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1st time Whole30 - Scottish guy


billyliar

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This is the 1st step to me committing to Whole30 so once i hit the post button i'm doing it!


 


I have had digestion problems for as long as I can remember. The main symptoms are abdominal pains but also include skin rashes / hives, headaches, diarrhoea, brain fog and severe fatigue among other things.


 


Over the last few years I have had many visits to my GP and they carried out various tests to rule out serious conditions. The last test I had was an upper endoscopy which showed inflammation in my duodenum and oesophagus and the doctor advised that the treatment was to take lansoprazole which I had already been taking for 2 years.


 


This frustrated me as I know that this wasn't helping and if anything was causing more problems with food allergies/sensitivities.


 


It was at this point that I decided to take matters into my own hands and started to research it for myself via books, blogs, forums, podcasts etc. and discovered that many people had the exact same experience and resolved it naturally through diet, lifestyle changes and natural supplements.


 


I started to notice that many of my symptoms were brought on by what I was eating, particularly dairy and gluten so cut both out and felt much better but still not right and was still getting skin rashes and other symptoms. My doctor was reluctant to carry out allergy tests and said that tests are inaccurate and an exclusion diet was the way to go.


 


I then purchased a food intolerance test from Amazon as I was unable to pinpoint the exact cause. The test advised that I had problems with cows milk, maize (corn), hazelnuts, spinach, salmon, rabbit! and peas. I wasn't surprised about cows milk as noticed symptoms after eating cheese but corn was a surprise to me as I thought wheat would be the main problem. With this new found knowledge I started to monitor how I felt after eating corn and sure enough it was bringing on headaches / irritability along with IBS symptoms. After some research I realised how hard it would be to avoid corn as it seems to be in pretty much anything that comes in a packet.


 


At this point I discovered the Paleo diet and then read about the Bullet proof diet and then Whole30 and realised that I could probably resolve my symptoms through diet and have realised that a few positive changes weren't enough and a more radical approach was required.


 


So here goes, I'm fully motivated to starting my Whole 30 which I hope will relieve my symptoms, help me make better choices about what I eat long term and hopefully prevent further visits to my GP!


 


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Good for you! I have had stomach issues, not to mention hives and headaches for many years. Eliminating some foods has helped me as well. I decided to try this plan because if you follow it, no cheats it sounds like a no fail system. I just finished my first week! Not feeling great, but no stomach aches. The headaches are daily, this I hope will pass too. Good luck!

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Good for you! I have had stomach issues, not to mention hives and headaches for many years. Eliminating some foods has helped me as well. I decided to try this plan because if you follow it, no cheats it sounds like a no fail system. I just finished my first week! Not feeling great, but no stomach aches. The headaches are daily, this I hope will pass too. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the kind message, i'm glad to hear that your seeing improvements already. That's exactly why it appealed to me, the more i read about it the more it makes sense. I'm sure your headaches will clear soon, stick with it and good luck!

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Over the last few years I have had many visits to my GP and they carried out various tests to rule out serious conditions. The last test I had was an upper endoscopy which showed inflammation in my duodenum and oesophagus and the doctor advised that the treatment was to take lansoprazole which I had already been taking for 2 years.

 

 

 

I am on day 5 today and have not had an iota or heartburn or indigestion since I started. I was also prescribed Lansoprazole, which I took for a few months and then just switched to a daily Zantac. I have not taken a Zantac since New Years Day! It has been AWESOME!! 

 

Good luck with your Whole30 journey!! Looking forward to updates!

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I am on day 5 today and have not had an iota or heartburn or indigestion since I started. I was also prescribed Lansoprazole, which I took for a few months and then just switched to a daily Zantac. I have not taken a Zantac since New Years Day! It has been AWESOME!! 

 

Good luck with your Whole30 journey!! Looking forward to updates!

That's great! i'm glad to hear it's helping with your heartburn. I'm currently taking esomeprazole but have had zantac along with pretty much every other acid reduction medicine there is at 1 point! My doctors solution of giving me a different brand / version of the same drug surprisingly isn't working though.

 

I've cut the dosage from 40mg a day to 20mg a day to 20mg every 2 days as have had pretty severe attacks when I've stopped suddenly before.

 

I'm going to stop taking it completely when i start Whole30 though and will use DGL & HCL with pepsin if i have to but want to see if my body can sort it out itself without any supplements 1st. 

 

I'm at the planning stage just now, i had the thought of starting it today as thought i'd been followed the rules but just checked the packet of bacon and there's added sugar so this is just a test day and i'll start properly tomorrow. 

 

Thanks, good luck you too i'll look forward to seeing your progress and to see what i have ahead :-)

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I'm at the planning stage just now, i had the thought of starting it today as thought i'd been followed the rules but just checked the packet of bacon and there's added sugar so this is just a test day and i'll start properly tomorrow. 

 

 

 

The Bacon!! Its amazing how much out there has added sugar. I am having a heck of a time finding compliant bacon that is less than $10 for 6oz. 

 

Good luck!!

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The Bacon!! Its amazing how much out there has added sugar. I am having a heck of a time finding compliant bacon that is less than $10 for 6oz. 

 

Good luck!!

I know, have to read every label!

 

I've just realised that the bacon i normally get is actually compliant and it's reasonably priced. Good luck in finding reasonably priced bacon!

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I've now started properly and today is officially day 1! So far I've had breakfast and lunch and dinner is made to eat later.

 

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs with left over sweet potatoes and broccoli all cooked in coconut oil with black coffee and a wee bit of xtc oil

 

Lunch - Roast chicken salad made with the meat from a whole chicken i bought today. I've saved the rest of the meat for the next few days and currently have the carcass simmering with veg and herbs to make a stock. The salad also had half an avocado, cucmber, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a little bit of the basic vinaigrette from the Whole30 book.

 

I've already prepared meatballs, tomato sauce and zoodles for dinner and will have some mango for dessert.

 

 I went shopping earlier and have a ton of veg some fruit, meat, eggs and olives along with all the basics. I've not planned out all of my meals but have everything i need to do me about a week i think. I'm not going to make a 30 day plan and map out every meal as i'd rather just decide a few days a time and cook what i fancy eating. 

 

I enjoy cooking so and find it fun picking a few ingredients then deciding how to cook them.

 

I'm going to make mayo, kimchi, coleslaw and chili sauce later and will do more prep tomorrow to get me to the middle of the week at work without having to do much after work. 

 

Does my meal plan for today look balanced enough? I have a lot of energy and feel good. 

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You sound well prepared & keen to cook so you're going to do great...

Overall your meals look pretty good, and you've planned well for the week ahead which is half the battle.
 

How many eggs did you have for breakfast? When eggs are your only protein source in a meal a serving would be the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand - I'm a 5'2" female and I can do 4 when I'm hungry.

I don't see any mention of fat in meal three - don't fear the fat here - it will keep you satiated, and will keep any cravings at bay - fat is your friend  ;) 

Nice to see someone else use the 'wee' word  :P

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You sound well prepared & keen to cook so you're going to do great...

Overall your meals look pretty good, and you've planned well for the week ahead which is half the battle.

 

How many eggs did you have for breakfast? When eggs are your only protein source in a meal a serving would be the number of whole eggs you can hold in one hand - I'm a 5'2" female and I can do 4 when I'm hungry.

I don't see any mention of fat in meal three - don't fear the fat here - it will keep you satiated, and will keep any cravings at bay - fat is your friend  ;) 

Nice to see someone else use the 'wee' word  :P

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

I had 4 eggs yesterday cooked in 1 tb spoon of coconut oil and also had about a tea spoon on xct oil in my coffee

 

i marinated the chicken in olive oil before cooking it and also had about a tb spoon of vinaigrette which was mostly olive oil as well and also had half an avocado.

 

For dinner i made the tomato sauce with ghee and cooked the meatballs in ghee as well. Does this sound like enough fat?

 

I'm convinced that fat is my friend as i feel great and full of energy after eating my meals these days. I had already started to incorporate healthy fats into my diet before starting Whole 30 as well as giving up gluten, corn and dairy so it's not as steep a learning curve.

 

Haha, there will be more use of the word wee along with courgette, coriander etc  :P

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Thanks for your advice.

 

I had 4 eggs yesterday cooked in 1 tb spoon of coconut oil and also had about a tea spoon on xct oil in my coffee

 

i marinated the chicken in olive oil before cooking it and also had about a tb spoon of vinaigrette which was mostly olive oil as well and also had half an avocado.

 

For dinner i made the tomato sauce with ghee and cooked the meatballs in ghee as well. Does this sound like enough fat?

 

I'm convinced that fat is my friend as i feel great and full of energy after eating my meals these days. I had already started to incorporate healthy fats into my diet before starting Whole 30 as well as giving up gluten, corn and dairy so it's not as steep a learning curve.

 

Haha, there will be more use of the word wee along with courgette, coriander etc  :P

I'd probably have added another fat source to this meal - bear in mind most of the oil used for cooking stays in the pan so don't be afraid to add more...

It all sounds great otherwise  :)

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I'd probably have added another fat source to this meal - bear in mind most of the oil used fro cooking stays in the pan so don;t be afraid to add more...

It all sounds great otherwise  :)

Yeah good point, i wasn't exactly starving before eating dinner after all the protein before that so wasn't too concerned about adding more.

 

Think my body is getting used to the extra protein! Next time i'll drizzle a tb spoon of oil over my zoodles.

 

I have a bottle of olive oil which i keep in my drawer at work and get funny looks when i drizzle it over salads, baked potatoes etc!

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Day 2

 

Woke up not feeling great, had breakfast and felt a lot better.

 

Breakfast - Omelette made with coconut oil, bacon and mixed greens with black coffee with xct oil

 

Lunch - Home made veg soup topped with roast veg and mixed greens sauteed in coconut oil

 

Dinner - An avocado with salt and pepper as i was hungry while making dinner! Then roast beef with loads of roasted veg.

 

I feel knackered now, have been out for a couple of long walks today as well as cooking a lot to prepare for the week ahead.

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Day 3

 

Not feeling great today due to bad acid reflux causing abdominal pains, coughing and feel like i'm going to be sick from the acid in my stomach.

 

I stopped taking esomeprazole on Saturday when i started my Whole30 as want to see if my body can sort it out without the anti acids.

 

I'm going to continue without taking the anti acids so hopefully it will get better.

 

Meal 1 - Scrambled eggs with avocado and veg

 

Meal 2 - Veg soup made with coconut milk, mixed greens and roasted chicken and some olives

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Day 3

 

Not feeling great today due to bad acid reflux causing abdominal pains, coughing and feel like i'm going to be sick from the acid in my stomach.

 

I stopped taking esomeprazole on Saturday when i started my Whole30 as want to see if my body can sort it out without the anti acids.

 

I'm going to continue without taking the anti acids so hopefully it will get better.

 

Meal 1 - Scrambled eggs with avocado and veg

 

Meal 2 - Veg soup made with coconut milk, mixed greens and roasted chicken and some olives

 

Hope you get to feeling better today! Kudos to you for continuing to try and get your body to sort the acid reflux out. 

 

Your meals sound yummy! I especially loved avocado with my eggs in the am - I am having one as we speak!

 

Have a great day 3!! 

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Hope you get to feeling better today! Kudos to you for continuing to try and get your body to sort the acid reflux out. 

 

Your meals sound yummy! I especially loved avocado with my eggs in the am - I am having one as we speak!

 

Have a great day 3!! 

Thanks Geralyn  :)

 

I feel better now after a tasty dinner steak  :wub:

 

Meal 3 - Rib eye steak with a pan sauce made in the same pan as the steak while the steak was resting by melting coconut oil then deglazing with home made stock then adding lime juice and freshly chopped coriander served with sweet potatoes and butturnut squash cooked in my acti fry with xct oil and steamed broccoli.

 

As tasty as a creamy peppercorn sauce without feeling terrible after eating it  :D

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Day 4

 

Meal 1 - frittata made with beef mince eggs and veg, sauteed greens, roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash &  half an avocado

 

meal 2 - veg soup made with coconut milk, roast beef, lettuce and tomato salad and olives

 

meal 3 - pulled pork, salsa, guacamole, cabbage salad

 

Woke up this morning feeling a bit better and felt fine most of the day but feeling a bit tired and irritable now.

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Day 5

 

Meal 1 - frittata made with beef mince eggs and veg, broccolli soup, roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash &  half an avocado

 

Meal 2 - cabbage coleslaw, pulled pork, salsa and cashew nuts

 

Meal 3 - green chicken curry, beetroot curry, carrot pickle, cauliflower rice, olives 

 

I've not been feeling great the acid reflux is quite bad, i have constant abdominal pain. Not sure if i should take my anti acid again, i really don't want to but not sure i have much choice. 

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Hey there

 

Have you ever considered that the reflux might be from not enough stomach acid? What happens in this scenario is that the stmach has to work extra hard to pump what acid is has available, causing a back flow.

Antacids kind of perpetuate the problem.

You could try a spoonful of apple cider vinegar after your meals, followed by a glass of water. If it helps you'll know you;re on the right track. If it hinders maybe try taking the meds for a few days until things settle down, as sometimes these symptoms can get worse before they get better...

Just a thought!

 

Your food sounds great BTW - I'm intrigued by the beetroot curry....  :wub:

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Hey, thanks for advice.

 

Yeah I've read a lot about reflux being from not enough acid instead of too much. I recently read Why stomach acid is good for you: Natural Relief from Heartburn Indigestion, Reflux and GERD by Jonathan Wright. 

 

I've tried apple cider vinegar but it didn't seem to make any difference. I just bought Betaine HCL with pepsin capsulaes as read that this can help if it's too little acid as opposed to too much.

 

I'm going to try taking 1 with each meal from tomorrow and see how i feel. I'm determined to stop the anti acids as know they're probably making things worse. 

 

I'll ride it out for a while longer.

 

Thanks, i followed this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7610/beetroot-currybut replaced the sunflower oil with coconut oil. 

 

Beetroot and coconut is a common combination in south india, this recipes more authentic > http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/beetroot-thoran-recipe-beetroot-thoran/

 

If you can get fresh curry leaves it makes a huge difference with this and pretty much all south indian food  :)

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Day 6

 

Meal 1 - frittata made with beef mince eggs and veg, broccolli soup, roasted sweet potatoes and butternut squash &  half an avocado

 

Meal 2 - green chicken curry, beetroot curry, carrot pickle, cauliflower rice, cashew nuts

 

Meal 3 - Pork Stir fry with loads of veggies a and the best stir fry sauce ever from well fed and half an avocado. The sauce really was good, i thought it was a bit too heavy on the 5 spice when i tasted it but it's great when stir fried with meat and veg. 

 

I'm feeling a bit better today, started taking betaine HCL with pepsin and felt a bit better so going to keep increasing the dose.

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