Room for improvement

[berrybird]

I'm currently on day 20 of my first W30. I mentioned not feeling much in the way of positive change in another thread, and it was suggested that I post here for any "tune up" suggestions. I'll post my last few days.

 

Things of note:

 

I'm 34, female, and was 290 lbs on day one. I've been steadily gaining 10-15 lbs a year for the past decade - prior to that I was overweight but relatively fit due to being very active. Since then, sedentary lifestyle and constant snacking has made things difficult on the weight front. Chronic heartburn was my only major health issue (diagnosed as stress-caused, not diet-caused) for which I took OTC meds daily. My diet was the usual SAD, but light on meat. (I've previously been vegetarian and vegan for periods of my life.) I craved sugar constantly, and when I indulged, while infrequent, it was usually a major quantity of something like milk chocolate or cookies.

 

I currently drink about 90 oz of water a day, plus one or two coffees or teas with coconut milk. All ingredients mentioned below (including bacon, pickles, etc) are compliant. I do not exercise. (I plan to start after the W30, but I was interested in minimizing my variables for this W30 attempt.) I take a daily probiotic and digestive enzymes. I am almost never hungry since starting the W30. It is possible that I no longer recognize "hunger", just sugar cravings, and in the absence of the latter, have no idea what my body is saying on the matter.

 

D20

M1: Large palm-sized fish fillet crusted with coconut flake and pan fried in olive oil and ghee, with a side of several tablespoons of arugula pesto and a cup of eggplant in tomato sauce with onions.

M2: Palm-sized piece of roast pork, 2 cups of carrot ginger soup, handful of raw baby carrots, Wholly Guacamole cup.

M3: (Later tonight) Current plan is to have chicken salad (poached chicken in homemade mayo) on a bed of spinach and saute a bunch of asparagus on the side.

 

D19

M1: Larabar. (I was called into an emergency meeting, so it was Larabar or nothing, alas. This was the 2nd Larabar "emergency" of the W30, 1st was on day 3, similar situation.)

M2: Cup of roasted eggplant in tomato sauce with summer squash, mushrooms, and onions. 3/4 cup (packed) shredded chicken with a dollop of olive oil.

Snack: A few large bites of shredded chicken and a tablespoon of almond butter. (This was at 5:30 PM, 5+ hours since lunch.)

M3: 1.5 large hamburger patties, 2 slices of prosciutto, 1 cup of green bean and carrot veggie mix, 2 tablespoons of homemade mayo mixed with Tessemae's Lemon Chesapeake dressing, and about 3/4 cup of spiced squash sprinkled with a tablespoon of flaked coconut and pecans

 

D18

M1: 3 egg omelette with spinach and tomato, 3 slices of bacon, Wholly Guacamole cup

M2: 3 pieces of prosciutto, heaping handful of baby carrots, half cup of pickles, Wholly Guacamole cup

M3: 1.5 cups of chicken curry (chicken, white potato, onion) over a cup of mixed vegetables (green beans, yellow beans, and carrots), topped with some crushed cashews

 

D17

M1: 1 cup of sweet potato hash, 1 chicken sausage, 1 fried egg, Wholly Guacamole cup, half-handful of berries

M2: Not hungry, didn't want to eat anything as breakfast was somewhat later in the morning. Didn't feel bad, but had no desire to eat.

M3: large pile of roasted eggplant (1.5 cups?) topped with marinara sauce with summer squash, mushrooms, and onions (1 cup?). Chicken sausage link. 3 slices of prosciutto.

 

I'm sure I'm probably not eating enough overall, and probably not enough vegetables at most meals. I am not trying to limit my food intake, I just don't feel hungry...pretty much ever. I'm trying to increase my water intake even further. Anything else that jumps out, I'd be happy to hear advice.

[jmcbn]

Other than the obvious larabar I think your meals look pretty good. You're not over-indulging in fruit, nuts or nut butters, you're adding in healthy fats & the protein portions look good to me considering you're not currently exercising. Yes, you could add in more veg for sure, but you're not a million miles off the mark, and you'll be closer still when you up your water intake.

You say that you're not noticing any positive change - by this do you mean weight loss?

I'd comment that having gained weight each year for the past ten years, and having come from a typical SAD diet that things aren't going to change over night for you. Also, this is a 30 day programme, and many people see the most magic in the latter stages - which are right around the corner for you... Some folk with a lot of weight to lose may have medical issues they're unaware of (think inflammation caused by foods), or have come from a background of food restriction and if this is the case for you your body will prioritise nourishing and healing in the first instance, and will want to be assured that this new supply of healthy food is a long term thing, and not temporary - when it's sure of this it will start shedding weight that it nolonger needs to hold on to for fear of the next famine. For some this takes longer than 30 days which is why many folk carry on for 45 or 60 days, or sometimes longer.

The lack of hunger is indicative that your hormones may well still be out of whack so it's important for you to continue to eat even if you're not feeling particularly hungry - breakfast within an hour of wakening being your priority. Ensure you are getting adequate sleep, and that if you are stressed you are taking positive steps to lessen your load. Step away from the screen an hour or so before bed, dim your lights & try to encourage natural melatonin production. Try to spend 15mins or so outdoors on wakening, or at least at the same time every day. All of these things will encourage your hormones to settle, and help your body reach a happy place.

For now focus on any NSVs you might have - better sleep, clearer skin, stronger nails/hair, stable moods etc., and just keep on keeping on...

 

[berrybird]

Ah, I should clarify - by "positive change" I mean...experiencing anything different, really. I physically don't feel any different than I did before I began the W30. I'm not talking about weight loss (I have no idea if I'm losing weight or not) but things like sleep (I've always slept really well), hair and nails (my hair is very thin and my nails have always been prone to breakage, not seeing a change there), skin (fairly clear generally, no change), moods (mild depression/anxiety, no change). The NSVs I have had are definitely good, as I've mentioned in other places - I used to drink 3 or 4 diet sodas a day plus pour heaps of sugar into my coffee, and now I don't want to do that, and I've developed some better habits around packing a lunch and eating breakfast regularly vs. never eating breakfast before - but so far as any physical changes or energy/mood improvements...nada. If anything, my digestion is worse without daily yogurt to help regulate things (hence the probiotics and digestive enzymes). I think mentally I was expecting something similar to when I did a low-carb diet a few years ago and lost weight very rapidly, though I was super-grumpy all the time. With W30, except for having some general food aversion at the beginning (I think due to the sugar cut and not being used to digesting meat in larger quantities) it's been pretty ho-hum. It's been good for my ability to frame and control my own behaviors, but effects-wise, not so much.

 

You make a good point about getting serious about things like sleep hygiene and getting off the screen at night (my sedentary job involves being at a computer for long hours, and most of my preferred leisure activities are computer-related). Perhaps that will be my focus for a few days. My plan for now is to finish the W30 and focus on reintroducing a few foods in the week and a half between when I'll finish and Thanksgiving, then righteously enjoy some of my mother's once-a-year cheesecake at the holiday, and then perhaps starting a new W30 (plus exercise) between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We shall see!