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Starting May 25th


Guest bfree11

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I started yesterday as well.  Because I did a Whole30 (successfully!) in March, but then fell off the wagon due to my enormous sugar dragon issues, I have decided to go "sugar free" for the entire summer.  I will complete another Whole30 but then continue on with no-sugar until Labor Day.  I am hoping the 100+ days will be enough to finally break me from bad habits.  Good luck to everyone.  I felt amazing after my March experience, just need to find a way to transition back to real life successfully. 

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Guest bfree11

Hey everyone! I am so thankful for all of you! It's so nice knowing that I'm not in this alone.

 

I feel great so far, but I'm already worried about what happens after the 30 days. I have fallen off the wagon a million times in my weight loss journey and I just don't want that to ever ever ever happen again. I'm trying to just stay in the present moment and focus on Day 2, but it's hard. I'm almost embarrassed to tell my family about the program because they've heard me say I was going to lose the weight so many times. I really hope this is the last time!

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Good Morning! Pretty good day so far, I am having a little trouble with vegetables for breakfast, it just doesn't seem right! If I am making an omelet or frittata I am fine incorporating them in, but otherwise, it doesn't really work for me, I need to figure that out. 

Try roasting up a bunch of veggies (carrots, baby potatoes, broccoli, sweet onion, green beans etc). Toss them in some fat and salt and pepper and then roast at 435 for about 20 minutes.  Throw the lot of them into the fridge.  Then in the morning just reheat them in a frying pan with a bit of fat. Roasting caramelizes them which makes them seem less out of place in the morning.  It's how I got my husband used to eating veggies.

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Ladyshanny, thanks for the veggie suggestion, it sounds great, I will give it a try!

Bfree11, I totally get not really wanting to tell people because of past attempts, I am right there with you, multiple attempts, tons of money too! i too am glad we have this group to share with.

I bought the book today, "It Starts with Food". I had just been working off the website before, just started reading it tonight. When I checked out the cashier commented that she was on day 22 and was loving it, both she and her husband are on it and had lost 50 pounds combined so far! I guess she broke the rules and weighed herself, but she was very enthusiastic about it, and 50 pounds sounds like a ton of weight in such a short time.

Had Chipotle today and it was awesome, it felt very indulgent, although I did miss tortilla chips to dip into my guacamole just a little bit. Have a great evening everyone!

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Guest bfree11

Day 2

 

Another successful day! 

 

Breakfast: caramelized onion, broccoli, kale, and cilantro omelet

Lunch: steak, guacamole, grilled squash and zucchini, kombucha

Pre workout: Lara Bar, tried 1/2 of the key lime and 1/2 of the pecan. both were delicious 

Workout: weightlifting then rock climbing

Dinner: steak again (maybe not the best idea? But, I'm a picky eater!), asparagus, roasted shallot/garlic puree (OMG), kombucha

 

I think the key is to eat really delicious meals, so you forget that you're "dieting." My meals today were SO good. I didn't feel deprived at all. When I've tried to eat clean and failed, it's because I cook myself plain chicken breasts and frozen broccoli. This time around, I see that there are so many more options!

 

However, I will say, when I was driving home from work, I passed by a fast food restaurant and had a moment of panic, where I thought, "omg, I'm not allowed to eat that. What if I never get to eat that again?! This isn't fair!" But, it was just a thought. It came, and it went. This is all about us treating our bodies with the highest level of respect.

 

I don't like thinking about this as a 30 day thing. To me, it feels like it needs to be a life thing. I don't ever want to have a moment when I allow myself a non-whole30 approved food (after my 30 days, of course), and then go down a spiral of unhealthiness and fall off the wagon! That has happened to me in the past and I need to ensure that this never happens to me again. 

 

This is gross, but I always get so constipated when I remove grains, dairy, sugar, etc. I think it's the grains that help me stay regular. When I was Paleo for 8 months, I remember being super constipated. I would think all of the veggies would help, but it might be that the protein is just so binding. The probiotics in the kombucha should help too, I would think. It's so weird. I feel like this only happens to me! I'll have to keep an eye on it and see if it gets better when my body is more used to these types of foods. Maybe my body is so happy to have all of these nutrients finally, that is doesn't want to let any of them go! haha.

 

Honestly though, I don't feel the headaches and withdrawals that others are feeling because my normal diet did not contain very much grains, dairy, or sugar. I'm a pretty healthy eater and I exercise everyday. This is probably why I've been able to maintain the same weight for so many years. I'm just not losing any weight because I have random emotional binges, which can happen anywhere between 0 and 4 times a week. Sometimes it's happy emotions, but usually is sad emotions. This is the part that will cause me to relapse after the Whole 30 if I don't address it.

 

I am SO honored to have tons of supportive people cheering me on! My friend wants to start the Whole 30 and another friend is in the post whole 30 lifestyle and is super insightful about the whole process.

 

Ready for Day 3!

 

Rebecca

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Guest bfree11

Hey guys. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to have all of you here for this journey! I have a separate thread where I've been keeping a log of each day, but I thought I'd share it here too!

 

Day 2

 

Another successful day! 

 

Breakfast: caramelized onions, broccoli, kale, and cilantro omelet

Lunch: steak, guacamole, grilled squash and zucchini, kombucha

Pre workout: Lara Bar, tried 1/2 of the key lime and 1/2 of the pecan. both were delicious 

Workout: weightlifting then rock climbing

Dinner: steak again (maybe not the best idea? But, I'm a picky eater!), asparagus, roasted shallot/garlic puree from the book (OMG), kombucha

 

I think the key is to eat really delicious meals, so you forget that you're "dieting." My meals today were SO good. I didn't feel deprived at all. When I've tried to eat clean and failed in the past, it's because I cook myself plain chicken breasts and frozen broccoli. This time around, I see that there are so many more options!

 

However, I will say, when I was driving home from work, I passed by a fast food restaurant and had a moment of panic, where I thought, "omg, I'm not allowed to eat that. What if I never get to eat that again?! This isn't fair!" But, it was just a thought. It came, and it went. This is all about us treating our bodies with the highest level of respect.

 

I don't like thinking about this as a 30 day thing. To me, it feels like it needs to be a life thing. I don't ever want to have a moment when I allow myself a non-whole30 approved food (after my 30 days, of course), and then go down a spiral of unhealthiness and fall off the wagon! That has happened to me in the past and I need to ensure that this never happens to me again. 

 

This is an overshare, sorry in advanced, but I always get so constipated when I remove grains, dairy, sugar, etc. and I don't get it! I think it's the grains that help me stay regular. When I was Paleo for 8 months, I remember being super constipated. I would think all of the veggies would help, but it might be that the protein is just so binding. The probiotics in the kombucha should help too, I would think. It's so weird. I feel like this only happens to me! I'll have to keep an eye on it and see if it gets better when my body is more used to these types of foods. Maybe my body is so happy to have all of these nutrients finally, that is doesn't want to let any of them go! haha. Anyone else ever experience this by any chance?

 

Honestly though, I don't feel the headaches and withdrawals that others are feeling because my normal diet did not contain very much grains, dairy, or sugar. I'm a pretty healthy eater and I exercise everyday. This is probably why I've been able to maintain the same weight for so many years. I'm just not losing any weight because I have random emotional binges, which can happen anywhere between 0 and 4 times a week. Sometimes it's happy emotions, but usually is sad emotions. This is the part that will cause me to relapse after the Whole 30 if I don't address it.

 

I am SO honored to have tons of supportive people cheering me on, both here and in person! My friend wants to start the Whole 30 and another friend is in the post whole 30 lifestyle and is super insightful about the whole process.

 

Ready for Day 3!

 

Rebecca

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Good evening group! Made it through my first day. Have to say I'm feeling proud of myself. Never realized how addicted I was to artificial sweeteners before now! WOW! Before I started the program I was trying to rationalize that stevia would be ok/it's natural. Oh I was so wrong!! My body doesn't realize it's not sugar. I thought that concept was crazy until now !

Hope you all have a successful evening and day tomorrow! We are strong and empowered! Carry on

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Day 2 has been much better sugar wise. I don't feel obsessed with dessert tonight. So weird how bad it was yesterday. I think it's the whole wanting what you can't have. No headaches and meal planning this week is helping. The worst is when you don't have something and you just forrage for something healthy. I have also been trying to have at least two options available. I get easily bored with leftovers so trying to rotate them a little more. Hope everyone else is feeling well!!

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Congrats everyone on another day down. I want to comment on two things Bfree11 said because they're something I think about a lot too, and I'm sure others doo as well.

 

First... what happens after 30 days? That's a great question, I did 27 days and fell off the wagon... is it because I didn't make it another 3 days? Of course not! I think the most important part of my failure was not having a proper reintroduction. Once I started eating everything again and felt bad, I just continued on the bad track. If I knew, say wheat made me feel awful but dairy didn't, I "hope" that I would have a stronger fight to say, nope won't eat wheat, not just because its bad for me, but because I know it makes me feel bad. But dairy, maybe I can still have cheese on occasion. However.. cheese isn't great for you. So I think after reintroduction you need to come up with your own plan. Like, I'll only have cheese so often and only in certain predetermined instances. Same with other foods, especially sugar... I think the whole 30 is a great plan and a step in the right direction, but Dallas and Melissa say its not a lifestyle because its not sustainable, and so we need to take the principles we learn and turn it into a lifestyle.

 

And to continue my tangent... I see a lot on the boards where they say sometimes people need more than 30 days and I can definitely see why that may be true, HOWEVER, 30 days itself is difficult, so I think if I keep trying to do a longer period I'm more likely to fall off the wagon and mess up my reintroduction again. So maybe 30 days, reintroduction (which can take a few weeks if you do it right) and then another 30 or something until you feel comfortable with the principles.

 

Ok second, the part about not having fast food. Watch the documentaries "forks over knives", "food inc", and maybe even fat sick and nearly dead. Not because you need to adhere to all the principles in them (forks over knives has a push for vegetarianism, and fat sick and nearly dead is about juicing) but the main point is look at what the Standard American Diet is doing to us. My husband who really doesn't buy into any diet fads was even moved after watching them. Neither one of us have had fast food in years and we don't miss it. We changed up the quality of the meat, vegetables and even snacks that we ate after watching those. I think maybe once you become conscious to the types of food you have been putting in your body you may be less likely to want those foods again. I don't mean this to sound preachy, because obviously I have a problem as well. Some of the foods I've snacked on in secret grosses me out because I know I don't want to eat these foods, but I have such a sugar addiction I ignore my better judgment. I hope once I break my addictions I won't want to eat any of those foods and I won't feel deprived.

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Good morning,

Happy to report day 2 is in the bag and completely compliant! Soooo proud of each of us for committing to these 30 days and sticking to our commitment. My difficult time still remains the evening...oh how I would love a sweet snack,but I'm not going to give in to that "sugar devil! I'm trying to occupy my time differently in the evenings. So far I have a huge jigsaw puzzle on my dining room table...I find myself heading for the puzzle when a craving pops up. Also taking a long relaxing bubble bath in the late evening ahhhhh.

Day 3 looks like...

Meal 1: hard boiled eggs over a bed of greens with balsamic vinaigrette and some strawberries.

Meal 2: protein chicken salad over a bed off greens served with an apple (going to serve it to my husband also, should be interesting).

Meal3: leftover pork carnita's in a taco salad with salsa.

Have a great day everyone! We got this!

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Hello, today is my day4 of my 1st whole30 and woke up tired but otherwise been feeling great!  I could hardly finish dinner last night, it's a lot of healthy food! and not feeling hungry between meals.    I have Celiac so I have been gluten free for 6 years, but I REALLY miss dairy in my tea, and something sweet.  I definitely have a sugar dragon, probably Smaug sized.  (but i do imagine it has the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch).

 

Couple questions:

1- so no gum, I get that but other options to get rid of 'turkey burger' breath after lunch?  I guess i will be the one who is brushing their teeth at the office.

 

2- Fats.  So most recipes call for 'cooking fat' of choice, i got that covered.   But the meal template lists some fats (nuts, avocado, oils etc) to have with every meal.   Does 1-2 Tbsp of cooking fat count as the fat for the meal?  or can you then have a handful of nuts with the meal as the 'fat'.

 

Thanks all. see you around the forum.

=Jenn

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Couple questions:

1- so no gum, I get that but other options to get rid of 'turkey burger' breath after lunch?  I guess i will be the one who is brushing their teeth at the office.

 

2- Fats.  So most recipes call for 'cooking fat' of choice, i got that covered.   But the meal template lists some fats (nuts, avocado, oils etc) to have with every meal.   Does 1-2 Tbsp of cooking fat count as the fat for the meal?  or can you then have a handful of nuts with the meal as the 'fat'.

 

 

For gum replacement, brushing your teeth would be best but you can also chew on a fennel seed or some mint leaves (my garden is FULL of mint right now).  A cup of tea is also nice after lunch as far as I'm concerned.  

 

The fat you cook with doesn't really count unless you scrape it out of hte pan, most of it tends to get left behind.  You can always add more fat, the meal template is the minimum.  Beware adding nuts as your fat too often though.  They are not the best choice as they are gut disruptors, they are imbalanced as far as fatty acids and they can be "food without brakes" for some people.  Try olives, avocado, drizzle olive oil or even homemade mayo. :)

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Guest bfree11

Day 3

 

Breakfast: Veggie omelet

Snack: Lara bar

Lunch: Salad with chicken and balsamic/olive oil, kombucha

Snack: Handful of almonds

Exercise: Hot yoga

Dinner: Chicken stirfry, chia kombucha

 

I made it through another day. I was faced with a lot of unhealthy temptations and people who didn't understand why I wouldn't just "have a little." I stayed strong, but thought a lot about the foods I can't have that I miss. Those foods that I want are delicious, but they make me feel gross. I need to convince myself that my health is important. Why am I okay with doing things to my body that aren't good for me?!

 

My anxiety about life after whole 30 is a reminder to me that I need to stay present and cross that bridge when I get there. Who knows how I'll feel about all of this in 27 days. My friends keep reminding me that I typically eat pretty well and exercise frequently. Even with the binges, I've been able to maintain my weight for years. So maybe, I'll use the strict whole 30 approach to get to my goal weight, and then worry about reintroduction when I'm in a maintenance phase.

 

One thing at a time!

 

Rebecca

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Guest bfree11

Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for sharing your journey and support! We are so strong!

 

Day 3

 

Breakfast: Veggie omelet

Snack: Lara bar

Lunch: Salad with chicken and balsamic/olive oil, kombucha

Snack: Handful of almonds

Exercise: Hot yoga

Dinner: Chicken stirfry, chia kombucha

 

I made it through another day. I was faced with a lot of unhealthy temptations and people who didn't understand why I wouldn't just "have a little." I stayed strong, but thought a lot about the foods I can't have that I miss. Those foods that I want are delicious, but they make me feel gross. I need to convince myself that my health is important. Why am I okay with doing things to my body that aren't good for me?!

 

My anxiety about life after whole 30 is a reminder to me that I need to stay present and cross that bridge when I get there. Who knows how I'll feel about all of this in 27 days. My friends keep reminding me that I typically eat pretty well and exercise frequently. Even with the binges, I've been able to maintain my weight for years. So maybe, I'll use the strict whole 30 approach to get to my goal weight, and then worry about reintroduction when I'm in a maintenance phase.

 

One thing at a time!

 

Rebecca

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Good morning all! So, my meals so far haven't been perfect... a few with not enough veggies and most with not enough fat, but I think I'm successfully fighting any cravings and not being tempted by my husbands snacks or anything else.

 

BUT... I want to vent for a second because my office is right next to the building snack bar. I moved job positions/offices about 2 months ago. I made a joke when my boss showed me the office that I can't be next to the snack bar, and she didn't realize I was joking at first and I think was slightly offended until I was like oh no I don't have willpower I'll eat everything in there. The reality is... it was true. I ate chips that I normally wouldn't ever eat as a snack, there were some sugary snacks that I haven't had since I was about 8 at my grandmothers house that I started eating. And not just one snack a day, multiple times a day I would go into this little room and buy things I didn't need and I would feel awful after. The part that makes me mad now, is this is where our fridge is for our lunches, and the microwave is. Before you say it, no they can't/won't move the snackbar anywhere else, and no they can't/won't move the fridge/microwave anywhere else. We don't have a breakroom or kitchen so this little closet room area is the only storage area available for all of these things. Right now I'm doing fine, I can walk in for my lunch and out without any temptations, but what is going to be the thing to cause me to cave. Or is it after this 30 I may need to keep things in my office as an alternative, even though I don't want to snack? I don't know... more of just a rant than to ask for suggestions.

 

Does anyone else have situations at work or at home where they're concerned about as well? What are you doing to combat them?

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Hi Heather,

It's hard to face your same triggers or situations where you used to eat bad foods.  I work from home so my only kitchen is full of off-plan foods and temptaitons for my kids.   Cookies, pretzels, yogurt, dairy is all staring me in the face daily!  I have so far avoided any temptation and just think "I don't eat that anymore".  Also what's helping me is feeling great and I guess just sheer will power.  I've not done a challenge like this before but did eat off and on "healthy" before.  I have a huge sweet tooth though.  This weekend will be the ultimate test, I am baking 5-6 things for a bake sale.  Brownies, cookies, muffins oh my!  It will be hard not to sample anything. will see how it goes! 

 

Day 5 and feeling good so far.  food prep and meal prep is killing me right now, used to grab a yogurt and toast for breakfast so making an omlet with veggies takes a bit more time.

 

-jenn

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Good morning all,

Day 4 for me....don't have a lot of energy today but I'm committed to muddling through. I'm lucky to be retired so I don't have the office temptations...proud of all you who are working in an office and resisting temptation. I do have a part-time business out of my home (wedding flower designer) which I absolutely love. Having worked in a corporate position prior to early retirement I love having the creative outlet working with flowers.

Today will be as follows:

Meal 1: hard boiled eggs over a mixed green salad with a vinaigrette

Meal 2: protein chicken salad over a bed of greens and an apple

Meal 3: ground beef with compliant maranara sauce served over some zucchini noodles (should be interesting considering I've never made them before)

For now I'm off to take the dog for a walk, it's a beautiful day here so I'm going to take full advantage of the sunshine.

Keep up the good work everyone it's going to payoff for us in the long run.

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Got my Fitbit out today and was able to get my 10,000 steps in before noon. Feeling pretty good today although I could care less if I eat anything. I've forced myself to eat today....hope this passes soon.

Looking forward to making zucchini noodles tonight...hope they turn out.

If anyone has a Fitbit and wants to work together encouraging each other feel free to send me your Fitbit email info in a personal message and I'll request the friends link.

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Hi Everyone, Day 6 for me! I have to echo the office lament too, we have a basket of chocolate on hand at all times where I work, ugh, it fortunately hides under the counter, but it is there for anyone to grab as needed. I work in a law firm, today we were at the closing of a trial and then a celebratory lunch afterwards, at a Mexican restaurant. I stayed compliant, passed on the margaritas, which I normally never would've done, and ordered a chicken breast with sautéed peppers and onions and guacamole on top, no cheese, no sour cream, no beans, no rice. Mexican is my favorite food, this was a challenge for me. I almost passed on going to lunch, but am proud of myself for staying strong!

Dinner tonight is flank steak and roasted vegetables, have a great night everyone, and I want to hear how the zucchini noodles come out.

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Wow, the zucchini noodles turned out fabulous! Sautéed them in some olive oil for 2 minutes. Served with ground beef and compliant maranara sauce. It was really good. Oh yea, when I removed the noodles from the sauté pan I placed them on a paper towel to get rid of the excess water.

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I am doing well except for this terrible low back pain after I eat. I researched on the forums and saw it could be my gallbladder arguing with this new way of eating. At the post suggestion I went and bought digestive enzymes to take when I eat. Hoping this helps. Also stopped eggs just in case. 25 years a weight watcher and no problems two days into Whole30 and bam!

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Guest bfree11

Hey everyone! I'm so proud of all of you, we're doing great! When i tell my friends about what we're doing, they all say, "oh, I could NEVER do that!" We are so strong!

 

Temptations/cravings are so evil! I think we really need to look at where they're stemming from. Heather, you mentioned that you always used to get snacks from the snack shop at work. That sounds like a habit or routine. We need to start saying goodbye to our old habits and routines and create new ones. Maybe at the time you always used to grab a snack each day, you post on the forum instead, or walk quick lap around the office. Something that's positive and reminds you of your worth and the newfound respect you have for how you treat your body!

 

Zucchini noodles are amazing! I HIGHLY recommend www.inspiralized.com for recipe ideas. I bought the spiralizer she recommends at Williams Sonoma. You can find it on amazon too. She has a whole section for Paleo recipes. Everything I've made has been fantastic.

 

Day 4

 

breakfast: 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado, black coffee

lunch: steak, squash/zucchini, kombucha

dinner: chicken stirfry, more kombucha

exercise: quads were so sore from lifting Tuesday, so I took a rest day

water: drank lots of water all day!

 

I'm feeling SO tired today! At some point in the afternoon, it just hit me that I was exhausted. Maybe it's the sugar detox? I went straight home from work and melted on my couch! When I was leaving work, I felt this temptation to go lounge at a restaurant and pig out because I was so tired, which I guess is what I normally would have done. But, then I remembered that this is addressed in the book. Being tired is not the same thing as being hungry. Therefore, I decided to go home and rest, not pig out. This is an example of changing an old habit into a new healthy one! woohoo!

 

I watched a video the other day where Melissa Hartwig talks about the cause of cravings. She says that cravings are caused by stress and it's our job to try to get back to homeostasis, which will stop the cravings. Stress could be emotional, feeling tired, bored, lonely, overwhelmed with work, angry, sad, etc. When I've been feeling cravings, I'm trying to think about what the current stress is in my life and how can I reduce it without overeating junk food or "foods without brakes." Boredom is a huge one for me to look out for! I LOVE the idea of working on a puzzle to keep your hands busy with something at home, genius!

 

I'm continuing to focus on taking this day by day and not worrying about the future!

 

Can't wait for Day 5!

 

You guys are so awesome! Thank you for all the support!

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Day 4

 

breakfast: 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado, black coffee

lunch: steak, squash/zucchini, kombucha

dinner: chicken stirfry, more kombucha

exercise: quads were so sore from lifting Tuesday, so I took a rest day

water: drank lots of water all day!

 

I'm feeling SO tired today! At some point in the afternoon, it just hit me that I was exhausted. Maybe it's the sugar detox? I went straight home from work and melted on my couch! When I was leaving work, I felt this temptation to go lounge at a restaurant and pig out because I was so tired, which I guess is what I normally would have done. But, then I remembered that this is addressed in the book. Being tired is not the same thing as being hungry. Therefore, I decided to go home and rest, not pig out. This is an example of changing an old habit into a new healthy one! woohoo!

 

I watched a video the other day where Melissa Hartwig talks about the cause of cravings. She says that cravings are caused by stress and it's our job to try to get back to homeostasis, which will stop the cravings. Stress could be emotional, feeling tired, bored, lonely, overwhelmed with work, angry, sad, etc. When I've been feeling cravings, I'm trying to think about what the current stress is in my life and how can I reduce it without overeating junk food or "foods without brakes." Boredom is a huge one for me to look out for! I LOVE the idea of working on a puzzle to keep your hands busy with something at home, genius!

 

I'm continuing to focus on taking this day by day and not worrying about the future!

 

Can't wait for Day 5!

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