decker_bear

Yes! It's hard to go from all the structure to NO structure without fear of falling back into the bad habits. I've seen both ends of the spectrum (really healthy and really unhealthy) enough to know I prefer being healthy (obviously) but lacking the motivation, willpower or whatever to stick to anything that isn't as rigid or structured as a Whole30. I really like your reintroduction plan of doing a week of each one - that's pretty comparable to the slow roll outlined in the book, isn't it? While I am a bit scared of hitting the end (I hit Day 16 today so I'm on the downward slope), I am SUPER excited for the microbrews chillin' in my fridge waiting for me.

Day 16 (and I counted this time so I know it's right...) Today was another decent day, though I think I am going to need to start setting an alarm to remind myself to eat. It was 10:30 before I got up, took the dogs out, did their meds, made a cup of coffee, showered, dressed for work, barely made it to my first video call, finished the video call and realized I hadn't made breakfast yet. So, while it didn't start off on the best foot, I had a solid breakfast of eggs, sweet potatoes, asparagus and portabella mushroom. The fat came from the coconut oil in a couple of cups of coffee. Because I had breakfast so late, I didn't even think about lunch. It was almost 4:00 before I realized I hadn't eaten anything. Once again, I didn't want to continue the cycle, so I had a smaller meal so that I could be hungry for dinner. I had some smoked salmon, almonds and a couple of plumcots. For dinner I'm planning the leftover air fryer chicken wings, steamed broccoli and the last of the acorn squash.

Heck yes!! Maybe not weight, per se, but of course they can lose swelling and bloating just like any other part of your body. I've had a few days when I felt like I was getting cankles so, yeah, it can totally be a thing. It's funny you mention that, I noticed that a pair of my shoes I hadn't worn in a week felt looser today, too. Go you!!

Day 15 ... if my math is right If it really is Day 15, that means I'm halfway through. I think it's also supposed to mean Tiger's Blood - if not now, then shortly! I feel like I got it right around the midway point in the past, but it's also been a few years. Today I did really well staying on track. For breakfast I had a leftover chicken sausage, some sweet potatoes and some asparagus. I slathered the asparagus with a little homemade mayo and a fresh lemon wedge. And, of course, I had some coffee with coconut oil. I think I went a bit light on the grub because I did get hungry a little sooner than usual. For lunch I had some leftover taco meat on top of zoodles, topped with some cashew sauce and diced tomatoes. I also had more sweet potatoes (which, if I'm being honest, is probably my favorite food these days). I felt good for quite a while after lunch. I ended up leaving around 4:00 to go up to the vet in Park City to pick up a new prescription for one of the doggos, and the pups kept me pretty busy even after we got home. Ulli is not feeling well and she needs so much attention right now. It's really sad. Anyway, I didn't end up eating dinner until around 7, but I felt good until then. I had some leftover pork loin, sweet and red potatoes I had made with the pork loin, and I steamed some broccoli I topped with ghee and fresh lemon. It just dawned on me right now that I had sweet potatoes at every single meal today. I should probably diversify a little. Instead of the usual hour, it took over two hours to finish dinner because I was tending to Ulli. NSV: I got some extra veg prepped up and ready to go.

YESSS!! It's so true. Funny, I got hooked on gummy bears because of a personal trainer. I was in the best shape of my LIFE, I had finished several rounds at a Boot Camp and was transitioning to more workout stuff on my own, so I hired a personal trainer at the gym. I would go first thing in the morning before work and he used to get on me for working out on an empty stomach. I really couldn't eat much or I would get nauseous when I was working out. He suggested a handful of gummy bears, like 10 at the most, just to get something in me. I remember him saying, "I cannot recommend this to most of my clients." Well, here I am almost 10 years later with a substantial gummy bear addiction.

Day 14 - Continued ... It's football day, which usually means Doritos, chicken wings, beer and other snacky foods (which for me means gummy bears). Naturally MOST of these things I can't have on a Whole30. I also want to break my habit of mindless hand to mouth eating, even if it is of "healthy" foods. Even so, the finger foods were appealing to me. I made chicken wings in the air fryer and served it with sliced carrots and cucumbers. I was originally going to have almonds as my fat, but I decided I wanted to "dip" my carrots. I thought I had some cashew sauce left, but since I couldn't find any, I settled for almond butter instead. To help with the hand-to-mouth thing I ate deliberately and put it away when I was done eating. Lunch was admittedly a little light so I think I got hungry a little earlier than normal. I ate again at 430, which is a bit early for dinner but kind of late for a snack. I had some leftover pork loin, sweet potatoes, the rest of the cucumbers from lunch, and the cashew sauce (which, as it turns out, WAS in the fridge). I also had some Crio Bru.

You're doing awesome! I would also comment that for Whole30 nuts and seeds shouldn't count as a protein. Nuts particularly will count as a fat, and things like chia seeds you want to limit. But yeah, you got it. I'm glad the pumpkin is filling, though, that's great news! Here's the official word from the "Can I have...?" Guide: Chia: Yes These “seeds” aren’t the same botanical family of seeds that we eliminate with grains and legumes, so that makes them fine to eat during your Whole30. Tip: Chia isn’t likely to cause you any serious trouble, but it’s not the omega-3 super-food it’s made out to be, either. We explain why in It Starts With Food, but in summary, chia should be treated like any other nut and consumed in limited quantities.

It's been a couple of months since you posted this, but I just saw it so I'll respond anyway. I've never worked with a paste so I can't say for sure, but one time I tried to make bone broth and I let it go too long and ended up with this "goo" type stuff. My chef friend said it had a name and was actually very widely used in the chef world because it was so delicious. It kind of ended up being like chicken jelly. Maybe this would be a sub for the paste you've been trying to find? I can't remember the name for the life of me, but basically it ended up being bone broth that had the extra skins and bones and everything and then just really cooked down.

YESSSS!! I shall zoodle my little heart out today!

This is why I need you, to state the obvious! I seriously didn't even think of that. Thank you my dear!

I have been thinking that very same thing lately! There's nothing to say you can't make a "bowl," but maybe be a bit more deliberate about following the template. It can also help to stop thinking in terms of breakfast, lunch, and dinner - think in terms of Meal 1, Meal 2 and Meal 3. Just because it's the first meal of the day that dodesn't mean you can't eat sweet potato and turkey chili, or chicken with cashew sauce over veggies, or any other creative combination you can come up with. One bowl that comes to mind is chunks of cooked squash or sweet potato, some zucchini (or asparagus or mushrooms or whatever you like), then add some chopped chicken and top the lot off with a cashew sauce. You could even sprinkle with some chopped almonds. That would give Meal 1 a different vibe while still meeting the template.

Day 14 So if yesterday was Day 13, that makes today Day 14. At some point I will go back and count, but being only about halfway through right now the actual day doesn't make much difference. For dinner last night I didn't end up cooking at all. I had some hard boiled eggs, a couple more cuties (trying to eat them up before they go bad) and some almonds. I tried to get my son to take some cuties home with him yesterday but he didn't want them. I'll need to find balance between eating them at every meal and making sure they don't go bad. Now back to today - breakfast: 4 eggs, a whole kumata tomato sliced with salt, butternut squash and a cutie (just one, LOL). I also had coffee with coconut oil. NSV: I slept VERY well last night. I went to bed early, the pups laid down easily, and I was out until morning.

Giving up nicotine is SO HARD! Good for you! I weaned off the same way, cigarettes to a vape and then lowered the nicotine. I vaped a non-nicotine for months because it was so hard to give up the habit. I finally had to give it up when my rent went up and my ex paid off his child support arrears all at the same time. I can only imagine how hard it would be doing it in the midst of a W30. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!

A W105 seems so daunting, but you're doing great. 20 days in is no joke! I've loved cheering you on through your journey. Support is huge. I get addicted to this forum sometimes. I love your idea for prepping the zoodles. It's a lot easier to just add them to a dish than to zoodle them, salt them, wait for them to drain, dry them and THEN eat them.

You're not wrong! I knew it, too. Yesterday it felt like a victory just sitting down with compliant food. Today I'm going to try to get some veggies prepped. That was the other challenge yesterday - I didn't have any veggies prepped and ready to go. It's a lot easier to eat your veggies when all you have to do is put them on a plate and heat them up.