Whole100 :: 40 Day Recap

Day 40 done already! That means that I have completed another full round of Whole30. Yay!

Before we get into this recap, I have a confession. I did something that I wasn’t supposed to do until day 101. I’ve never done this before on any of my previous Whole30’s or Whole100’s and I’m usually really good at not doing this, but I messed up this time! Let me tell you what happened. On day 31, I woke up and started my day like any other, but halfway through the day I went down to the basement and got on my scale. I didn’t weigh myself on day 0 so I was curious and to be quite honest, I wasn’t expecting to have lost much. I lost one or two pounds or so I think. Old me was obsessed with the scale and would have been upset over such a small weight loss. I have been working out a lot lately and I feel leaner and stronger, so the new me is proud of my hard work and baby muscles. That number on the scale doesn’t define who I am and it has been a long learning process for me to finally grasp that.

The hardest part for me has been the lack of caffeinated beverages. I’m not one of those people that relies on caffeine to get me through the day, I rarely drink coffee or tea. Even though I do enjoy an iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks or a sweet tea every now and then. Since it’s been warmer out, I find myself wanting to go to Starbucks or my local coffee shop for a cold brew or an iced passion tea (both compliant on the Whole30 btw) but I have to keep reminding myself that I can’t have any caffeine now. My drinks of choice have been water or La Croix. FYI caffeine is approved during the Whole30, I’m choosing not to drink it for other reasons.

Over the last 20 days, I’ve eaten out regularly. We enjoy going to brunch after church on Sunday. My husband and daughter love pancakes and I order whatever I find compliant on the menu. We went to Cracker Barrel twice because my daughter requests it every time we ask her where she wants to go. Cracker Barrel is one of those restaurants where everything is cooked in lard and is covered with gravy or cheese- not the healthiest food choice BUT they do have some healthy options. Lately, I’ve been ordering the Cracker Barrel’s Country Boy Breakfast with steak and scrambled eggs, no butter, no added salt and no sides. I’m not sure how compliant it is but our waitress assured me that there are no weird ingredients, so I trust her.

My favorite place to eat is this cute little restaurant in my town that has the most delicious organic, farm-to-table food. It’s clearly a local favorite because the line is always out the door. I order the same thing every time we go; a Western omelette with no cheese, a side of fresh fruit, and their home fries. I love going there because I trust that they always have healthy items on the menu and that makes me happy.

Since my husband has been home more from a long travel season, I have done a lot more cooking. Some of the things I’ve made for dinner were taco seasoned ground beef on a bed of lettuce with guacamole and plantains, roasted chicken legs and vegetables with a side of mashed potatoes, hashwet ruz and salad. I’ve made msakhan and shawerma (recipes coming soon). I bought a big pack of ground turkey and made, what I like to call, loaded burger explosions which are turkey burgers topped with a sunny-side up egg, guacamole and a side of sweet potato fries. It was so good, I made it for dinner the next day with leftover guacamole and I made potato wedges and ranch dressing. Some nights I decided to just keep it simple and made eggs with some Applegate hotdogs. We also had a lot of roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts.

The highlight of these 20 days has definitely been running outdoors. I workout Monday-Friday and leave Saturday free to do an outdoor activity with my family. When my husband recommended running at the park, I was worried because I have never liked or enjoyed it. When I started running, I felt self-conscious and strange. I felt like everyone was looking at me, even though there was barely anyone out. Mid run, I started feeling great and I was enjoying it. I could barely move the next day and was sore for the next few days but it was well worth it. I’ve been looking forward to running all week!

I’m excited to have a compliant Fourth of July and wedding anniversary dinner. Even though I sometimes have to remind myself that I can’t eat certain foods, I’m looking forward to the next update. I have to remember that I’m 40 days closer to my goal and that alone is a big accomplishment!