It’s been over a week of eating Whole 30 style. I feel like I’ve been eating this way forever…
I miss not thinking about food all the time, I miss having free time that isn’t dedicated to food preparation or shopping, and I miss being able to go out to eat without worrying about whether or not I’ll be able to get something compliant. I also miss feeling full for more than 30 to 60 minutes at a time (I eat until I’m full, but then it never lasts) and I miss having enough energy to run.
But my clothes feel loose, I have enough energy to get by, and it’s definitely true that I don’t feel ups and downs in my energy throughout the day. And I’ve been eating pretty darned well, actually. I’ve been eating and preparing things that I never did before, and that’s been fun.
Homemade marinara sauce with hamburger over spaghetti squash. Which, for the record, does not taste like spaghetti or pasta at all, but is okay for eating a delicious sauce over.
Two eggs over some fried sweet potato hash. This felt pretty decadent, and was one of the most filling meals I’ve had. I’m not entirely convinced that dicing and frying sweet potatoes is what the diet means, so it’s a once in awhile breakfast.
And a entire roast chicken over veggies. No, I did not eat the entire chicken. Yes, I wanted to. I got full pretty quickly, and then as usual…about an hour later had mild hunger which I am just getting used to. I’m ignoring what that might mean because I really don’t feel like I can eat any more at meals. No, I don’t think this diet is sustainable long term for that reason, though perhaps over the next week the somewhat constant dull hunger will start to fade away.
What else have I been up to lately? Well, like I said, mainly food prep 😉 Saturday a big storm was predicted so I took advantage of my day off to…go food shopping. Trader Joe’s was packed but I was able to get quite a few delicious foods there (I live very near a regular grocery store, so Trader Joe’s is a once in awhile trip). Most of the rest of the day was spent preparing and eating food.
Sunday was a bit of a snow day. I was supposed to have a church gig followed by a double opera rehearsal, but my church gig got rescheduled for another day and the second opera rehearsal got canceled due to the weather (which didn’t end up being that bad, but I think for some folks who live further away it was still a wise decision.) I ended up watching some TV (currently working my way through Sons of Anarchy) and going to bed EARLY. Today I did an upper body workout at the gym and soon have teaching.
I’m looking forward to this week. Quartet and opera rehearsals, a workshop on Friday for violin teachers, and then Saturday I have BOOT CAMP at Celebrate Fitness! It should be a good week of eating (ha), practicing, playing violin, and hopefully I can knock off a bunch of items on my to-do list to. And do some running…hopefully…if I feel like I have the energy. Any suggestions for that, people? Last week I felt like if I did too much cardio (i.e. 10 minutes) I would pass out so I was taking it easy. I might have to start ignoring the recommendations for pre workout and start eating more fruit, I’m thinking?
I don’t totally know how whole 30 works, but could you eat more frequently, like adding in a snack or two?
Having looser-fitting clothes is an awesome feeling, but it definitely sucks to not feel like you have energy to do the things you want to do.
According the plan you are supposed to avoid snacking, and eat enough at meals so you don’t feel the need. I really just want to fuel my workouts with fruit, and they specifically say NOT to do that. I don’t buy a lot of the “science” behind the plan, but I definitely like the looser pants thing!
I don’t know much about Whole 30. Is it similar to paleo (which I also don’t know in detail)? Like, you aren’t eating breads, pastas, grains, etc?
Pretty sure I could do that for about 27 seconds. At least I keep it mostly healthy with homemade bread, brown rice and wheat pasta. I have been wanting to try spaghetti squash the way you did simply because I love squash.
Yeah, it’s like a more extreme version of paleo, but you only do it for 30 days. I thought I couldn’t give up those things either, but I find I can, only because I know after this challenge I can eat them again. I love homemade bread the most of just about anything.