August 1st Group Thread

[Demobhappy]

Had a meal out for the first time - lovely not to have to cook! Beautiful pink roast lamb, onions, new potatoes, radishes with their greens (a new one for me). I asked for gluten/dairy free and wasn't sure whether there was gravy or just meat jus on the plate, so I did my best to scrape it off. This did not make me look like the most sophisticated dining companion, but hey...

I started the day feeling very low on energy, but a very blowy trip to the beach plus the lunch out treat has made me feel a lot better. Still no cravings, which may be because I gave up sugar a couple of months before I started?

[Ellie_G]

jump4life (great name!)

 

I put the liver through the blender first, raw - it looks gross!

 

I start a chilli or bolognese by cooking onions and garlic and any dried herbs/spices in fat until they're soft. Then I add ground meat and brown it. Then I add the pureed liver (it looks gross!), tomatoes and/or stock and leave it all to cook. Not a set recipe or anything 'authentic' - just what's easy to me.

 

I would usually add 1 part liver to 4  - 5 parts meat. If you're not keen on liver, I would start with chicken livers in bolognese sauce - you can't really taste them, they just make it taste extra-rich.

[JennP]

EJSmadhatter--you mentioned the pudding being deserty. I think it was this morning. It does not have protein in itself, so I will have to add eggs or leftover protein next time. It made a lot more than I expected, but was good. My banana was not ripe enough, and I can taste it too much. I should have added more in the form of spices. I added pumpkin pie spice, but it needed more earthiness despite the pumpkin.

 

I am beginning to think the world is conspiring against me to complete the W30. Due to everything yesterday taking so long, it was almost 1AM before got to sleep, but hey I fell asleep within 30 minutes of laying down. I slept until I had to get up--8--and then didn't move fast enough for breakfast before leaving for the dentist. I decided to run by the hardware store to pick up a quick fix, and learned it was not to be. Somehow, in the process, I locked a setting on my phone and could not make a call. When I got home, I saved all that was on my phone and reset it to factory settings. Why do you always lose paid apps when you do that? Ugh!

 

I heated up some pumpkin pudding while working on my phone. Once that was done, I started on the tub. Yeah, I ended up only buying new seats, washers, and two specialized tools.

The problems:

-old seats are stripped and I need another tool to get them out.

-took 30 minutes to get the stems to fit in properly so they wouldn't leak around the boot.

-still need to go buy the graduated wrench to get the seats out, which means repeating the majority of what I did today. 

-will probably need to also replace the new washers I put on today when I finally get the seats replaced.

 

All of this will wait for another day.

 

Despite note getting enough to eat at breakfast, I couldn't figure out what to eat for lunch. The tuna salad I had planned just doesn't sound appetizing. I have eaten some,but can tell it won't last...wasn't enough and didn't satisfy. I just don't feel like eating. Tonight's dinner is spaghetti squash with Greek meatballs and compliant sauce. 

 

Hubby is out working and won't be home till after 7, so I will be eating alone--again. He works 2 jobs so I can go to school and so we can still play hockey. One job (main job) is at nights, so he sleeps during the day; the other is done during the day when he is off. Of course he took 2 vacation days so he could work his second job (inspections for homeowners insurance companies) and there is rain all week. At least he was able to go do some work today. I get tired of eating alone. We are both doing W30, and I put a menu up for him so he knows what is available, and he takes food for lunch/dinner depending on the menu.

 

Despite this, I am pushing through and won't eat off program. I know I will end up having a snack today. Not sure what it will be. I am considering celery and tahini sauce just now.

 

I really like the idea of mixing organ meat into ground meat. I will have to try that. I have only had chicken livers before, Southern style, and find them incredibly salty. Each time I have tried it I felt like I was licking a salt lick. Maybe the breading that was on it was salty. I actually think I may try having the grocery store grind beef heart.

Now, I have made oxtail and absolutely loved it. Hubby did too. I have found a recipe for tongue that I meant to make, but couldn't find tongue at the time. 

Well, at the end of the day--how many ever hours down the road--my tub faucet no longer leaks (even if just for the short term) and I know what I am having for dinner. Now I need to go drink something since I did not drink enough yesterday, and start reviewing my Kinesiology. Classes resume on Monday, and I will be ready. Oh, let's not forget all the things I need to get done around the house, too.

Have a great rest of the day. 

[leahcarn]

Paleo mom's 50:50:50 burgers are my favourite way to have liver (if you can find compliant bacon)

[LydiaL]

In exciting news, felt awful after eating a nightshade laden lunch (okra and potato curry with lots of pepper flakes). Just felt bloated and weird. I generally don't eat a lot of nightshades- I do like my tabasco but avoid raw tomatoes, red pepper, eggplant and potatoes. I think I have gone over my recommended nightshade limit for this month so I may cut out nightshades for the rest of the challenge and extend my whole 30 a few more days to get all these nightshades out of my system.

@JennP I was the one who mentioned the cold brew tea. I'll have to try that with the water bottles. Sounds convenient. I used loose tea in my french coffee press and it worked well but it was a bit of a pain to clean this morning. I now have some cold brew coffee 'brewing' in the fridge so hopefully I will have a delicious coffee to drink on ice tomorrow.

[jump4life]

I put the liver through the blender first, raw - it looks gross!

 

I would usually add 1 part liver to 4  - 5 parts meat. If you're not keen on liver, I would start with chicken livers in bolognese sauce - you can't really taste them, they just make it taste extra-rich.

 

Thanks Ellie-  I think the gross factor is what is holding me back but a 20% mix in sounds doable!  

 

Paleo mom's 50:50:50 burgers are my favourite way to have liver (if you can find compliant bacon)

 

Thanks leahcarn!  I just finished reading her book, which was what was prompting me to want to try again on the organ meat.  Do you actually use bison liver or do you sub in someother liver??   I am not a bacon lover to begin with, unless I am at my sisters (an organic CSA farm, and they raise pigs just for the family-  yum).  but they are far away so none of the bacon comes home with me.   I did look for a more local source and may have found a good place but they dont have bacon in stock just now.    

[jump4life]

Warning-  discussion of forbidden foods to follow -  skip this if you are in a vulnerable mood!   

 

I was really low energy  this morning and very irritable all day today.  I realized  that I haven't been adding enough fat at breakfast b/c I finally have adjusted to black coffee -  which means I should be replacing  the calories that I am not getting from the coconut milk and ghee I am leaving out.   I tried to amp up the fat at lunch and dinner and ended up a bit turned off of fat (even in my Pad Thai -  sigh).  Then I went a bit overboard on frozen grapes, which I probably should categorize as "food with no brakes"-  sigh.   

 

So now I am obsessing about what I will add back first once this whole30 is over:   will it be  real dairy milk....  or quinoa..... or sharp cheddar cheese... or oatmeal..... or yogurt.....  or a really nice glass of wine..  or my favorite gluten free beer..... or my favorite salad that has parm cheese a dijon shallot dressing ....  or dark chocolate....  or lentils...  or ...  sigh.    

 

I am not sure what stage of the Whole30 journey this is but i think my best solution is an early night and a new attitude for tomorrow!       

[katlady]

jump4life, why are you forgoing the coconut milk and ghee?

[jump4life]

So no early night for me (who invented teenagers anyway?)    

 

katlady-   I am only forgoing the coconut milk and ghee in my coffee because I didnt really like it all that much and the process was a bit laborious first thing in the morning.  this weekend we were away and I drank my coffee just black and discovered I actually like it!   Bonus for me is that my husband can now resume his rather wonderful habit of bringing me coffee in bed each morning....  this was suspended for a while b/c the coconut milk and ghee was a bit beyond his early morning capabilities.    

[Roussa57]

Late to bed- due to the necessary rewinding first after finishing a few hrs of work I had to take home - I watched two episode of Masterchef Australia - mmmm it induced some craving but I did not give in.

But I woke up at 4 am and I couldn't find Mr Sleep back so early rise. To find out that our lovely actor Robin Williams passed away supposedly suicide after a live tortured by depression and alcohol addiction. Mind you for 20 yrs he was OK to fall back in 2006 and not being able to get himself back on track.

Addiction such a powerful thing. We are coping with our addictions too Sugar, Wine, Beer, Bread, Fast food ....

I comfort myself with a new experiment - I owe it to you guys! Coffee with ghee and coconut milk. I tried it before but I did not warm the milk but this morning I used my frappucino and poor the hot foamy coco milk in my coffee. Jammie, so velvety and nice. I really like that. After drinking my coffee with 3 Natrena sweeteners since I was a teenager that a big leap forward for me! I will never go back to sweeteners in whatever form!

My meal plan today:

M1 chicken with red cabbage salad

M2 mixed lettuce, some potato salad home made with peppers, onion, celery and some smoked wild salmon

M3 spaghetti zucchini with a tomato sauce and meatballs and some veggies and lots of garlic

Nice day tot you all!

[leahcarn]

Jump4life I just use lambs fry

[Janis6]

Here goes...

My name is Shelley and I live in Wales. I have a two year old son, I work as a manager in the learning and development of our local health board and I'm studying to do a degree in psychology. I've always always always had a very poor relationship with food. I have spent a lot of my life being overweight, though my weight has ranged from 118lbs to 241lbs. I have spent a few months following whole30 on Instagram and have finally built up to starting it for real on 1st August. I am doing this so that I can break the addiction I have with the wrong foods, find out what my body actually can/can't deal with, learn how to listen to my body and so that I can take pictures of myself win my little boy, rather than it just being him only. My greatest challenges will be myself and between meal eating.

I hope that this group will give me the encouragement that I need, just as I'm going to be giving as much encouragement as I can to others.

Speak soon!

I agree Shelley, between meal eating is a real challenge for me,too! I started on August 10 and today is my day 3! I'm eating a breakfast of left over butternut squash, salad and some chicken. Hopefully that will carry me through my bike ride.

[JennP]

@JennP I was the one who mentioned the cold brew tea. I'll have to try that with the water bottles. Sounds convenient. I used loose tea in my french coffee press and it worked well but it was a bit of a pain to clean this morning. I now have some cold brew coffee 'brewing' in the fridge so hopefully I will have a delicious coffee to drink on ice tomorrow.

 

What about using a tea ball to brew overnight? Those are easier to clean. I am lucky enough to have a 'little country' store not too far away that carries bulk loose tea. I actually need to go there today now that I am thinking of it. I get one of their herbal blends and use a muslin bag (about 2" x 4" big). It has a draw string on top. I fill it with enough tea leaved for the amount of water I am using (usually 1/2-1 gallon). To clean the bags, I simply turn them inside-out, then rinse off the leaves that stick (they can be washed as well if you wish) I dry then, right them, then use again for the same type of tea. Once I am done that gab of loose tea, I discard the bag. I could keep using it, but I have made several batches by that point, and choose to get another. At $0.25 a bag (at my little store), it isn't expensive. 

 

[JennP]

World is still conspiring, but I think I am getting the upper hand. I didn't fall asleep until after 1 AM, but managed to get up at 6:30

 

I ate too much fruit yesterday. I could feel it yesterday and am paying for it today. So far breakfast is in me, yeah! I have several errands to run today, as well as studying and cleaning. I have to get serious about studying, or I won't be ready come Monday. 

 

Plan for the day

-take car in to find out why radio/gps is not working

-go to my little store

-roast cauliflower when I get home (may put off until @4 so I don't have to reheat it

-make 10 minute chili from ISWF for lunch

-study

-clean some

-stretch

-study

-clean some

-nap?

-study

-dinner

-hockey

-sleep

 

Have a great day.....oh, I think I may be a stress-aholic..gotta find some way to reduce of my Type A and increase my Type B...with school my Type A becomes a Type A+++++++

I think I can manage that.

[Janet Lynn K]

Good Morning,

I am finally over feeling nautious. ( 3 days worth) I am happy to say that I don't wake up in the morning having to cough up flem. I also took to the scale this morning and found that I lost 6 pounds. I know I shouldn't have done that but with feeling so sick the last 3 days I wanted to know where I was at.

 

Should be a busy day. I am planning my meals as follows:

 

Breakfast- Breakfast Casserole

Lunch- Salad with grilled chicken and avocado

Dinner- Chicken Curry with left over roasted cauliflower

 

I have almonds at my desk and bringing some strawberries for a snack.

 

Have a great day,

Janet

[socrkx]

Good morning day 12 - yesterday was so productive, I am actually getting things accomplished. This morning I started my day with meditation and then headed out for my first Whole 30 run - Wow, granted I am a slow runner but my time actually improved from earlier in the summer - 3 mile run done. What I learned was I need to hard boil some eggs - have one egg before meditation and then head out on my run. Once school starts I will have to run in the evening because it is too dark to get it in and arrive at work by 7:20am.

Was deeply saddened by Robin Williams death but I get it, sadly. Being sober for 25 years and struggling with depression all my life the journey is complicated. It was a reminder for me, a wake up call of sorts.

Today I need to take care of some never ending condo business which wedged its way into my schedule. Afterwards I will head to the farmers market , need more eggs and asparagus and a nice piece of meat for my husbands birthday while we are on our camping trip. If I am up to it I will head up to my classroom and work for a couple of hours.

Feeling good - husband broke our French Press so I do not have my iced coffee, need to remember to buy a new one today.

Grateful that I am eating healthy and taking care of myself - it was beautiful this morning as I headed out for my run. My house is clean and I have a lot of energy. Life is good.

Breakfast: three eggs, stir fry mushrooms, red onion, asparagus and one tsp ghee, 1/2 avocado and 1 slice cantaloupe

Lunch: Tropical chopped salad with shrimp, left over cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles

Dinner: Some type of chicken - maybe Pina Colada Chicken with spaghetti squash

Coffee with coconut water and a splash of coconut milk.

It is a beautiful day!

BJ

[jump4life]

socrkx-  your upbeat attitude is inspiring!    Life is good.   

 

Janet-  so good to hear you are feeling better! 

 

Normal day for me- no real highs or lows in energy    which feels good after yesterday.      Plenty of prepared food stocked in the fridge so easy choices for all three meals.   Lovely silky gingered zucchini soup at lunch-  mine turned out really green instead of the golden yellow in the pictures but still delicious.  

 

Realized I didn't really have the urge to snack today and felt hungry just right on target for each meal.   

 

Have to sign up to bring a dish to a potluck lunch at work next week-  any suggestions?   I haven't really shared my eating plan with anyone there and not sure I really want to get into any details.   I did get a compliment from a coworker today -   noticing some weight loss and good skin-  such a rush!

 

Have a great evening!   

[leahcarn]

Jump4life sounds like you're doing well. For your work function I would bring something you can eat, so tasty that you don't mind if that's all you eat. I would get carried away and bring a meal and a dessert option so I wasn't tempted by anything else.

 

I'll be honest, I'm finding this really hard. I'm really tired all the time, and I can't see a way to break myself out of this funk. I have been paleo for over a year now, and it really cleared up my digestive issues a lot, but recently I noticed things weren't as good as they had been, and I got worse after eating apples, onions, and avocadoes, so thought I'd try a low FODMAP whole30 to heal and hopefully get some more knowledge about what to avoid.

So far the issues have gotten worse, and I have no energy (worse than I was before). I'm getting sick of the food options I do have, and beginning to lose motivation to carry on with this. Also, I stopped tracking food intake and weighing myself for the whole30, and I swear I've put on an extra layer of fat.

Haven't been exercising like I used to because I just haven't had the energy, and my injury hasn't helped either, but no motivation to see a physio or anything to get it sorted either. For the whole30 I decided to listen to my body and only work out if I wanted to (I was getting random urges to exercise pre-whole30, so this is not as crazy as it sounds lol) but I've just had nothing. =(

[Roussa57]

Question I noticed a funny thing. Before Whole30 I liked the taste of an apple but I always experienced an horribly empty feeling in my stomach. But I found out it stopped!

Does anyone else share this experience with me?

 

Day 13!!! Almost half way. Good for us.

M1 leftover meatballs and red coleslaw

M2 leftover chicken, some homemade guacamole, red coleslaw

M3????? dinner with friends, I mailed them my program. The answer: so much easier that you will not eat caviar from St Peterburg, fried cicades from the Provence or Parisien macarons!

 

Have a nice day

[jump4life]

I'll be honest, I'm finding this really hard. I'm really tired all the time, and I can't see a way to break myself out of this funk. I have been paleo for over a year now, and it really cleared up my digestive issues a lot, but recently I noticed things weren't as good as they had been, and I got worse after eating apples, onions, and avocadoes, so thought I'd try a low FODMAP whole30 to heal and hopefully get some more knowledge about what to avoid.

So far the issues have gotten worse, and I have no energy (worse than I was before). I'm getting sick of the food options I do have, and beginning to lose motivation to carry on with this. 

 

leahcarn-  you can do this -  dont give up now on your quest for knowledge about your own body!    You have done the really hard work of the first 12 days and so many people have shown us that the promise of a lifetime of better health is just around the  corner.    Only 18 more days and you will have a body well prepped to do some reintroductions and find out once and for all what foods you can tolerate well.   18 more days is hard but it is nothing  in the context of a whole life-  1 month from now, 1 year from now what are you looking forward to that will be enhanced by having even better health?   

 

So many posts about low energy talk about making sure you are getting enough fat and  starchy veg.  In an earlier thread you mentioned making plain coconut butter.  Could you increase your use of this to add more fat?   Maybe on something like plantain crisps with a variety of  spices and herbs as kind of an appetizer to each meal?  Cinnamon at breakfast, marjoram at lunch, basil or parsley at dinner?

 

For exercise, I think it is wise to listen to your body, and forgo the more intensive exercise while you are still struggling.  However maybe adding just more walking or gentle movement would be helpful?   Even if you just add 5 min of movement at each hour or something like that so you remind your body how great movement feels and keep it limber and ready to go when the exercise urge comes back in full force?

 

You can do this-  you have done it before-  you are giving your future self a rare and special gift!   

 

[Ellie_G]

Hi leahcarn,

 

I'm struggling with low energy too - I'm not sleeping brilliantly at the moment and I thought getting alcohol and sugar totally out of my diet would help, but not yet. Maybe I would be feeling worse with them? (Almost certainly!)

 

I have been paleo a while (2 years)  and thought I'd have more energy to exercise on Whole30 - again, not yet.

 

I'm also currently having physio for an injury - and while the exercises are boring and time-consuming, it's so much better to progress slowly and steadily than when I wasn't getting treatment.

 

I'm not going to quit the Whole30 - I've read testimonials about the magic kicking in the last week - I just hope this happens for me, because so far, I'm not feeling any magic.

[Demobhappy]

"You're losing weight," my husband just said, "and without really having to do anything". Speechless...

[Roussa57]

I had I the power I wished I could send you some energy. I do hope you will find the power to continue. I think people like you struggling with energy loss, health issues etc are the real diehards!

[socrkx]

 

Normal day for me- no real highs or lows in energy    which feels good after yesterday.      Plenty of prepared food stocked in the fridge so easy choices for all three meals.   Lovely silky gingered zucchini soup at lunch-  mine turned out really green instead of the golden yellow in the pictures but still delicious.  

Jump4life - I picked up some zucchini/yellow squash at the farmers market yesterday and made a double batch of the gingered zucchini soup - mine was also green but tasted fantastic! Doubled the recipe and have left overs - husband took a jar to work. The best deal was my zucchini squash was $2 for ten because their color looked funny. Love trying new veggies!

[JennP]

socrkx-  your upbeat attitude is inspiring!    Life is good.   

 

Janet-  so good to hear you are feeling better! 

 

Normal day for me- no real highs or lows in energy    which feels good after yesterday.      Plenty of prepared food stocked in the fridge so easy choices for all three meals.   Lovely silky gingered zucchini soup at lunch-  mine turned out really green instead of the golden yellow in the pictures but still delicious.  

 

Realized I didn't really have the urge to snack today and felt hungry just right on target for each meal.   

 

Have to sign up to bring a dish to a potluck lunch at work next week-  any suggestions?   I haven't really shared my eating plan with anyone there and not sure I really want to get into any details.   I did get a compliment from a coworker today -   noticing some weight loss and good skin-  such a rush!

 

Have a great evening!   

 

How about making babagahnoosh with eggplant--several compliant recipes on Pinterest (I am JCPruitt313 in there if you want to see what I found). Put that with crudites. Perfect for everyone.