Whole30 + 7

So we finished whole30 about a week ago and it was great! We were feeling better, we weren't bloated, or achy, or greasy gross. 

Then St. Patrick's day came around and we ate and drank to our little hearts desires. And we felt like crap. 

It's weird being finished with Whole30, it's like the restraints are gone and we can do whatever we want! 

How freaking terrible is that? The restraints should always be there. We should always be recognizing that shitty food makes you feel shitty so I should stop eating it, right? You'd think it would be easier to eat healthy than to eat sugar. But I'm dead serious when I say sugar is addicting. And it will kill you. 

Why aren't people talking about this!? According to "Fed Up", a wonderful documentary on Netflix, sugar is just as addicting as cocaine and shoots out the same pleasure sensors in the brain... So what in the world!? It also leads to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and DEATH! I mean come on people!? Do people not care about what this is doing to people? Sorry.. crazyhighhorsetangent finished..

So as of today, bec and I are sticking to our guns, we're staying with the Whole30 process, but throwing in a glass of wine or whiskey night cap in every once in a while. 

We will keep peeps updated with weight loss. 

As of Sunday, I am down 9lbs, bec is down 7, and  we have 2 months until swintrunk season! 

The Home Stretch

Hello all!

Maura kept insisting that it was my turn to write despite the fact that I wrote the last post, but here I am again! We’ve entered our last full week of Whole30. As of Sunday, we’re both down 8 lbs. That’s a pretty good chunk for three weeks.

Saturday we went back down to Shock Trauma to visit my friend, and then grabbed dinner at the Nalley Fresh right by the hospital. This was our first meal at a restaurant since we began Whole30. In case you're like me and had never heard of Nalley Fresh, it's basically a Chipotle but for healthy food. Everything is fresh and it's not going to break the bank. However, I guess being that it still was a restaurant, it upset both of our stomachs pretty well.

Sunday we made our weekly run to Aldi's (have I mentioned lately how much I love that place?) and I went a little crazy. I got a ton of produce but also a bunch of sugarless organic healthy stuff that's normally a million dollars in a regular grocery store. I also picked up some steaks, and so this meal was born:

Eye Round Steak, Roasted Asparagus, Baked Potato, 

and Salad with homemade "caesar" dressing

It was amazing. The steak was marinated in some spice combo I found on a Whole30 site, the dressing was a bit of a pain to make but totally worth it, and the meal overall was so good. The best part was that it hardly took any time to throw together. I'm officially calling the dressing my Guilt-Free Dressing. That's what I'm talking about!

Maura has really been craving pancakes, so we decided to try a pumpkin pancake recipe we found using almond flour. Well...this was an interesting outcome.

Pumpkin Pancakes, Bacon, Fruit Salad, 

and Organic Apple Sauce

Okay, so they don't really look like "traditional" pancakes. They were really difficult to flip and they wanted to burn before they cooked all the way through. Nevertheless, now we know that maybe we try a different recipe. The bacon was amazing (Isn't it always) and the fruit was super fresh. We also indulged in a little not-from-concentrate pineapple orange juice.

Last night (Monday night), the weather was so nice that we decided to make a fire on our patio and throw some burgers on the grill. Maura was trying to be proactive and help me chop up some sweet potato fries before I got home from work and the mandolin slicer bit her, so that was almost a trip to the emergency room. I'm happy to report, however, that if all goes well she should keep the arm.

Seasoned Hamburger topped with Guilt-Free Dressing

and Garlic Sweet Potato Fries

This meal was a home run. The fries could have been crisped a little longer, but the burger was cooked to perfection. The dressing on top even gave it a little bit of the "creamy" factor that you would get from melted cheese. But for someone who actively ignores their lactose intolerance (me) this was a great fix!

It's crazy how, now that this experiment is coming to a close, you feel like "cheating." We were so strong in the beginning, especially the first week. So determined. We've found ourselves saying, "I won't tell if you don't tell." And you just feel like...you're so close, why not have that beer? Or bend a little and have a few chips? You're basically already there anyway, what would it matter? But you'll know that you'll have cheated. And you'll know that you'll have wasted the last 30 days only to blow it at the end. And nothing could possibly taste as good as skinny feels. 

And so we'll finish out our 30 days and know that we've been successful, that we haven't broken, and that we've not only lost weight but gained knowledge of healthier foods and experience in the kitchen. And that was the goal all along.

I'll Take My Coffee Black, Please

I think one of my favorite things about this "diet" is that I haven't counted a single calorie. I haven't even really been keeping track of what I've been eating, it's just been real food. Did I have one apple today, or six? (Answer: just one, because six will most definitely give you the poops. Moving on.)

So it's Day 17, and I haven't had a single cup of coffee in seventeen days. Mostly because I'm one of those disgusting people that likes cinnamon roll creamer plus one or two sugars, and I'm terrified that if I even have it black, I'll go off the deep end. But this morning I made a pot of natural hazelnut coffee, and I read on a Whole30 blog that a sprinkle of cinnamon over the grounds can help to take some of the bitterness out. It totally worked! Either that, or I'm desensitized from the sugar coma that my three-cups-a-day brought on. Either way, it's good (although a little weak) and I'm a happy camper. 

I've made lots of kitchen creations this week. On Sunday, Maura had some leftover Pork Verde that I made on Saturday night to take with us to a friend's house, and I was craving something different. We haven't gotten on the coconut flour train, but I attempted to make some salmon cakes. 

They were amazing! I just used 1 can of salmon, drained, an egg, parsley, oregano, onion powder, and thyme and served them over a small bit of tomato sauce. So good!

On Monday night, I made eggplant lasagna, which sadly we dove into so quickly that I didn't get a picture. But it was great because I prepared it in the morning (slices of eggplant layered in a chunky tomato meat sauce) and then had Maura pop it in the oven about 15 minutes before I came home. Boom! Done. I did sauté up some seasoned asparagus to go on the side as well. 

Then, last night for dinner, I put an entire roasting chicken in the crockpot with a spicy seasoning mix I made and let it cook from about 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The chicken was so juicy and tender that we couldn't lift it out of the crockpot because it wanted to fall apart. 

Then with that, I steamed up some fresh broccoli and made our paleo mashed potatoes with clarified butter and parsley. The best.

I do feel a bit like I spend my life in the kitchen now, but it hasn't been all bad. I do have a lot of time in the mornings and the meals have totally been worth it,

Back to the grind! 13 more days!

Half way there

Today is day 14 of 30. And again, we are still feeling good! Both becca and I have had our moments where all we wanted was to quit. But we have stuck to our guns and we're powering through. 

Yesterday we had another weigh-in and here are the numbers:

Becca: -7

Maura: -7

So all in all we are feeling really good. 

I did want to mention what I have observed. I have had an opportunity to talk to a lot of people about this program, and it's been really cool to hear the feedback. But the one thing I have noticed is that when I say "no alcohol" people immediately think they could never do this. 

And I'm wondering if that's weird? Is it crazy to not drink any alcohol for 30 days? Why does that sound so intense to people? 

Now I'm not trying to call anyone out or anything, I'm just thinking out loud. And I'll be completely honest, the hardest thing for me during this whole30 is that I can't have a beer or a glass of wine or 6. But I think that screams louder to me than the sugar detox objective. 

Anyway, kind of open ended but I don't know the answer. I'd love the feedback, your thoughts?

K sweet bye. 

Xoxo gossip girl

Day 7 of 30

Woo! Almost finished our first week of whole30!

I gotta say we are feeling pretty good! Our goal in doing this was to detox our bodies from crap and create healthier habits. So we have decided to follow the "no snacking" rule and the no "sex with your pants on" rule (I'll explain this more in a little). 

But we did decide to not follow the "no weighing yourself until the end" rule. And here is why. Both becca and me are the heaviest we have ever been and we know that our weight, that stupid number, is important to our health. So we have decided to weigh ourselves once a week. And today is weigh in day! So here is the damage! 

Rebecca: -5

Maura: -3

Woooooo!!! It's like golf up in here! We are both pretty excited to see how these 30 days pays off!

Okay so let me explain the "sex with your pants on" thing. If the idea of this program is to stop mindless eating, stop filling our bodies with food that our bodies can't process, and to learn how to cook real food, then taking real food and creating a fake version of crappy food is the opposite of what we're trying to do. Say I make cauliflower and almond chocolate chip cookies, wouldn't I really be feeding into the desire of wanting real cookies? And isn't that kind of like sex with your pants on? So we're not faking baked goods, we're not making our own peanut butter, we're eating real food that is really good for our bodies. 

Anyway, off my high horse and back to breakfast. Here's to another 23 days! 

A Huge Step

So, I actually attempted to be on the ball and post, but I’ve been writing entries in my work computer and then just uploading them. As it turns out, I forgot the last step of actually posting them, so here they are now:

Tuesday we struggled pretty hard with headaches and just overall feeling sluggish. Wednesday, however, things seem a bit better. I still had a touch of a headache, but I feel…just better. It’s hard to explain. More energetic, in a better mood, and overall less crappy.

Tuesday night's dinner

Wednesday morning, I made us a delicious sweet potato hash with peppers, onions, avocado, and eggs sunny side up. Someone remind me to take pictures of these masterpieces. Then for lunch, we both took a salad hiatus and had dinner leftovers. I had the tilapia we made Monday night and Maura had the chicken we made Tuesday night.

 Dinner was a bit of a flop. I’m going to use the excuse that I didn’t get to taste/season correctly since Maura had to bring it with her since I work late on Wednesday nights, but overall it wasn’t great. I attempted a Whole30 compliant chili, and it was just not satisfying. The good news is, though, that there is enough left over that I can mix into a tomato sauce when we tackle spaghetti squash!

Then on Thursday, we had the leftover hash and I poached a couple of eggs to go on top. We also both had a small glass of orange juice (horray for juices being compliant! Now if only we could work some rum in there). For lunch we were back to our balsamic vinegar chicken salad. Then I got off work a bit early because we were going to a PaintNite at Fazzini’s Taverna…a pizza  place. Gosh.

We planned ahead and made a big-ish dinner before we went, so we would be less tempted. We cooked up some seasoned pork chops, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and clean mashed potatoes. Surprisingly satisfying!

Pizza and beer are basically our kryptonite. But we both made it through without much bloodshed and I think we’re better for it. In fact, we both moved in a notch on our belts yesterday and I noticed that a pair of my khakis that had started to get uncomfortably tight are now a bit loose. Small victories.

Day 2 of 30

Woo! Day 2 down! 

So far we are tired and have headaches. But that's what detoxing from processed sugar looks like. We are powering through and have loved everything we've been eating. 

I will say this, while everyone was eating pizza for lunch today, I was enjoying leftovers. I mean, of course, all I wanted was a gosh darn piece of effing pizza. But an hour later I noticed that I felt lighter. I don't know how to explain it, it's not like I'm hungry, it's more like I'm not stuffed. I don't feel bloated or groggy or gross. So that's a plus! 

Here's the run down of day 2:

Scrambled eggs and chicken sausage (we found an organic, no fake processed stuff) 

Salad with chicken and egg. An apple and some sweet potato

For dinner, now let me tell you, this was awesome! We had chicken with the balsamic dressing I made on Sunday, sprouts, asparagus, and mashed sweet potatoes. It was awesome and we were stuffed. 

Almost finished Day 3!!! 

Day One- In the Books

Day one is officially behind us.

We woke up with anticipation of what the day would hold. I stumbled out to the kitchen and pressed the button on the coffee-less coffee maker (we drink unsweetened tea now…that’ll wake ya up). Maura made us some eggs over easy while I chopped up some avocado. We also had some fruit that we had chopped up the day before on our prep day.

After breakfast, I threw us together a spring mix salad with balsamic vinegar chicken (again, prep day!), tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs for lunch. Maura also made us a delicious homemade dressing that she filled me a mason jar to put in my fridge at work.

I made a mistake and didn’t pack myself anything to snack on throughout the day, so by the time I got home we were both a little bit starving to death. So, we pulled out some fresh tilapia we had purchased on Sunday, and Maur cooked it up while I made us some sweet potatoes and a small side salad.

The best news? I haven’t counted a single calorie, logged a single meal, or stressed about my carb intake. Because I know everything that I’ve put into my body today has been fresh, healthy, and from the earth, not a chemical plant. Here’s looking at you, Monsanto.

The cravings are going to be the most difficult part to get past, I can tell. I suspect I may, like most of the world, have a slight sugar addiction. Skittles, Starbursts, Sour Patch Kids…get in my belly. But we’re learning to overcome these cravings and addictions with things that are good for our body, like fruit.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I think Whole30 is a little extreme. I can’t even have honey in my tea to make it a little more bearable? No peanut butter, either? But maybe that’s what we need. The first step is the hardest, right? On to the next.

Day 1 of 30

We read the book, our meals are prepped, and we are hitting the ground running for our first day of Whole30. Originally we were going to start on March 1st, but I kept getting more and more excited about the idea of seeing how food really affects (effects?) our body. So after watching many documentaries, getting pissed at the way we fatten up our food, and realizing corn has absolutely no value, it was time to start.

So many of you may know that I tried doing a big diet in 2014 and lost some weight, then started drinking beer, and gained it all back... Then I tried in 2015, but just wasn't really motivated to stick with it. 

So if you have seen the pattern, you would know that the whole "healthy" thing is really a challenge for me. But at this moment, I am the heaviest I have ever been, my asthma is really bad, and I feel sluggish, so it is time for a change. 

Luckily I have a beautiful partner in crime who wants nothing but the best for me. So Rebecca and I have decided it's time to make some life changing moves and it starts today with Whole30. 

If you haven't read "It Starts With Food" I really recommend it- mostly because I really had no idea that all the processed crap was/is killing me.

So for the next 30 days you will be hearing from both becca and me about our journey. We would love encouragement, stories from those who have completed the quest and recipes!!! 

So here goes everything!