Part 3 - Day Zero of Whole30 - Practice Day

Well it is now 9:30pm.  We did NOT go shopping tonight, see today's part 2 for weather update - just way too cold to go out.  We are going to have a Friday night date at Whole Foods!  My hubby made a delicious dinner:  shrimp, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, artichoke hearts. It was yummy and our 14yo son enjoyed it as well.

Biggest fear for Day 1:  No Diet Dr. Pepper

For tomorrow I have predetermined some goals (part of the process).

Endurance - My Goal:  
I will stay on the Whole30 program for 30 days, 1 Feb - 2 Mar.

Nutrition - My Goal:  
I will eat breakfast & lunch at least five days a week.

Sleep - My Goal:   
I will be in bed, no electronics, by 10:30pm five nights a week.

Stress Management - My Goal:  
I will take fifteen minutes after work to unwind (maybe knit or read).

Exercise - My Goal:  
I will participate in some form of exercise, for thirty minutes, at least four times per week.

Active Recovery - My Goal:   
I will stretch &/or foam roll after exercising.

Fun & Play - My Goal:  
I will spend at least two hours a week creating ( hobbies).

Personal Growth - My Goal:   
I will participate in meal planning, purchase & preparation at least once per week.

Temperance - My Goal:  
I will bring no electronics into the bedroom for thirty days.

Spiritual Growth - My Goal:   
I will say grace before every meal and participate in the Radical bible study at Grace Fellowship.


Now it is time to turn off the computer and get ready for a good night sleep under the heated blankie (lights out at 10:30pm).

Part 2 - Day Zero of Whole 30 - Practice Day

Just a quick lunch update.  Glad this is a practice day!  Everyone says to plan & prepare, prepare & plan - OK already, I get it.  Not prepared lunch learings:
1.  Walking to restaurant when it is 3 degrees (F) with wind chill values of 25 to 25 degrees below zero is just poor planning.  Staying home (from work too) in front of a fire is what temps like this call for.
2.  Holding up the lunch crowd line because you don't know how the ordering system works, let alone what to order can make you enemy's quickly.  I tried to justify this by thinking - you get to stay out of the cold longer...I don't think any one was thinking along these lines (read "move it lady").
3.  Ordering a Jimmy John's  'UNWICH' was a good idea, turkey, tomato, sprouts, lettuce, cucumber wrapped with lettuce vs. a grain product.  Note to self:  Not only hold the cheese (pat's self on back) but don't forget to hold the sauces as well - UGH!.
4.  When it is freezing outside and you have to get back to work - RUN!  It leaves you a little extra time to blog about your experience and it may well have to count as your exercise for the day.

Day Zero of Whole 30 - Practice Day

DAY 0:  Today I am completing a preliminary Whole30 today - a practice day.  On Feb 1, I will start the Whole30 officially. 

Why the day wait?  Because we don't have all the ingredients yet - going shopping tonight.

Why Whole30?  My trainer suggested it and, of course, I listened but didn't act.  He mentioned it again (and again) enough so that I took a look at the Whole9LIfe website (www.whole9life.com).  The website and all the testimonials about the Whole30 just sucked me in.  It may be that I am feeling older than I am, struggling against depression, not losing weight, feeling sluggish at the gym, etc.  Basically I need something to change for the better.

How it began:  After reading the website, the forums, the testimonials and hearing more from my trainer, I thought, "I can do anything for 30 days - right?"  Well officially, when it comes to eating, my husband does the grocery shopping and meal preparation for the the main meals of a day.  For the other meals I am on my own - and that is a pretty scary picture.  So of course, I determined that we (my dh and I) should do this together.  Now to get him on board...  One other note, I am addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper.

My husband is skinny.  However, he deals with high cholestorol and high blood pressure.  I talked to him about this Whole30 thing, but I don't think he took me seriously at first.  Then I sent him the website link and copied a bunch of the testimonials about high cholestorol and high blood pressure into an email.  I must have tweaked some interest because he came home talking about it.  He learned that a coworker knew all about Paleo and had been eating that way for a while.  His twin girls eat that way as well as his pregnant wife.  The whole family is in on it.  I believe this connection was a gift from God, my hubby began to take this a bit more seriously.  I don't think he is yet 100% on board (asked last night "how strict about the clean food are you planning to be?") but I think he will at least go along for the ride.

Practice Day Zero:  Today I ate eggs for breakfast, however, I only had margerine to cook with.  I was unable (read unwilling) to give up my Diet Dr. Pepper for the practice day.  Tomorrow will be painful, but I had to laugh, DDP was actually mentioned in "The Timeline" by Robin Strathdee on the Whole9Life site.  I am going to try Jimmy Johns for lunch.  I know I can get a wrap that is wrapped with lettuce.  Figuring if I skip sauces, include lettuce, tomato and meat I will be good to go.  However I will admit that this choice is sheer laziness on my part - I didn't take the time to prepare a lunch last night or this morning.  Hoping JJ's will provide a good option that I can use in the future as well.

I will check back in after the shopping and preparation for the BIG DAY 1.

Preparation:  Tonight we are going grocery shopping.  If there is anyone reading this who knows me, YES I said WE and GROCERY SHOPPING in the same sentence.  I hoping that this is a 30 day journey that my husband and I can do together.  I may not go as far as actually cooking a meal, but I can help get all the ingredients together.  OK, I actually wrote in my SMART goals that I would try meal preparation at least once a week.  This is a stretch goal for me.