Whole30 - Worst Cook in America - 1/25

[Elizabeth_S..]

Hello everyone!

 

This is my first Whole30, and my third week of eating Paleo. I decided to post here after reading Melissa & Dallas' fabulous book (so educational and entertaining!) and thinking, well, I don't have any Paleo friends, so talking to other people would be great!

 

I'm doing this for health. I've had tons of maladies over the past 4 years, and it seemed crazy that my body would break down in so many areas at the same time (I was 22 at the time). I was raised on pasta and margarine and frozen dinners so this is a BIG change for me.

 

So far (positive) I've noticed shinier and stronger hair, great skin, more consistent energy, and my chronic headaches are gone! On the negative side, I think my vision is worse (not sure if this is related?) and I don't know what is going on with my HPT axis (I'm assuming?) but the pulse in my neck is beating like crazy, despite deep breathing and attempts at meditation. I think I'm probably undereating, and certainly not eating enough carbs. I'm working on it!

 

Day 1:

 

Breakfast:

Leftover Pick & Eat steak salad (hold the corn, cheese). Romaine, steak, carrots, avocado, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

Lunch:

Roasted chicken with sea salt, black pepper, thyme, garlic powder, and coconut oil. Side of sautéed spinach with coconut oil and garlic.

 

Dinner:

Tilapia (with garlic and coconut oil), spinach (with garlic and coconut oil)

*Not the best variety... or quantity... but I got a massive FreshDirect order at 9pm so now I finally have more groceries than just spinach!

 

Day 2:

Breakfast:

Smoothie with rainbow Swiss chard, frozen mango, a few organic blueberries, a lemon wedge, a tablespoon of coconut oil, water (it was NOT delicious... needs honey or more fruit)

Cup of warm water with lemon

Cup of homemade chicken bone broth (greasy... I don't know if that's a good thing? Or if greasy = almost gelatin?)

An ounce or two of Kombucha (my first try, it's surprisingly delicious!)

 

Lunch:

Romaine lettuce with leftover roasted chicken, chopped celery, olive oil and red wine vinegar (great, but I'm still hungry )

 

I got home early today (thanks, Juno) and decided to make use of my FreshDirect purchases so, after carefully researching recipes, stuck some sweet potatoes and beets in the oven. The sweet potatoes I left exposed, but I put the beets in Pyrex with a cover. And learned that plastic melts in the oven. So now my half-baked vegetables are on the counter, my oven is covered in melted blue goo, and my apartment smells like burnt plastic. I need to watch more Worst Cooks in America on the Food Network for motivation, stat.

 

Dinner:

I'm planning on grass-fed steak (pan-seared... my oven is out of commission until I clean it) and bok choy and maybe some of the half-baked vegetables if I can save them.

 

Thanks for listening!

[Hutlifr]

Love your adventurous cooking and good luck cleaning that oven!...

[Tom Denham]

You are eating a fraction of what you need. Review the meal template and work on increasing the volume of food you are eating at every meal and especially at breakfast. http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

 

Most people feel better when they eat a serving of starchy veggies every day and it may help for you to eat a starchy veggie more than once per day. 

 

I also suspect you are dehydrated. We recommend 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight. So a person who weighs 120 pounds should drink at least 60 ounces of water per day and more if exercising intensely.

[Elizabeth_S..]

@Hutlifr: thanks! Is this adventurous cooking? I don't even know! Truth time: I turned on the oven again - "Maybe I can cook it for 20 more minutes and it'll be fine" - the plastic smoked so heavily that even I admitted, no, I can't do this. I need to Google how to remove dried plastic from metal.

 

@Tom: I figured! I really thought I was doing okay with portions for lunch and dinner, but I agree breakfast needs improvement. I can't eat eggs, so when I don't have leftovers it's hard. I'm working on being better prepared. I am drinking way more than I ever did pre-Paleo (water, and peppermint tea), but I was always dehydrated pre-Paleo, so that makes sense as well. On week 3 of no grains, I think my body is still shocked by the drastic carb drop. I'm eating a TON of oil though (coconut and olive) so that's increasing the daily calories at least?

[Hutlifr]

I would think you can scrape it off once it's cooled off and hard again...

[Elizabeth_S..]

Happier update: my steak was amazing, perfect medium-rare, better than I get in some restaurants! The bok choy was a little undercooked but with crushed garlic and grated ginger it had plenty of zing. I also had a baked sweet potato with cinnamon and sea salt (a little dry from microwave reheating, but definitely tasty).

 

I microwaved the half-baked beets and I'm waiting for them to cool so I can peel off the skin and put them away. (They smell SO BAD. I do not like beets)

 

@Hutlifr: you would think so, but it's solid as a rock! It was easier to remove when it was all hot and melty (though risky and also gross).

 

@Tom: eating didn't decrease the racing pulse in my neck so maybe I'm just dehydrated? I'm drinking water now. Or maybe I need to double my portions or something? A steak, baked sweet potato, and bok choy (steak and greens with coconut oil) seems (at least to me) like a decent-sized dinner... When I finish eating meals I usually feel "I could eat more" but not "I'm hungry."

[Tom Denham]

I find that if I miss a meal or eat too light at one meal, I have some consequences even when I eat a big meal later. Rather than thinking of one meal fixing things, it is important to think in terms of having a series of days in a row where you get plenty of nutrition. Many people come to the Whole30 with nutritional deficits and need to eat for a while before their bodies are satisfied. 

 

Your steak, sweet potato, and bok choy sounds like a good meal. Keep that level of eating going for a while and see if it makes the difference.

[Elizabeth_S..]

Thank you for your insights! I am definitely one of those people who came to Whole30 with nutritional deficits!

[Elizabeth_S..]

Today I feel... discouraged.

 

I woke up at 2am last night with a migraine and then vomited my undigested dinner that I had eaten hours before. This morning, I still have a debilitating headache. My husband said "Maybe you should eat bread" and I said "I don't know" and he said "I don't know." I don't know if I'm doing everything wrong, or if this awfulness is part of the "bad side effects" you hear about the gut healing. If it's just bad side effects, I can pull through it. But I'm concerned I'm damaging myself and hurting myself for no reason.

 

I guess it's as good a time as any to mention that I have gastroparesis, so my body chooses not to digest food sometimes. Cruciferous vegetables are a big no-no for that, so I shouldn't have eaten the broccolette. I just was trying to be healthy . If it weren't for my sickness, I would have eaten a perfect number and ratio of calories yesterday - 92g protein, 113g carbs, 85g fat.

 

I don't know if my neck pulse is still prominent because my head hurts so much. It's kind of like that old joke, "What's the best way to get rid of a headache? Hit your thumb with a hammer!" But I think the heart rate stuff was from not eating enough salt, so I'm going to make an effort to eat more salt, eat more carbs (great success yesterday), and eat more in general.

 

Yesterday:

Breakfast:

Italian chicken sausage (surprisingly no artificial ingredients) cooked in coconut oil

Baked sweet potato

Bok choy sauteed with ginger, garlic, coconut oil

Cup of chicken bone broth

A bit of Kombucha

 

Green smoothie: fresh kale, spinach, lemon, frozen mangos

 

Lunch:

Romaine lettuce with celery, half an avocado, leftover chicken, roasted marinated beets, cubed baked sweet potato, olive oil and balsamic vinegar

 

Dinner:

Pan-seared salmon

Fresh spinach, kale, and broccolette sauteed with ginger, garlic and coconut oil

Baked sweet potato

 

Today's breakfast is a cup of chicken bone broth, green smoothie (frozen kale, spinach, mango), cut up steak with some cooked spinach and kale (no more broccolette for me...)

[ShannonM816]

I guess it's as good a time as any to mention that I have gastroparesis, so my body chooses not to digest food sometimes. Cruciferous vegetables are a big no-no for that, so I shouldn't have eaten the broccolette. I just was trying to be healthy . If it weren't for my sickness, I would have eaten a perfect number and ratio of calories yesterday - 92g protein, 113g carbs, 85g fat.

 

It does not matter how healthy a food is on paper, if it is something that you have a bad reaction to, you should not eat it. Whole30 doesn't tell someone who is allergic to coconut to cook in coconut oil, or tell someone who is allergic to eggs to eat eggs. I realize you're not allergic to cruciferous vegetables, but it's the same principle. If they don't work for you, if they make you sick, don't eat them.

 

Also, the "I would have eaten a perfect number and ration of calories yesterday" -- No. Just, NO. Don't track them, don't pay attention to them. Some calorie tracker doesn't know how many calories or fat grams or carbs you need. It can vary day to day. Leading up to and during your period, you may need way more calories and carbs than usual. If you have a particularly active day, you may need more. Or you could just be hungry one day and find that you eat more for no obvious reason. As long as you're eating at least the minimum amount of food recommended on the meal template at least three times a day, you don't need to track. You want to nourish your body and give it the nutrients it needs to function in the best possible way.

[Elizabeth_S..]

@Shannon, I typically eat broccoli with no problem, and I haven't had a "bad day" from gastroparesis in over a year, so I thought it would be okay. (And yes, I know I personally can't eat eggs so I don't eat eggs, etc). Also, I think you misunderstood. I'm trying to maintain weight (or gain, I don't care), not lose weight. Previously I had been eating too few calories, and way few too carbs, so tracking it helps me realize what I'm missing, since I'm pretty bad at visualization. I'm definitely not restricting - completely the opposite. I'm trying to make sure I eat enough.

[ShannonM816]

 I'm trying to maintain weight (or gain, I don't care), not lose weight. Previously I had been eating too few calories, and way few too carbs, so tracking it helps me realize what I'm missing, since I'm pretty bad at visualization. I'm definitely not restricting - completely the opposite. I'm trying to make sure I eat enough.

 

Have you seen this article on Keeping Weight On During Your Whole30? Maybe incorporating some of the ideas in it will help.

[Elizabeth_S..]

Thanks! I hadn't seen it, but it all sounds about right to me. I've been striving to do some of what they suggest already - having smoothies, eating more carbs, eating more in general. I could add more fruit to my diet though. Smoothies are particularly helpful for me because it's easier to digest greens when they're already liquified... I think I need to increase my caloric intake in a way my body won't reject.

 

A lot of Paleo tips in general are geared towards people hoping to lose weight, so it's reassuring to know that other people have struggled on the opposite end as well (and made it through okay).

[Elizabeth_S..]

The last couple days have been interesting. It keeps seeming like 2 steps forward, 1 step back. My new aims are a) eat protein, fat, carbs (non-starch), and starch at every meal (when possible) b ) eat enough calories c) eat enough carbs d) eat salt. It's a lot to keep track of, and may involve me getting familiar with other vegetables besides sweet potato.

 

I finally followed a recipe from Diane Sanfilippo's book yesterday, the bone marrow one. I thought, oh, you salt it and put it in the oven (or in my case, the toaster oven since my oven is still goo-ed), that sounds like something I can handle. So I made it, ate, it, it was delicious. But no one wrote about how bone marrow is kind of a big deal, and when I entered it in my tracker app I saw I just ate 1,500 calories (more than what I strive for in my daily caloric intake) in a single sitting. Whoops. Looks like I didn't have to worry about eating enough calories yesterday.

 

I walked into Whole Foods after work today and, wow! There were so many things there I could eat! I hardly ever get to Whole Foods because it's so inconvenient (and pricy). I bought more than I could carry and hobbled to and from the subway.

 

Encouraged by my tasty bone marrow venture yesterday, and having read all about the downsides of not eating eggs, I made liver. I bought an onion for the first time in my life, followed the recipe for "the best beef liver ever", and everything smelled and looked great. Now, I don't like onions. In my family, you're not allowed to do anything but hate onions. This includes eating, buying, or liking onions. So what I did tonight would be blasphemy to my family (if they knew. I'm not telling). But I couldn't find a single liver recipe without onions and also, maybe my family's crazy? I didn't mind washing the gross liver, or putting it in the pan. I seared it. It was maybe a little overcooked, just because it was so thin there wasn't really a "middle" area that could have been pink. But eating it. Nope nope nope. I did not like that. It tasted like... chalk? Maybe if you digested chalk and then did some other gross things with the chalk. Nope. I do not like liver. That was my first time ever tasting liver, and they say it's an acquired taste, so maybe I'll grow into it? In the meantime, I'll buy and freeze liver and cut it up into tasteless pills, thank you very much.

 

Day 4:

Used some some of my Christmas gift card to JuicePress to pack in the smoothie calories! Had a "banana shake" and Fountain of Youth. If I had $10 to spend on a single juice, I'd buy their stuff every day! Breakfast: bone broth, green smoothie, steak with spinach and kale. Lunch: salad with salmon, avocado, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato. Dinner: steak, spinach and kale, sweet potato, Kombucha.

 

Day 5:

Bone broth, salmon and salted avocado, green smoothie (Swiss chard), green tea

Romaine, celery, steak, avocado

Roasted bone marrow (all 2.5 lbs...), spinach and kale in ginger, garlic and coconut oil, sweet potato, Kombucha

 

Day 6:

Bone broth, green smoothie, banana, green tea

Salad with salmon, celery

Smoothie #2

Two bites of beef liver with caramelized onions, portobello mushrooms and bacon

Banana

Carrot

Olive oil

Kombucha

[missmary]

But no one wrote about how bone marrow is kind of a big deal, and when I entered it in my tracker app I saw I just ate 1,500 calories (more than what I strive for in my daily caloric intake) in a single sitting. Whoops. 

 

This is why people are confused and think you are trying to lose weight. STOP COUNTING CALORIES! Your body may need 1500 more calories one day, but even if it doesn't things even out over time. Bone marrow is a really nutrient dense fantastic choice, your body was probably craving that nutrition. Good job getting it!

[Elizabeth_S..]

Dear moderators, can you please stop yelling at me? I'm "counting calories" (entering food on an app to look at grams of protein and carbs, vitamin percentages, among other things) to make sure I eat enough. This is recommended for people whose "eat until you're not hungry" signals don't yield enough calories (I get that most people are trying to lose weight, but I'm not one of them). When I don't keep track of what I eat, I generally eat way too little since I'm more accustomed to getting all my calories from grains. I said "whoops" because that seemed a very large difference from my normal meal intake and I was mildly concerned about spikes from that jarring departure, but overall I wasn't concerned in the slightest about gaining weight. I get that you're all trying to give "tough love" but it's coming across as hurtful and unhelpful when you're just reading a sentence or two from this very long thread. I'd much prefer "normal love." Thank you.

[missmary]

Elizabeth, I'm sorry it came across that way. We are indeed coming from a place of love. Counting calories and commenting that they are higher than you think they should be (not just that one time, but several times in this thread) lead me to think that you were (maybe subconsciously?) looking at those numbers in a different way than you were telling us verbally. I could certainly be wrong, but it is a mindset shift for most people to get to a place of nourishment and honoring their bodies' signals rather than calculating what "should be". Using the meal template has worked for many people as path towards this, maybe think about using that as your gauge to be sure you are getting enough nutrition?

 

Here is the template: http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

[Elizabeth_S..]

Thanks Mary, it's just discouraging because I'm trying hard and you're not the first moderator to jump to (incorrect) conclusions here and it's frustrating trying to defend myself when I'm just writing this in the first place in hopes of support.

I just reread this and while I frequently mention not eating enough calories, that was the only time I talked about eating too many (and that wasn't about eating too many in a day - it was about eating too many in a meal. Not concerned about weight, was concerned about temporary issues with the differences between meals - like if I ended up sick because of it, because that happens to me. But it turned out fine). Eating enough calories is extremely important because if I eat too little, I get all sorts of additional health problems and strains on my body. Yes, I've seen the template and try to follow those guidelines, but like I said earlier, I'm bad at visualization so looking at the number of grams I'm eating is more accurate for me in determining if I'm eating *enough*.

 

I do think it's kind of irresponsible to tell people not to use food trackers. I'm doing the Vimify program with Mark Sisson and he recommends using a tracker to give you a chance to realize what's "normal" for you, what vitamins you're consistently not getting enough of, etc. I find it very helpful to look at my magnesium and vitamin D intakes.

 

I think, most importantly, that the Paleo diet isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and I'm trying to do the best for myself, so I'd appreciate less one-size-fits-all advice for me.

[Hutlifr]

I admire you for your courage to wanna truly something out of the ordinary, i.e. liver. If you ever wanna try it again, make sure the liver is fresh, meaning it was not ever frozen. Frozen liver changes its texture. Fresh liver will stay firm kind of tough when cooked. You heat the skillet really hit, put your liver in it, and toss it over a few times. Take the heat off the pan, pour some vinegar on it, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Use a really good vinegar.

[Elizabeth_S..]

@Hutlifr: Thank you for the tip and the kind words! Everything about this process is way out of my comfort zone (I'm used to microwaving pasta with margarine...) so I really appreciate it!

Vinegar is a good tip! I had marinated the liver in lemon for a day, but that didn't do the trick for me. Yes, it was frozen! The texture didn't really bother me though, it was similar enough to steak, but the taste... I was not prepared for that. Vinegar could help. If I make it again I'll try vinegar, and no freezing this time.

 

Also! I managed to get the goo out of my oven (combination of heat + oven cleaner, and then a paste of baking soda and water, and let that sit there for a couple days - all gone!) BUT there is still some hardened plastic wrapped around the metal of the oven racks so I need to figure that out before I can use the oven again.

 

Day 7:

Bacon (looked up how to microwave it... that worked really well!), enormous green smoothie (kale, swiss chard, spinach, carrot, celery, banana, lemon, mango), tbsp of sauerkraut, olive oil, green tea

Salad with half a pound of shrimp

Some grapes

Not the best eating day in terms of quantity, but I was kind of food coma-y after eating the shrimp and didn't get hungry again until 10pm, oh well.

 

Yay 1 week!

 

Day 8:

Breakfast:

Canned wild sockeye, half an avocado, olives, olive oil, lemon (idea from Practical Paleo. In reality it wasn't very tasty but I ate it...)

Chicken bone broth (nearing the end of that now!)

Big green smoothie (Swiss chard, kale, carrot, celery, frozen peaches, lemon)

[Elizabeth_S..]

Day 8 (cont)

Salad with romaine, carrot, celery, avocado, roasted chicken

Pork loin, spaghetti squash, portobello mushrooms

Grapes, blueberries, banana

 

Day 9

Leftover pork, squash, mushrooms, green smoothie (kale, chard, spinach, peaches, berries, lemon), chicken bone broth

Salad with romaine, lemon, chicken, avocado, celery

Peppermint tea, banana, 2nd half of green smoothie

Asian chicken thighs, roasted sweet potato, sautéed spinach

 

Day 10

Beef bone broth, green tea with lemon, green smoothie, Italian sausage (cayenne! Ugh), sauerkraut

Salad with chicken, avocado, lemon

Salmon with avocado and mango

 

Day 11

Green smoothie, leftover salmon, mango and avocado, lamb bone broth, green tea with lemon

Salad with chicken, kiwi, banana

Lamb stew

 

Day 12

Lamb stew, green tea with lemon, green smoothie

Salad with roasted parsnips, carrots, yams, canned sockeye salmon

Kiwi, 2nd half of smoothie

Shrimp scampi with spaghetti squash, Swiss chard with olives and capers

 

I'm feeling much better at the end of this week than I was at the beginning. My energy's coming back. Cooking's getting less overwhelming (though I still refuse to make anything that looks too hard. I've become obsessed with Nom Nom Paleo - Michelle Tam is a saint). I'm making at least one new dish every day, after never having cooked before. It's a lot! I'm keeping track of what new things I like so I can make it part of a regular rotation. So far the pork loin, salmon with mango and avocado, and the shrimp scampi are winners.

 

I'm almost done with Chris Kresser's book now, and Sarah Ballantyne's book is next. I've been reading tons of AIP articles and I'm trying to follow the diet in general, but mostly I'm freaking out about it (but also meditating and breathing because I'm not going to let cortisol ruin the pluses of my good eating!). Tomatoes are bad for everyone?? Ugh. Also, assuming I have SIBO (because everyone with an issue does, apparently...) then I've been eating the wrong foods for that, and need to figure out how to eat mass quantities of vegetables that are friendly to the cross-section of a) AIP b ) SIBO c) gastroparesis. So far I've come up with cooked carrots, and that's about it. I sure hope my gut heals and I can eat eggs again! That would be swell.

 

Oh, and I tried cod liver oil for the first time tonight. The Green Pasture cinnamon stuff. Man that was gross. Is there a way to make that less gross? I'm doing Natural Calm powder too but that is fine when I dissolve it in water.

[Elizabeth_S..]

It's been awhile since I posted, so I'll just give a run-down of the last few days (sorry days 13-15):

 

Day 16:

Breakfast:

Green tea with lemon

Lamb bone broth

Leftover zucchini noodles with turkey meatballs

Natural Calm

 

Lunch:

Romaine with sweet potato, asparagus, mahi mahi, oil and red wine vinegar

 

Smoothie with whole avocado, frozen peaches and mango, kale, spinach, lemon

 

Dinner:

Salmon with mango and avocado

Grapes

Natural Calm

 

Day 17:

Breakfast:

Lamb & beef bone broth

Green tea with lemon

Leftover zucchini with turkey meatballs

Natural Calm

 

Lunch:

Romaine, sweet potato, half an avocado, oil and vinegar

Sauerkraut

 

Smoothie - butter lettuce, kale, peaches, lemon, banana

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

 

Dinner:

Beef chuck, spinach and kale sauteed in garlic and ginger and coconut oil, carrots, radishes

 

Day 18:

Breakfast:

Bone broth (lamb and beef)

Green tea with lemon

Leftover beef chuck with the sauteed spinach and kale, carrots

Natural Calm

 

Lunch:

Romaine and butter lettuce, sweet potato, mahi mahi, radishes, oil and vinegar

Sauerkraut

Smoothie with almond butter, coconut oil, kale, butter lettuce, banana

 

Dinner:

Leftover beef chuck, sauteed spinach and kale, carrots, acorn squash

A couple pieces of cantaloupe and coconut oil

 

Day 19: (so far)

Bone broth (lamb and beef)

Natural Calm

Smoothie with spinach, kale, butter lettuce, lemon, kiwi, coconut oil, almond butter (much less tasty without the banana)

*No green tea... let's see how this goes

 

I'm feeling worse now. Around day 14 everything seemed to be going to plan (even had a dream about cayenne pepper - on my "no" list) but by day 16 most of my pre-Paleo symptoms started returning, some acne (I've never been acne-prone pre-paleo), bloating, stomach issues, etc.

 

I'm looking into other diet variations, but the problem is that I don't know what's wrong with me. It would be great if I could combine the diets made for Paleo, AIP, SIBO, Candida, FODMAPs, adrenal support and Histamines into one, but I'm pretty sure I would just be eating cooked carrots and water. It would also be unfortunate if I was limiting all these healthy foods for no reason (choosing the wrong thing to focus on). Right now I'm just doing AIP while being wary of FODMAPs. I did the spit test for Candida but also read that it's pretty useless. The SIBO test is expensive (there are no licensed naturopaths in my state, and my searches into functional medicine practictioners hasn't led to much). FODMAPs I guess just go away (sensitivity) if your gut is healed. And then Candida / Histamines... I was trying to be pro gut healing with sauerkraut, Kombucha, and fermented cod liver oil but maybe that's been bad for me. Also, I just learned that my cod liver oil has dairy in it (seriously, I'm so dumb. Butter oil) so maybe I'll need to go back and re-do the dairy elimination at some point and maybe the butter oil is hurting.

 

Also, I'm not sure if there's anything wrong with me at all. Maybe all these negative symptoms are from bacteria dying off. I don't know how to tell if I'm eating something my body doesn't like and experiencing negative symptoms, or doing the right thing and experiencing negative symptoms.

 

I'm doing yoga, getting 8 hours of sleep a night, meditating, walking 20 minutes to and from work, trying to increase movement and reduce stress.

 

Plan of attack:

Finish the Whole30.

Start supplements (getting Now Food's Super Enzymes and Liver Regenerator, Prescript Assist, Pure Encapsulations Nutrient 950 with Vitamin K)

Find an acupuncturist.

Re-introduce only the things most prevalent in restaurants or most nutritious - egg yolks, gluten (just to know if i'm hyper sensitive or not then eliminate again), ghee, butter and cream (this might not be effective because of the cod liver oil), and maybe potatoes and eggplant. Keep everything else out, and work on gut-healing before I reintroduce grains, egg whites, tomatoes and other nightshades, legumes, etc.

Figure out what tests I need to take, and which I can ask my doctor to administer (I'd imagine my doctor would be willing to do blood tests, less willing to do more complicated tests).

 

I finished Chris Kresser's book (4th paleo book I've finished in a month), am listening to Diane & Liz's Balanced Bites podcasts, reading Sarah Ballantyne's book now, and next stop will be Terry Wahl's book or maybe the GAPS diet. Trying to soak up as much information and anecdotal knowledge that I can, before I spend thousands on doctors, holistic practictioners, etc.

 

Overall, Paleo? Super easy. All these other diets? Super hard. I hope someday I can eat normal-people Paleo (eggs, butter, tomatoes, oh my!)

[Elizabeth_S..]

Today is day 30. Yay me!

I celebrated by going to the doctor and getting tested for SIBO, MTHFR mutations, and Hashimoto's. Moving on with my life.

 

Today I'm eating pureed beets and carrots, and a smoothie with gelatin, homemade coconut milk, half banana, frozen mix of spinach / kale / bok choy / mustard greens (all individually cooked, drained, and frozen to decrease the oxalates). This is my breakfast because unfortunately I had to fast for the breath test. Later is baked tilapia with sauteed greens with ginger and garlic in homemade ghee and a hard-boiled egg (yolk only), and tonight we're having lamb burgers with homemade rutabaga fries (sprinkled with homemade dried rosemary salt).

 

This month, my energy and focus are so different from how they have been for the last 10 years. My hair is overall better. My sleeping is more or less fine though I find I can't sleep more than 8 hours a night. I am completely off caffeine of all kinds, and I still have energy to get through the day.

 

I never felt Tiger Blood, and I don't think my digestion is as good as it "should" be at this point. I'm still not sure if I just need more time, that 30 days is not enough (well, 6 weeks total since switching from SAD to Paleo), or if there is something impeding my progress (parasite, bacteria, etc). I'm going to keep taking supplements, going to acupuncture, yoga once a week, doing meditation, and trying to find things to make me laugh. I can't wait until it gets warmer and I can spend more time outside in nature and sunlight. I'm going to chew my food like crazy, and stay away from salads and uncooked foods as much as possible.

 

I want to thank @Hutlifr who applauded me for being "adventurous" in my cooking when I felt ridiculous. It was a small gesture at a time when I was having a really hard time and it meant so much to me. Even though we've never met, I think you would be proud at how adventurous I've gotten! 30 days and I rarely made the same dish twice. I cooked a brand new recipe almost every day. Inspired by a podcast I listened to with Terry Wahls, I even counted how many species of vegetables I ate over the past month. 31!! That's definitely a record for me.

 

This log was helpful for me especially at the beginning, having people care (or pretend to) about what I'm eating, because that's not something I have a support system for. So thank you for listening. And I think I'm getting better at eating, planning, cooking, and functioning now.

 

From the benefits I feel now, even though I know I have a long way to go, I don't imagine going back to the SAD. However, as soon as I can get off AIP (and I'm no fan of SCD, GAPs, the Candida diet or low-FODMAPS diet either), I'm going to dive headfirst into all the "normal" Paleo foods I've been depriving myself of. "Normal" paleo allows so much food! I can't wait.

[ShannonM816]

I never felt Tiger Blood, and I don't think my digestion is as good as it "should" be at this point. I'm still not sure if I just need more time, that 30 days is not enough (well, 6 weeks total since switching from SAD to Paleo), or if there is something impeding my progress (parasite, bacteria, etc). I'm going to keep taking supplements, going to acupuncture, yoga once a week, doing meditation, and trying to find things to make me laugh. I can't wait until it gets warmer and I can spend more time outside in nature and sunlight. I'm going to chew my food like crazy, and stay away from salads and uncooked foods as much as possible.

 

 

Tiger blood isn't the same for everyone. It may not be that huge burst of energy. It may just be that you have more energy than you used to, and it's sustained throughout the day -- so if you used to regularly be too tired to go to yoga, or if you find you're cleaning your house more, or just have energy to do things that you might have put off before, or that you're doing those things in a better mood because you're not so tired that you resent having to do them -- that's probably your tiger blood.  You can read a little more about it here.

 

Congratulations on finishing your Whole30 and on all the improvements you've seen!

[Elizabeth_S..]

Wow, absolutely. I'm definitely everything you just said, and in the camp of the less-healthy group of Whole30ers in that post. As MsPefy13 said (or implied), it is very nice to reaffirm I'm not doing something wrong and not a failure The best part of more energy is that I can cook more and then keep up the energy from the good foods. It's a good cycle.

 

Worth noting, I would've done the Whole30 for longer (45 or 60 days) but I have an event mid-March with near-guaranteed food contaminants (and stress) so I want to do the reintroduction before then so I know what is mostly OK (this includes AIP stuff) and what really needs avoiding. Unfortunately the reintroduction will take a very long time, so I have to get cracking!

 

Thank you for the congrats!