Whole30 Day 10 - Atlanta/Roswell/Buckhead GE Here I Come!

Packed a lunch bag filled with homemade goodies to keep me satiated on the road.

I believe that if I am well prepared then I'll stay strong when cravings/stress/anxiety comes on.

So far I really like this E-Bag lunch bag. It's big enough to hold a ton of food as well as mugs and bottles. Plus it can attach to my roll-on bag.

The TSA were so confused with my new collapsable storage container. They thought it was filled with soup, but when they found out that it was chicken salad they said it was OK. They did want to take my ginger coconut milk basil pesto sauce, but I talked him into letting me keep it.

I had lunch on the plane, and NO I didn't eat the entire bowl of chicken salad. I probably had about 1/4 of it.

Went directly to my Whole Foods category review meeting and presented 15 new products I just developed.

Went to the nearby Whole Foods Avalon to check product placement, buy coconut milk (for tomorrow morning's latte), carrots and macadamia nuts.

I then checked into the hotel and was pleasantly surprised with my 'Executive Suit' at the Marriott;-)

Worked out at CrossFit 404 in Bulkhead.

 It was a great experience: good coaching, decent warm-up, clean facility, and really nice people.

I was so hungry after class I decided not to shower & change. Instead I immediately YELPED 'sushi restaurants'. After a few minutes of research I decided to go to one that was about 1.5 miles away, Tomo.

Finally time to wind down and go to bed:-)

Today's Stats
Water Consumption:

120 ounces
YEAH, I'm finally drinking enough water!

Sleep:

5 1/2 hours (slept well)
Didn't go to sleep earlier enough 
because I was prepping food & packing

Daily Meals:

5:30am - Coconut Milk Latte with Macca

6:45am - 2 Hard Boiled Eggs

10am - Chicken Salad & Snap Peas

2pm - 3 Pieces Beef Jerky

5:30pm - Handful Macadamia Nuts & Carrot Sticks

9:30pm - Dinner: Sashimi & Hamachi Collar

Day 23 on the Whole30 - DONE & Back from Austin...

So as soon as I checked into my hotel I ordered a refrigerator. It's actually a standard accommodation in most hotels nowadays. I stocked it with all my food and made sure the cooler wasn't too high so my food wouldn't freeze overnight like the last time.

I woke up at 7am and felt pretty good so I had a little frittata and few supplements and headed to CrossFit Central  to take the 7:45am class. 

1 Pull Clean & 1 Thruster, EMOM x 10, followed by a mini metcon. Afterwards, feeling good, I headed to Whole Foods to get coconut milk and an americano. I couldn't wait to get back to my room to make my coconut milk latte. Although a little tricky to figure out I finally opened the can opener with my traveling can opener.

I poured the coconut milk into the americano, turned on the frother and dipped it slowly in...NOTE: Turn the frother on after you've immersed the end into the coffee or it will spray everywhere!!! OOPSIES:-(

The frother worked OK, but my morning Pick-Me-Up was just not the same as the one I can make at home with my Nutri-Bullet:-( Either way, it was better than nothing.

After some computer work, I met my brokers at Whole Foods for a meeting and to my surprise their salad bar was labeled the way it should be labeled...the way they make us (as suppliers/vendors) label things. I voiced my concerns to them over a year ago and although nothing has changed yet in our region (Rocky Mountain) I've seen changes in the Southwest region (where global is located) which means there should be changes in other regions soon which makes me so very excited.

What changes am I talking? 

Well, many of the Whole Foods salad bars don't include the finer print. For example, the hard-boiled eggs...are they organic, free range, pastured raised, conventional? You might assume they are organic because it's Whole Foods, but I think they are probably conventional because it's not labeled. It's a marketing thing, right. Well, the question has finally been answered since they've decided to label it.

Cage-Free Organic eggs...Well, they aren't pastured raised, but who's really keeping track...Now, if they could only start using coconut oil instead of canola oil in some of their prepared foods, that would be amazing...I might not cook as much...???

After my meeting I went to my table top where I met all the SW GTL (Southwest Grocery Team Leads). These are the guys that make execution at their store happen which means better sales and team loyalty for our brand. In order to get their buy-in and create a buzz for them to bring back their store I had to give out tons of FREE SWAG (shirts, cooler gloves, stickers, buttons, free tea). 

After the show I headed to a few stores to check product then I went to the airport. And guess what? Yep, TSA wanted to confiscate my pesto sauce and chicken salad again. Well, my little white lie worked again. So if you are ever get in that situation (Christine) just tell them you have severe food allergies and you won't eat for days if they take your food away from you. 

Blogged on the plane ride back as I ate my 'almost confiscated two-time homemade chicken salad'...

Today's Stats

Water Consumption

125 ounces

Sleep 

7 1/2 hours

Daily Meals

7am : Breakfast - Frittata

9am : Coconut Milk Latte

12pm : Salmon Sashimi & Salad with Avocado, Pico de Gallo, Shredded Carrots & Squash

4pm : Snack - Homemade Jerky & Nuts

6pm : Snack - 2 Hard Boiled Eggs

8am : Dinner - Homemade Chicken Salad 

Day 11 on the Whole30 - DONE in DC

So I went to bed last night with the intent to wake-up early (6am) and go to a CrossFit DC for a 7am WOD. Well, I did wake up and I made it downstairs to my car and then instead of getting in it I put money in the meter and decided to head back up stairs to go to bed. I didn't have to coach so I really didn't have to be there. 6am EST is 4am MST and my body just doesn't work that early so why make it...??? OK, enough with the excuses, I wanted more sleep.!.! 

Anyhow, I went back to bed until 10am then I started to get hungry. I went to my fridge to go and eat some of my amazing 'everything but the kitchen sink frittata' I made before leaving town and my the cooling system in my fridge was up so high it froze all my food:-( So I had some nuts and beef jerky instead. I also made a cup of coffee, but I only had a few sips because it wasn't the same without my full-fat Coconut Milk and MTC oil.

Anyhow, I got dressed and made my way to my Whole Foods meeting which was in Rockville, MD, about 40 minutes away from DC. I was over a hour early so I decided to check out the nearby store to see if our product was on the shelf and grab some to eat. We had a full row of product on the shelf and in the cooler, YEAH! Can anybody guess which product I'm talking about?

Time for lunch...A mixed greens salad with eggs, chicken, sweet potatoes (I was so excited, they actually used olive oil in this region instead of canola oil...can somebody tell the RM region try doing that...???) I also got a side of guacamole, and pico de gallo (which are great substitutes for dressings)...And finally I got some water and an americano...I brought the barista a can of full-fat coconut milk and asked if she would make a latte with it, I'd buy the milk for her to use...She checked to see if should could find a can opener and when she came back she said she couldn't...Anyhow, I wound up not drinking much of the coffee because the unsweetened carton of coconut milk didn't really taste good in my coffee...I decided to buy the can of coconut milk anyway and see if I can get Starbuck's or my hotel to make if for me tomorrow morning...something to look forward too...

After my meeting (which was awesome!), I made my way to another Whole Foods (Alexandria) to check the shelves, bought some more water and decided it was time to head to CrossFit DC for the 5pm class. They have two locations and have been around the since 2005. I got there a little early and mashed the shit out my gluts, it felt awesome.

The WOD was challenging:

Team 'DT' Ladder 

(In horror of USAF SSgt Timothy P. Davis, 28)

1-2-3-2-1 Rounds

- 12 Deadlifts (=108 reps)

- 9 Hang Power Cleans (=81 reps)

- 6 Push Press (=54)

*35 min time cap*

Weight

M: 155/135/115/95/75

W: 105/95/85/65/45

So you do a round, your partner does a round, you do two rounds your partner does two rounds, then you do three rounds and your partner does three rounds, then you go down the ladder...you do two rounds, your partner does two round then you finish it with one round...I did the first round at 105# and realized and needed to drop the weight to 95#...this was gonna be a lot of reps and traveling takes a lot out of me anyway so why push myself...Anyhow, we completed it in about 26 minutes and all I felt like was a steak...

I asked a few people from class where I could get a good steak. I told them that I was on the Whole30 and they obviously got it. I had a few recommendations, but the best one came from a guy that mentioned this place that had grass-fed meat and was owned & operated by Spike Mendelsohn, a contestant on the Top Chef (2008-2009). I told him I passed that restaurant last night when I went to Sushi Capital. As I waited for my order, I walked down the block to check out the Good Stuff Eatery, which was Spike's first restaurant. They serve grass-fed burgers and you have the option to 'shun the bun' and get it wrapped in lettuce. They looked delicious, and the french fires smelled so good, I actually had to leave before I ordered some. Anyhow, I decided to eat at Bearnaise which he opened about 1 1/2 ago. 

The menu looked great...lots of steak options...Although they are known for their Steak Frites, I craved something fattier and bigger, so I ordered the Ribeye (14 oz) with a side salad and dressings on the side. I told the water I was allergic to gluten and dairy, so he informed the cooks to use oil instead of butter and didn't even ask if I wanted bread!

Instead of dipping my salad and steak in sauce, I asked for a fried egg on top. The golden yolky goodness is the best sauce you'll ever have. You should try it next time you order a salad or steak. 

  

If you couldn't tell from my empty plate, I was ravished and it was delicious...

At the end of dinner, I started to crave dessert. I wasn't craving something sweet, I was actually craving something fatty...So I went down the street a little to Sushi Capital, where I went last night, and got their super fatty tuna sashimi with fresh wasabi to-go. 

I enjoyed every single bite as I unwound from the day and began blogging. If you've never tried fatty tuna, you're missing out. I had their regular fatty tuna and medium fatty tuna last night and those were great, but there is nothing like their 'super fatty' tuna...WOW, I'm craving more just thinking about it...Maybe for lunch tomorrow before I head on the plane...???

Today's Stats:

Water Consumption

130 ounces

Sleep 

9 hours

(even though I woke-up and tried to go the CrossFit this morning)

Daily Meals

My meals are listed above, except for the jerky & nut snacking I did in the car while driving, which I will NOT do tomorrow. Eating while driving is not only dangerous, but it's not mindful. I have no idea how many handfuls of nuts or jerky I had in the car. It was easily accessible and I was bored and a little anxious for my meeting. Plus it's contradictory of my goal on the Whole30...If my goal is to be mindful of everything thing I put into my body so I can thoroughly appreciate it while it nourishes me, then it makes sense to be eat in a place where I can mentally and physically be present while I eat...Needless to say, my 'rent-a-car' is NOT one of those places...

Do you eat & drive? This might be just as dangerous as drinking & driving...