My first Whole 30

[springbound]

Well, here goes day 2.

 

I'm new to this whole thing.  I'm a post-op wls patient.  I lost 140 pounds over the past couple of years.  I'm still about 20 pounds from my personal goal and I hate how much crap I was eating (though in much smaller quantities) on the SAD, so here I am.  My wife is jumping into this as well and has been very supportive.

 

I started yesterday, but I am planning on going through March 19 to accommodate a reset for an event where Whole 30 compliant food will be hard to find and in which I want to be able to participate fully.  It's a chili cook off and we're going out of town for it and meeting up with a bunch of friends, and I'm really looking forward to it.  I just didn't want to wait until February 16 to start Day 1 because I keep putting this off for one reason or another. 

 

Yesterday went okay, but I've got a wicked headache and had some kitchen fail last night so I was pretty down about that.  Also, I didn't realize how many soft foods I normally eat. Some of these foods are going down a bit harder than is comfortable (the joys of a post surgery pouch!), so my stomach isn't feeling the best. 

 

Breakfast:  compliant chicken sausages with some mashed sweet potato, brussell sprouts, peppers and onions cooked in coconut oil.  Coffee with coconut cream.

 

Snack:  ½ banana with sunbutter. 

 

Lunch:  Spaghetti squash with an ad hoc chili with ground beef, salsa, and sautéed veggies.

 

Dinner:  ????  Something using ground beef because I have a lot of that to use up.  Something asianish would make the wife happy, so I will figure something out.

[springbound]

I ended up making nom nom paleo's asian meatballs.  They were great, though I think I used a bit too much fish sauce.  Totally yummy though, so I'll be making those again with some adjustments.

 

Day 3 yesterday went okay.  I woke up shaky but that went away after a decent breakfast.  I also had a hard time shoveling, but at least I was off work so I could rest and nap.  I made chicken cacciatore for dinner and it was amazing.  And I used my spiral slicer for the first time to make zoodles.  Spiralize all the things!

 

I'm feeling a bit carb flu-ish.  I've had this feeling before when I did a low carb diet before my wls, so it's familiar, but it still sucks.  I'm hoping that it passes quickly.  As long as it's not the real flu, I can deal.

 

I can't believe how much produce we've gone through this week.  It's good, but holy crap, I don't think I've ever eaten so many vegetables in my life. 

 

Today's food plans:

 

breakfast:  black coffee, chicken sausage over brussell sprouts, onion and pepper and half of a sweet potato.  I need to come up with something less stinky, though, because I use the microwave at work to heat up my food and I've heard a few comments.

 

lunch:  spaghetti squash and taco meat.  again.  So very sick of this, but I have enough for one more day's meals, so I will probably suck it up and eat it tomorrow too.

 

dinner:  ugh.  Not sure.  I still have some chicken so I will probably try to come up with something.  There's also butternut squash needing to be used.

[springbound]

Still hanging in there!  I ended up making a really simple balsamic marinated chicken with squash and green beans on the side.  I need to start planning simpler meals.  We used to eat out a lot, so I'm not used to spending so much time every night cooking.  This meal was perfect--it didn't need a lot of babysitting, but there was still great flavor.

 

I was feeling immensely crappy yesterday.  Headache, vaguely naseous, low grade fever.  Carb flu has definitely set in.  I'm still a bit shaky, but I have a lot of stuff to do, so onward and upward.

 

I didn't really eat yesterday and it wasn't the best day for vegetables.  I slept through breakfast, ate my prepacked breakfast for lunch, had some fruit because it seemed easy to get down, and 6 oz. of leftover chicken for dinner and a banana right before bedtime because I know I needed to eat and I really didn't feel like cooking.  I really need to lay off the fruit today now that I'm feeling slightly more human.  

 

Today is grocery shopping day.  I'm hoping to remember to pick up more light olive oil for my next attempt at mayo and some dried figs to make the kickass ketchup from well fed 2.

 

I did something stupid and got on the scale (hard habit to break).  I'm down about 10 pounds since last week.  There was a brief time post-wls when that would have been almost normal, but now that I'm almost to a "normal" weight, it's a little worrying.  I can't believe I was carrying around that much water weight.  

[Physibeth]

Sounds like you might have had a real bug not just carb flu. Glad you are feeling better. 

 

Please have someone hide your scale. I didn't realize the full impact of this rule until I adhered to it. It is a hard habit to break but it is worth it. 

[springbound]

Thanks, Physibeth!  I will definitely do that.  It's just part of my morning routine and something I do without thinking.  Which is something I'm trying to work on this whole 30.  

 

Finally feeling more human.  Still headachey but I feel like I could actually be functional today.  YAY.

 

Yesterday was grocery shopping day.  Three stores and I was Done after we finished. Physically and emotionally.  (Walking through Trader Joe's was difficult to say the least, and then ignoring the glorious cheese counter at the co-op was nearly impossible.)  We got lots of good things, but it was exhausting.  We both slept a lot, By the time we woke up, we were both starving and I didn't feel like cooking at all, so we ended up the Outback for dinner.  (again, hard habits to break!)

 

food:

 

breakfast:  Chicken sausage, sweet potato, lots of peppers and onions.

 

lunch:  a leftover chicken sausage from breakfast, leftover zoodles with salsa.

 

dinner:  the best choices I could make:  sirloin steak wood-fired with no seasoning, mixed veggies on the side.  I'm sure there was probably something non-compliant in the mix in the kitchen, but I did pretty well IMNSHO since I was considering ending the whole thing.

 

Story:  Wife and I are doing this together, though she's not 100% compliant (still drinks soda--yes, I know.  We've had that talk and she's read the book.  She's drinking it anyway.  ).  While I was out on Friday night, she got sushi for dinner.  The thing is that she's diabetic and has had emergency bathroom issues.  It's been a problem since she's a bus driver so bathroom stops only happen at the beginning and end of her line.  Since she's been eating whole 30, she hasn't had any issues.  She cheats with the sushi and immediately has the runs.  Guess we figured out a trigger!  

 

Today I will make homemade mayo or at least try to.  My last couple of attempts failed miserably.  Wish me luck!

[springbound]

Mayo was a success!  I tried a friend's tried and true recipe using the immersion blender and it worked perfectly.  woohoo!

 

I went to the gym for the first time.  I'm feeling much better, but the treadmill and the short play in the pool wrecked me.  So very tired when I got home.

 

Yesterday's eats: (Day 7)

 

Breakfast:  1/2 banana with cashew butter.  (I was honestly not hungry at all.)

Lunch:  Applegate farms hot dog with sauteed brussel sprouts and onions and ghee. 

Dinner:  Sirloin with simple mixed veg and the other half banana with more cashew butter.

 

snack:  Handful of onion cashews that are compliant. 

 

Today so far:

 

breakfast:  tuna salad over spinach and way too much watermelon. (yay for a breakfast that won't stink up the office.)

lunch:  chicken patty from Trader Joes which I thought was compliant but apparently has canola oil with homemade dressing made with mayo and acv, half a sweet potato with ghee.

 

future:

dinner:  italian meatballs, tomato sauce over spaghetti squash.

 

I need to make some chicken salad as well for breakfast plus figure out the rest of the week.  It's going to be a challenge at work because we're having an ice cream social (I'm new so there's some social pressure) and there's going to be even more treats around because of Valentine's Day.  Strength!

[springbound]

Day 8 in the books!

 

My wife put a pork roast in the crock pot during her midday break for dinner last night so at least the protein was taken care of. (Yay!)  I made mashed cauliflower, onion gravy inspired by nomnompaleo, and some frozen veg blend to go on the side.  It was a yummy dinner, but I cannot tell you how much my brain wanted that mashed cauliflower to be potatoes.

 

I slept pretty well.  The one thing I've noticed is that I fall directly asleep and I have been staying asleep which is normally an issue for me so that's good.  I've been waking up on my own just before my wife's alarm as well.

 

Today's food plan:

 

breakfast:  chicken salad I made last night, apple, coffee (black like my soul), probably some sweet potato later because I'm full from the chicken salad.

lunch:  another chicken patty over sauteed kale with garlic and ghee and the rest of the homemade dressing from yesterday.

snack:  apple with cashew butter packet.

dinner:  probably sausages or hot dogs with sweet potato hash and a salad because I'm going to be home late.

[Physibeth]

I would suggest adding the breakfast sweet potato to your lunch but next time eat the veggies before the fruit.

 

We recommend not planning for snacks as for best results we want you to eat 3 meals a day. If you must eat between meals it should be a mini meal with protein and fat. Save your fruit for part of or directly after your meals. Your apple with cashew butter would be good after lunch of dinner. If you want that cashew butter for a mini meal put it on some celery and have a bit of chicken or a hard boiled egg with it. Remember nuts/nutbutters are a fat for the purposes of W30.

[springbound]

Thanks for the advice!  I really appreciate hearing from people who know all this inside and out since I'm still feeling new to this.

 

The thing about having wls is that I can only eat just so much at once (less than 6 oz generally).  I go for protein first on advice of my doctor, then vegetables and try to get in as much good stuff as I can.  I was eating 5 small meals a day (3 and then 2 "snacks").  The foods I have been eating have been staying with me longer than the crap I was eating.  I had lunch at 12 and knew I wasn't going to have dinner until 8, so I brought the apple and packet of cashew butter so I could eat before the meeting I attended because portable and easy.  The celery is a good idea, though, and I need to figure out protein to go with that can be eaten cold on the run. Hard boiled eggs are a no go because eggs and I do not get along.  I can handle them in things, but on their own ends in badness.

 

I am a work in progress.  Maybe I'll figure this out by the time it's over? :-)

[springbound]

And Day 9 is down!  woot!

 

Plan from yesterday went mostly as written.  I had some mint tea with my apple and cashew butter and ended up making hot dogs with leftover mashed cauliflower and sauteed kale on the side.  I need a tiny break from sweet potatoes for a couple of days.

 

I signed up for my community garden plot for the spring.  Can't wait to have fresh from the garden vegetables again!  I got a lot of great seeds for free, too, so I need to start planning.  Signs of spring even if we're under a winter storm warning.

 

Day 10 plan:

 

breakfast:  chicken salad made with a vinegar dressing mixed with broccoli slaw, apple.  So filling.  Much full.

lunch: more sauteed kale with ghee and garlic and chicken with vinegar dressing and probably a banana.

dinner:  Something italianish.  Probably a meat tomato sauce over spaghetti squash.  Not sure if I will have time to both cook and eat before bowling, though.

 

Tonight will be a challenge.  Wednesday night is my bowling league.  My oldest niece bowls in it as well and her 21st birthday was last week.  We were supposed to celebrate then, but the snow closed the bowling alley and I haven't seen her since.  There will be cake and alcohol.  Not to mention the fact that Wednesday is pizza night--the snack bar has surprisingly good pizza and I would save it for a treat every week.  Again, strength!

 

The more I think about Saturday, the more I hate to break my whole 30 just to have to do 2 more weeks. While I am having random odd cravings for things like cream in my coffee, I'm really not interested in anything that isn't compliant.  I will eat a good breakfast and bring good snacks along and see how it goes.  Who knows, maybe I'll find a compliant chili.  (ha!)

[Physibeth]

Thanks for the advice!  I really appreciate hearing from people who know all this inside and out since I'm still feeling new to this.

 

The thing about having wls is that I can only eat just so much at once (less than 6 oz generally).  I go for protein first on advice of my doctor, then vegetables and try to get in as much good stuff as I can.  I was eating 5 small meals a day (3 and then 2 "snacks").  The foods I have been eating have been staying with me longer than the crap I was eating.  I had lunch at 12 and knew I wasn't going to have dinner until 8, so I brought the apple and packet of cashew butter so I could eat before the meeting I attended because portable and easy.  The celery is a good idea, though, and I need to figure out protein to go with that can be eaten cold on the run. Hard boiled eggs are a no go because eggs and I do not get along.  I can handle them in things, but on their own ends in badness.

 

I am a work in progress.  Maybe I'll figure this out by the time it's over? :-)

 

I must have missed/forgotten the wls part of your story. I do believe for cases like that it is OK to eat smaller more frequent meals if you need to, but if you can handle 3 meals on the low side of the template that is best. You could also have some mini meal foods ready just in case you need them. Chicken or tuna salad would be a nice cold protein you could have as a mini meal. You could also get or make compliant jerky.

 

Stay strong tonight. Pizza, cake, and alcohol are not going to disappear off the planet before your W30 is done. You can celebrate your niece without food. I like your line of thinking towards Saturday too. Is this a thing where people bring chili to share or is it vendors? 

[springbound]

Day 10 in the bag.  Bowling ended up not being an issue because I've got some plumbing problems at home and I wasn't comfortable leaving the house until things were settled/cleaned up.

 

Anyway, being busy taking care of that made dinner not really happen.  Wife picked up a rotisserie chicken and some frozen vegetables for us and heated them up.  I didn't eat the skin and I'm trying hard not to think about what the chicken was cooked in.  

 

I'm struggling.  I'm stressed, there's no water in my house right now, I had to miss a conference call at work to wait for the plumber that I wasn't planning on paying right now, it's snowing *again* and it makes me want to swan dive into a vat of chocolate.  Trying my best to stay as on track as I can.

 

Today's plan:

 

breakfast:  a couple of hot dogs cooked in ghee that I forced down because I knew I needed to eat something and I didn't have anything laying around to just heat up.

 

lunch:  Probably a spinach sausage, sweet potato hash and a pile of vegetables.

 

dinner:  going to make the meat sauce and sausage that I was going to make last night and cook some summer squash. 

[springbound]

Not quite as stressed. I unintentionally ended up with a 5 day weekend because I woke up to another foot of snow this morning. I definitely got some exercise digging out the 4.5 foot snow bank at the end of my driveway and then another 3 foot one about an hour later.

Still chugging along.

Breakfast: spaghetti squash with meat sauce, cashews.

Lunch: sweet potato with onions and spinach and a spinach sausage.

Dinner: chicken soup?

[springbound]

So, Day 13 was the chili fest and we went and had a good time and I definitely ate non-compliant food.  I tried not to turn it into a free-for-all, but we ended up going out to dinner and Starbucks.  Gah.  I hate how easy it was to fall back in.  It was like the past couple of weeks never existed.  I do feel crappy this morning--slow and tired.

 

So, back on the wagon today.  Coffee is brewing and I've got my coconut cream at the ready.  Grocery shopping later.

 

Today's plan:

 

*  Leftovers of some sort.  There's still spaghetti squash and meat sauce.  There's the chicken soup I made to ward off the snowy cold on Friday.  There's sweet potato latke-esque things my wife made that would be good with a sausage on the side.  I'll figure something out.

 

*  More leftovers?

 

*  Roasting a chicken for dinner I think.  Mashed cauliflower and something gravy-like on the side.

 

Need to make mayo!  Like yesterday.

[Physibeth]

So, Day 13 was the chili fest and we went and had a good time and I definitely ate non-compliant food.  I tried not to turn it into a free-for-all, but we ended up going out to dinner and Starbucks.  Gah.  I hate how easy it was to fall back in.  It was like the past couple of weeks never existed.  I do feel crappy this morning--slow and tired.

 

 

Use this as a learning experience. Good for you for restarting right away. And the past 2 weeks did exist. Think of them as the practice round before the real race. Also consider how much has changed in just 2 weeks...you probably would not feel as bad today if you hadn't felt so good before. Let that reinforce what a difference these changes are making for you and keep your eye on the prize. You can do it!

[springbound]

Still chugging along on my new Day 2.

 

breakfast:  Brussels sprouts with onions cooked in bacon drippings (omg yum), a couple of spinach sausages, sweet potato with ghee, a couple of spears of pineapple.

 

lunch:  some kind of leftovers.  Probably soup.

 

dinner:  taco salads?  Have to check with wife to see what she feels like.

 

 

I made mayo yesterday but I have another egg at room temp so I might make more.  It's not like we won't eat it.  I also need to get some breakfasts and lunches put together for the next few days.  Back to work after my impromptu snowbound vacation. 

[springbound]

Day 3 of the reboot.

 

Back to work.  :-/

 

I tried making bbq sauce last night.  It came out okay, but I'm still not happy. 

 

breakfast:  tuna with homemade mayo and lots of celery, carrots and onions and a banana.  I had no greens so no additional veggies.

 

lunch:  sweet potato patties and a turkey burger with mayo.

 

dinner:  um??  I think maybe asian stir fry.  Need to find a recipe for sauce.

[springbound]

So one thing I'm noticing is that I'm generally sleeping well, but man, I cannot stay up past 9.  I don't get up any earlier, but I am wiped by 8:45.  Like so tired I can't see straight tired.  I'm sleeping through the night for the most part and that's a good thing.  I miss having some more time after work in the evenings and feeling like such a fogey. :-/  I'm also starting to train for my half and I was hoping to run in the mornings to get it out of the way, but I'm afraid if I get up earlier, I'll barely be awake by 8.

[Physibeth]

So one thing I'm noticing is that I'm generally sleeping well, but man, I cannot stay up past 9.  I don't get up any earlier, but I am wiped by 8:45.  Like so tired I can't see straight tired.  I'm sleeping through the night for the most part and that's a good thing.  I miss having some more time after work in the evenings and feeling like such a fogey. :-/  I'm also starting to train for my half and I was hoping to run in the mornings to get it out of the way, but I'm afraid if I get up earlier, I'll barely be awake by 8.

 

How many hours of sleep are you getting? How different is that number from before?

[Zellyb]

Way to be strong after the need for a restart.  I've been fighting some fatigue as well which I hoped would be gone at this point (Day 16), but I've also been fighting off a cold for the last two weeks, so I'm guessing that's a big factor.  Good luck on your continued restart.  You can do it.

[springbound]

My bed times are pretty consistent.  I usually average about 8 hours.  Nothing other than diet has changed.  It's not the kind of tired I can push through--it's like I have to go to bed now and it's not optional.  It's feels sort of like when I used to take ambien. 

 

*shrugs*  I'm awake during the day and not falling asleep at work or during my commute, so I'm not terribly worried.

[springbound]

Bed early again last night, but it was mostly because the stirfry that I made didn't really agree with me.  My sleeve does not appreciate overcooked chicken. 

 

Plan for today:

 

breakfast:  tuna with lots of celery, carrots. a spear of watermelon.  Got really full very quickly, though, so I will do a second breakfast.

 

lunch:  leftover cauliflower rice and some of the stirfried veggies and a chicken sausage.

 

dinner:  hotdogs, kraut and a salad

[springbound]

Day 5 redux.  

 

Bowling last night was okay.  It's still weird not to eat pizza, but it was helpful that the team I was bowling against wasn't eating either so I wasn't tempted by an errant fry here and there.

 

I'm going to try to go to the gym for a while tonight after work.  Half marathon training needs to start like yesterday, so I need to get my butt in gear.  On a related note, I had a very vivid dream about running.  Still no real food dreams.

 

Everything yesterday was about what I planned, though I ended up cooking brussells sprouts to eat with my hot dog and kraut since I was cooking for lunch today as well.

 

Today's plan:

 

M1:  chicken sausage cooked in bacon fat, 1/2 white sweet potato with ghee, watermelon spear.

 

M2:  chicken sausage, brussells sprouts and cauliflower rice cooked with bacon fat.

 

M3:  Some kind of hot mess in a pan.  I won't be getting home until late, so it's going to have to be quick. 

[springbound]

Day 6! 

 

I exercised last night.  I need to plan better for pre- and post-workout snacks.  And making sure I have veggies for breakfast. 

 

The run yesterday was tough, but I've been inconsistent with any training lately, so it was expected.  I did manage to get in 5K, though and I was exhausted by the time I got to bed last night. 

 

Dinner ended up being a turkey burger with broccoli and spaghetti squash on the side.  Fast and good. 

 

breakfast:  tuna with mayo, a small sweet potato with ghee and some watermelon.

 

lunch:  turkey burger with mayo and broccoli

 

dinner:  Hopefully Chipotle.

[GFChris]

 

dinner:  Hopefully Chipotle.

If you end up at Chipotle, the following web page will help you to stay compliant. https://www.chipotle.com/en-us/menu/ingredients_statement/ingredients_statement.aspx

Generally, the carnitas should be safe (check with your local restaurant) - everything else is cooked in non-compliant oil.