Week 2 is in the Books!

Benefits noticed

This week started with a major benefit Sunday morning (and Friday morning), 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! I have been trying to focus on sleep lately, and this was the first night in a long time of 8 hours uninterrupted. Our son is currently not a factor of sleep interruption, but I found myself waking up at least once per night for a long time. Sleep is low hanging fruit when it comes to health benefits, so I certainly plan to keep an eye on this one during the program.

Another benefit is my energy was easily 2x what I felt last week. This could be a combination of detoxing from no grain/sugar/alcohol for a longer period of time, improved sleep, better nutrition, or combination of the above/other factors. My run Friday morning felt so much better and I did not take a walk break, even chugging the gradual incline at the end! I did not hammer the intensity of my weight lifting, but lifts seemed to go up easier and I added volume.

Tip of the Week

My tip for the week is be mindful of how benefits are interrelated and can build off of each other. My example is my diet is cleaner, my sleep is improving, and I’m having more energy. More energy leads to better quality exercise, more productivity at work, more focus on family fun. Thinking in reverse, if you neglect your sleep, your energy will be lower, less quality exercise, and you’ll be more likely to crave junk and start snacking… food for thought.

Let’s Talk About It [Video]

Challenges this week

I did not experience any environmental challenges or food cravings this week, and I learned very well from slight challenges in food prep last week. As I continue the whole 30, I am looking forward to challenges of things like beach days, where typically some non-compliant food and drink is part of the experience. For now, I will continue to embrace the compliance and success!

Meals

Sunday

Morning: Coffee, Water, Green Tea

Around 11 am: Bowl of Coleslaw with cabbage, carrot, onion, garlic, bacon, dressing with avocado mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard powder, salt and pepper; a bowl of sauerkraut with green powder and pumpkin seed; a few handfuls of mixed nuts

Around 5 pm: Roasted salmon with avocado and cherry tomato, side of Brussels sprouts with bacon.

Monday

Morning: Coffee, Water, Green Tea

Around 12 noon: Coleslaw (leftover) with cherry tomatoes and a fried egg, sauerkraut with green powder and pumpkin seeds, sea weed snack, 2 spoons nut butter.

Around 4:30 pm: 1 can smoked Herring (around 3 oz.), seaweed snack

Tuesday

Morning: Coffee, Water, Green Tea

Around 11 am: Meal size salad with lettuce, cherry tomato, olives, pickles, sardines, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper; bowl of soup with onion, pepper, cauliflower rice, carrot, celery, diced tomato cilantro, in chicken bone broth.

Around 4:30 pm: 3 Handfuls of mixed nuts, 1 handful of Almonds.

Wednesday

Morning: Coffee, Water, Green Tea

Around 12 noon: Meal size salad with lettuce, cherry tomato, onions olives, pickles, smoked herring, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Around 4:30 pm: bowl of soup with onion, pepper, cauliflower rice, carrot, celery, diced tomato cilantro, in chicken bone broth; seaweed snack

Thursday

Morning: Coffee, Water, Green Tea

Around 12:30 pm: bowl of soup with onion, pepper, cauliflower rice, carrot, celery, diced tomato cilantro, in chicken bone broth; 3 handfuls of Almonds, 2 spoons of nut butter.

Canned salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper, chopped garlic; seaweed snack, 2 grass fed beef sticks

Friday

Morning: Coffee, Water, Green Tea

(Spontaneous 24 hour fast)

Around 5 PM: 2 egg omelet with onion, tomatoes, avocado, sides of cherry tomatoes (marinated with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper), olives, avocado, 3 handfuls of mixed nuts.

Saturday

Morning: Coffee, water, seltzer

Around 12 noon: Salad with steak, tomato, avocado, lettuce, hard boiled egg.

Around 5 PM: Dinner TBA.

Favorite Meal of Week 2

Coleslaw! Featuring green cabbage, carrot, scallions, garlic, red onion, bacon, and dressing made with avocado mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard powder, salt and pepper. 100% compliant and delicious!

Overall I incorporated some different foods, meals, and food combinations this week. I have noticed that I tend to go to nuts frequently as an add on; I am not sure if this is good or bad, but for me nuts are easy to overeat. As an experiment during this process, I am not going to purchase any more nuts once I run out of the stock in my pantry…I estimate I will have at least a week or 2 on my Whole 30 to report about with no nut consumption.

Exercise

Sunday

Bobby Maximus “death by pushups”, I made it to minute 8 before flaming out, but finished the 20 minutes doing the reps I could at the top of each minute.

Monday

Morning stretch and foam roll, around a 50 minute walk.

Tuesday

Morning stretch and roll

Deadlifts: Work sets- 205×5, 225 x 5,5,4,4,2; ab wheel roller, 6 sets of 6-8 reps; hangs off pull up bar

Wednesday

Morning stretch and roll

Kettlebell pushpress: 35 lbs-10, 10, 8…53 lbs- 3, 3; Total Gym row and curl combo: 5 sets of 10 each; Push ups: 10,10,10, 9; Pull ups: 3,4,4,4

Thursday

Morning stretch and foam roll, around a 50 minute walk.

Friday

Morning stretch and roll, 4.9 mile run (around the same route as last week), no break stops or walks! 55 minutes total. Of note, felt much better this week, nice steady pace.

Saturday

The sun and sand 🙂 Active rest.

Compliance Grade

Drum roll please…I give myself 100% Whole 30 compliance for week 2! I built off the positive momentum from week 1, and made sure I had compliant bacon for any foods that was incorporated in to. I have heard there is a “10 day blues” for Whole 30, I personally have not experienced any of that, and my resolve is strong for 100% compliance for each of the remaining weeks (taking 1 week at a time).

Looking Ahead to Next Week

Next week, I’m excited to continue the positive momentum and look for new benefits. I’m taking a day off of work and planning to play golf for the first time since my son was born. I welcome the shift of having these type of experiences without linking them to unhealthy “treats” or alcohol, which will be a theme as I close out the Whole 30 on Cape Cod the first weekend in August. See you next week!