ShadowInTheKitchen

@SchrodingersCat as I was reading your posts I sensed that you have a good grasp on your newest health victories. I believe that being tuned in and able to identify why you’re bored, and that you don’t even want to have a drink, is huge. Congratulations! I hope that you enjoy your hike or your drive or whatever else you get up to this weekend. :-)

Day 29, Friday May 29 M1: brat sausage, kale, 2 eggs M2: carrot & celery sticks, potato-egg salad Snack: banana, tsp of almond butter M3: romaine & spinach salad with avocado, celery, green grapes, chicken and PK green goddess dressing NSV: My belly definitely is less fat NSV: I remained compliant while out today with DD17, bought her lunch at McDonald's but I ate at home. I also bought her candy for her lunch at work tomorrow and I didn't even want any of it NSV: As I was weeding my vegetable garden this morning, a neighbour dropped over for a visit. I offered her some rhubarb, and she said she'd come by later today to pull some (not sure if she was by when I was out). I showed her my new herb garden, my vegetable garden and my raspberry patch. She was intrigued with the herb garden and texted me later to say that she plans to start one herself. I feel so pleased that my healthy habits inspired me to plant herbs, and in turn inspired my neighbour to also plant an herb garden. Yesterday I gave another neighbour two bunches or rhubarb, some raspberry shoots to plant in her yard, and some strawberry runners to also plant. It feels so good to be able to share some of the good and healthy things that I have! I feel certain that if it wasn't for this W30, I wouldn't be very interested in gardening. Plan for tomorrow: Just stay the course. Eat well. Remain compliant. Make sure I have some ready to eat protein in the fridge. I'm planning to continue on W30 until June 10. I hope that by then I will have stopped snacking between meals.

@Blueautumn How was the chicken? The first week is soooo tough, but you're doing it and I feel your success! Have you found a few meals that fit the template (protein, fat and lots of veg) yet? I fully expected that food boredom would set in for me, but nope, I have some meals that I eat over and over again. My food log is actually very boring, but meal prep for me is mostly a cinch. I see you are tired of tuna. Would canned chicken or salmon work as a replacement? What about that sweet potato with ghee and bacon? Maybe add an egg or two, hard boiled, fried, scrambled, poached etc and some veggies to fill you up? Do you have a favourite vegetable? Carrots and celery sticks are always on hand in my fridge, cut and stored in a lidded glass container. They last for quite a long time that way, maybe four or five days but I don't really know because we eat them too regularly. English cucumbers are handy to have too. One more thing I can think of is to snack if you want to, and don't feel guilty if you do. You say you often feel suddenly full, so add in a balanced snack like nuts and fruit. I bought cashew/date Larabars this week OMG they are sooo good! When I reviewed my food log I noticed that I ate a snack almost every day. I know its not ideal, but I also know from previous W30 starts that if I'm hungry and nothing is ready to grab right away, that I will go for the junky stuff because it tends to be more convenient. I'm almost done my W30 and am still snacking, and I know that it is something that I will work on consciously reducing in the future, but I still feel that if I need to or want to snack then I will. It's way better than eating junk. I really want you to succeed at this. I know you didn't ask for advice, so just ignore this if you want but please don't hate me for it. It's tough. Really tough. But it gets better, and the better part is awesome! Hang in there...

Day 28, Thursday May 28 M1: fried potatoes and onions. fried kale and spinach, 2 eggs M2: green beans, potato-egg salad with chives M3: beef burger on iceberg lettuce wrap with onions, tomato and mayo https://40aprons.com/whole30-in-n-out-burgers/ Snack before supper: larabar Snack after supper: raspberries and banana NSV: I shopped for a few groceries and didn't buy any junk NSV: I was eating breakfast and was full before finishing. I heard Alanis in my head singing "How 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up." (Thank U) I fed the rest of my very healthy breakfast to my dog and he loved me for it :-) I didn't really need any of the snacks today. The Larabar I had before supper just because I was curious how it tasted (delicious!). The fruit after supper was just a habit to eat something while visiting with company. My kitchen was a mess and I'd had a super busy day at work. I wouldn't have eaten it if my day had been more organized. I just felt a bit... frazzled? Well its not like I gave in to something junky, so go me! Tomorrow: I'm going to eat well and remain compliant. I hope to get up early enough to get myself organized after the morning rush and before my work day begins.

yes! eat it every day or every other day if you can until you find your groove, or heck just keep eating it for as long as you want! Its part of the process. You are tuning in to yourself, it happens gradually so embrace it! This is another victory, something to feel proud about, not a negative thing at all. Keep going, you're doing awesome!

I think this is an NSV in itself. You are tuned in to you, which I think is ground zero for being everything you are meant to be. Those victories! I'll be cheering you on as you continue your journey.

I had the same problem, talked my Dr about it and she prescribed a second one (taking both - 1 in AM, 1in PM) and it solved the problem, so maybe you could check with your Doc? Just a suggestion. I like to eat my burgers wrapped in lettuce. VERRRRY messy but oh-so-delish! https://40aprons.com/whole30-in-n-out-burgers/ this is tasty and the pics are gorgeous, I haven't managed to get mine to look that good but they taste great. I prefer to eat them this way and may never go back to eating them on a white bun again.

@scoakley13 Ah the shaky-ness. I used to get that a lot. Like, almost every day, multiple times. I thought it was from being hungry, or needing something to eat. Now I think that it was more of a "crash" of some sort. I used to feed my shakes with some quick protein, or some total junk. If I would have had the protein first then I wouldn't have got those shakes in the first place. Thanks for mentioning it, I totally forgot about that problem. Another NSV now that I think about it. Its so good that you notice how much protein you need, already, only on Day 2. You are tuned in to your body so take that victory! I'm looking forward to trying that crispy steak, and I love the sweet potato hash. I hope that you continue to post links to your food! Shadow

Day 27, Wednesday May 27 M1: sweet potato hash with onions, pineapple and cinnamon, 2 eggs, green beans https://www.thesophisticatedcaveman.com/bacon-pineapple-and-sweet-potato-hash/#wprm-recipe-container-4016 M2: romaine and spinach salad with celery, avocado, green grapes, PK green goddess dressing M3: leftover chicken with strawberry rhubarb salsa, cauliflower NSV: I tried another new recipe (sweet potato hash) and loved it! Thanks so much for the link @scoakley13. I didn't have cilantro or bacon on hand, and I didn't add the jalapeno, but it turned out just fine. I've never been a fan of cilantro, but that has to change. I'm planning to buy a cilantro plant for my garden, and try it a bit at a time to overcome this distaste I have for it. NSV: I didn't snack between meals again today. That's a two day streak! NSV: Since my high cravings day last Friday - 5 days ago, I am finding it easier to focus on eating well and to avoid off-plan foods. I need regularly to bring myself back to my primary focus: Eat nutritious, delicious food always, and strive to aways be on auto-pilot with my food choices. The difference with my focus from a week or two ago are the reasons for the distractions. It used to be that trashy foods would be distracting, but I find that the hot weather and my new gardening hobby are what distract me now and lead me to unintentionally put my W30 plans on the back burner. Plan for tomorrow: Prepare a potato-egg salad and chop up some more sweet potato, carrots and onion for the fridge

@RachelR I agree, and have noticed that although I still spend time working to have compliant meals or looking for new recipes, it’s productive time, in which I am usually learning something, not just counting or weighing. W30 is definitely not “no pressure,” but when I look back at my NSV’s I can see the progress I’ve made in many ways. Sort of like working towards a degree in my own health :-) Thanks for your comment Shadow

@Blueautumn I still remember on my first W30, the first time I woke up totally refreshed after a solid sleep. I knew then that I wanted more of that. It’s def something for you to look forward to! I’m sorry about naming the off-plan food. I try not to do that, especially for myself when I re-read my posts because it can trigger me to want it. Fun fact though, I prepped it, cooked it, sliced it and served it and NOT ONCE did I crave it. WOW. Just wow. A big NSV. This too is something you can look forward to. Shadow

@Blueautumn you did it! Day 3! I remember the cravings. I had lots of W30 starts that ended because of the nasty cravings. But it truly is amazing how you can overcome them and actually enjoy real food. I know it's tough, but also oh so worth it. Hang in there! Shadow

@stealthstitcher @Blueautumn I'm with you both on the "its end of the 30 days what do I do now I just want to eat a cookie." My plan is to go W30 for 40 days, then try a modified version of reintroductions. I just know that it will be waaaay too easy to give in to all the good stuff total junk foods out there that will lead to unravelling all the work I've done so far. But I have also learned through a few false W30 starts over the winter that I am able to bring myself back to my healthy habits without too much trouble. Of course it was always after I spent days devouring all the junk. Off-roading is inevitable. When it happens, I hope that you are both able to bring yourself back to where you want to be. I think that's a key point. To get back on the wagon. Life is too short to live W30 all the time. Shadow

Day 26, Tuesday May 26 M:1 green beans, bratwurst sausage, potato-egg salad M2: romaine spinach salad with avocado, celery, chicken, strawberries, PK ranch M3: roasted strawberry rhubarb salsa chicken with cauliflower base: https://thecastawaykitchen.com/2017/05/roasted-strawberry-rhubarb-salsa-chicken-whole30-keto-paleo/ NSV: I know its probs against the rules, but I measured my food today because I was sure that I was eating too much. I used My Fitness Pal, and was pleasantly surprised that I came in under MFP's recommended calories for me. Total calories was 1209, goal calories is 1360 to lose 1 lb per week. And I was full all day. So I'm happy now, and I won't continue to measure. I know that I'm on a good track. I think that because I'm 55 and post menopausal that my caloric needs are changing. I'm looking so forward to having the W30 baseline of "feel good-y-ness," and not having to count and weigh and measure to get the healthy body I want. NSV: I tried another new food - almond butter. Yum! I'll have to be careful with this though, I can see it being a food with no brakes for me. NSV: I tried another new recipe, and liked it. I made Hawaiian pizza for the family for supper, because I had to use up some ham, along with the chicken casserole. Of course everyone chose the pizza tonight rather than saving it for lunches tomorrow. So there is lots of chicken leftover. Dinner tomorrow night will be leftover chicken. Easy Peasy. Oh, and I didn't crave any pizza. :-) I'm coming down the home stretch now. Tomorrow will be Day 27, but I don't feel I'm ready to begin reintroductions yet. My energy levels are steady, but I'm still not consistently getting out of bed early in the morning, despite going to bed at 10 and getting lots of good quality sleep. I really want this to change. I may need my meds tweaked, but I want to see if staying W30 a bit longer will help before I put a call in to my Doctor. When I do get up early, I enjoy spending time in the garden that I would otherwise spend snoozing in bed. So consistently getting out of bed at 7am is going to be my target after I have completed 30 days. I'm hoping that by ~ June 10, after 40 days of W30, I can begin reintros.

Ha Ha Ha! I'm glad you're feeling better. Shadow