Annika's July Whole30

[Annika]

Hello! I'm Annika, I'm 45, I've been 80-20 primal for almost 3 years. I don't want to lose weight, but I'm hoping to reduce my chronic joint inflammation. I also want to slay my sugar demons, who get the better of me much more often than I would like. My slippery slope can get pretty darn slippery at times.

My log is getting a bit of a late start, and I don't promise to post every day, but here's the start:

Day 3:

Early AM: A cup of coffee w/ 1 Tbs coconut oil

Mid-AM: 2 hardboiled eggs w/ fish roe & another cup of coffee w/ 1 Tbs coconut oil

Lunch: salad w/ pecans & canned smoked herring

Snack: handful of walnuts

Dinner: grilled sausage, grilled onions/peppers/garlic (w/ olive oil), tomato-basil salad.

At this point I tracked my food with Sparkpeople and saw that I was barely over 1000 calories for the whole day, so I topped off with:

Dessert: strawberries w/ coconut milk

I need to focus on eating more protein and eating more in general!

[Johnny M]

yeah definitely make sure you get enough food in! Stick with whole30 for a few weeks and see how your joints feel. There are some modifications specifically for those with certain inflammatory issues that you can try at that point (like removing nightshades or eggs) if things haven't improved.

[Annika]

Day 4:

Breakfast: 3 fried eggs, a small amount of sausage, kale & garlic sautéed in bacon fat. Coffee with coconut oil.

Lunch: 2 slices roast beef wrapped in lettuce, with a bit of wasabi

Dinner: chicken wing & thigh, roasted sweet potato & cauliflower (with coconut oil & curry spices - yum), mixed green salad w/ EVOO-vinegar dressing

[Annika]

Day 5:

Breakfast: 2 HB eggs with roe, coffee with coconut oil

Lunch: salad with canned salmon, leftover sweet potato & cauliflower

Snack: raw almonds & cherries

Dinner: 2 chicken thighs, homemade garlic scape pesto (vegan! No cheese!), broccoli w/ ghee

Day 6:

Breakfast: 2 HB eggs with roe, coffee with coconut oil

Lunch: BAS w/ avocado, walnuts, canned salmon

Dinner: in a restaurant! Steak, salad, cooked greens/carrots

I did okay but not great at the restaurant. I asked for extra veggies instead of potato, but they came with a sprinkling of parmesan on top. I picked it off as best I could, but some ended up in my belly. Also, i ate the balsamic vinaigrette sald dressing. I was out with friends and felt very self-conscious about making a million requests.

Social events are the trickiest for me. My husband and I are homebodies and rarely go out, but I can't imagine doing a Whole30 as a young socially active person. I don't want to turn down invitations, or be the only one ingesting nothing when everyone goes out for pizza and beer. Usually I partake and count it as my 20%, but there ain't no such thing during a Whole30!

[Colleen Roy]

As someone who has worked in restaraunts since I was 16 (that's a LONG time ago...), I can say, yes, it's a little annoying when people make all sorts of requests about thier meals when ordering. But as someone who LOVES to go out to eat and socialize with friends over a good meal, screw it. I have no qualms about asking for my vegetables steamed and served without butter or cheese, or my steaks not to be brushed with butter, or just plain EVOO & vinegar for my salad. If the server or kitchen gets huffy about it, I have no problems speaking to a manager. Those kinds of requests are not unreasonable and if you *ask politely* (that's usually why it's annoying when people ask-they forget that polite factor!), they should accommodate your request without issue, attitude or extra charge.

The bottom line is this: restaraunts are a SERVICE industry-if I don't get good service, I won't give them my business, plain & simple. So, go out with friends and don't let it bug you when you order what you want/need. Of course, the alternative is inviting all your friends to your house for a fabulous home-cooked Whole30 approved meal-which might help you convince some of your questioning friends to give it a try too!

[Annika]

Thanks for your input, Colleen! To be honest, I was more concerned with looking like a weirdo in front of my friends than bothering the staff - although that's a concern too. I've worked in restaurants too, and asking for special preparation certainly means extra work for the staff. But you are absolutely right - they are a service industry.

[Annika]

Well, another so-so restaurant experience. I went to a Brazilian BBQ place with a bunch of people a couple of nights ago. I avoided the salad/side bar except for some undressed lettuce & onion and saved myself for the meat - but I know some of it was not Whole30 compatible. I took one bite of pork which had a very sweet sauce on it. I was with people I didn't know well, so I didn't feel I could spit it out! I asked about a veggie side dish on the salad bar and was told it had a margarine-butter blend on it (ew!) so I skipped that and stuck to undressed salad and lots of meat. The staff keep bringing skewers of small chunks of various meats to the table. There were several servers and I felt self-conscious about repeatedly questioning them about ingredients, so I bet I had some forbidden foods slipped in there - sugar (for sure, in that one bite of pork), butter, or seed oils. Oh well - I'm not going to restart my Whole30 over it. Take it on the chin and forge ahead!

Eating out has been my biggest issue by far. Luckily I'm a homebody and have only gone out twice in the past two weeks. I think if I had some real medical issues and HAD to avoid certain foods I would be braver about speaking up in restaurants.