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1st whole30 by a 1st time dieter


mccormbc

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So... I didn't start this the first day like a was supposed to. Typical me. Honestly, despite talking about it for a week, despite eating through most of the crap food in the house, despite having a mentor whose done it AND an accountability partner whose doing it with me, I guess I was worried I wouldn't make it through day 1. Yet here I am. Day 2 and actually feeling good (despite the insomnia, but we'll get to that.)

Since everyone else has down meal plans I guess I can talk about that:

Day 1:

2 eggs sauteed in water and a touch of olive oil. - Honestly part of why this 'diet' was so accessible to me is because I basically eat eggs everyday anyway, often in more than one meal, and LOVE them! Some of the major criticisms I read were people getting bored of "eggs every way for ten days straight," but I just can't see it happening for me. Who knows, maybe I'll look back on this on day 28 and shake my head at my egg optimism.

A pear, mango and some carrots as a snack, about 8 glasses of water, and then dinner.

I skipped lunch on accident, so I ate a lot of dinner:

Berbere chicken with asparagus. It's an Ethiopian spice, and incredible. I highly recommend it. This was an easy dinner because we often make this dish, though usually with white potatoes, which we substituted asparagus for. You simply stew the chicken in the Berbere with water and onions until nearly falling off the bone, then throw in veggies (asparagus) and hard boiled eggs. The dish is about equal parts chicken, onion, vegetable and egg to get the best flavor.

I did have a funny Day 1 experience. I walked into the kitchen and was in the midst of conversation when I casually reached into a bag of pretzels sitting on the counter and popped one in my mouth. I immediately spit it out like it was poison, it didn't even have a chance to rest on my tongue, but the fact that I did so unconsciously indicated to me just how necessary this is. I have always prided myself on not being a snacker, but now I am doubting whether that's actually the case!

Needless to say, that's when I truly heeded the "pack everything tempting into a far distant corner of the kitchen," suggestion.

I sleep like a rock tonight, which leaves me with back and neck cramps in the morning, but also have dreams about being pregnant (I am not, never have been and don't plan on being anytime soon, but my best friend is and experiencing dietary restrictions) until I realize in my dream that I'm not restricting my diet because I'm pregnant, I'm not drinking/eating because I'm doing the whole30! Woke up surprised to be dreaming so soon.

Day 2:

First moment of panic. We didn't restock eggs. This ruins up all my plans. What on earth do I eat for breakfast? I go to the pantry andwith relief find a good six cans of tuna. I'll just make a tuna lettuce wrap, as I'm in a bit of hurry. Not because I think I'll need to, but because I am trying to get in the habit, I check the label. WHAT.Lo and behold, the ingredients are tuna, and vegetable broth (soy). Why is there soy in my tuna? Because I stocked up on cheap stuff when it was on sale. Great. So, I settle for an apple and black coffee because I am helpless. Lunch later is sauteed broccoli and mushrooms typed with tahini. Sort of a weird texture, but very tasty.then I'm off to my weekend job. Here's the kicker, I work in an Italian restaurant, renowned for their Alfredo (my favorite) tiramisu, and wine list. My go to weekend meal. I seriously made a list of every whole30 company food the restaurant carries so that when I am tempted I can ask the chef to steam some broccoli or I can make a salad. I feel this will be a place I am most tempted. Yet tonight, I did pretty well! I did get very dizzy, but I had not had nearly enough water, realized that early in the night and as soon as I chugged a few pint glasses a felt much better. The owner asked me to do a wine tasting and take some notes, which normally I would have jumped at the chance, but instead I recommended someone else. So there was certainly temptation. I was a little hungry when I got home but was craving savory not sweet, so avoided fruit. Instead I steamed a small head of broccoli in the microwave, topped it with a touch of salt and pepper, and couldn't believe how great it was! I was still a bit hungry, so I had a spinach salad with balsamic vinegar,topped with a soft boiled egg. I swear, eggs and spinach were meant to be together. So.good.

TThat's it!

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Have you looked at the meal template? You need a "palm-size" portion of protein and thumb-size portion of fat and "the rest of your plate" filled with vegetables at every meal. Skipping meals and eating fruit (or fruit + carrots) for  snacks is really not going to support your efforts in the same way. The meal template is what sets people up for success on the program. If you get hungry between meals, make a "mini-meal" including all the same things. don't skip the protein or fat.

 

here is the meal planning template: http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf

 

You are doing great, but I know you can do just a little bit better  :)

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I am wondering if you are trying to diet ( title)? This is not a diet, it is a challenge to change the way you eat. I assume from your post that you are not a planner but just kind of go with the flow. For my whole30 I needed to do a lot of planning including stocking up on protein and veggies to have enough to get through the week. I am not sure if you can be successful on your whole30 without a little planning. Almost everything you eat has to be made from scratch, that takes a lot of time. You also have to read every label as you discovered with tuna. You might want to check out The Clothes Make The Girl, she has some great recipes and some tips for doing a cook up once a week so your meal prep daily is not so overwhelming. You can do it!

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Thanks for the tip Missmary, I have downloaded the mealplanning guide, and have a ton of recipes collected that I researched over the course of the last few days. I usually work 15 hour workdays so didn't have time to spend a long time cooking this week, but am planning on spending today fixing my fridge up based on the suggestions on The Clothes Make the Girl.

Sorry Tina, I should have put 'diet' in quotations in the title like I did in the text. I don't diet, as in have never adopted any kind of restrictive eating outline in an attempt to lose weight. If I feel I need to lose weight I eat better quality foods and increase my exercise. That's it. I don't believe in berating and punishing and rewarding myself with food and have seen enough family members struggle (and murder their self-esteem in the process) and never succeed anyway. More specifically though, I don't have a diet, which is what I meant by the title. I don't have a regularly scheduled intake of food. I work a lot and often overlook meals, forgetting to eat entirely some days. It has not been uncommon for me to exist fueled only by coffee (laden with cream and sugar) and water. Then when I do remember that food is a thing my body requires for sustenance, I eat an entire frozen pizza, or go a restaurant for five courses. So what I meant by diet was that I am using the whole 30 as a way to retrain myself to care about what I am putting into my body. To buy food that has value, to learn to and get in the habit of cooking for myself. To change my relationship with food from something that I do mechanically because I am supposed to (when I remember it), to something I enjoy, something I do because I like the energy it gives me and the way it makes my body feel. (I probably should've outlined why I am doing this in the first post, but it was 4am.)

I have a lot of work to do on myself and I know it's going to be difficult to change my eating habits, but isn't it the same struggle everyone else has? The difference is that my struggle is eating at all and eating well versus cutting out habitually bad foods like soda. But I truly feel that I am ready to control of my health and my diet.

I bought all the meat and vegetables my fridge could handle but waited for the weekend to buy the pantry stuff so I could spend more time reading labels. I am really excited to spend the day cooking. Fortunately my partner is a chef and supporting me on this, so I won't starve or lose hope at my first failed recipe (an inevitability I am sure.)

Thanks for all the great tips though and I am looking forward to using some of the suggested recipes and sharing what I cook!

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