Sara's Post W30

[melbournegirl]

Sigh... I am so jealous.... Peanut butter hurts my stomach, dairy gives me huge skin issues and grains bloat me up like a balloon...

Glad it's going so well for you though, happy thanksgiving...

[SaraRuns]

Juzbo - I am feeling lucky, although it makes it harder to not stray...  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Okay, non-gluten reintro today.  So far I did instant oatmeal at M1 and M2.  Feeling a bit bloated and full.  Not horrible, but not great.  Not sure what to have with dinner.  Maybe nothing?  I guess I could try rice, but eh, not really wanting to continue feeling bloated and wasn't as excited by the oatmeal as I thought I would be.

 

M1 - 1/4 Frittata, zucchini soup, about a 1/4 cup cooked oatmeal with a few berries; coffee with CM

M2 - Adobe chicken with half avo, mixed green salad with O&V, sauteed zucchini, about 1/4 cup cooked oatmeal with a few berries

M3 - Chicken salad over mixed greens with O&V and roasted broccoli?

[melbournegirl]

This way of eating is paying off again, managed my first 9 km run in months and I dont even really feel tired..... Now I have stopped LOL

[SaraRuns]

Juzbo - Nice!!!  I can't wait for this weekend so I can get in some good running!  Hoping the treadmill will be here before my husband leaves on Sunday.

 

 

Feeling obnoxiously full right now.  Blerg!     Not good.  Haven't felt so bloated and full in a long time.

[SaraRuns]

Okay, so all in all grains (gluten and non) were definitely bloating and made me feel really full and/or really full and hungry.    Yesterday I definitely didn't feel good on the oatmeal, my staple work breakfast for years.  Unbelievable.  I decided not to do a M3 reintro of non-gluten grains, because I had enough evidence already.

 

Even today my stomach is not feeling great (not helped by no bathroom trips for 3 days and having my period).

 

So I'm glad I did the reintros, I'm glad they are done.  This confirms I want to stay off the grains for sure.  Dairy - I'm going to have to test and see how it impacts me.  Can I have a little cream in my coffee in the morning?  Can I have an ounce of cheese with a glass of wine?  I'm just going to try those out in my daily life and see how it goes.  I'm going to try to note it here, so I'll have some record.

 

Tomorrow (IL's) I will indulge with wine and maybe stuffing.  The next day I am gathering with my family, and I will try to eat the meal (since they decided against lasagna) but avoid anything overtly grainy and again, wine.

 

Then I plan to be back on track on Saturday.

 

Still no treadmill.  I'm really hoping it arrives today!  Husband leaves on Sunday for his hunting trip and I'd really like to have it up and running before he goes.  I'm really looking forward to a nice long run tomorrow!  For me, that's 7 or 8 miles.  And then a shorter run on Friday - maybe 5.  My sister and her girls are staying over on Friday night, and this sister doesn't run, so hopefully a long walk with her on Saturday morning.

 

M1: 1/4 frittata, zucchini soup; coffee with CM

M2: Adobe chicken with half avo, roasted broccoli, mixed greens with O&V

M3: Chicken salad?

[SaraRuns]

 

[Physibeth]

I thought on the instant oatmeal...did it say gluten free? Oats are something that is easily gluten contaminated. Just a thought. Glad you got good information from your reintroductions. Riding your own bike is all about testing the waters of how often and what is worth it for you. I'm constantly finding new things I want to investigate further and making new observations about my eating patterns and my body. It's fun I think. What is best is that I really don't worry about it too much anymore. I make the best choices I can and consider each choice a learning experience.

[melbournegirl]

End of 35 days yesterday and decided to have coffee in the morning and some sugar treats at night before my 25 days to Xmas. This offroading I was realistic enough to know I would severely regret including dairy and grains, and didnt want to open the gate on alcohol, so I just had some sweets which I did enjoy. Not enjoying the sore stomach today though or the craving for fruit so glad to be back on the new normal eating once again, interesting... Wonder how much was coffee triggered vs mind triggered... Will keep off the coffee still just in case.

[SaraRuns]

Physibeth - I think it was gluten contaminated.    But at this point, I'm okay with that.  I may try to make my steel cut oats sometime and try them, but I won't do a whole day again.  Not worth the stomach pain.

 

melbournegirl - I hear you on knowing how the off-roading will be.  I had too much alcohol over the holiday.  I'm just not ready to go off the coffee, so I'm not even trying that!

 

I'll be back in a bit to go over my holiday.  Great long weekend, learned some lessons.

[SaraRuns]

So as planned, I was pretty compliant on Thanksgiving (ILs).  I had two bites of stuffing and three glasses of wine over the course of the evening.  Friday (my family), I was also pretty compliant.  I'm pretty sure there was probably flour in the sauce on the chicken and three glasses of wine over the course of the evening.

 

Saturday I had a very bad stomachache most of the day.  I could try to blame it on the grain, but I won't.    I know it was two days of three glasses of wine (hello sugar on a body not used to sugar).  In some ways it was worth it, because I really enjoyed the wine and really enjoyed the company.  If I'm going to drink two days in a row, I think I'll try to do only two glasses of wine and see if that helps my stomach.

 

Great runs on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday (Friday and Sunday with my sister  ).

 

Now I am back to totally compliant, although I'm still allowing myself some dairy.  Regularity issues continue.  I'm now taking the magnesium and probiotics daily and two digestive enzymes with each meal.  I also went up to two tbsps of flaxseed.

 

Unfortunately, my treadmill has not arrived.  DH left to go hunting yesterday.  Oh well, I should only miss today and tomorrow and tomorrow I will get in my strength training so I can run on Wednesday.

 

ETA: I need to get some bones so I can start on bone broth!

 

M1: 1/4 frittata, zucchini soup; coffee with heavy whipping cream (planned CM, but it went bad over the long weekend)

M2: Taco meat, avocado, mixed greens with O&V, and roasted cauliflower

M3: Chicken salad, mixed greens with O&V (small portion due to stomachache), 5 cashews, 2 macadamia nuts

[Physibeth]

Sounds like you had a good holiday with some good learning experiences. I hope that treadmill comes soon! My favorite way to get bones for bone broth is to buy a whole chicken, cook it in the crockpot, pick it apart and freeze the meat in single servings, and then I add water and apple cider vinegar to the bones and skin and juices and let it simmer for 24 hours in the crock pot. I pull broth each day and then top it off again for a week. I've also been buying a pound of chicken feet at the grocery store and adding those to the mix. Makes for really rich broth. I have a gallon sized freezer bag for each type of bones in my freezer as well and when those are full will make broth. I'm almost there for beef broth.

[pjena]

It sounds like you had a great holiday!  I've found that wine impacts my sleep most of all, so it has to be very worth it to indulge.  I had a couple glasses on Friday night and slept horribly, but I probably would have slept poorly anyway since I wasn't home in my own bed, so it was worth it. 

[SaraRuns]

Physibeth - Do you think I can use deer/venison bones?  Also, can you freeze the broth or does that destroy the goodness?  (I'll probably post this over in your log as well.)

 

Jen - My sleeping wasn't too bad, not as great as non-drinking, but that stomachache was brutal.  I'm glad the couple glasses you had were worth it!

[Physibeth]

Physibeth - Do you think I can use deer/venison bones?  Also, can you freeze the broth or does that destroy the goodness?  (I'll probably post this over in your log as well.)

 

Jen - My sleeping wasn't too bad, not as great as non-drinking, but that stomachache was brutal.  I'm glad the couple glasses you had were worth it!

 

I think you can use any bones you have. Each will have a different flavor of course. I bet venison bones would make a great broth. And yes you can freeze it. I've frozen mine in ice cube trays and then transferred to a zip lock bag. I have a friend that freezes hers in loaf pans and transfers. I've been considering trying in my silicon muffin pan. I usually put mine in mason jars while it is hot and leave them on the counter to cool which puts a seal on the lid and I've found they last pretty long in the fridge that way.

[SaraRuns]

Bethany - Awesome!  You are so fast, thank you.  I didn't even get a chance to post it in your log. 

 

Just found out my husband got a deer, so I might as well take advantage of some relatively free - free-range bones.

[SaraRuns]

Yesterday I had a bad stomachache after lunch.  I'm not sure from what, carryover from wineapalooza over the weekend?

 

I slept really well last night, the alarm scared the heck out of me this morning.  I'm still not getting quite enough sleep I think, about 7.5 last night.

 

It feels good to be getting back on track.  I'd like to see the scale start moving down (or my pants to start loosening), but after the wine consumption this weekend, I guess I can't expect too much.  I'm going to try to really keep things tight through Christmas and see how it goes.  I'm trying to scale way back or cut out entirely nuts for a couple of weeks and see if that helps.  My intention was to do that with dairy first, but since I was without CM for my coffee, I just used some heavy cream yesterday and today.  I'll try the nuts first and then the dairy, although I'm not planning on having more than the cream in my coffee daily, about 2 tbsps.

 

M1: 1/4 frittata, zucchini soup; coffee with 2 tbsps heavy cream

M2: chicken and avo salad over mixed greens with O&V, roasted cauliflower

M3:chicken and mushroom salad over mixed greens with O&V, sauteed zucchini

[melbournegirl]

Good luck re the nuts, they can be really disruptive. I buy them every so often but can no longer have a stash as too easy to overeat and quite tough on the digestive system too...

I'm jumping on the scale sort of monthly, not seeing much improvement but I think I have stopped gaining weight at least... I'm still really trying to do this without the dieting mentality of restricting foods... Unfortunately I think that means I am eating too much but I really want my body and mind together to realise this and stop doing it as a natural consequence of being healthy... Am I dreaming???

[Emily T]

Sara, it sounds like you are doing great and getting back on track! Its hard not to feel a little guilty any time we are not compliant - it somehow feels like cheating. Its really hard to know how much is okay and how much is too much sometimes.

 

Reading through your diary, you only drank a few glasses of wine and it gave you a pretty bad reaction! Really, having 2-3 glasses is not excessive and I wonder if its just wine or all alcohol? I bet once your digestive issues are cleared up, you'll be able to have wine more regularly without that effect. I hope so at least, because wine is the best!

 

I will say, post-whole30, alcohol has a very severe effect on me (worse than it ever was before). I had one glass on Thanksgiving and immediately was very sleepy, stuffed up, scratchy throat - it was an allergic reaction. Beer and champagne are also bad (this is all evidence toward my theory of yeast and mold overgrowth in my body), whereas liquor is not quite as bad. 

[SaraRuns]

MG - Nuts are an easy over-eater, but I have been portioning them out.  But I'll see what going without does.  I saw you mention in Jen's log about FODMAPs and noticing a big change.  I think after the new year, I'll try a two or three week exclusion of FODMAPs.  I limited before but didn't exclude, so I think I want to try it again.  And I'm so with you on not wanting to restrict calories.  Counting calories and points on WW got very old.  But no movement, and cutting out two or three glasses of wine a night alone should have led to some weight loss.  I'm going to keep going without restricting through the holidays.  If I don't have some results by then, I'll have to re-think strategies in the new year.

 

Emily - I'm hoping that after my stomach heals, it might not be so sensitive.  I guess time will tell.  Maybe I'll have a Gin and Seltzer over the holidays to see how the alcohol itself is. Thanks for the support!

 

I made it through the day with no nuts.  Woot!  However, I had another stomachache after lunch yesterday.  So today I'm cutting out the cauliflower and having cucumbers instead.  I'll see if that was the issue.

 

I also overate last night at dinner.     I made my son dinner and then started working on mine but time got away from me and suddenly it was time to put him to bed, and I was still eating.  I put him to bed and then finished my dinner, but I shouldn't have finished.  I knew it before I even picked up the fork for my second round.  I need to do a better job of listening to my body  Just because I ate that much the night before (or two nights ago), doesn't mean I need to finish it tonight.  I was so caught up in not eating nuts, I wasn't thinking sensibly.  Ah well...

 

I did get to bed about twenty minutes earlier last night, but only turned out the light about 10 minutes earlier.  But it should have been a good 8 and I slept really hard again.  Woke up to the recycling truck at 4 and then fell pretty quickly back to sleep.

 

DH is back tonight, so hopefully he has recovered from his bronchitis so we both get a good night of sleep.

 

M1: Sauteed zucchini, 1/4 frittata; coffee with 2 tbsps cream (hungry after this, sauteed zucchini does not equal zucchini soup)

M2: Chicken and mushroom salad over mixed greens with O&V, cucumbers with some ACV

M3: Chicken and mushroom salad over mixed greens, one apple slice with tsp of coconut butter

[pjena]

My husband hunts, too, but I'm kind of squeamish about it and can't eat it or make stock with it.  Maybe I'll get over it, but I kind of doubt it.   I do like the idea of free range orgainic free broth, though.  It doesn't get much more free range than that!

[SaraRuns]

Jen - if I remember correctly, I believe you were vegetarian for a period of time.  If so, I can definitely understand being squeamish about game.  There is definitely a different texture/taste.  However, I did not grow up with hunting or game meat, and it has grown on me.  I would take venison over most other game.  But moose is awesome, it pretty much has the texture/taste of beef (although I'm not sure you do beef).  If you ever wanted to use venison, try it in a way that you are already used to.  For example, if you make ground turkey/chicken tacos/hamburgers/whatever, mix in half venison.  I accidentally gave my Mom a mix burger and she ate it no problem and she really doesn't like venison.  But I'm all about free and it would be an easy way to get free range. 

 

A few notes:

 

Last night I really wanted a palate cleanser and my son had sliced apples left over from lunch.  So I had a slice with some coconut butter.  Didn't love the coconut butter (and it was expensive!) and about 10 minutes later I had a really bad stomachache.

 

I'm wondering(hoping) that my body is finally starting to realize I'm not starving it anymore.  The last couple of days I've been getting really full (uncomfortable) at lunch and dinner, on what I would consider normal amounts of food (normal since W30 anyway).  I've still been really hungry at breakfast (and sometimes after).  I've been trying to stick to the template and not snack.  But I think for a few days I may need to try cutting back lunch/dinner knowing that I may have to snack in between if I underestimate.

 

Today I am eating out for the first time.  We have a manager's meeting at work and they always bring in food.  Usually they just bring in buffet style, so I have been bringing my lunch and not partaking.  But today they ordered specific meals from a Thai place, so I thought this might be a good time to try.  I'm sure it won't be totally compliant, but I'm okay with that.  I ordered Shrimp in Green Curry with no rice, extra veg.

 

DH got home yesterday, my son was so excited.  I love that!    They are truly two peas in a pod.

 

M1: 1/4 frittata, roasted cauliflower; coffee with 2 tbsp cream

M2: Shrimp in Green Curry with no rice, extra veg

M3: Taco meat over mixed greens

[Physibeth]

I would suggest that you increase the size of your breakfast and then maybe decrease your lunch and dinner. You could continue making a template sized meal for M2 and M3 and then just stop eating if you get full and save for a mini meal if you get hungry. M1 tends to be my largest meal of the day more often than not.

 

I hope you can find what your tummy trigger is soon. Keep in mind that the trigger could be 2-3 meals prior to when you feel the symptoms. 

 

I love coconut butter myself, though I don't think I would put it on apples. I like mine on things like acorn squash and sweet potatoes (or just my spoon).

[SaraRuns]

Physibeth - I think your suggestion is a good one, although I do think I eat quite a bit for breakfast, maybe just not enough...  Still not sure about the coconut butter, but maybe I would like it on something.  It wasn't anything like what I was expecting.  Maybe just too coconut-ty for me.  And not creamy like I would expect, it was pretty hard, although the texture was fine in my mouth as it warmed up.

 

Speaking of not eating enough, I'm starving!!!  I'm thinking the shrimp green curry was a bit low on fat, there were about 10 shrimp, so the protein was there and it had lots of veggies.  I am currently having a closed handful of macadamia nuts.  I haven't been keeping snacks at work, because I haven't needed any.  I don't feel badly about this though, as it isn't mindless snacking.  It is mindful snacking - a portioned out handful of nuts because I'm legitimately hungry.  I would love fish and broccoli right now.  

 

I think I'll have to consider bringing in a salad with O&V for days we order out for lunch.

 

ETA: Two good regularity days in a row.  Sorry for the TMI, but want to track this.  Please let me be on a roll!

[pjena]

Good memory, Sara.  It was actually my dad trying to get me to eat grouse/partridge that made me go veg originally.  I was 15.  I was completely veg for 8 years and then I married a hunter/carnivore.  Since then, I have gone back and forth, but tended towards veg.  This is the first time in a long time that I've eaten meat regularily. It took a while to get used to it.  I still would prefer chickpeas but I really like not being hungry all day long!

 

I love coconut butter.  I eat it on sweet potatoes and it gets all melty and delicious.  Mmmmm. 

 

I keep larabars in the freezer at work for those just in case lunch is too small days.  I rarely need them, but having them there is better than not if I'm starving.  I think you made a good choice.  I love curry and usually add cashews to it for the fat.  You could just bring some nuts to throw on the curry next time.  A salad is always a good idea, though!

 

Hope the regularity continues! 

[SaraRuns]

Jen - I like the not being hungry all day long too and I wasn't a veg.  I picked up a couple of larabars yesterday, thanks for the suggestion.  So far no regularity today, but hopefully that is a one off with my problems today...

 

So I'm not sure what went wrong, but I'm guessing it was the curry from yesterday.  Woke up with my eyes super puffy and my stomach a bit off.  I ate my normal breakfast around 8:45 and by noon I wasn't feeling well at all.  Almost like I was going to pass out and throw up at the same time.  I felt like I needed some calories fast and the idea of eating something meaty was not good at all.  I decided to have a larabar which at least settled my stomach, but it felt like a sugar bomb.  I haven't had much fruit since starting the W30 and that was really sweet.  But I think it was that or nuts or nut butter, so I don't think that was a horrible choice.  Very odd.

 

M1: 3 scrambled eggs with mushrooms and spinach, 1 sausage, coffee with coconut oil and pastured butter

M2: tuna salad over mixed greens with O&V

M3: sushi tonight with friends, a little concerned about this after my stomach issues today.  But I already told them this was fine.  Hopefully they get some sashimi (I think that's the one without rice).