30 Whole Arabian nights... starting on 10 July!

[fatima.mm]

I'm starting my log a bit early, because I've been unofficially following the basic whole30 rules (following the meal template of protein and veg at every meals, avoiding junk oils, preservatives and eliminating the 'banned' food groups)... 

 

And I just want to get started with the log so that I can feel like it's starting to get official! 

From the Whole 30 book and reading copious accounts of other people's experiences, there is pretty much one critical key to the success of a Whole 30: planning and preparation. I'm not particularly great at being organised, but I've been trying to make an effort for the past few months. 

 

So for the Whole 30, I am planning my meals for the week and will do as much prep as possible on the weekends. Weekends over here are Friday and Saturday, so Saturday will be my prep day. 

 

So this is how I do my meal planning. I've got a couple of pages in my journal dedicated to my meal plan. Since I'm lazy, I plan out each day on a yellow post-it note, and then have space left over to add orange post-it notes for things I need to do on prep days (shopping, making ahead). You can see it in the photo I've attached to this post! 

 

Then, when I've completed a full day, I just move that day's yellow post-it over to the section of my journal which I've dedicated for my W30 log, so that I can remember what I've eaten, and of course track all the other stuff. 

 

But since I want to stay connected with the Whole30 community, I think I will log here every two days by posting a page of my 'analog' log and adding any other thoughts or reflections...

 

I'd like to set this up for the greatest chance of success as possible! I'm not only doing this for myself, but also for my family. My mother and I both suffer from debilitating migraines, which got so bad (for the both of us at the same time, oddly enough) that we had to see neurologists specialising in migraines all the way in Munich! He was a miracle worker, but first we had to suffer through a lot of pain, the discomfort of the treatment (steroids, which my body did not react to kindly at ALL), and the serious inconvenience this caused me at work (I'm a projects lawyer, and we were just in the thick of a juicy transaction). Thankfully, I haven't had a migraine since then apart from two isolated and manageable incidents), but my mother's migraines have been more frequent. 

 

I feel pretty convinced that there is something in her diet that is causing this. We are from Oman (over here in the Middle Easy, as I like to call it), and our diet at home is typical of coastal middle eastern households: lots of rice, lamb, fish and pickled vegetables, and did I mention rice? There's a lot of rice. Like a lot. 

 

I want to successfully complete the Whole30 so that I can motivate my mother to adopt healthier eating habits (more vegetable at least!). I also want to get rid of migraines, improve the quality of my sleep, increase my energy levels, improve my stamina at the gym so I can get back into boxing and start weightlifting, reduce the pain/discomfort in my right knee and let's face it... what got me through the door in the first place was my desire to lose weight! I've already lost 5 pounds in my ramp up to the Whole30 proper over the past few weeks. So I know that I will be getting healthier and fitter since I've replaced lots of unhealthy stuff with much healthier stuff, and this makes me feel more capable of sticking to the no-scale rule (that's definitely going to be the hardest thing of the Whole30 for me). 

I know this one is a bit of a long shot, but I've been trying to grow my hair out for the longest time. I read a few accounts of people experiencing shinier, thicker hair that grows faster. I really hope this happens for me too!

 

Ok enough with the 'I wants'. Gotta go make some mayonnaise!

 

[NoMoreCrunchyCravings]

I love your analog log and your organization style! It's very different from mine, and very beautifully laid out!

 

I'm looking forward to following your progress during your whole 30.

[fatima.mm]

I love your analog log and your organization style! It's very different from mine, and very beautifully laid out!

 

I'm looking forward to following your progress during your whole 30.

 

Thank you NMCC! I've never been much of a planner, so I hope that this will be the start of a new good habit for me  

[fatima.mm]

My first meal prep

 

Today was the first time I've ever done a meal prep! Overall, it took about four hours, which I think is pretty good, considering in that four hours I made: 

• A sweet potato breakfast casserole (for the next 5 days!)
• Ratatouille (veg for two meals) 
• Chicken sausages (protein for four other meals)
• Tomorrow's packed lunch - protein salad and roasted sweet potatoes
• Extra roasted veggies for just in case!

I feel a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I've already got tomorrow's breakfast and lunch ready and out of my hair. So tomorrow, all I have to do when I get home from work is roast a whole chicken (no big deal...  ) so that I can have roast chicken and veg for dinner and use the leftover chicken in other recipes, and the bones to make a broth.

 

When I set out my meal plan, I had decided on a tuna salad for lunch on Day 1. But as it's Eid Al Fitr (a celebration of the end of the holy month of Ramadan), my family has cooked up a traditional Omani dish called shuwa, which is basically spiced goat meat wrapped in banana leaves and slow-roasted for about a day over hot coals in a pit dug into the ground. Sounds really weird, I guess, but it comes out smokey, tender and delicious! Since we had a bunch of leftover meat in the fridge, I figured this would be a perfect substitute for tuna, and a more festive one! So I made myself a shredded shuwa salad! That way I can save the tuna for another meal. 

 

Technically I've been whole30 compliant all day today so I guess I could consider this my first day, but I did weigh myself in the morning, and I like the idea of starting on a Sunday, which is the beginning of the work week for me. So I'll stick with my original plan.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this but I can't wait for the weekend to be over so I can get started already!

[fatima.mm]

I had been planning on posting photos of my 'analog log' but then I realised that my handwriting is basically garbage, so it would be pointless!

 

Day 1

b. sweet potato breakfast casserole (yum and super filling)

l. 'shuwa' (roasted goat meat) salad with cucumber, baby spinach, carrots and strawberries and a dash of mayo 

d. roasted chicken leg and thigh with a huge pile of cucumber, carrots and roasted sweet potato 

 

I roasted two whole chickens today (they were surprisingly small - both of them were under 4 pounds together)! Then I used that chicken to make my dinner for today, picked all the meat clean off the bones, used the meat to make Melissa's Chicken Hash from the Whole30 book, and prepared a pot to start making broth the next morning. I felt really productive and ... I don't know, competent or something!

 

My energy levels were good all day, didn't have any cravings, even though I had to pick up McDonald's for my sister (she was ill in the hospital, couldn't say no!) and the only fast food that I consider to be my real weakness is their filet o'fish sandwich! 

 

Day 2

Woke up super early today!

 

b. sweet potato breakfast casserole 

l. poached eggs, sauteed spinach, asparagus, mushroom and compliant beef sausage, and a few strawberries

d. melissa's chicken hash 

 

Still feeling good today. Energy levels high. Mood alright since I'm not hungry at all between meals. All I can think of is getting on the scale though. I can't help it! I know this is going to be a major problem for me. I suppose this means I have a really unhealthy relationship with the scale... 

 

Other than that, feeling fine. My nose and throat are a bit scratchy which feels like I'm just getting over a cold or flu, but I'm not. I hope I don't get some kind of withdrawal fever tomorrow! My face is also becoming slightly oily. I think I'll hold off moisturising in the mornings and see if that fixes it. 

 

Definitely early night for me tonight.

[Jager07]

Welcome aboard!  Your plan is solid and so is your determination.  The preparation and staying connected are great ways to set yourself up for success!  You can do this. 

[fatima.mm]

Welcome aboard!  Your plan is solid and so is your determination.  The preparation and staying connected are great ways to set yourself up for success!  You can do this. 

 

Thank you so much Jager! I hope it's determination I'm feeling and not just the smugness of a noob haha!

[fatima.mm]

Day 3 

 

b. sweet potato breakfast casserole

l. left over chicken hash and cucumber

d. ratatouille with ground beef 

snack: small handful of almonds

 

Today was also pretty good. I've not experienced any strong negative symptoms that the Whole 30 timeline anticipated. I did have two instances where I suddenly felt really dizzy but that went away quickly. I also had the slightest shadow of a headache for some of the afternoon, but I didn't even notice it while I was busy with work. 

 

I had a mini panic attack when I remember my post-work meeting in a cafe that would make me a bit late for dinner. So I had a handful of almonds to make sure that I didn't become tempted to have one of the cafe's sweet treats. I wasn't hungry at all! Next time, I'll listen to myself a bit more. I didn't feel hungry so I shouldn't have eaten, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it that much!

 

One thing I've been feeling which is hard to describe is that my stomach feels oddly calm somehow. It's hard to explain, but it's as though my stomach was on fire (just a metaphor, not trying to describe the actual feeling!) and I've just poured cold water followed by the most soothing balm ever. Could it be that my stomach was always so irritated by the food I've been giving it, and I've never noticed it, because that was my 'normal'? If so, that makes me feel so many feels! Shocked (that a simple change of diet could produce such a change in how I feel), happy (that I can feel this good all the time), and very guilty (that I have this miraculous body that just wants me to be healthy and I've been treating it so poorly!), a whole bunch of other things! 

 

Scale still calls to me.

[michele3]

Fatima,

Congratulations on Day 3!  I'm at 7pm on Day 3 here in the US.  No headache yet, but I'm afraid of the description of days 4-6....

I've just found the forums and joined your July 10th start one also.

Michele

[fatima.mm]

Fatima,

Congratulations on Day 3!  I'm at 7pm on Day 3 here in the US.  No headache yet, but I'm afraid of the description of days 4-6....

I've just found the forums and joined your July 10th start one also.

Michele

 

Hi Michele! I'm also really dreading it as well! When I'm angry, I really lose my temper, and I then resort to pizza to calm me down... So I've got to focus extra hard the next coming days!

[fatima.mm]

Day 4

 

b. sweet potato breakfast casserole

l. leftover ratatouille with ground beef and sliced carrots

d. chicken sausage cooked in tomato sauce with sauteed broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms, with an egg mixed into the whole mess (delicious btw) and a pear. 

 

Today was... interesting. I woke up completely exhausted. I'm sure this is due in large part to the fact that I've only had 5 hours of sleep last night. I couldn't get to sleep as I was worrying about an important/urgent contract I had to draft today. Ironically, this anxiety made me late to bed, making me tired and less able to concentrate. I have never in my life made so much effort to get out of bed, honestly! 

 

I went to the kitchen, heated up my breakfast, and brought the plate back to my bedroom where I proceeded to lay on the rug on my floor, and tried to eat breakfast. While lying down. Obviously common sense and biology dictated that this was not the right thing to do, so I had to make do with propping myself up against my bed and choking it down slowly. It was really painful. 

 

Luckily, my first cup of coffee got me through the extreme exhaustion. Normally this would be how I felt if I had only 2 hours of sleep, and even then I would perk up by midday and feel like normal. Right now it's 9 pm and I still haven't shaken the fatigue. Definitely going to be an early night for me. 

 

It's funny, even though I'm extremely sleepy, my head doesn't feel foggy and heavy like it normally would have if I were this tired. 

 

Today was a lot of temptation as well. Went to visit my cousin's wife at the hospital as she just had a baby, and found myself surrounded by all these delicious looking assortments of chocolate and savoury treats! Then at home, I kept on seeing carbs everywhere. Every room I walked into seemed to have either cheese samosas, a plate of spaghetti, or whatever. I feel like if I opened my medicine cabinet now I'd find a donut in there. 

 

Is it possibly to have a on olfactory hallucination? I very vividly smelled a cheese and tomato croissant, except I was in the car on the highway, so I knew it wasn't possible. But I definitely smelled it. And I keep imagining different flavours and textures that I'm missing. Like Kinder Bueno bars. Uuuuurgh. 

 

They're not making me lose my determination, so far these are just annoyances. Tomorrow will be day 5 and I will be 1/6 of the way through it! And then just a short day after I'll be 1/5 of the way through it! 

 

I am having some anxiety about my ability to finish, even though right now I feel so determined. I actually suck so bad at finishing things, I tend to give up when things flag or I don't see results, etc. I really don't want that to happen here. I want to finish this. 

 

Scale still taunting me, even though I hid it somewhere out of sight. 

[fatima.mm]

Day 5 

 

b. zucchini, mushroom and red pepper omelette

l. left over from yesterday's dinner, a pear and some walnuts

d. Mom's Jordanian style chicken, carrot juice

 

Today was my least organised day and what I would say is my least smooth day so far. I woke up with a headache, even though I had slept more than 8 hours. Last night I was so exhausted, I just fell asleep on my bed unintentionally without washing my face, brushing my teeth and doing a whole bunch of other stuff like charging my phone! As a result, my phone battery died overnight and I didn't wake up on time for work! Oops... On the plus side, though, I got just the right amount of sleep and wasn't forced awake I'm choosing to see this as a win for me. 

 

However, because I forgot to take my breakfast out of the freezer (another thing I meant to do last night), I didn't have breakfast waiting for me, so I had to improvise a meal, which ended up being the omelette. And thank goodness I also improvised yesterday's dinner and made enough for lunch today, because I was SUPPOSED to make myself an egg salad for today, but I didn't have enough of the ingredients to make it! 

 

I had put my mayonnaise in the freezer to make sure it kept until I needed it, but when I took it out, and let it thaw in the fridge, it went all liquidy! So now I know. Never put homemade mayo in the freezer. Noted. 

 

Anyway, at breakfast I took one bite of my omelette and my stomach felt immediately nauseous, and I had to leg it to the bathroom to be sick! I cleaned myself up and had some tea before powering on with breakfast.

 

After work I tried to make the egg salad I had been planning for today so I could have it for dinner, but I felt really drained. I still made the mayonnaise again (didn't come out as good this time around..) and boiled the eggs but then the thought of waiting an hour for the mayo to chill, and then chopping up the eggs and doing all the other prep suddenly seemed like an insurmountable obstacle! Luckily my mom had prepared some Jordanian style chicken called 'msakhen' which is DELICIOUS chicken spiced with sumac and roasted in onions, olive oil and pine nuts. So, so good and best of all, compliant! 

 

So I had that for dinner alongside some fresh carrot juice. I know I should be eating veg rather than drinking them, but I just don't even have the energy to chew a bunch of vegetables!

 

My stomach feels a bit bloated today, so that might also be why I'm not feeling on top form today. Oh well, at least day 5 is now done! 

[michele3]

Congratulations!  I winding down my 5th day.

The olfactory hallucination sounds interesting.  I've not experienced it.  I'm having crazy dreams - not about food - just very vivid and odd.  (I usually do not remember my dreams.)

Quick question - am I suppose to comment on your log or just do that on the other forum?

Michele

[fatima.mm]

Congratulations!  I winding down my 5th day.

The olfactory hallucination sounds interesting.  I've not experienced it.  I'm having crazy dreams - not about food - just very vivid and odd.  (I usually do not remember my dreams.)

Quick question - am I suppose to comment on your log or just do that on the other forum?

Michele

 

Hi Michele - it is so weird! I keep on getting very strong whiffs of food when there is definitely no food in sight! Today was better though, but the other day it was out of control haha. 

 

I'm the opposite of you when it comes to dreams - I normally have very memorable dreams, but in the past week I haven't remembered a single one! I hope that means I'm sleeping more deeply!

 

I don't think there is a rule for where you should leave comments, and I'm happy for you to leave comments here  

 

I hope day 5 went well for you! I'm halfway through day 6!

[fatima.mm]

Day 6 

 

b. Diner's breakfast (recipe from the Whole 30 book) 

l. sweet potato breakfast casserole and some cauliflower mash

d. egg salad (recipe from ourpaleolife.com) and some roasted potato chunks

 

I was pretty sleepy most of the day. I contemplated making it a lazy weekend day in bed watching shows, but decided to go for a leisurely swim instead. Nothing too taxing, but just something to stop me from getting into a lazy rut. Then I ended up doing some meal prep (mayonnaise, tomato sauce, couple of batches of egg salad), and some grocery shopping. 

 

I was so full all day, I couldn't contemplate having dinner, add to that the fact that I just wanted to sleeeeep. But I had as much as I could of my egg salad (only about half a meal's worth). I can't believe I'm on a program where I have to force myself to eat. Also, I can't believe I'm making my own mayo, and will never go back to eating store bought mayo every again. 

[fatima.mm]

Day 7 

 

b. three scrambled eggs, roasted sweet potatoes and bell peppers

l. egg salad with rocca, walnut, olive and balsamic

d. butternut squash soup and cucumbers - need a protein in here! 

 

I know I need to have a protein to go with my last meal of today, but I feel so stuffed I think I'm going to explode if I eat anything else. I was going to have a boiled egg, but I think if I had one I would just throw up :/ I don't want to wake up ravenous tomorrow and ruin my Whole30, I just don't know what else to do! I think it'll be ok if I left it. I never seem to have enough room for dinner on weekends. 

 

Energy levels back to normal  

 

Spent most of the day prepping for the week. Made an italian chicken casserole, a recipe I got from Meatified, except I swapped brussel sprouts for asparagus (why would anyone willingly eat a brussel sprout  ) which I'm going to have for breakfast through the working week, made some ratatouille, butternut squash, and tomorrow's lunch of a tuna salad with rocca, carrots, cherry tomato and olives. However I'm most excited for the meal which I'm not going to prepare, which is my mom's special persian saffron chicken - I'm so happy it just happens to be a compliant dish!

 

A WEEK DONE!!!!       

[fatima.mm]

Day 8 

 

b. Italian chicken casserole (with broccoli and asparagus) - recipe from Hold the Grain via Meatified

l. Tuna salad with homemade mayo, rocca, olives, carrots, cucumbers and some cherry tomatoes 

d. Mom's persian zereshk (barberry) chicken

 

Today was awesome! I felt like I had so much energy to burn. Too bad my schedule for today didn't allow me to take in a session at the gym (had back to back plans after work and about to rush into the next one) I feel like it would have been a good session. 

 

My sinuses are clearing up which feels great and probably contributing a lot to my energy and good mood today! I wasn't even annoyed when I had a really frustrating attempt to meet up with friends for lunch where we kept misunderstanding each other, and they ended up having to leave halfway through the lunch and me alone at the table determined to finish my carefully packed meal. No way was I abandoning the awesomeness of my tuna salad! 

 

I also feel like my hair is shinier. Is that even possible in 8 days? It's got a very distinct lustrous quality that it only usually gets when I've just had it trimmed and that only lasts for a day or so. If this is a result of my new eating habits, then between the good hair, clear sinuses, and great energy I am SOLD on this! I almost don't even care about the weight loss. Almost. It's still important to me to get down to a healthy weight (currently in the obese range and last time I checked before starting the W30 I was 211 lbs). 

 

Anyways, now it's just a goal I want to reach without anywhere near as much emotion attached to it. And that is worth everything!

[fatima.mm]

Day 9 

 

b. italian chicken casserole 

l. chicken in almond and apricot stew with salad

d. mediterranean style fish roasted with olives, tomatoes and greens

 

Today was pretty easygoing. Lunch and dinner were dishes prepared by my mom which I love. I was also glad that I didn't have to prepare those two meals - I can now totally see the benefit in partnering up on the W30 with someone at home! 

[fatima.mm]

Day 10

 

b. scrambled eggs and sauteed mushrooms

l. leftover chicken, almond and apricot stew, carrots, avocado 

d. ratatouille, two eggs, chicken sausage

snack: handful of black olives, a mango, 'golden milk' 

 

I can't believe I'm already a third of the way through! I had my first real temptation tonight. I think I spent too much time socialising around people eating and drinking all kinds of stuff, and whilst I didn't feel any desire to join my friends, by the time I got home and saw a big platter of these amazing japanese butter biscuits someone dropped over as a gift, the craving just hit me in an instant. But it wasn't a very strong craving. I knew I was feeling hungry, so I had the most random snack ever of compliant ready to eat things in my kitchen. Luckily my uncle had recently dropped off a big bunch of mangoes from his farm - so delicious! They're not in season for very long over here so we take advantage when we've got them! I also recently read about a thing called 'golden milk', which is basically coconut milk warmed up with turmeric, cinnamon and a pinch of black pepper. It's meant to improve digestion and have a whole host of other health benefits if taken regularly (so I've read). It's actually not as disgusting as you might initially think, even though I didn't add the spoon of maple syrup like they suggested. 

 

I feel like I can see W30 becoming habitual. I'm not impatient for this month to end so I can get back to reintroducing my old favourites. At first I wanted to do a fast track reintroduction, but now I'm considering a slow roll. 

[fatima.mm]

Day 11

 

b. scrambled eggs, steamed asparagus

l. left over ratatouille with two chicken sausages

d. scrambled eggs with mushrooms

 

Day 12 

b. scrambled eggs, sauteed spinach

l. poached eggs, sauteed mushroom, asparagus, spinach and some pieces of bacon

d. oven baked chicken with tomato and other greens, super fresh rocket salad

 

Today was one of the biggest tests of endurance I've had so far on the W30, and it was all my own making. I picked up dinner from a Turkish place I absolutely love, conveniently forgetting that the thing they're pretty much famous for is their enormous servings of fresh bread. When they handed me the food to take home, I could have just said I didn't want the bread, but instead I just took it. As soon as I got a whiff of it I knew I did the wrong thing, but still I didn't give it back. I walked back to my car, starving, smelling the bread and thinking what if I just have a tiny bit, what harm could it really do? 

 

This is something I've told myself time and time again. When faced with something a piece of bread right out of the oven, I can't resist. It's always, "what's one bite? Why should I agonise over this? Life is to be enjoyed, etc." I literally had to keep reminding myself, you made a promise, and for the first time ever that worked. I somehow managed to drive the whole way home without touching it. When I got home, I left it on the kitchen counter. My mom's sisters and their kids were over so it wasn't long before it got picked at until it was gone. 

 

My greatest non-scale victory so far!

[michele3]

Way to go, Fatima!

[fatima.mm]

Day 13

 

b. scrambled eggs, sauteed and roasted sweet potatoes and mushrooms 

l. scrambled eggs, rocket salad with tomatoes

 

I don't think I'll be able to have a third meal today. I woke up at the ridiculous hour of 5 pm - I think I've just been catching up on all the sleep I've been missing out on all week. I woke up feeling more well rested than I have in a while, if a little groggy. Today I was able to fit into a couple of shirts in my wardrobe that I haven't been able to fit into since I bought them. I had bought the largest sizes available thinking they must be the right fit, only to find out that I couldn't get the buttons together. Another NSV I'm extremely excited about! I think I'm going to start introducing two gym sessions a week from now on. I feel quite stable with this program now, and it's not as much of an effort to commit to than it was when I first started. 

[fatima.mm]

Day 14 

 

b. fried eggs, sauteed and roasted sweet potatoes and mushrooms 

l. grilled chicken and rocket salad

d. seared scallops with a mango carrot salad, meatballs in tomato sauce 

 

Today was an easygoing day. Did my shopping and meal planning for next week and hung out with some friends. I felt a bit of a headache and slight nausea towards the evening, but it didn't last long. I think I'm experiencing a bit of food boredom, so I'm trying a bunch of new dishes during the next week. 

[fatima.mm]

Day 15

 

b. scrambled eggs, steamed baby asparagus

l. roast chicken, kale and carrot salad

d. roast chicken with home mayo and hot sauce, a cup of golden milk, a couple of dates

 

Our kitchen is now overflowing with dates of all shapes, sizes and colours! Had to grab a few after dinner. There's only one particular type of date that I like, and we happened to have some (it's kind of golden coloured and a bit squishy)... I should stay away from them for the next two weeks, they are too delicious!

 

Did a bunch of meal prep today which was a relief, making me feel like I got the next week covered. I made a bunch of stuff from the W30 book I haven't tried yet, and some other stuff from online. Next week it's all about beef! I need to give the blessed scrambled eggs a break, otherwise I'm going to get sick of them! I can't believe I haven't already. 

 

Halfway there! 

[fatima.mm]

Day 16 

 

b. sausage and sweet potato breakfast muffins

l. chicken stir fry - recipe from the whole 30 book

d. lamb kebabs from a syrian restaurant with baba ghanoush 

 

Day 17 

 

b. sausage and sweet potato breakfast muffins 

l. left-over chicken stir fry 

d. garlic shrimp with zoodles and romesco sauce - recipe from the whole 30 book 

 

I love this week's breakfast! I'm definitely going to be making another batch of these for next week. I got the recipe from a blog called Plaid and Paleo for a sausage and sweet potato casserole and made them into muffins instead - they're so much easier to separate and store. Feeling some headaches and nausea lately but that's definitely unrelated to what I've been eating. I feel like my mood is better every day, despite the headaches.