Starting Whole30 on September 16 - need help and support, please!

[AshleyAnth]

@ksweet - if you want to know what any of them are, just ask! They were all very very yummy! 

[Karyna]

Hi everyone!

 

Day 5 is starting without a headache so yay! And I had my first 'food dream' - I dreamed that I ate a piece of banana bread, and in the dream, I felt so guilty and I got mad at myself and my husband for letting me eat it! It felt so real!

 

This morning, I will be working out to the likes of Jillian Michaels and headed to another temptation test - my daughter's toddler playgroup where a cup of tea and a biscuit were the highlights of my week before. Today, I plan to bring my own Arbonne herbal tea and say no to the biscuit! Another temptation today is the field trip that my daughter and I are taking to the farm - I plan on bringing my own lunch and saying no to any of the food sold there. That is the plan.

 

So, meal plan for today:

PreWO snack - leftover coconut chicken

PostWO meal - 1 egg, 1/2 burger (compliant as no sugar, no grains, no preservatives), sweet potato

M1 - 1 egg, 1/2 burger, sweet potato, lettuce, tomato and if still hungry, cashews, coconut, blueberries, almond milk

M2 - leftover coconut chicken, sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, banana

M3 - Beef and Kale sauteed in ghee

 

Good luck to you all on Day 4!

[New2Whole30inDC]

I love the food pictures- good luck with day 5 everyone.

[New2Whole30inDC]

SInce Karyna did a plan for the day I thought I might do one too.

 

M1: Sweet potato hash w/ onions and peppers, sliced turkey, two eggs, some guacamole (this is me try to get in 2 proteins and 2 fats)

M2: Lunch out- coconut curry with chicken and vegetables

M3: Leftover meatball soup (I will need to find a second veg to have with it)

 

I'm really hoping eating such a big breakfast will help me not be hungry constantly today!

[Karyna]

So meal plan has changed slightly.

My M1 turned into my M2 as I wasn't particularly hungry for it until noon. I had made it, packed it up and was prepared to eat it at playgroup during tea and biscuit time but I wasn't hungry - AND I said no to biscuits which was a success. And I have now at 3:15pm just had a snack of cashew nuts, dried apple, and having a coffee with coconut cream.

My originally planned M2 will be my M3 tonight so I don't have to cook an entirely new meal.

My struggle is normally the weekend/being at home so I'm so far doing okay. Just trying to keep myself distracted during the snacking hours and drinking lots of water. Hope you're all okay today! Xx

[AshleyAnth]

So meal plan has changed slightly.

My M1 turned into my M2 as I wasn't particularly hungry for it until noon. I had made it, packed it up and was prepared to eat it at playgroup during tea and biscuit time but I wasn't hungry - AND I said no to biscuits which was a success. And I have now at 3:15pm just had a snack of cashew nuts, dried apple, and having a coffee with coconut cream.

My originally planned M2 will be my M3 tonight so I don't have to cook an entirely new meal.

My struggle is normally the weekend/being at home so I'm so far doing okay. Just trying to keep myself distracted during the snacking hours and drinking lots of water. Hope you're all okay today! Xx

My struggle is the weekends as well. I'm home throughout the week, as I'm a stay at home mom, but my oldest is in school all day and my husband is at work. So it's just me and the baby, and she eats cut up fruits and veggies, and I only have to cook for myself, so it's very easy for me to eat this way. However, over the weekend, we normally have some family thing going on, or they want to order pizza or go out to dinner or something. It gets easier because you find ways to eat something else and just not think about the food or think about how good you feel. But it still sucks!

 

M1: small pork chop, heirloom tomato, cantelope, avocado.. done within the hour of waking so it was quite small. (around 8 am)

M2: 4 meatballs with hot sauce, 1/2 small sweet potato, spinach salad with peppers and a hard boiled egg, olive oil and vinegar dressing, some of an heirloom tomato, small apple (around 2 pm)

 

Haven't had meal 3 yet, but plan to have it when I get hungry... leftover ground sausage and hamburger on a spinach and kale salad, peppers, tomato, avocado, almonds, cauliflower, carrots, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. It sounds delicious so I'm excited to eat it, but not hungry just yet!

 

How's everyone elses day 5 going?

[ksweet]

I'm feeling pretty proud because it's my birthday and I'm eating well (and not crying or whining about it...too much!). I went and bought some plants as a "reward" instead. Hopefully I can look at my new fig tree one day and remember my new beginning (ok, that was hokey, but still).

 

I had to laugh at Karyna's dream - I did the same thing last night only I had eaten chocolate. But because I was only half asleep, I got confused about whether or not I had really slipped! 

 

M1: pork carnitas, cabbage, 1 fried egg, green tea with coconut oil

M2: fajitas with beef, shrimp, and chicken, black tea (we went out and we declined the chips and the tortillas!)

M3: will be steak, sweet potato fries, salad, raspberry leaf tea

 

@AshleyAnth - the carnita recipe was from Mark's Daily Apple. I'm terrible for loading photos on the computer but I'll try to get some up. Your food looks great - can we start with the Moroccan meatball recipe?

@New2Whole30inDc - I would love to see your meatball soup recipe too - I don't have a lot of good soup recipes but with winter approaching...

@Karyna - way to go for skipping the biscuit, especially since it was a highlight of the week. Did anyone ask about it? I'm the opposite; I do better eating at home because I don't bring any non-compliant foods into the house. But when I'm out, I'm so bad that I give my husband my debit card so I don't make rash food purchases. I grew up on McDonald's and still love it (I know, gross, isn't it?) Why is being home difficult? Just too easy to graze?

[AshleyAnth]

@ksweet - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I'll have to google the carnitas. That's a great idea to buy yourself some plants instead of cake! Here's the moroccan meatball recipe http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/03/05/mmmmm-moroccan-meatballs/ I didn't have time to make the sauce, so I figured use some hot sauce or crushed up tomato, salt, and pepper. They're pretty delicious by themselves though!

[AshleyAnth]

My husband took us all out to lunch today, and I did my best to stay compliant, but now I feel headachy and tired. I'm wondering what it could've been...

 

I asked for the chicken fajitas, without the tortillas or cheese and sour cream... just the chicken, veggies, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Then I asked for a side salad, with no cheese or croutons... mixed everything together and it tasted delicious! Just using guacamole, pice de gallo, and lime juice as the dressing. I felt really good right afterwards, up until about 15 minutes after eating. 

[ksweet]

Weird, Ashley, because I had a similar thing when we went out yesterday. I got the fajitas at our local Mexican place and then I felt funky about 30 minutes later. It made me wonder if they saute the stuff in a sugar and/or MSG seasoning mix??? I feel physically well today but I'm actually having a harder time with cravings but I passed that off on the rainy weather and not wanting to do my work and chores - food was always such a good diversion, lol. I hope you're feeling better soon and it was just a fluke! Bummer to "behave" while going out only to not feel well. 

 

M1: apple sauce/cobbler? (apples, shredded coconut, coconut milk, raisins, walnuts, spices in the crockpot overnight), scrambled eggs, seltzer water

M2: pork, little bit of stead, 4 sweet potato fries, 1/2 green pepper, macs and raisins, green tea with coconut oil

M3: taco meat with gauc and salsa, salad, 2 sweet potato fries, stir fry of mushrooms, green peppers, onions

 

We practice NFP so I'm always charting my basal temps and this morning's temp was higher than usual at this point in my cycle. I'm curious if this will be a new (very welcomed) trend, as my basal temps are often in the high 96's (not good). Could my hormones be doing better already?

 

Karyna - how are you doing on this Day Six? 

[ksweet]

Oh, and Ashley, thanks for the link. I definitely bookmarked those. Isn't that the lady who used to have a picture of herself done up as a 1940s pin-up girl? She still looks great - just different if it's the lady I'm thinking of. 

[Karyna]

Happy birthday Karyn! And funny enough in my dream, I was really confused if I had done it or not too!

My friend Katie did ask me about it and I talk about doing the whole30 quite happily. She offered me a biscuit and I said no and she apologised and said she forgot and are my biscuit for me!

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge as it's a 2 yr old birthday party starting at noon. I plan to bring my own lunch as it's at a soft play centre which of course will only serve things like pizza, birthday cake. I will say no and if they ask why, I will tell them!

Have a good day everyone!

[Karyna]

How was everyone's Day 6? Weekends are normally difficult for me as they are normally when I let myself indulge and being at home I end up just snacking. But today was super successful as there was no snacking, although I did delay Meal1 until about 3 hrs after waking. I just wasn't hungry and because of where I was and what I was doing, wasn't able to eat right away.

M1 - scrambled eggs, bacon (not cured with sugar but has nitrates :s) and kale sautéed with ghee

M2 - organic free range beef burger (whole30 compliant), bacon and egg fried in ghee with sweet potato chips and lettuce

M3 - organic free range beef, steamed broccoli, sweet potato chips and a banana, cashew nuts and dried mango

I had to find dried fruit today without sulfites as I accidentally had a small amount of dried mango dried with sulphur dioxide. Oops. Do I need to start completely over?

I did find dried fruit called 'Urban Fruit' that is dried naturally through baking so am happy with that.

Tomorrow is a new day...

[New2Whole30inDC]

Hi Everyone,

 

Here is the recipe that I made for Mexican meatball soup.  I wouldn't say it's the best soup I ever made, but it's pretty good, has some veggies and is quite filling.

 

http://thesaffrongirl.com/spicy-paleo-meatball-soup/

 

I definitely upped the amount of spices in everything and I highly, highly recommend getting fresh cilantro for the garnish.

 

Ksweet-- I really like the idea for the overnight slow cooker applesauce.  I want to try it but my slow cooker is so old (my grandma's) that I have to fill it almost all the way and I'm not sure I need 5 quarts of it... do you think I could microwave a single bowl of the ingredients instead?

 

Also-- here is the post I just put up on the other Sept. 16th forum.  It seems like this one has more people on it, so I hope you don't mind the reposting.  I'll just use this one in the future.

 

 

Karyna- I didn't even realize that sulfites were banned till I saw you post and then looked at the online list.  I think I personally wouldn't re-start if you just had a little bit and feel like you can avoid them from now on.  That said, from what I've seen on the forums, a lot of people would probably have a different answer.  I think you should do what feel right for you.

 

Ashley- was there anything you ate in lunch that you don't normally eat?  Maybe the raw tomatoes?  It's also possible that a restaurant would have put some kind of stabilizer or preservative in their guacamole that you wouldn't have known about.

 

My day 5 went quite well-- I ended up having a huge Laotian lunch out with coworkers  (luckily Lao food doesn't usually have wheat and we chose dishes that were soy sauce free) so I ended up being really full till dinner at around 7:30.

 

For my day 6 report:

 

M1, 8:00am: 3 eggs scrambled in coconut oil with a bit of chicken and scallion (I could have eaten more but was going to a water aerobics class at 9:30 and was afraid I'd be too full and uncomfortable in the water)

M2, 12:00pm: Meatball Soup (made a huge pot, so I'm eating it constantly : ) and seaweed salad

Snack, 5:00: Lara Bar and some olives and an asian pear

M3, 7:30pm: Roasted chicken, grated carrot salad, braised red cabbage

 

I'm curious as to what you all think about the snacking-- I feel like even in a few days I've improved enough that I'm not constantly hungry, but it seems like I can go a max of 5 hours between meals without getting really starving.  Due to the realities of life, I'm never going to be able to eat lunch 5 hours after dinner.  Is a snack ok, or should I try to eat even more at lunch so I can go approx. 7 hours till dinner?

 

DC

[ksweet]

Thanks for the link, DC. I think the soup looks yummy. And Laotian lunch! Yum - we live in the mountains of NC, so we don't get much in the way of ethnic food out here. I grew up in Baltimore and do miss some things, like good restaurants! As for the snacking, I would suggest trying to get more in at lunch, if possible. Do you think you could eat around 6 or 6:30 so there would be less time in between lunch and dinner and you wouldn't have to snack? I also think the whole snacking thing will settle down for all of us once we adjust to this new way of eating. 

 

Karyna, I sure wouldn't start over unless you think the sulfites are triggering sugar cravings or if you feel like you're going through withdrawal again. But I'm certainly a newbie. And good luck with that children's party! You can do it - no point in stopping now for pizza you know is going to be gross and greasy (if it's anything like Chuck E Cheese over here!). 

 

By the way, I don't know if I ever put it out there but my name's Karyn (just to get everyone confused with Karyna), in case that's easier to use. 

 

Whole30 on - see you guys tomorrow!

[ksweet]

Apple cobbler - 12 chopped apples (can leave peels on), 2T coconut oil, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 cup shredded coconut, 1 cup raisins, 2T cinnamon, 2 t salt, 2T vanilla (though you can't use this on Whole30). Throw in crockpot on low (or warm setting, if you have it) overnight. I like to have things waiting for us in the morning but I think you could lessen the recipe and bake it or put it in the microwave. I also sprinkle walnuts and more coconut on top before serving. Oh, and I threw in some flax seed for good measure. 

[GFChris]

Apple cobbler - 12 chopped apples (can leave peels on), 2T coconut oil, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 cup shredded coconut, 1 cup raisins, 2T cinnamon, 2 t salt, 2T vanilla (though you can't use this on Whole30). Throw in crockpot on low (or warm setting, if you have it) overnight. I like to have things waiting for us in the morning but I think you could lessen the recipe and bake it or put it in the microwave. I also sprinkle walnuts and more coconut on top before serving. Oh, and I threw in some flax seed for good measure. 

Sorry, but a Paleo apple cobbler is not Whole30 compliant, as it's Paleoifying a treat/dessert. Perhaps you can freeze this and enjoy it after you complete your Whole30?

[AshleyAnth]

M1: 2 hardboiled eggs, tomato with salt and pepper, avocado... still not liking the whole eating within an hour of waking, but I'm trying!

M2: chicken fajita salad... chicken, onions, peppers, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, jalepeno, guacamole, pico de gallo, lime juice

M3: banana, almonds, baked chicken with hot sauce, tomato with salt and pepper (I'm becoming obsessed with this lol), sauteed kale, zucchini and peppers in coconut oil

 

Didn't get a workout in, but mowed the lawn, did yard work,washed the car, and spent quite a few hours helping my oldest daughter go through her toys and organize them, and decide what she wanted to keep and what to give away to charity. She had a lot of fun doing it, and we had some good mother/daughter bonding time 

[Karyna]

Hi everyone! I didn't have any massive sugar cravings after the sulfites as I had maybe one or two bites of it.

Not planning on eating the food at the children's party today.

After seeing amberino's post I will keep posting here for the Sep 16 starts!

[Breff]

Hello everyone!

 

I see you're all absolutely killing it on the Whole 30. 

Mine got off to a bit of a false start, hence my absence here.

Two baby showers, a work Whiskey event and a sunny road trip along the Great Ocean Road all played a part in my derailment. I was super upset with myself but I've gotten over it and am ready to pick myself up and start all over again on the 25th. 

 

Looking forward to getting that sparkly clean feeling back.

 

Well done everyone, keep calm and whole 30 on

[Karyna]

Welcome to the group Breff and good for you for starting again rather than giving up completely!

I can't believe it's already day 7! Today my daughter and I were headed to a birthday party where my friend was kind enough to say it was okay for me to bring my own whole30 compliant food. We were all ready to go and on our way... And my daughter vomits all over me on the bus on the way there. Back home we went. Oh dear.

But meal plan is as follows:

M1 (8:15am) - egg, bacon, quick fry beef steak, sautéed kale, coffee with coconut cream

M2 (12:30pm) - bacon, compliant burger, spinach and lettuce, sweet potato chips, cashew nuts, banana and two pieces of dried mango

M3 (tonight) - meatloaf (with bacon!), cauliflower mash, sweet potato chips (I'm addicted to sweet potato chips right now!)

I am feeling exhausted today and according to timeline 2.0, that sounds about right. I would love a nap right now...

Tonight will also be my prep night. I will be making:

- primal breakfast casserole for postWO meals this week

- chicken, spinach, mushroom frittata for tomorrow's M1

- gammon, sweet potato chips and steamed broccoli for M2

Planning and prep is key to success!

How are you all doing?

[ksweet]

Hi Breff, welcome aboard! Just keep thinking about how good you're going to feel soon!

 

Chris - the recipe author called it an apple cobbler but if you look at the recipe, I think it's more of a "complex applesauce". The main ingredients are apple and coconut with no added sugar and it doesn't have a topping like a cobbler. Plus, I didn't feel "excited" about it nor have I been craving the leftovers, so I don't think it's "SWYPO". Despite the name, is there a problem with the recipe? 

 

So sorry Karyna! Perhaps your daughter was saving you from temptation. Hope everyone is feeling better! Sick kids = no fun at all. 

 

Are you feeling better, Ashley? Sounds like you were busy, so I"m assuming so.

 

How are you holding up, DC?

 

I'm feeling better physically but this weekend has brought up a lot of emotional food stuff. I didn't realize just how much I crave junk just out of boredom, distraction, or reward. Yesterday I just wanted out of the house and away from chores - so I wanted to go out and eat. On Sundays we usually go out or get some junky food for lunch and for "fun". But I stayed compliant, yippee. My husband generally eats what I do (since I cook and shop) but it's helping that he is trying to do the Whole30 in support. So I didn't eat the tortilla chips at the restaurant!

 

M1: pork carnitas, scrambled egg, seltzer (you're right, Ashley, big breakfasts are tough!)

M2: fajitas, unsweet tea

M3: will be roast chicken, salad, steamed or sauted broccoli

 

Big cooking afternoon for me, too, Karyna! 

 

We made our first week- woohoo!

[New2Whole30inDC]

Hi Everyone-

 

My lesson from yesterday was that if I eat too much for a snack I'm not that hungry at dinner, so I don't eat enough and then I'm starving at bedtime!  I think managing my hunger has been the toughest part for me-- I had been doing a pretty paleo/primal diet for a few months so I haven't had to deal with the sugar cravings and fatigue on the Whole30 (but I definitely remember them-- hang in there, they're rough to get through but do go away).

 

Like you all, the weekends are the toughest time for me.  Yesterday my husband picked me up from the pool and we went to get a coffee and while he had a croissant sandwich and a scone I had... a cup of black coffee.  It was tough to tell myself to stay strong and not have even a little taste, but I did feel really good about myself for resisting.  My lesson from that (I see a bit of a theme for myself here) is to put a small bag of nuts in my purse so that I'll always have a little something to nibble on in the future.

 

Today I had book club-- luckily my friends are great and one of them is GF, so there was a lot I could eat but since everyone else is on a standard American diet there really wasn't much fat at all at lunch.  I think that's why I was hungry again and had to have an afternoon snack.  Here's today's plan.

 

M1 7am: Turkey, spinach and avocado roll-ups

M2 12:30pm: Egg muffins (egg, zucchini and bacon baked in a muffin tin), fruit salad, tomato, trail mix (coconut, almond, dried blueberries

Snack 4:00pm

M3 7pm: Either last night's leftovers (chicken, carrots salad, braised cabbage) or a stir-fry with last night's chicken and veggies from today's farmers market

 

Karyna-  what is gammon?  Your meals sound delicious but I've never heard of that before.

 

KSweet-- it's great to hear that your husband is so supportive-- good luck in week two.

[New2Whole30inDC]

Thanks for the applesauce recipe Ksweet!  It sounds delicious and I agree with your assessment of the 'compliance' of it.  Since I'm really trying to eat more fat it sounds like it would be perfect for me to have for breakfast with some eggs or other protein.  I'm curious to see what a moderator things of it.

[AshleyAnth]

Didn't have time this morning to really eat anything, I grabbed a handful of cashews and some beef jerky from a Primal Pack.

 

However for lunch, I had 2 fried eggs, steamed broccoli mixed with some sausage and hamburger, olive oil and vinegar dressing,avocado and fresh garlic, and a cucumber and tomato salad with salt and pepper, and some raspberry blush vinegar.

 

Not sure what's for dinner  yet... I'm actually running out of proteins to eat, and we aren't able to get groceries for at least another week. I'm a little worried about that.