Whole30 - week 3

I wasn't sure I'd ever make it to week 3, so it feels kind of crazy to be recapping it! People have been asking if I feel better and...I don't know. Eric doesn't know either. I have seen some changes in my body, which I'll recap at the end. I think being pregnant makes it harder for me to really know though. Like, am I tired because I'm pregnant? Or because my body is still used to relying on sugar for energy? Or because it's hella hard to get enough calories eating this way? Maybe all of the above. I'm not tired all the time so I think it's mostly the pregnancy though. And week 3 was waaaaay better than weeks 1 and 2. I might know better if I'm feeling better AFTER it's over and we reintroduce grains, cheese and sugar, if they makes us feel terrible. I definitely still miss some comfort foods!

Day 15: 

• I accidentally took a drink of Rooney's smoothie, which had non-compliant coconut milk in it (carrrageenan). Oops! It was just one drink though and I didn't notice a difference in how I felt.
• Because I'm pregnant and trying to gain weight, I have to drink a smoothie AND eat an entire cup of cashews every single day to reach my goal caloric intake (2,300 calories). This is really expensive! Here's a good article on keeping on weight during Whole30 for anyone else who is going through this.
• We had such an awesome dinner! I can't seem to get enough beef and was craving a hamburger so Eric googled how to make a Smashburger and then totally replicated it! It was so delicious. The ketchup is from Tessemae's. I think on Day 1 it may have tasted terrible but my palate was totally down with it tonight.

Day 16:

• I'm feeling really ... empowered. Sugar was one of my main food groups before Whole30, and I've now gone more than two weeks without it, something I had never done before and was really scared to do. If I can do it (especially while pregnant), so can you. I don't want to be a food snob and I won't deny that the first two weeks completely sucked, but I feel pretty good right now.

Day 17:

• I had a dream that I went out to eat with my coworkers and didn't remember I was on Whole30 and ate fried foods and soda ... and then felt really guilty :/
• I also had a dream about smoothies and counting calories
• I woke up with a headache, but it didn't last long
• Eric made steak for breakfast! It was such a nice change up. We love our steaks baked. We usually follow this recipe but this time just used ghee.

Day 18:

• Eric wrote a blog post on how much we've spent so far. Spoiler: We're $98 over budget, and only halfway done.

Day 19:

• Getting bored! Sick of smoothies! I did not get all my calories in today. We actually had a discussion about quitting, but we will power through.

Day 20:

• We are 2/3 done!
• I saw a chocolate muffin at the grocery store and wanted it so badly
• We went to a birthday party for Rooney's friend and I really wanted a croissant and chips and cake! Oh, the cake looked so yummy!
• Some days I can picture myself continuing this diet, and sometimes Eric and I talk about how we're going to go back to our old way of eating. So, I don't know for certain what life will look like after the Whole30!
• We took Rooney out for frozen yogurt because she filled up her reward jar and that's what she picked. It was pretty hard to not be able to fill up a bowl for myself.

Day 21:

•  I have stayed up til 1:00 am the past two nights, working on blog stuff, and sleeping only six hours. I've had lots of ideas floating around in my head so so just stay up. Hard to say if this is pregnancy brain a or Whole30 productivity "success."
• Dinner was amazing tonight! Eric grilled organic chicken drummies from Costco! Here is the all-purpose dry rub recipe he used. We will definitely be making them again this later week. Maybe my favorite meal so far!

 Day 22:

• I am such a slow eater! We had steaks tonight and I was still at the table chewing when Roo was done with her bath.
• Eating out at Applebee's (my favorite restaurant!) right now would feel like such a splurge/treat, instead of the "norm" like before. I'm so curious what our diet will look like in a few months.

Day 23:

• Eric is waning! He thinks he wants to quit on Day 28 (Rooney's birthday party). If I was going to quit, it would have been Day 1! I don't want to stop before 30 days now, even though the party might stink (and her actual birthday, too). One thing that's different for me is that I work in an office and am exposed to lots of non-compliant food, but he's not. But, he's also the one doing most of the cooking (we split the dishes), so I can't say that I blame him. I never would have made it this far without him.
• I always used to dip my carrots in ranch veggie dip, and while I thought about making my own using this recipe a week ago (mostly for extra calories), I don't miss it at all now.
• One week left!
• Rooney asked for donuts and muffins this morning for breakfast. She loves scrambled eggs (often wants them for breakfast, lunch and dinner) and sausage, and has even started to like sugar snap peas, when two weeks ago she said she didn't like them! I think we'll go get her some donuts on her birthday next week, but it sounds like she's starting to realize that we don't get those treats very often anymore. I love looking at the #whole30kids or #kidseatingwhole hashtags on Instagram for ideas.
• I feel like I'm getting a little lax on my meals...I realized today at 2:30 pm that I hadn't eaten lunch yet. I also forgot to pack some cashews with me today so I don't have a fat portion to my lunch.
• I ordered two boxes of Girl Scout cookies today :-) 

What I still miss/crave: 

• Scratch Cupcakes
• Home-baked goods (peanut butter crunch bars)
• Spudnutz (donuts we get on vacation)
• A little treat before bed
• Girl Scout cookies
• Going out for ice cream as a family