My First Whole30: Week 2

Let me just say, starting out week 2 was way harder than I had anticipated. You figure you already have one week behind you.....week 2 should be a breeze! Again, nothing breezy about this week so far. I think this week's challenges have been cravings more than anything. I feel like I've never really stuck with anything past the "when the going gets tough...." phase, so this is something new I'm trying. I'm not going to lie though, I can't stop thinking about the donut. It's ridiculous.

Let's get down to it though:

Monday:
Breakfast: Whole Grapefruit
Morning Snack: Raw Walnuts (prob half a cup or so)
Lunch: Tuna salad on field greens with avocado and cherry tomatoes
Afternoon Snack: Raw nuts with dried fruit
Dinner: I went to Ghengis Grill and got chicken and beef seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne added onions, jalapenos, green and red bell peppers. Ate it with Cabbage

I want a donut.

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Strawberries, blueberries and banana
Morning Snack: baby carrots and guac
Lunch: pulled pork on top of field greens with pico, guac and salsa
Evening snack: Half a banana and raw mixed nuts
Dinner: roasted chicken thighs and roasted broccoli

Seriously. One donut.

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Whole Grapefruit
Morning Snack: Walnuts
Lunch: Tuna salad and half a tomato
Afternoon Snack: frozen grapes
Evening Snack: fruit (strawberries, blueberries)
Dinner: Paleo sloppy Joes (click here for recipe) in baked sweet potatoes - THIS WAS AWESOME!

Here's the deal. I'm hungry a lot. I'm also pregnant. What I'm hungry for, I can't have....so I am stocking up on healthy snacks which is sort of the point here I guess. I think the key to this is just being prepared. As much as I was not looking forward to going into week 2, I made it to the grocery store, packed snacks for the week, planned our dinners and always make sure to bring my lunch. Dan is getting more into it too and has found some really awesome smoothies at the store with nothing un-natural in them (Odwalla is the brand in case you're interested)! I have to admit....water is getting pretty old at this point, so that was a nice change :) Being that we are on Wednesday, I think we may just make it through to week 3. Here's hoping....

Thursday:
Breakfast: Odwalla Smoothie drink and handful of cashews
Morning Snack: walnuts
Lunch: Paleo Sloppy Joes (leftovers)
Afternoon Snack: frozen grapes and cashews 
Evening Snack: Cashews
Dinner: Salmon, roasted squash, sautéed mushrooms  (YUM!)

Ok, I think I am getting this now. There was a box of donuts in the break room this morning. It turns out someone at work is trying to torture me. I didn't have one. They were even the frosted kind. WITH sprinkles. I feel like passing up the things that I want is getting easier. I am still hungry a lot but instead of day dreaming about the chips and cupcakes, my brain is starting to go towards healthy things that I'm allowed to have anyway. Is this my light bulb moment?? Maybe ;) 19 days left and we will see....

Friday:
Breakfast: Grapefruit, handful of mixed nuts and dried fruit
Morning Snack: Celery and Almond butter
Lunch: Paleo Sloppy Joes (seriously, make this and get it in your face ASAP)
Afternoon Snack: frozen grapes
Evening Snack: chicken salad/tomatoes
Dinner: fish tacos (tilapia in lettuce wraps with guac, pico and salsa)

Last night Dan and I were talking during dinner (which was DELICIOUS btw) and the time we have spent on this "diet" so far has been really beneficial for both of us (Dan has lost 11 lbs and I.....well I have not) I didn't realize it until I sat down for the first time last night AT 9 how I wasn't terribly tired. I feel like I am finally starting to reap the benefits of this clean eating! I was telling Dan my "plans" (which is basically just a list of foods I'm going to cram in my face on day 31) for when my 30 days was over and to my surprise, he wants to keep on this path. Now I'm sure we won't have as many restrictions, and I will definitely allow myself an indulgence (donuts...obviously) every once in a while, but turns out, eating healthy does not necessarily mean eating food that tastes bad! Who knew? Now, with the weekend upon us, we shall see what happens....

Saturday:
Breakfast: breakfast casserole A LA Margaret (eggs, sausage, spinach, green peppers, onions - sautee peppers and onions, add spinach until wilted, brown sausage. Add sausage, onions, peppers and spinach to greased casserole dish, pour over 10 (that's what I used at least) beaten eggs. Cook at 325 for 25 minutes. DELISH!
Snack: Odwalla smoothie
Lunch: pulled pork on field greens with pico, guac and salsa
Snack: Strawberry and Banana Smoothie
Dinner: Steak medallions with roasted potatoes and sautéed onions (from Patrizios - it was to die for!)

I was really surprised to discover that while eating out, we were able to stay on plan! Dan even ordered red fish with julienne vegetables. I mean seriously, where did my husband go?! We didn't touch the bread, but we DID have a little wine (it's a personal choice that keeps me sane). That was my cheat for the week.

Sunday:
Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, bacon, sliced tomatoes
Lunch: chicken salad, sliced tomatoes, odwalla smoothie
Snack: strawberries, blueberries and I snacked on the tuna salad I was prepping for the coming week
Dinner: Ribs (there may or may not have been non-compliant bbq sauce on them), roasted potatoes, cole slaw - we had friends over for this dinner so dry ribs were not a choice....we'd like for our friends to come back ;)

So I made it through week 2. I had a couple of slips as far as the wine and the bbq sauce, but I have to admit this is beginning to get easier. Except when I'm really hungry.....because then all I really want is donuts. Still.

I should mention that on Saturday morning I took my kids to Kristin's house for a play date with hers and Deanna's kid. I picked up donuts on the way. Ya'll.....I went INTO a donut shop....and I didn't even have a bite of a donut ya'll.

We made a trip to the grocery store yesterday to prep for the week. I made chicken salad and tuna salad (we are clearly fans of the meat salads), chopped up fruit and divvyed out snacks into bags for the week. This is getting easier. I can make it 2 more weeks. I think you'll notice I'm eating a lot of the same things, but in some of the research I did for this, I read that you need to keep it simple. We try to pick a meat and a veggie for dinner and keep lunches pretty light. Once we get back to just Paleo I'd like to try out some new "sweets" recipes and will definitely be reintroducing coffee to my life. I just wanted to show ya'll one thing though. Check out my fridge.....

I've never been this kind of proud of my fridge before. I can literally tell you the ingredients of everything in it! Because it's all real food....go figure. Anyway, there's my dork moment. I know no one really cares what the inside of my fridge looks like ;) I've only got 2 more posts like this, so if I haven't lost every reader I have, just know that at the end of this lies a doctors appointment with adorable baby boy updates :) I know you're just waiting on the edge of your seat, haha.