Day 1 - Three espresso drinks down the drain

We have been using the cookbook "Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat" and have practiced many meals all of which have been successful. I did not try out new coffee ideas. I do not like black coffee. I have a home made Dirty Chai every morning. I use the TAZO concentrate, espresso and a Natural Organic creamer. For Whole30 most of my internet research said how fantastic coffee with Coconut Oil and Coconut milk tastes. So I just made the assumption that it would be good. Bad assumption!

First Attempt - Espresso, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon coconut milk from the can. Blended with a blender. Literally gagged!

Second Attempt - Espresso and coconut milk...skipped the oil, wondering if that gave it the gag factor. But no...it was the coconut milk. Second attempt down the drain

Third Attempt - For this one I went back to the google board. I found the bullet proof method. This called for coconut oil and ghee. I used a tablespoon of ghee and small teaspoon of oil. This time I also threw in a vanilla bean. After blending it I knew immediately the vanilla bean was a bad idea, I now had little black bits floating on top of my coffee that were not pleasant to drink. The flavor on this one was much better. But couldn't get past the black bits. Third attempt down the drain.


At this point I gave up. I had to get to work. But I need that coffee or I know a headache would set me back today.  So I stopped at Target on my way to work and browsed the tea section. I ending up picking up some Numi Organic Chocolate Pur-Erh tea and compliant almond milk. And would you believe my luck...there was a Starbucks in the Target right next to my check out lane. I ordered an Americana (Espresso and water) threw in the tea bag and let it steep for 3 minutes then added some almond milk. Compared to my first three attempts this was delicious. Again, with how disgusting my first three coffees were and with my expectations so low, it may not be that good. I will find out tomorrow when I start with this concoction.


For Breakfast I had Scotch Eggs that my husband prepared yesterday using the Well Fed recipe...boy do these need cheese! (After wine, cheese is going to be my biggest struggle.) But maybe on tomorrows I will chop it up and add some salsa. Honestly had a hard time choking this down. I am not a breakfast eater. I always just have my coffee in the morning and don't eat until lunch. But I ate it...and when 2 o'olocked rolled around I found that I wasn't even hungry.

So I had a late lunch of salmon wraps with guacamole. I am fortunate to work in a restaurant where quality ingredients are in everything. So for lunches I have a wide variety of fresh foods at my finger tips. We only have two menu items that are completely compliant but it is easy to grab a avocado, some solta and make some fresh guac.

Dinner was a totally new experience also. Steve made Spaghetti squash, topped with a tomato meat sauce and roasted veggies. It was actually good!

The evening is my biggest challenge. My typically routine after everyone is in bed I power up HBO GO to watch a show (currently watching the Sopranos) with a glass of wine or two and a snack of whatever ales me. Usually cheese and olives, or some extra dinner left overs. This is the habit I need to change....I don't necessarily want to change because I enjoy my evening routine. But I know I am drinking a lot of empty calories and make stupid snack choices after that first glass of wine. So tonight, I cracked open a La Croix water and had a snack of almonds and dried apricots.  It was okay...I survived. My goal was to hit the hay at 10:30 which would give me 8 hours of sleep, but I didn't get to bed until 11:30. Tomorrow I will try to make the 10:30 mark.

I can force myself to eat vegetables for 30 straight days...I can do anything for 30 days!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a meat and potato girl. My deathbed meal would be Cook's Illustrated Beef Burgundy and a bottle of red zin! I always "hold the veggies". I have worked in a restaurant for 17 years (in the office, not the kitchen which is why it is a successful restaurant!) When the restaurant got a new POS system I made sure that a "hold veggies" button was created just for me!

I am now 39 years old. It is the end of the 30s for me. I will be 40 next year. I am healthier now than I was in my 20s, when I never even gave a single thought to what I ate. I was blessed with a decent metabolism that keep me thin during those early 20s, but with each passing year it has slowed down and at 35 I was the heaviest I had ever been. Everything I have read about your metabolism slowing down is true for me and it is only getting worse! I am also very short, so an extra 5lbs on me shows in all the wrong places. So, at 35 I started really thinking about what I was eating and started to exercise more. Limiting pasta and breads and trail running really helped me start to trim down. Then I found Pilates! No, it is nothing like yoga! I hate yoga...if I am going to do anything psychical for an hour a day, I better be burning some calories, and the yoga I tried didn't cut it.

After two years of Pilates, I know that I have built muscle but it is just not visible to the naked eye. I love Pilates and have found it is an exercise that works for me. I have never been a huge fan of working out. I had to drag myself out the door to run, once on the trail I was happy, but it was always a chore.  I know that I should be running in conjunction with Pilates, but if I have time to workout, I am going to choose Pilates over running every time! My goal is to go workout 5 times a week and after two years I am still enjoying going to Pilates and really look forward to it. I feel fit and strong but still don't look the way I want to.

This brings me to this Whole30 challenge. I have a friend who works out all the time and was getting fit, but the true efforts of his workouts didn't completely show until he did the Whole30 and changed his eating habits after the 30 days. So he is my inspiration.

Another thing my friends know about me is that I don't cook. I am fortunate that I married a man who loves to cook. So I could not do this challenge without him. Steve has the hardest part of this challenge, meal planning and cooking.

So the challenge begins. Tonight I will enjoy a glass of wine (or two...or three). Maybe after the wine I will have the courage to take my before pictures....which I may or may not post, that might be putting myself out there too far!