My 68 Day Challenge; Whole 30 Day 9

The authors of the Whole30 say that most people give up on days 10 and 11.  The novelty has wore off, food fatigue, temptation.  A whole lot of reasons.  Being on Day 9 it doesn’t feel like I’m ready to quit tomorrow or the next day.

How are you doing on your 2016 goals?  Need some motivation?  ET always does it for me.  Check out this video

Making the Whole30 fun by being able to be creative has been our focus.  By just focusing on making it through each day until you get to 30, I could see how you might give up.  If you focus on trying new things and being creative then you look forward to each new experience and don’t even count the day you’re on.

I’ve never even eaten a chicken burger before.  That didn’t stop us for cooking them up for today’s brown bag lunch.

Chicken Burgers
Printable Version

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground chicken breast
  • 1/2 onion diced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 Tbs minced mint
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • salt
  • pepper
  • garlic powder

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix to incorporate.
  • Divide into 4 parts
  • Form into burgers
  • Heat non-stick skillet to medium high with a small amount of cooking oil.
  • Gently place burgers on skillet. After 4-5 minutes flip.
  • Cook until done – about 4-5 more minutes

If you have a bacon griddle press, burger press, or a panini press they work fantastically to cook these through. Place on top of the burgers once they have been flipped

My 68 Day Challenge; The Whole30

To successfully achieve a goal you should spend 80% of your time in planning to ensure that the 20% you spend executing can be done with excellence.  Planning on successfully completing the Whole30 program I started my planning by reading the book It Starts With Food.

After reading this book, with an open mind, I believe that adjusting your diet for 30 days can make you feel better, sleep better, think better, and perform better.  If you want to lose weight, that is an added benefit.

It Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected WaysIt Starts With Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways by Dallas Hartwig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is absolutely fascinating.
To those who gave it very skeptical reviews, I ask . . .why did you buy this book in the first place? Did you not read the description first?
I will be gifting this book frequently.

View all my reviews

I’m doing the Whole30 as part of a great program sponsored by my employer The 68 Day Challenge.  It’s open to the public.  Check it out!

My Whole30 Challenge

The top reason I have stayed with the same employer for over 20 years (dating myself) is that it is so great to work for a company with tremendous opportunity that encourages you to grow as a person.  Several years ago they made it even more fun to do so with the 68 Day Challenge.  Check it out here on Facebook:  The 68 Day Challenge.

W9 Manifesto-for-FB-Cover NEWThe challenge I am taking on this year – the Whole30 Program.  30 days of cleaner eating for better health.  No grains, beans, dairy, added sugar, and alcohol for 30 days.  What is  attractive about this program?
First, anyone can do just about anything for only 30 days.  Next, I love this philosophy that eating healthy is easy, it’s the psychology that gets in the way.

So, the challenge is 68 days and the program is only 30.  No worries.  This isn’t a program to jump right into.  The first few steps that I am working on now:

  1. emptying my pantry of temptation
  2. reading It Starts with Food
  3. meal planning –  for family members on the plan and those not on the plan
  4. schedule planning  

This last one, schedule planning, has actually been the hardest part so far.  Why make this program more difficult by trying to do it when there is extra temptation and will power busters?  We’ve (I’m lucky that my husband agreed to go along on this journey) moved our start date from February 23rd (the day after my husbands birthday)  to January 4th (let’s stop talking and get started) to January 8th (really, you have 2 business dinners this week).

Sober September

The sobering fact; I’ve put on 14 pounds since this time last year.

At a business meeting Friday someone said “LT you’re looking thick“!  I know he meant it in a good way.  I’m sure of it.  But, for my type A self, it troubled me.

On the flip side, 14 pounds lighter, a different friend said “LT, you’ve got a great looking body . . . for an 8 year old boy“. Ouch!

Somewhere in between “thick” and “boy body” is the answer.
 How this happened?  A year of indulgence.  A beautiful new house, more time on the golf course, and … the wine cellar pictured here. Try a bottle, store a bottle, try a bottle, store a bottle. Repeat.

Each Fat Tire on the golf course – 160 calories
Each glass of red wine – 125 calories

Munchies afterwords – priceless

I resolve to find that in-between-ness by breaking up with Fat Tire and Red Wine for 30 days – Sober September.

Does anyone else have a goal this month?  Share it in the comments section below.

The C Word, Facing Difficult Decisions With Cancer

No one wants to get that call from their physician asking them to come into the office to receive the bad

news.  I am sure, from the other end, they dread making those calls. 

I am not an expert.  I have no medical training or education, but I have had front row experience from the bleacher seats. I hope that you and no one you know receives the dreaded call, but if they do I hope that these 5 tips help.

1)  Find a doctor you trust and like.

Everyone you talk to will know someone.  They will recommend doctors, hospitals, advice.   “This one is the best”, “I heard this one is the worst”.  Unless they have had the same condition as you, stick with referrals from your physician.  Keep looking until you find someone you like and trust.  My husband really liked his doctor and I know that it has made a difference.

2)  Remember that medicine is big business

Advertisements that have been running for weeks, months, years without you noticing will now stick out.  It will seem like every time you get into the car or turn on the TV you hear an ad for cancer treatment.  By all means, be curious and check things out if they sound good to you, but remember they are trying to sell you.  Medicine is big business.

3)  Don’t self diagnose using the internet

The internet is an incredible tool and there is a lot of information out there.  Unless you are searching credible medical sites, such as  Mayo Clinic and Cancer.org, don’t use it for research.  You may be reading false information or information that is sponsored by a drug or insurance company that is trying to sell you something.

4)  Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

When researching your options always consider the worst case scenario when it comes to side effects and recovery.  No one wants to fall into this category, but you must consider “is this the right option for me” when there is a chance that ‘x’ is a possibility.  It’s too easy to hear what the best case recovery statistics are and stop listening.  No one thinks that they will take the maximum time to rehabilitate, or that the risks apply to them, but you must consider them when choosing which treatment is best for you. 

5)  Let go

Once you’ve had the treatment forget that there were other options.  Focus on your rehabilitation and getting well.  No regrets.  No looking back.  Rehab is frustrating.  Don’t make it worse for yourself.  I believe that attitude is everything including your health.  Keep positive.  Watch positive videos on YouTube, read positive books, call an optimistic friend.  There are lots of resources, if it isn’t coming from within, to help keep a smile on your face.

“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity,”
~Hippocrates

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