Return of the November Whole30

[jmcbn]

2 minutes ago, Jessica NG said:

Sorry for cluttering up the W30 section of the forum. I don't think we meant to be a problem, but just continued posting on a familiar thread with familiar names as we continued on our various food journeys. Could you move the thread for us?

Of course I can move it - not a problem! Consider it done!

Given that you are a mixed group though with prior rounds under your belt you could have just continued posting on the same thread that was previously moved to the Post Whole 30 Section - as I said, unless you are ALL planning on doing an official Whole30 together then we'd rather you keep it in the Post Whole30 section so as not to confuse the newbies.....

[Jessica NG]

@jmcbn, thanks! I do understand about not confusing the new participants in the W30 section.

I think the reason we moved back to the W30 section was that about 10 of the ladies wanted to start a fresh official W30. And they did do so, although I'll admit that close to half dropped out fairly swiftly in the early weeks of March. I was still carrying on with my W120, because of my FODMAP issues, so I figured I could travel with them during the month.

But... this W30 did end on March 31, so we overstayed our welcome a bit. Thanks for being patient with us and for moving us.

[Guest]

I noticed this thread was in fact moved, fine with me since I always access it from the link in my notifications.

Just realized that I never posted about my Grandma's appointment with the specialist.

As we thought, she is not a candidate for surgery. With a signed DNR they wouldn't even consider it. They couldn't confirm her mass is cancer without doing more invasive tests which they will not do with a DNR. They said that since she's not showing any symptoms our best course of action is to do nothing and wait to see if she develops other symptoms. If she does, they said it might make sense to do some limited chemo/radiation to treat. Even though they can't "confirm" it's cancer, the surgeon did say based on what he could see it looks like Stage 3 lung cancer which has started to spread to her lymph nodes. He would not give us a timeline, but my wife noted that when he talked about options he never said anything past a year.

I was frustrated they couldn't give us a more definitive answer, but my mom really needed to hear that the choice we made not to treat her, is the best choice. Everything is back to "normal" for now. I haven't seen her in a few days due to a quarantine (stomach bug) at her assisted living home. It's been nice to have a forced break and catch up on some life stuff.

I am feeling very overwhelmed at the moment, and it's affected my food choices hardcore. I've been fine sticking to my "rules" (no dairy, no wheat, no sugar) during my work week, but I'm still struggling on my "weekend". I need to find some new recipes, or just try some ones I bookmarked back in January but haven't tried.

I've realized this week that I do want to lose some weight. Healthier eating habits and figuring out what foods hurt me was my primary goal for starting Whole30 but I definitely want to drop 20-30lbs. I feel like it's time. I've done a bunch of internal work, I know my worth is not wrapped up in my weight, but it's been a goal of mine for so long. It's time to do it, my body is fine, but I don't want to carry all this extra weight around my waist. So here we go, time to figure out how to make my food freedom plan stick.

[Jessica NG]

@browneyedbeauty Thanks for the update on your grandmother. I'm glad everything is lining up to support your decision to not treat what is probably cancer. My husband had to make a similar decision for his mother, and it was painful, but the absolute clarity that he had about it really helped.

Your intention to craft and commit to your own food freedom plan is exciting! Keep me posted as you move forward with it.

[Jessica NG]

I decided to test rice yesterday at dinner, and - HA! - I won't be eating rice again.

The carb brain fog descended within 45 minutes. After 2 hours, my stomach started to hurt. When I woke up this morning, the brain fog was mostly gone, but my stomach still hurt and my eyelids were so swollen that they ached.

I'd been missing sushi (which is how I tested the rice), but it wasn't as good as I remembered it to be. Even if it had been fantastic, the consequences of eating rice still are not worth it to me. As it is, with sushi not as tasty as I remember, it's really not worth it to experience this aftermath! Ugh! I am totally on board and eager for the W30-compliant foods I'll be eating today and tomorrow.

Honestly, I doubt I'll be testing anything else anytime soon. I've already tested (on separate occasions) the other things I wanted to test: soy sauce (no problem in small amounts) and cream (gives me stomach ache, so no go, won't be eating it). Except for the soy sauce I use in my Asian Meatballs and my Asian Chicken, when I cook them, I will be W30 all the way.

[Guest]

Glad you are figuring out what works for you @Jessica NG !

My body hates me when I eat wheat. But I'm finding it hard to eliminate long term. I'm going to keep plugging along. This weekend I mostly avoided it except on my Panera sandwich last night. The symptoms took a few hours to set in, but I still got horrible stomach cramps and bloating. I'm also eating way less Sugar, I'd say I'm 85% compliant eating no sugar, but I'm still getting Sbux once to twice a week.

Still, I am eating SO much better than I was five months ago. I'm focusing on the changes I've already made, not how far I still have to go.

[Jessica NG]

19 hours ago, browneyedbeauty said:

Still, I am eating SO much better than I was five months ago. I'm focusing on the changes I've already made, not how far I still have to go.

That's the way to go, @browneyedbeauty, focusing on the positive and building on it.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Phew! A long time has passed since I've been back to this thread! Just got back from Florida at 1am last night (this morning) after having celebrated my birthday with my best friend by traveling from Boca Raton for a quick visit with her grandparents (my surrogate grandparents), then for a week in Key West, followed by a weekend in South Beach. The weather was beautiful, I got to take lots of naps by the ocean and pool (just what I'd wanted!), and it was a wonderful opportunity to explore a bit of interesting architecture and cuisine. 

Today I'm back at it with w30ish eating and my first day back at work. I don't have much food in the fridge so had to be creative today. Breakfast and lunch were a huge tupperware of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrot slices (from a freezer steam pack), with roast leg of lamb (purchased at SAMs club before I left for vacation - hooray for compliant pre-made protein!), dipped in homemade mayo. Dinner is going to be a leftover portion of chicken stew I had in my freezer with some more mayo blobbed on top. I'm going to have to figure out what to do for tomorrow, as it's my full-time job and I won't necessarily get to take normal food breaks or sit down to eat. I'm thinking fried eggs and Aidell's sausages for both breakfast and lunch, with black and green olives and raw carrot sticks-- kind of boring, especially having the same thing twice in one day, but they're all foods that I can keep perfectly in ziptop baggies and shovel into my mouth should I find a few extra minutes to step away from my patients' rooms. Don't know what I'll do for dinner tomorrow night - but maybe I can quickly throw together some quick boiled potatoes heaped with sauteed broccoli and garlic in oil (thought I don't get out of work tonight until 10pm, and tomorrow I'm working 7am-7:30pm, so we'll see), and a bit more of the pre-made roast leg of lamb. I'm off on Thursday so I'll do a big cook-up then and have plenty to choose from after that. 

I'm really thinking I might consider another w30 sometime soon. Unless I can somehow make a pact with myself to stick with my w30 eating plan more consistently. Maybe I'll just do another little reset until I leave for Texas later this month... 

Anyhow, how are you all? I enjoyed catching up on everyone's posts from the last couple of weeks. And I see that we've moved again, which was to be expected! 

 

On 4/22/2017 at 7:29 PM, browneyedbeauty said:

I noticed this thread was in fact moved, fine with me since I always access it from the link in my notifications.

Just realized that I never posted about my Grandma's appointment with the specialist.

As we thought, she is not a candidate for surgery. With a signed DNR they wouldn't even consider it. They couldn't confirm her mass is cancer without doing more invasive tests which they will not do with a DNR. They said that since she's not showing any symptoms our best course of action is to do nothing and wait to see if she develops other symptoms. If she does, they said it might make sense to do some limited chemo/radiation to treat. Even though they can't "confirm" it's cancer, the surgeon did say based on what he could see it looks like Stage 3 lung cancer which has started to spread to her lymph nodes. He would not give us a timeline, but my wife noted that when he talked about options he never said anything past a year.

I was frustrated they couldn't give us a more definitive answer, but my mom really needed to hear that the choice we made not to treat her, is the best choice. Everything is back to "normal" for now. I haven't seen her in a few days due to a quarantine (stomach bug) at her assisted living home. It's been nice to have a forced break and catch up on some life stuff.

I am feeling very overwhelmed at the moment, and it's affected my food choices hardcore. I've been fine sticking to my "rules" (no dairy, no wheat, no sugar) during my work week, but I'm still struggling on my "weekend". I need to find some new recipes, or just try some ones I bookmarked back in January but haven't tried.

I've realized this week that I do want to lose some weight. Healthier eating habits and figuring out what foods hurt me was my primary goal for starting Whole30 but I definitely want to drop 20-30lbs. I feel like it's time. I've done a bunch of internal work, I know my worth is not wrapped up in my weight, but it's been a goal of mine for so long. It's time to do it, my body is fine, but I don't want to carry all this extra weight around my waist. So here we go, time to figure out how to make my food freedom plan stick.

I'm sorry to hear about the outcome from the visit with your Grandma's specialist, but glad that you all have some clarity. I'll continue to send vibes for strength and healing out to the heavens for your family. I hear you on wanting to lose some weight. I'm quite robust (aka obese) and feel uncomfortable in my skin... plus I know getting down to a normal BMI would likely do wonders for my hypertension and cholesterol, and perhaps for my fertility. Good for you for realizing that you've done the prep-work and made the internal changes, and for being ready to take the plunge with getting you to where you want to be!

[Jessica NG]

@NoMoreCrunchyCravings Your travels and adventures sound marvelous. Glad you had such a nice time. I hope your strategies for making due until you could get to the grocery store worked out.

I'm not having any trouble sticking with W30 eating. It's just how I eat, these days. But I had a bad cold about a month ago followed immediately by a lingering UTI, which took me out of my usual gym visits, and I haven't made it back yet. I still don't feel fully healthy, which is what is stopping me. I'm dragging. I think I need more sleep. All the rain has kept me from my usual morning sunshine exposure, which has affected my sleep negatively.

New priority: get the sleep back to optimum and then see about getting back to the gym.

One NSV: my father-in-law said I was looking fantastic and asked if I'd lost weight. (He hadn't seen me since mid-December.) He urged me to keep doing whatever it was I was doing.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

1 hour ago, Jessica NG said:

@NoMoreCrunchyCravings Your travels and adventures sound marvelous. Glad you had such a nice time. I hope your strategies for making due until you could get to the grocery store worked out.

I'm not having any trouble sticking with W30 eating. It's just how I eat, these days. But I had a bad cold about a month ago followed immediately by a lingering UTI, which took me out of my usual gym visits, and I haven't made it back yet. I still don't feel fully healthy, which is what is stopping me. I'm dragging. I think I need more sleep. All the rain has kept me from my usual morning sunshine exposure, which has affected my sleep negatively.

New priority: get the sleep back to optimum and then see about getting back to the gym.

One NSV: my father-in-law said I was looking fantastic and asked if I'd lost weight. (He hadn't seen me since mid-December.) He urged me to keep doing whatever it was I was doing.

It did work out- my hodgepodge of foods were tasty, but quite strange to look at. Then on Thursday (my day off) I made a big frittata with a dozen eggs, an entire package of spinach and garlic chicken sausages chopped, and sautéed onions, garlic, and cubanelle peppers, as well as a big pan of sautéed onions/bell peppers/diced tomatoes/green chiles and ground beef. Both meals were delicious and I had them in varying quantities with carrots and olives for my meals yesterday. Then after work last night I went to SAMs club and picked up more of their compliant pulled pork, and had that for lunch today in a big salad with romaine and spring mix lettuces, artichoke hearts, oil cured black olives, and a little mayo left at room temperature and drizzled on top. It was delicious! I think I want to have it again for dinner tonight and again at work tomorrow. I'll never get tired of salads like that...

I'm sorry you've been feeling unwell lately and that it's changing your activities of daily living... really stinks when it throws the whole cycle off.  Good to set your new goal-- sleep hygiene is so important as I've also been noticing lately! Awesome NSV, too!

[IronGirlTrixie]

I haven't posted in Forever sorry. My own fault really. I'm so offroading it's ridiculous and I need to get back on track. It's all a mind game and that's my trouble. I had the same problem with triathlon training/racing. I'm making a goal to start a new w30 in June or sooner if I can get my act together. So I can get closer to getting to IGT's  version of whole30.

I feel so swollen and achy plus lazy since I haven't been watching what I eat. Gotta get my game face on! 

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

23 hours ago, IronGirlTrixie said:

I haven't posted in Forever sorry. My own fault really. I'm so offroading it's ridiculous and I need to get back on track. It's all a mind game and that's my trouble. I had the same problem with triathlon training/racing. I'm making a goal to start a new w30 in June or sooner if I can get my act together. So I can get closer to getting to IGT's  version of whole30.

I feel so swollen and achy plus lazy since I haven't been watching what I eat. Gotta get my game face on! 

Ditto.

[Guest]

I haven't been here in a while either. Sorry! Trying to find a new job, plus the stuff with my grandma and I've been kind of out of it the last few weeks.

A teenager, my wife mentored in a previous job, is coming into town tomorrow to spend ten days with us. Our one bedroom apartment is about to get even smaller.

I've pretty much maintained my diet during the work week, but on the weekends I haven't been so good. I wake up these days and my hips hurt. I'm not sure if it's our bed, or if eating sugar/wheat two days plus not restricting corn (I love tortilla chips) is the culprit. I probably need to do a Whole14 and see how I feel.

[IronGirlTrixie]

I've done a restart and am on day 2. I'm feeling the carb hangover! 

[Jessica NG]

@IronGirlTrixie Good on you for the restart! I hope you are feeling better now.

My food is going just fine. I've found/adapted some more new recipes and am very happy that I'm continuing to learn in the kitchen. I'm still surprised at how much I didn't know regarding the logistics of fixing a meal before my W30 and am delighted that my skills keep growing.

My current need-to-fix is my exercise. I got a bad cold in April that segued into a UTI that segued into a flare of chronic pelvic pain. That whole sequence took me out of the gym. I'm still struggling with the pelvic pain flare, but I think I've improved enough that I can start swimming again. But I haven't made it back to the gym quite yet. That's my next goal, and I hope I'll manage it soon.

[IronGirlTrixie]

@Jessica NG  I'm on day 10 and feeling sluggish. But it'll pass. Been trying some new recipes as well. 

I haven't been to the pool in 3 weeks. Something else I've got to get back to! 

 

[Jessica NG]

@IronGirlTrixie My W30 taught me how to find new-to-me recipes, and I've continued the process of trying new dishes whenever eating starts to seem a bit too same-ole-same-ole.

Tonight's dinner was delicious: Czech meatballs (something I devised 2 months ago after reading several different versions online), okra sauteed in clarified butter with a dash of salt, and Cajun carrots (new, and a success).

I still have not made it back to the pool, but I will.

[Jessica NG]

I'm finally back at the gym! Swimming and weight lifting.

[IronGirlTrixie]

9 hours ago, Jessica NG said:

I'm finally back at the gym! Swimming and weight lifting.

Congrats!