Another February 3rder

[Rkrzywda]

I like the food, but I'm getting to the point where i need to branch out to try new foods. This means learning how to cook a new food, which is hard to find time for. I'm trying to find a balance.

I don't have a significant change in energy. But my cravings have gone down. I do find big desires to snack and it really feels like a desire to chew more than a wish for any particular flavor. I wish I could chew gum.

I had a real challenge today. We are staying the night in a hotel and I had a MAJOR panic attack. I haven't had one like this in over a year. It hits my stomach so badly and completely empties me among other things. Because of the stomach issues, it makes me start to put rules on myself about what is safe to eat. I usually turn to eating bread like foods for safety and comfort. I had packed food to eat, but I didn't want gassy vegetables or the peppery chicken cutlet. I wanted the pretzels that I packed for the kids snacks. I wanted them. But I settled for an apple instead. No protein, but I still feel like I've won a small battle.

Your posts keep me going. This is not easy for me. I'm an all or nothing girl whom is learning a lot about herself these past weeks. Keep it up!

[JohannaE]

Also, I was having some hypoglycemia problems in the mornings after eating breakfast and drinking coffee. I haven't had one problem with low blood sugar since starting Whole30. :-) 

 

I have always had this problem!  It's like I can have a great big breakfast and then I drink coffee and I get this faux hunger feel.  I've never been quite sure if it was the coffee or the Splenda I've always put in it.  I do still sometimes experience it on Whole30, but not as bad.  I think that's because I'm drinking less coffee though, so it's probably the coffee itself.  Glad to hear this is something that other people have noticed!  

 

Along those lines, Splenda and fake sweeteners are one of the (few) things that I am going to try my darndest to completely leave behind when all reintroductions are said and done!  I've used it for so many years that the problem isn't even that I wouldn't be willing to take the calories from sugar or something more natural (agave)... the problem is that those things don't taste sweet anymore compared to Splenda! 

[Janie2577]

Are any of you Feb3rders planning to go beyond your first Whole30 and do a Whole60, etc.?  I'm feeling like since I haven't felt the "magic" yet that I may need to keep going but there are 12 days left and I am having some bursts of tiger blood so maybe it's coming. 

[Zellyb]

Are any of you Feb3rders planning to go beyond your first Whole30 and do a Whole60, etc.?  I'm feeling like since I haven't felt the "magic" yet that I may need to keep going but there are 12 days left and I am having some bursts of tiger blood so maybe it's coming. 

I've considered going beyond the Whole 30 but am waiting it out for now.  I can't say I've felt any major improvements from the new way of eating so far.  My husband definitely has though so I'm very happy for him.  I'm going to give it the entire time before I make any decisions about whether to continue on with the restrictions or begin to reintroduce some things to see how it goes.  I'm really hoping at some point I get some of that magic, but so far not so much.

 

Still, it's decidedly easier now than it was 17 days ago and I find myself generally satiated and no longer fighting cravings even though I still have those occassional moments of missing candy or alcohol or sugar in my coffee, but those moments are fewer and more fleeting than before.  Still, I'd love to get to experience tiger blood, so I hope that's on its way.

[Rkrzywda]

Are any of you Feb3rders planning to go beyond your first Whole30 and do a Whole60, etc.? I'm feeling like since I haven't felt the "magic" yet that I may need to keep going but there are 12 days left and I am having some bursts of tiger blood so maybe it's coming.

I'm planning to continue in some form. My birthday is in early March so I may just have a piece of cake and a glass of wine and carry on for a second 30 from there.

No tiger blood for me either, but I am feeling better than I had.

[JohannaE]

30 days will be enough for me!  There are certainly lessons I will be taking with me though.

[Susan H]

30 days will be enough for me!  There are certainly lessons I will be taking with me though.

Same here! I'm now counting down the days until I'm done. Lol.

[KAE8886]

I need to extend an extra week anyway, but after that I think I'm going to do a very slow and cautious re-introduction of all things I think may still be ok food choices for me for instance full fat grass fed fermented dairy. I want to give the reintroduction period a good amount of focused time so I can really see what is affecting what. I know that taking EVERYTHING out feels good. But item by item, what feels more or less bad? I know I will have to remain fairly strict to give this a full and honest evaluation.

 

Anyway I ramble. Point is I want to have my cheesecake immediately after day 30, but I'm going to hold off until I've made a full evaluation of other important food categories before I alter my system with cheesecake hedonism.   Oooo, I know exactly what kind of cheesecake its going to be too.   

[NJ2FL2CA]

I meant to post this earlier this week but as long as i tell u guys thats whats important. So...I am a daily weigher. I wanted to follow the rules to the tee so I put my scale and brand new body fat analyzer in the garage for my Whole30. And I must say I TOTALLY understand why this is a rule. It is so uplifting and a huge relief to not have to worry about my weight. I have no clue how much I lost or how much I will lose and I don't care! I know I will lose everything I need to lose eventually. I am finally doing everything right...eating right...working out regularly. I have always been a non-believer in the # on the scale, which is why I brought the body fat analyzer. After the Whole30 I plan to use that to meet goals.

[JohannaE]

Yesterday night and the night before were the first two times I've gone out and done anything social since starting the Whole30.  I know that sounds crazy since it was days 18 and 19, but there just hasn't been that much going on that I want to do (I picked this month for a reason!) and I suppose to some extend it's because I'm the planner of friends and I haven't been planning things.

 

Anyways, Wednesday night I went to a cute little French restaurant with my book club.  I looked at the menu beforehand to see if there was anything that might work or that might not be too hard to modify, but in the end I just decided to eat first.  All of their dishes had sauces with wines and butter etc.  While it was moderately awkward being the only one at a table of ten not eating, most of them know I'm doing the Whole30 so it really wasn't that bad. (Other than staring at delicious French food for two hours... seriously, couldn't this have been one of the months where we picked a place that wasn't that good?!)

 

Then last night my craft brew club met.  This usually entails a good bit of drinking and snacking.  I'd planned to again eat ahead of time since I figured it would be easier, but my friend who was hosting was being super nice finding all sorts of paleo appetizers to try, so I figured I'd give it a go.  I even made paleo sushi for the event!  I made myself a plate of food (sushi, zucchini hummus with veggies, deviled eggs with avocado filling), but then I continued to snack.  Mindless snacking, especially at events like this, are one of the things I'm really trying to overcome with the Whole30.  Sure, it's no problem when you're eating 95% veggies, but that's not usually the food I'm snacking on.  So while I was proud of myself for staying 100% compliant and watching friends drink delicious craft beers, I was a little disappointed in myself for snacking.  Definitely something I still need to work on.

 

Tonight is a birthday party at a wine and cheese bar, so the willpower is going to have to continue to hold!  AHHH!

[Zellyb]

Great updates, everyone.  The willpower is amazing, isn't it?  And, I have to say, that in many respects it's been easier than I thought it would be to resist the cravings.  Sure, I'd like to go out with some work friends to have a beer, but I do know I could be completely content to drink black coffee and just enjoy the company.  It's empowering and exciting to take control of what I put in my mouth rather than feeling like I'm doing it on autopilot.  I still find myself sometimes thinking about reaching for something and then realizing, nope.  But, it tells me how often I was actually eating mindlessly before.

 

I don't remember if I shared this here before or not, but a work friend has done the Whole 30 before and he said to me, "It really makes you eat with intention."  That has been my mantra ever since.  No eating for no reason.  If I'm putting food in my mouth there is an intention behind it.  I think that's pretty great.

 

This stupid cold is finally starting to lessen its grip on me and I feel great today.  Hoping this is the beginning of tiger blood.

 

Keep it up, guys.  We are doing fantastic!!!

[Susan H]

Well we're 2/3 done now. This next 10 days can't go fast enough. I'm no longer enjoying this. I feel so restricted and like it's restricting my social life.

[Rkrzywda]

Hang in there Susan H! You've got this! I'm getting bored of it at times. Need to shake things up.

I'm celebrating today though because I just got back from nieces birthday party and I didn't really crave anything. I ate ahead so I wasn't hungry. Good thing, because there wasn't a single compliant option tthere. I'm so stinking proud of myself!

[GFChris]

Well we're 2/3 done now. This next 10 days can't go fast enough. I'm no longer enjoying this. I feel so restricted and like it's restricting my social life.

 At times like this, it can help to revisit the reasons you decided to do a Whole30 and what goals you had. Use those to motivate you forward. Shake things up with some new recipes, veggies or proteins.

[Susan H]

At times like this, it can help to revisit the reasons you decided to do a Whole30 and what goals you had. Use those to motivate you forward. Shake things up with some new recipes, veggies or proteins.

That's the problem. I'm not really feeling any different. I thought my energy and sleep were better at first, but now I'm back to how I felt before the Whole30. Like my husband said, I'm not feeling the return on investment. So now I feel tired AND deprived. I just want an occasional beer or sweet or Starbucks. Or to be able to go out to eat. I like the food I'm eating and I like the paleo approach, but I'm just ready to have my "freedom" back. Obviously I'm choosing to do this, so I can quit at any time, but for now I'm planning on sticking with it just in case I have some sort of miraculous breakthrough in the next 10 days. :-)

[GFChris]

That's the problem. I'm not really feeling any different. I thought my energy and sleep were better at first, but now I'm back to how I felt before the Whole30. Like my husband said, I'm not feeling the return on investment. So now I feel tired AND deprived. I just want an occasional beer or sweet or Starbucks. Or to be able to go out to eat. I like the food I'm eating and I like the paleo approach, but I'm just ready to have my "freedom" back. Obviously I'm choosing to do this, so I can quit at any time, but for now I'm planning on sticking with it just in case I have some sort of miraculous breakthrough in the next 10 days. :-)

You could post 2-3 days worth of your food log in the Troubleshooting section and see whether folks have any suggested tweaks that may make a difference for you.

[KAE8886]

Well we're 2/3 done now. This next 10 days can't go fast enough. I'm no longer enjoying this. I feel so restricted and like it's restricting my social life.

Hi Susan, 

 

I feel you on the social life thing. Its getting hard on me too, though I don't feel the pain so much elsewhere. I have had a social going out to eat thing every day since Wednesday and am leaving for a conference tomorrow till Wednesday. I was just feeling relaxed like I could finally eat at home when i realized I have this trip. Taking food on the plane is hard so I will have to try and run out to a grocery store while I'm there and try to find some compliant food I can sneak into the exhibit hall with me while trying to coordinate a bunch of other stuff. 

 

My boyfriend took me out to a wonderful, pastured animal, organic produce, fairly conscious restaurant that he had researched before hand to be "paleo friendly." God bless him, but there was still so little I could eat on the menu even after making pretty aggressive adaptations to the items. It was a lovely meal, but it still left me feeling kind of exhausted with this. 

 

I am really looking forward to making good choices at restaurants instead of making perfect choices. At home is a different story. I've been saving a bunch of items on a top shelf that I though I might use again, but after this experience I threw them out. I emptied my giant jar of wheat flower, gave away my sriracha and brown rice, and got rid of a bunch of different soups and more. While I don't want to be so strict when I'm out anymore, I feel strongly enough about my results on this program that I want to keep my kitchen as whole30 as possible. 

[NJ2FL2CA]

That's the problem. I'm not really feeling any different. I thought my energy and sleep were better at first, but now I'm back to how I felt before the Whole30. Like my husband said, I'm not feeling the return on investment. So now I feel tired AND deprived. I just want an occasional beer or sweet or Starbucks. Or to be able to go out to eat. I like the food I'm eating and I like the paleo approach, but I'm just ready to have my "freedom" back. Obviously I'm choosing to do this, so I can quit at any time, but for now I'm planning on sticking with it just in case I have some sort of miraculous breakthrough in the next 10 days. :-)

Do you like steak? I don't see why you can't go out to eat. You can even go to Applebees and get a steak with shrimp and veges. Stock up on gluten-free beer to try after the Whole30. Plan what you want to reintroduce in 9 short days. I haven't had any great revelations yet but I think its because I was eating an 80/20 pale lifestyle for about 4 months before I finally did the Whole30. I am ok with that. The only issue I have is my weight. When I started the Whole30 I was 5'6 and 235 pounds. I am certain I will lose weight but I don't care if I don't. There's no argument that this way of eating is the healthiest you can get. That's my revelation. I can eat healthy and enjoy it. Who knew!? Another revelation is that when this is all over I am certain that my fav ice cream won't taste the same. Candies won't be worth it and so on. I have the worse sweet tooth and that revelation will be the best one yet. So in all...stay positive. Find the good and exciting in what you do daily. Don't think of the Whole30 as losing your freedom. I think of it as breaking through my restrictions of stressing about my weight because as long as I continue to eat healthy and workout I won't have to.

[NJ2FL2CA]

As for the social life, please guys don't restrict yourself. I am a lil worried a lot of us are getting discouraged by the restrictions and how they affect us out in the world. I have been to a friend's birthday party, a going away party, and a tri-tip cook off since February 3rd. It all makes me regret waiting two days so I could start after the Superbowl. I was able to say no to so much this month. I count that as a win. I am not sad about missing out on getting drunk or discouraged because I bought fried cauliflower at the cook off without thinking it was probably breaded in wheat flour and had to give it away. We got this!! Be happy! Get excited!! Motivate others!! Be an example!! 9 MORE DAYS!!!!

[Rkrzywda]

I'm with you NJ2FL2CA! It's all about perspective! Keep it up everyone! Dig deep! Remember your goals and celebrate how far we have come!

[JohannaE]

This morning I ate out for what will be the last time until my Whole30 is done.  I've eaten out a total of three times.  The first time at Fogo de Chao was awesome.  Last night proved to be a bit more difficult and this morning was the final straw.  

 

I went out to brunch with a group of girlfriends.  It was an all you can eat all you can drink deal, but I of course ordered a la carte.  I told the server and the manager all of my restrictions before hand and the manager was super helpful about what I could and couldn't have.  But then they brought out the Brussels sprouts deep fried in a soy/canola oil blend.  It took me a few bites and the discovery of a potato to realize the mistake and the manager apologized profusely and brought me the correct brussels sprouts.  

 

Am I disappointed?  Very.  But it was out of my control.  I did my due diligence and then some, and they messed up.  So far, no bad reactions, and I'm not going to start over after 21 days for three brussels sprouts fried in soy.  But it certainly is frustrating, and certainly highlights the danger for people with true food allergies!

 

In addition to just not ever really being sure what you're going to get, eating out on the Whole30 is generally a waste of money.  You can't experience the meals the way they were meant to be made and just don't get your money's worth!  I will be cooking at home until this Whole30 is over, and YES I'm excited about the freedom!  I honestly really don't miss any foods at all (except sweet coffee!), but I miss being a normal person at a restaurant.  It's one thing to make wise food choices, it's another to be a crazy person.  This feels like the latter to me.

[Zellyb]

Hi, everybody,

 

I hear you on the getting tired of the work and deprivation.  Today we did a big party for my son's 16th birthday and it was tough to not eat several of the things we served as well as no dessert.  But, we made it and I feel good for knowing I can choose to not eat things rather than feeling like food has power over me.  Still it will be nice to again be able to indulge in the occasional treat.  We are down to single digits left and that's exciting.  I am definitely starting to think about life after the Whole 30 and figuring out how to take the great things we've learned and make this part of our new life.  Stay strong everyone.  We've done great so far and we can finish this strong.

[khodgdon80]

Well we are in our final 7-8 days.  What I have learned to this point is such a valuable lesson in how bad I was before this all started.  I have found food I never liked before that I enjoy now. (Avocado, salmon, shrimp).  I sleep so well at night now, my coworkers have been so supportive of this and have done everything they can to not bring stuff into work that may be tempting, they even encouraged me on Friday when I wanted to cheat so bad because it was my wife's birthday and we were going out to eat.  I got like 10 text messages of encouragement when alls I wanted was mashed potatoes and gravy.  

The cooking doesn't bother me as I LOVE to cook and was always raised on fresh vegetables and fresh raised meat.  I have had the weirdest  cravings for wild game though (I used to hunt all the time in my teens and early twenties), finally found a place that had venison and elk to help satisfy the cravings.  I have passed the book "It starts with food" around to so many people that I will be doing another whole 30 after this one to help two good friends get their life back on track.  I did this one on my own and my wife has said she has no willpower and can't do it but I find her asking me about things I can and cannot eat all the time.  I've found things when we go out to eat as we will make sure to go to places that will have atleast chicken and steamed vegetables.  I do miss scotch and whiskey though.  I have a weekly engagement with friends where we drink a couple glasses of scotch and smoke cigars, this has had to be put on hold and will be for another 30 days.  

I have noticed some weight loss as I wake up and everything feels right, and I actually had to move the belt down a notch this past Wednesday.  The energy is the best part and I can tell when I haven't had enough protein and the crash is coming.  I've been having a hard time with getting breakfast out of my head and focusing on meal 1.  Its weird to me to be eating steak and leafy greens for breakfast. (I'm not an egg fan at all).  I have made BBQ sauce, Mayo, Creamy Avocado dressing, salsa, and balsamic dressings.  I hope everyone else is still chugging along and I look forward to hearing from you guys again soon.  

Talk to you guys soon.

[NJ2FL2CA]

Great job khodgdon80!! I loved your post. I'm glad there are people who are feeling great and seeing the upside of this. Your post has made me decide to help a friend out too. I gave her my book it too. She starts on Mon. I won't be doing the Whole30 but I'll go the 1st wk w her since that's the toughest part.

[JohannaE]

I'm actually feeling very empowered by this.  While I am irritated by the difficulty of going out to eat, it's not because I feel like I am missing out.  Although my freinds' food looks awesome, and yes sometimes I would like a bite, I always feel great afterwards that I either passed up on food because I ate first or found something Whole30 approved to eat. I know I would have felt bad later anway had I eaten junk, and instead I leave feeling positive about what I put in my body and very in control. 

 

The part that I am totally over is the stringency of the rules.  Since I don't appear to have any allergies or intolerances, I really feel like if I'm at a restaurant if I can't see it it's not going to hurt me.  It's silly to ask a million questions about preparation.  For me, the benefit from this is about making good food choices, not about making sure there's not a trace amount of soy on my salmon.