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Day one! April 18th.


Stbortko

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Hello all. Happy Sunday. Things are going pretty well here (I'm sticking with compliant foods) but I'm wondering about some of the recommendations that I'm not following. I do pretty well when I have super-clear guidelines to follow, but the recommendations give me a little bit of room to wiggle (and not in a good way.) I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of some resources about the following.

 

  • Meal template -- As I understand it we're to have 3-4 ounces of protein, fill the plate with veggies and add a fat. That's pretty much what I'm doing, but I have some questions. Potatoes -- I know they're compliant, but where do they come in (the veggies?)? Added fat -- the guideline says 1/2 to 1 avocado. That seems like a lot of leeway. Different types of protein -- It seems like we count compliant bacon the same as chicken breast. Is this true?
  • Snacking -- My daily schedule is built around snacking (I'm a teacher and the kids need snacks.) Also, the meals are so filling, I would rather save a little something for a snack. For example, rather than topping my veggie/protein meal with sunflower seeds, I'd rather have a handful of pistachios later, but this seems against the recommendations. Basically, it'll be SO much easier for me to avoid the tempting snacks that the kids are eating if I've got my own little stash of compliant food.
  • Portion control -- How important is it that we watch our portions? I'm loving W30 cooking -- it falls right in line with my cooking style which is mix everything together with lots of flavors in one big pot. The only problem is that it is harder to control portions this way. I make enough for myself and my family and we all just serve up. I think I'm doing pretty well, but it's hard to know for sure.
  • Nuts and seeds? I've been using nuts and seeds for my extra fat most of the time (they're easy to sprinkle on top of things) but I read somewhere in the forums that it's better not to eat them. What does this mean exactly? 

This morning's breakfast is a perfect example of why I have all of these questions. Here's what I did. I cooked 8 slices of bacon in a pan. Once the bacon was done I put 4 diced potatoes in the pan with the leftover bacon fat. Once the potatoes were cooked I put 4 huge handfuls of kale in the pan. When the kale was done I crumbled the bacon in and that was it. I didn't add an extra fat because, well, bacon. It was amazing, I'm completely stuffed and it feels totally indulgent. 

 

Most meals aren't this indulgent but generally cooked in the same way. Last night I cooked chicken breast in a pan with a little olive oil, pulled the chicken out, added tons of veggies to the pan with lots of spices, then added the chicken back in. Yum. And I didn't feel quite so guilty about that one.

 

Can anyone tell me if I'm on the right track? I've read the book, but I'm wondering if there is another resource out there that can round things out with some more details.

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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?

You shouldn't need to snack if you're making your meals match the template and making them last you 4-5 hours. If, while you're figuring it out you do need to eat between meals, we recommend a mini meal of fat and protein, protein and veg or fat and veg... it is not recommended to eat dried fruits and nuts on their own as they are, like you probably notice, a food without brakes for most people...also, nuts are meant to be limited... limited being a closed handful every other day at the most...

The time you spend in the kitchen gets quicker and easier, I promise... I do the Whole30 without a dishwasher so I know the amount of time spent and it gets totally sustainable.

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@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

Have a look at my post just above this one for snacking between meals. No one suggests if you have to go 7 hours between meals that you stuff yourself silly at lunch to tide you over... life happens and if at 5 hours, you're hungry and dinner is a while off, go ahead and eat, just do it with a mini meal (see the post above).

If you are concerned that you might not be eating enough, go ahead and open a troubleshooting thread and list a few days of what you've been eating including the portion sizes, specific veggies, protein and fat as well as fluid intake and meal timing and members and mods can take a look and let you know if there's anything that could use some tweaking.

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I've answered your questions below in your post under each bullet point.

Hello all. Happy Sunday. Things are going pretty well here (I'm sticking with compliant foods) but I'm wondering about some of the recommendations that I'm not following. I do pretty well when I have super-clear guidelines to follow, but the recommendations give me a little bit of room to wiggle (and not in a good way.) I'm wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of some resources about the following.

  • Meal template -- As I understand it we're to have 3-4 ounces of protein, fill the plate with veggies and add a fat. That's pretty much what I'm doing, but I have some questions. Potatoes -- I know they're compliant, but where do they come in (the veggies?)? Added fat -- the guideline says 1/2 to 1 avocado. That seems like a lot of leeway. Different types of protein -- It seems like we count compliant bacon the same as chicken breast. Is this true?

    First, we don't say 3-4 oz of protein, we say that you should eat 1-2 palms of protein using your own palm's width x length x thickness to judge a serving size. This makes it personal to each person where oz do not.

    Potatoes are a starchy carb and a starchy carb serving is a fist sized a day to start... more for athletes and the very active, sometimes less for sedentary people or those with a lot of weight to lose. Starchy carbs can help women especially regulate mood, so a lot of people eat at least one fist sized serving a day. As far as fitting it in, you can see the recommendation is 1-3 cups of veg or filling your plate... you just fit the fist sized serving of potato in there.

    Bacon is considered a fat on the Whole30. Otherwise, for actual protein, yes, it's all counted the same... by your palm. Except eggs... where eggs are your sole source of protein, it's as many as you can hold in your hand without dropping... usually 3-4 or more.

    The leeway given with avocado is so that you can personalize your meal... you want your meal to get you 4-5 hours between and fat slows the absorption of protein so you can play around with fat amounts to help you figure out what YOU need to get 4-5 hours between within the template.

  • Snacking -- My daily schedule is built around snacking (I'm a teacher and the kids need snacks.) Also, the meals are so filling, I would rather save a little something for a snack. For example, rather than topping my veggie/protein meal with sunflower seeds, I'd rather have a handful of pistachios later, but this seems against the recommendations. Basically, it'll be SO much easier for me to avoid the tempting snacks that the kids are eating if I've got my own little stash of compliant food.

    Nuts and seeds are to be limited - limited being a closed handful no more than every other day. You're right that it is against the recommendations to be snacking like that and if you remove the fat from your meal, you WILL be hungry sooner... see the above point about how fat works with protein.

    We really don't suggest you snack for the sake of snacking but if you feel you need to eat, then do it as a mini meal of fat, protein and veg (at least two of the three) and not fruit, dried fruit and nuts on their own. But don't change your meal portions to accommodate snacking.. your body needs the routine of eating, processing and then resting... that takes 4-5 hours.

  • Portion control -- How important is it that we watch our portions? I'm loving W30 cooking -- it falls right in line with my cooking style which is mix everything together with lots of flavors in one big pot. The only problem is that it is harder to control portions this way. I make enough for myself and my family and we all just serve up. I think I'm doing pretty well, but it's hard to know for sure.

    You need to make your meals match the template... 1-2 palms of protein, 1-3 cups of veg and added fat per the template depending on the fat source. You can eyeball it from a one pot meal and see how much of each thing you're getting... that's basically how I eat... again, the goal is to get 4-5 hours between meals so sometimes writing down what you eat (in amounts that match the template, not oz or calories or macros) and then adding in how you feel is helpful to see patterns and increase/decrease your food as necessary.

  • Nuts and seeds? I've been using nuts and seeds for my extra fat most of the time (they're easy to sprinkle on top of things) but I read somewhere in the forums that it's better not to eat them. What does this mean exactly?

    Nuts and seeds are to be limited - limited being a closed handful no more than once every other day... you should start using other fat sources... avocado, mayo, coconut, olives etc...

This morning's breakfast is a perfect example of why I have all of these questions. Here's what I did. I cooked 8 slices of bacon in a pan. Once the bacon was done I put 4 diced potatoes in the pan with the leftover bacon fat. Once the potatoes were cooked I put 4 huge handfuls of kale in the pan. When the kale was done I crumbled the bacon in and that was it. I didn't add an extra fat because, well, bacon. It was amazing, I'm completely stuffed and it feels totally indulgent.

Most meals aren't this indulgent but generally cooked in the same way. Last night I cooked chicken breast in a pan with a little olive oil, pulled the chicken out, added tons of veggies to the pan with lots of spices, then added the chicken back in. Yum. And I didn't feel quite so guilty about that one.

Can anyone tell me if I'm on the right track? I've read the book, but I'm wondering if there is another resource out there that can round things out with some more details.

Your bacon, kale breakfast sounds delicious but has some room for improvement. A starchy carb is a fist sized serving... four potatoes unless they were tiny is a lot. Bacon is a fat, so you don't have any protein in your meal and leafy greens when cooked down amount to very little so you were probably short on veg (altho Kale is a bit heartier than other leaf greens)

The chicken one sounds good but you need to add fat... 'a little olive oil' to cook in is barely anything and most is usually left in the pan so you need to add fat.

There are loads of resources all over the website but the most popular and the meal template are linked in my signature below... I hope this helps!

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Thank you so much SugarcubeOD! I had no idea that bacon was considered a fat for Whole 30. I've read through most of the resources in your signature, but I'll go through the rest of them to see where I can find more of this kind of information. I'm glad to hear that my instincts about some of the indulgences were right on. I'm looking forward to improving my plan in the next few days!

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Thank you so much SugarcubeOD! I had no idea that bacon was considered a fat for Whole 30. I've read through most of the resources in your signature, but I'll go through the rest of them to see where I can find more of this kind of information. I'm glad to hear that my instincts about some of the indulgences were right on. I'm looking forward to improving my plan in the next few days!

If you want to find more info in the forums, use google... for instance, if you wanted some new breakfast ideas, you could go to google and type 'whole30 egg free breakfast' or similar and it will return tons of forum results... a lot of information is contained in the forum in more conversational style... that might be the kind of thing you're looking for, rather than the template, but all the info is either already here or here for the asking :)

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Have a look at my post just above this one for snacking between meals. No one suggests if you have to go 7 hours between meals that you stuff yourself silly at lunch to tide you over... life happens and if at 5 hours, you're hungry and dinner is a while off, go ahead and eat, just do it with a mini meal (see the post above).

If you are concerned that you might not be eating enough, go ahead and open a troubleshooting thread and list a few days of what you've been eating including the portion sizes, specific veggies, protein and fat as well as fluid intake and meal timing and members and mods can take a look and let you know if there's anything that could use some tweaking.

 

Thanks so much, this is really helpful!

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I'm probably going to have a 4 meal day tomorrow. I need to leave for work at 530 AM. Lunch time is always a guess. Dinner is sometime after 6 depending on when I get home from work.

 

I'm planning breakfast and then an interchangeable small meal (snack) and lunch. Then it's dinner with my daughter.

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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!

Heidi-You're speaking my language!  Thanks for your post--I thought none of it was babble.  Lots of good ideas there--and validation. Thank you!  Sticking with it!  Figured out I LOVE zucchini sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Who knew?  Still hungry :huh:. A Lot.  I need to check the thread-THanks Sugarcube for the recommendation--I don't think I'm getting enough fats--Like hardly any at all.  I think I read somewhere that someone was drinking like a 1/2 c of Coconut milk for their fat during meals?  Maybe I'm way off on that...gotta research...At any rate thanks for your responses! :wub:

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Day 8 - starting a second week! I 've got the grumps today, and still dealing with a headache. Not sure if it's Carb Flu or Fibro...my anxiety has been high for a couple of days; I (and my poor family!) hope it fades SOON! Other than that, feeling pretty good. I printed off the list of NSVs to help remind myself of the possible benefits. Don't really have any cravings or even feel the lack of any foods, and energy is a bit better. My SO Commented that I looked slimmer- yay!

Have a great week, everyone!

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Alright y'all, my husband is off the W30 bandwagon AND is having a friend over tonight for beer and wings.....at least he asked if I minded first. LOL

After sleeping 10 hours without any bathroom/water breaks (VERY weird for me! I usually wake up at least three times), I woke up with my first headache on Saturday and with nausea too. Thankfully it was gone by late afternoon. The rest of the days have been great. 

 

The cooking has me feeling accomplished. I'm super proud of sticking to this and being so committed. I think it translates to other areas of my life as well. I made prosciutto egg muffins this morning to last me for the weeks. I'm also excited to try the monkey salad for breakfast tomorrow....though not sure what protein to add to that! Any ideas? 

 

Did I mention I'm moving in June AND remodeling the new place? Currently super stressed with the packing and all that construction brings....but somehow, this is helping. Crazy huh? Have a great week! 

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Alright y'all, my husband is off the W30 bandwagon AND is having a friend over tonight for beer and wings.....at least he asked if I minded first. LOL

After sleeping 10 hours without any bathroom/water breaks (VERY weird for me! I usually wake up at least three times), I woke up with my first headache on Saturday and with nausea too. Thankfully it was gone by late afternoon. The rest of the days have been great. 

 

The cooking has me feeling accomplished. I'm super proud of sticking to this and being so committed. I think it translates to other areas of my life as well. I made prosciutto egg muffins this morning to last me for the weeks. I'm also excited to try the monkey salad for breakfast tomorrow....though not sure what protein to add to that! Any ideas? 

 

Did I mention I'm moving in June AND remodeling the new place? Currently super stressed with the packing and all that construction brings....but somehow, this is helping. Crazy huh? Have a great week!

Feeding your body the best food you can is the best way to reduce/Elminate the symptoms of stress. I have done whole30s during the most stressful periods of my life, and I would have fallen sick had I not, so Keep it up, you will see how fast you recuperate from the move stress. I am in my second move in 6 months, so I know....

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Alright y'all, my husband is off the W30 bandwagon AND is having a friend over tonight for beer and wings.....at least he asked if I minded first. LOL

After sleeping 10 hours without any bathroom/water breaks (VERY weird for me! I usually wake up at least three times), I woke up with my first headache on Saturday and with nausea too. Thankfully it was gone by late afternoon. The rest of the days have been great. 

 

Good for you, QueenBMilaD!

No one in my family does W30 with me.  I made it through a first round from Feb-March and this is round 2 for me.  If I can do it, TRUST ME, you can do it!  I even serve pizza to groups of teens that my kid brings home or watch my hubby eat tasty pasta in front of me.  Today my cousin invited me over for drinkss in the sunshine on her patio... would love to, but sorry.  :(  It can feel tempting during those moments, but if you can treat yourself to something compliant and stay on plan..... I bet that great night's sleep of yours will feel even better when you wake up knowing you stayed on track the night prior!

For anyone else who is struggling with how to stay on track when no one else in your home or your "world" is doing W30.... my other BIG helper for round 1 was to tell people!  As the W30 book says.... tell people!  Lots off people.  Send an e-mail to some close friends/co-workers/family members and just very positively explain what you're doing & how excited you are about it!  Thank them in advance for being understanding if you decide to decline an invite for drinks or pizza.... or for the time that you decide to order a sparkling water & salad at the restaurant instead of your "usual".  It totally helped me to know that people would be keeping me accountable, watching my progress or understanding my goals.

Here's to a successful WEEK 2 for us all!!! 

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 It totally helped me to know that people would be keeping me accountable, watching my progress or understanding my goals.

Here's to a successful WEEK 2 for us all!!! 

 

My 15 yr old keeps me accountable. LOL

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Hey there everyone. I'm feeling pretty good and committed. Tonight we're having burgers for dinner and the recipe had me mixing chorizo with the burger meat. Read the label and found that the meat included corn syrup! The nerve! Left it out and we're having plain old burgers, sweet potatoes, lettuce and tomato. Yum!

 

And tonight I discovered two compliant foods that I am through-the-moon excited about. First -- G.T.'s Kombucha! Man, that stuff is delicious! The other thing is a super-yummy almond milk that is unsweetened and totally compliant. They had tasters at the grocery store and it's yummy!

 

This afternoon I had a bummer of a headache. I don't usually get headaches, so I was surprised but thought maybe I'm just detoxing. Or it could have been dehydration. I'm feeling better now and just sitting down to dinner. Hope everyone has a great week!

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It's true what they say, don't step on the scale!  It's all good :P   But so far other than feeling hungry and wanting to snack (hardest time is when the kids are home from school and I'm making THEM snacks) things are going great.  I'm pretty tough love on myself and just never open up the option to have the off limit foods-we'll see how that holds up.  Today I was running late and forgot to pack after school snacks on the way to dance class so I caved and got them all donuts from our magnificently awesome little bakery.  I handed them out and had sticky on my fingers-licked it off without thinking and was like NOOOOOOOO!  Did I just flunk??  I'm ok with it--they were glazed-and it was barely a crumb. (justifying)  I had a dream I took a huge bite of cornbread and swallowed it before I realized it was contraband also. :o   Good stuff.  I get to find some new recipies....and time to make them. Here's to thriving on whole30! :D

 

Does anyone have a suggestion on the fats during meals? I totally missed that the first few days.  Do you eat extra coconut oil at meals?  Or Coconut milk?  (I am NOT an avocado fan).

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It's true what they say, don't step on the scale! It's all good :P But so far other than feeling hungry and wanting to snack (hardest time is when the kids are home from school and I'm making THEM snacks) things are going great. I'm pretty tough love on myself and just never open up the option to have the off limit foods-we'll see how that holds up. Today I was running late and forgot to pack after school snacks on the way to dance class so I caved and got them all donuts from our magnificently awesome little bakery. I handed them out and had sticky on my fingers-licked it off without thinking and was like NOOOOOOOO! Did I just flunk?? I'm ok with it--they were glazed-and it was barely a crumb. (justifying) I had a dream I took a huge bite of cornbread and swallowed it before I realized it was contraband also. :o Good stuff. I get to find some new recipies....and time to make them. Here's to thriving on whole30! :D

Does anyone have a suggestion on the fats during meals? I totally missed that the first few days. Do you eat extra coconut oil at meals? Or Coconut milk? (I am NOT an avocado fan).

Don't step on the scale again! its just as much a rule as no grains or dairy.

You can add mayo, olives, coconut flakes, nuts/seeds in moderation (no more than on closed handful every other day), mayo based sauces, compliant pesto... the list is endless!

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Things are going great.  I have had two occasions where I thought I would be tempted but I have managed to get through them!!  So proud.  

I have been reading several posts and am wondering if following the food template is an absolute must or if being compliant is sufficient?  I am loosely following it-with protein and veggies but not so sure about the fats and fruit.  Any suggestions???

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The template is a recommendation to get the best results. You don't have to follow it and you'll still have done a Whole30 (assuming you remain compliant) but your results will be less than stellar after putting in 30 days of hard work. In fact it will be very hard to get through 30 days without following the template. Being hungry, fatigued, grumpy, tired... that makes following something for 30 days pretty difficult... you don't have to feel that way at all if you follow the template.

You do not have to eat any fruit at all if you don't want to... there's nothing in fruit that you can't get from veg. The fat however is key and I recommend you follow the template.

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Does anyone have a suggestion on the fats during meals? I totally missed that the first few days.  Do you eat extra coconut oil at meals?  Or Coconut milk?  (I am NOT an avocado fan).

 

I like a healthy spoonful of clarified butter or coconut oil on my veggies. There is a vendor at farmers market that has a chopper olive salad in olive oil. This morning I added a spoonful of it to my eggs.

 

Gotta run. Early day at the zoo oops hospital.

Good Morning all.

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OH MY GOSH.  I traveled to Montreal yesterday.  Brought as much food as I dared and ate compliant.  But I was cranky. badly cranky

 

Got here to the hotel had an EPIC meat bar and was off to meet my boss and co-workers.  no problem.

 

Enter Dinner.  I did try to briefly explain what I am doing...they were "cool" with it, but the menu was limited and mostly in French.  The waitress spoke English but not super good and tying to get her to understand was difficult.  Finally She brought over a gentleman who spoke better English.  I basically could not order from the menu.  I just ordered a piece of halibut cooked plain, with steamed vegetable only and a side of olive oil.  I did it but it was exhaustive and a bit embarrassing.  My boss said "I hope you don't embarrass us in front of our customer tomorrow" which just about brought me to tears right then and there.

 

I wanted to order room service this morning and sure I can order eggs, but what are they cooking them with?  it's so exhaustive to get to that point over the phone and I cannot be sure they will bring it cooked right so I hung up and will have another bar.

 

I am panicking over lunch......several hundred people in one room....likely a buffet.  I will not embarrass my boss and bring down a can of tuna and I cannot excuse myself to my room....we have to work (mingle with our customer, etc)

 

Tonight is a cocktail party.....probably I can maneuver that, but then dinner again...this time with an important customer/vendor. Yes, I can order a steak, chicken or fish....but who knows what they are cooked in - butter, non-compliant oils?  and as much as its ok to say "don't be a freak" its exactly what I have turned into.

 

So I have two more days of this and I am more preoccupied with food than I am with doing my job here which is stressful enough.

 

Wish me luck... Im going to need it.

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