Amy (and Travis) - The First Whole30 - Start July 9

[askins]

This is the whole30 log for Amy and Travis.  We're a married couple living in the foothills of the Rockies outside Denver.  We both have different reasons for being totally psyched about starting the Whole30 challenge.

 

Travis is 35.  He has various undiagnosed GI issues.  In the past, we've suspected various issues including allium intolerance, fructose malabsorbtion, Lymphangiectasia, IBS, Gilbert's Syndrome, and just last week we discovered that his uncle has been diagnosed with Celiac with many of the same symptoms.  Also Travis has lots of varying and chronic joint pain/tendonitis.  Currently, it's one of those "shoulder things," but in the past he's has ankle and groin issues.  Sometimes they start with injury or overuse, but sometimes not.  Travis has a healthy BMI and blood pressure and everything, but we're really hoping to see some improvement on the GI issues and the joint inflammation.

 

I am 32.  I don't generally have GI or joint issues, but I have always struggled with my weight.  When I was 24-25, I lost 80 pounds through a traditional healthy diet and exercise program (whole grains, lean proteins, etc) and kept it off for 5 years.  Then I had two babies 13.5 months apart, and the back-to-back pregnancy weight has me almost (but not quite) back where I started.  I would like to see changes in my weight, shape, and body composition. In spite of the weight issues, I'm generally in reasonably good health with good blood pressure, cholesterol, and lack of illness.

 

Here are my starting measurements, before I kicked the scale and measuring tape to the curb for the month.

 

Weight - 227.8lb
Waist (at belly button) - 46 in
Natural waist - 41 in
Hips - 50 in
Thigh - 29.5 in
Upper Arm - 15.5 in
Bust - 46.5 in

 

I'll measure again on August 9.

We're sort of crazy excited about this.  I hope this is the answer to a lot of questions... I'm a little terrified that we've gotten our hopes up too high.

[askins]

Day 1 - 7/9/13

 

Wake at 6:35am.  Had a hard time falling asleep last night because I was so excited.

 

Meal 1 at 7:15am - 2.5 eggs, baby spinach, tomato.  1/2 Avocado on the side and a 1/2 slice bacon.  I bought a Nutribullet yesterday.  I know that "liquid nutrition" is not really preferred by the whole30, but I need to have a fast, easy way to generate a healthy Meal 1 or Meal 1 supplement, especially for my skeptical husband.  So we had a smoothie with spinach, pineapple, fig, kiwi, banana, and chia seed.

 

Meal 2 at 12:15pm - I CANNOT BELIEVE that I haven't been hungry until now.  I brought a bunch of snacks to work because I figured I'd need it.  But no.  And now that I'm hungry, it's not the "OMG I think I'm gonna die" kind of hunger.  This is cool.  I hope this sticks.  Anyway, meal 2 is leftovers from the awesome paleo dinner Maggie made for us last night.  Pork chop with mushroom sauce, mixed summer squash, avocado and tomato salad with a boiled egg. Was going to have some strawberries too, but I feel full!

 

3:00pm - I feel lightheaded.  Not hungry.  Just... weird.

 

Meal 3 at 6:00pm - Chicken breast stuffed with basil and figs wrapped in prosciutto, steamed broccoli with an avocado hollendaise sauce, and a snap pea/asparagus/cauliflower salad with strawberry balsamic dressing.  Oh and a small handful of blueberries.  This was way too much food.  I ate half a piece of chicken and couldn't finish the salad.  I got through the broccoli though.

 

7:30-8p -  I hit a wall.  Tired, sluggish, cranky.  My left knee and hip hurt.  And I'm hungry again, which makes me feel like I should have pounded down more dinner.  Having a cup of chamomile.

 

Bedtime at 10:30p - Lord knows I wanted this to be earlier, but we needed to get some family business done.  I was a real crankypants, and trying desperately not to take it out on hubby.

[Physibeth]

Welcome! I hope you find the answers you are both looking for on this journey. I would really caution on the smoothies for so many reasons. There are tons of posts on the forum for people better qualified to speak on it then I am.

 

Quick question, are you and your husband eating the same thing (including quantities?) I'm going to assume that his palm is probably bigger than yours so his protein servings should be a bit bigger.

 

Good luck and stay strong!

[askins]

That's a good reminder about portion sizes.  I split the breakfast straight down the middle this morning.  I'll certainly pay better attention in the future.  I need to work on the portion sizes in general.  I used to (like last week) be a every 2-3 hour snacker, so I'm terrified that I won't make it until the next meal.  I think this should stabilize in the next few days.

 

I'll check out the resources on smoothies.  But for right now, (a) I'm not using them as meal replacement, ( mine include plenty of/mostly vegetables and healthy fats relative to fruits, and © they're not against the rules, just a suggestion.  So I'm pretty happy to continue with them if they bring some convenience.

[Physibeth]

I was a 2-3 hour eater too and it actually didn't take that long to adjust. The only times I've been hungry between meals have been when I've been extra active and didn't increase my portions accordingly and when I didn't quite hit the meal template at my previous meal. I will also say I'm pretty small (5'4") and can easily eat 4 eggs for breakfast myself with a nice heaping portion of vegetables. Eggs should be as many whole ones as you can hold in your hand.

[amberino21]

i'm doing this with my husband too - we eat the same, although we cook our breakfast separately so portion size there is easier to control

 

i'm trying to keep his intake at the high end of the template, so usually he get's 2/3rds and i'll get 1/3 of protein (if it's casserole/stew type dish) or a bigger piece of meat, he gets more fat and starchy carbs but generally I eat more non-starchy vegies

 

if you have to have a smoothie, i'd suggest using one piece of fruit - not the 3 or 4 you mentioned before. greens are easy to incorporate into meals (especially eggs at breakfast!) so smoothies really aren't necessary! (and that's coming from someone who was having 2 a day until we started our whole30)

[askins]

Day 2 - 7/10/13

 

Wake at 6:15am to alarm.  I felt initially pretty good, clear-headed, very awake.  Within an hour I was back to feeling lightheaded, detached, and very very cranky.  Hubby is tired, lethargic, and very very cranky.  This is not a good combination for us - hopefully we both come out of the hangover/punch you in the face stages soon.

 

Meal 1 at 7:00am - Two eggs baked in a tomato with salt and pepper.  Two more eggs fried soft in ghee over sauteed spinach and asperagus.  1/2 avocado.  Banana.  1/2 BP Coffee.  On the way to work I didn't like the way I was feeling so I quit drinking the coffee.  Now that I'm at work, my joints have started to get achy again.

 

Meal 2 at 12:15pm - Leftovers from dinner last night: stuffed chicken breast (2/3 of it.  can't seem to get the hang of the portion size.  My palm seems really large.) with a little bit of steamed broccoli and a lot of the mixed veggie salad.  Added a boiled egg on top.  3 figs.

 

I am noticing something phenomenal.  I am not a slave to food.  I am not a slave to the clock.  It is amazing to me how much time I used to spend (last week!) not only eating snacks, but thinking about when I was going to get to eat them, wondering if I could justify eating again this early, etc.  I seem to have so much more brain space opened up for actual, you know, WORK, because I'm not just thinking about eating all the time.  7a-12p without thinking about food!  That's crazy! 

 

Meal 3 at 6:15pm - Ginger and bok choy pork chops, sweet potato/cauliflower mash with parsley, chili garlic slaw, and Ranier cherries that came in the CSA today - yum!  Oh and a few mac nuts, in support of DH, complaining that he's still hungry.

 

While I seem to be coming out of the crankypants phase (this afternoon was pretty good), he is cranky in the extreme. And anti-social.  And borderline mean.  I don't know where my husband went and I want him back.  Bearing his crankiness is much harder than sucking it up and dealing with my own.  He has some intense playtime with our son this evening which seemed to help him perk up a little bit.

 

Am realizing that whole9life is right - it's nigh impossible to find sugar-free bacon.  Boo hiss.  

 

Bedtime at 10:30pm

[Emma]

Congratulations to you two for trying this out!  My husband and I did our first Whole30 together and I was VERY appreciative that we were doing it as a team.  It's hard keeping up the motivation to prepare the meals so it helps to have another person on board.  There are going to be some definite rough patches throughout the month, but it IS well worth it.  I can't express how much more normal/sane/healthy/good this feels for my health than counting calories or worrying about portion sizes.  I eat as much as I need/want at my meals and over time I see myself just kinda eating less.  My portions were rather huge that first month but I think that was fine since so much energy was going into preparing meals and making those lifestyle changes.   I also really liked the daily emails and think it was money super well spent.  Good luck to you two!!

[askins]

i'm doing this with my husband too - we eat the same, although we cook our breakfast separately so portion size there is easier to control

 

One of the "deals" I made to get DH to do this was that I would make his breakfast.  He is in the lifelong-cereal-eater club, and is used to just throwing his breakfast together in under a minute.  I've always been a needs-her-protein, eggs-for-breakfast kind of girl, so I'm used to a longer prep.  Hopfully once he gets the hang of it, he'll get back into prepping his own breakfast.  He tends to wake up an hour (or more) after me!

[Emma]

Oh my gosh - my husband was a grape nuts and yogurt guy EVERY single morning for pretty much his entire life.   I was a non-breakfast eater so this entire cooking first thing in the morning threw me for a loop at first, but my husband took it totally in stride.   It's funny how some things we think will be hard aren't as bad as we expect.

[amberino21]

My husband is a pretty good cook ( although so slow that he doesn't help out much - I'm the queen of speed and having multiple things going on in the kitchen!), and has been having eggs most breakfasts for ages - he loves them and luckily doesn't mind making himself an omelette! I do often make his breakfast though

[askins]

Day 3 - 7/11/13

 

Wakeup at 7:00am.  Totally forgot to set an alarm, then overslept.  Had a physical therapy appointment at 8a, so this was a bad day for it.

 

Meal 1 at 7:15am. 2 HB eggs.  Smoothie with a large handful spinach, 1 avocado, 1/2 banana, 1 fig, and some blueberries.  Running out the door.  On the plus side, I did not say "F the whole30."    Because of that fact, I am not ashamed that a smoothie was the go-to breakfast today.

 

It seems like DH is over the severe crankiness for the time being.  He kind of came out of it last night.  I think I feel pretty good today, but that good feeling got overshadowed by the crazy oversleeping.  Looking into buying some pastured meat animals from local 4H kids.  I'm kind of psyched about it.  Maybe I will get a chest freezer for my anniversary gift like I've been asking for...

 

Meal 2 at 12:10pm.  Cabbage leaf boats with sliced pork, chili slaw, and watermelon.  1/2 banana.  A handful of disappointing CSA sugar snap peas.  

 

Meal 3 at 6:15pm. Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage (W30 compliant!!!!!!), sauteed cabbage, peppers, and mushrooms, green salad with beets and avocado dressing, strawberry and banana salad.

 

I'm having trouble with the volume of food that we need in the house.  Earlier this week it seemed like we were eating through everything we bought.  I think we've made a collective 4 trips to the store, and 2 of those were to Costco.  And now... well... now it seems like we have a massive amount of food, more than we'll be able to get through before it spoils.  I'm used to snacking and having to have food around to cover the snacks.    

 

I'm also still struggling with how much we need to fill up at meals.  I'm terrified that I, or especially my husband will go away hungry.  I really want this to be a good experience for him, so I want to make it as positive as possible.  

 

I spent some time cleaning out the fridge of things we just won't be eating anymore.  That felt good.  And I moved the cannisters of flour and pantry grains to the basement.  That felt good too.  Tomorrow I'm going to work on cleaning out the pantry of pasta and canned beans.  I think creating more space will really help.

[askins]

Day 4 - 7/12/13

 

Meal 1 at 8:00a?  Sauteed Kale and Tomato, 1/2 avacado, 3 soft eggs, fig

 

Meal 2 at 12:00p - large green salad with beets/avacado, topped with ground beef/parsnip/red pepper hash, raw sugar snap peas

 

Meal 3 at 6:00p - grilled Salmon with lemon and dill, 1/2 sweet potato, grill roasted asperagus and cherry tomatoes.  Watermelon.

 

Travis had a real hard time this night up from 2:30a-5a with the rumblies.  Lo and behold, watermelon is on the low-FODMAP no-no list.  I think we are getting close to going to the low-FODMAP whole30....

[askins]

Day 5 - 7/13/13

 

Meal 1 at 7:30am: sauteed kale, tomato, red pepper.  1/2 avacado.  3 sunny side up eggs. 2 figs.

 

PWOM at 11am: small smoothie of kale, fig, blueberry, coconut oil.  1.5 HB egg.  Workout was digging new rain trenches in our poor driveway. 

 

Meal 2 at 1pm: 1/2 leftover fig stuffed chicken breast, salad, sauteed sugar snap peas.  Tried to stay on the lighter side due to the large snack.

 

Meal 3 at 6:00pm: Crockpot CS pork rib, grill roasted sugar snap peas/parsnip/red pepper, steamed broccoli.

 

bedtime at 10:30pm

 

Travis didn't have middle of the night issues, but did have pre-bedtime and post-wakeup issues that were the standard for him prior to whole30.  Looking back at this log, we had a rather high FODMAP day with all the peas and broccoli.  (he didn't eat any figs.)  We are printing out the low-FODMAP shopping list today and committing to going that route for him for the remainder of the whole30.  We might try and reintroduce some of it later -- I think that today was a threshold issue.  It wasn't one serving, it was three massive servings of FODMAP vegetables.

 

In other news, Travis's "shoulder thing" has calmed way down.  And I feel like I look slimmer.  And am starting to have more energy.

[askins]

Day 6 - 7/14/13

 

Wakeup at 7:30am

 

Meal 1 at 8:30am - sauteed kale, tomato, red pepper.  1/2 avacado.  3 sunny side up eggs.  rainier cherries. 

 

I swear that I am slimmer.  My shorts and t shirt are HANGING off of me.  How the heck is this possible in only 5.5 days, with no appreciable workouts??  When I was desperately trying to lose weight with calorie restriction and exercise before??  Ridiculous!

 

Meal 2 at 12:15pm - skillet with natural sausage, spinach, and mixed summer squash.  rainier cherries.

 

Snack at 4:00pm - freshly roasted cashews.  Had to have a few.  Also made a BP coffee.  Shortly after this got some wicked heartburn.  Was blaming the coffee, but then it came back after dinner.

 

Meal 3 at 6:10pm - No-fuss Salmon Cakes with Tartar Sauce, Steamed cauliflower, saute of baby kale and red pepper.  Delicious dinner and loved the salmon cakes, but I had the wicked heartburn/stomach cramps again.  Hopefully this is a detox thing and will go away in a day or two?

 

Definitely slimmer - pulled out some pants and they weren't tight.  And Travis has noticed. This is crazy.

 

We are switching Travis to the low FODMAP whole30 plan.  He'll help clean up the FODMAP veggies we have in the fridge (asperagus, broccoli), since those bother him less than other things.  But after that, we're going to strict avoidance after the past two nights of issues.  On the other hand, the whole30 has made it pretty easy to isolate the triggers (watermelon - who knew?).

 

Bedtime at 10:30pm

[SpinSpin]

Looking good so far! Just wondering if your breakfast might go together quicker if you make a breakfast casserole--veggies, meat, seasonings and eggs--or egg muffins (NOT McMuffins!)--these work really well for my hubby--I cut them up for him so he can eat them on the go (he is a truck driver and alas, eats on the go most of the time) and they really help with getting his veg in. Try to limit the smoothies--try eating what goes in your smoothies on a plate and it is amazing how much food it really is!

[askins]

Looking good so far! Just wondering if your breakfast might go together quicker if you make a breakfast casserole--veggies, meat, seasonings and eggs--or egg muffins (NOT McMuffins!)--these work really well for my hubby--I cut them up for him so he can eat them on the go (he is a truck driver and alas, eats on the go most of the time) and they really help with getting his veg in.

 

Do you make up the casserole ahead of time and then reheat it?  Or make it just before breakfast?  Trying to picture how this would work...

[amberino21]

It sounds sort of frittata like - that could be cut up and either reheated or eaten cold

[SpinSpin]

It sounds sort of frittata like - that could be cut up and either reheated or eaten cold

 

Yep! I make it up the night before --one I do is a pound of sausage or ground beef with a pound of veg--spinach, kale or other green that you like--cooked together, with onion and let cool a bit. MIx with 8-10 beaten eggs with a bunch of parsley, chopped and salt/pepper/ desired spices. pour into an 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or till set (check around 25 minutes).. Cool and cut into 4 squares. Easy peasy. If it is something that you both would do, double it, using 18 eggs and cook in a 9x13 pan. I have done it with left over roasted veg too. Yummy and quick! . 

[SpinSpin]

http://www.paleoplan.com/2009/12-03/omelet-muffins/

 

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sausage-egg-breakfast-bites/#axzz2Z5P8Lnv4

 

http://fastpaleo.com/southwestern-omelet-muffins/

 

http://fastpaleo.com/prosciutto-egg-cups/

 

A few links to get you started 

[askins]

Great ideas!  Thanks so much!

[askins]

Day 7 - 7/15/13

 

Wake at 6:15am to alarm.  Had a better night of sleep last night.  Hubs had some "rumblies" - probably due to the cauliflower - but not enough to keep him awake.

 

Meal 1 at 6:45am.  Three soft cooked eggs over spinach, tomato, and avocado.  2 figs.

 

PWO Meal at 9:00am.  HB egg and a handful of cherries.  I couldn't remember what ISWF says about post-workout meals except that they exist, so I made this up.  Now I see that my category (going for weight loss) should have only protein and no carbs.  So I'll do that better next time.  I wasn't really hungry anyway.  Workout was 30 minutes of swimming.

 

Meal 2 at 1:00pm.  Leftover ginger pork chop.  Sweet potato and cauli mash.  Mixed veggies plus a baby beet (because I love beets like, whoa, and hubby doesn't).  2 Figs.

 

Had one of my tension headaches that I typically get on Mondays.  I have been suspecting that it's caused by a lot of computer work after the weekend break and intend to speak to the eye doc about it.  I was hoping the whole30 might miraculously help with this, but apparently not.

 

Made ANOTHER run to the grocery store.  I really need to do some better planning and get this under control.  I can't handle 4-5 trips to the store per week!

 

Meal 3 at 6:10pm.  Herb stuffed pork chop (only ate 3/4 of mine). Sauteed baby kale.  Sweet potato/summer squash mix.    I think I finally am starting to learn the portion control thing... or at least to stop eating when I feel full.  This has been surprisingly difficult so far.

[SpinSpin]

HI again! :-) PWO meals should be something like lean chicken or some fish and a carby veg like some sweet potato, beets or butternut squash. Fat slows down the recovery process in that your muscles need the protein quickly to help recover. The hb egg would be better for pre workout.

[askins]

Thanks!  You know, even reading that section in ISWF over again, I still don't think it's incredibly clear.  I think I get it now.

[askins]

Day 8 - 7/16/13

 

Wakeup at 6:30am to alarm.  Hit the snooze button. 

 

Hubby had issues with the cantaloupe he ate for "dessert" last night.  It's on the low-FODMAP list, but apparently it's going on our no-list.  He is extremely frustrated that we keep running into items that bother him.  I say we are learning.  But I confess that it wears on me too.  He had a couple of amazingly good days last week (better than ever before in his life), so we know that it's possible to not have the bloating and the runs before bed and after wakeup.  He wants to look at what we ate those days and just eat those things for the whole month.  I'm looking into adding some leaky-gut-healing supplements for him, like aloe vera juice.

 

Meal 1 at 7:00am: 3 soft eggs (4 scrambled hard for Travis), 1/2 avocado, spinach and 1/2 tomato saute.  Banana for me.  Prosciutto slice for Travis.

 

Meal 2 at 12:30pm: 2 Salmon cakes with OOMayo, 1/8 canteloupe, and LOTS of steamed cauli.  Also brought some chili slaw, but too full to eat it.

 

Meal 3 at 6:00pm: Ground beef/zuke/red pepper/tomato stir fry (mushrooms for me), cucumber salad, and strawberry banana salad. 

 

Travis started on digestive enzymes (one capsule) and marshmallow root.  He got bloated about an hour after dinner, but it's hard to say if it was something we ate, leftover from yesterday, or the new supplements.  This was an excellently low-FODMAP dinner though.  Holding out that tomorrow will be better.  I'm going to bed early... so tired.

 

Bedtime at 10pm.  I tried.