Whole30: Self-Care Edition 10/22/12

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 20 (Sunday, October 21)

Sleep
8 hours

I wasn’t feeling so great Sunday, so I barely ate and barely moved.

Activity
Shavasana on the couch. I watched two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the movie From Russia, With Love, and two football games. (What happened, Ravens? Way to pull it out at the last minute, New England!)

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, 12:00 p.m.
2 ounces roasted chicken breast

Lunch, 3:00 p.m.
2 ounces roasted chicken breast
1/2 cup sweet potato

Dinner, 8:00 p.m.
3 ounces grass-fed ground beef sautéed w/ sweet onion on top of…
1 cup mashed cauliflower

Mood
Snoozy and relaxed… then late in the day, I did some writing for Well Fed 2, and got kind of excited. (First 10 recipes have been drafted!)