October 17th Start

[Cynthia CF]

So close to the finish line! Something I have noticed (besides a much slimmer waistline) is that my skin is clearer! I've never had extremely bad skin or anything but some small red bumps on my cheeks and those are completely gone, plus it's also much brighter. I'm really curious to find out what was causing that redness. I've also noticed that when I get less sleep I'm able to still function quite well throughout the day whereas before Whole30 anything less than 8 hours of sleep would knock me on my butt.

Thanksgiving will definitely be interesting since my family has traditionally fried the turkey (takes only 1 hour) and I probably shouldn't eat that. I'll be bringing veggies so that will help and I love pie so that will be my WORTH IT food. Pigging out on Thanksgiving is such a tradition for me that I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all the extra time that I would normally be spending vegging out on the couch after the meal... maybe play some tennis or something. What's worse is that every year I have 3 Thanksgiving meals in the month of November: work Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, and family Thanksgiving. Our work thanksgiving is the day after Whole30 ends and reintroduction begins and so I'll be bringing veggies and yams, that way I can have some compliant food to eat! The turkey is coming from Albertsons so I'll have to do some research to make sure it's compliant. And Friendsgiving isn't till the week after Thanksgiving; I'll once again be bringing veggies to stay on track with Whole30 guidelines. One of the biggest reasons I started Whole30 in the middle of October was to be ready for Thanksgiving because, like I said, I have always pigged out and gained a few pounds since I have so many get togethers in one month. This year I hope to set a healthy standard for the rest of the Thanksgiving's in my life.

On another note... WINE will also be my first reintro item and I'm so extremely excited about it. Although I can't complain too much because not drinking these past three weeks has definitely been beneficial to my wallet. I think I'll lighten up my intake a lot more after this Whole30 ends.

[Divachef]

We are almost there!!!! WOOHOO!!!

 

I came to share a few NSV, ones that I really needed because I just wasn't truly feeling the MAGIC and TIGER BLOOD. I've been off work because of a back injury and I returned to my doctor on Friday, because I was scheduled to return to work on Monday. Well, I didn't get the best news: I'm off until February and I may actually be unable to continue to do my job.  I'm grieving a bit about that...

Anyway, I stopped by my job to give them my updated leave paperwork. I haven't been there in almost 2 months, and I work in one of the least diverse cities in California, where this election has really been a lightning rod among my co-workers. I was admittedly a bit apprehensive, but prolly the best part of my day was going there. Why? Because EVERYONE that I got a chance to see while I was there kept remarking how much SLIMMER I looked! I was ECSTATIC! Terrie had been telling me my stomach looked flatter...but she's my girlfriend! She's biased! It felt really good to have people who haven't seen me in 6 weeks to be able to actually SEE a difference. It led to a great conversation about Whole30 with a few folks, hopefully I convinced them to try it!

Another thing is I have TRULY learned how to eat out! I'm proactive about reading the menu online beforehand if I can, or asking questions once I get there. While I will say that my go-to is salad, because it is usually the safest, I've also been able to find a way to add protein to it that is compliant. We even went to my favorite breakfast spot by my job this morning and I was ecstatic to find that they offered plain coconut milk, so I was able to get a latte. Previously I would need to add sugar or something to make it sweet, but I noticed that it actually tasted great without any sweetner! I think my tastebuds have definitely changed! I inquired about the hash browns, which they make from freshly grated potatoes and pan fry. The cook said they use a canola-soy oil, but that he would do it in a separate pan with olive oil just for me! #winning. I added a couple over easy eggs and I was set!

I kept eyeballing the scale while at the doctor's office, I was going to get on it and have them tell Terrie (and not me) the number on it (I don't have a scale at home) but I decided it would be too much temptation to know! And I'm glad I didn't because my coworkers told me all I need to know!

While I'm excited about reintroduction for very specific things, I've already committed to eating 90% Whole30 from now on. Next up: Rehab30! 30 days of doing all the exercises that my physical therapist has recommended for me!

[jolong]

Tomorrow is our last day!!!!!!  Yesterday was a tough day, but I made it through.  Sunday is usually the only day of the week that I don't have to be out of bed before 7am so I took advantage of that yesterday.  Well once I got dressed and put my pork roast in the crockpot, it was time to go to church!  So I grabbed myself a boiled egg out of the fridge knowing we wouldn't be home til about noon.  Well after church we had to go to the grocery store and then get gas so we weren't home til 12:30!  At that point I would usually make us a nice brunch, but then realized I had a private pilates session scheduled at my gym, so I needed to hit the road.  Now we live 20 minutes out of town, so I had just enough time to switch out of my clothes and hit the road.  Knowing I also needed to run today and the sun is setting at 4:30 I knew I would need to get started on my run right after pilates...oh my....MY BODY NEEDS FUEL!  I finished off some chicken salad I had in the fridge before hitting the road again.  I may be wrong, but I'm thinking I had some tiger blood help me get through yesterday, and now that I've had a couple of good meals under my belt since that fiasco, I'm definitely feeling the tiger blood today. 

Divachef:  I'm so sorry for your news at the doctors office about your work outcome.  I understand how frustrating that is as my husband does construction and he has been off work for 3 years from an injury.  It can be a very challenging time, but it is obvious you are using this time as an opportunity to improve your well being...so kudos to you!  And those people who haven't seen you for a while also helped to answer your questions about how this program has been working for you.  Last week I had a pair of pants that fit me fine before my first Whole 30 in January.  Well I took the belt off and was able to pull the waist out quite a bit, probably 4-6 inches!  So I said to my husband, "These fit me before!  Why in the world didn't you tell me I was such a fatty?"  LOL

We got this guys!!!

[Susabella627]

Hey Guys We did it!! 

I can't believe this is day 30... I will say part of me just wants to keep going because I thrive on rules and regulations, but part of me wants some food freedom and the ability to have a coffee out with a little milk in it for example. So I will start a fast track reintro tommorrow and hopefully learn something new about the eliminated food groups. In the past no food group has really had any major effect on my well being except for Gluten, which is a food with no brakes for me and I definitely know I should NEVER eat processed, artificial, imitation, genetically modified food EVER!!  

I loved reading about the NSV's you guys were posting these past few days and hope to hear about even more as you get thru reintroduction. I started this on Oct. 17th because I have a very big reconstruction surgery coming up and I wanted to be in a good place with my nutrition  - and that I feel I have accomplished. 

Congrats to us!! 

PS - I know this group started out large and then a bunch went off to a facebook group.

Just wondering how everyone else did - hope they made it thru and are all tasting tiger blood!!!!

 

[jenpowell9]

I just posted this on Facebook. I tried to post major things both places:

Yesterday was Day 30 for me! After a few weeks of non-scale victories, I had my scale victory this morning on Day 31 when it showed I was down 8 lbs.! Today I started reintroduction with legumes. I am going to do the recommended fast track reintro schedule in kind of a random order except I am not doing gluten. I had a challenge late last week that really should have caused me to start over, but I was too close to the end, and with Thanksgiving coming up, I wan't willing to. I had knee surgery on Thursday, and the anesthesia really made me sick. When I got home about 4 pm after not eating since the night before, I tried eating some compliant foods like bone broth. Everything came right back up. So, I stopped trying to eat. Tried again a little later; still no go. So, my husband finally told me that, while he admired my persistence in pursuing Whole30 perfection, he was going to force me to eat some Saltine crackers. So, I did, and sure enough, they stayed down and helped me to be able to take pain pills that night into the next morning. By the next afternoon, I was back to compliant foods. So, I am treating that as a premature reintroduction to gluten! Again, I know it doesn't fly under the official Rules, but that is what I found worked for me. I am going to cross-post this on the official Forum.

[LRoth]

Made it through!  I love to cook and we had a large garden and raise, hunt, or fish most of our meat, so this wasn't too challenging for me.  The biggest challenge was having compliant foods on hand and ready.  Love the ranch dressing recipe in the Whole30 book!  I always had fresh farm eggs hard boiled and ready, each weekend I would boil up half dozen potatoes to stir fry with other veggies with compliant oils throughout the week.  I found a new love for chicken and shrimp fajitas without the shells of course, but served with 1/2 an avocado. Found the perfect spice combo of garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and a touch of cayenne pepper.  Delish!  I generally had a fruit for breakfast, salad meal for lunch, handful of nuts for afternoon snack, and a hot satisfying supper.  I never really felt deprived!  My challenges were my two kiddos that are teenagers and ALWAYS hungry, I really had to focus on the plan and not fall for some of the stuff they would eat. (but the do eat pretty healthy to think of it) The entire family cut out dining out for the month and NO prepackaged meals. We had a new Thai restraunt come to town that I've been wanting to try!  

 

[jolong]

Woohoo!  Day 31!  It has been so awesome sharing this journey with all of you!

Susabella:  I have found that grains are a "no brakes" food for me also.  Before starting my first Whole 30 back in January I had a very unhealthy relationship with Doritos.  Now I can say that I haven't had a Dorito since January 16th!  I've decided to just stay away from grains for the most part and I honestly don't really miss them.  Yes, I have the freedom to eat them, but I just don't consider grains to be "worth it".  I hope all goes well with your reconstruction!

Jenpowell:  I think because of your situation of medical interference I would still consider this a successful Whole 30 for you!  Congratulations for persevering and listening to what your body needs.  We need to know what fuel is needed at different times to help the body heal and recover, and you did that!

LRoth:  Never feeling deprived or hungry is my favorite thing about the Whole 30.  I try to explain that concept to my friends that try these fad diets, or even Weight Watchers.  They just can't get past the fact that they have to give up certain foods for 30 days!  But that's the thing...it's only 30 days people!  But like most of you, after completing the 30 days, you just want to continue on that path. 

Like Susabella, I also plan to do the fast track reintro so all of my groups will be reintroduced by Thanksgiving.  I know I have the food freedom knowledge to help me get through Thanksgiving, and the rest of the weekend as I will be out of town.  When we get back home after Thanksgiving I plan to continue eating Whole 30ish for the most part, except for my red wine on weekends!  lol  I have definitely felt the tiger blood, but it definitely came much later for me this round, although mornings have been much easier.  Today I plan to start by introducing legumes, so I will be curious to see if that changed from my last round.  So are all of you interested in continuing on with this thread for post-Whole 30 for a bit?  Or do you think we should start another one?

Red Wine:  I have a date with you at 8pm!

[jolong]

Oh, and I almost forgot!  When I stepped on the scale this morning I was 9 pounds lighter, bringing my total weight loss since my first Whole 30 in January to 36 pounds!!!  That really lit up my tiger blood this morning! 

[Susabella627]

I did it I weighed myself this morning and I lost 15lbs this round. I know it's about so much more then that but I'm not gonna lie, it feels good!!

I started with dairy today, had a yogurt with breakfast and milk in my coffee, will add some cheese to my lunch salad and maybe a bit of ice cream after dinner. So far, so good!

Jolong, it's been awesome sharing this journey with you as well!! And I am all for staying here or starting a new thread. I would love to hear how others respond to reintroduction because it just gives me more things to "look" for. Enjoy your red wine, I am not allowed any alcohol until after my surgery, but I will raise of glass of water to you and all of us for getting thru!!

 

[Newbie23]

16 hours ago, jenpowell9 said:

I just posted this on Facebook. I tried to post major things both places:

Yesterday was Day 30 for me! After a few weeks of non-scale victories, I had my scale victory this morning on Day 31 when it showed I was down 8 lbs.! Today I started reintroduction with legumes. I am going to do the recommended fast track reintro schedule in kind of a random order except I am not doing gluten. I had a challenge late last week that really should have caused me to start over, but I was too close to the end, and with Thanksgiving coming up, I wan't willing to. I had knee surgery on Thursday, and the anesthesia really made me sick. When I got home about 4 pm after not eating since the night before, I tried eating some compliant foods like bone broth. Everything came right back up. So, I stopped trying to eat. Tried again a little later; still no go. So, my husband finally told me that, while he admired my persistence in pursuing Whole30 perfection, he was going to force me to eat some Saltine crackers. So, I did, and sure enough, they stayed down and helped me to be able to take pain pills that night into the next morning. By the next afternoon, I was back to compliant foods. So, I am treating that as a premature reintroduction to gluten! Again, I know it doesn't fly under the official Rules, but that is what I found worked for me. I am going to cross-post this on the official Forum.

Your health is more important than the whole30 rules. Sounds like you have a loving hubby who wants the best for you. Congrats on finishing well. Today is Day 12 for me.

[Susabella627]

So Dairy day went well, I thought at first I had some GI symptoms going on after the yogurt at breakfast, but it went away by lunch time and I had no reaction after eating some cheese with lunch and I had a very small bowl of ice cream after dinner. Feel fine this morning. I don't think I have ever eaten a lot of dairy, but I do like to have coffee on the go and I usually like to add a little milk (strictly coconut oil at home). Also might enjoy an occasional ice cream treat or yogurt and am happy to know that it should not be an issue for me. Back to eating compliant for 2 days, then on Saturday I am going to try non-gluten grains. 

Chime in gals want to hear how reintro is going for you!!! 

Happy Thursday!

[Divachef]

Congratulations everyone!!! WE DID IT!!! I had plenty of NSV, and I'm down 7 pounds! WOOT!! I had to really have a talk with myself, because that number is SO IMPORTANT to me! I actually felt a bit down because I wanted it to be MORE, but I had to remind myself of all the NSV I achieved and that more importantly I feel like I have finally grasped a handle on my health. 

I was a bit confused with all the different reintro timelines in the email vs. Food Freedom vs. It Starts with Food vs. the website, so I wasn't sure WHAT to start with yesterday. So the only thing I had was wine with dinner. I noticed my salad had a small bit of cheese in it (Fajita Salad at Chevy's, hold the tortilla strips), but I don't think that qualifies as a true dairy introduction. I'm going to eat clean today and then start dairy tomorrow. I will do a fast intro, because I want to be mostly done before Thanksgiving. 

One thing I definitely noticed a change in my tastebuds. I had some strawberries the other day and they seemed SO SWEET to me! Perhaps I just got a good bunch, but I think that since I haven't had any added sugar in 30 days I really appreciate natural sugar now. I used to eat strawberries like my grandmother did, sliced with a little water and white sugar on them. Now, I just eat them in all their glorious goodness!

[jolong]

1 minute ago, Divachef said:

There is a FB group?

Yes, I think if you look in some of the very early comments of this thread you could find it if interested.

[Divachef]

On 10/14/2016 at 7:46 PM, allisonra said:

Okay my new friends, I have created a Facebook group. Now, to get you all added... try to use this link. If that doesn't work, send me a private message (on here) with your email and I will send you an invitation.  

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1173521326065669/ 

I don't know how I missed this! Great!

[ladyshanny]

Hey group! Congrats on finishing your Whole30. In order to keep the boards clean and non-confusing for people coming across your posts, we would ask that you create a thread in the Reintroduction part of the forum rather than discussing your reintroductions in a Whole30 compliant thread.

Let me know if you need help creating a new thread over there. You can leave a link here to it.

[nanette09]

@ladyshanny and @ShannonM816

Just wanted to say thanks for all your help and guidance - it made this journey a lot easier knowing you were there to support me!

Cheers!  Nanette

[jolong]

4 hours ago, ladyshanny said:

Hey group! Congrats on finishing your Whole30. In order to keep the boards clean and non-confusing for people coming across your posts, we would ask that you create a thread in the Reintroduction part of the forum rather than discussing your reintroductions in a Whole30 compliant thread.

Let me know if you need help creating a new thread over there. You can leave a link here to it.

Hi all!  Per Layshanndy's suggestion I started a new thread under Reintroduction called:  Continuing After Whole 30 

I definitely would like to share how we progress, even after Thanksgiving.  Hope you all find this thread ok!

[ladyshanny]

@jolong - thanks for doing that. I'd actually moved the reintro posts out of this thread and into another which I will merge with the one you just created.