The Dragon Slaying Saga Continues

[emilyelowe]

Hello Dragon Slayers!

i.e. @Delicacious only it seems... 

I'm planning to do a Slow Roll reintroduction due to my social schedule over the next couple weeks, so my posts on here will likely be weird or maybe not at all. I did purposely do gluten yesterday, though, as I didn't get to it after my last Whole30. It didn't go as terribly as I expected, especially considering that I REALLY loaded up. The biggest thing I noticed was that I was getting hungry really fast despite feeling full after my meal. So I feel like the bread items were taking up space in my tummy that normally would have been room for more complex, satiating things that would hold me over between meals. I also went to bed feeling a little nauseated but I stayed up WAY later than usual and had like 1.5 Cheryl's cookies, which is A LOT of sugar, so it seems that was more likely the sugar. I ate a template breakfast this morning and am trying to stay on track today since we have friends in town this weekend and I only want to go off track if it's really worth it. I am excited to not have to ask about sugar in the hot sauce I plan on eating out tonight though!  

Excited to hear about other Reintroduction journeys!

[Jim4884]

I'm two plus weeks past my Whole 30.  I didn't really see any problems with reintroductions, but I may have introduced too small portions.  I did not reintroduce legumes as I haven't missed them.

I went out one night and had a pizza - so gluten, dairy, probably a little sugar in the sauce and sausage/pepperoni.  I didn't experience any significant symptoms, but I just didn't feel RIGHT somehow.  

Bottom line, I am continuing to eat Whole 30 compliant about 90% of the time, and if something sounds appealing that isn't compliant, I'm not too worried about it.  Nothing bad is screaming at me to eat it, so I'm primarily sticking to Whole 30.  The scale and non-scale victories were too significant to revert to old ways of eating.

 

[Delicacious]

Yesterday's soy re-intro went quite . I probably overloaded my system by having soy milk and curd for breakfast and the body immediately showed me who was boss. Dizziness, throat felt congested etc. I tried with a salad gravy at lunch with was soy based - dizziness. It the throat was ok. Dinner was stir fried  chicken with soy, and a Chinese soup with (too many) black eyed peas. Throat and chest felt inflamed and I practically croaked (voice went off) for an hour and a half before the effects wore off. I would never believe I'd be so happy to get back on Whole30 today (break day from reintroductions) but I am. Could immediately feel energy levels go up after breakfast. And you know what? After the soy experimentation, though hubby didn't experience as much physical symptoms, his lymph nodes both swelled and were red. And he snored last night. I'm not looking foRward to gluten on Monday. 

[Laurie]

I finished the W30 but I did a terrible  job.  All compliant food (never gave up the RX bars) but I never was able to follow the spirit of the W30, and that was my goal.  My depression has gotten worse the last few weeks so I  went back to psychiatrist.  He raised dosage of antidepressant which made me feel worse - no energy, more irritable and more depressed.  Back on old dosage and will discuss situation with doctor at my next appointment.  I have been down this path before. 

Ate ice cream the last few days which is a food I should not have introduced at all.  Dairy is not good for IBS and I imagine  there was gluten in that ice cream which I am also not supposed to eat.   I don't keep ice cream  in my apartment but I bought it for a friend of mine.  When I was on the W30, I knew I could not eat  ice cream but once I was off W30 the ice cream spoke to me.  Ice cream is now gone and I will not purchase any more. So as you can see, no proper reintroduction for me.

The next few months are going to be a very difficult time for me emotionally. My Steve ( stem cell transplant recipient - August 2014) entered the hospital for the last time on Sept 4, 2015 and died on Nov 6, 2015.  So many important dates within that time frame.  Last year at this time, I completely lost it.  The severe depression lasted several months.  I am starting to fear that I might go down a  bad path again, and need to figure out a way to stay out of the darkness. I also have a very sick mom (leukemia, RA, heart issues).  Lots of stress and I don't do stress well.

I feel going back on W30 will benefit me.  I need the control and strict rules.  I have not been to the gym in over a month so I also need to start moving more.  I did take some long walks but I need more exercise to boost the mood.  Not sure what day I am starting - maybe tomorrow, maybe Sept 1.  This time I will try harder to follow the spirit of the W30.

Thank you @emilyelowe and @Delicacious for your consistency in positing.  You both kept our group active.  Thanks also to @SugarcubeODfor sharing your knowledge and supporting everyone through their journey.

[Delicacious]

Thanks for sharing @Laurie. I'll pray that the darkness lifts and the sun shines soon again for you. Cheering you on in your next W30 too! 

[emilyelowe]

So sorry for the tough times, @Laurie. I, too, hope you see the light at the end of the tunnel, soon. Perhaps doing a mass Whole30 like the September Whole30 will help keep you motivated. 

[emilyelowe]

@Jim4884 - that is so awesome that you aren't feeling tempted! I am definitely still struggling with sweets. I think I've had something sweet every day since Whole30 ended, which is probably not super wise. That stops the rest of this week!

I can relate to the not feeling "right," too. I (surprisingly) didn't have any super crazy reactions even with introducing multiple off-plan things at once but I just didn't feel stellar, either. 

That sounds like a rough reintroduction @Delicacious! So sorry! I got dizziness/nausea for the first time during reintroduction this weekend, too. I had alcohol (but not enough to make me feel sick) and then a gyro ("street meat,") and I think the gyro tried to kill me. I went from feeling totally normal to feeling like I had the flu and was going to die in like 1 minute. Ugh! No more of that for me - if I don't know exactly what's in it, I am NOT eating it! 

I was pretty proud of myself Friday - I was thoughtful at the restaurant with friends and considered what I REALLY wanted. Normally, the (fried) buffalo chicken sandwich would have been an obvious choice but in the moment I didn't WANT that, so I decided to go with a salad. I ended up pretty happy with my choice, though I do wish one of my friends had offered me a bite of their sandwich.  Saturday also went well as I started with a compliant breakfast, had a good workout, and splurged thoughtfully at brunch/lunch. Brunch/lunch probably did have a little too much gluten and dairy, though, as my stomach felt a little crampy later that day. I took some compliant snacks to the beer fest to reduce the temptation of the pizza they serve the volunteers (I ended up having a few bites and saying "not worth it," which is a victory to me). As mentioned above, though, the night did not end as well as it started, as the street meat tried to kill me. I STRONGLY regret that decision. I probably wasn't even hungry. #dumb (and I don't drink beer, so all the alcohol I consumed was gluten-free)

Next day started with another compliant breakfast and then waiting WAAAAYYY too long before lunch because of my friends. I tried two new things - nepalese dumplings and mochi - which were obviously off-plan but I wanted to try. I tried to balance it out with some brussel sprouts, steak/peppers/onions, and cold quinoa salad. Only downside of this meal was the dairy gave me a headache. Dinner was two more dumplings, two fried eggs, butternut squash in coconut curry sauce, and an English muffin with peanut butter and half a banana. At that point, I was just trying to survive the weekend, as I am SO TIRED. 

This week we're planning on making two frittatas, lamb stew, and steaks with chimmichurri and chipotle slaw, so hopefully that will keep me on track through to the weekend!

Have a great week!

[Delicacious]

On 8/29/2017 at 4:47 AM, emilyelowe said:

I was pretty proud of myself Friday - I was thoughtful at the restaurant with friends and considered what I REALLY wanted. Normally, the (fried) buffalo chicken sandwich would have been an obvious choice but in the moment I didn't WANT that, so I decided to go with a salad. I ended up pretty happy with my choice, though I do wish one of my friends had offered me a bite of their sandwich.  Saturday also went well as I started with a compliant breakfast, had a good workout, and splurged thoughtfully at brunch/lunch. Brunch/lunch probably did have a little too much gluten and dairy, though, as my stomach felt a little crampy later that day. I took some compliant snacks to the beer fest to reduce the temptation of the pizza they serve the volunteers (I ended up having a few bites and saying "not worth it," which is a victory to me). As mentioned above, though, the night did not end as well as it started, as the street meat tried to kill me. I STRONGLY regret that decision. I probably wasn't even hungry. #dumb (and I don't drink beer, so all the alcohol I consumed was gluten-free)

Next day started with another compliant breakfast and then waiting WAAAAYYY too long before lunch because of my friends. I tried two new things - nepalese dumplings and mochi - which were obviously off-plan but I wanted to try. I tried to balance it out with some brussel sprouts, steak/peppers/onions, and cold quinoa salad. Only downside of this meal was the dairy gave me a headache. Dinner was two more dumplings, two fried eggs, butternut squash in coconut curry sauce, and an English muffin with peanut butter and half a banana. At that point, I was just trying to survive the weekend, as I am SO TIRED. 

This week we're planning on making two frittatas, lamb stew, and steaks with chimmichurri and chipotle slaw, so hopefully that will keep me on track through to the weekend!

Have a great week!

It's great that you're practising how to stay in control despite the many temptations around you! 

Gluten reintroduction, was surprisingly not as rough as the legume/soy reintroduction. I felt some throat inflammation and discomfort, but it was slight compared to the effects of soy. Husband's bad snoring, which went away during whole30, came back after the soy/legumes so there's something definitely up with that. It was much softer during gluten reintroduction.

Today is Rest Day 2, tomorrow we reintroduce non-gluten grains. Looking at corn and some rice probably, since these two items are in my diet quite alot. Since I've an eventful day coming Sunday (which is supposed to be the last day of reintroduction), I'm going to delay the dairy reintroduction till next week and see how that goes.

How's everyone else doing?

[Jim4884]

@emilyelowe - thanks! - don't get me wrong, plenty of things SOUND good, it's just not that hard to feel content with something healthier.  And great job making healthier choices post Whole 30/amid temptation - it seems like it could be SO easy to indulge a little here, a little there, and next thing we know we're eating SAD.  I think every good choice we make builds on previous ones.

@Delicacious - interesting about gluten having less effect than soy.  I hope maybe those coconut aminos are a suitable substitute for soy for you, maybe?  I don't think they taste much the same, but as an american with northern European roots, soy is not historically a big part of my diet, so I'm not planning on adding it back anyway.  Very different situation for you, soy is a staple I'd guess, and I hope you can make something work.

Keep at it!

[Jim4884]

I had an interesting time last night - went out with 3 friends (all blonde ladies, woot!  (one of them my wife)) to a clambake a local resort hotel put on.  The food spread (buffet style) was pretty nice, and I was able to keep things mostly compliant as all sauces, dressings and such were separate and self serve.  Nice details like the horseradish for the tri-tip was just horseradish, with a ranch dressing separate so I left the ranch off.  A balsamic vinaigrette dressing was available for the salad, etc.  I'm glad it was post whole-30 though, as I'm sure there was some added sugar here or there (but nothing really tasted particularly sweet) - and almost certainly dairy in the cole slaw (which was tasty).  I'm not feeling any adverse effects today, despite eating too much  

The more interesting part (to me) was in some of the dialogue we had.  Over time, conversation turned to my diet (one of them noticed how much weight I've lost).  Of the two ladies not my wife (my wife has eaten healthy, though not strictly whole30, for years and is really fit), the less heavy one was very interested in the details of the whole 30, the positive scale and NSVs, etc.  I'm happy to talk about it, but I wait until people express an interest, as I'm not one to preach about things.  The other woman though, is visibly obese, and mentioned a number of ailments she is getting medical attention for - joint inflammation, diabetes (adult onset), - and despite my personal evidence that a diet change could have a positive impact, she stated that she is unwilling to give up those foods.  "I'D RATHER DIE" - (caps mine).  She wasn't being dramatic, she simply meant it.  I let it go, but it was hard not to reach across the table and shake her (figuratively) into listening.  I did share about how much I enjoy what I eat, but she wasn't interested in hearing it.  The other lady asked about the whole30 website, and I offered to chat further with her if she had any questions.  

Anyway, interesting to see people's reactions.  I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and weekend! (Disclaimer:  I am not particularly partial to blondes or any hair color, that comment just seemed a bit funny to me  )

[Delicacious]

On 9/1/2017 at 8:40 PM, Jim4884 said:

I had an interesting time last night - went out with 3 friends (all blonde ladies, woot!  (one of them my wife)) to a clambake a local resort hotel put on.  The food spread (buffet style) was pretty nice, and I was able to keep things mostly compliant as all sauces, dressings and such were separate and self serve.  Nice details like the horseradish for the tri-tip was just horseradish, with a ranch dressing separate so I left the ranch off.  A balsamic vinaigrette dressing was available for the salad, etc.  I'm glad it was post whole-30 though, as I'm sure there was some added sugar here or there (but nothing really tasted particularly sweet) - and almost certainly dairy in the cole slaw (which was tasty).  I'm not feeling any adverse effects today, despite eating too much  

The more interesting part (to me) was in some of the dialogue we had.  Over time, conversation turned to my diet (one of them noticed how much weight I've lost).  Of the two ladies not my wife (my wife has eaten healthy, though not strictly whole30, for years and is really fit), the less heavy one was very interested in the details of the whole 30, the positive scale and NSVs, etc.  I'm happy to talk about it, but I wait until people express an interest, as I'm not one to preach about things.  The other woman though, is visibly obese, and mentioned a number of ailments she is getting medical attention for - joint inflammation, diabetes (adult onset), - and despite my personal evidence that a diet change could have a positive impact, she stated that she is unwilling to give up those foods.  "I'D RATHER DIE" - (caps mine).  She wasn't being dramatic, she simply meant it.  I let it go, but it was hard not to reach across the table and shake her (figuratively) into listening.  I did share about how much I enjoy what I eat, but she wasn't interested in hearing it.  The other lady asked about the whole30 website, and I offered to chat further with her if she had any questions.  

Anyway, interesting to see people's reactions.  I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and weekend! (Disclaimer:  I am not particularly partial to blondes or any hair color, that comment just seemed a bit funny to me  )

I've had many opportunities to chat with others because of the diet, and the "barrier" for most seems to be the need to cook (it's really difficult to find compliant food outside over here) and the lack of self control. I think at the end of the day, people need to "want it enough". That's why the food freedom portion is very real.

Anyway, thus far I've re-introduced legumes + soy, gluten and non-gluten. Non gluten grains (e.g. corn and rice) does not seem to have an adverse effect but it did make me feel sleepy, so I'm going to really reduce that in my diet. I'm going to test out soy sauce again - some say for fermented legumes (e.g. soy sauce, miso) the effect can be less drastic, so I would like to know if my reaction is towards legumes, or even fermented legumes. I have not introduced peanut butter yet though, and would need to test it out. As for dairy, though I didn't intentionally introduce it, I did have some north indian food at a gathering which definitely had some dairy. No adverse effects but I'd probably do a proper reintroduction soon. Right now, I'm doing 98% whole30 on days where I'm not reintroducing food items. 

[Jim4884]

Hey, how are the dragonslayers doing?  Still 90+% compliant here, but I leave for Budapest and environs on Wednesday, so will have some restaurant meals for sure and I do not know how to say "is there any sugar in this?" in Hungarian   I have rented an apartment with a kitchen so I am planning on cooking at least one whole30ish meal a day.  If anyone wants to keep in touch with me outside of this venue I am Jim Brennan on facebook.  Hope all is well...

[Jim4884]

Hey dragon slayers!  Almost a week into vacation and noticing the return of minor joint pain that the whole 30 had cleared up.  I have "had" to eat more than one non-compliant thing at a time, so I don't have proof, but for some reason I feel pretty sure that bread/grains is the culprit.  I've also eaten more dairy than I might have planned for, but I don't think that's it.  

As I've gotten more comfortable using my limited Hungarian (yes, I learned some - it's not necessary to visit Budapest (which I HIGHLY recommend, btw), but it's part of the fun of travel for me - getting a little deeper into the culture), I've been able to find some places that specialize in grilled meats and veggies, and have had a couple of excellent meals that I think would be 100% compliant - and I have to admit to a "silly" joy in a wonderful green salad with a tasty but light oil and vinegar based dressing.  

I plan on going for "delicious" over "compliant" for the remainder of the trip, and just might do an official Whole 30 upon return.  Hope all are well...