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Log, from Blammo


clabbergirl

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Log, log, it's better than bad, it's good!...

 

Day 11 here. I meant to start this some time ago, but procrastinated or just gave up when I opened the new post screen. I'm feeling pretty positive about the whole thing. I have done some things I never thought I would/could. Namely, giving up diet coke. OH man how I have been addicted to that stuff. I still want it, not gonna lie, but I haven't had a drop since 7/6/14. I haven't missed it as badly as I thought I would, but I have missed it. 

 

Coffee- I never ever ever ever ever thought I could drink black coffee. It was sort of like a punch in the face the first day, and then the next, but by the 3rd and 4th, it got a little easier. Now I'm kind of looking forward to it like I was the same cup with cream dropped in. And I started asking myself, 'Why am I drinking something that I have to work so hard to make not taste like what it is?' Kind of like working overtime to stay married to a man you can't stand. What's the point?

 

Some effects I've noticed?

 

Emotionally - not really a lot of difference here. Work is still stressful, I have my ups & downs, same ole same ole.

 

Physically - (I'm almost afraid to write anything here. As if the act of putting it in words might somehow negate it, or make it disappear into vapor.) For starters, I think my pants are fitting a little looser than before. This morning, I thought for a moment the profile I caught in the full length mirror when I stepped out of the shower was a little less bloated than usual. My legs still hurt pretty regularly up until about 2 days ago. (This is what I'm most afraid to get hopeful about.) But then I noticed sometime yesterday that my calves & the backs of my things weren't as achy & stiff as usual. And that I've been rolling over at night in my sleep & the pain hasn't been waking me up for a change. (I was diagnosed with sciatica in Dec of last year & while shooting pains ceased pretty quickly, I've had heaviness, stiffness & pain in my legs nearly every day I wasn't on prednisone.) I've yet to figure out what was causing some days to be good and others to be bad, so I don't know if this improvement is diet or just circumstance. Praying it is diet so I have hope of some control over it. Ankles have not been swollen upon waking as much either.

 

Today I have noticed a strange rash/pimple area on my chin. It's new & can't say I've ever had a breakout like this before. I hope it's impurities leaving the skin & not some weird allergy. I haven't been off plan (that I know of), so I'll wait & see. They aren't red, don't look irritated at all. But I can feel them & that's distracting. 

 

Downsides - cost & time spent shopping/planning. I haven't gone crazy cooking because I already cooked pretty much paleo/primal before starting this, but I have been hitting grocery stores more often for fresh veggies & fruit than usual for some reason. I'm a little at odds with not having cheese in anything too - really not used to that but am finding it's not the crutch I thought it would be. Thank goodness for farm fresh eggs.

 

Not understanding Urdu or other foreign languages - I visited a local Indian market last weekend & found red palm oil for $9/64 oz. & ghee for $8/33 oz - both big jars that ought to last awhile. they had a decent price on coconut oil also. I don't know if they're pastured or safe or any of that, but compared to what Publix wants for their ghee, I'll just have to settle. There were so many unusual things there - I didn't know what a lot of it was. Raw coconuts cut in half? What could I do with those? Hmm. Coconut powder?? Dry roasted cashews - going back for those when I have more $.

 

That's it. Now to keep at this journaling bit.

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I was a little reluctant to write my daily food logs here, but it sure helps in terms of accountability for me. On day30, going strong, and extending due to longer time needed to heal my guts...

I ended up making my own ghee with organic butter, it was really easy. Used this recipee:

http://www.everydaymaven.com/2013/how-to-make-ghee/

Good luck. Keep up the good work, and shop/chop until you drop!...

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Thank you for the input. I may try this over the weekend. I've got a pretty tight budget & am having to sacrifice some quality in areas I don't really want to, but ghee is so good & I like to use it a lot as a fat source. I figure if I can't afford grassfed beef, maybe I can at least make a difference in ghee.

 

I am thinking right now I'll go past 30 days on this, or at least modified, for the same reasons you are. Might just be the timeline talking though. Wishing you luck too!

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Day 13. 

 

Awake on a Saturday at about 7am & just couldn't fall back asleep. Have spent some time surfing the web in search of help regarding rashes/breakouts on Whole30.

 

I've developed tiny little bumps that itch on parts of my face, hairline, back of my neck, and now the bottoms of my feet. What the heck? They aren't red or irritated, but they itch & the itch feels like it's deep below the skin's surface, so that scratching doesn't satisfy much at all. I have scoured my routine to see if I've added some new product or if anything I'm using has changed ingredients, but so far nothing is standing out. I haven't eaten any different foods or eaten any usual foods in excess. I'm balancing ghee & coconut oil pretty well when I cook & I haven't overdone it on the nuts. If anything, I've eaten fewer nuts this last week than the week before.

 

Trying not to focus on it, but I guess I am since I'm writing this now. Well this is supposed to be a log of my experiences. I have a hard time believing this is impurities being purged because, well, I'm skeptical of everything. I struggle to believe that toxins are going to exit my skin instead of through the bloodstream to the kidneys. I'm not a doctor & I surely don't know anything about this, but it just seems like a better exit for poisons would be through the pathways that typically get used when experiencing food or inhaled poisons - digestion and/or breathing issues. I'm not allergic to anything so again, I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

 

If it is toxins, great! Go away. But why just on the face, scalp, & tougher areas? I haven't been supplementing with iodine so I can't blame that...and my use of salt has been pretty normal if not less than usual so that would explain away any kind of bromide flush going on. Weird.

 

Otherwise, things are going pretty well. Gotta replenish the veggies this weekend.

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I had a dream that someone slipped me a jolly rancher & I ate it without thinking, then felt hugely guilty & toiled with trying to deny/rationalize/forgive myself or sink into a depression that I wasn't being more careful. WEIRD! Hard candies aren't even a trigger food for me. Lol.

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Glad I'm not the only one with weird food sabotage dreams! It's only day 6 and I've had three so far...

 

What happened with the skin bumps, still there or did they go away?

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Ytu, I haven't had a lot of food dreams this time. Long ago when I first started cutting out wheat, I had some dreams about that. But I love bread & missed it terribly. I could care less about jolly ranchers, awake or asleep!

 

I've still got the rash issue - it might be getting a wee bit better in places - hard to tell. I'm thankful it's not red & angry - I can cover with makeup & unless someone touches my face, no one would know it's there.

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Maybe this way of eating is affecting my math skills. I was thinking I was on Day 16 - nope. Day 15. 15. 15. 15. Half-way point.

 

I've become obsessed with Indian food/markets of late. Last weekend I visited one and next thing you know, I'm searching google to find others in my general vicinity. They have the strangest things. I went to 2 yesterday. What I've discovered:

 

Produce - prices consistently on par with farmer's market, which is lower than any grocery store in my area with the exception of Aldi. Lots of variety and some of it I have no idea what to do with.

 

Coconut - they sell whole coconut, half coconut (maybe carve out for my own flakes to toast??), shredded coconut, coconut powder (what do I do with this??),canned milk (not any cheaper than Kroger or Publix tho), virgin coconut oil ($4/15oz), and even frozen coconut flakes (1lb/$1.99)

 

Spices - everything I can imagine and then some at rock bottom prices & in huge quantities if I have a super need.

 

Ghee - good price on this but no idea if it's grass fed or not. I can get 33oz/$8 in a resealable can. Also found a big jar of red palm oil for a good price.

 

Nuts - cashews & almonds that are nothing but nuts, no preservatives. Comparable price to supermarket without the additives or roasting in vegetable oil.

 

Lots of things for paleo cooking also or even primal - rice noodles & breads. I wish I knew how to put some of this stuff together.

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Day 17.

 

Not feeling tiger's blood. Feeling a little more life-like in the evenings, but certainly not in the mornings. Last 2 nights I have not taken Benadryl to fall asleep and really didn't need to. I managed to sleep all the way until am when the bf got up, and even then to drift off a little before my alarm. It's a vicious cycle I've got myself into...work is stressful, medicate to forget, rinse & repeat. I don't take anything to sleep on the weekends & don't have a problem with this - that tells me it's work stress that I carry to bed with me. I will beat this.

 

Rash seems to be a little better? Maybe? Not as itchy, that's for certain. I've been waking up with a little bit of an appetite too - that's new. Can't see any difference in the whites of my eyes, grayness of hair, pants, etc.

 

Trying not to let the discouragements creep in. My body has been so broken for so long, what can I expect to do in 2 weeks? I figure my cells are finally getting to the point where they can start repairing instead of fighting off assumed threats. IF they are even doing that yet. Hypothryoidism probably throws at least another week into the process.

 

I feel this is a good way to eat, however. Real food, no added sugars/fakes or frakenfood. I feel like I'm accomplishing something & simplifying my life by drinking black coffee  & unsweet tea - neither of which I've had a lot of, I will say. I have been drinking lemon water or just plain water. I think I need to drink more of that though...maybe it's got something to do with my lacking energy levels.

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Day 22.

 

Seems like it's not that long, but a friend I spoke to this weekend was surprised at how close to the end I am. This was a reminder about how perspectives can affect mood.

 

Yesterday I had a full day of no aches or pains in the legs! Saturday I had some, but a swim in a friend's pool may have reset that somehow because I didn't notice any leg pain afterward, and it continued over into Sunday perhaps. I even walked around shopping & STILL felt ok. This is huge. I don't know if it's diet, the position I slept in, the alignment of the planets, or just pure luck. I really don't. That is one of the many frustrations I am living with - what is causing this.

 

The rash - it's practically gone. I still have a little bit on the chin, but that on the cheek, bridge of my nose, and under the eyebrow is gone. Yippee. Got a lot of sun this weekend, maybe the vitamin D helped? I take 5,000 iu almost every day anyway, and the blood levels I had checked 1.5 years ago showed I had great D levels, so not worried there.

 

Cravings have lessened and the black coffee is something I'm looking forward to again. It doesn't taste as good as that with cream, but I like it and I like that it's simple. I've decided I'm not going to drink something I have to 'doctor' to stomach. I'm a grown up now - this isn't like camoflauging broccoli in Ranch dressing or something. If I don't like coffee as it tastes, I don't have to drink it. I can drink tea or water. But I'm liking the ritual and my taste buds have changed enough that I enjoy drinking that cup. I HAVE noticed there's a lot more to be said for the flavors of coffees. We've been buying cheap coffee and wow...not so good. But the good stuff, it tastes better. Before, I could not really tell a difference. Coffee was coffee. Without all the sugar/aspartame deadening my taste buds, I see that not all coffee is created alike.

 

Have gone too heavy on the watermelon this weekend. Bought it at such a good price and it was so, so, so good. I then find out I'm like the only person in the house or in my circle of friends who really enjoys watermelon! So in the interest of eating it before it goes bad...

 

I'm at peace with this though - it's healthy and way better that murdering a chocolate cake. I have not felt any kind of sugar rush or blood sugar drop after eating it either - something I would get when I drank diet cokes or ate a lot of sugar before. Maybe I metabolise it differently. I read a little on fructose on the Chris Kessler site yesterday that suggested the same thing. I've tried to marry the watermelon consumption with lots of fat and protein to help offset any insulin dump. But the stuff is good and I've been eating too much of it.

 

Scored the last 2 dozen free range eggs at my local farm yesterday too. I would never have thought I'd pay $2.50/doz for eggs, but these things are delicious. Creamy and flavorful and just wonderful.

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Don't feel bad, I paid $5/dozen for eggs at my farmer's market and they're usually $6! 

 

Love your blog title.  Used to watch Ren & Stimply all.the.time.

 

I totally agree about coffee.  I used to say that I drank a little coffee with my cream and sugar.  I cut out sugar years ago but still took half & half, even used those half & half creamer cups at the office (all the while wondering what the heck they put in them that "dairy" could sit out at room temperature for months on end.  Now it's strictly black and I make it at home where I know the coffee quality is good!

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Day 24.

 

Felt energetic enough after work to take the mutt & family to a new dog park built close by. Had a nice walk around the track in unseasonably cool weather - great treat to the end of a stressful day.

 

Breakfast & lunch meals have seemed a little boring, but I haven't given them a great focus. Feeling pressure to come up with something 'great' and 'exciting' for dinner each night, but I'm not sure why because the rest of the house will eat pretty much whatever I cook. Picked up Nom Nom Paleo from the library yesterday too - no time to read yet but a quick glance tells me there are many options there. Will be stretching my fresh veggies this week & may have to go with frozen before I can get to a store on the weekend.

 

Gearing up for some busy days ahead. Trying to manage stress & stay on target.

 

OH - slept well last night again. This is the 3rd night I've not relied on something to make me sleepy or stay asleep. I never have problems falling asleep, but do have probs staying asleep. Maybe this diet is truly affecting the sleep rhythms. Please let it be so.

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Day 26.

 

Sleeping better! Not taken any sleep helpers this week, not even herbal remedies or melatonin. This makes me feel like something is truly working. I've had a HORRIBLE work week and often times take my stress to sleep with me only to wake up at 2am or 4am and relive the workday. Not so this week. Hoping this helps. I have been getting progressively more sleepy starting about 9:30 every night and increasing as it goes. The way nature intended, no doubt. Or at least closer to it than I was before.

 

Rash on face is gone. A little itchiness there and on scalp, but the strange bumps have gone away.

 

Still craving onions but it waxes and wanes. Tonight is Mexican Friday- meaning me and the family go out for our ritual send-off to the work week. This has been tough for me, as I used to gas up on diet coke & margaritas. I have not done so for 4 weeks, of which I am proud. I try to focus on the social aspect & so far that's got me through. I have leaned on some fruit after dinner, however. It's the damn watermelon! But I have none tonight so the tempation won't be there.

 

Almost to the finish line and wondering if I should keep going for a w60 or cut it off. I feel like I'm just now starting to benefit from the added nutrition. I'm in the swing of shopping, cooking, & washing up. I have lost inches because my pants are roomier in the waist & my shirts don't hug my stomach as much as before. I can see less bloat in all extremities when I look in the mirror, and I'm a skeptic at heart so for me to see this, It's there.

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I could have written this.  Today is Day 30 for me, and I'm going to keep going.  I was planning a reintroduction, but as a coworker said to me yesterday, why?  You can count on one hand the times you've blown your nose this month, so you know it's dairy.  Your body aches and pains are gone, so you know it's sugar/gluten.  You sleep great and your energy is up, so why introduce those foods back? 

 

It's so great to see these improvements, my pants are baggy, my tops are baggy, I have shoulder bones again!  I haven't taken heartburn meds for weeks. 

 

So, if you're loving how you feel and look, why stop?  :D

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Day 29.

 

It's crept up on me. I almost said screw it on day 28...what's 2 more days? But I hung in there. I don't feel especially proud of myself, but whatever. I am a grown adult. If I wanted to do this for 4 weeks instead of 4 weeks & 2 days, I could have. I will be doing it right for 30 days though, as it's the week and I don't really have any temptations laying ahead of me.

 

One thing I noticed that had escaped me - my nails are stronger. I looked down today on the steering wheel as I was driving into work and realized I had fingernails growing out past my fingertips on almost all my fingers. I touched the ends of a few and realized they were strong, not soft and pliable like usual. Now I can't attribute this all to w30...it would take more than 30 days for the entire nail bed to rejuvenate a new fingernail. But something is going on because they are stronger. Still washing my hands as often as usual so not sure what gives. But it's a welcome improvement.

 

I really think I need to continue this way of eating longer to get more of a benefit. I have been broken for a long time, at least since 2001 when I was diagnosed with hypothryoid (after gaining 80 lbs in less than a year after my mother's sudden death). It's been downhill since then. That can't be undone in 30 days.

 

I bought some plain full-fat greek yogurt yesterday - that will be my dairy intro. I have discovered there is life without cheese, so I can do it if I have to. But it's difficult to eat anything but what I prepare if I don't allow cheese. So I need to figure out what dairy does to me so I can make an educated decision going forward whenever I'm presented with something cheesy or milky. I figure I'll have some yogurt and berries or mango to see what happens.

 

I'm not getting back on the diet coke horse. Not worth it. What was I drinking anyway? No nutritional value - that's my reminder. If I'm drinking or eating it, it should have some kind of nutritional value. Even if it's just Vitamin C from fresh squeezed lemons in my water.

 

Don't want to eat wheat either - harder to avoid but I think it's important. I haven't had the stomach bloat since I cut it and corn out consistently. No more corn chips, but whatever. Not something I will die if I don't have.

 

Sugar I am going to have to let back in at some poing I foresee. It is so difficult to avoid unless you cook everything yourself, forever. I have discovered that my taste buds work better without the consumption of aspertame, and possibly sugar, however. I feel like they are reawakening. So...going to continue to restrict sugar as much as possible.

 

Feeling like things are getting better and better, and afraid it will all go away if I start adding crap back into my diet.

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Day 30.

 

Allergies out of nowhere are driving me nuts. It must be seasonal, as the rest of the house that isn't eating whole30 is also experiencing it. Bummer though.

 

Craving sugar last night something terrible. Not sure why. I ate a few Brazil nuts and a few dates. Not the best choice, but didn't want to cook at 9:30 at night. I am not going to beat myself up for it though, it was a conscious choice, not a desperate one. I have been meaning to start having the 1-Brazil-nut-a-day thing for the selenium.

 

I took the mutt to the dog park with my daughter so I got some exercise that I don't usually partake of. I would like to go every night I think - good for me and for her.

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Day 31.

 

Didn't occur to me that day 30 passed without a bang until I was laying in bed last night about to sleep. What should I do? Celebrating it with a big meal out somewhere (I was asked) seems sort of like putting the Whole30 into a punishment category. 'You survived it, let's celebrate!' Maybe not exactly accurate, but close. I will run into friends this weekend who will likely expect me to drink a few margaritas as a toast or something extra.

 

But celebrating and recognition are not the same thing. I am recognizing that I completed the Whole30. That I didn't veer off road during some difficult times. I was certainly challenged. I had cravings. I questioned & justified my decision to try Whole30 several times. But I decided to try it for 30 days no matter what because what do I really have to lose in 30 days?

 

Now I am feeling the concern of what to eat now that I'm not held to the 30 day window. I've contemplated introduction, but not sure how to start. I want to start with dairy, but during the week is probably not a good idea. So I'm putting it off until the weekend. There is true safety in structure, and this Whole30 has emphasized that for me.

 

I don't want to eat wheat ever again. My fiance does not quite understand this. He is a rigid kind of guy and thinks I was holding my breath for 30 days. Now that we're past that mark, he seems puzzled that I would continue on past 30 'just because'. I haven't done the best job of educating him on the why's of my whole30. It's about nutrition. It's about figuring out what foods affect me badly. It's about making the most of the process we all engage in 3x a day.

 

I sincerely hope I keep losing weight. I have no idea what I've lost, inches or pounds, but I know I have because my pants are looser as are my shirts. The stomach bloat is gone. I can attribute that to wheat, as I removed wheat from my diet successfully for a month once before. But there is less bloat all over my body - arms, legs, face, everywhere. If that is a sign of inflamation, I'll take it!

 

It is a pipe dream, but wouldn't it be awesome if I discovered that healthy food was the answer to this battle I have been waging since I was a child?

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Didn't occur to me that day 30 passed without a bang until I was laying in bed last night about to sleep. What should I do? Celebrating it with a big meal out somewhere (I was asked) seems sort of like putting the Whole30 into a punishment category. 'You survived it, let's celebrate!' Maybe not exactly accurate, but close. I will run into friends this weekend who will likely expect me to drink a few margaritas as a toast or something extra.

 

I think this is entirely accurate! Way to recognize this as a lot of people don't. It sounds like wheat is firmly in the not worth it category for you which is great to know. If you want to test on weekends than your reintroduction protocol would look like Whole30 Sun-Fri with a trial at all 3 meals on Sat. You will get great data and continued health doing that! You only need to reintroduce the foods that you think you might want to eat again or that you think can't be avoided. You may want to try other gluten grains and leave wheat out or just lump the whole gluten category as not worth it. Once you finish reintroducing things there is a Whole30 guide to offroading that I've never successfully been able to link here. If you search for it on Google you should find it easily. 

 

Spend some time writing down all the improvements you experienced in the next 30 days and noting which of these hold and which don't during reintroductions. Use that as your way of convincing your fiance that this is a lifestyle change for you not just 30 days of holding your breath. Once you are in ride your own bike land nothing is off limits...it just comes down to deciding if something is special and worth it for you. Your choice. Nobody else's. Yours. Feel the power of that!

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Reintro of dairy began on Friday. Not noticing anything except hot flashes showed up Sat night about 6am or so again. Had late dinners Sat & Sun night so wondering if that didn't blow up blood sugar levels or something. I've not heard of dairy causing hot flashes, but who knows. 

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