Whole30: Day 19 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 19

Yes, my recaps from Days 16, 17, and 18 are MIA. Day 16 was a huge day with Jude from SmartSexyPaleo that included a kickass homemade breakfast, kundalini yoga, a TV interview (more on that late; should air in 2 weeks), and a trip to Salt Lick Barbecue. After all that excitement, I collapsed on the couch in a heap on Friday afternoon (Day 17). I went to yoga on Saturday (Day 18) and ate pretty much the same as always, but thanks to menstrual cramps and my on-going thyroid experiment, I was unfit to type.

But now I’m back!

Sleep
9 lovely, restful hours

Activity
None! I lounged on the couch and/or bed all day, reading Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy and watching back-to-back episodes of Alphas on Netflix. I had nasty menstrual cramps that traveled from my abdomen to my legs and back again.

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, 11:00 a.m.
egg salad: 3 hard-boiled eggs + 1 tablespoon homemade mayo + scallions
1/2 red bell pepper
1 large cucumber
1 large carrot
3 cherries + 5 large strawberries

Lunch, 4:00 p.m.
4 ounces grass-fed ground beef + 2/3 cup sweet potatoes + 1 cup broccoli + Tsardust Memories + 1/2 tablespoon ghee
7 cherries

Dinner, 8:30 p.m.
big salad
4 ounces chicken breast
1/2 head lettuce
small bell pepper
1/2 carrot
1/2 cucumber
1/4 onion
1 tablespoon mayo + 2 teaspoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup snap peas
1/2 Blueberry Muffin Larabar

Mood
Kinda grumpy, truth be told. Cramps are no fun.

Photo of the Day
My breakfast.

Song of the Day
Paris (Ooh La La), Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
This song was recommended to me by Janine, a blog reader, and I’m so glad!

How was your Day 19?

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Comments

  • LOL I also do my blogposts every day, but I did summarize days 11 -> 14 into one short post, cause I was away from home, but did great 🙂
    I failed with mayo 3 times last week (so far it is 1:3 – us vs. mayo…), but I will try tomorrow again with better egg and smaller amount of oil. It is okay like halfway through the process, but near the end the emulsion breaks down and I cry afterwards 😀 Loving your mayo video, so great to see you in motion and hear your voice!!! 🙂 Day 14 here, almost halfway there! 🙂

  • Sarah Bayless says:

    Another thing that has made making mayo fool proof is if I use an emersion blender. I used to fail all the time with a normal blender. But if they are room temp, and I use a stick blender in a mason jar, works like a charm.

    • Megan says:

      Ooooh, I like the stick blender idea. I hate transferring from my blender to a jar. What a fabulous idea. I don’t even need more mayo, but I want to try that out now!! Thanks Sarah!

  • Sandi says:

    Another tip that works for me in making homemade mayo is leaving the lemon juice, egg and oil on the counter overnight. This ensures that it is room temp when I make it the next day and I have never had a mayo fail 🙂

  • Roberta says:

    I’ve never had a mayo fail when I’ve used my blender. (NEVER EVER!) But when I tried my new fancy food processor, it was extra runny.

    BTW Melissa, sad that your cramps are so bad with your good eating! That should help.

  • DJDeeJay says:

    Man, you eat a lot of vegetables! You’re inspiring me to up the veggie intake.

    Love the blueberry muffin Larabars! I also love egg salad but I just do not have the patience to peel hard-boiled eggs. I’ve tried all the tricks and there’s just always those stubborn eggs that are a pain to peel no matter what.

    If you like that Grace Potter song, I also highly recommend her song “Mastermind.” That’s what got me hooked on her.

    Hope you feel better!

  • debi says:

    AH… peeling hard boiled eggs…. I must tell you that I have been in search of that well-kept “secret” for YEARS! I may be onto something now, tho. In the past, we have tried taking them off the stove when they are done and immersing them immediately into ice cold water, or dumping ice on them. I read that somewhere…also, I have heard the peel better at room temp..and not to boil them so long…blah blah blah. Here is the answer, I do believe… The eggs need to be OLD. We eat so many that now we buy 5 dozen at a time and have an old carton in the back of the fridge where we save them for hardboiling only. I dunno, but I truly think it is the hens’ way of saying…”that’s what you get for trying to peel my offspring” 🙂

    • DJDeeJay says:

      Debi, I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference with old vs. new eggs but I’ll start paying more attention to that. Plus, if nothing else, I love your theory about the hens!

    • Jenn says:

      The reason older eggs peel easier is they begin to shrink inside and the membrane attached to the shell begins to pull away. The acidity also decreases with time and that’s thought to help with peeling. A trade off is the albumen gets thinner too. Running water over your cracked eggs, or soaking in water for a bit might help – it allows water between the white and the shell to make things slippery.

  • maggie says:

    I completely agree with the old egg theory. It always works for me–taking the oldest eggs and hard boiling those. Otherwise newer eggs are darned near impossible to peel after they are hardboiled.

  • Nicole says:

    hello,
    i add 2-3 tsp of white vinegar to the water before boiling, along with a pinch of salt. it also helps if the eggs are the older ones- from my experience. hope the vinegar helps.

  • Jenn says:

    Melissa:

    I am a new follower of your blog and I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything that you post. Your blog is a tremendous resource. I have been following Paleo for about 6 months now but the beautiful picture of your breakfast posted here really put vegetable consumption into perspective for me. Can you please share approximately how many servings of vegetables you eat a day? I feel like I am falling drastically short of what I should be aiming to consume. Thank you so much.

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