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Older women following Whole30

Chrysalisc

By Chrysalisc
in Ladies Only

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Amy25 Newbie

Amy25

Posted
Posted

Great thread.

I have now done 2 whole 30s, and will start again after the Holidays.  I find that I still cook Whole 30 every day, and do my best to order smartly when we are out.  My husband benefited by losing 30 pounds, of course.  I have lost a pant size, feel better and sleep like a baby.  I think the biggest change is that I do not over-indulge anymore.  I find that I can no longer tolerate a lot of food and I just don't eat certain things. 

Menopause is cruel and effects everyone differently.  I know that after Whole 30, my hot flashes are under control and my outlook more confident and positive.  I still have pain and muscle cramping and hope that continuing on my Whole 30 journey will eventually offer me some remedy or balance. I also believe that some of us need more than 30 days, and excessive exercise and crazy workouts may not be an option.  

The cooking is laborious.  At times, it exhausts me.  I follow Whole 30 on Instagram and Facebook and recently purchased the cookbook.  I like to try new recipes and have a Pin Board on Pinterest for my Whole 30 stuff, so it is accessible.  If you get overwhelmed, go back to simple.... protein and vegies. There are also some frozen vegies available that you can toss into eggs or a frittata and skip the excessive chopping.   

It scares me to think I could have been one of those annoying, complaining old menopause ladies that self medicates.  Granted we all have our days.  But with Whole 30, we can choose a different path.  Good Luck with the journey!

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Teddie Advanced Member

Teddie

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@Amy25 - Good for you having completed 2 WHOLE30s! I buy the big bag of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots at Costco to keep in the freezer. My easy go-to meal will be the veggies with a salmon burger - also purchased at Costco.

I am on Day 4 and feeling less achy. At the end of my WHOLE7 we have a potluck - vegetarian, no less! - so I will have to be vigilant. I'll probably go for the dairy and avoid the gluten.

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

T:)

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tinman57 Advanced Member

tinman57

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@Amy25 I would strongly recommend you invest in the Well Fed Weeknights book. Melissa Joulwan does an amazing job of helping with the organization of the cooking.  One of the first chapters is how to prepare for the week: Making chicken breasts, potatoes, mayo, salad dressing, hard boiled eggs, etc.  I did this and it took me under an hour one Sunday to get it all done.  Admittedly I didn't do the zoodles or the cauliflower rice during that hour but it was simple, dare I say "enjoyable" and it was efficient.

I'll be doing it again New Year's weekend.

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Silver Penguin Advanced Member

Silver Penguin

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Hello everyone,

I'm 55 and on day 26 of my first Whole 30. I have not had one single hot flash in the last 26 days! I'm feeling better than I've ever felt in a very long time. Just got to get my act together with some meal planning and prep time.

I was training to run a half marathon (very, very slowly) but various health concerns have changed my goal to walking the 13.1 miles. I'm up to ten miles so far so I should be good for the event, in February. My training buddies are all inspired to start a new eating plan on Jan 2nd so I'll be doing my second W30 as they do their first.

Hoping I can start to run short distances again soon and build up my endurance. I'm carrying one heck of a lot of extra pounds right now but I feel as though a few of them have gone away in the last three weeks. I know that a lot of the inflammation, pain and soreness has gone away.

Jill

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Teddie Advanced Member

Teddie

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@Silver Penguin  How Wonderful!!! I wish I had known about the WHOLE30 when I was 55. 

Forget the pounds and focus on your endurance and lack of hot flashes :) . Eventually the pounds will take care of themselves.  

When I was 1/2 way through my WHOLE30 I "cheated" and took my measurements. No change. :(  By the end I had lost 6 pounds and some inches. I was delighted with the 6 pounds.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that weight does come off, but this is definitely NOT a quick weight loss diet.

Best to you!

T:)

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Teddie Advanced Member

Teddie

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PS - I finished my WHOLE7 feeling very good. The holidays are not a good influence on me. I'm reading FOOD FREEDOM FOREVER and getting lots of good ideas. But I can see that this is going to take lots of work and a WHOLE15 or WHOLE30 after New Years.

Happy New Year Everyone!

T:)

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Silver Penguin Advanced Member

Silver Penguin

Posted
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14 hours ago, Teddie said:

PS - I finished my WHOLE7 feeling very good. The holidays are not a good influence on me. I'm reading FOOD FREEDOM FOREVER and getting lots of good ideas. But I can see that this is going to take lots of work and a WHOLE15 or WHOLE30 after New Years.

Happy New Year Everyone!

T:)

 

My Day 30 falls on Christmas Eve so I'm planning a week of mostly compliant eating but with some reintroduction and flexibility. A group of friends will be starting their first round in January so I'm definitely back for more. It's taken me a long time to get this far away from being healthy so it's reasonable to think it will take a while to return to good health.

J.

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Deerobert Member

Deerobert

Posted
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Hi all, just checking in because I am going to start my R3 (or is it R2 when I didn't complete my first R2) on January 2nd with the rest of the Whole30 world it seems.  I am not worried much about anything because I have mostly eaten this way since my R1 last January.  The one thing I have noticed for sure though is that I was really inadvertently cutting down on my vegetables.  I agree with @Amy25 that the cooking is laborious and I have always loved to cook.  I have many resources including all Melissa's books and I am going to read Food Freedom Forever during this round for motivation.  I found this thread very helpful in my first round so thought I would check in again.   I just bought an Instant Pot so I'm hoping that will make my life a little easier.  

I'm 58 and still working :( but steadily working on a plan for that to end sometime.  

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shelley417 Advanced Member

shelley417

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Starting today! The first 2 weeks will be the most difficult because I will be traveling for work. But I have my emergency box and I'm committed to getting this WOE for life. I did 100 days starting in January 2013 and I never felt better. I'm going to be 65 in April. No time like today to begin my transformation. 

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Teddie Advanced Member

Teddie

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, shelley417 said:

Starting today! The first 2 weeks will be the most difficult because I will be traveling for work. But I have my emergency box and I'm committed to getting this WOE for life. I did 100 days starting in January 2013 and I never felt better. I'm going to be 65 in April. No time like today to begin my transformation. 

Good luck to you, Shelley! Commitment is a great thing to have when starting this. 

And Happy New Year to everybody!! Let's make this a great year, health wise. :) 

I had thought of starting tomorrow, but my husband and I have just moved into a brand new senior living facility. We're in Independent and really love our apartment, even though it's the smallest space I've ever lived in! Our living room and kitchen are quite large and the gal who moved and unpacked us ( :) ) did a great job of arranging our furniture.

Anyway, we get breakfast and 1 other meal. I was really stressing out about this and so took one of the WHOLE30 handouts to the chef and had a lovely talk with him. Eating off the plan really aggravates my arthritis so it's important that I get back on it.

We have a Opening Gala scheduled for January 18th and I'm planning on starting a WHOLE30 on the 19th. I figure this will give me a chance to get the lay of the land, so to speak, and be better prepared.

Best to you all,

T:)

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Gramma Newbie

Gramma

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Dropping by - starting Wednesday - getting grands back into school that day - Prepping today -- store etc.  This will be my third W30 -- 1st successful - 2nd not so much.  It works and I can do this.  I live with family - 3 other adults, 3 grands - and do most of the cooking but not the shopping.  I will be weeding out my portions from 'their' type foods.  I will also shop specifics for me.  Looking forward - not backward.......

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Ladybugbutt Advanced Member

Ladybugbutt

Posted
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7 minutes ago, Teddie said:

@Ladybugbutt I hear you! I'm on the same page and planning my reset the 19 th. I even signed up for the Whole30Daily. Having a determined mindset is half ( or more) of the battle. 

Keep at it and let us know how you're doing. 

LOVE the Whole30Daily - it's a great tool!  I am getting that again this time around, and I also signed up for RealPlans meal planner, and am really having fun playing around with it!  

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shelley417 Advanced Member

shelley417

Posted
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Day 6. I'm in the zone. I went out of town for work this week and had to eat out twice since I have been home. Salads and chicken (can't say exactly what that chicken was cooked in but it's the best I could do) with oil and vinegar. 

Not at all tempted by the menus. 

But I woke up this morning with the WORST headache. Ughhhh. Who has time for this?!! 

Going for for the black coffee. May put some coconut oil in it. Maybe I need more fat. 

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shelley417 Advanced Member

shelley417

Posted
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How is everyone doing? I am in D.C. This week. It's been 20 degrees here and I live in Florida so no 10000 steps! Today it's 40

so I'm off soon. I'm pretty sure there was dairy in the Brussels sprouts at dinner last night so even though I already  know that dairy doesn't bother me, I'm in for a restart. I decided I'm doing this til April 17th --my 65th birthday.  I'm home for at least the next 3 weeks so I can do much better. 

How are you? 

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Amy25 Newbie

Amy25

Posted
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Well, I started up another Whole 30.  It's hard to determine my actually start date as I have been cooking and eating Whole 30 compliant almost every day.  So, I am declaring that I am on Day 4.  Bloated and feeling tired.  Now that the holidays are over and the guests have gone, I have a few observations for myself...

Alcohol bugs me.  Wine, mostly, red wine.  I good glass of wine with dinner is agreeable, but more than that, I cannot sleep, and I often wake up with horrible leg cramps.  I do like a good craft beer now and then and now that I have committed to another whole 30, just saying wine, makes me want some.  I need to remember that it is messes me up a bit.

Christmas cookies, yuck.  I tried some, and had to spit them out.  Pure chocolate was fine and a couple of the cookies were tolerable.  I only made one batch of cookies, as my neighbors expect them each year, kind of like crack in a gift box.  We so often make ourselves slaves in the kitchen with all that holiday baking.  Nope, just two pans of deliciousness going out the door to the neighbors.  In exchange I got some yummy cookies, only one was a winner.  There were enough people around that I didn't have to worry about eating them.  On January 3rd, the last of the goodies, chocolate/yogurt covered pretzels, went to work where they were devoured.  I used to eat those pretzels by the bag and I had to spit out the one I tried.  What a pleasant change!!

I made a Whole 30 hash on New Years. My kids are mostly Whole 30 compliant, but had been celebrating on New Years eve.   I am now calling this dish "hangover hash."  I knew we needed lunch as we were headed out in the afternoon and would have questionable choices at the hockey game.  It was devoured.  It's basically chicken, sweet potatoes, onions, broccoli, olive oil, with some seasonings and golden raisins.  You mix it up and bake if for 45 minutes.  Whole 30 comfort food and much appreciated by the hungover adult children. http://therealfoodrds.com/sweet-potato-broccoli-chicken-bake/

I keep looking up and storing new recipes on my pin board.  Sometimes I turn on a cooking show and cook away.  Food prep is a life saver and I am discovering several short cuts from Trader Joe's.  My husband is still spoiled with his frittata every morning and we have both purchased new pants in a smaller size.  We can do this!

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Melissa Shelly Newbie

Melissa Shelly

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I’m not sure who I’m responding to on this reply. HELP? Are we still with Chrys?

I relate to you, Chrys, and to all the other women in this post such that I needed to chime in. I will be 60 in March. This is my first Whole30—day #1. I am also an empty-nester, in part, since my son has been away at boarding school (sort of close by) for the last 3 years. Next year it is college and it will more than likely be much farther away. He is my only child so I feel your sadness. I had him—my only child—at age 40. I have a PhD which I never used because I stayed home with him—for 18 years. Now I feel a little out of sorts but his college process still requires my help. I spend most of my free time painting and going to intensity (like cross fit) exercise classes, riding the Peloton bike and playing tennis. I am pretty thin though not skinny as I was most of my life. I really only want to lose 10 pounds but more importantly I have rid myself of things like diet soda, think thin bars, etc., 14 days without caffeine (since I just finished a cleanse); no dairy, NO ALCOHOL (I love my wine but need to tell you I no longer wake up stuffy), and I really rarely had eaten gluten or grains. All in all I was pretty healthy and now I’m getting healthier. Let’s stay in touch. xx

 

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