Continuing the summary of my Whole30 from here...days 11-22!
Day 11 (1/13): I'm realizing quickly how much easier it's become for me to skip coffee in the morning. My a.m. coffee was always my 100% vice...after cutting out "designer" coffee cold-turkey last year, I thought I'd never be able to survive without my daily Keurig brew or 99 cent cup from the company Quick Stop. Instead, I'm pounding through several cups of herbal tea every day, and I'm noticing the benefits of increased water intake daily in clearer skin and dramatically reduced bloat. Favorite blends so far: Be Well Red Tea's Get Lost, Get Clean, and Get Matcha, Celestial Seasoning's Honey Vanilla Chamomile, Caribou Coffee's Mint Verbena, and Cuppa Cake's Red Velvet.
Day 13 (1/15): Food boredom is very much a thing, I'm finding - and I have a terrible habit of making giant batches of recipes and then eating them til I'm sick of them. It's hard to cook for one person, but I'm kind of forced to do so...so I've been relying on the excessive amount of Lunds/Byerly's salad bar takeout containers to portion out single servings of recipes. They're the perfect size for a meal, they are so easy to grab and go with every day, and they're perfect to throw things in the freezer. Lifesavers.
Day 14 (1/16): Wearing a dress to work today that barely zipped in November/December...and it's roomy everywhere but the bust (ugh, story of my life). Such a great feeling - although it's got me dying to jump on the scale, and that's a strict Whole30 no-no...ugh!
Day 16 (1/18): For the first time, I made a recipe that was a total meh fail...and unfortunately made a lot of it. I'm going to suck it up and deal, but needless to say I'm not pleased. On the bright side, I have the most gorgeous honeydew from Lund's cut up and waiting in my fridge...it's so freaking good.
Day 18 (1/20): I went to The Lumineers' concert with Hannah last night and had a really hard time with the fact that I couldn't grab a beer with her or hit up happy hour before the show. I don't know why that was psychologically so irritating...it felt like I was compromising on having a fun night because of the program, and that annoyed me. On the flip side, I'm really realizing how much my social life centers around drinking...like, too much...and thinking about other ways to socialize with people instead. Can't wait for the weather to turn so I can add lake walks and sunrise yoga back into my life!
Day 20 (1/22): Workouts have been so much better lately, and I don't know if that's Whole30 or just the fact that I'm finally in a better, more consistent routine. I've been hitting the company gym almost daily, which is great, and I'm doing yoga several times a week. Gotta love feeling bendier...not to mention how much fun it's been to get my old competitive side out trying to beat yesterday's mileage in the gym every day.
Day 21 (1/23): Did legit three hours of meal prep after work during The Bachelor (omg, this season is such a shit-show!). I made more Whole30 pesto (addicted), cooked up a ton of spaghetti squash to mix into everything, and made my favorite breakfast casserole again...can't wait to have it portioned out and ready to go every morning.
Day 22 (1/24): Today was our Q4 earnings release at work, and we always celebrate with a huge department brunch. Everyone brings something in to potluck it up, and the offerings are anything BUT Whole30-compliant. We're talking, I kid you not, a woman who brings in 20 Egg McMuffins (and two men brought cookies this time). I contributed a cut fruit platter (oooh exciting [NOT]) and ate my breakfast casserole instead of the pastries, cookies, and Sausage McBiscuit things...slightly antisocial, but eh whatever.
How am I feeling? Generally pretty good! Like I said, I'm finding my clothes fit a lot better...and I wore a dress to the opera on Saturday that I would NEVER have worn a few months/even weeks ago...which is a really nice feeling. That said, I don't know if that's entirely Whole30, or just that I've been working out like a maniac (probably some combination of both).
I'm sleeping better than I have in a really long time, which is huge for me...I'm used to being up a couple times a night and sleeping very lightly. Additionally, I've only had one migraine this month, which is really rare. Finally, the whole process of shopping and cooking has started to become less stressful...while I still find myself freaking a little over the expense of it all, it's much cheaper than my takeout/eating out addiction, and I'm gaining a ton of kitchen skillz that are kind of fun to have in my arsenal.
Home stretch! Be back with a final report next week.