Sans Pain Pour Le Dîner - Whole 30 Challenge - Day 3

I had my grad school class tonight. On normal days when I'm not eating like a cavewoman, I have either an Amy's frozen burrito or Chipotle right before class. The latter was out of the question because I doubt I'd enjoy a burrito bowl with no rice, beans, or cheese. I chose Au Bon Pain instead and was immediately assaulted by the smell of delicious bread. Obviously, it was everywhere: baguettes and croissants and muffins and every flour-based morning treat you can think of. I walked around, admiring what I couldn't have, but flinched at the calorie counts [Thank you, Mr. Bloomberg]. Even outside of this competition, eating 520 muffin calories is insane. I did linger by the cupcakes, but my class's start time was approaching and I had to make a choice. Salad. Perhaps cavewomen didn't have access to dried cranberries, but they were surprisingly sweet and exactly what I needed after many repeated meals.

Nutrition
I had more beef hash for breakfast, my leftover fish stew for lunch, a handful of almonds and an apple for snack, and a spinach, chicken, walnut and cranberry salad from Au Bon Pain for dinner. I drank a lot of tea today: lemon zinger, french vanilla, and chamomile.

Exercising
If I work out before work, I should earn 4,000 points at a minimum. Since it was an especially long day with my class, I set an alarm earlier than my normally obscenely early wake up time and did this Butt and Thigh Workout. Wall sits are cruel and unusual, but today I earned 4,002 workout points!

Mobilizing
I did my ten minutes of stretching before bed again.

Drinking
2 points!

Lifestyle
I got home at around 8:30, so I would have had to go to sleep about half an hour after walking through the door. It didn't happen.

Beef, it's what for breakfast! - Whole 30 Challenge - Day 2

Variety is going to be the name of this game. I'm tired of frittata. I also made a mediocre beef hash that I ate for breakfast. That felt really odd. Like most people, I think breakfast means eggs, oatmeal, cereal. I need to experiment with more recipes.

For an extra degree of competitiveness, we are now in teams for this challenge. My team captain is a badass that can dead lift more than you. Don't challenge her. You'll be sorry. We have a legit team name that I can't reveal here for legal reasons and we're supporting each other this week by bringing snacks to share at school.

Nutrition
I had that weird beef hash for breakfast, [MORE!] frittata for lunch, strawberries as a snack, and fish stew for dinner. The food made me feel good, but it wasn't the tastiest. The dinner was good, but I know I'll need to make things I really like to be successful. What's for breakfast tomorrow!? Beef? Fish?

Exercising 
I did Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 Week 2. Please watch just so you can see her flirt / sexually harass one of the women.

Mobilizing
Right before bed, I did some hip openers.

Drinking
I don't miss alcohol so far.

Lifestyle
I finally got 8 hours of sleep. I was exhausted just from the routine of being back at work. I also think the stretching immediately before helped.

Feeling like a F***ing Champ - Whole 30 Challenge - Day 1

Right. This is the honeymoon phase. Well, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts because I feel very energetic. So much so, that I got two, count 'em, two short workouts in today. After each meal, I just feel full. I don't feel like taking a nap. I had a packed day and plenty of energy for all of it. I really hope this trend continues.

All of this energy is sans coffee. My wonderful grandmother got me hooked on a light and sweet version early in life. I love a latte, cappuccino, and other milky coffee drinks. I'm not quite sure if a straight cup of it black will be for me, but I haven't missed it since the soft start.

Nutrition

I had a bacon frittata for breakfast again. I was off to lunch with my family and had a grilled chicken breast hiding under a heap of arugula, and shrimp and broccoli for dinner. Mr. Crying Cook had brown rice with his dinner. I had strawberries for dessert and a cup of coconut mango tea.

Exercising

I ran 2.44 miles and used the app Rock My Run for the first time. I liked the mix that included [no judging!] Taylor Swift and Rihanna. I liked listening to the mix better than using Pandora because there's no need to skip or mess with my phone at all during the run.

I also did the 20 Minute Total Body Strength and Cardio Workout because... see the title of this post, son! 

Mobilizing

I stretched for ten minutes immediately after the run. 

Alcohol

None. Easy. Two points. 

Lifestyle

Since last week was just a soft start, our lifestyle goal actually continues to be 8 hours of sleep. I chose Game of Thrones over sleep. No points for me.

Whole 30 Challenge - Day 0

The very smart people I work with started a Whole 30 Challenge last week. We are keeping track of our food, drinking, exercise, and one aspect of our lifestyle every day for a month.  I know just a little about this kind of eating and lifestyle and had a lot of questions for my friends who keep a paleo diet and are devoted to Cross Fit. At first, I was resistant. I work out 5-6 times a week and eat pretty well. The footnote here would give many examples of my serious sugar addiction. SERIOUS.

Sugar is just one of the no-nos when it comes to eating for the next month. In addition to sugar, I'll be staying away from:

• grains
• most starches 
• dairy
• alcohol
• all other sweeteners
• all processed food

We had a 'soft' start a few days ago. I kept eating my baked oatmeal and nonfat Greek yogurt because it was made--not to mention delicious! I've been working out everyday and feeling really strong. No more push ups on my knees! I am really into Fitness Blender. They have more than 300 free full-length workouts. Right now, I'm doing a lot of high intensity interval training and strength training. 

There's another aspect of the challenge called mobilizing. We get two points for stretching for at least ten minutes. This will be a great motivator because I'm guilty of rushing through my post-work out cool down.

Here's how the points work:

• 5 points for nutrition if you stay away from all the no-nos
• 2 points for working out for 10 or more minutes
• 2 points for mobilizing
• 2 points for avoiding all alcohol
• 2 points for the week's lifestyle challenge

This week, our lifestyle challenge was to get 8 hours of sleep. I failed everyday. I get up very early for work and had a very hard time winding down in the evening. This coming week we'll be showing gratitude--pretty great focus.

The points are tallied on a shared Google doc and while the competition aspect is motivating, it's the partnership with my friends at work that will help me make these changes. I'll report each day on how I did and how I'm feeling.

Tomorrow's our official start date, but today I stuck to the rules. Here's the rundown.

Nutrition

I had a bacon frittata for breakfast, sausage with kale and spinach for lunch, blueberries for a snack, and mussels with haricot vert for dinner. I felt so self-important, I didn't even miss the fries! A full two points for me!

Exercising

I did a great Fitness Blender workout called Total Body Toning Strength & HIIT Cardio Workout and a bonus 20 push ups.

Mobilizing

It didn't happen.

Alcohol

Despite going to a bar for a birthday party, I had zero drinks. 

Lifestyle

I did not get 8 hours of sleep. Womp.