cara123

Hi all, what timing. I've just been pushing myself that I need to get my eating on track again. Way too much diet coke and chocolate has snuck back in. With the sunshine returning here, yay to the end of winter, it's time to get on the wagon again. Laurie, thinking of you and Steve!

The best chicken salad ever .

Aghhh darn iPad thinks it knows better than me and corrected what I was typing. How embarrassing, lesson learnt, re-read what I've typed. I tried to say you are a shining light . MeadowLily, I'm still not there with the weight loss. I have to admit that it was a goal for me. As was to have a more healthy approach to what I eat and ditch the diet coke addiction. Fortunately all were achieved. It's interesting that while I am still mostly eating Whole30 (maybe 1 or 2 meals a week or fortnight where I may off-road) the weight loss has slowed. I don't have a problem with this, but I understand people's disappointment when they don't lose weight. This is where I can see sharing food logs may help for some.

Your a shingles light attracting all to you!

Hi guys. Sadie- you do an amazing job with your posts I would never have guessed. So please never stress about posting here I for one love your contribution. Miki- I would not be chasing naked Gi Joe, he may have large feet but otherwise he looks far from well endowed. On a more serious note I too thank you for your honesty. I've always been a very private person and am so impressed when people can give so freely of themselves. Deb- can I come glamping too? Sounds fun but a long commute . Hope you had more dinner than lunch options and are coping with such long days. CC- you have me intrigued with your promises of more to tell. Dave- very impressed by your handy skills, beautiful craftsmanship. Rose- love seeing your pic and your gorgeous kids. CC, Higs, Rick and all that have posted your results so impressed! Mind you impressed with how all have done and to think several of you have done 2 rounds. Wow! Okay as for my results: As previously stated I have not noticed a lot of physical results but a workmate and friend swears that my eyes have changed colour. As a young person they were dark brown, changed to a hazel / brown in my late teens and now the green seems to have increased and the brown decreased. Weight loss: down 3.9kg (8.6 pounds) Measurements: Waist down 4.5cm Right & left arm both down 1cm each Chest down 5cm - okay this is a negative, the one place I don't need to lose weight ;-) Right and left thigh both down 3cm each. Okay off to check the other thread and a big hello to the many of you I have missed.

Morning all. I have been reading like crazy and loving the pics and everyone's honesty and sharing. I'll try for a longer post tonight but you guys have been busy and if I don't get a wriggle on I will be late, so until tonight xox

Well it's the morning of day 30 for me, I weighed in , is that okay or am I supposed to do that tomorrow :-/? Anyway very happy to see a loss, I know it's not about the numbers but downwards does make me smile. I'm loving all the beautiful pics, I will have to attempt some pics soon. * what was your favorite thing you ate/made/thought about making on the W30? Sweet potato, going from dreading eating it (was fed vast quantities with no over options years ago while travelling) to looking forward to it and lamb cutlets which I had not had since I was a child. * what were the go to things you made and ate again and again (even if super simple) Mixed lettuce, kale & baby spinach mixes. Salad goes with everything * what, if any yummy dishes will you be continuing to make after W30 is over? Most of what I ate I will continue with. I also discovered green papaya in a salad (the boys and I had a day trip yesterday that included grabbing lunch from one of the few paleo cafés in my state). I had not had papaya before but will do so in the future for sure. * any favorite recipe links or blogs you discovered along the way? Love nom nom paleo and clothes make the girls recipes. A huge thanks to Deb for her contributions, just amazing. I want to follow your blog! * anything you would or wouldn't do again food-wise? I need to experiment more and will do so. I'm yet to make cauliflower rice and have to try it soon (for some reason it scares me, I think I won't like it). * if we had a big ole potluck party for the 69-ers (on the W30 Holodeck, points for getting that geek reference), what would you bring for all of us to nosh on? Compliant of course! I'm so not a cook but would bring along a pesto chicken salad and some coconut and date logs as it would be a celebration for sure! PS. Maybe we could ditch the cooking and do a world tour of paleo cafés instead With day 30 here it's a strange feeling. I'm worried about mucking up re-intro, I want to try all the re-intros but plan to eat paleo (with the occasional freedom) afterwards (re-intro of grains and dairy will be purely to see if I re-act). CC and Rick- your children are beautiful, great to see a bit more of your family. I did not realise you still had young ones at home, I'm hoping to introduce more whole foods to my children with my changes in eating. MeadowLily- you are amazing with all your encouragement, I'm so glad you have stuck with us while you race ahead. Deb- you certainly have been challenged with your health, I love the positive outlook you take on moving forwards to a better way of supporting your body. Dave- I'm not surprised you have a beautiful wife considering the man you are! Thanks for all the support and for opening the pathway to continued communication . Abbyn- great to see you posting again, I hope you will jump over to the new thread with us (though the registration fee is a little exhorbitant). Miki- I too would love a personal chef. When my ex partner and I split I became a bit lazy with cooking and tend to go simple as our household usually requires a couple of variations on meals with one son who is super fussy. Who knows maybe if I experiment more maybe he will too. I have to say though, for someone who claims not to like cooking you come up with some super impressive meals. Higs- sounds like an amazing weekend with your dad, it's always inspiring to see someone of your dad's age full of so much energy and go, age has certainly changed. I like the idea of a treat, I'll have to think on that one. I'm always wondering with the popularity of slow cookers do you lose much nutrient with the long cooking time? Or have I just read to much on the opposite side if the fence with raw food (I have done a couple of short raw food challenges). Laurie- great to see you back. I think there are probably more people about with poor relationships with food than positive ones but it is great to be amongst a group of people showing such commitment even when faced with great challenge. Sadie- I hope your feeling well again. I'm looking at your answers to Debs questions and am inspired to look into leeks and breakfast sausage. I'm useless with complicated recipes but these sound like things I can do . Rose- did you mention doughnuts? Doughnuts have been my best friend and enemy, when I was pregnant with my boys these were such a necessity, to the point that I gained over 30kg (66lb) with each pregnancy (I started my 1st pregnancy at 52kg and by the end of the pregnancy would not even look at the scales) :-/. Maybe you need to get your partner on board with what he should eat instead of making it easy for him, I tend to think the challenges help us to be more determined. I'm not doing any good bye posts as I'm hoping to see everyone over in the new thread add to that I hate goodbyes. Instead I'm really excited to see what paths people follow from here and hope everyone continues this journey of health and happiness.

Aggghhhhh do you here my rage, I just managed to lose another post grrrrrrr, I thought this program was supposed to help with ones brain power not hinder it . Well I'm amazed we are so close to day 30. There were certainly times I did not think I would make it or for that matter questioned why I was even trying. Certainly empowering to know we are succeeding in making better choices. I love hearing of all the health improvements and the looser clothing some of you are experiencing, though in all honesty I do not know if I can claim any obvious improvements in my own health, though I am certainly getting a lot of satisfaction in making better food and drink choices. A big part of why I started this was to stop myself from drinking waaaaay too much diet coke and indulging in too many lollies and chips, and I am succeeding in that. A real difficulty in the program for me has been experiencing how difficult it has made running for me. I am not a natural runner so it's always hard work, but through most of this program my legs have felt heavy and like lead when I attempt to run. But...... tonight I finally had a run which felt like a normal run. I still kept it short, just 5km, but I felt such a sense of relief. I am hoping to try to eat mainly paleo after this and if things did not improve on the running front it was going to be the deal breaker. Miki and Rose I love learning about your garden antics. I am a try to be Gardner and my veggie patch and fruit trees are a slow project here, my poor winter patch is looking forlorn but I was so happy to be adding my own fresh picked spring onions and coriander to this mornings breakfast. Deb I love reading about your antics you get up to so many amazing things. I find you such an inspiring person. Dave I hope your shoulder is on the heal, though I can't but wounder if you would heal a bit better if you could find your inner lazy person and rest a little. Sadie so glad your feeling a bit better. Thanks for sharing a pic of your meal, I'm loving all the picture shares. Laurie- hope all is well, you and your partner are in my thoughts. Rosann where are you . Like others I have been worrying that we have not heard from you. CC & Rick well done on facing social challenges of eating and being with friends. I had a few days while away with much longer than I would like breaks between meals. Okay off to see why my little men are not asleep and I will be answering your questions tomorrow Deb, I'm really looking forward to the answers. Oh and one question I would love to hear is what will peoples 1st reintro be? I will beg for details too, what will you add breakfast lunch and tea. And when will you do your reintro?

Hi guys I've been reading but was away for a few days and unable to post. My eating while away was a challenge as I had gone away with my ex -mother-in-law and kids and was uncomfortable in coming too prepared. Day 1 of the trip and I thought all was over for sure as I watched the others eat pastries and scones and all things delicious. We were at a historic park, with no whole30 compliant food to be seen, I thought all was lost until at last at 3:00pm I happened across a fruit salad, far from optimal but at least allowable food. That's pretty much how the last 3 days have gone, last meal of the trip was a late lunch on the road (3pm) where I sat and watched the others tuck into KFC while I ate fruit. My protein and any semblance of a balanced meal was worst for lunches but I will be back on track tomorrow. While disappointed with the balance of my meals I'm so glad I managed my time without eating any non compliant food. Made me realise I could certainly handle well planned time away from home with the kids if it was just us. Deb thanks for the photo share (and all overs who have posted photos too)!

Evening all. So many great recipes and ideas for moving forward, a huge thanks to all. Did a spin class followed by a quick bout on the treadmill tonight and blow me down things may be improving. Kids are having a sleepover tonight so the test will be a morning run before work . Yay Rose, hope you made it down to Phillip Island on your quick Aussie trip ;-). No kangaroos on my island but lots of wallabys ( a small version of a kangaroo), plenty of road kill too so maybe we could adapt one of Deb's recipes. Thanks for the laugh. Laurie do not be sorry for posting how you are feeling and what you are experience, I'm sure we are all thinking of you and sending our thoughts and wishes to you and your partner. While your boyfriend may tell you that you don't understand what he is going through the reverse also is true, you are going through so much as well. Hugs to you. Okay phones ringing will be back latter.

CCLaymon. Well done on the road trip. I'm a big diet coke drinker while driving, so I'm trying to convince myself that sparkling water is even more exciting.

Oh and can I ask Jess, do you get Lara bars in NZ? I'm a little jealous.

CCLaymon I was wondering the exact same thing when it comes to keeping in touch .

School holidays here, (winter so only 2 weeks) so I have a few days off work to do some things with the boys. Yesterday, waking to torrential rain meant in-door plans, so off to a movie (I'm in a regional area, so it meant a trip to the city, 1 hr drive and the same again in a train). A big day but we all ended the day happy. I was so nervous and excited to eat something that I had not cooked, it was my 1st time on Whole30 a bit of pre-research meant I found a new gluten free/no added sugar store to try for lunch and can I just say my dull looking little salad and chicken bowl was not only delicious but compliant as well. More challenge will come on the weekend when I hit the road for a few days with the ex mother in law and kids for a few days. We will be in regional areas and eating will be a struggle I dread. Jess great to hear you are still going strong. May I suggest more food, 1 boiled egg in a sitting does not sound enough to me unless you have another protein source, your body will need fuel with all that walking. Sounds like fun though, I would live to do more hiking. Laurie life is certainly hard how it hits us in multiples. Between my family and my exes we have seen way too much cancer and it can have such huge effects in everyone. Take care and make sure looking after yourself stays a priority too! MeadowLily- Hooray to you. Wow! You seriously made my draw drop with what you have achieved through whole30. So, so exciting. Can I also say as my children whinge and moan (they are feeling house bound with our winter weather & I've cruelly just put a Luce treatment in their hair which they despise) I remind myself my happy time is coming . Thanks to all those sharing a bit of their day to day lives and what you do. Sounds like some amazing jobs out there. I'm a ranger, working in the field of environmental education. The park I work in spreads across about 20% of the little island I live on (though on an island we are fortunately connected to the main land via a bridge), we are probably best known for our little penguins .

Hi guys. So impressed with the strength and resolve of everyone here. Currently with 2 screaming children fighting, chocolate is sounding great . Not to mention the screaming was going on while I was on the phone following up on a purchase where I had been over charged. Grrrrrrr to dodgy sales people. Purchased a new camera and lens, when asked if I needed a new memory card he told me he would give me the computer price and instead he charged me more than their web listing, grrrrrrrr rant over. Dave- love the ditty. You actually gave me some relief saying your energy levels were not through the roof, I was wondering if there was something wrong with me as the Tigerblood continues to elude me. MeadowLily- you have me curious, did I miss something, are we supposed to hit a laughing stage? I like the sound of that! HealthyAbby- great to see you in here, glad that you are feeling a bit better too. Geminimik- no Bambi for me, i too have not explored many wild foods. My ex partner loves fishing and always would get mad at me for not wanting to eat it :-/. I was pondering what I should try for the wild challenge and as our supermarkets here usually stock kangaroo I was thinking I would have to try that. Rose- love your birthday cake alternative. My screaming banchee children are currently feasting on cakes right now. They came home from there fathers with a plate full of cakes and treats (no he did not cook them but some old ladies at the fishing club did). I however am still on my treat baking ban. Higs- you make me long to travel with your talk of Nepal, it was my last o/seas trip and way too long ago. The short people in my life have stopped travels for the moment. Rick & CC- you sound such an active pair, it must be nice to have someone following the same Whole30 path with you. Well done on being compliant through your travels too Rick. Deb- I could almost feel the glare of our OH&S officer at work telling me that's why I should not be sitting on a ball at work . Just hoping you were not in a dress ;-). Rosann23- all power too you facing the challenge of the cake table. I think you are such a strong and inspiring woman. As for all the fishermen/women here, I love being on the water but do not fish, my children on the other hand love to. Both are very proud at receiving trophies and medals yesterday in the local angling clubs annual awards. As for trout I nearly lost my youngest to trout, killer trout you ask? Not quite, he fell in a trout dam when he was about 3, if it was not for quick reflexes it could of been very nasty. Now for a question, but is it just me that's intrigued by everyone's jobs? I get the picture that lots of people here have demanding careers and I find myself wondering what others do :-).