Week One Meal Breakdown

Monday -

Breakfast - Leftover pork chop sauteed with mushrooms, asparagus and onions in coconut oil and a delicious mug of Stumptown coffee.

Lunch - Salad with smoked turkey breast.

 Dinner - Miss B made a big pot of hearty vegetable soup with carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, onions, celery root, fennel and tomatoes.  She made enough so that she could take it for lunches for the week.  The rest of us omnivores had a grilled petite sirloin steak on the side.

 
Tuesday -

 Breakfast - Pork chop scramble with mushrooms, onions, asparagus and spinach.

  Lunch - Salad with leftover smoked coho salmon ala Dan.



 Dinner - Grass-fed ground beef patty with salad and avocado.



Wednesday-
  On most Wednesdays I do a 24 hour fast.  I don't eat from dinner on Tuesday until dinner on Wednesday. There are a large number of studies on the effects of intermittent fasting as part of a healthy, eating regiment. I'm not going to get into the details here but if you're interested, you can find a great article published in Harper's Magazine earlier this year here.  Also, Mark's Daily Apple has a lot of info about IF.
  That said, I broke my fast Wednesday evening after hula with...

  Dinner - Pan fried chicken liver and onions, a green salad and one of Dan's awesome pickles.





Thursday - 
  Breakfast - Leftover chicken liver and onions and steamed asparagus.
  Lunch - Salad with pan seared sirloin.
  Dinner - Cobb salad (sans blue cheese).

Friday - 
  Breakfast - I was feeling rushed and lazy so I stopped by New Season's on my way into the office and grabbed a scoop of scrambled eggs, a couple of their natural breakfast sausage links and a serving of steamed spring vegetables with lemon-infused olive oil.

Lunch - Salad with leftover hard-boiled egg and chicken from dinner on Thursday.


Dinner - Dan cooked a turkey breast in his smoker and we had broiled asparagus, pureed cauliflower and watermelon on the side!  OMG!  Super delicious!  I was sneaking bits of turkey out of the fridge all night.



Saturday - 
   Breakfast - Saturday morning is boot camp!  I grabbed a quick handful of almonds on my way out the door.  My post-workout recovery meals this week consisted of mashed, steamed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and orange peel and a good chunk of protein.  Monday and Tuesday that protein was leftover grilled salmon.  Thursday the protein was a can of albacore tuna and Saturday morning it was leftover smoked turkey breast.


  Lunch - Mr. M had his last soccer game of the season on Saturday so we also had the end-of-season pizza party.  Obviously, I didn't have pizza but there was a sad little salad bar.  I filled up a plate with lettuce and veggies, popped a few hard-boiled eggs on it and topped it off with Tabasco Buffalo Sauce (Dan's idea after I pointed out that there was not a Whole30 salad dressing option and the cashier looked at me like I was an alien for asking her if she had any olive oil and vinegar.  I remind you, this was in a pizza parlor...)  The salad held me over until we got to our friend's house for their daughters' birthday party where I was happily able to graze on fresh fruit and veggies until she served me up a lovely chunk of steak!

  Dinner - It was pretty late once we left the party, did our weekly shopping and got back home so I threw together quick chipotle beef tostada fixin's for the fam.

And so begins my Whole30...

     Today begins my Whole30 program.  It's a 30 day whole food, nutrition program.  (You can check out the details here if your interested.)
     Perhaps this would be a good point for a little background information... Back in November, I began a journey.  ("Journey" may not be the right word for it as it implies an end point but I think you all understand what I'm talking about.)  It all started with a friendly "Biggest Loser" competition between many members of my hula ohana.  I cut carbs, joined a gym, signed up with a personal trainer and started attending Boot Camp classes 1-2 times a week.  That was 6 months, 60 pounds and approximately 6-8 dress sizes ago.  The beginning of January, I embarked upon what I truly believe to be a life-long Primal/Paleo nutritional adventure.  (If you want, here's more info about the Primal Lifestyle and Paleo diet.)
     I have stayed pretty true to the Primal diet and I "lift heavy things" on a regular basis but over the past month or so, I am finding my willpower wavering and my resolve weakening and I have been succumbing more and more to sugar's siren song.  It started with a square or two of high quality dark chocolate in the evening and then a non-paleo post workout recovery drink laced with maltodextrin and before I knew it, my 90/10 (eating a primal/paleo diet 90% of the time) Primal lifestyle was looking a lot more like 70/30 (or worse).
     My goals are to be strong, fit, fast and to look and feel fantastic!  Thus, the Whole30.  I am planning to use the Whole30 as a springboard to my 39th birthday.  My body comp and fitness efforts have plateaued a bit over the last couple of weeks.  I'm ready to change that!
     As of this morning, my weight was 177.8 and my measurements were 40-31-41.  I am currently comfortably wearing between a size 10 and 12 and my body fat percentage was 31.2% at my training session this afternoon.  Part of the Whole30 is no weighing or measurements during the 30 days you're following the program.  The focus is to be on eating good, whole foods...the promise is, the rest will come.
     I LOVE GOOD FOOD!  I enjoy cooking and preparing good food.  I just can't get lazy!

This is my breakfast this morning.  Leftover pork chops sauteed in coconut oil with farmer's market asparagus, onions and mushrooms and a big 'ol cup o' joe
.
So at least for the next 30 days, I will be very good!  I will only eat the Whole30 approved foods and I will shake off the sugar monkey and get back to business!  I'll try to post every couple of days to let y'all know how it's going and what kind of delicious fabulousness I've been eating!

But before I do, here's a picture of the fabulous (totally non-paleo) Mother's Day dessert my hubby made me last night!  It's a Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette with rhubarb from our back yard.