I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. I thought it would be easier to take some while I was traveling but being on the road really throws me off and I just didn't think about it a lot of the time. I hope that doesn't take away from the post too much!
Day 27
I maybe had the best night of sleep I've had since starting this thing. I was worried last week when my sleep was bad. Good sleep was one of the better side effects I'd noticed and then it disapeared so I was worried I was doing something wrong. It turns out it was just the stress. Food affects us so much, but stress affects us even more. Having work calm down and getting things ready for my trip (as well as my super long walk) definitely put me in a good spot to get a better night's sleep. I woke up really rested and it felt wonderful.
I started with a nice leftovers breakfast. We still had a couple of pork chops so I heated those up with some potatoes and eggs. I have the worst non-stick pans ever so my over easy eggs always turn out over scrambled. I really need to invest in something better.
For dinner, I wanted something easy but nice. Getting ready for a trip can be a little stressful with packing and make sure work is wrapped up, but from an eating perspective, it's also nice to enjoy your last home cooked meal in a while. The balance is finding something easy and quick.
I decided to go with some Mahi Mahi over cauliflower rice with two salsas. The Mahi Mahi was super easy. I thawed my fish fillets over the course of the day then I just lightly seasoned them with salt,garlic powder, and ghee (lime works well too) and baked them for 20 minutes. It's also nice to broil for the last couple of minutes to get some nice color. The cauliflower just needed to be cut up and then pulsed in the food processor until it was in rice sized pieces. Then I just cooked it in bacon fat in a large skillet. The salsas were the easiest part. I started with the mango - I cut up a mango, some cilantro, and a jalapeno. I put it in a food processor with some lime juice and pulsed it a couple of times until I had big chunks. This salsa ended up being way too spicy on its own so I paired it with a milder pico de gallo I had in the fridge. Then I just sliced up some avocado and served it all together.
This sounds like a lot of work but it was all really easy and I was able to do everything while the fish was baking while also taking plenty of breaks.
And then it was time to mentally get ready to leave my puppy behind. We went on a long walk and got some fun pictures, but I knew I would be sad to leave her behind.
Day 28
Time to hit the road!
I didn't get a lot of pictures on day 28, but I managed to capture this one of one of my travel solutions. When I drive up to LA in the morning sometimes, I'm definitely guilty of stopping at McDonald's for something quick to grab and go. This obviously wasn't a Whole30 option. I decided just to pack up a little container of leftovers. This gave me something to munch on when I got hungry (or bored sitting it traffic) and made sure I was eating right.
For lunch, I knew exactly where to go - Chipotle. Chipotle is an amazing option for Paleo/Whole30 eating on the go. You can get the burrito bowl salad - no rice or beans, add fajita veggies along with your meat, and then you can have any salsa except corn as well as the extra guac. I did double meat and it was way too much food for me to finish - aka you won't starve eating Whole30 at Chipotle.
For dinner, my mom really came through for me. She make me steak and veggies with a side of mashed butternut squash. It was so delicious and I was really grateful she had no problem adapting dinner to meet my restrictions.
On that note too, on this kind of challenge, it can be hard to see the day to day changes in yourself. I'd seen my mom about 6 weeks before and when I showed up, she immediately noticed a difference in my appearance. That definitely goes down as a non-scale victory!
Day 29
And then it was off to the races!!!
Day 29 had me getting up early and heading to the airport to go to Vancouver for my half marathon! Even thought travel is annoying, getting to a new destination is always fun and I was pumped to flaunt my workout gear and excitement for the trip ahead!
But traveling on a restricted eating plan isn't easy. I had a little breakfast before leaving but I wasn't sure if that would be enough so I picked up some pistachios at the airport shop in case I got hungry.
And then we were off! The takeoff out of LAX goes over the ocean and since I nabbed a window seat, I got an awesome view of the beach on takeoff.
When I arrived in Vancouver, I was definitley hungry. A small breakfast and some nuts to snack on definitely don't cut it for a day of traveling. I was able to find a little salad place to get lunch at. It wasn't quite as filling as I'd hoped but it was enough to hold me over until dinner.
For dinner, one of my friends and I went to sushi. I was able to eat some seaweed salad and lots of sashimi to fill me up. I would have taken some pictures but we ended up having a lot of great conversation and it completely distracted me from the food. As much as I love taking food pictures, sometimes it's way more important to live in the moment and it's totally ok to miss a picture if you're just really present in what you're doing.
Summary
Finding Whole30 options on the road isn't the easiest thing but it's not impossible. You just have to bring along some smart snacks and be patient in the search for menu items that work or can be easily adapted.
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