First time...starting May 15th

[Christine_]

Hi, I’d love to join your group, too!  I am restarting because starting (the first time) before my birthday and Mother’s Day wasn’t a very good idea!  I eat pretty well normally, but because of recent digestive issues, I need to avoid certain foods I love (including some Whole30 compliant), and plus I need to get back to better habits of drinking lots of water (instead of diet Coke, coffee, and wine… I said I EAT well normally, but drinking is another story, haha) and more consistent exercise – and no eating between meals… so I think with a group I will be more motivated to stay on track.  So far so good, other than a little headache.  I agree, meal planning/prep is key – and something I don’t do all that well.  Yes, we must have tenacity!        

[bigmamabird]

All of your meals sound wonderful! And I'm definitely gonna check out BigMamaBird's Pinterest idea for recipes. Do you just search for Whole30?

 

Yes, just go and search Whole30 recipes and you'll have more than you know what to do with!  But be careful, anyone can post anything and name it whatever they want, you'll want to make sure you look over the ingredients carefully to make sure there's nothing off-plan in it.  You can also do special searches for Breakfasts, Lunches, Snacks, Dinner, anything you're hungry for.

 

On days where I'm having a difficult time, I find it helpful to do a search for Whole30 Results.  Lots of pictures and posts come up that help me remember why I started this and what I can look forward to if I just soldier through.

 

I made this recipe for lunches and it has been delicious!  I packed it up for a trip to the zoo today with some sliced onions, cherry tomatoes and olives.  

http://www.jaysbakingmecrazy.com/2015/11/01/paleo-gyros/

[AngelEyz]

I'm a day behind you all... started today. So far so good, in the "honeymoon" phase. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

[playtruly]

Welcome Christine and AngelEyz! I'm really glad you've joined us. The more the merrier! Chime in with how your first few days are going, favorite meals and any questions you may have. We have a couple of more experienced Whole30-ers on this string (no pressure bigmamabird and LydiaJo!) and the rest of us can at least share our own experiences as we go along.

Thanks for the Pinterest tips, bigmamabird. The gyros sound really yummy!

Today was Day 2 for me and things went relatively well. I hadn't exercised at all yesterday, but did about 40 minutes of yoga today between breakfast and lunch, and I definitely noticed that I needed a bit more food than I did yesterday, when I had stuck with the standard 3 meals only. I added two snacks today (both were a palm-sized serving or less of fruit and about a palm-sized serving of nuts) - but it then seemed like overkill by the time I got to dinner. So, I think I'll stick with only one snack on exercise days (if I need it) - unless I'm really starving for more.

As I've mentioned, I've been off eggs for over 2 years - but I did try some duck eggs tonight for dinner. Really yummy!! I'm not sure how they're settling in my stomach now though (about 3 hours later). So I'll lay off again for at least a few more days to see if I can bring them back. The dinner was super yummy though:

** sweet potato chunks cooked in olive and coconut oils,

** then added 3 duck eggs (maybe should have started with 1!).

** Once that was cooked up, I plated it and put a couple tablespoons of salsa and about 1/4 of an avocado (sliced) on top. Thanks for that suggestion, Courtney!

** I also steam-sauteed a generous portion of green beans and had those on the side. Very satisfying dinner.

In the meantime, to get a jump on the week (little league practices and a big festival week coming up in our town, with activities and family/community outings every night - Wed through Sun) I tried two of Melissa Joulwan's "Well Fed" recipes to cook ahead. I haven't eaten them yet, but I'll let you know how they are when I do:

Chocolate Chili: http://meljoulwan.com/2009/02/22/my-favorite-chili-recipe/

Slow Cooker Italian Pork Roast: http://meljoulwan.com/2012/10/16/slow-cooker-italian-pork-roast/(it should be finished cooking tomorrow morning when we wake up!)

Have a great day tomorrow everyone! And if you haven't checked out the Whole30 Timeline, it's really worth viewing...

[playtruly]

Here's the timeline, if you haven't seen it yet: http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

[stravajunkie]

Hi! I'm planning on starting tomorrow (May 17). I have done 1 W30 and several partials. So I don't think I'll have the boost of the "honeymoon" phase, but I have been doing a TON OF stress eating and I'm feeling rotten as a result. I KNOW eating to escape stress only makes me miserable but it's such a hard habit to break. The parameters of the whole 30 help, and being involved in an active group helps a lot too. Excited to be getting back on the wagon!

[playtruly]

Welcome stravajunkie! Good for you!! Reaching out for the tools that you know work best for you...that's impressive! Nice to have a third advanced member in the group to help bring additional perspective. Let us know how things go tomorrow.

[Sharon!]

Hi, I'm hanging with you guys. I did 7 days from 5/6 to 5/13 but then went off the rails 5/14 because I was traveling and could not find enough W30 food. So I had to restart on 5/15!

 

I did just make this Slow Cooker Kalua Pig recipe from Nom Nom Paleo and it is delicious. I highly recommend it! (Used bacon without sugar.)

[AngelEyz]

I'm on day #2, and REALLY glad I'd tapered way off sugar at the beginning of the year. I woke up with a low grade headache this morning, but I'm keeping it at bay with the same treatment I used to use for a hangover... lots and lots of water. I'm going to try this "garbage stir fry" for dinner tonight -- I'll let you all know how it turns out.

[LindyLou]

A well meaning friend brought me hot wedding soup and bread to make me feel better this afternoon. UGH! It looks good and the bread is soft, I'm crying.

[stravajunkie]

Hi Folks! When I decide to do this (and I've been putting off starting another W30 because: hard) I'm a daily poster. It helps me a lot to see what is working well and helping other people. So my contribution to the mix today: one of the biggest parts of the W30 is extracting ourselves from the psychological snares of food. I.e. using food to solve non-hunger related problems: emotions, moods, stress, tiredness, etc. etc. I'm terrible about this. What I've been focusing on today is making a short list of "activity bursts" I can do (5 minutes or less) to take my mind off cravings. Here's part of my list: weed for 5 minutes-5  minute walk-5 minutes of karate practice with kids-5 minutes of body weight exercises (squats, calf raises, plank, whatever), 5 minutes of drawing, 5 minutes of silly videos, 5 minutes of reading to a kid, 5 minutes of self foot/hand massage...as you can see, for me, anything that involves movement and especially being outdoors is mentally freeing. Other folks who have more artistic, craft talent etc. would have a different list...

 

The thing that amazes me is its SO DIFFICULT to take 5 minutes to do anything on this list. Yet, I can effortlessly stand by the counter and munch an entire bag of potato chips (much more than 5 minutes!!) in a stress frenzy. So it's not a question of if I CAN do it, but retraining my responses. The W30 parameters create the space for this to happen.

 

What have you all discovered (big or small) that is helpful for you so far?

[AngelEyz]

Back after a successful second day. This is my first Whole 30 journey so I'm not sure what I'm going to discover,but I'm certainly looking forward to increased awareness about my relationship with food. To use a term popular in social media, I know "it's complicated" but I've never really dug into the how or the why. I'm hoping that part of this journey will be figuring that out and developing the tools and techniques to "fix it".

[bigmamabird]

I got a low grade headache yesterday and it's still hanging on today and I've got the general "blahs."  

 

I made this great weekly meal plan and have had to toss it already.  I made WAY more swiss steak than I planned for, so that's what I've been eating for my dinners the last few nights.  I also made too much lunch so I've been eating the same lunch as well.  Settling in to a bit of food boredom here.  I'll be glad when those dishes are done so I can eat something else.

 

I have a big two day conference this weekend and some friends and I are planning on going out for lunch.  I'm planning on bringing lots of compliant snacks to keep me from browsing the cafeteria.  They always have a vendor selling cinnamon roasted almonds and another with that delicious lemonade you can get at carnivals.  It's going to be rough.  But with a stocked cooler in my car and proper planning, I can do this!

[Yia-yia]

Hi all! Its great hearing about good recipes. Im glad the link is right there too, because i am NOT tech savvy ive been combatting headaches the last 2 days also, finally got some relief this afternoon i distract myself mostly with cleaning when i have a craving..my house is extra sparkly these days. I will also brush my teeth and tongue. Surprisingly it helps me. I like the idea of getting some artsy stuff out. Thanks to all for posting your progress, recipes and ideas! I look forward to coming here and catching up with fellow Whole30ers!

[LydiaJo]

playtruely,

I put the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator. the cream rises to the top. I use the liquid part in soup or to steam fish. I've recently added to my bone broth.

[Christine_]

Hi all!  It’s fun reading all the posts, and I’m glad it’s an active group.  Keep posting daily, stravajunkie -and others when you can; it’s getting me through.  Thanks Heather for being such a great hostess! J  And thanks for the timeline link… it described my diet Coke headache on Day 2 perfectly, haha!  Bigmamabird, to prevent food boredom this early, could you freeze some of your leftovers and move on to something else? Good luck at the conference too… be strong around those food vendors!  If I didn’t keep running out of veggies, I would avoid the grocery store completely, what with all the wine and every other noncompliant item I see, even at Whole Foods!  YiaYia, I hear you about the coffee… yuck, black coffee!?  Who could drink that?  I’ve been drinking mine with some almond milk or homemade cashew milk, but I normally sweeten it a little, so it’s just not the same.  Looks like more water for me – I’ve been doing great there!  

 

How is everyone feeling and managing all the food prep and planning?  One of my favorite recipes has been this one (link below), an Indian spicy saag (greens) if you like that kind of thing.  I sometimes eat it for breakfast with an egg and think I could eat it every day for a VERY long time. 

 

This is harder than I thought it would be – I’ve never really had to stick to any special eating plan (I have done elimination diets but nothing this restrictive this long), but I’m getting the daily updates, and that seems to motivate me also.   Great job, everyone!

 

http://myheartbeets.com/sarson-ka-saag-slow-cooker/

[Sharon!]

I hit a wall this afternoon -- I felt super tired at work. I had to do a work lunch today and tried to stay compliant but I suspect there was some sugar in the meal. It's really hard if I have to eat out. It feels like I can never get enough fat or enough vegetables at a restaurant meal to fill me up, and I end up hungry later so I eat a 4th mini-meal during the day.

 

@bigmamabird To avoid getting bored of the same foods, I try to make sure there are 3 veggie dishes in the fridge and 2 protein dishes at any moment. That way I don't have to eat the same protein the whole day, and I get to vary which two vegetable dishes I eat for lunch and dinner. Throughout the week I cook dishes to replenish the 3+2 in the fridge.

 

Based on my experience last week, that adds up to this total of dishes I have to cook each week: 6 vegetable dishes, 4 protein dishes and a pot of soup. 

 

For breakfast I will drink a bowl of the soup, pick one of the proteins and microwave a sweet potato mashed with coconut oil. 

 

I asked my spouse to support me by cooking a few Whole30 recipes each week which helps cut down on how much I need to cook. Yesterday he made these Big O Bacon Burgers from Nom Nom Paleo, which are super tasty, today he roasted a salmon fillet. 

[AngelEyz]

Hi again everyone. I'm wrapping up day 3 here in California. I ditched the headache midday yesterday and thankfully it didn't return today. Can't wait to see with "must kill all the things" brings tomorrow. :/

 

I changed it up a bit food wise today. I baked Breakfast Pumpkin Custard last night and ate it this morning. Next time I'll add a bit more cinnamon/nutmeg, but this one's a keeper. Substantial enough to keep me going through the morning, a *touch* of sweetness from the banana, but nothing that awakened the beast. I lunched on leftover Garbage Stir Fry (link in my post yesterday) with a fried egg on top. For dinner I paired Baked Salmon with Avocado with a simple green salad and sauteed zucchini. I had a handful of cashews with some cherries mid afternoon. I'm satisfied, no crazy cravings yet, but I'm sure that's coming.

 

Bigmamabird, I'm cooking for just me 4 days a week (unless I can entice the dogs to help me finish a recipe), so I hear you on food boredom. I've been delighted to find workable "serves two" recipes recently, so I'm not looking at the same piece of meat for a week. Doing a pork tenderloin tomorrow and a tri tip on the weekend... but I'll send some of the leftovers home with my boyfriend.

 

I've been way more unstructured than I usually am with the meal planning. I picked four proteins for the week for my dinner meals:  round turkey, salmon filet, pork tenderloin and tri tip. I used Google to find 2-3 appealing recipes for each protein. I've been planning each daily menu the night before, and choose between my recipe candidates at that point. So I'm not sure yet what we're going to do with the tri tip on Saturday.

 

Is anyone else tracking their food anywhere? I've been using myfitnesspal.com (paired with my UP band) and because it's based on more traditional nutritional recommendations, it's having a cow about the amount of fat I'm taking in. I'm ignoring it.  

[LindyLou]

Hi everyone,

I love reading and using all the great ideas posted here, especially the recipe ideas.

The first few days, I had the hangover combined with sinus so I was miserable. I couldn't taste so I didn't eat as much as I should have and there has been no exercise. Yesterday, I may have had a mean streak with an uncooperative healthcare provider, sorry Britney! I blamed it (and everything else) on feeling bad from the sinus, never considered Whole 30 to be part of the issue until I went back to the list. Thanks again for posting it.

 

AngelEyz- love the pumpkin custard recipe. Sounds like dessert! I have all the ingredients so I'll be making that soon. And I had a similar dinner last night. Salmon on a salad but I made an avocado dressing instead of salsa and ate it out of one bowl. I haven't used my myfitnesspal.com account in a while but could go back to it. Can we link as friends on there? I don't remember.

 

Sharon and bigmamabird- I'll be traveling next week and dread eating out for the same reason. You never know where they dump a little sugar in to make it taste better because we all know that it does!  That NomNom burger recipe looks good. I've added cooked bacon to burgers because I like the beef on the rarer side but I don't want rare bacon. I often add shredded zucchini to turkey burgers to add veggies and keep them moist but I don't know why I never thought to add mushrooms to beef.

 

My recipe hint is for steamed broccoli. I top it with melted ghee and a few dashes of toasted sesame oil. It gives it a rich nutty flavor but stays on plan. No more boring broccoli.

[mebaer2000]

Today is day 5 for those of us that started on 5/15. How is everyone doing? I hope you are finding success.

I am doing well. Day 2 and day 3 were the toughest. Headache and fatigue. Day 4 was my best day so far. 

I felt a bit of a reaction to something I ate yesterday. I did test positive to autoimmune issues in my bloodwork,

so I am paying close attention to any reactions. I chose to do Whole30 without any modifications for the first go around. 

Might need to modify for my next Whole30. Please don't be discouraged if you are having a tough time. With the exception of a 

few cheats here and there, I have been eating very clean for 8 months. I started Whole 30 to get off Stevia and for the structure. 

I am so thankful for all the resources available. Especially the recipes on Instagram!

[stravajunkie]

Howdy! Day 3 for me. Mainly I'm feeling a little tired and draggy, plus cranky. I don't do grains/sugar very often even when not doing W30 so I didn't expect to experience much tiredness. However, I have been WAY overdoing the dairy lately, and I think the tiredness is from giving up all those carb boosts from milk and cream in my coffee all day.

 

I haven't been experiencing too many cravings for sweets, but CONSTANT cravings for dairy!! So, I guess it's a moment of truth, because I've been a bit in denial that I've gone so overboard with that stuff.

 

I did go for a fairly challenging 2 hour gravel ride yesterday and although my legs felt pretty dead to start with, my energy remained steady. That I'd consider a win.

 

Folks have been talking about recipe ideas. I cook for our rather large family, so I don't struggle to get rid of food That being said, I love the flexibility of protein + veggies + spices matrix: pick a protein of choice, a veggie of choice and spices that turn it into *some kind* of ethnic inspired dish..

 

Lately I've been into avocado boats-half of an avocado crammed with *whatever*: Bacon and tomatoes and mayo, what we call "taco meat" (super lean ground beef with cumin/chili powder/garlic/oregano) and salsa, shredded chicken roasted peppers....etc. etc.

 

The W30 cookbook, if you don't have it, is actually worth the price. Because it doesn't just give recipes, it kind of teaches you how to cook quickly and flexibly within these parameters....

 

Hang in there to everyone, it IS WORTH IT. I can tell you as a former hardcore sugar addict (and still very much wrestling with that issue) this program does re-frame your relationship with food and for me it's been basically revolutionary. All that coming from someone who's only done one complete W30 and then just kind of done an 80/20 application....but without REALLY doing the W30 I would never have learned the skills to make flexibly healthy choices (and forgive myself for screw ups) when not doing it.

[ek_02]

I breezed through Days 1-3, even though I felt a bit overwhelmed by the cooking.  Yesterday I hit a brick wall and still feel it through today.  Thankfully I don't have a headache, but I have no energy and am super tired.  I could not bring myself to get up for my boot camp this morning, but am making myself swim tonight in hopes that it will make me feel better.  I am already starting to feel bloated too.  I just keep telling myself it will get better!

-First time Whole30

[playtruly]

I've missed posting over the last few days, but I'm back!  Although my days have been really busy, I'm happy to say that my Whole30 is intact and I'm eating some beautiful food.  So many really great recipes out there!  I think I told you about the Chocolate Chili, but tonight I made Silky Ginger Zucchini Soup and it was absolutely delicious and super easy.

 

Last night, I decided to take a last minute trip to Seattle (which is about a 2-hour trip from where I live, including a glorious ferry ride).  I went with a Director friend of my mine from a theatre that I work in here at home, and we decided - within about 4 hours of leaving - that we would go see a show that was being workshopped in the city, from a particularly favorite playwright of ours.  Anyway - BECAUSE I had done a lot food prep on Sunday and Monday when we started this Whole30, I was easily able to make my lunch and my dinner with pre-made and mostly pre-cooked ingredients - and do it in time to pack up and get on the road with time to spare.

 

One meal was the chocolate chili and two cups of simply steamed broccoli.  And the other meal was an easy stir-fry with about 4 different pre-chopped veggies, and some precooked chicken thighs.  All I had to do was cut the pre-cooked chicken into strips, add some fresh pre-cut veggies into a pan with coconut oil and a little salt, turmeric and brewer's yeast.  Cooked the veggies for a few minutes, and added the chicken to soften and heat them up for a few minutes.  E voila!  Two yummy compliant meals that I could toss into BPA-free storage containers.  I threw in a fork, napkins and a big 'ol water bottle - and I was off on an adventure on the town!

 

And THAT is the kind of flexibility that I don't feel like I've ever had on any "diet" I've done before...especially one that could be considered an "elimination diet".  Instead of having that panicky feeling thinking about where in the heck I was going to find good food on the road (not something that the ferry terminal cafe is known for), I was able to go right to my fridge, put together some 1-2-3 ingredients, and say YES to an exciting opportunity!!

 

And yes, I was also able - from those same pre-prepared ingredients - to leave a very healthy meal option all ready to cook up for my family while I was gone that evening.  This stuff is life-changing!!

 

I do have to say though that I looked at the timeline to see why I was feeling so tired today.  I don't think it's so much about my aforementioned adventure yesterday, as much as I may be skipping ahead a bit...to the "I Just Want a Nap" phase on the timeline!  I seem to have skipped over the "Kill All The Things" phase (which is predicted for days 3-4).  Instead I went straight to "I Just Want a Nap" ... which helps me to understand why my workout was so hard yesterday, and why I opted to skip it altogether today!  According to the Timeline, this may go on for a few more days - so hold on Ladies!

[playtruly]

Wow! So fun to read about everyone's experiences!  I'm learning so much from all of you

 

I breezed through Days 1-3, even though I felt a bit overwhelmed by the cooking.  Yesterday I hit a brick wall and still feel it through today.  Thankfully I don't have a headache, but I have no energy and am super tired.  I could not bring myself to get up for my boot camp this morning, but am making myself swim tonight in hopes that it will make me feel better.  I am already starting to feel bloated too.  I just keep telling myself it will get better!

-First time Whole30

 

ek_02: I think I mentioned this earlier in this string, but if you haven't already, you may really gain some comfort from checking out the Timeline!  It helps to put things in perspective and it definitely helps with that "...it's gonna get better, right??" feeling.

 

[AngelEyz]

Day 4 for me, and I'm grateful I didn't have the urge to kill anything or anyone. I've also fended off fatigue so far... I hope that continues through the weekend.

 

LindyLou, I believe there's a way to connect as friends on MyFitnessPal, but I have no idea what it is. I'll look tomorrow, and get back to you. If anyone wants to connect on Facebook, I'm Dolores Ferrero, and my profile picture looks identical to my little avatar thing here. That's our Rebel.

 

Food today was a medley of repurposed leftovers: the custard again for breakfast, garbage stir fry with egg for lunch. We roasted a pork tenderloin for dinner using this recipe, and paired it with coleslaw made with homemade mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar, and a small hasselback baked potato. 

 

I went grocery shopping this evening and again I'm shocked by how very many foods have sugar added. I expected that of premarinated meats, and even sausages. But surimi? Salad shrimp? Really? Why??? This experience is definitely changing the way I shop.