Lucky Day 13

[tiffanyrfox]

Day 13 of my first W30, and I'm still just exhausted. Slept 9.5 hours last night, and had to drag myself out of bed this morning. I'm still doing sweet potatoes daily, and have added carrots and a little bit of fruit in yesterday and today, so hopefully my energy will rebound. 

 

Breakfast was 3 eggs fried in ghee, and half a large sweet potato mashed with coconut milk and a little cinnamon. Lunch was a steak filet with broccolini, carrots, and macadamia nuts.  I've avoided snacking altogether since I started; eating doesn't really seem to be helping my energy levels in the short term, which I think is a good thing? (No carb-supported short-term energy bursts.)

 

Other than that, I feel good. My ragweed allergy, which is typically hell this time of year, is minimal, though I'm still taking daily meds. Still, by now I'd usually have a sinus infection of some sort, and I've had zero symptoms the last couple of days, so I'm hoping that's a sign that my gut is starting to heal some. 

 

I am still really fighting cravings. I think I just weirded out a coworker in the break room who walked past me with a cup of instant hot chocolate - I stopped dead still, closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply, and she eyed me and sped back to her desk! No real temptation to cave into said cravings, but they're there. If I allow myself to think about it, I can almost feel a tender cupcake with buttery frosting in my mouth. Yummmmm.

[amberino21]

Hi tiffany

Have you seen the timeline?

http://whole9life.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

While you're not on target with the average persons expectations, perhaps you're only a few days behind? Everyone's experiences will vary depending on how much healing they need to do, and while you're still tired, you did mention other positive changes you've noticed.

Perhaps you could post a few more days of food so that others can give you some guidance?

You mention eating starchy carbs every day, but are you also getting plenty of fat?

[tiffanyrfox]

Thanks. Yes, I've been re-reading the Timeline over and over, just to reassure myself that there is that fluctuation from person to person. And the sleep I'm getting has been AMAZING, so I'm not complaining about that!

 

Here are a couple more days' food:

 

Breakfast: 1/2 sweet potato, shredded and fried in coconut oil with 3-4 leaves of torn kale; 3 eggs fried in ghee

Lunch: two small hamburger patties; salad of tossed greens, broccoli, carrots, slivered almonds, with homemade olive oil vinaigrette; apple with a Tbsp of sunbutter

Dinner: generous "palm" of pulled pork flavored with 4-5 dried apricots, caramelized onions and compliant mustard; a sliced tomato; a whole avocado

 

Breakfast: 1/2 sweet potato grated and fried in ghee; an omelet of 3 eggs, tomato, mushrooms also cooked in ghee

Lunch: palm-sized chicken breast; salad of mixed greens with olive oil vinaigrette; macadamia nuts; plum

Dinner: steak; green beans; spaghetti squash; strawberries topped with coconut milk

 

So far today, I had homemade breakfast sausage with one fried egg and a sauteed plantain for breakfast, and am having pulled pork, roasted carrots, a sliced tomato, half a zucchini, and an avocado for lunch. (With a handful of macadamia nuts and a nectarine also packed to round out the meal if I'm still hungry.) I also mixed about 2 Tbsp of the caffeinated coffee at the office into my decaf. I went off caffeine when I started my Whole 30, so am 2 weeks off of it, but desperately needed some help this morning before a work meeting.

 

In general, yes, I'm noticing some great changes. I do weigh myself daily (I know it's a no-no, but I've lost over 50 lbs over the last few years and have found daily weigh-ins a significant part of how I hold myself accountable for my overall lifestyle) and have seen a few pounds drop off. I know that will continue to fluctuate, but I think it's a good sign. My energy levels, though perhaps a bit low, are much more stable, and I'm not getting "hangry" between meals, which is definitely a great sign!

 

Would appreciate any other ideas or feedback y'all may have, but at this point I'm chalking it up to one of the effects of W30, like the cravings - it'll pass, it's just a part of it, unpleasant as it may be to go through at times.

 

Thanks for the encouragement!

[tiffanyrfox]

Day 15 and I'm a little more awake! No tiger blood, but better than the last couple of days.

 

For the record:

Dinner last night (at a restaurant): steak scramble with onions and spinach; cup of fresh fruit.

Breakfast: 3 eggs fried in coconut oil, half a plantain, a whole sliced tomato.

 

I've also ended up fostering a dog as of 8:00 this morning, which will probably have some effect on my energy levels.

[beckysefco]

Today is my day 15 and I still have sugar cravings. Your hot coco episode cracked me up. We can do it! I don't think I have tiger blood yet... I guess I just don't know what I'm looking for! We'll get there. Keep it up.

[tiffanyrfox]

Day 19 and still no tiger blood - but that may also be because I adopted a puppy 5 days ago! I didn't mean to, but ended up caring for a stray found in the park, and just can't bring myself to take him to a shelter. He's super cute and sweet, but "energy" doesn't begin to come close enough to what he has! I think I'm handling his demands a lot better than I would have a month ago - thankful for that!

 

The sugar cravings have lessened somewhat in the last day or so, though I'm definitely still looking forward to that first bowl of ice cream.

[tiffanyrfox]

Energy has gotten much better. Still not magic, but I feel more normal than I have in a long time. Tomorrow starts the final countdown - 10 full days left. (Confession - I plan to re-introduce alcohol at the end of day 30, rather than on day 31. Hosting a cocktail party for a former coworker. Plan to stick to a single glass of red wine to celebrate!)

 

Today:

 

M1: 1/2 sweet potato cooked with ghee, palm size portion of pork tenderloin heated in a skillet with some coconut oil. Two big glasses of water filled me up faster than usual, but I didn't get hungry before lunch.

M2: More pork tenderloin, a carrot, and a smoothie of spinach, coconut water, a handful of frozen grapes, and lime juice.

M3: 2 cups of Tom Kha soup made from coconut milk, chicken stock, chicken, and lots of veggies.

[amberino21]

Hi Tiffany - glad to hear your energy is improving

Just noticed you had a smoothie with meal 2 - these are discouraged on your whole 30 as chewing the food provides more satiety than drinking. You could have eaten the greens with lunch and then had the grapes

[tiffanyrfox]

Thanks, Amber, for the reminder, but I did see the info about smoothies. It was a desperate situation - I needed to get some fuel in me, wasn't very hungry, and didn't have time to sit down and eat something I couldn't carry with me, like a salad or cooked veggies. I made sure it was more veggies than fruit, to keep the sugar to a minimum, and had it with some protein and carrots to round it out. It's the only one I've had on the program.

 

The good news is that I'm finally feeling more energetic! Breakfast today was difficult; my kitchen sink has backed up on me, and with no dishwasher I can't clean up easily after a meal (only a pedestal sink in the bathroom - not very conducive to dish-washing). And I have out-of-town company, so we decided to go out. I ordered eggs, compliant sausage, and a side of green salad - but neglected to as what was in the salad dressing! As soon as it arrived I realized it, so smelled the dressing, and my friend tasted it - sure enough, it was sweet. So I had plenty of protein, but no produce at all. Looking like it'll be a big old salad for lunch!

 

I'm excited to be in the final countdown, and to see how my numbers look at my annual checkup in a few weeks. 8.5 days left!