Pam's Honest Whole30; take 2

[PamH]

Day Fifteen

 

Dear Day 14, why are you so hard for me?  I think I've slipped every time.

 

Brunch:  2:30

 

So unhungry today!  I did eat a huge bowl of zucchini, kale, yellow pepper and 1/2 avocado before work.

 

No picture needed.  

 

Dinner:  6:30pm

 

Big bowl of sauteed cauliflower, broccoli, squash and something I could not identify.     All in evoo and salt/pepper

kombucha; unsweetened

 

Drinking the Mother is like downing an oyster.  It shocks me at first but then I realize it is good for me and I am OK.

 

 

Snack:  9:15pm

 

1/4 c roasted garam masala cashews

3 oz chicken breast with skin

 

Good day despite eating way too much last night.  I managed to find time to go the gym and KEVIN WAS ADOPTED! The family will pick him up next weekend after he is neutered.  Lucky Kevin.  I was shocked that a family would want such a lazy dog, but that is what they are looking for.  Hah.  He was actually wiggly when i came home from work, which makes me heart so warm.  I love animal rescue.

 

I did not get super gassy today nor did I get a hot flash at all despite way too much food.  Hot flashes seem to be 100% sugar controlled in my case.  No sugar = No hot flash.  I look forward to seeing if I can use honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar without flashing.  Only 14 more days until I can start experimenting.

[PamH]

Day Sixteen

 

Slept in until 7:30 but up at 2 to let out the howling Kevin.  Darned Kevin.  Stubby little legs don't do stairs but I am not carrying him up/down all of the time.  So, he sleeps by himself and I think he is sad and lonely.  Hmmm... I'm tired, Kevin!  One more week until you go home to your forever family.

 

Much needed Crio bru this morning with a coffee visit (decaf) with a friend about an hour later.  Alterra coffee only has pastries so I passed on breakfast until 10:30.

 

Breakfast:  10:30

 

3 slices flank steak

 

Lunch:  noon

 

6 oz baked cod with spices.  A few pieces of sweet potato/chorizo stew but found what looked like over cooked beans so I left it out (from hot deli at work).

2 forks full of kimchi

6 cashews/almonds, roasted

 

Snack:  4pm

 

2 big carrots

 

Dinner:  6pm

 

Tuna sashimi salad from Bonefish Grill.  Appetizer size, but still pretty healthy portion.  

1c steamed seasonal veggies.  Bless the Grill for leaving them crunchy.  

 

No idea what it was pan-seared in but I'm beyond the need to find that out.  Whatever it was, it was a small amount.  Crusted in sesame seed.  Left the soy sauce side alone.  I believe there might have been a tiny bit of butter but I'm not freaking out about it.  Again, small amount.  My beef is with sugar.  I'm kind of done micromanaging the few times a month that I go out to eat and instead I will focus on what I can control at home and weed out the obvious bad in the restaurants (dessert, bread, pasta, soy,  cheese, sugar, etc).  I'm sure feeling good about removing that heavy restriction after 50 days.  I guess I cannot say 100% that I was compliant tonight but I can live with that and the W30 goes on.

[PamH]

Day Seventeen

 

Crio bru.  Blah blah blah  up early despite it being the weekend.

 

Breakfast:  10:30 am

 

Ran a bunch of errands to get my daughter ready for camp so I missed breakfast.  I was craving good food, and not crap, which is a new feeling I truly appreciate!  

 

1c acorn squash with 2t ghee and salt

1/2c raisins/raw hazelnuts and cashews

10 left over green beans

 

Dinner:  6:30pm

 

6oz chicken breast with skin

2oz beef stew with green olives

1/3 bottle unsweetened kombucha

 

Snack:  9pm

 

1 pear

12 roasted cashews/almonds

[PamH]

Day Eighteen!

 

Up early again on the weekend to take child #2 off to camp for the week.  It will be quiet to have the only teenage girl out of the house for almost 2 weeks!  And the bathroom will be cleaner... less laundry, etc.

 

Crio bru to get me going.  I love the fact I don't need the caffeine jolt to feel good in the morning.  Of course, the sun shining and the dogs happy makes it much easier to smile and feel energized.  

 

Father's Day today!  My parents are driving over for bagels/cream cheese and fruit for brunch with a frosted angel food cake.  I am eating some protein in a few minutes and will just have some fruit.  No anxiety or wishful thinking involved.  I'm still not hungry in the mornings.  I do think I do better with intermittent fasting on some/most days.  I have no problem sticking to that as long as I am mindful to plan ahead and have some good, quality foods to eat.

 

Breakfast:  9am

 

Fork full of kimchi

2 oz ground beef

 

Lunch:  12:30pm

 

1/2 c mixed raw nuts and raisins

big bowl of watermelon and pineapple (most fruit I've had in ages!)

 

Snack:  3pm

 

3 oz flank steak

2T chopped almonds

 

Lots of nuts today.  I'm probably going to be bloated, but the nuts/raisins tasted so good!  Planning on just a sweet potato and mushrooms/onions with ghee for dinner in a few hours.  Very odd day of eating with the extended family over from brunch.  Cake didn't even appeal to me.  

[PamH]

Here's a dose of honesty for you:

 

I am certainly an emotional eater!  Yesterday was Father's Day.  My husband and I are neck deep in trying to save our 26+ year relationship and he kept looking at me with such disappointment yesterday.  It really got to me, plus the fact that I was extra tired from a poor night's sleep.  So... my plan was to talk to him about it but he left with the boys to go rock climbing.

 

I ate cake.  I ate ice cream.  I was sad and stressed.  

 

Interestingly enough, there were no cravings.  Just mindless eating.  I was able to stop at one slice and one bowl but I wanted to feel better and I went for what I remember.   Huge for me is stopping before I just went wild with overeating.  It wasn't even enough of a binge to make me feel to gross this morning.  Still... it breaks W30

 

So, not sure what to do here.  I'm sick of extending these Whole30 attempts but I guess that is technically what to do here.  

 

I guess I start all over again if I really wish to complete 30 consecutive days.  I want 30 days of no sugar, but not too sure I care about extending all of the other restrictions.  I know I'd catch constant correction if anyone really read this journal, but since most do not I am going to start all over with the sugar 30 days but probably start adding back my oats, some dairy and such at the end of 60 days.

 

That's it!

[PamH]

Day One (sugar)

 

So, another morning of wonderful Crio Bru with coconut milk.  I am not hungry at all.  Went to the gym after dropping off munchkin at summer school.  It felt good.  

 

Roasting a spaghetti squash for a nice lunch before work.  I work through the dinner hour so a big lunch is key.

 

Lunch:  1:30pm

 

Big bowl of spaghetti squash with 1T ghee and spices

 

Snack:  6pm

 

pear

 

Snack:  9pm

 

another pear

 

Just didn't want to eat today.  

[Derval]

Hope things get better for you, take care.

[Physibeth]

*big hugs* Pam

 

The important thing is that you are constantly learning and you are constantly healing your relationship with food. Just stay the course! You can do it!

[PamH]

Day Two (sugar)

 

Up early due to howling foster dog.  Kevin gets adopted on Thursday so hopefully my sleep with normalize again.  What a goofy dog.  People, take care of your animals if you bother to have them.  Kev came from a criminal hoarding/neglect situation and he is just, well, weird.  Somehow managed to come out of it willing to bond to humans but hates the grass under his feet and really doesn't like to be alone at night!  Even sleeping in the same room with me doesn't cut it... since I'm sleeping and he is left to his own devices.  Poor guy.

 

Enough said.  Crio bru and coconut milk for wake up time.  Off to have breakfast with a friend.  I can order eggs and be

done with it.

 

Lunch:  11am

 

Huh.  Plans changed and no breakfast!  Had to wait to eat until I got home because Starbucks sells crap.

 

Large bowl spaghetti squash with 1T ghee and mushrooms/onions

1/3 c diced almonds

2T almond butter

 

Got a bit obsessed with almonds today.  A little too hungry.  Good thing I have to go to work!  Need some animal protein later.  

 

Dinner:  5pm

 

1 small chicken quarter with skin (8oz meat?)

1c sauteed mixed veggies

 

At work we opened a bar of 73% dark chocolate for a customer to try.  I ate a small square.  I don't feel badly about it and I'm actually proud of myself that I am getting closer to just eating one square of ANYTHING sweet!  In the past, I would have shopped the store on my way out after work and picked up some sweet things because I had been triggered by the chocolate.  No such thing today.  Yay, body.  Yay, brain.  Things are starting to click.  Now to get over the need to eat when I am over tired and/or upset.  Drank 1/2 bottle plain kombucha over the day with my water at work.

 

Snack:  8pm

 

1 small banana

1 forkful kimchi

[PamH]

Day Three (sugar)

 

Guess what I had at 6am?  CRIO BRU with coconut milk!  imagine that

 

I didn't get back to the house after taking dog to vet until close to noon.  I skipped breakfast except for eating 6 raw hazelnuts/cashews around 9am in the car.  Went to gym and did an hour on the eliptical; felt good.  I have been forgetting to post my physical activity.  I only go to the gym about 4 times a week these days but working part time, dog fostering and keeping the family together eats up my free time.

 

Lunch:  noon

 

Absolutely humongous sweet potato with 2 cups sauteed vegetables and 2T ghee.  I am so very full right now.

 

Dinner:  7:30pm

 

9 pc brown rice/tuna/avocado sushi w/o any soy

 

Yes, not Whole30 but I'm focusing on the sugar.

 

Snack:  10pm

 

Big bowl of bison/cabbage/carrot/onion stir fry.  Probably too big to be eating at 10pm but I was really hungry.  ~6oz ground bison

[PamH]

Day Four (sugar)

 

Up early for some much needed therapy time.  Crio bru with coconut milk

 

Brunch:  10:30am

 

Big bowl of bison/cabbage/onion stir fry with 6 roasted almond/cashews and 2T raisins

2T almond butter (raw)

 

I am super tired today.  Lack of sleep from working late and a howling foster dog for the past few nights.  Today Kevin goes home, so I hope to sleep more now.  He burned me out on fostering, but I get another already on Saturday.  I hope she is more normal.    When I am super tired, I am super bad at eating.  How to make it through today?  The other days I've fallen off of my W30 have been overly tired days, too.  

 

Went to gym at 3pm after dropping Kevin off at his new home.  The work-out was a nice energy boost.  I still feel "snacky", and should just go to bed early tonight.

 

Snack:  4pm

 

several slices of jicama

1/4c chopped kale salad; realized it has canola oil so I'll let someone else it.  Not a canola fan.  Tasted good though!

 

Dinner:  6pm

 

Fantastic vegetable dinner of 1/2 onion, 6 mushrooms, 3/4 bag broccoli slaw stir fried with 1T coconut ghee, coconut aminos, salt and a handful of raisins.  *Very* large bowl of yum.

 

I really enjoy how my body feels when I incorporate vegetarian meals.  I am about to thaw my cowboy bacon to destroy the whole vegetarian-ness of the meals, but it won't be animal protein laden meals x 3 for me any longer.  Too much.

[PamH]

Day Five (sugar)

 

Crio bru!  Crio bru!  I just love the mornings.

 

Breakfast:  10:30am

 

I am a fan of this intermittent fasting thing.  I don't do it intentionally much of the time but it is just how it works out.  I know that is very much not a part of Whole30, but my body likes it and my bloating seems to be minimized when I follow a more IF pattern of eating.

 

Big bowl of bison/chorizo sausage/cabbage/onion/carrot stir fry for breakfast with extra dollop of ghee.  I haven't posted a picture of my chow for a few days so here goes:

 

 

I have a stress fracture in a metatarsal or a neuroma (hope not) on my right foot.  This is greatly limiting my exercise for the next week or two.  Maybe it will push me to get back to lifting heavy things instead of doing mostly cardio?  Right now I'm just having another pity party for my aging body.  

 

Snack:  1:30-2pm

 

12 big slices of raw jicama.  I love this stuff!  I need to look into the nutrition profile because my guess is it is minimal. 

 

Huh.  It has some Vitamin C and potassium.  Cool

 

Ate 4, 1" chunks of almond/date/gogi/raw cacao 'energy chunks'.  Probably a bit too much like a candy bar, but they are homemade (by friends at co-op) and technically sugar free outside of the dates.  Not the best alternative for me, but I needed something to get me through until my dinner break at 6:30 and the jicama wasn't cutting it.  Going to drink a lot of water this afternoon!  I was able to handle raisins OK, so now let's hope dates and raw cacao powder are in the same OK category as far as sweetness goes in my brain.

 

Dinner:  6:30pm

 

5-6 oz roasted chicken breast with skin

1c mixed sauteed veggies

 

Snack:  9:45pm

 

banana in the car on the way home from work.  Wow does fruit satisfy my sweet tooth now.  Nice

3 fork fulls of kale salad

1 bite black quinoa salad.  I think it had agave or honey in it so I stopped.   Wanted to try a grain today but passed due to the possible sugar

[PamH]

Day Six (sugar)

 

Hubby made me coffee this morning.  Nice sentiment, but I had to make the crio bru to be happy.  Coffee tasted so blah and bitter.

 

Brunch:  10:30am

 

Last of the bison/veggie stir fry with 1/2 chorizo sausage and 1T ghee  (maybe 6oz meat?)

1, 1" chunk energy bite

 

New foster dog today.  Oh, she is sweet.  Peyton.  Maybe I'll start posting dog pictures instead of food pictures to mix things up a bit.  

 

 

Snack:  12:30pm

 

Way too many roasted cashews and almonds.  Waaaaay too many.  1c?

 

Dinner:  7:45pm

 

8 pc sushi with tempura/raw.  Not the healthiest option but I wanted it.  Sugar free!

 

Dog is not house broken despite being told she was... missed a shift at work at got a call 15 minutes after shift started... stressful day!  In trouble with hubby for messes on carpet (think $$ for cleaning next week) but at least at work it wasn't 100% my fault so they were OK with it.  Still, I hate feeling stupid.

[PamH]

Day Seven (sugar)

 

Crio bru, bru, bru with full fat coconut milk.  This Arroy-D milk is so good!  You can tell it is real and unadulterated because it hardens up in the fridge.  I go through 8oz in a week so it isn't that much, I guess.

 

Lunch:  10:30am

 

I am just not hungry at all today.  I don't know what is up.  I feel a little extra tired and foggy.  Eyes are a bit swollen.  I had a crappy dream about divorcing so I wonder if I "cried" in my sleep to make my eyes puffy?  Ah, the stress is exhilarating.     I'll eat on my break at work.  Protein.

 

1 under ripe pear

2 fork full kimchi

kombucha

 

Early dinner:  3:30pm

 

2c sauteed mixed veggies in evoo

1/2 c corn/red pepper in evoo

2 small pieces chicken; very small

 

Snack:  6pm

 

3 energy chunks

 

Late night snack:  9:30

 

I finally got hungry.  Not great timing.  Just took several bites of a kale/dried cranberry salad and went to bed.  

[PamH]

Day Eight (sugar)

 

Up early.  Couldn't sleep.  Crazy dreams from stress, is my best guess.  The kind of dreams that wake you up sad.  Drowned my sorrows in Crio bru x 2 with coconut milk.   IF today because I feel good while fasting. Yes, I know that isn't really Whole30ish

 

Breakfast:  11:30

 

Introducing my rolled oats again!  It has been 60 days or more.  

 

1/2 c thick cut rolled oats with 1/4 c raisins and 1/3 c diced almonds and sea salt.  Made a meusli of sorts.  Oh, yum.

Lots of water

3, 1" energy chunks (goji, dates, carob, almond, sesame seed)

 

Probably a bit heavy on the dried fruits for this meal, but I'll stay clean the rest of the day.  Planning on a vegetarian day.  

 

Dinner:  6:30pm

 

Huge bowl of wilted spinach with one large sweet potato topped with 1T ghee.  Oh, yum.  Taters.

1 teeny taste of Manchego cheese since there is a sweet back story to why my husband  bought some...

1 3"x3" square green tea nori (seaweed) because my Hawaiian friend sent me a care package.

 

I loved the bowl of oats today.  I always eat them raw in the summer.  We'll see if anything changes, but so far it seems just fine.  The sugar cravings were not present despite heavy on the raisins, and no hot flashes!  Gotta love it.

 

Now to get my foot back in shape for the gym.  It feels better after staying out of my minimalist shoes and out of the gym for the past 3 days but I'm getting restless.    Definitely some tendon issue or metatarsalagia going on from over use.  They say our bones realign themselves when we go from traditional, over supported shoes back to minimal wear and that can cause problems if not done slowly.  I had a different foot problem when I first started wearing them so I guess for me this holds true?  Better than a stress fracture in my opinion!

 

I sure do love fresh spinach.  

 

Snack:  8:20pm

 

6 raw hazelnuts/walnuts 

[PamH]

Day Nine (sugar)

 

Crio bru at 7am.   Slept in a bit!  Feeling better today with a solid night's sleep.  I didn't even hear the storms.

 

Breakfast:  10:15am

 

2/3 c meusli mix (raw rolled oats, raisins, roasted almonds,  sesame seeds, cinnamon and sea salt)

 

I am loving having this back in my day!  I do need to avoid making this a habit again, but I want to eat it for a few days in a row to see how it works in the reintro phase.  I am not expecting oats to be an issue but one never knows.

 

I guess I should mention that I take 1.5-2g fish oil daily with a coQ10 just to keep track.  Most days I also take a high dose B complex.

 

Lunch:  12:20pm

 

Big bowl italian sausage/cabbage/onion/carrot stir fry with 2T coconut oil/ghee  (4oz sausage)

 

Dinner:  7pm

 

9 pc vegetable sushi

1/3 bottle ginger kombucha (no added sugar)

 

I probably should just stick with adding oats and not complicate it with white rice, but I did.  So far, so good with both.

 

Snack:  10pm

 

Ate a banana on the way home.  Tossed a few pcs of almond 'granola' into my mouth, too.  Oats/granola/coconut oil/unsweetened cocoa powder. 

[PamH]

Day Ten (sugar)

 

Early morning.  Crio bru with coconut milk

 

I made a mistake of not eating breakfast right away, thinking I would eat it after I dropped my son off at summer school.  I got an invite to lunch, so then I thought I'd just wait until noon instead of eating at 10 and again at noon.  Not smart.  Now I am so very hungry!  I think I'll pop something good in my mouth to tide me over.  Poor planning today.  And what the heck will I eat at TGIF over the lunch hour?  Thankfully, I am post Whole30 for all but sugar.  Staying away from heavy duty gluten, too.  

 

(small) breakfast:  10:45am

 

2 energy chunks

kombucha with vitamins (fish oil, Bcomplex, co Q10)

 

Lunch:  12:45pm

 

Bleu cheese/onion burger with out bun at TGIF

sweet potato fries

 

Lunch sized portion, so did not really OD on fries.  I probably should not have eaten them at all, but they tasted good and weren't sugar!  The food there was OK, but extremely salty and certainly not grass fed beef.  I usually feel the urge to binge when I eat out like that... but have managed to not eat more when I got home.  I think it is still a carry-over from the years of calorie counting and dieting; like I've 'blown it' so why not just go crazy?  Some mental habits are so difficult to change.  I was relieved to feel less guilt.

 

Dinner:  6:00pm

 

1 sweet potato with 2T coconut oil/ghee, spices and salt

2c wilted spinach

2oz bleu cheese

 

Stuffed!  Ate more cheese today than I've eaten in 60 days.  I hope it agrees with me!  Picked a tough cheese to start with...

[Physibeth]

Hey Pam...as you are starting to eat non-Whole30 foods you should probably move your log to the Post-W30 section so that someone new reading doesn't think these are ok to eat on W30.

 

Wishing you lots of luck kicking that sugar dragon to the curb!

[PamH]

Hey Pam...as you are starting to eat non-Whole30 foods you should probably move your log to the Post-W30 section so that someone new reading doesn't think these are ok to eat on W30.

 

Wishing you lots of luck kicking that sugar dragon to the curb!

 

 

 

Hmmm.  I kind of like where I am, but OK.  I guess I'll wrap it up and move on.

[PamH]

So, I'm outa here.  Whole30 turns post Whole30, I guess.

 

I wish anyone who bothers to read this log the best of success in their journey for health and freedom from food.  May we all learn to eat to live... with occasional bursts of decadence.  

 

~P