Thoughts from Week 2 of #Whole30

As I’m writing this on Sunday night, I’m wrapping up day 15 and I’m officially halfway through my first #Whole30! I haven’t had any feelings of enlightenment or major epiphanies but my body and mind do feel really good. I know I’m more hydrated, my skin looks pretty and I can clearly see I’m less puffy/bloated…even on my period. (TMI but true.)

FOOD

To be honest, I was kinda over it last week. I’m pretty tired of eating the same ingredients over and over and I’m tired of having to clean up an entire kitchen several times a day. And yes, these are both totally within my control – I can research new recipes and I can do better meal prep ahead of time. Last week was crazy with work so I just stuck to what I knew (scrambled eggs for breakfast; sausage + mustard + kale salads for lunch; simple meat + veggies for dinner) which I’m sure is a big part of feeling bored.

This weekend, I made this Cincinnati Style Chili recipe and it was legit. Alex, always skeptical of DIY Skyline recipes, said it was the best DIY Cincinnati Style Chili he’d had and I agreed – Mel Joulwan nailed it! I ate mine with spaghetti squash, Alex ate his with pasta and cheese. And while I didn’t add cheese to mine, I really wanted to – not because I am fiending for cheese but because I *know* cheese in Cincinnati chili makes it better. I’m looking forward to Day 31 when I can choose to add cheese to my food again if I want to.

ALCOHOL

The other thought I’ve been mulling over this week is that this is likely the longest I’ve gone without having an alcoholic drink since I was 18 or 19. (I mean, since I was 21 if your name is Sandy and you are my mom.) Not in an OMG alcoholic! way but in my adult life, Alex and I usually have a 6-pack of beer in the fridge and some weeknights and most weekends, I enjoy a beer with my dinner and/or Alex and I will meet up with friends at a bar. I’m rarely getting drunk these days in my old age but I do enjoy hoppy IPAs a couple/few times a week. So I’m sure my liver is really enjoying this little break and, while I do miss beer or a glass of wine with my meals, I’m thinking I can probably drink a bit less going forward. I’ve been replacing my weeknight beer with hot tea and it’s really nice, actually – gives me something to sip while I wind down, is hydrating and has 0 empty calories.

RUNNING/FUELING

I learned an important lesson on Saturday during my long run; what you eat the day before and morning of a long run/workout is wildly important. Duh, right? As I mentioned, it’s been a while since I’ve been in the long distance running game but I should have known better. I did not eat enough carbs on Friday night but still assumed I could go out and run have a strong run…wrong-o. I felt like I was running through cement the entire time and frequently got light-headed. Will definitely be planning ahead better this week!

So, 15 days down, 15 more to go. I already have a few new recipes picked out to make this week so hoping for less food boredom over the next 7 days!

One thought on “Thoughts from Week 2 of #Whole30

  1. I have to say that I agree with you about the alcohol thing. I was thinking the same thing and was like wow..that makes me sound like an alcoholic. Glad I’m not the only one who enjoys a drink after work..like every day…maybe. Haha!

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