Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Whole30 challenge, day 17 -- what's happening?

hello again -- sorry i have been awol for so long. i can't believe we are on day 17 of this challenge. my only excuse is i have been working a lot and up late and really tired. things are going well, however. i have definitely lost weight, but i don't know how much yet. one of the rules of the whole30 challenge is that you don't weigh yourself for the entire month. you are not supposed to let yourself get distracted by what you weigh. you are meant to concentrate on getting healthy. when this month is over, i will definitely weigh myself and let you know how much i lost. i will say that last night i tried on a pair of jeans that is one size smaller than what i have been wearing, and i was able to get them buttoned and zipped. they aren't comfortable enough to wear (yet!) but last month i couldn't even come close to buttoning them. this is keeping me motivated!

i have been exercising regularly and eating properly, but i haven't been writing it down for the past week. i have been eating a lot of chicken and eggs and lots of veggies!! i will get back on track with recording everything starting tomorrow. i did do a total of 10 sit ups tonight though!!!

i did want to mention what we did for Easter. we were invited to my sister-in-law's house for Easter dinner, and i mentioned to her that we were doing this challenge and would not be able to eat her ham and the other fixin's that our family traditionally has on that holiday. i asked her if she would be offended if my husband and i brought our own food to eat and she graciously replied that she would not. i thought about what to fix and after talking about it with my husband, i settled on pork tenderloin. i gotta tell you -- much to my surprise, i TOTALLY rocked it!!! i rubbed it with a mixture of spices, including finely chopped fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, cinnamon and . . . i can't remember what else. i found the recipe online, but didn't write it down, and now i can't find it again. i am sorry, because i want to use it again!! anyway, i rubbed the tenderloin with the spices, and browned it on all sides in a skillet with a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil. when the tenderloin was browned, i put it in the oven at about 400 for approximately 20 minutes. at that point, it was time to leave for my sister-in-law's, so i took the tenderloin out of the oven and wrapped it in heavy duty foil. our drive took an hour, and when i unwrapped the tenderloin to serve it, i was amazed. it was the MOST tender, juicy tenderloin i have ever made. it was perfectly cooked and was delicious. we put it on the table with everything else and after my hubby and i had our portions, the rest of the family devoured the remains. we also brought a green salad and some oven roasted veggies that were shared with the rest of the family as well. i can't forget to mention that i also took my traditional green bean casserole (yes, the one made with campbell's cream of mushroom soup) but i didn't have any. in our family, though, that dish is expected at holiday meals.

so, the main things i have noticed over the past week are: i am sleeping better, thank goodness. i have been getting up early and going to bed late though, so i am really tired. i think if i were getting more than 5-6 hours of sleep a night my energy levels would go up. staying up late is a lifelong habit for me -- one i don't think will soon be broken! some days i am not very hungry, other days i am famished all day. i haven't really taken the time to figure out what is different on the days i am hungry.

another thing i have noticed is that even though i really like meat, i am getting tired of trying to figure out how to fix so much protein. some days i just want something that is easier to cook and eat. that's just my lazy side coming out though. i don't want to go back to feeling the way i felt a year ago. this is a lifestyle change. and besides, i can't really complain at all -- my husband has been great through all of this, and he is doing a LOT of the cooking. thanks mr. b -- i love you! you are a great cook!

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