How To Be Crunchy Does a Whole 30

[HowToBeCrunchy]

So I decided to start a blog on "How To Be Crunchy" because I aspire to crunchiness. I believe in real food and conservation and green living and all that, but my actions don't always track with those beliefs. I have also been pretty strictly paleo in the past and know just how good I felt following that lifestyle, yet I still have not been able to get back on the paleo train for two years now. I keep trying to reboot and doing pretty well for a week or two and then falling off again. I have health goals I would like to reach, and I know just eating real food would be the single best thing I can do for myself.

 

So I'm trying a Whole 30. Again. And this time I am determined to succeed. I am not sure how much I will use the forums or not. But I do plan to log all my food using Instagram and to blog recipes, etc. on my blog. The link to my blog is in my forum signature (or here: http://howtobecrunchypaleo.blogspot.com)and from there you can find all my social media accounts. If you are a social media person I would LOVE to have some followers who will help hold me accountable. I know I need that audience keeping tabs on me in order to be successful in re-creating these real food habits.

 

Tomorrow will be my day 0 and I will be doing a grocery store run. Any foods that successful finishers considered must haves?

[HowToBeCrunchy]

So I went shopping with some girl friends today and ended up recruiting both of them to help with my Whole 30! One is going to join me on Monday (I'm starting tomorrow) and the other has offered to be accountability and even help with making food! Here is was worried that is have no local support and now I've got two friends on board.

I spent this evening prepping some food for the coming week to make breakfast, lunch and snacks much easier. Basically grab and go, reheat if needed. I will posting photos and recipes on Instagram and my blog for anyone that wants to follow along. Even though I've got two friends close by supporting me having virtual support is great too!

Here is to a successful Whole 30 - starting tomorrow!

[HowToBeCrunchy]

Day 1 and I am sooo tired. I can't say this is a problem with Whole 30, because I've been exhausted for a while now. I am hoping the Whole 30 will help with this, because I'm tired of being so tired. It is to the point where, if the Whole 30 doesn't help, I am going to see my doctor and see if there is something more serious wrong with me. I get out of breath easier than I used to (despite working out), tire easily, and haven't had the energy to go to CrossFit more than once a week all summer. I've not been sleeping spectacularly well, but not poorly either. My weight has been stable at 222 for months now, whether I go on a binge or eat super clean for days in a row. I know that improving the quality of my food would almost definitely help, and that's one of the many reasons I know I need this. It is really hard to not hit the chocolate stash at work though when the afternoon exhaustion hits. I had sunflower seeds, cashews and a fruit and nut bar for a snack today. Still tired, but feel a bit better and I am glad that I made the choice to eat real food instead of junk.

 

As a side bar - are chicharones (aka pork rinds) plan compliant? The ones I usually get have just two ingredients - pork skins and salt - so I would think they would be okay, expect that even otherwise compliant potato chips are off-limits so I wasn't sure on chicharones. Since they are just protein and fat they are pretty satiating, I wouldn't consider them "food with no brakes" but I did not want to go buy bags to have on hand for a snack if they aren't allowed.

[HowToBeCrunchy]

Is it already Day 4? I don't feel too terrible. Mostly I'm just craving sugar, but I've been feeding that craving with low-sugar blueberries along with fat and protein of chicharones. (I never got an answer on if they are allowed or not from my last post - so I'm assuming they are, since they aren't a "food with no breaks").

 

Mostly I'm just tired, but again, I was exhausted and overly tired even before this - so who's to say what's at fault.

 

Looking forward to having more energy soon though. I hope.

 

Here is my more extensive log from my blog: Days 0-3 (http://howtobecrunchypaleo.blogspot.com/2015/08/whole-30-days-0-3.html)

 

I've not been taking as many pictures as I'd planned, mostly because they food hasn't looked as visually appealing as I'd hoped - even though it tastes good. Still, I'll be adding pics to Instagram as good photos present themselves.

[ShannonM816]

Sorry, we don't necessarily always monitor the personal logs -- for future reference, if you have a question and googling Whole30 + whatever you're looking for doesn't find an answer, it's best to post somewhere else in the forum. For something like this, the Can I Have section would work well.

 

Chicharones are okay. They easily can be food without brakes for many people, and if you're using them as a snack, you may need to look into making your meals bigger. Ideally, you'll be able to go 4-5 hours between meals.

 

I notice on your blog you mention fries. Doesn't matter if they're not FWOB for you, they're not allowed -- see this quote from the Can I Have list:

 

French Fries: Not if they’re commercially prepared or deep-fried

Ordering fries with your (no bun, no cheese) burger and green salad really misses the point of the Whole30. Fries are the epitome of “food with no brakes,” and anything deep-fried in vegetable oil is be default unhealthy. Make your own potatoes at home using coconut oil, duck fat, or ghee, and baking or roasting them in the oven instead of deep-frying them; or order them baked or mashed (no cheese, sour cream, or butter!) if dining out.

- See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/#sthash.FVVJo6FF.dpuf

 

Remember that bacon at a restaurant is almost certainly not Whole30 compliant (think about how hard it is to find the stuff with no sugar at the grocery store -- your average restaurant is not going to that much trouble, they're just buying bacon from whatever supplier they use for their meats).