gswh2 Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I am a 28 year old triathlete/runner who has slacked off a bit on my racing and thus put on some weight(20 pounds). I am a numbers/data junkie so I decided to get my body fat % tested at a BodPod before and after this 30 days. According to the results from Whole30 day -3 I weighed 149.7lbs and was 28.6% Body Fat. Hopefully this way of eating will drop both of those numbers. I plan to continue doing ~30 minute runs 5 or 6 times a week and some light swimming. My major weaknesses are fast food and soda. With the biggest issue being that I have trouble with moderation. When I say I will just have a small serving of something I end up eating so much more. As the title says I am an all or nothing kind of person. If I am training for a race I will workout almost everyday and feel guilty on rest days. When there is no race on the horizon I can easily convince myself that a nap would be a better use of my time. That is why I am doing Whole30. I find it hard to imagine that all or most of my poor food cravings will disappear during this month but I hope that is the case. I know that I will not be able to force myself into a very restrictive diet indefinitely if I still crave those foods. I believe I will be able to hold off for 30 days on the off chance that I will not even want those foods after that time is up. Eliminating them completely for 30 days will be much easier for me than trying to severely limit my consumption of them while still craving them. I start my Whole30 today. I imagine the first hurdle I will need to clear is a slight caffeine addiction from drinking soda. I have never liked coffee so I don't plan to start drinking it now. Luckily my office stocks peppermint tea which I will be able to use to help with any withdrawal headaches. One of my excuses for why I drink soda is that I can only drink so much water before I need something with flavor. To combat that line of thinking I made a couple types of infused water yesterday that I will drink after work today. I made a citrus water(lemon, lime, orange) and a strawberry/lime water. I will try to write periodically if not daily about what I am eating, and feeling (both what benefits I am seeing and what I am really struggling with). I appreciate and welcome any comments, questions and advice. ~Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennR Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 During your Whole30, try to let go of your focus on numbers and not weigh yourself, test for body fat, etc. Shifting away from these metrics, at least for the duration, is an important part of Whole30. In fact, it's one of the rules. Good luck, and have fun! You're obviously a thorough and determined person, so I think this will be an adventure for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 I will not be weighing or anything during the 30. I just want a before metric to see how far I can come in 30 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassie C Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 I bet you will start to notice some patterns in WHEN you crave soda, too... I've parted from iced coffee full of cream/sugar/flavorings and I've already noticed that I want one whenever I finish with a difficult client at work and am on my way to the next one. I'm learning to replace the coffee with deep breaths and music and hopefully it will remain a habit after the 30 days end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNowak Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Congrats and happy Whole30 day 1! As a current Whole30er (Day 15), I also was an avid soda/red bull drinker. It was my biggest concern when I started because I couldn't tell you the last time in almost 20 years of drinking soda that I went more than a couple days without one. So far it has been far easier than i ever thought to kick it. I'm not saying a couple times I haven't stared at a soda on a coworkers desk or thought about one but that urge to have one passes quickly. I found sparkling water to be the best replacement. It gives you the bubbles and carbonation. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 I made it through Day 1 without much trouble. I need to make sure I bring more food for lunch from now on. I ate my lunch around 1:30 and by 4 I was really getting hungry for dinner. I managed to make it through all of my after work obligations and make a good Whole30 compliant dinner. I was impressed that, while I was hungry while in a grocery store and driving past restaurants I where I would normally stop, I was not really craving bad foods. I was craving food in general but I wasn't focused on any one thing. While I feel like it is probably too early to be seeing and feeling changes do to the new way of eating I did notice a few things. I typically go for a 30 minute run during my lunch break 3 times a week. I did the same yesterday and my legs were feeling pretty weak by the end. This could simply be because I was running with a coworker and that normally pushes me harder than I would go on my own. Also last night I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and stayed asleep til my alarm went off. I unfortunately did not wake up refreshed and ready for the day. I will keep an eye on things and try to stay in touch with my body. Hopefully today will be as easy to get through as yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Fatigue during exercise is very normal during the first couple of weeks of a Whole30. Your body should adjust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Made it through day 2. Despite trying to plan ahead I am still spending a lot of time in the grocery store. Both days I have had to stop at the grocery store on my way home from work. I am please with my willpower since that was typically when I would cave and just eat whatever I could find. Dinner was supposed to be easy tonight but it ended up taking forever to cook. The directions which were supposed to be from frozen must actually have called for the dish to be defrosted first. Almost 2 hours later when I finally had something edible I wasn't even hungry anymore. I forced down about half of what I planned to eat and called it quits. Last night I was back to a really fitful sleep. I woke up multiple times during the night and had trouble getting back to sleep. I was really hoping the first night was a sign of whats to come but that was probably a bit to ambitious. I just hope I get there by the end of my 30 days. Breakfast: 3 eggs and a large serving of spinach Lunch: Chicken Breast, green beans, and a "salad" of banana, cashews, and coconut Dinner: Casserole of Chicken, Artichoke Hearts and Turnips. (This is the first time I ate turnips and I left most of them behind) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 I made it through day 3 without any real withdrawal symptoms. This has me a little concerned but I am trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I have been drinking water like it is going out of style so that might help. I need to make sure I continue to drink lots of water during the weekend. I have always been good about drinking lots of water at work and then drink none at home. The only time I have been craving anything bad has been at dinner time when I really want to have a soda with dinner. Thankfully I have fruit infused water on hand to provide a flavorful substitute. Breakfast and Lunch: same as yesterday Dinner: Salmon, Green beans, Tomatoes and Cucumbers with Guacamole(my new favorite way to add fat to meals) Tonight I need to cook sweet potatoes and boil eggs so I will be prepared with pre and post workout foods when I run during my lunch hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 I finally have an idea for a Whole30 reward. I have been trying to come up with some non-food rewards to give myself. I am not interested in things like a new outfit or manicures or anything else like that. I do however really want to get either a VivoFit or a Polar Loop. I think that will make the perfect reward for me. It is something that I want and it is fitness and health related. Now I have to make it through 26 more days of Whole30. At least that gives me time to try to figure out which was in better for me. If anyone here uses either and has a recommendation let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Continuing my trend of not following the timeline I made it through day 4 without really wanting to kill anything. There was a moment which I thought could easily turn into a killing moment when I learned my company decided to stop buying the tea bags I like. Thus we now have a magic machine that makes 20 different kinds of coffee but buy 2 different types of teabags is just too expensive. But I made it through with just a bitter grumble and went on with my day. The biggest change was that I was REALLY gassy mid afternoon-evening. If I were not doing my best to follow this plan exactly, and was instead trying to barely walk the line with the rules, I would really think I must be doing something wrong to be making it through symptom free. I am still a little worried that I will either get hit with major withdrawal later in the 30 days or that I am messing this up and won't get any of the benefits. Breakfast: 3 eggs and spinach (I mixed it up for day 5) Lunch: Leftover salmon, green beans, and tomatoes; raw green beans and cucumbers with guacamole(yum!) Dinner: stir fry with shrimp, onion, broccoli, and raisins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Made it to the weekend without killing anything! Thankfully I didn't get the kill anything feelings since there were some effects at work that could have been difficult if I was fighting homicidal tendencies. My lunchtime run was a little better than the previous two but that could be because it was overcast and I am horrible at running in the heat. The last two nights I have been waking up with an achy knee. That is not uncommon when I am training for a marathon but wouldn't normally happen with this level of running. I realized that this kind of joint pain is just another kind of inflammation and added it to the list of things I hope to improve with Whole30. That is something that i just assumed I would have to live with anytime I wanted to train hard for a race. I am excited about the prospect of changing my diet to improve my running! Breakfast: 1/2 lb ground turkey with onions and sweet potatoes (this seemed like a whole lot of food) Lunch: Leftover stir fry (again a whole lot of food) Dinner: Applegate sausage, raw green beans and cucumbers with guacamole I spent the majority of the day feel like I was stuffed to the gills with food. It was good food especially lunch where it was mostly vegetables but it was still not comfortable. When dinner came around I didn't really want anything except guacamole. I new I could make myself eat some of the green beans I still have in my fridge but couldn't not think of an appetizing protein. I had just picked up some Applegate sausage to try to spice up my breakfast choices. It was the only protein I was interested in eating so I finally thought, if this forum is constantly encouraging people to eat dinner food for breakfast i can eat breakfast for dinner. Now off to swim lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Day 6 went well. Nothing new to report other than making a couple new and delicious recipes. Breakfast: ground turkey, sweet potato, macadamia nuts and raisin (I was full 3/4 of the way thru and tossed the rest) Lunch: Salmon Cake (from ISWF), and steamed green beans (finally finished the green beans) Dinner: Chili w/ ground beef, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes and a bit of guacamole Tonight I am going to a weekly game night with friends. Like most game nights there will be beer and pizza is going to be ordered for dinner. I am excited that I'm confident that if I bring fruit infused water and leftover chili I will make it through the night without too much longing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Small success of the day: I managed drive home from Costco without eat the raspberries I just purchased! Normally I would eat the entire clamshell before getting out of the car. As far as foods without breaks go raspberries are better than most but i am glad I could resist them. Now they are safely infusing water in the fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 A few things happened yesterday. 1) I had a very productive day. Did a load of laundry, bought organizational aids at Costco and cleaned and organized my fridge and pantry, and thoroughly cleaned my kitchen and dinning room. 2) At the game night when the pizza arrived there was a moment when the smell hit me and I wanted a slice sooo bad, but I resisted. I reheated my chili and started eating. Before long I was no longer hungry and put the chili away and was fine with pizza all around me. 3) I had the strangest dream. In my dream I went to church (not a common occurrence for me) and took communion. Then I started to beat myself up for breaking the Whole30 rules. I started thinking, "well now that I am going to have to start over I might as well eat everything else too." I have recently starting reading How to Have Your Cake and Your Skinny Jeans Too, which talks about the impulse to eat because you already screwed up. Thankfully, in my dream I remembered that and stopped myself from continuing to eat off plan. I did however spend the rest of the dream wondering whether I would have to start Whole30 from scratch because of the communion slip up. I was very relieved to wake up and find that I wouldn't have to answer that question. Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with peppers, onion, spinach and salsa Lunch: 2 salmon cakes and cucumbers with guacamole Dinner: Leftover chili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Great job yesterday! Just a note - communion isn't a slip up - religion trumps Whole30 just as the doctor does. The dreams that you are sure are real are the worst ones though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Yesterday was day 8 and for a couple hours during the evening my lower left eyelid kept twitching. It wasn't continuous but it kept coming back. I remember that happening occasionally before Whole30 but I don't know what causes it. I hope it stops because what is mildly annoying when home alone is rather awkward in meetings at work. Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with peppers, onion, mushrooms and salsa Lunch: salmon cake, half serving of breakfast sausage, and steamed snow peas Dinner: shrimp with cabbage and peppers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 TMI Alert: I had my first timeline predicted symptom today in the form of diarrhea on Day 9 evening. That was the most urgent diarrhea I have ever experienced. I actually stopped at a drug store on my drive home just to use their bathroom. In a way it makes me feel good because it makes it seem like I am finally doing something. Maybe my body is actually changing. I just hope it doesn't last too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Made it through Day 9! I gave blood about an hour after lunch without any issues. I felt a little strange sneaking away when no one was looking so they wouldn't keep pushing me to eat cookies. I had a bit of an issue yesterday evening that I already wrote about but other than that I am almost 1/3 of the way there. Breakfast: scrambled eggs with peppers onions, and mushrooms Lunch: Leftover Chili Dinner: Leftover cabbage and shrimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 29, 2014 Author Share Posted May 29, 2014 Day 10 complete. So far the hardest thing to resist is sneak attack foods. I opened the glove compartment in my car to find a tampon and instead I found a half eaten bag of starburst jelly beans. It was hard to leave that alone. I can also see how days 10 and 11 can be the hardest to make it through. My mind is trying to convinced me that I have proven that I am capable of eating this way so there is no really need to do the full 30 days. It didn't help that I ate all my leftovers so I had to through together a last minute lunch. Breakfast: Eggs peppers onions mushrooms and salsa (don't know how I still enjoy this but I am a creature of habit) Lunch: Applegate sausage, raw snow peas, cashews Dinner: Failed attempt at Thai chicken curry with greens (ate the chicken then substituted snow peas and raspberries for the greens) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Great job leaving those jelly beans alone. Did you just leave them there or throw them away? I would encourage the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 Yesterday was incredibly hectic with meetings in multiple locations all day. Because of this I only ended up with 2 meals. I was pretty hungry by the time I got home for dinner but nothing I couldn't handle. Meal 1: eggs, peppers, onions, mushrooms, salsa Meal 2: spaghetti squash with sausage and a tomato, onion and pepper sauce (delicious) Back to 3 meals a day starting now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm today feeling rested. I don't know if that counts as tigerblood yet but I hope I get there soon. Meal 1: Eggs with sausage, peppers and onions Meal 2: Leftover spaghetti squash with sausage, tomato, onions and peppers and cucumbers with guacamole Meal 3: curried beef in zucchini boats and cucumbers with guacamole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 I keep having dreams where I eat something I shouldn't, then a little while later I freakout about messing up the whole30. It feels like I will be having a normal dream but as I start to wake up my mind remembers whole30 and looks back at what I "ate". Last night it was a peanut butter filled hershey's kiss. I don't know if those actually exist but if they did I could see myself eating one. I don't know if this is whole30 related but I have been using this weekend to clean my house top to bottom. Normally I get about half done with a cleaning task and then decide to take a "break" and it doesn't get done. Yesterday I vacuumed the whole house, moving furniture to get underneath, and cleaned out my car as well. I am still having pretty broken sleep. I think I am going to try Natural Calm after reading about it in this forum. I have always avoided sleep aids because I am terrified of become dependent on them. Meal 1: scrambled eggs with onions and peppers Meal 2: 2 hard boiled eggs and cucumbers with guacamole Meal 3: salsa baked chicken breast with guacamole and steamed broccoli and carrots. Lesson learned: I determined that broccoli does make me gassy. I have digestive enzymes that I will take next time to see if that will limit the effect. I don't know how long it would take me to determine such a small thing if I wasn't doing this elimination diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gswh2 Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 I ran out of ghee last Friday and I didn't realize how disruptive this would be to my daily life. I never used ghee before but now I loved it. I tried making my typical morning eggs with coconut oil but I didn't like it nearly enough. I also planned to make a first attempt at cauliflower mash but couldn't imagine it without the buttery goodness of ghee. I order some and it should be here tomorrow and that order includes some flavored ghee which should be interesting. Hopefully when I can see all the ingredients it will be whole30 compliant but if not I can save it for later. Until then I am switching to hard boiled eggs and I will have to work on getting fat elsewhere. Meal 1: Applegate sausage and lots of raw snow peas Meal 2: 2 hard boiled eggs and steamed broccoli and carrots Meal 3: Apple BBQ pulled pork and guacamole cole slaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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