New Here!

[DianeC]

I signed up last night! I know seriously....Christmas Eve? It was exactly 4 months before our daughter's wedding. I have been eating Paleo on and off for 5 years but have recently tried a few new "diets" that only made me gain 10lbs and the scale was suckling me in....so that element was very pleasing to me....I wanted to toss it out the window cause it plays evil things with my mind! After reading the post last night on SWYPO.....that was the total word picture I needed to commit hands down to 30 days....and you are right....hard? Hard is healing from cancer!!! Oh I loved those legal Paleo gingerbread cookies...I ate them in 2 days! Hello, my name is Diane and I am a sugar addict. I am excited about renewed health and about being all I was created to be!

[Cyndy]

I just finished my first week, not perfect, but not bad at all. Definitely, no sugar, dairy, grains, beans, alcohol and no deliberate cheating. A Waiter gave me sweet tea instead of unsweet and I took a swallow. Had to study the dos an don't of snacking. A clementine and some cashews not the best choice. 

Also, have had terrible allergies and totally congested lungs, the weather in the south is awful right now. Consequently, unsweetened menthol cough drops are one of the only things that seem to help. Today I went to the health food store and purchased some better options, and we bought a clean air machine for our bedroom (3 big dogs and one cat nightly). Hoping this would help. One reason for the WHole30 was to see if food is some of my allergy antaginizers. So far, it is not helping. I am worse than ever. 

Other than that, all is very good. I am sure I have lost some pounds. I love not having the scale around.

One other issue is too much eating. I made a salad today for lunch and it was so hard to get it down. I am working on some more options for meals. Fish is good, easy and fairly cheap. Breakfast casserole makes that a snap. Lunch is the bugaboo. I decided to eat from a dessert plate and see if that helps. Less food. I love salad, but today it was a challenge. 

Good luck to all 

[Kaiah]

All right I have joined tonight. I have my book and will start on the first. Right now I am researching simple meals to start out with. My name is Kaiah and I am more of a food addict than a sugar addict. Any hints and helpful advice is appreciated. BTW I hate all forms of seafood so I will be looking at beef and chicken options. 

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Welcome to the three of you!  I finished my Whole30 just before Christmas and Diane, I am right there with you.  I scarfed down my "Paleo" gingerbread cookies and realized that nope, sugar is still sugar.  Back off of my books. All part of figuring things out in life after a Whole30 - I look forward to seeing you all at this stage in less than a month!

 

Cindy, enjoy the break from the scale - it might be a permanent breakup!  I'm a little bit confused what you mean by "too much eating" - you're finding it hard to get all the required food in, or you still feel you're eating too much?  Remember, your meal needs to keep you full and satisfied for 4-5 hours.  A dessert plate of salad likely isn't going to cut it for you!  Feel free to post some sample meals including foods and rough portion sizes, as well as water and other fluid intake.  Sorry to hear about that waiter - I took an accidental swallow of sweetened coffee vs. my black coffee on Day 28 and I was so disappointed!

 

Kaiah - I'll be interested to hear if you learn that your addiction to food is really fueled by an underlying, sneaky addiction to sugar.  Eating sweet things seems to increase my cravings for ALL foods, not just other sweet things.  It's so much fun to do an experiment with your own self!  I'll also be interested to see if you open up to any seafood or other food choices while on the program - some people are surprised at how their tastes change.  My one tip to you: fat is your friend.  Dietary fat, I mean.  It really helps to send the message that you're full and can stop cravings in their tracks.

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren (GGG)

[ShannonM816]

I just finished my first week, not perfect, but not bad at all. Definitely, no sugar, dairy, grains, beans, alcohol and no deliberate cheating. A Waiter gave me sweet tea instead of unsweet and I took a swallow. Had to study the dos an don't of snacking. A clementine and some cashews not the best choice. 

Also, have had terrible allergies and totally congested lungs, the weather in the south is awful right now. Consequently, unsweetened menthol cough drops are one of the only things that seem to help. Today I went to the health food store and purchased some better options, and we bought a clean air machine for our bedroom (3 big dogs and one cat nightly). Hoping this would help. One reason for the WHole30 was to see if food is some of my allergy antaginizers. So far, it is not helping. I am worse than ever. 

Other than that, all is very good. I am sure I have lost some pounds. I love not having the scale around.

One other issue is too much eating. I made a salad today for lunch and it was so hard to get it down. I am working on some more options for meals. Fish is good, easy and fairly cheap. Breakfast casserole makes that a snap. Lunch is the bugaboo. I decided to eat from a dessert plate and see if that helps. Less food. I love salad, but today it was a challenge. 

Good luck to all 

 

Hi, Cyndy! 

 

I don't know about you, but I really have to be in the mood for salad, or it is just not satisfying to me at all -- I sometimes even feel bored/tired of eating it way before I finish it or feel full. I don't have them as a meal-sized salad very often, I prefer them as sides with my protein and another vegetable or two, and if I do have big, meal-sized salads, I make sure they're not just leafy green stuff -- I include plenty of different textures and flavors. So, maybe lettuce or spinach, with roasted beet or sweet potato chunks, chopped celery, jicama, shredded carrots (or sometimes broccoli slaw -- something crisp & shredded), some mushrooms, sliced radishes, snap peas, raw or lightly steamed broccoli, maybe some chopped almonds or pecans, maybe some berries or a chopped apple, (I'm not a huge onion or bell pepper fan, but those would work well too) plus whatever protein, and plenty of dressing.

 

For easy lunches to prepare ahead of time, maybe try something like these No Recipe Required ideas, or check out these Paleo Lunchbox Ideas (I know, they're for kids, but seriously, who wouldn't want a lunch that looks like these? Do pay attention though -- most of these should be Whole30 or easily adaptable to be, but she does occasionally include sweeteners or dairy in some of her recipes.) 

 

And of course, there's always leftovers -- just be sure you always cook more than you need for any meal you're making, so you have some left for another meal sometime in the next few days.

[Cyndy]

thanks Shannon and Lauren.

Here is a bit of background about my eating issues. I struggle with emotional eating and over the past many years have developed some terrible habits. First of all, I don't like to eat in the morning. I can go all day without eating and feel fine. Long story short....I had become a night eater and of course I wasn't hungry in the morning.I would eat from dinner until bedtime.  I have problems eating meat, sometimes the chewing just makes me feel sick. The result of that is coffee in the morning, an Atkins bar for midmorning and an Atkins drink for lunch. The chemical list on those foods is pretty extensive. But, I do know I feel better low carb.Weird I know, but I have spent years flip-flopping eating styles, giving up this and that and not committing whole heartedly to anything. 

My nieces did the Whole30 and said they felt great. I have reached the weight of my first full-term pregnancy and at 60 and a very active person, my body is just screaming at me.

I woke up this morning after a week of Whole30 and just feel good. I have had some days of extreme fatigue. But yesterday, I felt better and today I think will be even better.

My menu for yesterday was an egg casserole for breakfast, tossed salad with leftover salmon and lemon garlic dressing (tessamae) and cod with sweet potato and okra for dinner. We had a long gap between lunch and dinner due to errands and so I had 1/2 banana and some cashews for a snack. The breakfast was so filling and kept me going, so I wasn't hungry for lunch, The salad was big and I could only get about1/3 of it down.  Some of it was mental, some just from not hungry. 

I will check out the recipe links you sent. I am feeling very committed to this program and looking forward to all the changes that occur along the way.

Thanks for caring and responding, Cyndy

[DianeC]

I have made it to day 4!!! Finally awake!!! OMGosh....it was pathetic, I think I slept most of the second and third day. Woke up this morning feeling less bloated and realized....girl you've been burning fat and producing ketones....you've got this one!!!

The $15 for the daily encouragement is SO worth it!!!! The video for finishing day 3 was a sleeping baby bear....I laughed and laughed!

Today I feel more energized and am feeling a change in my gut already. Carpe Diem!

[Cyndy]

Hi Diane C, 

I crawled through day 5 and 6, today I feel the best! Went to workout with Hubbie and got home, made chili for the week, thinking of cleaning out some cabinets. Just feel good. Also, a glimmer of hope that my sinuses are clearing.

 

I feel really good about this program and hope to get do better and better with it as it goes on. 

 

I totally agree about the Whole Daily. I love it, so encouraging and the end of day response is perfect.

 

Good luck. Cyndy

[DianeC]

Hi Cyndy! I hope you've had a good week!I sure have....although darn, I wanted to nap every afternoon!

I have a really painful hiatal hernia that is keeping me motivated! I know this 30 lbs isn't helping. I've always eaten "well"but sugar (even paleo legals) are dangerous for me. I'm an addict and that's it.

Here's to a healthy 2016!!!! Happy New Year!

[thegoldengrahamgirl]

Hi Cyndy! I hope you've had a good week!I sure have....although darn, I wanted to nap every afternoon!

I have a really painful hiatal hernia that is keeping me motivated! I know this 30 lbs isn't helping. I've always eaten "well"but sugar (even paleo legals) are dangerous for me. I'm an addict and that's it.

Here's to a healthy 2016!!!! Happy New Year!

Good for you for knowing this about yourself, Diane!  I had to find out that hard way that honey, maple syrup, agave nectar etc. are all still SUGAR and I am still addicted to them!  Paleo baked goods are NOT a better idea than regular baked goods for me!

[Gammy]

I am also new to Whole 30. This is my fourth day and I'm doing well, but am spending ALOT of time prepping for the next meal. I have severe arthritis and really need some relief. I'm fully committed to trying this way of eating.

[ShannonM816]

I am also new to Whole 30. This is my fourth day and I'm doing well, but am spending ALOT of time prepping for the next meal. I have severe arthritis and really need some relief. I'm fully committed to trying this way of eating.

 

Hi, Gammy! There is definitely a lot of prep time involved in this. Some things that may (or may not) help -- take the ones that seem useful, ignore the ones that don't:

 

• Prep for several days or even a week at a time (weekly cookup explanation here) -- it's more work at once, but then less work the rest of the time, so it might work better for you. At the very least, always cook enough that you'll have leftovers, so for every meal you cook, you'll have at least one that you don't have to cook for.
• Buy pre-chopped vegetables. It costs a little more, but at least always look at what your grocery store has -- I sometimes catch mine marked half off if they're down to the sell-by date. And sometimes I'm just willing to pay for convenience  .
• Frozen vegetables. Depending on how you're using them and which ones you pick, texture may not be the greatest, but find the ones you do like and use them when you're too tired to mess with fresh ones.  Make sure they don't have any sauces on them, and remember not to get mixes with corn, edamame, or peas, as those wouldn't be compliant.
• Canned/jarred vegetables. Obviously, check ingredients, but they could be useful.
• tools like a food processor, a spiralizer, or a mandolin slicer may be easier to use than a knife if you have days when your arthritis is really bothering you. They're definitely not necessary, but might be worth looking into if you think they'd be useful.