We’re Gonna Have a Good Day…

… and ain’t nobody gonna cry today.

That’s how I feel about my day today. I had basically zero abdominal issues. My good day started at 7:45 am. I woke up but decided to lay in bed (oh, the dog days of summer) and read Life of Pi, because I was so close to the end of the story. I stayed in bed until 9:25 am to finish the book and then I realized I was hungry but before I could eat, I wanted to take 2 VSL#3 probiotic pills. Then at 10:00 am I had my egg whites, turkey meat, and zucchini noodles. I’m telling you, it’s yummy and never gets old.

Life of Pi by the way is an amazing story and I absolutely loved it. It is definitely one of my favorite books now, my favorite being To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. After I finished the novel, my dad asked me which story I believed that the character, Pi Patel, told: did I believe he actually lived 277 days with a Bengal tiger or was it more simplistic, that he made the whole thing up?

I don’t want to give away the ending away to those who haven’t read it, but my answer is this (as quoted by Pi from the book): “‘You can’t prove which story is true and which is not. You must take my word for it… in both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer… so tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?'”

After breakfast, my mom and I headed to the pool to soak up some rays. A lot of my bloat has disappeared over night, but had also stayed away after eating breakfast. I was worried after a few of my cheats yesterday that I’d be sick today or extremely bloated, but that was not the case- that was a feel good moment! I laid in the hot sun, waded in the pool, and fiddled on my phone for about 3 hours, when I realized my body was frying. I had already burned yesterday, but now I was burning my sunburn! I decided to leave around 2:15 pm. I rode my bike back to my house, showered, and sat down to enjoy lunch and some TV.

My lunch at 2:40 pm or so was a big salad made up of spinach, swiss chard, and bok choy, 6 cut up strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 chicken breast, balsamic vinegar, and then salt and pepper to taste. I loved it. I call it my summer salad, and I typically have it everyday unless my mom needs me to eat up some leftovers. I flicked through the TV channels, mostly going back and forth between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and NY ER. I love ER shows. I was still hungry so I had about 1/2 cup of freeze dried strawberries. I was craving those @urbanposer vanilla-strawberry coconut macaroons I posted about in my blog yesterday, but they are definitely not low FODMAPs or whole30 friendly. I was craving them because I had them yesterday. From experience though I know to destroy by neglect, so if I don’t give in, eventually those cravings will go away.

About an hour later I was exhausted from very restless nights the past few days, so I laid down for a nap. I set my alarm for an hour, and then I conked out and was dead to the world. I reluctantly woke up to my alarm and felt lethargic for a good 30 minutes with a slight stomach ache. I drank lots of water and watched some Friends and more Harry Potter, but this time the Order of the Phoenix, with my mom.

I was hungry, so I decided to make dinner. It was ah-mazing! Yeah, I just typed that. I got the recipe from Paleomg.com, another one of my favorite Paleo bloggers. The recipe was for her summer squash meatball casserole. I didn’t use the onions or garlic it called for because those are not low FODMAPs, and it was a little watery from the zucchini, but other than that it is now one of my favorites. It’s like a spicy twist on spaghetti and meatballs. My mom and I each had 2 helpings, while my dad only had 1, so luckily there is enough leftover for dinner for me tomorrow! Yay!

I then went for a golf cart ride with my mom, and will probably spend the rest of my night reading or watching a movie. My stomach feels pretty awesome, which makes me feel pretty awesome! I’m not sure if it’s the low FODMAPs diet plus the probiotics, but something seems to be working. Ill admit it’s a little hard at times because this 30 day challenge is very restrictive, but I just have to remind myself that after the 30 days, I’ll be able to loosen up a little. My best friend, Hillary, is doing her version of a whole30 with me, and when I get back to my apartment we’ll be able to cook together. It’s always easier to do something like this with another person for support and accountability.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this. I hope you found it entertaining.