Whole 30 starting Jan 1

[Carilyn]

Also got some chuck roast to make a crock pot pot roast today.  I need to confess, though, my grocery store only offers small amounts of grass-fed beef.  There was a grass-fed chuck for 7.99/lb sitting right next to a regular chuck for 2.99/lb.  I just couldn't make the financial plunge to the grass fed (and it was smaller) and bought the regular chuck roast.  I spent the money I saved by buying a bunch of veggies to go into the stew.

 

Try your local farmer's market!  Mine has a meat vendor who sells grass-fed, pastured, etc meat/eggs/butter from their local farm, even in winter.  Some things are more expensive, but not outrageously.  They often have sales too, such as grass-fed ground beef for $3.99/lb., not bad!

 

Last night I had a weird dream that I accidentally ate some pretzels and ruined my whole 30. I don't even like pretzels!  Haha but it is interesting, because doing this has made me realize how often I graze and just "try" little bites of everything around me, and I do have to stop myself from it.  Last year when I started paleo, I was never really gluten/dairy/sugar free because almost every day I would try just a "bite" of something (I am a preschool teacher, so there were lots of unhealthy meals and snacks around).  

 

So far I am feeling pretty great about this whole 30, it has definitely not been a struggle at all.  Part of that is because I haven't really been in many situations where I've been surrounded by people eating and drinking non-whole 30 things.  On Wednesday my graduate school starts up again (I work during the day and take evening classes), so I am worried that the stress and long days will make the whole 30 more challenging. Yesterday was a loooong day and although I have been trying to avoid snacking on nuts and dried fruit, I definitely ate way too many pecans and dried apricots yesterday afternoon. I could tell I was not really hungry but was kind of stress eating.  I am glad I'm at least in touch enough with my body to know that.

 

I have to confess, during the first week I did weight myself.  Oops!  I initially lost about 7lbs. very quickly.  Of course that just dropped me down to what I weighed before the holiday binges.  The next couple times I weighed myself I was about a lb. over that.  Then I read the posts here about the scale and I have resisted since.  It is difficult but worth it, because I know I would be discouraged right now if I haven't lost weight, even though I know I am feeling and looking better.  Also, it might encourage me to try to have smaller meals, but I am enjoying listening to my body about hunger right now (although sometimes I still overeat, but I'm working on that).

 

For the past few days I have been able to give up my "fruit as dessert" habit and traded it for herbal tea or hot water with lemon.  It feels weird but, like my former daily glass(es) of wine habit, it is important that I teach my body that I don't always need something sweet to end the day!

 

Ahhh, I feel like I have made so much progress, but still have so far to go.  Almost halfway there!!!! 

[Stephanie313131]

Just tried some Kombucha. 

Not sure if I like it or not.  I can't tell.

It's odd tasting to me.

Gingerade.

Thoughts???

[genifer]

Im feeling more energetic and my mood is improving, altho it goes up and down. Ill have these weird sad moments, or just down moments, then within a few minutes of talking myself around them Im fine. This is good actually bc I think I would have eaten thru my mood swings, mostly chocolate... which I am craving at the mo, but Im overcoming it. Im already looking forward to my next W30. I plan on eating mostly paleo after this W30, with the exception of a few swypo treats, or paleo-fied treats. My birthday is Feb 8th and the we always do cake, the kids will bake me an awesome cake and Im looking forward to that being my first non-paleo treat to savour. Im already rethinking my approach to food, its a head spin to be honest. Its a big effort and its not quite become second nature yet. Ive eaten paleo-esque for a while but actually approaching how I use food is new to me, and breaking bad habits is tough, but its the best thing for me, really, I was beginning to develop some really bad eating habits.

[drtracyb]

Just tried some Kombucha. 

Not sure if I like it or not.  I can't tell.

It's odd tasting to me.

Gingerade.

Thoughts???

 

I love kombucha.  I crave it because it fulfills my wish for something carbonated.  And Iove gingerale.  It almost seems like I'm cheating when I'm drinking it, so I don't let myself get it that often.  I haven't gotten up the courage to try making it myself.

[Run4fun]

Probably the biggest thing I am rediscovering with this Whole XX (30, 60, whatever!) is to focus on food as nourishment instead of focusing primarily on the taste of it.  It's not that I don't enjoy the tastes because I'm definitely  enjoying taste, texture, different combinations of foods together and even the look and smell of the foods in my plate or bowl.  I'm forcing myself to slow down my pace when I eat so I can enjoy it with multiple senses.  When I think of food primarily as nourishment, it takes the emotional aspect out of it.  Does that even make sense?  Or am I just loony?

[drtracyb]

Day 14, wow.  This whole30 is going great!  I made Chocolate Chili last night.  My husband proceeded to remind me how he doesn't like chili.  Then he ate two heaping bowlfuls and said it was the best Chili he had ever had.  My kids ate it for lunch and dinner and requested it for lunch the next day.  Winner.

 

I did a bit of a cookup yesterday.  I made Yankee Pot Roast from Nom Nom Paleo.  My pot roast was so tender it disintegrated as I pulled it out - I had cooked it on low for 9 hours in the crockpot.  The recipe included leeks and mushrooms.  I added brussels sprouts and carrots to the mix.  We'll eat it tonight for dinner.

 

Does anyone have a good recipe for shredded mexican beef?  I'm going to have a lot of beef left over, and we don't really like pot roast but do l ike making up mexican beef with onions and guacamole - I need a good mix of spices to put onto this shredded meat from the pot roast recipe to make Mexican shredded beef.

 

I also made some ghee in the crockpot with the lid off, 5 hours.  Delish.

 

And roasted some sweet potatoes and parsnips.

 

And made some applesauce to feed the kids their ritalin in.

 

Today will make some more almond milk - it only lasted three days in the fridge before going sour.  The kids drink it.  I use the wet almond meal to make paleo muffins afterwards, don't even bother drying it.

 

I got some exercise in today, though a little half-hearted.  The habit is falling back into place.

 

M1 is bacon asparagus soup, two eggs and some avocado.  M3 is pot roast.  M2, probably a greek salad with some shredded beef for my protein portion.

[CreatchoClock]

Gosh after posting yesterday I had a pretty quick swing into some kind of flu.  Shivering at work so hard that I had to come home early, skip my workout and this morning's workout.  I basically sweat and shivered all night and my husband made me a veggie soup with chicken broth that had some kind of malodextrin in it.  Non-compliant but I think the soup helped.  I still feel yucky today and stayed home from work.  No appetite but already ate some grass fed beef burgers.  If this is something going around I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!  Stay healthy y'all.

[Physibeth]

Day 14! Feeling happy! I even forgot my lunch, but went to subway and they made me a double chicken chopped salad with avacado on top. $8.25! Yikes oh well, what can you do? 

 

Sorry to be the source of bad news but Subway is not a good choice for whole30. The chicken breast contains sugar, msg (autolyzed yeast extract), and possibly soy depending on which you had according to their published ingredients: http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf

 

CHICKEN BREAST PATTY Chicken breast with rib meat, water, seasoning (corn syrup solids, vinegar 

powder [maltodextrin, modified corn starch and tapioca starch, dried vinegar], brown sugar, salt,  

Page 3 

dextrose, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken type flavor [hydrolyzed corn gluten, autolyzed yeast 

extract, thiamine hydrochloride, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate]), sodium phosphates. 

 

CHICKEN BREAST STRIPS Boneless, skinless chicken breast with rib meat; water, flavor (potassium 

chloride, maltodextrin, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, gum arabic, molasses, flavors, salt, lactic acid, 

disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate, fructose, medium chain triglycerides, dextrose, succinic 

acid, vinegar solids, thiamine hydrochloride and artificial flavors), soy protein concentrate, modified 

potato starch, sodium phosphates, salt. Contains soy. 

 

As MSG and soy are both common gut irritants we would recommend extending your W30.  

[genifer]

I forgot to mention that Ive broken out in some kind of weird rash. It started out with a sore throat and itchy ears, some phlegm and mucus. I knew it wasn't a cold. This morning I noticed my cheeks getting hot. I get this rash that isn't a visable rash, just one that burns and itches when I get my hair coloured or if I use the wrong lotion on my face. My fingers are stiff and feel slightly enflamed, Im a hairdresser and thought it was due to work, but I don't think it is. I have a little bit of dry skin on my right knuckles. I noticed an itching rashiness in the crook of my elbow too. I don't suffer from eczema, but I do have ulcerative colitis (an autoimmune disease)... Oh and Im kind of starting to flare up a little with the colitis.

 

Is this normal? ... getting rashes and stuff? 

[Physibeth]

I forgot to mention that Ive broken out in some kind of weird rash. It started out with a sore throat and itchy ears, some phlegm and mucus. I knew it wasn't a cold. This morning I noticed my cheeks getting hot. I get this rash that isn't a visable rash, just one that burns and itches when I get my hair coloured or if I use the wrong lotion on my face. My fingers are stiff and feel slightly enflamed, Im a hairdresser and thought it was due to work, but I don't think it is. I have a little bit of dry skin on my right knuckles. I noticed an itching rashiness in the crook of my elbow too. I don't suffer from eczema, but I do have ulcerative colitis (an autoimmune disease)... Oh and Im kind of starting to flare up a little with the colitis.

 

Is this normal? ... getting rashes and stuff? 

 

Not that I know of. I have noticed as I cleaned up my food and my beauty products that I'm more sensitive to the chemicals in lotions and such though. Did you eat anything that isn't normal to your diet in the past few days or come into contact with something new? 

[genifer]

you know what, I did eat some almond butter. I hadn't had that since starting W30. But the sore hands and joints were before that. Ill bet the face rash is from the almond butter tho, interesting.

[jodea]

Physibeth - those ingredients are terrifying!

Good day here. Not feeling amazing yet but enjoying not being a slave to my cravings and I love the food I'm eating:

M1: roasted vegetable frittata (sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini/courgette, mushroom, red onion, yellow pepper, carrot) made with two large eggs and topped with anchovies plus almonds

M2: wild mushroom soup made with pork broth, roast pork and half an avocado

PWO: roast pork

PWO: roast pork and roasted vegetables

M3: pan fried venison steak with cavolo nero, green beans and half a sweet potato drizzled with olive oil

I do worry I might be having a bit too much starchy veg, so trying to cut down a bit.

Had lots of energy for my bootcamp class this evening Almost half way!

[Tina R]

Im feeling more energetic and my mood is improving, altho it goes up and down. Ill have these weird sad moments, or just down moments, then within a few minutes of talking myself around them Im fine. This is good actually bc I think I would have eaten thru my mood swings, mostly chocolate... which I am craving at the mo, but Im overcoming it. Im already looking forward to my next W30. I plan on eating mostly paleo after this W30, with the exception of a few swypo treats, or paleo-fied treats. My birthday is Feb 8th and the we always do cake, the kids will bake me an awesome cake and Im looking forward to that being my first non-paleo treat to savour. Im already rethinking my approach to food, its a head spin to be honest. Its a big effort and its not quite become second nature yet. Ive eaten paleo-esque for a while but actually approaching how I use food is new to me, and breaking bad habits is tough, but its the best thing for me, really, I was beginning to develop some really bad eating habits.

If you need a gluten free chocolate molten cake recipe for your birthday let me know. Sorry to awaken the sugar dragon.

[Alliath]

I am happy y'all are entertained! My job is extremely serious (I'm a tax accountant), so I try to inject levity into the rest of my life. Also before anyone asks, I cannot help you with your income taxes! I specialize in sales taxes only, so you would probably get better advice on your federal taxes from my cat. (Don't tell me you haven't voiced opinions on your taxes VERY SIMILAR to the opinions she deposits in her litter box. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE.)

Today I felt pretty awesome, but tired. I know this is a result of losing all that sleep Sunday night... I won't get to catch up on my sleep until the weekend ahead, BOO. M1 was broccoli fennel soup, sausage, and sweet potato hash fried in coconut oil (oh my lord, so good). M2 was steak fajitas with green and red bell pepper and SISTER IN LAW'S GUACAMOLE ON TOP YESSSS. Also ginger carrot soup and some coconut. PreWO was turkey and avocado, PWO was turkey and sweet potato. M3 is turkey meatloaf and that brings me to my funny story for today.

Coworker: What are you having for dinner?

Ali: Meatloaf.

Coworker: How can you have meatloaf?

Ali: ... because it is a loaf made of meat? Also veggies.

Coworker: No, I mean... you can't have meatloaf without oats.

Ali: I would hazard a guess that you can, since it is in fact called a meat loaf and not an oat loaf. (Oat loaf would be a great band name.)

Coworker: Well... but you can't have ketchup.

Ali: I can if there are no sugar and no additives.

Coworker: Where did you possibly find ketchup without sugar?

Ali: Oh, I made some.

Coworker: YOU CAN'T MAKE KETCHUP.

Ali: ... yes you can.

Coworker: HOW?

Ali: I found a recipe on the internet.

Coworker: YOU CAN'T FIND A RECIPE FOR KETCHUP ON THE INTERNET.

Ali: ... there you go again. This is a thing I have done. It occurred in the past. It has already happened.

I don't know where she thinks store ketchup comes from, apparently the good little Heinzes leave tomatoes under their pillow and the ketchup fairy visits them in the night.

Be honest, who has "Livin' on a Prayer" queued up on the ipod for tomorrow morning, when we are halfway there? DON'T LIE YOU KNOW YOU DO. Or if you didn't I bet you do now.

[Run4fun]

I am happy y'all are entertained! My job is extremely serious (I'm a tax accountant), so I try to inject levity into the rest of my life. Also before anyone asks, I cannot help you with your income taxes! I specialize in sales taxes only, so you would probably get better advice on your federal taxes from my cat. (Don't tell me you haven't voiced opinions on your taxes VERY SIMILAR to the opinions she deposits in her litter box. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE.)

You are seriously a tax accountant? I can't imagine what team meetings are like for you!!! LOL

[Physibeth]

I am happy y'all are entertained! My job is extremely serious (I'm a tax accountant), so I try to inject levity into the rest of my life. Also before anyone asks, I cannot help you with your income taxes! I specialize in sales taxes only, so you would probably get better advice on your federal taxes from my cat. (Don't tell me you haven't voiced opinions on your taxes VERY SIMILAR to the opinions she deposits in her litter box. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE.)

Today I felt pretty awesome, but tired. I know this is a result of losing all that sleep Sunday night... I won't get to catch up on my sleep until the weekend ahead, BOO. M1 was broccoli fennel soup, sausage, and sweet potato hash fried in coconut oil (oh my lord, so good). M2 was steak fajitas with green and red bell pepper and SISTER IN LAW'S GUACAMOLE ON TOP YESSSS. Also ginger carrot soup and some coconut. PreWO was turkey and avocado, PWO was turkey and sweet potato. M3 is turkey meatloaf and that brings me to my funny story for today.

Coworker: What are you having for dinner?

Ali: Meatloaf.

Coworker: How can you have meatloaf?

Ali: ... because it is a loaf made of meat? Also veggies.

Coworker: No, I mean... you can't have meatloaf without oats.

Ali: I would hazard a guess that you can, since it is in fact called a meat loaf and not an oat loaf. (Oat loaf would be a great band name.)

Coworker: Well... but you can't have ketchup.

Ali: I can if there are no sugar and no additives.

Coworker: Where did you possibly find ketchup without sugar?

Ali: Oh, I made some.

Coworker: YOU CAN'T MAKE KETCHUP.

Ali: ... yes you can.

Coworker: HOW?

Ali: I found a recipe on the internet.

Coworker: YOU CAN'T FIND A RECIPE FOR KETCHUP ON THE INTERNET.

Ali: ... there you go again. This is a thing I have done. It occurred in the past. It has already happened.

I don't know where she thinks store ketchup comes from, apparently the good little Heinzes leave tomatoes under their pillow and the ketchup fairy visits them in the night.

Be honest, who has "Livin' on a Prayer" queued up on the ipod for tomorrow morning, when we are halfway there? DON'T LIE YOU KNOW YOU DO. Or if you didn't I bet you do now.

 

Please post this in the Crazy Things People Say thread if you have not already. It needs to be there. Seriously hilarious.

[Alliath]

I am seriously a tax accountant. Do you want me to prove it by going on a long and technical explanation of nexus, third-party internet travel providers, and the sales/hospitality tax ramifications thereof? DON'T MAKE ME DO IT I HAVE A PRESENTATION.

I will, however, tell you that at one point under California tax law, large marshmallows were legally defined as "food" and small marshmallows were legally defined as "candy." For sales tax purposes. Or maybe it was the other way around. It is no longer in effect, and I am sad, because it was in fact hilarious.

Other hilarious food definitions in tax law (I think this one is Louisiana). The difference between food and candy for sales tax purposes:

If it 1) contains flour or 2) requires refrigeration, it is food.

So Snickers are food, but Peppermint Patties are candy.

I am not making this up.

[katiemcp]

Day 14. Today I felt pretty good, energy wise! I think I'm doomed to be tired, with the little ones always getting up through the night, but today I felt great at work and didn't need a nap this afternoon, yay! Victory!

I did however feel a little bit strange, kind of hungry, kind of nauseous, through most of the mid to late morning, blah. I used to get that feeling if my blood sugar was really dipping, so that's a little frustrating but I am sure with some adjustments I can avoid it. I hope. I used to have bad mornings and need to snack a few times, eating like a darn hobbit, trying to keep my blood sugar up until after lunch time and then I'd be okay. Now I get nervous that I might be eating too much but then again, I just ate half a banana with some almond butter bc my tummy was growling. Its been a weird day, lol.

Yesterday I was having a bunch of doubt and woe is me feelings and this isnt going to work feelings, who the heck do those Hartwigs think they are anyways? kinds of feelings. Ugh. I was feeling like nothing I do will help me lose the baby weight, it wont budge, and I will just be stuck being miserable. Then I got up this morning and put on smaller pants and said, wait, what?! (Sorry, Hartwigs, you guys really are awesome, haha).

it seems as though we all have a giant forum crush on Alliath and the funny posts. Keep 'em coming, Alliath.

Today's M1, two coffees with coconut milk and coconut oil, three overeasy eggs and sauteed greens and 1/3 of a big sweet potato

M2, mini meal, leftover wedge of frittata, cherry tomatoes, and a few olives (at work) (was feeling pretty icky and definitely needed to eat)

mini meal 2, leftover grass fed burger patty, cherry tomatoes, snap peas, a few olives, and homemade creamy balsamic dressing to dip (at home after work)

M3 Roast beast, green beans with a bit of ghee, roasted baby carrots with mushrooms and onions (roasted with the beef, yummy), and a few more olives. Because they are just yummy.

Tomorrow, we're all halfway there! I wanted a glass of wine tonight, but I didn't do it. I went through all sorts of different excuses and rationalizations to make it alright to do and I finally just told myself to knock it off and go do something else. Lol.

[Dem]

Today wasn't great, it was kind of blah. I wanted sugar all morning so I went on a fruit bender. Now I am paying for it with "GI distress" to put it politely. Also I am pretty tired this evening, probably from the blood sugar swing from all that fruit.

Rediscovered an old recipe (Better Butter Chicken) from Everyday Paleo, and my picky eater son loved it! I let hi help me make it too.

I *think* the babies are starting to sleep better. They took a nice long nap this afternoon. Poor baby girl seems a little constipated. I think it's because she has recently started eating tons of solids. I don't know what to do for her. I thought about prune juice, but I loathe the idea of giving juice to babies.

Only ran the dishwasher twice today, and with the kids helping me load and unload it's not so bad. I am getting the hang of things here.

[annabel]

 

Sorry to be the source of bad news but Subway is not a good choice for whole30. The chicken breast contains sugar, msg (autolyzed yeast extract), and possibly soy depending on which you had according to their published ingredients: http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf

 

CHICKEN BREAST PATTY Chicken breast with rib meat, water, seasoning (corn syrup solids, vinegar 

powder [maltodextrin, modified corn starch and tapioca starch, dried vinegar], brown sugar, salt,  

Page 3 

dextrose, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken type flavor [hydrolyzed corn gluten, autolyzed yeast 

extract, thiamine hydrochloride, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate]), sodium phosphates. 

 

CHICKEN BREAST STRIPS Boneless, skinless chicken breast with rib meat; water, flavor (potassium 

chloride, maltodextrin, sugar, autolyzed yeast extract, gum arabic, molasses, flavors, salt, lactic acid, 

disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate, fructose, medium chain triglycerides, dextrose, succinic 

acid, vinegar solids, thiamine hydrochloride and artificial flavors), soy protein concentrate, modified 

potato starch, sodium phosphates, salt. Contains soy. 

 

As MSG and soy are both common gut irritants we would recommend extending your W30.

 

 

She's in Japan though...  so the ingredients could be different.  We're on the computers in school today, I'll try to see what their Japanese website has to say if I have time.

 

 

I am seriously a tax accountant. Do you want me to prove it by going on a long and technical explanation of nexus, third-party internet travel providers, and the sales/hospitality tax ramifications thereof? DON'T MAKE ME DO IT I HAVE A PRESENTATION.

I will, however, tell you that at one point under California tax law, large marshmallows were legally defined as "food" and small marshmallows were legally defined as "candy." For sales tax purposes. Or maybe it was the other way around. It is no longer in effect, and I am sad, because it was in fact hilarious.

Other hilarious food definitions in tax law (I think this one is Louisiana). The difference between food and candy for sales tax purposes:

If it 1) contains flour or 2) requires refrigeration, it is food.

So Snickers are food, but Peppermint Patties are candy.

I am not making this up.

 

I'm studying accounting now, fingers crossed that when I find a job I have colleagues as amusing as you are.

 

The UK has some funny tax things regarding food as well.  Cakes and biscuits (UK biscuits=US cookies) are necessities, so no VAT is charged.  But chocolate covered biscuits are luxuries and get charged the 20% VAT.  (Except for Jaffa Cakes, because they're "cakes")

 

And gingerbread men are allowed to have chocolate for eyes, but if there's any other chocolate on them then they're liable for VAT.

 

 

Physibeth - those ingredients are terrifying!

Good day here. Not feeling amazing yet but enjoying not being a slave to my cravings and I love the food I'm eating:

M1: roasted vegetable frittata (sweet potato, parsnip, zucchini/courgette, mushroom, red onion, yellow pepper, carrot) made with two large eggs and topped with anchovies plus almonds

M2: wild mushroom soup made with pork broth, roast pork and half an avocado

PWO: roast pork

PWO: roast pork and roasted vegetables

M3: pan fried venison steak with cavolo nero, green beans and half a sweet potato drizzled with olive oil

I do worry I might be having a bit too much starchy veg, so trying to cut down a bit.

Had lots of energy for my bootcamp class this evening Almost half way!

 

I just discovered cavolo nero a few weeks ago... love it.  I'm eating a lot less starchy veg this Whole 30, I'm trying to mostly keep it to breakfast (or dinner if I'm planning an early morning workout for the next day.)

 

Today's food plan:

M1: leftover Sunrise Scramble with wilted spinach

M2: leftover chili with cauliflower and green beans

M3: pina colada chicken with zucchini noodles.

[Semolina]

Emily -- I wouldn't worry about portion sizes right now. Get through the W30 and review it, and then if you want to do another one / more then based on feedback from your first W30 (inches, weight if still relevant to you) then by all means start adjusting it. I think a W30 is hard enough and getting through the rules for a full 30 days is a great achievement in the first place, without worrying about portion sizes. Stay away from food with no brakes, and otherwise just stick to the rules and try not to worry about portion sizes too much. Really, you should see the size of my plate (sometimes it barely looks like it can fit on a regular dinner plate! hubby teases me all the time) but THIS time it doesn't worry me because I know that I will lose weight anyway ... and when I stop losing weight by eating this way then I will adjust if I feel that I need to. (I think eventually I will look at the amount of fat I eat ... but don't see the need to worry right now because I feel like I need it and my body is responding well, and even if I haven't lost weight yet my clothes are looser -- though I didn't feel that first time round and still lost weight (I was half expecting a weight gain when I stood on the scales). If you are overeating to the point of feeling sick then yeah, you need to reduce your portion sizes, but if you are eating to the point that you feel full and satisfied (emotionally and physically) then just go with it and review at the end of your W30.

 

We are so used to the  mental chat about "my diet is terrible / I eat too much / I must control what I eat / surely I can't eat this much and be healthy / girls/women should not eat a plate with that much food on" that sometimes it is hard to just go with the flow. If you are sticking with W30 rules, and are not stuffing yourself to the point of illness, then go with it. It is about letting go of the controlling chat in your head and LISTENING to what your body needs and wants.

 

I love the fact that I eat like this. I love that I feel really truly satisfied after I have eaten, and don't think about food for 4 - 5 hours at a time (how freeing is that?). I love that I know it is healthy, and that while I have 15 lbs (or maybe a bit more) to lose, it will come off EVEN if I eat a huge plate of food with what feels like loads of fat in it. (I eat more fat than the ideal W30 proportions, but if I don't I get really hungry ... and experience has shown me that I will still lose weight eating like this.)

 

What I was looking for before I came to W30 was a way of eating where I wouldn't feel hungry or deprived, didn't have to measure or count anything, I would know was healthy eating, and I could do for the rest of my life. I haven't cracked the last part yet (that's the bit I'm still learning ...) and I think I've found it. How nice not to have that voice in your head saying "you are eating too much, girlfriend" and yet to feel lusciously satisfied with what I eat.

 

Just sayin'.

 

Breakfast this morning; roasted onions, roasted tomatoes, roasted butternut squash, eggs (fried). Lunch will be chicken salad and tea will be some chicken concoction as well (haven't planned that bit yet!).

 

Day 15. Halfway there!

[Huarache Gal]

Day 15 - half way! Doing great so far. It's funny, although the cravings for sugar, etc. are gone, I keep dreaming about eating non-compliant things that I probably haven't eaten in a year or so. Last night, I dreamt I was eating a biscuit! Even when I got off track, I wouldn't eat something like that. Weird. Oh well. So far, so good.

[sailorlawrence]

Day 15!

Hang on to your hats folks! It's about to get real up in here!

Half way there ! Can you believe it? I feel like everything is second nature now and I trust myself around tempting food. I finally got my Christmas presents from my parents and I had no problem tossing the candy to my friends. That's ground breaking for me.

Any who, I've been studying all night for advancement. My focus and drive is suddenly on high gear, and I'm really loving every moment of it.

I hope you all have found your niche and are ready to ride out the next 15 days with ease.

[Paichka]

I can't believe I'm over halfway through! 

 

Probably ate too much yesterday -- I had a big lunch (four devils-on-horseback, plus one of the premade paleo meals, and it was DELICIOUS) followed by a big dinner (a pile of roasted cabbage and chicken/apple sausage), plus a snack while I was making dinner.  That would normally tell me that my lunch hadn't been big enough, but I was STUFFED, and it carried me through right up until dinner.  It was only while I was putting everything together for dinner that I got hit with the hunger monster.  It was like I went from zero to starving fast enough to give me whiplash.  So I had some celery with homemade ranch dressing.  I imagine that adding in workouts again is probably the culprit.    I've been feeling great otherwise.

[Weredragon]

Woohoo Day 15! So nice to be at the halfway mark. The last couple of days have been good. I'm feeling better physically and my mood has been great. Did a cook up yesterday: Greek cinnamon beef stew and five spice slow cooker pork roast from clothesmakethegirl.com (recipe for the latter is actually ribs but I prefer roasts). Had the stew for dinner--amazing! Possibly my new favorite recipe. Also made up a batch of salmon cakes for school days, of which today is the worst. I've got class until 8 tonight. Ugh. I hate having class at night. It's only once a week though so that's the end of my complaining

What's going to actually be a problem is the birthday party afterwards where I will be tired and faced with both alcohol and cupcakes (well, vegan cupcakes). I'm not really worried about temptation so much as dealing with the inevitable pressure to join in because "it's x's birthday". I will stay strong. And maybe stop at home for beef stew before the party!

Have a great day 15 all!