Gin's Back On Track: Whole 30

[ginsinnot]

Lots of big ups and downs last year. And I've wondered farther and farther off the healthy path I discovered with paleo and my first Whole 30.

 

Brass Tacks: I've gained weight, the most I've ever gained; I've never really experienced fluctuating weight, always been very steady in the past. I'm tired and irritable way too often. My self discipline (in all areas of life, not just healthy eating) has been just about null and void in the last 6 months.

 

I'm going to get this out of the way right now, in black and white so I can see where I am in 30 days (and I know I'll be so happy) 

    I weigh 149#. Which is about 15-20# heavier than I have generally weighed as an adult. I don't weight myself much, I pretty much stopped after my first W30. The scale didn't tell me anything I hadn't already figured out based on not being able to fit in to 10+ pairs of jeans and my over-reliance this winter on stretchy pants of anykind.

   Measurements (this is where I'll be looking for the difference):

       Thigh 23.5"

        Hip 40"

        Belly 35.5"

        Waist 31"

        Ribs 34"

        Chest 38.5"

        Underarm 37.5"

        Bicep 12.5"

I will not be taking any photos, I'm not prepared for that. These numbers are hard to look at, but worse is how I've been feeling about myself.

 

So it's Day 1, and I know there will be some tough days ahead but I'm ready. And I've got support as my 2 sisters and my niece and my husband are all doing a Whole 30 as well!

 

I made a week-by-week calendar and have it on the fridge. On it I've jotted down meal plans. More importantly I've put on there any potential rough spots that I need to plan ahead for, like dinners out (what my options are) or parties or traveling for work. I've got my "if ____, then  ____" planned out for those occasions. My fridge is cleared of any non-W30 foods. It's stocked with quick ready to go items like pre-washed salad mixes and veggies and lots of meat. I've got a big pot of chili that I made yesterday to get us through in any pinches this week. I've already told my gal-pals that I'll be sipping hot tea this Friday while they sip other things after our manicures.

 

I'm armed with about 8.5 hours of sleep last night. I'll be getting 8-9 hours of sleep every night because I've learned that's what I need. I'll be practicing good sleep this Whole30, even if it means sacrificing a clean house or getting more physical activity.

 

I'll be drinking quite a bit of La Croix sparkling waters as I've been consuming a lot of soda recently. I find the bubbles of sparkling water help going off the pop. Hot tea is my plan in the evenings, when I've recently been either drinking wine or snacking. I already prefer my coffee black and only drink a good-sized cup in the morning, so I'm good to go there.

 

Breakfast today: a sweet potato with homemade pork sausage and blueberries, black coffee 

 

 Best to all, have a wonderful day!

   

 

[runninglawyer88]

I'd love to follow you on this whole 30 adventure! I completely relate to a lot of what you've said--I'm currently pregnant but prior to that I gained a lot of weight (mostly trying to repair my reproductive system) which landed me into the "overweight" category. It was heartbreaking, shameful, and just downright depressing for me to look in the mirror because I'm someone who has ALWAYS BEEN fit, not just a little fit but VERY FIT. The weight gain is so hard to deal with on an emotional level but just know that taking charge of your health and your diet will make you feel loads better even if you don't lose weight (not that you don't already know this). 

 

Best of luck!  

[ginsinnot]

Day 1 Lunch: Chili with guacamole

          Dinner: A bit of lots of stuff. I was pretty hungry when I got home, so I had 1/2 an apple with some leftover pork. Popped the chicken thighs and red peppers into the oven (slight fail as the peppers were packed in vinegar and not oil like I thought, but on I charged). While making frittata for today's breakfast, I munched on some of the steamed broccoli and asparagus I was dicing. I felt like "eat all the things". I popped spinach on top of the chicken and peppers and that was dinner, not my favorite all in all. Hot cup of herbal tea in the evening.

 

Good morning Day 2!

Good thing I made that frittata last night! My husband is a big guy and when he tosses and turns, it's hard for me to get a good night's sleep. But I grabbed my frittata and half an apple, got my coffee and a container of chili for lunch. I think dinner tonight is going to be some type of deconstructed taco. I'm going to play with adding cabbage and carrot slaw mix to taco meat I think. I'll have a healthy dose of guacamole with dinner as I may be a little light on fat this morning and lunch.

 

Update: hectic morning with unexpected (long) meeting at work. I usually eat my breakfast at my desk. This morning's breakfast essentially just became lunch. Bonus: no "hangry" this morning, even though I was hungry. Made it just fine til 11:30 when I coudl get back to my desk and have my breakfast. Though I found myself wishing for some decaf coffee to go with it (already drank my regular coffee during the meeting).

 

I've told a few people I work with about my Whole30 (now and previous times). I generally explain it as a health challenge for 30 days where I focus on vegetables, meats, healthy fats with some fruit; getting enough sleep; and looking at ways to better handle stress. I'm nearly always told I don't need to lose weight (which is not even why I said I'm doing it). Now, while I do need to lose a few extra pounds as I know I'm not at my healthy spot, I am not doing this only for that reason. I like to tell them my favorite part after 30 days is better and more even moods and amazing sleep in general and hardly ever having any digestive distress.

 

Day 2 Lunch: chili

          Dinner: deconstructed tacos (I added cole slaw mix into the ground meat for extra veggies, my husband didn't even notice the cabbage!), apple slices

[ginsinnot]

Good morning Day 3!

 

Woke in a pretty good mood today. Looking forward to meeting my brother and his wife out for dinner. We're having Mexican as I find it easy to do fajitas or carnita meat with salsa and veggies without any problem or feeling like I'm missing out on eating out. Because we're driving an hour to get to them, I've got an apple and almond butter to eat towards the end of my work day so I don't show up at the restaurant starving (when being faced with chips and salsa).

 

Breakfast: sweet potato, home-seasoned pork sausage, frozen blueberries, coconut milk. Black coffee.

Lunch: Egg frittatta (too many t's?) with broccoli, asparagus and pork sausage. Half an apple with some almond butter.

Snack: the other half of my apple with some almond butter, decaf coffee (I ate this snack so I wouldn't be starving and going to a restaurant full of temptation)

Dinner (out a Mexican restaurant): Happily sat by while my family at chips and salsa (okay, I told myself to be happy). Enjoyed a mixed meat fajita plate (pork carnita, steak, shrimp, chicken; peppers and onions) with pico de gallo, guacamole and lettuce. Had water. The only hard part about that dinner was missing a margarita. I really don't mind skipping any of the other traditional items at a Mexican restaurant.

Bed time: hot tea, a few blueberries with some pork breakfast sausage as a bit peckish

[ginsinnot]

Good morning Day 3. It was hard to get out of bed this morning, partly due to wanting to sleep more and partly because I just wanted to stay in bed and snuggle my guy. But a work day it is, so off to work I went (and in a hurry, as it was late).

 

My mood is good today but I'm sensitive and easily irritated I think. And I've discovered I'm more of a stress eater than I think I'd realized. I encountered a frustrating new job/new pay delay this morning and my immediate (so fast I barely knew it happened) response was to "want" some unhealthy food/drink item. I'm sure if I wasn't on a W30 I would not have even realized I'd had the response. That seems like a helpful habit response to know about. I'd just eaten breakfast not long before, so I just decided to wait til lunch for anything.

 

Teared up when a song came on my Pandora that made me think of my mom (she passed away a few years ago).

 

So I've decided tonight is likely a night to stay home and not confront much in the way of temptation. Which means passing on a boardgame night with my guy and his friends. I'm still trying to decide on hanging out with girlfriends after we get our nails done. One is giving up smoking and so understands being supportive of my W30, but they'll both likely be having/wanting wine and I may not be strong enough for that just now. We'll see how i'm feeling later today.

 

Breakfast: sweet tater, sausage, blueberries and coconut milk. Black coffee.

Lunch: the last of my frittatta, apple and almond butter

[ginsinnot]

Funny, yesterday was day 4 and not 3:) Dinner was a salad with chicken thighs and apples topped with Tessemae's spicy ranch, side of sweet potato fries. Early to bed (for a Friday).

Good Day 5, very productive home cleaning and errand stuff. Breakfast was 3 eggs topped with chili and some blueberries with coconut cream, black coffee. Lunch was some turkey with a few apple slices and last of my sweet potato fries.

Just tried out a new recipe: orange chicken with sugar peas over cauliflower rice. Pretty tasty, but I'll work on making it more orange for next time.

Already feeling less congested, that's kicking dairy to the curb:) Looking forward to no under eye circles soon

[ginsinnot]

Day 5 recap: that orange chicken was really good, I'm going to work on amping up the orange flavor a smidge. Happy surprise: my husband loved it. He even said how amazed he is with what humble old cauliflower can do. I actually didn't get to eat any of leftovers as he ate it all

We stayed home all day Saturday, got some much needed housework done. Spent Saturday evening playing boardgames together, a great way to get some Whole9 "play" in during the winter.

 

Day 6: Sunday happy funday! Slept in and enjoyed it. Gorgeous sunshine again today, which we haven't had much of this winter. More housekeeping. Passed on heading to a bar with friends for a basketball game on tv as I'm not quite ready for that this early in my W30.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach and green onions, coffee

Lunch: last of the chili with a banana and almond butter

Dinner: OMG! Thank you PaleOMG for the pizza bake recipe idea. I used home seasoned italian pork sausage (I just buy bulk plain ground pork at the store, season some as breakfast and others italian or spicy), an onion, red and yellow pepper. Her recipe calls for mixing all that in with tomato sauce and eggs (it was a funny pink color before it cooked after it was all mixed together with squash). My spaghetti squash had sprouted and smelled funny, so I used butternut squash. Baked for an hour. It was amazing! I'll be making that again really soon.

We spent Sunday evening at my sister's playing some more boardgames and catching the Walking Dead (that show makes me jump and scares me, but I love it). Made porkitos from Nom Nom Paleo for a snack to share, so easy and tasty.

 

Day 7: Didn't sleep so great last night but up and at 'em.

Breakfast: small sweet potato with coconut butter, few blueberries and a few toasted walnuts. Black coffee. Breakfast could have used some more protein today, but in a rush and had to make do.

 

I've decided to do some reading up on habits, feeling inspired by my W30.

 

Lunch: some leftover "pizza" bake, 2 scrambled eggs

 

Dinner: Taco Salad with ground beef (cabbage mixed in), greens, guac, tomato, green onion, red and orange peppers

Felt like I wanted to eat more last night but wasn't actually hungry. So I didn't. Waited til bed to have some herbal tea. I was exhausted.

[ginsinnot]

Good morning, it's Day 8. For whatever reason, I seem to be waking up in the wee hours of the night and having a hard time getting back to sleep. Today I'm going to make sure I drink my coffee by 11. If that doesn't help in the next few days, I may switch to decaf and see if that helps.

 

Breakfast: 4 scrambled eggs, 1/2 tomato, prosciutto

 

Lunch: Ran home quickly to grab a vehicle so short lunch of the last piece of "pizza" bake. Brought back a harboiled egg and a handful of raspberries in coconut milk to eat at my desk.

[ginsinnot]

Starving last night for dinner. Husband supposed to make steak and salad but he was late getting home from work. We went out to eat at our fave Mexican place. I had fajitas (steak, shrimp, chicken, peppers, onion) with lettuce, pico de gallo and guac. It wasn't hard at all to pass on the chips and salsa (which he enjoyed) but i WANTED sangria. I did not have the sangria. But I was a little pouty on the inside about that. I went to bed at 9 last night and slept til 8. I've got a mild headache this morning, but boy did that sleep feel great.

 

Breakfast: a little too on the fly for me. 2 harboiled eggs, coffe with coconut milk for fat (I prefer it black), a clementine

This it light, but I have a meeting in a few minutes. Have an apple and almond butter if I need it to make ti til lunch.

[NinjaSarah]

Good job, made the best of the circumstances, and I understand the pout

[ginsinnot]

I'm finding it interesting how much more I feel the effects of caffeine while on the W30. I'm going to pick up some 1/2 caff I think, for my coffee maker at work. I only have one large cup of coffee each day, but I've been feeling too jittery lately. I really felt it today with my breakfast being so light. Didn't end up needing any snack but boy was I hungry when I got home and made lunch!

 

Lunch: 1 can of tuna with homemade mayo (thank goodness for my sister's mayo, I don't have the required patience to make it) with some apple and red onion over a bed of mixed greens. Pretty tasty.

 

Snack for the afternoon if I need it: 1/2 apple with almond butter. I don't know if it's common, but I have to really limit how often I indulge in nut butters or nuts. They upset my stomach if they're a daily thing or even too much in one serving.

 

Might go see a movie tonight and it will be the first time in a long, long time I won't be indulging in the whole pop/popcorn thing. If we go, I'm taking an emergency snack pack of some nuts and a few pieces of dried fruit in case I feel my will power caving.

[ginsinnot]

Boy did yesterday go off the rails, but I stayed on my W30.

 

My husband's dad has been dealing with cancer for a while now, a thyroid cancer that had spread to his lungs and pituitary gland, but he'd been managing pretty well. We found out yesterday he now has bladder tumors also, which is a pretty bad sign for this type of cancer. I'm sad to think he might be coming near the end, obviously. I'm very concerned about my husband, because his family doesn't really talk about things and he's never really lost anyone like that.

 

Then it was just the usual bad day stuff: ran out of cat food (unexpectedly) so had to hit the store, a pet mess to clean up when I got home from work (why do cats always yack on the only rug in a large room?), and some other stuff I can't even recall now.

 

BUT: I stayed Whole 30. Picked up a rotisserie chicken. Because I was so tempted to just chuck the whole deal, I splurged on strawberries and pineapple, which I ate with my chicken, guacamole and pepper slices.

 

Made my breakfast for today last night, so no excuses: sweet potato, sausage, coconut milk. Eating that at my desk now.

 

I'm sure today will be a better day. And I'm pretty proud of myself. Happy Day 10

[ginsinnot]

Lunch: not so great. Grabbed a fast food salad and despite asking for no cheese, ended up having to pick through the salad to get it out. Kind of laborious, but the only thing I had today. Went without dressing as no compliant options, though I actually like salad without dressing in general. Herbal iced tea to drink.

 

Not sure what's for dinner today.

[ginsinnot]

^{Day 10 Dinner: Went out to eat with a girlfriend. Quickly remembered to ask the server to not bring the standard bread and oil. Ordered a grilled chicken breast with side of cubed sweet potatos, steamed broccoli and pea pods. Enjoyed the time talking with her and being waited on.}

 

^{Happy Day 11!}

^{Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with some leftover pork, few pieces of pineapple and strawberry, black coffee}

^{Lunch: Leftover chicken breast and veggies from last night, few pieces of pineapple}

 

^{Dinner will likely be leftovers or possibly steaks and salad. Not quite sure yet.}

[ginsinnot]

Great weekend. Feeling the clothes loosen up a little (it's Day 14). Skin has cleared up (little annoying bumps on my face, neck and chest are gone; no "hormonal" breakouts along the chin line). Feeling better energy overall and just happier.

[ginsinnot]

Trucking right along.

 

Small snag in this morning's breakfast. First time had to buy some breakfast food from the work cafeteria. A 3 egg omelette with mushrooms and onions, no cheese or toast or hash browns. Only to get back to my desk and discover cheese! Oh the horror, no more money and no quick foods. I separated the omelette into halves with and without cheese. Picked out (that took a while) the veggies without cheese and ate the small amount I salvaged.

 

So, super hungry for lunch now. Looking forward to my leftover buffalo chicken with sweet potato wedges (PaleOMG has a buffalo chicken bake, it's a riff on that as I didn't have any squash to mix in, but OMG I'm in love with hot sauce in mayo plus chicken).

 

Suddenly have a "craving" for a big salad for dinner with strawberries and almonds and greens. Now that's a good thing, craving salad.

[runninglawyer88]

I'd have been SO INCREDIBLY MAD. I'd also have taken it back because you explicitly requested no cheese so that's not your fault and you should have to pay for their mistake. In any case, you should keep a few things at your desk for emergency situation. Can opener, can of olives, tuna, canned veggies, nuts, coconut, etc. 

[ginsinnot]

I'd have been SO INCREDIBLY MAD. I'd also have taken it back because you explicitly requested no cheese so that's not your fault and you should have to pay for their mistake. In any case, you should keep a few things at your desk for emergency situation. Can opener, can of olives, tuna, canned veggies, nuts, coconut, etc. 

 

I was so mad, and felt like the universe was conspiring against my healthy eating/Whole30. Had the mad triumphed I would have marched back down there. But I think the universe is picking on me feeling won out. Boy, did I ever enjoy that lunch though! And I didn't feel "hangry", just hungry.

 

That's on my action plan for this week, stocking my work cupboard. I'm thinking olives, tuna, small bags of nuts, and a few Lara bars.

 

Can I just take a second to say I don't ever need to worry about Lara bars being a food without brakes? There is no way on any planet that those will become treats for me. They make me think of the filling in Fig Newtons, and that is NOT my idea of a treat. I at least can stomach the coconut bar with some nuts or jerky in an emergency.

 

I know not every one signs up for the daily emails, but I have twice and was looking back at them. Today is spot-on, talking about the extinction burst (your brain makes one last serious effort to get you to eat the way you did 4 weeks ago) on day 21 (today).

 

It's not been a bad day, but it's certainly not been a Monday and it's early. It's gloomy out. I slipped and cursed my way to work (I walk: it's thawing but there are "dirt-burgs" blocking the drains so there are massive puddles, people haven't cleared their sidewalks all winter and it's been a doozy here, there's water on top of ice, etc). I didn't have "breakfast food" ready to go. I tried on a pair of pants and not quite there. You know, a MONDAY.

 

So my brain thinks that I should deal with this by eating crappy food. I won't name those foods, because I feel like I'm not strong enough this morning. But I know what my brain is trying. And I filled up on some tasty Pizza Bake from PaleOMG for breakfast. And I'm sipping on my black coffee. And I will be strong today. And tomorrow will be better.

[ginsinnot]

Yesterday ended up being pretty good and not too tough. Repeated breakfast pizza bake for lunch, then made buffalo chicken "pasta" from PaleOMG for dinner and caught Sunday night's Walking Dead episode. Heck of a stomach ache over night though, still hanging on this morning. So keeping breakfast very simple with scrambled eggs. Dinner and lunch are to be determined, no pre-plans today.

[ginsinnot]

It's Day 24

 

Just going along quite happily. Planning on trying out some new recipes this weekend, have some grocery shopping to do tonight. Brought in my own veggies to take down to the cafe grill here at work for breakfast, will have them pop them into a cheese-free omelette for me. I need to make some fruity iced tea I think, I'm really bored with my current beverages. I think that's why I have, in the past, gone back to drinking soda pop. Checked out a blog post with some "mocktail" recipes I think I'll try out.

[ginsinnot]

Good Morning, it's Day 27:)

 

Feeling quite wonderful in general.

 

You know what takes more work than I think it should: finding nuts (preferably in snack-size packages to keep at work for emergency food) without artificial sweeteners or some kind of wheat/soy derivative. They're nuts. And it you want cinnamon nuts, then why can't you just add cinnamon? I even found a few packages that were supposed to be just salted but had chemical sweeteners. I just bought a container of plain "deluxe" mixed nuts for now to keep at work. I don't really eat a lot of nuts, they make my stomach hurt if I eat too much, but they're shelf stable to have at work.

 

Looking forward to going forward after 30 days. I'm not adding any grains or dairy or legumes back in. I'm looking forward to the occasional dessert (I'm dying to try Nom Nom Paleo's chocolate pot-de-creme recipe) and the occasional adult beverage.

[ginsinnot]

Woo hoo:) Day 30 was Wednesday, great day.

 

Yesterday, I enjoyed an adult beverage (two) while out to watch March Madness. Normally drinking means eating bad food, either while out or after. But I enjoyed a very nice W30 meal of steak fajitas after and feel pretty proud of myself. And I feel good this morning.

 

I took my measurements this morning and: PROGRESS! I'll have to post them later, left the note sitting in my bathroom

 

Didn't step on the scale and don't plan too. As much as I might say that number won't/doesn't matter, it will. So I'm just not going to do it.

 

Grains are off the plate for me, once I start eating them "occasionally" it quickly snowballs right back into the S.A.D.

 

Legumes are also off the meal plan, they generally make my stomach hurt and I don't love them. Alright, I'll miss peanut butter. But I'll save the occasional/rare peanut dosing to be in the form of Reese's cups.

 

Dairy will be rare. I know I get stuffed up sinus issues from dairy. And while I can eat some without immediate GI issues, too much too often is not good for my intestines. And I think it makes me gain weight pretty easily.

 

Sugar: This is more complicated. Dessert should be occasional, which I've decided means no more than once a week (or less). I'm not going to worry about small amounts in sauces I like (for instance, I'm not going to make ketchup/barbecue sauce or my own Sriracha, i'm going to buy it and it will likely have sugar in it). But I'm not a sauce fiend, so that should be fine. Will keep fruit to around 1-2 servings a day. Looking forward to some dark chocolate.

 

Going to stay away from paleofying baked goods. If I don't miss muffins or bread, why make a paleo version? But I do love brownies, and found an awesome mocha bacon brownie recipe from Practical Paleo. They're so rich, you really can't eat very many.

 

Starting my 30 days of physical activity: every day 30 minutes. I'm looking forward to some bellydancing after work today:)

[DoctorMom]

"I've told a few people I work with about my Whole30 (now and previous times). I generally explain it as a health challenge for 30 days where I focus on vegetables, meats, healthy fats with some fruit; getting enough sleep; and looking at ways to better handle stress."

 

I love this and am going to steal it for my answer to people.  I get the stink-eye when I tell people I'm on a "diet" since I'm slim.  Getting enough sleep is a huge part of my goals during whole30, and that goes hand in hand is handling stress for me. 

 

Good luck to you!

[DoctorMom]

whoops, said "good luck" but should have said "Congrats"!

 

(also brownies = my favorite food ever)