The Tiger Tots of the CFC

[misslindy]

Hi

I hope everyone made it through Hallowe'en unscathed or scathed if that was your preference. Quiet here and I am glad, my husband had some candy squirrelled away and brought it out when some children came to visit. I was surprised but I was tempted to eat some of it--so there is another shift coming I think, more of the body/mind reaction to hang onto previous mindset that I can do without now. So tempted but let it go by.

 

xxL

[NancyW]

Hi

I hope everyone made it through Hallowe'en unscathed or scathed if that was your preference. Quiet here and I am glad, my husband had some candy squirrelled away and brought it out when some children came to visit. I was surprised but I was tempted to eat some of it--so there is another shift coming I think, more of the body/mind reaction to hang onto previous mindset that I can do without now. So tempted but let it go by.

 

xxL

Over the last week or so, I've given in to temptation too many times. What I've noticed in that week, and it hasn't happened since the very earliest days of our September W30, is that I am having cravings again. That sh*t has GOT to stop. I am not in a place to fool around with sweets and grains. Maybe someday, but not now. I don't want to go into "food season" with my head not screwed on straight... 

[misslindy]

Over the last week or so, I've given in to temptation too many times. What I've noticed in that week, and it hasn't happened since the very earliest days of our September W30, is that I am having cravings again. That sh*t has GOT to stop. I am not in a place to fool around with sweets and grains. Maybe someday, but not now. I don't want to go into "food season" with my head not screwed on straight... 

Sorry to hear you are having such a struggle, Nancy.  It is not fun. You will know what is the best way forward for you and will do what you need to to get there.

[misslindy]

I had flash of genius the other day--just after I was tempted by the candy. When I would look for something to eat it was not because I was bored, unhappy or anything else. I was hungry and nothing was satisfying that because I hadn't been nourishing myself with what I was eating. Since I have cut out grains completely, and all sugar except occasional raw fruit, I have not once been looking for food between meals. Amazing.

 

I shall continue and eat this way being W30 compliant most of the time, like only have an occasional meal or item off plan. Because I work from home and we have very little social life (!!!) I can control what I eat 98% of the time so I am backing off worrying about it at all any more. I think I will get more into making some of the recipes however for a little variety. My husband is eating W30 as well most of the time and he has no idea he is--bless.  I can't get his cookies, cake or toast away from him but I make those so have control over what goes in them!

[AshleyM2484]

Good morning!  I survived Halloween, but only because most of what my nieces and nephews collected was stuff I didn't care for...lol, so bad I know!

 

I've decided to start a Whole24 today (I talked about it to myself over the weekend).  I had a bad reintroduction period and need to reset before Thanksgiving.  I'll finish on Thanksgiving Day, which is (gasp!) 24 days away--eek!  

 

I'm really excited for Melissa Hartwig's new Whole30 for pregnant women launch.  I've been following her and Stephanie Greunke on Instagram for tips.  I'm really looking forward to it!

 

How is everyone else doing?!

[milonac]

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  I haven't posted in a while as I had been doing really well.  I was staying 95% compliant with one meal or treat off plan on Sundays.  But, Halloween did me in and made me realize how easy it can be to succumb to the nasty sugar dragon.

 

We stopped at a wine bar on Saturday afternoon. I'm not much of a drinker, but we came across a very cute wine bar so we figured why not stop and have a glass. I had one glass of wine and things spiraled from there.  One glass of wine led to a cheeseburger and French fries on Saturday night. Which led to a small package of kit kat minis. (Which aren't even my favorite, but I chose it over Reese's PB cups because that is absolutely FWNB/SWYPO.)  I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea.  That later led to a chocolate muffin on Sunday afternoon and then I finally caved and had several Reese's PB cups anyway.  I truly felt out of control and all I could think about was eating more candy!  Ugh!  It made me hungry all day.   And honestly...I would still love to eat more PB cups.

 

It's scary how easy it is to spiral out of control.  I hate that feeling.  So, I'm back on lock down.  All candy is being banished from the house!

[misslindy]

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  I haven't posted in a while as I had been doing really well.  I was staying 95% compliant with one meal or treat off plan on Sundays.  But, Halloween did me in and made me realize how easy it can be to succumb to the nasty sugar dragon.

 

We stopped at a wine bar on Saturday afternoon. I'm not much of a drinker, but we came across a very cute wine bar so we figured why not stop and have a glass. I had one glass of wine and things spiraled from there.  One glass of wine led to a cheeseburger and French fries on Saturday night. Which led to a small package of kit kat minis. (Which aren't even my favorite, but I chose it over Reese's PB cups because that is absolutely FWNB/SWYPO.)  I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea.  That later led to a chocolate muffin on Sunday afternoon and then I finally caved and had several Reese's PB cups anyway.  I truly felt out of control and all I could think about was eating more candy!  Ugh!  It made me hungry all day.   And honestly...I would still love to eat more PB cups.

 

It's scary how easy it is to spiral out of control.  I hate that feeling.  So, I'm back on lock down.  All candy is being banished from the house!

 Congratulations for picking yourself up and getting back to the basics and where you want to be. Well done.

[NancyW]

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  I haven't posted in a while as I had been doing really well.  I was staying 95% compliant with one meal or treat off plan on Sundays.  But, Halloween did me in and made me realize how easy it can be to succumb to the nasty sugar dragon.

 

We stopped at a wine bar on Saturday afternoon. I'm not much of a drinker, but we came across a very cute wine bar so we figured why not stop and have a glass. I had one glass of wine and things spiraled from there.  One glass of wine led to a cheeseburger and French fries on Saturday night. Which led to a small package of kit kat minis. (Which aren't even my favorite, but I chose it over Reese's PB cups because that is absolutely FWNB/SWYPO.)  I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea.  That later led to a chocolate muffin on Sunday afternoon and then I finally caved and had several Reese's PB cups anyway.  I truly felt out of control and all I could think about was eating more candy!  Ugh!  It made me hungry all day.   And honestly...I would still love to eat more PB cups.

 

It's scary how easy it is to spiral out of control.  I hate that feeling.  So, I'm back on lock down.  All candy is being banished from the house!

I'm right there with you, battling my way back!

[NancyW]

Hi all! Here's my NSV for the day: I had my doctor appointment today. My doctor was very impressed with my efforts. I've lost a total of 20 pounds since I last saw him, and my bloodwork was all satisfactory. I explained a bit about Whole30 and how great I felt after the first week or so. After we were done, he left, and as I was waiting for the assistant to come back with my flu shot, he popped back in to ask the name of the program so he can read up on it because he thinks there are other patients who could benefit from it. That went a long way toward getting me back on the right track. Hopefully, he'll spread the word!

[jodmaxfeldt]

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  I haven't posted in a while as I had been doing really well.  I was staying 95% compliant with one meal or treat off plan on Sundays.  But, Halloween did me in and made me realize how easy it can be to succumb to the nasty sugar dragon.

 

We stopped at a wine bar on Saturday afternoon. I'm not much of a drinker, but we came across a very cute wine bar so we figured why not stop and have a glass. I had one glass of wine and things spiraled from there.  One glass of wine led to a cheeseburger and French fries on Saturday night. Which led to a small package of kit kat minis. (Which aren't even my favorite, but I chose it over Reese's PB cups because that is absolutely FWNB/SWYPO.)  I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea.  That later led to a chocolate muffin on Sunday afternoon and then I finally caved and had several Reese's PB cups anyway.  I truly felt out of control and all I could think about was eating more candy!  Ugh!  It made me hungry all day.   And honestly...I would still love to eat more PB cups.

 

It's scary how easy it is to spiral out of control.  I hate that feeling.  So, I'm back on lock down.  All candy is being banished from the house!

It is such a slippery slope.  I'm sorry to hear you're struggling and at the same time I'm so impressed with your honesty (not sugar coating the weekend...pun intended).  That honestly will get you back on track.  You got this!!

[jodmaxfeldt]

Hello Everyone!  It's November!  The leaves are gorgeous outside my office window.

 

I'm still plugging along Whole30 style daily.  I've had wine on a few occasions (literally 2) and have felt horrible the day after.  Physically and mentally.  I used to use wine to let go...let loose...when with friends and my husband on special occasions.  (I'm pretty Type A and can get myself quite wound up.)  So, as I'm drinking, I'm thinking about this and realizing that it's not working that way anymore because my mindset is different.  So, the wine should stop, because of the way I feel the next morning and how it effects my routine.  And because the need to relax while celebrating needs to be a mental piece and not reliant on a drug.

 

I'm finding myself more in control and more mindful of my need to relax.  I can focus more on conversation and be in the moment more than ever.  And I find myself so much more comfortable with myself.  Now it's a matter of breaking the habit.  And of being the only person not drinking and feeling like I "should" have alcohol in my hand because I always have in the past.  And at the same time, not making it a "thing".  I don't want to label myself as non-drinking mainly because I truly feel caged by labels.  So, that's my November and December practice and there will be more occasions on which to practice than most months of the year.

 

Hope you're all well and getting along fine.  

 

peace.

[NancyW]

Good morning! Well, it's official--I've invited the sugar dragon back in and he brought friends. Nothing to be done about that but plan my next W30. I'm having mixed feelings about doing that over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is probably why I should be doing it over the holiday...

 

@jodmaxfeldt: Good for you on the wine realizations! It is hard to be the one not drinking for a lot of reasons, one of them being the potential labels. But you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

Off to contemplate my situation...

[jodmaxfeldt]

Hi NancyW,

 

Thanks for the encouragement on the drinking stuff.  There was a time in my life...not too long ago...when I would feel the need to fit in or worry about what others thought of my decision not to drink. Luckily I've grown a bit in that area.  It's breaking habits (because of my love of routine) that can be so hard for me!  But I'm a big girl and Saturday night gives me my first night to practice as we're going out to dinner with friends.  And then I'll see how Sunday goes without the bad feelings.  That'll give me strength to carry on.

 

And as far as your sugar dragon.  Hmmmmm....  So tricky to decide if the holiday season is the time to indulge it and deal with the fall out in January or to choke him dead (or unconscious) in the next three weeks and maybe you won't even be missing the Thanksgiving dessert stuff.  Or maybe you'll be in a place of more constraint if you take the time to right yourself now.  Remember, the first week is the hardest.  Whatever you decide...as Bob Marley would say...every little thing is gonna be alright.  

 

peace.

[misslindy]

Hello Everyone!  It's November!  The leaves are gorgeous outside my office window.

 

I'm still plugging along Whole30 style daily.  I've had wine on a few occasions (literally 2) and have felt horrible the day after.  Physically and mentally.  I used to use wine to let go...let loose...when with friends and my husband on special occasions.  (I'm pretty Type A and can get myself quite wound up.)  So, as I'm drinking, I'm thinking about this and realizing that it's not working that way anymore because my mindset is different.  So, the wine should stop, because of the way I feel the next morning and how it effects my routine.  And because the need to relax while celebrating needs to be a mental piece and not reliant on a drug.

 

I'm finding myself more in control and more mindful of my need to relax.  I can focus more on conversation and be in the moment more than ever.  And I find myself so much more comfortable with myself.  Now it's a matter of breaking the habit.  And of being the only person not drinking and feeling like I "should" have alcohol in my hand because I always have in the past.  And at the same time, not making it a "thing".  I don't want to label myself as non-drinking mainly because I truly feel caged by labels.  So, that's my November and December practice and there will be more occasions on which to practice than most months of the year.

 

Hope you're all well and getting along fine.  

 

peace.

HI

This drinking not drinking thing is a mine field--I absolutely hate anyone telling me to have a drink and years ago people were so uncomfortable if they were drinking and I wasn't so being a tad bloody-minded I refused to drink alcohol when I was out any place there was booze going. Stupid stupid stupid to let people control me but never mind, at least it was about something not that healthy for me. As a result I don't even really like alcohol and seldom want a drink. I do recognize your dilemma and I always insist on a special glass for my water! Even at home by myself. 

[misslindy]

Good morning! Well, it's official--I've invited the sugar dragon back in and he brought friends. Nothing to be done about that but plan my next W30. I'm having mixed feelings about doing that over the Thanksgiving holiday, which is probably why I should be doing it over the holiday...

 

@jodmaxfeldt: Good for you on the wine realizations! It is hard to be the one not drinking for a lot of reasons, one of them being the potential labels. But you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

Off to contemplate my situation...

Sorry to hear you have stuck a difficult spot--but you know how to get out. Perhaps over Thanksgiving will give you the strength to carry on? Whatever you decide, I am going to be carrying on with W30 again so will travel with  you if you like. 

[NancyW]

Thanks for the support!! Re: Thanksgiving, I'll be with just my mom & dad. It's the in-between year, where everyone else is with their inlaw families. We discussed the menu and it will be very basic, but I do want to have a small serving of stuffing and a piece of pie. I think maybe I'll be Whole## for now, with an exception for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and one or two other occasions over the holiday season. It won't be "official," but it will lead to a better situation for me! And my official W30 will be in January as planned. Whew, I feel better already!

[misslindy]

Hey, where is everyone? 

 

I have decided to embark on the AutoImmune Protocol and see if that shakes anything up. Mind you I am not going to be able to have eggs, green beans or Ghee, all of which have been my go to foods this past months. Never mind will try and see.

 

Very quiet in here, what is happening? Are you all off planning Christmas and US Thanksgiving?

[NancyW]

Hi misslindy! It has been quiet here. 

 

I don't know much about the AIP except that it's tougher. What can you find out from doing that? I hope you learn from it! I haven't been eating many eggs, but I'm changing that up this week. I made some mayo and will have that with HB eggs rolled up in romaine, or just as a "lazy person's deviled egg." (Cut the egg in half, spread a bit of mayo on each half, and call it done!) But it won't be long before I get tired of them.

[misslindy]

Hi misslindy! It has been quiet here. 

 

I don't know much about the AIP except that it's tougher. What can you find out from doing that? I hope you learn from it! I haven't been eating many eggs, but I'm changing that up this week. I made some mayo and will have that with HB eggs rolled up in romaine, or just as a "lazy person's deviled egg." (Cut the egg in half, spread a bit of mayo on each half, and call it done!) But it won't be long before I get tired of them.

Hi Nancy

I am not sure it is tougher, just a few adjustments from what we are doing now. As I said I will be missing eggs, ghee and green beans as I find them so easy and handy. 

 

I think I will find out if I am intolerant to some items and hopefully reset so I can have them again. I am going to as the doc to do a raft of blood tests and then compare after a while. Also I am too tired and having too many spikes with cortisol so something has to be reacting and would like to find out what and reset. Not a big deal really. More fish than I have been having and a bit more cooking but let's face it--not a major hardship.

 

Hope you are feeling better about things and are comfortable with how you are going to proceed.

 

Sure miss seeing Vozelle's posts. Hope you are getting your reading done and ticking along nicely, my friend.

[Crimsann]

Proof of my continued existance! 

 

I am back from vacation and have survived the 24-hour gaming marathon, so my life might be a tiny bit closer to normal for a bit.  I have PAGES of reading to get caught back up with the group.  It's on my list, but I may need a summary.

 

This past weekend was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again next year, but it was very draining.  Maybe if I had some Tiger Blood it wouldn't have been quite so hard, but I gave myself those three weeks to see how it went without having to plan every inch of the day.  The results were somewhat surprising to me.  I found myself eating a good bit more sugar than I would have thought, but not eating as much of anything at any one time, so that was a mixed message on how I've changed.  I also found, with a weigh in this morning, that I haven't gained anything back so I suspect portion control is keeping a short leash on whatever dragon might be active.  That will make it easier to slide back into better eating habits now that I'm on my regular routines again. 

 

I also found I didn't have much reaction to anything I ate despite being way off plan a few times, particularly over the marathon this weekend when I let my inner six-year old do the shopping.  Could be just because it's a small drop in the calorie ocean of the last few months so I don't plan to push that luck!

 

I'm not really a Facebook person, but if you use it and are curious about the gaming event you can do a keyword search on Zuzanie and you should find my game character for the day and an hour-by-hour view of what I was doing.  Lots of screenshots and a couple short video clips of her being silly for charity.   

 

I let my sponsors get together before the event and design the character so if you find a page with a little white mouse character, you are in the right spot! 

 

Other than that, not too much to report from my time off. 

 

I do have one recipe to share, this is not entirely Whole 30, but would be easily adapted so should be appropriate for all audiences here.   

 

I made this while I was off and just kind of guzzled it for days...I don't know, maybe it was the precise alchemical mix of ingredients...but this sounded so simple and ended up soooooo amazing.

 

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2015/10/butternut-beef-stew-with-pearl-couscous/

 

To adapt this you would need to skip the pumpkin beer, sub clarified butter, check ingredients on your beef stock, thicken using something like arrowroot rather than flour, and omit the couscous.  All written out, that sounds like a lot of changes but I believe the only one of those that would really impact flavor is the pumpkin beer and not having tried it both ways I can't say how big of a difference that would make.  The couscous was more a texture thing than a taste thing so that is an easy one to leave out, however if you are not doing full on Whole 30 right now it made a nice addition in my opinion. 

[NancyW]

Crimsann, you were missed--I'm glad you had fun! The stew sounds fabulous. I'd swap out the mushrooms, but I might leave in the pumpkin beer since I'm not officially W30 right now. Definitely going to try this though!

[abiswarbrick]

Hi all! I'm back with an apology for my outburst of a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling really bad after my op and had gone seriously into black dog/hate the world territory. Thank you for messages of support (I had thought I'd get barred for such negativity). I've had a really bad past couple of weeks in terms of mood/food/life but I am beginning to climb back out again now. I've discovered that at the moment I need whole30 to be whole30, not 5 days out of 7 or 80/20 or any other combination. Trouble is at this time of year I have social events that would be made really awkward by trying to stay whole30. I'm in a situation where I know whole30 is best for me physically and mentally but in order to follow it properly I would have to miss out on some events and with my mood at the moment it would be too easy to become a hermit, another problem is that getting out of bed and to work is taking all my energy at the moment so I'm going for convenience over good choices. I recognise that it's not me, it's the depression but I'm beating myself up about my diet- worried about putting weight back on, using food as comfort etc.

 

@Half_pint Aggie: I know it's belated but I send heartfelt congratulations on your pregnancy!!

[misslindy]

Hi all! I'm back with an apology for my outburst of a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling really bad after my op and had gone seriously into black dog/hate the world territory. Thank you for messages of support (I had thought I'd get barred for such negativity). I've had a really bad past couple of weeks in terms of mood/food/life but I am beginning to climb back out again now. I've discovered that at the moment I need whole30 to be whole30, not 5 days out of 7 or 80/20 or any other combination. Trouble is at this time of year I have social events that would be made really awkward by trying to stay whole30. I'm in a situation where I know whole30 is best for me physically and mentally but in order to follow it properly I would have to miss out on some events and with my mood at the moment it would be too easy to become a hermit, another problem is that getting out of bed and to work is taking all my energy at the moment so I'm going for convenience over good choices. I recognise that it's not me, it's the depression but I'm beating myself up about my diet- worried about putting weight back on, using food as comfort etc.

 

@Half_pint Aggie: I know it's belated but I send heartfelt congratulations on your pregnancy!!

I am sorry you are having such a challenge but lovely to have you back. You can stop beating yourself up, however, that is not going to get you moving forward. Do what you can do at the moment, one foot in front of the other and you will be fine - that's all we can expect of ourselves. You are making the effort and are here--for now that's enough.xxxL

[misslindy]

Proof of my continued existance! 

 

I am back from vacation and have survived the 24-hour gaming marathon, so my life might be a tiny bit closer to normal for a bit.  I have PAGES of reading to get caught back up with the group.  It's on my list, but I may need a summary.

 

This past weekend was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again next year, but it was very draining.  Maybe if I had some Tiger Blood it wouldn't have been quite so hard, but I gave myself those three weeks to see how it went without having to plan every inch of the day.  The results were somewhat surprising to me.  I found myself eating a good bit more sugar than I would have thought, but not eating as much of anything at any one time, so that was a mixed message on how I've changed.  I also found, with a weigh in this morning, that I haven't gained anything back so I suspect portion control is keeping a short leash on whatever dragon might be active.  That will make it easier to slide back into better eating habits now that I'm on my regular routines again. 

 

I also found I didn't have much reaction to anything I ate despite being way off plan a few times, particularly over the marathon this weekend when I let my inner six-year old do the shopping.  Could be just because it's a small drop in the calorie ocean of the last few months so I don't plan to push that luck!

 

I'm not really a Facebook person, but if you use it and are curious about the gaming event you can do a keyword search on Zuzanie and you should find my game character for the day and an hour-by-hour view of what I was doing.  Lots of screenshots and a couple short video clips of her being silly for charity.   

 

I let my sponsors get together before the event and design the character so if you find a page with a little white mouse character, you are in the right spot! 

 

Other than that, not too much to report from my time off. 

 

I do have one recipe to share, this is not entirely Whole 30, but would be easily adapted so should be appropriate for all audiences here. 

 

I made this while I was off and just kind of guzzled it for days...I don't know, maybe it was the precise alchemical mix of ingredients...but this sounded so simple and ended up soooooo amazing.

 

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2015/10/butternut-beef-stew-with-pearl-couscous/

 

To adapt this you would need to skip the pumpkin beer, sub clarified butter, check ingredients on your beef stock, thicken using something like arrowroot rather than flour, and omit the couscous.  All written out, that sounds like a lot of changes but I believe the only one of those that would really impact flavor is the pumpkin beer and not having tried it both ways I can't say how big of a difference that would make.  The couscous was more a texture thing than a taste thing so that is an easy one to leave out, however if you are not doing full on Whole 30 right now it made a nice addition in my opinion. 

Lovely to have you back, Crimmsan. Glad you had such a good time.

 

I think part of the 'no weight gain' is because this programme changes our minds, our bodies and our physical/emotional reaction to food. My friend who did this a few months ago says she can eat what previously would have added pounds of unwanted person, and now does not. Mind you she prefers to eat this way so her 'off roading' days are few but she doesn't worry about it like before and gets back to what she prefers almost immediately. Her biggest problem is not feeling well when not eating whole foods.

[Crimsann]

Okay, I think I'm all caught up on the reading...and it looks like I need to say SORRY!  I thought I had posted that I would be out for three weeks, and it turns out I sort of forgot to mention it.  I work all the time, this is well documented, so when I take off I literally unplug for a significant chunk of time.  I think it's the only thing that allows me to keep up the pace the rest of the year. 

 

Didn't mean to pull a vanishing act! 

 

I'm especially interested in some of the comments about being concerned about the Thanksgiving holiday coming up...I had actually thought, possibly sort of naievely, that this one would be super easy.  So many of the traditional base ingredients are compliant, turkey, pumpkin, cranberry, green beans, sweet potatoes, surely it wouldn't be impossible to do a Whole30 meal that looked nearly 100% traditional at the same time?  Maybe we should take this on as a group challenge.  Identify a traditional dish, and find the nearest comparable Whole30 recipe.  See if we can build up an entire menu. 

 

Probably easy for me to say though, my family long since abandoned the home cooked meal for eating out which is something that horrifies me every year.  I've probably lost touch with what a temptation the real deal offers!  Let me tell you, last years rubbery ham with canned fruit cocktail on top of it...the "star" of the diner they chose, does not offer even the slightest temptation.  I would gladly trade that in for a single raw carrot stick, so coming up with a Whole30 meal of any kind would easily please me.  LOL!

 

I remember doing a sort of sweet potato gratin that was Paleo but not Whole30 back in August and finding it something that could border on too good to have around.  That would make a great side dish guys, indulgent enough to be a holiday treat, but still very clean eating.  I will dig that one up and poke around some more as well.  I know the PaleOMG blog is kicking off two weeks of Thanskgiving recipe-a-day starting today (or it might have been yesterday) and while I know her things won't be all Whole30 either, there will definitely be some good clean choices to add to the conversation.