Day 5: Bad Bad Breakfast

This morning I did something that I haven't done thus far on Whole30. I ate my breakfast without veggies. I know, I know. It is very shameful. I was running late this morning and my fridge was pretty veggie-less, so I really had no options. I went to work and got 2 scoops of scrambled eggs with the green sauce and I ate the fruit I had brought with me - strawberries, blueberries, and a banana. OK so fruit is not satan's sugary candy or anything, but Whole30 has some stuff to say about fruit.

I don't even like this candy

Newsflash, fruit has sugar. Wow. But isn't sugar supposed to be bad for you? Whole30 doesn't
approve of sugar, right? Wrong. They don't approve of added sugar but they do approve of the fructose in fruit. Get it. FRUctose. FRUit. Anyways, in the book they say:

Fructose is the sweetest of all naturally occurring carbohydrates—almost twice as sweet as sucrose. You consume fructose in a variety of sources, including table sugar (sucrose), honey, fruits, some vegetables, and in processed foods and drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. (It Starts With Food p.159)

Thus, eating fruit will allow you to feed your tastebuds with natural sweeteners instead of fake and processed sugars. This sounds great, right? I can just eat a shit ton of fruit and get the sensation of eating cupcakes or twizzlers. That sounds fabulous. Who wouldn't love that? Well, Whole30 cautions against the over-consumption of anything, especially fruit (in my own words). They say:

There is one potential issue with fruit consumption. Because of the natural sweetness of fruit (especially in fruit juice and dried fruit, which concentrate the sugar), fruit may promote an unhealthy psychological response, especially in folks still battling their sugar dragons. We’ve seen many people use fruit to prop up their sugar cravings, telling themselves it’s OK because fruit is “natural” and healthy. The scenario often looks like this: It’s 3: 00 on a Thursday afternoon. You’re at work, and you’re hungry, cranky, and tired. You’d normally reach for a Snickers bar, a muffin, or some Oreos right about now, but you’re trying to eat healthier and you know those are poor choices. So instead , you eat a dried fruit and nut bar. There is just one problem with this situation. Your brain doesn’t know the difference. (It Starts With Food p.159)

RAAAAAWRRR

I thought this was pretty powerful because it reminds me that Whole30 is about getting rid of those habits that you think may be "healthy" but truly are not in the long run. So the conclusion I came to was fruit is not "bad" for you, and I will continue to eat fruit (because I love it) but in moderation and not in place of a mid-afternoon snack. I will also not eat it in place of a vegetable... that's a no no on Whole30. They say veggies are mandatory and fruit is optional. So that's that. That was the cardinal sin that I committed this morning. NO VEGGIES. AHHHHH.

I ended up getting my veggies at lunch. Broccoli and green beans. I cooked my broccoli and when I opened it at my desk everyone in the office was disgusted by the rancid smell. It was awkward... I was like "Who me? Nah, I aint got stinky ass broccoli". But I did, and it was obvious. So that happened. The rest of my day was devoted to getting through work and going to Sprouts for groceries. I got a ton of stuff and I am really excited to cook this weekend. More to come about my shopping list and how much it cost in my next post...

Day 5: 

• Eggs
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Chicken
• Broccoli
• Green beans
• Leftover Taj Mahal chicken
• Pineapple