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Ali's Feel-Good, Gain Control, Marathon-training Whole 30


Alisonlcarver

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Thanksgiving is over, and I gorged and binged and didn't care about calories! We need a few days like that per year, where carbs, butter, and sugar are not forbidden! But now I'm over it and I am completely 100% ready for another Whole30! In the past, my reason for doing a Whole 30 was weight loss. I am currently 5'3" and 115 pounds now. Now my reason for doing another Whole 30 is that I want to feel good again, and not blech or yuck, like so many sugar-laden commercial, fake products make me feel. I want 4 things this go round:

1. Feel good. I want to wake up feeling good and not in a food hangover. I want to wake up rested. I want to stay hydrated (sugary foods dehydrate be so bad!) I want to feel good physically and emotionally about what I am putting into my body.

2. Food freedom and a sense of control. I have no (emphasis needed--NOOOOO) self control when it comes to Diet Coke, anything with sugar, and peanut butter. I want to have control over what I eat, not the other way around.

3. Be healthy. I want to eat whole foods that make me more healthy, not processed convenient foods that lack nutrition and make me feel bad physically and mentally.

4. Fuel my workouts and marathon training. I run, bike, and do exercise classes, including step, strength, and yoga, about 5-6 times per week. I have raced a few half marathons, several 10k races, and several 5k races in the past and now it's time for the big mama. Marathon is in early March and I am following the Hal Higdon Novice 2 training guide.

I know without a doubt that all of these goals will be accomplished through the Whole30. I am so excited to be starting another Whole 30 today!

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Remainder of Day 1 (11/27):

pre-WO: half of a medium baked sweet potato, a few chunks of turkey, at 3pm

(Exercise: Run 8.5 miles)

Post-WO: a few chunks of turkey, 1 banana, at 5:30pm

Dinner (on the road): raw mushrooms, 100-calorie tub of plain wholly guacamole, 1.5 oz. bag of raw almonds, at 7-7:30pm

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Day 2 (11/28):

M1: chocolate Rx bar, 8:30am--emergency food (out of town, no time to stop for food so this was the best I had)

(No true 'exercise' but I did a lot of walking during a tour of the Biltmore Estate)

M2: herbal tea, omelet made with about 3 eggs with sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes; small ramekin of green salsa; most of a restaurant side serving of cubed breakfast potatoes, at 1pm--very filling

M3: 3 scrambled eggs, 1 whole sweet potato, 3 tsp. ghee, 1/2 grapefruit, at 5:30-6pm

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Day 3 (11/29):

M1: 3 scrambled eggs, about 1 T. ghee, 13 black olives, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, 1/2 grapefruit, plain crio bru, at 7:30-8am

M2: 1 Bubba Burger sweet onion burger patty, compliant horseradish mustard, salad with lots of veggies, walnuts, and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, at 11:30am-12pm

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Hi Alison! 

 

It IS a process - but you will get there.  And the amounts will vary day by day, depending on your activity level. 

 

Out of curiousity, what brand of almond milk were you able to source as compliant?  I'm having a devil of a time over here trying to find some, but if you let me know, then I'll see if I can get it shipped while shopping online!

 

Thanks!

 

-Lauren (GGG)

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More Day 3: I was hungry (again!) right before bed so I had a glass of unsweetened almond milk. 9pm

I've got to figure out how to eat and get satiated for 4-5 hours at every meal! It's a work in progress...

P.S. - I've heard that for athletes, one of the best evening sources of protein (i.e. before bed) is lean protein.  Did the almond milk even help?  It's got minimal calories in the base case...

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Out of curiousity, what brand of almond milk were you able to source as compliant?  I'm having a devil of a time over here trying to find some, but if you let me know, then I'll see if I can get it shipped while shopping online!

GGG--I buy the Silk Unsweetened Original Almond Milk, found here: https://silk.com/products/unsweetened-original-almondmilk#

Also, I try not to eat anything 2 hours before bed, but last night I just needed a little something extra besides water and herbal tea. I don't know if eating lean protein is a good idea, especially right before bed. I think eating anything, even compliant foods, right before bed would probably be a bad idea. The unsweetened almond milk is only 30 calories per glass, but since it has a creamier feel to it compared to water, it provides a little bit of satiation when I am hungry and just need a little something. I don't like to go to bed full, but I also don't like to go to bed hungry. The ingredients in this particular almond milk include almond milk (filtered water, almonds), sea salt, locust bean gum, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, and natural flavor. All of these ingredients are complaint additives, according to the Whole 30 additives sheet. Drinking your calories is technically not optimal on the Whole 30, but like I said, for 30 calories per glass and a bit of satiation factor, it's worth it to me.

Hope this helps!

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Day 4:

M1: 3 cage-free scrambled eggs, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, 1/2 large baked sweet potato, 1 T. ghee, crio Bru brewed cocoa, at 6am

M2: 1 bubba burger sweet onion hamburger patty, yellow mustard, large salad with lots of veggies, some walnuts, and olive oil and balsamic vinegar, at 11:30am

Snack: celery sticks with medium canned Pace salsa, 13 black olives, and more crio Bru at 4:30pm

(No exercise today--another scheduled rest day. Gotta love 'em!)

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Question, if any Moderators are reading this thread...

Do my meals seem balanced so far? I am concerned I am eating too many calories, and am nervous I might gain weight eating this way. That being said, I already feel better than I have been feeling prior to the start of this Whole 30, and I feel more in control of my food choices. Overall, this is a huge success so far! I just want to make sure I am not going to gain weight.

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Question, if any Moderators are reading this thread...

Do my meals seem balanced so far? I am concerned I am eating too many calories, and am nervous I might gain weight eating this way. 

 

no, you are eating too little at pretty much every meal. The meal template is your friend. Since you are already lean and exercise a lot, try for the upper end of the portions listed. Here is the template: http://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf

 

I'm editing to add a little more information: I know you are eating too little not just based on food quantities, but based on the fact that you are hungry and snacking. Keep adding to your meals (more protein, fat and veggies, not more fruit and nut butters), until you no longer need a glass of almond milk to get through to the next one. If you do find yourself hungry between meals, allow yourself to eat a small portion of protein, fat and veggies instead.

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What is this Crio Bru Cocoa...?

http://www.criobru.com

It is a very-low caffeine (less than caffeine-free coffee) drink that you brew and enjoy like coffee, without the potential for caffeine addiction. Caffeine is SUPER addicting to me, and makes me feel terrible! Also, I'm a Mormon, so I don't drink coffee. But if others want to, I don't judge. :)

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missmary--thank you for your insight. I feel great between breakfast and lunch, and feel that my breakfast fills me up for 5-6 hours without dips in blood sugar. I work in the operating room and sometimes I have to take lunch at 11am, or possibly not get lunch at all. If I could eat lunch exactly when I got hungry that would be ideal. I would probably eat around 12-1pm or so, because that is when I tend to get hungry after a Whole 30 breakfast at 6am. It is between lunch and dinner that I tend to get hungry for a snack. When I workout this is no big deal, because I can use my pre- and post-WO meals to fill the void. On the days that I don't work out, I need to eat more at lunchtime to fill me up for 6-7 hours until dinner. I can do it at breakfast, so I know I can do it at lunch.

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missmary--thank you for your insight. I feel great between breakfast and lunch, and feel that my breakfast fills me up for 5-6 hours without dips in blood sugar. I work in the operating room and sometimes I have to take lunch at 11am, or possibly not get lunch at all. If I could eat lunch exactly when I got hungry that would be ideal. I would probably eat around 12-1pm or so, because that is when I tend to get hungry after a Whole 30 breakfast at 6am. It is between lunch and dinner that I tend to get hungry for a snack. When I workout this is no big deal, because I can use my pre- and post-WO meals to fill the void. On the days that I don't work out, I need to eat more at lunchtime to fill me up for 6-7 hours until dinner. I can do it at breakfast, so I know I can do it at lunch.

 

We don't actually expect you to go 6-7 hours between meals. It may be that sometimes you can, especially when you're busy and distracted, and certainly that can be a nice side effect of eating this way -- it sure beats the hangry, I'd-actually-beat-someone-up-for-plain-fish-and-broccoli feelings that I know I used to experience. But if you know you're going to have 6-7 hours between meals and can't just eat your meal earlier, plan for a mini meal of protein, fat, and vegetables. For people who work long hours, or who have a long commute that means even working an 8-hour day they're away from home for a very long day, a fourth meal or mini-meal is fine.

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We don't actually expect you to go 6-7 hours between meals. It may be that sometimes you can, especially when you're busy and distracted, and certainly that can be a nice side effect of eating this way -- it sure beats the hangry, I'd-actually-beat-someone-up-for-plain-fish-and-broccoli feelings that I know I used to experience. But if you know you're going to have 6-7 hours between meals and can't just eat your meal earlier, plan for a mini meal of protein, fat, and vegetables. For people who work long hours, or who have a long commute that means even working an 8-hour day they're away from home for a very long day, a fourth meal or mini-meal is fine.

Shannon, thank you for your insight. It's good to know that if I am hungry, it's ok to eat a mini meal.

One of the reasons that I came back to the Whole 30 way of eating was that I had gotten back into the habit of eating low-fat, high-carb, non-nutritious convenience foods, like yogurts and granola bars for breakfast, and sandwiches with chips for lunch. And ohmygoodness would I get hungry and feel my blood sugar cycle from fine (never great) to very low, within a 2-3 hour window! I would seriously eat every 3 hours (at least) because my blood sugar could not regulate itself. Let me just say that I LOVE the Whole 30 way of eating! Not only are the foods healthy, nutritious, and well...food, but it is also great because I feel fueled and energized and not like I need to eat every 3 hours just to maintain my blood sugar roller coaster status. Soooo glad that's over with--and it's only day 5!! I know things will continue to get even better! Love Whole 30! :)

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