Whole30 WEEK ONE Recap - Not down with the "XG"

Well, it's lunch time on DAY 8 of my first ever Whole30.  I had a great 4 mile warm up this am followed by an interesting arm set consisting of boxing and volleyball (most of the workout had to be outside because they're painting in the gym and everyone was getting high from the lacquer).  My punches are getting stronger and upper cuts are vicious.  I also definitely feel the ab work when boxing and I get to punch out my aggression of my clients before the sun rises, which is always a good thing.  Whenever I need to kick some guys ass, I for sure have Tray to thank.

This week was an interesting one on Whole30.  My first full week of no SUGAR...no PRESERVATIVES...no ARTIFICIAL anything.  Have you ever truly looked at the nutrition labels?  Like really looked because you can't have something say like... xanthan gum?  I mean what IS xanthan gum anyways?

WELL - if you MUST KNOW:

Xanthan gum (/ˈzænθən/) is a polysaccharide secreted by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris,^[2] used as a food additive and rheology modifier,^[3] commonly used as a food thickening agent (in salad dressings, for example) and a stabilizer (in cosmetic products, for example, to prevent ingredients from separating). It is composed of pentasaccharide repeat units, comprising glucose, mannose, and glucuronic acid in the molar ratio 2.0:2.0:1.0.


Hmm...so xanthan gum works for food and for cosmetic products....ok - so does it make you pretty on the inside? :)  All jokes aside, when reading more down the WIKI of the XG I had NO FREAKING CLUE what they were talking about.  It was molecule talk...all of which was so foreign to me.  At the end of the day, it's probably a good thing to remove the chemically engineered cosmetic component from my food.

MY FINDINGS!

My favorite meals consisted of:

Fruit (bananas, watermelon - oh I love watermelon, kiwi, pears, pineapple...etc)  The only sugar you get is from fruit and the natural sugars of veggies like carrots and yams.

FRITATTA!!  This is an amazing meal for you paleo loving WHOLE30'ers out there.  This is compromised of lots of veggies (summer squash, onions, zucchini, spinach) all cut and put in a Pyrex dish.  Scramble eggs and fill it up until they're filled over the veggies and cut up BACON and put it in there as well.  Bake it and it fluffs up to breakfast pie goodness!

Kale Salad - yea yea, kale salad sounds so healthy but this one is by far my favorite (and even better after sitting in your homemade EVOO dressing for a couple of days).  This one came from one of my favorite blogs:  www.inspiralized.com - you can find the recipe here: INSPIRALIZED KALE APPLE SLAW

Roasted veggies: cabbage - my fav!, egg plant, baby carrots!  Actually I made the baby carrots into as a sort of 'sweet potato fry' by mixing them in coconut oil and cinnamon and roasting them - PHENOM.

LARA Bars:  Some of the only nutrient bars that are PURE as pure can be.  Only ingrediants are cashews, almonds, dates and/or whatever fruit is sweetening the bar.  They've been a lifesaver for my dessert binge or my need for something sweet.

I've had a variety of items atop my favorite turkey burger patties and by far - the best bacon is at Sprouts, for reals.

Other than getting creative in the kitchen I've seen that my energy levels on day 3, 4, and 5 were HARSH.  I was falling asleep at the wheel I was so tired and it wasn't from lack of sleep.  Artificial sugar can do a number to the burst in our step and when you're getting sugar from items like juice, chips, snacks, bread, rice...etc. you're moving quite a bit faster than when you're negating these from your daily regimen.  I've stayed just as active as when I was eating more so this could have something to do with the fact that I've needed coffee to get through the day (100% black of course...)

I did go out on Saturday night and drank my fair share of club soda with lemon.  It was all fun and games until everyone was shitty and I was TIRED!  I didn't succumb to any temptation and managed to be out at 4 bars with a ton of people and stuck to the routine.  Go me!


All in all I'm getting back to tight and toned - just where I feel my best.  I have hip bones again - phew...I thought they were gone forever!  I'm super looking forward to weighing in at the end of all of this - as well as a glass of much deserved VINO.  Week one down, three to go!

 Almond Butter...my best friend and worst enemy!!

 My friend Danielle and I making a FULL veggie meal a la Lemonade in LA. 

 Spiralizing some sweet potatoes!

Brussels sprouts are SO good to precook.  For the PALEO Whole30 friendly version I mixed them with mustard seed, olive oil, approved spices and lemon juice and baked them for 45 minutes or so.  *SIDE NOTE: they're awesome with eggs in the AM also!