Day one! April 18th.

[SugarcubeOD]

Good morning Whole30 peeps.

 

Yesterday was tough mentally for me because I was in a stupefied weirdness all day....not a fog...But my brain wasn't firing on all cylinders.  People in my office asked me NUMEROUS times what was wrong with me or if i was OK.   I explained that Im on this new restrictive program and they (not so jokingly) said GET OFF IT.  I have a big trip coming up next week in Montreal and I need to present, talk and obviously make sense!  LOL  Lets see if today will be better.  My DH is doing this also and he felt the same thing.

 

In terms of food I am good.  Haven't craved anything off plan and my meals are yummy and satisfying.  I made small organic sweet potatoes last night - baked whole with a bit of ghee.  We both agreed it's the best sweet potato EVER.  It tasted like DESSERT is was so sweet. Either that potato was amazing or my tastes are already shifting. Same with an apple....usually I find them tart (even the red ones) but this one was very SWEET.  YAY!!

 

Mariek76 - I agree!  I was shocked and dismayed by the amount of sugar and the fact that its in EVERYTHING.....why?  and why if they add it you can get it for 1.99 and if they don't it's 5.99?  Ridiculous.  

 

I am systematically going through pantry's and throwing out or giving away all items with the bad preservatives, bad oils, grains, or sugars.  It's going to be hundreds of dollars of stuff (3 pantry's).  I just got my first boxes from Barefoot provisions, vitacost and amazon for my whole30 approved pantry items. (picture attached)  Expensive but worth it.

 

Have a good Day 5 everyone!!

 

new pantry.jpg

Not eating enough can cause the stupified weirdness that you mention... are you eating to the template?  If not, take another look at it (linked in my signature below) and match your meals to the template.

[SugarcubeOD]

Please know that Facebook groups are not moderated in anyway... it's a little bit like the wild west out there with swypo suggestions and calorie restrictions... not to say that it can't be valuable and a good place to connect but there is no official whole30 support (moderators, admins).

[Heidi Bergy]

No stepping! Sounds like a great idea to me! Let's use your group. Add me!

emmaleaf, can you private message me your e-mail address?  FB isn't allowing me to type names in unless I'm "friends" with them due to the "Secret Group" status, but it does allow me to send group invites via e-mail.

[Heidi Bergy]

Please know that Facebook groups are not moderated in anyway... it's a little bit like the wild west out there with swypo suggestions and calorie restrictions... not to say that it can't be valuable and a good place to connect but there is no official whole30 support (moderators, admins).

That's a great point, SugarcubeOD! 

For those who were interested.....In the FB group we've started, we primarily site things straight from the W30 book or ISWF and share links.  As well as give personal experience or encouragement to keep going and check-in on one another (like when we know someone was preparing to travel and nervous about doing it with W30).  I do think that any plan specific questions could be best answered in the forum for the reasons you've mentioned.... I think it's a great reminder to those in a FB group to reference one another back to the forum for any detailed information.  The great thing about the forum is that anyone can come back here and search a topic!  So many questions have already been answered for us.

I love the FB group for sharing recipes we've found and links to resources.  It's just easier for me to access on-the-go for things like that.

[smittymom4]

SarahGrace   Ditto on the fogginess thing!  I'm gonna apologize for the vent right up front.  I kind of jumped into this with not a lot of preparation and have not read the book-just researched a lot online and read these posts.  I. am. so. hungry.  I'm a person that has a borderline low blood sugar so I'm used to eating every couple of hours-plus I work from home.  I'm a few days behind you all so only on day 3, but I only had a headache for day 1 (I've been doing extensive detox prior to this), and I am tiiiiiiiiired and foggy a bit.  So I get that may be a carb crash-hoping tomorrow is better. 

    Today I'm questioning whether or not I can stick this out for 30 days.  I live in rural nowhere so there are literally NO whole30 approved foods around except things like eggs and chicken, or straight up veggies--forget about condiments/ghee/ almond butter etc!  So I get that I can make all my own stuff like that--but good gracious how do you guys find the time???  I have 4 very active kids ages 3-11 and a super busy husband.  So as well as cooking food they will eat--what are your best recommendations for making this work without spending 6 hours a days in the kitchen?  Is the book an absolute must?  If anyone could give me your best short answer for things that make this as simple as possible--that would be great. Otherwise I fear I may be eating turkey/lettuce wraps and baby carrots for lunch for the next 27 days.  I feel like the 'kill all the things' phase may be starting early.  Have I mentioned I'm pretty hungry (almost all the time--how one can eat as much protein as I am and still be hungry is beyond me...)??  

[meredithfp]

Hey everyone. I'd love to join this group. Today 4/22 was day 2 for me. I had planned on starting on Monday, the 18th but I was on a 3-day sailing trip with my students and had to eat the vegetarian meals that were served (outside food not allowed.) no biggie, though, it just made me ready and eager to start when I got home. I'd love to join the Facebook group, too.

I also have a question. It is really hard for me to find the time to eat a big breakfast before school, but my students and I have a snack break at 10:30. I've been eating two fried eggs in the morning before I leave and then rounding out with the veggies and fat at snack time (usually a salad, carrots and nuts). Is this okay? I get that it would probably be better to have them all for breakfast, but this just feels better.

Thoughts?

[meredithfp]

@smittymom4 I totally hear you! I don't think I could do this if I had to cook a separate meal for my family. I subscribe to eMeals and I love it. They send you a week's worth of recipes that are coordinated to work together (leftovers from one night goes into the next night, etc.) with shopping lists and cooking instructions. They have menus for all kinds of diets. I subscribe to the Paleo plan. Tonight the recipe was zucchini boats (zucchini stuffed with ground turkey flavored with tomato and Italian seasonings) and my kids raved about it! I added some rice for the kids and an avocado for myself. Delish!

[Mariek76]

@meredithfp I think eating a decent breakfast within an hour of waking is important for your hormonal balance. Could you get up 30 minutes earlier? I've been getting up when my DH does (he's up at 5.30 and leave the house at 6.30). That means I've had time to cook breakfast while he feeds our dogs and sorts out the lunches and we've had time to sit together for breakfast before he leaves.

[carolinesbeads]

Emmaleaf, I would love to join a FB group too.

 

smittymom I feel like I am spending all my time cooking too.  I have been looking up crockpot meals to help with that plus the day before I started I made several shepards pies to freeze so I would have some emergency meals.  I make a ton in advance then use the leftovers later in the week.  Also check out vitacost they are reasonably priced and shipping is free over 40$

 

Day 5 I work nights and at 5 am I was dying to eat some junk food, I was actually hungry and I had already eaten what I brought.  I ended up eating a Lara bar and some tea to make it through.  Then I took my son out for icecream and ate some, then felt more sluggish and nauseous at work tonight.  Instead of saying I am starting over I am just going to add 5 days to the end of my whole 30, I need to think of it this way for my mental well being.  I think part of the reason I slipped is that I am not experiencing any negative side effects and only noticing slight improvments, which makes me feel like I don't really have any sensitivities.  However I obviously have a problem with my relationship with food which is why I started this in the first place.  Its amazing what you can rationalize when faced with a favorite food.

 

Sorry for the ramble,  its 4am and I am at work.

[Mariek76]

Carolinesbeads - I think looking it like that (adding 5 days not starting over) is a positive spin on something that could otherwise dampen you're enthusiasm. I certainly wouldn't beat yourself up about the icecream. We're all human and habits are hard to break. As long as you learn something from it then it's a valuable experience.

[BZH1949]

Good Saturday Morning to you all,

I have had some ups and downs this week but overall am feeling pretty good!! We are 1/6th of the way.  My husband is not doing this with me but except for the "wine" and evening cocktail he is on board!! Breakfast seems to be the biggest struggle.  I was used to a protein shake with lots of fruit in the AM so having to cook has been a challenge. Love having this support group.

[AlisaO]

Hey everyone. I'd love to join this group. Today 4/22 was day 2 for me. I had planned on starting on Monday, the 18th but I was on a 3-day sailing trip with my students and had to eat the vegetarian meals that were served (outside food not allowed.) no biggie, though, it just made me ready and eager to start when I got home. I'd love to join the Facebook group, too.

I also have a question. It is really hard for me to find the time to eat a big breakfast before school, but my students and I have a snack break at 10:30. I've been eating two fried eggs in the morning before I leave and then rounding out with the veggies and fat at snack time (usually a salad, carrots and nuts). Is this okay? I get that it would probably be better to have them all for breakfast, but this just feels better.

Thoughts?

I love making this recipe once a week.  It makes for an easy breakfast.  I usually eat it with a little bit of Whole30 ketchup.

 

  http://crazytogether.com/easy-delicious-breakfast-saved-whole-30/

[Heidi Bergy]

    Today I'm questioning whether or not I can stick this out for 30 days.  I live in rural nowhere so there are literally NO whole30 approved foods around except things like eggs and chicken, or straight up veggies--forget about condiments/ghee/ almond butter etc!  So I get that I can make all my own stuff like that--but good gracious how do you guys find the time???  I have 4 very active kids ages 3-11 and a super busy husband.  So as well as cooking food they will eat--what are your best recommendations for making this work without spending 6 hours a days in the kitchen?  Is the book an absolute must?  If anyone could give me your best short answer for things that make this as simple as possible--that would be great. Otherwise I fear I may be eating turkey/lettuce wraps and baby carrots for lunch for the next 27 days.  I feel like the 'kill all the things' phase may be starting early.  Have I mentioned I'm pretty hungry (almost all the time--how one can eat as much protein as I am and still be hungry is beyond me...)??  

 

Hi smittmom4!

I hear ya, girl!  Sometimes it seems like SO much prep in the kitchen and SO MANY DISHES! 

I don't live in a totally rural area, but I don't live in a city with health food stores, Whole Foods or anything like that... so I struggle sometimes to find approved items as well.  I WILL say that I think it's worth it to take a partial day trip to a larger city & stock up on a few supplies (or order online).  Just the essentials... Ghee, canned tuna/chicken that are approved, etc.  Things that will last for a while but are totally helpful to have on-hand.

As far as the busy schedule goes, I've handled ours by making normal meals for my family that contain at least SOME W30-friendly foods.  Then I just alter for myself.  For example, I might serve pasta one night.  I make a W30 marinara sauce, cook pasta for them... serve my sauce over roasted veggies or spaghetti squash.  Serve salad to all but top mine with a homemade W30 dressing or just oil & vinegar.  Or we have lots of meats on the grill that we can all enjoy.  I might make rice for them and then roasted veggies for all.  Or baked potato bar with a variety of toppings and I just stick to the ones I'm able to enjoy W30 style.

I, also, try to give myself permission once a week to spend a couple of hours in the kitchen doing food prep.  I might make a big batch of turkey--zucchini meatballs for the week; egg & prosciutto cups to heat up for breakfasts and/or stick in the freezer; whip up my batch of mayo for the week; make a salad dressing to use over the next few days... That makes throwing lunches & dinners so much easier for me during the course of the week!  I would strongly suggest investing in the Whole 30 book.  It's filled with TONS of great recipes.  Many of them can be found online, certainly, but I just find it easier to flip the book open quickly for those staple recipes.  I say that I give myself "permission" because I think as moms we are often so invested in our families (which is GREAT) that we don't always prioritize moments to invest in ourselves.  I think taking a couple of hours to empower yourself for your weekly W30 journey is a wonderful way to invest in you-- physically and emotionally.  Just my two-cents. 

Hope some of my babble is helpful!

[QueenBMilaD]

Smitty, that's really tough, but still doable. It will take a lot of planning for sure. I think the book is a must. The book even says, if you aren't satisfied with your meal... add more. The key is to find a size meal that will hold you over until the next one.

Last night was a success at the Peruvian place. If anyone has one nearby, go for it. Their cooking is not too heavy on cream sauces, there's a lot of fish in citrus marinades. The restaurant I went to was very accomodating. My husband, on the other hand, fell off the wagon and ate empanadas "with the guys" lol now he's vowed to eat with me when home and when on his own whatever he wants. It's fine. He's in great shape already anyway.

I thought it was interesting that I slept through the night. It's huge for me! I wake up several times to drink water and use the bathroom. The only time I sleep through is when I have wine. I couldn't believe it when I woke up today!

Have a great weekend everyone.

[Mariek76]

Day 6 for me here. Going really well (although I did have a cranky spell this afternoon).

Meals for me today have been:

Meal 1: 2 slices of bacon, two fried eggs, sautéd potatoes, spinach and mushrooms

Meal 2: roast chicken thighs, big salad with apple and walnut and a lemon pepper dressing.

Meal 3: Pulled pork carnitas (from the whole30 book recipe) which is completely delicious with asparagus and sugar snap peas and a sweet potato. I also made fresh guacamole for the first time ever. Yummy. Finished with a small slice of honeydew melon.

I do feel like I'm spending a lot of time in the kitchen but for the most part I enjoy cooking so that's okay. Planning is definitely the key. This evenings pulled pork is tomorrow's lunch with a salad.

Can't believe we've been at this a week already. It's flown by. Meal plan is all sorted for food shopping tomorrow. Just a relaxing evening and early to bed now. I guess most of you are still on Saturday morning/lunchtime?

[ShellBells]

HELLO EVERYONE!

 

Sorry Ive been MIA this past day and a half.

 

Oh boy yesterday was a busy stressful day..... we have a lot of remodeling going on and while we got to eat a large breakfast, lunch went by the wayside.... luckily I bought meat sticks from barefoot provisions.  We ate those, cucumber slices and some nuts.  It was 7 before everybody left and we were STARVING.... oh my gosh we almost called for dominoes...I never realized what a food emergency was until last night.  BUT we grabbed a few nuts and I made scrambled eggs with stir fried veggies and a small amount of potatoes.  It was FAST and delicious and we were proud that we didn't go off plan.  Whew!!!

 

I feel WAY better..... happy and satisfied - the weirdness is gone, most headaches are gone and I have cut down on my reflux medication by half.... so far so good.

 

I am prepared for my trip next week with my compliant food and I pray it all goes well.  But I'm nervous to be around PEOPLE who are eating and drinking.  I won't be able to be MIA - yikes

 

I received the cookbook WELL FED by Melissa Joulwan - IT IS EXCELLENT!!!  I just made the Bora Nora Fireballs (less so much "fire") they are excellent.  This morning I made a large batch of creamed curried broccoli soup (coconut milk) and I will be cooking more today and tomorrow so my husband has food he can eat without thinking too much about it.

 

Would love to join the Facebook Group too, but I lost track and don't know who is doing what.... can you let me know how to join?

 

Happy day 6 everyone!

 

[ShellBells]

Hi Smittymom4!!

 

Almost all my shopping is done online..... Ghee, Coconut products, Coconut oil, Aminos, Compliant mayo, dressings, avocado oil, etc....  I have received a lot at Barefoot Provisions, Tessemaes.com, Amazon and vitacost.  These are great sources for lots of convenient whole 30 products.    I hope you do stick to it!! 

[LydiaJo]

Smittymom4

A little about myself first... I work full time and have a 15 yr old daughter. I don't like spending time in the kitchen doing up meals for the week.

First, you shouldn't be hungry. Make sure you are eating your healthy fats at every meal. Also, make sure you're getting enough fluids. Check the medical condition thread or info on in between meal foods.

I'm making the assumption that you do the grocery shopping. Buy more of what you can have and less of what's off limits. My daughter is eating compliant meals because that is what I make, even when I have friends over. I add non compliant condiments for others as well as some sides of pasta or rice. When I cook pasta or rice it is only enough for a side. I will also add a dessert but only have enough for others.

Here's the good stuff:
I don't cook fancy. Ever.

I cook baked chicken with seasoning. Beef cubes or pot roast with veggies and sweet potatoes. Pretty much I make the meals I've always made and leave off the stuff that's non-complaint.

"No thank you" is a phrase I've made good use of.
Your 11 should be learning to cook. All of the kids should learn how to read labels and make better choices. Notice I said better. The husband is an adult. If need be, he can add all the non-complaint food her wants when he's out of the house.

Lydia Jo

[SugarcubeOD]

SarahGrace   Ditto on the fogginess thing!  I'm gonna apologize for the vent right up front.  I kind of jumped into this with not a lot of preparation and have not read the book-just researched a lot online and read these posts.  I. am. so. hungry.  I'm a person that has a borderline low blood sugar so I'm used to eating every couple of hours-plus I work from home.  I'm a few days behind you all so only on day 3, but I only had a headache for day 1 (I've been doing extensive detox prior to this), and I am tiiiiiiiiired and foggy a bit.  So I get that may be a carb crash-hoping tomorrow is better. 

    Today I'm questioning whether or not I can stick this out for 30 days.  I live in rural nowhere so there are literally NO whole30 approved foods around except things like eggs and chicken, or straight up veggies--forget about condiments/ghee/ almond butter etc!  So I get that I can make all my own stuff like that--but good gracious how do you guys find the time???  I have 4 very active kids ages 3-11 and a super busy husband.  So as well as cooking food they will eat--what are your best recommendations for making this work without spending 6 hours a days in the kitchen?  Is the book an absolute must?  If anyone could give me your best short answer for things that make this as simple as possible--that would be great. Otherwise I fear I may be eating turkey/lettuce wraps and baby carrots for lunch for the next 27 days.  I feel like the 'kill all the things' phase may be starting early.  Have I mentioned I'm pretty hungry (almost all the time--how one can eat as much protein as I am and still be hungry is beyond me...)??  

Hey there... sorry the mods missed this but you really should not be hungry on the Whole30. Can you open a troubleshooting thread and list out a few days of what you've been eating including portions sizes as they relate to the template, specific veggies, proteins and fats and water intake?

Also, you do not need fancy condiments. The fact that you have chicken, eggs and veggies is more than enough. Things like almond butter seem like something you might need but most of the time its food without brakes for people and they end up overdoing it. I did 2 years of Whole30 basically non stop and I never once cooked with ghee... condiments... well you can make home made mayo so you basically have the best condiment right there...

Yes, you CAN make almond butter and almond milk and other things yourself but they're really not necessary... go back in your mind to your grandparent's time living in a very similar place and they didn't have online ordering or fancy stuff... meat, veg and fat... good to go!

[bibliolinc]

HI everyone! I hope you all are doing great as we finish our first week! I too started on the 18th but didn't find you till now. In general I have more energy and a clearer head, which feels great! I have a number of health issues that I hope to minimize with clean eating. It's hard to tell the carb flu from my everyday symptoms, but at least I haven't felt any worse than usual. My biggest challenges are alcohol and afternoon snacking. I try to eat nuts and olives and raisins but probably eat more of them than I should. Does anyone else feel like they spend most of their time chopping vegetables and washing dishes?

[ShellBells]

Good morning!

 

Happy Day 7 everyone! 

 

I suffer from Migraines on a pretty regular basis and woke up with a HORRIBLE one today.  The Good news is that it's waning faster than normal.....

 

Today I will continue my prep for the week to make sure hubby has compliant food to eat and get myself ready for my trip.... I had "dreams" about the trip and what/how I will eat - may have been the cause of the headache.....feeling anxious to get this trip over with.

 

Hope everyone is having a great day 7!!

[SaraSurferGirl]

Happy Day 7 everyone, sorry I've been gone for awhile, busy weekend.   At the end of my first week I am feeling great - and excited to share that though there are challenges, this is not as bad as I expected it to be.   Funny story - last night I had multiple dreams that I forgot and ate things like cheese and bread.  I was so upset that I had to start over in the dreams.   But pretty happy when I woke up and found out I'm still in control and making the choice to be healthy everyday for myself.

 

Friday was a tough day - I simply didn't eat enough and I worked from home - which means I threw myself out of my routine and felt a little lost at sea. I was concerned about a lot of at home down time when I'd normally wander in to the kitchen to snack to fill my time and get that "happy food feeling".  I didn't do it, which was great, but I noticed I was anxious about it and that I rely on food as a reward.  Now that I'm moving away from that model I realize I need to have some projects and things to do for myself that don't involve food.  Good news is that I felt SO much better Saturday after the first good night's sleep all week.  I even managed to venture out for a whole day of fun and social activity at a friend's house and still stuck to my plan and meals.  

 

A few things I'm finding and curious to hear others thoughts on:

 

I'm eating less food (I was a really bad overeater) but I'm not hungry, I stop eating because I truly feel full.  But if I have lunch at Noon, I need to have dinner by 530-6 or I will be REALLY hungry.  Where 5-6 hours between meals is reasonable - living my life on that tight of a schedule is not.   Is there something I'm not getting enough of or something I can have to eat if I need to wait to eat dinner (as I did last night at a friends house) till 730pm?

[Mariek76]

@sarasurfergirl I think if you find you're hungry before your next scheduled meal you should up the protein and fat content of the meal before.

For example, I've been eating breakfast at around 6.15 which is early for me. I found I was hungry around 10.30ish and felt I couldn't last until my 1pm lunch time. I've upped my number of breakfast eggs and found I can last until lunch now. I eat lunch at 1pm and that sees me through until a 6.30ish dinner.

I hear you on the grazing habits. I was worried about the weekend because when I'm home all day I tend to graze on snacks. I've kept myself busy though and managed to stick to three meals and no snacks both days. Looking forward to getting to grips with week 2.

[SaraSurferGirl]

@mariek76 - Thanks for that input.  I guess I'm struggling balancing between stopping eating when I'm full, which is what I'm doing.  I don't love the idea of force feeding myself past full to help myself get to the next meal.  I also know I'm eating much less than I used to, so if I'm truly under eating I guess I have to muddle through it.

Thoughts on a healthy "snack" or way to tied oneself over if dinner comes a little later than expected?  I know snacking isn't encouraged, and this isn't a daily thing for me at all, but sometimes, you can't be 100% in control of meal time and having a bit of flexibility to enjoy life is my ideal, while still staying on plan

[Mariek76]

It's hard when the meals are so filling. If you need a snack in between the book says to treat it like a mini meal (so make sure it's got protein, fat and veggies) rather than just snacking on fruit etc.

Some examples are boiled eggs, carrot sticks and a handful of nuts. Chicken pieces, avecado and peppers etc