My February (& March) Whole30 Results!

So I sort of forgot I never posted this!  My February (& March) Whole30 ended 10 days ago and it was a great success!

Start Weight = 156.4 lbs

End Weight  = 145.0 lbs

Weight Loss = 11.4 lbs

These before and after pictures never fail to amaze me.  I can't believe how puffy I was and how much thinner my face looks.  It's crazy!

Holiday indulgence was a slippery slope into I guess I'll just wear big flowy shirts for the rest of the winter.  My true low point was the day I wore unbuttoned dress pants to work.  Sad but true.  The clip kept popping open so I just said screw it and left it that way.  Talk about depressing.  And thus it was time for another Whole30.

Food is a powerful drug.  Having a tough day?  Eat some ice cream, it will make you feel better.  Just completed a tough workout?  Enjoy a few slices of pizza, you earned it.  Feeling sorry for yourself about your clothes not fitting well?  Have a drink, you'll care less (although I do suppose alcohol is a whole other conversation...)  Food is fuel for our bodies, but it's also so much more.  It's a source of pleasure, a crutch to lean on, a reward, an addiction... And that's why I love the Whole30.  It brings me back to a place where I can step away from food emotionally and truly see and feel the impact of what I'm putting in my body.  It breaks my sugar addiction and helps me realize that most of the cravings I have are just the result of overstimulating processed food.

This Whole30 was great!  I avoided any crazy slips and I think my only cheat at all was some lunchmeat that most likely wasn't compliant.  By the end, I was basically on autopilot.  It was easy to stay on track when I always had large helpings of delicious compliant food in my fridge.  Not only did I follow the Whole30 eating standards for 30 days, I also took the stairs at work every day, flossed every night (except for Day 24 when I was dying), and quit coffee on Day 21.  I've only had it once in the past 3 weeks and don't really miss it.  I also focused on getting tons of sleep and I got 7.5 to 8 hours most nights.  I wanted to get to the gym more often, but I really only averaged twice a week.

I've always thought my skin looks better during a Whole30, but I had never taken before and after pics.  I think you can definitely see a difference.

Other than getting a cold right at the end, I truly felt amazing!  And I've been enjoying wearing a bunch of clothing I was avoiding for months :)

Now as always, I'm trying to find that balance, trying to determine which foods are worth it and which just aren't.  I've definitely enjoyed a bunch of non compliant choices but now looking at these pictures makes me regret some of the not so special choices.  I've already lost that super lean "are those my abs?!" look I had achieved at the end of the 30 days... and it's just leaving me thinking was that hamburger bun really worth it?

I'll admit it, I know I'm pretty vain.  I like dropping a few pounds and looking slim, but all these Whole30s are about something much more important: my health!  I will never do a Whole365... but as I approach my 30th birthday later this year, I know I want to ring in the next decade feeling fabulous, looking fit, and doing everything I can to prep my body for our future family plans!  I want to have super healthy pregnancies, feed my family the best diet possible, and be around long after my children are grown to hopefully run around with my grandkids!

My nutrition will always be an ongoing battle, but it's definitely something worth fighting for!

My February (& March) Whole30: Days 28 - 30

The last few days were pretty routine other than still recovering from my cold.  Still going strong with no coffee!

Day 28 - Tuesday 3/8/16

• Breakfast: Green tea with a banana and some blackberries
• Lunch: Leftover burgers with lettuce, tomato, pickles, guac, bacon, and sweet potato fries with homemade ranch
• Dinner: Baked chicken drumsticks with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and garlic, and a big side salad
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Workout: 0.7 miles with the dogs + CrossFit
• Strength: EMOM (every minute on the minute) 9
• Min 1-3: 2 High Hang Snatch (power or full)
• Min 4-6: 1 Hang Snatch (power or full)
• Min 7-9: 1 Snatch (power or full)

I thought I PRed my snatch at 100 lbs, but I did bad math and only did 95, which felt great though.  I loaded up 100 for minute 10, but I couldn't get it womp!

• WOD:
• 21-15-9
• Hang Power Snatch (95/65) - I used 55#
• Pull Ups
• 10 Handstand Push Ups after each round - I put a 15 lbs plate and an ab mat under my head

This workout went well.  I'm glad I didn't Rx the snatches, because 55# felt challenging and I started to get the slightest bit of pain in my back at bottom of the hang position towards the end.  I finished in 12:59.

• After Party:
• 40 sit ups, 40 leg raises
• Thoughts: I woke up before my alarm, but then felt like I was going to take a nap at my desk all morning.  I'm definitely still recovering from my cold.

Day 29 - Wednesday 3/9/16

• Breakfast: Some apple chicken sausage and sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach and 2 clementines
• Lunch: Baked chicken drumsticks with a big side salad
• Dinner: Spaghetti squash with Italian chicken sausage, onions, peppers, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, fresh basil, and tomato sauce
• Sleep: 7.25 hours
  
• Workout: 2.5 miles with the dogs
• Thoughts: I was in the field for the morning so it was so nice to be outside in the beautiful weather.  By late afternoon I started feeling a little bit of a headache.  I took some ibuprofen and it went away but I managed to fall asleep on the couch before 9 pm.  I think this cold is still lingering.

Day 30 - Thursday 3/10/16

• Breakfast: Lemon ginger tea with 3 mandarins
• Lunch: Leftover Slow Cooker Korean Beef with Cauliflower Fried Rice and some kimchi in a Korean "Burrito" Bowl
• Dinner: A banana... I was rushing around and just never really gave dinner a thought until 9 pm
• Sleep: 8.25 hours
• Workout: 1.5 miles with the dogs
• Thoughts: I'm feeling pretty sore from Tuesday's workout, it's so weird how it can be so delayed.  It's day 30 and I wish I could say I'm feeling amazing, but I still feel slightly congested :/

And that's a wrap!  Chocolate and cheese, here I come :)

My February (& March) Whole30: Days 21 - 27

In the homestretch now!  Thursday is my last day, I can't believe it.

Day 21 - Tuesday 3/1/16

• Breakfast: Chai tea with a clementine
• Lunch: Leftover Grandma Barbara's Stuffed Mushrooms from Practical Paleo
• Dinner: Leftover pan fried chicken with an almond meal crust (similar to this) dipped in a quick homemade ranch (similar to this) with zucchini noodles tossed in a pesto sauce and cucumber tomato salad
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: 2.25 mi dog walk/run + CrossFit Barbell Club
• 1000m row when I got there just for fun
• Participated in the after party with the class before:
• 4 Minute Tabata (20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest)
• Even: Handstand Hold
• Odd: Russian Twists
• Barbell Club - Jerks:
• 6x1 hold dip for 3 seconds, then come back to neutral position and do a push press, I worked up to 95
• 7x1 split jerk, then step only front foot in, rerack, and do another jerk back into full split position, I believe I only got up to 85
• 7x2 heavy split jerks, I made it up to 115.  I hadn't done heavy jerks in a while and I'm not super comfortable in the split position, but they felt great.
• Thoughts: I wasn't super hungry for bfast in the morning so I skipped it, but then I was starving in the late afternoon after eating plenty for lunch!  It sort of felt like skipping it threw me off all day.  I definitely felt the lack of caffeine from no coffee after lunch, but I pushed through and felt more energized once I left work and got outside with Carmela and Butler.

Day 22 - Wednesday 3/2/16

• Breakfast: Green tea with some apple chicken sausage and sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach
• Lunch: Leftover pan fried chicken with an almond meal crust (similar to this) dipped in a quick homemade ranch (similar to this) with zucchini noodles tossed in a pesto sauce
• Dinner: Slow Cooker Korean Beef (recipe called for short ribs, but I used a chuck roast that I already had in the freezer) that I served with Cauliflower Fried Rice and some kimchi in a Korean "Burrito" Bowl
• Sleep: 7 hours
• Workout: I'm sore, rest day.
• Thoughts: I slept like the dead last night and didn't have too much trouble getting out of bed bright and early to prep the beef for the crockpot.  I had made the sauce ahead of time, but I broiled the meat at 6 am!  It turned out great, dinner was delicious.  Day 2 of no coffee and I was definitely feeling an afternoon slump.  I also had a slight headache when I went to bed.

Day 23 - Thursday 3/3/16

• Breakfast: Chai tea with some apple chicken sausage and sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach
• Lunch: Leftover Slow Cooker Korean Beef with Cauliflower Fried Rice and some kimchi in a Korean "Burrito" Bowl and some super sweet raspberries 
• Dinner: Leftover pan fried chicken with an almond meal crust (similar to this) with guacamole
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: Nope
  
• Thoughts: Thought I'd wake up and feel better, but I still had a slight headache :/  It lasted all day but was only a dull pain and never got worse.  I tried to avoid taking any meds for it since it was so minor and I wanted to see if it would pass...

Day 24 - Friday 3/4/16

• Breakfast: Lemon ginger tea and 2 clementines
• Lunch: Leftover Slow Cooker Korean Beef with Cauliflower Fried Rice and some kimchi in a Korean "Burrito" Bowl and raspberries
• Snack: Green juice from Trader Joe's (like the bitter kind that is loaded with greens and barely any fruit)
• Dinner: Left work a little early and picked up the handful of ingredients I needed to make this Leftover Roast Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables
• Sleep: 7 hours
• Workout: Dying on the couch
• Thoughts: I woke up in the middle of the night with a raging headache and a sore throat.  WHAT THE HECK?!  I couldn't fall back asleep for over an hour :(  I took some ibuprofen in the middle of the night and thankfully woke up without a headache.  I went to work but was feeling pretty crappy all day.  I didn't have much of an appetite so I only ate half my lunch.  I knew once I stopped moving, I was going to crash, so I forced myself to stop at Trader Joe's and make soup when I got home.  As soon as I was done, I didn't leave the couch until I went to bed.

Day 25 - Saturday 3/5/16

• Brunch: 2 mandarins and a bowl of Leftover Roast Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables
• Snacks: Green smoothie from Trader Joe's (different from yesterdays juice and tasted beyond sweet), a coconut cream pie Larabar and a banana
• Dinner: Ordered takeout from Outback, I got prime rib and a mix of carrots, broccoli, and zucchini.  After walking around the Flower Show all day and driving home from Philly, the last thing I wanted to do was fix dinner.  Thankfully I remembered that there's an Outback right around the corner from our house and their online ordering made it so easy for me to customize my order to be compliant.  I'm glad to have this option.

• Sleep: 12 hours!  I needed it.
• Workout: Tons of walking around the Flower Show, my legs were so exhausted
• Thoughts: I was feeling much better than the day before, but I was really struggling by the end of the Flower Show.  I'm glad I brought some snacks with me!

Day 26 - Sunday 3/6/16

• Breakfast: The side salad I got with my Outback meal that I dressed up with some extra veggies and prosciutto
• Lunch: I was at my friend Heather's baby shower and ate some raw veggies, fruit, some pickles, and I took 2 wraps and unrolled them and just ate the ham, turkey, lettuce, and tomato inside.  I also had a chai tea as well as a cinnamon vanilla tea while I was there.  In the past shower events have been my downfall, so I'm glad I was able to stay strong around the desserts.
• Dinner: A big Mexican feast at Shayna's with a bunch of friends!  Shayna is doing the Whole30 as well, so she provided a great spread of compliant foods (with some non compliant options for our other friends).  She had pulled pork, chicken, and ground beef to make lettuce wraps with salsa, guac, tomato, and onion.  I also enjoyed some plantain chips with guac.  And for dessert I ate some mango and strawberry salsa and drank a ginger kombucha.  I was super happy I didn't have to cook and it was great to catch up with friends.
• Sleep: 9 hours
• Workout: 0.8 mi walk with the dogs + CrossFit

20 minutes... right.  I'm pretty sure only one person at my gym made it to round 3.  Only a handful made it to round 2, mostly coaches.  My goal was to get to the squat cleans... to get at least one.  And I couldn't do it.  The toes to bars took me 2 minutes and then I seriously struggled through my double unders.  I was so disappointed since I've been doing so well with them, but I just could not seem to get into a rhythm.  I couldn't do more than two or three at a time and the more I messed up, the more frustrated I got, the worse I did.  I ended up with 71 reps... I missed finishing the 50 dubs by 4 reps... 4!  Ugh.  I definitely wasn't feeling 100%.  Really, I said I was only there to get a score so I didn't end up with a big fat zero for the Open... but I knew I didn't do my best and I was really unhappy with my performance.

• Thoughts: Even though I wasn't feeling amazing, I'm glad I was able to recover from my cold so quickly and I didn't have to miss all the fun activities I had planned for the weekend.  I should've actually taken some pics today.

Day 27 - Monday 3/7/16

• Breakfast: Green tea with some apple chicken sausage and sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spinach
• Lunch: Leftover Roast Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables and some blackberries
• Dinner: Burgers with lettuce, tomato, pickles, guac, bacon, and sweet potato fries with homemade ranch
• Sleep: 7 hours, wished it was more
• Workout: 1.7 mi with the dogs + CrossFit (16.2 take 2)
  
  I knew I could do better than my performance on Sunday and since the WOD was so short and not crazy taxing like 16.1, I decided to redo it first thing Monday morning.  I crushed the toes to bar and finished them in 1:23 beating my time from Sunday by 40 seconds.  Unfortunately I still couldn't settle into any kind of rhythm with my dubs.  I tried and tried to just take a deep breath and reset myself, but they felt off the entire time.  I actually did worse than Sunday with 67 reps and I was super upset with myself.  Great way to start a Monday....
  

• Thoughts: I'm officially one week coffee free!  I'm still getting over this cold so I can't say I feel amazing, but I don't feel like I need it. 

I owe you guys a serious photo dump from the Flower Show.  Everything was so beautiful and I took a ton of pics.  Today was kind of rough, but I'm looking forward to a week of warm temps, getting completely over this cold, and a strong finish to this Whole30!

How was your week?  Did you check out the Flower Show?  Did you cook anything delicious?

My February Whole30: Days 17 - 20

Here's a quick update since I couldn't wait to post about 16.1!

Day 17 - Friday 2/26/16

• Breakfast: Bacon Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust from the Against All Grain cookbook, coffee, and 2 clementines
• Lunch: Leftover Korean Noodle Bowl from the Against All Grain cookbook and a peach 
• Dinner: Ended up getting Chipotle for dinner because I really did not feel like cooking after the Open workout.  I will be planning better for next week.
• Sleep: 7 hours
• Workout: CrossFit Open 16.1
• 20 Minute AMRAP
• 25 ft Overhead Walking Lunges (95/65)
• 8 Bar Facing Burpees
• 25 ft Overhead Walking Lunges
• 8 Chest to Bar Pull Ups

I'm not sure how I went an entire year completely not considering that the standard pull up in the Open would be chest to bar.  I'm still trying to connect my regular kipping pull ups and that has been my focus.  I spent a few minutes attempting C2B on Monday night without much success, but didn't really think much of it until the workout was announced Thursday night with, you guessed it, chest to bar pull ups!  Since 1 Rx rep is ranked higher than any amount of scaled reps, I knew I was going to complete the beginning of the workout and then spend the remaining time trying to get my dang chest to touch that bar.  I watched a bunch of videos online on Friday but I didn't really have any expectations for myself.

Until I tried one during my warm up and I did it!!!!  At that point I started to feel less anxious and more excited.  But I still thought I wasn't going to be able to maintain the Rx standards through the 20 minutes.  I insisted on stacking my bar in a way that I could pull some weight off once I could no longer hit the C2B pull ups.

But that never happened.  My pull ups were super strong the entire work out.  Whenever I came back to the pull up bar I was so worried about getting no repped that I would end up doing this crazy high pull up and slamming my chest off the bar.  The lunges were hard, especially the section directly after the burpees.  Since it was such a long WOD, I knew I wanted to pace myself and I felt like I did a good job not burning out too early.  The worst part was my butt started to seriously hurt half way through, my cheeks were cramping up!  My friend Jeff counted for me and was a great coach throughout the workout.  It was so helpful.  So many people were cheering and when I finished I was just in disbelief.  I still can't believe I completed 4 rounds + 18 reps Rx!  I love the Open and I love my gym!

• Thoughts: My back felt great, huzzah!

Day 18 - Saturday 2/27/16

• Breakfast: Coffee and a banana
• Lunch: Whole30 Potluck!  I had been planning this event for a few weeks and even though we had some last minute cancellations, it ended up being a wonderful get together.  We started with chorizo stuffed dates wrapped in bacon (OMG I'm obsessed & hoping to share the recipe with you soon!) and avocados topped with bacon and a balsamic reduction, both of which I totally forgot to take pics of.  For our main course we had sun dried tomato meatballs, Asian lettuce wraps, and a chopped salad with tomato, cucumber, onion, bell peppers, and avocado.  We also sampled a bunch of different kombucha flavors with the sweetest strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  Everything was so delicious and it was great having a bunch of my best girl friends come together for a lovely ladies lunch :) 

• Dinner: Fish taco lettuce wraps with pineapple guacamole and cabbage slaw, inspired by a recipe in Juli Bauer's Paleo Cookbook
• Sleep: 8.5 hours
• Workout: 1.1 miles with the dogs
• Thoughts: My butt is SO sore!  But my legs actually don't feel too terrible otherwise, I'm shocked.

Day 19 - Sunday 2/28/16

• Breakfast: Coffee and the last piece of the Bacon Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust from the Against All Grain cookbook
• Lunch: I made a salad and topped it with some of the Asian lettuce wrap leftovers and ate it outside in the sunshine :)
• Snacks: A clementine, a kombucha, some almond stuffed olives, and 2 leftover chorizo stuffed dates
• Dinner: Steaks seared in the cast iron pan and cucumber tomato salad
• Sleep: 8.5 hours
• Workout: 0.9 mile walk with the dogs and my dad
• Thoughts: My mom cooked a big batch of stuffed peppers while I was hanging out there and they smelled insane (but included rice and cheese).  I pretty much hung out until right when they came out of the oven and then I had to go.

Day 20 - Monday 2/29/16

• Breakfast: Leftover avocado with bacon and a balsamic reduction and coffee
• Lunch: Grandma Barbara's Stuffed Mushrooms from Practical Paleo that I made Sunday night
• Appetizer: Basically a taste of the leftover Asian lettuce wraps and the sun dried tomato meatballs from the potluck and another avocado with bacon and balsamic reduction
• Dinner: Pan fried chicken with an almond meal crust (I didn't really follow a recipe, but similar to this) served with zucchini noodles tossed in a pesto sauce
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: 3.0 miles running and walking with the dogs at the park
• Thoughts: I actually didn't feel horrible getting out of bed on a Monday morning!  I'm considering quitting coffee for the rest of my Whole30 just to see how I feel without it.  The amount I've been drinking is so minimal and I feel great.  I cooked up a storm and made dinner for tonight, breakfast for the week, and prepped a crockpot meal for tomorrow.  Boom!

So I guess calling it my February Whole30 was kind of short sighted, since 1/3 of it will be happening in March haha.  Whoops!

How was your weekend?

My February Whole30: Days 11 - 16

This week was pretty easy.  I made so much food over the weekend that I didn't have to do much cooking all week.  I think I'm going to try and repeat that for this coming week!

Day 11 - Saturday 2/20/16

• Breakfast: Wasn't really hungry when I woke up, enjoyed a cup of green chai tea
• Lunch: Leftover Paleo Pad Thai
• Snack: I ate a pretty small portion for lunch and I was feeling pretty hungry around 3:30 pm.  The sun was shining and it was almost 60 degrees, so I whipped up a smoothie with some frozen blueberries, fresh strawberries, coconut milk, and spinach.
• Appetizer: Guacamole with plantain chips and carrots
• Dinner: We had our bffs Megan and Stephen over for dinner and I made the Korean Noodle Bowl from the Against All Grain cookbook.  It came out amazing!  I also enjoyed a Trilogy kombucha in lieu of drinking with everyone.
• Sleep: 8 hours + a 30 minute nap
• Workout: I met up with Leah for a 3.77 mile walk/hike with the dogs.  We went to the Black Rock Sanctuary, a new to us spot, and the weather was perfect.  All the water was still frozen and beautiful, but it was in the high 50s and it felt great.
• Thoughts: My forearms are SO sore from bouldering!

Day 12 - Sunday 2/21/16

• Breakfast: Cup of coffee
• Lunch: BLT lettuce wraps with half an avocado and a coconut La Croix
• Snack: A salad, since I was headed to Dave's aunt's house for dinner I wasn't exactly sure how much of the meal was going to be compliant and I didn't want to show up starving, so I figured eating a nice salad before I went wasn't a bad plan.
• Dinner: I brought along some Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus as a side to share but dinner ended up being compliant anyway.  We had a delicious roast, green beans, and a potato salad (that was mustard based... and I actually liked it!), I had to skip the salad because of the blue cheese and dressing, but I was all set anyway since I had one before I came.  The hardest part was staying strong when Kay forgot and waved a piece of cake in my face lol.  I enjoyed a gingerberry kombucha as my dessert.
• Sleep: 8.5 glorious hours
• Workout: 1 mile walk with the pups
• Thoughts: I typically do a Whole30 in January and this dinner is always a huge fail for me.  Every time I would go in with the intentions of not overdoing it and then after appetizers, wine, and cake, I'd always go home with a belly ache.  Not this time!  I wish I took a picture of the beef, it was so amazing.

Day 13 - Monday 2/22/16

• Breakfast:  Coffee, bacon Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust from the Against All Grain cookbook that I made on Sunday and 2 clementines
• Lunch: Burrito bowl from Chipotle with carnitas, pico and green salsa, lettuce, and guac
• Dinner: Leftover Paleo Pad Thai
• Sleep: 7 hours
• Workout: CrossFit
• Strength: 5 x 3 Back Squats - I got up to 145 lbs, heaviest weight in a while!
• WOD:
• 30 Squat Cleans (135/95) - I used 85#
• 3 Burpees EMOM (every minute on the minute)
• 10 Minute Cap

I really should've done a lighter weight.  When I got half way, it started hurting my back but unfortunately I didn't stack the bar in a way that I could've taken any weight off mid WOD.  I thought about quitting, but I just couldn't.  I pushed really hard the last 2 minutes because I refused to do any more burpees.  My back felt awful all evening.

• After party: I did 15 strict pull ups with a red band for assistance.  I also worked on my kipping pull up a little bit, trying to see if I could get one chest to bar pull up since that will most likely be the Rx movement in the Open WODs.  It seemed like I was high enough, but I could not get my chest to the bar.

• Thoughts: Getting out of bed this morning was rough.  I'm still hoping for more energy first thing in the morning.  I got double meat in my burrito bowl at Chipotle since I had a free coupon and I couldn't even finish the whole thing.  I was SO full all afternoon.

 Day 14 - Tuesday 2/23/16

• Breakfast:  Coffee and Bacon Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust from the Against All Grain cookbook
• Lunch: Leftover Korean Noodle Bowl from the Against All Grain cookbook and a banana 
• Dinner: Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Creamy Pesto & a green juice from Whole Foods
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: Nada
• Thoughts: I still don't understand why I'm struggling so much in the morning.  My back feels better than yesterday, but still pretty terrible.  Lots of push aways all day and my heating pad is my best friend.  The meatballs came out great, but man they do not photograph well...

Day 15 - Wednesday 2/24/16

• Breakfast:  Coffee and bacon Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust from the Against All Grain cookbook
• Lunch: Leftover Paleo Pad Thai and strawberries
• Dinner: Leftover Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Creamy Pesto and a salad
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Workout: Does scrubbing the inside of my microwave count?
• Thoughts: Today was the day!  I finally woke up well rested and didn't snooze a million times.  My back still doesn't feel 100%, but it's so much better than yesterday.  I was supposed to go see Sue since she was doing appointments at my gym, but a got a flat tire on my way home from work so I cancelled all my evening plans.  FB memories reminded me that this day a year ago was when I completely blew out a tire on 476 on one of the coldest days of the year.  This was a much better scenario since I realized something was wrong when I was in my neighborhood and was able to make it home.

Day 16 - Thursday 2/25/16

• Breakfast:  Bacon Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust from the Against All Grain cookbook
• Snack: Coffee & 2 clementines
• Lunch: Leftover Paleo Pad Thai and an apple
• Dinner: Chef Jeff's famous fajitas & a passionberry kombucha
• Sleep: 7 hours
• Workout: 0.3 mile dog walk (set out to do more but the wind was brutal!)
• Thoughts: Today I'm wearing pants that I bought online that really did not fit when I got them at the beginning of the month :D

I seriously miss chocolate and cheese but otherwise I'm not longing for anything off plan.  I can't believe I'm already over half way finished, it's honestly flying by.  This weekend is a great mix of relaxing and fun. Last night was the first workout of the CrossFit Open (and I killed it!) and I hosted a delicious Whole30 potluck with some girlfriends this afternoon.  The weekend will be capped off with enjoying some time with my family and the 60 degree weather tomorrow.  And some steaks :)

Can you eat the same thing all week?  Or do you get sick of it?

My February Whole30: Days 5 - 10

I can't believe I'm already on Day 11 of this Whole30.  So far things have been pretty smooth and my pants are already starting to fit better!

Day 5 - Sunday 2/14/16

• Brunch: Pizza Frittata (added onions & peppers, skipped the nutritional yeast) topped with tomato sauce, a clementine, some almond stuffed olives, and basically a sip of coffee
• Snack: Salad
• Dinner: Steak, scallops fried in ghee, and asparagus and cherry tomatoes roasted in EVOO and garlic
• Sleep: 7.5 hours + 1 hour nap
• Workout: Laziest Sunday ever!
• Thoughts: I was so hungry between brunch and dinner.  I really wanted to munch on something, but I settled for salad leftovers from the night before.  Dinner was delicious.  I did not feel sad about not going out for Vday at all.  We used our brand new cast iron pan for the steak and the scallops and they both came out great.  I REALLY wanted some chocolate before bed, but I just ignored the craving.

Day 6 - Monday 2/15/16

• Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, some grapes
• Lunch: Leftover Crockpot Beef with carrots and Mashed Cauliflower
• Dinner: Leftover Paleo Shepherd's Pie and two almond stuffed olives
• Snack: A clementine
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Workout: Wanted to go to the gym but I decided not driving in the snow was a better option.
• Thoughts: I felt pretty great all day energy wise.  I am definitely craving sugar like crazy!

Day 7 - Tuesday 2/16/16

• Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, grapes
• Lunch: Leftover Paleo Shepherd's Pie
• Snack: Since I knew it was "Treat Tuesday" in my office I brought myself a nice spread of pepperoni, prosciutto, pickles, and plantain chips and salsa.
• Dinner: Leftover Crockpot Beef with carrots and Mashed Cauliflower
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
  
• Workout: 0.8 mi dog walk + CrossFit
• Skill: 4 rounds, :20 max wall balls , :10 rest - I got 43 wall balls, which I was very proud of.
• Strength: 5x3 Back Squats w/3 second descent and 3 second pause at the bottom - I started at 95 lbs and worked up to 135 lbs!
• WOD:
• 21 Back Squats (115/75)
• 21 Burpee Box Jumps (24"/20")
• 15 Front Squats
• 15 Burpee Box Jumps
• 9 Overhead Squats
• 9 Burpee Box Jumps

I used 55# and finished in 9:40.  I probably should've gone heavier because the squats didn't feel too bad.  Actually the 9 OH squats at the end were supposed to be the worst part of the workout and they ended up being a piece of cake for me.  The burpee box jumps took forever.  I still feel like my lack of endurance is holding me back in my workouts.

• Barbell Club:
• Snatch deadlifts 5x2
• Squat snatch from high hang 5x3
• Snatch deadlift, snatch high pull, power snatch 8x1

I kept these all pretty light and only worked up to 65# for each movement.  The deadlifts can be pretty taxing on my back and I was feeling some pain in my left shoulder at the top of the snatch.  Desperately trying to listen to my body.

• Thoughts: Considering day 7 is "I just want a nap..." on the Whole30 timeline, I feel like I have so much energy.  I'm loving that I have all these leftovers and I'm getting a break from cooking.

Day 8 - Wednesday 2/17/16

• Breakfast: Leftover Pizza Frittata and 2 clementines
• Lunch: Coconut cashew chicken with sweet potatoes and cauliflower rice from Kettlebell Kitchen
• Dinner: Apple chicken sausage with brussel sprouts, sweet potato, and onion with a little balsamic vinegar and half an avocado
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: 0.8 mi dog walk
• Thoughts: My skin was going haywire the first few days and it's finally starting to calm down.

Day 9 Thursday 2/18/16

• Breakfast: Leftover Pizza Frittata
• Lunch: Leftover chicken sausage with brussel sprouts, sweet potato, and onion with a little balsamic vinegar and a small avocado
• Dinner: I intended on grabbing a salad from Wegmans between CrossFit and choir rehearsal but I was in a rush and wasn't very hungry anyway.  When I got home at 9:30 pm I was over it and just went to bed.
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: CrossFit
• Skill: 4 rounds, :20 max box jumps, :10 rest - I got 39 box jumps, the most of all the girls for the day!
• Strength: 8 minute EMOM of Power Snatch + Hang Snatch - I got up to 75 lbs.
• WOD: 
• 15-12-9 Deadlifts (225/155)
• 9-6-3 Deadlifts (275/185)
• 8 Hand Release Push Ups + 15 Sit Ups after each round

Ugh, my back wasn't feeling great before we even started.  I knew deadlifts were not going to be a good idea for me and I started to get really upset.  My coach set me up with a 35 lbs kettlebell to deadlift, which was obviously a lot lighter, but also put me in a different position, with my legs a little wider, which was better for my back.  Lifting 35 lbs when 155 is prescribed was a bit of a blow to my ego, but it is what it is.  I finished in 9:01.

• Thoughts: I can't believe I wasn't dying of hunger by the time I got home.  I feel like I'm really starting to sleep like a rock. 

Day 10 - Friday 2/19/16

• Breakfast: Leftover Pizza Frittata, 2 clementines, and then my work had a free breakfast spread so I stuck to the fruit including strawberries, kiwi, raspberries, blueberries, and pineapple.
• Lunch: Leftover Paleo Shepherd's Pie 
• Dinner: Paleo Pad Thai
• Sleep: 7.5 hours
• Workout: About an hour of boulder climbing, which was so difficult!  The walls were all slightly inverted and it took so much upper body and grip strength.

• Thoughts: We went out to the bar after rock climbing and I had absolutely no problem not drinking.

1/3 of the way there!

Did you cook anything special for Valentines Day?

My February Whole30: Days 1 - 4

Another Whole30 has begun and so far, it really hasn't been a big deal.  I've been enjoying delicious dinners and didn't really have the awful sugar hangover I was expecting.  Winning :)

Day 1 - Wednesday 2/10/16

• Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 clementines, coffee
• Snack: Pomegranate white tea
• Lunch: Leftover Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
• Dinner: Caramelized Pork Chops with Sweet Onion Jam and roasted broccoli
• Sleep: 7 hours
• Workout: 0.8 mile dog walk
• Thoughts: There were dozens of donuts in the kitchen at work, which was annoying since it was Fastnacht Day (aka donut day/Fat Tuesday) the day before!  I was seriously exhausted all afternoon.  I did feel better once I left work though.  Otherwise it was just a normal day.

Day 2 - Thursday 2/11/16

• Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, grapes, coffee
• Lunch: Leftover pork chops with onions and roasted broccoli
• Dinner: The Easiest and Most Delicious Crockpot Beef Ever with carrots and Mashed Cauliflower

• Sleep: 8 hours!
• Workout: CrossFit
•  Strength:
• 1 Power Clean every 45 seconds x 8 at 75% of max + 5 lbs from last week
• Drop Set: Take 10-15% off the bar, :45 Max Effort Reps at this weight

Last week I used 100 lbs, so I opted for 105 lbs.  They felt really good.  I used 90 lbs for the drop set and got 10 reps in the 45s.

• WOD: 27-21-15-9
• Wall Balls (20/14)
• Box Jumps (24"/20")
• Every break in wall balls is a 5 burpee penalty to be added to the end of the WOD

This workout was completely mental for me.  I knew I could do 30 wall balls unbroken from a test we did somewhat recently, but I rarely do more than 7-10 together in a workout.  Sometimes more like 5.  But I refused to add any burpees to the end of my workout!  I did all the wall balls unbroken and after every set I was huffing and puffing wondering if I was going to make my first jump onto the box.  I finished in 10:08 and it left me wrecked.  I laid on the floor for a while feeling like death.  Have you ever worked out so hard your teeth hurt?  I guess that's what happens when you only go to the gym sporadically.  Fixing this now, I need to get my cardio endurance back!

• Pilates: I eventually managed to feel somewhat normal and participated in 20 minutes of pilates after class that I really enjoyed.
• Thoughts: I felt like I had the beginning of a headache throughout the morning so I focused on drinking a lot of water... and coffee.  I fully expected to go downhill at some point in the evening, but other than a little bit of dull pain in my head at the end of the night, I was fine.

Day 3 - Friday 2/12/16

• Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, coffee
• Lunch: Leftover pork chops with onions, roasted broccoli, and a clementine 
• Snack: Some almond stuffed olives and shrimp dipped in garlic and ghee
• Dinner: Swordfish roasted with salt, pepper, old bay, lemon, and olive oil with a salad
• Sleep: 6.5 hours
• Workout: 1 mi dog walk
• Thoughts: I still wasn't sure I was in the clear from a nasty sugar detox, but I felt great all day.

Day 4 - Saturday 2/13/16

• Brunch: Leftover buffalo chicken stuffed pepper
• Appetizers: Guacamole and salsa with carrots and plantain chips and chorizo stuffed dates wrapped in bacon that my coworker Hannah made!  Lots of kombucha.
• Dinner: Paleo Shepherd's Pie and a salad
• Dessert: Strawberries
• Sleep: 8 hours
• Workout: Rock climbing double date with Arley and Jeff!  It was so much fun and my forearms were smoked by the end.

• Thoughts: I really wasn't hungry for a meal in the morning.  I practically had to force myself to eat the stuffed pepper because I knew I'd be hungry while we were rock climbing.  By the time we were finished, I was starving and glad we had compliant appetizers planned.  Jeff, Arley, and Hannah came over for dinner and we had a Whole30 compliant feast.  I definitely ate too much because everything was so delicious.  The plantain chips are probably iffy on being compliant.  The ingredient list is fine, but they are definitely a food with no brakes.

That's strawberry kombucha just in case you're wondering... and look at those roses from my sweetie!  Looking forward to our surf and turf Vday feast of steak and scallops later!  No feeling deprived over here.  Dave and I typically don't go out for Valentines anyway because we hate crowds, so this year isn't really any different.  We always just stay in and make something special.  I hope you are having a lovely Valentines Day <3

Do you have a special meal planned for tonight?