Former Sailor's First Whole30

[fmr_sailor]

So today is Day 0, and tomorrow my adventure begins. Of course I'm excited, but I'm also pretty apprehensive. I've been using Weight Watchers for so many years to lose/maintain my weight, and it's worked pretty well for me. However, over the past year and half or so I have really struggled with cravings and over eating. My weight is still good, but I have a weight goal, and every time I get close to it, I sabotage myself with what would most likely be called a "binge weekend." I am hoping the Whole30 will help me break through the food habits that are holding me back.

I have tracked my food for years, and I want to keep a log here in case I run into trouble and need help from the mods. I also plan to talk about my feelings and thoughts I experience as I move through this. I run and teach fitness classes, so flagging energy is a concern for me. My husband is doing this with me and he truly is "all in!" My mom and her husband (who lives very close) are doing their first Whole30 also.

I have hard boiled eggs and chicken already done in the fridge, and a plan for breakfast and lunch....probably dinner too. Got be an easy one because I am leading a WW meeting tomorrow night, and they are most always during mealtimes!

[staceylc_w30]

So today is Day 0, and tomorrow my adventure begins. Of course I'm excited, but I'm also pretty apprehensive. I've been using Weight Watchers for so many years to lose/maintain my weight, and it's worked pretty well for me. However, over the past year and half or so I have really struggled with cravings and over eating. My weight is still good, but I have a weight goal, and every time I get close to it, I sabotage myself with what would most likely be called a "binge weekend." I am hoping the Whole30 will help me break through the food habits that are holding me back.

 

Hi Erica,

 

I'm looking forward to keeping up with your Whole30 log! My mom has been on Weight Watchers for over a year, and she has lost 50 pounds. There are some super-great leaders, and she gets a lot out of the meetings, so from that standpoint, it's been great for her. That said, she struggles with issues (digestive, skin, etc.) that I'm willing to bet are related to her consumption of dairy and "healthy whole grains." She also eats a lot of pre-packaged WW snacks and candies, which have additives and artificial sweeteners, but all of these things are WW-approved. For the moment, she's not willing to try W30, but she sees my results and has started to ask questions about it.

 

Definitely NOT bashing Weight Watchers here - I'm just really interested to see how your Whole30 journey works for you, and how it relates to your WW experience.

 

Best,

Stacey

[fmr_sailor]

DAY ONE ~

M1: 3 eggs cooked in coconut oil, spinach, apple slices, almonds. My seven year old ate this with me, her request!

M2: Salad greens with balsamic and oil, Angus burger patty cooked in coconut oil topped with guacamole (my first time making it ever, and it was good!!), steamed cauliflower with curry powder, and a sweet potato. (On Instagram under fmr_sailor)

M3: Salad with chicken, egg, olives, carrots, almonds, and raisins. Topped with balsamic and oil.

Ran 3 miles this morning. Almost 5 hours between breakfast and lunch; 4.5 hours between lunch and dinner. Feeling slightly headachy, but no biggie. A little light headed, kinda like if I had drank a glass of wine. But I haven't, just sugar/excess carb withdrawal, I know! Tried a Cafe Americano at Starbucks tonight (a tall has two shots of espresso and hot water), and it was velvety and delicious! Not at all what I was expecting. Had rooibos tea for "dessert" before bed. The food was great today, and my tummy has felt "flat" all day, no bloating and preggo looking belly! Probably because of no gluten/dairy. All in all I'm happy. Just a little dizzy!

[fmr_sailor]

Oh yeah, one more thing..... I've been super thirsty today. I always drink at least half my body weight in ounces of water, but today I really FELT thirsty often.

[jmcbn]

Feeling slightly headachy, but no biggie. A little light headed, kinda like if I had drank a glass of wine..... Just a little dizzy!

I don't think you're eating enough especially since you went for a run. Spinach when it's chewed down amounts to very little so you need to be eating a tonne of it - maybe add in some chopped tomatoes or something to add bulk. And again at meal three I'd add more veg - a lot of folk eat upward of 9 cups a day. Meal two doesn't look too bad. Nuts twice a day may make that bloat return and cause some stomach ache though so I'd limit those. You'll have the portion sizes figured out in a couple of days...!

 

[fmr_sailor]

Woke at 4:30, still tired but too hungry to go back to sleep. Since I'm planning to run this morning, I'm getting up to eat my pre-WO meal pretty soon. Two hard boiled eggs, some olives, a just a "few" macadamia nuts.

My total nut consumption yesterday was not more in total than on the meal template, and I am eating them sparingly.

[fmr_sailor]

DAY TWO ~

Pre-WO (5 am): Two hard boiled eggs, 1/2 cup of olives, about half an ounce of macadamia nuts.

***I woke up early and hungry, so I kinda feel like I overdid it here. Maybe just one egg and a fewer olives next time. And I measured them.... But I felt SOOO much better after I ate it. It just feels like a lot, and I'm finding myself adding up points in my head and thinking, "Are you kidding me? Why did you eat so much??" Trial and error, this is new and I'm working through the kinks.

***<Later> WOW, I feel sooo much better since I ate the the pre-WO meal! And no headache this morning. I am going to try to catch a short nap this afternoon though. My three mile run was absolutely fine, just like normal. It's just hot, muggy, and miserable outside, but that was the only negative. I wasn't expecting it to feel like a regular run. Thankful!

M1 (7:30 am): Palm-sized portion of chicken (little bit less, got full & gave last 1/4 to kids), brussels sprouts with balsamic, and small sweet potato. (Incorporated post-WO into breakfast because I felt like I overdid the pre-WO snack. I know that I'm not supposed to, but I'm learning. I really don't want to overeat.)

M2 (12:20 pm): Leftover Angus burger topped with a fried egg cooked in coconut oil and guacamole over salad greens and baby carrots with balsamic and EVOO, green beans and an apple.

Snack....eeek! (4:20 pm): 22 1/2 almonds. Got home from store, hungry, had to make dinner. But it has been four hours..... I guess lunch needed to be bigger. More fat??

***That tiny bit of almonds (less than an ounce) completely took the edge off my hunger and allowed me to prepare dinner clear-headed and dancing around the kitchen to Pandora. :-)

M3 (6 pm): Large, thick cut boneless pork chop pan fried in coconut oil, red potatoes with EVOO and spices, steamed cabbage, spring mix & baby carrots salad with oil and vinegar dressing. And yes, upon immediate completion of my dinner, I ate a small fruit cup of pineapple. I recognize that I was having that for dessert. I like fruit a lot and had only one serving today. I could've cooked the pineapple with the chops.... But I chose not to, and I'm ok with that.

So today, well, no "hangover." I got a bit sleepy, but that's because I woke so early this morning. However, despite waking at 4:30 this morning, I didn't end up horribly dragging in the afternoon. I mean, sure, I could've rested, but I didn't. I really expected to feel awful, and since I'm not it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong.

[fmr_sailor]

DAY THREE ~

Woke up with a slight headache and a bit of nausea, but I know it's because I was hungry. However, I wanted my coffee first. I did have meal one within an hour of waking though. Not working out today. Rest day before race tomorrow. Gonna take my kids swimming this morning.

M1 (7:30 am): 3-4 eggs scrambled in coconut oil (kids had eggs too, so I'm not exactly sure how much I had, but it looked like a lot on my plate), extra fine green beans, banana, and some leftover oil & rosemary potatoes from last night. I'm wondering if it was enough fat, but only time will tell if it all holds me to my next meal. But my belly is full right now.

M2 (12:20 pm): Last of the leftovers. Salad greens with carrots, olives, and oil & vinegar dressing. Angus burger with a very generous helping of guac. Leftover cabbage.

Got home this afternoon and was a little tired and thought I might be hungry, but honestly, I wasn't sure. Isn't that sad? I wanted some nuts but decided to wait and see how I felt later. Worked on some house work, then started dinner, without having eaten the snack. An afternoon snack is such an ingrained habit for me. I almost think my mind now tricks my body into thinking it must have something regardless. Time will tell.

M3 (5:30 pm): Oven baked sockeye salmon over a bed of arugula with grilled peaches and red onions. Topped with a ginger thyme vinaigrette. More leftover cabbage. Lol. I also had a handful of olives because I wasn't sure I'd gotten enough fat in the meal. Everything had olive oil on it, but didn't want to end up going to bed hungry.

I knew I wanted peaches tonight, but I wanted to eat them "Whole30 style." I had salmon thawing in the fridge for dinner already, so I Googled "salmon and peaches." Found this great, totally compliant recipe, few ingredients, super easy. I haven't eaten fish in over ten years because I didn't like it then, but this was spectacular! (Photo on Instagram @fmr_sailor.)

[Noelle]

Got home this afternoon and was a little tired and thought I might be hungry, but honestly, I wasn't sure. Isn't that sad? I wanted some nuts but decided to wait and see how I felt later.

I like what Geneen Roth says about this: "Being hungry is like being in love. If you don't know, you probably aren't."

Whenever I have that maybe-hungry feeling and something specific pops into my head, I think, "Okay, but would I eat [insert healthy but less-highly-palatable food here]?" If the answer is yes, I'd eat whatever, then I figure in actually hungry. It works better for me than the "fish and broccoli" test because honestly, I love fish and broccoli.