July 15th Start Date: support and accountability a must

[Islandgrrl]

I had a whole recap of the day typed out and my iPad ate it.

I'm not going to retype the whole thing, but I will say that it was a good day. I made a chicken and avocado burrito with big lettuce leaves in place of tortillas. I also made a green chile and avocado turkey burger (omg, yum) with lettuce as the bun. I ate cherries, watermelon and green melon (what do you call that...I'm drawing a blank).

Plans for tomorrow to make mayonnaise so I can make curried Waldorf chicken salad. And to make hollandaise sauce for eggs florentine for breakfast in the morning.

I have a question about fruit. It's summer. Fruit is abundant. Heck, I even grow my own raspberries and blackberries. I Try to eat what is seasonally available, and right now fruit is seasonal. I'm not eating fruit to satisfy sugar cravings, honest. When I crave sugar, I don't care about fruit, I want cookies. Okay...now the question part. Am I not supposed to be eating fruit? Is it bad?

[Natalie M.]

Zinniaseeds, I'm not a doctor, but what comes to my mind is, maybe your stomach is emptying too fast. I know you're fighting insulin resistance, and I wonder if having larger portions of protein with fat added would slow your stomach down. Four ounces of chicken may not be enough to keep those veggies from spiking your BS. Don't feel like it's a failure to take meds if you need to. I don't love pharmaceuticals myself, but it sounds like you're on a razor's edge with your BS. We're rooting for you, though!

 

Islandgrrl, I say when fruit is in season, gorge! Ha!

 

Anybody else need bad advice? I can go all day....

[jacmic]

Hey everyone! Approaching the end of week 2! My children had ice cream last night and I hadno desire to have any. This is huge forme b/c I love ice cream...like some men give their wives flowers, mine gives me flowers and ice cream!

Speaking of husbands, we biked 50 miles yesterday. I was a little nervous about it b/c I had not been on my bike in 3 weeks and my longest distance this year has been 30 but we are doing a 100k ride the end of August and I'm doing the swim and bike portion of a 1/2 ironman in sept so needed to get some miles in. I.felt.great! I could not believe how good I felt. It has to be the way we are eating b/c I didn't feel that good when we did 30! Of course, my legs were screaming at me last night but a few ibuprofen and a good night of sleep and I'm good!

Also started my voyage back to meat. Had some minor stomach issues but overall, good stuff. Looking forward to the second half of this journey.

Islandgrrl...eat your fruit and enjoy it.i always just try and pair any fruit with protein. Melons and peaches are in season here and they are yum!

Zinnia...I don't know anything about blood sugar but I can tell your are doing everything you can to listen to your body and try to regulate it. Keep posting and talking and trying new new things.

Ready for our Sunday family rest day...have a good one!

[Islandgrrl]

Day 14. Two weeks in. I slept really well again. if Whole30 makes me sleep this well, this is reason enough to make it permanent. It's really nice to not wake up every two hours.

I didn't mention last night, but I made banana bread for the family last night and I'm not even remotely interested in it. I count that as a second win.

I have to do some cooking today so I have what to eat this week. My husband has asked me to make risotto with peas (fresh from the garden) tonight, so I will do that. He and our daughter can eat off that for dinners until probably Wednesday. I think I'll take some chicken out of the freezer and haul out the crock pot. All I have to do is figure out what to throw in there with the chicken.....

I hope everyone is doing well! Here's to a fabulous Week 3!

ETA: hollandaise sauce was an epic fail.

[Sakrima]

I just love to read about your experience... Thank you all for sharing your whole30 story!

I made strawberry ice cream for kids and did not taste it... Wanted to taste but did not. What a good girl I am nowadays!

For me: my first home-made beef broth and another mayo-recipe (that less than two minutes - recipe) and both were success! So it was a good day after all - but I'm not talking to my H, have not talked with him the whole day, b/c he has been very bad and I'm so angry with him. Usually I would be eating milk chocolate and many other sweet treats when feeling like this, but not now. I feel calm while I'm mad, and that is surely very strange. Is this another effect produced by whole30?

[Islandgrrl]

Ok. Today sucked. I've been bottomless pit hungry all day.

Breakfast ended up being 2 poached eggs and some blueberries. My hollandaise sauce was disgusting. It solidified and tasted....wrong. I tried to gently warm it and it broke. Bah. Between making breakfast for the rest of the family and trying to get ready to head out the door...well, I ate what was left and called it a day.

Much running around today and doing errands. Lunch was very late....at about 3:00. Turkey burgers....same as last night. Yummy. Watermelon, blueberries, some pistachios and a handful of almonds.

All I want to do is eat, but I'm not actually feeling hunger. Really, what I want is chocolate. Dark, bittersweet (more bitter than sweet) chocolate. I'm staying strong and not straying.

I just finished making food for tomorrow: the last turkey burger with a green chile and avocado, on a lettuce bun. Hard boiled eggs. Broccoli, zucchini and carrots. A peach.

I'm feeling a bit like I'm in a food rut. I like all the stuff I'm eating, but I need something different.

[amberino21]

Ok. Today sucked. I've been bottomless pit hungry all day.

Breakfast ended up being 2 poached eggs and some blueberries. My hollandaise sauce was disgusting. It solidified and tasted....wrong. I tried to gently warm it and it broke. Bah. Between making breakfast for the rest of the family and trying to get ready to head out the door...well, I ate what was left and called it a day.

Much running around today and doing errands. Lunch was very late....at about 3:00. Turkey burgers....same as last night. Yummy. Watermelon, blueberries, some pistachios and a handful of almonds.

All I want to do is eat, but I'm not actually feeling hunger. Really, what I want is chocolate. Dark, bittersweet (more bitter than sweet) chocolate. I'm staying strong and not straying.

I just finished making food for tomorrow: the last turkey burger with a green chile and avocado, on a lettuce bun. Hard boiled eggs. Broccoli, zucchini and carrots. A peach.

I'm feeling a bit like I'm in a food rut. I like all the stuff I'm eating, but I need something different.

You're hardly eating anything!! Can you pre make some meals so you've always got food even when you're busy? Perhaps making sure all your meals fit the template will help with hunger levels?

I think I've also read that craving chocolate is due to lack of magnesium?

[Islandgrrl]

Amberino21, it's funny....I don't really want the chocolate. It just SOUNDS good. Really good. But I'm not tempted to reach for it....not at all. And it's in the fridge, easy to grab.

I think I'm just having a weird day.

[jacmic]

Islandgrrl - your days sounds like mine. Between food prep and getting everything ready for my daughter's first day of school, I think I ate lunch around 2:30 yesterday afternoon. But  I've also been having a few digestive issues with the switch back to poultry so some of it was I just didn't want to eat. I'm feeling better but am still taking things slow.

 

So we did jump rope, ring dips and front loaded squats for our WOD today and I LOVED it! I think the part that amazed me was how much stronger I was, versus what I thought. I can't yet do the double under jump rope but I was able to fly through the singles. I don't remember the last time I could. The ring dips were hard but fun too. I'm sure I'll feel that tomorrow. 

 

Back to basic meals today - eggs, tuna, shrimp with a wide variety of veggies and fruit to give my tummy something it's used to. As a family, we sat down yesterday afternoon and planned out our meals for the week. I'm love getting my girls involved and I love, even more, knowing exactly what we are having for dinner so I don't have to think about it at all! It's hard to work all day, pick up kids and get dinner on the table with the healthy choices. I'm going for getting the girls involved more in prep so they are excited about what they are eating. My 7 yr old does great, my 4 yr old not so much. I laugh that she doesn't really like to eat veggies but I can put anything in my vitamix, blend it up, and she sucks it down. 

 

Ok - have a great day and beginning of week 3!

[Islandgrrl]

Day 15? Already? I'm amazed that this is the halfway point.

 

The planned breakfast for today was 2 eggs, steamed spinach and some coconut butter. Yeah, that was the plan, alright. I've managed one egg so far and I'm just. not. hungry. I know I need to eat more.....but.....meh.

 

Apparently I either set the wrong alarm last night or turned it off this morning and set the late alarm because I woke up at 5:40 instead of 4:30. Not enough time to get a run in this morning before work, so I'll try for a walk at lunchtime. Of course, I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to eat lunch at lunchtime, too. I'll figure it out.

 

The lunch plan: the leftover turkey burger with avocado and green chile on lettuce. A big bowl of steamed broccoli and zucchini, probably with some coconut butter on it for some fat. Either a peach or a banana if I'm still hungry (doubtful after all that). I brought both...couldn't decide which sounded better.

 

The dinner plan: NO idea. Probably fish (I have some gorgeous codfish in the freezer) because I can defrost that pretty quickly. Another pile of veggies.....maybe kale if I have enough in the garden that's ready to pick. That would be mighty fine.

[Natalie M.]

Anybody else give up coffee? I can't afford Crio Bru right now, so I put a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa in my French press and brew it like normal. It's an acceptable substitute. Marksdailyapple.com recently posted a recipe for primal egg coffee ( http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-egg-coffee ) and I subbed my cocoa brew for the coffee. It's pretty good. It'd be better sweetened, frankly, but might satisfy your desire for a warm, bitter beverage.

[Islandgrrl]

I gave up coffee. While I like coffee very much and am perfectly willing to drink it black, I prefer it as a vehicle for decadent, sweet tasting things. So it had to go. I've been drinking white or green tea. Plain. Which is just the way I like it.

 

I have to google Crio Bru. No idea what that is.

[Islandgrrl]

Day 16.

 

I'm figuring out a few things.

 

#1. Nuts are a no-brake food for me. Unless I'm in a situation where nuts can be limited, they are out for now. I mean limited like I bring a handful of nuts to work with me and don't have the ability to go back for more.

 

#2. I hate, detest and abhor spaghetti squash and I absolutely refuse to eat it under any circumstance. After at least a half dozen attempts to like it, I realize that I just don't. At all.

 

#3. I like coconut stuff. For years and years, I thought the only thing I liked about coconuts was the smell. What I don't like about coconut is that dried, sweetened flaked stuff. As it turns out, I love coconut. Real coconut. Yum.

 

So, food yesterday was not good again. I didn't eat anything non-compliant, but I'm pretty sure I didn't eat enough yesterday. I ended up with a salad with a can of tuna on it for dinner.  And nuts. Too many nuts. Hence my realization that I need to stay far, far away from the nuts.

 

Food today is kind of a train wreck, too. I realized a little too late last night that the food I had prepared for lunch today was gone (hubs fed it to our daughter not realizing it was my lunch). So breakfast was 2 hard boiled eggs and a banana. I went to the hospital snack bar (we don't have a real cafeteria) and got a side salad with tomatoes, onions and bell peppers on it and I dumped a can of tuna on top, drizzled the salad with the tuna oil, added a chopped avocado, salt and pepper. It was good and I'm full. Too full to eat the steamed veggies I was too full for yesterday. They are going home with me and I'll have them for dinner with whatever I scare up in the protein department....possibly some poached eggs.

 

I have to cook tonight. Period.

 

I'm feeling pretty teriffic, though!

[Islandgrrl]

I made this: http://paleomg.com/enchilada-chicken-stew/ but I made it on the stovetop. Awesome stuff. I have enough for at least six good sized servings. I'm adding this one to my file of go-to recipes.

I made a turkey burger for dinner while the chicken was cooking off, topped it with a green chile and served it on a bed of spinach that I sautéed in the drippings from the burger. Delicious.

I noticed today at work that my scrubs are fitting more loosely. Loosely enough that I'm constantly having to pull my skirt up. So, yay? I only have two smaller skirts, so lots of laundry. I'm not buying more skirts yet.

Also today, I had three separate people at work ask me if I have lost weight (I guess so?) and what I'm "doing." When I explained it, every single one of them said something like, "oh, I could never do that." yeah, that's what I thought, too.

[mydisciprin]

Feeling a bit fed up with this program today. I know the results can take time but I'm not feeling any improvements, no difference, just a lot of anxiety over the fact that I've already spent August's food budget (and some of September's if I'm strict) making this diet happen. I don't feel as energetic as normal, lack stamina (but not strength) in physical activities. I'm not eating enough calories as I really can't afford to go buying more special food for this diet (i.e. nuts or coconut oil for energy) so I got two choices:

suck it up for another 2 weeks

quit and eat bowl after bowl of delicious brown rice and lentils. Guess what I'm craving right now.

[mydisciprin]

 I dumped a can of tuna on top, drizzled the salad with the tuna oil,

 

Do you check ingredient labels? Tuna oil is often labeled "Vegetable oil", usually sunflower or canola mixes. I've seen canned sardines in olive oil but never tuna for some reason.

[amberino21]

Feeling a bit fed up with this program today. I know the results can take time but I'm not feeling any improvements, no difference, just a lot of anxiety over the fact that I've already spent August's food budget (and some of September's if I'm strict) making this diet happen. I don't feel as energetic as normal, lack stamina (but not strength) in physical activities. I'm not eating enough calories as I really can't afford to go buying more special food for this diet (i.e. nuts or coconut oil for energy) so I got two choices:

suck it up for another 2 weeks

quit and eat bowl after bowl of delicious brown rice and lentils. Guess what I'm craving right now.

If you're following the plan - 3 meals that follow the template, plus pre/postWO meals on the days you exercise, there is no way you couldn't be eating enough calories. I'd suggest sticking to the upper limit of the template, or even more if you're extremely active.

[redjasmin]

Feeling a bit fed up with this program today. I know the results can take time but I'm not feeling any improvements, no difference, just a lot of anxiety over the fact that I've already spent August's food budget (and some of September's if I'm strict) making this diet happen. I don't feel as energetic as normal, lack stamina (but not strength) in physical activities. I'm not eating enough calories as I really can't afford to go buying more special food for this diet (i.e. nuts or coconut oil for energy) so I got two choices:

suck it up for another 2 weeks

quit and eat bowl after bowl of delicious brown rice and lentils. Guess what I'm craving right now.[/

It seems a shame to quit after getting this far, and especially if you have invested money in it - although there are lots of budget foods that you can have? You don't need nuts for energy, if fact nuts are one of the things that you should, go easy on? Avocados and olives have plenty of healthy fat, and oily fish. Drizzle salads with olive oil. Maybe you are not actually eating enough?

[jacmic]

Hey everyone!

 

Islandgrrl - I'm so with you on the the nuts. I bought a bag of raw mixed nuts (no peanuts) to have at work just in case I got hungry and it lasted all of a week so no more for me unless in small, controlled portions. I'm trying to focus more on my meals to make sure I'm getting plenty so am not hungry in between. Yes - pulling up your skirts is a good thing :-)

 

Made this dish last night: http://www.paleocupboard.com/basil-avocado-chicken-salad.html, served with lettuce, tomato and green beans. It was delish and even my little girls loved it! Definetly staying on the dinner rotation.

 

mydisciprin - sorry you are frustrated. every body is different so it may take a little longer for you to see results. We do our weekly shopping at a local warehouse club - buying veggies and meat in bulk and I freeze the meat. I do buy what we call "happy meat"...grass fed, organic, humanely raise meats but I don't always buys organic veggies - just depends on what I'm getting. Melons, tomatos, cucumbers, zucchini, squash and eggplant are all in season here right now so fairly cheap. Eggs and canned tuna are fairly inexpensive ways to get protein in. I say you are 2 weeks in, go ahead and work to finish the two weeks buying what you can afford to by - so if that's non organic meat, just be careful to trim the fat so that you don't injest the harmful stuff. According to the book, the fat is where that stuff is stored. 

 

So I'm not craving sweets or cheese anymore but I bought bagels for my daughters and was fixing one last night for her to take to school. It looked so yummy, just wanted to dive in and eat it but I'm calmly placed it in the baggie and put it in her lunchbox! Yikes.

 

Had one of my strongest workouts to date this morning and my clothes continue to get loser, yay!

[mydisciprin]

Feeling a bit fed up with this program today. I know the results can take time but I'm not feeling any improvements, no difference, just a lot of anxiety over the fact that I've already spent August's food budget (and some of September's if I'm strict) making this diet happen. I don't feel as energetic as normal, lack stamina (but not strength) in physical activities. I'm not eating enough calories as I really can't afford to go buying more special food for this diet (i.e. nuts or coconut oil for energy) so I got two choices:

suck it up for another 2 weeks

quit and eat bowl after bowl of delicious brown rice and lentils. Guess what I'm craving right now.[/

It seems a shame to quit after getting this far, and especially if you have invested money in it - although there are lots of budget foods that you can have? You don't need nuts for energy, if fact nuts are one of the things that you should, go easy on? Avocados and olives have plenty of healthy fat, and oily fish. Drizzle salads with olive oil. Maybe you are not actually eating enough?

 

Yeah I think that's what it comes down to, I'm just not eating enough. But I honestly cannot afford to spend more on my meals, trying to follow 3 meals day with all the recommendations would put me in real debt and as much as I'd like a healthier body, debt stresses me out enormously and I don't think it would be worth the trade-off (assuming, of course, that this eating plan is going to benefit me).

 

amberino21 - no I'm not eating 3 meals a day or any pre or post WO meals. would love to but if I had been doing that I would've already spent all of September's food budget and then some.

This diet must be great if you don't have have to worry about the food bill...

 

I know nuts are not highly recommended so I'm trying not to overdo it there, been eating LOTS of butternut and sweet potato the last few days but phew it starts feeling like a chore eating so much in terms of volume.

[Islandgrrl]

 

Feeling a bit fed up with this program today. I know the results can take time but I'm not feeling any improvements, no difference, just a lot of anxiety over the fact that I've already spent August's food budget (and some of September's if I'm strict) making this diet happen. I don't feel as energetic as normal, lack stamina (but not strength) in physical activities. I'm not eating enough calories as I really can't afford to go buying more special food for this diet (i.e. nuts or coconut oil for energy) so I got two choices:

suck it up for another 2 weeks

quit and eat bowl after bowl of delicious brown rice and lentils. Guess what I'm craving right now.

 

 

mydisciprin, I'm sorry you're struggling so. I agree it can be expensive to buy only organic, grass-fed and pastured proteins and organic veggies. I don't live in a place where it's easy to get the proteins, so I just do what I can at the supermarket. I'm sure my chickens are not all free-range, but I do at least make sure they are hormone free. As for veggies, where I live organic veggies cost an arm and a leg. And it's more expensive at the farmers' markets than at the grocery. So I shop for what's on sale and just buy regular for the rest. As for the energy....everyone is different and I don't think everyone is going to get, "wow, I feel so incredibly amazingly different today than I did yesterday." Maybe for you, change will come slowly, a little at a time? I hope so.

 

Also.....I was mistaken....my tuna is water packed. I just used the tuna "juice."

[Islandgrrl]

 

Made this dish last night: http://www.paleocupboard.com/basil-avocado-chicken-salad.html, served with lettuce, tomato and green beans. It was delish and even my little girls loved it! Definetly staying on the dinner rotation.

 

That sounds yummy.....now on my list of things to try.  I'm always looking for good chicken recipes since I don't eat red meat or pork (I don't like red meat, and I keep kosher).

[zinniaseeds]

mydiscripin.....Maybe you have the lowcarb flu. When I cut out all the grain,sugar,beans,and dairy, I am left with a very low carb diet, which I need to be on because of blood sugar issues. I felt horrible for the first three weeks. It took that long for my body to get over the sugar addiction...which was probably pretty good considering I have been eating it for 58 years.  So now I wake up clear headed and my energy is starting to build.

[zinniaseeds]

Today I woke up to 103 Blood sugar (BS)  @ 6 am . I had a horrific headache.   That is lower than it has been since I started. No meds.  I ate 4 oz of roast beast, and drank a cup of coffee...I'll wean off of coffee soon.( trying to it is just too many things at once.)Coffee gets rid of my morning headache. I wonder if I'd get one if I no longer drank it.  I went biking for one and a half hours, 15 miles. I came home and tested my blood sugar @ 11 am  and it was 102...hrmmmm. I ate 3 oz roast beef and half an avocado.  I am afraid to eat.  I started out with 127 BS in the morning two weeks ago. So...somehow this is working... slowly.

[mydisciprin]

Well I'm not one for quitting* so I'm gonna stick with it, but after thinking about it I have to be honest and say I'm not doing a true W30. I'm definitely 100% in line as far as keeping out foods according to the guidelines, but regarding what I'm supposed to be putting in, unfortunately I'm probably only about 60-70% on track.

It's okay, I'll do the diet again at some point, but planned properly and done properly. I saw the book/diet for the first time only about a month ago, and started the diet like a week later, which is why my food budget is all out of whack - this eating plan just got dumped on top of the grocery shopping I'd already done for the month. Not smart. But the book succeeded in convincing me with it's "start now!" attitude!

If I consider how minimal my eating is at the moment I should be pleased with myself - doing well.

 

*except cigarettes