Less than 5 weeks

Yesterday and today I had a little bit of sugar and wheat. It tasted good, it was intentional, I ate it mindfully. But both days I have felt irritable and impatient. So is it worth it? I am not sure. Maybe a little. I even needed a nap today.
I also stopped drinking coffee on Saturday because I think I am having an allergic reaction from it. My workouts haven't been that great since then =( I'm going to keep trying my 5x5 this week though as my last week, then I am not sure what I'll be doing. But for sure the last week of the meet, just resting!

5x5 squat PR!

Today was an awesome food and workout day. I did my first 5x5 attempt EVER of 167.5lb squat. And I did it! I was sooo happy and excited. The only thing was my last few reps were really painful. I knew that my form was starting to suffer, and I rounded my lower back a little because I was just trying to get the weight up. Then I tried doing AMRAPs after and my last two reps I felt like I had tweaked my lower back. I did a lot of stretching after that.  And told myself that AMRAPs are good, but not worth it! I was trying to get more than I did last time. No, not again. Too close to the meet! Time to put my ego in check!!!

Then I went to one of my favorite breakfast/brunchy/lunchy places, Opera Cafe.

I had the spicy shrimp and salmon salad with goat cheese instead of feta. OMG that thing was humongous. I ate all of it and was too full to eat dinner. So next time, I will just package up half of the salad. Their desserts looked amazing too. But I was seriously too full to partake.

Thinking about my workouts for the next couple of days. Definitely need to bench. And deadlift! And maybe another squat session this weekend. Get it, get it!

1st bench attempt 92.5lbs

When I woke up this morning, I was a little disappointed that I was hardly sore from my double lifting day yesterday. WTH! And I did amraps after both squats and deadlift. So then I'm getting breakfast together and I'm thinking out loud on whether or not I should work out, and my daughter goes, "I think you should go mommy." That was so supportive of her =)

So I made my preworkout (coffee, collagen, coconut milk), took her to school, then headed to the gym for my first bench attempt of 5x5 92.5lbs. I was able to get 5/4/3/3/2. That was rough! I would so love to be up to 100lb 5x5 on bench before my meet. I have a month!

So much lifting!

This was a pretty good weekend. Yesterday I finally conquered 90lb 5x5 bench. And today, I got 165lb 5x5 squat and 240lb 1x5 deadlift. Today is the first time in over a month I've done two heavy lifts in the same day. My last training round, it took me 3 attempts to finish 165lb squat so I was happy I was able to get it this time after only one attempt. Yay!

I also got to go to Cucina Enoteca yesterday with one of my mom friends. I've been wanting to go there for a few years now and I'm glad I finally did. The restaurant was colorful and bright and earthy. Their menu was creative and the food was delicious. My favorite things were the raw oysters and the dessert I got which tasted like a soft dark chocolate bar with a dollop of chantilly and almond brittle, which was a bit hard to eat because it kept sticking to my molars. It was incredibly rich. I was only able to eat 1/4 of it. That whole dining experience was just amazing. And I didn't even drink alcohol! I was a little tempted but then I was totally fine with sparkling water. I really love bubbly drinks. They're so festive! It's like all the fun without the hangover. Kinda. But enough for me for now =)

Chugging Along

This has been a pretty good week, in terms of stress management. I don't feel like I've over scheduled my life and I don't feel like things are chaotic. Saying no this week is really working for me =) For example, my daughter had a field trip today to a butterfly farm and I usually go on her field trips, but when I found out it was going to be 90 degrees, I decided that wasn't going to happen. I already know that hot weather makes me irritable so it's probably best for me to not be around a bunch of 6 yr olds.

I've been eating really well too. Yesterday we made Paleo breakfast biscuits that got extremely flat while baking and looked like cookies when they were finished. We had them this morning as breakfast sandwiches with egg, bacon, and spinach, and my daughter loved them. I thought they were ok. Not really the buttermilk biscuity flavor I was going for. But I know not to expect that since it is Paleo. But maybe next time I'll try blanched almond flour.

I also made this really delicious lemon thyme chicken yesterday. I need to post that recipe. One of these days!

Today's workout was my 1st 5x5 attempt of 162.5 squat. This is where I failed before I deloaded the first time on squat for this training round. The best I did before I deloaded on 162.5 last month was 5/5/3/3/2. And today I was able to get 5x5! Yay! When I was training for my first meet, the last 5x5 squat I got was 165. I feel like squats have been really hard for me this training round. I don't know if it's because I weigh about 5lbs less than I did before. Should that really make that much of a difference? I don't understand why my bench and deadlift are getting better though, but my squat is now, but progress on it wasn't what I expected. Oh well. I'll take the progress now! LEAN GAINS!

1st day back

Well here I am off whole30. Baking is back in full swing. We tried a new recipe for Paleo carrot muffins, yum! Sweetened with only dates.  That got me thinking... I think I want to try and make chocolate with date sugar. Next project?

2nd attempt today for 5x5 90lb bench. I got 5/5/5/5/4! Damn that LAST rep! I drank half the amount of coffee that I did before my last heavy workout, and today I felt better. Not as jittery. I'll play around with that more. I am also considering teecino or yerba mate. Or maybe puerh tea. That stuff is strong!

Day 30 - Not really the end

I was craving clean all day today. I even celebrated my clean eating by drinking kombucha after dinner. I make that stuff, so I really should drink it more. I had a short lived craving for a muffin (the ones I ate yesterday), but wanted to save it for another day. Today, I really just wanted to stuff myself with goodness!There are a couple of things that I thought about today:

1. My love of Paleo baked goods/sweets and how easy it is for me to eat lot of it. Even "healthy" foods like dates and almond butter. Just because they are made with healthy ingredients, this shouldn't give me the green light for over consumption. How can I be better at this? Eat. More. Consciously. In the words of Melissa Hartwig, "...if you’re really paying attention and savoring the experience, you’ll know when enough is enough."  All I can say is, I will try my best!

2. My powerlifting meet is less than 7 weeks away. SEVEN! I have been training since the beginning of August. I haven't trained this long for anything since the one marathon I did in 2007. I took that so seriously. I had to wake up early every Saturday for our long runs, and pretty much had no social life on Friday nights. Well, in my experience, I would say that training for a powerlifting meet is not as hard as a full marathon, but I want to be as dedicated. I have spent the last 30 days making healthy food choices and avoided sugar and alcohol, the two things that have been the hardest to cut out. I was able to cut a few pounds, but if I still want to compete in 44kg (and I really do!), I have a few more pounds left to cut. I don't want to do anything extreme the week leading up to my meet. I have 7 weeks. SEVEN WEEKS. I can cut that weight in seven weeks. I am determined to stay focused. I am dedicated to all the hard work I've put in to train, all the money I have spent on the nourishing foods I've been eating and the times I dragged my daughter (and paid money for it!) to kids' club at the gym. I'm not going to throw this all away. All my hard work and time and dedication. This is all going to amount to greatness!!!

Day 28 and 29 - Falling off the wagon!

Well yesterday I wasn't able to blog, because it just wasn't high on the priority list. I can tell you that I pretty much ate whole30 until dinner when we went to a Pho restaurant. There is sugar in everything there! I did the best I could and ordered the shaken beef, which was the first time I had that. I ordered all salad, no rice. It was really good. It came with a dipping sauce (or maybe it was the "dressing" for my salad), that looked like watery fish sauce that they usually have for egg rolls, but someone else ordered a dish that had that same looking sauce, but with julienned carrots in it, so I'm thinking maybe mine was different? I dunked a few of my beef pieces in it and it was mildly sweet.

For my workout yesterday, I just went to my hip hop fitness class. My legs were still really sore. In fact, they are still a little sore today, but I am going to try and either squat or deadlift tomorrow. Heavy! Get it, get it!

More on falling off the wagon. Ok, confessions. I weighed myself this morning! I had a huge dinner last night and this morning, I came in 1.5lbs less than the last time I weighed myself (2 days before I started whole30). Also, I ate Paleo muffins today! Now just one, but 2.5! They were the applesauce sweetened muffins. OMG they were so good. And not that sweet. I almost ate 3.5. But I'm proud of myself for stopping at 2.5. The 1/2 was the first part I ate, I had split the first one with my daughter. Then you know, I wasn't sure if I liked it, so I ate another one. Then decided they needed to be baked longer, so I did that, then tasted one more. But I thoroughly enjoyed those 2.5 muffins.

Other than that, I ate whole30 meals today. Even though I went to a birthday party this morning! I only ate fruit there!

Tomorrow is my last day... will I eat the homemade goat milk ice cream in my freezer like there is no tomorrow? Stay tuned to find out!

Day 27 - Best Friday ever!

M1 - Egg soup with kale. This was so lame. I mean seriously, how do you mess up egg drop soup? Here's how. You add the egg when the water isn't boiling. Then it scrambles. It doesn't get all wispy white like it should in egg drop soup. Lesson learned! But I have to say I was full from this. I ate 3 eggs!
M2 - tuna salad wraps, grapefruit
Preworkout - Sweet potato, coffee, collagen, cashew milk
Workout - Attempted 5x5 bench, 90 lbs. I was able to do 5/5/5/3/2. This was my first time attempting a 5x5 of 90 lbs. So exciting! Then AMRAP 65 lb bench, 14 reps.
M3 - caulirice, greens, fajita chicken, kombucha, soda water.
I say today was the Best Friday ever, meaning on whole30. Because I LOVE Fridays and I always like to have some sort of food treat. Well today, I ate a huge, delicious, satisfying, satieting dinner after my workout. Then I enjoyed my kombucha with soda water. It was something I was looking forward to and it made me happy to enjoy that with my daughter today. During dinner I was telling her about my workout and how I didn't nearly get 5x5 but she said I still did really great. She said, "Mommy can I call you Powerlifting Mommy?" I thought that was so cute.

Speaking of Powerlifting, I watched live streaming of my friend's powerlifting competition in Atlanta today. That was SUPER exciting to watch. I was really proud of her, and watching her, and all the other super strong girls really motivated me in my workout today. You're so awesome Vivyen!

That also made me excited about my upcoming meet, even though it's still 1.5 months away.

Day 26 - A great day!

M1 - potatoes, eggs, kale, sausage
Preworkout - sweet potato, almonds, coffee, collagen, cashew milk
M2 - tuna salad, lettuce, green onion, grapes
M3 - brisket, asparagus, roasted veggies, shredded coconut, cashews
WO - I completed my 5x5 squat of 160 lbs! Next up, 162.5 lbs. This is where I left off before I deloaded last month. I drank my coffee with cashew milk and collagen about 10 minutes before I left for the gym. That was the first time I had it that close to leaving for the gym, but I'm glad I tried that because I think that really helped me today. I think it also helped that I worked out at a gym that I hadn't been to in a long time, that I used to enjoy going to. Maybe I'll try to start squatting there more. I also like squatting in racks that face a mirror, as opposed to the TRX squat racks where you face another person.

The most exciting thing about today (other than my fabulous squat workout), is that we got to meet Ms. Fabulous herself, Melissa Hartwig, co-founder of whole30! She was on her book tour for Food Freedom Forever. I thanked her for writing and sharing such a great program. I also mentioned to her that me and my daughter were lefties, like her, and she said "All the good ones are!"

She talked a little about FFF and answered questions before she did the book signing. She said a lot of things about food and our relationship with food that I thought were enlightening. I wish I would've taken notes. But it was awesome to see her in person and I'm looking forward to reading her new book more in depth. I skimmed it at a bookstore last week, but I actually have it on hold at our library.

One thing I liked that she mentioned is that someone had said how doing food prep for whole30 is a lot of work. And Melissa, she's all about tough love, she said, we will prioritize what's important. We make decisions to go on social media, but we could be using that time to do food prep. So true! But sometimes we get tired. And I know when I go on social media, it can be a black hole sometimes. One thing leads to another and there I am, an hour later, wasted. But I do try to find what I call "golden nuggets" on social media. Like information about things to better myself or events happening around town that I might want to go to. Or new recipes. But tonight I think I'm going to limit myself and go to sleep earlier.

Here we are with Melissa! She's soooo tall! No, really I am just super short.

Day 25 - The end is near

,

M1 - sausage, scrambled eggs, greens, asparagus, oranges
M2 - grilled beef, salad, avocado, carrots, beets, tomatoes, ranch dressing, plum
M3 - potatoes, fajita chicken (this was tasty), kale, grapefruit, kombucha, shredded coconut, cashews, almonds

No workout today. I am determined to squat tomorrow. I did a lot of cooking today and have to confess that I did a super duper tiny taste test of goat milk ice cream (sweetened with banana and date sugar) that I was making from scratch. It was like 1/8 of a tsp. It tasted really good, but as I was enjoying my grapefruit and kombucha tonight, I thought about the ice cream and I was ok with not eating it. Because I made a lot and I'll be able to enjoy it soon!

I tried on my super skinny jeans yesterday and they were a little baggy. I haven't tried them on in months. But I know the last time I did, they were pretty snug. So that was a little exciting.

I have also enjoyed oil pulling when I remember to do it this week. As well as collagen in my tea today! It's a lot better than drinking it with my morning cocktail (Natural Calm, Floradix, apple cider vinegar, and water).

I am super excited because tomorrow I am going to see Melissa Hartwig on her book tour! What a great way to end my whole30!

Day 24 - 2nd attempt deadlift

M1 - sausage, scrambled eggs, greens, sweet potato, almonds, oranges
M2 - salad, boiled eggs, ranch dressing, carrots, beets, pumpkin seeds, plum
M3 - shredded coconut, walnuts, chestnuts, cashews, brisket, salad with ranch dressing, potatoes
WO - My legs were a little tired today and I thought about squatting, but during breakfast, I started feeling sick, like I wanted to throw up. I think I am getting sick of scrambled eggs. So then I didn't feel like squatting at all. I feel like that takes so much more focus and concentration than deadlifting. So I decided to deadlift.
Now I never really understood why my boyfriend checks and rotates the barbell before he uses them. They all look the same to me. But I found one at the gym I go to that I kinda like. I used it to bench the other day and decided to deadlift with it today. I warmed up then got ready to do my 1 set of 5 of 235 lbs (2nd attempt). I felt really good about it. I thought about keeping my arms loose while still gripping the bar. And yay! I did it!

Tonight after dinner, I wanted something sweet badly. I wanted a date. But I haven't allowed myself to eat any dates since starting whole30 except for those two lara bars I ate a few weeks ago. So I kept eating shredded coconut and nuts until I thought I was satisfied. That is one thing I hate doing. If I have a craving, I want to fulfill it. I have very specific food cravings. But if I can't have it, I will find all of these substitutes and eat until I think I'm done with it. Half the time, that works. But the other half, I just keep foraging and eating until I finally have what I wanted in the first place and should've just eaten that to begin with. So lesson learned. Sometimes I really should just eat it. And then stop. Drink a lot of water or tea or soda water and be done with it. And definitely leave the kitchen and brush my teeth!

Day 23 - 5x5 bench

M1 - sweet potato, roasted veggies, kielbasa sausage
M2 - cabbage slaw, veggie salad, sushi (no rice), stir fried vegetables, mackeral, baked fish, honeydew melon
M3 - caulirice, brisket, asparagus, roasted veggies, apple, almonds, an oyster shooter with kombucha!!! This was amazing! Whole30 compliant? All the ingredients were, so I'm guessing yes =)
WO - 3rd attempt of 5x5 bench at 87.5 lbs. I did this in the morning, right after I dropped my daughter off to school. And yay! I did it! After that, I did an AMRAP 65lbs and completed 13. I was so done after that. I could barely move my arms, but it felt so good to have finally done 87.5 lbs.

I ate lunch at an all you can eat sushi restaurant today. I am pretty sure there was a little bit of sugar, MSG, and soy sauce in most of the things I ate. But like yesterday, I did the best that I could. I didn't feel like stressing about nitpicking what to eat. I was meeting with friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Had it been a restaurant with a menu, that probably woudld've been easier. But I really am trying to keep things low stress these days. I did try to squeeze as much sauce as possible out of the vegetables I was eating. I did try to ask if they made hand rolls. Other than that, I just ate. And enjoyed it!

Today was a really great day. Actually the past couple of days have been awesome, seeing friends I hadn't seen in a long time, people that I have known for years. While eating whole30 probably hasn't been ideal (since I resorted to cheating a few times), I haven't felt too deprived. Even at the restaurant I went to for lunch today, their dessert spread looked pretty awesome, but I told myself, I can always come back. But even when I left, I was really full. And that's all it felt like. Just full. I didn't feel overly gross. I didn't have a food coma later where I wanted to sleep. But I bet if I had eaten rice, and some of the questionable fried things I saw, and the desserts, I would've been sluggish and lethargic.

Day 22 - Pack more food!

M1 - scrambled eggs, kielbasa sausage, kale
M2 - mashed potatoes, chicken adobo, kale, plum, fries =(
M3 - carnitas, lettuce, salsa, guacamole, two fruit leathers (before M3 actually)
WO - walking around SeaWorld all day

I spent most of today at SeaWorld. It was fun and exhausting and obviously I cheated twice today. I brought lunch to the park and thought it was enough food, but after finishing all the food I brought, I was still hungry and ate some of my daughter's leftover french fries. I didn't want to spend more money, and the other option was her burger with ketchup. Also before we left the park, I started getting really hungry (I didn't think we'd stay that late), and ate two of her fruit leathers from trick-or-treating. It contained only fruit and fruit juice, but still. So I know I didn't eat the best things today. Every night before my daughter goes to bed, we try to ask each other 3 questions, what made you happy, sad, and what did you learn. Well today I told her that I was a sad that I had to make those two food choices. And she said, that was ok, because I did the best I could and that the other option was I could've gotten sick from not eating at all. So that is true. And really insightful for my little 6 year old daughter to say. But next time I know, bring more food!

Day 21 - Food Prep

M1 - scrambled egg, kielbasa sausage, greens. Why have I not ever made scrambled egg before? I mixed this a little bit of flaxseed/chia milk and they were fluffy and delicious! More scrambled eggs please! And the kielbasa sausage was soooo good. I loved breakfast this morning. I felt like I was eating in a restaurant, it was that good.

M2 - grapes, melon, carrots, salad (ranch dressing, pumpkin seeds, boiled eggs, carrots), almonds, sweet potato. I normally don't like boiled eggs but with the sausage for breakfast and I thought I'd have brisket for dinner, I wanted to have a no meat lunch. This was pretty filling.

M3 - salad, grilled shrimp, brisket, mango, kombucha. We checked out Liberty Public Market. Sooo many good things that I saw (desserts mostly) that I was somewhat dying to eat. But buying kombucha on tap made things a little better. Also knowing that I'm not eating whole30 for the rest of my life. Desserts aren't that special. Especially since I can bake. And live close to a bakery that sells really good desserts.

No work out today. Probably not one tomorrow either since we're going to be out all day and it's going to be hot and I'd like to have a good work out on Monday.  I did cook a few things today. Roasted veggies, slow cooker brisket, and applesauce (mostly for my daughter for now, but I also froze some to use for baking post whole30).

Day 20 - Bench and Protein

M1 - egg, grilled chicken, greens, banana, walnuts
M2 - salad, grilled chicken, ranch dressing, carrots, pumpkin seeds, apples, banana, almonds
M3 - sweet potato, greens, chicken adobo, dasani soda water, kombucha

WO - Miserable fail at 5x5 bench at 87.5 lbs this late afternoon after a few hours at the beach. I actually did better on my first attempt a few days ago. Before my workout I had coffee with flaxseed/chia milk and ghee. It made me a little jittery. Maybe morning bench attempts are better. Although I feel like my energy has been pretty consistent throughout my day even though I haven't been sleeping for a full straight 7-8 hours a night. Usually I need a nap in the afternoon around 1 or 2pm. But I can't even remember the last time I took a nap. Maybe during my 2nd (rough) week on whole30. My legs were pretty sore today from squatting yesterday.

Today I got my first package of grass fed collagen protein. I want to start taking this daily for its health benefits.  I first tried it in water, and I could taste it. Not that it was bad, but it was like tasting melted jello. So in the kombucha/soda water, it was great.

I'm excited about trying new recipes this weekend. I wanted to try this zeggs recipe and also slow cooker brisket.

Day 19 - Squats and ideal whole30's

M1 - green beans, egg omelette with grilled steak, greens
M2 - mashed potatoes, chicken adobo, green beans, greens, bananas, walnuts, ghee (lots)
M3 - salad with grilled chicken, ranch dressing, cucumber, carrots

WO - 5x5 squat, 157.5lbs. I was anxious about squatting because I haven't since last week Monday, and last week was by far, an ugly week. Well the weight felt heavy and on my 2nd set, my bar hit the safety on the 2nd rep and I wasn't going to redo that set, but I did. So I was able to complete my 5x5 today, yay! Something that helped me today was when I squat, I push really hard through my heels and just think of being really balanced as I push, so that both heels are working equally hard. I'll have to remember that for my next squat session, which I hope will be sometime this weekend. I don't want to take another long break like that from squats. I'm also glad I was able to complete my workout today because when I woke up this morning, I was actually pretty sore and thought maybe I won't work out until after lunch. But after I took my daughter to school, I just decided to go. Good call, self!

Today I was thinking about doing resets/whole30's and what part of the year is easiest for me. I like August, nothing much going on there. Mid-September to mid-October isn't too bad either. But not the entire month of October because of Halloween and Oktoberfest. November/December, definitely out because of the holidays. January is a good month and easy because there's more support since most people are with you on the holiday/food hangover boat. February if it ends before Valentine's day or after Valentine's day. March and April can be good, just not during spring break. May is ok, but has to end before Memorial Day. June, hmm. June is the beginning of summer so maybe. And definitely not July because of the 4th and my birthday.

I placed my 1st Thrive market order today! Woot!

Day 18 - Nuts!

M1 - egg drop soup, banana
M2 - roasted veggies, chicken adobo, kale, banana, almonds
M3 - salad, grilled chicken, avocado, carrot, cucumber, ranch dressing, pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, bananas, ghee, dasani drink
WO - Rest day!

I made the mistake today of not eating enough for breakfast. As you can see by the amount of bananas and nuts I ate for the rest of the day. Big breakfasts are important!

I also read a little of Melissa Hartwig's new book Food Freedom Forever. Her 3 step plan is basically what I've been doing for the past year: reset (whole30), enjoy your food then recognize when triggers get out of control. Then repeat that whole process. I'm excited to see her when she goes on her book tour!

Day 17 - I need a do-over!

M1 - tomato egg frittata, baked potato wedges, tea/cashew milk
M2 - salad with avocado, cucumber, carrots, red curry chicken, apples, walnuts
M3 - egg drop soup with greens, cucumber. zucchini "cheese", almonds, oranges
WO - I was supposed to do a 1x5 of 255 deadlift but the past two times I attempted that, I was barely able to do 3. Then I realized that I had programmed the 5x5 app to increase by 10lbs on deadlift, when after 225, it's only supposed to increase by 5lbs. So I thought I'd try 235, which I've been able to do in the past. Well today I only got it up 4x. I was really bummed about that. I felt like the weight was heavy and I didn't have a good grip on the bar. Maybe I was also tired from sleeping late last night. Oh and I also went to the hip hop dance class, which was really fun.

Well today was the first time I made egg drop soup. It was delicious! I think what really makes it is the sesame oil. Once I added that, it tasted more authentic. I also made zucchini "cheese" because my daughter has been asking for cheese, and I wanted to attempt a Paleo version. So I made it, which was really easy, and I tasted it. Cheating, yes. Did I go to town on it? No. All the ingredients are whole30 compliant, but together, it is a cheese substitute. So bad on me. As you can see, I also ate nuts twice today. Probably not the best whole30 day.

Day 16 - Bench attempt!

M1 - tomato frittata with greens, apple
M2 - red curry chicken with greens, pot roast veggies (these were leftovers, no beef left), green beans, puerh tea with cashew milk, banana
M2.5 - chicken adobo, sweet potato, ghee, butternut squash
M3 - chicken adobo, salad with ranch dressing, carrots, cucumber, pumpkin seeds
WO - I did my first attempt at 5x5 bench, 87.5 lbs. I was able to get every single rep, except the very last one!!! OMG! SO CLOSE! I was so happy with my first attempt though. I tried to carb/caffeine up before this workout. That's the first time I really did that, and I like to think it helped so I will try this again for when I need to lift heavy again. Good thing I bought potatoes and sweet potatoes last weekend.

I also felt a little shakey and weak after my workout. I never thought benching was a whole body workout, but I am seriously using my whole entire body to push the weight up. I'm pressing hard with my arms and chest, I'm pushing hard against the ground with my legs and feet, but not lifting my butt off the bench. I can't believe how starving I was when I got home. I ate a ton of ghee with the sweet potato. I was so tempted to eat nuts today, especially with the banana. But I didn't.

I can't believe I am halfway through this whole30. I actually feel like today was the first day that I felt like myself for most of the day. I was in a pretty good mood and minimal ups/downs. I am wondering if the all the added sugar (even though most of it's "natural") really has that big of an effect on me. Or maybe it's the alcohol? But I definitely eat more desserts/treats that I consume alcohol. I need to figure out how to make most of my desserts from date sugar or dates. Or maybe when I get off my whole30, just try date-sweetened desserts for a few days before adding in natural stuff.

Day 15

M1 - tomato frittata with greens, roasted veggies
M2 - salad with cucumber, carrots, red curry chicken
M3 - spiced lamb meatballs, balsamic reduction, greens, mashed potatoes
WO - a fun workout, stand up paddleboarding

My daughter and I did a lot of cooking today. I am starting to let her do a lot more. It takes so much longer but I am able to clean up and do dishes while she's cutting, mixing, or whatever. But it's fun teaching her how to cook and bake. And she's more willing to try the things we make. Like the mashed potatoes we made today were really good. We used a good amount of ghee, cashew milk, and salt. I'd really like her to eat more eggs though because she loves meat and can eat a lot of it, but eggs are more economical. Maybe I'll teach her how to make scrambled eggs soon, that way she'll want to eat it.

My sleep has been decent the last couple of days. I can fall asleep ok, stay asleep for about 5-6 hours, then I kinda drift in and out of sleep for another 1-2 hours, but still wake up feeling energized. And I have a good amount of energy during the day. I also have not woken up in the middle of the night, feeling like I'm dying. I don't know if that's what a panic attack is, but I feel that sometimes and it's really scary. so yay for whole30 and no panic attacks!

Tonight while we were cooking and after dinner, I wanted something else to eat or drink. I had a Dasani flavored soda water, the tropical pineapple flavor, which was good and satisfying. 0 calories! Then I also had rooibos tea with a little bit of cashew milk. That was a nice way to end the evening. And I also tried oil pulling for the first time today. I only did if for like 5 minutes because by that time, I had a lot of saliva in my mouth and I was afraid of swallowing it. But I'll keep at it.

Day 14

M1 - tomato frittata with greens
M2 - caulirice, red curry salmon, greens
M3 - caulirice, spiced lamb meatballs, greens
WO - hip hop fitness class - SO FUN!

I just realized that I didn't eat any salad today. I usually eat a salad every day. Lunch was eaten at a park, I had brought my food. The lamb meatballs was a new recipe we tried to make today along with a balsamic/fruit jelly reduction and that was amazing! The tomato frittata I made from the whole30 book, that was also very good, but I had added sauteed onions and pork belly. Can't go wrong with pork belly!

The other day we bought meat from Whole Foods. I was comparing their prices to US Wellness Meats and they were comparable. I've decided that we will probably buy our organic or grass fed beef from Costco, along with organic ground turkey and organic chicken (whole, breast, thighs, drumsticks), and then pork, other cuts of beef, and lamb, from Vons (I know, Vons, but they are getting better with meat options), Whole Foods, Sprouts, or try US Wellness Meats. I also want to start eating more seafood, at least once a week. Vegetables are easy to prepare, it's just the protein that takes a little more planning. It's easy to just throw vegetables together for any protein or add vegetables to a protein dish. Like the red curry salmon I made the other day. I just threw in a bunch of spinach. It looked so blah without any green in it!