Starting Whole 30 on September 5th

[No more muffins]

Day 8.  Missing my wine, but holding strong.  Very few side effects.  I was hoping to feel more energy, but have not noticed yet.    I love the cauliflower mashed potatoes. I am going to make that with my left over pork tomorrow.  So good.  Someone suggested the lemon chicken in the crock pot.  Making that now.  Oh, and hubby took out the batteries in the scale for me.  

How are the other day 8 'ers?

[Riya]

Managed a stir fry with ground pork, broccoli slaw, carrots, onions, garlic, 5 spice, coconut amino's, sesame seed oil and rice vinegar.  It came out surprisingly good.  Little Bit is all over it and upset that there are no leftovers.  Because I needed to pull enough for dad's lunch tomorrow.  hehe

[Riya]

The blondeness is apparently in full force.  Put on some eggs to boil.  Went downstairs to talk to hubby for a minute.  We ended up in a huge discussion that involved research and everything.  Little Bit comes down and asks why I'm cooking eggs with no water.  Oops!!!!!!!  I guess we're having scrambled eggs for breakfast again.

[Seafarer]

I arrived home - late - following a dratted meeting and what do I find in my Inbox?

"You have been selected... "  (Yes, yes.... "selected" is good)

"because you are a trusted... "  (uh-huh, yes, I'm trusted. Tha's good...)

"to test a new product by... "  (Okay. I'm select, trusted, can test.... what? what?)

"a brand new electronic bathroom scale!"  (Sounds of deflating balloon heard around the world...)

 

Best Day 8 laugh ever! I wrote them back.... "I broke up with my bathroom scale & have no plans for starting a relationship with another one." Kinda wish I could watch them reading that reply. I picture heads cocked to one side & elbows nudging neighbouring rib cages, while they all agree "not sure what she means, but yup, she's crazy".  

That's probably the end of my short-lived career as a product-tester, huh?

[JTCarlson]

13 hours ago, Catlover said:

Does anyone have a zoodle maker? I keep seeing recipes for spiralized vegetables and I want to try it! If you have one, I'd love to know the brand you bought. If you bought one that doesn't work, that would be helpful too!

Hi Catlover! I have a zoodle maker called a spiralizer. I LOVE IT. It is large and awkward, but it you have room to store it I would definitely go for it. I also have a smaller, hand held one, called a veggetti (seriously, the most unfortunate name ever), but I like the spiralizer better, especially for softer veggies like zucchini.

[JTCarlson]

12 hours ago, Riya said:

I wanna be obnoxiously virtuous.  At least in my own mind :).  Seriously though, I could put that down on my goal sheet.  It's missing snark, and I need that in my life.  LOL

Had a rough weekend.  I've not been eating template and it's really affecting me.  Everything I've had is compliant, just not enough and not consistent.  It's kind of that vicious spiral that I've been going through for awhile.  Tired, worn out, don't eat right, makes me more tired, worn out.  Little Bit had a volleyball tournament on Saturday, and then we went to the farm for our meat/eggs.  I was so wiped after that, it was a miracle dinner made it to the table.  Yesterday after mowing, I hit a wall.  Didn't make it to the store until after 5:00 PM.  Dinner was template, but by then I had nothing left.  Had to scramble to get breakfast on this morning and lunches packed.  Brought the ingredients today to make my lunch (shrimp salad, safer to make it at work than home).  If I can just pull it together for a few days, I know I'll feel better and be able to plan/get ahead of the game.

Oh Riya, I hear you! I am right there too. Everything I have been eating is compliant, but not template, not regular, and not enough. Which makes me tired, which makes it even hard to get my act together. Cue downward spiral.

Let's take a few deep breaths, be kind to our overworked selves, and carry on as best we can! We can do this!

[JTCarlson]

So, the weekend was tough. Department party at my house, lots of alcohol and non-compliant goodies, and because I am 100% on top of my game I had prepped ZERO food for myself. Good times. I ate a lot of chicken and celery sticks, drank a lot of La Croix, and tried not to hate my co-workers too much. Next day, gathering at a friend's house who is going through a divorce, again lots of wine and off-limits treats. Drank a lot of iced tea, at a lot of celery sticks. BUT, having got through both days without chucking in the towel I feel very proud and know I am on the right path.

Hope you are all feeling good and ready for another great week!

[Bellad]

32 minutes ago, JTCarlson said:

Hi Catlover! I have a zoodle maker called a spiralizer. I LOVE IT. It is large and awkward, but it you have room to store it I would definitely go for it. I also have a smaller, hand held one, called a veggetti (seriously, the most unfortunate name ever), but I like the spiralizer better, especially for softer veggies like zucchini.

I second the spiralizer.  I have the one with 3 blades.  There's a newer one with 4 blades, but the one with 3 blades gets better reviews.  And it's cheaper.  I only use mine for zucchini noodles and I think it's worth having just for that.

[Bellad]

Been working on having more food available.  And eating more food more consistently.  But this evening, even though I had a late lunch that filled me, I found my blood sugar plummeting around 7:00 while I was out running errands.  Came home, left the car parked out front, even though it's street cleaning night and cannot be left there without getting a ticket.  Ate a deviled egg and due to the sausage discussion here, I'd bought a pack of compliant chicken sausages at Whole Foods.  So I sliced one up and chopped up half a potato I baked earlier today and threw it all in a skillet with some melted coconut oil and seasoned lightly, then ate it with a big serving of kale salad from the refrigerator.  It was kind of miraculous it came together so quickly.  At Whole Foods I asked for a Boston butt roast, tentatively, as it's only been a little more than a year since I quit being a vegetarian, and cooking meat still is complex for me, and the guy said, "Pork shoulder," and that's what they gave me.  Now I see from this forum, that's the wrong roast.  It did look fatty.  Guess I'll cut off as much of the fat as I can, and follow through on my feeling I should be using a better butcher than Whole Foods.

I had a positive experience today re: this change in diet, one that was totally unexpected.  My knees hurt when I go down stairs, nothing that would keep me from doing it, but noticeable.  So when I was walking down the stairs at Whole Foods to go to the parking garage, I realized I was practically skipping down them.  No pain.  Amazing, right?

Guess I should go try to move the car.  Best to all of you.

[MalinHillevi]

Can someone please explain sausage and sausages to me? English is not my first language and I'm getting confused. A hot dog is a sausage, right? But ground meat patties are also sausage and (sometimes burger)? And ground meat is sometimes called sausage too? Is this regional (US/UK/other English speaking countries)?

On topic: morning of day 9 here, my trousers feel a bit loose, yay. The skin on my face looks better (no breakouts) and I have managed to go to bed a little earlier most nights so I'm not as tired in the mornings. I need at least 8 hours of sleep or I'm dead. I have also managed to eat breakfast lately, will cook a big frittata tonight for quick breakfasts other than scrambled eggs. Meal prep on weekends hasn't worked so far, too much going on, I think the slowcooker has saved me, the cooked meat + eggs + veg + avocado make great meals.

[jmcbn]

35 minutes ago, MalinHillevi said:

Can someone please explain sausage and sausages to me? English is not my first language and I'm getting confused. A hot dog is a sausage, right? But ground meat patties are also sausage and (sometimes burger)? And ground meat is sometimes called sausage too? Is this regional (US/UK/other English speaking countries)?

Sausage and sausages are the same - sausages being the plural. Technically a sausage is any kind of ground meat encased in a skin. A hot dog is a more processed version of a sausage. Sausage meat is the meat used in the casing, and the flavour can be enhanced/changed through the use of herbs/spices. Because many people struggle to find compliant sausages that aren't hot dogs they choose to make their own 'sausages' using sausage meat (without the casing) and their choice of herbs/spices - these are really just the same as meat patties/burgers.

I hope you managed to follow that!

[maybeimahippy]

On 9/4/2016 at 4:11 PM, elize said:

But nervous about losing weight as I really cannot afford to lose weight.

Elize, this isn't my situation, but my 18 year-old son is in a similar situation. When we did the W30 back in March, he was at 218 and in terrible shape. (He's about 6' tall.) Here 6 months later, he's down to 170 and looks great, and we're doing it all again. He doesn't need to lose any more weight - sounds like you don\t need to at all. There are some fantastic, calorie dense foods to eat on the W30. But from what I have read, you mainly need to make sure you eat enough. You know your body, and you're doing this to feel GOOD! You'll do great! Good luck with it!

[MalinHillevi]

3 hours ago, jmcbn said:

Sausage and sausages are the same - sausages being the plural. Technically a sausage is any kind of ground meat encased in a skin. A hot dog is a more processed version of a sausage. Sausage meat is the meat used in the casing, and the flavour can be enhanced/changed through the use of herbs/spices. Because many people struggle to find compliant sausages that aren't hot dogs they choose to make their own 'sausages' using sausage meat (without the casing) and their choice of herbs/spices - these are really just the same as meat patties/burgers.

I hope you managed to follow that!

Thanks, jmcbn, that makes perfect sense! I think it was the recipes for sausage that showed a picture of a meat patty that confused me.

[No more muffins]

8 hours ago, JTCarlson said:

So, the weekend was tough. Department party at my house, lots of alcohol and non-compliant goodies, and because I am 100% on top of my game I had prepped ZERO food for myself. Good times. I ate a lot of chicken and celery sticks, drank a lot of La Croix, and tried not to hate my co-workers too much. Next day, gathering at a friend's house who is going through a divorce, again lots of wine and off-limits treats. Drank a lot of iced tea, at a lot of celery sticks. BUT, having got through both days without chucking in the towel I feel very proud and know I am on the right path.

Hope you are all feeling good and ready for another great week!

I have a company picnic in a few weeks, not looking forward to it.  Sounds like while it was painful you did great.

[AnnieW]

I haven't been checking in, but things are going well so far.  I've found it much easier the second time around,even though it's been a couple of years since my first.  I think I'm more prepared mentally this time (I was learning as I went along the first time).  Other than being tired and sleepy the first few days, I've felt really good and I'm waking up before my alarm goes off. I've been trying new recipes to keep from getting bored, though I have to say I'm getting a little sick of eggs for breakfast!

I haven't had any social obstacles to overcome yet.  I need to start researching some restaurant menus soon, I don't want to become a hermit!

[Catlover]

Day 9!  Hello! Yesterday was very challenging. Last night was the first night on this round that I really had cravings and had to fight it! I kept drinking water and brushed my teeth. Finally, I flipped through and found an old sitcom on Netflix. I fell asleep very early and slept well. Today is a new day! I'm proud of myself for not snacking! I wasn't hungry and I knew that. Plan for the day: m1: chicken, veggies w/ ghee,  m2: leftover kale & butternut stew & olives, m3: scrambled eggs with veggies & avocado

Good luck everybody!

 

[Mistyfire]

10 hours ago, AnnieW said:

I haven't been checking in, but things are going well so far.  I've found it much easier the second time around,even though it's been a couple of years since my first.  I think I'm more prepared mentally this time (I was learning as I went along the first time).  Other than being tired and sleepy the first few days, I've felt really good and I'm waking up before my alarm goes off. I've been trying new recipes to keep from getting bored, though I have to say I'm getting a little sick of eggs for breakfast!

I haven't had any social obstacles to overcome yet.  I need to start researching some restaurant menus soon, I don't want to become a hermit!

I'm having much the same experience of mental preparation since this isn't my first.  But how well I remember that feeling of almost panicking before I started. Then the relief as each day of success passed. I felt very engaged in the countdown - 30 days seemed so out of reach.  I felt like a tourist in the grocery store as I studied everything!  All I thought about was food- what to have, how to cook it, how much to have - and then start over again the next day. Never mind that I seemed to cook, clean up and then do it again and again. I think once I figured out how to simplify, the time management issue got better. And once I wrapped my mind around that this is only 30 days as opposed to that sense of some kind of marathon where I had to drag myself across the finish line - well, perspective was everything. 

[Riya]

Quiet day today.  Made it through day 9 without too much trouble, beyond my lack of planning.  I have noticed the pants I wore today actually fit a little more comfortably.  They've been getting a wee (read: way) bit tight.  Right now I'm not feeling like I'm being squeezed to death.  Yay!  Don't really think it's weight loss, probably more reduction in bloating.  Which is a very good thing

[Bellad]

Felt really crappy this morning.  Discouraging.  Queasy and tired.  Slept later than what was reasonable on a teaching day.  Got up a lot last night to pee, way more than usual and was very thirsty, which happens when I'm glutened, but there's no way that happened.  I wonder if the sausage disagreed with me.  Even the Aidell's sausage I stopped eating quite a while back; their extreme saltiness felt not good for me.  I don't know why all these packaged sausages are so salty.  There's a hipster German restaurant I sometimes go to, and their homemade chicken sausages aren't salty at all.  No idea if they're compliant; if I found myself eating there this month I'd ask.  I threw the other 3 sausages away and tried to get myself to eat as much as I could before I left for work, which wasn't much.  All I wanted was some oatmeal and tea and to crawl back in bed.  Made some tea with a couple pinches of dried ginger in it, which helped.  Still feeling exhausted, and I should be doing some food prep work for the next couple of days, but the thought of it makes me weepy.

On a happier note, the Kalua Pork turned out well.  I did some googling and found that in America, a pork butt *is* pork shoulder.  ?????  There was a big lump of fat on one side of it, I cut off, and everything ended up moist and not too greasy.  Other than chicken bone broth (why I bought the slow cooker) this has been the most successful thing I've made in it.  My slow cooker and I are not having a love affair.  I made 3 other vats of food in it this summer that I threw out most of.  I froze half the pork, and when I got home this evening I made a quick hash of onion, left over baked sweet potato coins, and two fistfulls of pork.  Made enough for 2 meals, so the basis of one meal is ready for tomorrow.  Want to eat some veggies too, but I decided to do my dinner in stages.

I have this ongoing intestinal thing that can make me sick.  I guess I was hoping for a miracle cure in 10 days, no matter how unreasonable that is.

[Riya]

6 hours ago, Bellad said:

Felt really crappy this morning.  Discouraging.  Queasy and tired.  Slept later than what was reasonable on a teaching day.  Got up a lot last night to pee, way more than usual and was very thirsty, which happens when I'm glutened, but there's no way that happened.  I wonder if the sausage disagreed with me.  Even the Aidell's sausage I stopped eating quite a while back; their extreme saltiness felt not good for me.  I don't know why all these packaged sausages are so salty.  There's a hipster German restaurant I sometimes go to, and their homemade chicken sausages aren't salty at all.  No idea if they're compliant; if I found myself eating there this month I'd ask.  I threw the other 3 sausages away and tried to get myself to eat as much as I could before I left for work, which wasn't much.  All I wanted was some oatmeal and tea and to crawl back in bed.  Made some tea with a couple pinches of dried ginger in it, which helped.  Still feeling exhausted, and I should be doing some food prep work for the next couple of days, but the thought of it makes me weepy.

On a happier note, the Kalua Pork turned out well.  I did some googling and found that in America, a pork butt *is* pork shoulder.  ?????  There was a big lump of fat on one side of it, I cut off, and everything ended up moist and not too greasy.  Other than chicken bone broth (why I bought the slow cooker) this has been the most successful thing I've made in it.  My slow cooker and I are not having a love affair.  I made 3 other vats of food in it this summer that I threw out most of.  I froze half the pork, and when I got home this evening I made a quick hash of onion, left over baked sweet potato coins, and two fistfulls of pork.  Made enough for 2 meals, so the basis of one meal is ready for tomorrow.  Want to eat some veggies too, but I decided to do my dinner in stages.

I have this ongoing intestinal thing that can make me sick.  I guess I was hoping for a miracle cure in 10 days, no matter how unreasonable that is.

It's hard to be patient when you don't feel good and are working hard to fix it.  But I guess the thing to keep in mind is that eating the other way wasn't working either.  This is what I keep telling myself.  And, I know from my last Whole 30 that it does take time.  Hang in there, you're doing great!

Yep, pork shoulder = pork butt.  You know someone had to be drunk when they named it :).  And I wish I could help you on the not so salty sausages.  I found some compliant chicken brats at Whole Paycheck the other day, and they went over well here.  But I honestly couldn't tell you if they were very salty.  I don't taste salt well, and would be happy if I just carried a salt lick, hehe.  So I'm useless in that department.

I'm dragging this morning too.  Went to bed too late again last night, and my basset decided that 4 AM was a great time to start barking to be let out. 

[No more muffins]

Day 10!!!!   1/3 of the way.  Getting closer to October 4th.  Feeling better today.  Had leftover Kahlua Pork and cauliflower mashed potatoes.  It was good, just was not into food yesterday.  Today is a new Day!  Happy Hump Day Peeps!

[Catlover]

Hello everyone!

Here we are on Day 10! I'm struggling! I thought I was going to skate through this round because the first week was so easy! The last two nights I have had horrible cravings for sweets! Help! Who has some strategies for avoiding nighttime cravings?????

Today's plan: m1: eggs, cucumber, mayo  m2: kale & butternut stew with an avocado, m3: stirfry with shrimp, tons of veggies, coconut aminos, & fried cauli-rice in coconut oil.

 

[nicolemalena]

Day 8-9 were horrible for me, but it has passed. I woke up early and went to the gym with my new found energy! Good luck! Your dinner sounds amazing btw.

[FranE]

Have been a bit under the weather for a day or so. Felt really dragged out on my run on Monday. Bit of a sore throat when i went to bed. Was woken up at 3am-along with the rest of my street-by a car alarm.  Did not feel great yesterday. Don't think it is W30 related, a cold and sleep deprivation! Left town with my dh and drove to Niagara on the Lake, a charming little town near Niagara Falls with a summer theatre festival. We saw our first play last night. Successful W30 day! We packed a cooler with salad greens, leftover food from fridge, dressing, grilled pieces of chicken. We ate our delicious and filling meal in the balcony of our hotel. My dh had a glass of wine and I drank soda water. We always bring our own kettle and teabags/coffee when travelling, so now I'm sipping tea with almond milk and we're figuring out where to go for breakfast. Ive also been checking out the  restaurants and trying to decide what I can have. I have a few boiled eggs, nuts and beef jerky if I'm desperate and I did spot a nice looking food store in town. I'd really like to go out to dinner though.  We'll see!

[Riya]

1 hour ago, Catlover said:

Hello everyone!

Here we are on Day 10! I'm struggling! I thought I was going to skate through this round because the first week was so easy! The last two nights I have had horrible cravings for sweets! Help! Who has some strategies for avoiding nighttime cravings?????

Today's plan: m1: eggs, cucumber, mayo  m2: kale & butternut stew with an avocado, m3: stirfry with shrimp, tons of veggies, coconut aminos, & fried cauli-rice in coconut oil.

 

Push through it.  Make sure you're eating enough protein and fat. 

Walked into work.  Breakfast pizza in the break-room.  Many bad words wanted to escape my mouth.