I've Got This!

[sterborg]

I  screwed up on day one 

 

My day started off brilliantly: here is my menu

 

Meal One: Salmon, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Scrambled Eggs

Meal Two: Thai Red Curry Coconut Sweet Potato Soup, Avocado/Tomato/Basil salad

Meal Three: Herb-rubbed Roasted Chicken, Green Beans, Radishes and CORN ON THE COB

 

Corn! In my mind it is a seasonal vegetable and therefore I didn't even blink when purchasing, cooking, and eating it.  WRONG.  It is actually a vegetable in the form of sweet corn but becomes a grain when dried. There are literally thousands of websites claiming corn as a fruit, a vegetable, or a grain - it is clearly a hotly debated topic - so I don't feel as bad for missing it but after feeling so accomplished on day one, I was gutted to say the least that I hadn't stuck with the program. 

 

On to Day 1 again...

 

This time I was determined not to screw up:

 

Meal One: Salmon, Fried Egg, Zucchini, Mushrooms, Nectarine

Meal  Two: Cold chicken, Nectarine, Avocado, Nuts (we were at the beach)

Meal Three: Spicy Roasted Chicken, Green beans, Red/Yellow/Green peppers, Banana

 

Done!   This time I was legitimate the whole time.  Nailed it.  

 

Day 2:

 

Meal One: Salmon, Eggs, Nectarine, Mushrooms, Zucchini

Meal Two: Thai Red Curry Coconut Sweet Potato Soup, Avocado/Tomato/Basil salad

Meal Three: Pan-Fried Chicken breast, Potato Hash with Red/Yellow/Green peppers, parsley, chives, radishes, Plums.

 

I think I need more fat. Not on me (no sir!) but in my meals. We went walking around our village today.  I am feeling good about where I am at, despite my screw up on the first day.  

 

Attached a picture of the mega soup - it is delicious! 

 

Here's to tomorrow! 

[LadyM]

Day 1 is the best day to screw up on.

Onward!

[sterborg]

I agree!  I would have been even more gutted had it been further down the track! 

 

Doing the Whole30 When Your Husband Is Not

 

My husband doesn't fight the Sugar Dragon - he and her are besties! He has the total opposite body chemistry and composition to me but he understands (or tries to!) how hard this is for me.  He can't see the harm in a piece of bread or an ear of corn but I tell him about the bigger picture, about rewiring my brain to think about food differently, and about how I want this so badly.  

 

Our agreement: We are on holiday at the moment (I am a teacher) and our days look like this:

 

He gets his own breakfast or I tell him what I am having and if he likes the sound of it, I make it for him too.  

Lunch - He is again on his own or I make him sandwiches when cutting up all the cheese, meat, veges for my daughter's lunch.  

Dinner - he eats what I eat.

 

If he wants ice cream or chocolate, he can have it but he doesn't like to eat it around me.  I told him that I am doing this for me and that watching him eat these things would be really hard.  He is awesome about it. There may or may not be chocolate in the house right now but I don't mind.  I know I can do this and I want him to live his life the way he wants to.  I am not sad about not eating the chocolate or the ice cream and I know that it is not forever - just for a while.  I figure it is my choice so let's just do it! 

[Tom Denham]

It is really important to read through the rules several times: http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/ The rules are simple enough so just hearing about them may seem like enough, but corn is discussed specifically as not being okay during a Whole30. The paleo world and what different people say is not consistent, so almost all the critical points get addressed in the rules. 

[sterborg]

Thanks Tom.  I really did think I had read the rules pretty well. Corn is a hotly contested item across the internet.  I was thinking of it as a vegetable and not as a grain, hence the mistake and the restart.  No biggie - at least it was on Day 1 and not Day 29, right?

 

Today was another solid day.  I learned I need to plan more for when the unexpected arises. 

 

I had a late breakfast and then we went to the lake.  I hadn't packed enough food so was starving by the time we got home. I really only had two big meals today with a 'snack' of an avocado and peanuts at the Lake.  Note to self: take food that you can eat with you at all times.  This will be important when I head back to work soon. 

 

I made my husband and daughter fried bananas and nutella crepes for dinner tonight.  I asked what they wanted and that was the answer I got.  I was actually ok with it all but decided not to do what I usually do and spread/roll the nutella as I cooked them. I can handle looking at a stack of crepes but an open jar of nutella is too much for me right now! 

 

No grumpies, no headaches - I am drinking lots of water and trying to avoid snacking. I am feeling better in my back - where I have had inflammation pain for months after giving birth. So nice to get to the end of the day and realize I have been wincing in pain! 

 

Roll on tomorrow! 

[AmyS]

Love how you are dealing with this with your husband (and daughter)!

[Clannah]

I screwed up today (my day one) by accepting a piece of cake that neighbour offered me after I'd eaten my paleo breakfast and wasn't even hungry... It didn't even register until I had walked back to my house!! Ah well I'll call this day zero and continue as if I hadn't screwed up and day one is tomorrow!!  I'll probably have a read over the rules again tonight as Tom says above - my head obviously wasn't in it. 

 

I remember from my first W30 that my biggest battle was bad habits - I never realised how many spoons I licked or my inclination to eat leftovers off the kids plates... Or even tasting food that wasn't compliant that I was making for my family.  I had to spit many a tasting out (without the kids noticing - that wouldn't be good ) until I got rid of the habit or just changed my recipes over to compliant recipes. 

 

My hubby is doing it with me this time but as he works long hours I don't see him for breakfast and lunch - he is happy to eat what I eat at dinner!! I have a feeling he won't be 100% compliant.... uh huh (you know right..)! I want to try to move the kids over to this way of eating also... They are happy with most of the dinners also.

 

Cx

[LadyM]

Just FYI: if you ate peanuts, they're not compliant with the program (they're a legume).

[birder]

I was looking at sweet corn the other day thinking it looked good but then realized I would not like it as much without butter so decided not to do it.  This is my second Whole 30 and I have the rules down pretty well and it did not even cross my mind that it was out.  I eat it so rarely that I have never even thought of it.  Glad I didn't make the mistake.  

 

I'm doing this alone in my house as well.  My husband sat by me the other night and ate a Reses and a Coke but it does not phase me anymore.  I wish him and my son would make better choices but they do eat better by default when I eat well.  Sadly when I'm not really focused on eating well is when I slip into the food they bring into the house.   They do eat dinners with me and I always cook up meat for lunches so we pull from the same foods.  They just add some bread now and then (more and more often not). 

 

I'm a teacher also and struggling with being home and eating regularly at first I wanted to snack all the time now I go all day and realize I didn't eat lunch or I forget about dinner.  I am excited to return to work next week and get back to a regular schedule.  

 

I hope you didn't eat peanuts and do it again.  I ate something bad on day 6 so started over, it is frustrating but worth it.  

[sterborg]

I ate PEANUTS!!! What a muppet.  And yes, I have read the rules a gazillion times.  Ugh.  I think between jet lag (more my baby than me but what's the difference really?) and just, I don't know...not self sabotage as I really want this.  I remember reading no peanut butter but I totally thought I had read peanuts were in.  I guess that was wishful thinking.  I don't mind starting again as I really want to commit to the 30 days to see what happens - not what happens if I do almost a Whole 30.  Plus, if I let go the slip-up of corn and peanuts, I just think it will be WAY to easy to let in other things too. So, today is Day One!  Onward! 

[sterborg]

The funny thing is, I also contemplated not cooking the corn because I love it with butter but it was so fresh and delicious that I sprinkled it with some pink salt, pepper and parsley and congratulated myself on being so compliant!  Ha!  Little did I know (and now I wish I had added butter if it meant a restart anyway!)

 

My husband is also good at just adding bread or whatever to his meals although having said that, I don't think he's done that too much. He is tall and I am short so he puts his snacks and sweet treats in a cupboard that would require me to go find a chair or stool and climb up on it and then maybe even use tongs to reach the goods at the back of the shelf - if I knew which shelf to look in!  He doesn't tell me where he puts them and I don't ask.  He's pretty good at being discreet when eating them although last night he ate a bowl of ice cream and I wasn't phased.  

 

I am looking forward to getting back into more of a routine although not looking forward to how prepared I am going to have to be in order to stay compliant!  Right now I have the luxury of time - I best use it to make this work! 

I was looking at sweet corn the other day thinking it looked good but then realized I would not like it as much without butter so decided not to do it.  This is my second Whole 30 and I have the rules down pretty well and it did not even cross my mind that it was out.  I eat it so rarely that I have never even thought of it.  Glad I didn't make the mistake.  

 

I'm doing this alone in my house as well.  My husband sat by me the other night and ate a Reses and a Coke but it does not phase me anymore.  I wish him and my son would make better choices but they do eat better by default when I eat well.  Sadly when I'm not really focused on eating well is when I slip into the food they bring into the house.   They do eat dinners with me and I always cook up meat for lunches so we pull from the same foods.  They just add some bread now and then (more and more often not). 

 

I'm a teacher also and struggling with being home and eating regularly at first I wanted to snack all the time now I go all day and realize I didn't eat lunch or I forget about dinner.  I am excited to return to work next week and get back to a regular schedule.  

 

I hope you didn't eat peanuts and do it again.  I ate something bad on day 6 so started over, it is frustrating but worth it.  

[sterborg]

Yes...to the spoons and tasting!  I am also realizing how much I used to taste and try whilst cooking.  I broke the rules again with peanuts and I am trying to decide how that happened.  I am not sure if I would agree that my head isn't in it.  Peanuts aren't even something I eat very often anyway.  If I were going to cheat it would be with ice cream or Swiss chocolate, but peanuts?  I am not challenging their exclusion from W30, I am just shocked that that is what caught me out.  Baby brain?  Maybe?  I will memorize the rules or else I am going to be on Day One for a while! 

 

I screwed up today (my day one) by accepting a piece of cake that neighbour offered me after I'd eaten my paleo breakfast and wasn't even hungry... It didn't even register until I had walked back to my house!! Ah well I'll call this day zero and continue as if I hadn't screwed up and day one is tomorrow!!  I'll probably have a read over the rules again tonight as Tom says above - my head obviously wasn't in it. 

 

I remember from my first W30 that my biggest battle was bad habits - I never realised how many spoons I licked or my inclination to eat leftovers off the kids plates... Or even tasting food that wasn't compliant that I was making for my family.  I had to spit many a tasting out (without the kids noticing - that wouldn't be good ) until I got rid of the habit or just changed my recipes over to compliant recipes. 

 

My hubby is doing it with me this time but as he works long hours I don't see him for breakfast and lunch - he is happy to eat what I eat at dinner!! I have a feeling he won't be 100% compliant.... uh huh (you know right..)! I want to try to move the kids over to this way of eating also... They are happy with most of the dinners also.

 

Cx

[Brewer5]

I didn't read everything thoroughly -- just wanted to pop in and say that this is a learning experience, for sure... and I like your attitude about wanting to do it right.    

 

It's funny to hear that there is a "debate" out there about corn.  Corn is a grain, and no one will convince me otherwise.  Very little nutritional value -- unlike fruits and vegetables which are loaded with all sorts of great things. 

 

Peanuts -- yep, not a nut at all.  Definitely a legume.  Think:  "beans" when you look at peanuts.    

 

Good luck getting over baby brain and rocking your Whole 30!  Don't forget -- SLEEP.  That helps more than people realize.

[cdgirl]

It takes time to make good habits.So nice to see the positive attitudes and determination.You will learn and eventually you won't even have to think about it.I totally agree with the sleep comment.It's harder to resist bad choices when you are tired and your hunger hormones are messed up.

[Clannah]

My second or is it 3rd "day one" is going well - I read the rules again last night and I am happy I can do this again.

This is my second W30 - I completed it in July last year and I felt great after it - a lot of habits stayed - I never went back to using veg/seed oils for cooking and bread didn't really come back in - the sugar dragon is my major failing point, chocolate and that chillaxing glass of vino on a Friday night(and why is it you suddenly get invited to everything as soon as you decide to do a W30). Legumes wise - I can live without most pulses and legumes but I do like sweetcorn and never have any bad feelings from eating the baby corn... corn kernels, popcorn yes... so perhaps there is a corn debate - why is it not similar to green beans, sugar snaps etc for baby corn? They are out for my W30 but after...

It was good to read the rules again as I had got confused in my head about things that were OK for me and things I am not supposed to eat for the W30. It is good to go for the clean slate again

[Carlaccini]

Just wanted to pop in and say you are doing fantastic.  I love your attitude.  And think how clean you are eating dispite the little blurps.  I went off road with peas a couple of times in my first whole 30 cause I didn't realize they were non- compliant.  I didn't realize they were non- compliant until well afterwards.   So yeah definitely a learning experience!  As you mention above peas (corn in your case)is not something I would have chosen to go offroading with.

[sterborg]

Thanks for the support! I did feel a little despondent having gone off with two such silly mistakes, but yes, so much clean eating.  Although today I was thinking that if I am starting over, I may as well go out on a bang with some chocolate and ice cream.  That lasted about five seconds and then I did something else.  More than anything the comment "this isn't hard, XXXXX is hard" keeps me going.  I see truly hard things all around me and my friends and I think, really,  I am going to add to the conversation by saying how challenging it is not to grate parmesan over my dinner?  No.  

 

Last night I was really hungry so I had roasted chicken (leg and thigh) with a spice rub, half an avocado with black pepper and lime juice (delicious) and then a stirfry of onions and zucchini with a leftover hamburger pattie crumbled in it and cashews thrown on top.  My husband loved it and so did our 1 year old (she didn't get cashews though).  She is such a great eater (for now!) so I feel really lucky that I can cook food that the whole family likes.  We had some nectarine slices on our plate as well and they were well received by everyone.  

[sterborg]

So today started with a bang!  I made a killer meal one - it looks like this: hamburger pattie (homemade), layer of sliced tomatoes, fried egg, hamburger pattie, layer of avocado, fried egg, topped with a mix of chives and parsley.  So good.  I usually have salmon for breakfast but decided to switch it up - super yum. 

 

Then off to get my hair cut and home for meal two: stir-fry chicken with red onion and mango and a side of tomato and avocado and nectarine salad, topped with chopped cashews. 

 

Off to the hardware store to get supplies to make a new step to our deck and on to meal three: Sautéed onion, zucchini and ground beef topped with avocado and eggs and slathered in fresh black pepper, parsley, and lime juice.  So good! 

 

Here's the best part: my husband is sweating that this is costing too much money.  I thought about the cost of tonights dinner and because I only used a third of the pack of beef, the whole meal came in at less than 5 euros.  And it was delicious. And we are both stuffed (although husband did admit he will still be eating ice cream later).  

[LadyM]

Glad you had a great day! Your meals sound terrific.

[sterborg]

Kill.  All.  Things.  

 

This sums up my (still compliant) day. 

 

Meal One: Smoked salmon, Avocado, 3 eggs, red/yellow peppers

Meal Two: Lettuce, Mango, Beef Strips, Carrot, Olives, Cashews (salad)

Meal Three: Grilled salmon, Avocado, egg, zucchini

 

I am a creature of habit.  It doesn't bother me to eat the same thing twice in one day. 

 

This evening we were late home and I was WAY hungry and out came the KAT part of the program.  Seriously.  I just told my husband about it and warned him to take a wide berth. Posting here helps. A little.  I have no desire to come off the program though!  Yay for that (small light in darkness!).  Off to feed my daughter and put her to sleep (still breastfeeding her which is great for both of us) and then early night for me too. 

[Derval]

Don't kill me (along with all the the other things!) but if this is going to be your log for your30days you should ask a mod to change the title to something more positive

[sterborg]

Ha!  I tried to change it when I realized that it wasn't just the name of the first post, but the name of the whole log!  I will see what I can do!  Thanks for the suggestion - I thought I was stuck with it! 

[AmyS]

Ha!  I tried to change it when I realized that it wasn't just the name of the first post, but the name of the whole log!  I will see what I can do!  Thanks for the suggestion - I thought I was stuck with it! 

I believe you have the option to Edit (down in the right hand corner of your original post next to Multiquote and Quote).  If so, click it, and then click the box that says "Use Full Editor."  There you'll see that you can easily change your thread title.

 

If that doesn't work for you, pm me your preferred title and I'll change it for you on my end.

 

You have a great, upbeat log.  Looking forward to your new log title.

[AmyS]

Title changed!

[sterborg]

I've got this!  

 

When I started this I wasn't honestly sure that I did have this.  I have started so many things and never seemed to follow through on them. What will make this different? Great question.  In part, I am still trying to figure this out but as I do, I promised myself that I would post on here daily, keep in touch via FB with the other Aug 1 starters who joined that group, and just really have some control over what I am doing. 

 

It is not easy!  But I do have this.  Onward! 

 

Meal One: Smoked Salmon, 3 eggs, 1/2 avocado, sliced kiwifruit

Meal Two: Meat Sauce (ground beef, leeks, mushrooms, tomatoes), 1/2 avocado with lime juice

Meal Three: Cold roast chicken, 2 plums, cashew nuts.  

 

Meal three could do with some improvement on the vege front but I was exhausted and needed something that required zero cooking/cutting/anything.  I figure a meal with no veges is better than a meal of ice cream, right? 

 

More Whole living tomorrow!  

I've Got This! 

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