Whole 30 - Day Two

More omelette looking than yesterdays attempt ... it was delicious, I was starving!

 Started with my morning fruit ... a banana, followed by a 4km walk and then home for breakfast.  I was HUNGRY, which I think is a win because I looked forward to breakfast even if it was full on savoury with no hint of a carb :o)  I used last nights leftover pasta-free chicken bake to fill my omelette this morning.

Lunch came as an inspiration from my sweet mum ... stuffed kumara.  I baked the kumara (sweet potato) whole and then scoped out the insides and mixed the kumara insides with half an avocado, sauteed mushrooms, and ham.  Then poked it all back in the kumara case, salt and peppered in and it was done and looking superb!!  So good and so hungry was I that I forgot to take a photo before devouring it .., oops :o)  I'll definitely be having it again so will take a photo next time.  It was really good and the avo made the mix quite creamy and not dry which was really nice.

Dinner was a quick affair as I was late getting home from the gym and exhausted as I made sure to do lots of moving today ... maybe a little too much as I am knackered which just makes me want to eat popcorn :o(  I sauteed off more mushrooms and the remaining leftover roast beef, added it to the top of a lettuce salad, and diced half an avo on top.  It too was delicious and also got eaten before I remembered the photo.

So by way of gratuitous eye fodder here is the Fitbit breakdown of my active day ... not too bad even if I do say so myself and that included a weights session that never earns you any miles!!

Two Years On

It tasted better than it looks!

Two years on and I only have 6kgs of weight to lose and have decided to do another round of Whole 30 ... but this time do it right as opposed to the Paleo version which allows for sweet treat concoctions like bliss balls, pancakes, coffee creamer, and all the good things in-between!  I didn't realise first time round that making lovely little goodies for breakfast and as sweet treats after dinner wasn't part of the game plan.  So many rules and clearly I missed the most important one :o)

This time it's a little different as I am using Whole 30 to kick start the last effort to rid myself of the remaining kilos and finish this part of the journey so I can move to a maintenance philosophy in the new year ... seems like a superb idea, but as we know reality can be quite different!!  Any ho, join me on my journey as it's bound to be hilarious and have a multitude of ups and downs because that's life in a nutshell for me.  It's perfect timing to start something semi-extreme as here in NZ it's the first day of Spring and as happens so often when I blog about new beginnings it's teeming with rain!  However, that didn't stop me from going out walking this morning as I have been told numerous times and now truly believe I won't melt in the rain ... true story, I have not melted as yet.

So Day 1 was off to a flyer, I had predetermined that while the punks are getting ready for school I would have a piece of fruit, eating a full on meal at 6am doesn't hold any interest for me AT ALL.  I figured once the punks had left for the day, I would go for my usual walk/run and then come home and cook up some form of breakfast each day.  Savoury breakfasts are going to be where I struggle as I have only recently become a morning eater and as yet have not become a morning person ... it's really unlikely this will ever happen. While snacking seems like it's mostly a no-no and I guess the piece of fruit first thing might be seen as a snack, I've decided to go with it as it staves off hunger so I can do my usual morning exercise without force feeding myself.  Good news, this worked well this morning.  Had a banana while putting Pollyanna's hair up and coaxing the knots into a ponytail, I stayed sane during the process and their were no complaints from the head below.  I also managed an hours walk in the rain and came home ready to eat whatever it was I was going to conjure.  Turns out, today was also a good day to start as there was leftover roast beef, kumara, and sauteed veggies in the fridge that were happy to be inserted into an omelette.  The final outcome was less omelette more scrambled egg like but it was nonetheless delicious!!

Lunch was also a roaring success of mussels, lettuce, olives, green capsicum, and avocado ... would have loved a dollop of hummus or relish on top but that's prohibited for the next 30 days!  Dinner was a chicken pasta bake without the pasta, sugar, and a multitude of other things I would normally put in.  Served with a lettuce and avocado side salad, it too hit the spot ... not as much as the freshly chopped pineapple after it though!  So it was a day I got through.  I enjoyed what I ate and sadly grieved for the lack of popcorn and Salted Doritos :o)

The Difference between Paleo and Whole30 ....

... And where I stuffed up!  OK so those following along will know I have been supporting my dear friend Caryn on her Whole30 challenge.  It was a quick entry into this new way of eating and I did a small amount of research before we started two days later.  I was really lucky as Caryn sent me info from the book and some awesome websites to get the low down ... but alas I missed the big intro to Whole30 that discusses that while it is a Paleo styled nutrition program it also has some fundamental differences to what Paleo is all about.  I am thinking the fine print I missed was probably quite important, as Whole30 is not about making changes to your diet so that you can still eat the way you normally do but it's about completely changing the way you see food and getting rid of all the vices you didn't know you had!

YUMMY Bliss Balls ... totally Paleo, but totally NOT Whole30!

For Caryn, I think the vice was dairy!  For me since giving up gluten and dairy six months ago, my new vices are potatoes and sugar.  I thought this food challenge was about finding alternatives to these vices but no I was completely wrong!  The deal is you just give these things up and eat three wholesome gluten, legume, dairy, sugar free meals and that's it ... no making pancakes or blitzing dates up to form yummy bliss balls it's about losing these things for thirty days and not finding a substitute for them even if all the ingredients you make them with are on the acceptable list!  I have just over a week left on Whole30, which we now know I have got completely wrong so I plan to do it again!  

I will finish this Whole30 off and plan to eat Paleo 95% of the time when I'm not doing a Whole30.  For me it's been a BIG learning curve, letting things go and not seeking alternatives is something I haven't done this round.  I'm guessing that I will need to do Whole30 a couple of times a year but for the rest of the time I will enjoy finding healthy alternatives for my taste buds to enjoy ... surely life is about enjoying the food you eat just as it is about making healthy choices!  Just as well I enjoy learning so much as getting this right might take a while :0)

In running news, I'm still running ... even in pouring rain!  I can't deny its hard work, it's really testing me but that's a good thing and I'm sure it will pay off with my first running event on the first of December.

I was literally soaked from my run today!

Week Four ... Better late than NEVER!

I had some company while out walking the other day ... slightly different
experience from exercising in Singapore!

Week four of the running app and its ok, I managed to run it today and not spend the next hour recovering ... whoohoo!  Actually I was talking on the phone for the whole session and it passed by relatively painlessly.  Maybe that's the answer, occupy yourself chatting to someone else and the pain doesn't stand a chance ... Tracy we may need to chat again on Sunday!  While the running progress is slow at least its still going and on the days I am not running I am still walking for ~40 mins.

The change in diet has definitely altered my energy levels the last two weeks and its only now I am starting to feel like they are making a comeback to something comparable to normal.  There is no doubt that the Paleo change is taking a lot of learning and some things I still haven't got quite right.  It might be that i need to redo it or keep it going for longer than the suggested 30 days.  For example, I was sent some free Frooze Balls with my organic groceries this week and oh my gosh they were divine.  It wasn't until I had eaten all five I realised they contained carob and that's on the banned Paleo list ... ooops, if you haven't tried these babies DO!  There are several rookie mistakes I have made like this over the last ten days and it has definitely made me realise how very limiting ... and extremely expensive ... eating this way is.

Having said that eating whole foods is very satisfying and I am really enjoying the flavours of the meals I have made and adapted over the last almost two weeks.  The fact I have spent almost $1000 on food for four since I began isn't a fabulous statistic and something I definitely can't continue to do.  I read a web conversation recently about how its cheaper to eat whole foods than it is to eat takeaways so what's the problem with us all .... yes, probably true but it's not cheaper than eating processed foods and that's where I think we as a nation struggle when trying to make the right health choices.  I spent $8 on organic honey as the sweetener for our salad dressings yesterday ... I could have purchased 3kgs of completely processed, bleached sugar for the same amount :o)  And when feeding two peeps and the adorable husband and there are no grains or starches to fill the stomach, that makes for a lot more protein each and every meal and that extra expense has really added up ... not to mention the bacon bill!

At some stage on this journey I am going to have to find the middle road as this is currently not sustainable.  It does make me wonder though, how do middle New Zealand afford to feed themselves a wholesome, beneficial diet without reverting to spaghetti on toast or two minute noodles that are so cheap and easy to serve to an entire family?  For now I will grow more veggies than I currently do, especially lettuces and tomatoes and hope that helps us through the summer!  

I've entered another race ... this one I will be walking :o)  Not running but
still lapping all those on the couch!

Finally! It was a GREAT run day

happy face, happy dance followed ;o)

Some days are pure gold and today was one of those running days.  Maybe it was the day off yesterday with no exercise that made me run with such enthusiasm and without the concrete legs.  It was so exciting and I knew before I had even finished my first run cycle it was going to go well ... probably because I was still breathing slowly and my brain was functioning without the usual oxygen depletion it works on while I'm out running!  More than likely, however, it was a result of the addition fitness work I have been doing and now its finally paying off, not that I'm impatient or anything ;0)

This week I will tackle Week Four and even if its a grind, get it done and run as best I can.  At the end of the week I'll reevaluate and work out whether I can can carry on or whether another redo will be in order.  No point in looking ahead though as one thing I have learnt over the last month is that every running day is completely different to the next!

In other news the Paleo Whole30 is going pretty well ... I miss the sugar in my now decaf coffee but hopefully by the end of the month I won't miss it as much as I do now!  I am over the first weeks lack lustre energy with the change in eating habits and am feeling much better today.  I was starting to get quite demoralised by the end of last week but things are looking far rosier the last couple of days and I have been branching out and trying lots of recipes from Pinterest ... I just forget to take photos as often its so good I forget to stop eating it :0D.  Below are a couple of the recipes the household have tried and enjoyed with links to their sources.

almond meal pancakes from its time to burn

this is the curried beef recipe from nom nom paleo, clearly mine didn't make
it into a frittata just into lettuce wraps :)

and on Thursday night we had these delicious Paleo Hawaiian Hamburgers,
idea from against all grain but i didn't use the recipe as we didn't have the
right ingredients, however the concept was awesome and so was the version
the peeps and i made!

Feeling Down

It's not me to feel down, I don't do down well but the last couple of days I have been ... well ... deflated. There is really no other way to describe it.  I was more disappointed than I gave myself permission to be about having to redo week three before moving on to week four of the running program.  In that same period of time I have written two blog posts and then got sidetracked and lost both of them as neither saved ... apparently I am also a slow learner this week as well ;0)  As such, I got grumpy with my devices and haven't been able to bring myself to write the posts again until this evening!  I got some great encouragement from my dear friends today and it has spurred me into action and I feel much better about my progress and the adjustments I have made to my running program and eating.

Love the track, so do the peeps!

The peeps and I have been out running and walking using various routes around our local district.  Today we headed back to the Hawkes Bay Sports Park to use the track, probably my favourite place to run as it reminds me of the cool atmosphere at the cca in Bukit Timah.  It was a good session, I ground out my run as opposed to springing along today but done is better than perfect :0) Tomorrow is another day and I am determined to get my smile and enthusiasm back as I'm doing just fine.  Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was my ability to run 5K!

Tonights Paleo Dinner ... Hawaiian Hamburgers!

Last nights dessert, 3/4c of berries, 1/4c of coconut milk, 1 tbsp coconut,
add to a pot and heat ....

Thank you for this recipe Caryn, its divine at the end of the day!

Back to Week Three

The Support Crew!

The running was really hard for me beginning of Week Four.  I managed to get through it but only just and I felt shattered afterwards and like it was a step too far.  So for today's run I went back to Week 3 Day 3 and think I will do this run for the remainder of this week.  I don't want the running to be so hard that it makes me not want to go out and do it.  I would rather get to the destination later and enjoy the journey getting there!  Thankfully I have enough time up my sleeve to afford this luxury before the 1 December race date.  Took the peeps out with me today.  They have until March 2014 before their first race.  It's probably just as well as Ben spends the majority of his session dancing his way up and down the street enjoying his tunes not running!  Polly needs new orthotics so her running has been downgraded to walking until we get her fitted for new ones.  Running will happen for all of us eventually :0)

To help ease the running not only have I taken the Paleo Whole30 challenge, I have also added walking into my life to increase my fitness levels ... I'm going with the no stone unturned theory :0) The walking is really enjoyable as I spend the whole time on my phone chatting to my dear friend in Auckland who goes out walking at the same time. We are slightly nuts but we have always encouraged each other with regards to fitness and it gets us both out there and enjoying it!

Short and sweet for today, tomorrow I'll be testing out some Paleo recipes I have found on Pinterest ... let you know how it goes!

Todays Paleo lunch ... not bad, not bad at all!