No More Crunchy Cravings, Please!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

'Twas the night before my first w30 and all through the house were reusable grocery bags filled with produce and compliant coconut cream... but only because I'd already put away all the bags containing fresh proteins.

 

I can't wait to start a new eating style and see how it makes me feel. Prepping for this week has been a labor of love (thank goodness I love cooking) and adjustment, but I'm ready for a change. Having a mid-morning and mid-afternoon slump is no longer something I look forward to, nor is realizing that my first choice in meals is cheese doodles and pasta with Hidden Valley ranch dressing (don't ask, I have no idea why I think this is delicious-- I know it's gross) when there's a perfectly seared salmon filet with pan roasted asparagus/garlic/olive oil right on the stovetop.

 

So here I am, starting my first w30 on Wednesday, May 4th, the day after my 35th birthday. I can't wait to report back tomorrow with some goals for the next month and with a report of how the day went.

[Bec76]

Good luck! I look forward to hearing what your goals are!

I've just finished day 3 and my goal going forward is to not have a piece of fruit for morning or afternoon tea - trying really hard to break my snacking behaviour. I'm still breast feeding so I'll need extra dedication!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Phew, just starting day 3 today and already I have some interesting realizations:

 

1. I'm crazy addicted to simple carbohydrates.

2. Night time is a dangerous time for me as far as cravings and having the munchies. I need to work on this somehow.

3. Black olives might be one of those can't stop foods for me... I could easily eat the whole can and still want more. Bummer.

4. I really *really* REALLY want this w30 to work. I feel like I need a big turnaround, in my body weight, in my health, in my energy levels, in the way I view food...

 

So, I'm here continuing with diligence. Because I want this. Because I owe it to myself.

 

For some concrete measurements of how w30 is changing my life, I've used a measuring tape to keep track of the size of some of my body parts, as well as having a starting weight from my bathroom scale, which I have put away and will attempt to avoid for the next month. The next time I weigh/measure again will be after my 30 days are over. I don't know if I'll see a difference, but I hope I'll feel different.

 

Weight: 230.4

Height: 5'7"

BMI: 36 (in the obesity category)

Neck: 16.5"

R biceps: 14"

L biceps: 14"

Waist: 42"

Hips: 48"

R thigh: 26"

L thigh: 26"

R calf: 17"

L calf: 18"

[Emma]

You will feel different.

I, too, love black olives.  I love all olives.  If we had one of those fancy olive bars in my town, I think I'd be spending a lot of money there and eating a lot of olives.

Isn't it funny how we choose the Hidden Valley Ranch/cheese doodle options when the good healthy wholesome food is right there.  I totally get it and at least now I can finally see the difference it makes in my body too.

(Happy Birthday!!!)

[youngann]

So, I'm here continuing with diligence. Because I want this. Because I owe it to myself.

 

 

And because you deserve it!!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Today I tried to upload my "before" photographs but all I got was a little icon of a photo with an X in it. Perhaps the log entry was rebelling against my appearance in the photos!!

 

No joke though, I took a look at them again and I look terrible. I can't wait to see what happens to my body composition and appearance at the end of these 30 days when I haven't been stuffing myself with trash every day. I would like to post them if I can ever figure it out. Maybe by the time I have my "after" photos I'll get it straightened out!

 

Today wasn't bad at all. I food-prepped a lot as I will be working 40 hours over the next three days. I made a giant pan seared salmon filet in coconut oil, a pound of sea scallops in ghee, two basa and three tilapia filets dredged in egg and a little coconut flour and sautéed in a combination of coconut and olive oils, two big salads (will make the third tomorrow night to have Monday) into which I put three cups of salad greens and herbs, 3/4c. shredded cruciferous greens, an open handful of black olives, two chopped hearts of palm, three canned brined artichoke hearts, two closed handsfull of slivered almonds, two eggs fried in coconut oil, and a third of the salmon filet. In the mornings before work I'll drizzle some extra virgin olive oil as dressing (still waiting for my new immersion blender to arrive so I can attempt mayo again!). I also made three identical meals of 1.5c sautéed shrimp with spinach, garlic and olive oil, 1c. sautéed asparagus with garlic and olive oil, 1c. roasted butternut squash, 1 small Yukon gold potato, one closed handful of shaved almonds.

 

I had two almost identical salads for breakfast and lunch today, and only had a mini meal for dinner because I got home an hour later than I'd planned and couldn't see myself eating a full dinner at 10pm, so I just nibbled on a few bites of salmon filet, a scallop, a "breaded" tilapia filet, a tomato, and licks off of the spoons I'd used today for the coconut oil and ghee.

 

I can't wait to see what the next three days will bring, as they'll be busy work days. Hopefully I won't hit that "kill all the people" phase as I'm a healthcare provider!

[Emma]

Oh my gosh - you are cooking up some splendid sounding things!  And you're putting in some long days!  Hope it goes well!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Yesterday was good-- I had plenty to eat for breakfast and can understand now that my hungry feelings are less likely hungry and more likely thirst signals, as I often get them frequently soon after I've just eaten a hefty portion of really good foods. So I'm going to make that a goal for the remainder of my w30-- I'm only at about 1-2L water per day. I feel waterlogged when its closer to the 2L mark, but I know that I need to drink closer to 4L based on my body weight... sheesh. I don't know how I'd do anything else in the day but drink and pee if I got to the 4L mark!

 

I also realized that I need to store a bottle of good quality olive oil in my locker at work. Yesterday I had brought a killer salad for lunch and by the time 1-2pm was rolling around I was really beginning to feel hungry, so I focused on my water intake. When my break relief came after 3pm I was fully ready to eat. I got to the break room, opened up my tupperware and was ready to dig in when I realized that I'd forgotten to dress my salad with olive oil before I left home in the morning. So, I had to eat my salad dry, which was not as pleasant as I'd hoped, and also less fat than I'd planned on eating. Today I made sure to pour an adequate amount of olive oil on top, and on my next day off, Tuesday, I will need to remember to get to the store to buy a small bottle that I can keep at work.

 

Anyhow, today is day 5. Standing naked in front of the mirror I felt sure before getting dressed yesterday that my body had changed or I'd lost weight, but when I put my too-tight scrubs on, they fit just the same. I laughed out loud a little, and realized that I really do have a skewed body image... when I see myself in the mirror generally I think I look good, but in photos I can see my true appearance and it's YIKES! at this point in time. Only time will tell but I really think that's another positive I will see as this dietary change progresses.

[KatyMcE]

Crunchy, are you a nurse? You are going to feel so good. I relate so much to your log. You won't believe how awesome you'll feel two weeks from now. It's such a journey. I am excited for you!

[Emma]

Laughing - yeah, that mirror just does not reflect what I feel!  I start eating well and almost immediately feel better, thinner, leaner, stronger - and then....the mirror.  Alas.  Step at a time - day at a time.  Just so darn buggy that the process goes so slow when we're so busy actively doing things.  I had dry salad too yesterday.  Soooo boring.  Here's to a good week!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

KatyMcE, on 08 May 2016 - 7:44 PM, said:

Crunchy, are you a nurse? You are going to feel so good. I relate so much to your log. You won't believe how awesome you'll feel two weeks from now. It's such a journey. I am excited for you!

 

Yes, I work in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit. We don't always have time for breaks and sometimes our breaks are broken up, or there's no one to relieve us until much later than we'd like, so my meals don't always come at normal times. But so far, so good. I've got the first week in the bag, for the most part... and look forward to the next three!

 

 

Emma, on 08 May 2016 - 10:19 PM, said:

Laughing - yeah, that mirror just does not reflect what I feel!  I start eating well and almost immediately feel better, thinner, leaner, stronger - and then....the mirror.  Alas.  Step at a time - day at a time.  Just so darn buggy that the process goes so slow when we're so busy actively doing things.  I had dry salad too yesterday.  Soooo boring.  Here's to a good week!

 

That mirror is such a funny thing. Too bad I can't put it away for the 30 days like I can put my scale away... it gives me such a skewed version of myself-- mostly better than I really am! Or perhaps it's just giving me a view of what is to come...

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Last night the dreams started. In my dream I was at a grocery store and was going around and around to all of the sample stations, most of the stuff that was not w30 compliant I avoided, but I realized that the piece of sashimi I ate had been dipped in soy sauce! Then I thought, oh what the hell, I'll just throw the whole month away if I already made a mistake, so I ate some other non-w30 samples as well. Then the grocery store turned turned into an all-you-can-eat buffet and I really went crazy. Then I felt guilty. Then I woke up and was thankful it was just a dream. Then I remembered that I made a mistake last night at work and ate a spearmint Altoid breath mint when my coworker came around with a tin as he does every shift!

 

I'm not going to throw away the whole week over one simple breath mint, but I will try to be more mindful about what I put into my mouth... I realize that I've been SO much more mindful, not only of the kinds of foods I eat, but while I'm eating them as well. But I realize that I'm not far away from my old patterns as it was just like second nature to thank my coworker and pop the little round mint sugarburst into my mouth so easily, not even thinking about what I was doing. After I realized it I tried to spit out what I could but I'd already chewed and swallowed...

 

Gah!

 

I think I might add another day onto the end of my month... will have to see when I get there. Other than that though, so far, so good!

[KatyMcE]

I'm a nurse, too. I'm currently home with my kids but when I get to work it's NICU or Peds. I totally relate to offset meals and screwy schedules. There's a nurse on Instagram who lost tons of weight on paleo/whole30 and she works nights. Her Instagram is paleobailey and she's very inspiring!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Oh man. This mayonnaise (minus the mustard-- all the Dijon that I have in my house contains white wine) just changed my next three weeks.

 

My new stick blender came in the mail, and within 60 seconds of opening the box, I had mayonnaise! Not like Hellman's, that's for sure, but delicious nonetheless. I can't wait to experiment with different combinations of seasonings and additives!

 

https://youtu.be/GbPF_rLpd9o

 

Hooray!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

So, today was delicious! Though I'm a little worried that I finished dinner at 5:30pm. I might have to have a second dinner to tide me over for the night, though I don't like eating so late. But I have a feeling I'll be up late and don't want to be truly hungry all night long.

 

Sleep was weird last night-- I fell asleep on the couch watching television about 11:30pm or midnight and woke up after 2am, went to bed but couldn't fall back to sleep until about 3am, and then slept until 8! I did feel tired today and wanted to take a nap around 1pm, which was after my lunch. I'll have to keep tuned to whether I frequently get these waves of tiredness after eating, or if I was just tired. Hard to tell if that's what happened today because I had such a weird night's sleep but I'll try to look for patterns.

 

Meal 1 was a big bowl of my play on shrimp "Tom Kha Gai" soup with lots of vegetables in the soup, and lots of added coconut milk, and three fried eggs.

Meal 2 was a can of tuna with a little olive oil drizzled in then a big dollop of my newly made MAYONNAISE!, roasted eggplant slices, roasted tomato halves, and some roasted butternut squash

Meal 3 was another big bowl of the soup, along with two eggs fried atop a Yukon gold potato with melted ghee, some watermelon slices

 

If I need a second dinner, I think I might have a few pan seared scallops which I have left over from dinner two days ago, with a small portion of sautéed greens/garlic/onions/olive oil, a little sautéed broccoli, with a handful of black olives.

 

I've prepped two identical breakfasts for the next two days at work (sautéed Brussels sprouts and mushrooms, half a roasted tomato, two slices of roasted eggplant, half a Yukon gold potato with ghee, topped with three fried eggs), and am about to fry up some egg/coconut flour dredged basa filets, which I will eat with sautéed broccoli and roasted butternut squash, and black olives on the side. Dinners for the next two nights I think will be the Chilean sea bass I pan seared last night, atop a bag of wilted spinach, with steamed zucchini, and some brined Tunisian olives. Mmmmm.  

 

My next day off is Saturday after today, and I think I might try to attempt to cook at least one of the two big heads of green cabbage I have in the fridge. I've been hesitant as I've never cooked it before and really don't know how, aside from shredding it and making slaw. Perhaps I'll look up recipes tonight as I finish up laundry when my cooking is all done for the night.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Today is day 11 and I'm still going strong. I've been having some "I want to snack" munchies and cravings, and have been trying to load up on extra proteins and fats, and lots of water. I had 4 meals today trying to accomplish this, and plan to continue drinking water throughout the evening to keep up the good progress. I tried food prepping today but didn't get too much done for myself-- boiled four huge beets, which are still sitting in the pot of purple warm water, mixed up a 50/50 blend of beef and ground turkey with granulated garlic, salt and pepper and cooked a few burgers on the stovetop, and made a compliant pork shoulder pulled pork in the crockpot for my husband (which I won't eat). If I can get motivated, I'd like to at least get the zucchini and cauliflower done that I've had sitting on the kitchen counter all day so I won't have to do so much tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll have to do my two big heads of cabbage and the sad looking spinach I've had in my fridge all week. 

 

I'm working 53 hours in four days of work next week (Monday through Thursday) so I want to have lots of meals prepped and tupperwared for easy grabbing in the mornings (has worked very well so far) because I know I'll be properly exhausted at the end of Thursday.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

25 hours into my work-week and I'm already a bit tired, but nowhere near as tired as I was before starting this w30. I can't wait to see how I feel Thursday night when my four days are over, or Friday on my next day off.

 

I'm just finishing up day 13, and am already thinking about reintroductions with nervousness. Since I'll be traveling on day 6 for about 10 days, and the first three or four days I won't have access to a kitchen/grocery story, I'm anxious about being able to make good plans to stick with a proper w30 reintroduction while also eating at buffets and whatever restaurants Las Vegas has and still stay compliant. Maybe I just need to do some more advance research regarding food options and with packing shelf-stable compliant foods like nuts, seeds, olives, RX bars, and dried fruit. I'd hate to have to rely mostly on those kinds of foods for three days until I get to Utah and the rental home with a kitchen and grocery store, but it might have to come to that if I don't feel comfortable with my other options available.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Phew! I got through all four days at work successfully, on plan, and even with a few people asking me if I'd been losing weight since I'm looking less puffy in the face!

 

Had another food dream last night. Last time was about saying no to REALLY good ice cream. This time I was at some kind of fancy dress-up reception with LOTS of off-plan option for desserts, and I scouted out the entire place and made a bowl of grapes and cut up melons from the garnishes on the platters of sweet baked goods. I remember even asking if sugar had been added to sweeten the fruits. So weird to be having so many food-related dreams, but at least I'm making the right choices in my dreams as I am in life.

 

Today I'm going to do a bit of meal-planning. I'm going into Manhattan for a professional conference tomorrow, leaving around 6:30am. The agenda says that they're feeding us a continental breakfast and a boxed lunch, but I know that I can't rely on that. So I'm going to prepare today and bring along three fried eggs in a ziplock, a drained can of black olives in a ziplock, another baggie with sautéed brussels sprouts, mushrooms and a roasted tomato and slice of eggplant, then for lunch I'm going to bring a tin of sardines in olive oil, a fresh tomato, a sliced apple, eat some more of those olives, cut up red and yellow pepper strips, and will have an RX bar if I'm really starving, but hopefully I won't have to eat that. I'm also going to meet a girlfriend out for dinner after the conference lets out and go to a Broadway show with her before heading home for the night. I'm nervous about dinner because it truly will be the first time I'm eating out of the house, but I know it has to happen sooner or later, and trying to find someplace in NYC should be ok, as we'll likely go to an independent restaurant that is used to people asking for the food to be prepared in a particular way.

 

We have a lot of leftover veggies from my previous batch-cooking and I don't want them to go bad, so meals through Monday will be planned around the sautéed green beans with pecans, braised cabbage, boiled sliced beets, and small amount of leftover salad that I have in the fridge. I had browned meat the other day for my husband, but the slow-cooker pulled pork shoulder isn't finished yet, so I think I'll freeze the meet for him for during the week, and I've got a Chilean sea bass steak that I have to eat before Monday or it will go to waste.

 

A few things that I've noticed since starting my w30: my urine no longer smells like asparagus no matter how much of it I eat (so strange), and some days I'm really not that hungry while others I'm just ravenous, but regardless of my level of hunger, I'm completely satisfied eating clean because of how much better I've been feeling physically!

[madness]

Too funny about the asparagus pee! Mine still stinks.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

So my conference on May 21 went great-- the educational material was wonderful and the speaker was GREAT, and thanks to pre-planning and bringing my own template meals for breakfast and lunch, I had just the right kinds of foods to keep me from feeling hungry or tired, kept my attention on point, and while others in the audience were nodding off after breakfast and lunch (I even heard some snores coming from the back of the auditorium!), I was alert and ready to continue the learning. As I'd guessed, the continental breakfast was filled with food items I chose not to go near-- Danish, bagels with cream cheese and butter, muffins of all varieties... I did drink some black coffee and take a small plate of food to accompany my (cold) fried eggs, boiled sliced beets and black olives. Lunch was a selection of beautiful deli sandwiches and macaroni salad which I also avoided like the plague, and instead ate another small cup of fruit I'd saved from breakfast with my lunch of a hunk of seared salmon, bell pepper strips, more olives, and the rest of the beets, along with a half cup of black coffee in the late afternoon to keep me going through the evening while everyone else was chowing down on cookies and brownies served as a late-afternoon pick-me-up.

 

Afterwards I met my best friend and headed close to where our Broadway show's theater was.

 

Dinner was compliant but not to the template as the paleo restaurant I'd chosen (Dig Inn on W55th street) didn't have a pescatarian protein I could eat (the salmon had honey in the marinade), and I am not eating meat, so the compliant chicken and meatballs weren't a personal option. Instead I went with roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed broccoli with lemon and garlic and thyme oil, and carrots prepared with delicate greens and a sunflower pesto. It was delicious and quite filling, but I wished I still had eggs or something left from my lunchbox for a protein source.

 

After dinner, we went to the theater and saw a wonderful one-man show, then I found my way back home by around 11pm.

 

All in all, a fantastic experience, and really helped me to see that dining out doesn't have to be anxiety-provoking as I'd made it up to be in my mind.

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Day 27 is in full swing with a breakfast of scrambled eggs (two whole eggs, and the two egg whites left over from yesterday's two batches of mayo) in coconut oil with sautéed onions and Brussels sprouts, coconut cream, raspberries and cherries, and seltzer water.

 

I'm working night shift for the next month (normally work days) so last night at 2am I found myself prepping for the week with baked sweet and red skin potatoes, veggie soup, and roast butternut squash. Trying to stay up late so I could sleep late and acclimate to a night schedule didn't work so well as I was up this morning at 6:30am, so having less than four hours of sleep left me feeling tired and cranky. But I'm going to do my best to be productive today with laundry and a walk if it ever stops raining, and continue to make more food for the week.

 

I'm also going to plan out my reintroduction schedule, as I think planning rather than winging it will be the right way to go for me. Since this whole month has been about pre-planning, I want to try to be methodical about easing into some off-plan foods back into my daily life. This will, for me, ease stress and make life much easier when I know I'm going to be tired and cranky from having my schedule turned upside down.

 

Day 31: Glutinous grains. Specifically pasta. This is something that normally was a huge part of my pre-w30 life. And while I don't want to keep it that way, I would like to occasionally invite it back into my dietary repertoire. I think I'll make shrimp and broccoli with olive oil, garlic and angel hair pasta, and maybe also make tuna pasta with compliant mayonnaise for two of the three meals I eat. For breakfast I might have poached eggs over toast. That will give me a really good idea of how it will make me feel, I think.

 

Day 34: Dairy. I will add butter to my breakfast eggs and put cheese over top of a potato at dinner and/or lunch. I think I'll also try plain unsweetened Greek yogurt with cucumber, onion, dill, garlic and lemon as a dip with my veggies or on top of my protein.

 

Day 37: Alcohol. I don't drink often, but have missed wine while I was abstaining. I'd like to try a glass or two of wine to see if I can handle it for social situations (one of which is coming up on day 38, and during a vacation from days 39 to 50).

 

Day 40: Legumes. Chick peas, black beans, lentils and cannellini beans. All of these made frequent appearances in my daily life in salads, soups and chilis. I'll try them for at least two meals this day and see if I can keep them in my life.

 

Day 43: Non-gluten grains. Rice, oats and barley will make their appearance for evaluation with how I feel.

 

I really wish I could just continue to do a whole 45 or a whole 60 as I'm on such a good roll, but with travel coming up I know I should take advantage of the reintroductions to test whether or not I can be more flexible when I need to be when going out or to friends' houses. I might just decide to do my second half of the whole 60 when I come back from vacation, but for now, this is the plan.

 

I can do this!!!

[madness]

Awesome plan! Yeah, travel would be really hard on this plan. I wouldn't even attempt it. At least you will have a good idea what affects you and can avoid those things.

 

Good work!

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

Day 28 coming to a close. Yeah, the first three days of the trip will be spent in Las Vegas on the strip, where I've never been but have a feeling that eating w30 might be kind of difficult. However, the middle 6 days or so we will be staying at a home I rented off AirBNB, so will have a kitchen and grocery stores at our disposal-- woohoo for clean eating! After those six days however I'll be back in Vegas for another 24 hours before coming home. I plan to do another w30 sometime after I get back, so maybe starting July 1, which will give me about a week or so to continue to attempt w30-esque eating with reintros to see how I react to some other foods I'm curious about.

 

Anyhow, tonight is my first night shift and I'm nervous! At least I know I'm getting my water content in-- already on my third liter before midnight, keeping my bladder full to keep me alert. An old staying-awake-when-I'm-a-drowsy-long-distance-driver trick I learned when I used to commute to see my husband after graduating from college (then boyfriend).

[Present4Life]

Best wishes on your final days!  Sounds like you have a great plan in place for reintroduction

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

It is just after midnight on my thirtieth day of this lifestyle journey. I so wish I had some more time to dedicate to a second consecutive w30-- strangely enough the sugar cravings were strong as anything yesterday. I know it likely has to do with the crazy schedule I've been keeping the last several days (switched from day shift to night shift for the month of June) and the lack of sleep. So I just tried to eat more veggies with protein and fat. Essentially a mini-meal. I'm going to have to really watch myself over the next ten days or so... having a chance to do reintroductions will be good, but I want to make sure that it's meaningful and that I don't go nuts (totally off the rails) until I can focus on myself and the way my body reacts to foods on my next w30. I know my past patterns, so that makes me both nervous and glad-- nervous because I know what my past patterns are, but glad that I can recognize that now so maybe I'll be able to act proactively to avoid going totally bonkers with food and binging.

 

Anyhow, only time will tell. Twenty three and a quarter more hours left to this, my first whole 30. Keeping my fingers crossed for day 31!