Started October 14

[CGinDC]

I started the Whole30 on Monday, October 14, so I'm a few days late in starting this log. I'm going to try to recap the first few days as best I can, it's been an interesting journey so far.

 

I am hypothyriod and have issues with joint inflammation, particularly in my SI joints, and both have been acting up a lot this year after being relatively stable for years. I've put on weight - likely due to a combination of bad habits and low thyroid function, but my primary goal in all of this is to reduce or eliminate my need for anti-inflammatories, as they're pretty harsh on my stomach. I read It Starts With Food and was totally on board until I got to the part about the additional restrictions associated with the autoimmune protocol. No eggs and no nightshades? That wil be REALLY hard, but I'm giving it a shot.

 

I'm on day five, and this has been my experience so far:

 

Day 1 - Not too bad. Went to the doctor to get bloodwork done - I wanted to see if there were any changes in the before and after, and discovered that I was severely hypothyroid again. I've been very sluggish lately but had attributed it to intense work stress. Turns out the multivitamin I've been taking for the last couple on months was blocking my thyroid absorption. An easy fix, but frustrating that in the 16 years I've had thyroid disease no one ever mentioned that could be an issue. So, now I'm expecting good results both from the Whole30 and from my thyroid function hopefully getting back to normal.

 

As far as food, eating a big breakfast was hard. If I eat breakfast it's usually a hard boiled egg or some yogurt. I kind of felt like I was forcing things down. Also, cooking dinner without any kind of spice that comes from a nightshade or seed was near impossible. I love cooking and experimenting with different seasonings, and this is going to be a challenge. I ended up with steak and roasted veggies - brussels sprouts and root veggies. I slept horribly that night - not unusual for me, but still frustrating. I definitely need to find good recipes to try so that I can keep this interesting.

 

Day 2 - Oh, so this is the carb hangover? Yeah, it sucked. Had a bad headache all day and was extremely tired because of my lack of sleep the night before. Root veggies for breakfast...not so much my thing. Had leftovers for lunch and a salad for dinner. I was going to make chicken soup but I only got as far as making the stock before I needed to eat something, and the soup itself was going to take too long.

 

Day 3 - I actually felt pretty good on day 3. It was a bit hard to get out of bed, like most days, but throughout the day I felt pretty good. Went to Bar class and did decently (though it's only my second one and I need to build a lot of strength). Made that chicken soup and it turned out really well. Also found a good online resource for buying pastured meats, and got an intro couple on their local produce box, plus a month of free delivery, so it's somewhat reasonable.

 

Day 4 - Had crazy dreams the night before, about food but about other things too. Really vivid, reminded me of the dreams I get when I'm traveling and on malaria medication. The dull headache is back and it was near impossible to get out of bed. I didn't really have the "kill all the things" kind of day, but was grumpy and a little emotional, in addition to sleepy and headachy. Also, I'm getting tired of salad already. Thinking about not doing the full autoimmune protocol - maybe just eliminating nightshades and eggs. That will be hard enough, but I'm really feeling like my food is bland without at least some black pepper or cumin, or something! I also started getting cravings for sugary things and eyeing them in the grocery store when I was there. And I actually had to leave work early and take a nap. I slept like the dead for an hour and a half and would have kept sleeping if I hadn't set the alarm.

 

Will post on day 5 once I've gotten through it...so far it's better than day 4. Crazy dreams again, still tired but I don't want to kill anyone. I am sleeping better - waking up a couple times in the night, but I'm able to get back to sleep, which has always been a struggle. My boyfriend is cooking dinner tonight, and he's been great about asking what is and isn't on the "approved" list, without seeming annoyed by it. If he weren't supportive this would be so much harder.

[b-mo]

Hey, I started my wh30 on Monday too!   The autoimmune protocol is no joke but everyone here is really supportive so pillage the search function and I think you'll find at least some recipe ideas and tons of autoimmune "is this okay" FAQs to help guide you to more exciting meals. 

 

 Good Luck and hang in there!

[CGinDC]

Recap of Day 5 - Ended the day feeling pretty decent, if a little tired. My lovely boyfriend cooked an entire Whole30 friendly meal for me (steak, fennel and avocado salad, and broccoli cooked in coconut oil with cumin and almonds - so good!). I've decided to be a bit selective about the autoimmune protocol, only focusing on eliminating eggs and nightshades. I had very strong aversions to these foods when I was growing up, and I can't help but wonder if that means something?

 

One little bit of a bump in the road though - the bf put some green tomato in the salad and I didn't realize it until after I ate. It blended right in with the fennel and avocado! Hoping it's not too much of a setback - I'm kind of on the fence about doing AIP anyway. I do have autoimmune issues but in the grand scheme of things they're pretty mild compared to a lot of other people. I'm more concerned about getting off the anti-inflammatories. My back is still pretty inflamed (even with the drugs) so it's not time to start experimenting with that yet.

 

Today is day 6, and something weird happened - I fell asleep almost immediately last night, slept through the night, and woke up at 7:00 without feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. I am a terrible sleeper. I've often thought that if I could figure out how to sleep better, without any drugs, then that would solve most of my issues with fatigue and brain fog. I have a hard time falling asleep, I wake up constantly, and I go through most days wanting to crawl under my desk and just sleep. I have a huge amount of anxiety at bedtime just wondering if I'm going to sleep, or if I wake up in the middle of the night, whether I'll fall back asleep. This week I've been falling asleep better, but I still have been waking up a lot. I have been falling back asleep pretty easily, but have still been really tired in the morning. Today was the first day that hasn't happened. I don't have a ton of energy but I don't want to crawl back into bed either. I started off the day with the chicken soup I made the other day and a cup of good organic coffee that I brought back from my last trip to Uganda. Not sure there's much better than homemade chicken soup.

 

Looking forward to my delivery today from www.relayfoods.com - getting some good pastured meat, butter, in-season local produce, and some stock making beef bones. For others in the DC/VA/MD area it's a good resource, if a little on the pricey side.

[CGinDC]

Forgot to add that I was convinced I was coming down with a nasty sinus infection or strep yesterday. Had a bout of strep a couple months back, and I had sharp pain in my sinuses/throat all day yesterday. I so don't want to go on antibiotics again, so I've been drinking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in the morning and evening (my mom swears by this), and pulled out the netti pot. Feel better today!

[CGinDC]

Days 6 and 7 were good. I didn't have any fatigue like I expected - quite the opposite. I wouldn't say I was super energetic but I felt good. I've decided not to do the autoimmune protocol. It was too overwhelming for my first whole30. I'm going to focus on the standrad guidelines this time, and if I'm still having symptoms after this first one I'll try adding in the additional restrictions. I think I have a better chance of getting through the 30 days this way.

 

Day 6 - meal 1 was a big bowl of chicken and vegetable soup, meal two was a big green salad with olive oil and lemon dressing and some kind of protein - I honestly can't remember what! I think it was the last of the ground pork patties I made for breakfast last week. I made roasted chicken thighs for dinner (ate two of them) and had them with faux tabbouleh - made with parsley, mint, red onions, radishes, and cucumbers, tossed with olive oil and lemon, and a pear. I made a giant container of this, so volume wise this made up most of my meal.

 

Day 7 - meal one was a leftover chicken thigh and the rest of the tabbouleh. I've never been a huge breakfast food person - don't really do cereal or pancakes. In fact, in high school I almost never ate the breakfast that my parents made. I'd heat up soup or leftovers instead, so eating "weird" things in the morning isn't that unfamiliar to me. Anyway, meal two was my first big test - went to brunch at an oyster bar with a good friend and my boyfriend. First meal out. I checked out their menu before we went so I'd know what I could have. Luckily this is a place known for making good quality food with simple ingredients. I ate my weight in oysters - maybe a dozen and a half? - with just horseradish and lemon. Had a side of broccoli roasted with chili flakes and I asked for a side of olive oil to drizzle on top to make sure I got enough fat. Also had a side of fresh fruit. My brunch companions had some delicious looking brunch cocktails but I stuck to soda water with lime, and it actually wasn't that hard to resist. I did realize that although oysters can fill you up volume-wise, they don't stick around for long. I had to have a snack in late afternoon of sardines packed in olive oil and a little green salad. Dinner was a bit of a fiasco. I had gotten these awesome looking short ribs from a local farm - they were huge! Which meant that they were nowhere near ready when dinner time rolled around, so I ended up having breakfast for dinner - ate the sweet potato hash I had prepped for this week (and the boyfriend was over for dinner, so it was totally wiped out in one meal....sigh), with 2 eggs and a couple strips of bacon. I didn't end up eating until after 9:00. I let the shortribs cook on low overnight...guess what was for breakfast today?

 

I slept horribly last night, most likely because my boyfriend stayed over and it's been a while since we've stayed at my place rather than his. If the slightest thing is out of the ordinary I can't seem to get to sleep, so frustrating - especially since I've been sleeping so well!