Nope, I can’t do it! I give up 😩 Even before I caved and carbo-loaded on Cheesecake Factory bread (Sunday, day 6), I felt too restricted. The rebellious side of me took over, and I found myself craving non-compliant foods that I would never reach for before Whole30. My whole day somehow orbited around this diet. I’m either grocery shopping, cooking, brainstorming meal ideas, or day-dreaming about foods I cannot have. I was thinking about food literally all the time, even right after a filling meal. It seemed unhealthy how it completely consumed my thoughts and my time.
Physically, I felt fine. My energy levels stayed normal, and there were no changes in my sleep. One positive change I noticed was that going to the bathroom was smoother. (sorry, tmi?) But by Day 3 on Thursday, my skin was breaking out all around my mouth. Now, don’t get me wrong, I break out all the time, but it’s usually around my cheeks and temples. Not wanting to break the program, I pushed through for a few more days. To my dismay, I began breaking out more around my mouth and in my usual places as well.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that Whole30 was the culprit to my breakouts. Since I wasn’t getting full off carbs, I was upping my fat and protein intake instead. Even though I made sure to incorporate a lot of veggies, I was using olive oil to cook these veggies and dressing my salads with Italian herbs and, you guessed it, oil. A high-fat diet increases sebum production, clogging pores and causing acne. On top of that, I was eating a lot of spicy foods (well, mainly the red curry and some salsa, but I had a lot of it) and spicy foods can trigger acne by causing inflammation and throwing off the skin’s pH balance. While there are a million and one more reasons that cause acne, I think it’s safe to blame Whole30 this time around.
At this point, I’d rather not risk more acne. I broke the program anyway, and I’d rather not start all over from Day 1 again. I do have to admit that I could have done a more balanced Whole30. Here’s my daily food log below:
Day 1: Tuesday (1/2)
Lunch: scrambled egg with bell peppers and country potatoes
Dinner: In-N-Out burger protein style, no cheese
Day 2: Wednesday (1/3)
Lunch: red curry with chicken, eggplant, bell peppers, potatoes, and carrots
Dinner: same
Day 3: Thursday (1/4)
Lunch: chicken fajitas in a lettuce wrap
Snacks: carrots (no hummus or ranch, boooo 👎) and garlic potatoes
Dinner: more red curry, woo! (I’m getting SO sick of bell peppers)
Day 4: Friday (1/5)
Lunch: red curry, again (It’s getting pretty mundane. Luckily I finally finished the jar of red curry, so time to switch things up!)
Dinner:In-N-Out burger protein style, no cheese
Day 5: Saturday (1/7)
Lunch: Got lunch with some friends at a Puerto Rican restaurant. Proud to say, I stayed Whole30 Compliant by ordering the Bistec Encebollado, which was a flavorful garlic-rubbed steak on a bed of perfectly sauteed onions and mixed greens. I replaced the side of rice with more salad, held off on the beans, and chose fried plantains instead of fries.
Dinner: salad with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers with an Italian-herb dressing
Day 6: Sunday (1/8)
Lunch: Okay shit, today was a massive fail. I got into a HUGE fight with my boyfriend, and ended up eating his lunch, which was chicken katsu over rice.
Dinner: When we finally made up, we went out to The Cheesecake Factory. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t even try to be Whole30 compliant. I dove for the delicious warm bread and creamy butter the second the waiter placed it on our table. As if the complimentary bread wasn’t enough, we also got the garlic cheese bread as an appetizer. For my main dish, I ordered the Louisiana Chicken Pasta, which is a parmesan-crusted, fried chicken served on a bed of bowties, mushrooms, onions, and peppers, drenched in a creamy, spicy pasta sauce. Stuffed to the gills, we got a slice of Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake with extra whipped cream to go. My only accomplishment for the day was forgoing the extra parmesan cheese on top as they serve the dish. Sadly, I have zero regrets.
Day 1 again: Monday (1/9)
Lunch: salad with avocado, tomato, cucumber, and Italian herb dressing
Dinner: homemade burger protein style with avocado
a genie's life 
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