OMD21's First W30 Log

[omd21]

This is my very first post, I am on day 8 of my first Whole30, and I wanted to write my thoughts here to hold myself accountable and document my journey.

 

I've always been within what's considered a healthy BMI, but not necessarily "healthy". Within that range, I have lost and regained the same 10-15 lbs over and over and again. I go through periods of very healthy eating followed by periods of succumbing to my sweet tooth. I gained around 40 lbs with each one of my pregnancies and lost the weight each time by reducing carbs and counting calories. In a way I've been lucky to have stayed relatively slim in spite of being addicted to sugar. At times I've had at least one desert per day.

 

In the past 5 years, however, some things started to shift health-wise. I started suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, and terrible allergies in the Spring that no medication can alleviate. My eyes get painfully red and swollen and I'm miserable and out of commission for two months every year.

 

Last summer I enlisted a personal trainer and in two months went from 28 to 20% body fat, the lowest I've ever been. At the end of that period I felt and looked amazing. However the diet prescribed by the trainer was the 6-meal a day type, and I believe I fell off the wagon because I became bored with the food and exhausted to constantly be thinking about food and making sure I had food with me at all times. I travel a lot with my business, so this plan became extremely difficult and at the beginning of this year, I found myself back where I started.

 

Finally, two weeks ago we took the kids to Disney World and at the end of the trip I realized how unhealthy I felt. I just felt puffy and bloated and jiggly, I had all kinds of junk food while on the trip, from funnel cakes with ice cream, to pizza, etc. I had fallen into the habit of eating bread which I don't even enjoy all that much. I realized something needed to change.

 

I came across Whole30 on a friend's Facebook page and decided to start right away.

 

So far, I'm feeling fantastic! It has been extra challenging, since I'm still traveling and living out of a hotel for the next two weeks. My cravings have not been too bad. I actually like veggies and meat, and eggs, so instead of salivating when thinking about off-limit foods, I'm itching to make all the delicious recipes I've read about on Nom Nom Paleo.

 

I've basically been eating hard boiled eggs for breakfast, rotisserie chicken or cocktail shrimp (without the sauce), or some other kind of plain grilled fish or meat from Publix, Whole Foods or Fresh Market for lunch and dinner, and lots and lots of raw veggies.

 

Today, however, I realized I'm abusing the fruit and nuts. I've been trying to stick to two servings of fruit per day but on a couple of days I've eaten three servings. I'm also relying too much on nuts for my fat intake. For some reason, I've had a hard time finding ripe avocados in my travels so I was eating a handful of cashews for bkfast, lunch, and dinner fats. On occasion, I have had more than one serving of fat per meal as well, if I add some EVOO to my salad.

 

It's been a little extra challenging to start this while traveling but I am excited and I already feel lighter, less bloated and puffy, and happier.

 

I am one of those people who is addicted to the scale and I have NOT weighted myself since before I left for vacation, in spite of having a scale here. This is probably the hardest part for me, harder than giving up sweets.

 

Since starting, I have watched my husband and kids have pizza, cookies, candy, burgers, fries, etc. and I have been ok with it. My worse moment came when we went to Longhorn for lunch yesterday and the waitress came back and informed me that they were all out of sweet potatoes. I almost cried. 

 

Today is my daughter's Birthday and as I type this her beautiful Birthday cake is sitting right next to my computer. I'm not touching it

 

My hopes are that I can finally kick these horrible allergies to the curb. I've had zero anxiety issues since I started eight days ago, and I want to shed those 10 lbs; I just feel better at that weight.

 

I already feel like this is going to be a great experience! I've been reading a lot of your stories in the past week and I feel incredibly inspired by all of you!

 

Cheers to us,

[WholeBunchOJunk]

Wow, what a great job you are doing, especially while traveling!  Great job!

[ninadude]

Woo WOO!!!!  

Great!  Keep it up!

[omd21]

Thank you for the kind words of encouragement!

 

So today my meals have been:

 

M1 - 3 hard boiled eggs

        salad of celery with red, green, and yellow peppers

        pineapple 

        macadamia nuts

        small decaf coffee, black

 

M2 - cocktail shrimp (no sauce) with lime juice

        salad of spinach, grape tomatoes, and half an avocado

        strawberries

        cashews

 

M3 - grass-fed burger with tomato slice and wrapped in lettuce (at restaurant celebrating my daughter's birthday)

        I didn't feel full, not enough veggies, so half an hour later when we got to the hotel I had:

        half an avocado

        small mandarin orange

        macadamia nuts

 

I did it! I cut the Birthday cake, watched my family eat it with vanilla ice cream and did not even lick the little bit of frosting smeared on my finger. Hoooray!!!

 

My goal for the next few days is to reduce fruit to servings per day and nuts to only one serving per day.

[ellig]

Keep up the good work!  I'm on day 1 and it helps to read that you're having such a positive experience! 

[omd21]

Day 9

Feeling a little tired today but surprisingly woke up with slightly less allergies. My eyes are less swollen and red and I slightly resemble my normal self. I'm hopeful to hit some tiger blood before a strenuous weekend full of work assignments.

M1 - 3 hard boiled eggs

Steamed Brussels sprouts drizzled with EVOO

Mixed berries

Macadamia nuts

M2 - Roast turkey breast slices

Steamed cauliflower and broccoli

Half an avocado with lime juice.

M3 - Protein TBD

Salad with spinach, grape tomatoes, half an avocado, and pineapple.

[omd21]

Thinking that I may go purchase a slow cooker so I can cope living out of a hotel room for another 2 weeks.

[omd21]

Day 10

 

After feeling tired pretty much all day yesterday, I slept like a baby and woke up much more rested today and with much needed energy. I  only did a little bit of bodyweight exercises for the past few days and today I actually feel like doing cardio.

 

Last night after dinner I felt much more bloated than in the past week and I had some digestive issues. The only change I've made is eating less nuts and relying more on avocadoes for fat. Hmmmm.

 

M1 - Hard boiled eggs, steamed brussel sprouts drizzled with EVOO, cashews, and berries.

 

M2 - Probably sardines over a spinach and carrots salad with EVOO

 

M3 - TBD

 

From tomorrow until Saturday I have three full days of strenuous physical work that last until around midnight. I usually come back ravenous from these assignments. I'm planning on taking my meals with me. Wish me luck!

[omd21]

Day 16!

 

I'm in disbelief that I came out of the other side of this weekend a compliant Whole30er.

 

I'm a wedding photographer and I had a four day assignment this weekend, hosted by a sweet family who allowed all of the vendors involved to partake in the the open bar and eat at their heart's content. It was a very high end wedding with food being passed around constantly.

 

After you've been working hard, carrying heavy equipment, on your feet for 9+ hours, it's hard to pass on the party food, but I did it!!! I brought my food with me every day and did not deviate from the plan.

 

The only problem is that on a couple of days I only managed two meals and a small snack, and sometimes the second meal was late, like at 10:00 p.m. I'm not sure that was great for my metabolism.

 

In the past, this kind of work weekend would have been followed by a week of utter exhaustion, soreness, naps needed every day, etc. However this time I feel great! My feet didn't even hurt, no soreness in my arms or wrists, etc.

 

Yippeeee!!!

[Attackkitten]

Man, I don't know how you walked past a wedding cake but two thumbs up to you.

[WholeBunchOJunk]

Amazing job!!! 

[omd21]

I don't know how I did it either. The cake smelled divine. On the rehearsal dinner evening I took a huge piece of caramel cake back to my husband and kids. This way of eating is giving me better will power.

I knew I would have felt pretty crummy the flowing day if I'd had indulged.

The biggest thing right now is how unbelievably better my allergies are. Two weeks ago, I'd wake up every morning with my eyes swollen, beet red, painful from pollen allergies. Each day they have been a little better. Today my eyes look normal. I'm so impressed with this change. Every single year, I battle with this problem and nothing helps. I'm amazed at how simple the solution was.

[omd21]

M1 - Three hard boiled eggs, steamed brussell sprouts with olive oil, macadamia nuts, raspberries, black decaf coffee

 

M2 - Grilled chicken breast, one hard boiled egg, chopped tomatoes with tricolor peppers, brussel sprouts, pico and guacamole, macadamia nuts and a couple of pinneaple chunks.

 

M3 - No clue yet Steamed shrimp, steamed broccoli, snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, zucchinni. Some nuts and pinneaple.