Dave and I are in a small trough of rest between my parents' visit to Prague and our upcoming trip to Venice—where we'll explore for...
Read MoreWhole30: Day 20 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 20
Monday, man. I don’t usually have the stereotypical, horror show Mondays now that I’m no longer working for the corporate overlords. But today was less than awesome. My workout was Sir Lame-O McLamerson, and I kept sliding my toes across the border into Crankytown all day.
However, there were two small triumphs for which I’m grateful:
1. I made good headway on my final chapter for the Dummies book and should knock the rest of that sucker out tomorrow.
2. I made appointments for Dave and I to get a DEXA body fat scan and a basal metabolic rate test on September 6. I’m starting my new thyroid treatment in the first week of September, so I want to get some hard numbers of just what my body is doing so I can figure out if I’m eating enough in general (or too much) and eating the right amount of protein. SCIENCE! (I will feel energetic and lose 15 pounds, damn it. I will!)
Sleep
Terrible! I had menstrual cramps on and off all night, and the Pamprin which usually alleviates the cramping sometimes messes with my sleep. I was zonked out from 10:00 until 1:30 a.m., then I was up reading Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy —which was thoroughly charming — until about 4:30. Then I conked back out until 7:30 when I woke up like this: BAM!
Activity
Strength Training: And a super sucky training workout it was, too.
Walk: Sigh. I didn’t much feel like walking because it was hot and I had cramps and I just didn’t want to. I almost made it out the door anyway, but then I did “just a little more work” and ran out of steam. Today=sub-par.
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, 10:00 a.m.
4 ounces grass-fed stew meat + 1 cup broccoli + 2/3 cup sweet potatoes + 1 teaspoon coconut oil + Ras el Hanout
3 cherries
Lunch, 2:30 p.m.
chicken salad: chicken breast + 1/4 cup raspberries + 1 scallion + 1 tablespoon homemade mayo + 1 teaspoon pecans
1/2 cucumber
1/2 red bell pepper
1 carrot
1 cup jicama
1/3 cup blueberries + 1 cherry
Dinner, 9:30 p.m.
4 ounces ground lamb + Middle Eastern seasonings over 1 cup spaghetti squash
1 cup yellow squash + 1 teaspoon ghee + garlic
1 cup strawberries
Mood
Meh. I’m frustrated with my thyroid situation. I have about 8 more days of this experiment, then I start my new treatment, which—in theory—should make me feel good. I hope. Fingers crossed. Knock wood. With luck. All that stuff.
Photo of the Day
I love this pic of Jude and Dave. It’s a lovely reminder of a just-about-perfect summer afternoon.
Song of the Day
Every Time I Think of You, The Babys
John Waite’s voice. So good! I saw him live here in Austin last year, and he sounds just the same. Lovely. (I cannot, however, endorse the hair in the video. And good golly! The pink-clad backup singer! Hell, yeah, 1979! Stick around until 2:51 for a shirtless twirly guy in silver pants and suspenders. For real. This whole thing is all kinds of badass with awesome-sauce on top.)
Here’s a newer song. Same kickass voice, different questionable hair. This song is so so so melancholy, but damn! it’s beautiful.
How was your Day 20?
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Love John Waite. Just downloaded this song. Beautiful. Have you heard his remake of “missing you” with Alisson Krause?
Day 20 and I’m feeling it!
Just a word of warning on the DEXA — as it measures every drop of fat in your body (like including those in your brain) you will be horrified if you compare it to a caliper test. Just remember the DEXA percentage will be higher than you’re used to seeing and don’t let it freak you out. The “recommended” range is correspondingly higher so that is some comfort I guess…
You are so sweet to look out for me like that! Thank you.
I’m prepared because I had a DEXA scan done a few years ago. http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/11/04/my-dexa-body-fat-scan/
It was fun/sobering/fine — and I expect it will be the same this time. I’m using it as a way to figure out how to support my body, rather than a measuring stick for progress, so I’m mentally prepared.
But again, thanks for looking out for me!
Hang in there…good sleep and good workouts go hand in hand for me! I never sleep well around that lovely time of the month either.
I hope that you are successful in your weight loss endeavor 🙂 After much frustration I’ve kind of given up on the idea of losing weight on this diet aside from maybe water weight…most paleo women I see at crossfit or in pictures who didn’t start out thin are kind of thick like me, and I’m ok with that! If you are what you eat, I’m ok being healthy, but a little fatty and meaty, especially when I’m feeding protein to all of the muscle building we do. Strong is hot!
So glad yall mentioned weight. I am fairly new to paleo and have really been confused over the pics of ladies that I’ve seen that eat this way. I do feel better and have lost, I’m guessing, water weight also but I really want and need to lose about 50 lbs. Can I do it on this way of eating?????????
Yes, absolutely. But, in my opinion, losing weight eating paleo is just like trying to lose weigh other ways: the quantity you eat and the proportion of fat-carb-protein calories does matter.
I think for big, muscle-y dudes, they can “eat as much as they want” on paleo, and lose weight. For us ladies — especially if you have lifelong weight problems like I do — I need to pay attention to not overeat fat… and I need to stick to 3 meals a day without snacking, especially before bed.
It’s not as simple as calories in/calories out — and the QUALITY of paleo calories makes it easier for your body to lose weight because there’s no inflammation getting in the way — but for weight loss, yes, you have to pay some attention to NOT overeating.
If you find out you are eating too much for your activity level, I will eat my shoe (or choke trying). My fingers really want to type about “periodization” and focusing on certain goals at certain distinct times, but I will now stop them…
Tom! When I get my results, I’m going to email you and pick your brain for ideas about what to do with my strength training plan. Deal?
Omg!! I loved The Baby’s!!! He was kinda hot in those tight shiny disco pants. I had hair like the back up singer around this time. A nice perm. Looked truly vile!!!
Love your blog! Pretty inspiring!
I’m just starting myself and it’s great to see your journey