Day 10 and still here

[SarahG]

I have decided to start a log. Have been reading all the posts and finding them very supportive but here is my story

I have been on some kind of diet or fitness plan for more years than i would like to mention.

I have been a vegetarian then given that up then gone back to it and now I will call myself a flexitarian

This has all been to find the perfect, healthiest way to eat and to loose a couple of kilos....I drop 2 and gain 3 and on it goes,never quite getting back to my ideal weight but never getting more than 4 kilos over

I gave up sugar a few months ago and must say I felt great and was told my skin looks good

However,I PUT ON WEIGHT

Probably because I ate more grains and legumes and nuts

I also have ibs and get stomach ache from many fruits and some veggies and lactose

So when I read IT STARTS WITH FOOD i knew this is what I need

I also have a habit of not sticking to anything hence the weight loss and regain

I need to make a permanent change

So here goes and now it's been written down and committed to

I started last Saturday but had already made a few changes on the Wednesday

The past 10 days have been a challenge

Firstly I craved grains ,bread ,crackers and cereal but thank goodness that has past

Secondly I have to get my head around the whole vegetarian thing

Thanks all for your support

It's very hard to do this and not eat meat so I have had a bit of meat but can't say I liked it

So here is my question: can i have tofu and quorn?

So although I am 10 days into this i want to tighten things up a bit

I havent eaten any non compliant food but I eat too many nuts and snack too much

Have decided to keep going for more than 30

Don't want to start over but want to do 30 perfect days

On the plus side I feel really good...in a happy mood ,sleeping well,only very slight cravings ,amd my clothes are looser

So here goes beginning of a new perfect week...NO NUTS

[Tom Denham]

Have you read http://whole9life.com/2011/02/eating-meat-a-primer-for-the-meat-challenged/ ? You might get some good ideas from Dallas and Melissa on coming to terms with meat.

You cannot get the full benefits of a Whole30 without eating meat. If you decide to do the best you can as a vegetarian, you should read pages 240-241 in It Starts With Food. And check out the shopping list for vegetarians at http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Vegetarian-Shopping-List.pdf.

Quorn is too processed for a Whole30.

[SarahG]

Thanks Tom

Ok no quorn

I do eat eggs and fish ...I am eating quite a lot of fish and have decided at least for the next 30 days I will eat a bit of meat

And then decide whether or not to continue

It's a hard one cos I hate the idea of processed mock meats

I was eating a lot of lentils and beans but to be honest I was bloated from them and feel so much better now

[SarahG]

Day 11 almost over and I had a really good day

Good sleep and for the first time I had a bit of energy to do my yoga which I loved

I have been exercising this past week but it's been so so hard

Had a perfect eating day

Eggs and fritters for breakfast

Salmon and fritters for lunch

Pan fried fish in ghee,stir fried vegies and baked sweet potato for dinner

Had some veggie soup at. 5 pm cos I was starving

Blueberries as a snack after dinner

Met a friend for coffee this morning and had a black coffee which tasted really good

I am lactose intolerant and used to always have it black until I discovered soy milk....bad move

Soy milk is full of sugar .in fact when I gave up my soy latte I got withdrawal symptoms

well ,here's hoping for another good day tomorrow

On to day 12

[SarahG]

As day 12 draws to an end i have been thinking what I am going to do at the end,not because I am craving or even missing certain foods

I am loving the flatter stomach,looser pants,clearer skin and great sleeps and also the control around food

I know I don't want to eat sugar or dairy ever again and hope I can stick to no grains and legumes

I will have to up my carbs though because i don't have much physical energy which means i am not exercising enough

I also know I don't want to eat processed mock food

I would like to live by Michael Pollan's words....

Eat food.not too much.mostly plants

I love his book Food rules

eg eat foods that contain no more than five ingredients

Avoid food that are pretending to be something they are not...

It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car....I love that

And finally he says break the rules once in awhile

So thats my hope...that I can stick with this way of eating and have the occasional treat

Second day with no nuts .

Eating well,feeling good

[SarahG]

I think I have counted the days wrong..stupid but it doesn't matter cos I want to do a few extra days anyway

So today is day 13

I have been really good this week

No nuts except in salad once

Very little snacking.eating threw good meals and one snack

Breakfast ..eggs and fritters but I am now sick of the fritters

Lunch today was a yummy waldorf salad but was hungry two hours alter so had some veggie soup

I bought Well Fed and feel inspired to try stone of the recipes

I realize now that I do not like protein and my diet has always been mostly carbs...what I thought was healthy carbs:

Cereal or oats for breakfast,bread or crackers for lunch ,fish or vegetarian food like beans and lentils and rice for dinner

Dark chocolate to snack

So this has been quite a challenge and I am still struggling

I don't have much of an appitite ,not feeling sick just that there is nothing I really want to eat except nuts and am trying to limit them

Today i don't feel any thinner .in fact feel as though i have put on weight since yesterday????

I am really afraid to weigh myself.maybe I won't!

We are going out for dinner this weekend and that is not going to be easy

Tomorrow night we have been invited to a party and whe I asked what the menu was there was absolutely nothing I could eat...pasta rice salad quinoa,schnitzel ....

I will eat before I go and just eat salad and fruit

[SarahG]

Day 14 begins and I think I just may have turned the corner

Just had salmon fish cakes and veggies for breakfast...lasts nights leftovers

I woke up hungry for the first time and actually enjoyed my breakfast

Never thought this carbs addict would see this day

[hayleydarling]

Hi Sarah!

I like your flexitarian approach, I couldn't imagine doing the W30 without meat. So many vegetarian products are just soy, and too much soy in your life can have a really negative effect on your health.

I was a carb addict before doing the Whole30 (I fell off the wagon at one stage for a stupid reason, but now I'm back on it!), and I thought they were healthy carbs, too. After having gone without them I've realised that they're really not fantastic and that I don't need them and feel MUCH better without them. I'm glad you are feeling the same now!

Your breakfast sounds delicious. I think I'll need to make my own salmon cakes!

[SarahG]

Thanks hayley

I am starting to feel better without the carbs

Went out to a party last night

Very interesting for many reasons

Firstly got lots of compliments so think I am looking thinner altho don't feel it

Secondly we went to bed after2 am and i woke up bright and eraly and don't feel a bit tired

I managed to eat ok despite heaps of noncompliant food .in fact wasn't tempted at all

I did something I learned to do in my vegetarian days,i took something i could eat as my contribution

It was quite funny actually as i made a sort of larabar from nuts,almond butter, coconut ,dates and everyone loved them

Feeling so much better today.started 2 weeks ago so this is day 15

Off to a yoga class now

[SarahG]

Day 16

Woke up feeling in such a good mood ,again

That's the biggest change I have noticed so far...feeling happy

Went to a fancy restaurant last night.what's with these fancy places,smothering everything in crumbs ,butter ,cheese and sugar.needless to say i ate very little and came home to eat .

My friends kept trying to make me taste their desserts even though they know i don't eat sugar....why?

I think I make people feel bad about their unhealthy eating habits

Today we wnt out for breakfast which was easy....eggs .mushrooms tomato ,no butter,black coffee

Feeling so good .at this point can't think why i would ever want to go back to the way I used to eat.

[Mich]

Hey Sarah, looks like you are doing really well. Good on you for resisting the desserts especially with this peer group pressure. Great to hear you're feeing so well and happy. I'm also feeling great, and yes, happy for no particular reason.

Keep going strong.

Michelle

[SarahG]

Thanks mich

So nice having the support

[SarahG]

Day 17 begins

Over halfway but I am planning to go past 30

I am feeling so good.wake up early without an alarm,feeling refreshed.i am going to bed earlier...I used to have to go to bed soooo late cos i just couldnt sleep

My clothes are looser fot the first time in years and without dieting

To weigh or not to weigh at the end.....that is the question

On the one hand I would love to see how much I have lost on the other hand what if ,like some i have lost little or nothing

If I havnt lost i may be so disappointed that i give up

i would like to continue eating like this always with just the occasional treat

I feel so good why would i want to add back all those unhealthy grains and legumes

I will have to add back a bit of dark chocolate though

But for the next few weeks on we go

[Derval]

No way weigh!

[SarahG]

Ha ha

[Misschriss]

Hi Sarah, I enjoyed reading your log, you have an interesting journey. I've been all over the place and back again concerning nutrition and fitness, happy to say I'm finally feeling much more grounded in a Paleo plan. Am I super happy with my body composition? No, but it is improving:) I've struggled with food beliefs for years and didn't come to terms with those beliefs until I decided to really explore them, dig into the science and experiment on myself. When I bought into the theory of eating a mini clean meal every 2-3 hours daily, I put on fat. When I bought into the carb counting theory, I began to obsess about my beloved veggies and restricted even those, which led me to binges. When I bought into the eat all the bacon and fat you can eat theory, I got fatter. I've been hanging around Whole9 and other Paleo sites since last December, and can say I'm finally listening to my body and feeling at home. Melissa and Dallas have great insight into the portions for meals, which was a great insight for me, especially after being on the bacon binge wagon! I'm having three meals a day, and a snack if I really need it, especially if I worked out harder that day. I stay off the scale too, pitched it in the trash last December. Keep it up Sarah, you're on such a great path!

[SarahG]

Thanks chriss

I am feeling so good eating like this.after years of trying so many things like you, I finally feel right

I too have tried low fat ,low carbs, vegetarian,low calories,giving it all up .....

I don't really have a lot of weight to lose but seem to be continuously obsessing about it and nothing seems to work.

Next thing is to ditch the scale

Thanks for the support.it really helps.

[SarahG]

Day 18

I love the way i feel.good sleep.happy ,full of energy

This morning I am in a hurry to get to work so am actually eating and enjoying last nights leftovers....didn't even feel like my old breakfast of toast or cereal

And my work pants are loose

Lightbulb moment in the shower....what started out as a plan to lose weight has changed

For me what is more important is how i feel

So healthy and happy

an amazing journey

[Derval]

This ^ is great Sarah

[SarahG]

Maybe i should be writing down what I eat

Breakfast ,chicken and veggies from last night,black coffee

Lunch,salad of greens,panfried sweet potatoes,cherry tomatoes,mushrooms ,two hb eggs,black tea

Snack apple

Dinner chocolate chilli and cauliflower rice and mashed sweet potato

Snack almond butter

Herbal tea

felt a bit sick today.wander if it was something i ate or nothing to do with my eating

[SarahG]

Day 19

Woke up feeling a bit off colour

Actually felt a bit sick yesterday

I forced myself to eat an egg and sweet potato and cherry tomatoes for breakfast as I have a long busy day

Wondering if the sick feeling is part of this change in eating ?

Is it normal to feel sick at day 19

[Mich]

Hey Sarah, hope you are feeling better.

Michelle

[SarahG]

Thanks,i am feeling better

This afternoon i really wanted something to eat.I didn't know what I wanted and I can't say I was craving anything

In the old days i would have eaten carbs of some sort

Eventually i cooked up a mixture of sweet potatoes,cherry tomatoes and eggplant

It was delicious .

[SarahG]

End of day 19

It hasn't been an easy day

I felt a bit sick,bloated and windy

Don't know if it's related to what I am eating or not eating

I had eggs for breakfast with veggies and an apple mid morning

Then eggs again for lunch as that was all I felt like

Then all afternoon i felt like something to eat

I had to cook dinner before going to work so made lots of veggies which I ate before going to work

Came home late and had some more veggies with left over chicken

And nuts lots of nuts

Feeling a bit better

Just tired

Looking forward to a new day tomorrow

[SarahG]

New day,day 20

It doesn't really matter what day as I am going on until i reach my goals

My biggest goal is to get into a three meal a day pattern

I eat breakfast and all goes well until lunch ,then after lunch if I am at home I look for something to set

It's not hunger,it's habit.

Also I work late a few evenings a week and i have a fear of being hungry so will often eat before I go and then come home and have dinner eventho i am not hungry

And then all evening i want to eat

I think I want to eat when I am tired and also we are so used to eating while relaxing

So maybe instead of giving up the nuts I will give up the eating between meals

I used to stop myself snacking by eating sugarless gum so at least I have stopped that

So if anyone has any advise to help this evening snacking......

Feel good today . Beautiful day here so have decided it's time to get back into cardio

I have been doing yoga and pilates but havnt had the energy to run or even walk but feel i can do it today