Whole30: Self-Care Edition 10/11/12

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 9 (Wednesday, October 10)

Sleep
8 hours

Activity
Sprint Wednesday! (Spwrenesday?!)  I did a 1-hour lap around the lake: 40 minutes of walking and about 20 minutes of :30 sprint (HR=165) plus 2:00 recovery walk (125). It felt awesome, and I wanted to do it forever. But I didn’t. Just 20 minutes. Like a good girl. Who loves her adrenal system.

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.

Breakfast, 10:00 a.m.
1/2 cup roasted sweet potato
4 ounces roasted chicken breast
1 cup roasted spaghetti squash + 1 tablespoon coconut oil + cinnamon + garlic

Lunch, 3:00 p.m.
Hot Plate:
4 ounces grass-fed ground beef
2 cups zucchini noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 black olives
Penzeys Parisienne Fines Herbes

Dinner, 9:15 p.m. (after my Whole Foods cooking class)
4.5 ounces roasted pork shoulder
1 cup spaghetti squash + chives
1 cup broccoli
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup blackberries

Mood
Damn good! The Whole30 magic is kicking in… and I think the Armour for my thyroid is working, too… ’cause I feel pretty freakin’ good right now. Really solid energy all day: through my workout, an afternoon of work, my Whole Foods cooking class. I had a 6 hour stretch between lunch and dinner, and I felt just fine. Right on, paleo diet!

Song of the Day
Tommy the Cat, Primus
This song is like catnip for me (sorry!). It’s awesome to my ears in the way that Tom Sawyer is awesome to my ears. It just is. Awesome.