Whole 30 Challenge, Days 3 and 4

On Day 3 I started to feel a lot better, physically, than I have in a long time.  I'll lay off the extreme detail, but on this day I had a burger with portobello mushroom "bun", Trader Joe's grass-fed uncured hot dogs, sauerkraut, fried eggs, turkey, cooked carrots and leeks, green beans, and lots of sparkling water.

On Day 4 I started to move from wondering how many days I have left of this to wondering how much better I'm going to feel tomorrow.

Weight:  191.8 lbs
Waist:  33"
Mid-Belly:  I'll get back to you on this.  For this measure, I have devised the girth-o-meter.  It is a string that goes around the girth at mid-belly (about 3 inches above belly button).  On the first day I tied a knot in the string where the other side met it.  Today, I'm farther in.  This is my most salient measure and my most hopeful outcome so far.

on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being horrible and 5 being perfect

Digestion:  1.9
Allergies: 2
Asthma: 1.4 (hitting the inhaler at noticeably less often and when symptoms come on they usually clear by themselves.  This is really fantastic.)
Mood:  3.3
Arthritis / Joint Stiffness:  3.5
Alcoholic Drinks Last Night:  0

7:00 - Black Coffee
9:30 - Green and Dandelion Tea
12:00 - Turkey, green beans, cooked carrots and leeks, 2 boiled eggs, avocado
Later afternoon and evening:  blackberries, apple, blueberries, sunflower seeds, salmon with sauerkraut, deviled eggs, sparkling water

Whole 30 Challenge, Day 2

Today

Weight:  191.8 lbs
Waist:  33"
Mid-Belly:  39"
Digestion (on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being horrible and 5 being perfect):  1.8
Allergies:  (same scale) 2
Asthma:  (same scale) 1 (hitting the inhaler at least 3 times a day)
Mood:  (same scale)  3.1 (but only because I'm excited to be doing this)
Arthritis / Joint Stiffness (same scale):  3.3
Alcoholic Drinks Last Night:  0

7:00 - Black Coffee
9:30 - Green and Dandelion Tea

Noonish -

• Chard with Olive Oil, Ginger, Turmeric
• Broccoli
• 4 Scrambled Eggs
• 2 Grass Fed Uncured Hot Dogs (Trader Joe's)
• Large Apple
• Banana
• Small bit of chicken salad and tuna salad

2:30 PM - Black Coffee

7:00 PM - Sunflower Seeds

8:00 -- Lamb meatballs and salad, iced tea

Whole 30 Challenge, Day 1

I have attempted 2 Whole 30 Challenges in the past.  The first one I caved on day 11, and the second one I completed. You can google it for the full details, but it is basically 30 days of strict ancestral eating of whole foods with as few ingredients as possible and as close to the source as possible.  Yes:  meat, fish, fowl, shellfish, eggs, good oils, nuts, vegetables, some fruit.  No:  sugar and sweeteners, grains, alcohol (!), dairy, industrial oils, medication, artificial ingredients, legumes, soy, fruit juice...

Goals (in no particular order)
Weight loss
Improved mood
Improved digestion
Reduced inflammation
Reduced allergies
Reduced asthma
Improved sleep
New permanent habits
Whatever else comes along....

Today

Weight:  193 lbs
Waist:  33"
Mid-Belly:  39"
Digestion (on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being horrible and 5 being perfect):  1.6
Allergies:  (same scale) 2
Asthma:  (same scale) 1 (hitting the inhaler at least 3 times a day)
Mood:  (same scale) 3 (but only because I'm excited to be doing this)
Arthritis / Joint Stiffness (same scale):  3
Alcoholic Drinks Last Night:  7

7:00 - black coffee
7:30 - 15 mile bike to work
9:30 - green tea and dandelion tea
11:30 - black coffee
1:00 ish - chicken, green beans, avocado, raw carrots, sauerkraut, boiled eggs, raw ginger, raw turmeric
5:30 ish - mixed nuts, large apple
7:30 ish - chicken, purple potato, scallion, garlic, olive oil, broccoli

St. Croix sparkling water