Tigers and Turtles - 2016

[Crimsann]

So couple updates, but first a confession is in order...I definitely skipped off the track a bit last Friday.  It's a positive story in that I've been back on ever since, but this can't count as a true Whole30 in any sense and that's probably the first time I've ever really been faced with an absolute "do over".  I'm not actually going to restart because I'm not doing this for the reintroduction and I am sticking to my schedule to break in April and then do the 365 deal, but it's only fair to tell my crew!  It started with missing breakfast, which in and of itself unfortunately isn't all that unusual.  Then I missed lunch, sort of, because my sister called to say she was about to order tickets to take the girls to the circus that night and did I want to come.  Since it was one of their last performances in our state ever, this circus is closing down, I couldn't say no.  But that meant I had to run home over lunch and grab a change of clothes.  I did manage to fry a couple eggs while dancing from foot to foot in impatience but that was it.  And between the drive and the performance and the traffic in the parking garage it was looking to be well over 24 hours since I had last eaten anything except those eggs before I got a chance to eat a real meal.  Not good.  So midway through, when my super shy younger niece warmed up enough to try a new game of "force feed Auntie stale popcorn"...I let her do it.  To be honest, at that point, I wasn't starving yet and would have been fine not eating until I got home...but she hardly ever plays with me and the giggling was priceless.  The popcorn?  Not so much.  But that was fun, so she then followed it up with some cotton candy which couldn't be any further from compliant if it tried...and which tasted sort of like soap.  

Being that I avoided most of it, I might not even have counted this as a true slip...again given that I'm not doing reintro this time around and don't need a pristine cleanse.  It's what happened when I got home later that I have to confess and that was me heading straight to the candy dish with the "well I've already broken it" mentality.   Sigh.  That part I do think was hunger taking over and my old thought process of once you run the first red light...gun it all day long.  I went to bed too tired to feel guilty yet, but not in a good place because there was no way I could tap dance around having done that.  

So the upside is I woke up the next morning, did my workout, and just got right back on track without a hitch since.  This is I think what Food Freedom is supposed to be...though I still have to finish that book...and because it was showing me I really have changed how I react to a little failure, I'm kind of thrilled with it.  I may need more of that, oddly enough.  More of having a moment of "normal life" and then turning it right back around without beating myself up or agonizing over the lapse.  That's one thing my modified plan for the coming year is going to allow room for, especially with the "one cupcake" rule, so I'm hoping this example sets the right tone for myself.  

Which leaves me on Day 24-ish.  Working on my meal plan for next week, I think I'm going to bring back the bacon/chicken/tomato/mayo/lettuce wraps again for lunch because those were really good.  If I can find the shrimp I like, I will probably do the mock fajita thing for dinners.  

Now, here is a fun challenge for you girls...while on vacation (what feels like forever ago) we stopped in one of those olive oil/vinegar tasting places and I picked up a few things I need to get out and start using.  I have been saving them for my FF year because I can't tell for sure if they are compliant.  No ingredients list to go by, they are talked up as being "infused with" but I can't tell for sure with what if it's more than what the name says or not.  I do want to use some of these interesting flavors to play around with though and I'm curious to see what comes to mind for you!  Here is what I have as inspiration so far...

1.  First I have a blood orange infused olive oil.  My thought for that was to start by using it as a sort of drizzle/glaze on grilled or blackened salmon.

2.  A lemongrass vinegar.  Here I was thinking maybe a bit Thai...trying out some kind of cold zoodle thing with the vinegar, some chili, maybe some garlic?  Or, if the cold zoodle just doesn't work, maybe with something like sugar peas or green beans cold?  

3.  A pineapple vinegar.  I need to check into this more but on The Splendid Table the other day she suggested to a caller that she use some fresh vanilla beans in a dressing over fruit salad with a light vinegar...and I'm thinking with a pineapple vinegar!  No idea where to get fresh vanilla beans though, I'm lucky to find dried, but I could improvise I think.  I like the idea of adding a slight bit of sour to a fruit salad though.  I may also go back to experimenting with the pineapple coleslaw I tried to make with coconut milk during my first W30 and take it in a tangy rather than sweet and creamy direction by using fresh shredded coconut in the slaw mix rather than using the milk at all.  

But I would love to know what comes to mind for you on these...give me some new directions to try!

[NancyW]

First and foremost...Pineapple vinegar? YES, please! 

Now, on to my post. I'm 3 weeks in, and used regular butter for my mashed cauliflower yesterday. Why? Because my living circumstances are SO not conducive to spending time in the kitchen. We had a blow-out because after verifying that my "land-lady/friend/roommate" wouldn't be home on the Saturday afternoon before my W30, I spent that time in the kitchen. But she never left. And was upset with me because, "I feel like I can't even come in my own kitchen!" There is, of course, more to the kerfuffle, but the upshot is that I now feel in the way. All. The. Time. I've been using whatever time I have available alone in the house to do my cooking, but it's difficult to take care of those last minute (and somewhat messy) kitchen chores like clarifying butter. I'm ok with knowing that butter is not an issue for me. And I'm playing with the idea that I should have bacon when I go to breakfast this morning because bacon on its own is not a problem. I'm not starting over. But I'm almost done with the Food Freedom book, and it all makes sense. I've been thinking, hard, about what my Food Future looks like, and I have a much better idea now than before. And I can see it happening. But I don't want to jump in too quickly. So no non-compliant bacon today. Just potatoes, eggs, and veggies. No toast. No pancakes/waffles. NO syrup. And while I technically have not finished this W30, I will continue on as is. Circumstances are out of my control, and I'm looking forward to the apartment building I want to move into having an opening. Then I will set up my kitchen and spend as much time in there as I want, making as big a mess as I want, and maybe not cleaning it up till the next day! 

Off to breakfast. I'll check in later when I have more time to read and comment. Thanks to you all, I have a safe place to chat about this, and now it seems less awful! XO

[misslindy]

Hi

Nancy sorry to hear you are having problems with your house-mate. Never easy I think--no wonder marriage is such a marathon

Having several challenges here and not coming off so well but all part of the process I guess. Made a chocolate gananche the other day and for some reason used sugar--then ate it-- at least some of it. Normally I don't have any sweetener in it just the avocados, oil and cocao powder--who knows how that we sugar devil jumped up. Never mind, I was ill after and won't' be doing it again.

I discovered last week that pork is not good for me and I have been using it almost exclusively since it seems chicken doesn't sit well, eggs aren't great and beef is okay occasionally but not beef mince. So perhaps that was causing some inflammation and the reason my foot was screaming?"??? Who knows. I am now off pork and working on what else I can have. Back to the drawing board.

Our summer was non-existant we are now in fall and having some absolutely beautiful days with some regular shockers. Unsettled weather constantly so that makes it unsettled everywhere.

Breakfast time now--have a good week everyone. 

 

[Crimsann]

Wow Nancy, I swear I could have subbed your name for one of my good friends and it would have read just as true.  She moved in with a friend last summer and has been living that exact same life ever since!  Just last week she got a line on an apartment that she could move into come August and even having a possible move date has felt so good...but in the mean time, it's rough.  I still struggle with that same thing when I've counted on Mom being gone and all of a sudden she is underfoot.  I have the blessing of being able to use the basement kitchen if I really needed to, but taking all the things I need down there and then running back down a dozen times over the next week for things I need back upstairs...well you can imagine.  I do always set up for my biggest baking days down there though and I think what I need to do is slowly stock it up with more utensils.  Hmmm.  Unfortunately the sink down there isn't really up to the type of massive cleanup that comes along with a massive cook-up so it's still not ideal but I wish I could share it with you right about now!  

Starting to work on next weeks meal plan.  While I will be exiting W30 rules for a few weeks, I am focused on keeping fresh food at the front and packing my lunch and planning specific meals.  I will also be keeping up with my Move goals, I'm excited to say I'm due to hit a 75-day streak this week!  I'm set up for yoga and am starting to add that in here and there on top of my 30-minute walk/run, not sure I want to make that a daily though.  I did try it out with my Apple watch the other day to see what type of calorie activity it recorded but the only setting that made sense was "other" and it records it like I was doing a brisk walk.  I'm not sure that it wouldn't be somewhat similar in the end, but I don't like that I can't really tell for sure.  It would satisfy my Move goal to swap the walk for yoga but if that's not really comparable calorie wise it feels like I'm slightly cheating myself.  Need to do some more research there, or possibly find a shorter program that I like so I can combine the cardio with that without being at it all night.  

Anyway I think for lunches next week I'm going to try something off one of my favorite food blogs, it's partially compliant with a broiled chicken over a slaw based salad...but uses some honey in the glaze that goes on the chicken and has a peanut butter based dressing.  For me, peanuts will be one of the things I allow during my 365 of FF so this recipe is something I could use down the road if it works out.  I hadn't considered allowing honey though.  I think that is generally accepted in Paleo but I'm not sure I want to add that in.  On the other hand, I do want to widen the variety of dressings especially for summer salads.  I might consider honey as long as it's used in a dressing or sauce and not in baked goods.  Some of my favorite dressings are sweet/sour combo's and while I'm cool with playing around with fruit based dressings a nice whole ingredient honey mustard would be a bit of a game changer.  Any time an idea for an "add" comes to mind, I try to think it over a couple of times and make sure I'm staying true to what I want to get out of next year, so April is going to be a good time to experiment with a few of the fringe decisions yet to be made.  

Also, not sure if I've mentioned but I think my sister is getting closer to wanting to try the program.  She is looking at going back to school this fall and being at home more while she isn't working and all the stress of exams and projects I think she wants to be feeling as on top of life as possible at the start.  I would love to see her try it, but I am walking that balance between supportive and pushy.  I know my nieces would love it, they are fiends for vegetables.  Not so sure about my brother-in-law, he totally has the discipline to do something like this with them, but may or may not buy into it right away.  Unfortunately she lived through my first round where it felt like six trips to twenty stores each weekend to get everything for these huge sessions in the kitchen.  I can help streamline that now, but she knows it can mean a lot of planning.  Keep your fingers crossed!  I'm trying to talk up a June start, such a good month with no major holidays (or for us birthdays either) and fresh produce coming in to season not to mention outdoor grilling weather.  Gives enough time for some planning and to try some recipes ahead of time to see this can feel like completely normal meals.  Also it leaves time for her to be on it for several months before school if she is successful on it.  

[Crimsann]

Well my April isn't going as smoothly as I had hoped.  For one thing, neither of the dishes I made for this week hit the spot.  Which is a really bad place for me to be in.  I hate wasting the food, but if it's completely unappealing I will skip meals before I will eat it.  The chicken recipe called for chicken thighs but I almost never like the taste/texture of those so I don't know why I thought this would be different.  I should have gone with breasts.  I also really liked the casual taste of the glaze that went on them and the broiling technique but the peanut butter dressing was horrible which ruined the slaw and left me with mildly gross chicken and little else.  I actually think I would like it if I made double the glaze and used that as a drizzle of dressing instead of just while the chicken baked.  I think it was adding the lime to the dressing that just didn't work for me at all.  So that's going down on the list of "try again".  The coffee bbq sauce was okay, but not fantastic.  Due to a last minute schedule change though I ended up putting the pork in the crock-pot late Saturday night and needing to leave it on until Sunday early evening.  This made for pretty tender pork by Sunday morning, but it was almost too dried out by Sunday evening even with the sauce added back in.  It was still pretty good fresh, but now reheated it's dry as dust.  Not helped in the slightest by the buns I bought to eat it on, which is an irony not lost on me.  Eating food on bread as become an almost weird thing for me over the last few years, more often than not I notice how it does little to enhance much of anything.  I still love bread, but I would rather enjoy it for itself than add those extra calories/carbs/sleepy making gluten elements to some innocent pulled pork that was just as good without it.  I guess this is a good thing.  

So, time to regroup and plan next week, I really need something rock solid because the week from start to finish is a nightmare of deadlines and projects and things that probably will go wrong.  On my cupcakes for everyone project this will be one of 4 weeks this year where I will need to bake twice in the same week, on top of which our Easter bake sale is next Friday, I have no less than three birthdays that happen this week on a personal level that need some attention, I have a kick-off meeting for that game marathon charity I'm involved with, I still need to do my taxes....okay that last one is pretty much my fault.  Oh and I'm hostessing Easter so there is that whole thing to plan from food to Easter baskets.  

The only ray of sunshine in any of that is once next week is in the books, I'm off for a week straight with not much at all planned.  

I'm hoping by the end of the month to be able to report that I've finished the Food Freedom book and that I have my own rules ready to go for my 365 challenge.  I will also be happy if I just survive the month.

[NancyW]

Hi Kids! I've done some experimenting this week with non-compliant foods. So far, so good. I have lots of occasions coming up, and will have to be hyper-vigilant to get through them. Yesterday was a rough one. After another (now smoothed-over) kerfuffle with the roommate, I got a bit carried away with some Mexican food and drink while visiting a BFF who lives almost 2 hours away. It was not as good as I had hoped it would be. I should have just gone with a grilled chicken breast and fajita veggies. The margaritas tasted fabulous, and I had no headache from what I'm sure was very cheap tequila. But this cannot be my default setting!! Dinner out Tuesday, and that will be a bun-free burger and an appropriate side dish, along with one lower carb adult beverage. Most importantly, foodwise, I have had no candy/donuts/other sweets. 

On the fitness front, I've decided to work with a trainer for a few weeks to help me get back in shape and gain some strength. She's my age, so she's familiar with how to train old ladies!  And she's a very good fit personality-wise. I'm looking forward to getting started.

Crimsann, I've had that same disappointing situation where you make something and it just isn't right. Wasting food isn't good, but neither is eating food we don't like. On my last cooking binge, I made three recipes. One isn't as good as it sounded, so when I grab that one out of the freezer, I'm a bit disappointed. I eat it, but I'm not happy about it. That's a tricky situation.

I feel the same way about chicken thighs--blech. I was going to buy some the other day because they were cheaper, but in the end, I just couldn't do it. I have a serious aversion to fat on meat--can't stomach it at all. There are legendary family stories of what I used to do to avoid touching or eating a piece of fat on meat. And one day, while trimming chicken breasts while a friend was over, she was hysterical at how little meat was left and how big the pile of scraps was! Nope, can't do it. Believe it or not, I've never eaten prime rib in my whole entire life! Filet all the way...

I will be finishing Food Freedom soon, and making my rules. I've tried to do that before (make my own rules), but I didn't have any clarity about what the rules should be, and I made every exception a rule. That didn't work...no surprise!

 

[NancyW]

Oh boy, I can see some old favorites sneaking in... I need an infusion of better judgment and some food honesty. Still no sugar (yay!), but I have had some things with sugar as an ingredient. That's not the real problem (YET!). It's the grains--I can more easily let myself off the hook with those (I'm talking to you, corn tortilla chips!) because they seem less harmful than sugar. But it is still the beginning of a slippery slope. Pull back, adjust, then onward!

[vozelle]

6 hours ago, NancyW said:

Oh boy, I can see some old favorites sneaking in... I need an infusion of better judgment and some food honesty. Still no sugar (yay!), but I have had some things with sugar as an ingredient. That's not the real problem (YET!). It's the grains--I can more easily let myself off the hook with those (I'm talking to you, corn tortilla chips!) because they seem less harmful than sugar. But it is still the beginning of a slippery slope. Pull back, adjust, then onward!

There is a great cookbook called "Against All Grain" by Danielle Walker... can highly recommend if you want to live a grain-free life for awhile. I am having to go without grains due to ongoing SIBO treatment. It's not so bad.

HAPPY EASTER!

Hello everyone, it's been good reading your updates and notesworthy news. Wishing you all well. I try not to spend much time on the computer, just cruising through to say howdy and that I'm still here. Currently in Phase 1 of my second round of SIBO treatment, which will likely include 3 phases over the next 3-5 months, depending on symptoms and response. Meanwhile, I'm studying up on SIBO and learning everything I can about what's going on inside.

Blessings!

[misslindy]

Hello 

Easter has been and gone along with the rabbit and his chocolate--I did eat a marshmallow egg and honestly it tasted so awful I won't do that again! Didn't even really want it to begin with but there you go.

have been having a terrible time personally lately so struggling to eat at all, much less properly. I haven't done too badly but really could do better. Emotions just take over my life at times and everything goes belly up!

Does anyone use Open Office? I am having a terrible time formatting some documents--would really appreciate some help if anyone knows how. I use Writer 5.

Now I almost hate to say this but in the spirit of full disclosure: I went to Carl's Jr and had a burger--I loved it. I haven't had food from any kind of fast food outlet for years and I had been fighting the idea of having a burger for a few weeks. Thought about it and decided I would do it--for me, it was worth it but haven't needed or wanted to do it again. I think that is the spirit of food freedom so feel quite fine about it for myself. (Some other things I haven't felt that way about).pI have booked an appointment with a physio who specializes in movement. I seriously need to do some more exercise and I want to be sure I am doing things the right way for me. I have finally got my foot back to no pain, but why did it happen is my question? And how to prevent future outbreaks!!!

Hope you are all chugging along at a pace you are comfortable with.

[Crimsann]

Back from my time off, slipped past the milestone birthday, and it's time to really ink in the rules for my next challenge.  I actually think I'm ready to go there, but I still want to finish Food Freedom before I make it official.  Just in case that changes anything for me.  It's pretty liberal, more so than I thought it would be when I first toyed with this idea but I'm working really hard on keeping W30 ideals but also thinking about what I want my long-term food choices to look like and in context with some other lifestyle changes.  

This is going to be a super short check-in because my brain is just scattered today and while I sort of know what I want to say...it's not coming together.  I hope to be back again before next Monday to maybe share what I've settled on.  I do love that May 1 is a Monday so I'm going to be starting out with that symmetry.  I've got my first week meal plan pretty well laid out and ironically it doesn't include much of anything that wouldn't be compliant.  I thought about doing a strict first 30 days but that's not really the spirit of what this year long challenge is for me.  Still a good clean first week will be a nice fresh start and I'm looking forward to getting back to fresh food...or maybe that's just because it's lunch time.

[vozelle]

Good luck navigating the emotional waters, @misslindy... I've been dealing with a lot too. We'll get through...

Happy Belated Birthday @Crimsann, excited for you about the year long challenge!

I have successfully incorporated honey back  into my life (the only sweetener I'm using), and am not having any major sugar dragon experiences. I bake occasional things at home, or purchase from local farmer's market (we have a great Paleo bakery lady there), and have been in good balance with it. I like having more variety and options, and not feeling deprived... the occasional healthy treat makes me happy, and I have no problems with portion control. I may have found my food freedom with sweets, yay!

[NancyW]

Hi all. Happy Belated, @Crimsann, hang in there, @misslindy, and good for you, @vozelle!!

I've just had a week of playing zookeeper and feeding my sugar/grain dragon. I'm holding on to Crimsann's symmetry of Monday and May 1st being the same day, and preparing myself for a return to sanity. It started a few weeks ago with the reintro of (yes, bad idea written ALL over it...) tortilla chips. I rationalized that the guac and salsa were healthy and compliant. Didn't see then that it would backfire this badly. Now that I've had a couple of days of sugar and bread, I can say with certainty that I feel MUCH worse while indulging in these foods. Stomach troubles are back in spades, and blood sugar is bouncing all over the place. Was it worth it? No. No. No. At least I have a freezer full of compliant meals to fall back on--not officially a 30, but very close to it. My Food Freedom has just gotten a bit more clear about what it doesn't include. I knew this before, but apparently had to prove it out. I'd like to try some paleo banana blueberry bread, to add a breakfast option. Will wait a while now to do that.

How is everyone else doing? We're missing a few lately...

[C_Cezeaux]

I've been lurking lately.  More probably could be labeled sulking in despair/disgust with myself.  The bad news is, when they switched me over from field work to "office" (it's a seacan, but it is my office, lol), I lost all my daily exercise.  I went from walking 5-10 miles daily to...nothing.  Didn't change my habit of coming home and piling up in the chair to read, being exhausted at the end of the day.  A few weeks ago I noticed my old friend back trouble coming back so went to a standing desk.  Knew I had let things slide a bit since the holidays but was really brought home to me when my stepdaughter came to visit and many pictures were taken, followed by a weekend visit to my daughter and grand daughter where... many pictures were taken.  Plus, I was outrun by a 3 year old girl.  Repeatedly.  Staring reality in the face as I go through all the photos, trying once again to find one where I don't look like a blob, I have been down in the dumps.  Have been eating healthy since I came back, which was another reality check as I had to go through the timeline once again.  Day 2 of healthy week nearly took me out.  Made it through that week but now am focused on the fitness and shape aspect.  I still have functions coming up in June and August and DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT want to be bigger than the whales we are going to try to be watching on our cruise in August.  So I have decided to jump in whole hog (so to speak) and have joined a 30 day fitness challenge which starts tomorrow.  They have a support group administered by the lady who does the fitness routine, which involves latin dance (this ought to be interesting, I have danced 2 times in my life and one was the waltz at my wedding).

I had to take measurements and before pictures today.  SO not fun.  SO fighting the urge to go eat a box of anything. SO afraid I will still look the same way after 30 days of the hard work I am committed to putting in.

In the meantime, I have done my prep work.  My cabinets are full of good food.  My freezer is full of frozen pre-prepped veggies.  My lovely chicken soup is simmering on the stove.  My workout clothes are clean and ready. Now, if I can just get up out of my pity party and get on with it, I will be ok.

[misslindy]

I tried to respond but the computer doesn't like me any better than I do at the moment. I can so relate to you, Nancy and Cynthia.

I have decided sugar and flour are out for life for me and have to do it one day at a time or perhaps one meal at a time. I haven't lost any weight on W30 but have changed some habits and developed some good ones. I W30 but have changed some habits and developed some good ones. I need to do something to change the weight however so have been doing more research.  Flour and sugar, in any form, are out for me and hopefully that will help. 

I will be in and out of here briefly over the next couple of months but will still be around. 

Sending light and love to you all.

L

[Crimsann]

@C_Cezeaux Oh, thanks for the reminder.  I really need to do the pics and weigh in today too, maybe when I finally drag myself off the couch to go pack the lunch I made earlier. 

I am totally in sync with you right now.  One of the things I wanted to talk about, but couldn't get the words, was that I have now passed the 100 day mark on doing some kind of workout every day.  I started that back in January?  February?  I've sort of lost track I guess.  I've gone through one (mostly) Whole30 and two months of complete abandon, but never lost the workout. 

The thing is, it really hammered home for me that I simply can't do one or the other.  I can keep up the workout streak for months, but when my eating suffers I know I hold back.  I may make my goal, but I'm not really pushing myself because the energy isn't there.  On the flip side, at this point in my dieting adventure...I can eat a pristine Whole30 and still not see the kind of changes I want to see because losing weight doesn't translate directly into gaining tone. 

Most of my life I've wanted the magic bullet to be anything BUT working out or eating right.  Maybe in the last three years or so I've wanted it to be EITHER working out or eating right because either one of them was hard enough.  And yet what I'm staring at is...the only times I've felt like I was making a real difference in myself is when there were some elements of both going on. 

Can I get a chorus of "dang it!!?!" 

So one of my rules for this 365 day challenge is that I have to keep making that Move goal every single day.  I know of several different ways to accomplish it, everything from yoga to a marathon shopping day...and I've done it when I was tired, when I was sick, and when I was on vacation...so short of breaking a leg, I've little wiggle room.  I've also sort of hit that moment when breaking the streak now means getting a new record would take a loooong time.  If I manage to keep it going for the entire 365, I will be here a year from now and will be just about a month away from hitting a 500 day streak.  I like that.  Because it means even if I happen to need to eat an entire loaf of bread in 366 days...I will still have some motivation to keep the workout thing going until my sanity returns.  And I do think that these two things feed off each other.  The better I eat, the more energy I have to Move...and the more I Move the more I don't want to ruin all that effort by eating poorly. 

So a few little snags in getting ready today, I still haven't finished reading Food Freedom and I'm probably not as prepared as I was even for my first Whole30...I do have some of those same nerves though.  Underlying them is the certain knowledge that of course I can do this even if it feels sort of daunting right now.  I've made up a batch of Mel Joulwan's Pesto Chicken Meatballs (though for some reason I always opt for turkey) and some Zoodles for lunches this week, and I've got the stuff to make up some lettuce wraps with salmon salad for dinners.  I have a few more recipes bookmarked to try in the coming weeks that are new to me...not sure if any of you follow Whole30 on Instagram but the gal who was sharing recipes this past week had some amazing ones and also offered a free e-book version that included all of them.  I highly recommend looking that up.  No real offense to that thread, but I've sometimes felt like all the recipes boil down to the same four ingredients just photographed from a different angle, but this week it's either my perspective or it all seemed much more unique.  If you signed up for the e-book she also sent some emails about video courses on being successful and one of them included 5 recipes for sauces to go with steak which were also really interesting and 5 things to do with chicken.   

I also got some sort of fun inspiration from the Starbucks unicorn frapp that was in the news a week or so ago.  Yes, I didn't see that coming either and no, I didn't try one.  Mostly because they neglected to put coffee anywhere near it so how magical could it have been?  One of my friends went to try one though and the barista talked her into trying something she called a dragon frapp instead.  Basically it was a green tea frapp with some of the mango powder on it.  Mango powder still sounds kind of gross but I'm working out a way to make that with compliant ingredients instead, green tea and frozen mango and the one toasted coconut almond milk I like....something along those lines.  I have made up a list of a few food items I'm using that are not compliant, but I do want to keep about 98% of what I eat entirely in the bounds for this year.  I know too well how blurring the lines is a long walk off a short pier.  I've done this kind of balancing act before though and it's been a good fit, allowing me to be more creative with food but without reintroducing much of anything. 

Thrilled to see a few faces around tonight, so glad to not be feeling alone setting off on this.  It feels like I'm not the only one feeling a fresh surge of energy to make some positive changes.  So no looking back ladies, some great feelings to come if we can slug through the next two weeks!!!   

[C_Cezeaux]

Vozelle, I think I need the magic bullet to the head tonight, lol.  I know I have to have both the exercise and the right food or it doesn't work, don't know what possessed me to think I could happily slide along with no exercise when I suddenly dropped into sedentary mode at work.  Probably originated in the same part of the brain that thought jumping into intense latin dance exercise challenge would be perfect for someone who doesn't know how to dance in the first place.  Challenge it is.  Sweaty I am. Maybe by the end of the 30 days I will have learned something close to a dance move, lol.  Sticking with it anyway out of sheer stubbornness.  Signed up, posted the wretched pictures as required in a public forum with all the other out-of-shapers hoping for miracles, so I am darn well sticking it out.

MsLIndy, I am with you on the no sugar/flour thing.  Other than being allergic to the wheat flour, typical baked goods are a definite no brakes kind of food for me.  Just no.  I do ok with the grain free baking, they're dense enough that they're impossible to gulp.

[Crimsann]

Anyone else seem to be missing the email alerts of a new post here again?  Just curious.

I want to give a shout out to Mel Joulwan's Pesto Meatballs, not sure what I did differently before but while I liked them the first time I made them...I'm swooning over them this time.  Well, okay, let's me honest I do know a few things I did different this time.  I used Paul Newman's Tomato Basil sauce, which is actually compliant even though I'm not 100% W30 right now myself.  At first I was kind of worried because a jar of that didn't fill up my electric skillet the way the sauce ingredients in the recipe had and I worried these were going to turn out dry.  Far from it.  The texture is incredible.  I let the zoodles sweat more than I have before too and I don't know if that made a difference or if just being less "watery" meant they reheat with more flavor or what...

Great start though, to have both of my made ahead meals really hit the spot this week.  I won't get into my personal hurdle with canned salmon, leave it that I like it once it's made up but getting it made takes a Herculean effort on my part with not letting the fish smell or the visuals of the skin and bones get to me.  I added a lot of chopped orange bell pepper and red onion and some of the green goddess dressing I make as well as a bit of mayo and wrapped it up in a crisp romaine leaf.  My local grocery has started carrying a really convenient package of large mostly flat romaine lettuce leaves that are so perfect for this kind of use without wasting anything.  

I'm further in on reading Food Freedom as well and it strikes me that I probably should have planned for an initial 30-days of going by the book.  This isn't really going to be possible without putting off the rest of my plan though and I'm not going to do that.  

@C_Cezeaux who required posting the wretched pictures in a public forum?!  I'm horrified at the thought of doing that myself so huge props to you.  I did get off my lazy tush the other night and got a number from the scales that actually sort of shocked me (in a bad way, the pants test hadn't give up enough warning signs so I'm hoping that was a fluke number but wrote it down anyway) and took some pictures that didn't really make me happy either.  I will be glad I had them at the end though I'm sure.  I just today had an invite to join a co-worker for spinning class which is a lot more like exercise than I try to get into but I'm considering it.  Possibly with the same area of the brain that said committing to doing this for 365 was a smart idea.

[NancyW]

On 4/30/2017 at 8:18 PM, Crimsann said:

Most of my life I've wanted the magic bullet to be anything BUT working out or eating right. 

This, SO much this...

As I read all these posts, I realize that all of you are my tribe!! I'm feeling a bit lost because I'm floundering badly on the food front. And the only reason I'm doing anything physical is because I'm now paying a trainer to help with that! But I'm also not getting any kind of notification of new posts, so I'm also feeling very alone in my struggle. I finally remembered to come here, and I'm not alone!!! Thank you for that...

I blew my reinto again. I was reading a post on a moderated FB group about a woman who said adding in food was like opening the floodgates. That's exactly where I am. I think I may need more than 30 days in a row to get my head right. I'm headed to Ohio to take my parents to see my daughter who is stationed at Wright Patterson AFB this coming weekend. When I get back, I'd like to start another W30. I have to weigh the benefits of that (HUGE) with the difficulties of using the kitchen that's not mine (also potentially huge). I don't know when I'll have my own kitchen again. but maybe I can't wait that long.

Off to an early Mother's Day celebration with my daughter here in town. She always asks what I'd like to have, how I'd like to eat, when she has me over. That's a good thing, but she also understands because I've passed my complicated relationship with food on to both of my daughters. Great legacy... Luckily, they love me anyway!

[NancyW]

@Crimsann What do you do with your zoodles to keep them from making the sauce watery? I've tried a couple things, but without much success.

[C_Cezeaux]

Crimsann, it's part of the 30 day Figure 8 challenge, they ask you to post your "before" pics in loose shorts and a sports bra. Rum, talk about a deity check right between the eyes.  The food plan she suggests has some things on it that are not W30, so I am sticking with the W30 compliant while I attempt to follow the exercise plan.

Much to my surprise, at the end of week one I have measurable results,  will see how it goes. I also have some muscles in places I wasn't aware I had them, Lol. Hoping to look less like a frog in a blender during the dance moves by the end of the month.

Nancy, I feel you on the shared living spa e. I do not tolerate living in someone else's space well. I need my own space and my own kitchen setup to be comfortable. I may be a little territorial and particular about that. ;-)  Will keep fingers crossed for a vacancy for you soon.

Melinda, I have always loved pork, but can only eat limited amounts and only the leaner pork. Pork fat causes me somesevere distress and sits in my stomach like a rock.

[Crimsann]

Now one of these trips Nancy, we are going to have to plan a meet-up you know.  It kills me to think of you drifting so close and not being able to say "hi!"  Maybe if I promise to bring the entertainment in the form of my two nieces?  LOL!

On the zoodles, what I did this time was sprinkle salt on each pile of them when I got to the end of a zucchini so I knew the whole container was well salted, then covered them with paper towel and waited probably half an hour.  This timing wasn't intentional, I just had other things to prepare and it took me that long to get back to them.  The towel was soaked and I strained out a good bit of water, pressing lightly into a colander.  It was interesting because they looked wilted compared to the crisp hard "noodles" I usually have.  They almost looked cooked, which could make sense since there are cooking techniques where you do use salt alone to "cook" something.  I did warm up some olive oil and sort of tossed them a few times on each side then before packaging them up in individual glass containers with some meatballs and sauce for lunches.  I don't know if it was all that method or partly because the sauce I used cooked down with the meatballs so that there wasn't a lot left.  Each meatball had a visible coating of sauce and there was maybe one large serving spoon of sauce besides so the combination of drier noodles and less extra sauce?  Mmm, it was so good though.

My week 1 was a tad shaky, I found out mid-week that one of the things I was eating wasn't as compliant as I had thought.  Just a silly mistake on my part, I had read something about that brand being compliant but has misread which item and didn't double-check by reading the label when I bought them because at the time I was not doing Whole30.  It was only when I went to open the second bag about Wednesday night that I realized.  I think all things considered this is something I would be okay with having in my Food Freedom plan and I didn't get all the way to 10 on my allowed exceptions list so I added them.  Sort of covering my backside after the fact for sure, but I seemed to do just fine with them all week. 

No signs of a horrible headache or a desire to maim everyone around me, so again a pretty seamless bounce back though of course my menu wasn't 100% compliant.  I did notice some fatigue most days, crashed earlier at night than usual and slept deeply.  I also backed off my workouts just a bit, not enough to break my streak but I only did the cardio AND yoga maybe twice all week.  Towards the end of the week I also added a small side salad at dinner because I found one of the newer Tessemae's dressings at my local grocery and wanted to try it.  It contains honey which is on my allowed list as long as it's in either a sauce, condiment, or dressing and is used sparingly and not routinely.  It was nice for a change of pace from so many savory dressings lately but all in all I found it too sweet and not that satisfying.  I may try it again another time maybe to make something like a traditional broccoli salad, but I found I prefer the more herbal dressings at this point. 

I am using honey again this week, as well as a no sugar added peanut butter.  I tried another version of that Peanut Chicken Salad I think I mentioned a few weeks ago.  Fingers crossed I like it better than the last version.  I think I will though unless the flavors change a lot as it melds.  Those are the only two non-compliant items on menu though, everything else toes the line. 

I ended up with a pet fish this week, which is partly why I haven't checked in sooner...I've been in full stress/research mode.  It was a sort of accidental acquirement and I wasn't prepared to take on tending anything finicky which it apparently can be.  It's a betta which are about equal parts hardy and diva from what I've read so far, few things that can be agreed upon either which tells me they vary some.  I named him Siam Spade since I learned the fish originated in Thailand, which does sort of beg the question why they are also called Japanese Fighting Fish but I haven't run across the answer to that yet.  I did get him moved into a home last night and after close monitoring I think it's going to suit.  He seems energetic enough and curious about everything which seem like good signs.  We took the girls to an aquarium store yesterday and on the advice of one of the posts I had read I got a Ghost Shrimp to keep him company but more importantly to help keep the tank clean.  The girls batted eyelashes at their Mom and sweet talked her into getting them a small tank for a few pink Tetra's.  Luckily their father approved of this and actually wants to go back because he was left out with no fish of his own to name.  I can only imagine what will go with Posie (my sisters choice), Sassy (the best we can figure out from Maddie who is only talking a little so far) and....wait for it...Pinky Pie Balloon (named, you won't be surprised to hear, by Eliana the older niece.)  I also bought a piece of rock while I was there, just an interesting shape with some holes and such out of a bin of rock. 

I got home and setup the tank, made sure the water that I had been warming in the room all day was the right temp, got all the decorations and plants in place and the pump humming along and had no more than introduced the shrimp who was scooting along happily when I noticed a tiny movement on the rock.  OMG.  Snails.  First one which was sort of cute, though how it had lived through who knows how long of a dry spell I don't know, but then more.  At last count I had six.  This lead to a moral dilemma.  The thing is, a snail or two or maybe three can help keep the tank clean and they were tiny things....but the wrong combination of snails with amorous intentions on each other and you can very quickly wind up with more snails than water.  In the end I did the evil thing and divested myself of all but one of them. 

So we will see.  Alas the shrimp did not survive his first day.  I actually don't know what happened.  Siam is inordinately curious and had been seen sneaking close to take a peek but I hadn't caught any territorial or aggressive moves.  It is possible he acts up behind my back though.  He has a rather pronounced air of innocence at times for a fish.  It's also possible that the shrimp got ahold of some of his food.  I didn't realize at the time that it contains some copper sulfate and copper is a problem for the shrimp.  If that's the case it would have happened eventually because part of his function was to clean up after things.  I may give it a week or so, read up some more on potential betta companions and foods that would work for both and try again.  I have also caught him nose to shell with the snail, again no sign of nibbling, just intense scrutiny and I think he would do with some sort of play mate if I can find something he won't threaten. 

And that was my week. 

P.S.  Huge hurrah for some measurable results there @C_Cezeaux very inspirational.  Here is to another solid week! 

[vozelle]

Hi everyone, I'm still here… Good to catch up on what's going on with each of you. Sorry to hear about the various struggles, wishing you all well.  And good luck with the new challenges/goals!  Crimsann, WOW. 

I am  now on Phase 2 (of 3) of treatment for my kinda stubborn SIBO,  I'll be on this regimen of supplements and careful eating for 60 days. Then hoping to retest and see where things are at.  In a weird way, I'm now almost grateful to have had this medical issue to keep me making healthy choices all this time. That "forced compliance" over the looooooong haul has really transformed my lifestyle in what feels like a permanent way. And honestly, after the EXPENSE of treating this gut dysbiosis, I have a very strong financial incentive to stay healthy once the condition is healed!

Blessings to you all, V

[Crimsann]

@vozelle I don't want to go as far as to say I envy you because that would just be sort of ridiculous given what all you've gone through to treat this but I can totally see the silver lining in having to spend so much time being conscious of what you eat.  It's sort of what I'm hoping to accomplish by setting myself the year long challenge with what I hope are some reasonable modifications.  Hoping it forces me even further out of my comfort zone to try and discover more real food options.  I know the more recipes I have starred in my notes that I really want to make again...not just things I could live on...the more likely I am to be eating the way I want to eat on the routine rather than it being some exception.  And for all it's ups and downs I do want something like this as my "ever after" diet.  

Working on my meal plan for next week, I'm pulling out one of those recipes from the Instagram feed I mentioned a few weeks ago.  This one is a pretty simple roast pork loin, done in a slow cooker which is my favorite lazy cookup day option...but with some interesting flavors:  cilantro, orange juice, coriander, lime.  I'm thinking I will see what I come up with and either do some zoodles or some spaghetti squash "noodles" under it.  This week I've been doing another chicken salad, prepped similar to the peanut chicken I did last week but with a chimichurri sauce instead.  I also tried a homemade ranch dressing recipe that was compliant but this was kind of never going to be a win I think.  The problem is, I make a killer ranch dressing....like people lick plates it's so good...and my version takes buttermilk.  I got excited because this version called for adding a little vinegar to coconut milk and the common sub for real buttermilk is milk with vinegar so I thought this might make a really close approximation....and it's okay, but it's definitely not as good as the original.  I will probably make the compliant version again over the next year and tweak the proportions around, but I suspect that down the road that might be one of my "it's worth it" uses for real dairy.

My plan for next week contains all compliant ingredients this time, but my breakfast recipe will be using some of them in a non-compliant blueberry muffin sort of way.  I feel like so far, four weeks in planning wise at least, I've got a decent balance going of being on my plan without letting the exceptions drown out the Whole30 core.  

 

[C_Cezeaux]

Well, if the amount of sweat I'm flinging about during workout is any indication, I should get something good out of this workout challenge, lol. I am actually starting to have some fun with it and might even "gasp" have a basic (very basic) dance move mastered soon.

I am hanging in with "convenience" foods of organic shredded salads, power greens, and frozen veggies at the moment, just have not had time to actually cook up a good batch of anything.

Foolishly sent myself to the ER after work Monday with an overdose of lemon water. I have a new infuser water bottle and thought it would be just the thing for work. It works great, but I did not actually realize lemon was a diuretic and kept lemon in the bottle all day. A bag of IV fluid with a sodium boost later, I can say that I will not forget the lesson learned.  From here on out, will stick to my mints in the water!

[misslindy]

On 5/19/2017 at 1:32 PM, C_Cezeaux said:

Well, if the amount of sweat I'm flinging about during workout is any indication, I should get something good out of this workout challenge, lol. I am actually starting to have some fun with it and might even "gasp" have a basic (very basic) dance move mastered soon.

I am hanging in with "convenience" foods of organic shredded salads, power greens, and frozen veggies at the moment, just have not had time to actually cook up a good batch of anything.

Foolishly sent myself to the ER after work Monday with an overdose of lemon water. I have a new infuser water bottle and thought it would be just the thing for work. It works great, but I did not actually realize lemon was a diuretic and kept lemon in the bottle all day. A bag of IV fluid with a sodium boost later, I can say that I will not forget the lesson learned.  From here on out, will stick to my mints in the water!

OMG! You have to be taking care of yourself! Not good.