Post September 1 2013 Whole30

[Marjan]

I started this Topic for all of you that continue on after the September 1, Whole30, whether or not you keep on track of not.

[TDC]

Great idea! I was sort of wondering whether I would feel a bit bereft without the support of the forum! I posted a version of this message in the old topic thread but I'm reposting the relevant bits about thoughts on post-Whole30 and reintroduction.

 

I feel a bit overwhelmed now this is (almost) over. People keep asking me what I'm going to eat first, and although I usually just explain how there are still at least 10 days of 'reintroduction to go', frankly I actually can't really think about what I miss. I suppose a nice plate of Nasi Lemak (Malaysian coconut rice with chilly sauce) would be nice, but I'm not sure it's a strong and desperate craving. It's a 'well this Friday there is a Malaysian street food festival in Trafalgar Square so I'll have it then as a special once a year occasion'. I think what I'm looking forward to more than anything is just being a little bit more relaxed about, say, eating out and what fat things are cooked in. I'm not going to cook in anything other than ghee, coconut oil and olive oil but I'll be more relaxed if I have to eat out. Also, it'll be good to be a bit more relaxed about sugar -- not in the dessert/sweets sense but, for example, I made some homemade ketchup using a teeny tiny dash of xylitol just before the start of the month, so I've not had any this whole month and I'm looking forward to it!

 

My plan with reintroduction is to do dairy tomorrow. I don't like yoghurt for breakfast much so suggestions would be welcome on how I can add dairy into my breakfast (can you tell I'm not that wild about it?), milk in my tea (I've missed a proper British brew! Although not as much as I expected, I got used to weak, no milk tea very quickly!), some sort of cheese for lunch maybe, a meatza with cheese and Melissa Joulwan's Peach Almond Crisp (a definite SWYPO!) with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

 

Next, on Thursday I'm going to go for laksa at a Malaysian restaurant for lunch and whereas usually I would ask them to do it without the rice noodles, I'll have the whole shebang. And perhaps fried rice for breakfast and some sort of grain that's not wheat for dinner.

 

I'm looking forward to the reintroduction, although the thought of the 'gluten' day is VERY overwhelming -- when I think of all the little cafes around my work place that offer sandwiches and such I can't believe how much CHOICE I'll have -- how do you make decisions on what to eat? I suppose it's because I haven't had a sandwich for SO LONG (not just this whole month but since I want paleo-ish two years ago I can probably count on one hand how many times I've had a sandwich) that I want to make it one that is worth it in terms of contents!

 

I'm also looking forward to weighing myself, and although I think I'll be a bit said if I find I haven't lost any weight, I'll know that I've made a major step towards eating much higher quality food. Plus, things have got a lot mroe serious for me at Crossfit so I may have gained muscle. Either way, I think what I've discovered over the course of this month is that it's become a whole lot less about weight loss and a whole lot more about general well being and eating properly for health. I've always been a fan of vegetables, and always aspired to eating organic, local sourced, in season, etc. etc. but always had the excuse that I can't afford it. Well, as nomnompaleo (I think it was her anyway) said, if you're reading this, you can obviously afford the expensive equipment needed so of course you can afford the highest quality food. So I'm looking at food shopping in a different way now and enjoying the psychological feeling of having really high quality food in the house.

[helen]

This has all compliant ingredients but is not allowed on Whole30 since a 'bread.'  I made other Paleo muffins and such and a lot of the recipes taste like sawdust.  This one is really, really good and I like having it with almond butter for breakfast.

 

http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/grain-free-goodies/paleo-banana-bread/

[Angela Poliquin]

@helen, I am totally going to feed that banana bread to DF (dear family).

 

I'm sitting here the evening of Day 29, realizing that it has been more than two hours since I ate dinner and I don't feel like snacking at all.  Stuff like that gives me a rush of joy.  Plus the Saints are taking it to Miami.

 

I'm taking my Tiger Blood to Vegas in December.  In the meantime, I've started a "campaign" at work.  I call war maneuvers a "campaign."  I have to bury myself in the trenches for a couple of months and work really hard.  I won't miss daylight because pretty soon, here in MT, there won't be any.  I'm counting on Whole-ness to fuel me through!

 

@helen, I was thinking about a light box also, but after a little research, I'm just going supplement.  If you get one, keep us posted on how it works for you.  Have you use supplements in the past?  I've never addressed D3, but if I'm going to survive up here, I think I need to!

[Marjan]

We have got a lightbox, brand is Medisana. Bought it second hand on Ebay. It is quite big and not very nice light to sit by.

I have read about minilightboxes that you can put in your ear like headphones. Like this I guess: http://www.amazon.com/Valkee-Bright-Light-Ear-Headset/dp/B006SNYCGQ

[Marjan]

Well, here we are on the other side! Well done all of us  Whether or not we made it throught the thirty days, continue on or go off the rails, I think we have all learned a lot in the last thirty days!

[helen]

I am ordering a Northern Lights one.  Two friends (one a doctor) recommended the brand and it is mid-price (the lights in different brands range from $50 to $500).  Even if it is a placebo effect it is worth it.  Will let you know!  We are also looking at a used sauna today after work (cross your fingers as it is a GREAT price).

 

I lost ELEVEN pounds. I am elated.  I have 9 more to go to be at my pre-summer binge weight (I gained 19 pounds).  I want to lose 5 after that.  Put the damn scale back away until November too.

 

I am having my greek yogurt smoothie.  I already feel like it is too much sugar and not going to sustain me until 1 pm but I'll have my answer.  I put a 'real stick' (all compliant ingredients beef/pork jerky except has molasses powder so wasn't Whole 30 compliant but no sugar protein snack) in my bag just in case.

 

I love you guys!  Thanks for all the support.  It has helped loads. 

 

@Angela~~yes I supplement with D vitamins (all year actually) and fish oil.  I am reading The Hormone Cure by Sara Gottfried.  Seriously good.  I may start supplementing with B vitamins.  Talking to my OB tomorrow.

 

Off to marathon teaching day.  Excited for everyone with good results and for just caring about ourselves enough to do this!  We rock

[Marjan]

Awesome @helen . I have a bit more to go than 19 pounds, I would like to lose another 44....so the start is there!

 

I forgot to tick the 'Follow this topic' Done now, so will be up to date!

[raptah]

I finished my 30 and I'm glad to be continuing on to the Post thread, pretty much eating the same way. I think I may have mentioned I'm going to have a glass of wine with my husband tonight (and this morning I'm having some not-totally-compliant coconut milk with my coffee) but otherwise I don't feel the need to introduce anything. I know from my August experience that adding in sugar and grains and dairy quickly became food without brakes for me. I don't know that it will always be like that but it certainly was then. I had lost a significant amount of weight and inches during my July W30 (13 lbs and 13 inches) and I'm pretty sure I put almost all of it back on in one month. That's embarrassing to post, but I know many of you can relate. I'm trying to learn from this. I really related to what JPKetz (and others) posted about needed to clean up his relationship with food. I did not weigh myself before I started this W30 because I knew it was bad (just from going back to my SAD and eating mindlessly) so I don't know exactly what happened on this time around. I measured this morning and I've lost an additional couple inches from various places and my weight is 1 pound (one!) less than it was when I ended the first W30. But it's really and truly not about the weight. Or it hadn't been--until I weighed myself. So I need to officially, once and for all, break up with my scale. Look forward to hearing from you all. What an interesting, fun and inspiring group of people!

[Marjan]

My Whole30 food without Brakes is salted Macadamia nuts.........hmmmmmmmm! They are expensive so I should not buy them as much!

[TDC]

Well I weighed myself and am only a couple of kilos down but my heart wasn't really in it. As Cclarkthirty said, it's really not about weight loss, and I know my Crossfit intensity has ramped up in the last month two so I know a lot of the weight is muscle gain (is it bad that I keep stroking the top of my arms in wonderment at the appearance of (small) biceps?). What is more tangible than the measurement on the scales is the fact that I'm wearing a pair of trousers that I bought two years ago but have never worn because they were too tight. I'm wearing them very comfortably now and enjoying the fact that in the mirror they make me look really slim.

 

I'm halfway through my dairy day but again my heart's not really into it. I had cheese and mushroom omelette (did not enjoy it one bit, felt the greasiness of the cheese was so overwhelming; I ate half and gave the rest to my boyfriend...which meant I was hungry at 10.30 whereas I haven't been hungry mid morning during most of the Whole 30!). I had milk in my tea (I thought I'd missed a proper strong brew) but actually I thought meh, I could leave this. I was more acutely aware of the milkiness of the drink. For lunch I've had a sweet potato with grated cheese and tuna waldorf salad. It was tasty but I felt I could leave the cheese; the tuna salad is tasty enough!

 

I'm planning to have a meatza with mozzarella cheese and mushrooms tonight just as a final check. Generally, though, my feeling is that although, so far, it hasn't affected my tummy the mouth feel isn't particularly nice and I can fairly easily do without it. We'll see how I go over the next few days once I get back on Whole30 compliant food until Thursday.

 

I'm enjoying the self-experimentation thing, though, it's fun!

[TDC]

'month or two' 

[TDC]

One more thing I forgot to say: there was Cornish clotted cream fudge in the office yesterday and I thought well, it's dairy, maybe I can have that tomorrow as a special treat! Then I forgot about it and next thing I know the whole lot was gone! Did I care? Not one bit! Yay!

[amberino21]

One more thing I forgot to say: there was Cornish clotted cream fudge in the office yesterday and I thought well, it's dairy, maybe I can have that tomorrow as a special treat! Then I forgot about it and next thing I know the whole lot was gone! Did I care? Not one bit! Yay!

Something similar happened to me last week at school - there was a huge morning tea for end of term/September birthdays/people leaving.....there was a huge carroty type cake with cream cheese frosting. I felt like cake, I nearly said yes to a piece of cake. By the time I'd decided "oh, just go ahead and have some damn cake" it was gone....not fussed!

I also had a similar reaction to dairy - I could feel it just sitting in my body....bleh. Heavy and greasy!

[alexasaurusrex]

@TDC that's awesome! Isn't that feeling so cool? And don't worry about the dairy. If you don't like it don't eat it I went to my first On Ramp course for CrossFit. I was totally alone with the coaches which was great because I got a lot of attention. The workout was only ten minutes and I'm legit dead. i did 10 min AMRAP of five jumping pullups, 10 knee pushups, and 15 air squats. I was 10 squats short of 6 rounds. I almost fell asleep on the ground after. I came home and forced myself to eat some chicken and spaghetti squash and a couple olives before showering and curling up on the couch. It was 830 and I forced myself to stay up to 915 but I almost fell asleep on the couch. I was more tired than all my long runs during half marathon training. And today I feel the workout. 

 

I'm glad we are sticking together on this thread! 

[helen]

My Whole30 food without Brakes is salted Macadamia nuts.........hmmmmmmmm! They are expensive so I should not buy them as much!

Mine used to be.  Now it is pistachio nutmeats.  I measure them into bags for serving size and that helps.  One health food store sells these macadamia nuts they keep in the cooler and they are divine!

[TDC]

Macadamia nuts are EVIL. It's a good thing they're so expensive although I reckon they are the reason I'm so low on cash this month after the Whole30!

[TDC]

@alexasaurusrex: Yea, the conclusion I'm getting to with dairy is I can easily leave it. Well done on the first class! I love when it's a small class, especially when you're just beginning because all you want is loads n loads of attention! Although it is always good to look around a big class and see everyone sweating and grimacing in the same way as you! hahaha

[awg828]

Happy Day Thirty ONE to most of you!!  So proud of you (well, us) for making it this far.  And yippee to Marjan and Helen for the weight loss!  My Day 31 is Saturday and I am a little too excited about stepping on the scale.  I'm trying to prepare myself for it not being an impressive loss - trying to remember it isn't about the numbers but....it's a little bit about the numbers   I do feel better and I think my clothes are looser.  Or perhaps I need to wash them.  Laundry has gone by the wayside a bit the last few days as I've been trying to finish a work project.  I had a few too many Lara Bars which I felt a teensy bit bad about.  I would hear the Whole 30 moderator (who strangely, now resides in my head) comment that Lara Bars are only for emergencies to which I would respond - this IS an emergency - you have no idea!

 

In addition to the scale, I'm also looking forward to....oatmeal.  Odd.  I suppose because of the comfort associated with it.  I saw a post referenced on the Whole 30 facebook page and thought it would be fun for us to do something similar.  I'll start:

 

Before I did a Whole 30, I never thought:

 

I'd make my own salad dressing (and prefer it) 

Be so much more of an intuitive chef - throw something in a skillet - throw some spices on it and wah - lah - dinner!

Eat dinner for breakfast rather than breakfast for dinner

Make my own chicken broth

Resist cupcakes, doughnuts, French fries, kolaches and all manner of former "goodness" and not mind all that much (most of the time)

 

Your turn!  What surprised you about yourself during the past 30 days?

[sdoucette]

Hurray for all of us! I kind of feel like I must have cheated because those 30 Days went by to easily I feel. I must have done something wrong because I have never in my life done something for 30 straight days without failing.

 

I think I'm going to forgo the traditional introduction phase and introduce little bits here and there as I see fit. If I feel like crap, I'll go back to eating clean. I already know dairy is not my friend, but some feta in my salad every now and then is worth it to me. Real butter on my veg? Yes please, for the mere convenience of not having to clarify it.

 

Tonight is beef stew with white potato (!) and a paleo apple crisp. Everything else today is still whole30.

 

I have a 90 minute massage this afternoon to celebrate this accomplishment. I booked it weeks ago as an incentive to finish strong. I would've had to cancel if I off roaded. I am sooooo looking forward to it.

 

@alex, you are inspiring me to get to the gym and fast!

 

@everyone, thank you for the support over the last 30 days. I look forward to continuing to connect here.

 

How amazing are we?

[TDC]

What surprised me more than anything else was it didn't take 'willpower' even though people kept saying 'oh you're so good for resisting'. I just...didn't want it.

 

But also these surprised me:

Drinking soda water and lime all night during a work party and not mind at all

Just saying no

Breakfast on paleo is more than just bacon and eggs

That dinners don't have to be complicated; a meat and two veg can an awesome meal make (with a bit of creativity)!

How frustrated (and sad) I felt when I saw other people's plates (that makes me sounds really sanctimonious)

How indifferent I am to the end of the Whole30

[Marjan]

@sdoucette what about trying Feta that is actually original Feta and therefore not made of Cows milk but of Sheep and Goat, might be easier to digest and is actually tastier :-)

[TDC]

@sdoucette: I feel exactly the same, I feel a bit cheated by how easy it was! I've tried paleo on and off for the past 2 years but never managed more than 5 days straight. And here I am staring down the right end of a 30 day tunnel! I also feel a bit cheated by how indifferent I am to reintroducing/being able to eat the stuff I thought I missed. Amazing how the brain works.

[Shalla]

I made it to the end! Yay! Lost about 16lbs, which is about half of the weight I gained from being on an antidepressant, so I'm pretty happy about that.

 

Not planning on reintro-ing dairy, grains, or legumes (except for the occasional soy when eating out). That's what my doctor recommended for my thyroid issues and after the Whole30 I agree with him. Am going to have some "paleo" baked goods, occasional alcohol, and relaxing on the "added sugar" thing (hello bacon, how I've missed you!). Tonight: grain free, cheese/dairy free pizza! (Fake cheese just isn't worth the effort and pizza with a ton of meat and veggies really doesn't need it.) I am going to stay on the black coffee train, I think adding sugar to my coffee every day is just a recipe for disaster.

 

My goals for the next thirty days: Go the gym/workout three days a week and get 8 hours of good sleep at least 5 days a week. I did horrible on both working out and sleep the last 30 days, so I'm going to concentrate on those these next 30 and hopefully get some good habits going in areas of my life besides food.

 

@helen Yum, banana bread! Thanks for the link.

[alexasaurusrex]

I think the things I noticed on W30 that surprised me where:

 

* How my tastebuds changed. I actually like soda water with a fruit in it better than soda. I like caulimash. Fruit is too sweet sometimes. I enjoy coffee with a dash of coconut milk and I don't need splenda to make it taste good. Am I going to partake in a pumpkin spice latte before halloween..probably. Or I'll figure out how to make my own. This weekend I am making paleo pancakes but I'll only make as many as I want to eat and I won't make more than that. 

 

* I look at other people's food and don't really consider it food. 

 

* Breakfast doesn't have to be eggs, cereal, or bagels. It can be steak and gazpacho with avocado and coffee. 

 

* I really enjoy food now. I enjoy the different textures and tastes in a healthier way than I used to. And I realized that most people don't consider eating a cake something that needs to be done on a daily basis. Most people save things like this for treats once a year or whatever. I feel the same way now. 

 

@sdoucette good luck! I'm not into the gym so much anymore. I think I'm a true pale/crossfit convert. My trainer has always called it a cult but the truth is it's an idea I understand. I understand that food has evolved past our physical ability to digest it and that getting back to the way we ate before genetically modified food is best for our physical well being. I also understand that short bursts of intense exercise once or twice a day is great for our body. I don't need to spend an hour and a half running and then another hour lifting every single day to lose weight. I can play with my monsters, do laundry, walk around with the dog, hang shelves, do a crossfit workout for ten minutes and lose weight as long as my eating is good.

 

I guess W30 has changed my mind more than I thought. And I'm loving the clarity.