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September 1st Start Date for First Whole30 Challenge


ashleeeyyy88

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On September 5, 2016 at 7:13 PM, kimbomama said:

Hi, my name's Kimberly and I started on 9/1. I'm 50 (argh!) and very physically active. So almost through day 6 with all of you. I've been living on chicken breast, avocado, potatoes, nuts and -- my personal fav -- egg white & arugula omelettes cooked in ghee. The arugula is tasty but doesn't produce as much water as spinach. I also made some homemade beef bone broth to start every lunch and dinner which has been very satisfying, and would highly recommend it. Not really hungry, except that I'm a competitive tennis player and have bonked a bit during matches. The compliant lara bars have helped some when I bonk and can't get to food fast enough. One day had a compliant veggie/fruit smoothie post-workout and without the protein powder I used to put in it it was just basically useless. Biggest differences so far are skin, under eye circles are dissipating, IBS symptoms are subsiding, sleeping loads better, and a bit faster and lighter during exercise. Maybe my shirts are a little looser. Dunno how I'll make it through all 30 days, but am interested to see if there's a difference.

Good luck to all!

Every time I post on my mobile it either copies someone else's post first or duplicates my prior post...must be an app issue!

Anyway, it's been a busy few days but my husband and I are sticking with the program. I swear he already looks so much thinner! I feel like men really respond to this type of diet. As for me, I've had some strange symptoms that I thought was just a conincidence until I finally googled to see if there was a connection to Whole30...and there is! I will spare you the details but it is called candida die off and is related to the yeast in our systems that is being eliminated by the no sugar aspect of this diet! I really, really hope the symptoms ease up because it keeps me up at night!

Last night my hubby grilled out some amazing burgers that I loaded up with grilled onions. Yum! Brussel sprouts for a side made it even better. I ordered some spice rubs online called Primal Palette and tried the Abobe in the burgers and it was great. They have several varieties!  The Tessamae ketchup and Bbq sauce is also compliant and I bought at Whole Foods on sale last week. Those items are really helping!

Does anyone else feel like they cook and do dishes 10x more tha before??!!

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Is no one interested in this forum thread anymore? :huh: That's unfortunate... I hope most of you haven't given up!  Day 10 and going strong!  I've found myself in a little bit of a breakfast rut as I can't stomach eating non breakfasty foods and I really can't stand eating veg so early in the day.  I think I'll make some butternut squash soup and eat that with it because otherwise I just can't do it.  I've also really been enjoying all of the Whole 30 book recipes!  I made the chicken chowder tonight and it was amazing~ my only advice for those who want to try it would be to maybe halve the jalapeno instead of using the whole thing (or at least deseed it) because I went full on with it and it was so dang spicy!  I like spicy food too, but holy crap!  Stay strong everybody!

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Vivi, I'm still here! I really hope everyone is just busy cooking and have not given up on the plan! I'm going to try the chicken chowder recipe for dinner tonight, but might skip the jalopenos all together since I don't like spicy foods and it's hard on the kids. I'm getting used to serving my kids some non-compliant food but came very close to almost licking the spoon from some peach preserves that I was serving up...it was instinctive and not a craving. That's something I'm learning about myself. I eat out of habit much more than out of hunger! I can tell my husband has lost weight but I don't feel any different at all. I'm still hopeful though!!

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Hi everyone,  

So much great input.  We are hanging tough and doing well really.  I have stretched our first week's meals past seven days but am working on planning out next week's meals.

We love the protein salad with canned chicken, grapes, celery, slivered almonds. I made the spinach frittata the first morning.  It was pretty funny, my husband looked at what I was going to put in it and said, "please don't put too many vegetables in mine."  I told him we were changing the way we eat to eat more veggies and it turned out he liked it.  I used my cast iron skillet and finished it in the oven, it was great.  I felt like a chef.  

The tomato sauce with Italian seasoning on spaghetti squash is one of our favorites.  We even have been putting eggs on top for breakfast.  It tastes like huevos rancheros if you have ever had those.

I have made the ketchup, mayo, roasted red pepper sauce, salad dressings, clarified the butter and yes, I have done more dishes this week than I could have imagined possible for the two of us

 

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I had typed the above message a couple of days ago and not sent it and it was still there so I posted.

I have several things today I would like to mention.  First, I had a terrible time finding this thread again.  I have been in other forums and I guess this is just a different layout.  If anyone has any tips on how to find things here I would be very grateful for them.

I haven't posted because I was in bed sick for a couple of days.  I'm not sure if it was the whole30 doing a number on me or if I was just sick to my stomach, but it really had me down.  Has anyone else had some pretty severe stomach ailments?  What I wouldn't have given for a saltine cracker!!!!!

With being ill I fell down on my cooking duties and it has really shown up in our temptations.  We have been strongly tempted by sugar and also with snacking in general.  We have held strong and not gone off the plan but I see the importance of the planning (as has been mentioned a few times,lol).  I know that some of the problem has been because our meals weren't large enough and not prepared in a timely manor.

Does anyone have any input on how you are handling meal planning?

I need to catch up. How is everyone doing?

Jael

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How are the rest of you?? It's the end of Day 11, Sunday, and I'm wondering if I'm the Last Man Standing! :)

I'm hanging in there, but thought a glass of wine would sure taste good with my crab salad.

What are you all having for breakfast? Right now, we are pretty much stuck on eggs as I can't seem to envision having "dinner" for breakfast.....

Take care and send a post.

T:)

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7 hours ago, Jaelandfriends said:

I had typed the above message a couple of days ago and not sent it and it was still there so I posted.

I have several things today I would like to mention.  First, I had a terrible time finding this thread again.  I have been in other forums and I guess this is just a different layout.  If anyone has any tips on how to find things here I would be very grateful for them.

I haven't posted because I was in bed sick for a couple of days.  I'm not sure if it was the whole30 doing a number on me or if I was just sick to my stomach, but it really had me down.  Has anyone else had some pretty severe stomach ailments?  What I wouldn't have given for a saltine cracker!!!!!

With being ill I fell down on my cooking duties and it has really shown up in our temptations.  We have been strongly tempted by sugar and also with snacking in general.  We have held strong and not gone off the plan but I see the importance of the planning (as has been mentioned a few times,lol).  I know that some of the problem has been because our meals weren't large enough and not prepared in a timely manor.

Does anyone have any input on how you are handling meal planning?

I need to catch up. How is everyone doing?

Jael

Hey Jael

If you go to your profiile (very top right where there's a little mini version of your profile picture) you should be able to alter your settings so that you get notifications when anyone posts in this thread, then top left where the two options are 'browse' and 'activity' you can select 'activity I follow' and the forum will show you a list of threads you've contributed to... Hope this helps.

With regard to your stomach eating Whole30 won;t bring on stomach bugs anymore than any other style of eating will, unless there's some issue with the food. Is it stomach bug like symptoms you are suffering from? Or lots of bloating/gas? If it's the latter this is fairly common until your body adjusts to the chnage in foods, although if it persists so give us a run down of what you've been eating - some people are senstive to certain groups of foods and it could be that this is the case for you, but it's an easy enough fix.

Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, and if you have access to bone broth you may find that soothing along with some ginger tea, or comfort foods like mashed root veg, scrambled eggs, or chicken soup.

With regard to food prep I've been eating this way a long, long time, and always do my food prep on a Sunday. It used to take nearly a full day, but now I've settled on a handful of things I know are quick & easy to prep and it takes less than half the time. I don't really do recipes, but opt more for prepping a few different types of protein (this week I've a whole chicken cooked in the slow cooker, a one pot ground beef & layered veg dish, and fresh mackerel, salmon & beef liver for searingin some oil), maybe two vegetable sides (usually a large tray of oven roasted mixed veg and a huge pot of braised greens), and then ensure the fridge/cupboards are stocked with salad veg, slaws, tinned fish, olives, mayo, pickles eggs etc. For each meal I decide on a protein, decide on a veg side & then add a fat - like mix & matching. That way I don't have to eat the exact same meal each day having batch cooked an actual recipe.

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Good morning and happy day 12! My husband and I were both challenged over the weekend, but made it through. He worked at the firehouse yesterday and it seems the entire neighborhood dropped off sweets and goodies in remembrance of 9/11. At first he wasn't tempted at all but after a busy day and a late dinner it started sounding good. I'm proud of him for his willpower. I spent the weekend at home with a sick child. This did give me the opportunity to cook lots of meals but Saturday night right before dinner I had to take my daughter to the ER and by the time we got home at 10:00 I was starving. It was too late to cook and I was also exhausted so I ate a banana and went to bed (but got up with her every hour all night). Last night was better so Im hoping she is recovering and my routine will normalize. 

Whole30 Meals this weekend: sloppy joes (kids love them), salmon cakes, chicken chili, and a lot of eggs. 

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Almost halfway there! I gotta say, I don't want to quit but I am finding it hard to get some of my meals down.  They just do. not. sound. good... even if I thought they were amazing the night before.  I might just have to recycle meals I can stomach much more regularly though I'm not sure how long that will last either.  And I agree @runfunky!  My boyfriend isn't doing this with me and I find it really difficult not to lick the spoon or taste the food I've been making for him but so far so good.  I (luckily) tend to catch myself before I do it but it's interesting nonetheless.  I hope your daughter is feeling/getting better!  And @Jaelandfriends I was having the same issue... mine was nausea/feeling sick to my stomach and I would wake up almost every morning around 4-5am with really bad stomach pains~ though they felt like they were caused by being super hungry so I'd eat a tiny piece of melon and that would help.  I have some fresh ginger slices and those work wonders on the stomach if you're nauseous~ but @jmcbn covered the remedies pretty well (I just love the taste of ginger!)  And as I mentioned in my previous post @Teddie I'm feeling the same way about breakfast... egg creations are amazing and I could eat them every day and not get tired but I'm finding it hard to incorporate any veg without having to force it down and I always feel disgusting after.  I'm trying my best but I love my breakfast foods and can't wrap my head around eating a salad at 9am.  I'm definitely going to be making more spinach and mushroom omelets this week because I was eating those before I started this journey and know I'll be fine with them.  I'm glad to see more people sharing their experiences~ I thought me and @runfunky were lone rangers! xx Vivi :)

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Thank you @jmbcm for all the great information.  It was all helpful and I'm doing much better today.  

I made the chili last night, leaving out the jalepenos.  We don't like our food that spicey, but we really enjoyed the chili, had some fresh melon with it and were very satisfied.

Today I am making the beef bone broth.  I put it all in the crock pot and will let it simmer for about 24 hours.  It looks and smells wonderful and sounds really full of good things we need for healthy bodies.  I'm going to look for recipes to use it in but will also just have us drink a cup of it everyday, if nothing else for the benefits it will bring.

I'm encouraged with this eating plan and we are planning on very possibly continuing with it.  We need to identify what foods are bad for us.  I am very suspecting of wheat and possibly dairy as culprits contributing to many of my husband's health problems.

Has anyone else clarified butter and used it?  We had steaks with baked potatoes the other night and used the clarified butter on the potatoes.  It seemed so normal and yummy.  I also brushed some over our asparugus.  It comes in really handy.

Oh, I was also going to mention that we are drinking kombucha and really loving it as an alternative.  We spent a long time looking at the labels and choosing ones without sugar.  I'm not sure any of them are completely without sugar though.  Does anyone know any more about those?  We picked the ones with the least amount.  They have ones with ginger in them vivibaby.

That's all I can think of.  I hope everyone is doing well and would love to hear from you all.

Jael

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Hi, everyone! I finally found you all. For some reason I was not getting notified of posts.

I made ghee and have to admit the taste is lovely. I'm hoping I did it right - it seemed to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours and I skimmed the foam, and strained the liquids, but in the jar milky stuff seemed to settle to the bottom. Here's hoping....

@Runfunky,  I hope your daughter's better. @Vivi, I keep thinking about testing vegan protein powder when I'm done so I can have my blueberry banana smoothies for breakfast :) . @Jael, the chili sounds good - I'll have to look that up....except I have arthritis and I need to avoid tomatoes :( . Nuts. Oops, have to avoid those, too! 

End of Day 13....hooray for us all!!

T:)

 

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9 hours ago, Jaelandfriends said:

we are drinking kombucha and really loving it as an alternative.  We spent a long time looking at the labels and choosing ones without sugar.  I'm not sure any of them are completely without sugar though.  Does anyone know any more about those?

I brew my own kombucha, and have two glasses a day with my meals. It's FULL of probiotics and has really helped settle my long term digestive issues. Kombucha is basically made with very sweet tea off of which the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeast) feeds. The SCOBY 'eats' all the sugar as part of the fermentation process. SOme brewers will add sugar/sweeteners, fruit, ginger etc in the second ferment - those that use sugar/sweeteners/syrup/honey are out as this sugar is not 'eaten', those that use fresh fruit, ginger or hibiscus flowers etc are fine as these provide only flavour. I tend to stick with ginger & hibiscus flowers for my second ferment as I like the tart flavour & the fizz.

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Day 15!  Halfway there!  Although it's still been really difficult to choke down some of the food I've been making I'm determined to finish this out strong.  I'm hoping this week's recipes will be the push I need to continue and enjoy this.  It's interesting because I ate fairly healthy before I started (no fast food, nothing fried, pizza was an every few months or so treat, limited my sweets, tried to get my veggies in etc.) and I've been thinking about these 'bad' foods more since doing this than I did when I could have eaten them.  I hope I don't finish my 30 days + reintro and go off the deep end on all the bad foods.  I don't really want to eat them... I know I would feel like crap if I did (mostly my body, not so much the guilt I'd experience), but for some reason I'd die for a slice of pizza!  Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and that you're enjoying this process more than I am at the moment!  I know when I get to week 4 I will be too determined to finish to even think about quitting! xx Vivi

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  • Yes, day 15, I'm excited to have made it this far.  I'm actually enjoying this and feeling good right now.  I'm going to try making the Shephard's pie today.  I am wondering what you are fixing @itsvivibaby?  I'm sorry this isn't going as pleasantly for you.  Last night we had breakfast for dinner ( hashbrowns with eggs over them and some fruit) because it was a busy day and I didn't have a chance to make anything ahead.  It worked and we both enjoyed it.
  • I feel our weak area is still vegetables.  I need to get with cooking more of them.  I want to try roasted and grilled but just haven't gotten it done.  I have a whole chicken I'm going to put in the crock pot tomorrow morning but I need a recipe or an idea what to do with it anyway.  If anyone has ideas I'm open.  I'm going to do some searching for an idea too.
  • Thanks for the extra information on kombucha jmbcm.  We have decided to try making it ourselves.  I'll let you know how that goes when I get it done.

I wish you all well and hope everyone is feeling good and finding good things to eat.  I hope to have lost some weight but mostly really want to  change my go-to foods for life.  This is an opportunity to change our lives.  Don't give up, we are halfway there!

Best wishes, Jael

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Hi, everyone,

@vivi....I've been off pizza for a couple years, but oh, what I'd do for a glass of Chardonnay! Thought about it today (family stuff) but the thought of starting over deterred me. 

Happy Halfway There! @Jael ...I've found cauliflower rice at Costco and that helps getting in the veggies. I made a conglomeration tonight of left over chicken, onion, garlic, mushrooms, green beans and the cauliflower rice with Sunshine Sauce thinned down with some coconut milk. It was yummy!

Tomorrow I'm doing chicken breasts ala Ina Garten - but I'm going to brine them first. I did that with another recipe (The Best Chicken Ever) and the chicken was amazing. Ina's recipe uses garlic, lemon, white wine (cooked out, I'm sure - just no nipping! :) ) olive oil and lemon juice with extra lemon on the chicken. The recipe is on the internet if you Google it. It's really good.

Sweet dreams...

T:) 

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Great to hear from everyone! Half way point...whoohoo! This week has flown by with work and kid activities. As long as we cook ahead of time and have enough leftovers for lunch, we seem to do okay. I still don't think my husband is eating enough though...and he definitely looks thinner! I too have choked down a few not great meals lately.  Is anyone else getting tired of eggs?  I'm going to have to make another breakfast casserole this weekend so we have a little more variety next week. And some salmon. The kids have complained a little this week about the meals and lack of sweet treats. Out of mom guilt I made them a batch of homemade biscuits one morning. They smelled so good! It's crazy because I don't crave these things but when they are in my kitchen, it's hard! I'm proud of my willpower though. Vivi, I'm thinking about pizza now!! One of my goals is to lose weight but as of right now my bras and looser and my pants tighter so this approach may have back-fired!  Plus, I have less energy. I am always on the go and must have been fueling that with sugar. Now I'm exhausted by 9:00 when the kids go to bed! I want "tiger blood" not "sloth blood"! -Jesse

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Oops. It was interesting pouring the 1/4 C of wine into my olive oil garlic sauce and not taking a taste. But I made it. Promise not to cook with wine for the rest of the Whole30. @Runfunky - Good for you not sampling the biscuits. What kind of breakfast casserole are you making? I, too am getting sick of eggs....

My hubby, 82, went for a walk today and said he didn't get as tired as he usually does :) - Yay! We both are looking forward to the Tiger Blood. And I'm looking forward to less aches from arthritis. That still has to happen.

Best to you all - We Are Doing This!

T:)

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Happy day 19!  Who is still with the program?  It is amazing that in such a fairly short time new habits can be made.  I feel like Whole30 is becoming second nature to me.  I love going to the grocery and spending extra time in the produce aisle getting inspired to try something new or different.  As happy as I am on Whole30, my husband is not and that is a big disappointment!  He is doing great but I feel like he is just trying to get through it and not really embracing it, if that makes sense.  He is CONSTANTLY talking about what he is going to eat when this is over whereas I want to stick with a Whole30 diet (or very close to it) for the intermediate future.  He is also kind of a baby about trying new things and pretty much sounds like one of our kids with his "I don't like saurkraut" or "kale? gross!" comments.  It feels good to vent a little!  Overall he has been a trooper and is visibly leaner than when he started.  I feel like he has lost a pound a day!  I've decided that the quest for "tiger blood" is probably unrealistic and may be relative to where you started. I've always had a lot of energy and good sleeping habits.  I have been exercising more and feel like I have more stamina and steadiness to my energy.  This certainly makes sense considering the high protein aspect of the Whole30 diet.  I'm curious to hear how other people have seen changes in their energy level, etc.

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Ron and I are still with The Program :) . I'm getting a little "When this is over we can...." from him, but it's not bad. I have good energy - which is a wonderful change - and am sleeping really well - another wonderful change. Arthritis is better, too. However, I don't feel I've lost any or much weight and my body still feels and looks the same size. Perhaps it's because I only have 5 - 10 pounds to lose. Also, sugar cravings are pretty much gone. 

My main exercise is yoga and walking. It's hard for me to tell much difference. 

Just think, tomorrow we are 2/3 of the way through :) . This has been a very interesting and enlightening journey.

Best to all of you!   T:)

 

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I'm here!  This week has been better than last because I'm more aware of what I will or won't like and because of that can make meals I'll actually enjoy.  I'm not even that picky of an eater but for some reason the recipe that looked or sounded so great in the book makes my stomach churn in person :( But on the positive side I've come too far to give up now and I most definitely feel I've gained a lot of knowledge and insight as to what my diet should and will look like when this is over.  Yes, it will be great to eat from the food groups we've eliminated for these 30 days but otherwise I definitely want to stick pretty close to the guidelines of the Whole30 with the exception of special occasions or a night out.  My energy has been up and down... I've found myself able to wake up MUCH earlier than I ever would have before while on program- however I run out of steam super early too (like 4-5pm!).  Yesterday I had amazing energy all day and worked out plus got a TON done around the house.  As far as my body goes I can't say I feel I've lost a ton of weight or anything but like @Teddie I don't technically have anything I need to lose other than weight I would like to lose for vain reasons.  However, I do feel I look leaner and my weight is more consistent day to day than it was before (no bloating, etc.) and this is TMI but for the first time I'm extremely regular when it comes to the bathroom :o I'm glad you're all having good experiences and I look forward to (hopefully) hearing from more of you soon! xx Vivi

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Vivi and Teddie, I am so proud of you!!  We are on the home stretch now.  Vivi, I understand what you mean about finding foods you can be excited about.  I'm getting there.  I find what is easiest is to have my husband grill out several types of meat/seafood that can last us a few days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  This week he did steak, chicken breasts and salmon which made it very helpful to stay full and feed the kids with the same protein (chicken quesadillas, etc).  The highlight of my week was my mom making me my favorite meal ever...homemade vegetable beef soup!  Seriously, this is what I ask for every birthday (even when it is 100 degrees outside and my brothers complain).  The only thing in it that wasn't compliant were the lima beans, which I tried very hard to avoid.  Last night I accidentally consumed a half of one that slipped by and I decided that there is no way in heck I'm starting this challenge over because of that! The other day I was making mac and cheese for the kids and couldn't tell if the noodles were done so I put one in my mouth, chewed it, and then spit it out!  That is commitment to program (or maybe craziness?)!  

I will definitely be challenged tonight.  I am going to a concert with 5 friends with dinner beforehand.  They are super supportive and let me pick the restaurant so that I know I can find something "compliant" (it's called Mussel Burger Bar and it is awesome) and I offered to be the designated driver since I won't be drinking anyway.  I will admit that I got a little excited last night when I tried on a pair of jeans for last winter that fit and didn't include a muffin top!  I am in the same boat that my desire for weight loss is for vanity's sake and not a true need...but those jeans felt great!

Good luck navigating our last week!  

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Hey @runfunky!  You can totally do this and it's great your friends are supportive.  My boyfriend is surprisingly more supportive of the program than he has been about others I've done in the past and even though he's not doing it with me he is willing to try most of my recipes and has liked a lot of them.  I did the same when testing my boyfriend's pasta one night but I'm just not sure if I accidentally ate an itty bitty piece of it out of habit but I kept spitting in the sink just to make sure :mellow: It's really hard to stay 100% compliant even if you're doing everything in your power to do so~ even with spices!  I'm in the same boat as you though, there's no way I'm calling it a reset and starting from scratch, regardless of whether it really did reset my reset.  If anything I plan on doing another one within the next six months or so and will hopefully convince my boyfriend to do it with me since he needs this more than I do.  He has weird stomach issues and I'm pretty sure he has an intolerance or allergy to either dairy or soy but he won't really know for sure until he cuts them out completely and reintroduces them.  Here's to (hopefully) some weight loss and a strong finish!  We're almost at the end of the road!

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