Pam's Honest post Whole30

[PamH]

I enjoyed my 6-8 week log of Whole30, and I'm not sure I will continue here post Whole30.  I thought I'd give it a try and see how it feels.

 

I've never finished 30 consecutive Whole30 days, but I feel that I accomplished my goal:  get control of my sugar eating and re-establish a healthy pattern of eating.  Although I 'cheated' 4 times in the past 60 days, I have essentially stayed away from sugar for 56 of the past 60 days.  I am grateful.

 

Hot flashes are gone!  I was having up to 24 a day on Day One of my initial Whole30 (I'm 48 now).  Not even raisins trigger the flashes any longer.

 

Learned I need to eat some days fully vegetarian to feel my best.  Probably an even 50/50 for me.  Emphasis on healthy fats, and probably gluten free for the most part. 

 

Finding a way to stay physically active is going to be a challenge.  With my pelvic organ prolapse sidelining my regular cross fit forever since November I am still struggling to find cardio and strength fitness that don't make the problem worse.  That is my next goal.

 

So, tomorrow will be Day One here in Post Whole30 land.  I guess I will take the criticism from those who feel I cannot be post Whole30 if I haven't technically not put together 30 days in a row.  Please be kind.    I am proud of myself regardless.

[kew]

Sounds to me like you've learned a lot from your experience, whatever you call it!  Good for you -- and good luck finding exercise that works for you.

[PamH]

Day One

 

Still avoiding sugar, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

 

Breakfast:  9:30am

 

1/2 c raw rolled oats

1/4 c toasted diced almonds

1/4 c raisins

All mixed up with salt and cinnamon for a yummy meusli breakfast.  I'm limiting myself to this meal 2-3 days a week to not fall back into old habits.  Variety!

 

Thawing my non-compliant bacon.  Great quality pork, but it has brown sugar on the ingredient list so I tossed it into the freezer.  I buy the odds and ends pieces in big chunks and can really go to town on eating it.  I have to remember that bacon is a condiment and not a protein source!  It sure does fill me up, though, to the point of nausea from the fat.

 

I might pull out the scale.  Kind of scared to do that because I don't really want to associate a number with my mood.  My clothing fits well but I AM curious.  Honestly, I didn't weigh myself 60 days ago so I guess why bother?

 

Snack:  11:30am

 

kimchi

1 sugar free muffin (sweetened with fruit juice) from co-op and maybe 1tsp butter and 1T coconut oil butter.  First butter in 60 days!  Oh, do I like salted pasture butter.  Muffin is not gluten free, but is mostly oats and other grains and not white flour.  Probably as healthy as a muffin can be.  They call them Zen Muffins!

1 Oskri bar

 

Had some honey today with the Oskri bar.  Too sweet for me, really, but I was stuck in a spot of either eating what I had there or not eating until dinner.  I thought I'd take a relatively OK prepackaged bar over probably eating too much later.  I didn't really even enjoy it.  Should have stuck with just the muffin.  This feels a bit like a carb binge.

 

Funny, I'm tired today.  I make such poor eating choices when I am tired.  Woken up at 5am by a frisky husband and then had to get up, take out the dogs, and start the day with the kids and summer school.  Exhausted, really!  I'm alone in the house now which is very dangerous for me.  Waiting to get the call from my daughter to pick her up from a trip.

 

Early dinner:  4pm

 

WAY too many almonds and walnuts.  Maybe 1 cup.  Note to self:  do not sit in front of a large bowl of nuts.  Now there is no way I will want dinner.  I'll be starving by the morning.

 

Shaved the cat today!

 

 

 

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

The scale can be a slippery slope! 

 

congrats on slaying your sugar dragon and getting your hot flashes under control, those are huge quality of life issues!!

[PamH]

Day Two post 

 

Crio bru and banana for breakfast around 8am

 

Lunch:  noon

 

9 pc assorted sushi rolled with white rice

no soy

drank 6 oz ginger kombucha during the day (no added sugar)

 

 

Dinner:  5:30pm

 

1 large sweet potato on a big old bed of baby spinach with sauteed onion/mushrooms and 1T ghee/salt

 

This sugar free thing is getting pretty easy.  Just no desire at all to dig into chocolate.  I feel great about that, but I know I will still have my days.  I love it too much!  I'm wondering how I will handle that first time when I decide, "Why not?"

 

I had been thinking about my sweet potato all day!  Heaven

 

Snack:  8pm

 

Few homemade seasoned potato chips at the restaurant bar.  Avoided the wine and beer but that is not that hard for me.  This time, no comments.  I guess my friends are used to the fact I don't really drink.  Why that should be an issue is beyond me.

[PamH]

Day Three post

 

Crio bru at 6:30am with some coconut milk.

 

Very small breakfast:  9am

 

Not really hungry but I thought I'd finish the 1/3 of a fruit juice sweetened banana muffin with 1tsp Kerrygold pasture butter

1.5 g fish oil and Bcomplex vitamin

 

That is a dangerous pattern for me to fall back into... the 'just a bite of this' and 'just a square of that' rather than a full meal.  No longer should I be the vacuum cleaner of food in the house!  Suddenly, I've snacked for an hour straight on so-so food and I feel gross.  Well, not today, but that was the old habit.  I did bake for the kids this morning without tasting a bit of the dough or popping a mini Milky Way in my mouth mindlessly.  Yay, me.  I did lick my finger when it got sweetened condensed milk on it... such mindless stuff.  For some, that seems silly to even recognize or focus on, but that licked finger often turned into just pouring a Tbsp of the stuff into my mouth or further.  I'm amazed I've never been overweight.

 

Before work lunch:  10:30am

 

Big bowl of Italian sausage/red cabbage/onion/carrot on bed of baby spinach with 1T coconut oil/ghee and salt  (maybe 6-7 oz sausage)

 

Snack at work:  4:30pm

 

1 under ripe pear

1/4 c raw macadamia nuts (~6)

 

Dinner:  7:15-7:45 pm

 

Ate my banana and 1/4 c raw macadamia nuts in the car on the way home from work

1/2 c homemade macaroni and cheese-  not my finest moment but I had a hard day at work

 

Here's a little honesty for ya:  I took a bite of the Milky Way cookie bars I made for the kids.  A chunk of it came off with the tin foil that kinda got stuck to my hand and I ate it without thinking.  Oh, man, was that way too sweet!  So, I suppose I technically blew my sugar day.  However, since I am the boss of me, I say I'm still very much on track because it was a thoughtless act and not a bothersome craving.    Tomorrow will be officially Day Four of my post Whole30 without sugar.

[PamH]

Day Four Post

 

Crio bru and banana on the way to work at 8:30am

 

Lunch:  11:45am

 

2c sauteed vegetables (corn, broccoli, carrot, squash, tomatoes) with maybe 1/4 c spanish rice with olives

ginger kombucha (unsweetened)

 

Dinner:  6:15pm

 

9pc sushi

3oz roasted chicken

 

I need to get active again!  I feel like I eat little and still am the same size.  I'm not really looking to lose weight, but I continue to be amazed by how little I can eat to stay this same size when I'm not working out.  I just feel flabby even though it has been less than 10 days since my last gym visit.  I need my toes to heal fast!  I still feel the swelling and soreness at the base of toes 2/3, but I have to spend 8 hours a day on my feet so I don't think that is helping things.  I started taking curcumin to hopefully aid the swelling.

[PamH]

Day Five post

 

Crio bru and coconut milk at 6:15am

 

Breakfast:  10:45am

 

Had to wait until after the dentist and chiropractor to eat.  I don't do well when my first meal is a Primal Pac or bar or some kind of replacement, so I opted to do a fast of sorts.

 

1c meusli of oats, diced roasted almonds, raisins, sesame seed, salt and cinnamon.

 

Man, do I love my raw rolled oats!  Thick cut.  It is a dangerous meal for me some days as I could eat it and eat it.  Hard to stick with one bowl.  I made the serving larger today than in day's past to hopefully feel more satisfied.  Adding some sea salt helps deepen the love.

 

Add 2/3 c Steve's Paleo Crunch cereal to that meal.  Hmmm.... time to get out of the house for a bit before things get out of hand.

 

Okay.  Day just got a little worse:

 

Ate a cookie 'sandwich' with 2T nutella inside.  

 

Is my carbo meusli a trigger food?  Seems to be...

 

Emotional eating is soooo hard to change!  I am so predictable, so habitual.  Guess 35 years of eating when I'm tired or stressed isn't going to miraculously change in 65 days, is it?  Trying to stay proud of the fact that 60 of those days have been awesome.  Five have been not so great.  I won't say a failure, because eating sugar isn't really a failure.

 

Dinner:  5:15pm

 

Was really full from my strange mid-morning eating, so just waited until I was hungry again.  

 

big bowl of red cabbage/onion saute in coconut oil/ghee with maybe 2oz italian sausage.

 

Very thirsty this afternoon.  Must've been the Nutella and cookie sandwich.  Big ick.  I think I would have gone to the gym to work off my stress today, but the foot is still injured so I am limited.  Bad choice today in what I did to ease the stress.  Tomorrow is another day.  As long as I don't continue this pattern until the old habits take hold again, I am ahead of the game.  I seem to be able to string together about 14 good days and then I falter.  I wonder why that is so?

[PamH]

Day Six Post

 

Crio bru this lovely morning with full fat coconut milk  Emulsify my blues away.  No blues today...

 

Breakfast:  8:30am

 

1 under ripe pear

 

Lunch:  12:30pm

 

2c sauteed mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, onion, cauliflower, carrots) in evoo

1/3 c spanish rice with chicken from deli

gingerade kombucha (no added sugars) throughout the day

 

Dinner:  4pm

 

2 teriyaki chicken thighs with skin.  Pretty big thighs:  maybe 10oz total

 

 

I was in the mood for fat and protein.  I'll have a big spinach salad in another few hours to get more vegetables.  Came home after work to try some curcumin capsules to see if they help with the foot swelling.  I am growing weary of being sedentary.

 

More dinner:  6:15pm

 

4c wilted baby spinach with 1c raw red cabbage and maybe 1T chicken fat to flavor it all up

1T coconut/sprouted lentils for some crunch

 

Willingly took a bit of 41% chocolate tonight!  Maybe 1oz.  No need to inhale the rest of the bar.  Feeling good about that one.  Feeling even better that I'm not thinking I've been depriving myself.  I really believe I can get to the point where I can enjoy sweets like this from time to time without freaking out and making it a daily occurrence again.  

[PamH]

Day Seven Post

 

Well, I took a big bite of milk chocolate last night and didn't wake up depressed or with another wrinkle on my aging thighs.  hah

 

Good morning, Crio bru!  How I love you at 6am.  The dogs are happy, I am happy, and only one of my kids decided to grace my presence this morning so early.  I am off for a therapeutic massage in an hour.  I am some scoliosis in my low and mid back which makes it tough some days.  Working on my feet for 7 hours a day can cause some big flare ups.  I need to pay more attention to my posture on a minute by minute basis.

 

Still struggling with the knowledge that I now have two life long physical 'ailments' that will limit my activity.  Scoliosis and now some pelvic organ prolapse crap.  Most likely the underlying scoliosis was a factor in why heavy lifting and years of cross fit like exercise finally took its toll on my girly parts.  Ladies, be careful of how you lift and how much you lift!  I don't care what the Paleo and the Primal people say, we are not designed like men and we should not be straining and lifting as much as they do.  Stop sucking in your gut, too. The angle of your hips change and can lead to worsening of underlying pelvic muscle weakness from childbirth, chronic constipation or just heredity.  

 

On my soapbox where nobody reads what I say.  It just felt good to air it all out again. I'm still kind of mad about my situation, if you cannot tell.  I am married to a man who is pretty much the WI version of Mark Sisson (Mark's Daily Apple fame).  Beautiful body, active, optimistic, healthy and driven to move all day and night even after working like a dog at the hospital.  Now I'm unable to do much of what he wants to do and it makes me jealous.  Even some days a rigorous hike is out of the question with the prolapse.  It is up to me to not get jealous but I'm human.

 

Rant over!  Time to shower and enjoy my massage before i go to work.

 

Breakfast:  10:30am

 

1c rolled oats, coconut, dried golden fruit, chia seed, sprouted lentils, diced almonds

 

Lunch:  2:30pm

 

1 under ripe pear

1 banana

gingerade kombucha throughout the day

 

Snack:  5:45pm

 

1 banana

 

Dinner:  6:30pm

 

12 oz BBQ chicken

baby spinach

3 cocoa dusted walnuts on salad

 

Weird eating day.  I ate more fruit today than I've eaten in a long, long time.  It was kind of a day of what was available to eat.  I feel like I ate too much chicken, but that's OK.

[PamH]

Day Eight Post

 

Waking up to my Crio Bru with full fat coconut milk this beautiful 4th of July morning.  I promised the kids donuts today.  Not even thinking they would taste good to me.  We have a BBQ to go to this afternoon.  No stress.  I'm actually looking forward to having a vegetarian day today.  I need to make a fresh succotash to bring along.  This is Wisconsin, so many of the salads and sides will be mayo laden or sugar filled.  I'll eat before hand.  Even the beer doesn't sound good.  What has happened to my taste buds?  Rebooted, for sure.  But, I know the desserts will look good.  I just have to not even try a little bite to stay away from them.  Once I start, I go!  In times past, it would be hard to not take little tastes.  People sure can bake here!

 

Breakfast:  10am

 

Doing somewhat of an experiment.  Going to eat my homemade meusli for a week every day to see if it is a trigger.  It just might be... pretty big portion size but bulky.  Maybe upwards of 50g carbs which is a lot for me in one meal since going Whole30 2 months ago.

 

3/4c raw rolled oats, diced almonds, dried golden berries, sesame seeds, coconut/chia/sprouted lentils with cinnamon and sea salt

 

Lunch/Dinner:  3pm-8pm

 

Several hours of eating at the BBQ.  Limited myself to:

 

1c cole slaw (very full of mayo but so good!)

lots of raw zucchini

1/2 c corn/lima bean/red pepper succotash with evoo-dijon vinaigrette

sauteed onions

2c baby spinach with a little coconut oil ghee- wilted

1c rhubarb crisp made with butter!  And brown sugar, I guess

I bite chocolate brownie and then decided not to go any further.  No reason to eat more sugar after crisp

 

I did try the rhubarb crisp.  It was mostly rhubarb but the oats/nuts were surely mixed with brown sugar.  Still pretty tart, so I'm OK with it!  Oh, was it good.

 

I felt pretty good about eating only the crisp.  Typically, I would keep going without really thinking.  I'm one of those people that can pretty easily resist starting... but once I've started I have one hell of a time stopping.  I almost zone out.  Not today.  Able to stop myself with just a normal sized serving of dessert and then one bite of the zone out sweets but able to stop.  Nice.

[calee]

Pam, it would make me sad too if I couldn't do all of the activities that I wanted. I think that unless you have a physical limitation, it's hard to understand. Is there any chance for improvement?

[PamH]

Pam, it would make me sad too if I couldn't do all of the activities that I wanted. I think that unless you have a physical limitation, it's hard to understand. Is there any chance for improvement?

 I developed pelvic organ prolapse.  Nobody EVER told me that was something that could happen!  OBs and primary MDs really need to talk to women about this problem because it sure isn't rare.  So, it won't go away.  They believe my years of constipation, having 3 kids, and the heavy, heavy lifting from 10 years of cross-fit type classes all caused/worsened the condition.  Surgery for me is not an option... too high failure rate and/or rate of complications.  I wish I had known exercise incontinence was a BIG red flag that I should have backed off from lifting like a dude.  

 

So, it means I can't bear down much at all.  That takes out the lifting!  I also can no longer run with comfort.  That one could change as I get used to the new sensation of a dropped pelvic organ.  Ugh.

 

Swimming is an option.  I think it is incredibly boring.  I need to find a new way to keep my muscle mass up.  Yoga involves a lot of ab work and isn't always a good choice for people like me.  Each case is different, and for me the abdominal strain really makes things worse fast.   I do use the elliptical without much problem, but I hurt my foot 2 weeks ago and am waiting for it to recover.  

 

Thanks for popping in!  I'm still in my mourning period.  This issue literally popped up one day.  I went to bed feeling fine and woke up with a dropped uterus.  Really shocking.  The pity party continues.  

[calee]

I'd be having a pity party too!

[PamH]

Day Nine Post

 

Crio bru with coconut milk to start my day.  It might even be hot enough to turn on the air conditioning.  For Wisconsin, not using the air until the first week of July is almost unheard of!

 

Breakfast:  10:45am

 

1c raw thick cut rolled oats, sesame seeds, diced toasted almonds, sprouted lentils, coconut, chia seeds, dried golden berries, cinnamon and sea salt.

 

Going to eat that every morning through the weekend to see how I feel.  So far, I do believe it isn't the wisest choice for me in the morning for breakfast since it seems to trigger grazing and over eating.  I wonder how it would work to drizzle with melted coconut oil or ghee?  Might not be too appetizing, but the added fat could be what is needed for satiation.  There is a small amount of honey in the coconut/seed/lentil 'cereal' but other than that it is sugar free.

 

Why, yes!  Happy me.  I drizzled a little coconut oil on the rest of my cereal and literally immediately felt satisfied.  Interesting.

 

Lunch:  1:30pm

 

Had about 6oz sliced turkey and hard salami rolled up with some kim chi and mayo (not homemade).

 

 

Dinner:  5:30

 

pear

2c sauteed mixed veggies in evoo

 

Snack:  9pm

 

peach

few bites of dried banana/nut bar

[PamH]

Day Ten Post

 

Crio bru and coconut milk before a trip to the local Farmers Market.  Nice stuff today!  Berries aren't organic, but I took at chance on someone who said their strawberries were 'hardly sprayed at all'.  Whatever that means.

 

Breakfast:  9:45am

 

1c raw rolled oats, diced almonds, coconut, sprouted lentils, dried golden berries, flax cereal, sesame seeds, salt, cinnamon with 1T coconut oil ghee mixed in for some fat satiation.  It worked again!  Much fuller now than typical with this meal.

 

Lunch:  1pm

 

2-3 oz turkey with safflower mayo

1" chunk dried banana/nut crisp or cookie.  Not sure how to describe it!

 

Off to work.  I think this forum has run its' course with me.  Not sure I'll be back tomorrow even though my eating will stay on track in the Post Whole30 way.  Planning on staying processed sugar and gluten free as much as possible.  I've also kind of taken out dairy which surprised me greatly.  Big cheese lover!

 

So, everyone keep up the good work and stick with the Whole30 if that is what you choose to do.  In the end, eating cleanly, moving frequently, sleeping well and staying positive is key...whether you take a bite of bacon with brown sugar or dip your sashimi in soy sauce once a week isn't going to alter your future much.  Making some profound changes in attitude and behavior will!