Week 8 Pounds Lost: 2

Total Pounds Lost: 12.5

Last week, I was flirting with the idea of doing a Whole30 – a commitment to eat only lean meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, extra-virgin olive oil and a handful of other things for 30 days – but I wasn’t ready to commit, because there’s never a good time to break up with cheese.

Then I had another weird food reaction over the weekend, and it was the come-to-Jesus experience I needed. This time it was hives. Sometimes it’s itchy lumps that pop up on my face and spread to my chest, back and legs. And I’m constantly fighting sinus infections and colds.

Last  December, when my doctor pinpointed my shellfish allergy, he recommended doing an elimination diet to sort out my other sensitivities. But I didn’t, because it was two days before Christmas. Then there was our anniversary, New Year’s, Valentine’s and Friday.

I’m ready now.

With an elimination diet, you stop eating specific foods for a few weeks, and then you add them back in one at a time to see what happens. I’m doing it Whole30-style, because there’s plenty of information online and I like the program’s general focus on what you can have instead of what you can’t. Otherwise, I’d be stalking cheese on Facebook instead of looking forward to the barbacoa pot roast in the crockpot.

What I Ate Today:

• Breakfast: A no-cheese vegetable omelet and strawberries
• Lunch: Ina Garten’s Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin (minus the Dijon mustard), sautéed onions and bell pepper strips, and a baked sweet potato
• Snacks: Banana, almonds
• Dinner: Barbacoa Pot Roast (from Brandon and Megan Keatley’s Primal Cravings), steamed green beans tossed with extra-virgin olive oil, and an apple

How I Feel:

• I’m excited about trying new recipes, but I’m a little worried about how much produce it’s going to take and what that will cost. Time to do some serious Veggie Reconnaissance.
• Sleepy!