Starting July 8th - anybody with me?

[Maria11]

I wouldn't, Maria.  Sick to stomach and nausea is only perpetuated due to lack of appropriate food. Try some bland and comforting foods.  Try some scrambled eggs with some sweet potato or  some sliced chicken breast and mashed potato/grilled zucchini.  Some bone broth would be good now if you have some.  Eat something.....not nothing.

Okay great I will try that.   I was reading about too much spinach in another post.  For lunch I  had a large bowl of spinach with fist sized salmon and Whole30 citris dressing, onions, and a small fist of blueberries.   I was wondering if I didnt have enough starch - or enough of a variety of vegetables ( I did have potatoes for breakfast with turkey and mushrooms).  

 

My second question is ~ i saw in another post that saurkraut might help ease (or balance) some of the stomach enzymes.   Should I include some saurkraut with your other recommendations?

 

Thanks,

Maria

[Maria11]

Ladyshanny ~ Thanks for the advice. I had eggs, potatoes, and some sauerkraut.  I do feel less nausea.  

 

Maria

[ladyshanny]

Ladyshanny ~ Thanks for the advice. I had eggs, potatoes, and some sauerkraut.  I do feel less nausea.  

 

Maria

Glad to hear it, Maria! Sauerkraut and other fermented products like kombucha can help populate your gut with the good guys. Take it slowly at first so that you don't cause yourself digestive distress.

[yggy]

Hi Maria11,

 

good luck with the Whole30 journey! Hope your stomach will settle soon!

[yggy]

I've bought heaps of veggies, eggs and organic meat at the farmers market this morning and also some olives I will keep boiled eggs in the fridge, buy some tuna in olive oil, I have beef jerky, nuts and will get some organic baby puree for the road.

 

So when in the city for lunch I can take

 

1) an egg, tuna in olive oil and nuts with me and just buy a mixed salad in a take-away

2) beef jerky and baby puree and nuts

 

In the restaurant for lunch I can have:

 

1) steak, baked potatoes and steamed veggies

2) chicken, lettuce, egg ("caesar")

 

Any other ideas for eating in the city??

 

when I go out for brekkie with clients I can have:

 

1) poached eggs with tomato and spinach

 

Any other ideas??

 

 

[yggy]

Baby puree was a no go... could not find one single pack that was not eitther purely fruit or had no fodmap veg in it...

[Ayme]

Hey guys, just checking in. I felt really awful last night, too! I laid down to rest when I got home, then napped for 2 hours. I really didn't feel like eating, either, but I know skipping meals is not healthy, so I tried one of my super easy and quick meals that I wrote down for nights like this... sick or lazy. Chicken apple sausage and sauerkraut sautéed, with a small avocado on the side. It was amazing, the flavor was so good on its own, and I didn't even have to salt and pepper it. It did make me feel better. Today was day 3, I still didn't feel great, but it was better than yesterday.

As for symptoms, I've been using essential oils to minimize or eliminate stomach upset, headaches, fatigue, and irritability. I've also stopped taking several pills (on a doctor's recommendation) and I'm down to just 2!

My picky son has been eating the meat I prepare, but carefully eats around all the veggies. Occasionally I will get him to try a bite, but he spits it out. Baby steps!

Tomorrow I'm going grocery shopping, then I'm going to make a large batch of vegetable soup and for the first time ever, roast a chicken! (My homework from my cooking class.) Wish me luck!

[yggy]

Hi All,

Ayme, good luck with shopping and cooking!! How is your cooking class?

My day was ok, I am feeling edgy tonight, but my tummy is fine - which is great as it has been playing up a lot lately! I feel like roaming around to find some food... going to bed instead. I feel hungry and I was light headed before dinner

My kitchen is stocked with good food now, the chicken broth still bubbling away in the slow cooker. Here my meals for today:

Meal 1: 3 egg scramble with spinach and jerky

Meal 2: Raw veggie platter with egg, ham and olives

Meal 3: Pork chop with mashed potato and red cabbage

I also had 2 mandarines and 1 passionfruit.

[Ayme]

My cooking class is great! It's much like Whole30... a new email every day with information and sometimes an assignment. The goal is to build a cooking habit that becomes very easy by overcoming all the traditional obstacles (lack of time, hatred of meal planning, frustration at the grocery store, lack of convenience, don't know how to make things taste good, etc.) She goes over psychology as well as practical tips, like spices, roasting, sauteeing, flavors, fixing a dish that's not turning out well, getting the people you might cook for interested in trying your food, all of that and more. This is Darya Rose, from the website Summer Tomato, and the cooking class is $99 for 30 days of emails called Foodist Kitchen, along with access to a private FB group that she is very responsive in. I got off track from the program due to some intense personal life stuff, but I've started again since I have to cook breakfast and dinner (with enough leftover for lunch) every day on Whole30 anyway! I highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with cooking every day, and who doesn't think they are a good cook. (Raising both my hands here.)

 

I decided to go shopping tomorrow instead, while today is "finish up leftovers" day.

 

I got into a much better mood last night, and it's continued on to today! I was expecting the "Kill all the Things" part of the timeline, and I warned my husband, but so far I've been okay. Just sleepy. In fact, it's Saturday, my son is napping, my husband is blowing things up on the Playstation, so I think I will take a nap, too. *yawn*

[yggy]

That cooking class sounds awesome! Hope you will enjoy it and make a life long habit.

 

I've had a pretty tough day today, been nauseous and throwing up

[yggy]

Good morning

 

I am back on board and my tummy has settled over night! Yay!

 

I am out of the office all day today and my plan is to have brekkie at home, take an egg as my after post workout snack and pack tuna, egg, veg, nuts and a mandarine for lunch.

 

Looking back at my goals I will do my exercise this morning, I will walk through the city and do some meditation on the train and I will also listen to a book on the train. So I am all set for the day

 

Have a great Monday all!!!

[Ayme]

Glad you're feeling better!

 

I never did find my whole chicken, but I did make my veggie soup last night. You can find the recipe here: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/weight-loss-magic-soup.html

 

All I did was remove the kidney beans as the protein source, and I'll be adding protein to the meal independently, like lunch today will be a few hard-boiled eggs, and tonight will be some sort of chicken. I'm not eating much fruit, but I've been adding in some pluots (plum/apricot hybrids) to mix it up. Planning on hitting the grocery store tonight on my way home from work, and hopefully this store has pastured whole chicken.

 

My remaining sister out of my 4 siblings is finally jumping on the W30 train! She's vegetarian (a recovering vegan), so her protein source will include eggs and tofu/soy. While it's not a complete W30, in her research she decided it was the better of the non-meat sources, such as beans, and because she's still breastfeeding, she has to make sure to get plenty of calories. She already eats very healthy, so she is just making sure all her nutrients are covered. My siblings "cheated" and used the scale, and the results are so great to hear! Brother: Lost 15 lbs in 21 days; his wife: lost 10 lbs. in 21 days; and my sister lost 7 lbs. in 7 days. Today is day 6 for me, of course, and while I am not weighing myself (because I really do have an unhealthy relationship with my scale I'd like to break), my tummy looks noticably flatter, and I don't get that "6 months pregnant" bloated food belly after my meals any more.

 

So irritable yesterday, though! I was snapping at my husband, my toddler, my cats, myself, my house, anything that was even slightly annoying or inconvenient made me see red. Yikes! I tried to keep to myself. I am feeling much better today, thank goodness! Anyone else freak out like that on days 4-5, like the timeline says?

[yggy]

Lol, when I am in snapping mode, I make sure to go to bed early Hope you feel better tomorrow!!

 

My day also went well. I have started preparing more food, especially staples like mince meat and boiled eggs and potatoes are always in the fridge, so I can throw a quick meal together. Tried my new pressure cooker yesterday - first time ever, and I am so impressed how quickly my spuds were done! I invested in a good pressure cooker and a slow cooker to make it easier for me when I am really busy at work.

 

Here are my meals. I don't cook with recipes, so unable to share links, but if you like something, let me know and I explain My meals always have similar ingredients, as i cannot really eat a big variety on low fodmap, so I try to spice it up with different home made sauces.

 

Meal 1: Curried mince, coconut oil, potato, two coloured carrots, spinach with scrambled eggs and olives

Meal 2: "Caesar salad": lettuce, bacon, chicken breast and poached egg (no parmesan, cheese, dressing) - Lunch at restaurant!

Snack: Macadamia nuts

Meal 3: Shredded steak, carrots, broccoli, onion greens and capsicum in a tahini chilli sauce. Mandarine.

 

I carried compliant snacks in the city, tuna in olive oil, macadamia nuts and 2 hard boiled eggs, only had the nuts.

 

It would be nice to lose weight, but I am here to find my intolerances and get a better feeling for my body's needs. It will be a challenge for me not to weigh myself or my food, but I need to start trusting myself.

 

Have a great day!!!

[ladyshanny]

Hi All,

Ayme, good luck with shopping and cooking!! How is your cooking class?

My day was ok, I am feeling edgy tonight, but my tummy is fine - which is great as it has been playing up a lot lately! I feel like roaming around to find some food... going to bed instead. I feel hungry and I was light headed before dinner

My kitchen is stocked with good food now, the chicken broth still bubbling away in the slow cooker. Here my meals for today:

Meal 1: 3 egg scramble with spinach and jerky

Meal 2: Raw veggie platter with egg, ham and olives

Meal 3: Pork chop with mashed potato and red cabbage

I also had 2 mandarines and 1 passionfruit.

Hi yggy, not sure if someone mentioned this or not, but compliant ham is typically mythical.  Check those ingredients again, cured ham typically has added sugar.

[ladyshanny]

This is Darya Rose, from the website Summer Tomato, 

I use this recipe of hers nearly every day during delicata squash season!  http://summertomato.com/better-than-butternut-roasted-delicata-squash-recipe/

 

Cool that she has a cooking class!

[yggy]

Thanks ladyshanny, did not know that - does that apply to all cured meat?

[ladyshanny]

Thanks ladyshanny, did not know that - does that apply to all cured meat?

I think it's pretty common in cured meat, yes.  I do have an air cured chorizo that I buy that does not have any non compliant ingredients in it though so it's worth reading all your labels, even the ones that come on meat.  (as an example, many deli rotisserie chickens are loaded with non compliant ingredients)

[Ayme]

Tonight is the night I complete my "roast chicken" assignment for my cooking class. I have never cooked a whole bird before, not even a turkey on Thanksgiving. I bought it and prepped it yesterday, so all I have to do when I get home is season it and throw it in the oven. I used to buy those deli rotisserie chickens, as I hate touching raw meat, but I'm hoping this is a good experience and turns out well so I can continue it in the future. Like you said, ladyshanny, those prepared chickens are not very healthy! Having home roasted chicken as a protein for several days is very appealing.

 

I can't wait to feel better. Still grumpy, tired, and having some off and on intestinal distress. I'm using essential oils to alleviate my symptoms (joyful blend, peppermint, digestive blend), as well as stress-relieving activities, such as reading, coloring (I just discovered the joy that is adult coloring books), and watching Netflix. I'm surviving, but looking forward to the next step... feeling amazing!

[yggy]

How did the chicken roast turn out? Hope you had a great experience!!!

I love colouring in as well and started only a couple of months ago. Very relaxing

I am not sleeping very well at the moment and I am so much craving sugar!!! I don't actually eat much sugar anyway, but I can feel this little bugger of a dragon!!! I feel really light headed before having my next meal, so its a bit bad.

I am really proud of myself today as I packed a take-away brekkie (veggies, chicken, nuts and a banana) for brekkie and had a compliant chicken caesar for lunch - so I can spend a day in the city and still eat right - YAY!!!

My digestion is on track now, low fodmap gives me great relief!!

[Ayme]

Actually, it turned out really well! I ate the drumsticks and wings right away, and then shredded the rest of the chicken to use later. I do not enjoy that part... it takes me FOREVER.

 

I finally got a decent night's sleep last night, and I woke up with more happiness and energy than I usually do. Maybe the corner has finally turned for me?

 

Sorry you're getting lightheaded! I think one of the recommendations I read about was to increase the healthy fat content in each meal if you're experiencing cravings and issues between meals.

[Ayme]

Hey! It's been a few days, thought I'd check in.

 

I had 4 days of minimal cooking because of dining out or just not wanting to cook. I kept Whole30 compliant, but I was lacking motivation. Dining out was interesting. At Chili's (a chain restaurant), I ended up with a salad (lettuce, grilled chicken, and avocado), and finished my toddler's meal of grilled chicken (his was so much tastier than mine!) and fresh pineapple. My husband ordered dessert and ate it all by himself in front me. That was a difficult meal. On Sunday, we went to a local steakhouse. I reserved our table online, and in the special comments, mentioned what I was going to order (steak with mushrooms, and two sides of veggies), and mentioned my dietary restrictions. They were awesome! The hostess mentioned it upon seating us that the chef had already been informed about my special request, and that she would let him know I had arrived. The steak was phenomenal, as was the charred veggies, but the sauteed spinach was seriously lacking. I don't think they used any salt at all, just oil. I finished it all, but I won't order that again, just double charred veggies! It was a good experience for me, as I hate to special order anything, though I should be used to it by now... my son has multiple food allergies! Again, my husband ordered dessert, and it was SO hard to watch him. I can't believe he won't be more considerate. I was seriously craving sugar while he was eating it, and my mind was racing trying to think of something W30 compliant that I could eat... I was considering dashing to the grocery store to pick up a container of fresh cut fruit. Then I realized that I can't eat fruit if the sole purpose is to feed my Sugar Dragon. So I starved it instead. I wasn't even hungry. Like the books say, the craving passed within several minutes, and I forgot all about it.

 

Last night was almost a disaster in my kitchen. I had 2 recipes planned, but I didn't realize that almost all of my produce had gone bad, and I was missing a key ingredient (limes) for both recipes. So I cleaned out my fridge, started fresh, and came up with a meal on the fly: ground beef with onions, garlic, olives, bell pepper, and Sneaky Chef Smooth Red pasta sauce (it's a clean version of sauce that contains pureed veggies; perfect for my veggie-hating son!) I also followed a recipe for Crash Hot Potatoes I found on Pinterest (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/). I followed the recipe almost exactly, but since I didn't have fresh rosemary, I subbed Montreal steak seasoning instead. They were freaking DELICIOUS! Well, so was the entree. It took me a long time to do, but it was SO worth it. Even my picky husband liked the potatoes, except for the pepper! He requested I make them again with less spice. (Maybe on HIS half of the pan, not mine!)

 

Today I have a doctor's appointment, and I'm picking up lunch from Chipotle. I've done my research, so I know what I'm going to order: a carnitas salad, with lettuce, double meat, salsa, and double guacamole. It sounds amazing. I'm going to the grocery store after work, so we're having leftovers from last night so I don't have to cook again.

 

Oh, did I mention I'm starting to feel amazing? I'm waking up with little difficulty (a HUGE deal for me, I've been a chronic snoozer since I was 10). I'm getting sleepy around 10 or 11 pm, instead of past midnight. I have more energy throughout the day, and I'm not experiencing sudden bouts of fatigue. I started exercising again last night (30 minutes on my exercise bike), and my libido is returning! (Again, a huge deal, as I have PCOS and depression, and loss of libido has been my worst enemy for several YEARS.)

 

So anyway, I'm finally feeling the good effects of this diet. My stomach is noticably flatter, too, which is great! With PCOS, losing weight, even with diet and exercise, is nearly impossible, and of course, most of my fat is visceral fat around my middle, the worst kind. Not only do I get mistaken for pregnant constantly, it increases my risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. I also want to have another child, and the first thing they tell you is to lose 10-20 lbs. to give yourself a better chance of the fertility treatments working. (It would be a MIRACLE if I got pregnant without treatments this time!)

 

Hope all is going well with you, yggy, and anyone else who started July 8th!

[Ayme]

Where to begin? So yesterday I made lunch for my in-laws, and I was so focused on their dietary needs, I forgot to check one ingredient... and ended up consuming carageenan in almond milk! (I made chicken tenders in an almond milk bath with almond meal breading.) I had 3 small tenders. After consulting with my family, I'm not going to consider that a reset failure, so I am going to keep going. I think I will push out some of the reintroductions, though. I'm going to add back in some supplements that contain stevia and brown rice powder at the end of the 30 days, and then wait a few weeks before trying anything else.

 

I went to a PCOS conference on Saturday, which was truly illuminating. (I have Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome.) A good portion of the day covered diet and exercise for a woman with PCOS. It was very close to Whole30, and I kept hearing the same phrases popping up... eliminate processed foods and added sugar, eat grass-fed, pastured animal protein, eat lots of vegetables, some fruits, and healthy fats, etc. There was one session on protecting your pancreas (and subsequently insulin and other hormones). She had some interesting ideas on how to eat. 5 hours between meals, do not eat fruit with a meal, have it at least 90 minutes before or after a meal (but eating it with some protein or healthy fat is okay). Do not consume protein and grain/starchy carbs (such as brown rice, brown rice pasta, or potatoes) in the same meal. Either eat protein and veggies/salad, or eat grain carbs and veggies/salad, but not together. That would mean skipping protein in some meals, right? Seems like it would be more difficult to maintain satiation that way (even if making up for the lack of protein in another meal that day). But if you take out the grain/starchy carbs as stated, you're left with a typical Whole30-compliant meal, which obviously makes sense to me. The only difference would be not eating potatoes at all, it seems, but with PCOS, insulin resistance is a big factor, so maybe potatoes should be limited or eliminated from my diet anyway. (To be fair, in the past 20 days, I've only had 2 servings of white potatoes total.) This is also in addition to my chiropractor recommending a Paleo/gluten free style diet to reduce inflammation and aid healing in my neck/spine. I also spoke with my doctor last week about Whole30, and she was all for it! She took the print-outs I bought for further study. She is curious about why beans and gluten-free whole grains are on the bad food list, and I couldn't remember off the top of my head. Anyway, just some "food for thought".

 

I truly feel like I'm experiencing Tiger Blood these days. It's been easier to eat compliant, but I was also with my W30-compliant mom and sister for a few days, so we were able to band together and make sure we ate well. Even though I've avoided the scale, it's impossible not to notice the changes in the mirror and how my clothes are fitting nowadays. Seeing and feeling all these positive effects helps me strengthen my resolve to complete the W30 as described, and continuing healthy eating habits for life.