Sophia's Whole30 Adventure

[Jubilee]

About 3 weeks ago I first heard of the Whole30. It intrigued me because it is similar to the style of eating that I tend to when I want to "clean up." I described it to my husband and he said, "Oh--that's Palio." I'd never heard of Palio before, but found out later that he was right. Following the birth of my daughter two months ago my diet and exercise pretty well tanked. The physical resting was something my body needed post-labor, but the result is that I'm weaker than I've ever been before. My stamina is at 0. I needed both to clean up my food and gently work back into exercising.

I ordered the book, read the highlights to my husband, and we agreed to start on August 1st. At this point I'm committed to the full 30 days, provided that I don't see any ill effects to the Tiny One or my milk supply. Nursing adds a new dimension, but since this isn't calorie restriction (I'm too much of a food lover to try anything like that!) I think it will be fine.

The first three days weren't very hard at all, except that I was constantly hungry. And I really was having a hard time with hunger because the "broccoli and fish" test worked. I wasn't craving anything in particular, I just wanted food. But it seemed impossible to keep enough food made. Hunger or no, the meals were generous and tasty, and there were no cheats.

Day four was tough, mainly because the constant hunger was getting old. On top of that, my hubby was having some pretty serious detox and feeling rotten. That's no fun for anyone. Fortunately we didn't have any outside obligations so we were able to rest a fair amount.

That evening was a breakthrough, though. I made a lamb salad (one of the recipes from the book) and drizzled it all over with the vinagarette dressing from ISWF. For the first time I was satiated after the meal. I'm not sure if my body needed that amount of time to adjust, or if the fat quantity was finally brought up to the right amount with the salad dressing. Either way, it was cheering to finally be satisfied and able to think about something OTHER than food.

It's day 5 now, and I'm definitely feeling some of the detox myself. I don't feel crummy, but I'm very weak. It's only 8 in the evening now, and I could possibly go to bed for the night. Fortunately there were leftovers we could eat for dinner, otherwise we might have had some problems. Breakfast and lunch were both tasty, and filling. I'm being extra careful about keeping the good fat content high, so hopefully we won't be going back to "always hungry" again.

Two things of note today:

First, I went by the dessert table at the church potluck today. I looked at all the desserts, and they did not tempt me. I knew that they would be tasty and I would enjoy them, but that was more of an observation than a craving or desire--like observing that flowers are, in fact, pretty but without the compulsion to pick them.

Second: I halfway drifted off to sleep during an hour long fitness lecture by my cousin. He was talking about exercising, and I was visualizing what he was saying in my semi-dream. All the people were built of pieces of strawberry cake. People who exercised were 4 pieces of cake (good work!) people who were lazy were built of only 2 or 3 pieces of cake (shame on them!). Funny thing is, while strawberry cake isn't bad, it's definitely not my favorite....

[Derval]

Funny dream sequence! cakes trying to get ripped!

best of luck in the rest of your w30, hope you find the sweet spot with meal sizes and proportions that hunger is no longer an issue.

[Jubilee]

Thanks, Derval! So far, so good! :-)

[Jubilee]

Day 6

I got up a little earlier this morning and packed breakfast and lunch for my hubby. He's doing a lot better than he was on Saturday. Still feeling the detox, but not so miserable. While I was at it I chopped an extra quart of broccoli and carrots. That'll speed up meal prep.

I went on a walk before breakfast. A mile in 22 minutes. Not amazing, but the fact that I'm actually DOING it is a step in the right direction. We'll work on time and distance as we go. I got out early enough that it was only 92 degrees. Definitely better than other days when it's been pushing (or passing) 100. At home I treated myself to a glass of iced sparkling water with lime. Amazing how good that is!

I spent time getting more veggies chopped and ready to go--that will speed meal prep immensely.

Breakfast was 4 eggs scrambled with about 2 cups worth of carrots and broccoli.

Lunch was leftover balsamic pork with tomatoes and green beans over spinach. I had a peach and a handful of cashews and almonds on the side.

Dinner was "A taste of Greece" with chopped lamb steak, eggplant, green beans and tomatoes over a bed of spinach, drizzled with the vinagarette. I REALLY like the salad dressing.

I had a couple snacks--a peach, a nectarine, and a handfull of nuts. i may be eating a bit more than the recommended amount of fruit, but it's in season right now and it won't be forever. When peaches and nectarines are going for 50 cents a pound, I can't NOT buy them, and I cant let them go bad either. So... I'll be moderate. I'm not using them as a sugar prop as far as I can tell.

Mood today has been good. I woke up mentally ready to conquer the world though physically I was still feeling detox. In the afternoon I was pretty weak feeling, but still in a good mood. If I've experienced the worst of detox, this won't be so bad.