Beasie does it!

[BeasieDoesIt]

Hello! I'm Bea - 25/F/5'5/294lbs from Oklahoma City, OK (US). 

Today is day 0 - my prep day. I just finished my shopping for the week (hopefully I won't have to return): 

 

I live with my boyfriend but he will not be sticking to the W30. Basically, I'm going to cook us both W30 meals and then he can add whatever devil foods he wants to his. I have all his no-no foods locked up in a separate cabinet (seriously) so that the temptation can't overtake me. For I am weak and bound to wander. 

I attempted my first Whole30 about two years ago at the urging of a good friend. Despite her amazing support, I just didn't make it though. At day 18 I was house sitting for my sister, surrounded by sweets and junk food, and gave in to cookies and cream ice cream. It seemed worth it at the time but I can't even remember how it tasted. 

I mentioned in my intro post that while I do desperately need to lose weight, that is NOT my main focus with doing W30. I need to reestablish my relationship with food and get my cravings under control. I intend on transition into a paleo or keto lifestyle once I complete the 30 days and will begin to focus more intensely on my weight loss.

I have a very simple palette and don't plan on getting crazy with the recipes. Though I am looking forward to making my own Mayo and trying out the versatility of Cauliflower! I don't mind eating the same thing over and over and over again so my food log will probably be dull but I plan on posting here daily with my struggles and accomplishments. I also post daily on my Tumblr and reblog recipes and other W30 related posts. For the sake of keeping track, here are some of my stats: 

Weight: 294.4

Waist: 55.5"
Hips: 61"
Thigh (L): 31"
Thigh ®:30.5"
Upper arm (L): 15"
Upper arm ®: 15.5"
Neck: 17"

Thanks for any support and advice you throw my way! 

 

[BeasieDoesIt]

Day 1 - Meal 1 

For breakfast I had a 3 egg omelette w/ spinach, tomatoes and bell peppers and carrots dipped in avocado! 



This was my first attempt at making an omelette, by the way. I was relieved with how it turned out! I think tomorrow I will cook the eggs in Ghee as the coconut flavor on the omelette didn't sit well with me. 

I ate about 2 hours ago but I never felt "full" (or I did, but only for 10 minutes or so after the avocado). I am feeling very peckish and I just want to tear into something junky to fill me up (but I won't). I ate enough fat, so I am surprised and disappointed that I never felt satiated. I can't get too down about it though, it's to be expected after stuffing my face with a bagel, donut and chocolate milk every morning for the past 5 months. 

I woke up this morning feeling like CRUD. Did I drink and not know it? I've been sick for the past week but the symptoms were nearly gone until today when it felt like day 1 of my cold all over again! I'm super tired, hazy and I have a headache that won't quit. The good news is that it can only get better from here though, right? 

I will update later with meals 2 & 3!

[amberino21]

How much avo did you eat? perhaps you need more? there is no "rule" that will fit everyone - experimentation is necessary to find what works for you

 

I'd be bumping up the vegies - my breakfasts literally fill the plate! when I have eggs, I have 3-4 in an omelette, fill the rest of the plate with vegies and have my cooking fat, a bit of mayo, and usually vegies coated in coconut oil (I don't mind the taste)

 

if you are starving - like you'd eat plain steamed white fish and broccoli starving - eat!! make it a mini meal of protein, fat and vegies. 3 meals a day can take some adjusting too, especially if you're portions aren't fine tuned.

[BeasieDoesIt]

Thanks Amberino! What veggies do you have with your breakfast? Other than raw ones (like the carrots and avocado I had today) and a handful of spinach that I threw into the omelette, I didn't really know what else to make in the morning. 

I ate half an avocado, to answer your question. I definitely am not holding back on my quantities. I think my biggest issue is just getting used to how this "full" feels compared to the "full" I was used to on junk food.

[BeasieDoesIt]

Day 1 Meal 2 & 3

I'm already feeling discouraged. I'm hungry, moody, tired. I feel like I'm spending way too much time cooking and prepping and even then I mess it all up and it doesn't taste good. 

I don't cook, ever. So this is not only a change to my diet but my habits as well. Cooking stresses me out - the mess, the clean up, the multitasking. I don't know how to do basic things like pair seasonings or, you know, remember to take the chicken out of the oven. I almost broke down tonight over chicken that was simultaneously burnt and under cooked. "THIS IS WHY I EAT FAST FOOD!!!" I screamed as I picked the charred pieces off. I wanted nothing more than to throw it out and drive down to my local fast food joint and get a quick fix. Ugh. 

I spent an entire week prepping for this - knowing that I'd be feeling all of these things and convincing myself why I wanted to do this. But here I am, day 1, already trying to talk myself out of it. Whatever.

For lunch I had ground beef w/ mushrooms, shredded cauliflower, tomatoes and onion wrapped in collard green leaves (like a wrap) with baked brussel sprouts. 

 

 

Dinner was the disaster I mentioned before. The chicken was burnt and under cooked and the veggies were bland (broccoli and green beans). 

I just want a cheeseburger. 

 

[amberino21]

for someone who hasn't cooked a lot, this would be a challenge!! tom Denham, the moderator, has a page with loads of recipes for one pot meals that you might want to look up. I haven't looked myself as I rarely use recipes and love cooking (and i'll admit i'm quite good at it!) but know plenty of people love it!

 

Rollo, another forum member you may want to search and contact, was also in the same position as you and was able to learn some cooking skills and become a lot better at cooking over their journey! it does get easier I promise, please don't give up.

 

i'd suggest making things in bulk - 2-3 meals worth at a time. keep it simple. you don't need a million ingredients or a lot of complex processes to make a delicious meal. cooking your chicken  in bulk is a great idea if you get it right. i'd suggest your heat was too high, hence the burnt/raw problem! I cook chicken in bite sized pieces, 2-3cm cubes, coated in spices. I put the pieces on lined trays and cook at 180 degrees CELCIUS (not fure what that is in F) for about 8-10 minutes. check if it's cooked - it'll depend on the size. this week my spice mix was garlic and onion powder, Italian herbs, mustard powder, cumin, chilli powder and a little turmeric. I literally just grab a few things I like and shake them on! too much turmeric is a bit gross, but I tend to go nuts with everything else  I freeze the cooked chicken in portions and use this in salad for lunch pretty much every day.

 

you could also bake sweet potato and other starchy vegies like carrot, pumpkin, butternut, beetroot etc - at the same temperature. if you aren't using them for postWO (if you're exercising), coat them in olive oil or ghee before baking, sprinkle with salt and some dried herbs. again, i'd chop them in to chunks to make cooking quicker. these will store in the fridge for a few days, and you can eat them cold or heat them in a pan/oven.

 

in response to your question about what I have for breakfast - I currently have the same breakfast pretty much every day:

 

I make a spicy tomatoey vegetable sauce (mushrooms, zucchini, garlic, chilli, spices - I use paprika, cumin and coriander, tomato puree. you can add whatever vegies you like - sometimes I grate in sweet potato or pumpkin, use eggplant, capsicum etc). this can be done in bulk for the week.

 

I heat up the sauce (I have about 1.5 cups) whilst cooking my eggs - whisk the mixture, pour in to the pan with oil, put the sauce on one half and fold the other half over the top. I put fresh coriander in before folding it up. I have that with  about half a plate piled up of steamed broccoli - I toss this through coconut oil and sea salt. a bit of mayo and i'm done

[ShannonM816]

This makes a great breakfast side: http://stupideasypaleo.com/2013/07/05/easy-breakfast-salad/ -- I don't use all the same ingredients, change them out for what you have/like. I like a mix of jicama, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots (I usually nuke these just 30-60 seconds, so they're a little bit softer), celery, cucumber (when I remember to buy one), and apple or grapes, and I make up enough for the week. With the lemon juice, it'll usually last 5-6 days -- although I don't add avocado when I make the whole thing, I add that or sometimes some coconut flakes when I actually sit down to eat it. Also, when I made it with blackberries once, they were pretty mushy by the last day, so some things may not work as well.

 

While I was writing that, i see you posted about your other meals today. It will get better, I promise. I was not one to really cook my meals before Whole30, if I did, it was something from a box that required minimal effort. I would occasionally cook when I was having company, but I found recipes with good reviews, and followed them to the letter. I don't really know much about what spices work together, except what I've worked out from trying recipes and deciding whether I liked them or not. So when I started this, I started looking for recipes. There are a ton of Whole30 compliant recipes out there, ranging from super easy crockpot meals to more elaborate/time consuming choices.  Find some recipes you like and go from there. Here's a few I've used and like:

 

http://mypaleocrockpot.blogspot.com/2013/04/sweet-cinnamon-garlic-spiced-chicken.html (if you make this, when you pull it out of the crockpot to store it, don't dump it all in one big bowl in the fridge. I did that, the sauce stuff gelled up, I had one big bowl-shaped chicken gelatin thing that I had a heck of a time pulling apart when I wanted to reheat just a couple of pieces. Separate the chicken pieces, and save the sauce separately to heat up and pour over them.)

 

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2012/11/07/mashed-cauliflower/ -- Don't expect it to taste just like mashed potatoes, but it's really good anyway.

 

http://www.everydaymaven.com/2013/paleo-oven-fried-chicken/ -- I suppose, if you're really addicted to fried chicken, this might by SWYPO, but it was really good, and a nice change from roasted or grilled chicken, which are my go-to prep methods.

 

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/11/17/velvety-butternut-squash/

 

http://www.katrina-runs.com/whole-30-day-20-pass-the-cheese -- She calls it a burrito bowl, but think more like a taco salad. I tended to put it over whatever salad greens I had, and top it with avocado, either sliced or mushed up with tomatoes into guacamole. 

 

Also, I found these articles from Melissa Joulwan, the author of the cookbooks Well Fed and Well Fed 2, which you'll see people talk about here a lot, helpful:

 http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/01/11/paleo-kitchen-stocking-up/ -- This talks about how much food she and her husband eat in a typical week

 

http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/01/14/paleo-kitchen-the-method-behind-my-madness/ -- this one talks about how she does prep. I don't follow everything she says, but it gave me a new way to think about prepping food, and some new ideas to help make it easier.

 

Having said all that, don't think you have to cook something fancy every meal. I usually have taco-seasoned ground beef on hand, and use it a lot -- over a salad, scrambled with an egg and some veggies, thrown into a veggie soup. Grilled chicken breasts that I cooked, chopped up, and froze have gotten me through some meals where what I made didn't work out, or wasn't quite done when I was hungry, or the time I dropped the whole big bowl of leftover cinnamon garlic chicken one night when I got home late from work. Broken glass and chicken grease went everywhere, and I'd been looking forward to having it for supper all day. Not to mention despite my best efforts to clean it, on three separate occasions since then, I've stepped on tiny little bits of broken glass.  

 

Anyway, hang in there, it'll get better. Really. I finished my Whole30 over a week ago, and I'm still cooking and eating Whole30 food. You can do this!

 

(Sorry about writing a whole novel here. I get a little long-winded sometimes.)

[BeasieDoesIt]

WOW, Thank you both so much for the suggestions!! 

One of the problems I'm facing is that I underestimated how much food I'd be eating so I didn't buy enough. Unfortunately, I maxed out my grocery budget with the items I did buy. I have a little wiggle room, so I'm really hoping you can help me - what would be the best bang for my buck if i return to the store? What do I need to pick up that will last me until Saturday and keep me satisfied? 

Here's what I currently have left: 

 

Protein
2 chicken breasts
1 pkg of NY strip steak 
4 packs of tuna

 

Veggies
1 head of cauliflower
2 bags of spinach
2 bell peppers
5 tomatoes

1 head of garlic
3 avocados 
1 onion
4 lemons
1 bunch of collard greens

Misc. 
1 can cococnut milk
1 bag coconut flakes 
1 bag almonds


I know I desperately need to get more protein. My boyfriend SAID he wasn't going to be eating with me but then changed his mind, so now I've been burning through all the ingredients twice as fast. I forgot about the tuna though, so I may be able to use that to last me. 

I am already sick of chicken thanks to biting into a raw chunk last night. I might get a whole chicken! It's cheaper, too. I may also get some thick sliced turkey from the deli (no sugar cured!) to have on hand for the well-rounded snacks Amberino mentioned. 

So what do you think - what items should I grab at the store that will make my life easier? I'm definitely thinking broccoli! 

[BeasieDoesIt]

Day 2 Meal 1 

I set out to make an omelette again this morning but at 5 a.m. there's not much use in planning things. After I cracked both eggs directly into the pan, I realized I would be having fried eggs instead. 

 

I'm sorry Amberino, I WANTED to add more veggies but I just didn't feel like I knew what to add! I don't have broccoli! So I ate 2 eggs w// spinach and tomato cooked in ghee, half an avocado and carrots instead. Again. 

I ate around 5:45a and gave into a snack around 11:00a (almonds - I didn't have any protein to add to make it well rounded). This is going to have to change because I normally won't have a chance for lunch until around 2p. I definitely need to start eating something more satiating. I am working a double today (and Thursday, uck!) and have to go from around 12:00 - 19:00 today without eating. So I know by the time I get home I'm NOT going to want to cook and I'm going to be grumpy and moody and acting like a brat. What can I do though? I'm trying hard not to snack, and even though I don't feel "full" I can't force myself to eat a whole lot of veggies. I start to get nauseous after a while. 

So we'll see. I will absolutely look into bulk cooking as was recommended, because I can't pull this again Thursday! 

[Physibeth]

Hang in there! I came from a place of not really knowing how to cook. For me recipes are key. I very rarely cook anything without the aid of a recipe. It might be worth the investment to get a couple of paleo cookbooks with simple recipes. While Well Fed and Well Fed 2 both have some crazy fussy recipes they both also have a lot of easy recipes and she gives lots of options with each recipe so many of them are really 3 or 4 recipes.

 

As for getting the most bang for your buck I would go for cheaper cuts of meat. Chicken thighs and legs are going to be cheaper than breasts and will also satisfy you longer. Buying bone in/skin on chicken is also cheaper. The most affordable thing to do is to buy a whole chicken which is a lot easier to prepare than you might think, especially if you have a crock pot. I buy a chicken, rinse it off and save the extras inside (neck/gizzards) in a plastic bag. I throw the chicken in a crock pot and add some seasonings, maybe a quartered lemon and/or onion and than cook on low for 8-10 hours. When it is done pull all the meat off and shred and freeze in portion sizes to use whenever you want chicken. Put everything left over (bones, skin, and the saved extras) back in the crock pot, cover with cold water and a couple of tbs of raw apple cider vinegar and let sit on low for 24 hours and than pull and strain the brother. You can do this for a week (just keep adding water each time you pull broth). You can freeze the broth or make a new batch of soup everyday. Veggie soups are a great way to get more veggies and bone broth is great for your gut.

 

For beef get the tougher/cheaper cuts and slow cook or roast.

 

When making your omelette trying adding 4 handfuls of spinach (or kale or other cooking green) to your pan with ghee and salt and cooking it down and then add the eggs. Greens cook down a lot so you can really get a lot in when you cook them. I also like to eat squash for breakfast with coconut butter. Winter squashes are pretty cheap this time of year and really easy to prepare.

[BeasieDoesIt]

Physibeth, thank you!! Wow. So much great advice. I love the crock pot idea, and I never knew to put the veggies in first! That will get me A LOT more in my breakfast! 

Thanks so much. I will take all of this into account! 

[Physibeth]

I really like kale for breakfast. I will cook down several handfuls, crack 3-4 eggs into it and scramble up the entire thing. So good! 

[BeasieDoesIt]

Hey hey hey! Look what I just did! 

 

YUP. I "bulk" cooked chicken into bite-sized bits! It took maybe 10 minutes! Awesome. Now I don't have to worry about dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow. You ladies are amaazzing. 

Day 2 Meal 2

Tuna salad! Spinach, collard greens, tomatoes and avocado. 

The flavor was almost too much at first. I think this is what folks meant when they said you will re-learn your palette! Whew. I actually winced as I took the first bites - not because it was bad, it was just so much flavor! Not used to that with fries and a coke, y'know. 

It looks small but I hope it will hold me over until 7 tonight. I might also eat a pickle... maybe.... yeah. Yeah I will. 

[BeasieDoesIt]

Hey guys! 

First let me just say that I am feeling noticeably better. I started feeling it yesterday around lunch and it hasn't waned. I know according to the timeline I'm probably going to feel like crap in a couple of days but right now I'm up up up!

The pre-cooked chicken was a godsend. Thank you so much for recommending it. I came home late last night, tired and stressed abd HUNGRY, threw some of the chicken in with tons of spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms and viola! It took less time than originally cooking the chicken! And I didn't even eat that much but it filled me up quick. I was so excited! 

 

Even though I'm not consciously thinking about it, I have to remind myself that I'm not going to get fast food after work. It's a natural response for me, and I still get excited on an unintentional level! As soon as I walk out the door I think "weee let's go get a burger!" but then I immediately correct myself with "Um, no, let's go get some carrots, idiot." It's not nearly as exciting - but it IS revealing how tied into fast food my mind is. 

It's DAY 3!

I feel great. I did as Bethany said and threw in 3 big handfuls of spinach and let that cook down and then added my egg. It's delicious and so pretty, with all that green!! Thank you! I also had my usual side of carrots w/ avocado. It was my last carrot. Womp womp womp.

[Physibeth]

On the fast food thing. If you want a burger...have a burger...just make it yourself! Top it with avocado and compliant bacon and mushrooms sauteed in ghee and wrap it in lettuce. I like mine with homemade mayo. Burgers are so much better when you make them yourself! Well Fed 2 has 4 pages dedicated to burgers in her book. So many amazing possibilities! I would encourage you to go to the websites of the fast food places you ate at most frequently and print out the ingredient lists of the things you most frequently ordered and put them places you will see them when you are most likely to cave. Reading those lists enough was what it took for me to just say no forever and evermore. Really in the grand scheme of things it doesn't take much longer to make it yourself than it does to go through the drive through especially if you make 4 at a time and have leftovers for later.

 

Keep up the great work!