My first whole30

[mykidsteacher]

Ok, so I started this log a little late.  Whole30 began on June 3, so I'm wrapping up day 14 today.  Wow, almost halfway there!

 

I'm allergic to dairy, eggs, cashews, sunflower and very mildly, to garlic.  It used to make my head itch, but I'm not noticing that anymore, so wondering if healing has eliminated that problem (my naturopath said it might be something I can introduce down the line).

 

A little history--started paleo in Aug 2011, even though I had NO idea that's what it was called.  I just eliminated grains, dairy, starchy veggies, and rice.  Never really eat legumes, so they were defacto eliminated as well.  Never heard the term paleo until Nov, and was so glad to stumble across it for recipes! 

 

Lost weight and inches and was working on healing adrenal and blood sugar issues as well.  Hit a major stall in Nov/Dec, and looked for a way to lose the last couple pounds and started JUDDD in Jan 2012 (a form of intermittent fasting).  In Feb, I received my allergy diagnosis and had to rethink my life without eggs.  By April, I had lost to my orignal goal weight plus 5 pounds (125 pounds).  I maintained that goal for 1 year.  And then went completely off the rails.  No clue what happened, but in April/May 2013, I ate more sugar/wheat/allergy foods than I had the previous year I think.  And gained 7 pounds. 

 

I needed to do something drastic to get my cravings and weight back under control.  And was finally ready to try the whole30 (I'd heard of it long before, but figured it would be too hard with my other food restrictions).

 

Day 1 was a breeze.  Day 2-5 I had horrendous headaches and was bloated such that I looked 6 mos pregnant. Felt sluggish and unmotivated.

 

Day 6 began my need for a nap. Every afternoon at 3:30 ish, I'd simply HAVE to sit/lay down and close my eyes for an hour.  It wasn't optional, I probably would have fallen asleep standing if I hadn't sat down.  I was waiting and waiting for the tiger blood to kick in.  Day 12 I was still waiting.  Somewhere around day 8 my energy at other times of the day improved, but still needed that late afternoon shut eye.

 

And then, day 13 happened, and I was able to stay awake all day!  And be productive all day.  Today was a super busy day running errands.  I was not able to eat lunch until 2pm, and managed to not snack (no choice since I was out and had nothing with me).  I'm tired now, but not wiped out exhausted like running days usually make me.

 

I think sweet potatoes may not agree with me very well.  Didn't have them the first week, then had a couple days where I had them with a couple meals, and felt really bloated again.  Plan to stock up on other starchy veggies and stay away from them for a bit.

 

Oh, I also started this without fruit.  I've been having issues with my ears itching, and research led me to believe it could be yeast related.  So I tried incorporating some candida diet principles as well.

 

I have now re-added small amounts of berries and apple.  And after almost 2 weeks with absolutely no sugar, they taste like CANDY! So sweet and yummy. So far no issues with wanting more and more. But watching for it.

 

Almonds were my go to for getting through when I was starving between meals, but I think I need to cut them out.  May be causing bloat issues, and I eat way too many.

 

Just found the template (can't afford the book right now), so I am going to work to follow that better (actually got pretty close even without it).  I need more fats I think.  And will use the mini-meal idea vs just grabbing a handful of nuts.  Getting easier to make it from meal to meal without snacking.  So goal is to eliminate the snack all together.

 

I know we aren't supposed to weigh...

 

Ok, that's enough catch-up for now.

[mykidsteacher]

Proud of myself.  Got home from taking dd to the park and I was hungry.  Started to reach for the almonds, and remembered the template (and "if you aren't hungry for fish and broccoli, you aren't hungry").  So I backed out of the pantry and gave it some thought. And I WAS hungry enough to fix a mini-meal.  So I warmed up some cooked shrimp, made some zoodles and tossed in a handful of broccoli slaw, drizzled with olive oil and warmed it for a minute in the micro, added a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper.  Grabbed a closed handful of almonds and a couple baby carrots, and now I'm full. And I only ate about half the almonds.  I did have a couple of olives too.

[runninglawyer88]

That's awesome! Congrats on following the principles!  

[Lizzard77]

Rock on!  Way to recognize what your body really needs and not aimlessly snack on something.  And isn't it amazing how non-sugared things taste sweet?  I was super surprised when I had a strawberry the other day for the first time in 18 days.....bowled over by the sweetness!

[mykidsteacher]

Managed my first social event today--with flying colors.  I go to a monthly yarn/spinning/knitting group, and several of the members are Mennonite (translated--excellent cooks!). We usually do a carry in lunch.  NOTHING compliant as you might imagine.  So this morning, I made up a dish I could just microwave--zoodles, broccoli slaw, olives, some cooked chicken and shrimp, a drizzle of olive oil and some lemon pepper seasoning with an extra splash of lemon juice for good measure.  I also took half an avocado to add after warming it.  Plus half an apple.  I was so full I only ate 1 apple slice.  And it stimulated lots of discussion about diet and why I was eating what I was.  Someone brought a cantelope that looked so yummy I had to have some, but could only have a couple of cubes because it was so sweet.

 

I was just going to stay home so I wouldn't have to worry about the food, but am so glad I went.

 

Starting to hit that 3 pm "I'm hungry, need a pick me up" time.  Not sure what to add to lunch to make it through that.  I thought I was getting enough fat (olive oil, olives--about 10, and 1/2 avodado), And protein was a chicken thigh and about 10 small shrimp.  I seriously don't think I could have eaten any more than I did, but it only lasted about 3 hours, and now I'm hungry.

 

Maybe I'll post this in the main forum where more will see it and see if I can get some ideas.

[GFChris]

Well, you did feel full at lunch, given that you could only fit in 1 apple slice at the end.

Maybe there are days where you need a small snack?  If so, make it a "mini meal" including a protein and fat. 

[mykidsteacher]

Day 18, and all is well.

 

Started out the day with ground pork/sweet potato hash. Stirred in some coconut cream for extra fat, and skipped the fruit.  I was mostly full, but hungry again 2.5 hours later.  So I did a mini-meal of leftovers from breakfast.  Knew I wouldn't be able to eat lunch until at least 2, so just toughing it out wasn't an option.

 

Had an appt and some errands, but was perfectly fine waiting to get home to eat.  My 20 yo decided he needed pizza while we were out, and it didn't bother me a bit to sit and watch the kids eat it.

 

Got home and sauteed up a big pan of veggies (cabbage, broccoli slaw, green/yellow/red peppers, zoodles, tomato and olives). Added some salt and pepper and a big dollop of coconut milk to make it creamy.  Had leftover meatloaf from last night, and a few cubes of cantelope.  Totally yummy and filling. And enough veggies to have leftovers at breakfast so I won't need to chop and cook again (that's my biggest thing with having veggies for breakfast).  I'll probably eat meatloaf in the morning too.

 

Feeling a little sleepy right now.  It was a busy day of running though--actually it's been a busy week of running, and I don't usually have that many days of having to be out of the house.

[mykidsteacher]

Well, I ended up needing a half hour nap after posting that yesterday.  My eyes just simply wouldn't stay open. 

 

Did a much better job with eating enough at meals to get me through to the next one today.

 

break--leftover meatloaf, sauteed veggies, and roasted acorn squash

lunch--more meatloaf and a chicken thigh.  cabbage/veggie stir fry. Added avocado and olives for good fats

supper--baked pork chop, green salad with olive oil and lemon juice, green beans, 5 strawberries.

 

I found myself reaching for the bag of almonds around 5, stopped myself, realized I wasn't really hungry, but was just wanting something salty.  I ate one (sucked the salt off first, lol) and quit.

 

Took my bp at WM when I had to run there this afternoon and it was 86/50.  Must be why I'm craving salt.  Will be more generous with the shaker for a few days.

 

Pretty productive day.  Cleaned out my fridge top to bottom, taking out shelves to wash and everything.  Then worked on an order for my sewing business. Oh, made the table decorations for our Vacation Bible School on Sunday too.  Along with the usual cooking and laundry. Go me.  A little sleepy in the afternoon, but I had to run to town so pushed through it and got past it.  (being up for a couple of hours in the wee hours waiting for an older child to get home likely had something to do with that).

[mykidsteacher]

Survived a church potluck tonight without blowing my whole30!  I brought a smoked pork butt (http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/11/11/crazy-good-barbecued-pulled-pork), and yes it was crazy good.  One of my sons is working on a wood project with hickory, so he soaked a bunch of shavings for me and I used those--gave it awesome flavor. I also took bag salad and a vinaigrette dressing, and then just for me (not to share) a serving of roasted butternut squash.  Good thing, because there was not one other thing there I could have.

 

I even served the cake (that I made and iced) without feeling like I just had to have some.  Amazing.

 

Forgot to take my digestive enzymes with me though, and I'm as full now, 3 hours later, as I was when I finished eating. Ugh.

 

Confirmed my garlic allergy in the past couple of days.  Figured since it was mild I could have some every once in a while.  Made breakfast sausage yesterday, and used half the garlic the recipe called for.  It was way too garlicky still, but the biggest issue is, a few hours after eating it, my face and head started to itch.  This has happened before, and now I've definitively tied it to the garlic. Blah.

 

And my itchy ears have been making me crazy the past few days. Started this endeavor with no fruit to see if yeast might be an issue.  They stopped itching.  Added in strawberries, blueberries and apples after 10 days, still good. Added cantelope and watermelon, and the itching gradually started getting more pronounced.  It's not the melon per se, because this has been an issue for almost 2 years, melon or no melon.  Pretty sure it's yeast. Blah.  And I can't even have garlic to help fight it.  Need to look into anit-candida protocol a bit more I guess.

[mykidsteacher]

Hanging in there.  2 days without fruit again, and the ears are feeling a bit better.  A little headache this afternoon, and wiped out tired. Feel almost like I'm starting over.  Staring to believe there may be something to the yeast hypothesis.  Have a phone consult with my naturopath on Thursday, will bring it up then.  A little miffed he didn't explore this avenue when I brought up the ears a year ago. 

 

Feel super full right now.  Only had a chicken thigh and green beans for supper (despite the delicious looking and smelling yeast dinner rolls my 6 yo made for supper--I held strong and didn't have one).  So I should  NOT be this full.  Took my digestive enzymes too. 

 

So I'm assuming I'm getting some yeast die off bloat like I did in the first few days.  Hopefully wil be better tomorrow.

[mykidsteacher]

Ugh, I don't want to do this anymore.  I'm weary, sick of veggies for breakfast, and want to just chuck it and eat at least 3 of the peanut butter banana chocolate chip muffins my dd made for them to have with their supper.  I won't, but I sure want to.

 

3 days of no fruit, and my left ear flared for about an hour this afternoon.  Sick of playing detective trying to figure out what's causing it.

 

6 days till reintro.  Less than a week left and I can say I did it.  Not sure I've gained much more than that.

 

My ears still itch, I'm still bloated and full feeling by mid-afternoon (yet hungry), and after I eat supper I feel stuffed until 11 pm or later (even with only eating a small amount, and yes I take digestive enzymes), I haven't lost any weight (yes, I checked), my clothes don't fit any better, my sleep is better and then it's not, I'm tired and need a nap almost every afternoon again, and eating is boring and unsatisfying.

 

whine whine whine.

[mykidsteacher]

Thought I should come back to report that I didn't chuck it all, and pretty sure the bloating was related to cabbage (cooked, but obviously still an issue).  No bloating and fullness since I quit adding it to my lunch stir fry. 

 

Had a major off plan meal Friday night when we were unexpextedly invited to dine with some friends we were visiting that afternoon.  Could have just had grilled/smoked chicken and a dry salad. But I didn't.  Had a couple tbsp baked beans, some fried garlic potatoes, and the worst--gooey butter cake for dessert.  Paid dearly on Sat afternoon for the dairy in that cake (I'm allergic).  But got back on the horse and am finishing clean. 

 

Re-intro starts tomorrow, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Better check out that part of the forum, since I'm flying without a book.

[Lizzard77]

Good luck with the reintro and glad to here you didn't chuck the challenge especially with such a short time left.  Now you can say you made it!  Good job!  I would love to hear how reintro goes as you seemed a little underwhelmed by the effects of the W30.  Any more clue as to what's going on with the itchy ears?  How did things go with the naturopath?

[mykidsteacher]

He seems to agree that it might be fungal related.  Going to start with some caprylic acid and see what happens.

 

I actually had some goat's milk today, so I guess reintro started a day early.  My dd (6) is allergic to dairy, and I was able to get some goat's milk for her to try, but in order for HER to try it, she wanted ME to try it first.  It was actually yummy.  (I'm also allergic to dairy). And so far, no issues with it.  We each had a small glass this morning, and another small glass this evening.

 

I need to do my official weigh/measure since I was thinking I'd do it tomorrow and didn't today.  But I was bad and didn't put my scale away, so I know I lost 2-3 pounds, all in the first week and nothing after that.  I DO feel like I'm less fluffy in the muffin top area, and just started feeling that way in the past day or 2, so maybe the weight loss will still come.

 

Obviously, I plan to continue eating this way most of the time, just easing up so I don't have to be so hypervigilant about every morsel that goes in my mouth.

[mykidsteacher]

Did my official end of whole30 weigh/measure this morning. Drum roll please:

 

                   Before          After

Weight           132             128    Loss of 4 pounds (2 in first week, 2 in last 3 days)

arm                9 3/4"           9 3/4"

Upper back      34"              33 3/4"

Chest               36"              36"

Rib(bra band)  33"            31 1/2"

waist                 33"             31"

abdomen (2" below belly button)

                          34 1/2"       33 1/2"

hips                   37 3/4"         37'

upper thigh         21 1/2"       20"

 

So, not hugely dramatic, but an improvement still the same.  Sleep the past 2 nights has been horrible. Takes me forever to get to sleep, and I wake once or twice in the night.  Tired in the afternoons too.

 

Today is a regular whole30 day, with one square of dark chocolate after lunch, just because. 

 

Tomorrow, I'm going to make a paleo treat for our 4th celebration using coconut sugar/stevia for the sweetener.  And if I make homemade goat's milk ice cream, I just might have a little of that too.