magritte Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I kicked off my Whole30 today. Anyone wanting to tag along and share the journey with me is more than welcome. I'm a married father of 5 in my late 40's, live in Melbourne, Australia, and I'm 100% committed to making some massive changes in my life. About 9 weeks ago I gave up smoking. I guess I could have stopped there and that would have been a pretty major achievement, but I would have been short-changing myself. Just over 4 weeks ago I gave up drinking alcohol, having committed to a minimum of 3 months off of the booze. This was a massive step for me as I've been drinking pretty much every day for years and my drinking levels were wayyy too high. (If you're struggling with this part of the Whole30 yourself, check out http://hellosundaymorning.org for help and support). 4 weeks ago I began training every day. I hadn't worked out in over 3 years and hadn't done any running since I was in high school. 3 weeks later (last Sunday) I ran my first ever 5K without stopping. Considering that when I started training I couldn't run for any more than 30 or 40 seconds without having to stop to catch my breath and was a total wreck after 1K, I'm pretty pleased with my progress. I'm signed up for the 10K at the Melbourne Marathon in October. Next step is to clean up what I put on my plate - so for the next 30 days I'm committing to a Whole30. I want to be the healthiest possible version of me and by the time September rolls around I know I'll be in the best shape I've been in years. See you on the other side M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Day 1: Breakfast: Fresh Celery, Kale, Apple, Banana, Mango Smoothie courtesy of my Vitamix (divided 3 ways between me and my boys) Ground Beef with onion & cumin, 3 small semi-dried tomatoes, 5 olives 1 Boiled Egg 4 small cubes of Melon Lunch: Tuna and Zucchini omelette (was using up Tuna I'd set aside after making the boys sandwiches) Dinner: Homemade chicken curry Cauliflower rice Sauteed Julienne Zucchini Found I was full and couldn't finish my dinner but felt immediately snackish afterwards. Was tempted to have a piece of fruit but didn't give in. Having some herbal tea instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmlynne Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Wow! Sound like you are making (and succeeding) some major changes in your life! It's going to be hard, but in the end your body will truly thank you! I found that the best thing for me, in the beginning, was to get a copy of the meal template and post it in my kitchen. Your protein and your fats will keep you from being hungry before your next meal. (Ie, was there fat in your dinner? I am assuming coconut milk in the curry?) Although smoothies are not prohibited on w30, they are highly discouraged. You hit your body with a lot of sugar in the morning and may wake up your sugar dragon with that much fruit. You are making an awesome start! Good luck on your journey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebinkley Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I'm a runner too-ran two half marathons and signed up for a full marathon when I was sidelined by a mysterious sciatica-like pain (doctors could find nothing physically wrong). After a year and a half of feeling sorry for myself (and working up to two beers a night), I started running again. I am hoping the Whole30 will address the inflammation issue in my hip. Good luck to you from the U.S.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Hey Kmlynne - thanks for the sound advice. It hadn't quite dawned on me about the impact of the smoothies so will definitely address that (I've been giving the kids green smoothies in the morning as a sneaky way to get extra veg into them). Re: fats in the dinner - you're right, there probably wasn't enough fat in there. There was coconut milk in the curry but probably not enough to contribute properly to satiety. Great idea to post the meal template up there in the kitchen as a constant reminder Mike - sorry to hear about your running troubles. I had a disc prolapse at the base of my spine a number of years ago which caused similar sciatica-like symptoms so I know what you're talking about. I'm getting so much benefit right now from running and all the endorphins that it supplies that I think I'd be quite lost without it - it's definitely helped me with overcoming the drinking (it was an average of a bottle of wine per night and significantly more at the weekend). It's become part of my daily routine and can understand why you'd feel miserable when not able to do it without pain. I really hope the Whole30 will help with that. Stay positive and all the best to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Day 2: Breakfast:Grass fed beef sizzling steak Roasted peppers,mushroom, eggplant and zucchini 1/2 avocado Boiled egg 4 cubes of Melon Lunch:Omelette - tuna, semi-dried tomatoes, zucchini Sweet potato Handful of Olives Snack: Banana Dinner: Bottle of Kombucha Home made Chicken Broth (swede, carrot, onion, leek, chicken) Mashed sweet potato with Coconut milk Handful macadamia nuts Exercise: 5.5K run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylward Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Magritte, I started yesterday too so I'll be happy to follow your progress along with mine. I think we are thinking alike in that I want to be the best person I can be as I approach 40. Ugh! I am a current smoker and hoping the whole30 will change my mindset (and pocket book for that matter) on this. I also found myself drinking more than necessary so here I am. Went out for my first run/walk this morning and am feeling pretty good. Good luck and keep at it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Have to say I'm not really finding this too much of a struggle - even when I had to make the kids their breakfast and one wanted cereal and the other wanted Nutella on toast I just thought "yeah, that smells nice" but didn't feel the need to take a bite. I figure the things I'll miss the most are potatoes and cheese. Bread I've gone without easily enough for lengthy periods. My main issue has been that I tended not to eat Breakfast or Lunch at all. My work is incredibly sedentary because I'm chained to a desk all day (and I work from home so there's no activity involved in a daily commute). So my metabolism has slowed right down so that having just 1 meal per day and topping up with calories from alcohol in the evening meant that I'm overweight. Stopping smoking resulted in more snacking during the day and I ended up putting on more weight. Stopping drinking alcohol has meant that I'm now hungrier during the day but it's still a challenge to eat 3 square meals a day - I'm getting there though. Starting the physical exercise has helped a huge amount I reckon. Anyways - Day 3: Breakfast: Scotch Egg (made these last night from the original Well Fed cookbook - so easy and very convenient) Mashed sweet potato Macadamia nuts Lunch: Chicken Broth (packed with dense veggies) Leftover chicken curry without the cauliflower rice Macadamia nuts Bottle of Kombucha Dinner: Ground Beef Chili with Cauliflower Rice Banana A spoonful of macadamia nut butter (freshly blended tonight and still warm - yum) Exercise: 3.5K Intervals at 6 and 12 kmph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoJo09 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 As well as the structured exercise, you should try and work in as many steps a day as you can - there's lots of research to show that hitting the gym/pavement doesn't make up for sitting on your butt for 8+ hours a day, and working from home you don't even have the extra movement of heading out for lunch, printing to the furthest away printer, etc to get some motion. But, man, you've made huge changes! Your kids will thank you for it when you're spending their inheritance well into your 80s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hey GoJo - exactly the reason I went off and bought myself a Garmin Vivofit bracelet a couple of weeks back - it's basically a fancy pedometer but it prompts me if I've been sitting stationary for too long and also sets me daily challenges. So I've been at least standing up and walking (occasionally jogging) round the house while on or in between conference calls when I can although sadly sometimes it's unavoidable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoJo09 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Oh how cool - does it vibrate after so long in a stationary position? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylward Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I too am at a desk most of the day. I spent ten years waitressing which kept me in great shape. Now I am a slave to the desk. I have seen a few different things coworkers have done to keep moving. Instead of going to the closest bathroom in the building I walk to the farthest. I also used to have a standing work station (I was very pregnant and had a lot of hip/pelvis pain when sitting) which was a great way to keep me up and helped with posture. A friend of mine had some peddles under the desk she could rotate while working. Glad to hear things are going well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoJo09 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Oh wow like a little bike? Although it's a short step from there to being required to pedal to generate enough power to run your computer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Day 4: Breakfast: This breakfast thing is killing me - not used to it at all. Scotch Egg Celery with Macadmia Nut Butter 5 Olives Black Coffee I know - not enough veg/carbs in this but seriously struggling to finish this lot. Can't face sweet potato this early in the morning. Might try adding some mushrooms & zoodles tomorrow Lunch: Home made grass fed beef burger Mashed sweet potato Roast veggies - mushrooms, eggplant, capsicum, zucchini, shallots Bottle of kombucha Macadamia Nut butter - loving this! Had never tried it before I made it yesterday for the first time. Dinner: Chicken Broth - heavy on the veggies small handful of grass fed beef steak strips Tsp macadamia nut butter Exercise: 5K Run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmlynne Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 How about a puréed soup? Would that be easier in the am than "whole" veggies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Kmlynne - like the idea of soup for breakfast - hadn't even occurred to me. I made a ton of the stuff - enough to last me into next week. Will give it a go tomorrow morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylward Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I made sweet potato has with eggs this morning and side of turkey sausage and banana. The hash recipe is from mom nom paleo. Very good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylward Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Oh wow like a little bike? Although it's a short step from there to being required to pedal to generate enough power to run your computer... Yes, kind of like a bike but it fits under the desk. Kind of cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Hey GoJo - the vivofit doesn't vibrate but the longer you sit stationary a little red bar starts to creep across the display, getting longer and longer until it SHAMES you into moving. You have to take a specific number of steps in order to reset the indicator. Kaylward - thanks! Will check that Nom Nom recipe out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Day 5: Breakfast: Scotch egg Small bowl of chicken broth, mainly veg (carrot, leek, onion, swede) 2 Tsp Macadamia Nut butter Black Tea with Lemon Lunch: Chicken Broth (said I'd made a ton of this stuff) 1 Apple Dinner: Rockling baked with tomato, olives and red capsicum Stick of Celery Mashed Sweet Potato Bottle of kombucha Exercise: 3K run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Felt pretty tired yesterday - so much so that I fell asleep sitting in the car waiting on my kids to come out of the gym. This would have been at 5pm. Very unusual for me and I guess it's a sign that something in my metabolism is changing. Of course, by the time I went to bed I couldn't get to sleep and was lying there awake until after 1am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Day 6 My appetite not where it needs to be this morning to be able to finish this breakfast Breakfast: Ground Beef Boiled Egg Roast veg - capsicum, zucchini, shallots, mushrooms, eggplant Lunch: Chicken Broth Cold Drip Coffee with Coconut Milk Pre-WO: Boiled Egg Macadamia Nut Butter Dinner: Baked Rockling (again) with tomato, olives and capsicum Mashed Sweet Potato Exercise: 6.5K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Day 7: Yayyy - 1 week down. Breakfast: Scotch Egg Cold drip coffee with coconut milk Lunch:Boiled Egg Home made square sausage (1/2 pork/ 1/2 beef) 2 tsp Macadamia Nut Butter Apple Dinner: Baked rockling, tomato, capsicum and olives Sweet Potato 1 bottle kombucha Exercise: 6.5K Upper body /pull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Day 8: Breakfast: Home made Lorne (square) Sausage Sauteed mushrooms, zucchini noodles 2 fried eggs Coconut Oil Cold drip coffee with coconut milk Lunch: Chicken Broth Macadamia Nut Butter Banana Dinner: Chili minus the beans Small baked potato (yay the spuds are back) 1 Bottle Kombucha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magritte Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Day 9 Breakfast: Scrambled egg Home made lorne sausage Zucchini noodles Cold drip coffee with coconut milk Lunch: Was out in the city today with the kids. First time I've been out at lunchtime while on the whole30. Found out the hard way that it's next to impossible to find something compliant in the city centre at short notice. So ended up skipping lunch and having a late snack when I got in. Boiled Egg Celery Macadamia Nut Butter Coconut water Dinner: Roast Chicken Broccoli Carrots Handful of Olives 1 Bottle of Kombucha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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