Whole30: the halfway point

Or at least it would have been, had I not dove headfirst into a seemingly endless stream of margaritas which doth flow like water in Austin. The very best one was had at the Iron Cactus on 6th street, but the $13 version on the roof of the Omni was, surprisingly, a close second, plastic cup notwithstanding.

So the Whole30 rests on the premise of total and complete abstinence from the forbidden categories: dairy, grains, sugar and, alas, alcohol. Since I consumed every one of those items in Texas last weekend, I am technically aaaaaaaall the way back at the starting point. Think of it as a culinary game of chutes and ladders...

Anyway, I feel awful from the cheats, and not in a guilty sort of way, but in a physically uggggggh sort of way. Two-and-a-half weeks without sugar makes reentry very, very painful. And if anything, the cravings are worse following a clean diet, but only for the first 24 hours or so. Does that make sense?

This morning is the first morning since last Thursday (the beginning of my sugar bender) that I haven't woken up feeling more dead than alive. This morning, it was about 50/50.

Here's what's been on the menu today:

Breakfast: black Americano, 4 banana 'pancakes' (I whip mine up in the blender and add a little liquid stevia, some cinnamon and some vanilla extract), and a handful of raspberries and blueberries. Waaaaaaay too much sugar (even the "legit" variety) for a true Whole30 breakfast, but I'm telling you these cravings are fierce.

Lunch: half a cucumber, handful of cherries, homemade guacamole, 6 slices of "clean" salami (is that even a thing?) and a bizarrely hued white carrot. Oh gosh, and the Pellegrino. I've been using at least a bottle per day; it's an expensive hydration option. Cheaper than wine, though.

I'll probably walk 3 miles on the treadmill tonight after the kiddos are abed. I've found that regular conscious effort in the activity department + 3 miles of walking add up to 10,000 steps, so that has been my default number to hit when I do have to do the kind of walking that takes place indoors.

So there's my update. Technically I have to start over counting from this past Monday, and seeing as how incredible the preliminary results were, I think I just may. August 27th, I'm looking at you...