Days 27-31 Of Intermittent Fasting 16:8 While Being “Whole30ish”

I hit the one month mark on my Intermittent Fasting challenge and I can finally say that I am a believer in the power that the 16:8 method has over my body and that it has put me within 4 pounds of my goal weight. I am grateful that I decided to push past the 30 days I initially set for myself and have decided to keep going until the end of October. I really believe I am going to hit my “goal” weight of 155 pounds by that date.

Texas is still hot as hell but I have embraced that Fall is here and switched to my soup season. One thing that has been really helping with keeping my hunger levels down has been adding beans into soup. I made a huge pot of Poblano White Chicken Chili at the beginning of this week and my hunger levels into the night and next morning have improved drastically. The beans are not Whole30 approved so that is where the “Whole30ish” comes into play but Joel Marion, author of Always Eat After 7pm, encourages super carbs and beans are on that list.

I do experience bloating after eating them now but by morning my stomach is flat again. Speaking of my stomach, I have been loving my physique again. I love my curves and haven’t lost the good jiggles in my booty and thighs.

My energy levels have also been significantly higher since the start of this challenge. I think the shock to my body and then my period hitting had me so rundown but now that I’ve recovered I have sprang back and feeling better than ever.

I’m looking forward to this final push in these last 10 days and hoping to hit my goal of losing the last 3.9 pounds to put me at 155.

Stay tuned…

Butternut Squash Noodles with Arugula and Fried Egg

Adding veggies to breakfast makes me feel like I’m setting myself and the kids up for starting our day off on a healthy foot. We love high protein egg dishes that will keep us full for hours and give us energy to tackle our busy mornings.

This Butternut Squash Noodles with Arugula and Fried Egg is a great breakfast option that will have breakfast on the table in under 10 minutes.

Butternut Squash Noodles with Arugula and Fried Egg

Makes 1 Serving

Stars of the Show:

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 3/4 cup frozen butternut squash noodles
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 handful arugula
• hot sauce

And Action:

Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute then add the red pepper flakes, 30 seconds. Add the butternut squash noodles and saute for 8-10 minutes until the squash has softened. Add the arugula, salt and pepper. Stir the arugula in until it wilts down.

Plate the butternut squash and arugula on a plate and use the same skillet to cook your egg as desired. Once the egg is cooked top the butternut squash and arugula with it. Season with more salt and pepper if desired and add a couple of dashes of hot sauce. Enjoy!

Crispy Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

I have tested out numerous air fryer chicken tender recipes for the kids and I and none of them had that fast food fix that we were looking for. Well we finally hit a gold mine with this recipe for Crispy Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders! The kids and I gobbled up the entire batch I made and will be our go-to method.

Using my air fryer is one of my favorite cooking methods because I get crispiness while maintaining moisture in the meat. These Crispy Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders had the perfect crispy crust while the chicken tenderloins were juicy with each bite.

We enjoyed a variety of dipping sauces with these and they went perfectly with any flavor!

Crispy Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Makes 2 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• 4 chicken tenderloins, fat and tendons removed
• 2 1/2 oz ground pork rinds
• old bay, to taste
• smoked paprika, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• onion powder, to taste
• sea salt, to taste
• 1 egg white
• cooking spray

And Action:

Pat the chicken tenders dry and put them in a bowl. Season the chicken with all of the spices to your liking. Crack the egg white in this bowl with the chicken and toss to coat.

Dip the chicken tenders in the ground pork rinds and shake off the excess.

Spray the tray of the air fryer with the cooking spray and add the chicken tenders in a single layer. Spray the chicken tenders lightly with cooking spray.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Enjoy!

Days 21-26 Of Intermittent Fasting 16:8 While Being “Whole30ish”

I don’t know what is going on with my body this week but the weight is slipping off of me. Since my last weigh in on October 10th I am down 3.6 pounds! This makes put me at 3 pounds away from my “goal” of being near 155 pounds which is the weight I was before I got pregnant with my daughter in July 2018.

This challenge that I set for myself of Intermittent Fasting while being “Whole30ish” has been just that, quite a challenge. I have good days where my hunger levels are low and other days where my eating windows close and I am so irritable because I cannot eat.

I am obsessing over food and dreaming of all of the things I want to eat come November 1st. My biggest cravings have been Raising Cane’s Chicken Tender meals and pizza.

I know my body so well by now that I will indulge in a cheat meat when I am over with this challenge and will feel like absolute crap. That’s a good thing though because it’s all of the reminder that I need to not go back to where I was. This has been a long 7 months of hard work with cleaning up my diet and focusing on my health that I don’t want to undo it by letting my eating get out of control again.

One thing I have noticed about Intermittent Fasting is that my grocery bill has gone down significantly. So much so, that I have not had to do a grocery trip in the month of October yet. Crazy! Considering that my grocery bill has doubled each month since the kids and I have been home full time since COVID hit back in March.

This is another non-scale victory that I get to enjoy, especially since I am a big time budgeter with being on my debt free/FIRE journey.

Stay tuned as I finish out the last half of this month and push to the finish line on this Intermittent Fasting challenge and kudos to anyone who does this as well because I can’t see this as being a lifestyle change for me that I know some people have committed doing so for themselves. This shit is hard!

Day 20 Of Intermittent Fasting 16:8 While Being “Whole30ish”

Yesterday I completed my longest fast to date going 2 hours past my 18 hour record. I went 20 hours. The day before when I knew that I would have to wait until 1pm to open my eating window in order to give myself enough time for dinner out with my bestie.

Surprisingly I did really well. I got hungry around noon and became a little bit antsy wanting to eat my scramble. After my scramble I could not wait until our Cajun seafood boil at one of our favorite spots, Louisiana Crab Shack.

We met for dinner around 6:30pm. I ordered my usual, their Seafood Boil Combo #1. It comes with 1 pound of snow crab, 1/2 pound of shrimp, a red potato, and one corn on the cob. This time I ordered a hard boiled egg to go with it. I get mine with all of their butter sauces mixed together (Bottom of the Bayou Sauce) and get it medium. I was accidentally given my bestie’s hot one time and I could not handle the heat. Haha!!

I normally can take down this entire order without anything leftover but last night I had to get a to go box and took a crab cluster, 1 shrimp, and a half corn cob. I was stuffed!

I also could have ended my fast 2 hours earlier since we were done eating by 7:30pm but oh well! Better safe than sorry.

This morning the scale showed a 1.1 pound gain from the day before which was a 1.2 pound loss. I’m not surprised. I enjoyed the butter and carbs from the potatoes and corn. That seafood boil was so worth it.

I enjoyed my Saturday spending quality time with baby girl taking multiple breaks to get outside and took many laps around the neighborhood. This little girl could spend all day outside if we let her.

I caught up on my favorite blogs and vlogs and did my usual bookmarking of recipes and crafts that caught my eye.

I’m ending my night with 2 dog clients and looking forward to reading my book while I am at their homes. I get to maximize my time while I am there and work on one of my goals for this month.

Tomorrow is an official Sunday weigh in day and I cannot wait to see will pop up on the scale. Regardless if it’s a gain or a loss I will be very proud of my efforts. The fact that I can see and feel visible changes is more than enough for me to chart my success that way.