Still here...still working on me

It's been a long week recovering from my weekend away. I really did let myself have 48 hours of just enjoying life and food and drink with my best friend. But....it was hard to recover. I felt myself slipping into old patterns. Still exercising but letting the eating slip. So I talked to a friend and my husband and refocused on my goals. I never expected this to be a smooth downhill ride...so this numb and uphill part has happened but I'm back to smooth...for now. Thanks for sticking with me!

 Working on my  weekly menu. I've got some good recipes lined up for Thanksgiving. I've got workouts booked!  I'm ready for this week!

Progress check in!

Here we are at day 62. Today I completed the couch to 5k program and actually ran 30 minutes straight!

I've got some progress photos to share too. All so exciting!

I lost another 2lbs, for a total of 8. That might not seem like a lot, but I've always lost weight slowly and I don't plan on judging my progress on weight alone. I can see the difference in my body and the way my clothes fit. I've been able to wear my "skinny Lisa" pants so that is encouraging!

Well, I've spent a good 20 minutes trying to make these pictures look normal and next to each other and it's just not happening today.  So, sorry for the dirty bathroom and the weird post.

I also want to say that I have no idea how anyone tries to exercise or eat correctly while working, raising kids alone, sick, etc.  I am so so so grateful I have Jamie around and I am not working right now.  I have been able to exercise whenever I want and Jamie fully supports how I choose to eat. 

My journey is far from over but the path is looking good!

Silas plans the menu

Eating Whole30 with kids can be challenging. Silas has been a little over mommy's meals, so this week he planned all the dinners. I was still able to stick to my Food Freedom through all of them.

Monday: Panera. I had turkey chili soup and an unwrapped sandwich

Tuesday: hamburgers. Easy one. 

Wednesday: breakfast for dinner. I had eggs and sausage over potatoes and skipped the French toast

Thursday: nachos. I made sweet potato "chips" for my base. 

We've had a great week of eating!

Emergency food

Having quick protein on hand is always key to staying on track. Today I was busy busy so I came home and quickly through this chicken salad together.

Weekend round up!

We had a fun weekend and I stayed on track with eating and exercise.

Friday night we had a different version of egg roll in a bowl and I didn't like it as much as my day 30 version. So, I would go back to that one next time. 

Saturday night Jamie and I went on a date. When I'm out to new places and not on a round of Whole30, I do my best to pick complaint food. So, for dinner I ate the steak and potatoes but no other food offered. I also enjoyed one glass of delicious red wine. This is my food freedom. 

Sunday we ate dinner at my parents house. My mom made spaghetti and meatballs, so I prepared myself a salad instead. I made sure to have lots of veggies and protein and it filled me right up. 

Here's to another successful week!

Half way through the week!

Despite a terrible toothache, the week has been going great. I'm sticking to my plans and goals. No Halloween candy has been consumed. Food has been prepped and workouts done.

Hash:

We tried a new recipe tonight and have another one for tomorrow night. Of course I choose a soup recipe and then tonight the temperature was up to 75!  But we enjoyed it. ( https://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/instant-pot-comfort-chicken-noodles/)

Last night I stayed over night to help out with my friends new twins. They are the sweetest little boys and even let me get a few hours of sleep!  I took a nap this morning when Parker did and she slept later than usual. I contemplated skipping barre but went and it was a great class!  Then I headed to the dentist and learned I need a root canal 😭😭😭😭. So that will happen next week. 

This week is cruising!

Halloween!

Well, I'm heading to bed and I have successfully avoided all the candy at my house!  Now, just to keep my hands out for the next few weeks....

I also made salmon salad today. 

We had delicious chicken wings in the Instant Pot for dinner before trick or treating tonight. They really are delicious when cooked in there. 

The only bad part of the week is I am having terrible tooth pain that is only worsening, so I'm off to get it checked by an endodontist and may need a root canal. Ugh!!!!

Weekly round up!

We've had a busy week here at the Houston house. I've let meal prepping slide and that has not proved to be very helpful!  I have not been eating off plan, but eating a lot of repeat meals and getting a little bored. Today we went to Costco and stocked up on lots of things so we will start the week of right!

Tonight we made a new meatball recipe that made it more of an Italian meal. All Whole30. I ate mine over cauliflower rice with a side salad. Delicious. (the steam from the food made the picture weird!)

This week we also tried a new rib recipe. I didn't love it but I do love how the Instantpot makes ribs with meat that falls off the bone!

This has been a very common breakfast this week:


I got all my runs and barre3 classes in. So that felt good!

Goals for this week:

1. Make salmon salad to have food on hand

2. Make breakfast hash to mix up and avoid boredom

3. Repeat week 7 of couch to 5k: no walking breaks

4. AVOID ALL HALLOWEEN CANDY!

5. 2 new recipes

6. 3 blog posts

I'm ready to take on a new week. And I will avoid that candy....I believe in my journey!

Nope, I haven't disappeared

Traveling back to back is exhausting. It also makes for some difficult eating situations. But, I feel very proud that I have not let myself slip into "eating freedom" instead of my Food Freedom.

While in KC, I stuck pretty close to Whole30, with some freedom on Saturday.  When we went out to breakfast I made good, Whole30 choices, but did have 5 bites (yes I counted) of pumpkin pancakes because I really wanted to try them.  I did not let that freedom mean "eat crappy birthday cake" but I did let it mean "eat the best BBQ in KC."  Yes, the BBQ sauce probably had sugar in it, but I ate a salad and only the meat, no sandwiches or beans or any dairy based sides. So it felt really great. Oh, and I had a yummy beer (well 1/2, since I forgot to finish it).

However, something I ate did not agree with my belly. I had terrible horrible gas and my stomach was a wreck. It still hasn't quite recovered even today. Even after two great days of wholesome eating. So we'll see what tomorrow brings!  No traveling till 11/11, so lots of time to buckle down at keep at it!  Oh, and I got into week 7 of Couch to 5K today!

Day 39

Today was another successful day.
Breakfast: eggs and bacon
Lunch: chicken salad with avocado
The main "off food" I ate still fell into my Food Freedom. That was dinner from Panera because it was a fundraiser for Silas's school. But I just got a turkey sandwich and made it lettuce wraps.

Yes, the turkey may have had sugar but that's part of my Food Freedom that I'm ok with. I also got in two workouts today (my Couch to 5k and a barre3 class)

Day 38?!?

Today I totally stuck with my Whole30 Food Freedom. Other than the ketchup and packaged fries, my whole day was complaint!

Breakfast: I knew it was a busy morning with no known lunch time so I made sure to start my day with a hearty meal. Compliant bacon and eggs over potatoes. Yum!

Lunch: a premade slice of salmon with cesear dressing. 

Dinner: I made homemade chicken fingers with store bought fries. All the ingredients of the fries are great, but still not technically on plan. But with my husband out of town I used my Food Freedom and felt great about this choice. 

I was unable to exercise today (for the second day in a row in a VERY long time) so I'm planning to double up tomorrow with a little childcare help from my parents!

Back to reality!

We are home and somewhat settled after our trip to Seattle.  I can proudly say, I did not go off the handle!  Did I let the reins loosen a little, of course.  But I did not one thing I regretted and feel proud of myself for sticking to how my body felt and what my body needed.

On Saturday night, we went out for my sister's birthday and I would say that was my most "free" night.  I had a mixed cocktail and a glass of wine in addition to sushi for dinner!  However, during happy hour the only appetizers I ate were olives and some meat from the meat and cheese board. Was it perfect, no, but it was controlled and that is my Food Freedom.  When we went out for desert after dinner, I was satisfied with just 2 bites of tiramisu instead of my own piece!

Sunday we ate thai food and I felt controlled there (although starving when we did eat, so perhaps lunch could have been better).

Monday we went out almost the whole day and again I felt my choices were informed and controlled.  I had a cobb salad, then split some fries with my kids.  I had a mini donut at my my favorite place, but not the whole 1 (or sometimes 2) that I usually got.  For dinner I ate my burger in a lettuce wrap, but didn't stress about the bacon and if it had sugar or not.  That was my Food Freedom!

Today on the plane I made the best choices I could (after leaving some of my prepared food behind on accident).  Perfect choices, no, but good enough for me.

I made sure to stop at the grocery store on the way home to restock my fridge so no excuses for the morning.
Back at it!

Day 33

We are headed to the airport for Seattle in a little bit, so here is how things are going!  Still no eating off my "plan" for the rest of the year.

Breakfast: eggs, sausage, sweet potato toast

About to go for my run!

Still getting to 4 barre classes a week and 3 runs. I'm going to barre3 Seattle on Saturday and Sunday and I'm so excited!!!!

I did weigh myself today and I lost 6lbs in 30 days.  This is a good amount for me, as I am very slow to lose weight.  For me, this is a perfect reminder of why I committed to 15 weeks of this new plan for myself.  I am not going to lose all my "extra" weight (aka fertility and pregnancy) in 30 days.  That will never happen for me.  This is a journey, one that I hope makes it so the weight stays off.  While the weight number may not seem like a lot, I think you can see from the pictures that my body is changing.  These are so helpful for me!  They help me see the big picture, how far I have already come, how my hard work really is paying off.  I'm proud of how far I have come and excited to see what the rest of the year brings!

Here are some before and durings (aka after the first Whole30). 

Day 32

For some reason I don't really have any desire not to eat whole 30. Today I was hungry and looked through the cabinet for a snack but couldn't really find anything Whole30 other than a epic bar which I wasn't in the mood for. But I ate it anyway because all the other food sounded not enticing to me. I did try a little bit of peanut butter, about a teaspoon, on an Apple to see how it would go for me and so far everything seems OK.

Breakfast: eggs and sweet potato

Lunch: hotdogs with a little bit of french fries on the side from my husband's lunch

Dinner: we are cleaning out the fridge as we prepare for our trip tomorrow so I made some chicken salad out of leftovers and served it over sweet potatoes

Whole30 recap and what's next!

I will post before/after pictures tomorrow. But for now, the other benefits of the Whole30!

I'd say the biggest thing I have noticed this round that I have not in the past is the sleep!  I fall asleep quickly and sleep very hard. It is lovely!

My clothes are fitting much better. 

I wore my pre-pregnancy jeans comfortably the other day!

I feel in control of my decisions and my choices when it comes to eating out. 

I survived a few social situations without alcohol. 

My parents have embraced my eating and help me make the best choices. 

We've tried so many new recipes and love them all!

TMI warning...

You may or may not know, I have chronic, idiopathic constipation. This is the first round that my pooping has been regular!  Almost every single day!  And if not, only one day without. It really is amazing!

So, now what?  

My plan movin forward is to have "Food Freedom" as Melissa calls it. For me that will be:

Following the Whole30 guidelines with  slightly blurred lines. What that looks like:

-no dairy

-no grains (i.e.: no pumpkin bread at the coffee shop)

-no overloaded sugar: to me that means it's ok if my bacon or sausage has honey/maple in it, but no sweets/cake/ice cream/candy/syrup. Ketchup at restaurants ok. 

-being ok with chips or fries that are not anything but potato/salt/oil

-I'm going to add legumes (i.e. Peanut butter) in tomorrow and see what that brings up. I love apple and pb but just don't like any other butters. So I'd like to have that as an option. 

Then I will have occasional "cheat" days. I'm going to Seattle, then KC, and in November I'm going to Chicago with my bestie. My plan is to relax a little on the rules without going totally crazy. 

Today my food freedom was this:

I got the hazelnut flavored coffee at Panera with my own creamer


Then I got a turkey sandwich, added avocado and cucumbers and made it lettuce wraps.  The turkey is all natural, non-gmo, but does have a trace amount of sugar.  I was ok with that.

All in all, I am proud of myself for meeting my goals and am happy to have a plan moving forward!

Day 30!

I did it!  30 days. Stuck to the rules. No cheats. Lots of new food. Lots of support. Read my next post for the recap.

Breakfast: eggs, sweet potato toast, fruit, and avocado 

Lunch: I had an early lunch before barre class. I ordered a breakfast burrito without the shell, cheese and lots of questions about the sausage. I had it with an almond milk latte and it was delicious!

The best part of dinner on the last day of Whole30 was having my dear friend Laura over for dinner with her kids.  I kinda dragged Laura and her husband Brandon into this world of Whole30 so it was so nice to have her over for dinner.  We made "Egg Roll in a Bowl".  It was delicious and I think we all loved it! . http://40aprons.com/whole30-egg-roll-bowl-paleo/; 

Day 29

This first set of my Whole30 is almost complete. But I am keeping this going and keeping myself accountable to my goals. So, another new recipe today!

Breakfast: eggs and bacon with the sweet potato toast I made last night

Lunch: turkey, prosciutto, and avocado roll ups with grapes

Dinner: we made a whole chicken in the Instantpot with rosemary potatoes as a side. It turned out great!

Day 28! Almost there!

Whoa...I just found a couple of unpublished blog posts....weird!  Well, now we are caught up!

Breakfast: I went out to breakfast again today.  Took my own creamer.  Asked a million questions.  My sweet dad even double checked a few things for me and asked me all about what I was ordering.  Love him.

Lunch: Leftover sausage and a bit of hamburger from last nights BBQ.

Dinner: at my moms house!  She made delicious ribs.  She even left mine plane and I brought complaint hot sauce to dip mine in.  She also roasted veggies for me!  I am so grateful to have my parents help with this process!

Day 27

Having friends over usually means drinking, eating lots of bad food, and having regrets in the morning.  But that was not the case for me today.  I planned our dinner around my Whole30 and prepared the food myself so I was complaint.
Breakfast: quick eggs and hash before barr3
Lunch: hot dog and salad
Dinner: we had a nice big BBQ:
Guacamole
Burgers on a bed of lettuce with onion, avocado, bacon, tomato. Yum!
Green beans with bacon

It was a delicious dinner and the company was even better!

Day 26

Friday!  In one week, we will be in Seattle and I am so excited!!!!  Until then I'm sticking with my plan.

Breakfast: eggs and hash with some bacon and fruit on the side

Lunch: hotdogs and an apple

Dinner: leftover with the chicken salad I made yesterday 

Day 25!

Thursday's are turning into my favorite. I usually spend Parker's morning nap getting caught up on emails and things for the kids and it feels so good!  Then a barre3 class, an errand maybe, kid pick up, and leftovers for dinner. All in all a great day!

Breakfast: hash and eggs

Lunch: salmon and tomatoes/avocado

Dinner: leftovers!

I used the leftover chicken from last nights stuffed potatoes to make a Whole30 chicken salad for lunches. It's delicious!


Tonight was a "parent's night out" after an event at Nola's school.  I debated not going for many reasons, but mostly because of Whole30 and not knowing anyone and not drinking.  But, I put on my big girl pants and went.  I want to make new friends and I don't need to use "no drinking" as an excuse not to do something.  I had a lovely time with the parents there and I'm very glad I went, even if I just drank water!

Day 24

Today I knew I had to go to the oral surgeon to talk about my implant, so I had a little less free time. But stayed on track, got my run in, and had a great day.

Breakfast: hash and eggs!

Lunch: hotdogs and salad!

Dinner: stuffed potatoes!

Day 23

Tuesday. Trying to recover from my emotional Monday. Ugh.

Breakfast:

Lunch: I got a piece of salmon from Whole Foods and made a little salad of it with Primal Kitchens Caesar dressing. I love caesar and salmon for some reason. It was delicious!

Dinner: another instant pot success. We made chili, which ended up being perfect for this rainy day. I paired mine with a salad (after making pumpkin corn bread for the kids 😬😳). The chili was amazing. (http://nomnompaleo.com/2017/05/23/2017052320170523instant-pot-ground-beef-chili)

Just got done making my hash for the week and it makes me ready for breakfast!

I used sausage, bacon, apple, onion, and green pepper and mixed it all with pre cut sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's. Quick and Easy!

Also made it to a noon barre3 class and enjoyed the thunderstorm!