Staceylc's Whole30 Log

[staceylc_w30]

My first Whole30 starts on Monday, June 1st, 2015. Excited and a little apprehensive, but fully committed to restoring my health and changing my relationship with food. Let's do this!

[staceylc_w30]

Important reminder on the Whole9 blog that there is more to this journey than just changing the way we eat. Eat good food (and own your choices), sleep deeply, move your body (and get outside!), handle stress (and have fun!), connect with others. All of these things come together to make us the best we can be.

 

Today I'm cleaning out my cupboards, fridge, and freezer. Goal is to toss out the old stuff and stuff that's off-plan, and to make room for the good stuff. Measurements, weight, and photos are done. Making my shopping list and meal plan for the week are up next.

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Day 1 complete! My meals didn't go as planned, but at least I had a plan, so that's a win. Everything I ate was compliant, so that's a win, and JCVD was in the YouTube mother-of-all-pep-talks montage, so that's another win!

 

M1: turkey burger, olive oil, roasted Brussels sprouts, tea with coconut oil (hey - Brussels sprouts and the Muscles from Brussels!)

M2: canned salmon with guacamole; black olives, roasted cauliflower

M3: leftover salmon with guacamole.

 

I wasn't super hungry before dinner, but wanted to avoid eating too little. Noticed that I'm probably not eating enough veggies, and I need to buy some greens for salad and for cooking. On the list!

 

Yesterday I ate protein, fat, and veggies in preparation for starting my official Day 1. I had a headache, and I was SO thirsty! Drank 118 oz. of water, which upon further review, isn't that far from the "drink half your body weight in ounces" rule. Anyway, some Excedrin took care of the headache. Slept very well, just not very long (6.5 hours).

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Day 2: slept very well last night. Went shopping for meats and veggies, so the cupboards, fridge, and freezer are well-stocked.

 

M1: chicken breast, Brussels sprouts, ghee. Decaf tea with coconut oil.

M2: olives and cashews (bad idea; won't leave the house without having lunch ever again if I can help it). Had another headache.

M3: Beef filet, red potato with ghee.

 

Laughing to myself for shopping at seven different stores today. Did it with my friend, so it was a fun outing, but still. It definitely pays to shop the sale ads, and to compare prices. May start keeping a list of common items and their prices per location.

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Day 3: didn't sleep long enough last night (6hrs 40 mins), and I'm way behind on my water for the day. Thinking that is why I want "something" to eat.

 

M1: chicken breast, guacamole, BP tea w/1Tcoconut oil. Dry chicken breast is very hard to swallow.   Didn't eat any veggies with M1. Watch that.

M2: beef filet with guacamole, salad of 2C romaine and a zucchini, dressed with 1/2 an avocado and 2T balsamic vinegar.

M3: chicken stew with cooked veggies (onion, mushroom, carrot, zucchini) and 1C greens. Glad I have lots of this left over - used leftover chicken carcasses and simmered this for about three hours - it's delicious! Put the raw greens into the hot broth, and they wilted and tasted great.

 

Off to drink more water, and I will take some magnesium tonight to help me sleep.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 4: Slept longer and better last night, and when I woke up, I was hungry for breakfast. Win!

 

M1: BP tea with w/coconut oil and coconut milk. Chicken hearts and baby squash simmered in broth. Yum!

M2: Planned-over chicken stew, 2 C romaine with veggies, small serving of walnuts, 1/2 avocado & 2T balsamic vinegar. Yum!

M3: Aidell's apple-chicken smoked chicken sausage, and 2 cups of cooked greens (simmered in chicken broth). Yum!

 

Feeling way less bloated today! Was tempted to get on the scale, but resisted. Super thirsty again; drank 118 oz. of water. Could drink more, but don't want to get up during the night to use the bathroom. It's 10PM and I'm ready for bed.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 5: Good news - slept like the dead! Bad news - headache, nausea, and diarrhea. Took a nap, and finally felt better after M3. Drank only 8 glasses of water.

 

M1: chicken hearts, Brussels sprouts, zucchini. BP tea w/1T coconut oil and 1T ghee. Maybe too much fat? Cutting back to just coconut oil tomorrow.

M2: leftover chicken stew with cooked veggies in it plus 1C cooked squash. Mostly enjoyed the broth because I felt crappy.

M3: chicken hearts with a heaping cup of cooked greens, which are delicious hot or cold once they're sautéed in chicken stock. 12 black olives 2 hours later.

 

Hope I feel better tomorrow. Looking forward to cooking more food. Jan's Sushi Bar sweet potato coconut soup sounds fantastic, and I need to find something to cover up the taste of tilapia so I can make that and get it out of my freezer. Maybe marinate it for a few hours before cooking, or use a heavy spice mix.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 6: Slept very well, and felt great! Found compliant Tessamae's salad dressing and compliant Italian sausage (no sugar) at Whole Foods.

 

M1: Aidell's chicken apple smoked chicken sausage; huge bowl of leftover Brussels sprouts and baby squash sautéed in chicken stock.

Snack: 1 serving cashews. I know - no lunch. Out shopping all day and did not pack food.

M2: Italian sausage link, 2C spaghetti squash, 1C compliant spaghetti sauce, 2C salad greens with mixed veggies, 2T compliant salad dressing.

Snack: 1 serving cashews. Feeling a little munchy, but not hungry. Watch this - if you don't eat three meals, you get hungry and overeat.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 7: slept 9 hours, and my sleep quality is so good. Fall asleep quickly; heavy, restful sleep; few restless times.

 

M1 and M2: ate the same things. In total, 6+ ounces of salmon (should have weighed it), 4C romaine, 1/2 avocado, 2T balsamic. 1T coconut oil in BP tea.

Snack: macadamias and an apple. The apple made me feel bloated.

M3: hamburger (~1/3#) browned with 1/4C onion and 1/4 large head of cabbage.

 

First fruit since starting the w30. I usually really like apples, but this one made me feel bloated. I'm also gassy, but have been eating a lot of cruciferous veggies.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 8: slept 8.5 hours; tossed and turned a lot. Harder to wake up, but then, I've never jumped right out of bed. I will skip the AM fat in my tea, until I use up some more of these avocados. Note to self: they ripen faster than you think they do.

 

M1: Ground beef, cabbage, spinach (leftover). 1TB coconut oil in my tea.

M2: chicken thigh, 2C cooked carrots, 1/2 avocado.

M3: chicken thigh, 2C romaine, 1/2 avocado, 3T balsamic vinegar.

Snack: 2 raw carrots.

 

Energy is up; feeling the urge to exercise, which is a huge win. Generally enjoying my life right now.

 

It's finally sinking in that this is going to take a lot of PLANNING AND PREPARATION. Duh. Breakfast ready to heat and eat, lunch packed and ready to go out the door, emergency snacks ready, and dinner at least on the plan if not already prepped. Trouble will find me if I try to leave all this to the last minute. New behaviors take a while to become natural. I've got this!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 9: feeling foggy and tired. Slept 7.5 hours, and took a 45-minute nap. Felt refreshed after that.

 

M1: huge serving of leftover ground beef and cabbage (finished it), 1-1/2 cups cooked greens, 1/2 avocado. Ugh! Stuffed.

M2: chicken thigh, 2C romaine hearts, 1/2 avocado, 3T balsamic. Not too hungry for lunch, but wanted to stay on track in case there wasn't anything at the restaurant that was on plan. Resisted having a glass of wine!

M3: dinner out was 4 medium to large shrimp in tomato sauce. The sauce did not taste sweet, and no way to tell what was added.

Evening snack: 2 ounces roasted pork country ribs from the crock pot.

 

Note to self: don't eat so much just because it's there, or because you're trying to ward off hunger at some later time.

 

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Day 10: So much energy! This NEVER happens. Awesome! It's early in the Whole30, but I've only had 5:49 of sleep and I feel better than great. Watching my portions at breakfast helped. Made another giant plate of food, so I ate what I wanted, and put the rest back in the fridge. Thinking about food all the time, but the change is in HOW I think about it. Instead of craving something, or thinking about what is off plan, food is becoming a "job" - something I need to do by the rules on a regular basis to keep my body fueled. Buy food, cook food, eat food.

 

M1: Pork ribs, 1/8 avocado (smashed up with the pork), 3T coconut milk in my tea.

Snack: 16oz bottle of Gingerade kombucha. Love that stuff!

M2: Leftover pork ribs and avocado. 1C cooked zoodles. 1/2C radishes.

M3: Chicken thigh, 2C cooked zoodles, 1T ghee.

Snack: macadamia nuts. Lots and lots of macadamia nuts. Note to self - once these are gone, no more can enter the house. At least it was nuts and not something off-plan, but it was still a binge. Do things differently tomorrow!

 

Really, really wanted to weigh myself today, but I didn't. Commitment! I'm already seeing changes in how my clothes look, and in how I'm sleeping, and in my energy levels. Non-scale victories!

 

Actually had fun in the grocery store and the kitchen today. Made a fresh salsa out of mango, red onion, lime juice and zest, and jalapeno. Can't wait to try it on some mahi-mahi tomorrow!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 11: still sleeping super well. Got up late, so it will be interesting to see how much food my body wants to eat.

 

M1: OMG the mahi mahi with mango salsa is so good! Had a big green salad with avocado and balsamic to go with it. Perfect!

M2: Italian sausage with tomato sauce (all compliant) over spaghetti squash. Easy and delicious.

M3: Ate some fresh cherries after bead class, then had guacamole and two carrots. Not a true meal, but I feel OK.

 

Tired and ready for bed at 11pm. I'm trying to get used to the idea of sleeping more, which means going to bed earlier if I don't want to sleep all day. It's a shift, and it's felt like I have less free time, but the upside is that I'm spending less time in front of the TV because there are other things I want to get done.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 12: tired today. Stayed up too late and had to get up early.

 

M1: leftover pork with 2T chile verde (compliant) and 1/2 avocado

M2: chicken apple sausage, 2T sauerkraut (compliant), 8 black olives, 2 raw carrots

M3: fajita salad (beef, lettuce).

Snack: macadamia nuts.

Very low on veggies today. Super gassy. Ugh!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 13: tired again. I'm averaging 7.5 hours of sleep lately, and that doesn't feel like enough. Ate dinner out last night, and woke up feeling really crummy. Add in the lack of veggies, and insufficient water intake, and it's no wonder. Everything I ate was compliant, but I didn't follow the template. Back on track today! [Edit: nope!]

 

M1: leftover pork with 2T chile verde, 2C romaine, 1/2 avocado, 2T balsamic vinegar.

 

Wasn't hungry after that big meal. Notes to self: you can put the plate in the fridge and come back to it later. Pork may not be your friend two days in a row. Next time, make a smaller batch so you're not eating it for days, or freeze the cooked pork for later.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 14: slept almost 8 hours last night, and woke up on my own. Way more energy today. Finished reading a novel, and then did my meal prep for the first part of the week. Time to look at the sale ads and plan grocery shopping. Ate M1 at 3PM, so I'm already off template again today. Still eating only compliant foods, though. Key for me is having some food I can put into my face for M1 in the morning without having to think too hard about it.

 

M1: Boiled shrimp, 1T Tessamae Lemonette (lemon vinaigrette), 1C cooked yellow squash.

M2: Giant salad w/romaine, grape tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, 2T balsamic, and the rest of the pound (uncooked weight) of shrimp. Yum!

Snack: guacamole and jicama.

 

Didn't eat enough today. Once I ate in the afternoon, I was hungry all afternoon and evening, and craving something sweet. Didn't give in, though, and ate only compliant foods. Tomorrow: follow the template for all three meals!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 15: Still not adhering to the template 3x/day, but I'm not generally feeling hungry.

 

M1: Chicken apple sausage, Brussels sprouts, cooked yellow squash.

M2: Tilapia, romaine, 1/2 avocado, 2T balsamic.

Snack: Macadamias.

 

Slept 7 hours, and woke up on my own.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 16: Feeling great. Walked around the lake twice in the sunshine with a friend and earned over 12K steps. Yay!

 

M1: Tilapia, Brussels sprouts, cooked yellow squash, 1T Tessamae vinaigrette dressing.

M2 and M3: Turkey burger, Brussels sprouts, 1T Tessamae vinaigrette dressing (split between two meals). Small lunch and I was satisfied, but I got hungry before dinner. Ate cashews later in the evening because I still felt hungry.

Snack: 1.25 oz. cashews.

 

Slept less than 7 hours; woke up to the alarm, hit snooze twice, and did not want to get up. Go to bed earlier!

Only drank 51 oz. of water today, and I felt it because I was really thirsty and my hands were puffy.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 17: Still feeling great! Raved about W30 for 30 minutes at an appointment today. Total convert! Planning and prepping all this food is like a part time job, but the pay is in health benefits. Win!

 

M1: 6 oz. can of salmon (compliant), 1/2 avocado, balsamic, 3C romaine.

M2: chicken thigh and cooked carrot. Not enough food, and I paid for it later in the afternoon.

Snack: cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, 1 slice bacon off a noncompliant sandwich, before I remembered we can't have bacon at all unless we know it's compliant.

M3: chicken thigh, 2C cooked zoodles.

 

Crap. I didn't eat enough at lunch, so I was hungry at a networking event, and they had very little to pick through. When I saw the bacon, I thought "meat!" and I ate it without thinking. I'm not going to lie. It's added sugar and probably falls under Answer #4, so I'm not starting my emails over. That said, I was thinking about going through July anyway, so what the hell, let's just make it a Whole60. Still, crap.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 18: Went online to check out the menu for our happy hour venue, and made my plan ahead of time.

 

M1: Chicken thigh, cooked zoodles, ghee.

M2: Chicken apple sausage, and a giant salad with 1/2 avo and balsamic.

M3: Sauteed kale, marcona almonds, and prosciutto. So good, and on plan. Yay, me!

 

My Levi's are definitely looser. Pulled them out of the dryer, put them on, zipped them right up with NO MUFFIN TOP. Non-scale victory is mine!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 19: traveled to my parents' house. They are on board with my Whole30 plan, so we are working it out. Mom noticed I'm losing weight. Yay!

 

M1: Giant salad with albacore tuna (compliant), romaine, 1/2 avo, and balsamic.

M2: really a snack, a few cherries. Not according to plan, and I was really hungry by late afternoon. Not hangry, though - another NSV.

M3: Another giant salad with 1/2 avo and balsamic; mahi mahi and mango salsa. Yum!

 

Drinking a lot of water (80-100 oz/day) and still working toward hitting half my body weight in ounces every single day. Need more sleep!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 20: Mom's birthday. No cake, because we're all watching our weight. I would have held out anyway - she had cookies and my most favorite pie in the world (thankful it didn't make it in the house), and I did not break plan. Starting magnesium supplementation for, um, digestion.

 

M1: Giant salad (seriously, I'm eating salads out of a mixing bowl now) with 5 oz. albacore, 1/2 avo, balsamic, and romaine.

Snack: fresh cherries right off the trees in the back yard. Carrot sticks and guacamole. Not a great couple of days for M2. Need to figure out the cooler thing when I travel so I can take it in the car and eat my lunch regardless.

M3: chicken apple sausage, cooked broccoli slaw. Snack was about an hour before dinner, but I was hungry and needed some food.

 

Made it all the way through the gauntlet of Costco samples, and only ate one chunk of plain sweet pepper. No Tillamook cheese, bratwurst, chocolate mint frozen yogurt bar, turkey patty, deli meat, spinach-artichoke dip, or chocolate-coconut-covered nuts. Came out with canned salmon, 6 heads of romaine, and chicken apple sausage, all compliant. I think I deserve a medal for that little trip.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 21: Totally not enough food again today. Have to start packing at least some approved snacks and some portable protein in a cooler regardless.

 

M1: 6oz Canned salmon, romaine, avo, balsamic

Morning snack: almonds 

Afternoon snack: 2 carrots and guacamole

M3: chicken thigh, ghee, spaghetti squash, cooked carrots, cherry tomatoes

Evening snack: almonds, cherries

 

Doing this log after the fact. Note: Slept badly and was tired when I woke up the next day.

[staceylc_w30]

Day 22: Drove home from parents' place. Didn't pack any food, and there was nothing compliant on the ferry, so my meal timings and quantities are all messed up.

 

M1: chicken thigh, spaghetti squash, 1/2 avocado.

Morning snack in the car: cherries.

M2: ground sirloin patty, romaine, Tessamae Italian dressing.

Afternoon snack: cherries, raw cashews.

 

Doing this log after the fact. Slept very well last night - 8 hours. Feeling better again today, and determined to eat three meals!

[staceylc_w30]

Day 23: Another NSV: my fingernails feel harder than before, and they've grown past the end of my fingertips for the first time in years.

 

M1: canned salmon, romaine, avo, balsamic. Ate about half, and felt satisfied, so I put it away to see how I felt by lunchtime. Fine, and ready to eat.

M2: leftover salad, spaghetti squash, tiger shrimp.

M3: picnic of sorts at bead class - I packed sausage, black olives, carrots and jicama, and raw cashews. Didn't look twice at the York peppermint patties and other candy that was on the table. Ate one slice of tart Braeburn apple. Delicious, and not sweet enough to trigger a sugar craving.

 

Happy that I ate three meals today at fairly regular times. Cutting down on the breakfast portion let me be hungry at lunch, and I made sure to eat. The picnic for dinner was fun - no idea how much of what I ate, but I'm satisfied, and everything was compliant.