Day 16

Tuesday.  Day 16.  More than halfway there.  I don’t even feel like it’s a challenge anymore.  Whole30 has just become a way of life.  I can’t believe I ever ate some of the stuff I used to.  Really, why does mayo need sugar?  That’s ridiculous!  And why do pickles need high fructose corn syrup?  Can’t my pickles just be dill and pickle?

Anyway, woke up with cramps in BOTH legs in the middle of the night…I’m done with this so I’m planning on eating a banana or two, yes, I said two, a day until they go away.  Can’t continue to wake up in agony, trying not to scream bloody murder at 2:30am. 

Though I am feeling better emotionally today, I can tell the toll that stress and grief took on my body.  My goal today is to eat well, sleep and pray.  Was up early because my boss needed me at 6:30 this morning instead of my usual 7am, but still was able to spend some time in prayer and read from the Bible before heading to work.

Breakfast: Hash (my first meal from the batch I made this weekend) with a few handfuls of spinach and topped with two eggs.  A side of fruit salad and a sliced banana.

Workout: Cardio Circuit.  It’s not that it’s so hard anymore, it’s just that my body is so tired.  I had my chiro work on my shoulder again as I’ve been feeling some pain/weakness when attempting certain moves (especially tricep dips) and asked her about the calf cramping.  She’s as stumped as I am…I seem to be doing everything to avoid cramps but alas, they seem to be happy waking me up each night.

Crumpled on the couch after Insanity

PWM: Well, I was at the dentist just prior to my workout so my entire mouth is numb.  They repaired an old filling on my bottom right wisdom tooth and sealed a tooth on the upper left side…up, that’s a complete mouth numbing experience.  The dentist warned me not to chew anything before my mouth returned to normal as I’d most likely bite my tongue or chew on the inside of my cheek without realizing.  So, a liquid diet for now…a carroty chop veggie pouch and a banana which I mashed as I put each bite into my mouth.  I’m not gonna lie, I’m hungry but I know it’s not worth tearing up the inside of my mouth. 

Lunch: I’m eating an incredibly late lunch today.  Like, it’s 2:15 and I’m just sitting down.  The exhaustion is setting in…from not resting well this weekend, plus the emotions of yesterday and the continued sadness over Mitch still up on the mountain and the weather not allowing rescuers to look for him.  I took a nap and figured that was probably a good thing since I couldn’t eat earlier anyway.  It took a really long time for my mouth to wake up from its deep slumber.  Also some pain is setting in at the injection sites…makes chewing a little slow going.  I made a nice big salad with spring mix, cucumbers, yellow peppers, tomato and topped it with two of the mini-chicken bacon burgers I made this weekend.  Added some grilled onions and homemade guac.  A side of mango (it was going to spoil if I let it sit any longer…what’s a girl to do?) to round out the meal.

Snacking: I brought along a tea and some nuts for the afternoon.  I don’t anticipate needing the nuts because I ate such a late lunch, but I also didn’t get much protein either so, they’re there just in case.  And...I ended up snacking on the nuts while the girls swam.  I'm not entirely sure I was actually hungry but I'm also not entirely sure I wasn't.  Gotta be better about this, thats for sure.  Try again tomorrow for the no snacking thing.

Dinner: I’m dining with a good friend tonight who has graciously agreed to take my eating restrictions into consideration as she prepares the meal.  I’m not exactly sure what we’re having but I think its going to be tuna and veggies.  I’m bringing fruit salad along for dessert.  (Yes, I know, too much fruit today…I’m not letting it bother me…) I’ll update with exactly what we ate and a photo when I get home tonight.

Dinner was a delicious tuna steak, asparagus and mixed veggies.  Yum!  And thanks to Cat for accommodating my restrictions!

Thoughts:

Well, I chose not to swim with the girls when I took them for our usual Tuesday swim time.  My right hammy is killing me.  I mean, I think it’s my hammy, but no matter how much I stretch and foam-roll it, relief doesn’t come.  I’m wondering if this has some relation to my midnight cramping.  When I woke up from the nap I could hardly straighten my leg.  After stretching a little there was some improvement but I then spent the next 45 minutes in the car…which as you can imagine did not help at all.

Beyond that, I don’t have any body aches or muscle soreness.  I know I’m still not getting enough sleep and though I’m feeling stronger, the videos are still challenging and exhausting. 

I honestly am scared about May 1.  I don’t trust myself around food anymore.  My controlling side has loved the “freedom” Whole30 has given me to be ultra-controlling in this area of my life and I don’t know how to transition into something less extreme without just totally giving up and reverting to my old ways.  For now, I think my plan (though I haven’t really put too much thought into it) is to stick with W30 indefinitely.  Allowing myself to enjoy something here and there, but not changing how I’m eating when I’m at home or in control of my food.  Why go back to old ways?  I’ve seen and felt so much improvement in the past 2+ weeks, and I can only imagine I will continue to see and feel better the longer I do this…getting all those toxins out of my system has got to take longer than 16 day, 30 even. 

I still have a tiny bit of bloating that I’m hoping dissipates over the next few weeks and though some of my clothes may have a little extra room in them, I don’t know if I’ve really changed all that much.  I’ve heard you start to see change around the 2 week mark…well, here we are, around the 2 week mark.  We’ll see what the next 2 weeks bring.