Whole30 day 1

After a busy 10 days of holiday travel and food, I'm definitely ready to get back to basics with food and commit to another Whole30. To prepare, Andy and I prepped a bunch of food on New Years day. We baked 10 sweet potatoes, grilled 10 chicken breasts, made a breakfast quiche, and chopped up a bunch of vegetables for ease of use the rest of the week. Our first Whole30 we struggled at managing time the first two weeks while attempting to create meals with no processed items. Eventually, we figured out that we could make our lives much easier by prepping as much food as possible on our days off from work, a trick that will make this Whole30 much easier than the first! Even though we have food prep worked out, another challenge this time around will be managing caloric intake while deep in Ironman training. Last year when we did Whole30 I was recovering from an injury and my activity was limited to some swimming and physical therapy. Since Andy and I are both training for Ironman Texas in May, we will have to be creative in planning food for before, after, and during long workouts. I'm very glad to be injury free and healthy to start the year and am looking forward to the challenge!

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Day 1 breakfast consisted of a piece of the quiche that we cooked the night before, half an avocado, and a cup of black coffee. To make the quiche, I placed shredded rutabaga and sweet potatoes in the bottom of a 9 x 11 pan, then added chopped mushrooms and kale on top. You can use any vegetables you'd like and simply fill the pan close to the top. In a separate bowl I scrambled 15 eggs and then poured over the vegetable mixture, then baked the quiche at 375 degrees for about an hour or until the eggs are cooked. 

Lunch was the same meal I have been eating almost every day since our first Whole30 in January 2013. I've found my stomach does better for afternoon workouts when my lunch remains the same and fairly simple. I vary up which vegetables I have, but I almost always eat vegetables, half a chicken breast with Frank's red hot, and half a sweet potato with a spoonful of coconut oil on top. 

After getting home from work, I had a pre-workout snack of a handful of pistachios and raisins. A tough bike workout left me hungry for dinner. For dinner we sauteed sweet potato shreds in coconut oil and added kale, sliced mushrooms, and diced up grilled chicken breast. These quick skillet meals are easy and full of nutritional value to refuel. We also each had half of an avocado to round out the meal. 

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Summary of day one: Enjoyed the meals and felt satisfied after each meal. I didn't feel like I was starving as I did the first few days of our last Whole30. The biggest change I noticed last time was the lack of an afternoon energy slump at work. With our diet being off for the last month or so, and being tired from our busy holiday vacation I definitely had an energy lull today. Hopefully another week or so of good food and being back to normal sleep will get me back on track!