Whole30: Self-Care Edition 10/9/12

From October 2 through at least October 31, I’m documenting my Whole30 and autoimmune protocol, including the when, what, where, and how much of my sleep, activity, food, and mood. Although I follow the Whole30 guidelines 90% of the time anyway, I’m going all-in for the next 30 (or maybe 60) days to give my body a chance to stabilize after enduring adrenal burnout and a thyroid medication experiment.

As Melissa and Dallas of Whole9Life are good at reminding us, context matters, so if you’re not familiar with my checkered past, you might want to read these previous posts:

• A Healing Experiment: to deal with adrenal and thyroid issues
• The Thyroid Experiment and Update on the Experiment
• Weight & Body Image Stuff: I Love My Body and Why is Thinner Better?
• N=1: or why self-experimentation is a pain in the butt but the only option

Not familiar with the Whole30? Learn all about it here and get extra help with the Whole30 Daily.

Not interested in the Whole30? Don’t sweat it! I’ll be posting other stuff like recipes, workouts, and other adventures, too.

Whole30: Day 7 (Monday, October 8)

Sleep
8 hours

Activity
YAY… jogging! The temps were blessedly cool, so I hit the trail around the lake in my new long running tights from Champion. My workout lasted 50 minutes:
5:00 warmup walk
30:00 of alternating 1:00 jog (HR=155) + 1:00 walk (HR=120)
15:00 cool-down walk

LOVED IT!

Food
I’ve found my appetite is less ravenous, and I feel better if I eat in a 12-hour window — usually between 10:00 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 on a mission to lose weight/body fat, I’m measuring and tracking my food right now; all quantities are cooked unless otherwise specified. I’m also following the autoimmune protocol. I train in the morning, so breakfast is right after my workout.

All of my meals were kinda weird today. Everything tasted great, but the mains and sides didn’t really go together. Some days are just like that. We were super busy today, and I didn’t feel like prioritizing meals over my other stuff.

Breakfast, 10:00 a.m.
1/2 cup roasted sweet potato
4 ounces roasted chicken breast
1 cup roasted Brussels sprouts
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1/3 cup cauliflower soup
1/2 cup snap peas (raw)

Lunch, 4:30 p.m. (meeting ran late, so really late lunch)
4 ounces roasted pork shoulder
1 cup spaghetti squash w/ 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup roasted Brussels sprouts
1 cup jicama (raw)

Dinner, 8:00 p.m.
4 ounces roasted chicken breast + 2 cups zucchini noodles w/ 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup cauliflower soup
1/4 large cucumber
1/2 cup blackberries

Mood
Great! Busy, busy, busy, and had plenty of energy for all of it.