Inspired to stop making excuses.

[Aberrantatavia]

I'm so inspired by all of you that I decided to start being publically accountable today. I was going to wait until after vacation that starts Friday (already making excuses) but after reading here and then reading Melissa's vacation blog post, I decided to just do it.

I've always had a "good" diet, always made everything from scratch, worked out and have been generally healthier than most. About 5 years ago I started doing a mostly paleo diet with raw foods and protien. I go up and down but I always have some kind of dairy, even if it's mostly raw.

I'm not as healthy as I would like to be, and as i need to be, and I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out why since i certainly eat far better than most. The whole 30 makes perfect sense and so I bought the book Tuesday and pseudo started it on Wednesday. I have had cream in my coffee, one ice cream, and a glass of wine with dinner. Everything else has been compliant.

I'm going to either stop drinking coffee or drink it with coconut milk this week. I'm going to cut out the wine for this week, and I'm going to focus on eating as many compliant meals as I can. Friday I go on vacation and I will allow myself some indulgences, but I think I can make it through 10 days without feeling gross and horrible.

It's hard for me to get up and eat on the weekends, so today I had brunch at around 11, which was ground elk with sweet potatoes and spinach. It was delicious. I got a bit hungry while I was cooking it and had 2 deviled eggs (made with avocado and homemade mayo). Its almost 2 and I'm not at all hungry but I will probably eat soon as if I don't meal 3 will be very late.

I think I might go pick up some cranberry juice as well to put a splash of it in my seltzer water tonight to not miss wine so much.

And I'm off to clean out the fridge from all the things I won't be eating for the next few weeks, if not for the rest of my life. I'll throw the good stuff in the freezer and give it away if I have no desire for it after whole 30. Some stuff I'll just toss altogether. I'm still shocked at some of the things that have sugar in them! I can't find horseradish. I had to buy root. Which I'm ok with but it would be nice to find in a jar

[habitualpurpose]

Kudos for not putting it off and diving right in! Best wishes on your Whole30!

[Aberrantatavia]

Thank you for the encouragement!

Day 1 was good, I cooked and was generally productive. I usually find myself needing an afternoon "break" of some sort, but I just realized its 9 at night and I didn't experience any dip in energy today. I'm tired now and ready for bed, but that's not unusual as I get up early. I usually don't fall asleep until 1030 or 11 and I'd like to get that to around 9 most nights, as I get up at 330.

Meal 1 was late, and messed me up for meal 2 and 3. I ate around 430 and had zucchini ribbons with roasted almond topping and some boars head kielbasa. It was delectable. Around 630 I really really wanted a glass of wine. It's a comfort thing for me at night, to read or do homework or journal and enjoy that glass of wine. But I resisted. Not because I wanted to, but because I feel I owe it to myself to be 100% compliant before vacation. So I got a can of seltzer and splashed a bit of cranberry juice in it - and read through some encouraging success stories here.

I never got hungry for meal 3 so I skipped it. I'll do better next weekend, although I didn't feel out of whack. We will see if it effects tomorrow.

I still want my wine. I just want hormonal balance a bit more right now.

I repeat, Day 1 was good.

[Emily]

Woohoo! Nice start!

[apreston]

Ground elk sounds delicious, I might be a little jealous there. Sounds like you've made a great start as Emily said. Habits are so hard to break, I've heard it helps to try to replace a habit with a new one.

[Aberrantatavia]

The elk was good in a skillet meal, but I don't think it would have enough flavor for a burger, at least not for me. But it was good

Thanks for the encouragement, it really helps! My head tells me this is just like any other tape, I can keep the old one or write a new one.

Although I do sort of sound strange repeating over and over to myself that I am ok and on Friday I will drink wine.....

[Aberrantatavia]

Day 2: Started poorly. Didn't get up in time to go to the gym, did some stretching at home. Was very hungry on the way to work and couldn't grab anything out of my bag (note to self) so was starving when I arrived at work. Grabbed a couple of deviled eggs at 630 along with a cup of coffee. Brain fog didn't go away. Ate breakfast at 830, brain fog disappeared within 30 minutes.

Lesson: 14 hours without fuel is not healthy for me.

Ate chicken breast, sweet potato with ghee (I could totally live on this) and leftover kale and pomegranate with coconut milk sauce. I wasn't really hungry but once I started eating I felt better.

Now drinking seltzer, no brain fog, hopefully Day 2 gets better.

Also remembered to take my Vit D after not taking it for 2 days.

[Aberrantatavia]

Ate meal 2 late again, it was the rest of the zucchini ribbon stuff and some kielbasa. it's 8 pm and I'm not hungry at all. Maybe I need to shift my meals really early since I get up early. I was cranky this morning. It once my fog lifted I was good for the day. Just got home and no energy slump.

[Aberrantatavia]

Derailed myself… but I'm back on track J

Monday night I had a beer with a friend. Totally worth it and I only had one light beer.

Tuesday morning I get up late, have to get my car registered and my whole morning is shot before it starts. Get to work late and eat some kielbasa and cucumbers. Run to the airport to greet my family that flew in. Back to work for a long afternoon. Ate some chicken and sweet potato with ghee around 3:30.

Met a friend for dinner but he was late and I brought some work with me. Saddled up to the bar and got a glass of wine. This turned into 3 as well as fried pickles with some chemically enhanced sauce and a salad that wasn't too bad, with more chemically enhanced dressing.

What would have been “not too bad†a couple of weeks ago was not that good (ok, the pickles might have been worth it, but just one, not 5) and I ate it anyway, made me feel like crap and all I wanted to do was go to bed and start a new day.

This morning I had my coffee with coconut milk, some chicken and sweet potato and just had a few macadamia nuts. I feel better already and DO NOT want to derail myself again. My “is it worth it†scale is already changing, which I'm very happy with!

[Aberrantatavia]

Meal 2 was beef and sweet potato skillet with spinach. And some cherries and a few cashews around 3. Dinner was a salad of some chicken and walnuts and homemade ranch dressing over a bed of greens and tomatoes. I didn't eat much of it and the. A little later had some strawberries and coconut milk.

Good day.... Still feel like I recovered all day from my bad choices though.

[Aberrantatavia]

Thursday and Friday weren't bad, I didn't eat much but I ate well. Being busy at work makes me realize how prepared I have to be. Last night I had a glass of wine while I got my pedicure, but only a small one. Not bad.

This morning I ate a homemade donut, but just a bite. I made them for the kids for vacation so I tried one. And now I'm having an iced coffee with cream in it because I was late and not organized. But I'm going home shortly to pack up good food to take with me this weekend, so I'm hoping to stay as focused as possible

[Emily]

I'm not quite sure if you are doing a Whole30 yet or if you are waiting until after your vacation, but if you are doing a Whole30 here are a few thoughts:

I'm pretty sure that any gluten can mess with your thirty day reset of your system. You might consider starting over or adding more days at the end to see how you are when you are truly thirty-days gluten free.

Also, and I want to say this as kindly as possibly, doing a Whole30 requires a flat-out solid commitment. You might re-read ISWF or the Success Guide for some tough love. Obviously, I'm only reading your log—I don't know you at all and perhaps you haven't started your Whole30 yet—but it sounds like you are allowing yourself some slips.

The first week is really hard. For me at least, it gets easier once you get some days under your belt and start feeling and seeing results!

Good luck! Keep being aware of why you are making certain choices... awareness is huge!

[Aberrantatavia]

Back from vacation and today is the "real" day 1 of my whole 30.

First, Emily, thank you for your words of wisdom. I didn't officially start my whole 30 until today, but used Melissa's method of prepping for vacation and then making the best choices possible while on vacation.

So instead of coming home feeling awful and bloated, I simply feel ready to start my whole 30. I also didn't gain any weight, which is impressive since I was probably around 75% compliant and didn't do anything but run the beach in the mornings.

This morning was eggs with avocado and salsa. I might be stuck with more eggs for lunch as I haven't gone shopping yet. I'm throwing some sweet potatoes in the oven in a moment and then walking to the farmers market store near my house. I'll cook tomorrow for the week so I'm prepared.

I think I'll try this without coffee, as I've not had any for 3 days and it seems to be ok with no headaches etc. definitely something I will add back in after whole 30, but I'd like to see what caffeine really does to me.

So I feel like my prevacation and vacation efforts were worthwhile and I'm ready to go!

[Aberrantatavia]

Lunch yesterday was fish taco salad with some avocado and salsa. I had another handful of nuts as well as a couple of frozen strawberries with coconut milk. Dinner was the rest of the fish I cooked along with a sweet potato. I realized there wasn't much for green food yesterday and bought some additional greens at the store this morning. I'm going to start cooking soon, so I'll be prepped for the week. Its raining here in New England so it's a good day to cook and clean.

This mornings breakfast was steak and sweet potato with ghee. No coffee day 4.

Im not sure if it's whole 30 or post vacation exhaustion, but I went to bed at 7 last night and slept till 6 this morning, only waking up once. I normally sleep 4 or so hours a night so this is different for sure. But I've been out on the beach in the sun and had my entire family around for the last 10 days so it could be that.

Time to get some cooking done!

[kcrady57]

Grats on getting started with your Whole 30! I was a bit worried as I read through your log until I realized that you weren't 'officially' starting until after vacation. I've tried to be 'mostly' paleo in the past and I've had problems everytime - without completely eliminating the grains, that slice of pizza looks sooo good, and just one won't hurt... only one slice leads to another, and then since I've already messed up why not have ice cream for dessert... the next day I figure one more meal and then I'm back on track, so I go get some doughnuts - and so on and so on.

It really opened my eyes when I read the first chapter or so of ISWF and realized the extent of my addiction to sugar and processed carbs. Any off-roading I do post-Whole 30 needs to be carefully planned in advance, and not impulsive. I'm just blessed that my SO is joining me on this journey, and we support each other every step of the way.

Enjoy that long and restful sleep!

[Aberrantatavia]

Kaye, you are absolutely right, I've gone down a slippery slope every time I veer from the path. I'm really excited to see what this whole 30 will do for me on various levels

I was hungry around 1030 and had a banana with almond butter. Then lunch was pumpkin coconut chicken and mashed cauliflower. I was going to make a casserole from PaleOMG ( I think? ) but didn't have a spaghetti squash. So I improvised. I gave myself what I thought was a serving and could only finish about half.

Wasn't hungry till dinner time and had a fresh tuna steak with cukes and tomatoes and homemade mayo. I ate all of it and was tempted to lick the bits of mayo off the plate. Although now I'm a little concerned since I read on another thread about light olive oil being cut with other oils.

Anyway I was still hungry and had some strawberries and coconut milk topped with roasted almond and coconut slices adapted from The Clothes Make The Girl. It is a snack of pure awesomeness. I added some cinnamon, almond extract, and then salt after they browned and toasted nicely.

I'm not even craving wine right now.. Miracle of miracles!

[Aberrantatavia]

Monday - day 3

415 egg fried in coconut oil

Treadmill run

6am chicken drumstick and baby carrots

8am breakfast casserole with sauted kale and cashews

12pm ate half of my lunch while navigating through Boston traffic. tuna steak with veges and mayo.

3pm ate the remainder of my lunch

530 handful of cashews

9pm home finally and had a few bites of seafood salad while getting meals ready for tomorrow but i really wasn't hungry.

I had a few cravings today that I warded off since I was so busy.

I'd do just about anything for a glass of wine right now.

Instead I will attempt to peruse the forum here and find inspiration or be inspiring to my new friends

Action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving. - Ayn Rand

[Aberrantatavia]

Tuesday - day 4

Didn't get to the gym but ate a drumstick and carrots on my way to work, I was hungry early.

8am breakfast casserole and sauted kale.

1000 starving e en after a few cashews. Ate half my lunch of tuna steak and some seafood salad and salad with homemade mayo.

130 ate remainder of my salad and then had half a bottle of ginger berry kombuchu. And some mandarin oranges.

830 home from work and had mashed cauliflower and pumpkin coconut chicken. I topped it with some coconut chips that were sauted in ghee and onion and garlic. Really good stuff.

I wasn't that hungry when I got home but I think eating dinner might help me to not be ravenous the next morning.

No cheating, only a couple of cravings. I also realized today that I can apply one of the same principles to compliant food that you can to non-compliant. I ate a couple of mandarin orange sections before I realized that they didn't taste all that great. So I just stopped eating it. I wouldn't have done that a few weeks ago, I would have just eaten something that wasn't tasty or satisfying. I like it that I'm learning the difference between just eating and eating for nutrition and satisfaction.

[kcrady57]

No cheating, only a couple of cravings. I also realized today that I can apply one of the same principles to compliant food that you can to non-compliant. I ate a couple of mandarin orange sections before I realized that they didn't taste all that great. So I just stopped eating it. I wouldn't have done that a few weeks ago, I would have just eaten something that wasn't tasty or satisfying. I like it that I'm learning the difference between just eating and eating for nutrition and satisfaction.

That's a HUGE achievement! I hate to think of all the mediocre junk I've consumed, just for the sake of eating - and to apply it to supposedly good food as well can be tough. There's so much of the 'waste not' mindset that we often do find ourselves eating (or doing) something that we're not enjoying, Life's too short for that!

[Aberrantatavia]

Thanks Kaye. It really does feel like a revelation.

Day 5 -

No workout again today, I'm actually sleeping well, so I'm not going to worry much a out the workouts.

8am breakfast casserole and kale again, I ate 2 pieces instead of one. And had a few cherries and macadamia nuts.This kept me satisfied until noon.

1230 pumpkin coconut chicken and mashed cauliflower with some garlic onion flavored coconut chips. And half a kombuchu

8 pm chicken drumsticks with sweet potato and ghee. Blackberries with coconut milk and some cinnamon toasted coconut chips. And a pellegrino which is totally not wine.

I'm ready for bed soon. This is a very good sign, I have had issues sleeping for years and years.

[Aberrantatavia]

I've been remiss in posting, but not because I've fallen off the wagon....so to speak... Just because I've been super busy and focused. Which feels really good.

Day 6 - Thursday

I still rotated the same things I've been eating for a few days. It was breakfast casserole and greens along with a few cherries. Lunch was the pumpkin coconut chicken and mashed cauliflower. I think dinner was chicken and sweet potato with ghee and some blackberries with coconut milk and toasted coconut chips. Walked the dog which is actually a 4 mile trail. Haven't had the energy at night to do that in awhile so it felt good. Slept well again.

Day 7 - Friday

Chicken and carrots on the way to work, it seems that I am already programmed to eat within an hour of waking now. Then fried eggs and a sweet potato. And a banana and some macadamia nuts.

Lunch was the rest of the chicken and mashed cauliflower.

Snack was fresh fruit from a meeting at work as well as some more macadamia nuts.

Dinner wasn't until late again, I wasn't very hungry. Had 2 eggs and a sweet potato.

Slept 9 hours. Haven't done that without the help of medication in years and years.

Woke up refreshed.

Ate half of the eggs and sweet potatoes that I made for breakfast. Oh and a sardine. Turns out i like the little buggers. Saved the rest and went to the farmers market.

Returned and ate the remainder of my breakfast around noon. Finished putting pork bellies together and in the oven and now eating some toms and cukes and the remaining sardines with a little homemade mayo.

I'm terrified I'm eating too much food, it seems like I'm eating far more than I used to. But I'm just going to keep going. I feel fantastic and lighter already. This isn't drastically different from what I was doing so I haven't had a lot of carb flu crap.

I've learned to really love kombucha and that seems to give me a refreshing beverage that is satisfying. I also found that my local natural foods market sells it in bulk by the ounce, which is far cheaper than the smaller bottles. I saw it at the food coop this morning when I went to the farmers market and bought one of their growler bottles and it's really good. When I went on their website they have a supplier right down the road from me. One of these days I'll just start making my own, but for right now this works.

I'm surprised I'm almost a third of the way there!

[SummerGirl]

Sounds like it's all going really well for you. Brilliant about getting the 9 hours sleep and waking up refreshed!

I love the eggs and sweet potato combo too! Very tasty. Have never tried kombucha-might give it a try if it's available here-I'm sure it probably is, I've just never been on the lookout for it.

[Derval]

You're doing great, well done.

Have never tried kombucha-might give it a try if it's available here-I'm sure it probably is, I've just never been on the lookout for it.

It used to avaialble in shops (made by coca-cola???) years ago but I haven't seen it anywhere....I might ask on boards.

[Aberrantatavia]

Thanks summer girl and derval! It feels really good to feel really good:)

Summergirl, I can get kombucha at the natural food stores here. It really is refreshing and Has helped me not crave wine, actually. I think because it's a fizzy drink I can have that has the fermented taste to it. Anyway, it's not only good for my mind but the more I read about it it has some possible great health benefits so I'll keep drinking it and see. I'm probably drinking more of it than I should so I might cut it with mineral water.

Today was slightly off track, but still compliant. Got up at 6, a little later than I planned in order to drive up north and climb a nice big mountain. But I ate breakfast and got on the road. I brought all whole 30 foods with me for myself and my hiking buddy. This is a 4000 footer in the white mountains of NH and should have taken about 6 hours to do the loop that I wanted to do. Maybe a bit more. We ended up on a much harder trail than I expected but it was great because there were fantastic waterfalls and sites to see. Then my hiking buddy didn't feel like he could make it to the top and we turned around at about the 2/3 mark, maybe a little more. This really put me in a negative frame of mind and I had to fight with that mentality all the way down the mountain. But I recovered from this far better than I would have in the past. I am far more emotionally stable than I was pre whole 30. I attribute this mostly to the lack of any dairy. I now believe the stuff messes with my hormones more than most other foods combined.

I'm sore and my feet hurt (I decided to do this in vibrant five fingers and carry a 30 pound pack) but after a little soaking I think I'm better already. I recovered with lots of food, but I didn't eat much while hiking. Here is what my food log looks like.

7 am eggs, sweet potato, kale with coconut and pomegranate, and a sardine. I basically mix this all in a bowl and drizzle a little ghee.

9 am start hiking

11 am larabar.

12 pm start decent and could care less about food although I know I need some.

130 off the mountain and eat another larabar and drink some kombucha

330 home and eat some tandoori chicken with raw veges and garlic aioli. and kombucha

430 want a frozen banana but decide I'm actually still hungry and eat a sweet potato and the remaining breakfast casserole from last week. With ghee and a little coconut chip/ almond mixture on top.

7 decide I want a banana after all, I am sore and need to replenish vitamins and minerals. More kombucha and a bowl of bananas and strawberries with a little of my hazelnut spread. Top with a little more coconut chips and almonds.

I'm going to finish my kombucha in bed while reading a book before I go to sleep, which will be early tonight!

I have to say I felt pretty strong on the hike today, considering I need to lose 40-50 pounds and haven't done any serious endurance training in over a year.

[Aberrantatavia]

Day 10 - a third of the way there...

It was tough to stay on track tonight, I was very emotional on several levels. Residual from not getting to the summit yesterday combined with some challenges with my college aged daughter.... Plus I'm slightly sore and since I didn't see the summit it feels like its for nothing. A bit of a whiny fussy temper tantrum really. And this is where I would have come home and made some "healthy" comforting food and had half a bottle of wine. But I resisted. I don't feel great about it but I know I will in hindsight. Right now I am just doing the right thing because im too stubborn to fail. If in 30 days I do t see the results I'm hoping for, it won't be because I didn't stick to it.

I will probably wake up tomorrow with a better attitude, but right now I'm just sucky. And I'm sore which means I can't go to the gym to work it out.

530 1 egg

730 eggs, sweet potato, sauted kale, sardine

800 still hungry. Cantalope and macadamia nuts

1130 chicken and raw veges with aioli and more macadamia nuts

300 banana and blackberries with hazelnut spread and coconut and almond chips and kombucha

630 meatsa and kombucha

930 going to put my bad attitude to bed