Jill's Whole30 Experiences

[Jill_L]

I seem to be doing things a little out of order, but my philosophy is "Whatever works"...  

 

I was unaware of Whole30 or Whole9 until a month or so ago when I bought the book ISWF.  Before that time I already knew I had a very big problem with sugars and grains, so as of the first of the year I gave those things up.  I went through some withdrawal symptoms as I knew I would, lost a little weight, then proceeded to maintain.  (I'd like to lose another 25 pounds or more.)  But, before I go any further, this is not all about the weight loss for me.  I want to have more energy, lower my blood pressure, and just plain feel better.  I have some hip pain that is probably related to weight, but may be about what I'm eating also.  (There's also a question of Lyme Disease that could be thrown in here somewhere, too.)  I have had a few deviations from totally no sugar and no grain.  I've had a glass or two of wine a couple times, popcorn at the movies on occasion, and I recently had fried alligator tail when I was in Florida.  (I was told I had to.  LOL!)

 

After reading ISWF I joined up here and introduced myself and said that my plan was to attend the seminar in Salem, NH (which I did yesterday) and do a whole30 for the month of April.  Lots has happened since then (like the two week vacation to Florida) and I sort of lost sight of whole30 and my inspiration for a while -- until a few days ago when I was having some intestinal issues that I related possibly to the cheese I had consumed.  I started thinking about giving up dairy for a while and realized I would almost be doing the whole 30 if I did that.  I decided to start the next day (Friday, the 28th) with my whole30 and go until the end of April as planned, which gives me an additional 4 days for a whole34.  (Who knows what it will turn into, but that doesn't matter right now.)  

 

So, the day before the seminar I signed up.  Fortunately, there were still spots available for the afternoon session.  It was a 3 1/2 hour trip down and 3 1/2 hour trip back, but I'm very glad I went.  I look forward to earning some "bragging rights" and checking in here for inspiration and to maybe inspire some others.  There is lots going on during the next 30 days, and I cannot wait for "the perfect time" to start.  It'll never come.  Sorry for being so wordy, but I wanted to get this all down for my own memory.

 

To summarize:

 

January 1, 2014:  Cut out sugar and grains.  (Exceptions - occasional wine, popcorn, fried alligator.) 

February ?:  Bought the book and read ISWF

March 28th:  Day 1 Whole30.

March 29th:  Day 2.  Attended Whole9 seminar.

March 30th:  Day 3.  Began log.  

 

 

[GFChris]

Welcome Jill!

 

What a great way to solidify your commitment with your "day trip" to attend the seminar!  Look forward to seeing you keep that commitment for the remainder of your journey.

[Jill_L]

Day 3:  (Yesterday) Woke up yesterday with the flu.  Did a little research to see if eliminating the cheese was causing my symptoms, but I couldn't really find anything that seemed to substantiate it.  The flu-like symptoms seem to come to those that are giving up the carbs.  Since I already did that a few months ago, I'm thinking that's not it.  My appetite was way down.  I had a fever of 102 a couple times.  I ate three small meals and then was hungry in the evening, so I had some almonds and a little bit of mango.  Not the greatest thing to do, but I was really hungry.  

 

Day 4:  (Today)  Not feeling quite myself still, but way better than yesterday.   This morning I had eggs and broccoli omelet, some orange chunks and some mango chunks.  Noon-time found us at the vet's, so that meal was late - large salad with olive oil, kalamata olives, and ume plum vinegar, and moose meat.  Last meal of the day will be chicken, carrots and green beans.  Then heading to the movies.  This will be the first time going in a long time that I don't have popcorn.  I contemplated not going, but I can't live in a bubble, so here goes!  

[Jill_L]

Day 5:  

 

Meal 1:  2 1/2 soft boiled eggs, zucchini stir-fried in coconut oil, 1/2 orange

Meal 2:  moose burger, carrots and green beans 

Meal 3:  chicken breast, steamed broccoli, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 orange

 

Still not totally well which is a bummer for how I am feeling.  Would like to have experienced this without the added complication of fever and coughing fits.  Oh well, it is what it is.  

 

Happy April Food's Lay!  

[Jill_L]

Day 6:  

 

Meal 1:  Egg and broccoli omelet, 1/2 orange 

Meal 2:  Chicken breast, cukes and tomatoes, cooked carrots

Meal 3:  Steak, stir-fry of peppers, onion, mushrooms and a few almonds, baby kale medley (cooked).

 

 

Day 7:  

 

Meal 1:  Egg and zucchini omelet, mango

Meal 2:  Chicken, leftover zucchini stir-fry, 1/2 avocado.  Put this in the Nutri-Bullet with lots of water, ground it up, heated it and ate it as a soup.  Very easy on the throat and filling too!  

Meal 3:  Probably gonna be salmon, green beans, and an apple.

 

We're leaving for 10 days this weekend and we're trying to not buy any food and just clean up what we have so the pickings are getting a little low.  Might have to break down and buy a cauliflower or something!  LOL!  

 

It's a real bummer that I had to get sick right at the start of this thing.  It's almost like I am not having the true experience.  I am following all the guidelines though, so it's my experience, such as it is.  There are moments when the thought of cold popsicles or ice cream on my throat sounds heavenly.  But, it doesn't sound good in other ways, so it's not been too hard to resist.  I am glad there are none in the house though, just in case I had a weak moment.  

 

With the end of today it'll be a full week of compliance.  If I really wanted to get technical, I could say it's a full week now (after lunch), since I technically started after than terrible snowmobile ride where I felt awful from having whatever I'd eaten at lunch.  But, I'll stick with last Thursday as being Day 1 and count that half day as a bonus!  

[Jill_L]

Day 8:  

 

Meal 1:  2 fried eggs, 1/2 orange, small tomato

Meal 2:  Leftover soup, mooseburger, cucumber slices, other 1/2 orange

Meal 3:  Steak, large salad with olive oil and kalamata olives

 

Cravings today??  Where did those come from?  Today has been a hard day - the first time in a while that I really just wanted to have some food with no brakes.  I drank a lot of hot water with peppermint, but it really didn't go away.  Husband came home and started munching on guacamole chips, then had a potato slathered with sour cream and a home-made biscuit (not made by me!) loaded with butter.  Argh!!  Not fair!     I get really uncomfortable when I feel this way.  I hope I last.  No, I will last.  I just hope these feelings don't last.  Day 8 is supposed to be the start of new energy, but with me being sick, I haven't seen it yet.   I sure hope that arrives soon, too!

[Jill_L]

Day 9:

 

Meal 1:  broccoli and pepper omelet, 1/2 orange and 1/2 grapefruit

Meal 2:  roasted chicken breast, spinach, home-made sweet potato fries

Meal 3:  roasted chicken breast, spinach, strawberries

 

The sweet potato fries helped a little with the feelings of "poor me".  It felt naughty to eat them though.  As for health feelings, I'm still sick.  Bought some mucus relief today to help with coughing up the crap.  We spent a chunk of the day running errands before we fly out tomorrow.  I didn't get tired at all, which was a relief.  But, I'm tired now.  Will save the last minute packing worries until morning.  I know what we're doing for breakfast and lunch.  Will have to figure out dinner and the rest of the week as we go.  The "real" challenge begins tomorrow!  How do I do away from home?  

[Jill_L]

If anybody happened to notice I wasn't posting, I'll bet you thought I'd quit!  Well, I didn't.  I just have not had good internet access and then getting home has been very busy catching up with bills, e-mails, phone calls, etc.  However, I am so glad to report that I am currently on Day 26 and my whole 30 is intact!  

 

Days 10 - 25:  Probably the hardest thing during this time away from home was when we had to eat out.  To get enough vegetables and without cheese (OMG, the cheese they put on everything!) was often a challenge.  I did have to be specific about what I wanted when ordering food.  And I had to send a few things back.  Did you know that some places think grilled also means breaded?  I got this beautiful piece of grouper at a restaurant, but it was breaded.  I had to send it back  I didn't get another one until all my salad was gone and my husband was completely done eating.  Oh well, we survived it.  Once we had our kitchen cleaned up enough to use and bought pots, pans, and plastic dinnerware, and food, it got much easier.  I could cook our own and I did great.  

 

This morning my husband said, "When can we start having oatmeal and stuff again?"  I said, "You can have it whenever you want.  All you have to do is cook it."  He said, "But, I'm doing a 'half30' with you."  Ha ha!!!  He's eating dairy, drinking alcohol, eating bread... He's wearing blinders.  But, this isn't about him.  As for me, I don't think I want to incorporate those foods back into my regular food plan.  I am sure I don't.  I think there will be times when it might be difficult or awkward to be as pushy as I've been doing the whole30, and so I may have those foods on occasion.  But, as a general rule, they are out.  Isn't that the whole idea?  ;-)   Wine, cheese, butter, and a little grain - those are the only things right now that I would think to introduce back in once in a while.  

 

But, I still have 9 days to go before I need to be considering that.  Although my whole 30 will be over in 5 days, I committed to the month of April and I will stick to it.  Feeling proud of myself!  (And I'm feeling lighter too.  I have stuck to the rule of no weighing or measuring also, so I can't say for sure, but I believe I will have lost some weight.  It's at least shifted some as my clothes fit differently, and I am noticing there is less back fat, less belly, and ribs are starting to show up.)  Yay!!!  

[Jill_L]

What about Kombucha?  Anybody include it in a whole30?  I make my own and I leave it so that it doesn't taste sweet, but - how can you really tell?  I haven't had any during this whole30 because I just didn't want to risk it, but I'm brewing a batch now that will be ready at about the time I'm done.  

[Jill_L]

Today is Day 27!

 

This morning I made an omelet with mushrooms and zucchini.  I also put in some leftover cooked hamburg that gave it a different taste for some change.  We had sliced pear and strawberries too.  It was all delicious and I put lots more on my plate than I was able to eat.  Does this mean my leptin is starting to work properly again?  I sure hope so.  I have not had good brakes with food (any type of food) for as long as I can remember.  But this morning, I started feeling full and I actually did not want to clean my plate!  I went to bed hungry last night, so expected I would eat quite a bit for breakfast, but, it turns out, I ate a bit less than the usual amount.  

 

Speaking of going to bed hungry, something we started doing when we were away from home and having to eat out all the time - eating only two meals a day.  We would have a good, solid breakfast (within an hour of waking up), then work through the lunchtime hunger and eat between 2:00 and 4:00, then not eat again that day.  Time-wise, it worked well.  (It takes a lot of time to go out to eat.)  And we got used to ignoring the hunger signals. -- Plus they aren't so strong when you are eating this way anyway.  So, I contemplated staying with that pattern even though we are home and don't have to anymore.  But, I was getting really hungry (and thoughts of food would not go away) in the evenings, so I thought maybe we'd better go back to 3 meals a day.  But, because of circumstances yesterday, I did do the 2 meal thing.  And last night from 8:30 to 10:00, I really fought to not get up and have something.  

 

I do think that some of it is that darn TV!  It's habit.  We used to watch TV and snack.  They sort of go together.  And don't the commercials work toward that end.  Wow!  A lot of food commercials on in the evening!  (Maybe all day, but I don't watch at all during the day,)  Even though we watch pre-recorded shows, we still have to flip through all the commercials.  And, like I said, lots of them were my old binge foods.  Do I need to give up TV too?  My hope is that this habit will just be a bit more stubborn.  I don't HAVE to eat while watching TV, but right now my brain thinks I do.  I will be paying attention to this situation and figure out what is best for me to do.

 

Today is going to be a busy one.  Leaving soon to get my second Lyme disease blood work drawn.  The first was negative, But it was early and they said come back after a while.  It's been a while, and my hips still bother me some, and I can't blame it on weight anymore.  And I am tired some during the days too, which I don't think I should be at this point...      

[Jill_L]

Day 28:

 

Yay!  Another successful day yesterday.

 

Meal 1:  omelet with mushrooms and zucchini and hamburg (to "beef it up" a bit); strawberries and pear.

Meal 2:  Paltry salad at Sam's Club that I added some tomato to.  It had a small amount of chicken in it and I removed all the cheese.  

Meal 3:  Roast pork, sweet potato fries (home-made), roast broccoli, carrots and cauliflower.

 

Again woke up hungry this morning.  And dinner last night lasted so that I was not hungry in the evening.  I think I'm going to have to go to 3 meals a day to avoid the night-time dragon trying to sneak in.  It seems to work much better.  Realistically, I don't think we will give up watching tv shows at night.  Isn't this all about learning what works in individual cases?  I might be willing to give up TV, but no way would my husband.  He thinks I'm eccentric enough as it is!  

[Jill_L]

Day 29!

 

Oh, so close!  Doing great.  I have on an outfit that I could not have fit into last month.  My husband is noticing and commenting.  It's all good!  

 

Meal 1:  Spinach omelet with some hamburg thrown in, mango and strawberries.

Meal 2:  Eating out, will go for a salad and a grilled chicken breast.

Meal 3:  TBA

 

With regard to the TV...  A good dinner last night kept the munchies (and even the thoughts of munchies) away.  I'm feeling relieved about that.  I repeat, it's all good!  

[Jill_L]

Day 30!!!!!

 

Wow!   I was thinking tomorrow was my 30th day.  It's really great how I am not obsessing over this and the numbers.  In the beginning I was so worried that I would not do it properly.  I read and re-read.  Here I am finishing up the 30th day and not even thinking about it.  In all fairness, it could be because I really am committed to finishing out the month, which will give me 34 days.  I began earlier than I'd planned because  my plan to was do the whole30 for the month of April which has 30 days.  I was ready to start on the 28th, so I did.  

 

I am noticing that I can do fine without snacks between meals, but when I am hungry, I am hungry!  I get a little cranky while cooking meals.  As soon as I've eaten some, I am fine again.  Maybe I need to get started with fixing the next meal before I am really feeling hungry.  I don't want to have to pay attention to the clock and eat that way.  I'd rather eat when I feel hungry, but I also don't like getting so grumpy while cooking.  I wonder if it will just get better on its own?  

 

Meal 1:  omelet with zucchini, watermelon and strawberries

Meal 2:  Large salad with olive oil and kalamata olives, steak

Meal 3:  Salmon, green beans, sweet potato fries.

 

The first night I made sweet potato fries I could not get enough of them.  I still like them, but I don't feel a need to "overeat" them.  Yay!  

[Kmlynne]

Thanks for logging your journey!  It has given me inspiration for mine!

[Jill_L]

Today is two days after my whole30, but I have not begun to reintroduce any foods yet.  I also have not weighed myself, although I know that I will have lost some weight.  My clothes fit again.  I would like for them to be too big, but fitting is still way better than being too small!  My reason for not reintroducing and weighing in are that I am waiting until May 1st.  My whole30 was originally for the month of April and I am sticking to it.  If I commit to something, I really like to see it through.

 

One observation I made through this process is that it is not dairy that gives me gas.  I am looking at two other options at this point. I think that it's either mushrooms or almonds.  So, I finished off the mushrooms we had in the fridge last night and I also had some almonds in my salad.  I will not have either of those now for several days and see if the gas disappears.  If it does, I will try having some almonds again and see what happens.  Then I will give those up for a few days and try the mushrooms again.  If it's not one of those things, I'm sort of at a loss.  Eggs?   Ha ha!  Well, aren't I becoming the scientist here.  This whole30 reintroduction could go on for weeks...

 

 

 

 

[Jill_L]

April 30th:  The last day of my "whole34".  This behavior change about not having to do everything "perfectly", (i.e., whoever heard of a whole34?) has been good for me.  I did follow the food rules perfectly, to the best of my knowledge, and that's "good enough".  I have always been an all or nothing kind of person.  "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right" and all that crap.  So much so, that I often would end up quitting some endeavor because I just couldn't do it well enough.  I'm finally starting to loosen up a bit.  

 

So, what does this mean with regard to diet?  

 

1) I can survive very nicely without sugar and grains almost all of the time.  I feel better without that stuff and I don't have cravings (99% of the time).  A cupcake at my son's wedding reception this summer? Most likely.  Popcorn when we go to the movies (and it's not that often) - yes. 

2) I don't need butter on my veggies or cream in my iced tea. But I'd like a little cheese in my omelet.

3) I miss chili, so maybe beans will be an occasional thing for me.

4) I miss wine and the occasional margarita.  

 

These are the things I have contemplated over the past 30 odd days.  Since I have not tried to reintroduce any of these things yet, I can't say for sure that I will still feel this way once I've done that, but if I don't have an extremely adverse reaction to any of the things I mentioned, they will become a possibility once in a while, rather than part of a "I can never have that for the rest of my life" mentality.

 

Isn't that exactly what the whole30 is supposed to teach us?  Comments appreciated.  

[Jill_L]

Here I am, back eating crow...  

 

Seriously, I'm not eating crow, but I'm also not eating sugar or any grains.  It's been 6 days, so today will make a week.  I learned from my first whole30 reintroduction process that what really bothers me is sugars.  I'm not much for dairy or legumes or alcohol on a daily basis anyway, so those are not my concerns.  But SUGAR!  OMG!  I am an addict.  I hate to admit it, but I think I cannot have it at all.  I am going to go as long as I can without it.  At least until my son's wedding, maybe not even have any then.  And at some point I will see if I can have some without ending up bingeing daily yet again.  I gained back 6 of the 10.4 pounds I'd lost on my first whole30 in about as many weeks.  Not happy.  

 

So, I am back writing and reading other posts, listening to Dr. Lustig, re-reading ISWF, and hoping to learn more about why I continue to go back to the sugar once it's out of my system.  OA would say I am insane and need God in my life.  Sorry, been there, done that.  I'm more into the science part of it now.  That's where I think my answers are.  I know I need support, but I don't want the 12 Steps pushed on me again.  So, I'm here with others who believe "it starts with food".  

 

So, can I live the rest of my life never having sugar again?  Or can I figure out a way to have it on occasion and not end up like a drunk in the gutter?  All feedback is appreciated.  I'm going to continue to write here because I think it's good for me to remind myself who I am, but I also like knowing I am not alone.  

[Kmlynne]

Welcome back!

You are not alone! I am on day 80 of my w30 - only because I am still afraid that if I go off roading it will be all or nothing! Right now, no cravings. However, if I start reintroducing, I'm afraid that sugar dragon will be back with a vengeance!

[Jill_L]

Thank you and I hear you. Karen.  I wonder just how long it takes?  Maybe it depends on just how attached we've been to sugars and for how long.  But, 34 days was not long enough for me to learn to stay away from it.  I had a long stretch of not eating sure a few years back.  I went for 5 years with no sugar.  Now, having said that, I have to qualify it and say that I did do whole grains.  I did do artificial sugars.  I did drink dry red wine on occasion.  I did not do white flour, but would occasionally make my own bread with whole wheat flour and no sugar.  

 

Now, before anybody reading this gets their pantaloons in a bunch, let me say here - I know that is not technically no sugar in the strictest sense of the word.  But, what I was mostly avoiding was sweets. I didn't eat any white sugar, molasses, honey, HFCS, or any of the products that contained any of those things.  I managed to do that with a support group and plain old stubbornness.  There were times when it was hard, but mostly I was pretty happy with how I felt and my clothes always fit.

 

Then one day I got mad at the world and my situation and just said, "To heck with it!  I'm having some REAL ice cream!"  That was the end of it.  The cravings were back with a vengeance and I have either not been willing or not able to make it for longer than the whole34 that I did.   The clothes I wore for 5 years that always fit became too small and I had to buy larger ones.  I am back in those clothes now, but they are tight.  

 

I'm a work in progress.  I don't know what's in store.  But, I'm happier when I don't vehemently hate my body.  (I never really like it, but my feelings on that fluctuate some.)  I read the article about Dr. Oz and the ugly fat.  I really liked what was said about not being able to properly care for our bodies when we don't like our bodies.  Seems like a catch-22 to me...  

 

That's all for today.  

[Jill_L]

Day 11 and all's well with my abstention from sugar and flour products.  Cravings are not gone 100%, but I've probably had more fruit than is beneficial for that purpose.  Not ready to cut that back yet.  Onward...