Whole30, 10 days in

I'm at day 10 of the Whole30 now, and thought I'd check in before heading out to my weekday trail race tonight. Even though it's not as a radical a change for me as it is for most people who try it out (we were already gluten/dairy free and 90% paleo), it's still meant some significant changes. Some were expected, and some have been more of a surprise. Overall, this has been a good experience so far. It will be interesting to see what further changes happen in the next 10 days.

Good stuff:

• Way less snacking going on here! I had gotten into the habit of eating a little something every hour or two, especially when at work, especially while ultra training. It got me the calories I needed at the time, but when my caloric demands declined, the urge to eat something (especially something salty and crunchy) lingered. I still have urges to snack, off and on, but since I'm full and stay full after meals, they're easier to rationally ignore.
• More even energy. I always have pretty good energy, but would have a bit of an afternoon "slump". Not now, and I think my energy levels will be through the roof once I get to the end of this crazy work week and start getting 8 hours of sleep again.
• No GI upset on runs. None. Even multi-hour trail runs, in heat, eating fiber-rich stuff like dates and Larabars. GI stuff has seldom been a big problem for me while running, but long runs are where it emerges, and it just hasn't.
• Holy cow, I thought we were eating lots of vegetables before this. It's unreal how many we're eating now. C and I ate HALF A HEAD of cabbage last night in a cabbage slaw. Along with a giant bowl of guacamole, some lettuce leaves, oh, and a whole lot of fried fish.

Not-so-good stuff:

• "I just got home from work, it's already 6 o'clock, and I'M STARVING." Most things we're eating require cooking. Some require significant prep. When we can plan ahead, it's awesome, but when you get behind on the food prep and organization, you can definitely end up scouring the kitchen looking for something to eat RIGHT NOW NOW NOW. 
• "I just ate a banana and almond butter for a post-workout meal OH CRAP it says not to eat fruit post workout!" Still figuring out the "gray areas" of the diet (how much is "a little" fruit? How much is "limited" almonds and sunflower seeds? Am I doing it right?).
• Eating out. We don't do it all that often but when we do, we want to eat well. It can be done, but it requires some advance planning... and it requires giving up some things that just look really good. 
• Date night without a beer is really not the same, no matter how much herbal tea you drink.

Food recap for the last 3 days:

Day 8:

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in ghee with hot sauce, steamed broccoli, small salad (greens and homemade vinaigrette dressing), black coffee
Lunch: Salad with spring mix greens, tuna salad (2/3 can of tuna, homemade mayo, celery, green onion, apple), tomato, avocado, homemade vinaigrette. Two carrots and a celery stick dipped in almond butter, hazelnut milk latte
Snack: Macadamia nuts, coconut
Dinner: Lamb merguez sausage, sauteed red kale with a little fish sauce, steamed baby turnips and carrots with ghee. A little later, fresh blueberries, sliced almonds, and coconut flakes with coconut milk. Oh my was that good.

Day 9:

Breakfast: 2 eggs fried in ghee with hot sauce, baked kale chips (tossed kale in melted lard), roasted tomato, 1/4 avocado, black coffee
Post-workout: Small banana with almond butter, macadamia nuts
Lunch: Salad with greens, tuna salad, sauerkraut, 1/4 avocado, and vinaigrette. Hard boiled egg, two carrots with a little almond butter
Snack: Macadamia nuts, coconut flakes, black coffee
Dinner: Fish tacos: Cod rolled in almond flour and fried in coconut oil, guacamole, cabbage slaw (cabbage, jalapeno, green onion, lime juice, salt and pepper) on lettuce leaves. This was really good.

Ran 5.4 miles. Quads still sore from 3 days ago!

Day 10:

Breakfast: Omelet with 1 egg, 1/2 a roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, and wilted salad greens, steamed broccoli, black coffee
Snack: Sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, cashews, coconut (I think I should have made TWO eggs for breakfast! I was hungry just 2.5 hours later!)
Lunch: 1/2 a grilled chicken breast, salad with greens, tuna/egg salad, 1/2 roasted red pepper, vinaigrette. Two carrots, black coffee