Whole 30 in France & Switzerland

[seccotine1956]

Hi,

 

I started the whole30 today. I am 58 years old, in reasonably good shape (just lost 17 kg) and I live 50% of my time in the South of France and 50% in the fabulous Swiss Alps. Plus I stopped working 4 years ago! Privileged? Hell, yes.

 

On top of it, believe it or not, my husband is in charge of the cooking in our household. Luckily, he is pretty sympathetic when I ask for special menus and has agreed 18 months ago to go mainly paleo, as long as he can still have his treats.

 

I would be happy to loose another 5 kgs if I can, but my main goal nowadays is to stabilize my weight and never, ever regain what I just lost (boy, I said that at least 10 times in the last 40 years). Sugary stuff, particularly Swiss chocolate, is my downfall. I started by having just 2 squares after lunch and dinner, but it can escalate pretty quickly if I do not monitor myself closely.

 

Those 30 days will be to wean me off sugar and cheese completely.

 

Starting weight: 68.8 kg, 172 cm tall

 

So, this is what I did today:

 

Breakfast: 2 eggs and 20 gr of bacon (not sugar cured), a small banana, black tea

 

Lunch: 1 roasted duck leg, dry-sauteed Swiss chard, drizzled with the duck fat, 1/2 apple, 1 date with my coffee

 

before dinner: some "saucisse sèche", a dried pork sausage bought at the farmers' market (no additives, no sugar added)

dinner: I modified a endive and haddock pie recipe to comply to my needs. replaced the sour cream with coconut cream. So approximately it is 100 gr haddock, 250 gr endives, 1 egg, 40 ml coconut cream, plus my share of puff pastry that I gave to my dogs. 1/2 apple, 1 date with my tea.

 

Exercise: a 1 hour walk, fast-paced, flat terrain, with the dogs

 

A little bit of a headache tonight, otherwise feeling OK. Now it is 9 p.m. and I have to stay away from the kitchen.

 

My goal for tomorrow: drink a large glass of water each time a sugar craving hits.

[Hutlifr]

Believe it or not... Your life sounds like mine... I am an early retiree of Swiss origin, spending my winters in Spain, and the rest of the year between Switzerland, Paris, and the south of France.

I did a whole 59 which I started in June, and it totally changed my taste buds! Here I was thinking I could never go a day

without my cheese or my chocolate, it always had to be one or the other... Well surprise, surprise, got about 20 hazelnut and frigor tablets in the pantry, just asking to be eaten, and if I have a bite, it's not even as good as I remember. So why eat the whole tablet? Oh and the cheese, I will indulge in the occasional fondue by substituting the bread with lots of steamed veggies, same with raclette, but no longer have the urge to eat cheese at every meal, and you know how hard this is living in France!

Good luck on your journey!

[seccotine1956]

Day 2 (Nov 12)

 

Had a lousy night, woke up 4 times, which is very unusual for me. Woke up with a slight headache, but it could be because of the lack of sleep.

 

Foodwise everything went well

 

Breakfast, as usual (2 eggs, 1 strip of bacon, 1 small banana), liters of tea

lunch: 30 gr of saucisse sèche, a fabulous pumpkin soup with coconut cream and ginger, roasted chicken, 1/2 apple, 2 espressos

dinner: leftover haddock and endive pie, crust given to the dogs, 1/2 apple

 

Went for a 60 minute run in the afternoon, 7 km, felt pretty good.

[seccotine1956]

Day 3 (November 13)

 

Had a terrible time trying to fall asleep last night, a sure sign that i did not eat enough calories. Also had hot flushes during the night another sign.

(I started having hot flushes when I was 31, going into early menopause brought on by the crazy yo-yo dieting I did at the time, was finally able to have one child but had to give up having more). 27 years later, I still have hot flushes whenever I am not eating enough and this despite hormonal replacement therapy, And forget about going drug free, it is pure hell with a hot flush every 30 minutes during the night. OK I stop complaining.

 

So got up with a headache.

Breakfast as usual (2 eggs, 1 strip bacon, 1 small banana), tea

lunch: ostrich steak, delicious, baked eggplant slices, 1/2 apple, 2 espressos, 1 date (big, juicy, perfect)

dinner: leg of lamb, sauteed (in coconut oil) potatoes 200 gr, beetroot salad with olive oil and vinegar, 1/2 apple

30 gr of saucisse sëche, one hour after dinner

 

In the afternoon went for a one-hour uphill, fast-paced walk with the dogs

 

I had planned on eating only 100 gr potatoes at dinner, but doubled-up my portion when I realize that I was just too hungry.

 

The walk requested some courage as my belly was very swollen and quite painful. This happens rarely nowadays but was a common occurence when I worked and were stressed out. Might also be that my gut is adjusting to the changes. 

 

All in all, I stayed on track. Snapped a bit at dear Hubby in the evening.

[seccotine1956]

Hi Hutlifr,

 

Thanks for your words. Hope I can too look at a Ragusa or Lindor noir tablet one day and not gobble it all in one sitting. Cheese is a bit of a challenge also, my fridge is full of it for my husband but I stay away for now. As I live in Wallis in the winter, I will have to navigate the numerous invites for Raclette after a day of skiing. Will have to find ways to deal with it. Enjoy the Spanish sunshine.

[seccotine1956]

Day 4 (November 14)

 

Finally had a good night sleep, did not even hear the dog barking at 5 a.m.

 

Still woke up with a light headache which lasted the whole day

 

Breakfast: as usual (2 eggs, one strip of bacon, 1 banana, 1 liter of tea

lunch: 100 gr t-bone steak, green beans, 1/2 apple, 2 espressos

before dinner: 100 gr (oups) saucisse sèche

dinner: carrot and pumpkin soup, with coconut cream and ginger, 1/2 caillette (a local meatball made of pork meat) 1 clementine

10 p.m. a small piece of meat paté 

 

I was supposed to go running this afternoon but it just rained too hard. Will go tomorrow instead.

 

I was not very patient the whole day but kept my cool, so this was not bad.

 

Ate too much pork meat but kept within the guidelines, so an OK day.

 

The headache is still here. 

[Hutlifr]

What brand of saucisson sec do you get.i have a hard time finding any that has no nitrates, whey, or other crap in it...

[seccotine1956]

Hi everybody,

 

Back on track, started the program again yesterday and planning on staying the course this time. Got waylaid last November, during a week of visiting friends in Paris. I was pretty good navigating the restaurants, but got trapped when having dinner at a friend's place. Not a single dish was Whole30 compliant. And this is France, you do not refuse to eat!

 

I then decided to wait for the beginning of January, In the meantime, quite a few days were compliants, but not all. Which means that I am in pretty good shape to start the whole 30.

 

Yesterday was fairly easy as expected. Got up this morning with a headache and was a bit snappy during the day. Funny enough what I miss most for now is my Coke Zero at 11.30 every morning. By 11.45 I have opened the fridge quite a few times to check what else I could drink, before moving on to mineral water.

 

I cannot decide if 20 gr of bacon containing 0,5% of sugar is a no-no, in doubt I will just forget it. This time I will be very strict and see how I feel.

 

Happy New Year to you all and good luck.

 

 

[Hutlifr]

Try Parma ham, not bacon, but compliant.