Week 3

Wow, I have not been good this time around at all at keeping up with this.

This Whole30, for whatever reason, is proving much harder this time around.

I wonder if it's just stress. I mean, I have to tell myself that perhaps if I weren't doing the Whole30, if I were giving into my stress cravings, then I'd feel a whole lot worse. The sugar demons have not gone away this time. Last month I had super bad cramps and a horrible backache with my PMS from the gluten and crap that we ate with the start of the quarter. Now that I've eliminated that, I don't have the cramps or the backache, but the sugar craving is still there. I've been good though. I eat fruit despite there being a ton of Paleo ice cream and Paleo Magic Shell in the freezer waiting for me on Halloween.

Boudreaux is off the Whole30, so I've been sticking my nose in his wine glass or his cider and just inhaling. It's so wrong of him to do that in front of me. Last night he ate a bunch of chips in front of me and a chocolate covered banana. And he's got some m&ms stashed somewhere in here, too. It's so unfair. But yet, I try to remain strong, and his punishment is dealing with the grumpy that accompanies his eating the things I desire in front of me. I should make his happy ass sleep on the couch.

Because I'm still fighting off whatever it is that I caught in the second week of the quarter, as is everyone else around me--seriously, students sniffling and sneezing and coughing in my general direction; I still see signs every day indicating that a faculty member's classes are canceled--I have been exceptionally lazy since the start of the quarter. I had made the resolve not to eat out the rest of the Whole30. My poor planning leaves me starving at night (I've had to hide the almonds--I don't want to gain weight here! But it's not working) which means we usually do not end up with leftovers for lunch. Ugh. It's a vicious cycle. But this is what I keep telling myself about maintaining the Whole30--all of this would be so much worse if I weren't. Because I guarantee you that most of those meals would be pizza, and not even the gluten free kind at this point.

Here's how I'm coping:

1. My sleep would be a whole lot worse if I weren't doing this. Yes, I'm struggling still, and just about caught up with work, but sleep would suck more.
2. I'm at least listening to my body so if I don't get enough sleep, I don't workout. If I weren't on the Whole30 right now, my food would suck and so would my workouts. 
3. I think my stress level would be waaaaaaaaaaay higher than it is right now.
4. Despite all of this, I actually feel pretty good.
5. My "binges" have involved blackberries, oranges, hard boiled eggs, leftover meat loaf, and almonds. Even though lots of almonds, I'm going to say that this is much better than chips, candy, and Ben & Jerry's. 
6. I may be rocking some serious bloat right now from my PMS, but at least, unlike last month's gluten extravaganza, that bloat is not accompanied by debilitating cramps and serious pain. 
7. And, truth be told, my stress and sleep do seem to have evened out a little bit more over the last couple of days. 
8. The afternoon slump is hit or miss. I've had a couple of good days where I've gotten work done, and a couple of crappy days when I've just made tea, ate almonds, and snuggled under the blanket on the couch. 

 All things considered, even though this time hasn't been as smooth as the one over the summer, the summer one was easier because I could nap at will, and I had ALL day to cook or grocery shop. I could make lunch from scratch, not have to pack leftovers. I had plenty of rest time.

So week 3 has been hit or miss. I've got 10 more days to go. I think I can; I think I can...