HEY THERE, FRIDAY

Holy avocados... TODAY'S THE LAST DAY!

I'm feeling a strange sense of calm wash over me. I've finished what I set out to do. I ate clean, whole foods for 30 days, and I'm still alive to talk about it. I've shared my experience with friends and family, and received such overwhelming support that I just want to keep passing on this info to everyone I see.

It's cliche, but I think I just changed my own life.

Day 30 Recap:

Pre-Workout Breakfast: mango & apple bar from TJ's
Breakfast: potatoes with pork carnitas
Lunch: pomegranate seeds, fruit & nut dip
Dinner: chili rellenos with ground beef, tomatoes and salsa verde

With only two whole days left to go, I think I finally hit my "Tiger Blood" stride, if a little late. And I am most definitely in the HolyOprahIt'sAlmostOverWhatOnEarthDoIEatNow?! phase. When I went to the store today, I bought a couple of things that I hadn't even looked at during my Whole30. Goat cheese and tortillas... heyo!

And then I felt... guilty.

I hadn't even eaten these things yet, and already I'm feeling pangs of stop it stop it stop it! That's not approvedddd!! guilt.

At the beginning of the Whole30, I would have killed someone for a Coke. I wanted to throttle someone who ate a cheesy pizza in front of me. But now, as Melissa Hartwig put so well in her blog post, my "Worth It" foods have changed. Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks? It was worth it at the beginning, but it isn't now. Cheese on my chili relleno, bread on my sandwich, mayo with my sweet potato fries... not worth it.

Did I buy some non-Whole30 items at the store the other day? Yes.

Am I planning on binge-eating the lot of it on Day 31? Heck, no. I feel too good, I look too good, and there's too much goodness out there to throw it all away.

Day 29 Recap:

Breakfast: mango & apple fruit bar from TJ's
Lunch: Whole Foods salad bar
Dinner: pork carnitas on spicy roasted red potatoes

With just two more days left to go on the Whole30, I've been thinking about how different this challenge has been compared to every other diet plan I've tried. My friends and I were talking this week about other diets we've attempted, and how transient the results have been. Weight Watchers, counting calories, the 5-2 fasting diet, smoothie meal substitutes... Sure, maybe you get the momentary satisfaction of having dropped 5 or 10 lbs., but how do you feel? If you feel the same and look the same, what change did you make? If you're eating loads of processed junk in an effort to stay under 300 calories for every single meal, how is your body getting what it needs?

I can see the change; I can feel the results. And the best part? I know I've made a life-long change.

Day 28 Recap:

Breakfast: bacon, eggs, breakfast potatoes
Lunch: fruit & nut butter
Dinner: grilled chicken with avocado and steamed broccoli

Today, even while I was on vacation, I couldn't help but think about what Day 31 is going to look like. After all, Whole30 isn't meant to be just a challenge you shrug off the moment it's done - it's a lifestyle change.

When I started Whole30, I didn't truly understand how much this method of eating would affect me. I thought I'd do the challenge, then bounce right back to my old habits after everything was said and done.

Um, wrong.

I don't want to binge on bad-for-me-stuff. I don't want to watch all this hard work to go to waste. I want to take a good, hard look at how these foods affect me, and measure how I feel after I consume them. This post from My Primal Provisions only fueled my reintroduction fire.

Day 27 Recap:

Breakfast: fruit plate and black coffee
Lunch: poached eggs with flank steak
Dinner: grilled salmon with grilled veggies

And the final seven days begin!

Day 24

On Wednesday I got a chance to talk to some of my friends about my Whole30 journey - I even shared some of my before & Day 14 comparison pictures, which I thought I would never do. It feels awesome to be able to show off what I've accomplished.

Day 24 Recap:

Breakfast: smoothie with strawberry, banana, avocado, coconut milk and chia seeds
Lunch: Whole Foods salad bar
Dinner: grilled veggies, dried mango, fruit & nut dip

Day 25

Day 26

Bulletproof Coffee: I tried it.
If we're not on the same page of what Bulletproof Coffee is, then I'm going to direct you here, so you can get up to speed. This is where Bulletproof originated, and this site should answer all of your questions, because I'm certainly not an expert.

All around the healthy blogosphere, Bulletproof Coffee is the "it" drink of the moment, especially among the paleo/Cross-fit set (although not the purists, because technically coffee/caffeine isn't paleo). More info on that? Go here.

People are raving about it. It's supposed to be "better than a latte," giving you the energy of Zeus and a can-do attitude to boot.

I used an Ethiopian organic, fair-trade blend from Trader Joe's, freshly ground yesterday afternoon. I made my coffee in a French press, and blended it with grass-fed ghee and coconut oil.

Taste-wise, the flavor was pretty similar to the coconut milk latte I had on Sunday. I added a dash of cinnamon, but for me, what this combination is really lacking is something sweet to pull the whole concoction together. And that is definitely not Whole30 compliant, so sweetening the brew just ain't gonna happen. 

Bottom line? I think the effects of Bulletproof Coffee will depend on what your standard caffeine intake already is. Mine is, admittedly, pretty hefty, so I think that's why I haven't felt the jolt of unstoppable energy that others rave about.

Looking for a different way to do coffee? Give it a shot and tell me what you think.

Day 23 Recap:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with TJ's Salsa Verde
Lunch: plantain "chips" with fruit & nut spread
Dinner: sweet potato with pork carnitas & poached egg

Let's talk about snacks.

From the outset, the Whole30 program encourages you to eat meals that are filling enough to get you to your next meal, eliminating snacking as much as possible. But, why?

So far for the entirety of my Whole30 program, I've stayed away from snacking. I'll have an orange or an apple here or there, or drink a Dave's G.T. Kombucha when I would normally down a Coke from Sonic, but since pre-packaged, Whole30-compliant snacks are pretty hard to come by, I just skipped them altogether.

Until yesterday, when I went a little crazy at Trader Joe's.

Chowing down on snacks, even when they're approved, compliant snacks, takes away market share in your stomach from more nutrient-rich, delicious foods that you could be eating as a meal instead. If I eat half a bag of dried mango, no matter how compliant it is, I'm just not going to be hungry for sweet potatoes, eggs and chicken later.

But, no matter where you are in the snacking/meal planning/fruit-loving stages of your Whole30 journey, if you've stuck it out this far, keep on keepin' on. Don't beat yourself up for snacks here and there. Remember, there's no such thing as a "perfect" Whole30.

Day 22:

Breakfast: coffee (womp, womp)
Lunch: sweet potato with compliant chicken salad
Snack: dried mango, spirulina chips and TJ's apple & mango bar
Dinner: sweet potato with chicken, poached egg and TJ's salsa verde