Attempting a Whole Life

Straight off the bat: I didn't reach my step goal for week 1 nor for week 2. I didn't even reach half of my intended steps. Really, I didn't think it would be as difficult as it was to reach my step goal for both weeks. Week 3 goal is to definitely push past my lack of steps and get creative with finding ways to sneak in steps throughout the day. As for my grocery spending, during week 1 I spent approximately $232. That is way more than I intended the first week but did include bulk items such as fish, avocado oil, portions of avocado (clean guacamole, basically), and bacon from my Costco trip. Week 2 shopping was a bit more affordable, coming in at around $61. Nearly arriving at the halfway point and not anticipating any shopping happening until after then, I thought I was in good shape for my whole30 grocery spending this time around compared to whole30 2.0, last October but after reviewing my previous post it looks like $293 is about $23 dollars more than what I spen...

It's been long enough since I focused on nutritional eating. After my last successful whole30 I really focused on keto. That lasted for a good few months and I could feel the difference in my energy levels and concentration.  I fell off the wagon when I started a professional development program, early this year. This meant I had to cut my working hours significantly. And, since the program provided a spread of carb friendly foods, I felt financially responsible to change my eating habits to fit with the food offered.  Well, as the program came to a close, the COVID-19 business began emptying the store shelves. I continued to eat carb friendly stuff and even bought more when it just so happened to be the last item on the shelf. That included flour.  Yes, I was even one of those people to bake bread. I didn't prepare as much this time around but I had been making fairly good choices that I do have the basics to create some delicious meals. The effort I put i...

Day 3  I woke up in the middle of the night to back pain; woke up this morning to a headache which was accompanied by nausea; and cancelled my PT appointment, to boot. How's your day 3 going?  Meal Schedule Yesterday I was wanting to add an egg to my breakfast (I didn't) which—I'm sure—is what made todays breakfast extra satisfying. Breakfast Coffee - Black + cinnamon Egg - Over Medium Potato - Hashed Lunch Tomato - Sliced* Avocado - Mushed + Lime - Squeezed Chicken Breast Tenderloin - Pan fried** Baby Spinach - Fresh Sea Salt Snack Banana Dinner Tomato* Ground Beef Potatoes - Diced** Onions - Sautéed in Avocado Oil * From the garden **Leftovers Grocery Shopping Onion Coconut Amino Sugar-free Bacon I was in the area of a shop that carries the sugar-free bacon so we stopped by. It didn't have much in my price range but they do offer a free fruit for children so I shared a banana with the kid. I'll have to go shopping ...

This second fail comes just over a week after my first fail. And it was with free samples - twice. The first refreshing sample was at a community event in the park hosted by a division of our city planning commity. It was a hot day, I had forgotten my water and was extremely parched. Unfortunately, this small sample of homemade ice cream was making me even more thirsty (who would have thought?).  To the delight of my kiddo, she was able to finish the ounce-sampling paper cup filled with cookies and cream ice cream sans 3 mama sampling-spoon scoops. The second sample of the day was after the earlier event when we were picking up some Whole30 approved groceries at Trader Joe's. I did fine my last shopping trip there, passing by their sampling section with only the kid trying a refreshing sparkling juice beverage. This time they were sampling mini ice cream cones. Needless to say, I scarfed that sucker down. So, now I am working on the Whole32 - a bit more than a month.

Photo by Igor Ovsyannykov / Unsplash I had my first fail yesterday and I ain't even [that] mad. Though, I am feeling completely bloated. Here's my excuse/reason/whatever-you-wanna-call-it: I am sitting at work, minding my own business when a group of co-workers walk in and invite me down to have my pick at left over – catered – Mexican food. I had just finished my lunch of garlic shrimp with red bell peppers I had prepped the night before (it was delicious and filling) and I let them know. One of the women reminded me I could take it home to feed the kid-o. So, I trotted along side them chatting, enjoying the time away from my desk until we got to this hall way of heaven. This was AUTHENTIC Mexican food. I took a paper plate and added a piece of delicious smelling chicken breast next to a pile of colorful potato medley that in my mind I knew my child would scoff at. I took a pre-portioned tortilla covered in foil as it was passed to me. There were plates and bowls of so...

I can't cook.  A big motivator for doing the Whole30 was to "re-learn" how to cook. Don't get me wrong, I can follow a recipe as well as the next person. It's the lack of motivation to come up with meal ideas, the search for the right groceries, dealing with the heat of the oven in the summer, (insert another excuse here). Along with my limited (but increasing) motivation to cook, I was a bit nervous about me skipping meals when I am at work or out and about due to lack of options (and preparation). Fortunately, there are 2 Whole30 "approved" snacks: RxBar and Larabar that I have tried and would recommend. The true intent for these is to have them available when you you need nutrients but not as a dessert after your meal or to substitute your normal snacking. I have only tried the Mint Chocolate RxBar and... my goodness! It tastes so much like a dessert I had to check and recheck to see if it was compliant . The extremely sticky and chewy texture ...

I am writing this as I prepare for my first Whole 30 . I have cleared my fridge; researched what I can and cannot eat; shopped 3 different stores; and basically spent more time on preparing for this than a person probably should. But this is not just physically preparing, I am also mentally preparing. I have been an unhealthy dieter for much of my adult life. For at least the last 2 and a half years my eating habits have been shit and have only gotten worse as I got closer to graduating by prioritizing deadlines and substituting nutrition for frozen convenience foods. It has been too easy for me to let those continue to slip into to dinner menu when I've just finished an 8 hour day with a 2 hour commute and I still need to put in a few more applications. Yes, this mental prepping is necessary. So is holding myself accountable and making my experience accessible to people who need to mentally prepare themselves for their own change.