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This has been the last week of my January Whole30! (See week 1, week 2, week 3 ) I have two more days after this but I'll summarize in this post.
Overall I have lost about 5 pounds, but it wasn't so much about weight loss for me. If it was I wouldn't have had so many white potatoes or so much dried fruit, etc. My clothes definitely fit better and my tummy is flatter, so I'm happy.
My complexion is clearer and I didn't have any of the random ugly zits like I have had the last few months. My monthly cycle is right back to a perfect 28 days and MUCH lighter and shorter than the last few months. I have struggled a bit this month with some fatigue in the afternoons which I attributed to stress, but after a good week of getting extra sleep and making an effort to relax more that seems to be pretty much gone. Otherwise I have had great energy and have actually been working out doing pilates, yoga, and some other exercises on a consistent basis. I wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Basically, I feel wonderful and happy!
The only downside? The last 3 or 4 days have been TORTURE with me wanting some Paleo pancakes. Not sure why pancakes, but I just want some freakin pancakes! I mean, I can have almond flour and I can have eggs, but I can't put them together into a pancake and it's killing me. I think I might have gone a bit overboard on the meat this month, since I'm kind of sick of meat and think that's why I want something light like a pancake. If I do this again I am going to make a better effort to eat more fish and salads, but it is just so easy to make a ton of dinner and eat it for every meal the next few days. Guess I sacrificed variety for time efficiency. My main eating style isn't so drastically different from what I've detailed over the last few weeks, but I definitely have pancakes or waffles on the weekends, white rice with meals once or twice a month, and things like chia pudding with a side of eggs sometimes for breakfast. Not that I couldn't have done chia pudding this month, but I usually use a bit of sweetener and I just erred on the side of making a LOT of dinner to eat as leftovers so I always had stuff to eat up in the fridge. So yeah, will be making a bit less for dinner now so I have more variety in the subsequent meals, but that will also mean a bit more time in the kitchen.
Two more days and you can bet I'll be making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast!!! 🙂 And you can also bet I'll be coming up with some sort of chocolate recipe in the next few weeks. Choooooccccaaaaaalte. Mmmmm……
Anyway – see what I ate this week below:
Day 22
Breakfast: Leftover pork chop and cauliflower from dinner on Saturday, plus a curry mayo (mayo, curry powder, lime juice, and sea salt) because the pork gets a bit dry with reheating. Also a glass of Suja green juice.
Lunch: Leftover chicken strips and roasted green beans with a coconut milk ranch sauce
No snack
Dinner: Grilled NY Strip steak and mashed white potatoes (mixed with coconut milk, ghee, and salt)
How I felt: The afternoon adrenal fatigue is still continuing. It was really bad this afternoon as I came home and immediately just laid down and took a short nap. It's funny how something as innocent as rooting for your football team in the playoffs can persist the stress cycle. (I wound up going to bed early this night as well)
Workouts: I did the “Classic” Pilates workout on Dailyburn.com and 2 brisk 15 minute walks
Day 23
Breakfast: Leftover chicken strips and roasted green beans along with decaf coffee blended with coconut milk and coconut oil
Lunch: Leftover steak and mashed potatoes
No Snack
Dinner: Citrus Pork Carnitas and a salad of mixed greens, dried cranberries, pecans, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. The rest of my family got white rice to go with it.
How I felt: MUCH better today. I got some really good, solid sleep last night (took some magnesium before bed and used some essential oils to help settle me down) and even though the afternoon fatigue still was there, it was a mere blip compared to what it has been. So hoping it is done.
Workouts: A harder flow Yoga workout on Dailyburn.com and 2 brisk 15 min walks
Day 24
Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, and sauerkraut
Lunch: Leftover pork citrus carnitas and broccolette from last week
No snack
Dinner: Pressure Cooker Lemongrass + Coconut Chicken and roasted cauliflower
How I felt: I felt great today. No adrenal fatigue symptoms this afternoon at all.
Workouts: None – just ran out of time. Did do a few short walks though.
Day 25
Breakfast: I had a little bit of leftover steak from dinner earlier this week so I sliced that up and then put it over a salad of mixed greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, chopped dried figs, and a dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Also had a glass of Suja green juice.
Lunch: Leftover chicken and cauliflower from last night
Dinner: Grilled Tri tip steak with a sesame dressing and roasted broccoli (we don't usually eat this much red meat, it just happened that I took things out of the freezer to thaw and didn't really think about what I was doing)
How I felt: Pretty good today. Had a small touch of the afternoon tiredness but nothing too bad
Workouts: I decided to do a “sprint” workout this morning, but since it's dark and cold out I did it on my rowing machine instead of by running. I did 10 minutes of easy warmup, then 2 one-minute all out efforts with 2 minutes of easy in between. This is the first time I've sprinted in months, so I stopped after 2. No need to kill myself first time out 🙂 I followed it up by 5 minutes of a Barre thigh workout and then a bit of stretching.
Day 26
Breakfast: Leftover citrus pork carnitas, mashed potatoes, Suja green juice, and a sauce made from mayo, chili powder, and lime juice. I wound up mixing everything (but the juice) together and it was really yummy.
Lunch: Leftover steak and broccoli from the night before, plus roasted potatoes. Yes, those look like fries, but they are just potatoes that were sliced thinly with a mandolin and roasted in the oven. Mainly done that way since my boys were STARVING and begging for potatoes, and we only had 30 minutes left until dinner so cutting them thinly like that is one of the fastest ways to roast them. I didn't have them the night before but decided to put them in my lunch because there wasn't enough otherwise. But I do feel like I've been eating way too many white potatoes lately, need to change it up a bit.
Dinner: I didn't get picture since we went to a Mexican restaurant and it was so dark! But I got chicken fajitas (no tortillas).
How I felt: Felt great all day. No tiredness at all in the evening! So glad that seems to be gone now.
Workouts: None other than a 15 minute walk. Decided this morning to sleep in a few more minutes just because I didn't feel like getting out of bed. Which is not like me lately – for the last few weeks I've just bounced out of bed. Figure I should listen to my body.
Day 27
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and leftover pork
Lunch: Teton Waters Ranch sausages and their Paleo chili with sauerkraut
Snack: Guacamole and plantain chips, and almonds toasted in a bit of coconut oil and then mixed with sea salt and some spices (I had some friends over so these were some of the finger foods I had set out for them).
Dinner: Meatloaf and roasted butternut squash (Butternut squash peeled, seeded and diced and then tossed with coconut oil, salt, and pepper and then roasted at 375 for 25 minutes).
How I felt: I felt really good all day but after my party (which was a bunch of us preparing 10 freezer meals, so lots of time on our feet) I was EXHAUSTED!
Workouts: No formal workout, but I was in the kitchen most of the day
Day 28
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, leftover steak, and coffee
Lunch: I wasn't very hungry so I made myself a plate of the toasted almonds from yesterday's snack, some fresh blueberries, dried figs, kalamata olives, and Ozuke Citrus and Ginger Sauerkraut
Dinner: NomNom Paleo's Cheater Pork Stew
How I felt: Great. Energetic, focused, relaxed.
Workouts: None
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