Jump to content

Starting Sept 5!


abbyross

Recommended Posts

I will be starting the whole 30 on September 5. I am really excited. I am overweight, and work out pretty hard 4 times a week with little to show for it. I am tired a lot of the time and just feel BLAH. I also have CRAZY cravings that I have little to no control over, and when I do surrender to the cravings I don't feel any better. When I read It Starts With Food everything MADE SENSE. FINALLY! I am excited to begin this plan. Although I ADORE how Melissa and Dallas treat us like adults and don't tell us what to eat...I wish it were a little bit more simple with the meal plans and shopping list. It took me an hour tonight to sort out 4 days worth of eating. Also, I know I am going to have to get my head around viewing breakfast differently. I have read some other posts. How are other people doing that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Abby!

Congratulations on making your first step: commitment! I am currently on Day 8 - I am overweight (significantly), have always been an athlete, worked out hard, and tried tons of diets with some being more successful than others. And yes, it can be a little stressful at times thinking: is this really Whole30 approved? Especially when it tastes amazing. :) lol. I can say the first few days (possibly even week) are not super easy, especially when the crappy-food/sugar/processed-nonsense withdrawal headache kicks in. But take it from me, once you get past that, you start feeling so amazing that the cravings will be no match because you won't want to go back to feeling the way you did.

Anyway, I can share with you some ideas. Surprisingly, breakfast becomes pretty easy. There are breakfast 'muffins' (made of egg, sausage, spinach, other veggies) that are delicious, and that you can put in the fridge and eat throughout the week. I had chicken left over from the night before with wholly guacamole one day this week, and it was amazing. Bacon is difficult to find without some variant of sugar, as is sausage, but it is doable. There is a link on this forum for bacon you can order, and it wasn't too difficult with the sausage as long as you go to a Whole Foods or EarthFare, or even the organic section of your grocery store. I also give myself a couple more minutes of time in the mornings (I workout in the morning, and like to get to work super early, so this was a hard thing to do, but this is an important meal (it's post workout and it's starting my day), and I'm worth it...so giving a couple more minutes (5 tops) allows me to cook eggs if I want, and eat them with some tomato, avocado, and maybe some raspberries. I also found hard boiled eggs to be a huge help; and devilled eggs. One thing I did that saved me the first week was to make some paleo ranch dressing, and paleo mayo, and a nice oil/vinegar dressing. I also put them in little containers for quick grab and go - or ease of packing a lunch. But anyways, this is turning into a novel and I'm far from an expert :) but there's some tips from a former refined-processed-carb-loving girl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Abby

You are already onto a key tip for success... Spend some time reading here in the forum to find good ideas, learn from others mistakes and pick and choose meal options that you like.

My first week of breakfasts were a little scary too, until I did some Saturday prep. I made a bunch of Sweet Potato, zucchini, egg, and almond meal cakes or fritters on my griddle. I kept them in the fridge for mornings. I simply made eggs (fried, boiled, scrambled) and then heated up the "cake" for my first week of mornings. Together with some W30 compliant salsa and I was rocking my first week.

This week I have made a Egg Fritata with zucchini, peppers, onion and sausage. Had my first serving this AM. 45 seconds in the microwave and I have my AM meal ready to go. Like Jenny, I do my workouts in the AM (most days) and the breakfast meal is also my post-workout meal. It is critical to get a good meal before I leave the house. Without it, I am hungry and more likely to stray from W30. I grab a coffee from Starbucks (black with no sweetener, of course) and I am off to work with a great start.

I also make cut up veggies, and a lunch backup for the week. This week (yesterday) I made two loafs of meatloaf on (pasture fed ground beef) and I have a lunch to go anywhere. The only thing that beats homemade meatloaf is cold homemade meatloaf the next day.

For dinners, make sure there are leftovers which can become breakfast or lunch on any given day with a quick zap in the microwave.

Planning is critical. Plan your day and your meals, and you will do fine.

Cheers

DJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there! Welcome!

One of the things I've tried to keep in mind is that it's ok to keep it simple. I tend to be really labor intensive about my food, and this method of nourishing yourself can be very simple if you want it to be. You can get some proteins that you like, some veges that you like, and cook them and stick them in the fridge. And then just take out whatever protein and veges suit your fancy at the moment. I had sardines, macadamia nuts, and a couple of figs the other day as a mini-meal. Not the greatest and most nourishing meal I've made, but it was compliant, satisfying, and simple. So don't overthink it. Estimate with the guideline from the book and keep it simple for a bit. If you seem to be going along well, then branch out if it feels right.

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thank you guys. if you can believe it I'm more nervous about WHAT TO EAT then I am about NOT EATNG MY "OLD FAVES". I am already starting to think Whole 30 when I make my current meals and look in the fridge. Thank you so much for your help. I know that I will be getting a lot of support here. thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Abby! I hope your Day 1 is going smoothly so far! I wholeheartedly agree with the other comments -- planning is key. If you can set aside a few hours each week to loosely plan meals and cook as much as possible ahead of time, it'll make life so much easier. The last thing you want to do is start searching for food when you're already hungry. There are a lot of great meal ideas on this site, and I've really been inspired by paleo bloggers who've done the W30, mostly because they take a lot of the work out of planning lol. One writer literally listed 30 meals (with recipe links!!) that she wanted to try over the course of the month. I just picked a couple from that list, did the necessary shopping and prep, and I've had food waiting in my fridge every meal this week. (Here's that link if you want to check it out: http://hollywouldifshecould.net/2012/08/a-month-of-whole-30-dinner-ideas/) Don't feel like you have to reinvent the wheel this month! Keep it simple and you'll do great :)

As for breakfast specifically, I've been having leftovers (your co-workers might look at you weird, but paleo chocolate chili tastes awesome first thing in the morning lol) or a crustless "quiche" that I made in a large baking dish with ground beef, zucchini, and a dozen eggs. Again, planning and simplicity will carry you through.

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...