balancedbrunette Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 There are so many reasons I am Whole 30 for the next 30 days - one being the fact that I am an emotional eater. I also just had a minor surgery this past week, and in the activity-restricted period leading up to it, the hormonal changes, prescriptions, and required recovery period (i.e. no running for at least a week) have shown me how dependent I am on sugar, carbs, and...nut butters. I know, we're technically allowed to have the last one, but I easily will finish a jar in 3 days. I'm not the "one tablespoon" type of girl, so for the 1st week at least, I'm cutting them out, too. So without my normal exercise routine, I've been dependent on low-nutrient food for the "highs," which has resulted in many episodes of overeating and soaring/crashing blood sugar. Aaand repeat. Not fun!! Which brings me to today, which was my Day 1. I read the book last week, got the cookbook from the library, made mayonnaise and ketchup, cleaned out my fridge, made chili and was feeling pretty good. FULLY committed. I've already had my 3 meals today, and I already want...sugar. I remind you, this is day 1. Has anyone else experienced this? I thought day 1 was supposed to be a breeze? I WILL do this, I guess I just thought the beginning would be easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Hi Balanced Brunette! Congrats on your first day! I just finished reading everything, printed out my grocery lists and am diving into the Whole 30 first thing tomorrow. I would love to have a buddy on this journey. I am certain I will need someone to talk me off the sugary ledge in the next week, too. In the meantime, stay strong. YOU CAN DO THIS. Remember, it's a CHOICE! You are committed to making a healthy choice for yourself, for your body and for your future. YOU CAN DO IT! Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 Hi Jen! Sounds PERFECT. Let's do this! Are you on Pinterest? I'm going to do some more food prep today, too, like baking sweet potatoes, making clarified butter, etc. I'm already on schedule with the carb/sugar hangover. It's not terrible, but worse than I thought it would be. Did you clean out your fridge? I still have some things in there because my hubby said no, but they're not tempting for me. (Plus, there's no sugar, because he doesn't have a sweet tooth. Go figure.) Have fun shopping!! Whole Foods has some great generic staples that you can use, if you have one close by. Thanks for the encouragement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Hi No, I haven't cleaned fridge or shopped. Hubby does all the shopping cooking and he is used to trying new things for me because I'm ALWAYS on a diet. But this time, it's not a diet. Besides, he cooks pretty well and uses mostly organic ingredients, so it shouldn't be too bad. I printed out all the grocery and pantry lists for him so he's armed when he goes to the store. We don't have a Whole Foods real close by, but we have a similar store in our little town. And we have lots of farmer's markets. Actually had tea instead of coffee this morning. That's something I'm looking forward to kicking, coffee and diet coke. Good luck with your cravings/sugar hangover. TTY soon! BTW - what's your name? Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Oh, and I'm on Pinterest - but don't use it much. Not a big foodie, obviously. But I'll check your stuff out for sure. My husband is a visual cook. https://www.pinterest.com/jenwilsonauthor/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 Nice!! My name is Emily. That's awesome that you're kicking the Diet Coke habit! I hear you about the diet thing - I feel like I've been dabbling (unsuccessfully) in a lot of different diets, but since most of them are so calorically restrictive and I'm usually pretty active...they don't last long. If your husband is a visual cook, the cookbook is great, and I snagged mine from the library. I find it really helpful for basics and ideas. Here's the Pinterest board I started: https://www.pinterest.com/emilyma7/whole-30/. It may sound strange, but I'm already feeling more freedom with the "no snack" philosophy. Without the option, the are less choices and more time to do other things. I didn't realize SNACKS were a stressor. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hi Emily Yeah, hear you on the no snacks. I would just mindlessly snack. And I associated my tv time and downtime at night with snacking. Looking forward to changing that. Thanks for the link and the tips. Will probably be getting the cookbook today. My first day went well, just had major headaches and was very tired. I'm sure it was lack of sugar and caffeine. Hope you have a great day! Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 So second day was WAY easier than the first for me...I'm starting to realize how much I had been controlled by sugar. I constantly craved it, and sweeping it off the table as completely off limits has actually helped. I also discovered that I need to increase the size of my lunches. Yesterday I was STARVING at like 4:30 and so had a handful of cashews to get me through. I was running errands at that point and asked myself if I would eat a steak (I don't really like steak), which has become my new gauge of: "Are you actually hungry, or is this just a craving?" I also think I got a little overly excited about the "prep" process because I have so much food in the fridge. Better safe than sorry(?) Almost 1/10th of the way through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Good morning Emily! My day 2 was okay, too. I still had cranking headaches and napped like I was sleeping like the dead for 2 hours. But otherwise, pretty good. I had no cravings at all. I ate big meals, but not too big and was plenty full. I didn't find myself getting hungry until four or five hours later. It's so nice not to be thinking about food every 2 hours, what I just had, logging it, what I can have next, when I can have it, how much, how to log it, how that will affect the rest of my day's meals, when I can have a sweet treat, how much, and on and on and on. Wow, that took a lot of work. In retrospect, this is much easier. I also found a great salad dressing that is compliant - Hilary's - it's organic, dairy, gluten, wheat and sugar free. I got the Ranch Chia and it was delicious! I found it in my Fresh Market (which is like a Whole Foods). Just knowing I can have that makes salads enjoyable. I also met with a friend that is letting me borrow some Paleo cookbooks and It Stars with Food. She's been living Paleo for years so she's a great source of support and information for me. Hope your day goes well. With two days down, I only have 28 left to go! Woo Hoo! And my stomach feels better already! Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Nice! I'll have to look for that dressing. Thanks for the tip. Today was a lot harder. I was so TIRED for most of the day today & it made every day tasks very irritating. I also ate about a third of a cup of cashew butter after dinner with a banana because I thought I was still hungry, but now I'm just (understandably) overly full. Overeating something you're supposed to eat in smaller amounts isn't grounds to restart, is it? It's a compliant food, I just overdid it. I'll try to see if anyone else has run into this issue. I hope you had a good day! Anything to report? Feeling okay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Hi Emily, Hope it's still going well. Cruising day 5 with very little fatigue. Headaches left yesterday and now I just feel a little bored with the food. I made some broccoli salad, mayo and even sweet potato hash browns, all Whole 30 compliant - and I don't cook! And they were good! I have eaten a lot and am not hungry at all, just wanting some variety in the meals and especially the drinks. Water and tea is getting very old. I'll try some fruit in my water and look up some new recipes to spice things up. Overall, I'm finding that this is very easy so far. Hope it stays that way. Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 Day 6 was really hard - not sure if I was starting to get bored or what. I definitely ended up overeating at lunch, but they were all compliant foods, so I don't think that warrants a re-start (at least from the forums that I read). This weekend we're out of town, so I did a lot of prep. I made HB eggs and turkey burgers and packed a lot of other food to make. We also cooked last night (we have a kitchenette) which was really nice. My husband wants to go out tonight, so we'll see how I do ordering out. I already have food sensitivities, so I'm used to asking questions, just worried about being (additionally) annoying. I know the book says to get over it, you're paying for a meal ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. So good news, I'm going to visit my parents next week for a bit and my mom decided to do Whole 30 with me! She and I both have a powerful sugar dragon, and it's hard to turn down ice cream or a nice glass of white wine in the summer, so I'm glad to have someone to work together with. She also have famous chocolate chip cookies which I'm already steeling myself against. Those things are addictive. I'm not really missing any foods, which is nice. What about you? How's it going? Any cravings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Hi Emily I don't think overeating compliant foods calls for a restart. In fact, I was planning on overindulging in fruit at a picnic today but a nasty wave of stomach cramps and kept at home and in the bathroom. Not sure if this is the nasty uncomfortable intestinal cleaning they talk about in the book, but good grief! I feel a little better now, but my stomach feels sensitive. I'm eating compliantly, just carefully and slowly. That's great news about your Mom. Maybe if she's on board she won't make those cookies! And good for you prepping for your weekend away. Sounds like you're having great success! I have not had ANY cravings since I started. It's almost too good to be true. I used to drink an extra large Dunkin Donuts coffee with 10 creams and 5 Splenda (don't judge) every single day, plus other really bad sugary stuff and fried crap. I would go on healthy kicks a lot, but even then, healthy was over-processed yogurts, whey protein, etc. I thought I would be in the KILL ALL THINGS phase for a while, but not at all. I'm not craving anything, even good food. Just generally not hungry, but still eating my 3 meals a day. So, week one almost done and I'm very pleased. I especially love not tracking, weighing, measuring or logging food. It has already changed the way I think about food - actually, it has helped me stop focusing on food so much. I feel freer already. Hope you had a good weekend and good luck on week 2! Jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Awesome! So tomorrow is day 10 (a.k.a. what is supposed to be one of the hardest days). We'll see. The past couple of days I have been pretty hungry when it comes to dinner time, but the great thing is that my night-time snacking has been eliminated. I always used to go for something sweet, but since it's not an option now, I just get over it. And definitely not judging on the coffee...I used to get a double double (double cream, double sugar) coffee after morning practice EVERY DAY in high school. Speaking of the stomach cramps...the exact same thing happened to me on that day. I thought it was because I ate garlic (I generally avoid it, but went out to dinner the night before), but maybe it was a part of the whole process? Things have been much better since then; I hope it was the same for you. Good luck to you, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Just found out that LaCroix soda is W30 compliant! Yay! I was wondering what the x&(#*@! I would be able to drink - cause if I was going to have to survive on water and tea, it might get ugly. I looked at the Whole30 approved vendors on their site and I got a lot of ideas. I think I'll be hitting our Trader Joe's or version of Whole Foods to see what else I can find to mix it up. NSVs so far: Clear skin - for the first time in a long time Kicked the coffee habit Eating things I never ate before - like coconut Making my own food - mayo and dressings - found a great Greek Dressing recipe that is super yummy! Daily headaches gone No snacking/grazing - I too did a lot of nighttime snacking, and it was all crap. So glad I don't do that now! Keep on keeping on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balancedbrunette Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 That's awesome!!! I should've said something - I've been drinking a lot of la croix, but we always do, so I didn't even think about it! I agree, I'm obsessed with homemade mayo. What's the greek dressing recipe? I'd love to try it. Being on vacation while on the whole30 hasn't been bad at all. It definitely helps that my mom is doing it with me, but it's also been nice to NOT have the whole food culture assault when you're away (i.e. oh what a cute bakery! we should get something! specialty coffee? yes, please!) I will say that turning down a great looking cake for my uncle's 60's tonight was really hard, but I survived. This is Day 15! Halfway mark. I'm tempted to weigh myself, but I know it'll be worth it when I wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenny923 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hi Emily, The Greek Dressing Recipe is here. I don't remember where I got the mayo dressing but it's tricky to make. Have to really play with the lemon and mustard in the mayo. It's going really well here. My favorite drink is LaCroix with a splash of real cranberry juice - super yummy. I have noticed a lot more morning alertness and my clothes are definitely fitting better. I have a lot of weight to lose so it's a great victory to see this improving. I did accidentally cheat and have corn one day. I forgot that it wasn't allowed and was just assuming it was a vegetable until my husband asked me and we looked it up. So, I guess I really started over on 7/10 or so. But in reality, it doesn't feel like I'm starting anything over because I'm not seeing this as just a 30 day journey. I plan on continuing to eat this way going forward. The benefits are so great. And with a little planning and menu researching, I can eat this way outside and like you said, even on vacation. Anyhow, hope you're having some great results as well. Take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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