Starting July 29th

[sisaacson4]

OK, what is the deal!?!?!?!?!?  Yesterday I made a beautiful omelet for breakfast and had to choke it down, like there was no room in the inn.  Spaced off lunch yesterday.  Just didn't get hungry and by the time I looked at the clock it was 3:30, so I opted for dinner right at 5 instead.

 

So I ate dinner at 5, no snacking and this morning when I got up, again not hungry.  No coffee, water or anything.  Finally at around 9:30 I tried to eat and again had to force it down.  I have never, ever, ever in my 39 years been "not hungry".

 

Freaky.  I will stay compliant and do my best, but am perplexed about what is shakin' up in here.

 

On another note.  Me and the scale.  Its a rule, I know that if I get on that scale and see anything over 200 it will ruin my head game, but everyday I struggle with it.  I know it is not in my best interest to know the number right now.  The number isn't supposed to matter, and I know it would be more damaging overall than eating a slice of pizza (which I haven't had the urge to do).  I know that if that number is not stellar that the next justification would be to throw in the towel, but every day I think I need to know.

 

I have had this conversation with myself every day, now its out there.  I am accountable to more than just me for it.  I hope that helps.

[jent103]

Lees, what a snot that kid is! But you handled it so well. Way to go.

 

sisaacson - do you think you could get rid of the scale? Or at least send it off to live with someone else for awhile? I got rid of mine awhile ago and it's better for me that it isn't there. I've had it drilled into me for awhile that the number is really JUST a number (my old trainer weighs 15-20 pounds *more* than I do, but she's all muscle whereas I am definitely not!), and I know that it's true, but it is tempting to want a hard number to track. I'm planning to use my muffin top measurement instead.

 

I wasn't exactly not hungry yesterday, but I made it seven hours between lunch and dinner and didn't get cranky or ravenous at all. Pre-Whole30, I might have done that, but I'd be starving and ready to make not-great choices for dinner by the time I finally ate. I ate lunch late, so when I got home I cleaned my downstairs, prepped some food for today (I made plans to see a movie after work, so I had to come up with something to pack for dinner and ended up making more burgers and sweet potato fries), cleaned the kitchen then finally made dinner. No big deal.

 

Day 19! We're doing it!

[MadscienceM]

Keep up the good work guys!!!

 

Good Jon Lees96 telling the kid that its about being healthy. I am keeping up with all you guys and writing down recipes, so when I am able to start again, I have some go to recipes.

 

I was given the okay to not be stuck on the low res/bland diet... I still have to not eat anything spicy, but it was nice to have some good veggies back on the plate. My biggest sticking point right now is that they recommended I dont lift until I see the Surgical guy on Aug 26. I am going to try for a slow run today and am doing one of those Run or Dye events tomorrow... so nothing to streneous.

 

Hope everyone has had a good week and I know you will kick this weekends butt!

[colandlala]

Hi 7/29 friends...

I haven't posted in a bit, but I'm still here...sticking to it.  Happy to read all of our fellow 7/29 posts!  You guys are great!

 

I have stayed on plan 100%. I crossfit regularly and plan to go paleo once my whole30 is over.

 

I was right on par with everyone during the early days of crankiness, disgestive quirks and hatred of eggs.  Now at day 19, I have to admit that I am not feeling all that much different than pre whole30.   My energy is ok, my clothes don't feel looser, i've always slept fine, I get hungry at my normal times.... I don't know, I guess I am hoping that by day 30 I will see some sort of positive change.  Maybe I am just a late bloomer  ???

 

Keep up the great work! 

[Lees96]

sisaacson - I made a gorgeous breakfast this morning - scrambled eggs with leeks, portabella mushrooms, & broccoli (thought I'd give it another shot) and topped it with mango salsa.  I ate maybe a half dozen bites, gaggin it down and threw 3/4 of it away.  I couldn't even stand the smell of it.  I know I'm not supposed to do this but I had a handful of raw almonds and an apple and it tasted so good.  Lunch was ok - salmon salad with 1/2 avocado and ceasar coleslaw.  Having compliant brats and sweet potato fries for dinner.  I am feeling what everyone is feeling - I don't know, not that hungry, which, if you knew me, is so not me.  

Colandlola - I'm with you on the clothes stuff.  I feel good inside but it doesn't seem to really be showing in my clothes.  I do feel different but that's because before W30 I was eating fast food a couple times and day and dairy queen every night so I definitely feel different.  I think maybe it might just come at different times for us all.  Hang in there.  

I am glad to hear from a couple of you that haven't posted lately- madsciencem, you too - it seems like people are posting less these days.  When I get home, I run to my computer to see if there are Whole 9 in my inbox.  I need you gals!

Hope everyone had a great day today!  Madsciencem - good luck with your run 

[jent103]

Madscience, it's good to hear from you! Very glad you got the okay for some veggies. Who would have thought veggies wouldn't be okay?! I hope your run goes well!

 

colandlala, good to hear from you too. I always get worried when people don't post in awhile - afraid they've bailed! Very glad to know you haven't! I'm with you, though. My pants are fitting a little better, but I'm not feeling amazing or anything. My energy is more even, but it's not super high. I'm more well rested, but I think that's because my blood sugar has evened out to where I actually want to go to bed at 10 or 10:30 (usually I'm a night owl and want to stay up till 11 or 12 no matter how early I have to get up, though I never connected it to blood sugar!). So I'm just getting more sleep. All of this is good, but not crazy dramatic. I'm trying to tell myself "just wait till day 30 and see what happens!" I know several people have said that it takes till the last few days to really get great.

 

I was talking to my hairstylist yesterday - we both have PCOS, though our symptoms are different. She was asking me about what I was doing, and talking about it with her was a good reminder about the real reason I need to give this a shot. It's not so I'll get super skinny or lift hundreds of pounds - it's so my symptoms (especially the insulin resistance) have a chance to resolve!

[Gabenick2]

Today has been a blah day for me. I am so hungry, it must be the steroids. I have bad cravings and I have been extremely moody today and I snapped at my boss too, oh gees I hope this goes away soon. I feel like I am starving, my hubby brought home pizza for him and our kids, I had to stay away from the kitchen.

I hope this phase ends soon because I could run into trouble. I definitely feel more energetic the past 2 days and feel good when I go to bed and wake up in the morning.

I am getting bored with food though, I have to find some recipes and make more of a variety of dishes. Today I warmed up some beef brisket that I made from NomNom site and I had to throw it away as it wouldn't go down. I have also been getting lazy and not prepping ahead of time as I did in the beginning.

Jent103: my doctor had questioned if I had PCOS, I started having issues a year ago and I am desperate to get my symptoms under control. I did find that gluten would exacerbate my symptoms.

[Gabenick2]

I decided to take a nap in order to stay away from the kitchen. Now that I am thinking about it...I'm probably "starving" and have cravings because my sugar levels are most likely up due to the steroids. I also started feeling major heartburn a while ago and took 2 tums, omg the tums tasted horrible!!

prior to starting the whole 30 I was eating tums like candy, I would buy them at costco and go through a whole bottle once a month along with a daily prilosec. I was reading the side effects to the steroids and heartburn is listed as number 2 on the list. I just hope it goes away soon.

This heartburn pain is the same pain I would get when I had chocolate and bread, I got so used to the taste of tums that they would not bother me one bit.. Today however..... the taste was awful and chalky and it also had a sweetness to it that I don't remember tasting prior

[jent103]

Gabenick, steroids suck - I'm so sorry you have to be on them! That's so true about the taste of things, though. I was eating a burger for dinner, just made out of my CSA beef with some salt and pepper, and thought, "This is SO GOOD." Just meat with salt and pepper! Pre-Whole30 it definitely would have needed something.

 

I got diagnosed with PCOS 13 years ago in college, but probably had it for quite awhile before that. It's such a funny thing, and everyone experiences it so differently. The thing that really pisses me off is that no medical professional I've ever seen has mentioned changing my diet to help with it. They vaguely said losing weight might help (it didn't, really, except maybe with the insulin resistance a little - I lost 55 pounds about ten years ago), but otherwise no one ever mentioned dietary changes. When I read It Starts With Food, everything in the insulin/leptin chapter made so much sense. So far everything seems about the same, but I'll be curious to see what happens the longer I stick with a mostly Paleo diet.

[Gabenick2]

Jent 103- I read somewhere in the whole 30 blog about a young mom that was dealing with PCOS and was having a lot of issues for about 4 years. This girl mentioned she changed her diet and did the whole 30 and found that (I believe) was dairy that was flaring her symptoms. I will dig for it and post it, she now has her own blog regarding PCOS and eating Paleo.

I have not been told to change my diet, I started putting the two together when I started noticing I would rupture cysts after having high carb gluten meal. It made my symptoms so much worse, I still have some symptoms but not nearly like before. When I mentioned it to someone, they looked at me as I was a little nuts.

[Lees96]

Jent103 & Gabenick2 - Wow, you guys. What great posts.  Would you please tell me what PCOS is?  I'm sorry if you explained it in earlier posts.  Gabenick, I hope you feel better soon.  Meds can really suck sometimes.  

 

I went to bed so discouraged last night.  I don't know, maybe because I'm 45 and not 25 doing this thing but it just seems like physically I'm not making any progress.  I'm sure that I am but I caught myself in the mirror a couple times at work and I hate that.  I feel great but I don't look great.  It's only been two weeks.  It took two years to gain the 40 pounds.  I know that it's not going to take 2 weeks to lose it.  I did great at work last night.  My favorite thing in the whole world to eat is appetizers.  The wedding last night had an appetizer buffet so when they pulled it, there was a TON of bruschetta and coconut shrimp (deep fried) and stuffed mushrooms and artichoke dip.  I had a fleeting moment of, "oh, I'd love to have some" but then it was gone.  I really didn't want anything.  I ate cantalope off the big fruit platter and it was so good...tasted like candy.  So, that was cool.  Appetizers and cake - those are my favorites.  I'm really looking forward to  trying alternative paleo recipes to those when I am done with W30.

 

Kdegar - this is our halfway mark...how you doing?

Ok everyone - let's rock it today!

[jent103]

Lees, PCOS is polycystic ovarian syndrome. I think everyone who has it has cysts on their ovaries (hence the name!), but otherwise people experience it in very different ways. It's highly correlated with insulin resistance. In general, a lot of hormones (including insulin) are just completely out of whack - too much testosterone and androgens, ovulation not happening properly, insulin resistance, maybe other things but those are big ones. Some people are overweight and have a very hard time losing, some people struggle with infertility, some people have excess facial/body hair or bad acne. In my case, I suspect that my diet growing up led to insulin resistance which led to PCOS, but I don't know for sure.

Gabenick, that's so interesting about gluten for you. My symptoms are more chronic (I haven't had many ruptured cysts), so I've never noticed changes immediately after eating anything. I think it's going to take the 30 days or more for me to notice much of a difference. I really hope dairy isn't the main cause!!

[writergirljodie]

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been on in a couple of days, this week has really kinda been a drag for me. I've been crampy, sluggish and irritable for practically the whole week. I've been disinterested in food. I have post-poned eating several times to the point of almost making myself ill and then finally forced something down but wasn't really satisfied with it. I've been reaching for more fruit and Larabars than anything else. It has just not been a good week. 

 

The problem is I have PMS twice a month since about my mid-30s. Now I have PMS symptoms during ovulation in addition to my actual visit from TOM. I was hoping that it would be better if I leveled out my hormones, and it still might. But it might take more than one month on the whole 30 to really get it leveled out. So, this week has been probably just as bad as usual. But because I felt so great before it feels like it's worse than ever. Yuck!

 

Gabenick - I swear, steroids nearly ruined me! I was getting injections in my spine and my hip over the summer of 2008. With each series of shots, I gained approx. 10 lbs. So, in about 4 months I gained 40 lbs and was a miserable wreck. The best thing I ever did was tell my doctor that I couldn't do them any more. I hate steroids and will from now on avoid them at all costs. I've had to have some here and there in much smaller doses, but nothing like that summer. They are evil! I hope you can get off of them soon and start to get control of your appetite again. I was ravenous for several days right after getting my monthly injections and didn't know why. Now I know that increased appetite is a big side effect. Stay strong!

 

Lees - If it makes you feel any better, I'm not 25 either. I'm 43 and I feel like it's gonna take a little more time to get my body back to a "happy place" than someone half my age. But I think I'm ok with that. I do feel good on the inside, but I still see myself in reflections or my mirror and think, "wow, I certainly don't look as good as I feel." My clothes do fit a lot better, my energy (overall) has been awesome and my strength and endurance are hugely improved. But I want the outside to match the inside, and that's just gonna take a while longer. I really don't think I'll have a problem staying on the program for a longer ride. I've really enjoyed it for the most part. 

 

Anyway, just wanted to check in and let everyone know I'm still here, going strong. Everyone keep it up!! Have a great day!

[Lees96]

Jent 103 - Thank you for explaining that.  Now I will have a better understanding when you guys are talking about it

 

writergirljodie - Wow!  You said it perfectly.  That is it.  Getting my outside to match my inside.  Thanks for relating.

 

Another night at work tonight and a huge plate of cake.  Didn't really want it.  Had prime rib that was amazing and some cantalope and was stuffed and satisfied.  Tired, very tired tonight but a good night overall.

Day 21 - here we come!

[sisaacson4]

I've been lacking energy all week. I attribute it the cold/allergy fit I've been dealing with and the fact that food has not been interesting to me. I've cooked a variety of things thinking it was repitition that I was struggling with. I ate 2 eggs for breakfast and that seemed to go better. I've just lit the grill and brined some pork chops on the hopes that it will cause hunger.

I went on a short motorcycle ride this morning. I had on the jeans that I wore about 5 weeks ago on a poker run. Smaller muffin top, didn't have to do the shimmy dance to wiggle into them, and didn't have to tug at them in my thighs to get comfy on my bike. Progress. Definite progress.

We are so freaking close! Hang on everyone!

[jent103]

We ARE so freaking close! I have to admit, I was really sad today - some of my favorite church friends I don't get to hang out with often were going to my favorite Mediterranean place for lunch, and I had to say no. They might have had something compliant there, but I still have a feeling it would have soybean or peanut oil, and it would be incredibly hard to go there and not have my favorite: falafel platter with yellow rice, tabbouleh and hummus - all forbidden! I had a little bit of self-pity. But they promised to do it again in a few weeks. And I keep reminding myself that in general, I'm eating delicious food, and feeling good too.

 

Go us for sticking with it! Nine more days, y'all (or 19, for a couple of you!).

[gardengirl]

Smaller muffin top, didn't have to do the shimmy dance to wiggle into them, and didn't have to tug at them in my thighs to get comfy on my bike. Progress. Definite progress.

We are so freaking close! Hang on everyone!

Love this, especially the "shimmy dance." I donated platelets again on Thursday and have decided that it isn't the wisest thing to do (didn't quite learn this the week before, as I attributed my state to the new eating pattern), as I have been so low in energy, light headed, and REALLY wanting to snack after meal 3. I'm finally back to sort of normal today.

I really am shocked that I'm on day 20! I really thought there would be an intentional or sloppy error by now. Now I'm a bit terrified that I will slip and have to do some part again for 30 days; yeah, even though I don't intend to stray much at all other than some well planned reintroductions (refer to previous bacon reference!).

I had a two-day road trip which went well, and am leaving again for a few days where I will have to dine out. I have visions of Meg Ryan as Sally (in "When Harry Met Sally") with all the annoying specifics when ordering. I'll try to resist the temptation to not perform her "other restaurant scene" from that movie!

[kdegar]

Hi all! This weekend was a bit tough. My kids were less than wonderful and I'm stressed because my students come tomorrow and I'm teaching a brand new course. I was actually craving ice cream hard core tonight! Its been the first big craving I've had in a awhile and I know it's just stress. I drank a coconut water instead

Glad to see everyone still going strong. .. and Lees, we are over halfway!!

I feel good but have been having bone/joint pain after my workouts. Any one else dealing with that??

Happy to know I have a pork shoulder I "crock potted" today so I can make carnitas tomorrow. Yummy!! I also cooked up some butternut squash so I can make that soup again. 19 more days!!

[Gabenick2]

Hello Ladies...

Another day down! I am weaning off my steroids, I woke up this am and my lower lids are red and swollen!! I dont know what else to do here, I have had pink eye twice in the last 2 months and a reaction to the drops,I hope this goes away soon.

This weekend I found myself in "starvation" mode, I need to cook ahead. I went to costco today and stocked up and will be cooking most of the day tomorrow. I felt tired today and had to take a nap, I feel good energy wise but I think being out in the 100+ degree weather did it for me.

I was at my sons baseball tournament and could smell the hot dogs and burgers on the grill... It was miserably hot and felt a little not so happy when the hole team is cooling off with snow cones as I am filling up with more h2o.

Out of the 3 whole 30's I have attempted this one is the farthest I have gotten, I am on day 23 tomorrow and so excited! I did have a salad yesterday and chopped and all my ingredients were whole 30 complaint, I always have issues with the salad dressings, I got balsamic and a little later while I was at the park I broke out in hives! Usually I would break out in hives with gluten but I made sure I told them gluten free please and I also read the ingredients and it had no gluten. Wonder what the heck made me break out?! This was my only option or starve for the full day.

Another day down!!

[Gabenick2]

Lees, PCOS is polycystic ovarian syndrome. I think everyone who has it has cysts on their ovaries (hence the name!), but otherwise people experience it in very different ways. It's highly correlated with insulin resistance. In general, a lot of hormones (including insulin) are just completely out of whack - too much testosterone and androgens, ovulation not happening properly, insulin resistance, maybe other things but those are big ones. Some people are overweight and have a very hard time losing, some people struggle with infertility, some people have excess facial/body hair or bad acne. In my case, I suspect that my diet growing up led to insulin resistance which led to PCOS, but I don't know for sure.

Gabenick, that's so interesting about gluten for you. My symptoms are more chronic (I haven't had many ruptured cysts), so I've never noticed changes immediately after eating anything. I think it's going to take the 30 days or more for me to notice much of a difference. I really hope dairy isn't the main cause!!

I have most of my symptoms during ovulation, that is mainly when I rupture and they are quite painful. I have been having major hot flashes too, I am trying to get off my meds and get my hormones under control. After reading the book ISWF it totally made sense to me as far as the leaky gut causing an inflammatory response which then triggered other issues. I felt symptoms after eating gluten for sure! I would get distended and would start cramping like crazy (lower uterine area) it just all felt "inflamed" I thought I was over-analyzing and my husband told me to "relax"

It all makes sense to me now!

[Lees96]

Good morning!

 

Great stuff everyone.  I love the "shimmy dance", sisaacson, I think we all can relate to that one.  I have often looked in the mirror during this W30 and thought - well, the muffin top is smaller, not gone, but smaller.  That's a plus. 

 

And kdegar - I totally get it about the kids.  My kids are so squirrly.  I have two girls and they are wrestling and fighting and we are kinda a load family so they are really loud, too.  It is time for school to start.  Good luck with your class today.  I can't imagine being a teacher.  My hat's off to you.  It is so amazing what you do.  We are half way there.  19 more days!  We can totally do it!!!!!

 

Jent103-I can relate to the outing and not being able to go.  Greek and Mexican food are my absolute favorite.  I've only eaten out once since this started and that was at Chilis.  I managed to order something that tasted really good but there were two plates of chips and salsa in front of me.  That was tough.  I love hummus and Greek salads and gyros and tzaziki and all the yummy exotic spices from other places around the world.  Now, I just have to figure out how to get those tastes but make it W30 or Paleo compliant.  I love NomNomPaleo and Well Fed.  My goal is to start making more yummy stuff.

 

Had friends from church over last night - we grilled hot dogs and compliant brats and had my ceasar coleslaw and sweet potato fries, which they really liked, and sauerkraut and then they had chips and green jello and some chocolate.  I had a nice plate of food and felt satisfied when I was done and didn't want any chocolate at all.  I bought some root beer for them all and that is kinda what I really wanted but I had my mineral water instead 

 

Only 9 days to go for most of you - can you believe it!!!  And 19 for Kdegar and me.  Have a great day everyone.

[sisaacson4]

Eating breakfast went so much better this morning. Still never really hungry when I eat and I don't eat much, but I'm sticking to my 3 meals a day.

I do have intentions of staying Paleo after. It's what I'm used to now. I had justified occasional cheats, then they became more frequent to the point that I spent as much time off program as on. That along with the lack of dairy are the only big changes on Whole30. The result is the tiny little red bumps on the backs of my arms are gone. Gone!

When I first started paleo I went 90 days completely compliant and that change did not get rid of my bumps. And I dont know if it was the dairy or the cheating, but I used to have a mean pizza obsession. If I saw the stuff I would lose my head. Cravings are pretty much nonexsistent now. Soooo I figured out that dairy is not my friend. Cheese, you traitor!

A coworker started last Monday. She called this morning to say stress got the best of her on Sunday and she cracked. As a result she feels very yucky today. Bloated and hungover....but she did not drink. I didn't ask her what she ate, but my guess is she has a better idea of what sensitivities she has. She is ready to start all over again. Day 1!

Have a glorious day all! We're close and its a big dang deal!

[MadscienceM]

so glad you guys are doing well!!! Makes me sad that I am no longer on the journey, but I am completely happy with your success!!!

 

No other news to report from my front... but it sounds like you guys are still rocking it out... 21 days down... 9 to go!!! I know you can all do it!

[jent103]

gardengirl - I SO relate about Meg Ryan! The first weekend of Whole30 was when I was in Chattanooga, and I asked our waitress about sugar and oil and to leave the bun off my burger and I forget what else. She was so nice about it, but I always feel bad giving people the third degree!

 

gabenick, I wonder if the balsamic had sulfites in it? I had to read a lot of labels at the store to find one without added ones - that's all I can think of! Or maybe the meat had soybean oil or gluten or something? I looked at the menu for Zoe's Kitchen last week, hoping I could get something, but even their "protein platter" (which sounds compliant) is on the allergen list for milk and soy. Go figure.

 

PCOS continues to fascinate me - I'm completely anovulatory, I think, so I have *none* of those symptoms that you do! Such a crazy thing. It's so good to know a trigger, though, so you can avoid it!

 

Lees - I know I sound like a broken record with this blog, but have you seen this recipe? It might help with your Greek food! I've made it and it's easy, except I left it alone way too long and burned the beef. I don't recommend that. Great job on the cookout! I've been talking to a few friends about this, and yesterday I talked to my mom for quite awhile, and she seemed genuinely interested. Not like she wants to do it (this would be HUGE change for my parents), but she was genuinely interested in hearing about the changes I've seen. It made me want to cook them a delicious Whole30 meal so they can see what I'm eating! Too bad they're three hours away, but they did just buy a new house with a great kitchen, so maybe soon.

[Lees96]

Jent 103 - I am trying that gyro recipe!!!!!!  It sounds amazing.  I can't wait.  I love her website.  I like the NomNomPaleo website as well.  They are both really great.  Good luck with your folks.  I didn't even tell my friends that it was a paleo meal.  They just loved it the way it was.  Although, one of my friends would not eat the coleslaw because of the anchovies in it.  Oh well.