laurasuzanne

Well, I was going to just run away from this log because I had some sizeable failures this weekend. I traveled to see family and fell hard. I had about 30 hours of off-plan eating, drinking, etc. I was strong for the first 24 hours of the visit and then caved. Today I am back on track. I'm going to return to W30 for at least 2 weeks to get my body some rest after what I put it through. It is disheartening, but a weakness I know of myself. I really struggle to be around my family and eat well. I began a healthy lifestyle after moving away from them, so my life with them is not connected t

Reintro is going well. Not surprising, but liquid dairy is harder for me to digest it seems than hard dairy (cheeses). All I've had as far as dairy goes is shredded cheeses, cream cheese, ranch dressing (with buttermilk), heavy whipping cream, and blue cheese dressing. Although I haven't felt backed up at all, I think the soft dairy is shooting through my system. Day 1 I had HWC in my coffee for 1 cup and my stomach was in knots before I was even done. Yesterday I had a salad with lots of blue cheese dressing, like, LOTS. I definitely think I overate yesterday. I did have a lapse in willpower

I made it! I had dreams the last few nights I ate or drank non-compliant foods, but I made it! Results Scale : down 9.4lbs, about 3-4 inches all around, but about 1-1.5 inches in my waist and hips. All other areas (arms, calves, thighs were down less than half an inch). For comparison's I started at 181.2 and ended at 171.8. I'm 3 lbs away from not being overweight! I'm happy with those scale results. I know i wanted to see a double-digit loss, but I knew I wouldn't have had the water weight/bloating going into this as I would have if I had a traditional American diet where I ha

Day 29 Wow, this will probably be my last post before knowing my results and beginning reintroduction. As the NSV's go, I think overall happiness and pride needs to be what I remember. Is it selfish that I feel like I carry myself with more pride during a W30? I think I come off happier because I am. I don't often discuss or brag about what I'm doing, but I'm just happier. I hold my head higher. I feel better about myself. I'm downright proud of myself for doing this for ME and only ME. I like that I'm putting myself first for a period of time, realizing it's worth telling someone

Day 28... Not much to report today. I'm extremely sore from the gym on Tuesday. I still did my spin class last night, which was hard. Tonight I have my bootcamp again (which is what was Tuesday). Tonight will probably be my last workout of this W30. I typically go to classes at my gym M-Th and the other days I go on walks or am more active in general on the weekends vs the work week. Yesterday I wrote out my reintroduction plan. Adding back one category for one week, then removing that category and going to another group. Writing it out and seeing the timeline of being "done" was interes

Day 27... so close. I feel like this week I've taken my foot off the gas and ate more fruit than I should or even bigger meals than I need. I'm a plate-cleaner, so I overfill my plate and don't listen to full signals. Since I'm not weighing my food, it can be easy to overdo it. I see the Facebook and Instagram meal posts and think, "There's no way I would be satisfied with that little food." But, feeling too full after a meal isn't the goal either. I don't feel as light this week as I have been. I don't think I've gained weight overall, but I just don't feel as light. I don't really have

Day 26! Good suggestions on the dairy, LadyM. My fear is starting to shift to excitement about reintro. I really want to do it right this time. Although I've abandoned by day-by-day diary I do intend to diary my reintro (or post here and then print it). I have two contradictory items. My bf had some of those make at home Red Lobster biscuit mixes. I told him he either needed to pitch them or make them while I was still in Whole30 and I knew they were a hard no for me. So, he made them. I smelled them. I asked them how they were (delicious, duh), and I shut the lid. I had zero actual

Day 25 Wow, has this been fast. My body acne is the most obvious transformation. It has improved dramatically. There's 5 more days left. I do think I will begin reintroduction Sunday vs continuing on. To me, reintroduction is the hardest part and staying on W30 is more of a crutch vs a true effort to improve health. I think I am overall fairly healthy, but these W30's really help me work on habits. I might eventually stray off plan, but they are so good for me. Every single one I just can tell I'm happier through it because I'm happy I'm taking care of myself, being responsible about my h

Day 22. It's Friday! My Day 30 will be next Saturday. I'm glad it's ending on a Saturday like that. Less temptation. I have Sunday to evaluate a reintroduction plan. I'm not super social media saavy, so I had thought the official September W30 starting on the 14th would make me want to continue with that group. It hasn't. As far as alleviated symptoms or things that would make me want to continue further than 30 days... sleep is the main one. I don't really think that's my diet's fault at this point. It's a habit issue. So, this upcoming week would be my final full-on meal prep! I said y

This is the seasoning with the slight change I think makes it better. Copycat Popeye's Blackened Chicken Seasoning 2tsp Fine Sea Salt 1tsp Smoked Paprika 1tsp Paprika 1tsp Cayenne Pepper 2tsp Chili Powder 2tsp Garlic Powder 2tsp Black Pepper Super simple. I just mixed it together and put it in a jar. I think the recipe talked like the entire slug for 3 lbs chicken tenders. Toss them in it and then pan fry them in some oil. I didn't go that heavy. I generously sprinkled it on each side of the tenders, pan fried them for 1 minute on each side, then ba

LadyM, that sleep is awesome! Falling asleep fast is so unfamiliar to me. My partner is snoring within 3 minutes and it's crazy to me. Lunch yesterday was not a catastrophe. I ordered a simple grilled chicken salad and I had compliant dressing at work. I used all of it. I also got a bag of almonds. Nuts are something I was going to avoid this entire W30 because I find I abuse them. I did end up having a handful in the late afternoon, but I stopped at one handful. Today I did remember my lunch! I also packed tomorrow's lunch while I was at it, so I'm good for the balance of the week.

Day 20. Shadow, I'll find the recipe tonight. It's so easy to find a copycat recipe and then never find it again. I just tried googling it and, yep, I can't find the original. But, I did write it all down at home with one change I thought it needed. I'm glad I found the one I did because when I searched it right now they were all way too complicated. The one I found was very simple. I actually made a jar up of it to have on hand in the future. I do recommend if you try it to mash your tenders a bit with a meat hammer. I think it would turn out more like Popeye's texture that way. I just d

Thanks, LadyM! You got this! Day 19...not much to report. I definitely fell flat last night on attempting a better end of day routine. I had a nice shower after the gym and my intention to slow down didn't happen. I worked on things on the computer and come 10:15pm I was scrolling through my phone in bed! Grrr... That's on me. I got home around 7:30 and told myself "9pm, electronics off." At 8:45 I saw a clock and thought, "meh, not today." I can remember back to an earlier W30 and sleeping better. I probably wasn't as tech-connected as I am now and it's honestly a different kind of habit

Day 18. NSV. I do think my body acne is getting better. It's not gone, but it does seem to be getting better. Yesterday I meal-prepped for the week. I found an awesome hack recipe for Popeye's Blackened Chicken seasoning and I am in love. It is amazing what a difference it makes when I have the fridge full of foods I'm excited to eat vs feeling like I'm sacrificing to eat at home. I actually had an errand to run in town yesterday and my immediate thought was to go out for my dinner. Then, I remembered I had tons of exciting foods at home I wanted way more than anything I could get at a re

I just wanted to say that a coworker commented that my face looked thinner today. It took me by surprise.