Whole 30 starting Jan 1

[Thia]

Today I noticed something very weird. Im tired, which is expected, like seriously exhausted. Was at work today and relatively busy so I didn't notice that very much. Im slightly irritable at this stage, to be expected. The one thing that is totally new and out of left field is this strange emotional cloud that's come over me. Im usually very good at being rational and very level headed about things but one teeny mistake on Friday had me full of self doubt and just ... irrational. Maybe its to do with brain fog. Ive had that before when I did the specific carb diet a few years ago. Id find my tea cups, full of a fresh brew, in a cupboard... not remembering I put it there?! I found my passport in the freaking bin! Couldn't remember my kids names. This time around its emotional. Never experienced that. Anyone else have any similar goings on, or is this way out there?

 

 

This may have to do with the sugar detox.  Your body is learning how to get energy from other foods, not quick sugars.  Give it time.  That Pink Lady is calling you for a reason... because it is the last thing you should be eating.  

[Emily Roberts-Springer]

Been a long day.  Kiddo was sick so stayed home from work to be with him today.  Hence not posting til now - I don't like for him to see me on the computer because then he thinks they are "fun".  We did a lot of activities together, which was genuinely fun, but when nap time came it was a TOTAL BATTLE and I ended up passing out as well!

 

I'm still soooo tired.  It is taking a lot of my will power to keep my shorter-than-normal temper with my son this week!  It doesn't help that he is going through an "I like Dad better" phase.  Sigh.

 

Genifer - I recognize what you are experiencing.  It sounds similar to what I'm going through.  I feel less foggy and forgetful and more melancholy.  Was not expecting that.  This whole reset is such a mind trip.

 

So, today's food log:

 

Breakfast was strata and broccoli.

 

Nibbled on apple and almonds while I made lunch of tuna Waldorf salad (apple, almonds, scallions, parsley, homemade mayo), which we had rolled up in romaine lettuce with mashed butternut squash.

 

Dinner is roast chicken with broccoli and sliced roasted sweet potato with paprika.

 

I think tonight will be an early one for both the kid and me.  First a much needed relax in the tub.  I'm super into epsom salt baths lately.

[Physibeth]

Today I noticed something very weird. Im tired, which is expected, like seriously exhausted. Was at work today and relatively busy so I didn't notice that very much. Im slightly irritable at this stage, to be expected. The one thing that is totally new and out of left field is this strange emotional cloud that's come over me. Im usually very good at being rational and very level headed about things but one teeny mistake on Friday had me full of self doubt and just ... irrational. Maybe its to do with brain fog. Ive had that before when I did the specific carb diet a few years ago. Id find my tea cups, full of a fresh brew, in a cupboard... not remembering I put it there?! I found my passport in the freaking bin! Couldn't remember my kids names. This time around its emotional. Never experienced that. Anyone else have any similar goings on, or is this way out there?

 

Otherwise, Im doing pretty good. Learning a lot about myself and my 'relationship' with food. I think I need to get past this irritable, frustrated, brainfog  phase for me to make any real sense of it. I do have a lot of issues with blood sugar levels and relying on sugar to keep me going, even if it is fruit... which sounds amazing to me right now. I could murder a juicy pink lady apple! Im happy with how Im working thru this, tho.  I crave sweet foods after a big meal. I over indulge when Im having something I really enjoy, and this is a regular occurance. I don't always eat for health and nourishment, I eat for enjoyment.

 

Onwards and upwards... roll on day 8!

 

This is perfectly normal. Sounds like your "Kill All The Things" day is a little late. http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

[Thia]

I'm still fighting the clean plate club.  Even if it just a few bites, I really need to learn to stop eating when I am full, especially when I have the sweet potato filling me up.  I do admit that overfill with meat and veggies is a whole lot more comfortable than overfill with bread.

 

Yesterday, M1 Italian Slow Cooker Pork (WellFed), greens, 1/2 avocado

M2 was Best Chicken Ever (WellFed) sweet potato, green beens with Moroccan Dipping Sauce (WellFed)

M3 was Pork again? mushrooms cooked in coconut oil, sweet potato hash with 1/2 avocado and Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup (not usually a fan of ginger and I love this stuff!)

 

Today, so far:

M1 2 eggs, Chocolate Chili (WellFed), with 2 eggs, , greens, cooked mushrooms, and diced red peppers, +1/2 avocado, and soup

M2 Chicken, green beans, sweet potato, all with Dipping Sauce, soup 

M3 Barbecue Pork (WellFed) sweet potato and soup.  (Forgot I had to be somewhere and eating in a rush.

 

Fell asleep this afternoon for about 15 minutes. I don't like that.

[Sarah T]

This afternoon was rough. I got rediculously hungry at around 2:30 with no options to resolve it. I had a cup of coffee with coconut milk and tried to forget it. Then my run was miserably difficult - complete dead legs. This may have been because of a particularly tough legs workout on Sunday that left me with some serious DOMS. Either way, I did it and survived.

 

M3 was a beef burger topped with a bit of mustard, sauteed onions, mushrooms and peppers, and a bunch of mixed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots). I feel much better now.

 

I am craving chocolate a bit.

[Physibeth]

This afternoon was rough. I got rediculously hungry at around 2:30 with no options to resolve it. I had a cup of coffee with coconut milk and tried to forget it. Then my run was miserably difficult - complete dead legs. This may have been because of a particularly tough legs workout on Sunday that left me with some serious DOMS. Either way, I did it and survived.

 

M3 was a beef burger topped with a bit of mustard, sauteed onions, mushrooms and peppers, and a bunch of mixed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots). I feel much better now.

 

I am craving chocolate a bit.

 

I had dead legs for 2 whole weeks when I did my whole30. It will pass. Just give yourself some grace in training while your body makes the jump from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat for fuel.

[Kara Jane]

I don't know about anyone else but I am getting so sick of eggs. I really need to jazz up my breakfast but I'm not quite a morning person so I end up nudging myself off the bed and forcing myself to make breakfast (I don't bother getting creative). Other than that I'm doing really good, still very sleepy but good. It's so exciting to realize this is the longest I've gone without cheese or bread. Those have been two of my favorite foods for a very long time (especially when they are together) and I still get cravings but I'm doing just fine without them!

 

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their day 7!

[praxisproject]

genifer - I often work shift work (over 10 years of it) and I found I was quite a "fueler" with food. A lot of my bad habits were when I was:

 

* Exhausted

* Had skipped a meal or two or three

* Hadn't had enough sleep

 

I would then eat more than anyone should in a meal, to either catch up on missed meals (starving) or to cushion the body-blow from the lack of sleep (seeking energy). I think this did a lot of damage to my metabolism, especially my blood sugar / insulin resistance.

 

Now I'm very aware than when I miss meals or don't get enough sleep, my body is dragging a little, but a blood sugar spike only temporarily makes me feel better, it really is just masking the damage. When I don't mask it anymore, I avoid the behaviour.

[helen]

I fixed my very, very dry (but pound of grass fed local beef) meatloaf by just mixing it with a container of Well Fed chocolate chili!  Perfect!  I am very happy right now about this as it was 1. fast  2. good 3. easy.

[Kat4Wake]

Stopping by for a quick check-in. First week down.  Felt so so today.  Very foggy and headachy.  I talked to my BF after work today and he is feeling the same.  He said that this is making him even more determined to stick with the W30 and I agree.  Feeling better is within reach.  He leaves for a trip tomorrow and is planning things to take with him to stay compliant.  Thanks to some good strategies from GFChris I think he will be OK.  I also called a Cross Fit gym and got a couple of restaurant recommendations.  Preparation! Preparation! Preparation!!

[praxisproject]

Day 8, struggled to eat breakfast this morning, I was not hungry lol But it was yummy and I eventually finished it

[lizrincon]

 My mid-morning coffee treat.  I use coffee, 1/2 cup Silk Almond milk (which, based on my searching, I actually might be able to have in my coffee because it doesn't have carageenan--I don't really like coconut milk in there), 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 5-7 drops vanilla stevia.  Whip up the cold ingredients in my bullet, warm them in the micro and add to coffee.  This is pretty much a 10:30 staple when I'm at the table teaching my girls.  I haven't missed it the first 5 days so much, but we started school again yesterday and I was really wanting my coffee!

 

I also LOVE my morning coffee.  Have you tried doing your own almond milk? I do like coconut milk, and used to do the Silk Coconut, but after looking at the ingredients and finding sugar, I knew it was out.

 I found that it was super simple to make my own coconut milk, and you can use a similar process to make the almond milk. 

 

--- soak  almonds in water over night or for up to  two days — the longer you soak the almonds, the creamier the milk will be. Drain and rinse the beans from their soaking water and grind them with fresh water. The resulting liquid, drained from the almond meal, is almond milk. Start with a ratio of 1 cup almonds to 2 cups water when making almond milk. This makes a milk that is roughly the consistency of 2% milk. If you'd like a thinner milk, use more water next time; thicker, use less.

 From:  http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-almond-milk-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-189996

[Dem]

Today I noticed something very weird. Im tired, which is expected, like seriously exhausted. Was at work today and relatively busy so I didn't notice that very much. Im slightly irritable at this stage, to be expected. The one thing that is totally new and out of left field is this strange emotional cloud that's come over me. Im usually very good at being rational and very level headed about things but one teeny mistake on Friday had me full of self doubt and just ... irrational. Maybe its to do with brain fog. Ive had that before when I did the specific carb diet a few years ago. Id find my tea cups, full of a fresh brew, in a cupboard... not remembering I put it there?! I found my passport in the freaking bin! Couldn't remember my kids names. This time around its emotional. Never experienced that. Anyone else have any similar goings on, or is this way out there?

 

Otherwise, Im doing pretty good. Learning a lot about myself and my 'relationship' with food. I think I need to get past this irritable, frustrated, brainfog  phase for me to make any real sense of it. I do have a lot of issues with blood sugar levels and relying on sugar to keep me going, even if it is fruit... which sounds amazing to me right now. I could murder a juicy pink lady apple! Im happy with how Im working thru this, tho.  I crave sweet foods after a big meal. I over indulge when Im having something I really enjoy, and this is a regular occurance. I don't always eat for health and nourishment, I eat for enjoyment.

 

Onwards and upwards... roll on day 8!

Yes I am feeling the emotional cloud today as well. This is hard. I can't deal with life without sugar it seems.

[Miminette]

Day 6.  Yesterday was a little disorganized but I did not stray.  Getting stumped day 2 of school lunches so trying to re-focus today.  My daughter LOVED the beef stew soup.

 

As for me, two eggs fried in ghee, roasted sweet potatoes out of the freezer, and a cup of chicken broth were M1.  Goals today are to exercise, as I missed it yesterday, and to get a coherent plan for school lunches.  I need to cook up a bunch more paleo muffins as those are working well for the kids.  And a bunch of meatballs.

 

M2 will finish up my Greek salad, plus some crock pot chicken for protein.  An apple a day.  And M3 will probably be paleo pad thai.

My hat is off to you!!! Can't imagine doing this with & for children!! Good job, Mom!!!

[Annoid]

Day 7. Feel good. Not really tired today. Mild cravings off and on. Meals were compliant. 2 miles on treadmill, 30 min on bike, and co-ed volleyball league tonight (we won.. Woohoo).

[Miminette]

Been busy, busy, and busy!! Especially slicing, dicing, & cooking............but so far so good!! No real problems. Leg cramps have gotten better & so far no bad cravings....which I had expected.  Today has been a great day. Steady energy all day and I'm just now starting to wind down.  Did some cooking tonite as I am running low from my first big cooking Will have to work hard to make it to the weekend when I'll have time to do another big prep day.  Have a stew ready to go in crockpot for tomorrow nite & lunch Thursday.

 

I really enjoy seeing how everyone is doing & what foods being enjoyed!!

 

On to tomorrow

[sailorlawrence]

Day ocho...more like ouch-ohhh woke up with a splitting headache...what a way to start my day!

Looks like a lot of us have the case of the sleepies... And even the crankies I'm feeling very sleepy this evening, it quite possibly could be the weather though. It just started pouring outside like island typhoon type weather. The rain makes me miss Washington, my home state .

I completely splurged at the commissary today and bought tenderloin steak, oh but soooo worth it. Now I need a nap. Work was draining today, and I was on edge again.

Hmmm maybe tomorrow will be better. Best wishes everyone!

"Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you need to go, no one else." -Les Brown

[genifer]

Thanks for the replies, I was really confused as to why I was feeling the way I do... melancholy, that's a good way to describe it. Im also very tired this morning, so as its my day off, Im going back to bed. Nobody's home but me, nobody needs me so off to bed I go.

[annabel]

I just bought myself a copy of the Nomnompaleo cookbook. (£7.19 on Amazon for everyone else in the UK).  Has anyone tried any of the recipes from that one?

 

And now I really have to go for my run.  I'm hoping that it perks me up a bit, I was really tired this morning in school. 

[Semolina]

Struggling to fit everything in ... sigh. Specifically exercise, which is the new ball I am adding to those I am already juggling. Work, looking after 3 small kids, cooking for everyone (and extra W30 cooking for me), keeping house, doing homework with the kids etc etc. I'm not quite sure how to fit it all in. I'm lucky that I do freelance work for someone in a different time zone, so I can flex my hours quite a bit, but still. Didn't fit exercise in yesterday as we had issues with our boiler that needed fixing which ate up about 2 hours (there was no way I was working out at home with someone in fixing my boiler!), and I have run out of time this morning, need to work this afternoon and then its kids, homework, dinner and then working again. Oh, and then theoretically 8 hours of sleep (working evenings is not good for that ... I get wired and then can't get to sleep but I have no choice ...).

 

Still, food-wise it's all good. Today I roasted more cauliflower (curry this time) and some more tomatoes, and a sweet potato. Have made pork mince meat balls with onion and paprika, which I had for lunch with wilted spinach and mayo, and will have for dinner tonight with courgette noodles and passata. Need to make more mayo tomorrow.

 

Not feeling energetic, but am feeling thinner and healthier. (One of the things I love about the W30 is going out and looking at other people (especially in cafes) and feeling VERY smug.)

 

Q: I have a chilli in the freezer that is compliant (I made it a while ago) other than the kidney beans. Do you think I can pick the kidney beans out and count it as W30?

[kerrimpj]

accountability, here I come.

I just shared what I'm doing on Facebook. 

In week one, I've dealt with the disappointment of a few of my closest vegetarian friends/ family, especially my daughter, and weathered that (and a week of eating like this) so I'm ready for the rest of 'em. 

But...27 years a veg. has me very tuned into consciously sourcing the animal sources and I already know how to make veggies taste fabulous...and seriously, I'm feeling better.

[lexes42]

 (One of the things I love about the W30 is going out and looking at other people (especially in cafes) and feeling VERY smug.)

 

 

Lol, I agree!  One of the ways I keep myself on track late in the day is to say to myself:  No, I would prefer to sleep the sleep of the righteous!

 

I did not sleep the sleep of the righteous yesterday however.  I veered off course - honey in my tea and then a lara bar... which turned into two.  I'm going to consider this day 1 again in terms of consecutive compliance days.  I planned to do w30 well into february anyway, so I'm not too guttted.  Trying to be gentle with myself and remember that this is hard, and a process.

 

Semolina I would be gentler on yourself too!  Put sleep before exercise in terms of 'must dos'... especially now in the dark, dead of winter when hibernation is the natural thing.  Then I would drop some of 'keeping house' (or delegate to other adults) and second I would try to make exercise part of 'looking after 3 small kids'.  running, playing, planks and pushups, strength work, jumping jacks - lots of things you can do in short bursts with the kiddos, or when they aren't needing your attention... that isn't  a 'formal 30 - 60 minutes of 'working out'. 

[lexes42]

I just bought myself a copy of the Nomnompaleo cookbook. (£7.19 on Amazon for everyone else in the UK).  Has anyone tried any of the recipes from that one?

 

And now I really have to go for my run.  I'm hoping that it perks me up a bit, I was really tired this morning in school. 

 

 

That's a great price for a great book!  Lots of great stuff in there - her sisters green chicken jumps to mind....

[Carilyn]

Week two here I come!  This is going to be my first full day of work doing whole30, so I'm a little nervous.   But I am going to bring extra food just to be prepared.  Everyone I work with is very supportive of healthy choices with is great, it's just that sometimes I don't prepare myself for the long days and end up snacking on random things. But not today!!!

 

I don't know if it is from eating healthier and having more energy or if it is just habit, but I am really starting to look forward to my workouts instead of dreading them.  One of my resolutions this year (besides whole30) was to be brave enough to try some new workout classes that I haven't done before.  Well I have done that and I love them all!  It is very motivating to like a workout and want to improve at it.

 

One thing I want to work on this week is to not give in to my cravings to eat fruit after dinner every night (aka "dessert").  I know that psychologically I might as well be eating ice cream, enforcing my need to have something sweet after dinner every night.  Its a hard habit to break though!

 

Good luck in week 2 everyone!

[Paichka]

I just bought myself a copy of the Nomnompaleo cookbook. (£7.19 on Amazon for everyone else in the UK).  Has anyone tried any of the recipes from that one?

 

And now I really have to go for my run.  I'm hoping that it perks me up a bit, I was really tired this morning in school. 

 

There are tons of great recipes in there.  I've tried the Uova in Purgatorio (baked eggs in sausage/tomato sauce), the Korean Slow Cooker Short Ribs, and Fiona's Green Chicken (AWESOME).  I also like her mayo recipe a little better than Well Fed's (which I also like, but which is a little too lemony-tasting for my preferences). 

 

That cookbook will have my undying devotion forever, however, because I made her chicken nuggets recipe last night, and my kids, the pickiest eaters on God's green earth, DEVOURED them.  An easy-peasy recipe that my kids will eat?  Yes, please!