Day 12

Today was my rest day and much needed. I even got to sleep in!

I didn't eat the way I should i.e. I missed breakfast. We were running errands and time slipped away.

For lunch, I had the leftover curry chicken legs from last night and a salad. They are seriously so good. Y'all need to try that one.

Dinner didn't happen until after the girl was in bed, but it was a good throw together meal. I had a chicken andouille sausage, sautéed some yellow squash with onion (this always makes me think of my Grandmamma), and some Brussel sprouts.

Snacked on some raisins, cashews, grapes, half an apple and a banana in there as well. (I'm probably eating too much fruit, huh?)

I made some chicken salad that's coming together in the fridge overnight. I'm excited to have it for lunch tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Our Wildcats won big so there was a lot of celebrating going on in the Hendrick house.

Have a happy Monday!

xo.
Megan

Day 11

I'm a bit under the weather, as is the little one, and I am up entirely too late watching a movie but...

Good news. Made it through the second "quittin" day.

Breakfast was leftover Pumpkin Breakfast Pudding from yesterday and a cup of black coffee.

Lunch was a nitrate free, organic andouille sausage with a bit of homemade,compliant Paleo mayo and leftover coconut shrimp and veggies from dinner last night.

After my run I was starving so I ate a banana and pack of raisins.

For dinner we made these Curried Chicken Drumsticks with Carrots and it was very easy and quite good. We couldn't believe you baked them at 475 for 40 minutes, but they came out really tender and the skin was perfect. We mixed the seasoning together in a bowl and rolled the chicken in it, then the carrots. I will say, don't drench the carrots in it because they can get a little spicy if you do. I'm a wimp though, so go for it if you're stronger than me. I had a side salad with mine which my husband had brown rice as it suggests.

For a movie snack, I had a bowl of cantaloupe, honeydew and blackberries. Now, melon and blackberries are Whole30 best choice options for fruit which is great. What I failed at, if I'm being super strict, is that I ate them not out of real hunger, but just because. Maybe I was having a sugar craving, maybe it's just because I'm used to having a snack during a movie. Either way, it doesn't help me mentally get past that "addiction". This is just in interest of full disclosure. Now, I am all for anyone trying this plan in any capacity and level of commitment to the rules they like. Any clean eating is better than none. I don't feel guilt because I know I was putting something worthwhile into my body. But I just need to acknowledge and accept why I ate it and how that affects one of my goals of getting rid of the hold sugar has on me.

Have a wonderful Sunday! More basketball to enjoy. I will be forcing my husband to eat the cheese dip he's planning on making in the kitchen. ;) Go Wildcats!

xo,
Megan

Day 10

Held it together for day 10. According to the timeline, day 10 and 11 are the days you are most likely to give up, so I powered through it by focusing on making all new recipes and reasserting myself to my goals.

For breakfast, I made this Pumpkin Breakfast Pudding. I could only make a half batch because I didn't have as much coconut milk as I thought I did, but I still used a whole banana. I also had to add a lot more almond meal to the oil for the topping for it to even resemble the photo. It still never browned or baked up as I expected it to. The overall flavor was good though and I welcomed the change. I still had an egg with it though. I'm desperately trying to figure out ways to get more veggies into my day.

For a late lunch I just did some chicken tenderloins over coconut oil in the skillet. I had a salad and carrots with that. It was really easy and tasty.

For dinner, I used this Coconut Shrimp recipe. I also made the mango-pineapple sauce she recommends at the end. It was really good, but we made way too much and probably didn't purée it as smooth as she did...which equals baby food for the girl. I also made my own sweet potato fries, and ...let's pretend I didn't forget about them in the oven and burn them terribly. So, with a sad heart, I had a bag of steamed veggies on the side. They are so handy, and as long as you get the ones without the sauces, they are compliant.

Corey asked me this evening if I was feeling any different and the answer is no. I feel exactly the same. Still the same symptoms I'm trying to fix with this plan and I feel like I'm still at the same measurements. But honestly, that doesn't bother me. I'm just amazed that I've been 10 days without sugar, without putting a single processed food in my body, and I also know that my body is still adjusting and figuring out the changes I'm making.

Gonna gear up to stay on plan for the weekend. Hope everyone has a great one!

xo,
Megan

Day 9

Just so y'all know, I was just doing my stretches before bed and I was fixated on a turkey club sandwich. My mind is so mean. And obviously still working on supressing those nasty cravings.

Today was fine. Ate three solid meals and a snack. Nothing to write home about...yet I'm still writing.

I had two fried eggs with bananas and blackberries for breakfast. p.s. Have y'all ever eaten a blackberry with a slice of banana. delicious.

I did make Paleo Mayo and with it I made a Paleo Ranch Dressing. These made me feel slightly more "normal". I had the ranch on a romaine and tomato salad with a leftover hamburger patty from last night for lunch.

I didn't know what I wanted to make for dinner so it ended up just being leftovers after we ran an errand and got munchkin ready for bed. I ate the last burger patty and the left over asparagus.

I've got three new recipes I'm PLANNING on making tomorrow. Hopefully I'll follow through.

I wish I could figure out if there's anything I could eat at restaurants. I just don't see anything that would be completely compliant. It would be nice to pick up something quick from time to time.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! UK basketball is tomorrow. Wish I could have a beer to take the edge off ;)

Go Wildcats!

xo,
Megan

Day 8

Hey y'all. This is gonna be a quick one cause I am in bed as I type and ready for my head to hit the pillow.

Today wasn't anything special, and actually I made the mistake of basically skipping lunch all together. I know, shame on me. I had a late breakfast and had a workout, shower, getting ready to do while A took her nap. Then she needed to be fed and we had errands to run. Excuses, excuses. I know,  I've got to get more consistent with my mealtimes.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with a side of raspberries and blueberries. I snacked on a Larabar in the car, and cashews after I got home. Dinner was good though. I fried up a hamburger patty in the skillet with coconut oil, roasted some asparagus and had a yummy spinach salad that I picked up at the Down to Earth whole foods store when we were getting a few things. It was all easy which is great.

Hope everyone had a good day! Thanks again to everyone who reads this. Getting great feedback on Facebook and helpful advice and tips! I'm really lucky to have a great support system :)

xo,
Megan

Day 7

One week in the books! And it wasn't a bad day at that.

For breakfast, I knew I needed to be eating more colors, so I went outside my comfort zone. Don't worry, it was still eggs...but what was supposed to be a veggie omelet turned in to an accidental frittata for like 10 people. No, but seriously, it ended up waaay bigger than I intended. I could only eat half. I chopped up some orange and yellow bell pepper, broccoli and mushrooms and had two pieces of bacon on the side. Yummy protein pre-run.

Little Bit and I went to the grocery store so lunch was a little late and, as always, thrown together. (I don't disappoint.) It did the trick though. I had a can of sustainable salmon (a brand called Wild Planet recommended by the Whole30 following because it doesn't contain soy like many canned fishes do) with a squeeze of lemon, a sliced tomato, hard boiled egg and half an avocado. I've been eating lunches like this a lot in the last couple of months. They offer a lot of bang for your buck.

I found a bar that's Whole30 compliant, and at the Commissary no less. Cue the Angel choir! The Larabar uses dates as a binder for nuts and fruit. Of course, I can't have any of the chocolate or peanut butter flavored (and definitely not the cookies and cream), but just having an option of a little grab and go snack is wonderful. I will have to concentrate on not using them to curb a sweet craving though and only use them as an energy boost or hunger squasher. Someone also recommended the brand Nakd to me. They are based in the UK so I will have to order them, but I'd like to try it.

Dinner didn't come together until late again, but it was actually quite successful! Husband approved even. I made these Crispy Italian Chicken Thighs. They were cooked perfectly, held in their moisture and the skin was crispy and really flavorful. (I didn't even mind the garlic.) I might go a little easy on the seasoning next time, but that's just personal preference. They were still super tasty and really easy.  I had them with a side of steam bag veggies. (Sorry there's a bite missing. Oops.)


They say day 6 and 7 are the "I need a nap days". I would agree. Then again, I always feel like I need a nap. But I actually fell asleep on the couch during the girl's afternoon siesta. I don't normally do that except on the weekends sometimes.

I'm feeling a little better overall about the process. I still have my cravings (right now for instance, I just want a cupcake), but I'm extremely susceptible to advertising and things around me, and currently we have cupcakes in the house for a friend's birthday. I've really got to get some ideas for different breakfasts and lunches. I've found a couple I'll be trying in the next several days. Hopefully they'll be hits!

Thanks for reading and staying interested, even if only slightly. Just knowing that anyone is reading this helps me to stay motivated. I used to be a hardcore quitter, but I'm different now. The last two years, with my first weight loss journey, then being pregnant and having Amelia, and now my second  go round with weight loss and consistent exercise, they've all played a huge part in who I am today and my outlook on my health and my life and everything I want out of them. This is just another stepping stone in figuring out what works for me.

xo,
Megan

Day 6-I'm sorry for the words I spoke out of hanger...

Today, a little better. Not so mad. Not so sad. Not thinking of how I can get out of this crazy mess.

Though I still only had meals based on convenience, I felt more satisfied and content. Maybe it was because I was more active today than yesterday (my rest day for the week), with taking the girl to Gymboree and doing my workout. (She also only took one nap so that kept me busy.)

My meals:

Breakfast was scrambled eggs and whites and I browned up some nitrate free turkey in the pan. I had a side of blueberries and raspberries.

Lunch was the leftover taco meat from Saturday night and a bed of romaine with salsa.

Dinner wasn't thrown together until 830 after little bit was in bed. And thanks to my cousin Emily who posted this awesome recipe for roasted broccoli, I had something to work with. I didn't add any garlic because, well, the thought of anymore garlic in my diet makes me queasy. It's like the thing everyone just throws into any potentially bland dish to make it acceptable. (Okay, maybe I'm still a wee bit cranky.) The little crunch and crispness of this side was exactly what I was craving.  And I had yet another chicken apple sausage with the broccoli. My husband pointed out to me though that it's not so bad to have the redundancy of  a meal you know is easy, within the rules, and ready to go when you just don't have the time or any idea of what to come up with, especially in these early stages. I'm just about over the chicken/apple flavor, but it's kept me in line when it would have been so easy to cave and run out to get something I shouldn't have.

I had some cashews and a kiwi thrown in there somewhere today.

I'm on a mission to find new recipes to try this week. I've got a list going right now and a trip to the store planned for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll prove to some of you who are reading this as a way to determine if you want to try it that it's not always going to be this hard and you can try new and good foods!

xo,
Megan