I made it past the halfway point of the Whole30! Day 15 came and went without a hitch – I’m kind of amazed at how easy it’s become for me to order Whole30 food at restaurants, prepare Whole30 food at home, and force myself to get some quality shut-eye every single night (without a glass of wine to help me do it). That being said, I am looking forward to Thursday next week, when my Whole30 experiment will end.
Before I go any further, let me help you with what might seem to be a slight miscalculation on my part: I am, indeed, ending my Whole30 slightly earlier than the recommended 30 days. If you remember back to the beginning of this nutritional re-set, I began the Whole30 after a full week of nothing but Paleo eating. It being the holidays, I allowed myself dark chocolate, a few glasses of wine, and a ladle of my dad’s deliciously infamous biscuits and gravy (minus the biscuits). I committed myself to being as cheat-free as possible, without missing out on culturally and familially significant eating (and drinking) experiences. Plus, it was ridiculously busy at work and I knew I was going to need to rely on a number of meal replacement shakes to make it through each 12-hour shift. When I switched to Whole30, I went (and have remained nearly) cheat-free with a very clear end-date in sight: January 17, when I hop on a jet plane and fly to Washington D.C. to celebrate my best friend’s 30th birthday AND the re-inauguration of my homie Barack. By January 17, I will have been Whole30 or nearly 100% Paleo for exactly 30 days.
I have done Whole30′s in the past and gone full-tilt all month, as I have with sugar detoxes and Paleo re-sets. I know my food sensitivities (GLUTEN, sugar, and overly processed dairy) and I definitely know my weaknesses (chocolate and wine). But, the thing is, I also know how to do a holiday right – and dieting or holding fast to a strict nutritional program just isn’t going to work for my first real holiday in two years (particularly one celebrating a 30TH BIRTHDAY). Despite the upset stomach and severe bloating that awaits me, I already know that next week’s trip is going to be the best thing I’ve done for myself in a long time.
Now… back to our regularly scheduled program. One week left in the Whole30 and I feel really good. I’m cued into what my body needs (right now: lots of time on the foam roller, naps, and a ton of protein) and what it doesn’t (right now: to be wearing high heels, work, ice cream). I’ve been spending a ton of time working on personal projects and am super excited about what is coming up for my nutritional practice in the coming months. I’m no longer moody or emotionally volatile (thank goodness) and, despite how bright the light at the end of the tunnel looks right now, I haven’t been tempted to try anything with chocolate in it in 16 days. BOOM.
Sleep
7 hours, plus an hour long nap after CrossFit. I was really tired this morning… so I went back to bed. Sometimes, working at night is a really lovely thing.
Activity
I pushed off yesterday’s sprint workout to tomorrow so that I could be ready for CrossFit today. I’m glad I did. Today we did chin-ups, which I am mostly terrible at and then a WOD that consisted of 5 rounds of 21 wall-ball shots, 15 burpees, and 9 dumbbell clings… every 5 minutes. It was kind of intense, but I killed it with a total time of 15:40. Also, I was the only one there today. Apparently, everyone else who usually comes slept through their alarms today. I wish I could sleep through an alarm.
Mood
Aside from a bit of sleepiness, I am in a great mood today. 6 DAYS until D.C., 2 DAYS until the Seahawks shred Atlanta, 1 DAY until a really fun engagement party for my friends Holly and Jason, and 40 DAYS until I fly to Bali. So many countdowns. So many good times.
Food
Breakfast: Greek meatballs with sides of warm brussels sprout salad and sweet potato-mushroom gratin
Lunch: White chicken chili
Dinner: Steak sandwich (No butter! No bread!) at El Gaucho
