Whole30 day 3 & 4 recap...still going

I'm not going to lie to ya'll...I was a little depressed yesterday and didn't feel up to blogging. The pain in my knee is finally easing off a bit today. I didn't do any workout the last couple of days because I knew that if I went to the gym even if I was doing an upper body workout, I would be pissed off. You have to know when to take a break and there is no better time than when you are in real pain.

Work has been crazy this week since I was on vacation for the last two weeks, combine that with knee pain, and headaches from cutting sugars out again and I have not been the happiest of campers. I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend.

Day 3
Breakfast: Deviled eggs, sweet potato hash, roasted brussel sprouts
Lunch: Chicken breast w/ marinara, steamed broccoli, cherries
Dinner: 3 egg fritata w/ spinach, peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and coconut milk

Day 4
Breakfast: pizza casserole
Lunch: Chicken breast with marinara, boiled potatoes and green beans
Dinner: Meatballs and 1/2 of a baked potato with beef mushroom gravy, and steamed broccoli

Whole30 day 3...a tough blow to my momentum

This has been one of the single worst days for me...not even whole30 related. I hurt my "good" knee yesterday (good knee because it has only had one surgery as opposed to my bad knee which has had 8!) I felt okay during my workout, but when I was walking down stairs on my way out of work, a sharp pain went thru my knee and it buckled on me. I iced it last night twice and took Advil, but it remained so painful all night that I couldn't sleep and was still really bad this morning. I have never been in this much pain (even post surgical) and when I went to my doctor, I was told to just take advil and tylonal for a couple weeks until insurance will approve an MRI. I feel like I might cut my leg off myself by that point, but I have no choice. (to make it more ironic, I work for the insurance company...lol) So between the pain and last minute appointment I didn't feel like eating much breakfast and didn't have time to eat all my lunch. Now it is an hour till dinner and I am starving, lightheaded, in pain that is keeping tears in my eyes... but you know what?!?!?!?!
I AM REMAINING COMPLIANT!!! Life is not perfect and will never be perfect, but my health is more important that a bad day!

Pizza casserole and fresh cherries

Scrambled eggs, sweet potato hash and 1/2 a cucumber.

So...Day 2 recap

Chicken baked with marinara sauce, potatoes boiled with green beans, and roasted brussel sprouts

 Day 2 workout: 20 min. on the elliptical, leg press, hamstring curls, lat pull down, and seated rows.

Whole30 Day 1 recap...breaking habits again

Well...Day 2 of my second whole30 is winding down now. Yesterday went smoothly as I knew it would, but I came to a realization late in the day. I realized that the snacking habit that I had broken during my first whole30 had come back in my life during my two weeks on vacation. I didn't eat unhealthy snacks, but they were still mindless calories. So...that is my struggle again this time.

I went to the gym this afternoon for my workout and I am excited because I can feel myself getting stronger again with every workout. I am taking it slow, because, as I mentioned before, I will spend the rest of my life recovering from the damage I did to my body during my younger and more athletic days. That is okay though. Instead of increasing my weights each week and doing 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps with a higher rep each set, I will be staying at 3 sets of 12 reps all at the same weight and not increasing until it becomes ridiculously easy. Just as with everything in life, the ability to adapt and change is the key to survival!



Day 1 recap

Breakfast:
2 eggs scrambled
3 pieces of compliant bacon
1/2 of a cucumber sliced
fresh cherries

Lunch:
Taco salad with seasoned ground beef, spring greens, spinach, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, salsa, guacamole, and a sprinkle of lime juice

Dinner:
Steak grilled with Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning
Boiled red potatoes with green beans (both from the farmer's market)
Watermelon

Workout:
30 min. of yoga
2 hours of yardwork ;-)

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Whole30 Round 2 Begins!!

Since my first whole30 ended at the beginning of June, I have started working out almost daily at my company's gym and have tried to keep eating as healthy as possible. I have lost another 6 lbs and another inch off of my thighs and while that is great, I know I could be doing better for myself. So today I started another round with a vow to not only eat right for the next 30 days, but to also exercise which is something I didn't really do during my first round.

So, this morning I kicked off day one and did a lot of of cooking during my Sunday food prep time.

Whole30- LAST DAY!!!

Finally! Today is my last official day! I am excited and saddened at the same time. I really am not interested in reintroducing some things to my diet, but I know I need to do the reintroduction just so I know what the effects are of certain foods I may eat (or may not be able to avoid). So...I will do the introduction but then I am going to go back to how I'm eating. I am planning on staying paleo and mostly whole30 from now on. I'm going to work for a 90/10 balance.

I am starting to feel like myself after being sooo sick for the first few days this week. Yesterday I went walking for the first time after three days of barely moving. I managed to get 6 miles done without feeling too bad, although I am a little dehydrated still.

Stay tuned for before and after pics, measurements, and weights.

Yesterday's recap:

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs
Bacon
Steamed broccoli

Lunch:
Chicken soup

Dinner:
Tuna salad w/ olive oil mayo and
fresh spinach leaves

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Whole30 day 16: Weekend recap and another eating out on Whole30 adventure!

Good morning! I finally discovered Tazo's Passion Iced Tea bags yesterday....sooo yummy!!!! It will

be a great sugar free drink for me to enjoy this summer! This was an eventful weekend for me. Saturday I celebrated my son's 12th birthday. We went to almost every sporting goods store within 3 counties of us and then had lunch at Chipotle. I found out by reading numerous other blogs that a salad with carniats at Chipotle was safe for Whole30. It was so yummy and nice to know that there is another restaurant that I can eat at and still make great food choices!

I had my parents over for dinner last night. Stuffed peppers, salad with home made balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and a dessert of berries topped with coconut cream and toasted coconut was all a big hit. Cooking such awesomely flavorful dishes are a great way to win your family over on the Whole30 adventure.

The highlights of my Whole30 food this weekend!

I took another set of pictures yesterday (day 15 for me) and am so amazed at the changes I see! I have decided to step up my activity level for the rest of the program. No...I am not becoming an admirable crossfitter...I'm just going to start adding in more strength and resistance training in to my daily routine of walking.

Have a great day folks!!

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Overcoming trials

The 5k I was training for was this past Saturday and as of race time I was sitting at home on my couch watching something on Netflix. I had surgery on my "good" knee four weeks ago, but my doctor, who knows how I tend to push myself, said I was forbidden to even walk in the 5k. I know that my doctor knows best, but it was hard to not go. I am finding myself increasingly discouraged by my body which seems to be increasingly rebellious against me. Rehab for my knee started off really well and I was weeks ahead of the protocol and then I hit the wall. A wall not caused by my recently operated on "good" knee, but rather a wall of limitations that are the result of my "bad" knee. My right knee which has been operated on 8 times is still so bad that the pain and grinding of that knee is negatively impacting the rehab of my left knee which has the "potential to be a perfect knee" to quote my doctor. My physical therapists are trying to get creative with my rehab and are going to talk to my doctor about my setback. I'll speak with my doctor tomorrow and I admit that I am nervous about my prospects.

In the mean time, I am still focusing on my eating. I have discovered the amazing world of freezer meals! I have tried out many new recipes that can be made ahead and then frozen and also several crock pot recipes. I have a severe yeast allergy which means that I shouldn't have preservatives and processed foods and for that reason I have to do a lot of cooking. Learning about freezing meals has greatly helped. Sometimes I choose one day of the weekend and cook a lot of meals to freeze. Other times I double a recipe that I am making for dinner so that I can freeze a portion for another. Look for me on Pintrest!

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Sidelined for injury but not out of the game

So I definitely have something wrong with the cartilage in my left knee and had an MRI last Friday. I see my doctor again on Sept. 11, so to prevent from making the injury worse before I know what I am dealing with I remain taking it easy with my workouts. I may be sidelined for the injury, but I refuse to let it pull me from the game. I remain committed to the promise I made myself to live a healthy lifestyle. So here is what I have been doing for the last two weeks... I have been walking when I am able to do so with out much pain. I have been doing more yoga concentrating on stretching and working on strengthening my core muscles.

The big thing that I have been doing though is focusing on what I am putting in to my body. When sidelined by an injury it is easy to get depressed and reach for the comfort foods that I have found really fuel my yeast allergy and in turn causes instant weight gain and more depression. I have really focused on clean eating. I've spent the past few days researching freezer meals and am looking forward to cooking on Saturday to stock my freezer with a month's worth of healthy meals. My decision to try this came from Monday night. We went to the zoo on Monday and after 5 hours of walking and an hour drive home, I was tired and not looking forward to cooking. I did cook however and realized that I need to come up with a plan for meals on nights like that so I am not tempted to eat out. So, I have my shopping list ready and my recipes printed out and Saturday will be my cooking day and if everything goes as planned, I should have 6 dishes that will make 12 meals ready to go in less than two hours.

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Learning to listen to my body

After years of athletic training and almost a dozen surgeries, I have finally learned to listen to my body. Saturday's first attempt at running was painful. I know the difference between soreness, caused by micro-tears in the muscle fibers that as they repair helps make the muscle stronger, and pain. My knees have been hurting a lot following my run so I decided to back off. I rested for two days taking time to ice my knees and taking Advil. Last night I walked 2 miles and lightly jogged a few staggered minutes. My knees are not as painful and stiff today, so I think I am on the right track. I made an appointment with my surgeon to have her take a look at my "good" knee. I call it my good knee because while it is bad, I haven't had surgery on it yet. I want to make sure I am not doing irreparable damage and what she says will be the difference between trying to run my first 5k in October versus walking the 5k.

My quest to get healthy has been full of ups and downs. I have lost 50 lbs in the last year and a half which is awesome, but I still find myself getting discouraged by set backs like knee pain. Maybe I need to listen harder to what my body is saying. Maybe it isn't really saying, "I am in pain. Slow down." Maybe my body is really saying, "I just can't keep taking the same abuse anymore!" I think during the course of this blog that I have decided walking the 5k isn't such a bad thing. I'm going to have to change the way I look at exercise and realize the philosophies of "No pain, No gain" and "Go hard or go home" just aren't working for me. I saw a sign up the road from where I live advertising a yoga class. Maybe it is time I take a different path to get to where I want to be.

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah