A Third Try at a Whole30: Week 1

Ugh.  So fat.  So tired.  So uncomfortable. Time for a reset.
Also, I'm constantly dehydrated, so I'm making a concerted effort to drink a gallon of water a day.

Official weigh-in: 162.  HO-LY CRAP.
Day 1: The Eagles just won the SuperBowl
   Breakfast--Tea, water, coffee with coconut milk
   Lunch--Chicken cilantro burger with arugula and avocado
   Dinner--Lemon roasted chicken and baby roasted potatoes
   I actually did a pretty good job getting in those mythical 64 oz. of water.

Day 2:
   Breakfast--Smoothie (banana, coconut milk, chia, cherries and blueberries), tea
   Lunch--Chicken cilantro burger with arugula and avocado
   Dinner--Chicken stock with hot italian sausage and kale
   Again, I came close to, if I didn't surpass, the 64 oz. water goal.

Day 3:  Already waking up with a spring to my step.  Which is surprising because with all of this water I'm waking up to go pee at least once during the night.
   Breakfast--Smoothie (banana, coconut milk, chia, cherries and blueberries), tea
   Lunch---Chicken stock with hot italian sausage and kale
   Dinner---Popper chili with avocado
   I drank way more than 64 oz.

Day 4:
   Breakfast--Smoothie (banana, coconut milk, chia, cherries and blueberries), tea
   Lunch---Chicken and steak on lettuce with green salsa, tomatoes, guac and cilantro
   Snack: half an apple
   Dinner---B-nut squash burrito bowl w/ arugula, salsa, avocado, cilantro and a beautifully poached egg
   I drank way more than 64 oz., thanks to a 2-hour online class in which I need to do something with my body to keep my mind engaged.

Day 5:
   Breakfast--Smoothie (banana, coconut milk, chia, cherries and blueberries), tea
   Lunch---B-nut squash burrito bowl w/ arugula, salsa, avocado, cilantro and a beautifully poached egg
   Dinner---Can't remember...
   So dehydrated.

Day 6:
   Breakfast--Sweet potato hash, bacon, and a fried egg; tea
   Snack--Smoothie (banana, coconut milk, chia, cherries and blueberries)
   Lunch--Popper chili with avocado
   Dinner--Burger with caramelized onions and dijon mustard

Day 7:
   Breakfast--Veggie omelet (spinach, tomato, onion, mushrooms), homefries with onions, tea
   Lunch--
   Dinner--Stuffed peppers (chorizo and cauliflower rice
   Snack--a spoonful of almond butter with sea salt

All-in-all I felt pretty good all week, save Day 7, when I was raging from an accidental double-dose of steroids to treat a sinus issue that reared its head (also the reason I double-dosed).  I've been sleeping better, feeling more stable with energy levels, and my skin is already starting to clear up a bit.

Total spent on groceries: $185 (includes ancillary house items) to make 35 breakfasts, 29 lunches, 35 dinners for a family of five.

5 Ways I've been succeeding and failing at my own spending challenges

In April, my last post, I wrote about my obscene credit card balance and ways I'd been trying to make that ish GO AWAY.  I had pledged that by July or August I'd have the credit card balance down to or close to $0.

And my result--total fail.

I've gotten it down by a little more than $1k, and mostly it's because I didn't anticipate a few things in my plan.

Plan re-cap:
1. Not shopping anymore.  No clothes. No shoes.
2. Bank account consolidation.  Big guy and I weren't understanding what the other was doing and where money was going to pay for what.  It was confusing and we just didn't handle it.  Now all of our accounts (his, hers, and ours) are at one bank and with only a few weeks of this, it's made everything a lot easier.
3. Tracking spending.  Sounds rudimentary, but to force myself to look at statements, copy down what I spent and where (and the anticipation of having to do this later) is really helpful.
4. When I feel the need to buy something, I've been checking to make sure I don't already have an acceptable alternative.  Especially with clothes that I haven't been able to explore in 5 years, I'm finding that there are things that got shoved to back of the closet that are in great condition and I can wear them again.  It helps that I'm Kon-Marie ing my clothes--if it doesn't bring me joy it goes to someone that will find joy in it.
5. I'm doing my damnedest to use all the leftovers.  For all of us.  I found that even if I'm really good at bringing my lunch, there's one guy in our house that was spending lots of money on lunch ($~50 a week).

Some successes:
1 .Consolidating the bank accounts at one institution is still a thing and has been working well.
2. I've also done okay at tracking my expenses, but I've been referring to my statements more than writing things down (I'm not much of a cash person).

Fails:
1. Not shopping.  Total fail.  Clothes all over the place.
2. Leftovers.  Lots of food waste at our house lately.
3. Take out/ordering in/eating on the fly.

So why the fails?

A bit of an announcement--we're unexpectedly expecting BickerBaby #3.  And since I gave all my larger clothes and maternity clothes away during the spring, I've spent a lot of money buying things that will fit over this large belly.  I've been fortunate that many friends have also been offering their clothes (or my old clothes back), but as we all know, sometimes the things don't fit or aren't your style or aren't existing (T-shirts, I mean you!) when you borrow things from someone else.

Same goes for the Little Lady, in that a lot of her clothes are hand-me-downs, so I've had to fill some gaps for her, too--mainly shorts--and little girls clothes are obscenely expensive.

We also discovered that all of my husband's shorts were literally falling apart, so I bought him a few new pairs and some shirts that didn't have holes/covered his belly. Luckily, Little Man was pretty much all set, but I bought him a new bathing suit (a size too big so he can *hopefully use it again next year, too).

BickerBaby #3 also means I've been dog tired and not feeling well, on top of having the oddest "needs" for certain cuisines.  So meal planning, lunch packing (for me), and creativity with left-overs hasn't been a priority.  Coupled with taking two night classes over the summer, and I'd say we were ordering out for dinner 3 times a week at one point.  The vast majority of spending has gone to take-out/food.

Some good news in all this doldrum:
- I've fallen in with a group of fellow MBA students that is totally keen on book sharing and swapping, so I've saved a few hundred dollars on course materials over the last few months, and will continue to do so in the future.
- My energy and normal appetite have returned, so we've been doing better at cooking/packing/re-using meals.
- I planted a garden, y'all.  And all that awesomeness is finally starting to come to fruition.  Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers (bell and hot), as well as a ton of herbs are being brought into the kitchen daily so it's helped to off-set our grocery bills and will continue to do so even into the fall and winter (canning, freezing, fingers crossed for an extended growing season).
- People have been supremely generous with giving us gently used baby items.  We literally gave away ALL items suitable for a child from infancy-18 months old, including car seats, strollers, carriers, clothes, boppies, etc. and friends and friends of friends have really heeded the call for "stuff" (once they stop laughing at our news).  So far, we've been lucky enough to get two convertible car seats and an infant seat, a boppie, some clothes, and a bunch of random doo-dads to help usher this child into his or her first months of life.  I've also been terrible at writing the thank you notes...

So some new goals for the next few months:
- Start packing lunches and snacks again.  At least 3 days a week, better if I can do 4.
- Stop buying clothes.  I should be good for fall with the maternity stuff and both the Little Lady and Little Man should be good to go for fall.  I'm praying that the grandparents are as generous with the call for clothes as presents at Christmas this year as they were last year.  It was really awesome, and they smartly bought clothes in the next size up so I know they'll be good through the fall this year.
- Can, freeze, dry, pickle, etc. all I can from the garden until it stops producing.  I'm hoping to keep the grocery bills as low as possible for as long as possible.
- Use what I have already in the freezer.  I KNOW there are a bunch of sausages, kale, peas, chicken parts, etc. that are buried in the bottom of our freezer that I really just need to inventory and use.  Again, helping to off-set the grocery bill, which when paired with take-out (which will hopefully be eliminated) is by FAR our largest expense after mortgage and daycare. 
and finally...
- I pledge to cut down on my visits to Dunkin' Donuts.  It's only $12 a week I spend there, but that's almost $50 a month that I would be putting toward this debt that I couldn't otherwise.

Wish me luck, and let me know your pointers for staying on track.  I obviously know what I NEED to do, but help me do it! 

Lifestyle Changes

A few weeks ago, I noticed something--a 6 digit credit card bill.  For some, this might not be a big deal, but for me (the girl who pays off her credit card in full almost every month and NEVER carries a balance above $1K) this is a huge deal. 

Let's be real here, kids:  I just about lost my shit.

So what happened to get me to that point?  Basically, we moved.  We dumped all of our savings (and checkings) into buying a new home in the burbs.  And it's great!  But now I know why people truly resist moving to the burbs.  It's expensive!

So while I'm not paying city wage tax, my car insurance went down a little, and I'm not driving 40 minutes to go to retail and grocery outlets that looks like a zombie apocalypse was forecasted by Miss Cecily Tynan, I'm paying a whole lot more elsewhere.
1. My mortgage and property taxes.  They went up about 20%
2. Commuting.  That's gone up (for me anyhoo) about 30%
3. Daycare.  That's gone up an astonishing 90%.  Yes, folks, we pay almost double for daycare what we did before.

And to top it all off, now that I'm done carrying, baring, and nursing children, my body has returned to its normal shape and size.  But my 5 year old clothing is either too beat to wear or is too big (yes, I typed big.  I'm one of the lucky ones.) and I've needed to re-invest in some work clothes.

All of this unanticipated expense has forced me to rethink what I'm spending money on, and I've made some lifestyle as a result.
1. Not shopping anymore.  No clothes. No shoes.
2. Bank account consolidation.  Big guy and I weren't understanding what the other was doing and where money was going to pay for what.  It was confusing and we just didn't handle it.  Now all of our accounts (his, hers, and ours) are at one bank and with only a few weeks of this, it's made everything a lot easier.
3. Tracking spending.  Sounds rudimentary, but to force myself to look at statements, copy down what I spent and where (and the anticipation of having to do this later) is really helpful.
4. When I feel the need to buy something, I've been checking to make sure I don't already have an acceptable alternative.  Especially with clothes that I haven't been able to explore in 5 years, I'm finding that there are things that got shoved to back of the closet that are in great condition and I can wear them again.  It helps that I'm Kon-Marie ing my clothes--if it doesn't bring me joy it goes to someone that will find joy in it.
5. I'm doing my damnedest to use all the leftovers.  For all of us.  I found that even if I'm really good at bringing my lunch, there's one guy in our house that was spending lots of money on lunch ($~50 a week).

So, that's my truth serum.  And it will all be back to $0 balance in less than 3 months.  I'm cheap like that.

[Insert not-so-subtle requests from the peanut gallery on ways to not spend]

Whole30 #2: Week 4

I'm feeling like the worst Whole30-er this time around, but I actually don't really care enough to start the 30 days over again.  I'm sticking to the plan when I can, not stressing about it when I can't (damn work meals), and having ONE drink or a small treat when I really want it.

Day 22: Feeling fine.  Still got a cold, and I'm hanging out with a sick Little Lady at home.

• Breakfast: Coffee
• Lunch: Italian sausage in chicken broth with arugula.
• Dinner: Leftover spaghetti squash and marinara (no more meatballs) 

Day 23: More work meetings involving food, but I made it work...

• Breakfast:  Coffee, and then a plain tea.  Stayed strong against the free pastries at my 9am meeting.
• Lunch: Spaghetti squash and marinara
• Dinner: Cilantro chicken burgers with avocado, caramelized onions and peppers, and roasted spicy cauliflower over arugula.

Day 24: Lots of personal errands to run

• Breakfast: Coffee
• Lunch: Left-over cilantro chicken burger
• Dinner: Italian sausage in chicken broth with arugula.

Day 25: Cancelled business meetings, Nana(Claus) is coming to town.

• Breakfast: Coffee and a smoothie.
• Lunch: I FINALLY KILLED THAT MARINARA & SPAGHETTI SQUASH!!!
• Dinner: [Carb-cation commences] Meatball parm grinder from Lil' Rizzo's.  So worth it.

Day 26: Our 5th anniversary and a quick trip to the Poconos.

• Breakfast: Coffee.  And a smoothie. And then more coffee.
• Lunch:  Italian sausage in chicken broth with arugula and an apple with almond butter.
• Dinner: [Carb-cation continues at an all-inclusive buffet] Broccolini, chicken from this stirfry thingy that was really good, a little bit of pasta, a huge piece of cake.
• Extras: Some chocolates from my honey, like 5 glasses of wine, 2 glasses of champagne, 2 cups of beer, and god knows what else because I don't believe I remember the whole episode.

Day 27: Still Carb-cationing, and I have the worst headache existing in Luzerne County, PA.

• Breakfast: Tea, an egg burrito thingy, some fruit and about 8 french toast sticks.
• Lunch: A rest stop whopper junior and some advil.  
• Dinner: Some crab-stuffed talapia thingy from Outback (yay for gift cards), some chocolate thunder dessert thingy, and 2 beers.

Day 28: Toddler birthday party!  p.s. I got to meet Michael Angelo, the TMNT. 

• Breakfast: Coffee, and scrambled eggs on a whole wheat english muffin.
• Lunch: Half a grilled chicken wrap, half a grilled veggie chicken wrap, about 5 mimosas, and the best freaking Ninja Turtle cake pop ever.
• Dinner: Bourbon pork tenderloin, sweet potato, and roasted asparagus.  I later ate my truck stop cookie purchased on Day 27 and washed it down with a beer. 

[Carb-cation concludes.]

Whole30 #2: Week 3

Began the week on the cusp of a slip-up (a yummy delicious and worth it slip-up), but I'm back on the wagon!

Day 15: Feeling the sugar hang-over.  Tired, stuffy, dragging.

• Breakfast: Coffee.  I think I had 3 cups!
• Lunch: Work lunch steak salad: grilled steak, romaine, pico de gallo, lots of guac.  I also cheated a little with 2 corn chips as I stared at them longingly for almost 4 hours...
• Dinner: Peer pressure is the worst, and I'm such a sucker.  Definitely had a glass of home-brewed cider from a friend, got wasted off one glass, and then made dinner.

Day 16: Obviously dragging and tired.  Nose still stuffy.

• Breakfast: Coffee.  Again, multiple cups.
• Lunch: Leftover steak salad with avocado (since I ate all the guac at the meeting...)
• Dinner: Spaghetti squash and meatballs (no bread crumbs) with homemade marinara.

Day 17: Feeling better again, but still a little tired.

• Breakfast: Coffee.  I'm really just not hungry in the morning...
• Lunch: Leftover spaghetti squash and meatballs and an apple with almond butter.
• Dinner: Butternut squash burrito bowl.

Day 18: Energy's back. Still tough getting up, but it's not tragic.  Woke up hungry for the first time in about a week. 

• Breakfast: Coffee and a smoothie.
• Lunch: Leftover spaghetti squash and meatballs, and an apple lent to me by a friend.
• Dinner: More squash burrito bowl, with the last of the chipotle chicken, a poached egg, salsa, avocado, cilantro.  A spoon of almond butter as a snack.

Day 19:  Feeling great, except for this cold that came upon me...I also weighed myself and I'm down 7 lbs!

• Breakfast: Coffee.
• Lunch: The last of the squash burrito bowl, with a poached egg, salsa, avocado, and cilantro.
• Dinner:

And then there was a blizzard.

Day 20: Lots of shoveling, some "I earned this" beers, lots of warm things to thaw us.

• Breakfast: Coffee
• Lunch:  6 pepper chili (jalapeno, bell, chipolte, chili, ancho, and cayenne) with ground beef (no beans).
• Dinner:  

Day 21:  I'll be honest, I can't remember...there was more shoveling, and more chili to be sure.

Whole30 #2: Week 2

Better published late than never!

Other than the persistent feeling of exhaustion and the late week crankiness, we're doing good.  Looking for recipe ideas, so please help!

Day 8: Still tired, cranky, but this may be due more to life than diet...WORST. MONDAY. EVER.

• Breakfast:  Coffee and 1/2 a smoothie (the other half ended up in my purse.  See above note regarding temperament).
• Lunch: Work restaurant lunch--salad with grilled chicken, romaine, hard boiled egg, pico, avocado, vinegar (not vinagrette).
• Dinner: Chicken roasted with carrots and parsnips.  A big old spoonful of almond butter
  sprinkled with sea salt.

Day 9: The cranky is finally subsiding.  I was originally up at 5am for no good reason--just done sleeping I guess!

• Breakfast: Coffee.  Lots of coffee.
• Lunch: Leftover chicken, carrots, and parsnips with some arugula; an orange; and a not very ripe at all mango.
• Dinner: Thai red curry with veggies, cod, and avocado.

Day 10:

• Breakfast:  Coffee.
• Lunch: Chicken soup, an apple and some almond butter.
• Dinner: Chicken soup and a skinny taste inspired butternut squash burrito bowl with a poached egg and avocado.

Day 11: Feeling pretty good.  Getting out of bed easily.

• Breakfast: Coffee.
• Lunch: Leftover squash burrito bowl and a grapefruit.  I even poached an egg at work using the microwave!
• Dinner: Chicken soup.

Day 12: Feeling really good, but there's a strong need for coffee.

• Breakfast:  Lots of coffee. 
• Lunch: A weird amalgam of leftovers that I can't really describe.  And an apple with almond butter.
• Dinner: Date night!: King crab legs with strained butter, green beans, and some baked potato with strained butter.

Day 13:  Ski day!

• Breakfast: Coffee 
• Lunch:  Chicken taco salad and a grapefruit.  And a coffee.  I was just feeling the coffee.
• Dinner:

Day 14: Little Man's Birthday!  I was up 645am (everyone else was dead to the world) and got to read quietly for 45 minutes before the little lady got up.  It was awesome!

• Breakfast: Coffee and a smoothie (coconut milk, blueberries, cherries, chia seed, and a Tbsp of almond butter.
• Lunch: Salad and buffalo wings.  It probably had vegetable oil in both, but whatever...I didn't eat pizza.  Or the really awesome Ninja Turtle head cake pops my best friend made.  Or drink wine!  But I did eat chocolate cake...and it was amazing.
• Dinner: Chicken soup--finally killed that batch!

Whole30 #2: Week One

I decided to do another Whole30--luckily I've got a bunch of friends and co-workers to back me up this time.  Pretty much all of us are just trying to eat REALLY well for January since we all ate REALLY poorly during December.

I'm looking forward to feeling a lot better and sleeping better like I did the first time I did it in June 2015.  This time, I'm going to attempt to fully document it, mostly to keep myself accountable and not cheat...

Start date was Jan. 4th.

Day 1: 147 lbs. (Really?  That's 10 pounds heavier than September, the last time I weighed myself and payed it any mind), bloated, probably the worst complexion I've seen since 16, TIRED.  We all joked at lunch at how swollen our fingers were, too, thinking we're probably all OD'd on salt. Mentally feeling pretty okay.

• Breakfast: Coffee with coconut milk. (I found this boxed one which is great for storing in the fridge.  I water it down a little for cooking/smoothies.)
• Lunch: Chicken soup (homemade with mushrooms, carrots, onions, celery), a grapefruit, and 3 slices of apple with almond butter (maybe a teaspoon).
• Dinner:  Sockeye Salmon (ala Alton Brown using olive oil) served on a bed of arugula with a slice of meyer lemon, half an avocado, and roasted asparagus.

Day 2: Tired, but fine.  Wanting wine and chocolate after dinner.

• Breakfast: Coffee again, because I haven't been hungry for breakfast.
• Lunch: Left-overs from dinner the night before without the asparagus, because I ate it all.
• Dinner: Rainbow trout in a coconut red thai curry sauce with sliced bell peppers and mushrooms, avocado, and cilantro.

Day 3:  Woke up HUNGRY, but still feeling okay.

• Breakfast: Coffee and a slice of tortilla espanola, again, made with coconut and olive oils.

• Lunch: Fruit salad at a lunch meeting, because I couldn't eat anything else that was served...
• Dinner: Rib roast with roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes with ghee/clarified butter.

Day 4: Fine.  Weird dreams last night.

• Breakfast: Coffee and a smoothie of a banana, coconut milk, chia seeds, cherries and blueberries (with a little water to make it drinkable).
• Lunch: Leftover rib roast, sweet potato, half a grapefruit, and some apple slices with almond butter.
• Dinner: Chicken-cilantro burger on a bed of arugula with avocado and caramelized onions and mushrooms.

Day 5: Still slow in the mornings, but my energy level is definitely evening out during the day (vs. the peaks and pits of last week on sugar).

• Breakfast: Coffee.
• Lunch: Chicken-cilantro burger on a bed of arugula with avocado and caramelized onions and mushrooms, grapefruit, and some apple slices with almond butter.
• Dinner: Mexican chicken lettuce "tacos" with avocado and cilantro.

Day 6: Slow to get up, but feeling good.  Skied all day and was more stiff than sore that night.

• Breakfast: Coffee, smoothie.
• Lunch: Leftover Mexican chicken lettuce "tacos" with avocado and cilantro.
• Dinner: Stuffed pepper (canned tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ground pork and beef mix, topped with basil.

Day 7: Cranky.  So unbelievably cranky. And tired.

• Breakfast: Coffee, smoothie.
• Lunch: Shake Shack double patty no-bun burger with lettuce, tomato, onion and mustard.
• Dinner:  Leftover stuffed pepper.
• Dessert: Sliced banana with almond butter.

Who else is doing a Whole30?  What are you feeling?  What are you eating?