Calling all over 50 folks

[Stegner]

Woke up well rested and hungry this morning... Much better and so worth the small sacrifice.

[Stegner]

Second morning without a food hangover from snacking after dinner. Here's what helps, and it's nothing fancy - a substantial and delicious dinner (three courses, why not?), a good book to read, journaling, and a bath with the window open. Life is better this way.

[Stegner]

I'm allergic to tree pollen and although the season is nearly over and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, the symptoms are still there - headache, fatigue, morning sneezes, and an itchy irritated soft palate. Sugar makes it worse, but I want it - my body thinks it's tired because it's not getting enough carbs. Still hanging in there, but it's easier when I feel great.

[Deerobert]

Hi Stegner, just found this thread when I started posting my log for my 2nd round.  I'm glad you started it but it does need some boosting.  Here I go.  I am going to Spain too and I have to do what you did.  There is no way I can control what I am eating in restaurants when I don't speak the language.  Hopefully you like it because we are very excited - not going until October.  

I definitely had some difficulties with life after Whole30.  I mostly stayed away from grains, sugar and dairy and legumes weren't an issue.  However, I could not live without my wine.  I'm not even totally sure that the wine is what sent me over the edge - it might have been the donuts - 2 days in a row - that I had.  They woke up my sugar dragon like crazy.  I did find that, for the most part, I could keep my sugar dragon at bay.  I think it started with Brookside chocolate covered blueberries - it's a fruit, right.  I found that if I went back on plan strictly that my sugar dragon would go away but then I would forget and have something again.  So, I'm back on the Whole30 but just started yesterday.  

My great NSV's from my first round were lower blood pressure, lower AST, better sleep and no brain-fog.  The only downsides were it did not fix my skin (that is still a constant struggle) and sometimes I felt oddly depressed - the only thing I could trace that too was having more carbs.  

I'm glad to see some of the original people from the thread and newcomers.  Talk soon.  

[Deerobert]

thanks, stegner!!! so happy you did this....it was on my list as well  ... great that we'll still be keeping in touch in this new phase...

 

my first experiment with re-introductions was to put honey in my golden milk (which i make with cashew milk and which actually tastes wonderful without any sweetener). i felt that after 60 days without any sweets (except fruit) it would be nice to treat myself that way. it was. but after two days (i drink a cup in the morning and cup at night) i noticed two things: 1) it doesn't really make the golden milk taste BETTER...ie it is a not an improvement. it just makes it taste SWEETER, and that masks all the other quite nice flavors. 2) by the third time, the same amount of honey did not taste nearly as sweet as the first time...ie already my taste buds were adjusting and if i wanted SWEET i was going to have to start adding more honey. 3) after two days, i woke up bloated. and i am still bloated. lesson learned. no more of that. plus i don't want my body to go back to burning sugar instead of fat!

 

my next experiment will be with an oxtail stew recipe that calls for 3 tbs of flour as a thickener, and a bottle of porter (along with broth and water) for the cooking liquid. it braises in the oven for 5 hours, so there wouldn't be much alcohol in it by the time it's ready. i think this would more be a test for gluten. i made a VERY successful and tasty bone broth with oxtails and neck bones last week -- that was my second pass at making my own and i was very pleased with the results -- it made a nice solid gelatin. anyway, it broke my heart to discard the meat b/c oxtail stew is one of my favorite things in the world -- so this time i'm going to make the oxtail stew and then use those bones (plus some neck bones) for the broth.

 

as i mentioned on our original thread...i'm not planning on adding bread or pasta or dairy back in in a big way. so i'm not going to do a re-intro of that stuff the way the book suggests. i'll save it for eating out and ONLY when there's  something so tempting it's worth a splurge. and sugar and alcohol are off the menu for good, in the sense of having my bottle of wine or my martinis or eating vast quantities of ice cream etc. that's over. i MIGHT have a treat every once in a blue moon (for example, one of my very best friends is canadian and she makes to-die-for nanaimo bars every christmas. THAT would be worth it!) but in general nope not. and drinking is just off the menu altogether. no "nice glass of wine with dinner." i'd love to be able to cook with wine and beer, though, so i'll see how that goes.

 

so that's my plan, folks. i'd love to hear yours!

Caedmon22, I'm Canadian and home-made Nanaimo bars are definitely worth it.  Glad to see you are well and continuing on the journey. 

[Asr]

Hi--I am 69 and started the 30 a week ago and am going great--except for the Sugar Dragon. I just cannot stay away from an apple or banana (or both!) after dinner! I used to eat about 3 apples and banana or two a day and cannot seem to stop the cravings and I have been giving in. Habits of a lifetime ar sooo hard to break. I am trying to have tea instead of fruit. But if not after a meal, when to eat fruit?. I feel it is good for one's health. Any suggestions?

[QuilterInVA]

It is best to eat fruit as part of a meal. It will keep the Sugar Dragon alive and well. I add some to a salad or have some berries at the end of the meal. Berries don't have soap much sugar as apples and banana. A song as you feed your cravings you will never be rid of them.

[Stegner]

Hi Stegner, just found this thread when I started posting my log for my 2nd round.  I'm glad you started it but it does need some boosting.  Here I go.  I am going to Spain too and I have to do what you did.  There is no way I can control what I am eating in restaurants when I don't speak the language.  Hopefully you like it because we are very excited - not going until October.  

I definitely had some difficulties with life after Whole30.  I mostly stayed away from grains, sugar and dairy and legumes weren't an issue.  However, I could not live without my wine.  I'm not even totally sure that the wine is what sent me over the edge - it might have been the donuts - 2 days in a row - that I had.  They woke up my sugar dragon like crazy.  I did find that, for the most part, I could keep my sugar dragon at bay.  I think it started with Brookside chocolate covered blueberries - it's a fruit, right.  I found that if I went back on plan strictly that my sugar dragon would go away but then I would forget and have something again.  So, I'm back on the Whole30 but just started yesterday.  

My great NSV's from my first round were lower blood pressure, lower AST, better sleep and no brain-fog.  The only downsides were it did not fix my skin (that is still a constant struggle) and sometimes I felt oddly depressed - the only thing I could trace that too was having more carbs.  

I'm glad to see some of the original people from the thread and newcomers.  Talk soon.

I'm so happy that others are joining in. Deerobert, your issues are my issues - my sugar consumption tends to snowball - but I decided that I'm not going to do another Whole30. I learned what it had to teach me and I'm just going to keep making adjustments. Being "on" or "off" any diet has made me miserable in the past and I'm not going back. I'm committed to being gentle with myself. I believe that I can reap most of the benefits eating 80-90% W30, and I really value the freedom that gives me. It doesn't always work the way I want, but it's a work in progress.

Sorry to hear that W30 hasn't fixed your skin - mine improved a lot, but it took quite a while.

I think you will love Spain - eating is so celebratory. You may already know this, but mealtimes are much later there, and meals take longer, with multiple courses, lots of conversation, and a fair amount of fabulous wine and beer - restaurant meals seemed very inexpensive to me, and there was a lot of variety. I tried everything and missed no meals, but did a lot of walking, and actually lost a few pounds.

It's funny, but I was looking at those Brookside chocolate covered berries yesterday - they were on sale! - but I didn't buy them. I just knew how it would end... very badly. I count that as progress.

[Stegner]

Hi--I am 69 and started the 30 a week ago and am going great--except for the Sugar Dragon. I just cannot stay away from an apple or banana (or both!) after dinner! I used to eat about 3 apples and banana or two a day and cannot seem to stop the cravings and I have been giving in. Habits of a lifetime ar sooo hard to break. I am trying to have tea instead of fruit. But if not after a meal, when to eat fruit?. I feel it is good for one's health. Any suggestions?

I agree with Quilter that berries are a better choice. I eat berries every day and I do think they are good for me. I might eat them at the end of a meal, but I don't snack on them. For me, snacking after dinner is the road to perdition. Breaking habits is hard, but the worst will be over after about 4 days of not doing the habitual thing. Can you think of any wild and crazy thing you might do instead of eating fruit? Dance outside? Build a fire and roast your palm-sized portion of animal protein on a stick? Good Luck, Asr.

[Deerobert]

Hi Asr, I am not sure where I read this, may have been on the Blog, but Melissa suggests eating your fruit at the beginning of the meal.  Although, admittedly, I wasn't a big fruit eater before I do think we need one a day so I have it before the meal, like an appetizer.  I agree with Stegner, you have to cut it out as a snack or you will not tame the dragon.  It is difficult to tame but once you do it is so freeing!!

Thanks for the words about Spain, Stegner, we are very excited.  I totally agree with your approach and once I am done R2 I don't think I'll do another until late fall but I do find the restrictions actually help me.  I'm an all or nothing gal and that is not helpful in the food arena.  However, big NSV, we had friends over for dinner on Saturday and they had wine and I had none!!!!!  I was so tempted so this is a victory.  

Yea, my skin,    it is not as bad as before but I have allergic dermatitis and I think I have eliminated all of the things I'm allergic to but I still have flare-ups.  One of the triggers is the sun which is such a drag but I'm hoping that if I'm religious about the sunscreen and wearing a hat I can avoid that trigger.  I see the dermatologist again at end of June and I think I need to be retested because there is obviously something that I'm still reacting to.  

[Stegner]

Sorry you react to sun exposure, Deerobert. That is a drag indeed. My daughter kept commenting on the unfashionable baseball cap I wear when I hike, but I did not let her stop me from wearing it. It protects my skin and my eyes, keeps ticks out of my hair, and I think I look extra fine in it.

Hope you and the dermatologist are able to figure out the problem. I realized that ghee was an issue for me, and remembered that way back in high school, my dermatologist told me that the only foods that really promoted acne were sugar and dairy fat - it's apparently still true. When I was on W30 I was developing a huge crush on ghee until I realized that I was also developing a big zit.

[Stegner]

Last night, I invited friends over for dinner at the last minute and thus had to come up with a last minute menu from items in my pantry and refrigerator - so I served a template meal and it worked really well. It was colorful, savory, zippy, crunchy, etc. We talked about the food we were eating - not about the food we were not eating. It was easy and delicious and I'll definitely do this again. Dessert was strawberries and clementine sections with whipped coconut milk with stevia and some vanilla in margarita glasses. It felt like a fiesta.

[Deerobert]

Still plugging along at Day 18 which I'm know now is the ball-park vicinity where I start to feel really good.  Didn't feel great at all Day 14-16 and wanted to pack it in.  

Does anyone else make the broth, I made some on the weekend and was quite disappointed in the fact that it only made 3 cups?   

[QuilterInVA]

You cover the bones a few inches above them and keep adding water as it cooks.

[Stegner]

I don't measure the water I put on bones to make stock - but for one chicken carcass, I get almost 2 quarts of stock. I use a pressure cooker and it only takes an hour. I find the meaty smell in the house to be kind of oppressive, especially in the summer.

Sorry you're not feeling great, Dee. I've been having a rough couple of days myself and I'm not sure why. I usually just don't post when I'm having trouble but I have had some wicked cravings for things I know don't do me any good. For pity's sake, just when I think I'm past this kind of thing, I find myself making homemade caramel corn. But I did NOT indulge my urge for ice cream - so there's that to be happy about. Picking self up. Dusting self off.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Hello, I'm Wendy, and I am 50, and my husband is 57. We just completed our 2nd W30 this weekend.  (Our first was in February).  Since starting our 1st round, I lost 16 lbs, and my husband lost 13 lbs.  But more importantly, we changed our eating habits and lifestyle.  We no longer sit on the couch in the evening, munching on popcorn, pretzels, crackers, beer, wine, etc.  My husband used to have oatmeal and toast every morning for breakfast, and I'd have cereal or an English muffin.  We thought we were eating healthy.   Now we have fruit, and sometimes eggs.  I used to make a lot of cheap enriched pasta for dinner, and wondered why I felt so bloated.  Now I've made tons of recipes from the W30 book, like spaghetti squash, and shrimp with Romesco sauce and zucchini noodles.  I will never go back to that cheap pasta again!  "Noodles" are amazing, and I absolutely love the spaghetti squash and tomato sauce from the book.  I have more energy than I have had since my 30's, and I've always been a type A go-getter.  

     Looking forward to "meeting" some other like-minded folks of the same age bracket.  

 

Wendy

[QuilterInVA]

Just fruit for breakfast? Not the W30 way at all. Protein is what we need first thing in the morning, not a load of sugar.

[Stegner]

Hello, I'm Wendy, and I am 50, and my husband is 57. We just completed our 2nd W30 this weekend.  (Our first was in February).  Since starting our 1st round, I lost 16 lbs, and my husband lost 13 lbs.  But more importantly, we changed our eating habits and lifestyle.  We no longer sit on the couch in the evening, munching on popcorn, pretzels, crackers, beer, wine, etc.  My husband used to have oatmeal and toast every morning for breakfast, and I'd have cereal or an English muffin.  We thought we were eating healthy.   Now we have fruit, and sometimes eggs.  I used to make a lot of cheap enriched pasta for dinner, and wondered why I felt so bloated.  Now I've made tons of recipes from the W30 book, like spaghetti squash, and shrimp with Romesco sauce and zucchini noodles.  I will never go back to that cheap pasta again!  "Noodles" are amazing, and I absolutely love the spaghetti squash and tomato sauce from the book.  I have more energy than I have had since my 30's, and I've always been a type A go-getter.  

     Looking forward to "meeting" some other like-minded folks of the same age bracket.  

 

You've made really important changes - go Wendy, go! For me, the biggest and most important change no longer snacking in the evening on anything - but especially not on snack foods. It was also the hardest habit to break, and I still struggle with it sometimes. I eat eggs, fat and low carb veggies for breakfast - it fills me up and keeps the carb-cravings at bay. It's true that only fruit for breakfast is not what is recommended on a whole30, but this is a post-whole30 log and you can write about whatever is working for you.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Well, Quilter in VA,

I wasn't expecting such judgment on my first post on a POST Whole 30 forum. I also mentioned we often have eggs for breakfast. Some cantaloupe or a banana fill me up in the morning, so it's working for me.

Stegner,

Thanks for your encouragement.

Wendy

[Stegner]

I hope you keep posting and sharing what's working for you, Wendy.

More energy is a great benefit of eating this way - I love to hike but many friends my age have joint problems or lack the stamina to walk for a few hours a day. It almost seems "normal" to be sick, tired, sore, and medicated by age 60 - but it's not.

[Stegner]

It's so beautiful outside these days, with big dramatic weather changes, high temps and high winds. Perfect month for the natural environment whole 90 challenge. So that's good - but what's not so good is that after the last couple of social occasions I've gone to that involved food I had an "off the diet" feeling when I got home. I found myself thinking, well I ate cake at the potluck, so I should go ahead and eat the ice cream I have been thinking about before the sun rises on a new day. Honestly - I know this is my reptilian brain talking, but I am having trouble ignoring it. Well, I did ignore it and I bought and ate the ice cream. I can't say I suffered any terrible consequences because of it, but this is just not what I want for myself long term.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Now that I've completed two Whole 30's since February, it's amazing how my taste buds have changed.  I had some cake at a graduation party on Friday, and at first I was like, "Oh, this tastes amazing!" Then I couldn't even finish it (and it wasn't a big piece) because the icing tasted so sickening sweet.  Yogurt is another thing I used to eat almost daily with lunch, thinking it was healthy, and now it just tastes way too sweet.  I never realized how many grams of sugar they put in those, even the "healthy" brands like Chobani and Yoplait.  

 

  I agree about the beautiful weather, Stegner.  I've already taken my normal 2 mile walk with my dog this morning, and think we will do it again because it's just too gorgeous to be inside.  

 

Wendy

[Stegner]

..meant to say, I did NOT ignore my reptilian brain. I have had the same experience Wendy - finding a formerly tempting treat to be too sweet for my taste, but that just wasn't the case for me last night. The cake was homemade and the ice cream was gelato. So maybe there has been progress - these two items were truly delicious. My goal remains - leave the diet mentality behind. Forevermore. Amen.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Stegner,

    I think the homemade desserts are worth it every so often.  As long as they are in moderation, and you are not indulging in them every day of the week, why deprive yourself?  As long as I am eating "clean" for the majority of my meals, and avoiding artificial ingredients and added sugars, I am not going to feel guilty about occasional ice cream or wine if I am not doing a Whole 30.  I am exercising, eating (mostly) healthy, and enjoying life.  My husband and I are planning to do our 3rd Whole 30 in September.  

 

Wendy

[Stegner]

We are in agreement on this, Wendy. The thing that bothered me about this incident was the diet mentality aspect. It's much less than it used to be, but it still comes back to haunt me. What I want and intend to do is eat what I really want at a special occasion and leave it at that - without the "I'm off the diet until midnight" foolishness. I didn't specify in my post because it embarrasses me, but what I actually did on this occasion was to drive to a store after the potluck, buy a pint of gelato, and eat it while watching TV - because of an irrational but very strong feeling that I was in a "free zone" after eating cake. I remember feeling this way for the first time when I went on my first diet, during the summer before I went to high school, 45 years ago.