Whole30 Reset: Day 18

Is it day 18?  It's gone by so fast.  

I am in the timeline stage of 'Tiger Blood' where I am supposed to feel like I GOT THIS.  But honestly it seems like I am still fighting cravings.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am planning the trip coming up and I have to look at pictures of food to see where the eateries are for meals in between driving and what not.  I am doing what I should not be doing, obsessing about good (bad) food.  I need to participate less in conversations that glorify bad foods.  I can't expect people around me to walk on eggshells when it comes to talking about food.  A lot of my friends are 'foodies' though not necessarily health foodies.  I feel strongly about respecting everyone's lifestyle and not comparing your own or trying to make anyone feel like you are better than them, because really, we all balance out somewhere.  I am not 'better' than anyone.  I guess I just need more support and less negative influence.  But you know... I should see it as a challenge.  I should take this opportunity to learn to be stronger when it comes to resisting temptations.  I am resisting them physically but I NEED to resist them mentally too.

I'll be honest, I have an issue with self-control.  It's weird to say that here.  I mean I don't think very many people read these posts anyway so I'm not exactly 'putting it out there' but I do have issues with self-control.  I don't ever 'reward' myself because my habits were to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and that leaves no room for rewards!  Rich foods were part of the daily!  When I say that now it makes me wonder why I thought that was normal.  I believe it is because it is what is readily available.  It is what's pushed in my face from media.  It's everywhere and you can't escape it.  But I CAN TURN IT OFF.  So that is what I am going to do.  I will no longer fantasize about bad food.  I will no longer call it 'good' food.  It is bad food.  And when people talk about desiring it I will just turn it off in my head.  Yes, it tastes good.  But it is not normal to eat it regularly.  It is a treat!  I've never even thought of food as a treat before!  This is such a 1st world problem and I am super embarrassed to have it.  I get angry about that fact that we have so much garbage food pushed on us every day.  Ugh!  Ok.  I am going to stop my rant.  I'm sure you have lost interest in hearing my rage against the machine. lol

Anyways, here are the food choices I made for myself today:

Breakfast - I had my usual, bacon (from Pederson's Farms as they do not use sugar...have I told you that?) and eggs (organic, non-gmo, no steroids, free range) with a handful of organic spinach.  You don't need a picture, do you?  Good, cause I ate it all.

Lunch - I stopped by Chipotle and had the carnitas over a salad with diced tomatoes, guacamole and red salsa.  No beans, no rice, no dressing.

Dinner - For dinner I bought organic skinless chicken thighs, zucchini, potato, onion and mixed lettuce.  I seasoned the chicken with Weber N'Orleans Cajun seasoning and then set the ninja cooker to stove-top hot.  I chopped the potatoes and the zucchini and onions into thick slices and placed them in the ninja cooker with a little olive oil.  I seasoned them with salt, pepper, parsley and garlic powder, mixed them around and then scoot them all to the side.  I placed in the chicken to the right of it and then covered it with the lid.  After about 10 minutes I turned the heat down to medium.  I want to say it was done in about 25 minutes.  I really should have timed it.  The chicken was definitely cooked.  It smelled divine and the taste was as true as the smell.  I definitely need to make that again!

Luckily I had leftovers so I will definitely use those for dinner tomorrow!  :)  I am super sleepy and it is 10:06pm... When did that become the new 2am.  GOODNIGHT WORLD!

Whole30 Reset: Day 16

I really wish I could weigh myself.  I don't like when I cannot see progress.  I know Melissa wants us to separate the number on a scale from what we think is healthy so that we can focus on the habits we are making that will keep us healthy but man... I feel like I can't measure the success!  Though I will say that my clothes are starting to fit a little better.  In fact I think I already told you that. 

I stopped taking photos of breakfast because it was the same thing every day and today was no exception.  Today I had 3 eggs over spring lettuce and 2 pieces of bacon plus my black cup of coffee.

For lunch I came home and used that chicken from last.  I put it in a salad with hard boiled eggs and tomatoes and topped it with Tessamae's Ranch dressing.

For dinner I made a sort of...deconstructed Bacon Burger.  I used the Black Angus Burger Patty from Trader Joe's and cut it up.  On the plate I layered with the mixed spring salad as the base, cherry tomatoes, grilled onions, chopped bacon and finally the chopped beef patty.  I drizzled a little of Tessamae's ketchup all over and put a side of pickles. It was pretty darn good!

For dessert I had a small bowl of watermelon.  I've been lazy with how I write these.  I love to throw some solid comedy in there but lately I feel like I am just dumping what I ate into my entries and running for the hills after.  I lack focus.  I would love to find ways to improve my focus!

I did learn that I will be getting my own office later this year!  Woohoo!  I am very excited for that.  We are going to expand our business from the main floor to both floors so we will officially have the whole house!  (If I haven't told you, I work in a craftsman historic home that was built in 1910)  I mean look at this house, isn't it beautiful!

So yay for that.  Ok, I am tired so I am going to watch youtube til I drop my phone on face and eventually fall asleep.  Goodnight!

BE honest.  You've done it too.

Whole30 Reset: Day 15

DAY 15!!  HALF WAY THERE!

I can't believe how fast this is going!!! Half way there means I am half way to my trip to Disneyland with gal pals and half way to my trip to New Zealand!  Whaaaaat??  I feel really good today.  I went to bed a little earlier than usual yesterday so I woke up well rested.  I made my usual bacon and eggs on a bed of spinach and had an extra cup of coffee this morning.  I do not have lunch prepared but I am thinking I might run down to wholefoods to make a salad.  I have dressing in the fridge here at work so that should do!

I ended up stopping by Trader Joe's and picked up some mixed spring lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado to go packs and prosciutto.  I picked at the prosciutto and made a plain salad with Caeser dressing.  I ate it pretty fast as it was very busy at the office.

The day went by so fast I didn't get ANY pictures of my meals!  Sorry!  What a lame half way there post!  I feel like the closer I get to the end the less enthusiasm I have to enter in these diaries.  But I am going to do it and I am going to finish!  My dinner was ugly looking anyways.  I put some chicken in Matt's BBQ sauce and added a little red hot.  Then made garlic fries just like I did a couple days ago (recipe is in that post... I'll update with which post if your interested in how to make healthy french fries).  It was delicious together but the dish did not look pretty.  I had a little extra chicken so I put it in tupperware and will use it for a salad tomorrow.

Whole30 Reset: Day 14

Today I woke up and made a usual breakfast of eggs and bacon on top of mixed spring lettuce.  And my Sprouts Breakfast Blend coffee.  My clothes are starting to fit a little better.  Yay!  It's so strange to think that with all I eat I am LOSING weight.  It just happens because I am no longer consuming all the sugar and crap in processed foods.  but it is amazing.

I had to run to the post office and a media store on my lunch break but I was able to get home and made a super quick Steak Fajita plate with avocado slices.  It was so easy to make!  I just put on a steak that I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and chili.  I heat up a little less than a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and put the steak in there for 6 minutes each side.  I added sauteed veggies that I purchased from Trader Joe's so that I would not have to chop up all the veggies.  Those bad boys are life savers!

I have a feeling I am just going to eat the leftovers of this when I get home because it was enough for two people so I was able to put some aside for later.  I am happy for that!  NO MORE COOKING! lol... I mean, I love to cook...but man sometimes I just want to go home and sleep.

Whole30 Reset: Day 13

Damion made us breakfast today.  He made scrambled eggs (he added a little almond milk to make them fluffy), bacon and fruit salad (bananas and strawberries).  It was very good and I was so hungry I didn't take a picture of it.  :( 

For lunch I made us Blank Angus Burgers with french fries.  I placed a bed of spring mixed lettuce on the plate, added the burger meat, and topped it with a fried egg.  I chopped up a potato and threw them in the Ninja cooker with a little bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and seasoned them with cayenne, garlic, salt and pepper and threw in some sliced onion with them.  Turned the cooker on medium stovetop heat.  I used a little of Tessamae's ketchup and let me tell you this was the BEST lunch I have made so far!!  I bought an enormous jar of pickles as well so I cut one up to serve on the side.  I definitely have to make this again.

I skipped dinner but that's because I ate watermelon spears and was too full to eat anything else!  I felt emotional today.  I'm not sure what made me feel so sad but poor Damion was on the receiving end of a tantrum I had because I dropped my iced coldbrew from Starbucks.  Honestly I don't deserve him.  He is so incredibly patient with me!  But I did get myself together and felt better near the end of the day.  Every day stress has been getting to me lately.  With all these travel plans coming up I feel the pressure financially to be able to keep up with it all.  I need to find balance in my life in that aspect.  

Why can't we just all have a million dollars each?? I need a stimulus!! :P

Whole30 Reset: Day 12

Spring is here!!!! I read online about the Flower Field in Carlsbad and about lost my shit.  (Pardon my English)  It looked so beautiful, I just HAD TO GO and what better way to take Lucy back home than to stop by this beautiful spot in bloom.  So we decided to do it.  For breakfast, we all had potatoes and eggs with a little spinach.  Pretty much what I have been making every day but with a little more spinach and potatoes.  I forgot to take a picture x.x We also stopped by Dark Horse Coffee where I got a cold brew.

We decided to get the wagon tickets which were only $5 per person.  It was TOTALLY worth it.   Here are a few photos from our day.

 

I didn't have lunch prepped so we stopped by Trader Joe's and I ate some weird combo stuff. lol  I had prosciutto, manzilla olives, and watermelon spears.  I ordered a hot coffee for the trip to Whittier and headed off.  We dropped Lucy off and I was able to see my sisters Amara and Nicole and my wonderful nephews <3  It made my day.  I wish I could have stayed but we had evening plans.  We caught so much traffic back that we were late. x.x  

For dinner, I had the chicken leftovers and we ate a LOT of strawberries (we bought them from the flower field!).  That was my Saturday.  I can't wait to go back to that flower garden!

Whole30 Reset Day 11

Today I had the day off work.  I did a terrible job staying on top of taking pictures for the purpose of this blog.  I was using Snapchat a lot though!  I wanted to take Lucy to Better Buzz so she could try the Better Breakfast Sandwich (AKA Best breakfast sandwich in the WORLD) so I made myself breakfast while they were sleeping.  I wake up really early.  So I made my usual and had a cup of coffee.

After breakfast we all got ready and headed to Better Buzz in Hillcrest.  I ordered a cold brew and drank it black.  It's SO YUMMY!  Best cold brew I have had.  Honestly I am in love with this place.  Lucy LOVED the Better Breakfast sandwich (as I expected) and Damion had one as well.  I sat there like a good girl and sipped my cold brew completely satisfied.  :D

Lucy and I dropped Damion off at home and we went out gallivanting (we went to Marukai and Tokyo Central & Main) and a couple other random stops.  We were pretty hungry by lunch time so we went to a few groceries stores to get things we needed to make drumsticks 3 ways.  We did buffalo style using red hot, bbq style using Tessame's Matt's BBQ sauce and then we did a Lemon Pepper wing using a Primal Kitchen marinade, lemons and some spices.  They turned out delicious!!  We also had a side plate of veggies and used Tessamae's Ranch Dressing for dipping. 

We painted in the evening... I think I skipped a meal without realizing it.  I know I had a Chomp beef stick somewhere in there to hold me over but I do need to stop letting that happen.  Skipping a meal makes you hungrier which leads to over eating and I know my body metabolizes differently when I skip meals.  Anyways, it was a fun day.   <3