Whole...23?

Well, I failed. I made it through 23 days. 

Now let me try to explain what happened. I truly don't even know why I did it. I had barely eaten all day, and was sitting at work doing paperwork. There were chocolate-mint candies and I just grabbed them and put some in my mouth. "What did I just do?" I thought as I chewed. It was crazy! The mixture of not enough fuel in my body, boring paperwork, and hormones was what got me. It was dumb! It wasn't even a craving; like, I wouldn't normally even want those candies. It was just a moment of total oddness. 

I instantly went back to eating "normal" foods and I didn't notice TOO much difference except for burping more and heartburn. That kind of made me mad; I was hoping all the bad food would make me feel worse so I wouldn't want to eat it anymore! My Zantac 100 is being put to use. I think it's the dairy and grains that do it!

During Whole30, I watched a few documentaries on food. Food, Inc was a huge one that opened my eyes to all the CRAP that is in our "food" here in America!!! This, plus Whole30, has me thinking I'd like to eat mostly paleo, organic, and only grass-fed beef from now on. Chicken is questionable! 

Whole Foods opened on the other side of town and I love it. I bought some fresh organic blueberries, strawberries, and green beans and find myself craving them! I'm going to try another place called Fresh Thyme to get some more fresh produce and some meat. 

One thing that WAS worth it was the 15 pounds I lost!!! Whoo hoo!

Thank you all for the prayers during my Whole30 journey! That's the only reason I made it as far as I did! And most importantly, I gotta give a huge shout out to miss Katie because she is still going strong! Only 2 days left! I think we have both learned much during the process and will take it into account when making future food choices! 

 

Ten Years

A few months ago I started having horrible dreams about Jameson's death. I think my subconscious was thinking about how the 10 year anniversary was coming up. One morning after waking from one of them, the Lord gave me first two lines of this poem and a concept. Though we've been suffering on earth without him for 10 years, Jameson has been in Glory with Jesus for 10 years. 

Yesterday, I sat down and wrote the rest of the poem in about 10 minutes. There's a ton I could do to tweak it and alter it, but I want to leave it in its "natural" state. I called my Dad and Grandma to read it to them and it made Gram cry so I figured I would leave it as is. Here it is: 

Ten Years

10 years of sorrow

10 years of pain 

10 years of sadness

10 years of rain

Our lives changed on that day

Never the same

This world's tragic loss 

was Heaven's sweet gain

Jamo's with Jesus

Wouldn't come back again

He's had

10 years of joy

10 years above 

10 years of worship

10 years of love

10 years are gone

So much has changed

We all often wonder 

Where he'd be today

We may always ask why

We may never understand

But we know he's safe

In his Lord's precious hands

        -S.Seger

 

 

God bless Jamo's family today and always. Love them! 

 

Days 20-22

Friday, Day 20: I am getting sick of frying stuff and making my apartment smell so yucky! I thought my microwave vent was sending the smell out the roof but no, it just blasts it into my apartment! I now cook with the sliding glass door open and sometimes have a fan blowing outside!

Saturday, Day 21: Somehow I stumbled across 

this recipe and decided to try it. Horrock's had some sweet potatoes with "white flesh" but it tasted like a regular sweet potato! The avocado sauce was delicious and I highly recommend the recipe. I think next time I'll eat it with a regular potato though. 

Sunday, Day 22: I could not sleep until 3-something am! I woke up around 11 this morning and super hungry. I found another recipe from that same

blog and made it for breakfast. I cut it in half though because 4 bananas is a lot! This afternoon I took a 2 hour nap and ate a Larabar and that's all so far. Very weird day. That was only the 3rd nap I've had since day 1! Normally I nabbed five days a week, at least!

I've been watching food documentaries on Hulu, and boy, I don't want to eat this "food" we have in America! It's just disgusting what is done to process the "food" we eat on a regular basis. I'm definitely going to try to buy grass-fed or local beef only, as well as organic food as much as possible. 

I'm very ready to be done with this program, and if the right thing comes along, I will probably cheat and quit. But not on something crazy like donuts or anything! The documentaries are really making me change my thoughts on what I will eat. 

I'm going to go finish a documentary about a guy who eats 40 tsp of sugar a day. I bet that wouldn't be hard for me to do pre-Whole30! America loves sugar!

 

Days 17-19

Tuesday, Day 17: Bought some steak. Enjoyed it but was dying for A1 sauce. Also, I found some Tessamae dressing at Kroger! It took a half hour of scouring and asking for help, but finally found 2 flavors that were Whole30 approved. And, they were on sale! They're in the refrigerated salad dressing section, by the way. 

Wednesday, Day 18: Earlier this year I had the bright idea to have birthday celebrations at work. By celebrate, I mean bringing in delicious snacks and treats. It's a well-known fact that therapist love treats! Well, they celebrated Cindi's birthday on Day 18. There were two chocolate cakes, and a whole bag of Lindt chocolates. I want to just the lick of the frosting, but I didn't have any. Even when I was the last one in the office, I didn't have one single bite. 

I felt tired after work, almost like I could take a nap. I was probably exhausted from all that willpower I used! :D  Here's a video of the tempting treats in all their glory: https://instagram.com/p/BHQqyBxAMiq/

Thursday, Day 19: I don't have any groceries this morning and was all pouty. I don't get paid till Tuesday, so no big purchases until then. I did go to Kroger after work to get brussels sprouts, pineapple, bananas, and Larabars, which were on sale. For dinner I made steak, and roasted brussels sprouts. Very delicious! I had one bite of pineapple and couldn't believe how sweet it was! It almost made me feel sick. Hopefully I will feel like that when I write chocolate after this is done!

Has anyone else had weird dreams during their Whole30 experience?I've stop dreaming about cheating with noncompliant food, but I have multiple funny, crazy, and vivid dreams every night.

Our last day of Whole30 is July 11. I'm very excited for that day to come. I'll be singing "hallelujerrrr" from the rooftops!

 

Day...16?

The days all blend together at this point. A coworker brought in QD donuts, but I had a Larabar. Katie says she's never seen someone have so many treats at work and it's no wonder I crave such bad food!  

For dinner I had delicious eggs over easy with fried potatoes, half an avocado, and homemade ketchup. 

 

Now I want some cookies or cake but I ate a pluot and am having lime flavored Perrier instead. :*(

 

I'm not noticing many great results (yet?) except I have only taken 2 naps since I started. Some days it's a struggle to fight a nap, but I'm not dying to sleep as son as I get home. Only big plus so far. 

Guess I'll go watch Shark Week and try not to think about the chocolate and cookies and cake that I want. I'm such a baby, but man oh man, this is difficult. 

 

Days 12-15

Thursday, Day 12: 

Made Whole30 approved ketchup. Couldn't find tomato paste at Dollar Tree or in my cupboard so I used crushed tomatoes. It tastes very vinegar-like but the second day it was much better. 

Friday, Day 13:

Katie B. (not the Whole30 Katie) and two of the kids came over. We went to Sam's and the smell of the pizza was almost more than I could handle! I had to walk away. I miss pizza so much. My other Katie, the Whole30 partner, suggested eating chicken taco meat with eggs, so I tried it. Added some onion and avocado and it was good! Katie B. was hungry so I made enough for her, and she liked it! She liked the Whole30 ketchup more than I did. She had never had an avocado before so I put some on top of hers and she's now a fan. I couldn't survive without avocados! Haha ok maybe could, but I would miss them! 

Saturday, Day 14: Easy day. Went to the pool and brought snacks (fruit) and for lunch I made more of my chicken and egg stir-fry stuff. 

Later that nigh, Susan and I went to Faith Fest in DeWitt and they had cute little dessert trucks and I wanted some ice cream. Kate a Lara Bar and had some raisins and water. 

Sunday, Day 15: Church made me a little sad today. Pastor Joe was talking about how women from age 17-30 always ask him where the godly Christian men are and he says "they're not being raised" anymore. So that was about DEPRESSING because it's very try and I got really sad and almost cried during church. Then I attempted to check my tire pressure, didn't know if I was doing it right or not, and was hoping one of the men leaving church would see me in my gorgeous dress (it was, ok?!) and heels and offer to help. I then went to get my oil changed and asked them to check my tires. All of these annoying things that would be easier with a husband. (I also had to finagle this morning to get my dress on. Was wishing I wasn't alone then, too!) On the way back I really wanted some chocolate and/or cake and/or cookies. Like BAD. I think I realized my major trigger for binging. I eat when I'm sad/lonely. No wonder I got extra fat this last year. 

So I just ate some eggs, peppers, onions, and tomatoes with my homemade ketchup. Probably fruit for dessert. 

I'm so ready for this Whole30 to be over. I'm my feeling any better, I haven't cheated one single time, NOT EVEN A BITE, and I just want a little chocolate now and then. I still have very weird and vivid dreams, too. 

I hope the next 15 days go quickly. Ugh. 

 

Favorite Healthy Snack

I thought I would share my favorite healthy snack! Mom and I used to do this in Weight Watchers and it's still a favorite when I'm trying to eat healthier. I love to cut up an apple, sprinkle some cinnamon on it, and microwave it for 3 minutes. It's soooo good! The apple is softer, but still a little crunchy, and the flavor is great. Try it and let me know if you like it! 

Oh, and a nice glass of like Perrier is the perfect accompaniment!