riverwaters whole30 log

[riverwaters]

Hi Everyone!

 

Today is my husband and my first day of doing the Whole30 plan.  My old ww friend Robin just finished her Whole30 and posted about it on facebook - so I started looking into it and decided to give it a try as well.

 

I was able to rope my husband into doing it, and thought I'd have to rip his jar of peanut butter out of his hands. 

 

While we both would like to lose some weight, I think more importantly for me is to kick my sugar cravings, and my reliance on breads/pasta.  I also have some issues with inflammation in my vocal chords and I'm hoping that the Whole30 might help with this too.

 

My husband is a big runner and is starting to prepare for his first ultra marathon... so he's a little worried about how he's going to fuel during his runs (usually he uses Cliff gels/goos) but I picked up some lara bars for him to try as well as some organic baby food pouches.

 

I just finished with breakfast, had a big omlette with spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions. A handful of cashews and then a plumato.  So we'll see how it goes.

 

I'd be glad for any tips you might have (especially for breakfast) I get up at 4:45 to catch a train by 6:00 and then have an hour commute.  So I either try to cram it in before I leave or find a way to take food with me. 

 

 

[Physibeth]

Congratulations on making this choice! You won't regret it!

 

There are a few different threads in the Whole30 Athletes section devoted to ultra running with a lot of good advice. I would make sure your husband is prepared for the first 2 weeks to kind of suck as you make the transition from primarily carb burning to primarily fat burning. I run half marathons and my training took a noticeable bonk for the first 14 days and then came back stronger than ever. Now I'm seeing a marked improvement in speed at lower HR zones which is ideal as I'm running off my fat stores in those low zones instead of my glycogen.

 

It is advised that you eat within an hour of waking for optimal hormone control. You might want to try making breakfast casseroles, fritatas, and egg muffins as quick things you can grab on the go. You might also consider splitting your meal 1 into 2 mini meals and eat part before you leave and part when you arrive at work.

 

Overall my greatest advice is plan, plan, plan! Having a plan and doing as much prep work before hand is so key to success in this lifestyle. I always make sure I have emergency proteins on hand in case something goes awry.

[riverwaters]

Thanks Bethany!

 

I will direct him over to that section - there so much information in the forum it's taking us a bit to figure it all out.  I think I will probably end up making the egg muffins at some point.  I ended up making Chicken Salad today that I think I'll eat for breakfast all week (easy to grab and go) and I like your idea of splitting it and eat half at home and half there.  Fruit and nuts would be way more managable on the train. 

 

We've had a great (but tiring day).  I made ketchup, mayo, chicken salad, turkey chili, turkey burgers and prepped fruit and veggies for the week.

 

I think other than just being a little tired today we're doing ok.  The hubby has been guilty of grazing on fruit somewhat, but it's better than chips.

[amberino21]

when your hubby grabs a piece of fruit, ask him if he needs it! he may just be used to doing it, without thinking - there's probably not much "need" there. if he is actually starving hungry, he should go for a mini-meal of protein/fat and vegies over the fruit

 

frittata/egg muffins are a great grab a go breakfast, and easy to eat on the go too. they're a much better option than eating a pile of fruit and nuts on the train, which wont really fit your meal plan.

 

it's great you're doing this together - having support is important, but having someone doing it with you makes it much easier!

[riverwaters]

We made it through day one!  Yay!

 

Let me just say that I woke up exhausted.  To be fair, I never sleep well Sunday nights (I think I just start thinking about what I need to get done that week) but I do feel a little more drained than usual.

 

I ended up doing chicken salad, brocolli and a banana for breakfast.  I ate the brocolli at home and the rest when I got to work.

 

For lunch I packed a salad and chili which I just plan on pouring over the greens to act as a dressing.  Some nuts and then fruit if I still feel hungry.

 

Tonight we're doing chicken nuggets with sweet potatoes and a salad.

 

I did tell a few people that we were doing the plan, so hopefully that will help hold me accountable through the next 29 days. 

[luv2scuba]

Great Job getting thru day 1!  You are off to a great start!

[riverwaters]

Day 3! 

 

Woke feeling a little less tired... which I hope sticks around because I have a big design meeting at 10.  Had chicken salad and a peach with carrots for breakfast.  Was a little weird munching on the carrots so early - but it works.

 

Have lunch and dinner planned so I think we're set for today.

 

Last night I made the cauliflower rice, it was pretty good.  I think I could have scaled back the amount of ghee that it called for in the recipe.  Next time!

 

Also picked up the ingredients for chipolte mayo, which I'm hoping to make tonight.

[riverwaters]

Finished up last night with tuna salad wrapped in lettuce and had to quickly run to puppy class.  It was graduation night.  When I came back I had a plumato and called it a night even though a was a bit hungry still.

 

Day 4 - I'm still really tired today.  Even walking up the stairs to work was kind of a chore and my legs felt tired even though I haven't really worked out hard.

 

Have carrots, chicken salad, and a peach for breakfast.  Still doing the chili over spinach for lunch with a handful of cashwes and some cantaloupe.  I'm hoping to muster enough energy to go to Body Pump over my lunch, but if not I'll probably just do the elliptical.

 

My hubby is also experiencing stomach issues when he runs (which is his worst nightmare) and a little run down but otherwise he's doing pretty good.

 

For dinner tonight we're doing chicken with sweet potatoes and kale.  I might even try to make some kale chips with the extra. 

 

I am glad that I took the time to prepare food on Sunday because there's no way I could have kept up without having things on hand that I could grab and go.

[riverwaters]

Day 5!

 

Feeling better today.  Definitely not as sluggish so I'm going to head to the gym at lunch.  Tried a few new things last night.  Made this Date and Shallot rosemary chicken with sweet potatoes http://paleomg.com/date-shallot-rosemary-chicken/.  SO good.  Made some salt and vinegar kale chips (they were just ok - I don't know that I'd do it again) and then made egg muffins with mushroom,tomato, spinach and chicken sausage.  My hubby loved them, I struggle with eggs... so I might eat one or two in a pinch. 

 

 

[kristananne]

I love the chili over spinach idea!  I have some ground meat, lots of tomatoes and a bag of spinach to use up, so I think that I will be using your idea in the very near future. 

Good luck! I am one day behind you.  I look forward to following along on your journey!  My log is called 30 at 30 if you want to check it out.  

Have a fantastic day 5!  Cheering you on.  

[riverwaters]

Day 6!

 

Day five actually ended up being pretty rough for me.  I definitely wanted to snack most of the day.  Not because I was hungry, but because that's what I'm used to doing.  I ended up holding off and just eating my planned meals but it was the first day that I actually wanted the crap food that I'm used to eating.

 

For dinner we had some fresh fish that our neighbor caught, with some asparagus and it was so good.  I ended up making another batch of chicken salad, and some more mayo.

 

I also pushed myself and went to the gym over lunch, while I still don't feel 100%, I definitely feel better than I did early in the week.

 

I'm a little anxious about the weekend... it's usually when I eat the worst and I'll have company in town.

[riverwaters]

Thanks Kristananne!  I'll definitely check it out and root you on as well. 

[kristananne]

Yay for going to the gym!  The fish sounds yummy.  Be strong this weekend!  It's only a couple of days, and anything you could indulge in this weekend will be there when your 30 is up (if you even want it by then!).  You got this!

[riverwaters]

Day 7, 8 & 9

 

Whew!  Made one week and it wasn't as terrible as I was expecting.    My energy definitely picked up as the week went on, but I still feel just a bit tired.

 

Did body pump on Sat. and it just felt like I was a bit weaker during, but I felt pretty good after.  Usually I just want to take a nap.

 

My eating schedule was a little off on Saturday, and I ended up having a snack before dinner, which we ate out and I had grilled chicken, with steamed veggies and a little bit of fruit.  So overall I felt pretty good about how the day went.

 

Yesterday was a quiet day at the house and we did some prepping for the week, and just relaxed.

 

I slept like a log last night which is a little unusual for me on a sunday night, I'll take it though.

 

Excited to keep going this week.

 

 

[kristananne]

Nice weekend!  I love Body Pump!!  I haven't been in a while.  I almost went on Sunday, but we ended up just having a lounge-around-the-house day too.  Maybe I'll go on Thursday.  I probably won't be able to lift near as much as I used to (which wasn't all that much to begin with haha!).

[kristananne]

Oh, and congrats on Day 10!  1/3 through!  

[riverwaters]

Day 11!

 

Quick post just to say that things have been going pretty well.  I think my energy is at least back to what it was before I started, but I'm hoping to feel better than this. 

 

Yesterday consisted of chicken salad for breakfast, with an apple and carrots.  Lunch was eggs with tomatoes and mushrooms.  Dinner was some shredded chicken, with pico de gallo and a peach. 

 

I have been sleeping noticebly better - but I do seem to be breaking out a bit, which is really rare for me.  Normally I have really good skin and don't have issues.  Hopefully it clears up soon.

 

I had two failed attempts at making mayo yesterday, so I ended up just walking away from the kitchen. 

 

I'm hoping to get a body pump in over lunch and we're planning on Turkey Burgers with Broccoli for dinner. 

[riverwaters]

Day 12!  Getting closer to two weeks.

 

For breakfast I'm doing a chicken salad, grapefruit and tomatoes.  Lunch is still up in the air since I'm at home today... but maybe eggs.  For dinner I'm trying a roast chicken in the oven.  Scary! 

 

Yesterday I made it to Body Pump over my lunch and felt pretty good for the whole time.  I ended up eating afterwards and I'm finding I can eat later in the day and not be starving.  I used to eat lunch at 11 and now I'm easily pushing it back to 1. 

 

We're also finding that with dinner... we're really not that hungry.  So a protein and veggies hits the spot.

[riverwaters]

Day 13. 

 

Still working the plan but I think we need to start changing our meals up some.  So I'm going to invest some time this weekend to see what we can come up with.  Neither of us eat red meat... so just getting buy on chicken, turkey and fish seems to be wearing a little thin.

 

Tomorrow is my birthday and the plan is to stay far away from the treats that I will usually eat.  We were talking about maybe going out to eat but it seems so hard to try to figure out what to get.

[riverwaters]

Day 16!

 

We've had a really busy weekend and now I'm pretty busy with work too.  I'm sleeping really well and have been feeling pretty good overall. 

[riverwaters]

Ack - I was horrible at posting towards the end of this.

 

We actually finished up the month strong.  We decided to keep following the program for the most part, but we're going to add some dairy back into our diets.

 

Overall - I lost 8 lbs and my husband lost 13.