Whole30: Week 2

I didn't give up. That was the biggest win for me this past week. Other key highlights and takeaways:

1. There is so much sugar added to things. This becomes even more apparent when you're figuring out dinner at the last minute. My brilliant plan was for sausages and shrimp on the grill. Fast and assuredly delicious.  I specifically went to an actual butcher shop that grinds their own sausage because I thought surely these guys would only use natural ingredients. Only to be told, "Yeah, all of our sausages have sugar added," he said. "It's like the fourth ingredient on our list." UGH.  I headed to the grocery store to load up on shrimp and see their sausage selection. But again, all the sausages were sugared, and non pre-cooked shrimp was nowhere to be found. I was on Day 11 of this thing and was ready to quit right then and there as I stared at cases full of steaks, chicken and pork (which I'd had enough of). Wouldn't a simple spring pasta be nice, with bacon? (I ended up sending Joel out to eat on his own [pizza!] so I could suffer the consequences alone of trying a made-up concoction of chorizo, onions and tomatoes. It was actually pretty good.)

Chorizo concoction

2. From the Whole30 website: Fact: you are most likely to quit your Whole30 program on Day 10 or 11. By this point, the newness of the program has worn off. You’ve made it through most of the unpleasant physical milestones, but you’ve yet to experience any of the “magic” the program promises. You’re still struggling to establish your new routine (read: you’ve eaten eggs prepared ten different ways over the last ten days), and while you’ve been trying really hard to have a good attitude, today you are incredibly aware of all the foods you’re “choosing not to eat right now.”  Everywhere you look, you see the things you “can’t” have: the melted cheese on a greasy burger, the creaminess of that double-scoop cone, the cold beer in your best friend’s tailgate cooler. Dammit, this is hard! And right now you’re wondering if the results will really be as good as “they” all say it is.

You’re cranky, you’re impatient, and you’re really, really tempted to just eat the stupid cheese.

This is where you really start to experience the psychological hold that your food habits have on you. You’ve put in a lot of effort to get to where you are right now, but you’re still waiting for the results you’re hoping to see. Your  brain tells you that you deserve some kind of reward (don’t you?) and, of course, we’ve been conditioned to think of food as the best reward out there. Right now, you’re craving that ice cream, beer, or whatever treat you think would make for just the right reward. But, instead of that treat, you’re standing face to face with the realization that you have 20 more days of deprivation ahead of you.

Yes, that happened to me. 

3. I got to eat out! Central Food in Spokane is a beautiful bike ride away from our house, and it also happens to have a completely compliant Tuna Nicoise Salad. It was so good to be out and about. After dinner, I even agreed to head across the street to Brain Freeze, where I would fill my nostrils with the smell of waffle cones, resist the ice cream and enjoy a simple espresso. 

View from the restaurant

4. My mom got me onto a really good alternative to eggs/meat for breakfast. It's a nut porridge made with cashews, almonds and walnuts, along with coconut, coconut milk, banana and sauteed apples with spices. A little goes a long way and it's all the flavors I love.

5. My pants are looser. I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself during the 30 days but I did. At the moment I've dropped five pounds.

6. Less food prep, more leftovers, lesson learned. After all that food-prepping the weekend before, I ended up tossing some meat by the end of the week because I couldn't stand the sight of it. I'm finding that I much prefer making more food at dinner and ensuring that I have some for lunch the next day. That way chicken doesn't get as gray (yuck), the solidified fat on pulled pork doesn't cast as much of an unsavory glow, and each day can be a new lunch. 

7. Toasted coconut flakes is the new popcorn. I eat a little dish of the big flakes, sprinkled with a little Kosher salt, each night as a little treat with my tea.

Coconut flakes with sauteed apples - deluxe!

8. Okay, okay, this is worth continuing. I really do feel good. I have good energy, I have a better handle on my mood, my face is smooth and clear, and I'm sleeping well. 

The adventure continues.