Jump to content

5/7 Start - Reintroduction!


Recommended Posts

@Susabella627 Thanks! This does feel much different than the last few times I've tried a diet. There is still some guilt and shame when I screw up, but this time I thought, "I wonder if I can learn anything from what happened?" and that helped put the screw ups into perspective. 

Have a great time with your family! I wish I could have traveled for 4th of July again this year. Last year I got to go back home and spend some vacation time at my aunt and uncle's lake house with no internet access. It was so relaxing. This year with the conference and moving so close together, traveling just didn't work out. I hope you get some good relaxation and some quality family time while you are out there.

@emilyelowe Wow! 50 days of food in 2 days of prep? I bow to your planning abilities! I have enough made up for a few days, but I'm hoping to still cook more tonight. I'm not sure when my roommate is planning to pack up her kitchen stuff, but I think a lot of the big furniture items are going out this weekend. I do have some kitchen stuff in storage though if she needs all hers before I'm done. 

I'm glad my post was useful to you. I always hesitate to post about my screw-ups or less-healthy choices, but I feel so supported here that I am able to share my less-than-perfect self with you ladies. :) I hope you're feeling better from the weekend, Emily! I know it's different for everyone, but the first day of my period I often get so tired that I wish I could just sleep all day long. I hope your energy returns quickly. Eat a few sweet potatoes, perhaps?

I completely understand your feelings about your Europe trip. I was panicking about going to Montreal and I think it would have been hard to navigate if I needed to stick to the strict template. Since gluten isn't an issue for me, I found I was able to navigate pretty well and eat good food while keeping to things that didn't make me feel terrible. I even ate about one dessert a day and was OK. It wasn't until I got back and ordered the deep-fried sugar-coated Chinese food and bought the never-ending package of lemon squares that I got into real trouble. You've got plenty of time to practice and to find out which things make you feel REALLY crappy and which things can be worth it. Have you tried reintroducing gluten on its own yet? I can't remember, but it seems like gluten has generally been combined with dairy for you. I've found I can handle little bits of dairy, like butter on my bread, but no cheese at all. Maybe there are some forms of dairy you'd be able to experience and some you can't  handle. Maybe gluten on its own as buns or bread would be fine, but in combination with dairy it would be a no-go. The more you can find out about the individual items as well as the combinations, the easier it will be to find things that will work and to avoid the things that will not. 

I've been back to whole30 eating for 2 full days now. Sugar cravings are low and GI issues are slowly dissipating. But, I'm debating trying a donut from a local place this weekend. I've been loving living in this area because my apartment complex is right next to a very pedestrian-friendly area. It's one of those communities where there are a bunch of condos and apartments plus shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. It's such a cute and fun little area, but I'll be leaving it in a week.  :sob:  I feel like I should take full advantage of living here for another week and so this weekend I should go out for a nice walk and end with a totally-worth-it-made-fresh donut. I've been meaning to try those donuts for a long time, but just haven't done it yet. On the other hand, I need to get some moving things done this weekend a donut will not help with that. Sigh. Decisions. :P 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 106
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Morning all. Hope your weekend went well @emilyelowe! And I hope the rest of you are spending some restful and relaxing family time. :)

I did some good work on moving over the weekend. I'm incredibly grateful that I can have a few weeks to bring things over and can even take time to unpack and start getting things set. My roommate at the place I'm leaving moved out this weekend and it left me with a bit of an unsettled feeling. All the living room and dining room furniture and most of the kitchen stuff was hers. So, I'm in the weird spot of having no furniture and having to unpack some my kitchen stuff to get through the week. This  experience is making me reflect on what it will be like to move when I can finally get my own place, sometime later this year hopefully. I'm going to need furniture in a bad way.

OK, enough reflecting. I joined a beginner 5k running group late last week and I'm pretty excited about it! I'm feeling like I've plateaued in my couch to 5k training, so I think this group will help. :)

I had another massive sugar craving yesterday. I had been thinking about going for a donut all weekend, but it just didn't happen, so Sunday while I was grocery shopping at dinner time my cravings convinced me that if I didn't buy some sugar now, I'd dive headfirst into a pile of it sooner or later. So, I gave in and bought a single serve slice of cake and a slice of pie. Better than the whole pie I was eyeing. Oddly, as soon as I bought them, my cravings dissipated. It was like I just wanted to know I could have sugar, not that I really wanted it. So I went home, ate dinner, and was craving something afterwards, but I paused and asked if I was really hungry. No, I wasn't. So I distracted myself by doing the dishes and making food for today. Worked beautifully. I wasn't even hungry for the cake or pie when I looked at them later. :D Yay for learning and applying what I learned!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good job with the sweets, @NoneOtherThanAmy! A little time and space can really make all the difference! Yay learning! :) 

I also think that is great advice about Europe. I need to look at the next couple months as time to learn and prepare, not live in the safety of the Whole30 bubble. It's true I have yet to have gluten all by itself followed by a break from off-plan foods. I'm just so afraid of going off-track and halting all my physical progress. You better believe I'm hoping to get some new clothes as part of vacation prep! :P

I am definitely feeling better, though not like Day 31 good or anything. Last week was just like the worst period of my life, I think. I WOKE UP bloated one day - what is that!? :blink:<_<

I think I did OK this weekend. Family dinner got rained out, which was good, because it would have been chain-store pizza. I was super tired and just kind of disappointed with my day after work Friday but my husband suggested cleaning/organizing our basement and I LOVE organizing so that actually put me in a better mood. I did have a hard cider I didn't need but, when I realized I didn't really want it, I didn't finish it, so that's progress. I was intentional when I was out on Saturday and came prepared with my own tortillas :D so not much to complain about there. The only thing that wasn't good was my friends got queso and I did take a few bites, so I ended up with a headache even though I already know what the queso tastes like and really did not need to try it. Sunday my husband and I even managed to do a good job with eating despite our empty fridge, so overall a really good weekend. It was somehow restful and productive at the same time, so I feel really good about that in general. I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight and having pizza, so I'll probably feel yucky tomorrow, but then I should be in the clear as far as challenges go! I've been wanting to try this place and she is moving across the country, so I feel OK with my choice. Just can't wait to recover!

I am struggling a bit with food boredom though. Deciding what I needed at the grocery this weekend was like trying to solve a Rubik's cube for some reason. My husband asked what I needed and I just stared at him. LOL! I think I'm just SO. OVER. COOKING. I get like this sometimes after travelling because I kind of get used to just eating out and not having to prep anything, but hopefully it will pass soon. I really don't like cooking in the first place, but am not rich enough to get a pre-made meal plan, so here we are. Haha. 

So basically, nothing too crazy and still going fairly strong from a mental perspective. This is definitely the furthest I've ever gotten with W30 eating/thinking and I just cannot thank you ladies enough! Have a good week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi again! So I think I did a good job with the pizza last night - I got a gluten free Mediterranean veggie pizza so the only item I anticipated problems with was the dairy. It wasn't the bomb, but I had some of my friend's gluten and processed meat-laden too and it wasn't any better, so I think it was just the pizza place. I didn't over eat which is another victory. The odd thing, though, is I woke up very nauseated in the middle of the night and even tried to throw up (unsuccessful), and didn't feel great this morning even after breakfast. We had kind of a stressful day yesterday with the dog having surgery so I wasn't sleeping well and I had some dairy at work so not sure what all was related to that. Oh! And then this morning, it seemed like I was having a light period but I haven't had any activity since Saturday so my period should definitely be over. Very very weird. To be safe, I decided not to finish the rest of the pizza so I hope that is over.

I'm still struggling with the Sugar Dragon. I've definitely gotten better at assessing the situation and making "worth it" choices but I'm not happy that I have to fight with him every day and there are enough "worth it" things in my vicinity that I could easily indulge more often than not. (Like TODAY). I think I need to start focusing on incorporating whether this food will help me reach my goals into my "worth it" definition. Something has to be more than just super delicious and special to be worth it. 

I picked off the roasted veggies from my leftover pizza and threw them in a bowl with peppers, cauliflower, greens, ground beef, and red sauce so I'm feeling good about that choice. Just hope it pays off! Now that the Sugar Dragon has arrived, I guess I'll do some chores and try not to make eye contact. :ph34r: Have a good evening, ladies! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, also, every time I consider posting a picture of a delicious off-plan meal on my social media, I think "I should connect with my Whole30 ladies on here." SO, in the spirit of additional accountability, and if you're into that, find me in Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat!

FB: Emily Lowe (I'm tough to find sometimes so let me know if you can't). 

Insta: emilyelisabethlowe 

Snap: esmallslowe 

No pressure. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what happened, but I definitely replied on this thread yesterday and either forgot to hit "submit" or the post disappeared. 

@emilyelowe Great job over the weekend and at the pizza place. Sounds like you made some good choices! That reaction to the pizza is pretty strange though...are you feeling better?

When I got back from my trip, I also had a week of "What, I have to cook AGAIN?!?!" until I realized that it was me just trying to get back into my routine after having food prepared for me all 6 days. I don't mind cooking once in a while, but the amount of cooking that this lifestyle requires is taxing. 

I just read a post by a mod in another thread talking about the definition of "Worth it". I'll see if I can find it again and link to it. Basically, she was saying to make sure to include all the negative consequences into your deliberation. For example, "Is this cookie worth the afternoon sugar crash and headache?", and I would think it would make sense to include long-term consequences in the definition as well.

I feel like I've made some progress in some areas. I had a bad day on Monday which included someone making me feel like an idiot at work and then getting locked out of my building because my experiment ran too long, so I had to wait 30 mins outside in the 90 degree heat for campus security to come and let me in so I could get my stuff to go home. Normally my reaction to a day like that would have been to treat myself to something, especially because I got home pretty late. I thought about it, but it was more like a memory of something I would have done in the past, not something I wanted to do that day. Then the next day, I made the deliberate decision to try the desserts that I had bought the other day. I was curious about whether the watermelon cake actually tasted like watermelon or if it was just decorated to look like one. Turns out there was watermelon flavoring in the cake, but my taste buds revolted and let me know that I was not eating food, so I stopped eating after a few bites. Later that day, I tried the chocolate pecan pie and again my taste buds were not having any of it. I wasn't paying as much attention this time though, so I still ate most of the piece of pie before realizing I didn't even want it. :rolleyes: I've been in a bit of a food funk the last few days with moving and not really having a functional kitchen, but I went to Whole Foods last night to get supper and wasn't even tempted by the desserts. So YAY!

In the process of moving, I have finally thrown out the scale. I weighed myself one last time and I lost another pound, which seems like good progress to me. I'm losing at a rate of about a half a pound a week now, so I'll take it. :) As for an NSV, I know I said earlier in the thread that I need to go jeans shopping. I tried one day, but it has been too hot lately to think about putting on jeans, even in a store, so I tried on dresses and shorts instead. Dresses are fitting me better than ever and I think I'm down about 2 pants sizes! 

Have a great end of the week ladies!

Edited to add: OHH! I forgot! Instagram! My username there is the same as here, I think, NoneOtherThanAmy. Right now I mostly post pictures of knitting, spinning, and other crafty pursuits, but I'm wanting to expand to Whole30 and health/fitness stuff too! I'll look for you Emily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Ladies, 

I am back from the woods!! Had a great trip - time spent with extended family is the best!! Reading all that I missed and I see you are both doing well and continuing to learn and apply that knowledge. I LOVED reading about all the NSV's. Emily, hope your dog is ok, I looked back thru the thread but haven't been able to find out what the surgery was for. Amy, your progress is inspiring!! And I will find you both on Instagram, my name is the same as here, but I don't post much... I am more of a stalker lol. Would love to see your pics and crafts though!!

So.... I need to get my motivation back. I definitely ate "off track" while away, but I think it was sort of controlled chaos. I did have my hand in the proverbial cookie jar a little more then I should have, and now that sugar dragon is rearing it's ugly head. I am strongly considering another strict whole 30 (20, 15, or even 10) until I feel in control again. 

Glad to be back ladies and glad you are both still hanging in there!!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@NoneOtherThanAmy That may have been a bad day in general but what an amazing day for your journey with food! You handled that situation beautifully. And so happy for your NSVs! 

@Susabella627 Welcome back! So glad you had a good time with family. :) I have also had a serious cookie problem since a few weeks back but I'm trying to practice awareness and feel like I'm doing better than I used to. Pup is doing great - it was a planned surgery to neuter him and tack his stomach, and he seems to be recovering well. Thanks, you're so sweet! 

I am definitely not feeling/looking my best but am trying to have grace with myself regarding all of the summer activities and challenges. I'm still doing well at the gym and have energy throughout the day but I definitely feel more tired first thing in the morning and am not alert as quickly. And the Sugar Dragon is a real bugger... not sure what to do about him. 

We have events this weekend and are traveling next weekend but I have also been considering a strict WholeSomething when I get back. I'll definitely keep you in the loop on that! 

Also, if either of you add me on any social medias and I decline or something, let me know. Haha. Sometimes I just assume I don't know people. 

Hope you're having a good weekend! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi All! Glad to see you back @Susabella627. :) 

I did my final moving this Saturday after going for a run with my running group. :wacko: There wasn't a ton left to move by Saturday, but there were still 3 carloads and I lived on the 2nd floor with no elevator. I was so tired that night I went to bed at about 8:15, but being in a new place, I didn't sleep that well. Sunday I worked on unpacking and was going to take it easy, but with one thing and another I was still exhausted at the end of the day. I am still so tired today I can barely concentrate. I've done some food off-roading through the past few days out of convenience (it's shockingly hard to cook while your kitchen supplies are packed up ;)), but it wasn't as bad as  it could have been. I think about 2 out of 3 meals a day have been pretty well on track. I did finally go and get the donuts that I'd been threatening to do for the last few weeks and let me say that they were 100% worth any consequences that came from eating them. Amazingly, I don't think they woke up my sugar dragon more than it was already woken. I'm not craving sugar right now and after I ate my fill the first day they sat around for a few days because I just didn't feel like eating them. 

I'm hoping to do some more cooking tonight and go for a run, but we'll see how my energy is doing at 5 PM. I may have to choose one or the other. I'll probably choose cooking because I'm guessing that my recent nutritional off-roading isn't helping with my lack of energy. 

Hope you all have a great week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you can definitely give yourself a little grace during this busy time, @NoneOtherThanAmy and it sounds like you are doing great! No matter well you are eating, this sounds like an exhausting time for you!

I did an interesting little exercise in a class at work yesterday that I wanted to share, in case you are in the mood to be reflective. :P It has me feeling kind of surprised/peaceful. I basically went through this "Mission Statement Worksheet," and tried to write down the first thing that came to my mind after each of the "To" statements. The results were interesting - I feel like I learned about myself. Since this whole journey is bigger than food, I thought I'd share.

It is my mission:

  • To Live...
  • To Work...
  • To Continue...
  • To Love...
  • To Be...
  • To Become...
  • To Believe...
  • To Promote...
  • To Strive...
  • To Seek...

In other exciting news, I won a massage at work yesterday, which is like an answered prayer! My neck is so crazy right now. :wacko: AND my hubby is on board to do a Whole30 when we get back from this weekend's festivities! I just feel like I am on a deadline to look and feel my best before we go to Europe in September (plus the two weddings we are going to), so rather than tripping through figuring out all the details of my Food Freedom right this minute, I think I want to stick with what works for me and come back to Riding My Own Bike later. I am learning some valuable things about myself but I feel like I don't have any time to waste feeling less than stellar. We'll see how it goes!

This weekend we are going to a lake house with some friends and my sweet friend who is doing the grocery shopping texted me yesterday to make sure I was OK with the menu. It was so nice! And I feel like I must be doing something right if people know that I care about that stuff. So I requested salad supplies at dinner (since the original plan was just mac and cheese and chicken wings) and a non-bread-y breakfast casserole option. (my friend's response was "so no hashbrowns?" :huh: #facepalm "Of course I can have potatoes, they are real food!") Anyway, I am excited that she was so considerate and that I might actually have set myself up for a little bit of success. So I am looking forward to it even more now.  

OK, that's all I've got. Have a good day, ladies!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@emilyelowe, I just requested to follow you on Instagram! @Susabella627, I couldn't find you there, but feel free to look me up! Now I'll have to commit to making some whole30-related posts!

Emily, don't forget to just swing by Virginia and pick me up on your way to the lakehouse. ;)  Totally kidding, obviously. Your friend sounds amazing! It is so awesome when you are surrounded by supportive people who want to make sure that you will be able to participate and eat with everyone else. <3 Haha about the hashbrowns though! I have a friend who does similar things, she just thinks I'm eating "healthy" which means quinoa and lentil bowls, right? LOL! I don't expect her to remember it all and she's great enough to ask or confirm before making plans. :) 

I love that mission statement! I am going to have to work on that for myself. I feel like that would be very helpful in bringing some priorities into focus. 

I read a few pages of FFF this past week sometime and remember reading that reintroduction is a lifelong process and that symptoms may be dose-dependent. So, even if you didn't get symptoms from something during reintroductions, perhaps 3 days in a row of some potential irritant would be enough to cause some symptoms. I can get on board with that seeing as how I'm studying pharmacology and think a lot about dose-dependent effects. I think I overdid it on the gluten and sugar over the weekend and didn't get enough veggies or fat in my meals, so all that in combination with moving left me a mess on Sunday and Monday. I am feeling MUCH better today after pretty good compliance yesterday even though my sleep didn't improve much. I managed to get a good batch of cooking done yesterday and even went for a run.  I'm going for as much compliance as possible for the rest of the week so I can keep feeling as good as possible. It turns out that those donuts might not have been as worth it as I thought. Maybe 1 would have been fine, but I should have stuck to just 1. :P I'll get there in the end. I've still made wonderful progress and I'm very happy with where I'm at with my nutrition now. I'm so happy that I can get back to semi-normal with just a few days of eating well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everything about this post is so great, Amy! The grace that you have with yourself and the recognition of your progress is so crucial to this process. Maybe I will read FFF again, too. Re-reading ISWF while doing a Whole30 really made a difference for me.

I confirmed your request and started following you, too. I'm really excited about that because it's so funny how much I look forward to hearing about how everyone is doing. I was on my phone posting this weekend and I don't normally sit on social media for very long when there are things to do, so my I figured my husband was wondering what I was up to. I said to him, "I'll be right there, I just have to check in with my Whole30 ladies." He goes, "...you mean those people you've never met?" I said, "Yep! Those are the ones. They're really great." Haha! The internet is amazing - I'm so happy we have this forum and now social media too. :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good afternoon all!

@emilyelowe I feel the same way about you and the rest of the ladies in our amazing group! It has been so nice to hear what people have been through. I think your collective successes and struggles helped put things in perspective for me and the wonderful encouragement you all provided was amazing! <3

I've been battling some food boredom, so I'm committing to searching out and making new recipes. At least 1 per week. I feel like I need some new flavors, veggies and meats in my life. I found some recipes for stuffed eggplant, an artichoke, beet, olive and lemon chicken, and a curried shepard's pie  that sound like they might be good for mixing up flavors. 

I've been pretty good in terms of staying on plan the last few days other than some electrolytes in the form of nuun (which has dextrose and possibly stevia in it) after my group run yesterday. I didn't have much, but I normally run with some unflavored Propel to replace electrolytes and I just plain forgot to bring it with me, so I had to rely on the provided options. Not a big deal because I'm not on a whole30, but I was a little bummed that I forgot my drink with no sugar. I went to the grocery store after the run and it was kind of funny how fast my appetite changed. When I first walked in, nothing sugary or sweet looked good, but as soon as my body realized it was hungry, ALL the things looked good! I had to book it out of there quickly and go home to make myself some food. I don't think the sudden change in appetite was necessarily due to the sugar consumption, but rather that my body had finally recovered from the exertion of running in this ridiculous heat to realize it was hungry. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@NoneOtherThanAmy I have definitely had that happen, too! A few weeks ago my husband and I were planning on getting pizza as a splurge but had to finish some chores and whatever. By the time I was done exerting all that energy, I didn't even want pizza. So I went ahead and ate something healthy for me before the craving returned!

So... I fell off my bike. Hard. (my food bike, of course, not an actual bike - don't be alarmed :) ) Yesterday there was free Panera in a class I was sitting in and I REALLY over-did it. Like one bagel and 3, technically probably 4, pastries by the end of the day. WHAT!?! I'm making myself write this here because I have to admit it to somebody because it's SO RIDICULOUS. Stupid Sugar Dragon.

Then my hubby and I had Chipotle for dinner (BOGO was expiring before we could have it again because of our upcoming Whole30), plus we're leaving Friday, plus it was actually the best choice of the items we had discussed, plus I don't have to make excuses because it is food and I am a grown who makes choices. ANYWAY, I wasn't really that worried about the Chipotle - I planned to get a bowl and eat half like I usually do and NG grains didn't seem to be a problem for me - but then the girl gave me THREE SCOOPS OF RICE. It was like the Universe was just laughing at me. That NEVER happens. Why would she do that!? I ended up eating all of the other toppings (just lettuce, fajita vegetables, and meat) and then more of the rice than I probably needed, but not all of it, which was good. I threw it away to make sure I didn't have anymore. It's just rice for goodness' sake.

I felt better than I expected to this morning, actually, but eventually (after being awake about 3 hours) I just got like a rock in my stomach. Blech. It wasn't painful, just there. I ate a normal pre-wo, post-wo, breakfast and lunch and was feeling better but then had half a banana, granola, and sunflower seed butter and now am super bloated! Argh! We're back to the same old thing. :angry: The bloating could be related to too many FODMAPs (sweet potatoes and banana) or nuts/seeds (cashew butter and sunflower seed butter) or yesterday (ALL THE THINGS) or a combination of all three. While I'm pretty frustrated about the way I'm feeling, I also don't feel nearly as out of control or hopeless as I have in the past. That may just be because I have another Whole30 coming to fall back on. I just keep trying to believe I can figure this out. I really hope it's true, but at the moment am feeling a little bit like I will never learn to ride this bike. :huh:

Going out to eat tonight, too (I really kind of wish people didn't like us - LOL!) and am just going to see how I feel, decide in the moment, and continue to give myself grace (and pray the bloating is temporary <_<). 

Hope you ladies are feeling better than me! <3 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@emilyelowe I hear you on that sugar dragon! Last weekend when I got the donuts, I think I ate 3 or 4 in 24 hours. They were just sooo good. *drool* It seems like a ridiculous amount of sugar in retrospect though. I feel like I'm still suffering the consequences of my off-roading that weekend. For the past few days I've almost been feeling like I've restarted a whole30. I've been a little achy, my GI system has been messed up and I've been extra tired, especially in the afternoons. I didn't think my weekend had been that bad, but apparently it really threw me off. Or I've picked up a mild bug, but I kind of doubt that.  

You will definitely figure this riding your own bike thing out, Emily! All the off-roading gives you new information about what is worth it, what isn't, and which situations are easier or harder for you to eat the way you want to eat. Did you learn anything from the Panera day? Perhaps that it's nearly impossible to avoid eating something sweet when it's sitting there staring you right in the face?

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys their weekends! I'm hoping to finally get some boxes out of my room and into storage so I can get my room almost back to normal and have some space to move again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the encouragement, @NoneOtherThanAmy!

I think I did learn something - volume matters:blink: Yesterday the bloating I mentioned in the afternoon continued with me through to dinner and then got even worse after (I didn't exactly help myself out at dinner, but the off-roading was minor compared to Wednesday and definitely things I've been able to handle before). My symptoms after dinner were so bad I really think it was mostly Wednesday's aftermath. I don't think I ever had "enough" gluten during my reintroduction to cause the kind of uproar my body is going through. The cramping was so bad it was hard to walk when I got home last night and is still with me today. Through the night and this morning I've had cramps on and off. I've been kind of hesitant to eat today because even with good food, I feel like my body needs to reset and tell me that it's hungry, but now I also have a headache so not sure if I'm hungry or haven't had enough water (which I haven't) or if that's another symptom from this mess I've gotten myself into. Ugh. 

Of course, I also have to sit in the car for 6.5 hours shortly and my bladder gets all messed up when I'm cramping/bloat-y like this, too. And I don't have a ton of control over my food this weekend so I feel like I'm unlikely to fully recover any time soon. Note to Self: DON'T EAT CRAP BEFORE DOING SOMETHING SPECIAL. :angry:

I had chicken, eggs, peppers, and guac in a cassava tortilla for breakfast and packed myself a little snack pack for the car - HB eggs, guacomole, Epic bar, Rx Bar - for whenever my poor tummy trusts me to give it food again. I just really hope that this feeling doesn't stick around in such a way that it takes away/distracts from the weekend with friends. :( 

Good luck with your new place, Amy! I hope the pup I saw on Insta doesn't take over your bed like she did the kitchen! Haha!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@emilyelowe Funny you should say that about the puppy! She's often to be found in my room in the evenings napping on the floor or my bed. Luckily, her owners have her sleep overnight in a crate in their room, so I won't have to try to share my small bed with her. I love the pupper, but there's just not enough room.

Best of luck this weekend Emily! I hope things settle down and you're able to eat things this weekend that will help make you healthier. It sucks to be learning all this right before a fun weekend, but I'm sure the experience will provide you with information about what you should or shouldn't eat before your next trip. 

Your breakfast sounds very yummy! I've been feeling a little like I've been having to force down food lately, so I know I need to change things up and that sounds like a good possibility.  I also started following a bunch of paleo/whole30 people on Instagram and saw a delicious-looking blueberry + egg dish. That would be a totally different flavor profile and might be something to try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Ladies, First I would like to acknowledge all of your posts, I have been reading them all and feel exactly like both of you the support, encouragement, chuckles and knowledge I get from your posts are priceless and I am very thankful we have each other to bounce off of. With that being said, full disclosure time for me, Talk about falling of my bike - I've been a weapon of mass consumption lately. Eating "Junk" food, sweets, ice cream pretty much anything I please and almost no veggies and not even getting 8 cups of water in.  I feel it, Joints are achy, I've been sluggish, sleep pattern is out of whack etc....    Whew that actually feels good just to admit it out loud (well sortof out loud in my head lol) and to tell somebody and own it!!    

There is a very small light at the end of this tunnel, and that is the little voice in my head that has recognized this behavior and wants to turn things around, right now before any real damage is done. I feel certain that this is a sign that I have gained something from my whole 30's as there was a time when I would have just thrown in the towel and said @#$% it. I am even more certain that the accountability I feel towards you guys is also pulling me back out of the unhealthy abyss I have fallen into - and again for that I am grateful. 

This morning I got up, enlisted my daughter as my walking partner and we did a 3 mile walk. We plan on trying to make this a part of our daily routine with 3 miles being the minimum. Since we are in a bit of a heatwave here, 3 miles was just enough this morning, but It is amazing to me what a little physical activity can do to the psyche. I am drinking water, have made good food choices today, and just feel better already. I am not going full on whole 30 yet, but it's coming, maybe with you Emily when you start. 

@emilyelowe I totally agree that volume matters. Went to the Chinese buffet the other night and would have been fine if I had stopped at one plate, but nooooo this is a buffet gotta go back and get more, and more and even more until I felt horrible. Again, I guess recognizing this is a step in the right direction! Hope you are having a blast this weekend and managing your food choices in a happy healthy way. 

@NoneOtherThanAmy Good luck in your new place! I bet your glad the move is behind you now. Sounds like your doing great and really riding your own bike. I am continually inspired by your attitude!! 

Ok, now I am going to find you both on Instagram!! 

Happy Saturday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Group hugs all around! :wub: Glad to see you back @Susabella627 and believe me, there's no judgement here! You've seen me stumble here and there, and as we've said in previous posts your next meal can begin your reset. You know the information now. You wouldn't even necessarily need to commit to a full whole 30, just get back to eating the way that makes you feel good! 

You have no idea how tempted I've been by ice cream these past few weeks and I KNOW ice cream is not worth it. Even so, I still wander through the ice cream aisle at the grocery store and drool while trying to convince myself that it'll be worth it. Haha! Luckily, the bad experiences with ice cream have left me less enthusiastic to eat more and the rational voice in my head has won out for the past few trips.

I've been doing pretty well this weekend, getting more and more used to living here and cooking in a new house. My friends were so sweet and put together a kitchen unit with all sorts of storage space just for me. I managed to get the big boxes out of my room, although they're just piled up and taking up space in the dining room now. I did a bunch of cooking this weekend and made paleo egg roll in a  bowl: http://www.jaysbakingmecrazy.com/2016/06/05/paleo-egg-roll-in-a-bowl/ So yummy, with or without the sweet and sour sauce! I've made it a few times now and I always buy the pre-shredded cabbage mixes for easier prep work. I also made an egg bake with Aidells chicken sausage, mushrooms, onions, and made some bacon on the side (the bacon wasn't whole30 compliant, but I'm not sweating the sugar). I also tried making the balsamic stuffed eggplant. That one was OK, maybe it would have been better if I hadn't needed to scarf it down in 10 mins, but it just didn't seem to have a lot of flavor. I might have to sprinkle it with extra balsamic vinegar later. I feel well prepared for this week! I've got meals ready and I shouldn't need to cook again until Tuesday! :) 

I had a weird thing happen today though...I was feeling somewhat slimmer than last week and was noticing that the pair of shorts I was wearing were loose when they used to be pretty tight before the whole30. I've thrown out my scale, so I thought I'd re-measure myself. Well, I thought I lost 6" off my belly area after my whole30, but today I was back up 4" as compared to that end of whole30 measurement. Weird. I don't think I've regained anything and I know the shorts are looser, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Then I went to try on clothes with some friends and tried on a pair of shorts that was 2 sizes smaller than the shorts I was currently wearing and they totally fit! So I'm :P at the measurements. I've got other things to let me know I'm making progress. :D 

Have a great week everyone! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome back, @Susabella627! There is no shame in falling off your bike (and for the record - "weapon of mass consumption," made me LOL at work - so you've got that going for you :lol:)! I'm so scuffed up from falling off at this point, I don't even know where to begin! Recognizing when things were off and not feeling hopeless was kind of my first step in recognizing that every Whole30 makes a difference and wasn't just 30 days wasted, too. Exercise does SO MUCH for the way you think and feel, so it sounds like you are taking the right next steps! If you do end up wanting to do a Whole30 or even a Whole7 or Whole14 - you'll find me and some others on the Whole30 Logs page under "Death of the Dragon - 30 days of Carnage," sooo... you can't really miss us. Haha. 

I am struggling with food boredom and the call of the ice cream too, @NoneOtherThanAmy! I may have to try some of these new recipes you are finding! Definitely let me know how the blueberry egg thing goes - that sounds really interesting! Where do you get pre-shredded cabbage? I've been struggling to find that, shredded broccoli, and okra so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :)  I just cannot chop anymore. :blink:

Congrats on the little shorts!!! I definitely wouldn't worry about the measurements - it is so great that you are feeling good!

The weekend was OK. I mean the weather was great, the company was great, so luckily nothing that happened took away from any of that. It was a funny mix of healthy-for-me things like meats, veggies, salads, and fruits alongside less healthy alcohol and ALL THE DESSERTS. Haha. My body doesn't feel great but I know what to do next so I'm not letting myself get disappointed. I enjoyed myself and I'm moving on. The car rides were definitely uncomfortable, though, so I really do need to make better choices when travelling. I'm hoping some day I can figure out how to just eat only healthy things in these situations. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@emilyelowe That ice cream has a very strong siren call, doesn't it? Especially in this heat, all I want to do is sit around and eat ice cream, popsicles, and watermelon. The watermelon would be OK, but I keep wanting it all on its own, not with a meal. So glad you enjoyed the weather and the company this weekend! At least there was some good food to potentially balance out some of the indulgent food.

I got the pre-shredded cabbage in a coleslaw mix at Wal-Mart, but I've also gotten it at Trader Joe's and I'm sure I've seen it at the main chain grocery store around here (Kroger). I wanted the coleslaw mix because it included carrots so I didn't have to chop up carrots either, because I agree I am SO over chopping food all the time. ;) I think I've seen frozen okra in the frozen veggie section at Kroger, but I don't know if that would work for what you need. I've also seen riced broccoli at TJs and chopped broccoli and sometimes broccoli slaw in most grocery stores. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK @emilyelowe I committed, just found your Death of the Dragon thread (great name btw) and jumped in. Tomorrow will be day 1 as I need to do some prep. Seems like a  very active group so far. I mean most of them start out this way, but I think it's the makings of a good one. 

 So... as I briefly mentioned in the other thread I found out today I have some tumors growing in my nose  eww gross I know.... as of now they are benign, but they are a tissue type that will likely turn malignant if left alone. Had the surgery once already, last October, but I guess they didn't get it all so they are growing back. Also, my oncologist said my blood work was "off" a little. I know I am probably over reacting, but not a day goes by that I don't think about the stupid cancer coming back so news like that is just scary. Plan on repeating the blood work and going from there. Very happy to have a whole 30 to occupy my thoughts and distract me!

I've also seen the "Coleslaw" mix in almost every grocery store. You just reminded me about a whole 30 friendly recipe  - pineapple slaw I will have to go look that one up. 

@NoneOtherThanAmy great job on the clothes fitting better, I'm with Emily don't sweat the measurements!! The way they fit, feel and look is all the validation you need!

Have a great day!

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the good suggestions on veggies! I will have to look for coleslaw mix and broccoli slaw - I was probably just looking for the wrong name. I did end up finding frozen okra and used it to make this baked okra. I just boiled/cooked it before following the rest of the recipe (minus the chopping because they were already chopped!) Then I riced my own frozen broccoli for these broccoli fritters. Overall, a very successful meal prep day! Oh, except for the part where the dog ate ALL OF THE CHICKEN. My husband grilled like 5 pounds of chicken which the dog proceeded to eat silently :ph34r: off the counter while we ate dinner in the next room. WORST. DOG. EVER.

And yes, @NoneOtherThanAmy - I WANT ALL THE FRUITS mixed with ALL THE FROZEN YOGURT. Rawr. Also, I was thinking about you and your Food Freedom the other day - I'm not sure if you like sandwiches/wraps/tacos, but I'm one of those people who likes all of my food mixed together, so those things are pretty much my jam. If you're looking to mix it up, I REALLY like Siete Cassava and Coconut tortillas (pretty much like the real thing) and PureWrap coconut wraps (a little sweeter and definitely not a texture like a normal wrap but delicious just the same). Maybe add them into your repertoire to mix it up? It just makes what you would normally throw in a bowl a little more interesting I think. 

Sorry to hear about your nose, @Susabella627! I can definitely be praying for your surgery and that it doesn't become more serious. Is the surgery scary or complicated? :( Welcome to the Death of the Dragon group! I hope you find the structure to help you settle in and have low stress!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Susabella627 I'm sorry to hear about your nose. I'm glad the tumors were found before they became a bigger problem, but I can understand how that news would be scary. Take care and know that you'll be in my thoughts and prayers. Glad you're joining in with the Dragon Slaying group! I think it's going a fun group to follow. :)

@emilyelowe Can I admit that I had a pretty good laugh about the dog eating all 5 lbs of chicken? I can just picture it...your dog is so big he probably didn't need to work too hard to make it to the chicken. It was probably just like a buffet all set up for him. :D On a more serious note, I hope he's doing OK. That's a lot of chicken and I can imagine he might have some digestive distress from eating food that he's not used to. And I totally sympathize, that's a lot of work and money that the naughty dog just ate. The dog I'm living with now tends to be pretty good about food, but she has the funniest quirk. As soon as I sit down with food, she'll come over, sniff, and then start licking the air and moving closer. It's almost like she's licking her lips or saying "I can almost taste the food, I just need to keep moving closer and maybe my tongue will make contact with the food." :D It's so endearing I just keep laughing about it while making sure she doesn't actually get a taste of my food. Luckily, she loses interest after the first try. She's really a pretty good dog about food.

I really need to do a big cook up of some starchy carbs, but it's so hot I just don't even want to turn on the oven. I made a potato in the microwave the other day and it just wasn't the same. I just ate the last of my balsamic stuffed eggplant and I have to say the flavor improved over time. Maybe sitting in the fridge allowed the flavors to meld better? But, I'm now out of pre-cooked lunch and dinner options and I've got my running group tonight. I might be eating all the breakfast food I made last night over my next few meals until I can get some more protein cooked up. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@NoneOtherThanAmy I'm glad you had a laugh! Somebody should! :P

He can easily rest his head on the counter so I'm sure that's how he was able to be so quiet and I'm not shocked he thought it was for him! He seems to be doing OK so far and had a normal BM this morning, so I hope it doesn't end up bothering him. That's what I was thinking, too, though after I was done being shocked. I was like, "If he throws up the perfectly good chicken we just prepped, I might actually have to kill him." But alas, it stayed in there. So far, so good. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...