Whole30: Day 2 Recap

From August 1 through August 23, I’m documenting my Whole30, including the when, what, where, and how much of my sleep, activity, food, and mood. Read about why I’m doing the Whole30 right here. Not familiar with the Whole30? Learn all about it here and get extra help with the Whole30 Daily.

Whole30: Day 2

Can’t type. Head drooping down… so… sleeeeeeeepy…

I wish I could blame it on  Whole30 carb flu, but it’s my ongoing, so fun, n=1 thyroid experiment. YAY! Other than that, however, life is good. I’m enjoying the Olympics immensely, meditating every day is a comfortable habit instead of a nagging to-do item, I’m ignoring the blistering heat of Austin August, and I’m immersed in dark-ish, moody books: just finished The Thirteenth Tale which is so excellent I can’t really talk about it yet, and I’m about to fall into a re-read of The Woman In White. After that: Jane Eyre (for the second time this year). With so much happening in real life right now, it’s such a comfort to escape with these characters into their worlds for a little while.

Sleep
7 hours (11:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.) — I should have gone to bed at 10:00 p.m. when I started getting sleepy, but Damn you, Olympics! I forced my eyes to stay open. Despite the fact I got only 7 hours of sleep, my body really, really wanted to be up at 6:30 this morning. Meh.

Activity
Sitting meditation: 22 minutes of deep, relaxed breathing… in bed, under the blankie, when I woke up at 6:30.

Walk fail: We had a dentist appointment this morning when I usually walk, and I could have taken a walk this afternoon on evening, but I didn’t want to. It was hot, and I was tired and wah wah wah. Walk fail.

Food
I’ve found my appetite is less ravenous, and I feel better if I eat in a 11-hour window — usually between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. so I can stop eating about 2-3 hours before going to bed — and don’t snack between meals or before bed. Because I’m dealing with my thyroid experiment, I’m measuring and tracking my food right now. I aim for 40% fat, 30% protein, 30% carbs.

Breakfast, 8:30 a.m.
Habanero Mexican Cafe before a dentist appointment:
2 eggs with ranchero sauce
2-ish ounces of steak fajita meat
This was a less-than-ideal breakfast because it’s sorely lacking quality carbohydrates. That meant I had to do a lot of makeup work with veggies at lunch and dinner.

Lunch, 1:00 p.m.
leftover beef stew: 3.5 ounces grass-fed chuck, 1 1/2 cups zucchini, 10 olives, broth, diced canned tomatoes
1/2 cup sweet potatoes sautéed w/ scallions, 1/2 teaspoon ghee, Lebanese 7-spice powder
1/2 cup blackberries

Dinner, 8:00 p.m.
3.5 ounces pork sausage (ground pork + Well Fed Italian Sausage Seasoning) w/ perfectly-ripe tomatoes + Well Fed pizza seasoning
2 cups zucchini & yellow squash noodles drizzled w/ 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil & garlic
11 cherries

Mood
My attitude was mostly positive today, but man! so so so sleepy. I spent the day getting lots of little things done, but I couldn’t focus enough to work on my book. My brain was chanting the whole time, “You should be writing. You should be writing.” Not optimal. Then during the Olympics, I kept getting choked up at non-choked-up-able moments. Sigh.

Photo(s) of the Day
Dave hit the grocery store yesterday and our Farmhouse Delivery came, so we’re stocked with veggies and quality protein. Here’s our fridge…

And the overflow that doesn’t need to be chilled…

 

How was your Day 2?

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Comments

  • Becky says:

    Love the fridge, the eggs made me laugh! I’m on day 9 and am finally feeling better! I made your blackberry pork recipe the other night and the WHOLE family (two young daughters and hubby) LOVED it! Thanks for sharing that! Cherries are my mmmmm snack too. I ate about twenty of them yesterday like it was my WOD and I was being timed. Keep up the good work!

  • Lauren says:

    I am not so much having a carb flu, but I am also eating a bit more fruit than I am used. Coffee still tastes like poo without my precious creamer and sugar, but getting used to it. My bad day was day 1, boy was I tired! Wish me luck on my potential carb hangover tomorrow, though. 😉

  • Day 2 ended up being day 1 for me, I messed up on first Day 1 by eating bacon before looking at the ingredients, then to find sugar in there 🙁 I did great so far, day is not over for me yet, still have dinner, but I’m confidant all will go well. Thanks for sharing your day with us!

    Steph

  • Debbie H says:

    You might be the only other person I’ve ever known who has read The Woman in White!! One of my all-time favorite books!

  • Andrea says:

    Another great day but felt hungrier than usual but could have been from my early morning workout… I am focusing on trying to eat within an hour of waking but on day 2 this didn’t happen, not tragic but it’s one of my major goals for this W30…hmm, will keep working at it!

  • kimberly says:

    Harder. 🙂 I was gone most of the day. I had to head to the city for errands and spent my walking time driving for several hours. Boo! I had packed breakfast and a salad in jars to go. Tempting horrible stuff was everywhere and so convenient! I did NOT give in though.
    I stopped at a bbq place and got just some plain smoked meat to have with my salad. I got weird looks, but who cares! It was delicious and whole 30 compliant.
    Dinner was baked chicken and a huge salad. I left the room after dishing up zucchini cake for everyone else. I love that stuff, but just stayed away.
    Now, I only have one outing (work the farmers market) until I leave town the end of next week, so I’ll be home for all my meals and away from most temptations. The market helps as I will be able to get lots of yummy things I don’t grow yet.
    I missed my walk though. 🙁 It was too hot and I took a nap when I got home. I’ll head to bed soon after the kiddos and be ready to roll bright and early in the morning. I already know where I’ll walk–up through the forest a few miles away to pick flowers for the market. It’ll do.

  • Michele says:

    I had a great day 2! I was sleepy today as well and dragged a bit this afternoon but I think it is because I stopped coffee. Will get some more sleep to see if it helps.

    Have a great Day 3!

  • Rena says:

    Day 2 went actually better than I thought.

    Morning: tea (as I said, cannot eat breakfast, as I have a health condition currently, that makes me feel very very sore in the morning and I just cannot do it) and more tea.

    Lunch: Chicken Skewers and Salad

    Dinner: Huge Kale Salad with Avocado

    8 Hours sleep – Cycled to and back from work. Went on a walk in my lunch break. Yay!

  • Amanda Lindsay says:

    glad to see i’m not the only one who has 50 eggs in the fridge at a time… : )

  • Star says:

    Breakfast: eggs and sausage

    Lunch: bleck… Green Machine drink and cashews (on the run at work and didn’t prepare a lunch)

    Dinner: Reaping the “rewards” of a poor lunch….really craving food at 8:30 pm (8+ hours since last meal) Chick Fil A nugget meal… FAIL.

    WHOLE 30 starts again tomorrow.

  • Jessica Hawk says:

    Day 2 — SUCCESS! I can’t wait to really get some good cooking in!!

  • Amy says:

    Hah, you’re fridge full of eggs reminds me of my fridge full of eggs, though I just hardboiled a dozen to make taco egg salad (ground beef, hardboiled eggs, mayo, mustard, taco seasonings of choice, served on a bed of lettuce with salsa and avocado).

    The bounty of produce reminds me, though, of my conspiracy theory: that modern fridges have such small produce drawers to discourage us from actually buying lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I have to fill the shelves, too, and then cross my fingers the over active fridge doesn’t freeze half the produce.

  • John says:

    Day 2 went much better than day 1, since I finally went to the grocery store. I had a ton of options to choose from. I’m even more excited about day 3, since my copy of Well Fed is finally arriving from Amazon!

  • DM says:

    Love the fridge shot. More fridge!

  • Lindsey says:

    Hi Mel! Interested to see you document your Whole 30 so thoroughly! Any plans to drop more books at BookPeople? I tried to get one there today. Thanks!

  • Mayrain says:

    Brilliant book! I’ve read it twice now but not for a couple of years so maybe I’m due another indulgence!

  • Margret says:

    In addition to loving your blog, can I just say that seeing someone who writes about food has a regular-size refrigerator made me so happy?

  • Hannah says:

    Looks divine! 😀

  • Molly says:

    Now THAT is the fridge of my dreams!!

  • Thirteenth Tale – read it, loved it. It pops in to my head at the most random of occasions.

    I also love how good books leave me speechless.

    That is all.

    • Mel says:

      ROBIN! I agree! SO SO SO good.

      Have you read Shadow of the Wind? It’s a very different story, but it has a similar atmosphere and some of those “holy cow” moments. You might like it!

  • I have not! It looks fantastic. I feel like this might be beach reading for the next few days…

  • The Amazon review calls the author’s talent “diabolical”. That’s the kind of book I like!

  • Fair Flavors says:

    Hi Melissa,

    I’ve been checking your lovely site for the past few months and this is the first time I feel a need to comment 🙂 A carb flu on 30% carbs? Seriously? I think 30% carbs is still quite high. You can be paleo for sure on 30% carbs, but it’s really not low enough to cause a carb flu. I’m on an experiment now and aim for 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbs. I recently fell of the wagon for about two weeks and I have to climb back on…still a lot of weight to loose.

    Good luck on your whole30! I’ll keep reading about your results. I love the way you write 🙂

    Love,
    Anna

    • Mel says:

      Hey Fair Flavors, I think if you read that first paragraph again you’ll see I wasn’t saying I had carb flu — just the opposite. I WISH it was carb flu. It’s not — it’s a serious thyroid experiment to get to my right level of thyroid hormones.

      Experimenting with thyroid hormones leaves me feeling energetic one day and fatigued the next. And it’s essential that I eat at least 100g of carbs per day, or I really crash out.

      I’m sorry the first time you commented was about a misunderstanding. I hope you’ll join the discussion again — and better understand the gist of my words next time 🙂

  • Libbi says:

    Woman in White still has vivid pictures ingrained on my psyche as though it really happened to me. I read it 30 years ago! I am reading it again on my Kindle.

    • Mel says:

      I’m re-reading it for the first time in myabe 10 years, and I’d forgotten how Wilkie Collins kinda seems like a a feminist, which is so awesome. I love how he’s critical of the inheritance laws and treatment of women as property within the narrative. So good. And the spooky parts of deliciously thrilling.

  • Delphine says:

    Your fridge is enviably clean and organized!

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