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Death of the Dragon - 30 days of carnage (July 25)


emilyelowe

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Day 27 and the struggle is real. It's getting to that time where my brain decides to go into anarchy mode because it's been given the opportunity to think about off plan things. We had family over for breakfast yesterday and my sister in law brought a coffee cake which no one ate but she left, so that's been staring at us for a day. Plus we had a ton of leftover french toast which is great for reintroducing gluten Thursday but not so great to have around today. And oh the sweet cravings! All my kingdom for a cookie! :(

As usual, I'm disappointed that all these cravings are still here but my husband made a good point that he's OK with the cravings still being present because he's proud of himself for being able to say no. So I guess I need to look at it like that. I have definitely thought about eating some of these things early though because "no one would know," but that's how I give food it's power. It makes me want to lie and then the shame of the lie piles on top of the shame I already had about eating it in the first place and WE ARE JUST NOT GOING THERE RIGHT NOW. Not today, Satan. -_-

So that's where I'm at. 

Still struggling with the potato vs. digestion thing but we have leftover broccoli, asparagus, and bacon frittata that I'll be having for breakfast so hopefully that will help. Making some cube steaks for dinner now and there will be leftovers qand we have white chicken chili in the slow cooker. Hopefully that will keep me focused for 3 more days! 

I feel like the thread has gotten really quiet. I hope everyone is doing great! 

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7 hours ago, emilyelowe said:

Sugar Dragon was a real curse word today.

So much so I can't even decide which curse word to use. 

That is all. 

Yes, some cravings are still present. But we're almost there! And I hope I will be able to make wiser decisions then.

Anyway, I've some questions for reintroduction. We're probably going to a somewhat fast track introduction because the husband wants to know what affects us. My question is, if I start with legumes, and say, I don't have much of a reaction to soy, during my next re-introduction day, does it mean I can start including soy with say, gluten free grains? And is it always neccessary to wait the two days in between if my body is ok? I don't plan to introduce all legumes, maybe just the ones that we typically have in our diet like soy. I do miss a good soy sauce with sashimi. I also have an event on Saturday night... :( 

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I had to send my mom to the hospital because of a health scare and could not find compliant food in all the food places in the hospital. Found a small cafe and their salad dressing (which I was told was just olive oil and balsamic) turned out sweet. I did a taste dab and it was way sweet. It's amazing how sensitive I am not to any artificial sugars. I asked and they said orange juice but could not tell me if it's real orange juice so I had to pack it and asked for a new salad order with just olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Just thankfulness i can find food!! And very very thankful the health scare turned out to be not serious. 

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On 8/22/2017 at 1:37 AM, Delicacious said:

Yes, some cravings are still present. But we're almost there! And I hope I will be able to make wiser decisions then.

Anyway, I've some questions for reintroduction. We're probably going to a somewhat fast track introduction because the husband wants to know what affects us. My question is, if I start with legumes, and say, I don't have much of a reaction to soy, during my next re-introduction day, does it mean I can start including soy with say, gluten free grains? And is it always neccessary to wait the two days in between if my body is ok? I don't plan to introduce all legumes, maybe just the ones that we typically have in our diet like soy. I do miss a good soy sauce with sashimi. I also have an event on Saturday night... :( 

Hey @Delicacious. I wouldn't recommend doing it that way, though I'm not sure what the rules say. I tried that during my last reintroduction and feel like my results weren't clear. I paired gluten + dairy and now I feel like I don't really know for sure how my body feels about gluten. So I would stick to one non-plan thing at a time. I also think the recommendation is to keep the full two days in between because some symptoms could be delayed. 

What even do you have Saturday night that is making you sad? :( If there is something really important that you want to enjoy, you can still do that. Just make sure you build in a reset period before you introduce something new.

Even outside the general benefits of reintroduction, I wouldn't recommend going too crazy with off-plan things. You might be surprised by what an impact this has made. I ate a bunch of fried stuff as part of my reintroduction last time and felt like I got hit by a truck. 

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On 8/22/2017 at 7:20 AM, Delicacious said:

I had to send my mom to the hospital because of a health scare and could not find compliant food in all the food places in the hospital. Found a small cafe and their salad dressing (which I was told was just olive oil and balsamic) turned out sweet. I did a taste dab and it was way sweet. It's amazing how sensitive I am not to any artificial sugars. I asked and they said orange juice but could not tell me if it's real orange juice so I had to pack it and asked for a new salad order with just olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Just thankfulness i can find food!! And very very thankful the health scare turned out to be not serious. 

I'm so sorry - that sounds stressful! Good for you that you were still so thoughtful about your food. That's amazing!

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It's Day 30!!! Not sure if it's just the caffeinated water or the actual Day 30 Tiger Blood talking, but I am very excited about today. :) 

Is there anyone still logging on regularly that wants me to start a Reintroduction chain? I feel like we lost a loooot of people, so don't want to clutter up the forum if it's not necessary, particularly since I'm doing more of a Slow Roll. I feel like it's just me and @Delicacious hanging out at this point. Let me know what you think. 

Happy Day 30 (or are you on 31 already?), @Delicacious!

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On 8/21/2017 at 10:37 PM, Delicacious said:

Yes, some cravings are still present. But we're almost there! And I hope I will be able to make wiser decisions then.

Anyway, I've some questions for reintroduction. We're probably going to a somewhat fast track introduction because the husband wants to know what affects us. My question is, if I start with legumes, and say, I don't have much of a reaction to soy, during my next re-introduction day, does it mean I can start including soy with say, gluten free grains? And is it always neccessary to wait the two days in between if my body is ok? I don't plan to introduce all legumes, maybe just the ones that we typically have in our diet like soy. I do miss a good soy sauce with sashimi. I also have an event on Saturday night... :( 

You definitely want to wait the minimum days between items as is layed out in the reintroduction protocol.  You may not feel anything but your gut might have problems, so you definitely want to give that time between to make sure that the next item you test is going in on a clean slate.  You also want to make sure that aside from what you're reintroducing that everything else is Whole30, again so that you have a controlled environment to do the test... mixing soy and non gluten grains wouldn't give you the best results.

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Happy day 30 @emilyelowe!  Congrats on finishing again! Also to anyone else here who made it!

This group did get pretty quiet toward the end, didn't it? :( I know that generally happens, but it's always sad. 

I'm thinking I may participate in the September Whole30 because my time between off-plan foods seems to keep getting shorter. I'd also love to be able to do a full reintroduction and I don't think I'll have any travels this fall to interfere.

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Sorry if this isn't the right thread to ask this question, but... Sugarcube, or any mod, what is the rationale for the (to me) pretty severe limitation on nuts?  I binge on them occasionally, and as long as I don't go TOO far, they don't seem to negatively affect my digestion - I read that was a possible issue and I get that.  Is there any other reason?  I am trying to be aware and NOT binge on them, but just curious.  None in the house at the moment so I am safe :D

 

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2 hours ago, Jim4884 said:

Sorry if this isn't the right thread to ask this question, but... Sugarcube, or any mod, what is the rationale for the (to me) pretty severe limitation on nuts?  I binge on them occasionally, and as long as I don't go TOO far, they don't seem to negatively affect my digestion - I read that was a possible issue and I get that.  Is there any other reason?  I am trying to be aware and NOT binge on them, but just curious.  None in the house at the moment so I am safe :D

 

Hi, ya besides the gut disruption, they're poorly balanced in Omega 3 and 6 so they're not the best fat source.  If they don't cause you problems, then that's great but I would still be careful on a 'binge' of anything regardless of how compliant it is or how it does or doesn't affect your digestion. :) 

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21 hours ago, NoneOtherThanAmy said:

Happy day 30 @emilyelowe!  Congrats on finishing again! Also to anyone else here who made it!

This group did get pretty quiet toward the end, didn't it? :( I know that generally happens, but it's always sad. 

I'm thinking I may participate in the September Whole30 because my time between off-plan foods seems to keep getting shorter. I'd also love to be able to do a full reintroduction and I don't think I'll have any travels this fall to interfere.

I don't know, Amy - you, me and Susabella sure didn't get quiet at the end of the last one. :P Thanks for thinking of me today! Good luck with September Whole30!

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13 minutes ago, emilyelowe said:

I don't know, Amy - you, me and Susabella sure didn't get quiet at the end of the last one. :P Thanks for thinking of me today! Good luck with September Whole30!

sorry I disappeared!  I've been reading all the posts and cheering you guys!!  I'm so proud of you little duckies!

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OK, time to review the Non-Scale Victories :) (or flops :().

Non-Scale Goals:

1. NO MORE BLOATING :) Success! I did get a bit bloated for the first time in a long time like two days ago but it has been rare and it was so much less extreme and passed much more quickly than pre-Whole30. 

2. Fewer headaches :) Also a success! The only time they seem to show up now is if I let myself get hungry/go too long between meals, which is tricky because my belly rarely tells me I'm hungry and my energy doesn't really dip due to hunger anymore. How do others navigate this when you're maybe not having a normal scheduled routine day?

3. Control of my Sugar Dragon - I don't think I'm one of those people that will ever shrug him entirely, but when he shows up I want to be able to ignore him with limited effort. I'm the Boss! :mellow: I'm not really sure about this. He's been a real stinker the last couple days as my brain when into Reintroduction LETSEATALLTHETHINGS rebellion, but as my husband pointed out, I was able to control myself. I am definitely craving something sweet big time, though, so I clearly still have an intense sweet tooth. Not sure what else I can do about this, except practice to find my definition of "worth it." So the Dragon Slaying battle continues. 

4. Clearer skin - less dry, improved dandruff and psoriasis symptoms, maybe no pimples during my period? :D Skin is definitely feeling less dry and my dandruff is gone! I do still have some itchy psoriasis a few days after washing, but no embarrasing flakes! Whoo hoo! I haven't had any pimples since early in the Whole30, so we'll see how that part goes going forward.

5. Regular digestion :( I'm still not pooping, you guys. Ugh. 

6. Improved stamina and continued gains at the gym :mellow:  I am definitely feeling energetic and ready to conquer at the gym, but I didn't see the same kind of gains I saw last time. I think this is more likely related to the fact that last Whole30 I was also starting a new workout routine and getting used to the movements, whereas now it is the normal routine. So I think this is normal. Physique-wise, I'm not seeing the same level of changes, either, which is kind of disappointing, but this round I was much more intentional with the fat part of the meal template and had non-template calories like kombucha more often. I am curious to see how to work that out in my Food Freedom to still reach my fitness and physique goals without getting all obsess-y. 

7. Energy and alertness upon waking :mellow: Again, not quite the same level of change that I saw last time, but I'm not sure what could be causing this. Maybe the Natural Calm is helping me sleep TOO deep? It definitely takes me less time to get up and get going though than pre-Whole30s. I love being a morning person!

8. Increased interest in... intimacy. :mellow: We're pretty much the same in this department, though my improved energy, digestion, and mood are positives in this general direction. 

9. Improved meal packing/planning skills and execution (I want it to be a habit, not a chore). :) It's still a chore, but seeing the benefits in trying new recipes has renewed my dedication to doing it anyway. Success?

10. And probably the most important: Food Freedom. I listed this as one of my Goals for 2017 at the beginning of the year because I feel like God has been showing me that I have given food too much power - it has become an idol that I let control my feelings, my choices, my mindset, etc. and that is not where food belongs. I've already made significant progress in this area with the other Whole30s I have done this year but I am so grateful that this process has grace built in so I can come back and try to learn more! :) I think I've continued to gain more and more perspective on where food belongs via this Whole30, so while I am still struggling to find Food Freedom, I feel dedicated to figuring it out and find myself better able to focus on my other blessings, instead of just food. I did have a bit of a meltdown the other day when the idea of deciding what to eat was JUST TOO MUCH but there were a lot of factors and I was aware of what was happening while in the situation, which allowed me to verbalize and ask my husband to be patient. Progress?

 

I also lost 2 pounds and 1% body fat (if you can trust that number, which you probably can't) and feel much better in my clothes. I would like to see more progress in the physical realm but I also need to work internally on facing the truth about if additional physical changes will actually make me healthier, or if this is just what a healthy Emily looks like. The Saga Continues.

 

I'd love to hear updates on how everyone else is feeling!

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2 hours ago, emilyelowe said:

I don't know, Amy - you, me and Susabella sure didn't get quiet at the end of the last one. :P Thanks for thinking of me today! Good luck with September Whole30!

True! We had a great group, but we still had a few people who dropped out at various times and a few who dropped off posting updates at the end even though they made it through the 30 days.

Thanks for the good wishes! I'm excited to get another one under my belt. :) 

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Ok I'm on Day 31 (Intro day 1 of legumes)

First some non-scale victories:

  1. I discovered my sensitivity to nightshades. This to me is BIG - I've had IBS since my teenage years and have never quite figured out what caused my occasional (bad) cramps after meals. Now I'm better informed as to whether I want to eat that baked potato or binjal.
  2. Energy levels are higher despite bad sleep - my girl woke up 7 times last night. 
  3. No food coma after meals - I typically get this buzz in my head after meals but it seems to have gone off during Whole30.
  4. BIG WIN for hubby - his snoring virtually almost stopped. He used a snoring app to track, and yesterday night he only snored 2% of the time and it was at very low levels. He has been diagnosed with chronic sleep apnea and was made to wear a sleep mask with gas pumping through it which he hates, so he never wears it. Win for me too because I sleep alot better when I don't have a tiger growling beside me. :P
  5. Food is sweeter, without sugar. I'm rediscovering natural food tastes. Fruits taste so much sweeter during Whole30, and even certain vegetables. 
  6. My food creativity has increased, and I'm finding my passion for cooking back. Hopefully that translates to more entries in my blog.
  7. Conversations about food - Colleagues were generally curious about what I've been doing and I've the opportunity to share with them. A few are considering starting Whole30 too.

Scale victories:

  1. I lost close to 4 pounds - the weight I put back on after I stopped breastfeeding about 10 months ago. 

@emilyelowe Your non-scale victories are great! Thanks for being such an encouragement during the Whole30 and for starting the group. I wouldn't have made it without all the support. :D @SugarcubeOD Thanks for the invaluable advice throughout. It was great having you in the group. @NoneOtherThanAmy I hope you get to do the Sep Whole30 and the reintroduction too! I think the reintroduction is really important. I really want to find out what foods I have an intolerance to, and see if I can severely limit them in my diet. 

NOW... the legumes reintroduction. So far I reintroduced ONE meal with soy beancurd + soy milk (an asian breakfast staple). I did it without sugar. I didn't get through half a bowl. Half an hour later, my head is buzzing (still buzzing), my chest feels congested and my throat feels like there's a lump in it. SERIOUSLY?! I'm going to test with something less drastic - maybe a soy sauce dressing over salad during lunch and see how it goes. Right now, I'm feeling miserable.... :wacko:

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Great victories for both @emilyelowe and @Delicacious!  Congrats to both of you. 

Emily, I really struggle with the non-routine days as well. I'm not much help, but I can commiserate with you...I got a migraine on my last unscheduled day because I put off eating for too long. Ugh. I under-ate that day as well as the next day and then couldn't figure out why I was feeling nauseated (which is apparently a symptom of under-eating for me). The best I can say is perhaps have your meals planned for the non-scheduled days and set an alarm on your phone to remind you to eat. 

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2 hours ago, NoneOtherThanAmy said:

Great victories for both @emilyelowe and @Delicacious!  Congrats to both of you. 

Emily, I really struggle with the non-routine days as well. I'm not much help, but I can commiserate with you...I got a migraine on my last unscheduled day because I put off eating for too long. Ugh. I under-ate that day as well as the next day and then couldn't figure out why I was feeling nauseated (which is apparently a symptom of under-eating for me). The best I can say is perhaps have your meals planned for the non-scheduled days and set an alarm on your phone to remind you to eat. 

Thanks for the commiseration and recommendation, Amy! Glad I'm not the only one. 

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Hi All...sorry for my disappearing act but I made it all the way through!!  I just finished reading through all the posts.  Whew!  You guys are awesome.  I feel bad about dropping out but work became insane, I was traveling a lot (I have a feast of projects right now and I am so glad), my parents came to stay for a week, we had a very sick (but recovering well) dog.  We finished last Wednesday as of last Wednesday at 11:59pm.  We've decide to remain as compliant as possible so we've been eating according to plan still.  We did have a beer out last Thursday night (it was good but not amazing...did give me gas and bloat) and I ate the tiniest bit of cheese from (like two pieces of shredded parm) and then 4 peanut m&m's yesterday.  I'm still eating more fruit than I should be just because I love it and it's still so available (the peaches, plums and cherries are just on point right now).  But otherwise, totally compliant and really liking it.  I feel leaner and stronger and more...even...I don't know else to phrase it.  We're training for a small race at the end of October and have been running frequently (terribly rainy in Norfolk, VA the past couple of days which isn't conducive to running) which has been helping.  I did learn that nuts are just not good for my tummy.  That and red onions.  Re-introduction is not really an issue for us right now as we are just staying the course (we made the carnitas from the book tonight and they were amazing!).   I feel like I have to face it at some point but I am just not ready to give it up just yet.

Despite my absence you guys have been an incredibly great support group and I am really grateful.  Congrats to all of you on your struggles and your victories!!!

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