starting off! Whole30 - Day One

[beachcomber]

Wow.  So glad that today is over.  Not that it was particularly hard…. but it's nice to have that BIG FIRST DAY under my belt.  I feel successful, despite a wrench being thrown into my day (my little dog ending up at the Vet this morning (my poor baby!!)) and going to work the full day after getting my kids off to school.

 

Had a breakfast frittata with spinach, tomatoes and onion and a side of homemade pork sausages.

 

Lunch was a biggie spinach salad with 2 hard boiled eggs and mayo.

 

Snack was 8 olives and a lovely honey crisp apple.

 

Dinner was half a sweet potato, cooked halibut, onion and spinach.

Tons of water.  

It was a very egg and spinach day but I will branch out more this week!

No walking due to unexpected trip to vet but I will walk a ton tomorrow…. 

 

[beachcomber]

Day Two!  Crazy.  Huge day.  We had a field trip with my youngest child's class that lasted from 8:30am-7pm!  185 kids and no wine at the end of the day???!!!  Even as I type that, if sounds cruel and unusual but…. I did it!  I planned and ate clean and am sitting here with a nice glass of water, ready for bed.  And the best thing is…. I did 15,000 steps on my fit bit!  

 

Breakfast - 1/4 egg frittata and two pork sausage patties
snack - chicken salad with mayo, celery and red onion

lunch - carrot sticks, olives and another little container of chicken salad (I packed two…. thank heavens!)

snack - a hard boiled egg

dinner - massive plate of romaine lettuce, sunshine sauce and a salmon fillet

I work tomorrow and have a dentist appt. and my house is a total insane bomb…. but I'm trying hard to let the stress of my house/laundry situation just GO.  I don't work a full day on Thursday and can re-group then.

I'm really feeling optimistic! 

[jmcbn]

Hi beachcomber & welcome to Whole30 - sounds like you had a hectic day!

Just a few pointers for you as you start this journey...

The recommendation is to eat 3 meals per day, the first within an hour of wakening, and all of which should satiate you for 4-5hrs. This allows your digestive system some down time in between meals, and also allows your body to reach that magic point where it turns to your fat stores for fuel rather than relying on the carbs you are supplying...

Bear in mind that a portion of eggs when they are your only source of protein in a meal should be the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand - which is 3-4 for most females.

If you struggle to eat more in one sitting the recommendation is to plate up a template meal, eat as much of it as you can (eating around the plate to ensure you get a little of each food group), then wrap up the rest to eat as soon as you feel able. Your appetite will soon increase & the three meals will do you just fine   

 

The composition of your meals looks pretty good, & the snacks are well composed too, but try making them a little bigger so that you cut out the need for those snacks - unless you're still nursing, are pregnant, or on your feet for an extended day like a A&E nurse might be for example.

Hope this helps!

 

[beachcomber]

Hi jmcbn  Thanks for your response!!  

It's interesting because I'm a recovering diet addict (lol?) and basically forbid myself to DIET anymore (and succeeded for a long time) but when I read about this plan, it really made sense to me and so I jumped in…. but I actually am not usually a snacker, so I think that my multiple snacks is more a result of just my previous diet-mentality.  I'm too busy to bother with snacks, so YAY!  lol!

Today I have planned:

breakfast (not big enough, I know now) was 1/4 spinach and tomato frittata (which would only be about 1.5 eggs) and one pork sausage patty.  But it did fill me up and it's been about 3.5 hours since I had it.  I will work on this but I'm still recovering from yesterday's crazy day and my food prep is showing it.

lunch - a whole tin of tuna mixed with mayo, celery and onion on a bed of romaine lettuce with half a sweet potato.

dinner - a ton of grilled veg (carrot, zuch, mushrooms, onions), roasted cauliflower and a nice fillet of salmon.

I know day three is usually a hangover day but I'm feeling good.  I didn't sleep well last night but I think I was just over tired…. my body hummed all night.

I'm starting to fantasize about making this a whole100…. am I crazy?  I have a lot of weight to lose and am determined to make life changes for a healthy me.

 

[jmcbn]

Not crazy no - many people extend once they start seeing the many benefits to their health..... and yep, those meals look much better, especially if you increase the breakfast for tomorrow - and don't be afraid to add a little more fat - fat is your friend 

[beachcomber]

Day 4!!

Woke up feeling good!  My tummy was a bit wonky last night but my energy and mood has been good until this afternoon.  I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch at my favourite sushi place.  I was already a bit nervous about it because I've never had sushi without soy before but this place is AMAZING and their sashimi is to-die-for fresh and I figured that some ginger would be just fine.  But then my friend, who is chronically late as it is, called me while I was at the restaurant and canceled lunch  Normally, I'm a pretty easy going gal but I was so annoyed today!!!  I weighed my options…. stay and mad-eat and run the risk of ordering something stupid just because I was feeling emotional OR I could go home and chose some safe food from my fridge.  So I choose option #2 and mad-ate there but now I feel better.  Lol.  

Today looks like:

breakfast - 1/2 of the new frittata I made last night (with tomatoes, onions, zuch and two leftover ground pork sausages that I had already cooked, minced up and thrown in) and some of the roasted veg that I had leftover from last night.  Super yum.

 

lunch - ok, I lied, I didn't quite eat all 1/2 of my frittata (those things are filling!!!!) and roast veg breakfast…. so I ate the rest of that PLUS a half of a sweet potato with some home made mayo (sounds weird but so good) and two hard boiled eggs.  I finished with some delicious honey melon.

dinner - I'm excited to say that I'm going to attempt the Salmon Benedict from the Whole30 book.  Complete with home made hollandaise.  Wish me luck!!!!!  It looks AMAZING….. hubby and I were drooling over the photo last night.

I have a kombucha for after dinner.

Cheers

[beachcomber]

end of day five…. I had a NAP today.  That's pretty unheard of for me.  But it actually helped so much that I think that I'll have one tomorrow!  haha!

Food is getting tough…. the prep is killing me a bit and I feel like I've eaten my weight in eggs.  Will need to menu plan for this coming week, that is for sure.

Tomorrow should be sunny and beautiful!

[beachcomber]

Day 6 in the can!  Tons of food prep today…. and tons of exercise and sun!   Feeling seriously proud

[beachcomber]

Wahoo!  End of Day 7!  One week!  I feel super good….. this whole30 thing is making me organized in my life in general!  Had such a great weekend of fun (and some sun!) watching kids play soccer and hockey plus getting a ton of stuff done around the house and loads of meal prep.

Today looked like this:

Breakfast:  a bit of a weird chill that I made with squash, sweet potato, onion, cabbage, tomatoes and ground beef.  Yes, it sounds weird but it was good!  Rustic and warm and hearty.  I had it on a bed of roasted spaghetti squash.

Lunch:  homemade puree soup of butternut squash, apple and sweet potato.  I made a homemade chicken stock because my lovely yummy organic stock that I buy has sugar in it!!    Beside the soup I had a turkey breast salad on spinach.
Dinner:  Roast beef, sautéed mushrooms, green beans, steamed broc, and half a sweet potato.  A kombucha to finish.  I'm so satisfied!

[NY2LA2MONTREAL]

Hi Beachcomber,

 

Congrats on your progress.  I was just telling someone on the forum that what I found the most rewarding (other than clean eating, weight loss) is this program makes me so focused and as a result - more organized.  Go figure...who thought the right food could make such changes.

 

My husband and I just finished Day 46 --- WE LOVE THE PROGRAM.

 

GOOD LUCK and keep feeling great.

[beachcomber]

Day 46!!!  NY2LA2Montreal, that is so awesome.  Very inspiring to hear.  I have fantasies of taking this whole30 and making it a whole100 but I worry that I'm going to set myself to fail by planning that so in advance.  I've spent a lifetime of joining programs (and diets) and then self-sabotaging.  I'm going to try to live a bit more in the moment right now…. but I do love this program.  I'm waking up happy

Thanks for your input!!

[beachcomber]

today will look like:

Breakfast: smoked salmon frittata

 

Lunch:  Turkey salad on spinach, a beautiful honey crisp apple

 

DInner: Leftovers….. my weirdo chill on spag squash and some butternut squash soup.  My family will be having the delicious cabbage rolls that I made for the freezer pre-whole30 (they have rice in the filling)…. and I'm okay with that!  I will likely have a kombucha and another honey crisp to finish my dinner.

 

[OneLittleBrit]

Hi Beachcomber!

 

I started my Whole30 journey today so thanks for this post, i'm following and looking forward to hearing your experiences!

 

Do you feel better? i'm looking forward to not feeling sluggish & bloated all the time!

[NY2LA2MONTREAL]

Day 46!!!  NY2LA2Montreal, that is so awesome.  Very inspiring to hear.  I have fantasies of taking this whole30 and making it a whole100 but I worry that I'm going to set myself to fail by planning that so in advance.  I've spent a lifetime of joining programs (and diets) and then self-sabotaging.  I'm going to try to live a bit more in the moment right now…. but I do love this program.  I'm waking up happy

Thanks for your input!!

 

 

Hi Beachcomber!

 

I started my Whole30 journey today so thanks for this post, i'm following and looking forward to hearing your experiences!

 

Do you feel better? i'm looking forward to not feeling sluggish & bloated all the time!

Hi there to both of you.....

 

Just take the WHOLE 30 one day at a time...it will go faster than you think.  My husband and I have never eaten SO GOOD and it's healthy...go figure.  When we got to DAY 30 we said we could continue eating like this and we have --- except for my birthday which was AFTER.  My mother in law, stepson, husband and I went out to dinner.  The dinner was 100% compliant - grilled steak, plain baked potato and grilled veggies (the restaurant grills with olive oil).  I got a complimentary piece of b'day cake -- I chose to take a 1 1/2 bites (on the same fork).  It didn't do anything for me.  Within minutes, I had a headache and my stomach reacted.  This from Ms. Sugarholic holder of the title since I was born.  Today, we went to the same restaurant to celebrate my husband's b'day.  We gave the free complimentary piece of cake to my mother in law to take home.  Not even a whiff from me and my husband.

 

I say this, because everyone is different.  I hope and pray your results match what me and my husband experienced.  Within 4 days my knees stopped hurting, I was more relaxed.  My husband - he was taken off 2 diabetic meds and now his pants are falling off him (but he's a man and we know all about men losing weight faster than women).

 

Stick to the rules for the 30 days - it's an amazing program.  No counting calories, points, etc.  It is just a healthy template of pure and healthy food.  No crappy ingredients.  It's like you feel sober afterwards.

 

The forum is a great place for support.  If something is bothering you, you have a question -- bring it here -- the people are SO SUPPORTIVE and the MODERATORS KNOW THEIR STUFF.  You are in the best place.

 

GOOD LUCK - KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF AND ENJOY.

[OneLittleBrit]

Thanks for the huge support! I'm super excited to be doing this, i just need to stop missing my cups of tea with milk & sugar! The food is great, it's the drinks i'll struggle with, or lack of them! water is just kinda boring.

 

What do you drink? I have flavored tea bags and lemon in my water today....

[NY2LA2MONTREAL]

Thanks for the huge support! I'm super excited to be doing this, i just need to stop missing my cups of tea with milk & sugar! The food is great, it's the drinks i'll struggle with, or lack of them! water is just kinda boring.

 

What do you drink? I have flavored tea bags and lemon in my water today....

Before WHOLE 30....I could knock off liters of diet soda, stevia in my coffee and any candy I could find.  Years ago I could chew gum, suck on a sourball candy and smoke a cigarette at the same time.  Talk about "multitasking"

 

What I am trying to say, is I LOVED SUGAR if you get my drift.   The trick is fat and protein to wipe that craving away....it really works.  And now I LOVE WATER - ICE COLD WATER.

 

Hang in there.... you can do it.  YOUR BODY WILL LOVE YOU FOR IT.

 

Good Luck!!!!

[beachcomber]

Hey OnelittleBrit  And hello again NY2LA2Montreal

Yes, I feel so much better already, it's amazing.  The side benefits of feeling better about myself is that I am outwardly happier.  I am laughing and smiling!  I am having sex again! lol  And it's not because I've had a huge physical transformation in the past 8 days (I have had changes but nothing huge)…. it is because I just plain feel better.  I'm excited and want more

As for drinks…. well, wine used to be my favourite.  lol!  Now I just drink a ton of water and I have one kombucha every night.  I've never really drank coffee, so that's not a big deal.  I do like mint tea but haven't bothered yet.  It's getting a bit chillier here, so I will likely start adding tea to my afternoons, at work.  (It's cold in here!!)

Great luck OnelittleBrit!  If I can do this…. believe me, anyone can!  And huge thanks to NY2LA2Montreal!  Your support is invaluable!  

[NY2LA2MONTREAL]

Hey OnelittleBrit  And hello again NY2LA2Montreal

Yes, I feel so much better already, it's amazing.  The side benefits of feeling better about myself is that I am outwardly happier.  I am laughing and smiling!  I am having sex again! lol  And it's not because I've had a huge physical transformation in the past 8 days (I have had changes but nothing huge)…. it is because I just plain feel better.  I'm excited and want more

As for drinks…. well, wine used to be my favourite.  lol!  Now I just drink a ton of water and I have one kombucha every night.  I've never really drank coffee, so that's not a big deal.  I do like mint tea but haven't bothered yet.  It's getting a bit chillier here, so I will likely start adding tea to my afternoons, at work.  (It's cold in here!!)

Great luck OnelittleBrit!  If I can do this…. believe me, anyone can!  And huge thanks to NY2LA2Montreal!  Your support is invaluable!

You are so welcome. Just paying it forward. I cannot tell you how much support I received from this Forum

You are going to be fine

Where in Canada are you

[OneLittleBrit]

I made it to day 2! haha! Last night i was soooo hungry! but thats my own fault as my salad for lunch was tiny and only an egg for protein - better lunch today. I have the mother of all headaches today, did you 2 suffer with anything? Not sure if it's work or the sugar come down i'm most likely on! 

[beachcomber]

NY2LA2Montreal - I'm outside of Vancouver but am from Ontario originally  

OnelittleBrit…. you need to eat more.  I made the same mistake at first but honestly, you need to eat to succeed on this plan.  I didn't have headaches but I def had an upset tummy in the first few days.  You can do this!

DAY NINE!

Today looked like:

 

nice big walk (I've walked every day so far!!)

breakfast - 3 poached eggs with 2 home made pork sausage patties

 

lunch - coleslaw with mayo dressing, butternut squash soup and a little bit of weird chill.  I think i'm over the weirdo chill… lol

dinner - some flank steak on salad with a homemade dressing, a bunch of oven baked chicken wings in hot sauce.

[OneLittleBrit]

Day 2 has been lunch better food wise - had potato & chicken with my salad lunch & had salmon with potato & veg for tea - with some home made W30 mayo i hope my headache goes soon, it was super hard to concentrate at work today, and i need to jazz up the drinks too as both my husband and I are already bored of water! 

 

Beachcomber do you make the kombucha with out sugar i presume? So just black tea?

[Seafarer]

Greetings! I struggle with water too, so here's my two cents worth... and my Go To drinks.

- club soda or tea, especially green tea (but check the ingredients)

- club soda with a lime twist. Add an olive on a toothpick if you are needing a bit of festivity.

- infused water: Slice a cucumber, or a couple of limes, or berries, or watermelon. Toss into a pitcher & fill it with water. Refrigerate for a few hours & enjoy.

- Slice ginger root into a pot of water & simmer for a couple of hours. Add a bit of this water to your regular glass of water, or even to club soda. If you add it to plain water you can heat it & call it tea.

- bone broth. So yummy.

 

Watch the ingredients in flavored teas. I spent half an hour at my local health food store reading the ingredients on their extensive collection of teas. Gave up. Came home & made ginger water. 

 

I forget about water when I am in the house (why???!) and have not perfected the art of carrying a water bottle with me in the garden, but I am great at water-in-the-car. Whenever I drive somewhere I can always get a bottle in while I am going, and another when I am returning. If this works for you too, grab several bottles on your way out the door. For me... I just need to spend more time in the car.  

 

Good luck. 

[WholeMama623]

Reading along! In May I started at Whole30 and within a week extended it to a Whole100. It was amazing. I'm so glad I did it. I'm starting day one of a Whole30-60 today. I'm not really sure where I'm going to end up! So if you decided to add more days, don't put pressure on yourself! Just go day by day!

[beachcomber]

Thanks WholeMama  I'm still entertaining the idea and I'm on Day 11…. exciting to feel so good!

 

Onelittlebrit - I make the komucha with tea, a scoby and 1 cup of sugar.  But the sugar is used up in the fermentation process.  It's whole30 approved as long as you're not adding any fruit juices at the end, I think.  I flavor mine with herbal tea, so nothing else is added.

Seafarer - I have always liked drinking water… it's my ONE good habit… lol!  But I'm drinking even more now!  My skin looks awesome!

Today looks like this:

Walk and work

breakfast - scrambled eggs and two small pork sausage patties, small apple

lunch - spaghetti squash, 1/2 yam, chicken breast, homemade mayo

dinner - pork tenderloin with roast vegs and I'll do some rice up for the kids

 

laundry, food prep, make lunches

kombucha and young and the restless… lol!  They feel like my guilty pleasure right now…. haha 

[WholeMama623]

Yummmm kombucha...