Day 13

M1 - Eggs, roasted veggies, greens
M2 - persimmons, salad, red curry chicken
M3 - red curry salmon, greens, caulirice, kombucha, a small bite of pork belly, izze
WO - 3rd successful attempt at 5x5 bench at 85lbs.

Fridays are my favorite days of the week because it's the start of the weekend. And I typically like to end my week with a treat of some kind. A bit difficult to do on whole30. Especially when the types of treats I'm looking for are either sweet, have chocolate or alcohol or all three of those things. During dinner tonight, I drank some kombucha and ate the fruit, feeling like an alcohol fiend. Because there is a teensy bit of alcohol in kombucha and the fruit. It was good, but not satisfying enough. So then I started cooking pork belly and drank an izze soda and that was great. And then I tasted a small piece of pork belly. It was fantastic! So now I feel a bit better about ending my week.

My bench workout felt better than the previous one. So now I need to decide if I want to do 85lbs for another workout or attempt 87.5. I think I also need to eat more carbs on my lifting days. I am so curious as to how much I weigh! Am I making lean gains still? Guess I'll find out in 17 days.

Day 12

M1 - a little bit of mango jello, egg, roasted veggies, kale, sausage
M2 - lettuce, grilled beef, ranch dressing, cucumber, radish, carrot, avocado
M2.5 - lara bar, banana
M3 - beef fajitas, greens, kalamata olives, lara bar (This meal was at Whole Foods, a great place to dine for whole30'ers, because almost everything is labeled.)
WO - 2nd attempt at 1x5 255 deadlift. I was only able to pick up the bar twice. Ok so that is my 2nd fail at 255. One more and I get to de-load.

I felt really weak and shakey after my workout today. That explains the lara bars. I went to the grocery store because I wasn't going home until late tonight and that was the only place I could think of to get something whole30 compliant and portable since I was on the road. All I could think about was protein. But I ended up getting lara bars because I needed something dense. Plus they are delicious. The ones I ate though had vanilla extract in it, and I'm not sure if that is whole30 compliant, but whatever, everything else in the bar was. I was starving and desperate. Which brings me to a decision I made this morning right when I got up. I had decided that today, I wasn't going to eat any nuts. And then I did by way of lara bars. But I'm not going to count that. I love nuts because they're so crunchy and delicious. The problem with nuts is that it's easy to eat a lot of them. Nuts are almost starting to move on up there with my addiction to almond butter. Maybe I should refer to them as snacking nuts. Because I do drink cashew milk, which I have no problem with in terms of possible overconsumption. But it is hard to stop at a handful of nuts, unless I drink a lot of water and move away from the kitchen. So I'll just cut them out for now. But I was proud today because for a moment, I thought about buying almond butter at the grocery store, then stopped myself. That would've been super easy protein, and with the banana I bought? So perfect. But I knew it would've ended with me having a stomachache from eating too much.

Day 11

M1 - egg/kale/sausage wrap, ghee/coffee/cashew milk, apple

M2 - lettuce, grilled chicken, ranch dressing, cucumber, carrot, avocado, apples, walnuts

M3 - red curry salmon, greens

WO - Rest day! My body is still sore from the last couple of days.

Thank goodness today is the last hot day of the week. I loved the red curry salmon so much, that I used the leftover coconut milk to make more curry sauce and threw some chicken in it. I'm totally going to enjoy that the rest of the week with my roasted veggies!

I am not sure what I am doing for my workout tomorrow. Either squat or deadlift. Or maybe bench again?

Also I've made a mental list of things to do the next time it gets hotter than 90 degrees where I live. Because anything hotter than that, and I am just a complete mess.
1. Drink super cold water all day. Buy ice if you need to (we don't have an ice maker and I am lazy to make ice).
2. Turn the AC/fan on! Keep blinds closed.
3. Don't spend a lot of time outdoors unless you are submerged in water.
4. Make minimal commitments to go anywhere or do anything that involves being outdoors. Unless you are submerged in water.
5. Check the weather daily to see when relief will come. Plan naps/meltdowns accordingly.

It all seems funny now, but I know when the next heatwave comes, I will be thankful for making this list!!!l

Day 10

M1 - breakfast scramble, greens, ghee/coffee/cashew milk

M2 - lettuce, steak, ranch dressing, cucumber, carrot

M3 - red curry salmon (so delicious!), greens, mango, cashews

WO - Did another 5x5 85 bench. It felt harder this time. I took a hip hop class after.

Another hot, annoying day. Blech. But there are a few things I've learned so far into this whole30 about feeling satisfied with my meals:
1. I love creamy salad dressings. Oil/vinegar or citrus juice is not satisfying enough for my taste buds.

2. I love meals with courses. Or what feels like courses. So a main entree with a few sides and then something else. Either before or after the meal. It makes for a better dining experience for me. It makes me feel like I make time to eat, and that I have good food to eat. It makes me feel like I am taking care of myself. It makes me feel like I am self-indulging!

Day 9

M1 - breakfast scramble, greens

M2 - lettuce, steak, ranch dressing, cucumber, carrot, apple, walnuts

M3 - orange chicken, greens, zoodles, mango, lots of cashews

WO - I went to the gym with the intention to continue working out of my deload for squat. I had failed 162.5 so I'm working my way back up. Today I was supposed to do 5x5 of 155. I completed my warm up and then loaded the bar. I unracked and it felt SO HEAVY. I only managed one rep. Then I looked at the weight and thought, "OMG. I just PR'ed. I loaded 185! OMG!" Haha... well. No. I recalculated and it was really 175. My 1RM for squat in May was 180. But I WAS able to do my 5x5 of 155, barely. It felt really heavy.

The past few mornings I have tried drinking super watered down coffee with a bit of cashew milk and ghee. It tastes great! Minimal affect on my stomach, slight effect on my brain. Maybe that's why I loaded the bar incorrectly today. Maybe next week I will try ghee and homemade chai.

This afternoon was a downward spiral of sucky-ness. I think it was over 100 degrees today, no joke. I never do well in the heat. It irritates me, I complain, it's just not pretty. All I want is cold water or to be in an AC'ed room. Or submerged in water. So anyway, that explains the cashews I ate for dinner. That was stress eating =( Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit cooler, but I've learned my lesson for today. Don't stay out in the heat, and I just need to start saying no more.

Week 2 - Day 8

M1 - breakfast scramble, greens

M2 - lettuce, steak, ranch dressing, cucumber, carrot, apple, walnuts

M3 - orange chicken, greens, zoodles, almonds, mango jello. I know I said I wasn't going to have anymore mango jello while on whole30 but after doing more research, it looks like people eat kombucha jello on whole30, so that makes mango jello in small quantities ok in my book.

WO - early morning 3 mile run/walk with my neighbor friend who is also doing the whole30 with me!

Today I did a little food prep and meal planning. I don't plan for the whole week, just usually 2-3 days out. Because cravings can change in 2-3 days, or I might find a recipe to try.

Week 1 done! And another PR?

M1 - breakfast scramble, greens
M2 - orange chicken, greens, zoodles, roasted red peppers, apple, almonds, boiled egg, grapes, izze
M3 - lettuce, steak, lime juice/olive oil dressing, cucumber, carrot
WO - I was FINALLY successful at my 5x5 bench attempt at 85 lbs! Stronglift 5x5 bench PR! SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS! Then I went to a hip hop fitness class for a few minutes.

I went to a party this afternoon and packed my own food. It was my best friend's kids' birthday party and she knows I'm doing the whole30 and I told her not to worry about me and that I'd bring  my own food.  So I ate more than I normally eat because I tend to graze at parties anyway, but I'm glad I planned for that. The izze was my "treat", as was the apple and almonds. I almost wished I had brought some dates and cashews, because I love that more than apple and almonds and I didn't feel satisfied after eating everything that I brought, then I almost had some when I got home after the party, but I was upset over something, and told myself awhile back that I would not eat or drink (alcohol) when I'm feeling that way. In fact, when I have been in the middle of eating/drinking, and something upsetting happens, I stop eating/drinking immediately and get up and throw the food away or drink down the sink. Yes, kinda wasteful, but that is the one time I don't give myself permission to eat/drink my feelings.

But at the party I was a bit wistful about not drinking alcohol with my friends and eating some of the non-compliant foods. I survived though, thanks to thoughtful planning and bringing food/drink, and it's not like I won't be able to ever enjoy the foods/drinks I missed out on today. So there it is. I finished my first week on whole30, successfully navigated through a restaurant meal and a party. And PR'ed on deadlift and Stronglift bench!