Week 8

I can't believe I've completed 8 weeks already.  Here's the thing about Whole 30 - you need to plan.  You need to prep ahead of time.  You need some go-to recipes that don't take a ton of time to prep.

My first round of Whole 30, I was spending hours and hours each week prepping and cooking.  It was exhausting!  I had to search and find a whole new set of recipes to use.  All of them were new to me and it took some time to figure out what was worth it and what wasn't.  Now I have a nice little collection of recipes on Pinterest that I go back to over and over again.

I also have some simple methods of cooking veggies that make the process far simpler.  There is nothing better than roasted sweet or regular potatoes - a little olive oil, salt, pepper, broil.  In about 30 minutes, you have the most divine side dish.  My other go-to is just a simple veggie steam.  It keeps so much of the nutrients in the veggies and it works for so many different kinds - broccoli, green beans, artichokes.

I keep lunches simple and take leftover or make some tuna salad - make your own mayonnaise!  It's easy and yummy!  Then I make a version of this casserole that lasts me most of the week for breakfasts.

Whole 30 is doable for a long stretch.  You just can't let your brain win the addiction battle.  I definitely eyeball much of my son's food, like the honey Greek yogurt he had in his lunch today, but I just tell myself it's against the rules.  I'm okay as long as I plan.  It's the times I don't plan that trip me up.  The moral of the story?  Plan, plan, plan!

Week 7

I am soooooo tired.  I have been so exhausted the last two weeks, I couldn't gather my wits to post last week.  Most nights I've been falling asleep on the couch.

I'm kind of caught in a vicious cycle with energy and lack of movement.  We're still in the middle of an epic forest fire.  With back burns and new spots cropping up, the smoke has been horrific.  While I have been mostly symptom free for almost 10 years, my asthma has reared its ugly head.  I find myself wheezing and struggling for air, not to mention dealing with the croupy cough.  The idea of moving too far, inhaling more smoke, and fighting for breath has left me fairly sedentary for the past few weeks.  It's catching up to me.  I think I almost feel worse for lack of movement.  But history has taught me that pushing my limits with my current symptoms will only land me in Urgent Care on a breathing treatment - still one of the most frightening things I've ever experienced.

It all just makes me want to sleep.  That and the late nights I've had the past couple of weeks.

But...my food is still on point.  We actually went to a birthday party last weekend where they served donuts rather than cake.  Ouch.  Donuts are my kryptonite.  Not only did I eat beforehand since I couldn't be sure there would be anything compliant - which there wasn't- I said no to the donut.  They did smell amazing, though.  Mmmm...donuts.

I had a similar experience Sunday at a family event.  I passed up on the fast food everyone else was having and ate when we got home.  It definitely was a winning weekend.  Now my goal is my butt moving.  I just need the darn fire and smoke to stop.

Week 5

I can't tell you how shocked I was to realize yesterday that I have already completed 5 weeks of Whole 30.  While the first week felt rather long, the total length of time feels as if it has flown by.  I know starting back to work has definitely helped with that feeling, but I think it's also due to the fact that the Whole 30 lifestyle is not very foreign to me.

It was a huge help this week that I did a ton of prep work over the weekend.  I didn't have to spend too much energy trying to figure out what I was going to eat each day and that makes the temptation to stray off plan significantly less.

Planning also helped me survive a Labor Day celebration with family and friends.  It was funny.  I got some raised eyebrows for not eating what everyone else was, but nobody said anything.  I was even preparing what I was going to say, but I never had to.

Aside from being exhausted from the start of the school year and trying to figure out how to juggle my own schedule and my son's schedule, it was a pretty uneventful week.  Food was the easy part of the week.  I'm so grateful for that.

Week 4

Good Grief....

Well, needless to say, I fell behind last week.  It was our teacher work week last week and there just weren't enough hours in the day.  I'm currently the outgoing Technology Director AND a full time teacher.  Since we haven't hired a new director yet, it's still me.  So...that meant that last week was all about everyone else.  I had to come in on Saturday just to make my classroom minimally ready for the first day.  That meant dusting and throwing out my trash.  I came home and continued to work.  Then I spent all day Sunday prepping for the rest of the details for the week.

Let me paint a picture of my Sunday.  I spent about three hours working in the morning - lesson plans, setting up Google accounts, trying to figure out our new testing program, etc.  I roasted a whole chicken.  I prepped lunches for my son.  I did ALL the laundry.  I picked out my clothes for the week.  I cooked dinner.  I made chicken stock.  Seriously.  I swear I'm taking no drugs.  I just have that amazing Whole 30 clarity of mind that allowed me to put together a massive to-do list and knock it out of the park.  I haven't felt that accomplished in ages.

Unfortunately, I forgot to blog.  So here we are on Thursday, because despite the extra energy, nobody is infallible.  I'm TIRED.  I've been getting about 6 hours of sleep each night and working my butt off, so I'm wiped.  I'm still playing catch up from my back log last weekend, so it's been just a constant push with little down time.  I literally fell asleep on the couch at 8 p.m. last night.

I apologize for being late, but this week has been even busier than the typical first week of school.  Hopefully, I will make up for lack of sleep this weekend and start next week fresh. :)