JenX's Post-W30 Log

[JenX]

Well then...my friend Linda backed out on doing her first Whole30 right now. I understand her reasoning and am glad she told me BEFORE I started b/c once I start I will finish come hell or high water. I thought on it for about 24 hrs and decided to NOT do my 3rd Whole 30 right now. I'm going to continue riding my own bike and see if I can nail down my WholeJenX plan to where I'm happy, satisfied, fueling my activities and still getting leaner.  Those goals above still apply! Next Whole30 with Linda, me, my sister and maybe the Official group will be in January.

 

Yesterday I skipped my 1:00pm spin class - I needed the lunch hour to run an errand out to Home Depot to look at a stove I was considering buying. Well worth it. I came back to work and purchased it online. It arrives Saturday!  I can't wait to do my batch cooking on it this week!!

 

I'm going to continue to scratch my food itches through the weekend. My bon-voyage fling foods as Evaq called them on another thread.  Get it out of my system as it were.  BBC starts Monday so that's when I get serious. And it runs through Dec 14 so i'll need some staying power.

 

Interesting thing.  I had an actual gluten-containing cheese pizza from trader Joe's on Monday for dinner. NO effects from the wheat Monday night or Tuesday - no aches, no GI distress.  This morning a bit of GI issues. I wonder if it's true about European wheat being less reactive...this pizza is imported from Italy. What's really shocking is that was the 2nd pizza I've had since I started this whole journey back in May (!). Coming from a past of as much as a pizza a week, that is astounding to me. I just don't have that craving anymore. Most of the time it doesn't even sound good, or look good in commercials.

 

As I try to nail down my WholeJenX plan, I have started logging food in MyFitnessPal again - just getting an idea of my basic calories and metrics right now as I'm maintaining. I'm aiming for the metrics Mark spells out in marksdailyapple.com  which is 50-100g carbs, 1g protein/lb lean muscle mass (about 110-115g for me) and the rest of your calories from fat. Without tweaking anything, that's about what I'm doing right now on the days I've spot-checked so it may just be a matter of patience as I up my exercise. Wait for it to take effect as it were.  Anyway, I'm going to weigh and take measurements on Monday and will just keep plugging away.

[JenX]

yesterday was an odd day. I felt fine that morning, had pre-workout HB egg w/ mayo. Workout was intense(!) and tuckered me out, but I had my post wo butternut squash and chicken breast, and then meal 1 of egg casserole (TJ's Italian sausage, egg, veggies), 1/2 avocado and handful of baby spinach at 10. By 11 I had acid reflux...I haven't had it in months and months. No idea what triggered it, as I've been having this same breakfast since Sunday.  It was so bad that I didn't want to eat the spaghetti squash and meat sauce I brought for M2...all I wanted were carbs. I went to the commissary and ended up getting the Global Entrée meal of beef barbacoa (it was mild), steak fries, plantains and black beans. Yikes! obviously didn't help my acid reflux any, and the beans gave me gas. I felt gross the rest of the afternoon, then at home Meal 3 was pulled pork in bbq sauce and tater tots. Now I know I'm going through a phase of eating all.the."bad".things right now, but sheesh!!  crazy. I didn't  even include a veggie! Honestly they didn't sound good last night.

 

Today, surprisingly my digestion is fine. If anything I'm a touch constipated for me.  My energy is crappy (no surprise there!) and I'm not sleeping well. It's time to start reigning this stuff in. Thank god Monday isn't that far away! LOL!

[JenX]

Alright, so compliant so far today, and I got into Spin class at lunch. I'm feeling much more in balance. Like I thought - yesterday was just a weird day.   Biggest problem today is that super carb-heavy eating yesterday has made me super hungry today! Like I'm starving again 2 hrs after eating my normal amount of meals. I just keep drinking my water and pushing it off. So nice to not get shaky, tired or hangry anymore.

[JenX]

So yesterday was compliant food-wise until I got into the snack drawer after dinner. I had a small, all natural granola bar. Oh, and white wine (guess that ain't compliant either, is it?!   )  So, after all my weird food I got on the scale today in the gym - I don't want to go into shock at my BBC weigh in next week - and was pleasantly surprised to see I'm holding steady.  Even with carb-a-palooza, wine, beer, cheese and all the other foods that have been sneaking in lately.  one more weekend of debauchery and then it's time to get serious.

 

New stove gets delivered tomorrow!! I can't wait to do my weekly cookup on/in it. :D  

[JenX]

Okay, so here we go!  BBC starts today. Starting BF% is 39.2 (hey, at least I'm under 40!).

 

Just to reiterate from the above:

• Portion control: try to stick to lower end of template*.
• Really watch fats and keep those to lower end of template*.
• Be sure to use Pre- & Post-WO meals
• eat more fish!! shoot for 2x a week (2 meals minimum).

*obviously if meals don't hold me 4-5 hrs, adjust accordingly.

 

I am also going to log in MFP to watch my metrics - I'm trying to stick as close to Mark's Daily Apple recommendations as possible so keeping carbs at 50-100g/day, protein at about 1g/ pound LM (lean mass = 107). and the rest of my calories from good healthy fats. I'm not too concerned with calories but will try to do better about stopping when I'm satiated, instead of finishing those last bites or eating until I'm *full* instead of just full.

 

Since I'm logging meals elsewhere I guess i'll just log feeling here for the most part. Right now I'm so glad to be starting back up. My little bon-voyage of all the foods I won't be eating for a while got a bit excessive and went on for to long. It's been affecting my sleep, my mood and my bowels so I'm glad to see it gone. the loose plan for now is I can have a little something different every 2 weeks or so - that's easy enough after coming through 2 whole 30's!

[JenX]

Well! I was off the rails long enough to set off the voices in my head that want "something" at 4pm even though I didn't eat lunch until 2pm and am not hungry. I took a walk, had a cup of tea and am settling in for the mental fight to not stop at the store for anything. I have plenty of food at home.

 

I did go too low carb (again) so stopped at the grocery store and grabbed a couple of bananas - one of which I added to lunch. I really must remember the post-workout meal. That carb is so important!  I also have to remember to defrost some chicken so I have it for post- and pre- workout.

[JenX]

Whew! I did it! I made it through yesterday.  I did end up having a bit of a snack attack after dinner so had a strip (no, 2 strips) of bacon and a handful of green olives. All in all, metrics were in line.

 

Today should be easier..the first day is always the worst day for mini-cravings. Had a lovely breakfast at about 6, pre-workout snack an hour ago and I have spin at 1:00. Today I remembered to bring half a yam for post-workout, too. AND I'm already sleeping better. I only got up 1x last night instead of the routine 3'ish times.

[JenX]

2 full days down and I'm starting to feel like myself again!  Did spin at lunch yesterday, and again this morning. Still hitting my metrics and have already lost some of the bloat I'd put on.   Mentally gearing up for the weekend - weekends are always harder for me - and I have plenty to do to occupy my time.

[JenX]

I made it through Friday night even with getting off work early! Pretty proud of that. I almost stopped at the store for chicken and to replenish the veg but decided willpower was too weak right that moment. If I stopped I ran the risk of picking up some beer or wine "for the weekend" so I went straight home instead. Ended up eating about 6:20 and I was hungry again before bed at 10'ish so had half a turkey burger patty. Woke up starving, too.

Toying with the idea of gong for a light run today. Would be the first in 4 months. Thinking of a 1:1 or 1:2 and no more than 3 miles. I think my foot is up for it but I suppose I really should check in with the dr first. Hmmm. Maybe if I wrap it it'll be okay?

[JenX]

I love it when I rediscover an old recipe! Bought a head of escarole the other day and finally cooked it up. Haven't had it in probably 2 years -it just fell out of rotation for some reason. Well I ate the whole head and it was amazing! Escarole sautéed in EVOO with garlic, chili flake, kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes. I'm making it again very soon!

Got in the scale this morning and we're headed the right way again. I did decide to have one large format corona last night. Between the heat, it being the weekend, and me celebrating the fact there is hardwood flooring in the kitchen under all those layers I felt I had reason enough. Tasted good, but made me very sleepy. I ended up in bed by 9.

Today is cookup day. And I'm going to work in tearing out that old flooring. Lots of hard physical work today. And way too hot out again no doubt. First I need to go get vsome plastic sheeting and duct tape to tape off the doorway. I don't want that dust all over my house. But FIRST first is breakfast.

[JenX]

Lots of hard work on the kitchen floor yesterday. And my lung was a bit light but overall my good was great. Steak and fennel salad for dinner with a huge handful of olives afterward. Calories and macros on point. And I didn't go get another beer. I wanted I mine, oh yes, but by the time I cleaned up the kitchen any myself I simply didn't have the energy. Keeping busy on the weekend is certainly key for me. And this floor will take another month of weekends at this rate!

Absolutely sick of this heat. So are the pets. The dog was even eager to go outside this morning and that's not normal for her at 5 am. She usually prefers to sleep in. Supposedly one more day and it'll start to cool down. It better. I didn't get any cooking done beyond a chicken and some sprouts. Too hot in the kitchen!

Need to take some time off work. I'll look at calendars and decide on some today. One week for the floor, and another to rip out the kitchen. I may need to rip the plaster and out in wallboard too - it's a crumbly mess.

[JenX]

Okay, whew!  Spin class and conditioning class are over, I'm showered and post-WO fed.  I was starving about half way through conditioning - I really should probably eat more than one egg with a dab of mayo pre-WO on the days I'm pulling a double I guess.  Also, my back is killing me... that's from ripping up the floor. Several of the abs moves she wanted us to do, I was like NOPE. not happening. I see advil in my future.

 

Otherwise I feel good today. Woke up 10 minutes before my alarm, not nearly as physically tired/sore as I expected to be. Got everything done I needed to do this morning and got here in plenty of time for classes. It'll be a slow day at work, I'm afraid, so i'll need to find some way to occupy myself. 

 

Tonight - cooking sausage/veg and putting the egg casserole de jour into the oven (or could bake it tomorrow AM). Dinner will be chicken.  Lunch today may be leftover shepherd's pie. It needs to get eaten and so long as my house if +85 degrees I'm not going to want it there. Best to eat it at work in the AC.

[JenX]

Larger amount of food and carbs yesterday. On top of my dinner I had 1.5 baked yams. Tasted great and I think I needed them. I noticed today it's balancing out in t I'm on the lower end of the carb range naturally. That's pretty cool! I really can just listen to and trust my body. At least for some things. Body also would like a glass of wine tonight and I'm ignoring it. Only thing in the cave I can open is a white and mouth wants a light red so it'll just have to wait.

[JenX]

So, week 1 of BBC is done. Wahoo! I'm going strong! Never did have anything to drink last night which is definitely a "win".  For the week, I hit my metrics. **Average is P - 25%, C - 25% - F - 50% . Average net calories (subtracting exercise burn) = 1263.  Average total intake was 1674. I feel much slimmer, less jiggley, and I've lost about 1/2" off my hips. Scale is down as well.  All in all, I'm feeling great!  I'm not feeling deprived - I've had a tiny bit of sugar here and there, and even some cheese on my salad yesterday. plus I allowed a beer this past Saturday, and I'll most likely have something to drink when I meet my sister for sushi on Thursday. I guess what I'm saying is I think I've found my Whole JenX plan finally! Woo hoo!  This BBC runs into December so that will give me even more time to cement it in and make it a habit.

 

My friend is down in the dumps, putting on weight, lethargic, hormonal...all the things I was before I starting in on the Whole 30 for the first time back in May. Sadly I've not been able to get her to really look at it. All she sees is the restriction, not the reasoning behind it or the benefit from it. I'll keep subtly working on her. Maybe I can get her to give it a try after Halloween if she's still not seeing improvement.

 

**note to anyone lurking, reading my log. I am not on whole 30 right now and am actively logging my food as an experiment to find out what works best for me to drop body fat while building muscle. I'm starting with Mark's Daily Apple's recommendations of 1g/ pound lean mass protein, keeping carbs between 50-100g/day and filling the rest of your calories with healthy fats.  My calorie limits are loosely based on basal metabolism rate *1850, minus 250 which mathematically gives me 1/2 lb loss per week, and making up the other 250/day with exercise to give me approx. 1 lb/week loss.

[JenX]

Opened a white wine Wednesday night.  I made sure dinner was cooked an eaten. Had 2 glasses and savored it.   Had the other 2 glasses last night but before dinner. After dinner I opened a red and had a glass of that.  Food has been on point and overall I am pleased with progress this week.  Tonight is sushi with sis and her kids. I'll work on the red over the weekend and then cut out the alcohol again for another week.

 

I did notice the scale bounced back up - I'm not sure if that correlated directly to the wine (causing me to hold water), or if it's due to my impending  period. I do know my impending period is what caused the desire for wine so it's all most likely interrelated.  However I also know weight loss isn't linear by any means, especially at my age! .

 

in other news, the jeans I've been struggling to get on now fit. Yay for spin! That in combination of eating right is starting to slim some of my trouble areas.

[JenX]

All in all things are going well.  I was off schedule all weekend, and did drink all week so lost a bit of ground I'd gained on the weight front. Still, at the official weigh in, I was down 3.6 lbs. so I'm pretty pleased with that over 2 weeks. I did so much physical work in the kitchen and front yard this weekend I excused my diet and allowed some things PMS was really wanting so I'm surprised its down at all!  More importantly I'm seeing real gains in my exercise generally. Able to push harder and go stronger on the bike - now have to start picking up on the weights.

 

I also did another run, on the treadmill this time, on Monday. 1:1 intervals for 20 minutes, and then around the track, running the straight-aways and walking the curves for another 20 minutes. It felt great! I do have some soreness in my ankle - need to build up more strength in that ankle I guess - but none in my foot proper so that rocks! I'm going to try to get on the treadmill at lease 2x this week (so one more) and 3x next week. I'll stay with 1:1 or 1:2. I want to make sure I check in on that foot frequently.

[J9er]

Just caught up on your log....looks like you're doing what I want to do and were feeling the way I was feeling a few days ago....totally get the trying to ride your own bike thing....I just wrote the same thing in my log. Hope you are well this week....