Newbie, starting June 1, 2015

[imullmau]

Hi.  I'm really nervous but I read the entire book The Whole30, cover to cover (many times) before starting this.  I have been prepping for three days.  Shopping, making my clarified butter, compound butters, mayonnaise, beef broth, etc.  I'm hoping to get support on this forum since my kids have left the home and my husband is supportive but hesitant.  I hope there are some of you out there I can connect with?  I'm doing the 7 day meal plan for my first week, but may mix things up as it goes along.  Where can I log my food intake without boring others?

Thanks in advance.

Mo

[Chellesdoingr8]

Hi!

 

I started on Saturday.  Tomorrow is Day 3 for me. 

 

Just wanted to say "YOU CAN DO IT!!!"

 

Cheers!!

[imullmau]

Thanks, Chelles.  Can I call you that?  Just easier to type. Ha Ha.

[WholeDave]

I've just started my 2nd W30 and my advice from the first one? Keep it simple - don't overload yourself with complicated recipes. Bit of good fat, protein and lots of veggies, salad etc. Not too much fruit. Lots of water.

And just log your food in here as a reply to your post. Feels good to read it over again and see how you're tracking.

[imullmau]

Thanks, Dave.  I'll start doing that.

 

Day 2: 

Breakfast: banana, leftover spinach fritatta (from Monday), 1/2 avocado

Lunch: Spinach and lettuce chicken harvest salad, rasberry-walnut vinagrete, apple

Dinner: oven baked salmon with cucumber dill sauce, roasted asparagus, sparkling water with a dribble of fresh pomegranate juice added

 

Nerve inflammation acting up and my back went out by 5:00 PM so I rested until 7:00 PM, then got up to make dinner. I also made chicken broth and ranch dressing for next few days.  Sugar dragon sitting on my shoulder since about 3:00 PM but he didn't act up.  He just let me know he was there.  Planned menu for party we are throwing this coming Sunday.  We have 16 people for dinner.  The menu has many w30 compliant options, without guests knowing.  Some are vegans, some vegetarians, others are meat eaters, so there will be something for everyone.  Looking forward to a good tomorrow!  

[imullmau]

Day 4: Got up and had 10 raw hazelnuts and plain tea before I took off on my bike ride.  Rode 20 miles with friends, got home and was famished and feeling weak.  I also had nerve pain down my left leg and in groin.  I'm hoping this dissipates over time.

 

Breakfast: I ate a banana while heating up homemade beef broth, pulled beef, sprouts and veggies for breakfast. My version of pho

Lunch: Peach, leftover cold thai chicken salad

Dinner: tomato sauce with ground beef (really good) over zoodles and wilted spinach

 

I was tired and achy today.  The sugar dragon was a little louder but I would leave the kitchen and go outside when tempted.  I cooked chicken curry with my son and his friends (giving six 26 yr olds cooking lessons) and prepped coconut milk and cream from young coconuts.  Yeah, another day down!

[shortystylee]

You're reminding me that I need to get out on the road bike again soon

 

Good job so far! If you ride again in the morning, you might want to try having a bit more pre-ride... like a hard-boiled egg or chicken + avocado. It's some sort of protein + fat source.

[LisaPT]

Hi Imullmau

You sound well prepared!

You can do this!

[imullmau]

You're reminding me that I need to get out on the road bike again soon

 

Good job so far! If you ride again in the morning, you might want to try having a bit more pre-ride... like a hard-boiled egg or chicken + avocado. It's some sort of protein + fat source.

Thanks!  I love the chicken avocado idea.  I ride with friends every Thursday, so I do need to pick some type of easy protein to consume before going out at 8:00 AM.  I'm not big on hard boiled eggs but I love eggs every other way.  Maybe I'll try making a deviled egg the night before.

 

Thanks to everyone else for your support!  Good luck today.

[WholeDave]

This was from a post in Feb by missmary who is a Whole 30 moderator:

 

"Whole30 recommendations are to avoid fruit and avoid carbohydrate Pre-Workout.

 

This is how it works: the human body is kind of lazy. It will grab whatever energy source is easiest at a given time. If you give it sugar before a workout, the workout will be fueled by sugar. Then, when the sugar runs out, the body often has trouble switching over to burning available fat and will crash. This is why those workout gels and honey stingers exist: people doing long runs who haven't trained their body to burn fat need to keep throwing sugar on the fire to keep going.

 

If you do well with your workout without any Pre-Workout snack, that's fine. If you need something (especially if you workout before meal #1) have a small portion of protein and/or fat (like your almond butter alone, or an egg or a piece of fatty meat). This reassures the body that it is not starving and should go ahead and burn fat."

 

So, no sugar or carbs before a workout, but then have carbs, protein & some fat after.

[jmcbn]

So, no sugar or carbs before a workout, but then have carbs, protein & some fat after.

Yep, fat is best for preWO, but not for postWO as it will prevent your body from absorbing the protein. Stick to protein & starchy carbs only for after - again avoid fruit.

[WholeDave]

OK cool cheers!

[imullmau]

Well, I got through the first week!  Yippee! It was a lot of prepping and cooking and that was the hardest part of sticking to the diet.  If I didn't have things prepared, it would have been really hard to stay "pure" (lol).  My workouts last week got compromised because it was busy. My youngest flew home and we had a party planned for 16 people on Sunday, plus an event to go to Saturday evening.  I made it through without a hitch.  Everyone raved about the food we served on Sunday, most recipes from the w30, thank you!  We served watermelon-cucumber-cilantro salad (yum), beets (from our garden)-orange-arugula salad, baked salmon, roasted asparagus, sunshine sauce and veggies, and the rest was pot luck.  It all came together and everyone relaxed and had a great time. I didn't have the urge to drink alcohol but the desserts were very tempting.  I had to busy myself cleaning up and making tea and then sat outside with some of the guests.  In other words, I couldn't look at them.  They were home made by people who love to bake and looked awesome and smelled outrageous. Yikes, hardest part of my week!

 

Regarding my medical symptoms, I still had nerve pain but I think some of my symptoms were lessened.  I didn't wake up with my whole left side on fire and I'm hoping this week I can focus on this more.  I tend to get up and push through the pain while exercising and then get busy with work, life, or collapse on the couch.  I'm trying to be more mindful of how my body feels and see if I get results from this diet.  I think inflammation is a big contributor to my diseased spine. I went to the doctor last Thursday and they recommended surgery. Two more spinal fusions after I had 6 fusions 3.5 -4 years ago.  Sorry! No Can Do.  

 

Today I walked 5 miles in the morning.  I ate a handful of walnuts with a cup of tea, before leaving.  I have to prepare the deviled eggs or chicken avocado cups this week to have them ready to grab in the morning before exercising.  Tuesday is an afternoon workout but the rest of the week are early morning times.    

 

Breakfast: two eggs over zoodles and left-over tomato sauce with meat, left-over watermelon-cucumber-cilantro salad

Lunch: beet-orange-arugula salad with leftover salmon and dill-cucumber sauce

Dinner: cauliflower rice made Moroccan style with grilled shrimp, green salad with ranch dressing

 

Have a good week everyone!

[imullmau]

Day 9 of the w30.  

I am so proud of myself for sticking to it, so far!  I'm not bored with the variety of foods but I still get temptations and just plain want that cookie or piece of chocolate, whether I'm hungry or not.  I started have food dreams around day 5 and they still come to me (in one form or another).  They aren't every night but I can remember 3 so far, which is amazing since I never remembered my dreams before. Chocolate chip cookies were in the first two dreams.  Last night was a giant raw carrot.  At least they're getting healthier.

 

I changed up dinner last night since I had flat steak marinating since Saturday and felt it needed to be cooked. I made a kale, spinach, arugula salad with steak and cilantro-lime dressing.  Can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch today.  Speaking of leftovers, I have a lot right now.  

 

Breakfast: Two grilled shrimp (from Sunday's party), two eggs scrambled, salsa and 1/2 avocado, fresh strawberry and peach fruit dish

Lunch: Leftover Spinach, kale, arugula steak salad with cilantro-lime dressing, leftover beet-orange-arugula salad

Dinner:  I'm thinking of chicken soup since my hubby is coming down with a bad cold.  It's our 37th wedding anniversary today and we'll be walking the beach if he feels well enough.  I think we're going to cancel our restaurant plans until later.  Ha, ha.  Nothing different in this regard.  Life always takes over for these celebrations.

 

I have tai chi this afternoon before my walk on the beach, so that's my exercise for the day.  Had some nerve symptoms this morning, but not on fire.  This is good. I'll see if I have enough energy to get me through the day.  Dealing with chronic pain takes a lot out of me, but I think I'm getting more relief and more energy.  Yes!  Work is slow (that's good) and I'm glad I have the extra time to work on me.  

 

That's all folks!  Have a good day.

[imullmau]

Day 10

Breakfast: Leftover chicken chowder (small bowl), peach, black tea

Lunch: Leftover steak salad with kale, spinach, arugula greens, and a peach, black tea

Dinner: Leftover salmon and dill sauce, hope to make cauliflower rice

 

Woke up late but slept great.  No work out.  My exercise partner is traveling and I need her inertia to get my butt out there. I know, I know, this is an excuse and I'm working on that.  It's hard to push myself in the morning.  I had nerve pain down my left side but it wasn't on fire.  I do think I'm getting some relief. I am also able to stay up all day without a power nap.  That is real progress since my spinal fusions!

 

I have a lot of tempting messages running through my mind.  I'm not hungry, but the "dragon lady" is pushing me to go off the diet. I want more fruit.  I want more nuts.  I want something crunchy and chocolate.  I know these are my bad habits coming to haunt me, but it doesn't make it any easier. I'm hoping they stop soon.  I try distracting myself but it's hard to constantly stop what I'm doing and go into the garden or for a walk around the block or write on this log.   

 

I've noticed my nails are growing healthier and stronger.  They aren't soft, or splitting, like they usually did.  My skin has a lot of ingrown hairs and I get staph infections on my face.  I have hirsutism from PCOS but since menopause, the symptoms have not progressed and I feel my hormones are more balanced.  Since I started the w30, the ingrown hairs are reduced and although I still have a few boils on the chin, overall, there is a slight improvement.  One more thing, ...I feel less anxious.  I don't suffer from anxiety but I am an anxious individual.  I'm calmer and handling stress a lot better.  All these improvements are positive ones.  I have to keep reminding myself of that    

[imullmau]

Well I've completed Day 11!  I rode my bike this morning about 23 miles and then stopped for tea, (others had lattes and muffins).  I brought a TJ bag of prepackaged raw almonds to munch and was totally satisfied while enjoying the company.  It's hard to carry an egg in your shirt while riding, and I don't like protein bars or Larabars.  I hope this was ok?

 

B: almonds, PWO: leftover chicken chowder, peach

L: spinach, kale, tomato salad, orange

D: spaghetti squash topped with tomato meat sauce (this was delicious), tea

 

I need to shop tomorrow as I'm running low on many things.  Made cauliflower rice tonight for tomorrow's meals, made fresh coconut milk, and made chicken broth from the bones of the chicken I used for the chicken chowder.  

 

I was tired today and took a nap.  Catching up on work this evening.  My allergies acted up today but I suspect not as much as usual, since I heard friends complaining about theirs.  I also definitely didn't have my normal nerve pain this morning.  It was minimal in my groin and leg, and none in my hand.  Wow!  Am I getting relief?  

 

I had another food dream last night.  It was about Indian food in a restaurant.  They are still staying healthier then the first ones about chocolate chip cookies.  Well, gotta go.  I think I'll hit the sack early and see if I can sleep an extra hour.

[imullmau]

Hi.  I have been sick (got my husband's cold & flu bug) so I haven't taken the time to record my meals.  I had to work this weekend and then spent time resting trying to get better.  I have to admit, it's been hard.  I haven't had the energy to cook and shop but pushed through it and have been able to stay on the w30.  I did get many thoughts regarding being bored with eating so healthy (lol).  I know, I wasn't even hungry and I still wanted to have the cookie and glass of wine.  I hope those thoughts get slayed soon!  The sugar dragon is still strong.

 

Day 16!

B: spinach and zoodles, meat sauce and two eggs over easy.  Rasberries.

L: salad and an apple

D: barbecue steak, roasted eggplant, sauteed mushrooms and onions. Carbonated water with a splash of orange juice.

 

I think I have more energy then I realize because of the flu bug I'm fighting.  I'm surprised I got so much done. My nerve symptoms and aches and pains are no longer in my left arm and hand.  I still have problems with my left groin and leg but it's definitely reduced.  My lower back will always be an issue and only a miracle will fix that problem. All in all, I'm better then before starting the w30.  I'm in Mammoth for the week and spending the weekend in Palm Springs.  Traveling has been hard when on the road but we are staying in places where I can cook, so it's easy to stay on the diet when not in the car.  Hiking San Jacinto in hot weather may be a challenge but I plan to bring enough to snack upon after a high protein breakfast.  Wish me luck!