pad Thai made with Chef Jeff and Arley on Sunday night.

Day 1, Monday 1/9/17 - I wanted to go to sleep early, but it didn't happen and then I slept like crap.  I debated skipping the gym and climbing back into my warm bed, but instead I plopped dinner in the crockpot and got in my car.  The workout was a bunch of wall balls and snatches that I Rxed, but I was definitely feeling the lack of cardio endurance from the two weeks I basically took off over the holidays.  I'm still getting over a cold from last week, but I don't feel too bad.  I was pretty exhausted midday, but had more energy when I left work.  Dinner was super tasty.  I fell asleep on the couch before 9 pm.

Crockpot Beef, so simple but so good.

Day 2, Tuesday 1/10/17 - I got over 8 hours of sleep and it was glorious!  All day I was wondering if I was going to face the dreaded carb flu which usually manifests itself as a late afternoon headache for me, but I felt fine.  I went to the gym and did the bonus workout for the nutrition challenge, a 50 calorie row that I completed in 2:26 and then hung around to work on my snatch at barbell club.  I hit a full snatch + hang snatch combo at 95#, which is 10 less than my max, and it felt great.  I didn't have time to make the dinner I had planned, so Dave helped out and we had a simple dinner of roasted sweet potato, butternut squash, onions, and peppers with some apple chicken sausage and dippy eggs.  It really hit the spot. 

Day 3, Wednesday 1/11/17 - Woke up and went back to the gym!  Wasn't my favorite day with push presses and jerks followed by a WOD of deadlifts and burpees, but I did it.  They had a free breakfast at work and I filled my plate with fruit, but boy did that monkey bread look amazing.  For the second day in a row, I couldn't finish the lunch portion I had packed for myself, which is not usually a thing in my life haha.  My back was feeling a little cranky (I guess going 3 days in a row after taking almost 2 weeks off will do that), but it felt great after leaving the chiropractor.  Again I was wondering if I would end the day with a headache, but instead I took the dogs for a warm walk at the park and whipped up dinner.  I did get a cute zit on my chin though.

A quick tomato cucumber salad appetizer followed by Bora Bora Fireballs and some roasted broccoli.

Day 4, Thursday 1/12/17 - I woke up feeling nice and refreshed.  I was a little tired after lunch but not terrible.  Our friends invited us to their holiday party at the country club they both work at.  I knew there was going to be lots of food that would be off limits for me so I ate some leftovers before we went.  These kind of events are usually my downfall and to be honest, when we got there I figured I would probably eat whatever protein and veggies they had and not really stress if it was 100% compliant or not.  But when I saw the food, I decided that none of it was worth it... although I died a little inside watching everyone make their own loaded tots at the tater tot bar.  I was really proud of myself!  Avoiding the open bar was easy and didn't stop me from dancing the night away and singing some karaoke.

Day 5, Friday 1/13/17 - Even though I got 7 hours of sleep, I felt pretty exhausted from staying out late last night.  I was starving when we got home from the party but just went to bed, so my breakfast of leftover crockpot beef really hit the spot!  I skipped the gym in the morning to get more sleep, but I went at 5 pm and I was really excited for the workout!  We were retesting something we did last July and I knew that I could beat my score!

Last time I got through 9 of the burpees, so my goal was to get to the barbell for the power cleans.  Since my double unders have improved so much, I figured I'd cruise through them and make up a lot of time there.  My jump rope had other plans.  The screw holding the handle on flew off immediately when I started!  I couldn't believe it, I was pissed!  I tried to use someone else's rope and it was way too short and I couldn't do one dub.  I grabbed another rope and it was too long.  I was like the freaking Goldy Locks of jump ropes.  I was struggling so much, I actually considered quitting completely.  I kept going and managed to connect some dubs and finally got through the 50.  I was so upset, it literally ruined my whole workout.  I had quite a few no reps during the chest to bar pulls ups and I really thought there was no way I would beat my score, but I managed to get 13 more burpees than last time.  I was too annoyed to be happy about it.  I'm considering retesting it in a few weeks.

After the gym, I hit the grocery store.  Wild Friday night!  I came home and marinated some pork while Dave whipped up an easy dinner of roasted asparagus, tomatoes, and garlic with baked flounder.

5 days down, 30 to go...

January Whole30(+5): Kicking Things Off + My Meal Plan for Days 1-5

You know how it goes.  Hate to be a stereotype, but the Christmas cookies are gone and my pants don't fit, so here we go!

I was already planning on doing something in January when my Whole30 support group started chattering away on facebook.  Then my coach announced a nutrition challenge at the gym, so I was locked in!  I was only planning on doing 25 days, but the gym challenge is 5 weeks, so I'm doing my first Whole35.  Ew lol.

What is the Whole30? 

• Yes: Eat real food.

Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed.

• No: Avoid for 30 days.

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.

• Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial
• Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking.
• Do not eat grains.
• Do not eat legumes.
• Do not eat dairy
• Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites.
• Do not try to re-create baked goods,  junk foods, or treats* with “approved” ingredients. 

• One last and final rule: You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program.

Today is Day 1 and I'm feeling excited!  My menu for the week is full of tried and true favorites, some simple and quick, mixed with others that require a little more effort.  Healthy eating does not have to be boring!

• Paleo Pad Thai - This one is pretty simple, but has a bit of prep work.  I typically use almond butter instead of sunflower and this time I added bell peppers, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, and shrimp!
• The Easiest and Most Delicious Crockpot Beef Ever - This recipe is so easy and simple.  I sub coconut aminos for the Worcestershire sauce and always add baby carrots.
• Bora Bora Fireballs - I haven't made this recipe in a while, but I know it's awesome.  Pork, pineapple, and coconut... these are a few of my favorite things!
• Krista's Quick and Easy Crab and Veggie Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - This one is packed with veggies and comes together super quick if you have a food processor.  And you can really throw in whatever protein you want.
• German Bratwurst (from Wegmans) with Sauerkraut and Potatoes Sauteed in Ghee - Because sometimes all you want to do is throw some stuff in a pan.

In addition to staying compliant with my diet, I've made a few other goals:

• Gym 4x per week
• Floss every night
• 75 oz of water per day
• 10 minutes of stretching per day
• No coffee
• No frivolous spending (no personal shopping, only groceries & necessary house expenses)

It's time to get my life together and I couldn't be more ready for this change!

Are you doing anything in the new year to turn over a new leaf?