Laura B's Whole30

[Laura B]

I just started yesterday (!)...it was a little bumpy. I ordered the book last week and actually started reading it Tuesday night. I knew I wanted to do the Whole30, and was a little conflicted as to when a "good" time would be. Next week I am going on a business trip, and we have guests coming into town at the beginning of August. I had skipped my post-workout whey shake (I think I could sense myself jumping in) and had a clean breakfast (egg white omelet with broccoli/carrot slaw & sliced mushrooms + half an avacado and a little salsa). Once I continued to lurk the site in lieu of reading the book at work I decided to just do it.

I have been trying to eat "clean" for about a year and been working with a personal trainer. I thought I had given up dairy, but was consuming whey protein daily. I had it for 2 meals a day until about 2 months ago. I was desperate to lose body fat and be "fit", but I think I was wreaking havoc on my body. I have been experiencing gas and bloating for the past month or so, and have had skin ailments all my life. I want to rid my body of any damage I can.

I am so up for the challenge and I am honestly nervous because of the no calorie counting and no weighing in stuff but I need this! I need to let go of the trap of counting and tracking and just live. I am also a little nervous because I haven't completed the book and am unsure of specifics, so until then I am just trying to stay basic. Yesterday I was sipping some tea and browsing the forums when it occured to check the ingredients--soy lecithin. I poured it out. I also had some chia seeds in a spinach, blueberry, almond milk smoothie. No biggie, I just won't have them again. At least it was day 1!

So for my meals yesterday, (was a little off because I am still transitioning)

M1: 4 egg whites, broccoli slaw, mushrooms, 1/2 avacado, salsa

M2: baked chicken breast, broccoli, coconut oil

M3: baked chicken breast, broccoli, olive oil

snack: spinach, blueberry, almond milk & Chia seed smoothie

M4: grilled turkey breast filet, grilled brussels sprouts & mushrooms and grilled zucchini (from our garden!)

I am used to having 6 meals a day and have been doing so for about a year. I think with the W30 I am supposed to revert to the 3 meals a day? I intend to munch on some veggies if I feel like I need something between meals until I have better grasp on my "plan".

I really think that cutting the protein powders (whey for pre- & post-workouts and casein at night) and cutting grains (I was only having them a couple of times a week on my high carb days) and especially peanuts will show significant differences in my body. At least I am hoping to no longer suffer from gas & bloating and itchy patches of skin

[Derval]

Hope it all goes well for you & you see the improvements you're after.

pretty good day yesterday, but I'd leave the yoks in the eggs for sure, lots of nutrients and the fat is in there.

[Laura B]

Thank you, Derval!

It is difficult for me to feel comfortable with more fatty meats & eggs, but that is something I hope to be OK with by the end of my W30.

Today:

Black coffee pre-run.

Breakfast 7:00am

2 whole eggs, 1 white, mushrooms, broccoli slaw, small steamed sweet potato, 1/4 avacado and some blueberries. Another cup of black coffee.

Snack 10am

1 hardboiled egg

steamed broccoli

1/2 apple

Lunch is going to be a spinach salad with broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes, a couple of apple wedges, some wholly guacamole (as the dressing) and baked chicken.

Will update later today!

[Colleen Roy]

Paying attention to healthy fats in reasonable amounts has helped my energy and stamina for my workouts tremendously. I wasn't eating enough of it in the beginning of my Whole30, but have been really diligent about making sure I get a serving in each meal. It's made a huge difference in my workouts, and I find that I am not hungry between meals at all! Good luck!

[Laura B]

Colleen -- I totally agree about the healthy fats. What concerns me is eating more fatty meats, but as long as I don't sautee them in olive oil or top with an avacado, I think I'll be fine! I think doing anything new can be a bit concerning, but I am totally embracing this challenge!

So for lunch I had the spinach salad with all the fixin's plus sweet potato.

Pre workout: Hard boiled egg, some blueberries & some almonds.

Post: Sweet potato, 4 cherries (wow they were GOOD) and half a package of smoked salmon. YUM! Soooo much better than a protein shake!

For dinner I had 2 Bilinski's chicken sausage links (they are the organic links from BJs.)

Right now I'm having some peppermint and chamomile tea and going to work on ISWF.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I have some sweet potatoes in the oven and just pulled out a pan of roasted cauli. I should have enough food prepared to get me through my AM workout and BOTH jobs tomorrow!

[Laura B]

Day 3

I skipped my workout this morning. I woke up at 4:30 and was really tired. I have to work both of my jobs today so I went back to sleep As part of my whole30 I am not going to stress about my workout schedule, because I definitely get to the gym enough!

7am Breakfast:

Black coffee x2

3 eggs cooked with broccoli & cherry tomatoes

Small sweet potato

1/2 avacado

Blueberries

This sure seems like a lot of food to me, but I am still adjusting to eating 3 proper meals a day with a couple of light veggie-dense snacks. I was eating 6 small meals a day and was carb cycling for the past month and a half so this is definitely an adjustment. I love that I don't have to worry so much about timing and counting.

Snack 10am 1 red bell pepper

Lunch 1pm

Grilled turkey breast

roasted cauliflower

small sweet potato

spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, broccoli slaw, couple apple wedges and 1 packet of wholly guacamole

4pm snack

some chicken breast

roasted cauli flower

about 10 pistachios

a few rainer cherries

For dinner at work tonight I packed leftover brussels and mushrooms, roasted cauliflower and 2 chicken sausages.

[Laura B]

Day 4

pre run: 1/2 apple

post: blueberries & cherries

Breakfast:

3 eggs, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, 1/2 avacado, blueberries, sweet potato

lunch:

spinach salad with yellow pepper, tomato, wholly guac, 1 chicken sausage, turkey breast, sweet potato & an apple

pre workout (trained legs):

hardboiled egg, some almonds, some blue berries

post;

sweet potato & some baked shredded chicken

dinner, strip steak & salad with tomato & egg.

Dinner was at a restaurant and I made a special order, they brought it out wrong, but promptly fixed it. It was supposed to have avacado on it as well, but I just wanted to eat so I didn't say anything. No dressing. And I'm pretty proud of myself, because it was a big birthday celebration and I drank water all night, even at the bars after dinner.

I stayed up way too late (see: midnight!) and woke up with a splitting headache. I'm hoping my AM coffee and breakfast will alleviate my pain.

[Laura B]

Day 5

Breakfast

3 eggs, asparagus, cherrry tomatoes, 1/2 avacado, sweet potato & an apple

Feeling MUCH better after some caffeine and a whole breakfast

Lunch:

Turkey breast pan-seared in coconut oil, dumped shredded cabbage on top with diced onions and sage, finished in the oven, mashed sweet potato with coconut milk (from a can!) some cucumber and pepper leftover from the salad I pre-made for dinner. Blueberries and a few cherries.

Dinner:

I have a salad prepped, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, an orange bell, some blueberries, packet of wholly guac and some turkey & cabbage from lunch.

I'm feeling great and my body is getting used to just 3 meals a day and is also really good at tell me when to eat!

[Laura B]

Day 6

PreWO: handful of macadamia and tuna

postWO: tuna & sweet potato

Breakfast:

Baked cod, baked brussels sprouts, cucumber from our garden, 1/2 avacado, sweet potato mashed with coconut milk and blueberries.

Lunch:

Baked cod, fresh salsa, brussels, asparagus, macadamia nuts, sweet potato and a tomato I just got from a co-workers garden.

Bummer: found out there is some soy in the tuna I ate today. Definitely not eating any more without checking! I do have some canned salmon from TJ's that I will bring with me on my trip this weekend.

Dinner:

Spinach salad with red pepper, cherry tomato, mushroom, blueberries and cherries, 3 boiled eggs, sweet potato & 1/2 avocado.

[Laura B]

Day 7

PreWO: baked chicken with some coconut oil and a few macadamia nuts

PostWO: sweet potato baby food, can of TJs wild salmon

Breakfast:

3 eggs with mushrooms & broccoli slaw, half the salad from dinner last night, 1/2 avocado, sweet potatoes, blueberris & coconut milk

Lunch:

tilapia, homemade peach salsa, 1/2 avocado, sweet potato, kale salad (recipe from whole foods) with cherry tomatoes, brussels sprouts & a plum

Dinner:

tilapia, leftover turkey, cooked cabbage, sweet potato, small spinach salad with cucumber, cherry tomato & wholly guac plus a few strawberries & some homemade peach salsa.

[Laura B]

Tomorrow I am leaving the Atlanta area to head to Amelia Island, FL for a business trip (about a 6 hour drive). I just started my W30 a week ago and I am feeling great. I was somewhat apprehensive to start last week because of the trip, but I didn't want to give myself an excuse to put it off. I wanted to share with you all what I have planned and welcome any suggestions (although it will be a bit last minute!)

We will be leaving after lunch and should be at the hotel for dinner. No road snacking!

What I am going to do is pack a cooler with the foods I have on hand using freezer bags of ice to keep things cool. My hotel room does not have a fridge, so when the ice melts I plan to fill them with the ice at the hotel to keep everything cold.

For proteins I have: 18 boiled eggs, frozen shrimp, canned tuna. I left the eggs in the shell because I think it will help them last longer. Of course I will keep them as cool as I can, but does this really make a difference (keeping the shell on)?

Fats: wholly guacamole 100 cal packs (I have them frozen right now. This is the same idea I have for the frozen cooked shrimp--they can thaw some in the cooler and last a bit longer!), macadamia nuts, coconut oil (not sure if I will pack this, though.)

Veggies: Huge bag of cut up cucumbers from the garden, 2 sliced red bell peppers, a big container of baby spinach, broccoli slaw, cherry tomatoes, carrots. I also have a few packs of baby food in sweet potato and squash since I don't think that will travel well.

Fruits: I have a couple of plums, strawberries cut up in a tupperware and some apples to bring along. I did get some banana baby food for an emergency.

I am most concerned for the veggies to stay fresh. I hope my cooler system works.

If the cooler fails, it will be alright because the company will pay for my meals--I just want to stick with as much of MY food as possible.

I also have a pack of paper plates, disposable silverware and dish soap that I am bringing plus a flexible cutting board and a cheap knife just in case. The canned fish I have is in a pop top can so no can opener needed.

[iloveartichokes]

Sounds like a pretty good plan! Good for you for all the effort! You were right about the eggs. In shell they are good for a couple of weeks. Once you unshell them they are only good for a couple of days. I researched it recently

[Adagio]

Sometimes the hotel will provide a fridge if you ask.

I've kept food on ice in coolers for days on cross-country road trips and it was fine. Just make sure to pack it well with the ice and don't let anything get too soggy/waterlogged. The trick to it is to keep it full. We pack our cooler food in stainless steel canisters and lunchbots to avoid getting water in stuff, but if your containers are waterproof, no problem. Good luck!

[Laura B]

Day 8

PreWO: 1 egg, some chicken with a little coconut oil

PostWO: sweet potato & canned salmon

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled with a small shredded sweet potato in coconut oil, steamed kale with mushrooms, cucumber & some avocado. Finished with a red plum.

I am on my 3rd cup of coffee for today. Going to need it for the drive later.

[Laura B]

I am still on my business trip. We did get a fridge for our hotel room which has worked out perfectly. I have been eating my foods, mostly salads with boiled eggs, canned tuna or my frozen shrimp for protein. We will be going out to eat either tonight or tomorrow as I need to get some cooked veggies in my belly and hoping to get some steak and fresh shrimp:D.

Still staying on track and feeling great except a little backed up which is normal for me while travelling, so I am not terribly worried. We will be going by a grocery store sometime today as I am running low on fresh veggies.

The gist of my meals on the trip in the hotel room:

[Laura B]

I was compliant my entire trip except for the night we went out. I ordered grilled grouper and grilled shirmp with a double order of steamed veggies. Everything was fine EXCEPT I think the shrimp was marinated and had some oil on it. I was pretty bummed (I did eat them because I was famished from a long day of fishing in the Florida heat/sun), but I am not going to let it bring me down. I don't know if I should start my whole 30 over or just keep going. At this point I don't see myself converting from a paleo diet. I really like it and want to keep it going for as long as I can. I'm not sure what I will re-introduce, probably some gluten free grains & maybe some legumes. I will certainly address that when it is time.

I just don't want to feel like I "cheated" and be rationalizing it by saying that it's not "just 30 days" for me. I want to treat it as a minor setback and prove that I can overcome it instead of beating myself up about not ordering something sans-marinade (it was the one thing I forgot to ask about when ordering. I specifically asked for no butter).

I am just going to keep going. I can't let one mistake bring me down and I don't want to be so overwhelmed by it that it ruin this great experience!

Tonight I am going to experiment with one of the recipes from the book. I am super sick of hard boiled eggs and salad since that was basically what I ate for the last 4 days. As soon as we got back I grilled some hot dogs, asparagus & brussels! Cooked food!! Hallelujah!

[Laura Jeanne Penrod]

Congrats on doing so well through your trip. That's always tough. I wouldn't be too upset about your dinner. You did the best you could with what you had. Great job! I feel you when you say you were excited for real food, it always happens when I travel. I don't trust people's food and when I get home I can't wait for a REAL meal.

[Laura B]

Congrats on doing so well through your trip. That's always tough. I wouldn't be too upset about your dinner. You did the best you could with what you had. Great job! I feel you when you say you were excited for real food, it always happens when I travel. I don't trust people's food and when I get home I can't wait for a REAL meal.

Thanks for the support!!

[Laura B]

Day 13

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with a few spoons of coconut milk, steamed mixed veggies, sweet potato with blueberries.

Lunch: 2 Applegate hot dogs, leftover veggies from lunch yesterday & breakfast today, sweet potato, 3 strawberries.

I think I have been eating too much fruit. I am going to try and cut my serving size down and only have 1 or 2 servings per day.

I just had an afternoon snack since I am working the second job tonight and won't get dinner til about 6:30 or 7. I had 1 hot dog wrapped in iceburg with TJ's deli style brown mustard and a few steamed baby carrots.

Dinner: Leftover beef sweet potato hash & some veggies I picked up from WF today (carrots, broccoli & cabbage...all W30 compliant!)

[Laura B]

Day 14

Breakfast: Leftover beef/sweet potato hash warmed up with 2 scrambled eggs, steamed broccoli, small cucumber from the garden, sauerkraut, mashed sweet potatoes + coconut milk + blueberries

Lunch: 2 Applegate beef hot dogs wrapped in lettuce topped with spicy mustard, broccoli with shredded carrot and some arbol salsa, strawberries with some coconut milk & coconut flakes.

I didn't pack any sweet potato for my lunch and I am really not sure why I did that. About 2 hours after I ate I felt like I was crashing and needed a nap bad. I was on the road and had an appointment with a prospect, but luckily I had stopped this morning to stock up on sweet potato baby food for my post workout meals. I decided to have a jar of the sweet potatoes and some almonds I had in my purse to kick my butt into gear. I almost didn't eat anything because I didn't want to "mess up" my leptin but then I thought "No! Don't worry about what the hormones are doing...you need some carbs!" I am learning!! Yay! So I feel much better after having a quick snack. I am glad that I am not so concerned with "what my body is doing" while completely ignoring the obvious cries for carbs.

Pre workout: tuna and a little homemade mayo + a few macadamia nuts

Post: sweet potato, salmon, 1/2 navel orange

Dinner: grilled pork chop, grilled bell pepper, roasted kale, 1/2 avocado

[Laura B]

Day 15

AM Shoulder Workout

Pre: tuna salad & a few nuts

Post: tuna & SP baby food

Breakfast: 3 egg omelette with broccoli & onion cooked in coconut oil, leftover kale, sweet potato mashed with strawberries & coconut oil

Lunch: Leftover pork chop, left over grilled pepper & onion, paleo mayo slaw, sweet potato, avocado & some homemade pesto. It was GOOD.

I just read this piece on the blog: http://whole9life.co...inside-and-out/ and let's just say "THANK GOD!" I really needed to read this. I was immersing myself in "fitfluential" and "fitspiration" images. blogs & instagrams. It was TOO MUCH. I went through and un-followed anyone that posts pictures of unrealistic girls with 6-packs. It is NOT healthy for me to constantly be looking at these images and striving to change my body a particular way. I have no choice as to HOW my body shapes and it is absurd to think so. I am going to focus on health from here on out. I do love staying active, but I want to for different reasons. I don't want to lose X amount of weight or have a six pack by December or any of that nonsense. I want to feel better, sleep more sound, be happy and my body will change as a result. I am so tired of feeling let down or feeling like a failure when I am doing everything I can to improve. I have improved! I am good! And I don't need to look at people who have very little body fat to "inspire" me. I just need to live a healthy life in every sense and my body will respond. Phew.

Snack: olives, a kiwi and a few slices of applegate turkey bologna

Dinner: sirloin, grilled asparagus & roasted brussels sprouts

[Derval]

I could click that green button a gazillion times, like like like!

I loved that artice too - you might like the live.love.eat podcast, I just listened to episode 1 today, very interesting, about loving your self for what you are, instead of striving to look like Jillian Michaels!

[Laura B]

Day 16

Pre workout: a little tuna salad, macadamias

Post: baby food sweet potatoes & salmon

--I went swimming this morning! I am pretty excited about it. I used to swim when I was growing up and haven't put on a one piece, cap & goggles in forever. It felt good to do it. I had been putting it off since I got a swimsuit for Christmas. (Probably because the suit is still a size small on me, was much smaller then). After my revelation yesterday about letting go of stuff and having to know what kind of workout I should do, I just got up and went to the gym and got in the pool. I just swam. It was awesome. My form is sloppy, my technique is rusty, I need to work on my kicking but I swam laps for 30 minutes!!

Another part of my revelation yesterday that I think has been lurking within me for a while--I am going to break up with my trainer and do CrossFit! I have been working with my trainer for a year and I just don't get satisfaction out of it. I don't have comradeship. I don't feel challenged. Sure he gives me new moves and switches thigns up, but it is so not worth my money for what I get. I hate going to the gym and feeling like a shell of a person in a cold place. Everyone judges everyone else and you literally cannot make friends. How do you approach someone with headphones in to introduce yourself?? You don't. I need friends who like what I like! I still have a session left with my trainer, so I will be talking to him about it on Wednesday. I plan to start CrossFit at the end of August or beginning of Sept. I don't want to take on too much with my Whole30. I think breaking up with my trainer and doing whole 30 is a great transition period for me. I really need to relax some, anyway. Too much obsession has been going on over here.

Breakfast: I made this: http://nomnompaleo.c...with-fried-eggs

I cooked the potatoes in coconut oil, fried 3 eggs in ghee, had some kale, leftover broccoli & some blueberries. It was awesome.

Lunch: Porkchop topped with pesto, leftover kale, brussels, sweet potato w/a little coconut oil & 1/2 avocado

Had a light snack of turkey bologna, a few olives & cherry tomatoes

Dinner: I made romaine "boats" with leftover sirloin from last night. Sliced it very thin, put on the romaine with some mayo, balsamic & thin sliced cherry tomatoes, steamed carrots and some slaw I made with the mayo & apple cider vinegar. Yummmmmm

[Derval]

Your meals sound faboo

And best of luck with crossfit, I hear there is a great community vibe to corssfit gyms that you don't get elsewhere for sure. Over here it is insanely expensive.

[Laura B]

Your meals sound faboo

And best of luck with crossfit, I hear there is a great community vibe to corssfit gyms that you don't get elsewhere for sure. Over here it is insanely expensive.

Thanks, I love to cook!

It is expensive here as well, but I believe I was paying more for a personal trainer and getting a lot less. RIght now I have my sessions down from 4x a month to twice and I could be getting a lot more for my money. It will be difficult to "break up", but I definitely feel like it's something I need to do!