Graduated from Nursing School- getting "strict" again!

I completed the hardest two years of my life and graduated from nursing school. I'm excited to be a "grown up" now! With that said, there has been a lot of celebrating and eating non primal foods the past couple of weeks- and I have definitely felt the effects! It's amazing that I used to be able and easily eat a bowl of ice cream and a couple of hot dogs and not feel a thing. Now my stomach definitely is NOT happy when I do that. I had a cookout and stayed up with heart burn and stomach cramps at night. Now that all of that stuff is done- I have decided to complete another 30 day challenge! I need to get myself back on track!

This 30 day challenge includes:

No dairy (except butter)

No sugars/grains

No high glycemic foods (I have a weakness for bananas!)

Daily scripture study

Daily piano practice

Running outdoors at least once a week

Hopefully this will help me get going in the right direction again! I also wanted to link over to Primal Toad's "Primal Cave Friday". He has a great blog - http://www.primaltoad.com/primal-cave-friday-2/#comment-10775 .

Have a great weekend! While I will not be putting up daily posts of what I eat- I will try to at least do every 3 days or so - I want to be accountable for what I put into my body!

Whole 30- THE RESULTS

Well, I finished my Whole 30 challenge. It wasn't too bad. The main thing I learned is that dairy is my downfall! I eat far too much dairy. So now that I'm back on a "normal" primal diet, I'm going to make sure I eat way less of it.

So total- I lost 10.5 pounds. That's a lot of weight loss for 30 days!

I also went down at least a pant size- maybe two. I haven't been shopping yet- so I'm not sure.

As a reminder- here is a picture of me from last March (the week before I went primal and 65 pounds heavier).

Now here is a picture of me from right before my "Whole 30" challenge.

BEFORE:

Here I am in the exact same clothes after my "Whole 30" challenge. Now I have to wear a belt!

AFTER:

Whole 30 Food Journal- Day 15

Studying for all of my exams has made it really difficult for me to remember what I have been eating!

Breakfast: skipped

Lunch: 2 eggs

Supper: skipped

I was so busy studying I only really ate snacks. I had some raisins, a coconut milk and frozen mango smoothie, and a few pork rinds throughout the evening.

Whole 30 Food Journal- Days 11 to 14

I've been SUPER busy with school- so I haven't been the best about updating but here was my weekend:

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

I don't remember what I ate on these days, but I DID stick to the plan!

Day 14

Breakfast- a banana

Lunch- 2 eggs and a handful of almonds

Snack- 4-5 prunes

Supper- grilled pork chop, green beans, spaghetti squash "pancake" (egg and spaghetti squash fried)

Whole 30 Food Journal- Day 8

Yesterday I was REALLY craving sugar. I don't know why. Especially right before I went to bed- I was REALLY wanting some- so I indulged with a handful of raisins.

Breakfast:
Frozen blueberries with coconut milk (berries and cream)

Lunch:
2 eggs
1 apple

Snack:
Sunflower seeds
handful of pork rinds
raisins

Supper:
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Recipe:
1. Cut a large spaghetti squash in half and roast in the oven cut-side up for about an hour.

2. Make your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Italian tomatoes, Italian Seasonings, and ground beef).

3. When squash is done, shred with fork in long strips to make "noodles".

4. Serve sauce on top and enjoy!

Whole 30 Food Journal- Day 7

Yesterday I had class in the morning, so I didn't have time to eat breakfast. I was starving by the time I got home at 2pm.

Lunch:
3 eggs (fresh out of the coop)
a few raisins

Supper:
I took a handful of pork rinds and crushed them up into powder. Then I dipped a chicken breast in it and fried it in coconut oil on the stove top. I put lime juice on it and had a side of green beans. It was SO good!

Whole 30 Food Journal- Day 4

Yesterday was a snow day for my kids and my husband, but I still had classes and had to go to school.

Breakfast:
2 eggs

Lunch:
1 pork chop (George Foreman)
1 banana

Snack:
Smoothie made with 1/2 can of coconut milk, some vanilla, and a frozen banana
handful of sunflower seeds
1 apple

Supper:
We went out with friends to Applebee's. I had a 7 oz. sirloin and a side of broccoli.

Dessert:
2 dates

Too much fruit again yesterday! I'll have to really be more careful!

Whole 30 Food Journal- Day 3

It's getting a little easier every day!

Breakfast:
I was in a hurry- so a banana as I was running out the door

Lunch:
1 pork chop (on the George Foreman)
1 apple

Snack:
1 smoothie made with a frozen banana, half a can of coconut milk, and a tablespoon of Dutch process cocoa powder
I also snacked on a few pork rinds throughout the day (YES- they're "primal"!)

Supper:
Shrimp stir fry (with asparagus, sugar snap peas, carrots, and bell pepper) on a bed of sauteed strips of cabbage

Dessert:
2 dates


Admittedly, the sugar content was higher than I usually do (though it was all natural fruit sugars). Today I'm making sure I keep the sugar intake down.

The other hard thing is that I usually weigh myself every Friday on Wii Fit to see my progress (they make chart that's pretty rewarding to see!), but part of the "Whole 30" is that I don't check my weight until the 30 days is up. But it is KILLING me to know if I'm making any progress!

Whole 30 Food Journal- Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of my "Whole 30" challenge. By getting strict again, I realized how much junk I was letting slide these past couple of months!

For breakfast I had: 2 eggs (fried in coconut oil)
1 cup of mint herbal tea (no sweeteners or cream)

For lunch: 1 Tilapia fillet (fried in coconut oil)
a sprinkle of garlic powder and paprika
1 handful of almonds

For snack: I went outside and found two eggs in the chicken coop- so I ate them!

For supper: 1 pork chop on the George Forman grill
about 2 cups of California mixed veggies

For dessert: 2 dried mission figs


I was kind of skimpy on the veggies yesterday. I'll have to make sure to eat a huge salad for lunch today.

I also watched the documentary "Food, Inc." last night. It really sickened me! If there is any movie that can convince people to eat cleanly- that is definitely it. I recommend everyone watch it!