Tigers and Turtles - 2016

[NancyW]

I'm headed to bed early because I want to get to the gym tomorrow morning before work. It means getting up at 4am-ish, but it's the only way it'll happen on a regular basis. I'll keep you posted on how it goes tomorrow morning! (And by that, I don't mean how it goes AT the gym, but how it goes on getting TO the gym! )

I did it. I got up at 4 (woke up on my own at 3:55--it was a sign!), got in a 35 minute walk on the treadmill, and got to work early this morning. I think this week and next, I do M/W/F, then move to M/T/T/F, and then just make it my plan to go every morning during the week. It means lots of planning ahead, having my workout clothes and gear ready to go the night before, and being on top of things. Since I live in an apartment, I'm very conscious of how much noise I'm making at odd hours, and the planning ahead helps. Not all of my neighbors are so considerate, but the woman downstairs from me is so I am happy to return the favor! And my gym is close to home, so I come back home to shower and get ready. That's SO much easier than having to haul all my stuff with me!

 

Oh, and Merg, I 've noticed a shift in my drinking habits. I find that after going without for 30 days at a crack twice, it's easier to drink less than usual. Now, I'm glad to be giving my liver a break!

[Crimsann]

Hurrah for Nancy!!! 

 

Reporting in from the weekend, first off the bikini issue.  Well.  I may not keep it, but for once it's not so much me that is the problem.  It definitely fit, if we define fit by "I can put it on without holding my breath, have full mobility, and nothing bulges out".  In fact, if anything, the bottoms were a touch large.  The problem I think is the top.  I was drawn to this suit because it was A. cute, and B. had a ton of shaping up top.  Since I'm super petite, at 5'zip and super curvy at a 32 D, I have a really short torso and need lots of support to keep things "uplifted" so I have a waistline at all.  This top had both underwire and shaping, but unfortunately the shaping doesn't shape ME in a very flattering way.  It fits fine around, and nothing spills out, but it's all sort of not exactly where it should be.  Which is such a shame because otherwise this worked out pretty well.  The bottom line is, it didn't look bad...it just didn't look good...and I think I can do better.  I'm definitely less intimidated about trying something else on though and that's a good thing.

 

I also survived the cookie-pocalypse mostly unscathed.  I will 'fess up to tasting one, mostly because I realized too late I had gotten the wrong recipe and I wasn't sure how different it was, but also because the smell was overwhemingly enticing in the wee hours of the morning.  I hadn't factored that part in somehow, I wasn't craving them and I had no trouble stopping at one, but the smell of baking cookies for hours on end weakened me.  I must have jinxed myself with my confidence earlier.  LOL!  It turns out this recipe browns a lot more than mine and that had me freaked out they were going to be dry. 

 

Oh.  And also?  The wrong recipe as it turns out makes 250 cookies which nearly doubled what I had planned to make.   ZOMG, I was baking all night!!!!!  I could pretty much run this bake sale by myself at this point and I didn't get to bed until 4 in the morning on Sunday.  Maybe I even dreamed eating the cookie, hard to tell at that point.  I still need to get them packaged and get a special few set back to freeze for later but I think I will be fine around them now.  I could be totally ticked at myself for caving in, but I'm just not, it happened and it really and truly was as much about quality check as it was desire for a cookie and in the end I actually feel pretty good about that.  I could eat it, enjoy it reasonably without dropping to my knees and grabbing a whole tray, not go back for more, and not wake up the next morning(afternoon) and want them for breakfast. 

 

To quote my two-year old niece...I could totally look at the rest of them and say "I fine, thanks"

 

Side-story, this is her new thing.  When she wants to tell you "no", but she knows if she says "no" she will get in trouble, she trots out this super adorable "I fine, thanks".  Which SOUNDS really cute and polite right?!?  But in context, how it works is you go to ask her to put her toys away because it's time to go and she replies "I fine, thanks."  Or, you ask her to put her coat on, or finish eating her dinner..."I fine, thanks."   And, where do you go from there?  It's pretty obvious manipulation but it's also done so sweetly you have to just muffle a laugh and try to rephrase the request.  It isn't even less cute, to Auntie at least, when the "I fine!  I fine!" escalates to a desperate shriek, but that's being an Auntie for you.       

 

The cookie is a black mark on my W30 for March, and it annoys me for that fact alone, but I don't feel like it worked against what I'm really doing at this point which is finding a way to make W30 as much a part of normal life as possible.  I'm definitely not going to let it end my month early, but it's also not going to be a restart for me, and for once in my life I'm not going to over-analyze it anymore than...uh, like, I just did. 

[misslindy]

Hurrah for Nancy!!! 

 

Reporting in from the weekend, first off the bikini issue.  Well.  I may not keep it, but for once it's not so much me that is the problem.  It definitely fit, if we define fit by "I can put it on without holding my breath, have full mobility, and nothing bulges out".  In fact, if anything, the bottoms were a touch large.  The problem I think is the top.  I was drawn to this suit because it was A. cute, and B. had a ton of shaping up top.  Since I'm super petite, at 5'zip and super curvy at a 32 D, I have a really short torso and need lots of support to keep things "uplifted" so I have a waistline at all.  This top had both underwire and shaping, but unfortunately the shaping doesn't shape ME in a very flattering way.  It fits fine around, and nothing spills out, but it's all sort of not exactly where it should be.  Which is such a shame because otherwise this worked out pretty well.  The bottom line is, it didn't look bad...it just didn't look good...and I think I can do better.  I'm definitely less intimidated about trying something else on though and that's a good thing.

 

I also survived the cookie-pocalypse mostly unscathed.  I will 'fess up to tasting one, mostly because I realized too late I had gotten the wrong recipe and I wasn't sure how different it was, but also because the smell was overwhemingly enticing in the wee hours of the morning.  I hadn't factored that part in somehow, I wasn't craving them and I had no trouble stopping at one, but the smell of baking cookies for hours on end weakened me.  I must have jinxed myself with my confidence earlier.  LOL!  It turns out this recipe browns a lot more than mine and that had me freaked out they were going to be dry. 

 

Oh.  And also?  The wrong recipe as it turns out makes 250 cookies which nearly doubled what I had planned to make.   ZOMG, I was baking all night!!!!!  I could pretty much run this bake sale by myself at this point and I didn't get to bed until 4 in the morning on Sunday.  Maybe I even dreamed eating the cookie, hard to tell at that point.  I still need to get them packaged and get a special few set back to freeze for later but I think I will be fine around them now.  I could be totally ticked at myself for caving in, but I'm just not, it happened and it really and truly was as much about quality check as it was desire for a cookie and in the end I actually feel pretty good about that.  I could eat it, enjoy it reasonably without dropping to my knees and grabbing a whole tray, not go back for more, and not wake up the next morning(afternoon) and want them for breakfast. 

 

To quote my two-year old niece...I could totally look at the rest of them and say "I fine, thanks"

 

Side-story, this is her new thing.  When she wants to tell you "no", but she knows if she says "no" she will get in trouble, she trots out this super adorable "I fine, thanks".  Which SOUNDS really cute and polite right?!?  But in context, how it works is you go to ask her to put her toys away because it's time to go and she replies "I fine, thanks."  Or, you ask her to put her coat on, or finish eating her dinner..."I fine, thanks."   And, where do you go from there?  It's pretty obvious manipulation but it's also done so sweetly you have to just muffle a laugh and try to rephrase the request.  It isn't even less cute, to Auntie at least, when the "I fine!  I fine!" escalates to a desperate shriek, but that's being an Auntie for you.       

 

The cookie is a black mark on my W30 for March, and it annoys me for that fact alone, but I don't feel like it worked against what I'm really doing at this point which is finding a way to make W30 as much a part of normal life as possible.  I'm definitely not going to let it end my month early, but it's also not going to be a restart for me, and for once in my life I'm not going to over-analyze it anymore than...uh, like, I just did. 

 

Brilliant. I agree entirely with the cookie episode (not that you need my approval but I think you are so spot on with how you handled it) Love the story about the suit so that worked well too.

 

Cookies, the batch that made so many, why not freeze some of the dough and when next you need cookies for a bake sale, just thaw out and cook so you don't have hours of prep time and smelling baking cookies into the wee hours? I always do that so it makes the cookies I bake easier to ignore. Speaking of which today is a new batch of dough day and I would prefer to just buy them!

 

Your wee niece sound delightful. 

[misslindy]

I did it. I got up at 4 (woke up on my own at 3:55--it was a sign!), got in a 35 minute walk on the treadmill, and got to work early this morning. I think this week and next, I do M/W/F, then move to M/T/T/F, and then just make it my plan to go every morning during the week. It means lots of planning ahead, having my workout clothes and gear ready to go the night before, and being on top of things. Since I live in an apartment, I'm very conscious of how much noise I'm making at odd hours, and the planning ahead helps. Not all of my neighbors are so considerate, but the woman downstairs from me is so I am happy to return the favor! And my gym is close to home, so I come back home to shower and get ready. That's SO much easier than having to haul all my stuff with me!

 

Oh, and Merg, I 've noticed a shift in my drinking habits. I find that after going without for 30 days at a crack twice, it's easier to drink less than usual. Now, I'm glad to be giving my liver a break!

Yahoo, well done, Nancy. 

[NancyW]

I fine, thanks!  Love that!

 

Crimsann, try Lands End for a suit. They do a fab job. Glad that it was the suit that was off, and not YOU! Huge success!

 

Re: Cookies... I can never have them in the house. Not the dough, not the home-baked cookies, not the good store-bought ones, not even the BAD store-bought ones. Nope. Same for brownies and brownie batter. And donuts. None of them. 

[bpaitsel]

Nancy - way to go on getting to the gym!!!  and I noticed the same thing you did about the wine - after going without for stretches of time I definitely am having that "one glass" less often and, if I do have a glass, am more thoughtful about having/not having more.  So, Merg, just keep at it.  I think you will see gradual changes and maybe just being more mindful.  You can picture one of us on your shoulder saying "do you really want it?" if that helps.

Crimsann - definitely a "win" on the bathing suit - you will find the right one.  And having one cookie is definitely not a black mark in a lifestyle change.  Your niece is very smart

[NancyW]

Gym again this morning. Go, me! I'm thankful I can read my Kindle while I'm on the treadmill as it makes the time go by faster. The gym has a row of TVs across the front of the cardio equipment, but with 16 channels, there's still nothing to watch!

 

I've been thinking (overthinking?? Probably...) about what I should be doing, and I had a thought. (Good thing! It would be awful to do all that thinking and never have any actual thoughts.) How about, for now, UN-reintroduction? I'm going to UN-reintro sugar, while I decide what path to take with the rest of my eating.

[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! A lovely spring day in the 70s for today.

 

If you can make the time, there is a great interview (about 40 minutes) with Melissa Hartwig at www.blog.primalblueprint.com Episode #111. There was a lot of info on how they carry on after their W30 is over (she says they are going to have an emphasis on that this year) and it really opened my eyes. Perhaps we are being too strict with ourselves.

 

Nancy - its wonderful you are getting back to the gym. You'll feel better for it, too. I watched the interview on my Kindle so maybe you could do that while on the treadmill.

 

Crismann - being 74 my bikini days are over but I like a tankini with a shorts bottom. I get my workout swim suits from H2O. I need them to be chlorine resistant. I wish I could stop at one cookie. Having to be gluten-free has limited my sweets consumption a lot. That is good.

 

Misslindy. Talking about skewed body image, I lost 214 pounds nearly 40 years ago and I still see my fat self in the mirror. I have to try clothes on before I buy them because they all look too small to me so I buy larger sizes. I'm always amazed when I see a picture of myself.

[misslindy]

Good morning, ladies! A lovely spring day in the 70s for today.

 

If you can make the time, there is a great interview (about 40 minutes) with Melissa Hartwig at www.blog.primalblueprint.com Episode #111. There was a lot of info on how they carry on after their W30 is over (she says they are going to have an emphasis on that this year) and it really opened my eyes. Perhaps we are being too strict with ourselves.

 

Nancy - its wonderful you are getting back to the gym. You'll feel better for it, too. I watched the interview on my Kindle so maybe you could do that while on the treadmill.

 

Crismann - being 74 my bikini days are over but I like a tankini with a shorts bottom. I get my workout swim suits from H2O. I need them to be chlorine resistant. I wish I could stop at one cookie. Having to be gluten-free has limited my sweets consumption a lot. That is good.

 

Misslindy. Talking about skewed body image, I lost 214 pounds nearly 40 years ago and I still see my fat self in the mirror. I have to try clothes on before I buy them because they all look too small to me so I buy larger sizes. I'm always amazed when I see a picture of myself.

Oh dear. I hope I can turn that around for myself--but have to get to the smaller size first.

[bpaitsel]

Nancy, go you! and I really like the idea of un-reintro.

 

Susan, I'm going to check out that link tomorrow when I have some time.  Sounds like some good info.

 

Unfortunately, I think for myself being too strict is definitely not the problem - have been way too liberal with off-roading.  I want to lose about 20 pounds - again! - and I think I have let my portion sizes get out of control.  I know the whole "calories don't count" argument but there has to be a point when too much food - even though it is healthy food - is going to pack on the pounds.  I have a very busy, active job and I think that in an effort to avoid snacking I am eating meals that are too calorie dense - even though they are W30 compliant.  Then, in all honesty, add in some treats and the scale goes up.  Three years ago I lost 30 pounds doing weight watchers and, looking back at my food logs, I can't for the life of me figure out how I lost any weight at all since I was having "treats" daily.  But, I did lose it and I guess it was because my meal portions were smaller.  I never cut back to the point of being hungry - doesn't work.  Sooooooooo, time to combine the knowledge of W30/paleo with some common sense portion control.  Turns out any food can be "food without brakes".

 

One of the things I am inspired by on here is Crimsann's organization as far as meal planning.  That is going to be my focus between now and April 1 - I feel like I need to do another W30 then reintro's - especially since I have had itchy, rashy reactions to food twice this week and feeling crappy now while getting whatever it was out of my system.   Time for another N=1 experiment.

 

Today was a beautiful sunny day in the 70's here and I am looking forward to tomorrow being the same - will go outside and get some Vitamin D

[NancyW]

dpaitsel, I think the "calories don't count" idea is great, but that means being able to stop eating when I've had enough. That is one of the TOUGHEST things for me to do! It's much easier to do when eating the foods allowed on W30 than it is when eating the crap I've been eating lately. And my knee pain is getting worse. I think I'll start a log to track that when I start whatever method I decide I'm going to try. 

[bpaitsel]

Nancy I am so with you. I have always been able to eat large volumes of food - healthy or otherwise.  I'm not really sure where I'm going wrong but first step is to meal plan for April.  It really shouldn't be that hard - I'm over thinking it.    I'm sorry about your knee pain.  Is it both of them or just one?  I"m going to listen to the interview referenced earlier with Melissa to get some motivation.

[misslindy]

Hi

Happy Easter. We are just finishing Good Friday and I am ready for bed.

 

Nancy, taking my inspiration from you I did two lengths of the water walking today, I go from the front of our house to the other end of the beach and back, then did it again. I am thrilled. Wasn't even exhausted at the end of it so I think taking it slow and regularly is paying off. I am not any more tired than I usually am at this time of day.

 

Will keep doing the two until I can handle three times--I don't know how far it is but one way is probably two or three pool lengths so am pleased.

 

Not eating enough vegetables the past couple of days. It is feijoa season and they are so good I have been eating too many of them, no more for the next few days. I am hoping to get to the market tomorrow morning and will stock up. Funny inbetween season so all my lovely caulis are disappearing.

 

Hope you all have a good Easter.

[NancyW]

I love how international we are, which means sometimes having to look up what other people are eating...like feijoa! There have been a few things I've read up on, and wish I could try them.

 

Good for you, misslindy!!!

 

I didn't go to the gym this morning. I had planned to, despite my car being covered in snow, but when I woke up, I heard a neighbor scraping ice (and scraping and scraping and scraping) of their car and decided that I wasn't in for that at 4am! That combo of rain turning to snow is wicked to deal with on the windows. It's supposed to be sunny an 40 here today, so I will take a long walk at lunch--at least 30 minutes like I'd have done at the gym.

 

I've gotten to the point where I'm looking forward to getting back to my "regular" eating. Funny how something I only started a few months ago seems normal to me now!

 

Lots of cleaning to be done for Easter company. Sometimes I think that's why I periodically invite people over--to force me to REALLY clean! That's how I'll be spending my day tomorrow.

[Crimsann]

The bake sale, at last, is over...and now on to the next event.  Happily for me, this does not involve baking, but since I'm likely to talk about this a lot this year I thought I would give you a little background on it.

 

Those who did September with the same group I did may remember I was signed up to do a 24 hour video game marathon for charity last year and even though it was a bit early I was already excited about it.  This year, our local Children's Hospital has asked some of us to form a committee and see if we can recruit enough fundraisers to reach "guild status" which means we need at least 65 people to raise at least $75.00 each.  Reaching that level of activity unlocks some additional opportunities for the players as well as more funds for the hospital. 

 

The first meeting for this committee was on Monday and I was delighted that it ended up being all women!  Girl gamers are not as much a minority as we used to be, but that's still the perception.  It turns out, one of my co-workers was signed up for the meeting but couldn't make it.  We haven't actually met, since we work for a 5000+ employee network, but we have been in touch via email since and he does plan to be at the next meeting which will break up the all girls but he seems really committed to this and already has some ideas about recruiting here.

 

Next weekend we are going to be manning some tables at a local comic book convention and at an all-night film festival to get the word out and hopefully sign some people up.  We have all of 2016 to fundraise, but the actual "game day" for the 24-hour marathon is in November and most of the fundraising happens around that day.  Some years my work has interfered with me being able to participate on the actual day...I never work weekends, except in November, so the irony...oh, the irony...but I'm really hoping it works out this year. 

 

Anyway, not to ramble on about that, but if you know anyone who might be interested in participating let me know!  They can sign up to fundraise for any Children's Hospital...but in order to help our group they would need to designate the one in Dayton, OH...and we aren't above adopting some out-of-state volunteers for this year!  LOL!

 

I think I've got my menu finished up for Easter dinner, but still trying to work out what to do for next week.  It's my last W30 week until June.  Though I don't plan to do any sort of systemic reintroduction, I am also working on a sort of mental list of what I'm okay with adding back and what other guidelines I want to keep in place for this break.  I'm still liking the idea of not buying anything that isn't compliant as a rule, though more slanted to packaged foods I think, and I am going to make a list of some fresh foods that will be exempted from that.  For example, green peas or corn or black beans...not compliant, but definitely in line with what I want to be eating as I have not experienced any sensitivities with them.  I will also be adding back butter and my favorite natural ketchup and some non-compliant salad dressings and sauces.  I really want to add more green salad to my lunch rotations and if a non-compliant dressing makes them more palatable then I'm good with that.  On the dressings and sauces though I'm still going to be looking for whole ingredients or making them myself but will be less picky about sweeteners or and to some extent dairy when/where that makes sense.  Same thing with sausages and bacon that might not be purely compliant but are not laden with preservatives (I love Aidelle's Bacon and Pineapple chicken sausage for example.)  Anything beyond that though is going to be reserved for eating out which I rarely have time to do.  Bread, cheese, grains in general terms like cereals, rice, corn/flour tortillas, those sort of whole foods I will continue to avoid for now I think.  I keep seeing recipes for paella for some reason and it sounds sooo good but it also seems like minimal meat/veg and max rice is what I actually want so skipping that in favor of some "treats" that keep me more in line with the overall template. 

 

It's definitely a fine line, but I think the core of my plan for April/May is to lighten the rules but keep close to template.  I've heard some of you say something similar I think in the recent discussion of how many calories sneak in when you aren't eating W30 and the message I'm getting from that is...the more closely our meals are to the template the easier it's going to be to stay within reasonable bounds.  So, I'm going to be trying to really analyze situations when a non-compliant food enhances the template and when it edges out the template...and really avoiding the later. 

[NancyW]

As always, Crimsann, so much of what you say really speaks to me! First thing is the bacon/pineapple chicken sausage. MUST find that here!!! I've tried as well to come up with guidelines to help me decide where that line should be. The thing that seems most in line is the Weight Watchers (always comes back to them...) Core plan, now called Simply Filling. You eat just till you're not hungry any longer from a list of whole, healthy foods. That list is much like what you've just talked about, although I think they limit oil to 2-3 tsp. per day. That just doesn't work for me anymore! And as for girls getting ahead, becoming less of a minority in ANY male-dominated field is right in line with what we do at Girl Scouts. That always makes me happy! One of our STEM teams is on their way to nationals for the second time, having kicked butt in the local events each year.

 

When my company leaves after Easter brunch tomorrow, I will be taking up my laptop to put a plan on paper. (Well, on Word doc...) I have a lot going on next weekend, ending on Saturday, so next Sunday will be spent shopping and cooking for a healthier me. I've continued to eat mostly W30 foods/recipes/meals, but the added junk is what's killing me (hyperbole? maybe not...). And way too much bread. The beginning of my plan is no sugar/no bread,grains. I don't use enough dairy that it's a big problem, and I'll probably go back to coconut milk in my coffee just because I've grown to prefer it. If I'm not buying sugar or sugary foods as per the Crimsann Grocery Cart Plan,  does that mean I can eat sugary foods when served elsewhere? Probably not. That's where my Jedi mind tricks kick in and before I know it, I've made it ok in my mind to buy bakery/dessert/candy if I carry it through the store instead of using a cart!!! Don't laugh, it's well within my bag of mental tricks to do so!  Anyway, planning starts tomorrow, plan starts next Sunday. So time to dig out the 8 squintillion recipes I have saved up on Pinterest and find a couple to make.

 

Now it's off to spring clean for company tomorrow. (One of the joys of Seasonal Affective Disorder is letting some things go over the long winter...) Luckily, I don't have to do much food prep as my mom and sister are bringing the main dishes, and I've decided to pick up a prepared fruit plate instead of messing up the kitchen I've just cleaned! 

[bpaitsel]

Happy Easter Tigers and Turtles I'm kinda laying low and not saying much - food choices have been really bad.  I think I'm rationalizing that I'll eat everything this week that I might miss during April W30 I also have  not spent my time well as far as meal planning - like Nancy it's time for me to actually use some of my recipe collection!  One thing that I am accomplishing is that I think I have found a balance on the dose of my estrogen so that it is not affecting my eyes and I am only having minimal symptoms.  This is huge for me not to have my eyes driving me crazy all day and to not have significant hot flashes - especially at work Crimsann - I like your way of thinking a lot of using non-compliant foods to enhance the template instead of edging it out - will work on that.

[misslindy]

Happy Easter

 

We have had lovely weather for the most part and the tide has been lovely and high so have enjoyed my walks. Not walking as far because of some muscle pain but still in there everyday so that has to count for something.

 

Am really enjoying my breakfast bake, as my husband says, 'makes a difference when you don't poison yourself' funny man.

 

I find I am settling into this nicely although I nearly went crazy this weekend wanting pumpkin pie--so I had saved a tin of pumpkin (we can't get it here year round) and made myself the filling using compliant ingredients. I know that is still not right but was fine for me and I loved it. If I had to use the pumpkin I cooked myself I'm not so sure I would like it as much. 

[NancyW]

Hey, peeps... Easter was fun, but there was way too much bread and sugar. I bought Easter candy to use as a centerpiece, and sent the uneaten stuff (ok, most of it...) home with my niece. I figure she can pass it out to fellow college students who need those extra calories! I'm still working on my plan. Or, to be more honest, I'm still thinking about working on it. And I'll be glad to put this last weekend of partying behind me.

 

I marvel at how something that should be as simple as enjoying good food three or four times a day has become such an albatross around my neck. How has it come to this? Maybe it hasn't "come to this" so much as it's always been this way. I'm really worn out from the struggle. Still, I know it could be worse, much worse... If only I could handle this in shades of gray, instead of always just black and white. Peace of mind, for me, is in the gray area.

[bpaitsel]

Oh Nancy I think somewhere along the line you and I must be related.  (And your opening "hey, peeps" - that was funny )  So many similar traits - I have also been doing a lot of thinking about planning but the planning part just hasn't happened yet and April 1 is fast approaching.  Am also tired of continually thinking about food.  I want to make food interesting and not get bored, however, I think simple meat with veggies is going to be the bulk of my meals.  I'm lucky that hubs will eat the same as me, except for a few veggies, so only have to occasionally fix something different for him.  I generally plan a week at a time so that might be what happens month of April too - I just thought doing a month at a time would be easier - maybe not.

 

I just started reading Mark Hyman's book Eat Fat, Get Thin.  haven't gotten very far yet but so far very interesting.

[NancyW]

Yup, bpaitsel, I'm on track to do more thinking about planning today. AND thinking about going to the gym. I didn't get there this morning, because I stayed up too late last night  and couldn't get out of bed. That has got to change! Will check out that book  --sounds interesting, and I've found that eating more fat (the right kind, of course!) solves a couple of problems.  

[Crimsann]

Plans are vital, lol...let me tell you, since I got run into the ground with last weeks events and then my nieces on Sunday and even my tentative meal plan didn't come about for this week.  Really, really feeling the difference.  I have enough basic things to make up something for dinner thanks to leftover shrimp fajita ingredients, but running to Whole Foods to cobble together a lunch can get pricey after three days. 

 

Ironically though, I already have my meal plan for next week...which I think I'm going to continue to share even though I know some of you are thinking about doing a W30 this coming month and mine won't be purely compliant.  I feel like it might still give you all some ideas and also help me stick with my REALLY close to compliant plan. 

 

So next week's plan is to start with my "cereal" which for me is toasted nuts with some spice (usually cinnamon walnuts or pumpkin pie spice almonds/cashews) and sliced banana.  I slice the banana over the nuts and eat with a spoon like a bowl of cereal minus the milk.  Not perfectly template being that nuts count more as a fat than a protein I believe but it's something that works for me in the mornings. 

 

Lunch, I'm planning to make up a meatloaf and probably roasted red potatoes, adding in ketchup for some flavor boost.  I have often done turkey meatloafs but I haven't decided for sure which base I want to do.  I kind of don't like to have red meat so many days in a row though so probably will adapt one of those recipes, I don't mind adding tons of mushrooms or some veggies as well to it.  If I go more basic on the meatloaf I may do a small side salad with a poppyseed dressing.  That puts two non-compliant things in lunch but both in small quantities so over all I think this hits the notes I want to try for in April,

 

Dinners, I'm going to use up some frozen salmon...probably just a quick grill and if I can find some pineapple salsa I will go that route as a topping and roasted asparagus or green beans on the side.  Really want to say some kind of jasmine or sticky rice but I'm not going there yet. 

 

That mini-meal I usually need to plan for based on my work schedule will probably be deviled eggs and baby carrots which I seem to never get tired of and works so well for tiding me over until I get home without filling me up too much.  With compliant mayo and mustard they are delicious and such an easy mini-meal.  I can hard boil a dozen eggs on the weekend and just make up enough for the next day while I'm packing lunches so they stay really fresh. 

[bpaitsel]

My presence at the gym has been less than stellar to say the least.  I had gotten into the habit of doing group classes  just because it was convenient - set start/stop time, someone else telling me what to do, automatic change-up in routine and it was almost like having a personal trainer without the cost.  The problem is that at the time I need to be there the classes are 3 days a week 45 minutes of cardio (bike) and only 2 days of strength.  While I feel that cardio is very important I am now feeling like I don't need that much - maybe just an excuse not to do it.  So the problem is that I'm having trouble just switching to doing my own workouts.  I'm very much a creature of habit to my own downfall at times.  Will be working on that.

 

Crimsann I think it would be great for you to continue posting your meals here.  It will help the rest of us and by now we can pick out the non-compliant ingredients.  If any new people join in can clear up any confusion then.

 

April 1 approaching fast like a train - but in a good way   Let's just remember that - as Melissa points out - no this is not hard like fighting cancer but yet it is hard.  And it is ok to admit when it is hard - that way the next person that is really struggling will not feel alone.

[NancyW]

Yes, planning is important! Between my lack of a clear plan, and a very busy weekend/week/weekend, I haven't done much cooking. No shepherd's pie left, so today's breakfast and lunch will be half of a two-serving size container of Taco Soup for each meal. Luckily, I love the stuff. I've been eating it for lunch for years! I make a 12 quart pot and freeze it in 1.5 cup servings. It has beans and corn, so it's not compliant, and the thing that makes it REALLY good is an envelope of ranch dip mix, also not compliant. I'm going to try a few things to make it work as paleo or W30. I also ordered a new cookbook called Paleo Perfected. It'll be here tomorrow, just in time for my weekend planning/shopping/cooking session. Then I'll gather recipes and make a shopping list when I get home on Saturday afternoon. I'll be spending most of tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday with my family as my sister is coming in from GA tonight. It'll be a fun weekend, but I'll be glad to get home on Saturday to plan (there's that word again!) my return to sanity...    

[Crimsann]

Cheerleader checking in!  I've lost track a bit of who all is doing W30 for April and who is sidelining it with me...so I'm just cheering on everyone today. 

 

It's my first day off Whole30 since January 4th, though so far that hasn't meant anything different.  Was racing in for a morning conference call and just wrapped that up a few minutes ago.  I'm shopping again for lunch because my desk stash of La Croix is depleted and we just can't have that...so will probably do a salad bar thing even though we have a food truck from a local Mexican restaurant parked downstairs.  I need to pick up some ground coffee because I promised to make up a batch of toasted coconut cold brew concentrate for the weekends volunteer shifts and I tentatively plan to grab a small frappucinno while I'm out.  I'm not calling it a reward because I'm trying not to think of it that way...so more like a deserved indulgence. 

 

That's the same thing isn't it.  Oh well.

 

What I'm actually "rewarding" myself with for this mostly successful stint is something new for my wardrobe.  I had my eye on some white linen pants until I noticed all the reviews cited the "unlined, see-through" issue.  Come ON people, why is this an issue every season...I feel you shouldn't even bother making white linen pants with zero lining without ensuring that the fabric is nearly thick enough to block the sun let alone floral undies!  Unless they are being marketed as a beach coverup type thing I guess, which these werent.  So I guess I will wait to see what comes in my first Stitch Fix (due Monday according to the tracker) and see what they picked for me and either shop from or for that...or go back to the drawing board.  This is sort of pathetic as a reward because it's something I have to buy anyway but I'm trying to make it all sound fun.  (snicker)

 

I did a weigh in this morning, but true to form for me I never go with the first number and will be weighing all weekend to take an average.  Since my morning weigh-in's tend to be lower than evening though I figure I've got a reasonable low number and can report that it looks like it's going to be somwhere in the ball park of 15 pounds.  Nothing shockingly huge for a three-month stint, but absolutely nothing shabby either and it means I'm likely now in the zone to be less than 20 pounds away from my ideal weight.  No surprise that things feel like they are slowing down and will likely continue to do so.  The closer I get to that the harder I expect it to be to shed, but if I can keep myself on track during these free months and can work in some added exercise during my summer W30 starting in June...I could hit that ultimate goal later this year.  Since I would really like to plan out and work on a "maintenance" plan before 2017 starts to see if that two weeks on/two weeks off every month idea works for me, this is good news.  It would be really nice to be able to trial my maintenance plan in the fall and tweak it before seeing how a whole year of maintenance mode works for me.  If I haven't made my goal by September, I will probably add that month in as a "bonus" Whole30.  My motivation for exceling this summer will be buying back that free month and since our vacation, right now at least, is planned for the last week in September it's really motivating on several levels to be finished up by then!