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JimS

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I'm 37, 6' 2", 198 as of this morning, pretty lean but could be leaner. I was completely metabolically broken for most of my adult life, and let myself get up to around 295 lbs before working to change that about 7 years ago. I followed the typical eat less, move more RX and did well, except for recurring hunger cravings, indigestion, bloating, energy swings, sugar addiction, etc. :D I got down to around 200 lbs but it was unsustainable due to my SAD diet and excessive maintenance workout load. I've hovered between 215 and 240 the past few years until I found the paleo community.

I've been eating paleo with some dairy since last September / October and love it. So many things have changed for the better, I don't really want to bore you all with the list.

I'm fairly active, trying to do something every day. I focus mostly on bodyweight exercises with some squats, cleans and deadlifts thrown in. I dabble with some running, but I've been losing interest in runs longer than 4-5 miles.

I feel great overall, but need a reset. I've lost my edge with my relationship with food. Too often, I've been indulging in "paleo snacks" that throw me off... nuts, nut butters, dark chocolate, bananas, dried fruit, etc. I also probably drink too much coffee, so it wouldn't hurt trimming that back as well. I'd say I average three large cups of coffee each morning, somewhere around 30 oz total. At the same time I've been sloppy with my food, my activity level has dropped a bit, maybe down 30% or so the past couple months... so I've gained a few pounds. It snuck up on me because everything was going so well it felt effortless!!!

Time to reset!!! My first Whole30 starts today! I'm hoping this log will help keep me on track. I've been playing with a 16/8 IF protocol a la LeanGains... not sure if I should continue that during my W30 or not. Until I decide, I'm continuing it. Anyone have any thoughts? IF or not during W30?

Food so far today:

  • Morning: two cups of coffee, some ice water
  • Noon: First meal of the day:
    • three hard boiled eggs
    • two leftover baked chicken drumsticks
    • three slices leftover pork roast
    • 12 oz or so leftover cauliflower / turnip mash
    • big salad (kale, romaine, cucumber, carrots, tomatos) w/o dressing

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Day 1: DInner

Pork roast

butternut squash

salad w/ balsamic vinagrette

I had a pretty good day for day one. I dealt with some random craving-related hunger pangs by staying hydrated.

Solid day at the gym today as well... felt good overall.

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I love the name of your post! Right on!

I have a couple questions/observations/recommendations…

Why did you not eat until noon? Just curious…perhaps eating w/in an hour or so of waking would help with some of the hunger pains. Also, drinking coffee and not eating is a stressor. I would recommend eating something along with your coffee.

I didn't see any fat in your lunch. Remember, you will want to replace the calories you are not eating (i.e. from grains) with calories from fat. i.e. olives, avocados, olive oil, etc. or I bet coconut oil on your cauliflower/turnip mash would be really good! This will help with cravings as well.

All in all, this looks like a solid day 1…just eat some fat and eat earlier. Nice job!

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Hi Carie,

Thanks for the reply! You're right... not much fat in my lunch. That wasn't intentional... I was just raiding the fridge on the way out the door to work. :) The reason I didn't eat until noon is I've been doing a 16/8 LeanGains style IF protocol. I was reluctant to dump IF when starting the Whole30, but I may... we'll see. I read the Whole9 blog post covering IF yesterday. There are definitely lots of things to dial in with nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress before considering IF.

I agree on the coffee without calories bit. Something's got to give there... either no coffee or some food to buffer the coffee.

Day 2:

Morning - two cups of joe, some water

Not much in the way of hunger pangs / cravings this morning.

Noon

  • 1 tin of sardines in olive oil
  • one chicken breast
  • two chicken drumsticks
  • 1/2 butternut squash
  • 1/2 avocado
  • a few stalks of celery

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Hi Jim -

I am not familiar with IF...I will have to read the blog. I hope you keep up with your Whole30...looks like you are eating all the right stuff. Make sure you are eating enough. Drinking enough water (I don't see your water intake in your log). What kind of balsamic vinaigrette do you use? I have a really good recipe if you are interested. :)

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I haven't been logging my water... but I drink a bunch. I sit at a desk all day, so I use hydration as my cue to get up and walk around often! :) The balsamic vinaigrette is just the Costco special... Kirkland Signature balsamic vinegar and Kirkland EVOO. I'm always up for trying new recipes... what's yours?

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ha! I too sit at a desk all day. Good to hear about the water. Here is the recipe...let me know what you think.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

3/4 cup EVOO

Salt

Pepper

Couple seconds on the Magic Bullet. This seems to be a bit different each time I make it as I am not all that careful with measuring. This is soooooooooooooooooooooo good. I actually crave salads because of this salad dressing.

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Hi Jim, I do the 16/8 IF as well, pretty much because I don't feel hungry in the morning and really don't like working out with food in my stomach. I worried when I did my first Whole30 and just didn't seem hungry until noon, but it seemed a bit counter-productive to make myself eat when I really didn't want to. I now eat a big meal around 11am and then again around 6pm and if I'm hungry between I will eat what I fancy - usually fruit or some meat. It's probably not for everyone but it works for me!

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Day 2

10 PM - hungry after a way-too-long day at work so I finished the day with ~4 oz leftover pork roast and 1 cup of leftover butternut squash... wsahed down with some water.

Day 3

Morning - two cups of joe and some water... will try no coffee tomorrow

11:45

  • kale & romaine salad w/ two hard boiled eggs, 1/2 avocado and balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 can of wild Alaskan salmon
  • water

3:30

  • kale & romaine salad w/ two hard boiled eggs, 1/2 avocado and balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 can of Kirkland chicken breast
  • water

6:30

  • salad with balsamic vinaigrette
  • meatloaf & leftover ground beef
  • cauliflower & turnip mash
  • water

10:00

  • carrots and red pepper
  • water

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Day 4, first day no coffee!!

It's noon, and I'm surprised at how little I missed the coffee this morning. I figured I'd be more tired, grumpy, whatever... but nothing bad. Odd... :)

7:00 AM - water

12:00

  • leftover meatloaf
  • carrots and red pepper
  • salad w/o dressing
  • 1/2 avocado
  • water

2:30

  • salad with guacamole
  • handful of macs and almonds
  • hard boiled egg
  • water

6:30

  • roast beef and carrots
  • water

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Day 5

Early AM - water

10:00 AM - 1 large cup of coffee

3:30 PM - beef stir-fry, water

5:15 PM - roast beef and Greek olive roll ups, water

I couldn't break my fast today until 3:30 PM... busy day at work. It wasn't big deal, though I didn't do much training today. I did notice that I was hungry a couple hours after my first meal, even though it was a heaping bowl of veggies and beef. :) Dinner and a workout later this evening...

7:00 PM - pork stir fry, a handful of almonds and water

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Day 6

9 AM - coffee and water

Had a busy morning shuttling kids to soccer game and friends house... didn't break fast until 3:00 PM. Being busy made it really a non-factor... pretty cool! Did some light static stretching and played around with my advanced frog stand progression and some swinging dips while at the park with the kids.

3:00 PM - Made a huge kitchen sink beef and veggie skillet that was big enough for all of my meals today! Garlic, yellow onion, shallots, brussel sprouts, red pepper, carrots, tons of kale, spinnach and cabbage, leftover beef roast and meatloaf all sauteed in coconut oil. I had a big plate and a bunch of water... nom nom nom!

5:30 PM - another plate of beef and veggies with water

7:30 PM - the rest of my beef and veggies, a can of wild Alaskan salmon and some water.

On to day 7... happy with where I'm at so far, but tomorrow is a new challenge. :D

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Day 7 was a good one... hung out with friends and family, got in some calisthenics, continued building a big retaining wall, had a couple of big meals and slayed the takeout Chinese dragon. My wife came home with some tasty smelling non-compliant takeout for dinner... I was mildly tempted but left it alone.

9:00 AM - coffee

Noon - leftover scramble skillet (meatloaf, turnip mash, six eggs, kale, spinach, romaine), water

7:00 PM - two hamburger patties, each topped with two scrambled aggs, big romaine salad, water

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Noon - scrambled eggs, sauteed veggies and sausage, water

3:00 PM - can of wild salmon, water, three cups of blueberries and blackberries with coconut cream and coconut flakes

6:45 PM - cod blackened in ghee and topped with roasted almonds, salad, water

Used the 'Would I still be hungry if all I had was steamed veggies and chicken breast' to relearn the difference between a craving and real hunger. It's interesting the games you can play with yourself and what you can learn in the process. It goes way beyond just plain food management... it's knowing what to expect from everything you eat... how it will make you feel and perform.

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So yesterday was my little girl's 8th birthday. There were lots of yummy things on the menu that were off limits... but I survived without falling into a pile of sweets. Though the leftover gluten free birthday cake my wife baked about fell out of the fridge into my lap when digging for leftovers this morning! :D

Yesterday, I had the following...

Noon - 1 lb seasoned ground beef in coconut oil and a handful of pistachios, water

3:00 PM - munched on veggies as I started making dinner, can of wild salmon, water

6:30 PM - beef roast w/ veggies (carrots, onions, fennel), roasted brocoli, turnip / cauliflower mash, sweet potato rounds, salad, water

7:30 PM - bowl of blue and blackberries topped with coconut cream

I ate too much at dinner... I made so many different foods for Monica's birthday dinner that I had to try them all. I didn't eat any off-limit sweets or treats, but I need to work on my willingness to try some of everything. Sometimes, a little bit of too many different things still adds up to too much food. Oh well, I'm not doing to dwell on it.

Day 10

I haven't battled any hunger pangs or cravings the past few days, so maybe my body is starting to settle into the new W30 routine. I'm liking it, a lot!!

1:15 PM - leftovers from dinner last night, water

6:00 PM - two hamburger patties, salad w/ balsamic, water

8:00 PM - leftover from Day 9 dinner, an orange, water

I feel I under-ate today, but that is based on the amount I ate rather than being relative to the signals my body was sending me. Maybe I just didn't need as much... :unsure: I wasn't too active, only doing a few sets of dips to failure on the way to work and some sets of pushups to combat the sedentary work-life in Dilbertville.

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Day 11

Morning - coffee

It seems that when I'm on my game nutritionally, it's relatively simple to ignore food choices that don't make sense relative to my goals. I made my wife breakfast, then whipped up some food for me to take to work, but didn't feel a tug to eat what I was cooking. The issue for me is that being on my game is a fine line to walk. It's easy to stray off path, then a few days or weeks later find myself stumbling along, seemingly blind. That's the frustrating part... I look forward to seeing how I do without the mental box I put myself in with the Whole30 rules.

12:00 PM - ground beef and veggie stir fry, water

2:00 PM - ground beef and veggie stir fry, water

6:15 PM - Whole30 taco salad (romaine, ground beef, guacamole, salsa), water

A pretty plain jane food day... I've been wanting beef a lot lately and ground beef is a cheap and easy way to get it in...

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Day 12

Morning - coffee

2:30 PM - a roast chicken and pile of mixed veggies, water

I broke my fast late again today... but I didn't feel stressed, overly hungry, irritiable or whatever. My first meal was a doozie... an entire roast chicken and a plate of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and sugar snap peas drizzled in olive oil and lemon juice.

6:30 PM - chicken thighs in marinara sauce, water

8:00 PM - a big bowl of blueberries with chilled coconut whipped cream and coconut flakes

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Day 13

Morning - coffee

12:00 PM - scrambled eggs and sauteed veggies, small handful of cashews and almonds, water

4:00 PM - leftovers from my first meal, small handful of pistachios, water

7:30 PM - chicken thighs in marinara sauce, salad, a sliced apple with almond butter, water

I had good energy today, but was pretty sore from my workout yesterday. Spent the afternoon in the back yard working with one of my boys on a retaining wall. I've been trying to minimize my nut intake during my Whole30 but I really wanted some today. I just have to keep mindful of how many I eat... nuts can be sneaky.

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Day 14 ... nearly half way there! :) We're doing my daughter's birthday party today... lots of sweets and junk food to avoid. It should be a good challenge. Bring it on!

10:30 AM - 1 cup of coffee

12:00 PM - leftover stir fry and chicken thigh, hard boiled egg, lots of water

4:00 PM - hamburger pattie with three scrambled eggs, salad, water

6:00 PM - tuna and salmon sashimi, cucumbers, kimchi, papaya slices, water

8:00 PM - 1 1/2 oranges, 1 frozen banana, 4 tbsp almond butter

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Day 15 - Whole30 Hump Day... :) Had a hard time finding anything appetizing to bring to work for breakfast/lunch... no leftovers in the house!!

Morning - coffee

12:00 PM - three cans of wild salmon, an avocado, a red pepper, three baby cucumbers, a bunch of celery and a couple cups of baby carrots... oh and water.

6:00 PM - W30 taco salad, water

8:00 PM - frozen banana and almond butter, handful of pistachios and cashews, water

It wasn't the greatest food day for me... but it was a rough day at work and I didn't go too far off path. I could have found a better evening snack than nuts and nut butter, but it's not the end of the world.

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Day 16 - I scrambled again to find food to take to work today. I ended up making a big a** salad with organic mixed greens, spinach, pepper, cucumber and carrots and homemade balsamic viniagrette, brought two cans of salmon and stopped by New Seasons for some of their yummy deli roast beef.

I did a 6.5 mile run with a buddy around noon today before my first meal. I felt great during the run, but I was ready to eat when I was done!

1:00 PM - can of salmon, 1/4 lb roast beef, salad, water

4:00 PM - can of salmon, 1/4 lb roast beef, salad, water

6:30 PM - slow cooked pork ribs, baked sweet potato rounds, water

9:30 PM - an orange, a bowl of blueberries with coconut cream, handful of pistachios and cashews

I ended up getting hungry before bed and had some fruit and nuts... at least I stayed away from the almond butter, lol! That stuff is one of my biggest weaknesses. It's so easy to overdo it...

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