Started on TAX day (4/15/2015)

[Shine99]

Happy Half-way Day!!! We're going to make it!

How nice you can browse a farmer's market on your lunch hour! I totally agree with you about the timing of this; so many great veggies and fruits available!

Raining here in the swamp today but I saw a tri-colored heron "fishing" this morning so can't complain too much! I'm feeling really good, hope you are, too!

Going out to lunch with a friend visiting from out of town today but I think I'll be fine. Having amazing restaurants here makes eating out a little hard...not so much that I'm tempted but more because these great chefs put awesome combinations together and I hate messing with a good thing!

 

Cheers!

[MichelleEClancy]

Shine,

Happy Half-way day!

I can see the view at the top of this hill and I know I can do 15 more!  We both seem to have busy lives and I feel that it's contributing to the success.  I had another girlfriend who said it was the slowest 30 days of her life, but she didn't have a lot going on so it must have been harder.  As long as I plan and have things prepared, I seem to have no trouble at night being hungry.  I ate too much fruit yesterday (so shoot me) but it's not like I ate any of the no-nos.  I have a ridiculous amount of strawberries and had at least 2 servings of them yesterday.   This put me over my goal for fruit for the day but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.  I had a pot luck lunch to attend yesterday.  THANK GOODNESS I brought my own food because when I got there, the ONLY thing I could have eaten was a fruit salad. I noticed a lot of liquid in the fruit salad and asked a friend to try it too see if it was sugary.  It was , the maker had added a cup of sugar to sweeten the fruit...  Good thing I didn't dig in!  It's sunny and cool here in good old North Cackalacky and I have a lunch board meeting today but I can prepared with a chicken salad! 

1/2 way there!

Cheers!

MC

[Shine99]

TGIF!

 

I agree with you, being able to see this through. I've noticed some changes in my "instinct", thinking before I snitch a bite of something, not craving things not on the plan, enjoying the true flavor of whole foods, rather than processed. I realize that this wasn't that big of a change for me...we eat a ton of veggies already, and I LOVE meat & eggs so adding more servings of those is easy! I'm going to be more concious of portions for the remainder, using the guide provided (palm sized protein, thumb sized fats). I'm only 5'2 so I love that you use YOUR hand to measure; hubby's hand is 2X mine!

Wise call on the fruit bowl! Good save! I agree with you that our busy-ness is helping us. That's why I do so much prep because I don't want to get caught with too few options.

 

This weekend we're going away overnight so it may be a challenge but I think it'll be fine. Salad with meat, eggs with veggies and no dairy, I might even try your chipotle choice. You're sure there's no sugar involved in cooking the carnitas? That's always my worry...that there's sugar in the spice blend they use on grilled meats, etc.

 

Have a great weekend, I hope it's as pretty in NC as it is in SC!

[Shine99]

Happy Day 20!!! Only 10 more to go!!! Yipee!

 

How are you feeling? I feel pretty good. Definitely sleeping better and waking up with more energy. I'm curious if you've seen a difference with Crohn's? Maybe too soon to tell but I recall that was part of your hope. My digestive system seems to be much better now. I was pretty constipated for the first 2 weeks, and I drank a lot of "smooth move" tea, sometimes 2 cups/ night. I haven't had any for about 5 days now & I'm doing ok...phew! I work with a doctor of naturopathic medicine and she's recommending I also take a probiotic. I've been advised to take it daily for the first 3-5 days, then every other day after that, maybe even less once you've gotten the "bugs" in your gut eating all the bad stuff!

 

This weekend was a bit challenging because we were out of town, but I only had to eat out 4 meals. I copied a Moe's whole 30 meal someone posted (similar to your chipotle meal). Dinner I ordered a salad with no dressing, no dairy and tuna cooked without butter. Tuna was delicious! I dressed my salad with rice vinegar (it was a sushi place) and I ate a little wasabi but then read where a lot of wasabi isn't compliant

The hotel provided breakfast but the only item I could have was hard boiled eggs so I had 2 for breakfast yesterday & hit walgreen's for some almonds (wow, glad I read labels; they had several bags but only one was compliant!). Lunch was great, grilled chicken and grilled veggies...they told me they cleaned the grill for me so I wouldn't get any traces of butter on my food I also had some pistascios to add some fat. More nuts than I wanted to eat in a day but ok overall.

 

I really thought I'd miss alcohol more, and yesterday was the first time I REALLY wanted a drink, but it was mainly because the restaurant we went to for lunch was super busy and there were MANY screaming children. I started getting a headache and was wished I was sitting on my sofa with a glass of bourbon! So now I'll meditate on why I want alcohol as my escape and think about what I can substitute for it. That's one of the greatest things for me about this program: thinking through why I want certain things. Like the luscious mac & cheese my step-daughter ordered a double helping of yesterday...

When I quit smoking 19 years ago (after 3 unsuccessful attempts) I "thought myself through" my cravings. It took about 2 weeks, then the cravings were gone. This is taking longer but the same psychology seems to be working!

 

Happy Monday, Day 20, and May the Fourth be with you!!!

[MichelleEClancy]

Good Morning Shine!

No, I haven't fallen off the bandwagon...I swear.   I did, however, catch my daughters Strep Throat.   It has been a miserable 72 hours for me and I am still not well.  Throughout the illness i have stayed Whole 30.  That being said, I have barely consumed anything and I'm totally weak today which is ruining that feeling of Tiger Blood.  For the most part I was able to eat scrambled eggs and unsweetened applesauce.  Today I'm working on a coffee and I'm back in the office.  I'm definitely not 100% yet, both mentally and physically exhausted.   I really just want some chicken soup and a grilled cheese.  This is a good this to process though.  Comfort food, by it's very definition, is food prepared for contentment and I kept telling myself that's what I needed to feel better.  Isn't that crazy.  Some how I got through and here we are on day 22...still compliant.  As for the Crohns, I have my good days and my bad days.  I'm told I'm in remission so I really shouldn't be complaining.  People have it much worse.  Have you started to think at all about what you will do when the 30 days are over?  I think I will be on a modified paleo.  I am thinking that taking out the grains, alcohol, and dairy were probably life changing discoveries. I'm hoping that over the 30 days my tolerance for sugar had gone down and I will seek out more natural substitutions (honey, agave, stevia)((with Crohns, splenda is not recommended because it messes with your natural gut flora)).  I was never a big fan of drinking and I only did it on special occasions, but I did add it a lot to tomato sauces so I will be adding that back.  I'll be taking a break from sweet potatoes for a while... but my passion for strawberries lives on! 

Have an awesome day!

Cheers!

[pixalu]

Hi ladies,

I'm just catching up with you all.  I'm still on it.  On day 20 now.  Very excited to finish.  But I have decided to continue eating this way for the most part forever.  I don't have "Tiger Blood"  but I do feel more even keel as far as energy goes. And I do feel sort of healthy. 

My IBS is terrible however.  Probably worse than before the Whole 30.  Loose stools accompanied by cramps most every morning.  But, the painful gas and bloating I had every afternoon into the night seems to be gone so something we eliminated was causing that.  Not sure what. I look forward to finding out.

In the first couple of weeks I had massive cravings.  Mostly for sugary things (I was obsessed with Butterfingers for days! and they aren't even my favorite candy.) I also missed my wine and I still do.  Wine is sort of my life in many ways.  I belong to wine clubs, go tasting and trips with my wine loving friends.  So it took that social aspect from me.  Hoping that wine is not a problem for me on the 17th.  It's the first thing I'm adding back!  What I've been missing lately is the smidge of milk and sugar I take in my tea each morning.  I barely took a splash of milk and an 1/8th teaspoon of sugar.  It's my ritual and the coconut milk just isn't cutting it.

I went to a potluck party too! It was super tough.  There were so many tantalizing things there!  And I know the moderators will flip out when they see this, but I had a small spoonful of clam chowder.  I LOVE clam chowder.  It is my most favorite food in the world and this batch was home made.  And let me tell you, it was the most delicious clam chowder I have ever tasted.  I'm not concerned about this small cheat because I've done eliminations of dairy before with no noticeable changes and the maker of said chowder made it with rice flour.  (I've also gone gluten free elimination for a month before too.  But not all grains.) Anyhow, I brought a salad with hazelnuts, hazelnuts dressing, with apples.  I had Oregon blue cheese on the side for people to use. The theme was Northwest, since our friend is moving from Seattle to Detroit.   Someone kindly brought salmon cooked only with olive oil. Thanks to them! And there were fresh berries, (bare.)  Plus some crudité. So I didn't starve.

11 more days before the experimentation begins! I'm eager to see the "test results."

 

I know I've lost weight/body fat on this.  My clothes fit so much better and are therefore more comfortable.  I could stand to lose about 15 lbs.  So I'll take it.

I too, am enjoying all these fresh foods we are eating.  Yesterday I had some zucchini from the company café that was grilled with olive oil and I remarked "This zucchini is so good."  I frankly think I've never enjoyed them that much before.  So it was interesting.

 

Ok, on conference call #2, need to do my squats and lunges!    I've started doing 20 of each during every conference call.  By the end of today that means 100 of each.  Oh boy I will be sore.  Chat with you later!

[Shine99]

Michelle, you're the second adult this week I've heard of having strep throat! UGH!!! Sorry to hear but glad you're still "on the bandwagon" and thinking through your cravings. Have you ever made homemade bone broth? I make it at least once and month. It's super easy in your crock pot. I usually keep all my chicken bones in the freezer and make it when the bag is full...just put them in a large crock pot with a carrot and celery stalk or two and a chopped onion, plus dried spices of choice (I use bay leaf, oregano, sage, thyme and coriander). Let it go on low for about 24 hours then strain it. Add some veggies and chicken and you've got your yummy, healthy chicken soup.

I know you said you're not the cook of the household, but maybe your hubby could make it for you!!! You'll never go back to store-bought broth! Works with beef too but that one takes longer and a few more steps...

 

Glad to hear Crohn's isn't giving you too much of a problem. I have started thinking about reintroduction and your plan sounds great! Fortunately or Unfortunately, we have tickets to a craft beer festival on day 31!!! We love trying different microbrews and I'm afraid I'm going to be "college freshman drunk". I'll take it easy though, sipping for the taste, not feeling like I have to finish the entire sample each time. We've already planned to take Uber, just in case
I think I'll have a big breakfast, too...like steak and eggs with roasted veggies. I plan to stay compliant, adding one food group at a time, giving it 4-5 days to process how my body responds and how I feel. Alcohol will be first by default but I think I'll just drink Saturday, then compliant for 4 days, then maybe legumes, then compliant for 4-5 days, etc. Nutritional studies are so difficult because there are so many other factors that influence how we feel so I'll try to keep as much constant as possible. I may do another Whole30 in July or August, depending on travel schedules and visitors (we live in a resort town and have a steady flow of friends and family, which we love, but makes it hard to stick to a routine. Eating out has been a breeze but alcohol will take a lot of thought.

 

Pixalu it's good to hear you're still in the program! Congratulations on staying compliant even with the temptations. Have you found that you're missing the wine? I really thought I would miss alcohol more, and I'm happy to report I haven't, really. Glad you feel like you've lost weight and inches, not sure if I have or not. One more week!

 

Happy Friday...one week to go!!!

 

Cheers!

Traci

[MichelleEClancy]

Hey Traci!

Thanks for the advice.  I'm feeling better but now my hubs has strep so this weekend should be fun.  You have an ambitious recovery plan.  That's definitely the way to do it, introducing things one at a time.  That festival sounds like a lot of fun!  I'm not that into beer but I think that Uber is a great idea!  I'm really missing ice cream with this sore throat.  Thought about doing the frozen banana into the food processor, but the best of those recipes call for vanilla extract and that's a whole 30 no-no.  I'll hold out.  I had already taken out a lot of dairy before the whole30 and had switched to sorbetto. I'll probably go back to that or find a way to make it with less sugar.  That will be my downfall for sure! I'm a sugar fiend.  Not so much with soda, I haven't had a problem losing that, but sugar sugar sugar!  I will start out with some dark chocolate that I've been saving that my MIL brought me back from Belgium.  YUM!  Can't wait.  This time next week!

 

Happy Friday!

Cheers!

Michelle

[Shine99]

Hi Michelle,

 

I hope you had a good weekend despite hubby being sick! My mom was visiting and she is elderly so it was a bit of a challenge, but staying on track was fine...until yesterday when I took her to the airport. We planned to go out to lunch but she was not ready in time so we had to eat at the airport-ugh. I hadn't been to this airport yet, and the options were terrible (it's under construction). I found a pack of 2 hard boiled eggs and a bag of almonds to be the only compliant foods available. She suffered through a turkey and cheddar sandwich on white bread and a bag of chips. I wasn't hungry but I wasn't satisfied either! Interesting how that experience (coupled with being somewhat exhausted from her visit) made me not in the mood to have my normal happy & healthy breakfast today. I ate some leftover pork roast...

 

I'm just now reading It Starts With Food (a little backwards, I know!) and I'm fascinated by the psychology of eating. I can relate so well to a lot of what I'm reading! I'm also a little frustrated because although I haven't gotten on the scale yet, my clothes don't feel any looser. We'll see. I can make it through Thursday!!! Just have to stay focused on the positives I've already experienced: more energy (after the first 2 weeks), clearer thinking (probably mainly due to lack of alcohol!), almost no food cravings/ temptations, and healthier thoughts about eating and food in general.

 

I've lived a lifetime of unhealthy self-image and struggle with weight, from anorexia to obesity and I'm looking forward to a lifetime of a healthier outlook in this area. But it will take more than just this 30 day detox, and I'm ok with that. I'm thinking I'll do another in July, but maybe sooner; we have friends visiting around the 4th...or right after their visit.

 

Happy Day 28!!!

[MichelleEClancy]

Whoop Whoop! Day 28!! 

I'm definitely on the benefit side today.  Finally out of the strep gunk and sickness, I can feel the tiger blood once again.  I have also been reading the book and enjoying some of the science.  I'm almost done with it now and its been good to have the knowledge to back up this "cleanse" as I talk to people about it.  I can feel for your background.  I am a yo-yo dieter with a history of looking for "compliant desserts" when I diet.  I'm  a sugarholic.  I have a ridiculous sweet tooth and somehow manage to get sugar into every meal throughout the day.  I tend to order sweet meals off of the menu when I go out to eat.  If I get a salad, it's probably got fruit or candied nuts or a sweet dressing.  I like coconut shrimp, burgers with pineapple, meats with fruit chutney, teryaki, sweet and sour.  If this month has done anything, it's that it has shown me how much extra sugar I was consuming and how much I love the non sugary meals as well.  I am sooooo hoping that the first time I have real sugar after Thursday that I will believe it to be too sweet.  Fingers crossed.  I did my best to stay away from the blogs that were making WHole30 compliant desserts with coconut flour or almond flower.  I found that the forums were helpful when people were bragging about desserts they could eat, but moderators were repeating that the purpose was to get away from the need of desserts and baked goods in general.  I think that has helped a lot.  It's amazing that even Larabars are sweet on the teeth.  I have to east them so slowly now.  Tomorrow morning I am headed out to a family reunion.  I have packed a breakfast, lunch & dinner for both Wednesday and Thursday, but I have decided to just pack breakfast, lunch and compliant snacks for the rest of the weekend.   I will lay off the dairy and grains and alcohol through the weekend, but I'll see how the sweetness creeps back in.  Im worried and excited at the same time but also SO DAMN PROUD of myself for getting this far and hopefully finishing after Thursday.  In case I can't contact you GOOD LUCK!  I'll stick around but probably not be able to respond until I get home on Sunday.  Have fun at the Beer Festival!

Cheers!!

M

[Shine99]

You've done great Michelle! I'm loving the book too!

 

Happy Day 30!!!

[Shine99]

Well here we are, day 31! I got on the scale this morning and I'm down 8 pounds. Not bad, a good, healthy weight loss of 2 lbs/ week. More importantly I feel great, have more energy, NO food cravings, and I'm sleeping much better. Except that for the last two nights I've been woken up (by phone and neighbors) an hour after falling asleep, then it's taken me 2 more hours to get back to sleep...ugh!

 

I'm not sure if I'll have anything non-compliant today or not, if so probably just a drink. It's really hard to have anything that I know for certain is not good for me, so I may just wait until tomorrow. There isn't any food I'm really missing, so I figure why not just keep it up? I like how the book described making a decision to have something because it's a special (rare) occasion, culturally significant, etc. and I'll try to use that philosophy when choosing to eat something non-compliant. I used to LOVE cheese, I've even taken a class. But I don't just want a piece of cheese...however, if it's a triple creme brie with ginger snaps and champagne I may be tempted to indulge (awesome combination by the way...tastes like butter cream icing on the ginger snap). But even then it would have to be the right ginger snap...a nice thin one...

 

It will be interesting to see how my body responds when adding foods back in...probably will help making decisions to eat certain things or not...do I really want to be tired & dragging for the next 3 days because I ate a slice of pizza???

 

I'm excited to hear how you feel today so I'll check back in Sunday or Monday to see what you have to say! Congratulations! I'm proud of us...treat yourself to something non-food! I went on Amazon yesterday and ordered something for myself...

[MichelleEClancy]

Shine!

Congrats on your completion of the Whole 30!  How was the festival?  I had to splurge a little since I was on vacation BUT i made it through the 30 days completely!  I was compliant during breakfast for the rest of the trip.  I splurged on some homemade ice cream in Georgetown and some ridiculous homemade cake for a family member's birthday, some non compliant cocktail sauce for the endless amounts of fresh shrimp i devoured, and lastly, the coconut milk Starbucks vanilla latte I am drinking right now.     Not the best, but not the worst.  I am back in town for one day and tomorrow I head out to the mountains for a conference until Friday.  Are you back on compliance this weekend?  I am gifting myself a new cook book "Against all Grain"  Its a great paleo cookbook.  It comes highly recommended by my sister who has been on paleo for years.  Did you end up eating the brie and gingersnaps? 

Happy Monday!

Cheers!

[Shine99]

It sounds like you did great...and enjoyed some of what you were missing! Congratulations & what a great way to treat yourself...to the cookbook!

 

I hope you have a great time in the mountains...so beautiful!

 

I am back on compliance today. The festival was just OK...fun bands but not many of the types of beers we like so it was really easy to not over-do it! I had a glass of wine and 1/2 of a beer last night and they tasted good but didn't do much for me so I think I'll limit alcohol to weekends only. I woke up "less clear headed" this morning and found myself craving foods I don't normally eat. Good reinforcement!

 

I didn't have any brie & gingersnaps...hubby doesn't like cheese so I only buy it when we have people visiting! I tried some kerrygold butter with some steamed shrimp and in my sweet potato. Tasted great...didn't really notice any changes. I really like coconut oil in my sweet potato tho so I don't think I'll switch. I also tried a sample of gluten-free bread with a salmon spread at Costco. Didn't taste good...not sure why I tried it. I keep seeing gluten free bread advertised so I guess I thought I'd try it.

 

I'm still really happy with the paleo food choices so I don't think staying mostly compliant will be a problem! Hope it's the same for you...you'll have to let me know if you (or your husband) make anything especially yummy out of the new cookbook!

 

Cheers!