Following the rules of Whole 30.

Remember when I said I was going to do a Whole 60?  What I didn’t count on was summer…. The hot, humid season in the South where my appetite lessens and so does my exercise.

It started with the frozen banana treats I made, and then I discovered Yawp bars (and started using them as meal replacements).   And now I am looking at heirloom tomatoes that are begging to be part of a sandwich.

Don’t get me wrong, I am reading labels and following the rules, well, all but one. I am eating paleo treats. There, I said it.  I am more paleo now than whole 30 and I feel great about it!

Tonight I made paleo sandwich bread to go with my heirloom tomatoes and bacon.  Tomorrow I am trying a chia pudding and I am ecstatic about it.  If I find myself drifting past the paleo guidelines or over indulging in these special foods I will reign it in and do another round of Whole 30.  Easy peasy.

I am still documenting my meals on the Two Grand app, follow me there under forkandfinial.  For now I will share some of my favorites, starting with this tasty bread from guiltykitchen.com.  

It really was a delicious BLT.

  

In the past week I have worked on 2 recipes that were total fails!  Rest assured, I am still perfecting them and plan to share more recipes soon.

Whole 30 Days 35-38

I have made a few realizations during the past week….

Realization #1.  While on this program, my habit of stress eating has been eliminated.  Usually if things get tough at work I would reach for the first carb covered in sugar and shove it in my face.  This week has been a tough one, and although I have eaten plenty of food it has been out of hunger, not stress.  This my friends, is huge.

Realization #2.  I miss chocolate.  Not brownies, cake or cookies. Just a little taste of chocolate.  To quench this craving I realized I was making a habit of making the banana treats after dinner.  I do believe this is dessert and leads to…..

Realization #3.  I am not perfect, and although my relationship with food is improving it is not perfect either.  I try to think through my food choices, even catch myself when I stumble and try to make more conscientious decisions, but it will always be a work in progress.

PS- there will be no more frozen bananas in my freezer for a while!  Although the ingredients are all compliant I really can’t face that temptation!

On to the food….

 

    
 

Whole 30 Days 31-34

Have you heard of the app two grand? It is a great way to journal your daily intakes and helps me to keep all of these photos in order!  I have found lots of people with eating habits like mine and find meal inspirations also.  Follow me on two grand, my id is forkandfinial!

Breakfasts this week (so far):

  
Lunches:

  
Dinners:

  
That’s a wrap!

What now?

I can’t believe my second Whole 30 is over, time really did fly by! During this round I saw many of the same improvements as my first time….  Weight loss (8 pounds), skin is clearer, digestion improved, no more heartburn, better sleep and more energy.  I am loving the benefits!

After I finished my first Whole 30 I went crazy, I was the prime example of what NOT to do.  Although I kicked my diet soda addiction, the takeaway ended there.  Pizza? Sure, I will have some.  Ice cream? OK, that sounds good.  There was no filter and no stopping.  I gained weight, stopped working out and all of the benefits faded away. Knowing that I reacted that way last time scares me, I have worked too hard to let a lack of self control sabotage my progress.

So, what is next for me?  More Whole 30!  I am going for 60 now and then I will reevaluate.  I am going to increase my exercise and start wearing my Fitbit again.  I am still going to log my food but it will probably be in 3 day recaps here on the blog.  I am going to work on more delicious paleo recipes to share here and work on putting together some easy shopping lists for first time 30ers.

Thanks everyone for sticking with me this far, I cant wait to see what the next 30 days has in store!

Day Thirty

Day 30! It has flown by!

Breakfast 6.2.15. On the way to work I had a banana and some iced coffee with cashew milk. 

  
I didn’t bring lunch with me since I was only expecting to be there a couple hours… Of course I was there longer than expected so thankfully I had some snacks on hand. Smashed avocado with plantain chips and a yawp bar (amazing), thanks Vanessa!

   
 

Dinner 6.2.15.  I was too preoccupied with work to cook so we ordered take out from our local pizza place that only serves organic meats (hooray). House salad with grilled chicken.  I also had a small bowl of berries.

  

Day Twenty Nine

Breakfast 6.1.15. My standard. Gotta love that spinach!

Lunch 6.1.15.  Crab cake with mango salsa, broccoli slaw, LaCroix.

Dinner 6.1.15. Homemade spring soup with avocado and fruit. Iced tea.

Day Twenty Eight

Breakfast 5.31.15.  Leftovers from last night, sweet potato, steak and sautéed veggies.  Two iced cashew lattes… Needed an extra jump start today! 

  
Lunch 5.31.15. Going to work unprepared is not recommended! No photo, but I had a few bites of grilled chicken, apple slices with almond butter and some pistachios later for a snack.

Dinner 5.31.15. Breakfast! Eggs, bacon, a ton of spinach and sweet potato cubes.

  

Day Twenty Seven

Breakfast 5.30.15.  Leftover grilled chicken, spinach, squash and mushrooms sautéed in a wee bit of bacon grease.  Side of papaya, strawberries and blueberries. Iced cashew latte.

  

Lunch 5.30.15. Large salad with grilled chicken, water.

 
 Snack was a small bowl of fruit

Dinner 5.30.15. Sautéed veggies, 1/2 steak and tiny sweet potato. Water to drink.

  

Day Twenty Six

Almost there….

Breakfast 5.29.15. Iced cashew latte at home. At the work meeting I had an egg bake, sweet potatoes and fruit.

 
Lunch 5.29.15. Homemade soup with avocado and plantain chips, water.

  
Snack was more fruit from breakfast.

Dinner 5.29.15. I finally broke out the spiralizer and made “spaghetti” with fresh squash from my dad’s garden. Sautéed veggies with oil and vinegar and a burger on the side. So good! Iced tea to drink.

  

Day Twenty Four

first day out in the boat this season and it was fantastic! Dad and I caught some fun fish and enjoyed some Whole 30 eats.

Breakfast and Lunch 5.27.15.

Snacked on between 830 and 230, veggies cut up, Apple slice sandwiches with cashew butter, turkey, bacon and lettuce wraps, plantain chips and grapes.

   
   

It was a late night at work resetting the store, we grabbed chipotle, I had my usual with extra veggies from home.