My "Timeline" Experience (or lack thereof)

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Thank you so much ladies, for the novels! Ali, I'm with you - I'd rather regularly eat coconut butter one packet at a time than stress out about trying to restrict it and end up eating half a jar in one sitting. And now that I can have it regularly, I'm not eating it as much! Also, I'm more likely to have it at breakfast so that I'm not poking around in the jar at 9pm - I've already gotten my fill (this past Sunday night aside).

Yes, I've struggled with binges (recently) and compulsive overeating (after my anorexia). Part of my re-training has been to stop punishing a binge. No excessive exercise, no starving/restricting (I used to do that for up to a week after a binge, averaging 800-1200 cal/day while still working out). So I no longer have the "I'll just work it off" mindset going into the binge AND I'm not setting myself up for another with a period of restriction.

Littleg, I totally get the idea of "greasing the wheels" - if I start thinking about dates or Sunbutter I either need to eat a small portion immediately and move on so I can stop thinking about it (otherwise the craving magnifies in my mind) OR ride out the urge. The tougher time is learning which is which. I've learned that breakfast is the safest time for me to eat any food.

Diet Coke was an easy fix after I stopped restricting my intake. I only started drinking it to try to trick my body into thinking it was getting calories - no wonder my metabolism and satiety cues were so messed up! - (same reason I used to put stevia in my tea - at least one mug of tea per day) - I haven't had my daily tea at all during whole30 (other than throat coat when I was sick) and I don't miss it at all. In fact, writing this now is the first I have thought of stevia! Shame I have a whole box in my cupboard; I'll have to gift it!

[SimpleNotEasy]

Lauren - when I stopped drinking diet coke (22 year addiction), one of the main reasons I did it was that I learned that it was messing with my satiety signals. At that point, I had been working hard for a couple of years to be healthy and lose weight (while fighting emotional eating issues) and when I learned that diet coke was keeping me from recognizing true hunger and fullness, I was like, "Forget it - I am done with that junk." Interesting how the mind works, isn't it?! 

[SimpleNotEasy]

Today is your official day 30, right Lauren?

 

Yay for you! 

 

I know you are planning on continuing to eat well, so it's not like "you're finished," but well done to you for meeting this milestone! 

[Alisonlcarver]

GGG, will you still be posting here now that your 30 days are up? I want to keep up with you!

I've got one more week on my Whole 30, then I plan to log my days in the post-log. I keep a food journal for myself, but there is extra accountability and outsider feedback when I post on the forum so I am definitely going to keep posting!

[littleg]

Yeah! We all need to keep posting .

[Alisonlcarver]

Lauren, are you going to post your before and after pictures?

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 43 / Official* Day 29 (Friday, December 18):

Food Log:

M1: 3 eggs, sunny side up (cooked in a non-stick skillet, so no cooking fat) on a bed of mixed baby salad greens, ½ avocado with 2 tbsp. Pace medium salsa, 1 cup of frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries & blackberries – I haven’t had berries in a while and they were SO SWEET, even though these are berries on the “tart” end of the spectrum!), and 1 clementine orange.  I washed it all down with a mug of hot water with lemon.

Pre-WO: ½ baked chicken breast with seasonings

Post-WO: ¼ baked chicken breast + open handful size roasted squash. 

M2: Mixed salad greens topped with black olives, ½ an avocado and chunks of cooked chicken breast, EVOO & balsamic vinegar PLUS ~2 cups of steamed cauliflower & broccoli with roasted squash, drizzled with EVOO.

M3: Zucchini-potato skillet-cakes (or “fritters”) – I grated one small white potato and ~1/2 medium zucchini, then whisked in two eggs and spices, sea salt & black pepper and fried them in bacon fat in a skillet.  I topped these (I got 4 “cakes”) with homemade mayo and salsa and a side of sautéed Enoki mushrooms.  I also had little bits of rotisserie chicken as I was making my first homemade bone broth/soup (I boiled down a leftover rotisserie chicken carcass along with a carrot, onion and herbs).

 

Feelings Log: Boo-yah – getting close!  I was definitely happy to get a workout in today.  I’ll admit that the SWYPO thoughts were flying today.  I was considering a bowl of banana “ice cream” (frozen bananas blended to ice cream consistency – all compliant ingredients, but expressly forbidden as SWYPO), but decided to stay true to the spirit and intent of the Whole30 program.  I still think it’s silly that they talk about having a bowl of ice cream after the thirty days as a “reward” when part of the program is to stop thinking of food as a reward.  Not to mention, that would be a lousy reintroduction since it would combine dairy and sugar (and who knows what else, depending on the flavour of ice cream).  I also think it’s very misleading that in the Timeline, on Day 1, they talk about grabbing an apple and a handful of almonds as a “snack.”  Until I got my “education” on the meal planning template, I really thought that was a legitimate “snack” choice (I mean, it IS compliant, but it’s so far from optimal).  I wish it wasn’t mentioned, even briefly as a “stop-gap” measure, at all.  Although I suppose a piece of fruit and a handful of raw nuts is MUCH better for MANY people than what they were snacking on before.

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Today is your official day 30, right Lauren?

 

Yay for you! 

 

I know you are planning on continuing to eat well, so it's not like "you're finished," but well done to you for meeting this milestone! 

Thanks, SNE!  Yes, Saturday, December 19 was my official day 30!  And thankfully, we're never "finished" with eating until our final meal (always another chance to learn and grow and do better), but thank you for the recognition of this particular thirty-day period!

 

GGG, will you still be posting here now that your 30 days are up? I want to keep up with you!

I've got one more week on my Whole 30, then I plan to log my days in the post-log. I keep a food journal for myself, but there is extra accountability and outsider feedback when I post on the forum so I am definitely going to keep posting!

I'll wrap up this thread with my final days.  I'm going to maintain a reintroduction/post-Whole30 log in that section, but I actually want to get away from logging ALL of my intake as it's a bit of an OCD thing for me, and I've now had over a year of logging my intake (in spreadsheets and MFP and now in this forum).  Feeling like I "have" to Instagram/journal/post my meals is something I also want freedom from. I want to learn to just eat, enjoy and move on.   My husband is annoyed by/tired of me taking a picture of every plate of food (I don't think he realizes how common this is for us and other people in the food blogging sphere!).

 

My current plan (it could evolve) is to just post the item(s) I'm reintro'ing and make note of any side effects that I notice.  I might also describe the meal I consumed it with as context, especially if I think it's relevant.

 

Lauren, are you going to post your before and after pictures?

No, I didn't take "official" before pictures.  I have some pictures from the September timeframe at the end of my IIFYM experience and I'm quite lean and muscular.  Posting pictures now (not that I took any), I would look softer - something I find hard to accept.  It would be one of the few "reverse results" of the Whole30 (although I'm still very fit-looking - I guess that's a testament to how well I was able to maintain my physique while dramatically increasing my fat intake and cutting back on my workouts due to illness).  Similar to the food tracking, I had to take photos on a bi-weekly basis (same bikini, same pose) as part of my IIFYM work, and it's something I want to get away from.  I hope that makes sense.

 

True body peace and body confidence would allow me to post photos AND feel good about my body now, knowing that it's much better-nourished than in the summer, but I'm not quite there yet.  I hope y'all can understand this.

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren (GGG)

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

I forgot to mention: I used ArtFossil's suggestion of having some olives after dinner to "close out" the meal, instead of a sweet.  It worked really well!  I had ~5 green olives after my dinner on Friday night and it brought a sense of closure to the meal.  I try to really drive the message home by brushing my teeth after meals, too.

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Day 44 / Official* Day 30 (Saturday, December 19):

Food Log:

M1: 3 eggs, sunny side up, ½ an avocado with Pace medium salsa, 1 clementine orange, Enoki mushrooms & zucchini sautéed in bacon fat.  I also had a mug of black coffee.

Pre-WO: Nil (no workout)

Post-WO: Nil (no workout)

M2: Chicken “noodle” soup – chicken bone broth with carrot, onion and herbs and cooked Enoki mushrooms (can you tell I bought a bunch?) served as the “noodles.”  These long, thin mushrooms really make a great substitute for noodles in terms of texture and appearance, and the taste is very mild.  I also had a mixing bowl of mixed green salad with EVOO & balsamic vinegar.  There wasn’t enough chicken meat in my soup to count as a full serving of protein, so I added egg salad (2 hard-boiled eggs with homemade mayo, sea salt & black pepper) and made lettuce wraps.  I rounded out the meal with 2 green olives (I love this trick for “finishing” a meal!).

M3: “The Last Supper” was pan-fried blackened cod, dredged in almond flour with sea salt, black pepper & cayenne, sautéed red bell pepper, steamed broccoli and a hunk of roasted squash.

Snack: While my husband and I watched a movie (Fruitvale Station, in case you were wondering.  I recommend it!), I ate a packet of coconut butter.  I’m curious to see how my (pop)corn reintroduction goes – it has notoriously bothered my stomach, but I love it so much that I used to be willing to suffer.  Now that I can even eat it with butter (ghee for now), who knows what will happen!?

 

Feelings Log: BOOM!  Thirty days, in the books.  I didn’t opt for the daily e-mails, so there is no clicking “I’m done.”  But, I’M DONE!  (For now…and certainly not done eating in a way that is nourishing and good for my health!). Next time around (because I’m totally doing a North American Whole30, just to compare experiences), I might sign up for the e-mails.  This wouldn’t have been nearly so fun or educational without this wonderful community to tap into.  Thank you for coming along for the ride with me, and allowing me to be a part of many of your journeys.  Now: reintroductions!  Check me out in the Post-Whole30 log!