Whole 30 starting Jan 1

[Guest]

Almost done, but the closer it gets the more I want to be done with it. Not because I'm craving any particular sweets, but just because I want to be able to eat out and not think.

"Is there sugar in the vinaigrette? Is there sugar in the mashed sweet potatoes? Is there sugar in the balsalmic glaze? Ok, I'll have grilled chicken breast with a salad no cheese no dressing no glaze."

Then I wonder - why do I NEED sugar on my chicken? Why does anyone need this crap?

Unfortunately, if you're going out to eat it seems you have to eat plain because restaurants make everything with sugar.

I have made some food guidelines I think I can live with for post whole30, but I'm really ready to be post whole30!

[jodea]

I've realised how important it will be to have clear guidelines for myself. It's just too easy for me to go off the rails otherwise.

My thoughts so far:

- drink alcohol within health service guidelines. We have an NHS app in the UK which you input your weekly drinking into. Has worked very well for me in the past.

- I'm allowed three treats a week. This works out as 90/10 in terms of healthy meals a week v treats. So this could be a couple of glasses of wine one night, a meal out where I stay Paleo but don't sweat the small stuff and/or a Paleo treat.

- definitely no wheat, occasional white rice and oats, no sugar, no soy, no dairy...

Still figuring it out!

Yesterday I had the usual smoked salmon and roasted vegetable frittata for M1 with Well Fed mayo. M2 was leftover Thai coconut chicken soup from Seriouseats. M3 was fun - we cooked for friends. I did a Jamie Oliver monkfish recipe from his book called Cook, with olive sauce and lemon cauliflower mash. It was really good - am obsessed with Nom Nom Paleo's cauli mash, as was my vegetarian friend. However I think I managed to overdo it on the side veg. I ate a ton of brocolli and ended up feeling uncomfortable all evening :S. Who knew you could eat too much green stuff !

[EAH]

Eating Whole30 has become automatic in a way. I pleasantly say no to sweets and it just doesn't occur to me to take from the bread basket when it arrives to the table. I was at a fair yesterday and though I was hungry, I wasn't tempted by any of the brownies, cookies or cupcakes. Lucky for me, Whole Foods had a stand making avocado, pineapple, spinach and ginger shakes which I did have since it was the compliant (and best) option.

I decided weeks ago to do my best and make the best choices possible without making myself bonkers. I realize that I've eaten hidden sugar in tomato sauce and deli meats. But, hey, I am feeling energized and slimmer and most importantly, I don't feel constricted or bored.

I am hanging on for another two weeks- possibly another month because I just feel better and it doesn't feel like a sacrifice to eat this way. I don't miss alcohol and with two sets of twins, I am finding other ways to deal with the 5pm stress. And, we had a big New Years party, so I have several bottles in the kitchen fridge which I just pass over en route to the veggie bin!

Last night I made corn beef and cabbage. I went a little overboard on the cabbage so my stomach is begging for mercy this morning. Oh well, I knew I would pay for it but it was so delicious spread with fresh horseradish.

Happy Sunday!

[sailorlawrence]

I really like this group too, very supportive and I'm learning a lot. Honestly the forum has been a major motivator for sticking with it.

 

Day 26!

This weekend has been great! I slept 10 hours the other night and some may think that's too much sleep but I felt refreshed and rejuvenated. Wouldn't I love to sleep as much as I want every night. Took 3-4 mile walks with Cooper on the beach and was medical coverage on Saturday for a 5k. Even got a free t-shirt!  I made the chocolate chili from Well Fed, such a simple recipe but I think I made it a little too spicy. I find anything too spicy upsets my stomach, makes me burpy...plus the BMs are unpleasant to say the least. So I may stay away from hot spices and see if my tummy heals up.

 

On a 12 hour duty right now, so I'll be sleep deprived until my relief comes at 0645. Drattttt! Thank goodness I'll have Monday off to catch up with my sleep again. I remember from duties prior I used to drink energy drinks galore like sugar-free Monster or Red Bulls to stay awake. ... But seriously, they're terrible for you, and I can stay awake just fine by sipping on coffee and water all night long.

 

It's so nice not having sugar cravings anymore, I feel so in control now and it makes me want to get a better handle on other facets of my life...like money! The only things I crave now are almond butter, fried eggs, and steak...mmm medium rare steak.

 

Take care everyone, we are soooo close!

[Huarache Gal]

Day 26- I made a double batch of chocolate chili yesterday. My entire family loved it! I had mine with spaghetti squash. I have leftovers for today and I froze 3 servings. I love that I have some in reserves for days I don't have much time. Yes, I saved all the leftovers for me! The only bad thing is that I over-ate. Oh well, at least it was good stuff and not junk. The family added cheese to theirs and it was strange not picking at the cheese. But none for me. I'm going to make some egg muffins today using ham, eggs and some sort of veggies. Doing well and plan on going to 60 days.

SailorLawrence, I don't know how you do it with working weird shifts. Good for you for making it work!

[Weredragon]

Semolina- thanks for the great instructions! I made myself a steak last night and it turned out perfect, medium/medium rare and delicious. I think I've satisfied whatever that craving was, but steak is definitely going into my regular food rotation. Also I'm pretty sure I do not have an extractor fan since this process set off two smoke alarms. I'll be better prepared next time.

Spent what felt like all day in the kitchen chopping veggies and making nomnom's farmer's pie. It's a lot like well fed's cottage pie recipe but simpler. Of course when I went to separate servings into individual containers it fell apart. Oh well. Now it's just a ground beef, veggie, and cauliflower mash scramble which is fine with me. I'll have that for dinner, the last of my salmon chowder for lunch, and pork/sweet potato/kale hash topped with fried eggs now-ish.

Have a great day!

[Alliath]

I am with all of y'all who are having weird and surprising cravings in the home stretch. I have done pretty well with the cravings through the early weeks, but now that we're in the home stretch, it seems like my brain has gone insane. "Just make some rice to go with that, you can have some rice, you've been SO GOOD." "This recipe has honey, it's just a little honey, come onnnnnn." WHAT. THE. HELL. I can see I'm going to have to be very diligent about my reintroduction. We are not going back to putting sugar in everything, BRAIN, and we are not eating oatmeal and protein powder for breakfast anymore EVER AGAIN, do you remember how hungry we were by NINE O CLOCK when we did that? Ugh, it's so amazing to me how hard the brain works to sabotage change. At least it isn't sugary chocolatey treats I want; mostly just rice and oats. I'm thinking my brain will stop begging for oats once it realizes I'm not going to slather them with sweet, artificially flavored whey anymore. You think you are fooling me, sugar dragon. I KNOW IT IS NOT THE OATS YOU WANT.

I made the paleo cottage pie from Well Fed, only instead of making it in one big dish, I made it in portioned ramekins. This is because I know one of the things I've missed about processed food is having those nice, easy frozen dinners in reserve in the freezer just in case I don't feel like cooking when I get home and I don't want leftovers. Well... I am going to try and make my own. I baked one of the ramekins yesterday and it was delicious, and I put one in the freezer and two in the fridge. We'll see how they do in the freezer some time next week. I will report! I'm also going to try the recipe again with lamb next week... it is time to try lamb. I have promised myself I will try new things, not just because of Whole 30, but because I didn't realize how your taste buds can change from when you were a kid.

Example: I didn't like oranges when I was a kid, so I hadn't eaten them since. When boyfriend and I first started dating, boyfriend offered me some clementines and I said no. Boyfriend asked why, and I said I did not like oranges. Boyfriend asked how long it had been since I'd eaten one. "Since I was like seven." "... just try it and see if you like it now. If you don't I won't ask again." So I did, and I loved them. Then I tried blood oranges and naval oranges and grapefruit and loved those, too.

Sailor Lawrence, that makes me so sad for that one soldier. My father was in the Air Force and he told me about those weigh-ins and physicals. He never had one, but that was because he very diligently ran five miles every day. At noon. In San Antonio. How the man stayed hydrated I will never know, but I am pretty sure he lost most of his weight in pure sweat.

I continue to be SUPER IMPRESSED with all of you who have gone out to eat and stayed compliant. You are an inspiration to me. The only way I can stay compliant at restaurants is to take my own food in a lunchbox. I'm not ready to try and do the ordering yet; that will be something I work on through the next year. (Also: making my own kombucha). AND I WILL SUCCEED AT MAYO. MY TIME WILL COME.

Also for those of you disappointed you haven't felt tiger blood - know that it hasn't been a consistent, every day thing for me. For me, I think this is because it is really hard for me to remember to eat my carbs. I have some sweet potato/butternut squash puree I eat post workout, and I eat sweet potato at least one meal a day, but it's sometimes hard for me to remember what I had which day, and whether I've had a starchy veg that day yet, and whether I need more. However, a couple of days I've been all WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW LET'S GO!!!

We're also doing this in the dead of winter, and I don't know about y'all, but I always find it hard to get out of bed in the winter just because getting up in the dark and going home in the dark and missing out on the sun all day really makes me grind down.

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH YOU GUYS, AND WHOLE 30 IS COMING TO THE PLATE. LET'S KNOCK THIS ONE OUT OF THE PARK.

[Emily Roberts-Springer]

Very proud of myself here because went to a close friend's birthday party last night and 1. stayed compliant 2. baked her favorite salted caramel bread pudding but did not eat any of it - not even tasting as i cooked the custard!  Avoided the wine, brought zoodles to sub for the pasta (our host kindly set aside some of his homeade bolognese for us - made with all fresh ingredients and olive oil - he's a fantastic chef!) and we had a blast.  Plus got my first "you look like you lost weight", which was gratifying.  I still don't feel like I have lost weight, and my clothes haven't gotten looser, sadly, but it was still nice to hear that.  Besides, I've really had a lot of success with sticking to my guns and making better choices this go-round, and I feel really good about that!  

 

Everyone there asked about the plan, and I described it as a whole-foods diet, rather than by what I couldn't eat.  They were all impressed.  I did get a lot of, "What are you going to eat on your first day off the plan?" and I surprised myself by saying that I wasn't sure if I was even going to go off the plan!

 

I am craving homemade hummus, though.    Shockingly, not wine, chocolate, cheese, or anything else that I thought I'd miss.

[Sarah T]

Sarah, if that lump in your throat doesn't clear up, go have your thyroid tested. If blood tests are inconclusive insist on an ultrasound. Not all thyroid disease is caught by the blood work.

 

 

Will do, but today it seems much better. Thank goodness!

[annabel]

Sounds like everyone had successful weekends. I reckon the next 4 days should fly by. 

 

Hubby and I both did our long runs on Saturday.  9 for me, 11.5 for him (he got a bit lost).  He thinks he's running a bit slower than before W30.  I'm running slowly because I'm a huge slacker who can't consistently keep running after a race.  I still need to work a bit on my meal timings for long runs (Probably get out of bed earlier so that I can have both breakfast and a pre-WO meal).  Overall energy is good, just lacking in motivation.  But, now that food is mostly sorted out I need to get into a better habit with my running, I get too easily put off by bad weather.

 

I know this isn't all about the weight loss, but I don't think I'm the only one who thinks it's at least partially about weight loss. And I don't really think I've lost anything.  I'll know in a week, but feeling just a little discouraged that nothing fits differently.  I've only got 10 pounds to lose to get back to my goal weight (that I maintained for a year after losing 30 pounds, before inexplicably putting on 10 in 3 mos, without really changing anything).

 

It's always harder to lose the last bit of weight than the first bit.  And if your diet was mostly pretty good before you started the Whole 30, it's probably not going to help that much.  Maybe you've just gained more muscle?     I gained about 10 lbs in 3 months as well, but I decreased my exercise a lot and have been eating a load of rubbish as well.  I think it's unrealistic to pretend that it isn't partially about weight loss for most people.  Unfortunately, it took most of us a long time to gain our extra weight and 30 days isn't going to be enough to remedy that.

 

Lots of people have been mentioning spending a lot of time reading labels in the grocery store. What are you eating? (Just curious.) I eat mostly veggies and fresh meat which don't really come with labels. (I guess I've already sourced my curry powder, coconut milk etc from last time round.)

 

Today is my big writing day so I suppose I had better crack on with it. Kids are out of the house so it's the only time I get a decent stretch of time without them. 

 

I read the labels on all sorts of things. Pickles, mustard, herbs & spices, dried fruits, hot sauces.  And then soup stocks... mostly hoping that the ingredients have changed since the last time I looked at them.  

 

 

I think that on February 1 I'm going to start to reintro foods, very slowly and take my time with that.  I'm thinking about what I'll add back, and what I don't plan to.  Can I have a day of reintro-ing red wine?    I should probably do that last!  I wonder- I know it is alcohol, but will dry red wine give my lurking sugar dragon a reason to wake up?  I know it doesn't have any residual sugar in it, but because it contains alcohol.....  I guess I'll just reintro it one day, and see what happens.  I've been looking at the "After your Whole 30" forum to see how people are doing their reintros, to get ideas.

 

Thanks for sticking it out together, everyone!! 

 

I've found that wine leaves me with a stuffed up nose the next day, so it is worth reintroducing it on it's own. 

 

Here's my new personal favorite discovery of Whole 30:  my husband eats like a horse, and anything I make for my family, even if I double it, he eats it all.  Now I learned that all I have to do is add some sweet potato or squash to something, and the leftovers are MINE, ALL MINE!!!!  (not being TOTALLY selfish-- it's just that he'll eat anything, pretty much, and my choices are slimmer, so while I always cook for my family, I can mix my leftover spaghetti sauce with my leftover spaghetti squash, thereby guaranteeing that I'll have some to take for lunch the next day. ) 

 

Shhhhhh..... he hasn't caught on yet that I'm doing it on purpose......

 

That used to be my trick.... husband has started requesting sweet potato now.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

[EAH]

I need some advice: I am one week away from the Miami half-marathon. I've been an avid runner for 25 years and this will be my 4th consecutive Miami race but never under the influence of a Whole30. Carbs like pasta, bagels and bread are what professionals recommend and what I've eaten in the past but this is obviously out. I eat sweet potatoes but I want to make sure I have sufficient race fuel and a strong finish. Furthermore, I've fueled with 5 ounces of sports drinks at mile 7 and I am actually nervous to run without an electrolyte replacement drink.

Any ideas what changes I should make in the next six days? And I am concerned I need a drink stronger than water to rehydrate at the mid-race point.

[drtracyb]

Did you post on the Whole30 for Athletes board?

[GFChris]

I need some advice: I am one week away from the Miami half-marathon. I've been an avid runner for 25 years and this will be my 4th consecutive Miami race but never under the influence of a Whole30. Carbs like pasta, bagels and bread are what professionals recommend and what I've eaten in the past but this is obviously out. I eat sweet potatoes but I want to make sure I have sufficient race fuel and a strong finish. Furthermore, I've fueled with 5 ounces of sports drinks at mile 7 and I am actually nervous to run without an electrolyte replacement drink.

Any ideas what changes I should make in the next six days? And I am concerned I need a drink stronger than water to rehydrate at the mid-race point.

 

Ditto checking out the Whole30 for athletes forum. Compliant coconut water is a possibility during your run.

[EAH]

Chris/Tracy: Thank you both! I didn't realize there was a specific athletes board. Going to find it now....

[Jenny2014]

I need some advice: I am one week away from the Miami half-marathon. I've been an avid runner for 25 years and this will be my 4th consecutive Miami race but never under the influence of a Whole30. Carbs like pasta, bagels and bread are what professionals recommend and what I've eaten in the past but this is obviously out. I eat sweet potatoes but I want to make sure I have sufficient race fuel and a strong finish. Furthermore, I've fueled with 5 ounces of sports drinks at mile 7 and I am actually nervous to run without an electrolyte replacement drink.

Any ideas what changes I should make in the next six days? And I am concerned I need a drink stronger than water to rehydrate at the mid-race point.

you'll probably find better advice on the athlete board, but you could read some ingredients on electrolyte tablets. I can't imagine it's much more than salt and potassium.  That and some water should be plenty.  What's your typical half-mary pace?  Will be you be at or under 2 hours?  You won't really need food during that, but with the heat and humidity, you want the electrolytes.  And of course at the end, there WILL be bananas!!  You'll have to provide your own protein option...

 

The whole pre-race pasta thing is overrated IMO.  Yes, the days before your race you want to eat starchier to make sure your glycogen store is full, but that's easy to do with tubers.  I could never eat much for breakfast on race days. 

 

Good luck with your race!  I haven't done one for a long time.... considering maybe just going back to a 5K.  I get hurt when I train for longer miles than that (typically).  Not "varied" enough, movement wise. 

[Miminette]

 

 

 

 

 

Well, to be perfectly honest, the last time I made it I used some recipe I found on the internet, and who knows where that went.  I know it was a sage-based one, because that's what I like.  Here's one to try!  http://queenofthereddoublewide.com/homemade-seasoning-for-breakfast-sausage/  . 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks! I've saved the recipe & will try it :-)

[Miminette]

 

Hi Miminette, frittatas are my breakfast staple! Every few days I chop up a load of veggies - mushrooms, zucchini, red onion, sweet potato, carrot, peppers - and roast them drizzled in olive oil for 40 minutes, turning halfway through, at 400 F.

Then, in a small frying pan/skillet, I heat through a portion of the veggies with some coconut oil (having made a batch, I keep the vegetables in the refrigerator and use them all week). Once the veggies are hot, I whisk up two large eggs and pour these over the veggies. Cook over a medium/low heat until the sides are set and the top is beginning to set. At this point you can add a bit of topping - I love smoked salmon or prosciutto. Then, put it under a hot grill for a little longer until the top is set and golden.

Eat straight away or cool and chill and cut in to slices. Yum.

I had venison recently and felt like it definitely needed a sauce or marinade.

 

Not sure what happened......tried to post response earlier!! I am going to the produce market tomorrow so will pick up some veggies and give this a try.  I love eggs but trying to fix them every morning is not always possible.  Made the venison with a sauce last nite & it turned out great.  We are almost done with our Whole 30!

[lizrincon]

I made the paleo cottage pie from Well Fed, only instead of making it in one big dish, I made it in portioned ramekins. 

 

Oh! That is a wonderful idea. I'll have to get on that too, I am baking and cooking meals to have leftovers for lunch, because I have to take a packed lunch to work (no lunch break, I eat with the students), and one less night I have to go home and make something for dinner/lunch is a win.  

 

 

Everyone there asked about the plan, and I described it as a whole-foods diet, rather than by what I couldn't eat.  They were all impressed.  I did get a lot of, "What are you going to eat on your first day off the plan?" and I surprised myself by saying that I wasn't sure if I was even going to go off the plan!

 

I like your phrasing.. Whole foods diet sounds sooo much better. I know Whole30 is restrictive, and many people just don't think they could live without sugar/bread/cheese (just like I thought before I tried it!).

 

 

 

 

Almost there, yay!

[jodea]

Not sure what happened......tried to post response earlier!! I am going to the produce market tomorrow so will pick up some veggies and give this a try.  I love eggs but trying to fix them every morning is not always possible.  Made the venison with a sauce last nite & it turned out great.  We are almost done with our Whole 30!

Your venison sounds good! Let me know how the frittata goes

Setting off to London for a two day conference with work today. Have let the hotel know my dietary requirements and have a can of albacore tuna in my overnight bag for my pre-gym snack. W30 me, baby! No stopping us now!

[Semolina]

Cookathon today! The challenge for me post W30 is to get this bulk cooking thing nailed into my routine so that I wouldn't skip it anymore than I would skip getting breakfast for the kids ... it's because it's for me that I sometimes think I can skip it when time is tight (in a post W30 world, of course). So, I've run out of food (left over cabbage for breakfast this morning, which is pushing it for me ... I love cabbage, and I even like left-over cabbage, but somehow having it for breakfast is one step too far ... but it was all I had so that's what I ate. I MUST COOK TODAY!) ... and have a list of things to do longer than my arm and I deadline for work for this evening so need to get my backside in gear. *Waves* generally at everyone. Hard to believe we are in the last week of this! Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks of how they've done and what they are ACTUALLY going to do next on day 31!

[jodea]

Semolina, I'm with you. I love cabbage and salads and all manner of veggies but can only seem to stomach roasted vegetables at breakfast. I tried a kale salad once. Blech! Any other time of day I'd be all over it.

[ktothev]

DAY 27! Home stretch. I had a dream last night I ate yogurt (I was like "why am I eating this), and the night before, I had a dream I had a gin & tonic on day 30 (and even in the dream, I was thinking if I was going to cheat on the last day, why didn't I get a glass of red wine?)!

 

It has been great having this thread to commiserate with everyone. I'm wondering...is anyone else completely blown away that they have actually stuck to it, made it this far, and are going to make it the whole 30 days? I guess subconciously, I figured I'd give it a go, and when it got tough I would chuck it. But I didn't. And it did get tough. Very, very tough. I've had to deal with some stuff I never planned on when starting this, and I've done it all without emotional eating or drinking. Or even "convenience eating". Extremely powerful when I think how strong I CAN be.

[Sarah T]

 I'm running slowly because I'm a huge slacker who can't consistently keep running after a race. 

 

Oh, I'm not the only one that does this? I'm so tired of re-training for the half because I run one and then decide to sit on my laurels for a month. lol

 

 Furthermore, I've fueled with 5 ounces of sports drinks at mile 7 and I am actually nervous to run without an electrolyte replacement drink.

 

 

Nuun is probably what you want to go with. No sugar or other junk, just the stuff you need. It tastes like crap, but if you're anything like me by mile 7 you'd drink murky water if it were offered so it won't matter much.  

 

 

Good morning, all! Day 27!

I had a rough weekend - seasonal depression sucks. But I didn't go off plan other than not eating enough. DH actually set a plate of food in front of me on Saturday and ordered me to eat as I had run 6 miles that morning and then not eaten anything (NO desire). So yeah, that's a struggle.

 

During the week it's not so bad as schedule keeps me going. Breakfast before work, lunch at X time, and he cooks dinner when I get home.

 

SO on the good front, I found canned coconut cream this weekend. Whee! I was scooping it off the tops of the cans of coconut milk, but that's a super expensive way to go about it. So I'm thrilled... and have to stop myself from eating it out of the can with a spoon. lol It's like healthy frosting! 

 

Anyway, today I had my hash and eggs for breakfast as usual. Lunch is veggie soup that I made yesterday, plus some lettuce topped with pulled chicken and balsamic vinegar. No clue what dinner is - possibly leftovers from yesterday's braised beef roast.

[djoyce]

Hey all...

 

Final week going strong.  Last night we took out pasure raised, local pork chops but they were still frozen and we worked hard yesterday (cleaned out my whole closet and pantry) and neither my wife or I felt like making dinner.   We used the frozen chops as an excuse to get take out.  My family had burgers and fries (my wife had pountine) and I went for a rotissery chicken and salad (with my own dressing).  I finished it off with a few nuts to round out the meal (while the rest of my family had chocolate mouse).

 

Letting my family enjoy these treats while I stick to the plan (and I picked up all the meals) may seem like a bit of torture but I really don't have any issues when on plan.  I am happy for them to enjoy their dinner and I can happily enjoy mine.

 

I too don't think I really have lost any weight this time round (but we will see).  I have no data as I have not been on the scale since January 1st, but I don't have the same "loss" feeling that I have had with previous W30.  I feel so good, in control and energetic that I really don't care (but it would be nice).  I was tempted to hop on the scale this AM but resisted as the 31st will be here pretty soon.  I remain committed and looking forward to continuing beyond day 30 (except for using the scale on Friday).

 

Cheers

DJ

[annabel]

EAH- I haven't carb-loaded for any of my races.  But then, I'm probably running slow enough that I can burn fat just as easily as carbs. I'd keep what your used to on hand just in case you decide you need it, even though it's not Whole 30, just in case you start to crash and burn.

 

Sarah T- Lol, I really thought it was just me that routinely throws months of good training out the window.  I ran a marathon in August and then went to Mexico for a fortnight.  Then came back and ran a handful of times in September, made it to the gym a handful of times in October and then nothing until January.  I really don't know what my problem is, I guess I just don't enjoy running enough.  It's like, I want to enjoy it, but in reality I prefer sitting inside with a cup of tea reading a book, surfing the internet and other sedentary activities.

I hate eating after I run as well.  I've started having a little post-WO snack, but then will go for hours before I can even think about proper food.

 

Djoyce- I made baked goods for my husband as well as other non-compliant meals during my first Whole 30 and have about 3kg of Haribo in the cupboard right now. When I'm in the Whole 30 mindset, none of that bothers me, I'm not tempted to go off plan in the least.  I have no ability to do moderation, it's all or nothing for me.