Starting August 1!

[writergirljodie]

Hi all, I haven't posted since day 2 because things got busy but I read all the posts daily. I wanted to ask if anyone else was feeling the same way on day 12. I am almost never hungry. I wake up and make myself eat and then remember to eat a couple hours later. I know this is not healthy. My calorie count is really low. This is not normal for me, prior to 12 days ago I was eating all day long.

 

Also, I was invited to a happy hour. What can I drink that will be compliant?

 

Thanks

I've been drinking mineral water with a lemon at the Club when we go on Fridays! It works pretty well. I like it so much, I bought some to have at home after dinner, too! 

[writergirljodie]

Has anyone else felt like grocery stores and food companies are out to sabotage our whole 30 efforts? I'm so frustrated with my commissary - just to give you an idea, I live on an Air Force Base in the middle of the Mojave desert. The nearest store of any kind besides the ones on base are AT LEAST 30 minutes away from us. So, the other day I found a wonderful recipe for pulled pork with homemade paleo BBQ sauce. And I wanted to make it for that day!! I ran to the commissary and found a big, beautiful shoulder roast and a few other ingredients I needed, including organic vegetable broth to cook the roast in. I got home, sliced up some onions, threw in some bay leaves and the roast, which I had to cut in half, and piled them into my crockpot to slow cook for the day. I started to pour in the organic vegetable broth only to second guess the situation and pull back. I had poured half of the 32 oz. bottle in when I decided that maybe I should check the label. There was SUGAR and WHEAT in my certified organic, 100% natural veggie broth!!! Dang it!!! It was already in my crockpot!! I debated over this for a few minutes and almost let it go and just chock it up to making a dumb mistake. But I just couldn't do it! I emptied the broth from the crockpot into the sink, down the drain!! I used what little chicken stock I had left in my fridge and water instead. I think it was the best choice.

 

Still, what's up with all the stuff that should be safe for us filled with all kinds of things that are not good or by any stretch of the word "compliant" all up in our grocery store? Believe it or not, that was the ONLY brand of broth we had on our commissary shelves. I was really annoyed. This is only one example of something that happens practically every week. I don't always buy it before I realize it, but sometimes something that I thought was ok turns out to be not. Sometimes I swear that it changed its contents or just started listing something that wasn't there before. I know I should be grateful just to have a commissary on base to keep me from having to drive into Lancaster or Palmdale for all of our stuff. But dang it! It really bothers me that my choices are so limited. I try to get out to Trader Joe's or Costco to stock up on the good stuff a couple times per month, and I get most of my produce from my CSA and from farmer's markets. But if I have a hankerin' to make something and need special ingredients that I don't already have on hand, that's where I run into trouble. Ugh!!

 

Is everyone just out to sell us poison foods these days? Maybe I'm just getting bent out of shape because it seems that EVERYTHING in our commissary is non-compliant!! LOL! It's not, but it sure feels like it sometimes. When I go to the commissary these days, there are only a couple of aisles I peruse. Mostly I shop in produce, dairy (for eggs only), and a couple of things that are packaged, but not much. My time spent at the grocery store these days has dwindled A LOT!! I get a lot more inedible things there now than the way it used to be. I like Borax and my German vinegar especially. They're great for cleaning!! But the food items I buy from there, I just don't buy as much there now. If I could get better quality foods, I would probably go broke at the commissary. But I can't. So I won't.

 

Fine by me.

[BeautifulMonster]

I am definitely having a bad day.  The meals I prepared this weekend were less than stellar, some of the dishes just didn't quite turn out right and some are just things I'm not crazy about (like chili...I'll eat chili, sure, but I don't want it all the time!...husband loved it though).  So I open the fridge, look at piles of containers full of food I prepared but don't want.  And I'm out of eggs, my next delivery is on Friday!  Today I had to resist some temptation at work (the boss brought it a potato, bacon and cheese dish...ummm...no) and my lunch was meager, because I was just so unenthusiastic about what I had.  I'm hungry now, but I think I will hold on till dinner.  Only 2.5 hours.  Besides, there's nothing compliant to eat here at work except more wilty looking lettuce and peppers.  <sigh>  I think I can do this, but I am surprised at how bad today has been.  </rant>

[lexes42]

@BeautifulMonster

 

Sing it sister.  I feel your pain.

[michaela]

Has anyone else felt like grocery stores and food companies are out to sabotage our whole 30 efforts? I'm so frustrated with my commissary - just to give you an idea, I live on an Air Force Base in the middle of the Mojave desert. The nearest store of any kind besides the ones on base are AT LEAST 30 minutes away from us. So, the other day I found a wonderful recipe for pulled pork with homemade paleo BBQ sauce. And I wanted to make it for that day!! I ran to the commissary and found a big, beautiful shoulder roast and a few other ingredients I needed, including organic vegetable broth to cook the roast in. I got home, sliced up some onions, threw in some bay leaves and the roast, which I had to cut in half, and piled them into my crockpot to slow cook for the day. I started to pour in the organic vegetable broth only to second guess the situation and pull back. I had poured half of the 32 oz. bottle in when I decided that maybe I should check the label. There was SUGAR and WHEAT in my certified organic, 100% natural veggie broth!!! Dang it!!! It was already in my crockpot!! I debated over this for a few minutes and almost let it go and just chock it up to making a dumb mistake. But I just couldn't do it! I emptied the broth from the crockpot into the sink, down the drain!! I used what little chicken stock I had left in my fridge and water instead. I think it was the best choice.

 

Still, what's up with all the stuff that should be safe for us filled with all kinds of things that are not good or by any stretch of the word "compliant" all up in our grocery store? Believe it or not, that was the ONLY brand of broth we had on our commissary shelves. I was really annoyed. This is only one example of something that happens practically every week. I don't always buy it before I realize it, but sometimes something that I thought was ok turns out to be not. Sometimes I swear that it changed its contents or just started listing something that wasn't there before. I know I should be grateful just to have a commissary on base to keep me from having to drive into Lancaster or Palmdale for all of our stuff. But dang it! It really bothers me that my choices are so limited. I try to get out to Trader Joe's or Costco to stock up on the good stuff a couple times per month, and I get most of my produce from my CSA and from farmer's markets. But if I have a hankerin' to make something and need special ingredients that I don't already have on hand, that's where I run into trouble. Ugh!!

 

I feel you on that broth! It didn't occur to me to check my chicken broth during my first Whole30 and it contained honey. I had to rinse off the butternut squash and just use water. It is nearly impossible to find compliant stock/broth. Rachel Ray has a chicken stock that looked compliant, but then I read one of the ingredients is "flavor" and I wasn't sure what that even meant. Wasn't gonna risk it.

 

Now I check the labels on *everything*. Flipped over a cinnamon shaker at 7-11 a while back before using it in my coffee only to find it also contained sugar. It's Cinnamon, for Pete's sake! One ingredient needed! (End rant)

 

2 weeks in!

[lexes42]

This is how I felt about my accidental / on purpose off plan meatsauce yesterday:

 

 

And while I haven't gone off the rails since  I'm struggling to get motivated again.

[SherryS75]

2 weeks....congrats everyone! I love how great I'm feeling, I have more energy, my sleeps are amazing and I'm in such a great mood . My belly also seems to be shrinking although my clothes don't really feel much different. My skin seems brighter but is still quite broken out, i think on that front it's going to get worse before it gets better. I've been on staycation since day 2 of the whole30 and have had multiple temptations but there's no way I wanted to select "I made some bad choices today....lets start my whole30 again" on my daily email...lol.

I'm also surprised at the crap that's added to packaged food that you would think would be healthier, such as the organic broth but equally surprised at how simple it is to make these things myself. Homemade mayo in under a minute! AMAZING! I'll never buy mayo again! I'm going to try my hand at ketchup and grainy mustard once I get to the store for a few ingredients. What things have you made from scratch that you won't go back to store bought?

[sueskarma]

Ok, just like work, another day another dollar!  I did start peeing again like a madwoman yesterday.  Was up three times last night too.

Why does this excite me?  I finally hope to see a difference in my clothes fitting this weekend. Cycle started and I'm letting go of all the water I was hanging onto. Hope these next two weeks fly by the same as the last ones did!

 

It's getting easier to choose meals, and like the timeline said it's time to spread those meals out a little more and add some variety. Tonight I'm going with compliant meatballs in Pomi tomato sauce and a nice side salad. M2 is left over taco wraps from last night. M1 same as yesterday, which is easy and I'm not bored with it.  So if it aint broke.....

[michaela]

@SherryS75

Besides broth and mayo, I'd say my favorite things to make from scratch would have to be tomato sauce, apple sauce, ketchup, bbq sauce-pretty much any condiment, lol. The store bought condiments are way too sweet for me, especially ketchup.

Keep it up, everyone

[bstombaugh]

@Michaela

 

Would you mind sharing your homemade ketchup recipe?

[writergirljodie]

This is how I felt about my accidental / on purpose off plan meatsauce yesterday:

 

 

And while I haven't gone off the rails since  I'm struggling to get motivated again.

Hahahahahaha!!!! Thanks for that! It put the biggest smile on my face!! <3

[mariegray]

Meh.

 

My stomach is growling. (I had a bratty breakfast, Melissa and Dallas would be disappointed in me I'm sure)

 

Flax seed, coconut, coconut milk, chopped almonds, blueberries, decaf with coconut cream.

I thought that all fo the fat would fill me up, not so much.  Stomach usually goesn't growl till 11, it's only 9:30.  I simply could NOT bring myself to cook more eggs.  I think it's time to make something big that I can chop a slice off of each morning.....must think about that one.

 

Also took nothing out for dinner....

 

I'm heading down a slippery slope, gotta refocus and get these next two weeks DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[writergirljodie]

2 weeks....congrats everyone! I love how great I'm feeling, I have more energy, my sleeps are amazing and I'm in such a great mood . My belly also seems to be shrinking although my clothes don't really feel much different. My skin seems brighter but is still quite broken out, i think on that front it's going to get worse before it gets better. I've been on staycation since day 2 of the whole30 and have had multiple temptations but there's no way I wanted to select "I made some bad choices today....lets start my whole30 again" on my daily email...lol.

I'm also surprised at the crap that's added to packaged food that you would think would be healthier, such as the organic broth but equally surprised at how simple it is to make these things myself. Homemade mayo in under a minute! AMAZING! I'll never buy mayo again! I'm going to try my hand at ketchup and grainy mustard once I get to the store for a few ingredients. What things have you made from scratch that you won't go back to store bought?

Yes!!! I'm definitely never buying mayo ever again!! I just made a garlic & onion version yesterday! YUM!! I'm also gonna make ketchup for my boys. I think they'll like that. One of my boys already loves the mayo and says it's way better than the stuff in the store!!

I want to make other things, too....I like making spaghetti sauce fresh with ingredients from my garden. So delicious!! 

 

The next thing on my list is going to be canning. I already have a ton of peaches to make peach jam, just haven't done it yet. And I want to learn to can other things like my spaghetti sauce. I've been making and canning my own salsa for years so I would love to see shelves filled with Mason Jars full of my own fresh foods!

[writergirljodie]

Meh.

 

My stomach is growling. (I had a bratty breakfast, Melissa and Dallas would be disappointed in me I'm sure)

 

Flax seed, coconut, coconut milk, chopped almonds, blueberries, decaf with coconut cream.

I thought that all fo the fat would fill me up, not so much.  Stomach usually goesn't growl till 11, it's only 9:30.  I simply could NOT bring myself to cook more eggs.  I think it's time to make something big that I can chop a slice off of each morning.....must think about that one.

 

Also took nothing out for dinner....

 

I'm heading down a slippery slope, gotta refocus and get these next two weeks DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can do this!! You're already half way through it!! Go home, find something you can cook in the slow cooker and cook it overnight so you have something awesome to have for breakfast tomorrow!! Don't give up now!!

[lexes42]

As someone who needs to 'refocus' too - here are some thoughts:

 

Vanity is a great motivator.  We know this.  It's hard for most of us to get all that excited about a drop in cholestoral or few meds- even if we KNOW it's important and good etc.  Long term consequences of poor food choices are really hard to visualize beyond 'fat' and 'thin'.  Especially when like the frog in the warm  to boiling water... we get so USED to feeling crappy and being fatter... hell, everyone's doing it!  We're in the club!

 

But, consider this: 

 

Very few of us will get to 'drop dead'.  Two generations ago, that was far more common - particularly for men - with heart attacks, strokes, etc.  Even cancer diagnoses came late enough that one had only months to get their affairs in order.

 

But because of modern medicine, we are far more likely to be kept alive for  many years in a debilitated state at the end.  I have watched my father, uncles and aunts go from vibrant, active, 'healthy' 60 - 70 somethings  (seriously like the people you see in the commercials for cialis etc) to slowly... losing.... their physical... and mental..... facilities.... over their final 5 - 10 years.

 

So if vanity motivates you....how attractive is it at 75 or 80 to not be able to get to the bathroom on your own... or bathe... or feed yourself... or remember which decade you are in... constantly expecting your long dead mother to pick you up.  And to be like that for years.

 

Yeah, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Dementia, or simply having total muscle atrophy and not be able to walk around the block so be chained to the tv / bingo table  is a huge fear for me.  I have an only child and I don't want her to have to be my caretaker for one day more than is absolutely necessary.  

 

And if I am unlucky enough to develop cancer or a terminal illness, I would like to be as strong - physcially and mentally - as I can to meet the challenge and / or live whatever time I have left with some ability to appreciate living.

 

'Prevention' isn't sexy - and nor do any of us want to imagine the worst.   But it's one of those things - like saving money - that you do as an adult, not just for yourself, but out of love and respect for the loved ones that will have to clean up after you....

 

My mother died of breast cancer when she was 41 in 1976.  After I passed that age I had the frightening realization that every day I have is one more than she did.  How disrespectful to waste that.

[mariegray]

You can do this!! You're already half way through it!! Go home, find something you can cook in the slow cooker and cook it overnight so you have something awesome to have for breakfast tomorrow!! Don't give up now!!

 

 

Oh no worries, I wasn't even considering giving up.!!!!  i just need to do a better job!!!

[SanguineAspect]

Meh.

 

My stomach is growling. (I had a bratty breakfast, Melissa and Dallas would be disappointed in me I'm sure)

 

Flax seed, coconut, coconut milk, chopped almonds, blueberries, decaf with coconut cream.

I thought that all fo the fat would fill me up, not so much.  Stomach usually goesn't growl till 11, it's only 9:30.  I simply could NOT bring myself to cook more eggs.  I think it's time to make something big that I can chop a slice off of each morning.....must think about that one.

 

I'm not sure how you feel about having "non-breakfast" foods at breakfast, but you could make a meatloaf or something similar to just grab and go. I've found that having a sweet potato hash ready to go makes throwing some additional veg and protein on it really easy (and yummy). 

[Eponina]

Already two weeks in, and I'm still doing great!!!

Today I tried that "citrus carnitas" recipe, but I didn't pay enough attention in the end, so it burned a little... Was still delicious though!

Also I made coleslaw for the first time, and I still wonder why they put sugar on the ingredients list. I just made it without, and its great! And will last two more days, I think!

Since now I didn't start working out. I wanted to give my body a rest to adapt to what I am doing. But for a few days I'm feeling great, so today I started softly with yoga. My knees killed me, but it was ok. Tomorrow we will tidy up the cellar, that will be workout enough (have to go up to the second floor for about 5 times, maybe more...).

And the days after that I'm gonna hit the gym or go Nordic walking or go swimming. Whatever my mood is like.

I still can't believe how easy this seems to be for me. I don't even miss dairy. I love my meals, I think I never ate so great! And I definitely lost weight, I can see it everywhere.

So lets hit the next two weeks!!!! And I think after that I will just make exceptions, but won't change my diet completely...

[Marsi]

Yay for 2 weeks! This is getting easier. I'm not as tired, but I'm still waiting for the crazy energy to kick in. Afternoons I feel like I have weights on my arms and I just feel so slow and tired. The cravings are waning, but still having some vague "I want something sweet" feelings in the evening. I'm also not as hungry, which is great, because we were eating waaay too much food for our budget! I'm not sleeping great, but my husband is. He's also looking trimmer, and says his pants fit looser. My skin seems to be clearer, I'm not depressed about my food, anymore, and I'm learning to be a better cook. Overall, doing well, and beginning to see some positive changes.

I didn't do fabulous yesterday, lots of grazing happened. ( I blame my toddler... What's that Baby? You want more raisins/ grapes/ banana/ apple? Sure! ) Today is better so far.

[Jomyke]

So about 2 years ago is when I started on my journey towards health. I ate a standard diet all my life (with a major sweet tooth) and finally got sick and tired of always being sick and tired. I heard about the raw food diet (low fat, high fruit) and jumped right in. I initially felt a lot better and thought I had found my answer. But after struggling to stick with it and not seeing further improvements I then switched over to Mcdougal program (low fat vegan). That was easier to stick to but didn't feel any better. So I kind of went back and forth between the two programs for a while until I heard someone talk about paleo recently. I kinda felt bad about going from vegan to eating lots of meat. But man, this is sooo much easier to stick to and I still felt better than I had a few years ago. So now doing this whole 30 is a little more strict, but after eating mainly fruit and veg for over a year this feels like such a treat! Anyway, I feel like I've come full circle. I noticed yesterday and today that after eating a little extra fruit (bought too much and trying to use it up) that I didn't feel good. I used to eat a ton of fruit every day and now I'm seeing that I need to stick to probably just one serving a day. Anyway I want to stick to this for a while and see how it goes on a longer basis. Right now I'd love to say that I'm going to be paleo for life, but I still need to see how it effects my health any better than the other things I've tried. I want to be healthy! I want to get to a normal weight! And I want to find a way of eating that I can stick to for life! I really hope this is my answer!

[HopelessDreamer]

I've been eating several fruit servings per day, but its in season NOW, and in a month or two there wont be local berries or peaches!! and winter in the northeast is pretty much "fruit-less" for me, because I dont buy fruit from south america, out of season. my exceptions are avocados, bananas (and pineapple sometimes for a treat).

so, yeah, I am eating more fruit this time, but its summer - and I also eat more veggies! have been making a batch of gazpacho every week, made some eggplant dip with tahini, and zucchini, peppers...yummy.

had some salmon loaf today based on the recipe in ISWF, with sweet potato fries and broccoli.

2 weeks to go.

[Casswoman]

This may be TMI, but I've been peeing like crazy today. At four am, my five month old woke me up and I went to the bathroom and peed and peed and peed and peed some more. I've been drinking loads of water all day today because I've been feeling incredibly parched. I'd better be clearing out some nastiness from my system with all this!

I've also been quite irritable today. Partly because I didn't really sleep after my four am wake-up call, and partly because I just want some #%$&!! chocolate. I did well today, in spite of it all, ate good stuff and decided to go to bed early, which will happen in just a few minutes.

[Matilda]

This may be TMI, but I've been peeing like crazy today. At four am, my five month old woke me up and I went to the bathroom and peed and peed and peed and peed some more. I've been drinking loads of water all day today because I've been feeling incredibly parched. I'd better be clearing out some nastiness from my system with all this!

I've also been quite irritable today. Partly because I didn't really sleep after my four am wake-up call, and partly because I just want some #%$&!! chocolate. I did well today, in spite of it all, ate good stuff and decided to go to bed early, which will happen in just a few minutes.

I found my 1st few days, I was like this, seriously parched, then it evened out, now I'm back to parched. 

I also know why I'm irritable too, aunt irma is due in 7 days, but that being said I can tell I'm not going to loose my sh!t like I normally do, but I can feel the shift in hormones make sense?

 

One of my daughters friends is having a farwell party at school tomorrow, and well I baked a 100% un whole30 cake.  I'm talking butter (not clarifed) flour the whole kit and kaboodle. Normally I would lick the bowl or spatula or the beaters, I and please to announce not one single bit reached my mouth.  Took utter control & a tea. 

[sueskarma]

Today my co worlers will think I'm nuts.  Going to have the last of my chili, fresh salsa and avocado for M1 at work since I left my extras from lunch there yesterday. M2 a nice spinach, strawberry and walnut salad with a few meatballs on the side.  M3 is undecided but I think it will be a "clean the fridge" kind of meal.  See what I have leftover and pile it on a plate!

 

Going to try buying a spaghetti squash and build something around that over the weekend.  it will be my first!

 

Tomorrow night I'm venturing to a dock party which is a BYOB and some food to share.  Going for paleo meatballs that I know I can eat, and maybe make some small "salad" cups.  Just a salad mix in lettuce leaves.

[sueskarma]

This may be TMI, but I've been peeing like crazy today. At four am, my five month old woke me up and I went to the bathroom and peed and peed and peed and peed some more. I've been drinking loads of water all day today because I've been feeling incredibly parched. I'd better be clearing out some nastiness from my system with all this!

I've also been quite irritable today. Partly because I didn't really sleep after my four am wake-up call, and partly because I just want some #%$&!! chocolate. I did well today, in spite of it all, ate good stuff and decided to go to bed early, which will happen in just a few minutes.

 

Haha, I am back on the pee train too!!