Noelle Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 Let's Talk About Calcium! I know that calcium isn't the entire bone health story. I know there are plenty of non-dairy sources of calcium. But I was interested to see how my Whole30 diet measured up to the 1,000mg of calcium my doctor wants me to get from food. Yesterday's (Day 12's) meals came in at around 1,100mg all together. Now, that was with a conscious effort to eat foods high in calcium, but still: pretty impressive for no milk, no cheese, and no yogurt! My go-to calcium-rich foods are leafy greens, and canned fish with bones (salmon, mackerel, and sardines, mostly). I don't find the fish bones off-putting at all—maybe because I grew up eating sardines straight from the can (with mustard! Yum!)—but for those who do, pulsing the fish in a food processor and adding ingredients for cakes/patties/fritters works wonders. My current favorite combination is salmon, canned pumpkin, coconut flour, herbs and spices, and an egg to hold it all together. Tahini is a good source of calcium, as are figs; together, they make a phenomenal salad dressing. Collard greens are fantastically good for you, loaded with calcium...and I can't stand them. There are very few vegetables I don't like, but collards top that list. My challenge for myself is going to be to find a collards preparation that I genuinely enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Day 13 B: Sardine cakes and sautéed kale topped with poached eggs Black coffee L: Chicken salad (chicken, mayo, avocado, romaine) Cherry chia kombucha "S": I made coconut butter and licked the food processor clean. Because I'm classy like that. T: Coconut-lime kombucha D: Roast chicken with leeks and asparagus Fresh, local cherries! Coconut butter Exercise: None. Fun: Movie night at home with my sweetheart—all film theory discussion, zero snacks. *** I've done the full Whole30 reintroduction schedule once before, but I did it with a bias. I believed at the time that I was gluten-intolerant, and with many of the foods, I was looking for big, dramatic digestive responses. When those didn't turn up, I assumed everything was all right, and I think I missed some subtler side-effects. This time, I'm going to be watching my mood especially closely, because I just feel so much happier overall on Whole30. I'm keeping my fingers crossed about corn. I know movie theater popcorn (and especially movie theater popcorn "butter") is garbage, but I adore it. I'm hoping once or twice a year, it'll be worth it. But maybe I'll find that I just don't care after a while. That would be fine too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Hey, Day 14! I woke up clear-headed at 5:00 AM! My hip joints don't hurt! Coffee is kind of "meh." (???) I'm still a little moody, but I think that might be more related to the stretched-so-thin feeling of (nursing) mom life than anything dietary. Nuts are officially (mostly) off the island. Too many nuts seems to equal joint pain for me, though I'm not sure what "too many" looks like at this stage. That's all right: I find them hard to eat any way other than as a snack (or for "dessert"). I'm going to stick with coconut, avocados, and ghee for fat. I like olives, too, but my kids always seem to get to them before I do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Day 14 B: Pork shoulder, asparagus, and butternut squash topped with poached eggs and avocado Black coffee L: Chicken salad (chicken, mayo, celery, asparagus, romaine) Strawberries with coconut butter Glass of kombucha T: Garlic-herb chicken sausage Spaghetti squash with tomatoes and basil 2 Brazil nuts (selenium!) Coconut butter D: Broccoli-beef Coconut butter *** I realized—as I was digging into the jar for the third time—that coconut butter pushes my Shortbread Button. (Who knew I had a Shortbread Button?!) It's enough like a sweet treat, apparently. Ooops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 It's Day 15 and instead of celebrating the fact that I'm (almost) half-way there, I am deeply depressed. Start-crying-for-no-reason depressed. Slept-11-hours-last-night-and-still-feel-exhausted depressed. I want to blame it on something I ate, but I don't see how that could be it! Unless it's coconut.And I was feeling awesome just a few days ago! I'm really discouraged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted June 15, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 15, 2015 It's Day 15 and instead of celebrating the fact that I'm (almost) half-way there, I am deeply depressed. Start-crying-for-no-reason depressed. Slept-11-hours-last-night-and-still-feel-exhausted depressed. I want to blame it on something I ate, but I don't see how that could be it! Unless it's coconut. And I was feeling awesome just a few days ago! I'm really discouraged Try adding more starchy vegetables for a few days. Eat them at every meal, even. If that helps, once you get back to normal, you can play with amounts and figure out how much to aim for each day to feel your best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rewalton Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Hey Noelle! Don't be discouraged, from what I've seen from reading your log, you are doing an awesome job! I can't imagine how tough this would be while also feeding kids and a husband! I'm only a few days behind you (Day 12), and I can definitely relate to the emotional roller coaster ride during this whole30. I can also relate to the binge eating of certain compliant foods- for me its prosciutto! I was once out with friends and I couldn't eat any of the stuff they were having so I ate an entire pack of prosciutto good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Try adding more starchy vegetables for a few days. Eat them at every meal, even. If that helps, once you get back to normal, you can play with amounts and figure out how much to aim for each day to feel your best. Thanks, Shannon. I'll definitely add a little bit of starchy carb to each meal and see where that gets me. I'm trying not to be carb-shy, but I think I may be "crowding out" starches a little in my effort to eat more leafy greens. I also really enjoy sweet potatoes, beets, and squash—they're among my favorite foods, Whole30 or not—and I feel like I could easily overdo it on them. I can also relate to the binge eating of certain compliant foods- for me its prosciutto! Thanks for the support. That's the thing about binge urges: they can pop up even when you're eating healthful stuff. For me, it's more about the binge habit than the actual food. Of course, the food does matter some (I've never binged on canned tuna, for instance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 Day 15 B: Pork shoulder and Brussels sprouts topped with two poached eggs and diced avocado Black coffee L: Roast chicken Spaghetti squash with tomatoes, basil, and olive oil Decaf herbal tea T: Salad (romaine, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, mayo) with two sardine cakes crumbled on top 2 Brazil nuts Post-walk: Pumpkin puree (cold, and surprisingly refreshing!) D: Beef burger patty in romaine leaves Ghee-sauteed mushrooms Roast sweet potatoes Kimchi Exercise: Walk home from school (about 2 miles) Fitness Blender's Total Body Barre Workout *** I had a very strange crying fit out of nowhere, and worked myself up further wondering what on earth is wrong with me? My husband came home to be with me, and that helped. He brought sparkling water, which also helped. And working out made me feel sticky and miserable, but the good kind of miserable that comes from doing really challenging movement. I'm hoping—really hoping—that all this moodiness is related to getting my first normal-seeming period in months. When I had bloodwork done recently, my hormones were off-the-charts low. Maybe my depression is a sign that things are starting to try to work again? Ballet classes are off this week, but I'm going to see if I can get a couple of Ballet Beautiful workouts in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 It's Day 16, which means I'm half-way there. Except maybe not really. I keep toying with the idea of stretching this out through July. If my hormones really are getting back on track, I don't want to monkey with reintroductions. Also, I'd like to see what my cycle does on Whole30. My next period is due mid-July (if we pretend for a second that everything is "normal"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 Day 16 B: Beef, broccoli, and sweet potato hash topped with two poached eggs and half an avocado Black coffee Mid-morning: Cherry-chia kombucha L: Salad with chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower Tahini-fig dressing T: Chicken, pork shoulder, sweet potato with coconut butter Raw mixed nuts D: Half a turkey burger and more chicken Carrots, olives Coconut cream Watermelon *** I was flying by the seat of my pants for both tea and dinner. I ended up much hungrier than I expected to be in the mid-afternoon, and grabbed some nuts to eat in the car when my (generous!) portion of meat and potatoes didn't cut it and I had to dash out the door to get my son from school. I hate eating on the run like that! I definitely feel best when I embrace the Whole30 recommendation to slow down and enjoy the food. Imagine that. Dinner was a total hodgepodge of things we had in the house that I could get on the table ASAP. It wasn't the most glamorous meal ever, but everyone ate everything. (My daughter added a big spoonful of peanut butter to hers, plus two applesauce pouches, because apparently she's going through a growth spurt and needs to eat all the things. It's kind of hilarious to see this tiny, 20-something-pound human put away giant portions of food.) One thing I love about Whole30: I feel like I can do it "right" without a bunch of fancy ingredients. Sometimes a super-simple meal is just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 I have a mini-rant. I hate that my partner is so helpless when it comes to meal planning. Because dinner last night was improvised, there are no dinner leftovers for lunch today. But there are lots of other things! He was staring wistfully into the fridge, and when I asked what he was doing and he told me, "Looking for lunch," I rattled off about 9 possibilities. I know food isn't everyone's "thing," but it's not rocket science, either! You don't need a Master's degree to combine chicken, salad greens, and vinaigrette in a container! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Day 17 B: 4 (!!!) eggs, spinach, and sweet potato cooked in ghee 1/2 an avocado L: Mackerel with mayo, jicama, and raw pickle over romaine lettuce T: Mushroom-potato soup with clams Pickle D: Salmon with citrus-ginger glaze Broccoli Fingerling potatoes 5 cherries with a generous dollop of coconut cream Bedtime: Hard-boiled egg and 2 Brazil nuts *** What an emotional roller coaster of a day. In the morning I was so depressed/angry/lonely, flying off the handle, wishing everyone would just disappear so I could quietly starve myself. I managed to get the big kid off to his last day of school, and the little one and I went shopping and filled the house up with food for the week. I ate a huge, early lunch (I should've photographed the mackerel salad—it was giant), and we made it to a preschool park play date. An hour late, but we made it. By the evening, I felt better. I got to lie down at nap time, and actually got some rest. I started this Whole30 really excited about eating for my health, taking care of myself instead of focusing on getting skinny...and I hate that I still want to be really skinny. I know all of the health and feminist reasons why I shouldn't want that, but I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Day 18 Pre-WO: Hard boiled egg. B: Salmon with mayo, sautéed spinach, poached egg Black coffee L: Chicken-mayo-pepper-cucumber-apple-jicama salad T: 3 fried eggs Mushroom soup D: Beef-zucchini-olive taco salad (I probably ate about 8 oz. of garlicky ground beef—so good) over romaine, topped with crushed plantain chips Exercise: The Firm Cardio Sculpt Blaster (because I like to workout in 2001) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Mood Update I'm in a much better place. My paralyzing depression has lifted, and I like my food again. My sleep has been awesome, which always helps. I'm still struggling with this ambivalence over being healthy: I really, really don't want to fracture my spine; I don't want to be disabled when I'm old (or now!); I want to continue to sleep well, and be calm and patient with my kids, and have a regular, healthy menstrual cycle; and I want to be painfully, nervewrackingly thin. One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted June 19, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 19, 2015 Hi, Noelle. I was reading your last few posts and just wanted to say, you're definitely not alone in having trouble with the being healthy vs. being skinny thinking. I can't claim to have all the answers, I definitely have my own body image issues, but there's a blog I follow that focuses some on this kind of stuff, and I thought you might find it interesting or maybe even useful. It's called Weightless. Anyway, I just thought I'd mention that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 I was reading your last few posts and just wanted to say, you're definitely not alone in having trouble with the being healthy vs. being skinny thinking. Thanks, Shannon. I really appreciate the support, and the blog link. I had a look yesterday, and she articulates many of the ideas I'm working on already: taking exquisite care of ourselves, de-cluttering as an exercise in self-care (I did a bunch of that yesterday, actually), and so on. Good stuff. I keep reminding myself two things: first and foremost, it's okay that I (think I) want to look a certain way. It doesn't make me a bad person. Just like wanting to eat a whole cake doesn't make me a bad person. Cake is designed to be delicious. Thin is held up as the Best Thing Ever in our culture. Add my complicated personal history to that, and my wants make perfect sense. And just like a craving can't force me to walk to the pantry, a "want" can't make me obey it. So that's the first thing. The second thing is: this is what I'm choosing right now, to borrow the Whole30 language on the subject. I'm "choosing not to" eat bread right now. I'm also "choosing not to" diet right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 I wrote down my food for Days 19, 20, and 21, but I didn't log it here because I've been totally off any kind of schedule. My daughter has been waking up at 4:30 AM, and getting everyone else up too. So I've been collapsing into bed between 7:30-8:30 PM. Two nights ago, I went to bed at 7:00 PM. I have energy when I get up, but it's frustrating to have to eat breakfast at 5:30, and lunch at 10:00. It gets in the way of life with two small kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 Second half of the Happy Hormone Dance! my body seems to be getting ready to ovulate. I would be thrilled beyond belief if Whole30 alone could get my hormones back on track. At last check, my estrogen was in the menopausal range, my progesterone was so low it can't be measured ("in the toilet" is how my doctor put it), and the next course of treatment was going to be hormones. I really, really don't want to take hormones. But I'd also very much like to keep my spine. But! If Whole30 eating can get things back on track? Sign me up forever. I'm definitely going to make this a Whole60. Just to see how things go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 Day 22 B: 2-egg scramble with ground pork, apple, bell pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg Black coffee L: Ground beef, zucchini, purple potato, avocado, 1 oz. pork belly Decaf Tall Americano (Starbucks) S: Carrot-beet salad with hard boiled egg and babaganoush dressing D: Thai Coconut Chicken (Frugal Paleo) Riced cauliflower 1/2 cup fresh blueberries with coconut cream Exercise: The Firm Upper Body Sculpt (AM) 1 hour ballet class (PM) *** I can't believe I'm almost to Day 30. I keep worrying that I'll get distracted and pop something non-compliant into my mouth before I realize it. My breakfast and carrot-beet salad were both by-accident creations (based on what I had lying around) that I might start making on purpose. The Thai Coconut Chicken is going into the regular food rotation. The kids didn't eat it, but they're wrong. It was delicious. Good food day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 What Day is it? B: "Little Bit of Everything" Scramble (eggs, bok choy, chicken sausage, pork belly, strawberries...) Black coffee L: Carrot-beet salad with babaganoush and ground pork T: Homemade turkey sausage patties wrapped in collard leaves Plantains Coconut cream D: Poor Man's Braciole (Frugal Paleo Cookbook) Delicata squash with marinara Kiwi (I had a second helping of braciole after putting my daughter to bed) Exercise: Crunch Fat Burning Pilates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 24, 2015 Author Share Posted June 24, 2015 It's Day 24, and I'm getting tired of the 4:00 AM-wake-ups. I feel energetic in the mornings, but by about noon, I'm pretty tired and ready for a break. It's hard having to be "on" all the time. On the food front: • I'm really working my portions this week. I was getting a little...enthusiastic, especially with my protein. I'm always astounded by the people not eating enough on Whole30. I can overeat at the drop of a hat. "Look at your palms, look at your meat." It really is that simple. • I've stopped trying to wait exactly four hours before eating again. • I'm using those early wake-ups to work out in the mornings! I even set my workout stuff up the night before, so I can fool myself into thinking I'm a fit person who works out. • I keep going back and forth between feeling like I could eat this way forever, and really, really wanting a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoJo09 Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Day 11 B: Eggs, bok choy, and butternut squash cooked in ghee, topped with garlic-herb mayo Black coffee L: Cherry chia kombucha White anchovies with mayo Roasted Brussels sprouts Raw mixed nuts T: A couple sips of coconut milk chai (my daughter snitched the rest) Hard boiled egg Beet-carrot-cucumber-coconut salad drizzled with olive oil A few bites of pork shoulder (straight from the slow-cooker) "D": Pork shoulder (straight from the slow-cooker—3 or 4 palms' worth) and nothing else *** It was a bad day. I thought about quitting. Specifically, I thought about eating two or three of my favorite truffle bars, which are currently on sale at my local supermarket, I happen to know. I was overly tired, my daughter was especially demanding, but mostly I psyched myself out about the pork shoulder. I don't believe in "trigger foods," but I do believe in well-worn mental grooves, and that's where I found myself. The last time I made slow-cooked meat, I binged on it: straight out of the slow cooker, to the point of total miserable stuffed-ness. When I thought about making carnitas, my first thought was "delicious." My next thought was "I binged last time," over and over and over. And because I was tired, and I didn't eat enough protein or non-starchy vegetable at teatime, I gave in to the binge urge again. Instead of beating myself up, I'll tell myself what I'd tell someone else: it's okay. Move on. You didn't eat in accordance with your goals, but you didn't do anything morally wrong. Food and guilt never belong together, ever (unless you steal it). So move on. Put it behind you, and make your next meal something you'd proudly serve the Hartwigs, your children, and your most cherished friends. Oh I am so with you on the "mental groove" of binging on slow cooked meat! It happens maybe every second or third time, because I have in my head that it's happened before so it will happen again! No solution, just empathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Day 24 B: Pork belly, 3 eggs, collards cooked in a splash of apple cider, dollop of guacamole Black coffee L: Homemade turkey sausage patties with a dollop of mayo, cucumber Large orange with coconut butter Decaf coffee T: Leftover Thai Coconut Curry with extra coconut milk Sweet potato 1/2 white peach and two figs with almond butter D: Chilequiles (Frugal Paleo Cookbook) Post-ballet: Strawberry Serenity kombucha Exercise: 1 hour elliptical (AM) 1 hour ballet class (PM) *** Such an odd day. Energy in the morning, then I totally crashed mid-day. The girl and I lay down for a nap and both bonked out for almost two hours. I had the wildest nightmare, where I couldn't get my eyes to open all the way. There was also something about an art piece/stunt involving an escalator. Bizarre. My fruit with almond butter was quite dessert-like...and I'm OK with that. I realize I was putting so much pressure on myself to do this right, never entertain a sugary thought ever...and it was getting to the point where I felt like I should eliminate foods just because I enjoy them. Food is fuel, and healing, but it's also wonderful! I felt in control, peaceful, and satisfied with my semi-dessert, and I'm calling it a win. In fact, I'm calling it a non-scale victory. NSV II today was ballet. I worked so hard, and kicked my own butt. It was awesome. I've only been doing my morning workouts for a week, but I feel like my shape is improving. And I'm definitely more flexible than I used to be. That's the real surprise. I wonder if it has anything to do with being less inflamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noelle Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced my increased flexibility is due to reduced inflammation. It makes sense intellectually, but it's nice to "feel" it. Day 25 is not off to a good start. My preschooler is in a mood. We've had four fights and it isn't even 6:30 AM yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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