And then I got tired

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I was feeling pretty good Day ONE and Day TWO. But it caught up to me. The HANGOVER as Whole30 states may happen in Days TWO & THREE. And I felt it this morning at the BOOM Box. Normally after the warm up, especially in the mornings, I finally wake up. The blood is flowing, the heart rate is up and my brain starts to work. But today, I was like a slug. Moving slow. Spaced out. Eventually adrenaline kicked in but the rest of the morning has been so blah. I know this will pass but right now I just want to crawl into bed. The good thing is that I truly believe the Clean Eating is instantly helping my sad muscles recover much more quickly. I’m not near as sore as I have been the past couple of months and my body is overall feeling better for the most part.

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Many Whole30ers report headaches, fatigue, and general malaise during this part of the program. This, my friends, is completely normal. Your body is working its way through a whole host of junk it stored from the foods (or food-like-products) you used to eat. This process lasts a day for some folks, but for others it can take a few days longer. Relax, drink a lot of water, and keep making good choices. And do your best to earn sympathy and support from friends and family,
– www.whole30.com

And even though I’m feeling like the only thing I should do is sleep right now, let me tell you how excited I am that my meals are turning out great. That’s like the bright side to this nasty food hangover. The meals from Weeknight Paleo by Amber Beam are tasty and aren’t taking up much of my time. And no, I’m not getting compensated for plugging this book! LOL I WISH! Seriously though, the meals are great. And a success among all of my family… ages 10-29! Hehe.

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I still am struggling with eating breakfast after my Post Workout Meal. And I fear that I always will. I have a good time frame of 1 1/2 – 2 hours after my PWO and it’s still so hard. It’s like I don’t want to chew. And part of Whole30’s thought process tells you to not drink shakes/smoothies! Chew your food! UGH! My face hurts!

Day TWO Everything
I decided to just give you all a run down of the day instead of splitting it all up! Maybe this will be better and less boring. I hope. Maybe. Don’t leave me! 😀

You should have already seen my beautiful breakfast in yesterday’s post and I only described Lunch. Got home, hit the BOOM Box and reheated some pork for the Carnitas–Style Taco Tower. But also remembered I had Salmon I did not throw in the freezer and needed to cook that ASAP. Turned out lovely, just lovely!

BOOM Box 1/714
30 heavy Russian Swings
Used the 1.5 POOD. Not fun, but did the work

Skill: Pull Up progressions
So Coach wanted us working on the Rings! Ugh, me and rings. I have dumb fears, Hanging from those is another one of them. But I almost got Toes to Bar on those. Just need to practice.

1/7/14 WOD

1/7/14 WOD

MetCon: 8 rounds for reps of 1 min Over Head Lunges w/plate 45/35 and 1 min Burpees to the plate
Ya, I knew this was gonna hurt! I wasn’t sure how the OVER HEAD part was going to work with my wrist and well I learned real quick it wasn’t going to work. I did about 10 reps with the 35lb plate but my wrist won’t bend all the way, so I was off balance. I tried going to a 25lb plate and it was still a NO GO. So I just did lunges. I felt bad I was scaling way bad. But I totally sucked without weight too! The burpees got me. BAD. Final: 214 reps.

DINNER
So I said I came home to reheat some pork. I made the Cole Slaw that goes with it the night before. SUPER EASY. And I improvised on the “tower” part. I didn’t purchase the metal ring thing that was suggested. But I had this handy dandy cup/measure thing that I used to attempt a tower. As you will see in the pictures, it came out OK, nothing restaurant worthy but I just want to eat!

My contraption, nothing like what the cookbook asks for!

My contraption, nothing like what the cookbook asks for!

Hehe, my LEANING Carnitas tower! May not be purty but it sure is tasty!

Hehe, my LEANING Carnitas tower! May not be purty but it sure is tasty!

And what the cookbook shows! Weeknight Paleo

And what the cookbook shows! (Weeknight Paleo) As you can see I was a little heavy handed with the guacamole in the pic above!

In between reheating and trying to create a masterpiece, I cooked up the Salmon for the Herbes de Provence-Crusted Salmon with a Citrus-Herb Sauce and Asparagus in Weeknight Paleo. Besides the “juicing” of the citrus fruit, this was quick and easy. Maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. Seriously EASY and QUICK and kind of fancy looking! So yummy!

Fresh out of the oven.

Fresh out of the oven.

My attempt at making it more presentable.

My attempt at making it more presentable.

SLEEP
Working out in the evenings makes it a little harder to sleep but once I did fall asleep I was out! I woke up fine when my alarm went off at 4 am but ended up hitting snooze till 4:35! Doh!

Day THREE
So I rolled in a few minutes late to the BOOM Box…. you can’t fault me for that when I’m showing up at 5 a.m.! Coach T already has his wheels turning on what I would be substituting for the WOD. Cause it was Thrusters and Hang Cleans on the board.

Midline: 30 evil wheels
With my wrist and lack of core strength I could only roll out so far, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t putting a beating on me!

Strength: EMOM 20min 3 thrusters AHAP. Once you have past 5 minutes you must keep that weight.
I am soooo glad I can’t do Thrusters with a BAR! They are misery! But I did get the opportunity to use 20lb Dumbbells. Of course the weight wasn’t there but I’m still working up my upper body strength since it’s been slow rolling. Still sweating and still a good heart rate.

1/8/14 WOD

1/8/14 WOD

MetCon: TABATA of Air Squats, Hang Cleans 115/75, C2B Pull Ups
Sometimes I love TABATA and sometimes, like today, I don’t care so much for it. Maybe cause I was already feeling drained after the Evil Wheels. So tired! 3-2-1 GO. I started off OK with Air Squats getting 20 in the first 20 seconds, then 16, then 14, then 12… I stayed at 12. Instead of Hang Cleans, I did Power Snatch with the 35lb bar. I did like 7 on the first 20 seconds, then held out with 5 for the rest of the time. By the time I got to my BANDED Pull Ups, I was just happy to be alive. I struggled a lot and ended up with a score of 2! Boooo! Final: 12, 5, 2

PWO MEAL
A serving of pork and a serving of Sweet Potato Puree. As exhausted as I felt, the food was good and went down easy. But as soon as I got home, I was already dreading breakfast!

BREAKFAST
Bone Broth! I’ve made the broth before but with less chicken carcasses and only used it for soups and seasoning veggies. But now I’ve made it properly and now I know that drinking it by itself is beautiful. And knowing all the health benefits makes it that much more the reason to drink it! Click HERE for more info!

I also had boiled some Eggs on Sunday, so this was going to be my breakfast. I was moving slower than normal and was glad I had this back up for food. I packed 3 eggs up, a sandwich bag full of spinach and a handful of cherry tomatoes. I figured I would eat this around 7:45 a.m. on my drive in to work. OH MY the spinach was so hard to eat as well as the EGGS. I was tired of eating that I failed to eat one of the eggs. I realized I was missing my “healthy” fat also but was so over it. I think/hope I’ll survive till lunch!

That’s a Wrap!
So there you have it for this lovely HUMP DAY. I’ll have REST until Friday morning! How sweet it is! This gives me time to cook up some chicken and ground beefs to hold me through Friday and maybe through the WEEKEND. I’ll be checking in tomorrow, hoping I’m not sooo tired and let you know how any food prep went down. Until then, take that step to cleaner eating, more physical activity or just getting more sleep! Do Something! Make a Change!

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Whole30 DAY 9 – Feelin’ Fine!

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It’s a rest day for me from the BOOM Box so today will be all about the Whole30. I had planned on reviewing Choice Organic Tea as well but I’m still waiting to hear about possibly doing a giveaway as well. So if you love TEA stay tuned in.

Whole30 Day 9 FEELIN’ FINE!

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I’m on my 2nd day of week 2, almost 1/3 of the way there. YAY! And so far it’s been superb. This morning was probably the only day so far where my meal wasn’t so balanced. But it’s still clean. I don’t think there’s a rule that tells me I have to start over based on an unbalanced plate. Please don’t tell me I have to start over!

Last night, we roasted a chicken, put pork shoulder in the crockpot (link to recipe below) and boiled, stir-fried and roasted a slew of veggies. This morning I FINALLY broke down and made some Egg Muffins as well! And they were a WINNER and now probably a staple in our kitchen for quick breakfast solutions. The kids really enjoyed them and they were full of goodness 🙂

1/9/13 Dinner

1/9/13 Dinner

Now let me get back to that pulled pork. I haven’t tried it yet, but the kids sampled it this morning and their only words were MMMMMM. I know that’s not a word, so their only sounds were MMMMMM. As most of you know I did the 21-Day Sugar Detox last year in May. And I struggled a bit with that but came out with positive results in the end. Recently I saw a facebook post about PULLED PORK. I love pulled pork preferrable drenched in some yummy bbq sauce on a bun with some coleslaw on top and topped off with another bun! Now seeing as that I can’t have a bun and I’m too lazy right now to find a Paleo cole slaw solution, I was just intrigued in general that it was pulled pork and it was fit to be on the 21-Day Sugar Detox. It just so happens it’s in line with Whole30 as well. I really couldn’t imagine why it wouldn’t be as they eliminate the same food groups for the most part. So I clicked the link to the post HERE and found the recipe. It comes from the folks over at PaleoPot whom I had never heard of until now. I am anxious to see what other recipes they have to share. I indeed had all the ingredients except for SMOKEY PAPRIKA so mine probably tastes a little different because I used plain ol paprika. Either way it smelled WONDERFUL in my house this morning. And it did PULL apart pefectly. I’m excited for lunch today so I can know it tastes as good as it smelled.

In the CrockPot, don't mind the "burned" sides, I'm sure it's fine, but I didn't have time to scrub it down. Pulled apart so easily!

In the CrockPot, don’t mind the “burned” sides, I’m sure it’s fine, but I didn’t have time to scrub it down. Pulled apart so easily!

Sampler plate for kids to taste :) MMMMM!

Sampler plate for kids to taste 🙂 MMMMM!

As for the egg muffins, I’ve read about them for a while now and although they sound tasty I am an OVER MEDIUM EGG or Hardboiled egg kind of girl. So scrambled and baked eggs aren’t at the top of my list. We have a lot of eggs we need to get through so I figured EGG MUFFINS would help use them up. I have a feeling we’ll be running out of eggs instead of figuring out what to do with them! As I was perusing PALEO EGG MUFFINS I found tons of recipes. One stood out to me mostly because it sounded like my kind of muffin. I added and took away some things but in the end it’s very similar to the recipe over at EASY PALEO, which in turn comes from Paleo Comfort Foods, which I HAVE but haven’t flipped through it in a while, OOOPS! Ah well, I’ve slightly modified the recipe as to how I made them and I’m glad I found Jennie Harrell’s post at Easy Paleo 🙂 I’ve only read her About Me but she seems quite interesting and has a great story. Check her out!

Fresh out of the oven. I should have included my boys hovering around in the pic!

Fresh out of the oven. I should have included my boys hovering around in the pic!

Breakfast Egg Muffins

1 TBS olive oil

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 package of Chicken sausage

12 large eggs, whisked

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

You can pretty much add any veggie that sounds good to you!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook Chicken Sausage over medium heat in one pan and Saute onions in olive oil over medium-high heat in another pan for 2-3 minutes. Add peppers and mushrooms, and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.

While veggies are cooking, whisk the eggs in a large bowl.

Once veggies are cooked, remove from heat and let them cool for a few minutes. Dump them into the egg mixture, and stir well, sprinking in the salt and pepper.

Coat a large muffin pan with oil. Add some chicken sausage to each muffin cup. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill each muffin cup with your egg mixture. For me this was enough for 18 Egg Muffins!

Place in oven for 10-15 minutes. The muffins get fluffy and golden. Remove from oven and eat em up. Store the rest in the fridge or freezer. Heat up when you want some more via microwave!

Ready to serve. One batch browned a littler more on the edges but no concern there because they still tasted yummy!

Ready to serve. One batch browned a littler more on the edges but no concern there because they still tasted yummy!

This was a big winner and easy to eat! Woohooo! As far as breakfast for me I had 2 egg muffins and some pork belly. I was missing out on the veggies but I think I’ll be ok :/ Lunch will be comprised of Pulled Pork, roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower, Asparagus and 1/2 an Avocado. No fruit today in case you all may be wondering if I truly AM eating too much fruit. I’m not! It’s been a downfall in my past but not this time around!

Whole30 Mentality
Mood for today is still GREAT. Loving the energy. According to my Whole30 daily email, I SHOULD BE FEELING this way and I’m glad I’m chugging along with this. Here’s what Whole30 says I should be feeling:

In addition, days 7-11 are generally when people report feeling some of “the magic” kicking in. You might start experiencing these positive side effects:

  • Your energy is ramping up, and becoming more consistent over the course of your day.
  • You’re falling asleep easier, and sleeping longer and more soundly.
  • You’re recovering from your exercise or sport faster.
  • Symptoms like allergies, skin issues, digestive distress, and stress are gradually improving.
  • Mood swings, a short attention span, and crankiness are starting to be a thing of the past.
  • You’re strangely…happy.

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YES YES YES YES YES and YES

Looking forward to tomorrow since IT’S FRIDAY! Be AWESOME today and every day from now on. GOT IT? Ok GOOD. Happy Thursday!

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