My days are starting to blend on my Whole30 program. Perhaps it’s because I’m less nervous about the whole thing, or maybe that I’m embracing the change, but regardless, each day flows into the next more smoothly now.
I have moments where I freak out, but it isn’t related to knowing what I can and cannot eat. It’s more about the accumulation of frustrations that crop up along the way.
Yesterday I noticed there were a few good/bad scenarios throughout the day, so I decided to include them in Day 10′s post because if I’m going through them, others have/are/will too.
The Good & The Bad (sorry…no Ugly)
Good: I am eating an incredible amount of tasty, natural and unprocessed food, including meat, tons of vegetables, and plenty of good fats.
Bad: Even with our awesome weekly Sunday Cook-up/Cut-up, my family isn’t eating dinner until between 8:00-8:30 pm, which doesn’t work for me because I REALLY want to be in bed by 9:30 or 10:00 each night.
Good: I have a crazy amount of large black olives and 1/2″ cubed oranges in the refrigerator to include in meals or for the kids to snack on this week.
Bad: As we cooked our way through the Well Fed
Good: I learned what a fennel bulb looks like (thank you Google), and I found and watched a video that demonstrated three different ways to cut a fennel. I did an excellent job and felt like a rock star.
Bad: As I began slicing the fennel, the odor of black licorice hit me, and it was all I could do to include it as an ingredient in the El Minzah Orange Salad. I did not voice my opinion, but I saw Emelie’s nose flare too. I served it up, and everyone gave it a try and it was unanimous, no one wanted to eat it again, or even finish the serving they had. Hence, the previously mentioned need to rinse oranges and olives. Uggh.
Good: We ate another Well Fed
Bad: There’s none left.
Good: My hands still smell like curry from lovingly massaging on the spice blend for The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat. I’ve been inhaling them all day.
Bad: Not many people like the aroma of curry the way I do; hence, the stares.
Good: I am focused and efficient, and I’m meeting my daily deadlines.
Bad: I haven’t been in bed before 1:30 am in a week.
Good: I have traded my desire for Haagen Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream for Mezzetta’s Jalapeño Stuffed Olives.
Bad: They are cheaper if purchased by the case, but all the savings are eaten up with shipping because they aren’t Amazon Prime. Boo.
Good: I’m in love with Rao’s Marinara Sauce, which they now carry at Kroger!!!!
Bad: The sauce is still cheaper purchased in packs of 4 via Amazon Prime.
Good: I’m going out to eat with my girlfriends for lunch on Friday, and I’ve already figured out EXACTLY what I’m going to eat.
Bad: It isn’t going to be easy because we’re going to my favorite Mexican Food restaurant, and I can’t have chips, queso, corn tortillas, or margaritas. Say a prayer for me, please.
Good: I’m about to exponentially expand my Wish List at Amazon Prime, starting with this Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer. I love zoodles, and they’d be so fun to make with this machine.
Bad: I don’t know who is going to buy everything for me. heh heh
Handling My Cravings
I am beginning to notice when and where my cravings crop up. For instance, at around 3:30 or 4:00 pm I always crave something sweet. This has been “unhealthy snack time” in our household for YEARS. It started when the kids were younger, and I had to assign snacking to a timer, or they’d request to eat ALL DAY LONG. At 10:30 am we had “healthy snacks”, which allowed the kids to remain focused (not on a sugar high) during our homeschool hours. The second snack was after school hours at 3:30 pm. We didn’t have a “name” for that snack time so the kids started calling it “unhealthy snack time”. The name stuck.
This week I realized I’m not typically hungry at this hour; so, even though I could pop a couple of bell pepper slices in my mouth, I don’t. I don’t want to feed that craving right away because it isn’t always based on hunger. Instead, I drink a glass of water. If I’m still hungry 20 minutes later, I will pull a healthy snack from the fridge–but not fruit. Sugar is one of my strongest addictions, and while I realize fruit is a natural form of sugar, it is still sweet. For my Whole30, I decided to not snack on fruit, but eat my single daily fruit serving with a meal where it is balanced with protein and some veggies.
Exercise
I need to do it. I need to figure out WHEN in my ridiculously jam-packed day that I can do it. Ironically, yesterday I was contacted by a representative of The Biggest Loser RunWalk, which is an affiliate of the TV show, The Biggest Loser, and they asked me to participate and blog about it.
At first, I wasn’t sure whether to be offended or challenged, so I decided to go with the latter knowing full well one of the permanent life changes I need to make is MOVEMENT.
The race is described as “a non-intimidating…fun and inspirational Half Marathon/5K/Kids 1 Mile Fun Run race series designed to challenge America to get fit.” All who attend get a t-shirt, finisher’s medal, and a goodie bag.
I talked to Jeff and the kids and we’re all in; so, if you are interested in joining us, we will be in Beaumont, TX on May 3, 2014. More information is available via their website.
My initial thought was, “Um, no…what if I get caught on camera? That thing adds 10 lbs., which is not going to add to my psychological healing.” Then, I laughed at myself. I mean really, who am I out to impress? I’ve got to get over myself and stop making excuses.
Also, there is a plus side, which is that I’ll get to see Jeff run.
He looks GOOD running.