Modified Whole30 - week 1

Dustin and I embarked on our healthier eating plan on Monday. It is going pretty well so far. We're not doing a rigid Whole30 as we've done in the past but rather seeking to strike a balance between perfection with the inevitable day 31 binge and finding a sustainable way to eat that allows life to occur. For example, I'm going on a girls weekend this weekend. I'm going to make the best choices I can while I'm there but by no means will I restrict my food categories.

Here are my food journals for the week so far:

Monday 1/7/19

Breakfast- egg bake (egg, sweet potato, bacon, spinach), banana

Lunch - small baked potato, buffalo chicken, peas, apple 

Dinner - spaghetti squash, marinara, meatball, broccoli 

Snack - 1/2 apple, 1/2 cup grapes, 1oz almonds

Food journal for 1/8/19

Breakfast – egg bake, apple

Lunch – spaghetti squash, broccoli, marinara, meatball, banana

Dinner – chicken vegetable soup

Snack – grapes, almonds

Wednesday 1/9/19
Breakfast - egg bake, banana, PB
Lunch - chicken vegetable soup, apple, PB
Dinner - taco salad (lettuce, tomato, GB, guac, salsa), carrots and guac
Snack - grapes

Observations:
More fruit - I tended to shy away from fruit but always find I enjoy that more when doing a more Whole30 approach.

More fat - day 1 I didn't have as much fat and was really hungry between meals. Adding in some PB with my fruit really helped keep me full longer between meals.

For the record I know that PB is not Whole30 nor are some of the condiments I'm using. The point is not a perfect Whole30 but something as close to it as I can achieve without going insane. It will be 1000% better than what was going on over the holidays. I can't believe how much better I feel when I don't have refined grains and sugars.

I was sharing food journals with my mom and brother but they don't seem as into it and I don't want to be a pest so I'm going to share here instead. 

TGIF

After 2 holiday weeks where the holidays fell on Monday and Tuesday I'm really ready for a normal week next week. Even if that means more work days! I am currently sitting in the car dealership waiting for my passenger airbag to be repaired because of a recall notice. There was an apparent risk of explosion so probably good to get that taken care of.

Food Journal Thursday 1/3/19
Breakfast - breakfast burrito from McDonalds
Lunch - egg bake, 1/2 cup peas
Snack - toast, PB, honey, banana slices
Snack - apple
Dinner - pork tenderloin, roasted carrots, 1/2 cup wild rice

Key takeaways:
I have weird hangups about eating before I think I'm ready which often leads to waiting too long to eat and then I'm so hungry I make bad choices or need to compromise on quality of food. Yesterday's breakfast is a perfect example. I had a doctor appointment and didn't want to eat before that because I'm vain about the scale. After that I needed to make a site visit for work so wasn't going to be in a place to heat up my egg bake. My solution was to grab a burrito from McDonalds. Calorie wise not the end of the world but certainly not real whole food.

Either I need to find more portable meal options or just eat when I have the chance and worry about being hungry later. I always panic that I'm going to get hungry at some future point. As if I couldn't just have a snack.

If I feel the need to snack I should choose healthy options. I did that today for the most part.

I've started exchanging food journals with my mom and brother for added accountability. We all have similar issues so might be helpful for us to see how we're alike and different. Time will tell. For now I feel confident. The scale isn't moving much this week but it's down from yesterday so that is good.

A Better Day

Well, yesterday was night and day different from the day before. I stuck to my planned meals, didn't eat any snacks and didn't eat any dessert or candy. I did feel pretty bad all day with hideous heartburn from the moment I woke up almost all the way to bedtime. It's a great reminder that diet choices are the cause of what I used to think were just the side effects of pregnancy.

I went to the doctor this morning for my 32 week check up. Baby is measuring right on and heartbeat sounds great. The baby is a little gymnast so I haven't been worried at all! The doctor did say that my weight gain is a little above what they would like to see. She recommended scaling back on sugar and carbs which is right in line with what Dustin and I are planning for our January Whole30 starting on Monday the 7th. I am confident that I can keep my weight in a healthy range and it will feel great to shed some of the extra pounds that I have gained that are unnecessary.

Food journal for yesterday:
Breakfast - Egg bake (eggs, spinach, homemade ground pork, sweet potato)
Lunch - pot roast, potatoes, carrots, peas
Snack - toast, PB, banana, honey
Dinner - kung pao shrimp, 1/3 cup rice, 1/2 cup peas

I slept so much better last night although the vivid dreams continue so I never feel fully rested.

I was invited to participate in an 8 week yoga class at work which brings me right to my due date. That will be a great way to stay flexible up to that time.

I am feeling excited and confident about the next few weeks and getting back on track. It is possible!!

Here we go again

Every time this happens I wonder how many more times I wake up feeling sick from all the sugar and junk food I ate the day before. How many times will I spend an entire day stuffing my face with food I know is unhealthy and will lead to these feelings of guilt and shame. Even more fitting that it's the new year when everyone makes their resolutions.

For today my focus is on getting back to the healthy habits that I know serve my physical and mental health best. There is nothing I can do about the damage I inflicted yesterday. I can only resolve to remember this feeling the next time I think it's a good idea to fall into a giant bowl of ice cream.

Here's what happened. Every year on January 1st we have what we call "Yes Day." The kids call the shots and no matter what they ask (within reason) we have to say Yes. It's a really fun day of family together time. Unfortunately we've managed to tie a lot of junky food choices into the fun.

Food journal for 1/1/19:
Breakfast - 3 pancakes with butter, syrup and banana slices, 2 eggs
Lunch - cheeseburger kids meal with fries from Culvers, scoop of custard (salted peanut butter with brownie pieces)
Snack - Ritz crackers & Nilla wafers
Dinner - slice Heggie's pizza, side salad, sweet & spicy sausage bites (6 pieces)
Snack - ice cream (at least 2 cups) with Cool Whip and caramel sauce

Observation:
If I have sugar at breakfast the rest of the day is harder to manage.

Plan:
Keep to savory breakfasts that emphasize protein and fat. No sugary foods like waffles, pancakes, etc.

Observation:
When I eat processed or packaged foods I seem to crave more and eat mindlessly between meals.

Plan:
Focus on real, unprocessed foods and avoid snacking between meals.

Observation:
If I make a plan or get it in my head that I am going to eat something I will eat it regardless of how I feel. For example, I was not hungry for ice cream last night but I had it in my plan for the day to eat an obnoxious sundae so that is what I did. I ended up waking up at 12:30am feeling like I was going to throw up.

Plan:
Go back to not having bedtime snacks. That is apparently code for ice cream or other foods that do not serve my nutrition or health goals. It also impacts my sleep especially while pregnant.

Observation:
When I'm not tracking I'm more likely to make poor choices.

Plan:
Food journal every day. Habit tracking to confirm better choices.

That is probably enough for now. I have my food journal done and my tracking sheets are on the fridge and ready to go. We're going to slowly ease into a more Whole30 approach to eating over the next week to reset some of the bad habits we've fallen back into.