eIissa

Haven't updated in a long time, but just checking in because today marks my first day on the other side! You better believe I had pancakes for breakfast (you know, the 2-ingredient banana-and-egg pancakes that Whole30 expressly prohibits you from making). As I noted in my first post, I started doing the Whole30 to troubleshoot some digestive issues I had been having. Unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing for me on that front, but it proved instrumental in getting to know my body and myself better. I think the greatest benefits I reaped from the Whole30 were mental (although my skin has cleared up significantly!). I was able to break my habit of snacking throughout the day on things just because they were available. I was able to recognize the difference between cravings and hunger. Especially significant for me is the fact that I was able to recognize the unhealthiness in my preoccupation with my body weight and the scale. I spent a fair number of days in great stress because I was absolutely convinced I was going to gain weight on the Whole30; in fact, I lost 4 lbs over the course of the month when it was not even my goal to do so, having started off with not much extra fat to begin with. I constantly felt full and never felt deprived (although going out to eat—which I did plenty of!—was certainly inconvenient) ... and I associated this feeling with a perceived certainty that I was going to gain weight, simply because I wasn't hungry all the time or counting calories. I now know that if I eat a nutrient-rich, whole-food-based diet, I no longer have to live that way. The Whole30 also told me a lot about my own determination. I had thought about doing a round for a while, but kept pushing it out of my mind because I thought I couldn't possibly do this for 30 whole days. Now I have actually proven to myself that one significant choice, like committing to the Whole30, can absolutely be accomplished when it's broken down into a lot of little choices day by day. It didn't feel hard to stick to it because I kept doing little things that set myself up for success, and knowing that I was staying compliant, I tried not to beat myself up for any of my choices, like falling off the wagon with my journal entries/community updates; I just did the best I could do at any given time (I strictly adhered to all of the rules, but if I didn't have the energy left to adhere to the recommendations, I didn't bother with them), and yes, it was enough. If I end up having to pursue a low-FODMAP diet for my GI symptoms, I now know that I can do it, and I have the tools I learned from the Whole30. I intend to continue with the reintroduction (today is legumes) and keep eating mostly whole foods for as long as I can! This was an awesome experiment, and I'm glad I had the experience. Oh, and I got so much better at cooking!

Well, I managed to stay compliant for another week, so hooray for that. As of today (R1D14), though, I've decided to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on eating outside of my main three meals (barring pre- and post-workouts when absolutely necessary) and on not following the meal template. If I have a snack for any reason other than fueling a workout, I will restart. On to the week's goals: I will get either a run or a lifting session in on 5 out of the 7 days. I DID get five days of exercise in, which is the one way I feel like I actually 100% succeeded with my goals this week. I had three 40-to-50-minute weightlifting sessions, and my average pace for running was about 10 min/mile. This is a bit slower than usual, but I got out/in there (depending on whether I was running around town or at the gym) and got it done. On weekdays, all of this was added to my usual 60 minutes of walking to/from work. Moving on ... I will wait until I am hungry to eat meals. I found it difficult to eat when I was hungry because I was very rarely hungry. I focused (perhaps too much) on making sure I ate three meals in the proper portions. I will have one or fewer snacks per day (excluding pre- or post-workout). The fact that I was almost never hungry means that every time I had more than one snack in a day (which I did on 3 out of the 7 days), it was emotionally motivated. Each time I ate a snack, I did adhere to the recommended portion size, and I never had more than 3 snacks in a day; however, on days where I snack more than once, my snacks are no doubt adding up to the equivalent of a meal in themselves. I know this can't be good, so, as mentioned, I am going cold-turkey on them for the last two weeks of the program. I will follow the meal template (including pre- and post-workout) as closely as possible. I followed the meal template about 75% of the time over the course of the week, but my satiety signals are out of whack. I constantly felt like I was "powering through" my meals and not listening to my stomach when it told me I was full. I think maybe the plates I am using are too big/I need to aim for the lower end of the recommended serving sizes in the meal template, as a short woman. I will think more carefully about eating fruit. I largely did this, but the days when I did have too much fruit may have canceled out the days where I did meet this goal. If I must grocery shop, I will do so intelligently and with a plan. I ended up spending even more money on food because I wasn't at home over the weekend and needed to buy things I could actually have. I can't tell if I am just judging myself too harshly or if I really am undermining my success in the program by failing to adhere to the program recommendations, even though I have followed the actual rules to the letter of the law (it is killing me not to be able to step on the scale because I am so scared that I have gained weight). GI-wise, I find my symptoms close to where I initially started, and I volley between phases of a) thinking that my waist has shrunk and I feel great, and b) wondering why I started this program at all because I'm still facing the same problems I started with and worrying that I can't stick to it in a way that will ever really change things. The goals I am setting for this upcoming week are: Stick to my new ground rules on snacking and meal planning (this one is a bit of a given). Continue to keep up my momentum with exercise (I am going to make this one less concrete so that I don't feel like I failed if I don't meet it 100%). Don't feel like I have to finish a meal just because I made it in a certain quantity. Read through the NSV list and remind myself of things I have accomplished while on the program whenever I am feeling less than optimistic.

Day 7 complete! Another novel ... Pictured: egg white omelet with smoked salmon, topped with avocado; 1/2 cucumber, sliced, with chili powder; blackberries protein salad (tuna, salmon, avocado, green onion, radish, cucumber, carrot); sweet potato rounds; watermelon-jicama salad; 1 unfortunately overdone egg 1/2 bag Epic sesame chicken bites (post-weightlifting) Chili-spiced chicken thighs, sauteed leafy greens, mild salsa, 1/4 avocado A couple tablespoons of trail mix (raisins, pecans, almonds, apricots, sunflower seeds, pepitas) to try to abate the slight but annoying hunger I felt after dinner this evening Not pictured: Two prunes. I think I'm going to have to stop eating prunes and get a probiotic or something. They're very sweet and I definitely don't have problems getting enough fruit elsewhere. Exercise: 40 minutes weightlifting (back at it, finally - arm day!); 80 minutes walking to/from work/the gym (~12k steps) Feelings: Yep ... still eating too much fruit. Tomorrow I'm going to slice and freeze the mangoes/strawberries/bananas I have in the fridge so I don't have to worry about them going bad. Today my bloating and GI symptoms drastically reduced. I felt like I looked much thinner all of a sudden. I had a great workout today, especially for not having lifted weights since I started the program! I love how I feel and look after even one session. I need to hold onto this feeling for when I feel like skipping the gym. I am going to move to the weekly model after all - here are the goals I am setting for myself for next week's check-in: I will get either a run or a lifting session in on 5 out of the 7 days. I will wait until I am hungry to eat meals. I will have one or fewer snacks per day (excluding pre- or post-workout). I know I've been supposed to be doing this all along per Whole30's official recommendations, and I think if I really want to get the most out of the program and truly end up with a sense of food freedom, I'd better follow them now that I've gotten over the initial hurdle of staying compliant. It's pretty second-nature to me now. I will follow the meal template (including pre- and post-workout) as closely as possible. See note above. I will think more carefully about eating fruit. It's summertime, and according to this post I could have as much as five servings of fruit a day (which I'm not sure I've even come close to), but I have to be mindful of whether or not that fruit is filling the void left by added sugar. Most of the time, dried fruit is probably not. If I must grocery shop (I shouldn't have to, because I have a lot of frozen stuff right now), I will do so intelligently and with a plan.

DAY 6!!!! I am no longer repeating days! This is a long one ... Pictured: Egg white omelet with the sweet-potato concoction I made for a snack yesterday (sweet potato, 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tsp coconut flakes, 1 chopped-up banana bite) The same salad I had for dinner on my very first day (grilled chicken salad with scallions, carrots, cucumber, mint, and coconut aminos) Chili-spiced chicken thighs; greens, onions and carrots steamed with a mixture of water, apple cider vinegar, and the juices from the chicken; mild salsa Watermelon-jicama salad eaten with dinner - recipe here: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/watermelon-and-jicama-salad-with-jalapeno-and-lime Serving of prunes (I'm still having problems with my digestion; reusing the picture from yesterday because I had the same amount and figured I might as well) Not pictured: 1 bottle of kombucha with lunch A few bites of the salmon-and-tuna avocado salad I prepped for tomorrow/Tuesday Exercise: Walking around town (~9k steps) Feelings: Today the digestive problems were not as bad as yesterday, but still present. I've had a hard time figuring out where I am in the timeline, because I technically started on the 23rd but then restarted on the 29th, but it looks like I may be in the stage that corresponds to Day 8-9 based on the symptoms I'm experiencing. I am STILL having too much fruit. I have meal-prepped enough watermelon-jicama salad to feed a small country, however, and I'm worried about it going bad. There is also dirt in it because I forgot to wash the cilantro before I chopped it, so I may not finish it or even eat any more, but I'd be upset about the money going down the drain. I think I am going to stop buying fruit for at least a week or two. Starting tomorrow I am going to be more analytical about my portion sizes and my body's hunger cues. I have been feeling stuffed all the time to the point where I can't help but feel like I'm doing something wrong. I feel like it's been getting MUCH easier to stay compliant ingredient-wise all of a sudden. It's become something I don't even really think about. I'm still working on fitting the meal template and minimizing snacking as best I can, but I am seeing some improvement from my old posts to my new ones, which I guess is good. I do not miss alcohol at all, which is bizarre, because I had really grown used to having a drink after work or several on the weekend. I'm pleasantly surprised by that. As I approach Day 7, I am thinking of moving to a weekly-progress-report-type deal. I think it is more useful and less stressful for me to take away conclusions from weeks as a whole. The picture-taking, collage-composing, and detailed daily reflection-writing consumes a lot of time that I could be using to do things that would more concretely improve my Whole30, like meal plan or clip coupons. (Groceries and food have been much more expensive than usual, and I'm looking to do what I can to minimize it.) I'd rather just make short notes about each day in my own journal as they occur to me and then summarize them on a weekly basis. Plus, then I could set concrete, achievable goals for each week, and tell in the reflection whether I met them. I've also been doing a lot of repeat meals, which I feel would be boring in pictures anyway. Still, the pictures were ultimately for my benefit, and I think the experiment has been useful. I now have hard evidence of how healthy I've been eating for the past 6/11 days - and I've never done so well with that for such a long stretch! I can't do math, apparently, and the last day of my Whole30 will indeed be on 6/26; my reintro will begin on 6/27.

YESTERDAY (Day 4) Pictured: Two eggs, smoked salmon, and mashed avocado over veggie hash with sweet potato, carrots, wilted greens, and red onion Salad with chicken apple sausage, power greens, grated rainbow carrots, sugar snap peas, and balsamic vinegar for dressing Steamed broccoli, watermelon, pineapple. kale-orange salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, papaya, arugula, pepitas, pine nuts, and onions Not pictured: About three palm-sized portions of protein in total (various small slices of grilled steak, lamb, pork tenderloin, in the churrasca style) with dinner One banana A champagne flute of kombucha (4-6 oz?) Exercise: 80 minutes walking to/from work/the gym; 32-minute run on the treadmill (~18k steps) Feelings: I ate a lot at the churrascaria, but I felt great about it, because I exercised a decent amount earlier in the day and managed my portion sizes well enough earlier in the day that I didn't feel uncomfortably full, just satisfied. I had a great run today! I kept up a 9-minute pace for the whole time, which is pretty good for me, especially because I hadn't run for more than 10 minutes at a time in the past few months. I am hoping to continue the momentum with that - and keep up with my weightlifting as well, which has fallen by the wayside since starting Whole30 - next week. See picture in above post. *** TODAY (Day 5 - tomorrow will be my first Day 6!) Pictured: One egg; chicken apple sausage; and veggie hash with sweet potato, carrots, wilted greens, and red onion (I can't stop making this veggie hash! This time I added chili powder, paprika, and garlic along with the usual salt to jazz it up, and it worked wonders.) A handful of prunes (I actually ate about twice as many as shown - was trying to speed my digestion, which I had a lot of problems with today) Chili-spiced chicken thighs; baked potato with balsamic vinegar; and wilted greens with red onion Not pictured: A small snack I had in place of lunch, because I wasn't quite hungry enough - roasted sweet potato, coconut flakes, a tablespoon of almond butter, and one chopped-up banana-coconut bite all stirred together A handful of blackberries A serving of kombucha Exercise: Hardly any compared to my usual - walked to the grocery store and back (~5k steps). Feelings: I had major stomach cramping/digestive problems today in a way that I have not had since the day before I initially started to do the Whole30 (which is what sparked me trying to do it in the first place). I hope it is just my microbiome adapting. Then again, it's entirely possible that I just ate too much last night and my body is having trouble dealing with it. I wonder if I am eating too many carbs in the form of potatoes/sweet potatoes. Also, today I had too much fruit again. I feel really full all the time and I can't help feeling like that's a bad thing. I'm worried I am going to finish the Whole30 and find out I have gained a not-insubstantial amount of weight. Being short, I don't burn as much energy as the average person, so I wonder if I may have to adjust my portion sizes. I'm going to turn an eye toward that in the future, and do my utmost to adhere to the meal template whenever possible. I am going to work on getting everything in the picture. I always intend to present an accurate picture of what I've eaten, but sometimes I can't take a picture or feel weird taking one if I'm in front of other people. During the week I'm pretty good at getting pictures of everything, but it can be hard on the weekend.

Today went great! Here's a photo of most of my food (went to a churrascaria for dinner, so I couldn't show everything on one plate—this was all just from the salad bar. Rest assured I had a couple palm sizes of protein ... they were great about the Whole30 and cooked some meat with sea salt and lemon pepper only especially for me!). I'll roll the update post into tomorrow's, but for now I'm getting some sleep!

Day 3^2 food: Sweet potato toast topped with mashed avocado and smoked salmon alongside veggie hash with sweet potato, carrots, wilted greens, red onion, and one egg; cold brew with flax milk; a serving of compliant sesame chicken bites (pre-gym); salad with chicken apple sausage (I'm going to say this doesn't count as having fruit because it wouldn't be a full serving), a poached egg, power greens, grated rainbow carrots, sugar snap peas, and a mixture of apple cider vinegar and coconut aminos for dressing; stir-fry vegetables and bean sprouts steamed in a broth of my own design (mostly water, with coconut aminos, salt, chili powder, onion powder, and ginger added) with shrimp and chicken Exercise: 80 minutes of walking to/from work/the gym, and 50 minutes on the elliptical (~18k steps total) Feelings: I had to drag myself to go work out, but as soon as I got back from the gym I felt like I had way more energy than I have these past couple of days. I didn't even feel hungry afterward, but made myself eat lunch anyway. I felt my need to snack throughout the day was diminished as well!

Day 2^2 in the books! Pictured: Two fried eggs; mixed greens with bean sprouts; sweet potato toast with almond butter, a light sprinkling of 100% cacao powder, and one chopped-up banana-coconut bite on top; dragonfruit Mixed berries with a small amount of flaked coconut and sliced almonds Some kombucha in a champagne flute, just because A very similar lunch to yesterday's; salad with chicken apple sausage, poached egg, protein greens, grated rainbow carrots, chopped sugar snap peas, blackberries, and apple cider vinegar/coconut aminos for dressing A very similar dinner to yesterday's; spaghetti squash over wilted greens with poached chicken, red onion, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast, chili-roasted pepitas, and 1 or 2 tbsp of avocado Banana; almond butter Not pictured: One prune Feelings: Today was a bit of a slog. I am no longer eating because I'm bored, which was one of my goals when I committed to the program, but I am sometimes eating because I'm tired. For instance, I ate the bowl of berries because I was falling asleep at my desk at work (and had already had two cups of black coffee). I need to get my butt in the gym. I have not been doing much exercise other than whatever is required for me to get around. I'd like to exercise more on the program because I know about myself that any healthy choices I make tend to snowball. I think/hope it will also help with my energy levels. In an effort to counteract my increased fruit consumption over the past couple of days, tomorrow I will eat one serving of fruit or fewer, and I will aim to eat one to two servings of fruit per day for the rest of the week.

Day 1, take two! Finally typing out the full update for yesterday. Pictured: Melon and pineapple with two hard-boiled eggs (at a work function) Salad with chicken apple sausage (no added sugar, amazingly!), a poached egg, protein greens, grated rainbow carrots, sliced almonds, raspberries, and a mixture of apple cider vinegar and coconut aminos for dressing Spaghetti squash over wilted greens with poached chicken, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and nutritional yeast Cape gooseberries Not pictured: An unappetizing-looking banana that I ate between lunch and dinner to tide myself over until my next meal The equally-unappetizing-looking 1/3 avocado that I mixed into my spaghetti squash at dinner Exercise: ~8k steps of walking throughout the day Feelings: I resisted a lot of things that should have been tempting today. Luckily, I could eat breakfast at the work function after all, but the spread largely consisted of pastries, oatmeal, and other no-nos. Then, that evening, when I went to the concert, my friends stopped at a pizza place and got pizza, root beer, and cake, all of which I was offered. I turned it down easily, whereas before starting the program I would have grabbed it without a second thought just because I could. I didn't miss having a drink or two at the concert at all (also, it was Tuesday, which probably helped). I truly love the way I have been feeling energized after my meals, as opposed to comatose. Based on this day and on patterns I see emerging, I think I need to cut back on my fruit and perhaps up my protein. I spent a lot of money on fruit when I initially started the program and now have to eat it all before it goes bad. I also made an error in my previous post. My end date will in fact be 6/27 (my brother's birthday). Guess I'll have to turn down the cake. I was kind of dreading how that would work with reintroduction, anyway. Oh well!

Just popping in to say that today went great! I'm going to a concert tonight, so I don't have time to post my usual collage and reflection, but I'm back on the wagon for sure.

Day 5: I'm not going to go into my day today because I accidentally ate grilled chicken that had been prepared with sugar at my parents' house. I got extremely upset and, having just started my period, it was the perfect storm (not that I'm trying to make any excuses)—although I didn't technically eat anything else noncompliant, it just snowballed from there, and I did not stay true to the spirit of the program whatsoever. I have pictures of about half the food I ate, but don't feel there is any point in sharing them, since I didn't complete the day successfully. I am restarting tomorrow, which will make my end date 6/26. Should I make a new thread for take two or continue using this one?

It's inspiring to see that you're experiencing so much relief as a result of the program! Your diary is also inspiring me to try my hand at making chimichurri.

Day 4 food: Bacon with a fried egg, potato-onion hash, and cherries (I ate about twice the number of cherries pictured); lettuce-wrapped turkey burger with avocado and cherry tomatoes atop a bed of kale, carrots, zucchini, and a bit of salsa; and seasoned chicken with rainbow peppers, onion, and mango-pineapple salsa. Exercise: I didn't get to exercise today (only ~3k steps). Feelings: I was extremely gassy in the beginning of the day, but this abated toward the end. I went out for lunch today and found it very difficult to ensure that my food was compliant (although I eventually did). Was hoping to exercise all day, but it never happened. I need to work on following the meal template; I had too much fat in my first meal, which really satiated me and left me too full throughout the day to eat any fat as part of my last meal. Better than feeling deprived, I guess. I also wish I had more greens today, but before I started the program, there would be days I didn't have any greens as all, so I see this as an improvement.

Thanks for your feedback/concern! The banana-coconut bites were used as an energy supplement the way some people consume Larabars/RXBars on the program (which I'd argue are far more dessert-like, although they also contain some amount of protein), and the chocolate was consumed alongside the mango to add another dimension to the flavor (100% chocolate is ruefully doing nothing for my Sugar Dragon). In any event, improving my relationship with food, especially foods-with-no-brakes, is a big part of why I embarked on the program, and I wouldn't want to do anything to compromise that! I am going to be more watchful for treat-like things in the future.

Day 3 down! 10% done already? Can't do my usual bulleted list format because I'm away from my computer for the long weekend, but today was smoked salmon, eggs, and potato hash with arugula and red onion; banana with almond butter as a preworkout; raspberries; shrimp with bean sprouts, stir-fry vegetables, mushrooms, chili-roasted pepitas, and coconut aminos; and grilled salmon with steamed broccoli and green beans (at a restaurant! I felt weird asking so many questions about how they prepared everything). Exercise: a 20-minute jog around the pond in my neighborhood, and about 30-40 minutes of walking around town (total of ~12k steps). Feelings: Today I actually felt more energized than I did on day 1 or 2, though that's probably because it isn't a workday. I felt happy with all of my food choices and am excited to see in my collage that I am cutting down on snacks (5 frames instead of 6!). Onward!