Here’s a recap on my progress yesterday:
I woke up feeling pretty exhausted, because I’ve been staying until about 11pm. I wake up at 6, so it’s starting to wear me down. I pledged to go to bed earlier last night to make up for it. (Didn’t happen. Oops.)
Meal 1:
3 eggs fried in coconut oil, served atop thick slices of tomatoes, atop a bed of black kale. I’ve been inspired to stack my food on top of tomatoes from my friend Rachel, who is actually the person I first heard about the Whole 30 from! She’s had some great successes with the program, and she posts the most beautiful meals on her Instagram. Love her.
I also tossed a few pieces of leftover sweet potato on my plate, and topped them with some cinnamon. I will never get sick of cinnamon. Or sweet potatoes for that matter.
I found myself struggling to finish my meal, which was a strange feeling. Usually, I’m scarfing things down like my life depends on it, but eating this way has already made it easier for me to be aware of when I feel full, and to be able to actually stop at that point! AMAZING.
This meal was a little messy, but incredibly satisfying, and again held me right through to lunch.
Meal 2:
I had some leftover pan-fried salmon, and sweet potatoes (I’m finishing them off, ok? hah!) in addition to my usual tupperware full of broccoli florets and baby carrots. I poured a little coconut milk (from a can) on to the salmon and sweet potatoes, and microwaved them for a minute or so, topped with cinnamon of course, and I was stunned by how delicious it was. STUNNED. I will definitely be making extra dinner portions for lunch leftovers from now on!
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been sipping tea through the day, so there was a lot of Numi Tea’s Chocolate Pu’erh going on. I have been sticking to one cup of coffee first thing when I get to work. At first I was kind of dreading the idea of coffee without cream, but I don’t know what I was worried about- it’s totally fine.
I did start to get hungry in the late afternoon, and when I got home I began planning dinner right away.
Meal 3:
Coconut garlic boneless skinless baked chicken breasts, with steamed swiss chard, and leftover sweet potato (again, I know, I know.)
I was a little disappointed with the chicken, as I would have liked it to be more tender, but I think that’s just about getting more comfortable with cooking chicken in general. Lower heat for longer next time. I think I need a meat thermometer as well, as that would save me a lot of guessing.
I also whipped up a batch of guacamole, which is one of my favourite things to make and eat, and popped that in the fridge for the next day. In addition to about 4 avocados, I like to throw in at least two garlic cloves, red onion, coarsely chopped tomatoes, and red peppers. Maybe I’ll take pictures next time and post my recipe. It’s always a hit.
After I had dinner, I had some sugar cravings, which I immediately squelched with tea. I had some Tulsi Sweet Rose tea which was very lovely, however, I’m looking at the ingredients right now, and am very disappointed to read that it apparently contains stevia leaf! Noooo! I also took a peek at the ingredients of the Celestial Seasonings fruit teas, and discovered they all contain soy lecithin. But why?! I didn’t think tea would be the culprit of off-program ingredients! I need to be much more diligent with reading tea labels, apparently.
I also had a cup of Pukka Harmonise herb tea, which contains chamomile flower, shatavari root (Indian asparagus), hibiscus flower, rose flower, licorice root, and vanilla pod. No evil lurking within!
I started feeling a bit mopey and emotional, which is usually a sign either that I’m PMSing, or that I need to get some physical activity (or both). I headed to the gym, even though I was tired and grumbly, I had a really good session. My endurance was better than usual, and I felt focused. Very nice.
Post Work Out Recovery:
Back at home, I cooked two eggs to perfection, leaving the yolks runny. I’m so used to relying heavily on protein bars after workouts, and they pack so much of a sugar punch that I was worried I wouldn’t feel satisfied. But a little salt and pepper on top of those melty eggs was heaven. More tea, then off to bed.
Overall, a really good day. I avoided fruit since I’ve been eating a lot of sweet potato, and the previous day’s dates scared me a little. I may have some fruit today (I don’t want it to go bad!) but I like the idea of maybe having a serving of fruit every other day rather than daily. Hmm. We’ll see. Bring on Day 3!
Eat With Megan 