My W30 meal log from Day 5 (please moderate, thank you)

[DevonMrs]

M1. Leek, potato, onion and garlic soup. 3 x eggs fried in light olive oil (couldn't eat 4)

M2. Baked potato with tuna, onion, olive oil Mayo, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, few olives, few cashews.

2 x slices of mango

M3. Prawn salad with white cabbage, carrot and Mayo coleslaw, cucumber, tomatoes and beetroot, few cashews. 2 x slices of mango and a few raspberries.

[MeadowLily]

I'll let the Mods zero in on your food but what really stands out is the lack of protein at all three meals and too many nuts.  Cashews are the carbiest nut.  Mangos are one of the sugariest fruits.   I would feel light headed with the lack of protein.   How about some grilled salmon or other seafood, beef, bison, pork, turkey, chicken.  Grilled/cooked/roasted vegetables are far better than raw salads.  If you're  monitoring blood sugar, you're eating potatoes without enough protein to balance out the real food carbs.   Mrs. Devon, learning to love roasted vegetables with real quality protein is the way to turn this ship around.    

 

A typical day for me.

 

Posted 08 January 2015 - 09:56 AM

B - Over the Rainbow Trout  (Bear's ice-fishing ),  Ocra, Collard greens, Coconut vinegar, Uzhe w/Mac nut oil, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, red cayenne pepper all added to ground coffee before brewing.   Love it.

L - Wild Herring, fresh greens, BR (balsamic reduction), lemons, limes, brussels roasted with bacon

D - GFBeef with 10 diff roasted vege,  coconut nut oil, homemade salsa, avocado

 

I'm kicking T2 Diabetes to the curb.   The only way I can do that is to eat proteins, vegetables and good dietary fats consistently.   I don't eat nuts, dried fruits or real sugary fruits.  I eat fruit but it's primarily berries, lemons, limes and grapefruits.   It's taken months for me to bring blood sugar numbers down to a rock steady on- the-level place.   I refuse to accept T2 as my life sentence and I choose to eat like this until waaaaaay in the future.   

[DevonMrs]

Have I done it wrong or do I just need to change things?

[ladyshanny]

Mrs Devon, it's a bit hard to tell without you listing serving sizes/portions.  Are your proteins palm sized and 1-2 of those? How many cups of veggies are you having, between 1-3? (note, 1-3 is minimum, lots of veggies is good!).  How many cashews & almonds is "few"? How big was your salad? Even a "large" salad isn't large enough if there are no cooked veggies, it all chews down into nothing (think salad w/ dressing, wilted into the bottom of a bowl)

 

Have you checked the meal template? Use it and your own hand as a guide.  Don't let fruits push veggies off your plate and watch it on the nuts, they should really be more "garnish/condiment".

[MeadowLily]

Have I done it wrong or do I just need to change things?

Really study up on the rules that Lady Shanny has in her "siggie".  Review the template that's layed out. Read everything you have time for on the forum....especially the Whole 30 Program.  I'm excited for the new book and I think we should both get one.    

[DevonMrs]

Getting really worried now I thought I was following the rules exactly. This is my tea tonight in the picture below, I prefer raw vegetables I thought that was ok. A few is about 6 to me. I also have a printed copy of portion / Palm sizes and again thought I was doing it right. I read to have one or two servings of fruit when starting. I'm very confused now. Do I need to start again?

[DevonMrs]

I forgot to say, I didn't eat the piece of steak in the picture (it wasn't very easy to eat at the minute as I have a bad tooth)

[MeadowLily]

I hope you can get that tooth fixed because you need to eat steaks, roasts, chops, briskets, salmon and so forth....along with your eggs.   I've read that you've not been a prior fan of cooked vegetables but those are your healers.   

 

Vegetables, proteins, good dietary fats are the real recipe for taking care of blood sugars and whatever is ailing a person.  Nuts should not be used as the primary fat source. 

[ladyshanny]

You do not need to restart, don't worry!

 

Your plate looks good, when we don't get portion sizes or pictures, it's really hard to determine.  This picture looks good as far as I'm concerned.

 

6 cashews is fine.  

 

We recommend that people stick to 1-2 pieces of fruit per day and have it only with main meals, never alone.  Don't let fruits push veggies off your plate though, start with the protein, fat and veggies and then if you're still interested, have the fruit at the end.

 

Note that raw veggies, especially in the quantities that we recommend (6-9 cups per day) can start to be pretty hard on your stomach.

[MeadowLily]

• Eat high-quality meats / animal proteins, vegetables, fruits, and fats.
• Avoid sugars and sweeteners, alcohol, seed oils, grains, legumes, most dairy, highly processed foods.
• Eat 3 times a day, avoid snacking.

Get a copy of It Starts with Food for the reasoning and “science-y stuff” behind the recommendations, supplementation suggestions, meal maps, and some recipes

The reasoning behind It Starts with Food

 

1. Promote a healthy psychological response
2. Promote a healthy hormonal response
3. Support a healthy gut
4. Support immune function and minimize inflammation

 

It Starts with Food – food list

• Start by eliminating certain foods 
• Then reintroduce some foods to see how you respond to them

There are also recommendations for special populations, including people with diabetes, autoimmune diseases, IBS, IBD, and food allergies; also vegetarians and vegans, active people, and pregnant/breastfeeding.

The following changes were made from the original edition to the 2014 edition:

• White potatoes are now allowed, but you still can’t have French fries or potato chips
• Any kind of salt is fine, even iodized salt that contains dextrose

The Whole30 Program – Elimination

For 30 days, you eliminate certain foods 

Foods to eat in It Starts with Food – Whole30 Elimination

• Protein
  • Seafood (fish, mollusks (squid, octopus, scallops, clams, mussels, oysters), crustaceans (crab, shrimp, prawn, lobster, crayfish)): Best: wild caught + sustainably fished. Better: wild caught and/or sustainable. Good: farm-raised
  • Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, pheasant, etc.): Best: pastured + organic. Better: organic. Good: store-bought, skin removed
  • Ruminants (beef, buffalo, lamb, elk, venison, etc.): Best: 100% grass-fed + organic. Better: grass fed and/or organic. Good: lean, fat trimmed/drained
  • Non-ruminants (pork, wild boar, rabbit, etc.): Best: pastured + organic. Better: organic. Good: lean, fat trimmed/drained
  • Organ meats: liver, tongue, kidney, heart, sweetbreads etc.
  • Bones: marrow, bone broth
  • Eggs: Best: pastured + organic. Better: organic (omega-3 enriched optional). Good: store-bought. You can eat them every day – the number of eggs you can hold in one hand
  • Processed meats (bacon, sausage, deli meat, etc.): Best: 100% grass-fed + organic. Better: organic
  • Look for terms like grass-finished or grass-fed, pastured, certified organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free, and wild-caught
  • Vary your animal protein sources
  • Meal planning: Create each meal around your protein source. Each meal should include 1-2 palm-sized servings of protein – closer to 1 serving if you’re big and/or inactive, closer to 2 servings if you’re small and/or active. As often as possible, choose high-quality meat, seafood, and eggs.
• Vegetables
  • Best choice: acorn squash, arugula, asparagus, beets, bell peppers, bok choy, broccoli/broccolini, brussels sprouts, buttercup squash, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, delicata squash, garlic, greens (beet greens, mustard greens, turnip greens), kale, leeks, lettuce (bibb, butter, red), onions, shallots, rutabaga, spinach, summer squash, sweet potato/yams, swiss chard, tomato, turnip, watercress, zucchini
  • Good/better: anise/fennel root, artichoke, broccoli rabe, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, jicama, kohlrabi, mushrooms (all), okra, parsnips, potatoes (sparingly if you want to lose weight, and make sure you don’t eat them at the expense of colorful veggies), pumpkin, radish, rhubarb, snow peas, sugar snap peas, spaghetti squash, sprouts
  • Make raw fermented vegetables, like sauerkraut and kimchi, a priority
  • Eat a wide variety of vegetables
  • Meal planning: Fill the rest of your plate (after protein) with vegetables – you can include some carb-dense vegetables but (especially if you’re overweight and insulin-resistant) should concentrate on leafy greens or other fibrous vegetables
• Fruit
  • Best choice: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapefruit, kiwi, melon, plum, raspberries, strawberries
  • Good/better: apples (all varieties), bananas, dates, exotic fruit (star fruit, quince, etc.), figs, grapes (green/red), lemon, lime, mango, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears (all varieties), pineapple, pomegranate, tangerines, watermelon
  • Fruits are not as nutritious as vegetables. Don’t let them push vegetables off your plate just because they are more fun to eat
  • Eat a wide variety of fruits, especially when they’re in season
  • Limit dried fruit
  • If you’re battling sugar dragons / sugar cravings, don’t rely on fruit as a crutch when you have sugar cravings – it may be better to conscientiously avoid the fruit, nut butters, health bars, or anything else that may prop up your sugar cravings
  • Meal planning: Start with 1-2 servings of fruit a day – a serving is about the size of a fist. Feel free to add some fruit either with your meals or immediately after. Fruit should not take the place of vegetables. Don’t juice or make smoothies. It’s better to eat smaller servings of fruit throughout the day than a large amount in once sitting. If you find yourself reaching for more fruit in the summer, when it’s local, fresh, and delicious, that’s okay (as long as you’re not responding to sugar cravings)
• Prioritize organic fruits and vegetables: avoid “dirty dozen” produce, or buy organic if you can’t peel it
• Fats
  • Cooking fats: animal fats* including duck fat, goat fat, lard (pig fat), and tallow (beef fat), clarified butter*, ghee* (* – must be pastured or 100% grass-fed and organic), coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil (cook at low heat for a short time only). Unrefined red palm oil is also listed as good, but most people don’t like it as much as coconut oil
  • Eating fats and nuts: avocado oil, cashews, coconut butter, coconut meat/flakes, coconut milk (canned), hazelnuts/filberts, macadamia nuts, macadamia butter, olives (all)
  • Occasional nuts and seeds: almonds, almond butter, brazil nuts, pecans, pistachio
  • Limit nuts and seeds: flax seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds/pepitas, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, walnuts
  • Don’t use nuts, seeds, and nut butters as your primary fat source
  • Meal planning: Choose one or more fat sources per meal. Add in these quantities, per person per meal: Oils (olive oil, coconut oil, etc.): 1-2 thumb-sized portions. Butters (coconut butter, nut butters, clarified butter and ghee): 12 thumb-sized portions. Olives: 1-2 open (heaping) handfuls. Coconut (meal/flakes): 1-2 open (heaping) handfuls. Nuts and seeds: up to one closed handful. Avocado: half to one avocado. Coconut milk: between ¼ to ½ of a (14 oz.) can. Feel free to add more than these recommended quantities, but never add less – do not cut your fat intake below the low end of the range, even if you’re trying to lose weight
• You can have a cup or two of coffee – after your first meal of the day, and before noon
• A few shakes of salt is okay – alternate between iodized table salt (often the only source of valuable iodine in our diet) and sea salt
• Most varieties of vinegar, including white, balsamic, apple cider, red wine, and rice, are allowed – see exceptions below
• Minimally processed foods like canned coconut milk, applesauce, tomato sauce, chicken broth, or canned olives are acceptable
• Food choices and quality
  • Making good food choices is the most important factor in your healthy-eating transformation. Focusing on foodsourcing comes second, so think about it when you’re able.
  • Buy organic, local produce as often as possible
  • Priorities for food quality: (1) protein; (2) produce, (3) healthy fats
• Meal planning
  • Eat meals at the table, in a relaxed fashion. Do not allow distractions like TV, phone, or email during mealtime. Chew slowly and thoroughly
  • Eat three meals a day. Start with breakfast (or “Meal 1”), ideally within an hour of waking. This meal is best if it is focused on satisfying protein and fat and nutrient-rich veggies, and not overloaded with fruit. Don’t snack, if you can help it. a 4-5 hour break between meals is beneficial. Stop eating a few hours before bedtime.
  • See above for meal planning for each type of food
  • For the first few weeks, use the meal plan sizes as your baseline. See how you feel. If you’re hungry all the time, try making each meal bigger than the last / add more protein and more fat, and see if that quells your hunger – if it does, that’s your new baseline; if not, there’s something more than hunger going on. If you’re not hungry for the first few weeks, it’s part of the hormonal recalibration and you should follow the meal plan.
  • Your own personal template will change over time – as your activity level changes and you lose weight or put on muscle mass, your nutritional needs will change too

Foods to avoid with It Starts with Food – Whole30 Elimination

• Processed food  – especially if it contains MSG, sulfites, or carrageenan
• Sugars and sweeteners (fail Good Food standards 1, 2, 3, and 4)
  • Regular sugar: brown sugar, cane sugar, raw sugar, beet sugar, confectioner’s sugar, etc.
  • Syrups: high fructose corn syrup HFCS, malt syrup, refiner’s syrup, rice syrup, etc.
  • Processed sugar: dextrose, disaccharide, fructose ,glucose, galactose, lactose, maltodextrin, maltose, monosaccharide, polysaccharide, ribose, saccharose, sucrose
  • “Natural” sugars: agave nectar, coconut nectar, coconut sugar, date sugar, (evaporated) cane juice, honey, maple syrup, molasses, rice malt (extract), (sweet) sorghum, treacle
  • Fruit juice – even if you make it yourself
  • Artificial (non-nutritive) sweeteners: aspartame, acesulfame-k/potassium, Equal, Nutra-Sweet, saccharin, Splenda, stevia, sucralose, SweetLeaf, Sweet ‘n Low, Truvia
  • Sugar alcohols: arabitol, dulcitol, erythritol, glycol, glycerol, hydrogenated starch hydrosylate (hsh), iditol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, polyglycitol, ribitol, sorbitol, threitol, xylitol
• Alcohol (fails Good Food standards 1, 2, 3, and 4)
  • All wines, beers, spirits; anything else containing alcohol
• Seed oils (fail Good Food standard 4)
  • Canola (rapeseed) oil, chia oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, flax (linseed) oil, grapeseed oil, hemp oil, palm kernel oil, peanut oil, rice bran oil, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean (soy) oil (also known as vegetable oil), sunflower oil
• Trans fats
• Grains (fail Good Food standards 1, 2, 3, and 4)
  • Don’t include grains of any kind – no breads, cereals, pasta, rice, not even gluten-free grains or pseudo-cereals like quinoa; not even whole grains
  • Seeds of plants in the grass family: barley, corn (maize), kamut, millet, oats, rice (including wild rice, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, wheat
  • Seeds that are not technically grains: amaranth, buckwheat, chia, quinoa
• Legumes (fail Good Food standards 3 and 4)
  • Black beans, kidney beans, lentils, soy, and other above-ground legumes, whole or processed
  • Peanuts
• Dairy (fails Good Food standard 2)
  • From cows, sheep, or goat milk
  • Milk, cheese, cream, butter (unless clarified), yogurt, kefir, etc.
  • Even if it’s pastured, raw, or fermented
• Processed meats that are factory-farmed, or those with added sugar, MSG, sulfites or carrageenan
• Vinegars with added sugar or sulfites; malt vinegar (which generally contains gluten)
• Do not try to recreate junk foods or desserts (pizza, pancakes, brownies, ice cream, etc.) by using “approved” ingredients
• Don’t cheat! One splash of milk in your coffee, one brownie corner… could short-circuit your “reset” button, forcing you to start the entire process over from day one

Reintroduction

After 30 days (or more) following the Whole30 s guidelines, you’ve cleaned out your system, you can now check how you respond to some of the foods you excluded:

• Day 1 – reintroduce and evaluate dairy products, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Have yogurt in the morning, cheese in the afternoon, and ice cream after dinner. Evaluate how you feel that day and the next few days – stomach, congestion, headaches, breakouts. Note that the easiest to digest and least likely to give you symptoms are unsweetened, fermented, pastured, organic, full-fat dairy – yogurt or kefir
• Day 4 – reintroduce and evaluate gluten-containing grains, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Over the course of the day, eat a whole-wheat bagel, a side of pasta, and a dinner roll. See how you feel the next few days. Evaluate your experience and decide how often and how much to incorporate gluten grains into your regular diet – the authors recommend not at all
• Day 7 – reintroduce and evaluate non-gluten grains, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Eat a serving of white rice, some corn tortilla chips, and a slice of gluten-free bread. Evaluate and decide how much to incorporate these foods.
• Day 10 – reintroduce and evaluate legumes, while keeping the rest of your diet Whole30-compliant. Try some peanut butter, a bowl of lentil soup, some tofu, and a side of black beans. Evaluate and decide how much to incorporate these foods.
• You can also test sugars and alcohols, but should only have them every once in a while even if you don’t have reactions to them
• If you don’t miss a particular food or drink that you know makes you feel less healthy, don’t bother reintroducing it
• Conscious eating – Once you’ve identified something you think might be worth eating despite being unhealthy, ask yourself a series of questions to help you decide if it’s really worth it. Do I have a specific desire for this particular food, or am I just emotional, hungry, or craving? Is it going to be incredibly special, significant, or delicious? Is it going to mess me up – negatively affect how I feel or the quality of my life?
• Don’t use the word “cheat” to describe your less-healthy indulgences. Enjoy the food to its fullest extent – pay attention to it, chew thoroughly, savor the flavor, smell, and texture, and make it last. Notice that the craving has been satisfied, and when it has, stop eating.

Recommendations for special populations

• Diabetes
  • Work closely with your doctors to ensure that the powerful effects of these dietary changes are monitored and medications are properly adjusted
  • Start with small modifications to meals, gradually substituting your “less healthy” foods for high-quality meats, vegetables, fruits, and fats
• Autoimmune disease – you may want to consider removing these additional items from your daily diet:
  • Eggs – whole and egg whites
  • Nightshades – white potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarillos, pepinos, and spices like cayenne, chili powder, curry powder, paprika, pepper sauce, pimento, crushed red pepper flakes – avoid for at least 90 days to evaluate sensitivity
  • Dairy – including heavy cream, clarified butter, and ghee
  • Nuts and seeds
• IBS and IBD
  • Vegetables – make sure they’re cooked thoroughly and chopped into small pieces
  • Fruit – be cautious with fruit consumption, as there are strong links between fructose malabsorption and IBS. Make sure you peel all fruit, avoid what you can’t peel (e.g. grapes and cherries), and eat your fruit as ripe as possible. Avoid fruits that have seeds and a rough exterior (like berries). Many IBS sufferers report increased symptoms after consuming citrus fruits, so avoid those as well. Avoid dried fruits and fruit juices as they pack too much sugar into a small package for people with serious GI disturbances
  • Avoid all nuts and seeds
  • Avoid coffee – even decaffeinated
  • Drink plenty of water throughout the day, but not with your meals
  • Other food groups may be potentially inflammatory or digestively disruptive – like FODMAPs, high-oxalate foods, or high-histamine foods
  • Those with IBD – Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis – should adopt the autoimmune protocol (above), especially with respect to eggs and nightshades
• Food allergies
  • Don’t eat the foods you’re allergic to
  • If you suspect that you have an allergy or intolerance to any one food, don’t test your limits during the Whole30 program
• Vegetarians and vegans
  • If your primary reason for becoming vegetarian or vegan was for health, the authors hope you reconsider based on the evidence they present in the book
  • If you’ll eat some animal products (eggs, fish, etc.), they recommend getting the bulk of your protein from these sources and supplementing with plant-based sources as little as possible
  • If your concerns are largely ethical – animal welfare, sustainability, your local economy, or global economic factors – there are ways to responsibly, ethically source meat, seafood, and eggs and supporting these efforts sends a strong message to the large corporations invested in factory farming
  • If dairy is a viable source of protein, they recommend putting pastured, organic, fermented sources like yogurt or kefir at the top of your list. You could also use whey protein powder from grass-fed, organic sources
  • If you don’t eat any animal products, or if you find you still need to supplement your diet with plant-based protein sources, your best choices are minimally-processed, fermented soy products like tempeh or natto, or organic edamame (soybeans). You can also include nonfermented soy (like extra-firm tofu) and various legumes in rotation, making sure to soak them for 12-24 hours, rinse, and boil them for at least 5-10 minutes to reduce the anti-nutrient and inflammatory compounds. A hemp- or pea-protein powder is also an option for you
  • Avoid all grains and grain products, including seitan and pseudo-cereals like quinoa
  • There’s a vegetarian/vegan shopping list at http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Vegetarian-Shopping-List.pdf
• Active individuals
  • If you participate in very high-intensity activities or longer-duration activities, you probably need to include more carbohydrate than the average person in your daily meal plans to maintain adequate glycogen stores – use carb-dense veggies and perhaps bump up your protein and fat and/or add an extra meal
  • Eat 15-75 minutes before your workout, choosing foods that are easily digestible and palatable. Focus on protein and fat and avoid lots of fruit or carb-dense vegetables
  • Your post-workout meal is a special “bonus meal” designed to help you start the recovery process faster and more effectively. Eat protein and carb-dense veggies. Eat a normal meal 60-90 minutes after your post-workout meal. There are guidelines in the book for the amount of carbohydrate post-workout, based on duration and health status
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women
  • Limit protein consumption to no more than 20% of total calories
  • Consume enough calories – incorporate more starchy vegetables and healthy fats into your diet
  • While breastfeeding, the same protein restrictions are not necessary. Make sure hydration and caloric intake are adequate for ongoing lactation – keep coconut milk or individual packets of coconut butter on hand, or snack on olives or avocado, always have a bottle of water on standby

Health benefits claimed in It Starts with Food

Acne, ADHD, allergies, alopecia, anemia, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, atherosclerosis, bipolar disorder, bronchitis, chronic bursitis, cancer, carditis, cardiovascular disease, celiac disease, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, circulation issues, cirrhosis, colitis, Crohn’s disease, dementia, depression, dermatitis, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, diverticulitis, eczema, edema, emphysema, endometriosis, essential tremor, fibroids, fibromyalgia, food addictions, food cravings, gastroenteritis, gingivitis, gout, Grave’s disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, heart disease, heartburn/acid reflux/GERD, hepatitis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, infertility, inflammatory bowel syndrome IBD, inflammatory conditions, insulin resistance,  interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome/IBS, joint pain, leaky gut syndrome, lupus, Lyme disease, migraines, mood swings, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, myositis, nephritis, osteoarthritis, osteopenia, osteoporosis, overweight/obesity, Parkinson’s disease, polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS, periodontal disease, polychondritis, psoriasis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, rheumatoid arthritis, rosacea, sarcoidosis, schizophrenia, scleroderma, seizures, sinusitis, Sjögren’s syndrome, skin conditions, spastic colon, stroke, chronic tendonitis, trichotillomania, ulcerative colitis, vasculitis, vitiligo

 

See http://whole9life.com for a forum, approved products, seminars, resources, and more;http://whole9life.com/itstartswithfood; also https://twitter.com/whole9life and www.facebook.com/Whole30.

Get a copy of It Starts with Food for the reasoning and “science-y stuff” behind the recommendations, supplementation suggestions, meal maps, and some recipes

[DevonMrs]

Thank you, I'm feeling so good, I didn't want to start again. I'm going to read the book again but when it says a handful of this or 1 or 2 servings of fruit, I thought that was ok but there seems to be unwritten rules. Thank you for having a look at this for me, I have health concerns and I'd much rather learn and get it right.

[MeadowLily]

You can copy and paste that, carry it in your purse.  You're not doing anything differently than what many do....it just takes time to let the rules settle in and really start to make perfect sense out of everything.   It will all fall into place.  Reacquaint yourself with rules until they become second nature.

[MeadowLily]

Thank you, I'm feeling so good, I didn't want to start again. I'm going to read the book again but when it says a handful of this or 1 or 2 servings of fruit, I thought that was ok but there seems to be unwritten rules. Thank you for having a look at this for me, I have health concerns and I'd much rather learn and get it right.

Dare I ask....is it blood sugar?

[DevonMrs]

Thanks Meadow Lily, but can you see why I'm confused, when all the things I've eaten today are on the list.

[DevonMrs]

Blood sugar, blood pressure, high cholesterol, enlarged left side of my heart.

[MeadowLily]

Thanks Meadow Lily, but can you see why I'm confused, when all the things I've eaten today are on the list.

Yes.    Larabars are also on the list and many zero in on those, too.      They start eating them morning, noon and night.   There is the natural tendency to find substitute foods for those that are pre-Whole 30 favorites or those that we are naturally attracted to.  If you were a fruit lover before....5 days in, you're still a fruit lover.  There are many who believe that nuts are proteins when they're really fats.   Legumes are not proteins but really carbs with a mere smidge of protein/fats....but alas, that's for another day.

[MeadowLily]

Blood sugar, blood pressure, high cholesterol, enlarged left side of my heart.

Okay, Mrs. Devon.  It's time to get to work and I'm here to tell you.....we can kick many of these things to the curb.  It's going to take longer than 30 days, dedication and motivation.  All of those things are in my family.   Diabetes, heart attacks, blood pressure, high cholesterol.  

That's why I'm here.  I'm not concerned about fitting into size 0 jeans.  I'm not dieting. I'm breaking off generational ties to those things.  I've been very willing to apply myself.  I am the target audience for that last paragraph in that list....health benefits.  So are you.

[ladyshanny]

Thanks Meadow Lily, but can you see why I'm confused, when all the things I've eaten today are on the list.

Mrs Devon, there are two ways of doing Whole30.  There's doing it as just a food elimination diet where you only eat compliant foods, whenever and however you like.

 

Then there's the "magic making way" where you learn the template and work on creating compliant meals to match it, 3 times per day.  In the "magic making way" you work hard on balancing blood sugars (no fruits alone), regulating hormones (eating 3 x per day starting within an hour of waking) and changing your relationship with foods (no hand to mouth eating, no using compliant foods as dessert etc).

 

Both are the Whole30....the second one takes significantly more mental and emotional energy because you are going to be making some full scale personal change along with changing the "what" of what you eat.

 

Please try not to get frustrated though, any time you are eating protein, veggies and fat over the processed garbage that so many folks choose, you are doing well!  You should be proud to have come to Whole30 and cheer yourself on!  The rest is just tweaking!  

[MeadowLily]

Lady Shanny.....yes.  That's kicking it old school....it was the way a Whole 30 was conducted a few years ago.   It's how the Whole 30 pioneers and ancestors  went before us.    It's not for sissies but let me tell you, if you want Tiger Blood, that's the way you want to roll.  As Tom Denham says, there are imaginary Whole 30's and authentic Whole 30's.   

 

You want good blood sugar numbers...forget about snacks altogether.   No nut and dried fruit bars, no multiple servings of fruits inbetween meals.   Fruits at the end and only if you really, really want one.   I go vege heavy and fruit light..   I'm going out on a limb here, but I've noted that the constant snackers are less likely to see the reward of Tiger Blood.   There is a reward for the 3 meal aday compliant Whole 30.

[MeadowLily]

LadyM

Whole9 Moderator Since December 27, 2014

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Posted Today, 05:37 AM

So glad you've returned to Whole30, though I'm very concerned about your disordered eating behavior. Are you fully embracing the program and including good starchy veg a couple times a day in addition to greens, fruit, protein, and fat?

 

My guess is that the hair loss hasn't happened in response to the last seven days of Whole30 eating, but has roots deeper than that. 

 

There's a thread in the ladies only section devoted to hair loss. It's a complex problem and is related to hormones, first and foremost thyroid. But all the hormones work together and when one is off, the others scramble to compensate and everything can get out of whack. My thinning hair sent me to a functional medicine doc when my GP offered no help and through supplementation and a Whole 9 lifestyle, my hair is back to normal.

 

Also, I just want to note that given your height, you're already in a healthy weight range. I hope you can let go of the mania stirred up by desire for weight loss and get and remain on a healthy path.

 

 

I'm posting this here, Mrs. Devon, because there is a mania out there stirred up by the desire to fit into Size 0 or Size 00 jeans.  LadyM and Lady Shanny, others have addressed this ..in the best possible way.  I don't give two hoots about dieting and then pretending that a Whole 30 suddenly caused all of my prior health problems.  It's human nature, I guess.....really?...to want to blame eating beautiful foods - proteins, vegetables and good dietary fats as the cause of all of our problems...really?

 

This is called rationalization and not taking the ultimate responsibility for the consequences of our choices.   I am not a dieter. 

 

What I cannot moderate, I must eliminate.

 

I cannot moderate blood sugars if I continue to eat sugar.   I loathe what Diabetes does to anyone.  With the support of the forum and members, I choose to eat in the true spirit and fashion of the original Whole 30.   It's working for me.   The Whole 30 is only 30 days but my Food Reset has proven to me that going forward with my solid plan....a bunch of sugar avoidance is the only way to give me the best quality of life.   I'm not going backwards.   

[MeadowLily]

Mrs. Devon....how did the weekend go?

[sjb3ip]

Just curious why they don't say to not eat fruit alone in the beginning.  I just happened across this post where you mentioned it.  I'm on day 5 and have been spending a lot of time reviewing this stuff and this is the first I've seen of it.  

[ShannonM816]

Just curious why they don't say to not eat fruit alone in the beginning.  I just happened across this post where you mentioned it.  I'm on day 5 and have been spending a lot of time reviewing this stuff and this is the first I've seen of it.  

 

Hi, sjb3ip.  

 

Not eating fruit alone isn't a rule -- you can do a Whole30 and eat fruit by itself every day, multiple times a day, and you'd still be following the rules, so you'd have successfully done a Whole30. However, in addition to the official rules, there are recommendations that will help you get the very most out of your Whole30 experience. These recommendations are not required, but they're, well, recommended. These include things like following the meal template, avoiding smoothies, and not having fruit by itself between meals. You could do a Whole30 never eating a template-based meal, having smoothies every day, and eating fruit on its own every afternoon, but as long as you followed the rules, you would have technically done a Whole30. You more than likely wouldn't get a great result, and you'd probably be wondering why people go on and on about how great W30 is, but you would have done one.

 

The recommendations do get mentioned on the forums, especially if you go look at the troubleshooting section and see what moderators and advanced members recommend to people who feel like they're not doing very well on their Whole30, and they get discussed in the book It Starts With Food, and probably in the new book as well, but since they're not the actual rules, they might be a little harder to find if you don't know to look for them.