McJule's Post-Whole 30

[mcjule]

I am incredibly exhausted today.  My sleep was interrupted several times for different reasons and I am struggling at work!  My weekend eating was pretty good -- I did have movie theatre popcorn one night but everything else was on track.  I made it to the farmer's market but did not get to weight lifting unfortunately.  Vacation in a week!

 

Breakfast:  bacon, three egg, and kale scramble, coffee w/almond milk and coconut milk

Lunch:  salad w/grilled chicken, two chocolates

Dinner: salmon sushi, popcorn

[mcjule]

So I'm feeling like I'm making up for not eating sweet potatoes with more non-gluten grains.  It seems like my body really wants a starch so if I skip the sweet potato I eat popcorn or rice later.  Not that those are terrible choices, but I think the sweet potato is better.  So today I brought one in case I get hungry.  Farmers market sweet potatoes looked too good to pass up.

 

Breakfast:  bacon, three egg, and kale scramble, coffee w/almond milk and coconut milk

Lunch:  large salad w/tomatoes, sausage, sweet potato w/coconut butter, two pieces of chocolate

Dinner:  gluten-free pizza, salad

Workout:  weights

[mcjule]

So yesterday we had gluten free pizza for dinner made with tapioca.  I thought it was pretty good.  It was this artisan pizza so no preservatives and yucky stuff like that.  I'm not usually one to eat the gluten-free versions of things but we were crunched on time and I had found this pizza at our organic grocery store.  I also lifted weights -- yay me!

 

Breakfast:  bacon, three egg, and kale scramble, coffee w/almond milk and coconut milk

Lunch:  large salad w/tomatoes, sausage, sweet potato w/coconut butter

Pre-Dinner:  carrots w/baba ganoush 

Dinner:  grilled chicken breasts, salad, small glass of white wine, two squares of dark chocolate

[mcjule]

So I know I'm not supposed to be weighing in so often but last week when I was eating non-gluten grains regularly my weight was down about two pounds from where it is this week.  I don't get it. Maybe just a random fluctuation.

 

I was also absolutely starving yesterday for unknown reasons.

 

Breakfast:  bacon, three egg, and kale scramble, coffee w/almond milk and coconut milk

Lunch:  large salad w/tomatoes, chicken, sweet potato w/coconut butter

Dinner:  fish, salad

Workout:  weights

[pjena]

Starving for no reason and weight up - could it be close to that time of the month? 

 

I don't get most of my random fluctuations, either.  It's annoying, isn't it?  I gained 2 lbs overnight.  I'm guessing broccoli and peanut bloat and AF on her way.  I'm not letting it get to me.  Someday, I'll break the scale habit. 

[mcjule]

I'm back from vacay and I have missed you all!  We had a great time and my eating went more smoothly than the last trip -- I think I'm beginning to know what to do better.  I brought my own coconut oil and butter as well as coconut milk and while I know I had a few too many organic non-GMO corn chips and glasses of wine, overall it wasn't bad at all.  We celebrated my son's birthday and I baked him a cake from scratch (that's my thing). I had a bite, but that was plenty to satisfy me and not cause major gluten stomach issues!  I feel like I want to detox now . . . no more alcohol or non-gluten grains for awhile.  Hopefully I can!

 

Breakfast:  three eggs and sauteed kale, coffee w/coconut and almond milk

Lunch:  Chipotle carnitas salad w/added guacamole, 4 pieces of candy at the office

Dinner:  roasted mustard balsamic chicken thighs, large salad, dark chocolate

Workout:  15-20 minute weight lifting workout

[mcjule]

I haven't stepped on the scale since pre-vacation.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  I am expecting that time of the month so I'm sure I'll be back on it in a week but this is about 1.5 weeks of no weighing in so that is good.

 

My candy habit is back with a vengeance.  I had four pieces yesterday at work.  It's a habit not a craving because I never have it when I'm not at work.  My after dinner chocolate is more of a craving, but I don't think it's THAT bad.  

 

Breakfast:  three eggs and sauteed bacon and kale, coffee w/coconut and almond milk

Lunch:  large salad, grilled veggies, some chicken salad (was away from the office and stuck at a lunch with only sandwiches and salad!)

Dinner:  grilled burger w/tomatoes, large salad

Workout: few push-ups and sit-ups

[mcjule]

AF still isn't here so I broke down and got on the scale.  About the same.  I'm basically in the same 2 pound range that I was pre and post Whole 30.  Weight really isn't going up or down these days.  Maybe my 10 pound goal is too ambitious but I'd still like to be lower than I am now.

 

I avoided candy at work yesterday (yay!) and I've been avoiding wine and non-gluten grains the past couple of days.  Progress!

 

Breakfast:  two eggs sauteed with chicken sausage and kale, coffee w/almond and coconut milk

Lunch:  large salad w/leftover chicken thighs, avocado

Dinner: slider burger (no bun), two meat/veggie skewers (these were at a work event), tortilla chips

Workout:  none

[pjena]

I'm in the same place as you.  Weight not moving.  Would like it lower.  I'm about 3 lbs down from pre W30, but still 7 up from goal and 2 up from post W30#1.  But, I've just accepted it will come or not.  I'm doing all I am willing to do right now.  Which, frankly, is a lot.  It's annoying, but at almost 40, maybe it's just a fact of life.  Good job avoiding the candy.  And the wine and grains.  I think every good choice adds up to moving in the right direction while every poor choice adds up to moving in the wrong direction.  The more I can minimize the poor choices, the more likely I can either maintain the status quo or maybe start inching in the right direction.  Keep up the good work!

[mcjule]

Jen, thanks for the support!  We are in similar places.

 

Confession time . . . so last night AF arrived with a vengeance and all I wanted was carbs and salt.  I decided to allow myself a few blue corn chips to satisfy the craving and ended up eating too many and that was all I had for dinner.  I got a huge stomachache afterward caused by either the chips, AF, the four Advil I took to help with cramps, or a combination of the three. Yuck.  I still have it.  

 

I'm also just completely exhausted from the week!

 

Breakfast:  two eggs sauteed with chicken sausage and kale, coffee w/almond and coconut milk

Lunch:  large salad w/sausage, avocado

Dinner:  grilled chicken breasts, veggies

Workout:  weights

[Physibeth]

I had a very similar experience with my cycle this month. I was binging on corn chips and rice last Sunday and was like "what is wrong with me!" and then I looked at my cycle tracking app and saw how close I was and was like "oh, that makes sense". Important thing is that to just move on. 

[pjena]

Yep - snack attack.  It got me the other night, too.  Remember this is a process.  We won't be perfect, but if these things can happen less often over time, we're moving in the right direction.

[mcjule]

So I gave in and let myself have a small glass of wine, small amount of chocolate, and small portion of rice on Friday night.  I had some more wine and chocolate over the weekend (in small quantities).  The combo of the difficult week and AF was really getting to me and obviously I could have done worse (e.g. tortilla chips!).  

 

I did get a chance to do some weight lifting and I'm sore, which I LOVE.  Still just working out at home because I can't seem to ever find time to get to a gym, but it's something.  

 

Decided to introduce 1/2 a sweet potato back into my breakfast this morning.  We'll see how that goes.

 

Breakfast:  three eggs w/sauteed kale, 1/2 sweet potato w/coconut butter, coffee w/almond milk and coconut milk

Lunch:  had a client lunch and ordered a salad w/shrimp.  MISTAKE!  The salad was great but it had four medium-sized shrimp, not nearly enough protein . . . am starving.

Pre-Dinner:  carrots w/baba ganoush

Dinner:  grilled chicken/veggie kabobs, salad, few bites of rice, glass of white wine, two squares dark chocolate

Workout:  none

[mcjule]

QUESTION!  Forgot to put this in my post.  So my older son is starting school next week (getting out of daycare) and we are going to need to leave much earlier in the morning.  Right now I make my eggs in the morning and then often take them to work with me.  That isn't going to work anymore as all food is going to need to be prepared the night before.  Any good ideas for a night before breakfast?  Preferable not super time consuming!  Thanks!!

[pjena]

I like HB eggs with massaged kale salad when I need to have it prepared ahead of time.  On Sunday, I HB 15 eggs and massage up 2 bags of kale with oil and salt and package it all up into 5 containers.  Breakfast = done!  Cold sweet potato chunks are good, too, and can be prepared and packaged up witht he HB eggs and massaged kale.

 

I have not tried scrambling eggs and sauteeing kale ahead of time, but you could try that and see if it heats up ok in the microwave.

[lujo238]

I like to make a big batch of sweet potato hash on the weekend and eat off it all week.  Then in the morning all I have to do is add an egg to it.  I find that scrambled eggs cooked ahead can be dry but that is partly because I like my eggs well done.  If you like a softer scramble or fried they may re-heat better. 

[mcjule]

I had to google "massaged kale" but it looks good!  I need to try that!  Thanks for the breakfast ideas.  Hard boiled eggs is definitely the way to go.

 

So I was in such a rush this morning that I brought a salad w/no dressing.  Yuck and yuck.  Need to figure something out.  Maybe someone here has olive oil and vinegar.

 

Also, last night I had a glass of wine, two squares of dark chocolate and few bites of rice (cooked that for my husband).  I feel like I shouldn't be doing all three.  But I should I not be doing any of them??  It's a question I'm struggling with.

 

Breakfast:  three eggs w/sauteed kale, 1/2 sweet potato w/coconut butter, coffee w/almond milk and coconut milk

Lunch:  sausage, salad w/avocado, two pieces of caramel

Dinner:  spaghetti squash w/sauce, large salad

Workout:  weights

[pjena]

For some reason, I love HB egg yolks crushed on top of the massaged kale salad with lemon pepper.  It's a weird, but good, combination.

I keep lemon pepper and balsamic vinegar in my desk for my salads.  I also keep extra cans of tuna and if I forget the avocado, I use one of the oil packed ones.  I have a couple emergency packs of almond butter, too, just in case, but I have yet to use them. 

 

I have no problem with grains occasionally.  I just think they're unnecessary.  So, a bit of rice doesn't bother me one way or the other.  Wine and chocolate I am trying to limit to very rare and very special occasions.  For me, they lead to sugar cravings and mood swings and bloat and not feeling great.  I think the less often I have them, the better.  I feel like I mostly have them licked.  Next up is nut butters.  I apparently am not yet willing to give that up.  I think you just have to decide what you're willing to do in order to meet your goals.  We're pretty similar.  I just have 5-10 lbs to lose, depending on the day.  I'm sure if I worked out harder or avoided the nut butters and occasional snacks completely, I could lose it.  But, apparently, I'm not willing to do that.  So, I just accept where I am.  A year ago, I would have said I wasn't willing to give up sugar (mostly) and yet, here I am on day 110 of avoiding desserts (have had 4 exceptions and one more planned).  You're doing great!  You just have to decide if you're willing to take that next step and cut out the wine/chocolate.  Remembering it's up to you helps. 

[mcjule]

Thanks Jen, that is helpful.  I had a major nut problem myself that I've actually mostly gotten rid of.  I can't remember the last time I had nut butter and I do occasionally put almond slivers on my salad, but actual nuts (except cashews!) are much less of a problem for me than the nut butters.

 

As for non-gluten grains, I'm with you on them being unnecessary.  I do really enjoy rice and in the summer fresh farmers market corn.  So I think having that occasionally is fine, but I'd like to limit it to maybe once a week.  As for wine and chocolate, those seem to be my vices.  I really really really love having a small glass of wine with dinner.  It doesn't lead to cravings for me (unless I drink more thank one glass, in which case it definitely does!).  But I do feel like it's extra calories that I certainly don't need.  I'd like to have it be a more frequent occurrence.  Last Friday I opened a bottle and then I didn't want to just throw out the rest so I kept having a small glass for several days until the bottle was gone.  As for the chocolate, again I don't think two small squares of dark chocolate is bad.  I did give them up for my Whole 30 and I was fine.  So again maybe I should cut back.  I used to have a major sweet tooth problem so getting down to two squares is a big accomplishment but maybe I need to do more.  Doesn't help that my husband has a MAJOR sweet tooth and eats dessert every night!  

[mcjule]

I didn't have wine or chocolate last night!  Yay me!  Of course I had two small caramels at work after lunch so not sure that is really a win . . . 

 

No sweet potato today.  I ran out of time.  We'll see how my hunger is.

 

Breakfast:  three eggs w/bacon, kale, and green beans, coffee w/coconut and almond milk
Lunch:  leftover spaghetti squash w/sausage and tomato sauce

Dinner:  Thai beef

Workout:  none

[mcjule]

I had a Whole 30 day yesterday!  No candy/chocolate at all whatsoever.  And no wine and grains.  Yay me!  I was just super busy and no time for candy or my sometimes afternoon coffee with a bit of half-and-half.  And I stayed strong at dinner and didn't add rice (as my husband did) and avoided dessert.  It felt good.

 

Breakfast:  three eggs w/sauteed kale, little bit of fruit, coffee w/coconut and almond milk

Lunch:  leftover Thai beef w/green beans and basil, avocado

Snack:  Lara bar (my breakfast was too small and I had an inkling I would be hungry but didn't have time to pack more food)

Dinner:  Indian take-out -- chicken tikka, spinach, and a little rice

Workout:  none

[pjena]

Way to go on the W30 day!

[mcjule]

So we were totally exhausted last night -- busy work weeks for both of us and not enough sleep.  We did Indian take-out so I had some rice and I got the chicken tikka, which of course has a bit of dairy.  But I was more than happy not to have to cook and it was delicious.  The rice was my first non-gluten grain in a week and I think once a week isn't bad.  I can't believe how tired I was.  I think I'm stressed about my son starting a new school in addition to the busy work week and lack of sleep. I slept over 8 hours last night and I still feel tired today!

 

Breakfast:  leftover spinach, eggs w/bacon and kale, coffee w/coconut and almond millk

Lunch:  leftover chicken tikka, apple

Dinner:  grilled sausages, salad, chocolate

Workout:  none

[melbournegirl]

Hey mcjule, I have a work candy problem too! I went for a year leaving it alone but have been struggling the last few months.

I am 10 pounds heavier than when I started my first whole30. I lost 7lbs after the first 30 days but have gained ever since... My health has been significantly better though.

Like you guys I'm wondering is this what happens when you get older... I am two years off 50 which has been weighing on my mind....

But I think its just that I haven't yet got the right combination of volume, exercise, sleep and stress. Hormones seem to play a huge part, as does things like coffee and fruit.

I am paring right back on the nuts and fruit and increasing my volume of veg soup to see what that does, plus walking 6km a day.

Fingers crossed.

[pjena]

I'm 1 week of 40    and I'm thinking this just might be normal.  Sigh.