Almost done with the 1st week

[GlenG]

I'm blogging about my Whole30 experience on tumblr but I figured I should probably post here too. So instead of dumping all the blogs in this first post I'll ease one or two and then reply with the rest. So, starting from day 1 which was Monday June 2nd:

 

Whole 30 Day One

There's no sense in spilling all my guts in the first blog, plus it's late. So, to the point, today was the first day my wife, my oldest son and I embarked on the whole 30 eating plan. I'll record what I eat, how I feel, etc.

Breakfast - 2 eggs, 2 store version of ‘Steak-ums', cup of tea.

Lunch - Shrimp bell pepper and mushroom stir fry, fruit salad, almonds and pistachios, 2 handfuls, flavored soda water.

Supper - Had to eat around an activity, so at around 6:45 I had an almond crusted chicken breast. At around 9 I had some pineapple chunks and a quarter of a cantaloupe. I'll have some water in a bit.

 

[GlenG]

Whole 30 Continued

I realized two things. One, I had a banana with breakfast I forgot to list. Two, this puppy doesn't have spell check so I'm going to choose my wordscausiously, carefully. 

I'm going to ease into the narrative of how and why we're doing this and by ‘we' I mean me. I'm not sure why my wife and son are doing it, other than being supportive, but I think they have other reasons.

About 3 months ago I met a man who was on the Whole 30 plan. I had never heard of it so I did some on line research and here I am. I have not read the book. I have not joined the forum on their web site. I'm probably really unprepared for this but I did read one other blog about it and it didn't really work for what that author was hoping for.

For me, this is about a food reset. It occurred to me this morning that I didn't have any cheese yesterday and that on a normal day I probably would have had cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No dairy, no sugar, no bread will be interesting. I've done no pizza for Lent before and that was a sacrafice but this might be a bit more because I can't have pizza and ton of other things. But I need this.

I probably weigh close to twice what I should. I'm not getting any younger and I'm not getting any healthier, so change has got to happen. I cut out most caffiene over 2 years ago. I was on a food tracking plan over 2 years ago and it worked for the 3 months I did it but honestly I can't track food the rest of my life. That's like counting breaths. I just breathe and I need to get my head to a point where I can just eat. I'm a food addict, I know it, and I hope this attempt will solve that. All the others haven't.

[GlenG]

Day Two

Breakfast - banana, 3 egg omelette with mushrooms, cup of tea.

Lunch - leftover shrimp stir fry, fruit salad, soda water.

Supper - beef roast with carrots and mushrooms, sweet potato baked fries with raspberries, water. I ate pretty late, again.

I'm eating less food than I normally do and I can feel that but I'm not starving. The real food is rich and filling but I am missing sugar for sure. My wife bought the book and started reading it today. She told me a theory is about chemicals added to foods to make them addictive. I'm a perfect candidate to see if this is true.

[GlenG]

Day 3

Breakfast - 2 eggs, 2 store brand Steak-ums, cup of tea.

Lunch - left over roast beef, grilled peppers and snap peas, soda water.

Supper - grilled chicken breast, grilled pineapple, cucumber with avocado, soda water.

This food isn't cheap and we're out of meat and eggs. Back to the grocery store tonight.

[GlenG]

Some Notes And Thoughts

1. The store brand Steak-ums we've had only list one ingredient, beef, but I'm sure that wasn't grass fed, no hormones, etc. So we're trying to limit that.

2. Just had someone bring me a box of still warm, fresh, Krispy Kreme donuts. Honestly, I didn't even want one the whole time they sat there for like 30 minutes until I opened the box to take a pic and send it to my wife to say ‘Look at what I could be eating but I'm not!'. The smell was awesome. But, I closed the lid and carried the box back to the break room and that's that. Out of sight, out of mind.

3. I have never, ever, gone 3 days without bread, sugar, or dairy. I'm not much of a bean/nut eater so I'm not missing that at all anyway but right now, if I had to pick one I know it wouldn't be sugar. For dairy I'm not missing milk or ice cream but cheese. Man do I like cheese. And for bread I'm really missing the tortilla or bagel or toast I normally would put my breakfast eggs and meat in. Hamburger bun, etc. 

4. Eating this way makes sense to me for a reset. Simple and basic foods, as natural and organic as you can get them. I like it. The prep time, the expense, the planning is what I'm not crazy about. We'll get to be better cooks, we'll get the tools and supplies we need, we'll get better at planning, but the food isn't going to get any cheaper.

[GlenG]

Day 4

Breakfast - 2 eggs, 3 slices no sugar bacon, cup of tea.

Lunch - Almond chicken, asparagus, apple, soda water.

Supper - Elvis burger (I'm on my phone doing this and will try to post a link of the recipe), broccoli and mushrooms, water melon, soda water.

The food highlights of the day were the bacon, asparagus, and the burger.

http://theclothesmakethegirl.com/2013/10/19/wf2-recipe-elvis-burger/

[GlenG]

Day 5

Breakfast - an omelette of 3 eggs, 3 strips of no sugar bacon, mushroom and some bell pepper. Cup of tea.

Lunch - Roast beef, water melon, soda water.

Supper - man, we needed a cooking break so we went to Chipotle for pork bowls with extra pork, lettuce, peppers and onions, salsa and guacamole. Came home and had some water melon.

 

[GlenG]

And that brings me up to date here. A few more items:

 

1. My wife has purchased the book and I will start reading it tonight as well.

2. It seems our son's motivation for doing this was to try and enjoy veggies more. He has zero weight issues, it's health ideas I guess.

3. I can't get over how much my sweet tooth has just died and gone away. I mean there's candy bars, right now, 3' from where I'm typing this if I wanted to eat them and no one would know. There's donuts in the break room right now left over from yesterday or the day before that I could eat if I wanted to. More than anything, I want cheese. CHEESE!!!

[CaGirl]

What is a 'Steak um'?

[GlenG]

 

It's the beef portion of a Philly Cheese steak sandwich.

[Tina R]

Congratulations!

 

Your meals seem too small. If you eat eggs you should eat as many as you can hold in one hand, I assume because you are a man you can probably hold at least 4. Have you downloaded the meal planning template? You also need 2 - 3 cups of veggies at every meal (yes even breakfast or meal 1) and 1 - 2 thumb sized portions of fat. I agree with you on limiting steakums. Good luck!

[GlennR]

Hey, namesake!   Can I suggest more veggies, a little less fruit? (I'm seeing some meals where there are no veggies at all.) Check out the meal template for guidance.

 

Good luck!

[GlenG]

yeah, the veggie thing is going to be a challenge because I just don't like them. I tried some sliced tomatoes with cucumber and avocado on it and it just didn't fly with me. My wife loved it, she's a veggie person. I can count the legal veggies on this plan that I like on one hand easy. I didn't really like the snap peas I had last week either and honestly, I'm not in this to eat stuff I don't like. I'll try grilling some fish at some point but not tuna.

[GlennR]

What are the legal veggies that you like?

[GlenG]

I actually like broccoli. can't have green beans, I like those too. I'll tolerate carrots and asparagus. Lettuce is ok. I'll eat grilled peppers abd onions but in limited amounts because it's like taking medicine. that's it.

for day 6 I had:

Breakfast - 1 egg, 3 slices of sugar free bacon( the last we had of each), cup of tea.

Lunch - 2 burger patties, banana.

Supper - steak, asparagus, water melon.

[kindergartencowgirl]

If you don't eat more vegetables you may be in for digestive upset. You really need all that fiber and of course vitamins. You may be surprised how your taste for vegetables changes as you continue to eliminate processed foods. Keep trying! Sometimes it helps to chop things up pretty small and use a tasty dressing or sauce.

[GFChris]

I actually like broccoli. can't have green beans, I like those too. I'll tolerate carrots and asparagus. Lettuce is ok. I'll eat grilled peppers abd onions but in limited amounts because it's like taking medicine. that's it.

 

What do you mean by you can't have green beans? String beans are allowed on a Whole30.

Maybe try adding 1-2 new vegetables a week, and see how that goes?  If you like broccoli, try broccoli rabe or cauliflower. If you like carrots, try parsnips.  Lettuce, swap in raw spinach instead. Also play with different spices in which to cook your vegetables, and different ways of preparing vegetables (e.g., roasted, grilled, mashed, sauteed) - that may help you discover new ways to like them. 

[GlennR]

I actually like broccoli. can't have green beans, I like those too. I'll tolerate carrots and asparagus. Lettuce is ok. I'll eat grilled peppers abd onions but in limited amounts because it's like taking medicine. that's it.

 

 

I think one could do a great Whole30 even with just these vegetables (including the green beans -- they are okay for Whole30). You can prepare them in so many ways so you wouldn't lack for variety: roasts, soups, salads, steamed, sautéed, grilled; by themselves or in combinations (for example, you can roast a big pan of broccoli, carrots, and green beans and have leftovers for the following meals -- you can even add bite-size pieces of bacon if you like!). They can be part of stews and soups. Or they can be ingredients in dishes, such as beef broccoli, onions in burgers, peppers in omelettes. Lettuce is good for salad, of course, but also as bed for any meat or fish dish.

 

Just suggesting that you could just stick to these if you want, and still be able to add veggies to every meal.

[mangio_bene]

GlenG ... I haven't always liked vegetables in the past (probably due to growing up with mostly canned veggies) but over time I've learned to love them by varying the preparation.  Try mashed cauliflower with ghee and coconut oil or a combo of mashed carrots and parsnips with sage and ghee.  Roast compliant root vegetables with olive oil and fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme.  Sautee spinach and add to scrambled eggs.  Sautee shredded cabbage in sesame oil and ginger. 

[GlenG]

Thanks for the tips, replies, and encouragement. I truly appreciate it.   One truism that hit me yesterday is that most fat people don't like veggies. I know I'm 51 years old and have had just about every kind of domestic veggie prepared in a variety of ways and I don't like them. They taste bad and the textures in my mouth are bad. No candy company ever tried to duplicate the way boiled okra feels in your mouth. Fried okra is almost like a Nestle Crunch bar, but it's fried. I like some fried veggies.  I don't know the difference between string beans and green beans, I like green beans. Corn is out and I love corn. Last night I had 12-15 stalks of asparagus with supper, that's not enough?

[missmary]

Glenn- Green beans are fine on the whole30. And yes, 12-15 stalks of asparagus are enough, but you need veggies at every meal to do well. The good thing about this is that over the 30 days your palette will adjust and you will likely start to enjoy the flavor. It takes time to retrain taste buds after years of processed food that is scientifically designed to trigger all the pleasure centers, but the reward is pretty amazing.

 

Right now you are not eating enough and what you are eating isn't following the meal template. The meal template is the key to success on this program. Take it seriously. http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Meal-Planning-Template.pdf

[Tina R]

You can have fried okra if that is a way for you to eat veggies. Use almond flour to coat the okra and fry in coconut oil. Or maybe you can just fry it without a coating. You can try different veggies like zucchini, sweet potatoes and beets. This isn't the best choice but if it helps you expand your veggie choices then I say try it.

[GlenG]

Day 7

Breakfast - 2 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, cup of tea.

Lunch - the last of the roast beef, baked sweet potato ' fries', sauteed peppers and mushrooms.

Supper - 2 hamburger patties, tossed salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

I'd like to have in some fruit but it's too late. No biggie.

Missmary I thank you for the advice and words of encouragement. I'm not sure why you feel I'm not taking this seriously. I can't take it any more seriously than I am; I might be ignorant of certain foods like almond flour, but my wife, oldest son, and I are all 100% this to the best of our abilities. For instance, my wife doesn't like eggs so her breakfast is pretty much just all fruit. She's open to other protein suggestions. She's not a big meat eater at all. I can't remember a week on which she's eaten so much meat.

at any rate we're made it a week! My sweet tooth is DEAD!! I'm already thinking of how things will change after 30 days or I should say how I will change. For instance, I'm really missing cheese and I'm thinking about healthier cheese. I'm going to research goat cheese from Mexico to see if it's hormone free, etc.

[missmary]

 I'm not sure why you feel I'm not taking this seriously. I can't take it any more seriously than I am;

 

Glen. I'm sure you are taking the whole30 seriously, but you are not following the meal template. Following the meal template really is the key to success on this program.

 

In order to follow the meal template you need to eat vegetables at every single meal. yes, even breakfast. This will help your wife also: if she doesn't like eggs, that's fine. Have a hamburger patty and green beans and some sweet potato at breakfast. Fruit alone is not a good choice.

[GlenG]

well, I posted a reply but it didn't show up. At any rate I'm trying to add veggies at breakfast. Just got done with an omelette with mushrooms and spinach.