kierstenella Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 So excited to jump into this. I'm 30, married with two kids, SAHM, love community and people and living life together. I'm meal planning, shopping, and prep cooking this weekend to launch into my first Whole30 on Monday, 8 July. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of some concentrated effort after about a year and a half of Paleo(ish) nutrition goals. My husband will be joining me in this challenge, which is awesome. There is nothing like having support from the person closest to you. Our 2-yr-old will eat what we eat at meals, but will probably still do a lot of her snacking, although I might use this opportunity to try to decrease her applesauce intake. I'll post as close to daily as I can on my blog: beyondmanna.blogspot.com But it's been a while since I've kept up with that. Biggest Anticipated Challenges: -- We switched to decaf Americanos (from full breve sugar, froofy coffee drinks) a long time ago. It will be very hard though to give up that splash of cream. -- I snack .excessively. and .incessantly. before bed. It's so nice to munch after both kids are in bed, with some peace and quiet. It's just going to have to stop - no two ways about it! -- We currently have a banana/almond milk/almond butter/whey protein powder smoothie for breakfast every single morning. I'm searching for a suitable replacement - both in terms of taste, quick community together before my husband leaves for work, and convenience. On the weekends I like to do a big eggs and lots of veggies breakfast platter, but weekday mornings are going to be rough. Expected Success -- I want to give myself a break from foods that wear me down because I know that once I am built up again, I will thrive. I cut out 99% of dairy a couple of years ago and have felt so much better. Never regretted that decision. -- I'm parenting two very small children. I need one thing in life more than any other: more energy. I also think that this might provide some mood stability, which to me means patience, and I pray for patience daily - so that would be a welcome blessing! -- I would love to lose a few pounds, and not for the reason you might think. I'm excited to train myself into successfully completing a pullup at my box. I think dropping some of the lbs will help make that easier. Stronger is good. Stronger + lighter = awesome. Good luck to everyone! I'll post back as we go through this. So very excited to see what comes of it and ready to put the work in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberino21 Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 my husband and I are also starting Monday thankfully i'm on holidays for two weeks, so giving myself a break from manic food prep (we've been prepping food in advance most weeks for probably 2 years!) and just "winging" the first few days. in terms of breakfast, could you make things in advance - baked egg/veggie dishes, eat leftovers etc - so you don't have to prepare anything in the morning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 ... in terms of breakfast, could you make things in advance - baked egg/veggie dishes, eat leftovers etc - so you don't have to prepare anything in the morning? I think that's what it's going to take... I just have no real experience with reheating eggs, and we tend to eat only "breakfast food" for breakfast. But I think we can learn to like other things. It's part of the fun! Good luck to you and your husband. I hope it goes well for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridget Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Good luck ! This is a great place to be- just thinking- the more you can have prepared ahead of time for breakfast, for example, the more time you will have with the family before everyone needs to get moving. Our FAVORITE breakfast- eggs, mashed sweet potatoes, and either ground turkey or beef prepared with the Italian sausage seasoning from Well Fed, and one or two large handfuls of spinach. I have a container filled with the meat already seasoned and cooked, as well as the mashed sweet potatoes. The spinach cooks very quickly in the skillet (or on the griddle), toss on an egg or two, cook in desired way and just reheat the meat & potatoes. I have a stove top griddle-goes right across the burners, and all the food fits on it at once- all gets heated at the same time-it is a REAL time saver. I have also done the same thing in my big frying pan. I also make a large pyrex tray of compliant quiche almost every week- and just reheat pieces as needed. It's a big help when things get hectic. My 16 year old daughter just started her first job- and had to leave by 5:30 this morning. I had the potatoes & meat ready last night, threw on her eggs and spinach and she was out the door in record time. By the way- this is the girl that would normally skip breakfast or just have a piece of fruit prior to the Whole30. Now she CRAVES this breakfast and is so satisfied till a late lunch ! have fun with it and best wishes ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striving Excellence Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 I am also starting on Monday. My goal is increased energy, lose weight, be more toned, and feel better overall ( mentally and physically). I will be doing it alone. I don't really have people I talk to, so I hope to be able to interact with you all to gain insight and inspiration. Recipes that are quick and convenient will help me maintain. I like the idea of pre-cooking meats. I often falter when I don't pre-plan. I have almost started and stopped so often. But am committed to starting Monday. We all have to start somewhere. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alohachic Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 I start tomorrow! I'm nervous/excited. Glad to hear there are some of y'all starting around the same time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 " I am also starting on Monday. My goal is increased energy, lose weight, be more toned, and feel better overall ( mentally and physically). I will be doing it alone. I don't really have people I talk to, so I hope to be able to interact with you all to gain insight and inspiration.Recipes that are quick and convenient will help me maintain. I like the idea of pre-cooking meats. I often falter when I don't pre-plan. I have almost started and stopped so often. But am committed to starting Monday. We all have to start somewhere.Good luck!" Thanks Striving Excellence. I have the Well Fed cookbook by Melissa Joulwan and I was just reading about pre-cooking for the week. I think that will help a lot. I'm glad you are starting on Monday too. I'm planning to post some thoughts and reflections here, so feel free to check back in. Good luck to you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 Good luck ! This is a great place to be- just thinking- the more you can have prepared ahead of time for breakfast, for example, the more time you will have with the family before everyone needs to get moving. Our FAVORITE breakfast- eggs, mashed sweet potatoes, and either ground turkey or beef prepared with the Italian sausage seasoning from Well Fed, and one or two large handfuls of spinach. I have a container filled with the meat already seasoned and cooked, as well as the mashed sweet potatoes. The spinach cooks very quickly in the skillet (or on the griddle), toss on an egg or two, cook in desired way and just reheat the meat & potatoes. I have a stove top griddle-goes right across the burners, and all the food fits on it at once- all gets heated at the same time-it is a REAL time saver. I have also done the same thing in my big frying pan. I also make a large pyrex tray of compliant quiche almost every week- and just reheat pieces as needed. It's a big help when things get hectic. My 16 year old daughter just started her first job- and had to leave by 5:30 this morning. I had the potatoes & meat ready last night, threw on her eggs and spinach and she was out the door in record time. By the way- this is the girl that would normally skip breakfast or just have a piece of fruit prior to the Whole30. Now she CRAVES this breakfast and is so satisfied till a late lunch ! have fun with it and best wishes ! That's a great idea with the breakfast ingredients ready to go ahead of time. Part of my problem is that we have a 2-yr-old and a 4-month-old and I do best with a set system where I know exactly what to do - like with our normal smoothies. I don't feel like I can just "wing it" in the mornings. But with a concept like what you have there, I can see a regular pattern developing. I love that your daughter is now doing well with a real breakfast. I used to have a coffee (latte) and a bagel or two for breakfast every morning and then when I decided to cut back on eating so much processed food I switched to just a banana or an apple. Neither worked!! Eggs with veggies and maybe some meat has been my best start to the day. Looking forward to making this work for 30 days straight! Thanks for your support. It's helpful to hear from others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas5280 Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Just joined the Whole30 forum tonight and am very excited that so many people are starting their program on Monday, as this is my day to start, too! I have already cleaned out my pantry and filled the freezer with Whole30 approved meats, poultry and fish and the fridge is full of veggies! This will be my first Whole30. Last year I did a similar program that lasted 6 weeks and I lost weight and felt great -- got rid of long term digestive difficulties and a list of other maladies, many of which have not returned. I stuck with the Paleo diet and continued to lose weight, but at Christmas, willpower left me and I re-discovered chocolate, cheese, and cream in the coffee and have been off the wagon ever since. Well, I'm done with that! A word of advice for those that are starting out and have never done something like this before: there are many Paleo and Whole30 websites that have great recipes. Many of them are easy. Anyone starting out on this journey should poke around and find a site they feel comfortable with and start trying some of the recipes that look good (and easy) to them. I like marksdailyapple.com, paleohacks.com and swisspaleo.ch. nomnompaleo.com is great. The cookbook Paleo Comfort Foods is also excellent. I look forward to all of us sharing this Whole30 experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striving Excellence Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Cas, Thanks for the websites. I am very excited about day 1. I have never done paleo before. I have tried to eat healthier and excercise 6 days a week. I lost over 40 lbs in a little over 8 weeks. Then I lost my workout partner and started "rewarding" myself without balancing the workouts and pretty much gained it all back. I feel the most sluggish I have felt in a while and figured I needed to "get my body back." I still don't have a partner in this whole thing, but I too am looking forward to this Whole30 Experience. Knowing that I have people hear to talk to and be accountable to will definitely make this easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyK Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 I started as well today. And I am so excited! Just printed out my Day 1 email, and I am trying to read the book as fast as I can. Besides really needing to reset and cleanse my body from the inside, I am also trying to overcome my eating disorder. All or nothing always seems to work good for me so... I am looking forward to finding support along the way.... to get me throught the weak moments... I am ready to get back on the healthy track. I am taking 30 days off from all social events and get back into my usual workout routine. Can't wait to get through the first week.... sugar has sneaked its way into my life and it needs to GO! Black coffee is not doing it for me, so that is gonna have to be replaced by tea...which by itself is a great positve change!!! Good luck to every one starting today and soon we won't know any better. Have a great one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 8, 2013 Author Share Posted July 8, 2013 Monday morning, 8 July! Whole30 day 1. I did about 3 hours of prep cooking yesterday and I hope that I can get more efficient so that it's less time consuming, but it feels great to have all that stocked up. I also packaged up a pre-work out snack for my husband, his post-work out meal, a breakfast, a lunch, and a dinner, since he has a commitment right after work. It should be much easier on days where we can all just eat together. Starting stats: weight: 236.4 energy: low - partly because I ate very poorly this weekend/partly because both kiddos were up at 5:30 this morning outlook: optimistic. I'm excited for this! Best of health and Whole30 success to everyone. Enjoy day 1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 8, 2013 Author Share Posted July 8, 2013 "I am taking 30 days off from all social events and get back into my usual workout routine." It all sounds great, NickyK! I think clearing your calendar for some time to focus on health sounds smart. We have a few commitments that I'm going to keep, but I am hoping to mostly be around the house so that I don't get distracted. Losing focus is so detrimental. What is your workout routine? Do you have something that you like? I hope this goes well for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striving Excellence Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Day 2 My stats 236.8lbs Tired: diet and stopped working out ( work got crazy busy and I lost a lot of motivation) Became depressed after deployment and adjusting to home life. I just felt overwhelmed and I shut down. I am super excited. Had scrambled eggs with sausage. Lunch was boneless thighs in crockpot (great time saver) with salad. Dinner was ckn with salad. I have to prep more or I know I won't be prepped for my next meal, and I don't want to start over. So I can't quit. I started back going to the gym again and picked back up on my work out. However, while right now I am not hungry, my body is already craving something sweet. So I thought...let me post, get my thoughts down, and hopefully this will steer me from those thoughts. Food has become my comfort. I pray this whole30 really gets my body back on track, and I can regain my high energy, a more healthy body, and peace of mind. This site makes me feel accountable. Glad for the forum and the whole30 gang that is sharing this journey with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 Day 2 My stats 236.8lbs Tired: diet and stopped working out ( work got crazy busy and I lost a lot of motivation) Became depressed after deployment and adjusting to home life. I just felt overwhelmed and I shut down. I hope it's going well for you. I've had some household responsibilities that have kept me from the CrossFit all week, so the food is going really well, but I miss the workout rush too. Good luck getting back into it. I hope this jumpstarts some depression recovery for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 Day 5 We're making it! I'm loving the clarity that the focus is bringing. It's a limited menu, but it's kind of nice to take a break from evaluating which restaurant choice is less awful. We are mostly eating at home and we are sticking to the plan. I hope everyone is having a good time! It's already 1/6 of the way past us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kierstenella Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Day 9 We're rocking this! The weekend was definitely difficult. It's just so much easier when my husband is home and we can all go out together and I get a whole break from cooking. But we planned together, found a couple of opportunities to go out, and the weekend was about more than food. It's a good feeling - seeing other priorities come to the surface. Here we are - almost 1/3 of the way through. How is it going? I hope everyone is feeling great. Just 21 days to go! Lesson learned: if the Well Fed cookbook says to make mayo with light olive oil instead of extra virgin, listen to the advice!! I tried making it yesterday, but had to throw it out. Going to have to head to the store for some light olive oil. Favorite breakfast so far is 3 eggs with hot sauce and sweet potatoes and onions and some greens (chard or spring mix or kale) on the side. 2-yr-old is on board too. Hot sauce: day 2 or 3 I was starting to think we could use some added spice. Pulled my favorite hot sauces out of the cabinet and almost cried. No more Trader Joe's Sriracha, no more Secret Aardvark Sauce. I headed to Whole Foods and spent some time reading hot sauce labels and came home with two great stand-ins while we Whole30: Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce and Arizona Pepper's Organic Harvest Habanero Chipotle sauce. Success!! Best wishes to everyone!! PS Have you started a list of post Whole30 treats or restaurant plans? Or do you feel like tastes are fully changing. I have a very small list. And we'll see how I feel in 21 more days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Striving Excellence Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 So I fell off the wagon. Went to Jazz Fest this past weekend. I did really well first day because I brought snacks. Second day was not so good. What was amazing to me was that my body did not fare well with eating some of the items. That has been motivation snuff to not cheat again. I know I would have done better if not traveling to events where I have less control over my food in such a venue. It is amazing how your body can't become quickly accustomed to eating things that HELP/HEAL your body and rejects the S.A.D. That once was the norm. I was sad to start over. But it also motivated me to expand my food options to more things that are portable and easy to pack on the go. I have found sooo many great paleo recipes to try. After my stomach was upset for 3 DAYS after my "fall", I NEVER want to go thru that again. That is motivation within itself. Glad to see everyone is still pushing thru. 1/6 of the way there for me. But I will make it this time. Thanks for the encouraging posts kierstenella. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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