Benefits Noted This Week

I feel a little bit leaner and lighter this week, compared to when I started the Whole 30. I am going to be interested to note any changes I see on the scale and in the mirror at the end of the program. I’m especially interested because I have not been counting calories or macro-nutrient ratios, really just trying to listen to my body and eat when I need to/how much I need to.

Another benefit I have been noticing this week is continued mental clarity and sharpness. I have been using this additional mental space and focus to zone in on areas of personal development, such as my health and our household finances.

Whole 30 vacation benefit noted was I stay much better hydrated on a booze free vacation, my go to ⛱ drink was ice water with lemon 🍋, yum!

Challenges This Week

Going on a 2 day vacation was a challenge and a test; it asked the question, am I really serious about doing a Whole 30? I knew this beach trip was coming, and consciously made the decision not to change my Whole 30 timeline to adjust for the trip. Why? I have done things like that in the past, and I found through experience that if you are serious about making a lifestyle change, you need to fully commit.

“Its the holidays, its vacation, its my birthday, I’ll start next week”…at some point you need to drop these excuses, decide whether or not you are serious about something and commit. I am committed, but I still recognize this as a challenge and shift in my previous way of thinking.

Tip of the Week

Be involved in your food prep! Make sure that you do have some aspect of responsibility for preparing your meals, and picking the ingredients. Even if you are not the primary cook in your house, I promise you will have more success on Whole 30 or any program if you help shop for ingredients, and prep the food you will eat. I have found myself more engaged in the process the more I helped chose ingredients, prep food, and think of ideas for meals myself.

Lets Talk About It [Video]

Meals

Sunday

Morning, coffee, water, green tea with herbs.

Around 11 am: Coffee with MTC oil, 2 spoons of nut butter.

Around 2:30 pm: Bowl of Creamy Taco soup with green powder, avocado mayo, pumpkin seeds added.

Evening: Herbal tea.

Monday

Morning, coffee, water, green tea.

Around 11 am: Spicy Coleslaw, topped with avocado and hot sauce. This week, Spicy Coleslaw has: Broccoli slaw mix, scallions, garlic, local hot pepper, bacon; dressing with avocado mayo, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, sriracha sauce, salt and pepper.

*Of note: Sriracha lists sugar as an ingredient, but there is not enough to register any added sugar, or calories in a serving. Questionable perhaps, but I am allowing for myself.

Around 4:30 pm: Bowl of Chipotle Beef and Cauliflower soup, 3 handfuls of almonds, seaweed snack

Tuesday

Morning, coffee, water, green tea.

Around 12 noon: Salad with lettuce, greens powder, tomato, garlic, basil, avocado, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper, spice coleslaw on the bottom of the bowl; sea weed snack.

Around 4:30 pm: Bowl of Chipotle Beef and Cauliflower soup, 2 handfuls of pumpkin seeds, 2 spoons nut butter, seaweed snack.

Wednesday

Morning, coffee, water, green tea.

Around 12 noon: Salad with Lettuce, Tomato, Garlic, Basil, Avocado, Pickles, base of Spicy Coleslaw, Greens powder, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper; 1 can smoked Herring, seaweed snack.

Around 4:30 pm: Bowl of Chipotle Beef and Cauliflower soup; 2 beef sticks; seaweed snack.

Thursday

Morning, coffee, water, green tea.

Around 10 am-Second cup of coffee (seeing if I can extend my fasting).

Around 3 pm: Salad with lettuce, tomato, garlic, basil, greens powder, pickles, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper, based of spicy coleslaw, topped with sardines; seaweed snack, 3 spoons of nut butter, 2 beef sticks.

Evening: Herbal tea.

Friday

Morning: Coffee, water.

Around 11 am: Green tea with a spoon of coconut oil.

Around 4:30 pm: Salad with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, green powder, garlic, basil, dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper; bowl of Chipotle Beef and Cauliflower soup.

Saturday

Morning: Coffee, water, Iced coffee with MTC oil.

Around 12 noon: Salad with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots 🥕, lobster, shrimp, chicken, bacon, dressed with oil and vinegar; piece of roasted salmon.

Around 5 pm: Turkey pepperoni, Air dried Kale chips, coconut 🥥 milk.

Sunday

Morning, green tea, ice coffee, water.

Around 11 am: Lobster Eggs Benedict. This is slightly out of compliance with the butter in hollandaise sauce, but overall a great treat!

Around 1 pm: Crunchy broccoli 🥦 snack, 2 meat sticks.

Around 4 pm: Iced Coconut 🥥 milk.

Around 6 pm: Lobster 🦞 no roll, coleslaw, beef liver and onions.

Favorite Meal of The Week

Even though this dish was slightly out of compliance because of the butter in the hollondaise sauce, it tasted good and was a great way to get in more lobster options on vacation! I took the dish off the English muffins to avoid grain, and ended up skipping the potatoes as well.

Exercise

Sunday

Bobby Maximus “Death by Pushups” workout. Made it to minute 8 on protocol, finished with reps I could for remaining minutes.

Monday

Morning stretch and roll, around 50 minutes walk, 2.5 miles total.

Tuesday

Deadlifts: Work Sets- 205×5, 225×4, 255×2,1,1, 205×5

Ab roll wheel, 6 sets of 6-8 reps; pull up bat hangs

Of note, deadlifts did not progress like last week. My only thought as to why is that my chest and lats felt fatigued and sore, likely holding over from my pushup workout Sunday. Deadlifts are truly a full body exercise, you need all muscle groups working together!

Wednesday

Total Gym Row and Curl combo: 4 sets of 10 each; Double Kettlebell push press: 35 lbs- 4 sets of 10; Pull ups- 4 sets of 5; Push ups- 3 sets of

Thursday

Morning stretch and foam roll; run, same route as last week, 4.9 miles, 53 minutes. If you read my week 3 post, I felt like a slowed down a bit last week, felt fatigued, and needed to take a walk break after the hill towards the end of this running route. Today, I made it up the hill, no walk break needed (no walk breaks during my run) and finished 2 minutes faster! I did feel the general fatigue setting in as I approached the hill, but not muscle fatigue in my legs like I experienced last week. I relaxed my shoulders, slowed my pace slightly, and focused on my breathing as I climbed the hill. I did the same mental inventory as week 3 about reasons I may have felt better this week; the only difference was this week, I got a full, uninterrupted 7 hours of sleep last night. Sleep for the win!

Friday

Mowing the lawn, around 2.5 miles, about an hour total time; walking 9 holes of Golf!

Saturday

Sun and sand, active rest!

Sunday

A morning run with scenic views and salty breeze, more sun and sand!

Whole 30 Vacation Highlights!

We had a mini family vacation to Cape Cod Saturday to Monday, overlapping the end of my whole 30. The whole 30 vacation was fantastic! I set myself up by bringing some of my own food and drinks, and planning what I could order. Really, it was all about the experience, as vacation should be! Wonderful location, and beach time on Cape Cod. View from the room below…

My Compliance Grade this week

I give myself a solid 97%, because the use of Sriracha is questionable based on containing a small amount of sugar (see above, not enough to register on nutrition facts). Additionally, my salad on vacation had some likely non compliant bacon, and the hollandaise sauce had some butter. Overall, I feel great about compliance to the program, especially working in a mini beach vacation!

Finishing Strong-Final Week ahead

I stretched out my week 4 post so I can capture my meals and compliance while on vacation. My final wrap up post will be more reflective and a summary of the overall experience, rather than the day by day meals breakdown. I plan to include before and after stats and photos, summary of tips, favorite meals, and my next challenge you can follow along with. Cheers to the final week!