It felt like drugs.

Yesterday was a weird day. Around 1pm I suddenly had an undefeatable urge to nap. Immediately. So I took a thirty minute power nap before heading into work (zonked, totally), and the rest of the night I was a complete carnival. Or maybe just the Tilt-a-Whirl, but that's enough for one girl.

My brain felt fuzzy and sharp at the same time. My body got achy; my legs were killing me by the end of the night. I started talking uncontrollably about stupid things; my mind was wandering. I was distracted and inattentive. But I wasn't hungry.

I got home and sat down on the couch across from my mom, and I said, "Mom, did you feel 'weird' a few days after starting the Whole30?" I didn't know how to describe it. It kind of felt like my body was going to fall apart, and my brain was seeping out of my ears a little.

Turns out it wasn't what I thought (numerous unscientific theories ranging from electrolyte imbalances to contracting a virus to having accidentally ingested some kind of neurotoxin -- well, not really, but--). I checked out the "Day 3" Whole30 email and found that, like clockwork, I was experiencing one of the tougher days in the whole project, when my body starts burning fat fuel instead of carbs/sugar fuel.

Weirdly enough, after seven hours of sleep and another long day at work, I feel much better. Yesterday is like a sort of realistic-yet-bizarre dream. And today, the best part (or perhaps the part I am most proud of)? We had an event at the bookstore this morning for which we put out FIVE BOXES of doughnuts and cookies, not to mention the trays and buckets of home-baked goods and leftover holiday candy that is always in the break room there. I successfully ignored my insane craving for danishes-cruellers-fritters-cakes and managed to leave without taking even one bite.

I'm going to cheat a little bit and have a beer at the bar tonight, but it'll be a light one. I'm a 98% Whole30-er. I admit it.

Feeling great otherwise, though. Still have not been tempted to step on the scale, but maybe I'll do it in a couple of weeks rather than waiting until the entire month is up. We'll see. Onward!

Day 2 and Moqueca

I've been on a cooking kick! And as Day 2 of my Whole30 trial wraps up, I have to say that I'm feeling pretty good. I admit that I've haven't cut out absolutely everything completely. I'll admit to:

A teensy tiny bit of creamer and sugar in my coffee in the morning. Compared to what I usually have, this is nothing. But drinking it black all of the time would be... well, depressing.

I bought some Terra brand vegetable chips and realized afterward that they (may) contain canola oil, which is apparently not Whole30 approved, and also just because they're chips they can be dangerous. Anyway, I love them, so I'm rationing them to make the bag last longer.

I'm probably eating more fruit than I should.

To remedy the fruit situation, I went to the store on my way home from work and bought some more snacking veggies like baby carrots and avocado that aren't sweet, but man, I have a ton of oranges sitting around. Someone's gotta eat them... I'm just watching a little more, and I'll dwindle down on fruit once I get through some of it. I'm not a fan of wasting food/money either.

On the whole, though, I feel great. I felt pretty energetic all day except for a brief period in the midday when I had gone several hours without food and became irritable and sort of lightheaded. Leftover shrimp from yesterday helped me along, and when I got home I made a version of moqueca (Brazilian fish stew) from this recipe, paired with a side of prosciutto e melone. Is there anything better than that? So simple, so divine. As for the stew, I've now plenty to last for a few days.

Even with the limitations, making new and interesting things -- and shopping for different ingredients -- is actually kind of fun.