Whole 30 DONE!

That's right, I finished! That being said... now begins the reintroductions. Last night, I reintroduced corn (in the form of chips). Bad idea. I was in the bathroom before we left the restaurant. This morning, I waited until after my weight lifting session and then reintroduced oatmeal (gluten free version). So far, no problems. Thank goodness! Later today, rice. I think dinner will be back to whole 30 again because I reintroduced early yesterday.

Day 0 up top, Day 30 on the bottom

During my workout this morning, my trainer asked me what I've been doing recently (he knew about Whole 30) because my range of motion on my shoulder's gotten much better. I've also noticed my body temperature has been much more regulated, I have even less of my thyroid symptoms, clearer skin, and I've been sleeping even better. I'm getting better about my relationship with food - specifically certain foods like chips & dip, sweets, and going out to eat. 

This is going to be my saving guide going on from here: http://whole30.com/step-four-finished/.

My husband has been talking about potentially doing a round of Whole 30. So, depending on when he does it, I may be joining in. We'll see how it goes. I'm planning on doing another round in late October/November (mid-Oct to mid-Nov). 

I'm excited to be doing reintroductions. Can't wait to see how things go!

Whole 30 - Day 26

This week has been a STRUGGLE. I'll admit it. I can't cook for 1. It's impossible. The longer I'm alone, the less I feel like cooking. I did make 3 dinners & had plenty of leftovers. A few too many actually. Thankfully, Jon's home from his business trip and order can be restored to the household.

Day 26 of Whole30 and I'm about done! In more ways than just numerically. I'll definitely stay with the Paleo way of eating as much as possible after this is done. While I love the way I feel & the way my body's changing, I'm about over the strictness of this. It'd be nice to have a (Paleo) baked good if I want it. It'd also be nice to go out for dinner & indulge without being super crazy strict about "no anything on my food please".

On March 5, I'll reintroduce non-gluten grains. Oatmeal, white rice, and some kind of corn something (tortillas, polenta, or popcorn most likely).  Then it's back to two days of strict Whole 30. On March 8, dairy comes back into play. Sour cream, probably yogurt, and maybe parmesan cheese. Oh and a little bit of gelato after dinner or for an afternoon snack.  Then two more days of strictness. On March 11, it's time for legumes. This is the hardest for me to reintroduce because I don't eat a lot of them anyhow. It'll likely be peanuts, peanut butter, and chickpeas. Two more days of Whole 30 will bring me to the end of the journey.

I've found a new "bar" that I really like - Kit's Organic Bars. They're a Clif Bar & Company product. They're naturally gluten free (always a plus!) and have 4-6 ingredients. There are several that are Whole 30 safe and they've been a great snack!

Whole 30 - Day 22

Last week went pretty well. I'm still struggling to get in the workouts, but it's becoming more of a motivation issue than Whole30-no energy issue.

Last week's meals were:

Skillet Chicken Divan - neither of us liked this one much

Rosemary-Lemon Spaghetti Squash Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta

Burgers with Awesome Sauce & Sweet Potato Fries (because sometimes you just need a burger & fries!) - so good!

The Best Pork Chops Ever with Mashed Cauliflower and Asparagus - very good!

Smashed Steak Skewers and Cherry BBQ Sauce with Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad - very good

Costco chicken with salad - quick & easy

For lunches:

Madras Chicken Salad

Chicken Nuggets (Maybe. These are technically Whole30 ok, but they're kind of on a "fine line" because non-paleo versions are "junk food".)

I got to meal plan for just me this week. That was fun. (rolls eyes)

Polpette di Vitello with marinara sauce & zucchini noodles

Eggplant "Ricotta" Stacks

Paleo Alfredo with Caramelized Leeks and Bacon

Costco Chicken (leftovers)

Paleo Bang Bang Shrimp

Breakfasts & Lunches:

The Perfect Chicken Salad

Sweet Potato Hash

Roasted Butternut Squash

Primal Hot Cereal

Chicken Apple Sausage and/or Bacon

I should have plenty of dinner leftovers for lunches (and probably dinner on Friday night!)

It's also cardio week - so no weight lifting this week. My goal, once again, is to do something each day this week. I got on the treadmill this morning. Wasn't really feeling the "run", so I walked the 30 minutes, but I got it done. Slower than normal, but done!

70.3 training starts in 2 weeks! YIKES!

Whole 30 - Day 14

I'm on day 14. Almost half way! YAY!Last weeks meals were the following:

Saturday - Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta -this was AWESOME!
Sunday - Shepherd's Pie - good
Monday - BBQ Pork Fried Rice - good
Tuesday - Eggplant "Ricotta" Stacks (for lunch, I'm going to try Madras Chicken Salad) with a salad - I really liked these, Jon not so much
Wednesday - Deconstructed Gyro - good, but a bit spicy
Thursday - Crispy Smashed Chicken with Tomato & Basil Salad - good
Friday - Ginger-Lime Grilled Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles Aglio Et Olio - really good!
Saturday - no clue yet

The days didn't stay the same at all. That's ok though. We had leftovers one of the days (which fills in my "no clue yet" day). I was also supposed to have gone through these things: 

Day 8-9: For the love of Gosling, my pants are TIGHTER.
Days 10-11: The Hardest Days
Days 12-15: Boundless energy! Now give me a damn Twinkie.

Um, I didn't. That's fine though. I'm ready for "tiger blood" for sure. I'm really hoping that one happens. The workouts I am doing, I'm struggling through. I've been seriously slacking on my training because of the energy suck. Given the half marathon exactly a month from today, that's not a good thing! This week's goal is to do SOMETHING every day.

Week 3's meals will be the following (in no order, because it changes once we actually do them anyhow):

Skillet Chicken Divan

Rosemary-Lemon Spaghetti Squash

Burgers with Awesome Sauce & Sweet Potato Fries (because sometimes you just need a burger & fries!)

The Best Pork Chops Ever with Mashed Cauliflower and Asparagus

Smashed Steak Skewers and Cherry BBQ Sauce with Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad

For lunches:

Madras Chicken Salad

Chicken Nuggets (Maybe. These are technically Whole30 ok, but they're kind of on a "fine line" because non-paleo versions are "junk food".)

These meals will get us Sunday - Thursday. I'll probably be meal planning for Friday & Saturday later this week. I have Week 4's meal plan started, so maybe I'll just take a couple of meals from there & put them into this week. Week 4, I'll be home alone for most of the week, so I'll have plenty of leftovers!

Whole 30 - Day 7

I'm still feeling really good. I haven't been doing all of the workouts I'm supposed to be doing. Next week's "game on". Just gotta get it done.

Days 6-7 are "I just want to nap" according to the timeline. I slept forever this morning (until 10am!), so I guess that's probably true.

Here's this week's dinners. Lunches will pretty much be leftovers all week. Breakfasts will be sweet potatoes & chicken sausage.

Saturday - Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta (this was AWESOME!)
Sunday - Shepherd's Pie
Monday - BBQ Pork Fried Rice
Tuesday - Eggplant "Ricotta" Stacks (for lunch, I'm going to try Madras Chicken Salad) with a salad
Wednesday - Deconstructed Gyro
Thursday - Crispy Smashed Chicken with Tomato & Basil Salad
Friday - Ginger-Lime Grilled Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles Aglio Et Olio
Saturday - no clue yet

I may rearrange the days some based on how the veggies are doing. We'll see what happens.

Whole 30 - Day 3

So far, Whole 30's going well. No real problems yet. The Whole 30 site has a great timeline for what all's supposed to be going on and it's pretty interesting.

Day 1: So what’s the big deal?
Days 2-3: The Hangover.
Days 4-5: Kill ALL the things!
Days 6-7: I just want a nap…
Day 8-9: For the love of Gosling, my pants are TIGHTER.
Days 10-11: The Hardest Days
Days 12-15: Boundless energy! Now give me a damn Twinkie.
Days 16-27: Tiger Blood
(Interlude) Day 21: I am so over this.
Day 28: 28 is as good as 30…right?
Days 29-30: HolyOprahIt’sAlmostOverWhatAmIGoingToEatNow?!?!?!
Day 31: Deep breathing. And maybe some ice cream.

On Days 2 & 3, many people report headaches. Basically, it's their bodies purging. I had a headache day 1, but haven't since. I'll take it! I'm hoping days 4 & 5 go as well as 2 & 3! I don't want to "Kill ALL the things!".

I've changed up our weekly menu a bit. Mostly because I didn't realize the pork takes 16 HOURS to cook. Oops. So, I'll be making it tonight for tomorrow's dinner. Just need to figure out timing on it. It kind of messed up a couple of lunches, but it's all good. A couple of the recipes below also contain non-Whole 30 approved ingredients (like honey & vanilla extract), so I've been omitting them.

Monday
B: Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Apple Sausage, Strawberries
L: Roasted Bacon Tomato Soup
S: Larabar Apple Pie
D: Pina Colada Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

Tuesday
B: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pancetta Hash with Chicken Apple Sausage & Strawberries
L: BLAST Sushi with Paleo Ranch Dressing
S: Blueberries
D: Slow Cooker Kalua Pig with Classic Coleslaw Paleo Stuffed Avocados with Cilantro Cream Sauce

Wednesday
B: Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Apple Sausage
L: Deli Chicken Salad with Classic Coleslaw Salad
D: Paleo Stuffed Avocados with Cilantro Cream Sauce Savory Steak and Mushrooms with Salad

Thursday
B: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pancetta Hash
L: Slow Cooker Kalua Pig with Mashed Sweet Potatoes  Deli Chicken Salad
D: Savory Steak and Mushrooms with Salad  Slow Cooker Kalua Pig with Classic Coleslaw

Friday
B: Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Apple Sausage
L: Deli Chicken Salad  Out with a friend (yikes!)
D: Shepherd's Pie (with sweet potatoes & chicken sausage)

Saturday
B: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pancetta Hash
L: Shepherd's Pie leftovers
D: Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta

Sunday - need to plan this out
B:
L: Slow Cooker Kalua Pig with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
D:

Whole 30

So, I've been thinking about doing the Whole 30 for a while. I bought the book It Starts with Food about a year and a half ago. I read it in September or October of last year. Sometimes I'm a little slow with getting on board my own ideas.

In November 2012, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It was only then that I found out there's family history. Wonderful. I started making dietary changes after my first meeting with my endocrinologist. The first set was to cut out processed foods & sugars. My numbers got better.

In September 2013, my grandfather passed away very suddenly. I got a chance to see my cousin who is also hypothryoid and talked with her for a while. She's able to control hers specifically through diet. She mentioned she's been Paleo for quite a while and gave me some suggested reading.

I decided after that trip to at least go gluten free. November 2013, my endocrinologist called me after my bloodwork and gave me my latest numbers. He said he's never seen that dramatic of an improvement with just diet. I was told to keep doing what I'm doing and come back in a year. That's the best news you can get with an endocrinologist!

The past few months, I've been making more & more Paleo foods. We decided to give Paleo a try in January. The first week went great. The second week went ok. The third & forth week weren't so great. I decided at the end of January to bite the bullet & do Whole 30 starting on Feb 3.

This past weekend was a bit crazy food wise. It was what it was. I spent Sunday morning meal planning. Then, I went grocery shopping & started cooking. Here's the meal plan for the week.

Monday
B: Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Apple Sausage, Strawberries
L: Roasted Bacon Tomato Soup
S: Larabar Apple Pie
D: Pina Colada Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

Tuesday
B: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pancetta Hash
L: BLAST Sushi with Paleo Ranch Dressing
D: Slow Cooker Kalua Pig with Classic Coleslaw

Wednesday
B: Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Apple Sausage
L: Deli Chicken Salad with Classic Coleslaw
D: Paleo Stuffed Avocados with Cilantro Cream Sauce

Thursday
B: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pancetta Hash
L: Slow Cooker Kalua Pig with Mashed Sweet Potatoes
D: Savory Steak and Mushrooms with Salad

Friday
B: Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Apple Sausage
L: Deli Chicken Salad
D: Shepherd's Pie (with sweet potatoes & chicken apple sausage)

Saturday
B: Sweet Potato, Apple, and Pancetta Hash
L: Shepherd's Pie leftovers
D: Pistachio Pesto Chicken Pasta

Sunday - need to plan this out
B:
L:
D:

Tri Training + Nutrition

I've been getting better about my triathlon training. So far, I've only missed 1 workout this week. I'll probably just write it off. The weather here has been less than desirable, so I'm giving myself a "win" for getting most of my workouts done!

I've decided that I'm going to start Whole 30 on Monday. Monday only to give myself the weekend to prep food, menus, and my mindset. I HAVE to do something. I did ok on "just" Paleo, but this past week & a half has been horrible. I think this will really kick start me to get my nutrition under control a bit more.

I have some left over shredded turkey and/or chicken in my freezer that should help with "quick" meals like chicken salad wraps (lettuce wraps, of course) and things like that. I'll report back with what my plans are after I make them for the week.

First Indoor Brick of 2014

Got my first indoor brick of 2014 done today. I need to allow myself to be ok with putting the dog in his pen & getting my workouts done.

Today, I did the Clingman's TrainerRoad workout. I missed all of my "week 1" workouts for the Traditional Base - Low Volume II plan. I figured I'd just pick it up on week 2 instead of rearranging my workout plan. Makes sense, right?

After the bike workout, I knew I also needed to get a run in. Thank goodness for our new treadmill. Given the snow & windchill, I wasn't leaving the house to workout! I got in 30 minutes, 11:19 per mile pace for 2.65 miles. Not my fastest by any means, but I'm getting back into the swing of things.

I'll cover the Paleo stuff in another post. Last week wasn't too great & this week has been nuts.

How is it already Wednesday?!

First, update on Paleo week 2. It hasn't been all that great. I've been clearing out more non-Paleo foods than we've been having Paleo. So, I'm going to get back to it today.


Breakfasts:
Mostly non-paleo stuff. Need to get it out of the house.
Larabars
Sweet potatoes & maple apple chicken sausage - my favorite for breakfast

Lunches:
Leftovers

Dinners:
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots - surprisingly good!
Old School Italian Meet Sauce with Zoodles
Chinese Hot Plate (chicken & veggies)
Best Ever Chicken Strips (Honey Mustard Sauce) with Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad
Deconstructed Gyro with salad
Thai Lime Coconut Shrimp with salad

Snacks:
Dried fruits (no sugar added)
Nuts
Fruit
Veggies
Applesauce (no sugar added)

Second, workouts. I'm getting back into the groove. Monday, I did TNT & a 30 min walk/run. Yesterday, I did a 20 minute swim. 10 minutes continuous swim, 30 sec rest, 10 min continuous swim, hot tub. I was supposed to bike, but didn't. The reason? That bike ride is supposed to be an FTP (functional threshold power) test and my legs need to be kind of fresh. And they're not. I may skip that workout all together and just go on to the next workout in my cycling plan. We'll see. Today, I did TNT & skipped my run. I could barely move after TNT (leg heavy day!) and I know I *should* have done it.

Third, we're getting our treadmill TODAY! My pain cave is turning into a true pain cave. I'm so excited. This treadmill communicates with iFit, so I'll be able to put courses into the software & run them on the treadmill! This makes me beyond happy. Another thing that makes me happy is that this treadmill declines. Yay! As much as I hate the "dreadmill", I'm hoping that the ability to have Google maps give me the "view" of where I'm running will help. Also, there are programs that are available to run in different places. I'm excited to do the program for Venice, Italy.

Paleo Week 2

Week 1 went pretty well. We knew there'd be some non-paleo foods in there as we clean out the pantry, fridge, & freezer. Then, yesterday happened. We'll just ignore yesterday & start over today.

Week 2 looks like this:

Breakfasts:
Mostly non-paleo stuff. Need to get it out of the house.
Larabars
Sweet potatoes & maple apple chicken sausage

Lunches:
Leftovers

Dinners:
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots
Old School Italian Meet Sauce with Zoodles
Chinese Hot Plate (chicken & veggies)
Best Ever Chicken Strips (Honey Mustard Sauce) with Sweet & Salty Broccoli Salad
Deconstructed Gyro with salad
Thai Lime Coconut Shrimp with salad

Snacks:
Dried fruits (no sugar added)
Nuts
Fruit
Veggies
Applesauce (no sugar added)

I feel like one of the meals should be a veggie only meal & I didn't plan for that this week. I may revisit the menu to add in a veggie only meal. We still have leftover Roasted Tomato Soup from last week, so that may get worked in.

Looking forward to week 2! As the weeks go on, we'll have less non-paleo food in the house, so it won't be as much of a distraction. Guess It's time to take weekly pictures!

Cycling

I've been slacking on my workouts. Of course... This needs to become less of a habit. That being said, I finally got myself on my bike today. Yay! I did the "Morrison" ride from TrainerRoad. I love a good TrainerRoad workout. I had planned on doing 3 rides this week, but thank to the battery part of my laptop charger dying, that was out. Now to make up for lost time!

The yellow line is the power measurement. The red line is my heart rate. I'm happy with the ride, overall. I had some issues keeping my power where it was supposed to be, but it is what it is. That'll get better with consistency.

I'm working on coming up with my cycling plan from now until when my 70.3 training kicks in. I need to establish a base, so I'll be using TrainerRoad's awesome workout plans.  First up, Traditional Base - Low Volume II. After the 4 weeks of that one, I'll switch to Sweet Spot Base - Intermediate Base I. Now, to get all of that into my Training Peaks account.

Paleo - week 1

So, we're 3.5 days into being on a Paleo diet. We're doing OK with it. We're cleaning out the pantry of non-Paleo things a little too, so a couple of snacks & breakfasts have been non-Paleo. Until those things are gone, we'll continue to do that. We won't replace those items, just don't want to waste the $$ that was spent when we bought them. 

Here's a quick review of the recipes I've made this week.

Breakfasts:
Banana Bread French Toast - so yummy, haven't made it into french toast, but it's been awesome!
Chocolate Cinnamon Sweet Potato Waffles

Lunches:
Cashew Lime Chicken with salad - so good
Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Apple Slaw - quick, easy & tasty!
BLAST Sushi with Paleo Ranch Dressing (BLT sushi?! Yes please!)

Dinners:
Chicken with Mushrooms and Balsamic Cream Sauce - good. 
Roasted Tomato Bacon Soup with salad - oh so good & very filling!
Pineapple Teriyaki Wings with salad (make Paleo Ranch Dressing for dipping purposes) - just ok, may or may not make again
Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs with Grilled Squash and Pineapple
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots

I'm working on next week's menu. 

I realized when I went to bed last night that I managed to not have any veggies yesterday. Oops! Both chicken dishes I had were supposed to have a salad with them. I didn't have either one. Guess I'll be eating lots of salad today then!

I finally got my laptop charger fixed, so today, I'm getting on my bike & planning on working pretty hard. I think I'm moving the swim to tomorrow, along with the run I missed on Monday. I need to get into a full groove again!

Snow Covered Workout

I've been slacking (already) on my cardio workouts. This week's just been weird. I've gotten in a couple of workouts, but not nearly enough!

This morning however... it was 15º out and I got my butt to the gym. Yay! Had an awesome workout with my trainer, Steve. I was super glad to get it done. Now, with the snow on the ground, I'm going to chill out for the rest of the day.

I've also managed to put together a Paleo eating plan for next week for my hubby and I. It'll be a huge change for him, a bit of a change for me. I'm looking forward to it. I'm still waiting on Well Fed & Well Fed 2, but recently got OMG that's Paleo, Make Ahead Paleo, and The Fresh 20. Combined with the eMeals Paleo, Gluten Free, and Clean Eating plans, I'm hoping that it'll be a tasty week! We'll also be working on cleaning out the pantry of non-Paleo foods (especially breakfasts), so those foods may be incorporated in the first few weeks to clean out the pantry.

Here's next week's menu.

Breakfasts:
Banana Bread French Toast
Chocolate Cinnamon Sweet Potato Waffles

Lunches:
Cashew Lime Chicken with salad
Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Apple Slaw
BLAST Sushi with Paleo Ranch Dressing (BLT sushi?! Yes please!)

Dinners:
Chicken with Mushrooms and Balsamic Cream Sauce
Roasted Tomato Bacon Soup with salad
Pineapple Teriyaki Wings with salad (make Paleo Ranch Dressing for dipping purposes)
Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs with Grilled Squash and Pineapple
Balsamic Braised Short Ribs with Candied Carrots

Welcome 2014!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2014! I started the year out "right" and got on my bike yesterday. We'll see if I can get the rest of my workouts in this week.

I stepped on the scale today, which was a "woah" experience. I need to get back on track with the food for sure. On Jan 6 (so, 4 days from now), I'm going full Paleo. Not Whole 30, but Paleo. I got a few new cookbooks (OMG that's Paleo, Make Ahead Paleo, Well Fed, and Well Fed 2) to help with this (as well as Practical Paleo and the eMeals subscription). I'm excited to be starting up & looking forward to what will come of being Paleo & training for a triathlon.