Lith Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hi all, I'm Lith and today is my day zero...tomorrow I embark on my whole30 challenge! I've a number of health problems, mostly related to my severe obesity, that I hope to improve or eradicate eventually as a result of this challenge (in the long run) and a number that I'm at high risk of developing that I wish to prevent. The most pressing condition I wish to combat is PCOS, which has prevented my husband and I from conceiving in the five years we've been together. My doctor tells me weight loss alone should really help with this, but after a long struggle I've also read plenty of literature about the negative effects that dairy, sugar and soy have on pcos in particular. I've attempted in the past to ditch these things, but took a little by little, one by one approach, and failed to keep any meaningful change in my diet and lifestyle up. It is my hope that by giving it all up for 30 whole days I will be able to continue to keep my diet mostly clean and free from these ingredients, and intend to continue with a less restrictive paleo diet upon completion. I forsee that even after a successful run it will take numerous whole30 challenges throughout the year to really change my habits as I do have a tendency to slip back into bad habits after birthdays, holidays etc, and so this really is the beginning of a very long term set of lifestyle changes for myself. Knowing how I've failed in the past I've researched the challenge thoroughly over the past two months and undertaken extensive preparation. The pitfalls and stumbling blocks I forsee are that I have little energy in the first instance and so getting off my bum to prepare tomorrow's food in advance will require a lot, especially after a ten hour shift that finishes at 930pm. Speaking of work, while I have kicked the snack habit there, my shifts and rota are different week to week, another problem when finding the time and energy to plan and prepare. Another block for me is willpower, it has never taken much for me to give in to temptations, especially when stressed and upset, but this is something I hope will improve throughout the month. All in all I'm very excited. We already plan our meals for budgeting purposes and buy only what we need, so frankly if I didn't need to finish our last none compliant meal tonight I'd be starting today! Thankfully I've been practicing with compliant meals in preparation so it won't come as too much of a shock to my system. I look forward to sharing my progress with you and can't wait to see how I change both mentally and physically during this challenge and beyond. Lith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina R Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Welcome! If I could give you some advise, you might want to do a weekly cookup so that your food is ready for quick meals. Check out The Clothes Make The Girl blog for more info. Make sure you eat enough, you might want to start with 2 palm sized portions of protein, 3 cups of vegetables, 2 thumb sized portions of fats. http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf. Drink lots of water, this includes sparkling water (without sulfates) and tea without soy, stevia or sweeteners. You may want to have some mini meals on hand in case you need to snack so you won't be tempted to eat fruit or a non compliant snack. The first week is the hardest because you are trying to figure out how much to eat and your body is going through so many changes. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lith Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 Thanks for the advice, I don't snack often anymore so I'm hoping to stick with the three meals a day rule, which works nicely with my job. I think my main problem will be lunches...my husband cooks dinner and has my compliant recipes to hand, but for lunches, I'm scratching my head for how to sort it out in advance. This week for example I'll be having egg and meat rolls with crudites in home made vinaigrette but I've no idea how long fresh vegetables will keep once chopped up so my only solution so far is to do them the night before which I forsee as becoming tedious every day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbeckymarie Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hello! Today is day 2 for me, but I suggest becoming an avid Googler haha I hate for vegetables to go to waste or lose their taste. I am always looking up ways to store vegetables so that they last longer. That way you can prep a bit more at one time, rather than do this monotonous task every single evening. Some would say the nutrients are lost at this point, but for me i'll take that risk in order to save some time (a thing i never feel i have enough of). I also love making salads in a jar for my work week. they are simple, done at the beginning of the week, and really do last! Here are some links to ideas: http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2014/01/salad-in-a-jar.html http://thepaleomama.com/2013/03/guest-post-mason-jar-salads/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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