Day 30 of the Whole30 - Holly SH*T, I DID IT!!!!

After a hot bath and 2 hour cat nap, I headed to Whole Foods to get a cup of coffee. I made sure I brought my portable can opener and frother. (Actually it's more like a automatic mixer, although it sounds like a vibrator.) 

'Americano please with room'. Since there wasn't a line behind me I asked her if she would steam my coconut milk. 'As long as it's organic and you open the can', she said matter-a-factly. OMG, I finally got a barista to froth my milk!!! 

I decided not to open the can completely which made it easy to keep close, reserving the rest for tomorrow morning. It stored perfectly in the beverage holder to the left of the drive seat! 

OK, now that I had my coffee fix, I checked how we were merchandised...

No Third Street in the cooler:-(

8 facings on the shelf, but only 3 of the 9 flavors merchandised. The south, a major iced tea drinking area, has been a challenging region for our brand. But if you know me, you know I embrace challenges which is why I flew here to meet with the promo buyer and figure out a way to make our lowest ranking region one of our best.

Our meeting went better than expected. Our brand gained regional support and I secured a big regional summer promo. Promotions push trial, trial convert customers, converted customers = repurchase = increased sales. 

After more store visits, I made my way to CrossFit Atlanta. 

WOD: 

Strength: Heavy Front Squats (5 x 3 E2M) 

Conditioning: FRAN (21-15-9 Thrusters & Pull-ups)

FRAN, although short, is a benchmark workout that requires physical and mental preparation. Which after a night of travel with almost no sleep I was neither mentally or physically prepared, but I did it anyway.  I wasn't the first to finish, but I wasn't the last either.  

The people at CrossFit Atlanta were really friendly and strong. If you are ever in town, I would recommend checking it out.

After CrossFit, I met my friend for dinner. I didn't even tell him I was on the Whole30 and had some dietary restrictions. It was my last day and I wanted to see if I could make any random restaurant Whole30 approved (even in the South). I also wanted to see if I had any anxiety when ordering.

I used to think I hated restricting what I ate. I also used to think I I could eat whatever I wanted to because I worked out so much. I NOW know better. I eat clean because I feel better. 

At dinner, I didn't even crave the hot-fresh homemade bread that sat directly in front of me, nor the wine my friend was drinking. Prior to the Whole30 I would've drank the wine which would've made me crave the bread, which would've made me want fries, more wine and more bread...it's a vicious cycle that repeats itself unless you consciously decide to take certain foods out... 

Anyhow, dinner at the King + Duke was delicious. I explained my 'food allergies' to the waiter and he guided me through the menu. There wasn't an anxious cell in my body which is rare for somebody who struggled with an eating disorder for more than half her life. I can honestly say I have a healthy relationship with food although I might be addicted to my Coconut Milk Latte...

Back in my hotel room I encountered the last and final true test of my journey on the Whole30...

More alcohol on the mini fridge...

And lots of treats next to my TV...

Somebody up there was definitely testing me...It was like I was at the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory...I was surrounded with so much alcohol and junk food...

In the past I would've definitely helped myself to the tequila and Pringles and who knows what else after that. But instead I took a hot bath, drank a cup of hot tea and blogged in bed...

Last Day Stats

Water Consumption

135 ounces

Sleep

5 hours

(I had to wake-up early to catch my flight back home)

Daily Meals

11am - Morning Beverage : Coconut Milk Latter (no MCT oil:-()

12pm - Lunch Meeting : Sashimi & Green Tea

 

3pm - Snack : Beef Jerky, Snap Peas and Nuts

8pm - Dinner, Appetizer : Horseradish Deviled Eggs (minus fried pork skin crunchy topping) 

Main Course : 16 oz Bone-In (Medium Rare) Strip with Sautéed Mushrooms and jus...

Leftovers for breakfast tomorrow on the plane ride back...YUMMY!

Let me know if you are interested in doing the Whole30. 

I can help set you for success and will give you support along the way.

Day 29 on the Whole30 - DONE in Atlanta!

What a flippin' day...

I wake at 5am to teach.

I immediately went home and finished packing for my trip to Atlanta, another Whole Foods trip. 

Starting from top left, I packed mixed nuts (unsalted), homemade beef jerky (dry rub), veggies (carrots, snap peas and cherry tomatoes), figs, homemade ginger-jalapeño pesto sauce (much thicker than last time so I don't get harassed by the TSA), homemade chicken & egg salad (coated in pesto sauce), veggie noodles with seared salmon, blender bottles and supplements.

My third trip on the Whole30, I feel like a pro Whole30'er on the road. I got so my tips and tricks traveling while on the Whole30. 

I get to the airport without any stress, unlike last week. I had over a hour before my flight. Departure was at 11:59 and I was checking in at 10:45am. For some reason the kiosk prompted me to talk to an attendant who informed me that it was too early to check-in. 'But my flight leaves in about hour', I said anxiously. 'Your flight leaves at 11:59pm tonight and arrives at 4:30am tomorrow morning', she said with smirk. 'WHAT! When did Frontier start doing over night flights?' 

I asked if there was any connecting flights I could take to get me to Atlanta today. She politely checked as she shook her head no. It takes days for me to recover from red eye flights, but I was stuck. I had no other choice then return later tonight for my flight. At least I my hotel room is booked for two nights so I had a place to crash for a few hours before my 11:30am meeting tomorrow. 

I left the airport stunned (I can't believe I did that), but also grateful. I had the whole to ahead to be productive and I took full advantage of that! 

I was so exhausted by the end of the day I took a Uber ride to the airport instead of driving. I thought it would be less stressful, but it wound up being more stressful because the driver drove so slow I didn't think I was going to make my flight:-( 

Anyhow, I wound up making it, took 2 Night Rest (herbal pills to promote sleep) upon check-in, fell asleep upon take-off and woke in Atlanta about 2 1/2 hours later.

Todays' Stats

Water Consumption

120 ounces

Sleep

Who knows...about 2 hours:-(

Daily Meals

5:30am - Morning Beverage : Coconut Milk Latte with MCT oil

8am - Breakfast : Fried Eggs & Sautéd Veggies 

12pm - Snack : Homemade Beef Jerky & Nuts

2pm - Lunch : Seared Salmon & Homemade Veggie Noodles

8pm - Dinner : Seared Bone-In Pork Chop & Homemade Veggie Noodles and Kale

I love my new spiral slicer. I spiral sliced a bunch of veggies on Sunday (prep day) and cook them as needed.

Day 19 of the Whole30 - DONE!

Week #1 of my 2nd Ladies CrossFit Program at Boulder CrossFit is DONE and so is day 19 of the Whole30...

The ladies worked hard this week...21-15-9 of so many different movements...Just look how dirty our whiteboard got...

Look at them in action...pull-ups & sumo deadlift high-pull / over the shoulder slam balls & slam-ball step-up...

 Talk about a great start to a Friday!!!

Below are a few links to answers to some of your questions this week:

- Homemade Bone Broth Recipe

- Health Benefits of Bone Broth

- Mobility with Dr G : Opening Your Thoracic Spine

- Mobility with Dr. G : Front Rack Position

- WODs on the Road

- Instructional Video WOD on the Road

- MCT Oil

Looking forward to seeing you all kick some booty next week!

Today's Stats

Water Consumption

130 ounces

Sleep

 7 1/2 hours

Daily Meals

5:30am - Breakfast Beverage : My Coconut Latte with MCT oil

8:30am - Breakfast Beverage : Homemade Bone Broth 

10am - Breakfast : Hard Boiled Eggs, Avocado, Olives, Tomato

1pm - Lunch : Seared Ahi on Mixed Greens

3pm - Snack - Beef Jerky & Nuts

6pm - Light Dinner : Few Slices of Brisket and some frittata

8pm - Nighttime Beverage : Homemade Bone Broth (while watch Birdman, starring Michael Keaton)

9:30pm - Nighttime Snack : Few more slices of Brisket

My nighttime appetite has been a little off this week...I think it's because it's getting close to that time month...???

 Let me know if you have any other questions...???

Day 15 of the Whole30 - Halfway There!!!

To tell you the truth I didn't think I would make it to the halfway point. I thought I would've caved-in on my birthday and ordered up a couple coin style margaritas or slightly dirt martinis. Or would've cheated while I was out of town. 

The question is...what's keeping me going...??? 

I mean I didn't think I need to make any drastic changes to my diet, I just wanted to detox after the holidays. I don't eat that bad, but I didn't eat that clean either. I remember saying to many, 'I workout a lot so I can eat whatever I want'. What a crock of shit! Now that I'm eating clean and not drinking I'm beginning to understand the real reasons I decided to do the Whole30 wholeheartedly. But in order to mentally and physically understand the reasons I had to actually experience them which doesn't really occur until halfway time (TODAY, DAY 15). 

Top reasons I'm going to keep in keeping on...

1. I'm sleeping better...I'm talking about quality sleep, not waking up throughout the night...This morning, for example, I woke up at 4:45am and jump out of bed to teach the first day of my 2nd Ladies CrossFit program...

2. My cloths fit better (aka I feel sexier)...I feel the little extra tire around my belly disappearing...

3. My mind works better, I'm more focused and clearer...I heard of brain fog, but I didn't know I had it until I lost it...

4. My energy is through the roof...I'm feeling stronger and fitter than ever...

5. My mood is more positive than it's been in a very long time...I'm smiling from the inside out:-)

6. My skin is brighter...A few people even said I was glowing...

7. I am more mindful and grateful when I eat...

8. Last, but not least...I'm more confident...Bring It On!!!

Today's Stats

Water Consumption

120 ounces

Sleep

8 hours

Daily Meals

5:30am - Breakfast Beverage : My Morning Coconut Latte with MTC oil

9am - Snack : Handful of Nuts & Jerky

10am - Breakfast : Leftover Frittata

1pm - Lunch : Seared Ahi Tuna Salad (one of my favorite right now)

5pm - Snack : Handful of Nuts

6pm - Beverage Snack : Homemade Bone Broth

8am - Dinner : Leftovers on a Bed of Greens 
(Shepard's Pie, Lamb Loins, roasted sweet potatoes & cauliflower)

Have you done the Whole30? 

If so, do you have any reasons why you did it...inquiring minds wanna know...???
If you haven't done the Whole30, are you intrigued based on any of my reasons above...???

Day 6 of the Whole30 - My Birthday!!!

This morning I woke to a beautiful view of the sunrise. I mean the clouds looked like floating pillows in a sea of ambers. I felt really refreshed because I'm finally getting really good quality sleep. My body, although a little sore in places, felt strong. I think the message I got from Melissa last night helped me recover from a long week, but the real turning point is making it through 5 complete days of eating clean, drinking lots of water (flushing out the toxins) and focusing on getting enough sleep. I got A's in eating clean and drinking water this week, and a B in sleep, until last night. I actually got a little over 8 hours of sleep last night, since I didn't have to teach at 6am this morning...UMMMM, should I give-up the early morning classes so I can get more sleep....UMMMM...No, I love coaching the people too much to give them up...I guess I just have to structure my schedule to get to bed earlier...Hence, my intention for the next week...I need to prep dinner earlier, so I can blog earlier, so get to bed to earlier...This means I need to plan and prepare tomorrow (Sunday) in order to make this happen during the week...

Anyhow, I felt really blessed this morning waking up to a beautiful sunset with my husband & dogs by my side. Then walking into BCF to coach an amazing group of people who all have similar fitness and lifestyle goals and who all care about each other so much. I was thinking about this morning's WOD all week. It had to be special for me and for them. I wanted them to feel independent, but dependent at the same time and it had to include 38 reps of everything since I was turning 38. Well, I think it did all that. Although we broke up into teams (dependence) everybody had to do 38 reps of each movement until your team could move onto the next station (independence). The people who completed the movement first cheered on the their team (dependence). 

That type of workout is like life, it's ultimately up to you to do (whatever it is you want to do...independence), but having a community of people by your side to support you (dependence) helps you push through, especially in challenging times and when you find yourself out of your comfort zone. 

Walking into CrossFit this morning and seeing so many people want to work out with me on my birthday was the best birthday gift...actually it wasn't until it was over I was truly grateful...Thank you all for sharing the day with me...I believe this is going to be a transitional year for me and I appreciate your support!!!

The Whiteboard...

The Majority of the Culprits on the Whiteboard...

My Birthday Stats:
Water Consumption
140 ounces!!!
I'm peeing like a race horse, it's annoyingly awesome...

Sleep
8.25 hours!!!!!

Daily Meals
7:30am - Morning Wake-Up Call: Coconut Milk Latte w/MTC oil
12pm - Brunch : Omelet with leftovers from last night (roasted veggies, steak and chimichurri sauce) and avocado...Thanks Jon!

 2pm - Snack : Handful of unsalted organic cashews

Birthday Dinner @ Greenbriar

So ordering was definitely a process, but from the start I informed the waiter that I was allergic to gluten and dairy and asked for his recommendations. The protein wasn't an issue, it was all the sides and sauces that was filled with dairy and gluten. 

7:30pm - Appetizers : Oysters

8pm - Another Appetizer : Table-Side-Handmade Steak Tartar

 

8:30pm - Main Course : NY Strip with King Crab, asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, and chard

Beef Tenderloin, lobster, chard and fried carrots

Beverage - Pellegrino...I think that was the first birthday in a very long time that I didn't have a drink...I didn't even crave or want one...That's an awesome feeling:-)

The funniest was getting the itemized check. 

***Hold This** **Sub That** **NO GLUTEN** **NO**

I think informing the waiter from the start I was allergic to dairy & gluten instead of 'being a picky eater' made all the difference in how our meals were made and our waiter treated us...

How am I feeling...???

Well, as I mentioned above, I woke up feeling really great. Before starting the Whole30 I was in a real rut...low energy, negative mood, bloated, depressed, etc...I know I'm only 6 days in, but everything has changed...I'm more focused and I'm out to get things done, personally & professionally!!!

How about you...??? How do you feel...??? If you're not living up to your full potential what kind of changes do you think you need to make...???

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shanks - Another One Pot Wonder

Lamb shanks may look challenging to make, but they are actually easier than apple pie (especially for me since I don't bake often). The 3 points of performance when cooking lamb shanks are the following:

1. Season well, the seasoning is foundation for the dish.

2. Sear all over. 

3. Cook low & slow (it's a muscular part and takes awhile for the connective tissue to breakdown).  

Ingredients

- 1 shank person (I usually make extra for leftovers)

- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped

- 10 garlic cloves

- 1 sweet potato, roughly chopped

- 1 jalapeño, chopped

- 1 leek, roughly chopped

- 5 carrots

- 5 celery stalks

- 3 cups red wine

- Seasoning: salt, peper, cumin, curry powder, paprika, turmeric

- Coconut, ghee, or lard (fat) for searing the shanks and sautéing the veggies

Red Wine Reduction Veggie Puree

- 2 to 3 cups braised veggies & drippings

- 8 oz coconut milk, canned

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees

2. Completely season the shanks.

3. In a dutch oven (or cast iron skillet if you are using crock pot instead of the oven) heat fat over high and place shanks in pot.

4. Sear all sides and reserve the seasoned oil. 

5. Turn off heat and let cool. 

6. In the meantime, roughly cut up veggies.

7. Over medium heat sweat onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until translucent.

8. Add the rest of the veggies in batches starting with the jalapeño, sweet potatoes, leeks, carrots, and celery. Add more fat if needed.

9. Add red wine and whisk in all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan.

10. Place lamb shanks back into the pot and add water until about halfway covered. 

11. Bring to a boil.

12. Place the lid on and put in the oven.

13. Cook in the oven at 275 for 3 hours. Since I wasn't home, I just left it in the oven until I got home which was about 6 hours. If you don't have that much time to cook and let simmer for dinner you can cook it at a higher temperature for shorter time (325 degrees for 3-4 hours or 375 for 2-3 hours).

14. Cooking the lamb shanks low and slow will result in liquid evaporation and meat shrinkage, another thing to keep in mind when determining how much to cook per person. 

15. To make the Red Wine Reduction Veggie Puree, add the braised veggies and drippings to the food processor and puree.

16. Slowly pour in the coconut milk and puree until silky smooth.

17. Serve on top of a bed of mixed greens and top with braised veggies and the Red Wine Reduction Veggie Puree.

Try this recipe out the next time you have a dinner party or just cooking for two...don't be afraid to cook enough to have leftovers... 

I used my leftover the next day in a cast iron skillet hash with a few fried eggs on top...