Calling all over 50 folks

[Rebe_J]

I love my Instant Pot. It's one of two appliances I have that if it failed, I'd drop everything to replace it.

The other is my immersion blender.

[Watergirl]

Update...today is day 7. I like the program on Whole30. There's lots to eat! I like the protein and veggies. Yes, I miss sugar and wine with my friends, but I am determined to feel better and look better. I've shared my plans with those who matter and everyone is supportive. Planning ahead is so important when we have plans away from home. The RX bars have saved me from reaching for sugary treats. Looking forward to the 2nd week. Hoping the energy thing kicks in!

Good for you!!  One week down    I just completed my first whole30 yesterday, I'm 50 years old, and I can tell you it is SO WORTH IT.  I feel lighter on my feet, my clothes are more comfortable and my energy is so much better.  That is not to say that I did not struggle with cravings along the way, but I managed to get through them without slipping.  I just wanted to point out to you that the sugar cravings WILL pass if you don't feed them.  Rx bars should not be used to satisfy a craving - they are only for emergency meals when you cannot prepare a meal of whole foods in that particular situation.  Using the Rx bars to satisfy your sugar monster will only feed it.  Try to let the craving pass.  The book says that most cravings pass in 3 to 5 minutes so if you can distract yourself for that time period, you are likely to get past it. Ask yourself this question: would I eat some chicken breast and avocado right now and be satisfied, or will only the sugar fix satisfy me?  If the answer to the first part is yes, then you are truly hungry and should eat a whole 30 mini meal.  If the answer is no, then it is a craving and you should let it roll right by you without giving in to it.

 

I hope I don't sound harsh.  I faced the same problem and was eating fruit to satisfy my sugar cravings thinking that was okay.  I was corrected by another member here and she gave me the same advice.  Also, you will definitely reap the higher energy benefit if you don't feed those cravings, even with compliant food.  Make your meals bigger, don't snack, make sure you are including one to two thumbs of fat at every meal, and you will see a difference in how you feel.

 

KEEP GOING!!!

[Stegner]

Rebe, I tried that potato salad recipe and it's a keeper. I was lucky to find some new potatoes at the mid-week farmers market, substituted dilly beans for pickles and used homemade mayo. It goes together very fast and I think it's really good warm, like German potato salad. Nancy, I couldn't remember whether I ever had a steamer basket and couldn't find one, so I improvised with a bamboo steamer. They're supposed to be for steaming Asian dumplings, but I've had it for years and have never used it.

SKS, I had the same thoughts on the Rx bars. Sorry! I also hope you stick with it because as Watergirl said, the benefits are so worth it. For me, it's motivational to read books about how sugar damages your health in so many ways. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts while I'm in the kitchen, which is where I need them most.

[SKS]

Thanks, Watergirl, for the sugar craving advice. I will think more about good fats and protein! I do feel more clear headed already... That's a good sign.

[bertadee]

Hi Everyone!

 

I completed my first Whole30 yesterday and I feel fantastic! I love this way of eating, and I have gotten used to not having toast with eggs or tuna salad sandwiches. I miss cheese and greek yogurt a little - but so far not enough to try reintroducing them. I think eliminating dairy has been the key to making my chronic skin condition go dormant. For the time being I'm going to continue on, only adding things in if I really, really want them. And making sure to take time to evaluate how I feel afterwards.

 

I will be 57 in about 6 weeks; I've struggled with my weight all of my life. I've been a member of Weight Watchers on and off for most of my adult life - it works for a while, but I've never reached goal and I've never maintained a goal weight. I've also tried everything else you can think of - mostly low fat, deprivation, and severe calorie reduction. The Whole30 way of eating makes much more sense to me. The only thing I have trouble wrapping my mind around is why it's such a bad thing to enjoy fresh fruit after a meal. I don't feel like I'm giving in to my sugar dragon - but then again this is my first Whole30 so I could be wrong!

[Stegner]

Hi Bertadee, I completed my first and only Whole30 almost a year ago, and I now eat fruit after 1 and sometimes 2 meals per day. Today, cantaloupe and strawberries. I didn't do this during the whole30, I don't eat fruit between meals, and I eat mostly berries, which I think have unique health benefits. Despite that, I know some people would disapprove, but I can live with that. If you try it and it and it causes sugar cravings, you can always cut back or stop.

I'm really happy that you were so successful - I think it helps everyone to read stories like yours.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Hello, Bertadee,

     Congrats on your successful Whole 30.  My husband and I have done 2 Whole 30's since February.  The first one, we kind of jumped into before I had read the book "It Starts with Food," which explains in detail about why we should not eat much fruit during Whole 30. However, my husband and I ate quite a bit of fruit, especially at breakfast and with lunch during our first Whole 30, and we still felt successful.  My husband lost 10 pounds, and I lost 11.5 pounds during our first round of W30, and additional weight for our second round.  We have adjusted our fruit intake since, and try now to have mostly protein and veggies with our breakfast and other meals.  Considering how much sugar I was having prior to the Whole 30 with coffee creamers, sugar in my tea, and all the added sugars in things like yogurt, my body felt great having so much less sugar on the Whole 30.  Both times I felt increased energy, and felt much more clear-headed.  Having fruit during my W30's did not cause sugar cravings for me. 

 

Wendy

[Rebe_J]

Bertadee, congratulations on your W30. It's always good to read a success story.

 

I'm the same about fruit. For me, it's not the same as baked goods or soda or other sugary foods. When I was feeding the sugar dragon, I didn't care about quality--stale doughnut would do.

 

Fruit is a different story--for me, anyway. I grew up in the big valley of central California, where the best fruit (IMO) is grown. I'm a fruit snob, so if it isn't in season and at the peak of flavor, I'm not interested. I try not to eat fruit between meals or more than at one meal, but when peaches are ripe, I indulge.

[Watergirl]

Hi Everyone!

 

I completed my first Whole30 yesterday and I feel fantastic! I love this way of eating, and I have gotten used to not having toast with eggs or tuna salad sandwiches. I miss cheese and greek yogurt a little - but so far not enough to try reintroducing them. I think eliminating dairy has been the key to making my chronic skin condition go dormant. For the time being I'm going to continue on, only adding things in if I really, really want them. And making sure to take time to evaluate how I feel afterwards.

 

I will be 57 in about 6 weeks; I've struggled with my weight all of my life. I've been a member of Weight Watchers on and off for most of my adult life - it works for a while, but I've never reached goal and I've never maintained a goal weight. I've also tried everything else you can think of - mostly low fat, deprivation, and severe calorie reduction. The Whole30 way of eating makes much more sense to me. The only thing I have trouble wrapping my mind around is why it's such a bad thing to enjoy fresh fruit after a meal. I don't feel like I'm giving in to my sugar dragon - but then again this is my first Whole30 so I could be wrong!

Wow, Bertadee, you and I could be sisters!!  SO much of what you said resonated with me.  I too am a WW member and I actually honored the Points Plus system during my Whole30.  It wasn't hard at all - in fact, eliminating all those WW branded foods - the frozen dinners, the "chocolate" bars and crunchy snack packs, the low-fat coffee creamer - good lord, I was eating so much more processed food on WW!  However, my weight loss has been painfully slow and I think that has more to do with lifelong thyroid disease.  I too have struggled with my weight ALL my life. 

 

Because we are not supposed to weigh ourselves on the Whole30, I asked my WW counselor not to tell me my weight at each weekly meeting, or even whether I had lost, gained, or stayed the same.  I have to say, being free of the scale was such a wonderful feeling after spending my life letting those numbers determine how good I felt about myself.  Now that I am through my first Whole 30, I weighed myself and I am down a total of 3.5 pounds for the month.  Not much, but I just keep reminding myself that THAT IS NOT THE POINT.  I feel better, look better and the non-scale victories are numerous.  I never want to trade them in for knowing my weight again.

 

I am SO with you on the fruit thing!!  As I have said before, I understand why we should limit fruit, but living here in the northeast U.S., we have such a short summer and when the fruit is in season, I indulge. Ultimately, we must all decide how to incorporate food into our lives so that it works for us as individuals.  I will leave the scientific explanation for why we should limit our fruit intake to those with more scientific knowledge than myself.  My main goal is to be sure that I (1) never eat fruit by itself so that I avoid any sugar highs/crashes and (2) never eat fruit to satisfy a craving.  I think if I can do that, it will go a long way toward improving my relationship with food.  And that was my main goal with joining the Whole30 community.  I plan to spend the next half of my life living it as vibrantly as possible.  I only wish this program had been around when I was 15 and first began using food as my best friend, confidant, therapist, etc.  But late is better than never

[Stegner]

Ultimately, we must all decide how to incorporate food into our lives so that it works for us as individuals. 

I plan to spend the next half of my life living it as vibrantly as possible. 

I only wish this program had been around when I was 15 and first began using food as my best friend, confidant, therapist, etc.  But late is better than never.

Adding these statements to my manifesto. Well said, Watergirl.

[bertadee]

Watergirl - you are so right! We need to figure out what works best for us in regard to food intake. Like you, I am trying to be sure that I don't lean on fruit as a crutch or a sweet treat. 

 

My son lives in Boston!!

[Leigh Anne]

Thanks for this thread. As a few others have said, the group support like you get in WW is helpful.

I hope that my first W30 (May 9-June7) will be my last! I made it through reintros and learned that wheat is not my friend. It makes me feel bloated, and my joint pain comes back. It has taken 4 days to recover from 4 days of vacation where something with wheat was on the menu every day. The good news is that I didn't gain any weight.

My husband and I are really enjoying this way of eating. For the 4th we went to my son's house (his family is in the middle of a Whole 30) and had grilled salmon, perfect burgers (from Whole30 book), compliant potato salad with homemade mayo--fantastic!--and all the toppings, including avocado. My 7-year-old granddaughter made a salmon burrito, wrapped in a lettuce leaf, and said it was the best dinner ever!

My critieria for not needing to do another W30 is: continued weight loss until I reach my goal of being a size smaller, sticking to 3 meals and no snacks most of the time, and not feeling out of control around any foods I eat. If I keep losing weight, although it's been slow, I will know that I'm burning fat. If I can stick to 3 mostly template meals and no snacks, I will know that I'm eating enough good stuff to satisfy my real physical hunger. If I can occasionally have a dessert and then go right back to "normal" eating, rather than triggering a carbapalooza, I'll know that I am in control of my choices. This seems like "food freedom" to me.

Favorites so far: Well Fed and Well Fed2. Bora Bora Fireballs, Better Butter, Grilled Chicken Thighs, Ras El Hanout (spice blend), and many more! I highly recommend these books! And my spiralizer! I love sweet potatoes and zucchini spirals. A bed of either of those, or spaghetti squash or cole slaw, topped with grilled meat makes a meal that is quick and delicious.

Good luck, everyone!

[SKS]

Today is day 14!!! I already feel better. Put on a pair of cropped jeans that didn't fit two weeks ago...love that! I take blood pressure medicine and usually my BP runs in the high 120's over high 80's. Today I took it for the first time in 14 days. It was 108/75. I consider that a success story already! We are pretty social so I have encountered temptations with food and wine. But, since my friends know I'm doing the Whole30, I know they're waiting for me to cave. But, I don't! They ask, how can you be so good? I tell them because I want to be healthy. Pretty good reason.

[Stegner]

I was feeling unenthusiastic about making a template dinner tonight... until I read the recent posts. Thanks for the reminders that I'll feel better tomorrow morning and every morning thereafter if I eat well. No mystery there, but I do need reminders.

Great news on the blood pressure improvement, SKS. If you talk that around, I think your friends will join you.

Leigh Anne, it is wonderful to realize that things that are thought of as inevitable with aging, joint pain and inflammation, are so connected to diet. When I talk to people my age and they are talking about their painful joints, I feel like I shaved a decade off my age. I know I don't look 10 years younger, but I really don't care.

[Leigh Anne]

That's what I feel, too. When people ask how it's going on this "restrictive" diet, I say that I feel 10 years younger.

[Rebe_J]

My criteria for not needing to do another W30 is: continued weight loss until I reach my goal of being a size smaller, sticking to 3 meals and no snacks most of the time, and not feeling out of control around any foods I eat. If I keep losing weight, although it's been slow, I will know that I'm burning fat. If I can stick to 3 mostly template meals and no snacks, I will know that I'm eating enough good stuff to satisfy my real physical hunger. If I can occasionally have a dessert and then go right back to "normal" eating, rather than triggering a carbapalooza, I'll know that I am in control of my choices. This seems like "food freedom" to me.

 

 

This is my intention, though you expressed it much better than I could.

Thanks!

 

 

 

Being able to realize at the critical moment that that apple fritter that is winking at me will not satisfy any real hunger can be a challenge. Environment plays a big role for me. If it's not convenient, I'm more likely to pass.

 

Yesterday, DH and I were out doing some shopping around lunch time. He suggested we splurge on an  In-N-Out* burger. I agreed. The parking lot was over-full and the drive-through line was long, so we went home to a bowl of Paleo chili, garden vegetables and a small slice of melon. It's a small thing, but I'm proud of myself that I didn't insist on getting a burger and fries just anywhere, using the rationalization that we had already been given permission to spurge.

 

Not many people in my real life really understand this, especially my DH. Eating is sometimes an inconvenience to him, and I don't get that at all.

 

 

* http://www.in-n-out.com/

[SKS]

Today is day 22! I can't believe it has gone so fast. I'm really not craving things like I thought I would. My mindset has been so strong from the beginning to see this through for the entire 30 days. People are noticing the change in my weight so I'm anxious to get on the scale next week! My daughter has started the Whole30 and is on her 4th day. We text each other photos of some of our meals and share what we like. Since she has a family, she has the challenge of feeding the kids too. My blood pressure is still down...winner! I can't imagine going back to my old eating habits. It scares me to think that could happen if I'm not mindful. My focus this last week is to prepare myself for what should be normal. I still pick up the Whole30 book to refresh my continued learning process. When the sugar dragon show's up...I'm going to punch him in the nose!!!

[Stegner]

Congratulations, SKS, on your many victories, scale and non-scale.

This is such a great time of year to eat this way - the vegetables and berries are fantastic. I just made some refrigerator pickles - sliced cucumbers, onions, garlic, fresh dill or cilantro, with 2 tsp of salt and 1/3 cup of vinegar in a quart jar - Shake the jar a few times over the next couple of hours, and the pickles will be ready to eat in a day.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Good for you, SKS!  It sounds like you are really embracing this healthy way of living, and it does feel good when others notice weight loss, doesn't it?

 

       Have you tried the spaghetti squash and tomato sauce recipe from the W30 book?  I make it with the "perfect ground meat," and it was a favorite of my husband and I during our 2 W30's.  In fact, I just made it last week, even though we're not on a W30 right now, just because we like it so much (and are continuing to eat as healthy as we can).  I always double the recipe, as my husband is a big eater, and I like plenty of leftovers.

 

Wendy

[SKS]

I finished the Whole30 on Friday!!! What everyone wants to know is how much did you lose? The answer is 12 lbs! I'm very happy with that number. I am even more happy with feeling better. My blood pressure continues to stay down, even lower than before. Others notice and my clothes fit so much better. I've gone down one size! I'm giving a lot of thought to the reintroduction. I want to keep my plan at 80/20%. Even the things I thought I wanted, aren't tempting. So I know I've learned so much and want to continue eating well and feeling better. I share my success with all of you to help keep you motivated. It's worth the small sacrifices to live healthy!

Sent from my iPad

[Stegner]

This is great news SKS, especially the blood pressure - do you think this will get you off BP meds?

I've just had a couple rounds of house guests and some serious off-roading has transpired, so I need this inspiration. My lover will be out of the country for 3 weeks, and I think I'm going to strictly adhere to the plan during that time. It will be a good distraction. I probably won't lose much weight, but I know I will look and feel better and that can't hurt at the reunion.

[Stegner]

This morning I had an epiphany - this is not a plan I am off or on, this is the sweet spot for my life. Cheers, y'all.

[Stegner]

Still hanging in there - the sweet spot, I mean.  My most frequent dinner companions are now Paleo, which makes dinners together so easy and motivational.  Seems there are so many people who have changed to a whole foods diet of one sort or another and are no longer eating processed food, sugar or flour.  I haven't seen any numbers, but it seems that the way I eat is becoming far more commonplace, at least in this area. Viva la revolution!