Cait's second Whole 30

[caitpage]

Hi! After a successful June Whole 30 (I lost 19 pounds!) I'm ready to start again and keep losing. While health is obviously my goal, right now weight loss is my priority.

 

While I didn't eat anything that was non-compliant last time, I didn't follow every rule. I skipped breakfast a bunch, and relied heavily on Lara bars the last week. My goal this time is to eat breakfast every day, and to amp up the variety of vegetables. I found out the hard way that I cannot eat avocados or tahini, so that's pretty sad. Aside from getting sick from those foods and the sugar hangover on day 2 and 3, I felt amazing and I'm really looking forward to that again!

 

I have a side goal of walking 10,000+ steps all 30 days, just fyi.

 

The daily emails were so helpful last time. I would wake up and read them on my phone in bed, and every day I thought, "OMG THAT'S HOW I FEEL!" I think I need something daily to look forward to like clicking "I did it!". So, I'm going to use this forum to post every day about what I eat and how I'm feeling. I'll probably post every night before bed for the food diary part, but check in throughout the day with random updates.

 

I always enjoyed reading other's daily posts, so PLEASE leave comments and keep me accountable! Just please don't be mean if I forget to have two different kinds of veggies or something

 

Good luck to everyone... here I go!

[caitpage]

Day one complete! Had kind of a headache in the afternoon, and it's still lingering. Sugar hangover I suspect. Waited too long between lunch and dinner so I snacked on maybe 15 Mediterranean olives in oil when I was at Wegmans. Got eggs and salad stuff to tide me over before doing a larger shopping trip.

9:30am: omelette with spinach, mushrooms, olives, and peppers. Iced black coffee.

1:30pm: salad with various veggies, chicken and eggs, with olive oil.

8:30pm: steak and grilled peppers with salsa

Other: earl grey tea(2:30pm), olives(7pm)

[caitpage]

Day two was good, but I'm cranky. Too tired to make a normal dinner so I had eggs.

8am: three scrambled eggs with olives, peppers, mushrooms, onions, salsa.

9am: javamana Mate tea (teavanna) almost as much caffeine as coffee, and I like the flavor more than black coffee.

12:30pm: salad with various veggies, chicken, and olive oil.

2:30: chai tea

9pm: same as breakfast, but with 4 eggs.

 

10pm: bowl of berries (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry) and some coconut whipped cream from Well Fed.

I had more water (flavored sparkling) today.

I have to work tomorrow and Sunday, so that's a bummer. Have to remember to pack a lunch because the cafeteria is closed...

If anyone's reading this, any experience with alternate oils to use for a basic vinaigrette? I'm out of olive oil

[amberino21]

You could use avocado or a nut oil....

I usually just put a bit of mayo on my salads, lots of ACV, and mix it up to coat everything.

[amberino21]

And I love Brinner!! (Breakfast at dinner )

[joolie]

Great job on your June Whole30! I look forward to following this one :-)

[caitpage]

Thanks for the tip about nut oil, I found some macadamia oil that I drizzled on my salad today. Can't wait to go to the grocery store and load up!

 

Thanks, Joolie! I think this one will be easier to stick with, since I know how successful it can be.

[caitpage]

Day Three: Done! Long day, tired and cranky... forgot to post so I'm posting on day 4.

 

Breakfast-7:45am: Three eggs scrambled with mushrooms, onions, peppers, olives. Cooked in coconut oil and seasoned with salt and hot sauce. Large black iced coffee from DD on my drive to work.

 

Lunch-oops-: Forgot to actually bring my lunch to work, so I had two clementines and a coffee

 

Dinner-6:30pm: HUGE salad with chicken I cooked in coconut oil, seasoned with adobe. Salad had cucumbers, carrots, olives, and sliced almonds. Made my own salad dressing, which is the citrus vinagrette from nomnompaleo. Really delicious, I think I ate for 30 minutes straight!

 

Dessert-10pm: Was feeling snacky, so I had a small bowl of berries (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry) with coconut whipped cream.

[caitpage]

Day four in progress:

 

Going pretty well so far. I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight last night (it's like my brain KNEW it was Saturday night and I should be out having fun) so when my alarm went off this morning at 6:30, I barely moved. Finally dragged myself out of bed at 7. UGH! Was worried I'd fall asleep in the shower. SO TIRED.

 

Had bfast and made some javavana mate tea, but I could have used a strong coffee. Here's my problem now: I wanted coffee, but since I was providing training for people today... I didn't want coffee breath and my gum has "soy lecithin" in it so I won't chew it. I'm going to search the forums, but if anyone reading this knows of a gum/mint that's whole 30 approved, please let me know.

[caitpage]

Day four - done! Today was pretty long. Ended work a little early, but I had to do a LOT of school work for my biology class. I'm a classic procrastinator and waited until today to start my final paper (on Celiac Disease!) and my weekly quiz. After I left work, I got a huge black iced coffee and perked up enough to power through. Here it is, midnight, and my weekend has finally begun. Since I worked Sat/Sun, I have Mon/Tues off and I'm actually excited to run around and do some errands with no crowds! Other than feeling utterly exhausted all morning, I felt pretty good today. 

 

Breakfast-8am: Three eggs scrambled w/ mushrooms, peppers, onions, and olives cooked in coconut oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Sound familiar? Javavana tea. 

 

Lunch-1:30pm: Salad with cucumbers, carrots & olives, sprinkled with almond slivers and topped with three fried eggs. Citrus vinagrette dressing. 

 

Dinner-8pm: "Fajitas" Just seasoned some skirt steak, cooked it up in the cast iron with ghee, then sliced into thin strips. Cooked some mushrooms, peppers, and onions in coconut oil and topped everything with compliant chipotle salsa (wegmans brand). 

 

 

I finally had a decent eating schedule today. I am SO excited to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I really need some new ingredients in my life. I'm thinking filet mignon and asparagus for tomorrow night as a celebration of getting my paper turned in with exactly one minute to spare!

[caitpage]

Day five done. I wasn't kidding when I said I was exhausted yesterday...I didn't wake up until almost 1pm today! Haha OOPS. So, I had "breakfast" but really it was lunch. Still felt a little "meh" all day, and actually got cold sweats and thought I was going to puke for a minute there. Not sure what that was about, but luckily I kept it together. Puking in Costco would be pretty embarrassing. Now that I'm thinking about it, the last time I got a bit nauseous the last time was a couple of weeks ago when I ordered a large black iced tea. I'm really hoping I don't have issues with TEA!??! 

 

I think I'm going to add in more fat tomorrow, since I've seen a few posts suggesting more fat for more energy. I bought nice coffee beans from wegmans today, so maybe I'll try tomorrow. 

 

When I was at Wegmans the cashier girl looked at all of my produce and asked if I was a vegetarian. I pointed to the 10 pounds of beef and pork behind the veggies  

 

Breakfast- None! Slept through it!

 

Lunch 1:30pm: Mate tea, four eggs scrambled w/ mushrooms, olives, seasoned with salt and hot sauce. (Before shopping trip, low on veggies)

 

Dinner 7pm: Filet mignon & asparagus & small salad 

 

Dessert 9pm: Berries and coconut whipped cream with toasted almonds

[amberino21]

I think I have an issue with peppermint tea....I've felt nauseous from it a few times (wondering whether I've got tea with something extra added - I haven't had it in months!)

Do you eat many starchy carbs? I can't see a lot, if any specifically written in to your meals plans....they may help with energy too

[caitpage]

That's odd about the peppermint, especially because I've always heard that helps stomach aches! Thanks for the tip about starchy carbs, I'll pick up some sweet potatoes and try to add them in. 

[caitpage]

Day 6 (yesterday): Good day overall, no crazy energy swings and didn't feel as sleepy. It was my Sunday and I had a massage, facial, mani, pedi so I can't really complain about anything. I went shopping with a friend and we tried out a nice restaurant near the mall (Stanford Grill) and I had steak. It tasted kind of sweet so I'm wondering about the marinade. I slurped my pellegrino while friend had dirty martinis... Didn't really bother me though so that's good. 

 

Breakfast 9am: Three eggs, scrambled w/ mushrooms, olives, peppers, onions & hot sauce

 

Lunch 1pm: Chicken breast -seasoned and cooked in coconut oil- and salad with butter lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, artichokes, sliced almonds and vinaigrette (citrus v from nomnom)

 

Dinner 8pm: **Steak and brocollini, house salad with olive oil 

[caitpage]

Day 7: Done! Although could have been better. I was pretty busy at work and didn't think much about what I was eating/feeling, so that's a good thing I guess!

 

Breakfast: Oops, skipped it due to oversleeping. Had an iced black coffee when I got to work.

 

Lunch: Salad with various veggies (brocolli, zucchini, carrots, spinach) with two eggs and sliced up chicken breast. Drizzled in EVOO.

 

Dinner: Steak and salad (butter lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, artichokes, sliced almonds) with citrus vinagrette dressing.

 

Dessert: Bowl of berries with coconut whipped cream.

 

I'm trying to keep the dessert of berries to just a few nights a week. They are just SO tasty! I notice that if I skip breakfast, I usually get snacky after dinner. Hmmm.

[caitpage]

Day 8 so far:

 

Skipped breakfast again (tsk tsk) but managed to make good coffee in the french press. I added a huge scoop of the coconut whipped cream I've been dipping my berries in and it was SO GOOD! It gave the coffee the creaminess I miss from well, cream. I'll probably add this when I drink coffee from now on. I only have coffee 1-3 times per week.

 

Breakfast: n/a + coffee with coconut whipped cream

 

Lunch: Big salad with veggies, eggs, and chicken. Forgot to drizzle oil on it though, so probably got very little fat in.

[caitpage]

So it's Day 11, and I've been eating Whole30 compliant, but I've been too busy to log! I won't post the missing days' food, but it was pretty standard. Eggs, salad, chicken. Yawn. I just wrapped up my finals this evening for the two online classes I was taking, and I start right back up tomorrow with three new ones. I think eating this way will help me stay energized and focused! At least I hope so! 

 

I made nomnom's slowcooker kalua pig (sans bacon) and it was ready for dinner today. The pig itself is pretty tasty, but I always fry it up in some coconut oil to make it all crispy and yummier. I cannot emphasize enough how delicious this is!!! Then I fried up some eggs over medium, threw them on top of the pork and topped it with my green salsa. YUMMMMMM! I'll prob be having this for breakfast until the pork runs out. For anyone who hasn't tried her recipe, you should really check it out. 

 

I've been eating more berries than I probably should, but I don't want them to go bad Once I finish the batch I have in the fridge, I think I'll take it easy for a a while on the fruit. 

 

So today I almost gave in to the temptation to weigh myself, but I didn't. And not because I am convinced I've lost weight already, but because I feel like I haven't. Then again, it's only been 11 days. I feel pretty good and I'm sleeping much better, so nothing to complain about really, but still feeling "meh". Anyone else feel the not-even-halfway blues? 

[caitpage]

I've been offline, but not off the Whole 30! I recently switched to a night/weekend shift, so I'm working Th/F/Sat nights for the next few weeks. It's nice on a temporary basis, but definitely presents new challenges to my Whole30. There's no cafeteria to grab "lunch" at 1am! So, when I woke up this morning (7pm) I ate my standard egg dish, then went straight to cooking some chicken thighs to through on a salad to take with me. I'm glad I got the thighs this time. Chicken breasts are killing me.

 

A few years ago when I discovered paleo/primal I was on shift work, and I find it much easier to eat well when I have no social life to distract me LOL!

 

Got my large primal pacs in the mail, still waiting on the small. I have one in my purse in case of emergencies!

[caitpage]

Still trying to figure out the best way to eat now that I'm on a 12 hour night shift. I wake up at 7, leave for work at 9:30 work 11-11 then not home again until around noon. Here was last night:

 

Breakfast 8pm: Eggs with veggies

 

Snack 2am: Primal pac

 

Lunch 7am: Huge salad with chicken and vinagrette

 

Dinner: nothing...

 

(In bed around 2pm)

 

I think I'm going to switch it tonight:

 

Breakfast 8pm: Eggs and veggies (and lots of good coffee with coconut milk)

 

*Lunch 3am: Huge salad with chicken

 

*Snack/Dinner? 9am: Primal pac (all i have!)

 

*(planned)

(bed by noon)

 

If I pretend it's daytime I would be eating 8am, 2pm, 8pm.... so I think I might just bring a real dinner with me and eat two of meals at work.

 

Other than a confusing schedule, I'm feeling pretty awesome! Level energy, and I'm falling asleep quickly and sleeping really well.

[caitpage]

Finally feeling like I've lost some weight. Huge improvement from day 10 when I felt hopeless. Trying to avoid the scale because I know if I hop on it I'll either be happy and slack off, or be unhappy and slack off. Haha! I made a dr. appointment for the 5th of September (day 29) so I will def know then.

I'm feeling pretty good, even for being on night shifts. I think my sleep schedule is pretty set, but I must admit my digestive system is not really getting the hint here. It's like "WHY ARE YOU EATING SO MUCH AT 2AM!!!! I've got the next 4 nights off, with time to cook yummy meals and go shopping.

[caitpage]

KIMCHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

[caitpage]

Aug 30- Day 23

 

I haven't really felt the need to log every single meal. I think it keeps me in check through the first half, but by now I have no cravings and wouldn't want to through away the past 20+ days. I found some compliant kimchee at Mom's Organic Market. I wish it was crunchier, but it's pretty darn good. Other than that, I've been eating the usual: eggs/salads/hunk o' meat with veggies. The first whole 30 I was really trying to cook all these elaborate whole 30 compliant meals, but I don't care this time. I'm cool with my plain but well seasoned meals! Berry season is officially over, which stinks because I LOVE LOVE LOVE blueberries and strawberries with coconut whipped cream. Got some berries yesterday and they just don't taste right. Goodbye summer, I'll miss you.

[caitpage]

Day 24! Feeling great today (tonight) because I got a solid 8 hours of sleep before waking up at 8pm to start my night shift. I notice that it's much harder to deal with less sleep these days.

 

Breakfast- 9pm: Eggs!

Three eggs scrambled 

Green onions

White onions

Green bell peppers

Black olives

Hot sauce

(cooked in lots of coconut oil)

 

Lunch- 2am: Salad!

Butter lettuce

Spinach

Cucumbers

Carrots

Green onions

Sliced almonds

Vinagrette (nomnom recipe)

Handful of green grapes as a sweet treat

*Edited to admit the green grape adventure was probably two huge handfuls. How ever many can fit inside a small ziplock sandwich bag...that's how many I ate.

 

Dinner- 9am: Chicken & salad

Chicken breast, cooked in coconut oil and lightly seasoned

Homemade pesto smeared all over chicken OMG SO GOOD! I forgot how much I love pesto. I could eat it by the spoonful.

Remains of lunch salad

(needed more veggies, but forgot to pack the aspargus I meant to bring)

 

 

I am attempting my first social outing this Sunday since starting the Whole 30: a friends' housewarming party! Since it's at 2pm after working a 12 hour 11pm-11am shift I don't think I'll be thinking of much else but sleep so hopefully I won't be too tempted by the wine and apps. I'll just drinking my sparkling water.

 

My first day of "freedom" is supposed to be next Saturday, the 7th... but I have a health screening on the 17th. I want to keep going until then and see what my results are compared to the one I did in January before all of this goodness. I'll be on the same weird night schedule through the 21st, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to keep going since I'm basically a hermit now.

 

I'm definitely seeing a difference in the mirror, and even the new pants I bought a few weeks ago are feeling looser. WEEEE!

[GFChris]

Nice progress - alomst there!

 

Were you able to have protein with your lunch-time salad?

[caitpage]

Thank you!

 

Yes, I knew I was forgetting an ingredient. I had a chopped up grilled chicken breast in there too!