Gunz n Butter's Whole 30

[gunz]

Day 1 - Sunday March 23rd.

 

I  (AKA gunz) get out of bed early, excited to cook up a storm in the kitchen.  Our one big fear heading into the Whole 30 was of coming home, hungry and needing food NOW, and our major goal for this whole 30 is to never once feel deprived or that we are somehow missing out on things due to nutritional choices.  So, I committed to getting the kitchen ready for the coming week.

 

It's noon and I now have ready to go:

a pile of pre-roasted yams and roasted bell peppers for quick stirfry / homefry / puree / snack

a mushroom fritatta (for brunch today, and snacks for the coming days)

a jar of homemade mayo (my first attempt ever, and it came out right!)

a huge bowl of tomato& cucumber salad in the fridge for quick snacks

4 pounds of brined and ready to grill chicken

cleaned chopped sliced brussels spouts, celery, carrots, cauliflower for easy cooking/snacking

 

All in all feeling quite chuffed with myself at the moment.  apparently, by tomorrow I'll be questioning my sanity, but for now, I'm on track with the "what to expect" day by day playbook.

 

Now, to wake up butters and feed him his first Whole30 compliant meal.  And to pour myself a cup of coffee with unsweetened almond milk.  And then get to the gym.

 

 

 

[gunz]

End of day update:

 

Today couldn't have been more perfect.  We bought a grill yesterday, so when we got home from climbing we threw some chicken on it, along with a broccoli slaw and some roasted peppers from my cook fest this morning.  5 hours after our early dinner/late lunch neither of us are even a little bit hungry.  We both love the food we're eating, and no bloating or indigestion after dinner.

 

Going to bed optimistic at the end of day 1.

[gunz]

Day Two

 

Butters: "this is a super breakfast.  we are going to be the healthiest people on earth."

 

So far so good! - spinach and egg scramble with chopped sweet potato, avocado slices and roasted red peppers.  super greens smoothie with banana and orange.  coffee with unsweet almond milk.  yum.

 

Next challenge - putting together a whole 30 meal from teh work cafeteria salad bar.

[GFChris]

Day Two

 

Butters: "this is a super breakfast.  we are going to be the healthiest people on earth."

 

So far so good! - spinach and egg scramble with chopped sweet potato, avocado slices and roasted red peppers.  super greens smoothie with banana and orange.  coffee with unsweet almond milk.  yum.

 

Next challenge - putting together a whole 30 meal from teh work cafeteria salad bar.

Welcome!

 

FYI: smoothies are discouraged on a Whole30.  The idea is to chew your food vs. drink it, as chewing is more satiating.  Also, for smoothies with fruit, it's too easy to overdo too much fruit in one sitting.

Sounds like you've got a lot of great veggies on hand. The recommendation would be to enjoy those foods whole instead of in a smoothie.

[gunz]

Thanks so much for stopping by, and for your comment.  I do agree with you, and the vast majority of my diet is "food,"  however, my feeling is that if a 50/50 greens/fruits smoothie helps my boyfriend stick to the plan, then I'm 100% supportive (especially since he drinks most of it, and also eats my egg veggie yam hash with me!)

 

Lunch today was a success from the salad bar, but I think I'll be packing my lunch on alternating days, just to get a little more flavor than what is available plain at the salad bar.  I've got some fritattas and cooked chicken breasts I can throw in a tupperware in the morning.

 

Excited for dinner #2 from our new grill - it'll be a lettuce wrapped burgers with pickles and kraut and a side of oven-roasted brussels sprouts.

 

(note - when you buy a grill for the house, you may wind up with a bonus = help in the kitchen!)

[gunz]

Day two dinner success - We probably didn't *also* need the sprouts in addition to the burgers and fixins.  

 

Funny - I'm going to have to start learning to cook less.  So many leftovers going in the fridge tonight, and I'm not sure whether grilled eggplant rounds keep over night.  We shall see, I guess.

[gunz]

We laughed as we read the time line last night ... "right now you're wondering why anyone thinks this is hard." ... we're still in that honeymoon phase, loving every bite of food.  I'm especially (seriously!) loving how making our meals together is a joint effort, and we are literally high fiving ourselves at the end of the meal.

 

Good thing we read ahead to the time line, if any of the anger or bloating or crankiness or anything pops up, we'll be prepared and hopefully be able to get through it.

 

For now, our breakfasts are getting a little more hardcore - this morning the scramble had leftover brussels sprouts in there.  I was sure there would be push back, but it was actually quite delicious, and butters even said "yum."  I read him some of the thoughts on smoothies, and at this point, i am just having a few ounces as a taste, supplement to my meal, and he's drinking the rest of it.  Making the morning green smoothie has become something of a ritual - and it is completely within the specifications here - and it's entirely his responsibility - so I'm not taking it away from him.  If at the end of the 30 days, I decide I want to try to lose some weight, this will be the first thing to look at cutting back on.

 

OK - that's the day three AM update.  I'll be sure to check in if/when that headache appears.

[gunz]

Day 4 - still going strong over here in G&B land.

 

Dinner last night was thrown together all of the leftovers of the last few days after coming home from the gym.  We both felt a little stronger on our climbs and lasted longer than usual before being ready to go home.  Not sure if it's eating this way, not drinking beer, actually getting stronger or some combination, but we definitely both still feel great and committed to this.  No headaches, no crankiness yet.  

 

Breakfast is another veggie/yam hash with eggs and avocado on top.  No smoothie (for me) today.  Tonight we're planning to go play tennis after work then have another dinner of Well Fed "Best Damn Chicken" ... we liked it so much on Sunday, and have been including the leftovers in almost every meal since then, that we're almost out.  I have a feeling this will be in high rotation in our house. 

 

Hope everyone else is feeling as great as we are.

[gunz]

Day 5 has come and gone.  More yummy breakfasts, more salad bar lunches, leftovers for dinner.  Success, easy, maybe not the most intricate of culinary delights, but we earned our leftovers meal by making extras early in the week when we had time.

 

Today is day 6 - still sticking to the eating plan, but this is my first somewhat hard day ... in that I have had a headache all day.  I'm getting close to caving and taking a tylenol (are these Whole 30 friendly?)  I have a feeling I'm fighting a bit of a head cold, there was a scratch in my throat the other day, and last night my sleep was tossing/turning with a stuffy head ... hopefully this won't be a full-blown flu (as I've already had one of those this winter, so I feel like I paid my dues.)

 

Wondering if there's whole 30 while fighting a cold wisdom out there?  Alas, I do *not* have any homemmade chicken or beef stock currently, and I don't want to eat anything from a package ... so old fashioned soup is out for a quick fix ... although definitely on the agenda for the weekend cookup!

[gunz]

Day seven update .... I think we are really hitting our stride!  Woke up this morning and went to the climbing gym - we both had our best climbing days yet.  Butters looks slimmer to me (although he says he can't see it.)  Our meals have been filling and fun to cook.  I'm even getting a little adventurous ... making a "paleo BBQ sauce" to put on the grilled chicken last night (tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, chilipowder, mashed date.)

 

It's raining here today, which makes it a perfect day to get the grocery shopping done and some of the pre-cooking and chopping for the week out of the way.  

 

One thing I'm noticing already is that I'm beginning to look for non-food sources of celebration ... butters got a raise and my initial reaction to that throughout life would have been "let's go out to dinner to celebrate!"  I like how doing this makes me think twice about always reaching for food for all events.

 

 

[GFChris]

Today is day 6 - still sticking to the eating plan, but this is my first somewhat hard day ... in that I have had a headache all day.  I'm getting close to caving and taking a tylenol (are these Whole 30 friendly?)  I have a feeling I'm fighting a bit of a head cold, there was a scratch in my throat the other day, and last night my sleep was tossing/turning with a stuffy head ... hopefully this won't be a full-blown flu (as I've already had one of those this winter, so I feel like I paid my dues.)

 

Wondering if there's whole 30 while fighting a cold wisdom out there?  Alas, I do *not* have any homemmade chicken or beef stock currently, and I don't want to eat anything from a package ... so old fashioned soup is out for a quick fix ... although definitely on the agenda for the weekend cookup!

Yes, Tylenol is ok on a Whole30.

If you Google Whole30 cold remedies, you'll get links to past threads discussing this topic.

[gunz]

Day 8 ... first day I've felt like I was "deprived" ... we had to go to IKEA for some furniture and they pump the scent of those cinnamon buns through out the place.  I definitely didn't want one, but it made me hyper aware of foods that are on my no list.

 

Also, strangest thing - B & I ate all the same things yesterday, but he had a bad stomach ache after dinner that lasted through the night - at one point he thought he might need to throw up.  Wondering if it's his body adjusting to the new foods, or if he did have a bad reaction to something.  But everything we ate was super-simple - and he's feeling better today.  On the other hand, I've managed to fend off the cold!  

 

On the unfairness of the world, B looks as though he's lost a fair amount of lbs already - not so for me!  

[gunz]

Thank goodness for that timeline post ... B has been experiencing the belly issues for a couple days now ... right on time as today is our Day 9.

 

I'm (weirdly) somewhat losing my appetite currently.  Maybe a little boredom has set in?  Or maybe I'm just starting to clue into *real* hunger as opposed to *wanting to eat* -- this has always been a really tough distinction for me.  Choosing to do a Whole30 was (yet another) way I was going to try to tackle this one ... so I'm cautiously optimistic at this point.  Another thing, I've been waking up earlier than usual the past two days ... maybe related, maybe not - but I'm making note of all things for these 4+ weeks.

 

We are both still 100% committed to following the program for the next 21 days.  A little scary that B is going for a weekend away with family in a couple weeks, so we'll be looking through the forums for "tips while travelling"  -- the thing is, I also don't want him to feel his vacation is ruined by choosing not to drink alcohol or choosing not to partake in family meals, but as of today, he still is committed to the Whole30, so I'll work on fixing him up a cooler when the time comes ... and hopefully there will be food options for him.

 

OK, gotta walk the dog and get to work...

[gunz]

Day 11.  I didn't post yesterday, but it was a good day.  We're both still committed to this and to doing hte 30 days.  I think it's actually easier for B as he doesn't have the same crazy psychology around eating that I do ... i think it's safe to say that I can't really have any snack-type foods around me ... i've hit the pistachios again.  I need to do some tweaking - perhaps my eating schedule is off.  If I had lunch a bit later in the day, perhaps the "come home from work and raid the house" feeling wouldn't be so intense ... 

 

Aside from that though, B looks slimmer and is sleeping great, and those tummy aches are subsiding.  I'm waking up before the alarm every morning, and I managed to fight off a cold last week without ever really getting taken out by it - which is pretty remarkable in retrospect.  

 

Breakfast continues to be my favorite meal of the day, and B told me last night "it's hard to describe how much i love cooking on the grill" - so I guess we can call that bit an all around win!  Plans to go to the movies tonight.  Without popcorn!  Oh My!

[gunz]

Thank goodness it is now Day 12!

 

Oy Vey!  They were not kidding that the "hardest days" are Days 10-11 according to the timeline.  Last night we were both in bad moods.  We both had bad gas (!!) I had no appetite, and B was overly hungry - I couldn't even eat more than a bite of dinner, but he wound up snacking on dried fruits - and regretted it.  We were both feeling just generally grumpy and low energy, and then to have stomach distress on top of it?  Ugh.  We didn't even go to the movies as we were supposed to do.  

 

But!!! We powered through.  Made it to Day 12, and started off with a good breakfast (smaller than usual for me, which I think is smart ... i'm going to start watching my portions a little more now that we're nearing the half way point.) I'm having a good lunch, and feeling emotionally and physically stable again.  I just chatted the b - he's feeling MUCH MUCH better today, as well.  B: "amazing how crappy one day can be, then the next is super"  -- here's to more super days and less crappy ones now that we're hitting our stride.  Bring on that high energy feel good, loose pants phase!!

[gunz]

Day 13 - AM ...

 

low appetite and high energy again today.  I just couldn't bring myself to have a full breakfast this morning ... so had a small bit of smoothie and coffee.  I'll grab a hardboiled egg if I get really hungry before lunch.  But this is not to complain at all ... I feel great, I just didn't really want to eat anything this morning.

 

Kitchen stock is running low, time to hit the groceries and fill the house with whole30 yums again.  

[gunz]

Wow - Day 15 already!!  Amazing.  Really feeling great - so much energy.  Yesterday was a busy day ... spent part of the morning cooking and then asked B to come grocery shopping with me, which made smelling the bakery goods and walking past the cheese aisle a little easier.  Since I was supposed to meet up with some friends in the afternoon, and didn't want to be the difficult one due to my eating restrictions, I just offered to bring food over to my friends house and hang out there.  Turned out great ... I brought a fritatta and a salad - no one even noticed the lack of grains/dairy/sugar.  I even got compliments on the food and second helpings were had.  Win!  Then it was off to visit other friends who were having a later evening gathering with cocktails.  I didn't spend too long there, but at least while I was I was not at all tempted by the alcohol.  (However, I bet if I had a drink or two, I would have stayed later ... which would have led me to oversleep today and feel cranky, when I';m doing what I really want to be doing - which is waking up early and heading out for a hike with B and friends!)

 

Gotta go pack my new* backpack with hardboiled eggs, coconut flakes chopped veggies and fruit.

 

(*mid-30-day non-food treat ... i figure with all the money I've been saving by not eating out and not drinking beer, i can afford a new lightweight hiking sack!) 

[gunz]

Day 16!

 

Our hike yesterday was great, and it was good practice getting all the whole 30 approved snacks prepared - even if we didn't need them all (it was less of a workout than we anticipated) but I learned what we like and don't like when climbing.  We also set a date to summit the highest local peak next month with our friends - and we'll need our snacks for that one!

 

When we got home, I heated up some leftover stew and made cauliflower mash ... so yum and comforting and filling after a day outside.  

 

Still waking up sans-alarm clocks, pants are starting to fit a little better (for me ... B is actually down a belt notch already!!)  and not yet bored with food choices.   It's looking good, and I'm so glad we did this!

[gunz]

Day 20!!

 

Dropped B off at the airport this morning.  He's going to try his best during his travels to stick to the Whole 30 - but he understands it may be difficult with his family.  If he slips, he slips, and we'll do another one in a few months anyway.  Already, we've created amazing habits and we're cooking at home every breakfast and dinner.  I don't know if I qualify as being 100% Whole 30 compliant myself, in that I've found myself snacking on nuts quite a few afternoons upon coming home from work super-hungry.  So, another Whole 30 with a little more strictness around snacking and smoothies is likely on the horizon anyway.  

 

I'm starting to think about "when this is done" - and I think I'm likely to start cutting back my portions a bit but I fully intend to continue to cook at home from scratch most nights.  And i'm sure we're never going back to old fashioned breakfasts - we both agree that sweetpotato/veggie hash & eggs is the most delicious, filling breakfast we've ever eaten, and is so much better than cereal or coffee shop meals.

 

OK, more updates on the weekend - my first flying solo since we started.

[gunz]

Day 22 -- feeling great.  And despite not quite being done with this one, I've already resolved to do this again in a few months - this time with 1 additional rule: no nut-snacking.  Aside from that one bad habit, I feel amazing about my compliance and energy.  And I have resolved there will be no more pistachio binges for the next eight days!

 

B gets home tonight, I am excited to hear how he did on his whole30 while travelling.

[gunz]

Is it Day 24 already??  WOW.  I suspect that I might have been waylayed on Sunday ... although I asked how the dressing was made, it sure tasted like there was something sweet in the salad dressing.  It was my first and only time eating out during the whole 30, and while they did hold the cheese and bacon off the salad, I'm not convinced that it was completely sweetener free.  I'm going to go ahead and let myself call this still a success, because I definintely didn't have any sugar cravings afterwards or have any kind of noticeable blood sugar spike  - so I'm just hoping maybe my tastebuds have changed and balsamic vinegar just actually tastes sweet to me now?  

 

Anyway, i digress.  Buttars went totally off the whole 30 while away for the weekend.  And paid for it - said he felt like crap, and couldn't wait to come home and go back to "eating our food" as he called it.  Even talking last night about being excited for his mom (who is diabetic) to come and visit, and we will feed her whole 30 style the whole time.  

 

So, I'm guessing another Whole 30 is in our future in a few weeks, at which time buttars will go for the whole 30, and I will challenge myself to avoid ALL snacking - but for now, we're convinced that we ought to eat this way at least 80% of the time even when not doing a challenge.

 

Onwards!

[gunz]

Day 26!  First recipe fail last night - we are not fans of the butternut squash casserole in Well Fed.  Pretty amazing that we've gone 25 dinners with perfect success before that, though!

 

I can't believe the end is in sight.  Already trying to decide whether or not to have cream in my coffee on Tuesday.  I will definitely be drinking a beer that night - co-workers from out of town will be visiting that day, so there will be a happy hour.  

 

But in general, we've resolved to stick to this way of eating.  As B said last night - it's just how humans were meant to eat.  And it really feels so good to cook and eat at home every night.  We were quite guilty of relying on restaurant and take out for the majority of our food before this.  Now granted, we were living in separate apartments so it made it difficult to plan on cooking while hustling back and forth.  As my friend R mentioned the other day - it's easier to cook every day than just sometimes - the meals sort of blend into one another.  I totally agree - last night's leftover vegetables always wind up in the morning omelette ... and if I cook with cocount milk one night, i generally find a use for the rest of the can the next night.

 

Yay.  Here's to another day of clean eating!

[gunz]

Day 28.  And again - I must thank the timeline for the reality check.  I woke up with serious thoughts of "28 is as good as 30, right?"  Since my friends are having a BBQ/party in the park this afternoon.  I would have loved to joined them for a beer and cake ... but instead, I'm committing to my hike, and I'll stop by for just a short visit to wish happy birthday and keep to my whole 30 purity.

 

Feeling good, and still can't believe how effortless it's all felt.  And how I plan to maintain most of these habits.  B & I have agreed that sugar and wheat do not belong in our house.  If they show up on plates on occasional holidays or meals out or at friend's houses, we will deal with those on a case-by-case basis - but as for buying cereals, breads, crackers, candies ... just no, not in our house.  (Of course, when my mom comes to visit I may need to revisit this - maybe give her her own shelf to keep the peace)

[gunz]

Day 29.  Countdown to happy hour on Tuesday beginning now.  Well, actually beginning last night.  Buttars and I did a moderately strenuous 7.5 mile hike yesterday - about 1600 feet elevation change.  The loop ended in a cute little town with a restaurant on the water.  I really really really wanted to go into that restaurant, and have a burger and a beer.  But, 2 days left of the Whole 30, so instead we sat by the car with apples and almond butter and coconut water before the drive home.  And looking back today, I don't regret it.  I feel clean and strong (and only a little bit stiff.)  Today I'll cook up a couple big batches of food that we can eat for the week - just like I did the past four Sundays.  Our plan is to continue eating as if we're still Whole 30, but if we find ourselves in a social gathering or something and we have a piece of cheese, there will be no panic attacks (nor acting like "that guy" who won't eat anything.)  Slow re-introductions for me ... starting with beer on Tuesday evening!

 

I am so glad I did this.  I've been making notes of things I'm learning.  Yesterday I realized that I simply don't need to eat as often or as much as I thought I did.   Although I had been nearly wheat free before, I never did a full whole 30 ... so something I continued to eat - sugar or wheat or grains, who knows, was giving my strong psychological hunger ... in the past two weeks or so, feeling hungry no longer feels like such an emergency.  It simply is.  I mentioned this to a friend the other day, I was amazed that "If I'm hungry, I eat, when I'm done, I stop thinking about food - until I'm hungry again."  And she sort of laughed at me ... and was like "isn't that just life?" - this coming from someone who has been naturally thin her whole life.  And something clicked ... no, not for me, it wasn't.  When a little bit of hunger would show up, I'd start panicking, because I knew within a half hour or so, if I didn't eat, I'd get really irritable.  Or get a headache.  Or my hands would shake.  I could never understand how other people could just "forget to eat" and stuff.  I thought there was something fundamentally different about me.  I think it was simple blood sugar swings.  And now, they are under control - to some extent.  I do NOT want to go back to feeling like I was controlled by food and food timing.  I like how free I feel now.  We carried snacks on our hike, but never felt like stopping to eat them.  Yes, we were both a little hungry, but it wasn't an emergency.  We just waited to get back to the car for them.  And then we enjoyed them while we were hungry.  And then didn't think about it again until dinner.  Awesome and easy.  And I guess what life is like for hte naturally thin people of the world.  So glad i figured this out!!

[gunz]

Day 30!!

 

Stoked.  So proud of myself.  And honestly, kind of amazed that this really wasn't difficult.  Waiting till tomorrow to step on the dreaded scale, but Buttars (who definitely lost a bunch of fat) says I look, maybe, a little thinner?  That would be a nice bonus - but honestly, even if I didn't lose any weight, I'm so happy we did this.

 

Tonight I will take an inventory of lessons learned, reflect on what was hard, what was easy, what I'll change if I do it again.