October 17th Start

[Cynthia CF]

So here's a question... There has been two instances since Monday that I have put non compliant food in my mouth (once to taste test it and the second to make sure food was heated up enough all for my fiancé) but then immediately realized my mistake and spat the food out -into the trash of course! haha

Do I start over or add three days to the end of the whole30? The food was literally in my mouth for less than 2 seconds and I wash my mouth out afterwards, making sure I didn't swallow it. I know I'm being particular but I just want to be sure I didn't completely screw up.

Thanks in advance!

[ladyshanny]

@Cynthia CF - you can read the "Do I have to start over" article linked below and you tell us what you'll do. Note though, that unless your fiance has some sort of violent aversion to barely warmed or under seasoned food, he could probably just taste test it himself.  

[jolong]

Susabella:  The Hungarian stew was really good!  Here is a link to the recipe:  http://meljoulwan.com/2010/10/30/vampire-fighting-paleo-style/

Even my husband enjoyed it and he isn't doing the Whole 30 with me.  I just boiled some red potatoes to serve with it and also had a side salad.  Very satisfying.  We both decided that it could have used some more spices, but then realized that I did not add the caraway seeds, because I didn't have any!  I don't know how much of a difference that would have made, but I will try it again to see.  I also did not add the apple because I have made pork roasts in the past with apple juice that never really tasted good to me.  And since I put mine in the crockpot I guess I'm not sure when I would have added the apple. 

I think I've been doing pretty well otherwise.  I probably am having 1 or 2 too many cups of coffee in the morning and I know I need to drink more water! 

[jolong]

Thanks for the tip on the weekly cookup.  I know I've read it plenty of times, but I've always been of the mindset that I work so hard during the week, that I try to do as few chores as possible on the weekend.  I'm going to try it this Sunday though, as this is only temporary and it will make my weeknight evenings so much easier!  When I went to the fridge for leftovers last night I noticed my hubby ate half of the Hungarian stew from the other night!  There they go...eating our food again!  lol  I've had a chicken broth in my crockpot all week, so when I get home at night I've been pouring myself a cup of broth and that has been quite delicious! 

Welcome to Day 5 everyone and have a fabulous weekend!

[AdriB]

I tried to prepare last Sunday. I did a weekly cook up, but based it on what our family typically eats in meats each week. The food was gone by mid-week. I made a huge pot of soup last night, planning to have extra for lunch today. It's gone. They ate over 2x times as much of the soup as normal. I keep reminding myself that they're eating more because they're filling up on the good stuff and not the fillers (bread, processed foods, etc.).

Hoping to make adjustments this Sunday to last longer to avoid cooking three meals a day next week.

[Susabella627]

Happy Friday All!

Hope everyone is doing well on day 5! All is going well over here and feeling pretty good. 

AdriB - what kind of soup? I would like to make some soup, and looking for some new ideas. 

Jolong, thanks for the link. 

This group started out so strong but it is very quiet now.... hope everyone is doing ok!!

 

 

[jenpowell9]

I am still hanging in there. Day 6 for me, and the end of the first work week. I have been surprised at how little I have missed dairy and grains. I have, however, missed my wine and gum! I also turned down a couple of social invitations to avoid temptation. The meal prep has been more than usual, but I have also been pretty good at keeping it basic on the fly. I am feeling pretty confident, especially now that my husband understands he and the kids can't adulterate my food (like he did with the Lawry's!). There has been some activity on the Facebook group that got started. I find it pretty easy to post there because I typically check my FB a few times a day from my phone, whereas I tend to get on here only from my desktop. I am grateful for the support found at both places, and I am looking forward to successfully continuing this journey on Day 7 and beyond.

[Divachef]

23 minutes ago, Susabella627 said:

Happy Friday All!

Hope everyone is doing well on day 5! All is going well over here and feeling pretty good. 

AdriB - what kind of soup? I would like to make some soup, and looking for some new ideas. 

Jolong, thanks for the link. 

This group started out so strong but it is very quiet now.... hope everyone is doing ok!!

 

 

Day 5 and I'm feeling pretty good! I absolutely LOVE the Daily Emails and being able to click YES I MADE IT each night! I've been journaling over in the personal journal section, but I'm still here! I was a bit nervous about having to attend a fundraiser BBQ for my daughter's softball team tomorrow night but today's email really helped calm my anxiety about it. I will eat beforehand, and grab me a club soda with lime and olives so I will still have a drink in my hand. Hopefully there will be some raw veggies to nosh on if I need it. 

[nanette09]

Hi All!

It's Sat morning. Day 6. I hope I'm not too late in joining. I started on Monday, Oct 17 too. Just got around to joining the forum yesterday. Have read through all the posts. This is a great group!

I have been wanting to clean up my diet for a long time, but have not been successful. Having found Whole30 is a godsend! I've read both books.  I love how everything is spelled out. Esp. the list of common additives. I took it when I went shopping. It's good to know that some ingredients (which I previously had no clue as to what they were) are ok.

My reasons for doing this is to put an end to feeling tired all the time, having no energy. And to stop the cravings - sugar and salty snacks. I also have rheumatoid arthritis and am hoping to find some relief from the overall achiness I feel most days. 

I'm finding, like others, that I am spending a LOT of time in the kitchen. My boyfriend is also doing this with me. I'm in charge of the meal planning and making the condiments (made mayo for the first time - it was like MAGIC watching the egg & olive oil turn into the cream! lol). He does most of the cooking during the week. The first week we really didn't have a plan past day 2, we spent a lot of time running to the store. Not good. Part of the reason was, as he hadn't read the book(s) and so wasn't really sold on this Whole thing (pun intended!). But just after the first week, he is feeling better and is totally on board! So this week we are sitting down and mapping out the week and dong most of the shopping/preparing tomorrow.

About me - I am 54 and work full time as a graphic designer. Also in PA - northeast.

Carry on!

 

[Divachef]

Day 6 and I'm struggling a bit. Not with eating, I'm actually feeling pretty confident about that. We went to the casino for our date night last night and not only was Lady Luck pretty good to us, but I still managed to stick to the plan. I drank nothing but club soda all night PLUS I figured going to the buffet would allow me the greatest control over what was on my plate. I made myself a huge salad and then pretty much stuck to steamed crab and peel and eat shrimp (it was all you can eat crab night!). I had a big slice of roast beef that was carved in front of me so I know it wasn't sitting in some sort of sauce, skipped the "creamy horseradish" and added some sliced tomatoes and parsley. Of course I DID overeat too much (I felt it) but that is one of the drawbacks of a buffet, plus crab is my FAVORITE food. But I walked on by all the breads and rices, asked if the mashed potatoes were plain, but found out they had added butter so passed on those, eyed the green beans but wasn't too sure what was in them, so skipped them. I figured truly Whole foods were my best bet. The crab and shrimp was all just plainly steamed, and while they did have clarified butter, I could still see the milk fat at the bottom of the container, so I skimmed a little off the top and that was that. All in all I was pretty proud of myself.

So to my struggle today: Today's email dealt with sleep. I've been an insomniac for many, many years, mainly because I do shift work, and have spent most of that time on either a night shift or a swing shift. Today's email basically told me to do absolutely opposite, which isn't practical for me. Yes, right now I'm on disability and could go to bed early, turn off everything (TV won't be leaving the bedroom, the girlfriend ain't going for that, but she works night 5 days a week) and get up before dawn, I wake up The Kid at 530 every morning before school. BUT the problem with that is that is not how my regular life leads, and I will be going back to work before Whole 30 ends. 

My normal schedule is monday, tuesday, wednesday, 630 pm to 7 am. I have ZERO problem sleeping through the day when I'm working. I get off, go home, usually eat something and then crash until around 430 pm. But I also work in a different city and don't have to worry about anyone but myself. Until Thursday morning. I get off at 7 then drive 2.5 hours home and usually crash until around 3, unless I have appointments/errands to run. Terrie, on the other hand, works 10p to 6a, Saturday through Wednesday nights. We do have a TV in the bedroom because we like to lay in bed and watch TV together, and it also becomes white noise as we sleep. In fact, our TV in the room is almost never off because that is where the dogs and cats hang out when we are home and of course we leave the TV on for them! We do have have blackout curtains.

Whew, I know I"m rambling, I just don't know HOW to improve my sleep and to put all those suggestions into real world application. Yes, it is eas(ier) now while I'm not working, but working 3 nights straight and then switching to a "Regular" activity schedule for 4 days makes me a little kooky. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Now, off to fix my dinner before we head to this BBQ fundraiser!

ETA: sorry for the long post!

[SarahLittle101]

On 10/11/2016 at 7:22 PM, allisonra said:

Ii just got got the book Food Freedom and am excited to read it. Did you read any of the Whole30 books?

I've got the Whole30 Guide to Total Health and am working my way through it. I also have the website, forum and the Food Planner site open on my lap top all the time. It seems I cannot stay ahead of meat prep. I am always baking chicken or grilling steaks. And Ghee!!! oh my goodness!!.

I like Coconut Cream and it goes nicely in the coffee.  But I like it black too. As someone who downed alot of engery drinks and the like, coffee is a life saver.

I also started on the 17th and would love to be part of this group :-)

[solar915]

We're almost a week in! Like many of you, my kids seem to like the foods I prepare for myself. I made a spinach salad with vinegar cucumbers topped with some egg salad and my 10 yr old dug into it. I pointed out that he was eating healthy food, and he said, "but this is good." Hopefully, he's taking conscious note that 'healthy' doesn't have to mean 'boring'. 

So, on the flip side, my workplace hosted a Trunk or Treat last night. We expected a couple hundred people and got close to a thousand. I've never seen that much candy in my life, and I am happy to say that not only did I not eat any, it wasn't even tempting. If the event were less frenetic for us hosts, that might have been different, though.

Tonight, I'm looking up new meal plans for the coming week. What have you all come up with? Especially stuff you can freeze . . .

 

 

[Susabella627]

Happy Monday Everyone!

Well Day 8 which means we are more then 1/4 of the way thru!! I am definitely starting to feel energy levels going up and cravings going down. I know from past experience this is when I need to change up my meals and add some variety otherwise I start to get bored and we all know what that can lead too. I really hope everyone is doing well and hanging in there!!

 

 

 

[jolong]

Divachef:  I'm not even sure how I would deal with your schedule!  But I think with things being so inconsistent I would try to batch cook a bunch of meals so that is one less thing you have to worry about.  I think I was in my kitchen all weekend, but my fridge is stocked with food.  My husband laughed at me last night as it looks like we are awaiting the storm of the century.  When I look at it all I start to think that maybe I will have too much food for the week, but we will see! 

Susabella and Solar:  It is important keeping variety in your meals.  That is something I lost when I did my last round of Whole 30.  I still finished it properly, but I really got bored with my food.  I think part of it is fear of trying something that you don't know.  Like one thing I cooked up yesterday was the chicken chowder recipe out of the Whole 30 book.  One ingredient in there is a can of coconut milk and I am not a big fan of coconut in the first place, so I kind of looked at the recipe and said, "I ain't adding that!"  I asked my husband what he thought about it and he encouraged me to try it.  So I opened up the can of coconut milk and was quite surprised to find the top half of the can was all cream!  Is that normal?  I thought you were to refrigerate it to solidify the cream.  I checked the expiration date and it said it was still good, so I scooped out about half of the cream and also added some of the liquid.  I do think it was tasty so next time I make this recipe I will probably add the whole can!

Another thing I cooked up last night were the meat and spinach muffins from the Well Fed site.  Although I think they are tasty, I think I just enjoy a breakfast with more eggs in it.  I ate a couple this morning and just the muffins don't cut it.  I will also have to add some more veggies or maybe even a little potato fried in coconut oil.

Sarah:  Welcome to our group!  I tried the ghee when I did my first Whole 30 and didn't really care for it, so I've just stuck with coconut oil in recipes.  Isn't it fun to find something scrumptious out of this?

Only 22 days to go gang!!!

[ladyshanny]

On 22/10/2016 at 2:51 PM, Divachef said:

We do have a TV in the bedroom because we like to lay in bed and watch TV together, and it also becomes white noise as we sleep. In fact, our TV in the room is almost never off because that is where the dogs and cats hang out when we are home and of course we leave the TV on for them! We do have have blackout curtains.

Whew, I know I"m rambling, I just don't know HOW to improve my sleep and to put all those suggestions into real world application.

Google "Nom nom paleo shift work" for an excellent article on how to best/most healthily manage shift work.

Your absolute first, hands down most important thing to do is to get that TV turned off. Your brain can detect the blue-light that it emanates when it's on during your sleep which causes the brain to believe it's day/wake time. And for you, that's the last thing you want. The blackout curtains are just decoration if you are sleeping with a television on.

I know you can't change your shifts or your schedule but you have to understand that you are already starting out with sub-standard sleep. Unfortunately that's just the way it is with night shift. So your goal is to try and mitigate that as much as possible. A silent (or actual white noise machine), completely dark, cool bedroom. Get the pets out of your bed/room. I know that one is so hard, I'm pet-people too, but when you are struggling with sleep and it's day-sleep, they are not helping you.  Dogs and cats don't watch TV. If you close them out into the rest of the house, turn a radio on for them. 

The nom-nom article has further detail but you can also do yourself an enormous favour by sticking to whatever schedule you decide works for you, don't fluctuate around too much. And invest in some orange glasses. They call them "blue blocking" but they are really just orange-lensed glasses. 

I know change is hard and uncomfortable but if you really want to figure out the sleep thing, within your parameters, you are probably going to have to make some changes. Because it sounds to me like what you're doing now is not working.

[Divachef]

8 minutes ago, ladyshanny said:

Google "Nom nom paleo shift work" for an excellent article on how to best/most healthily manage shift work.

Your absolute first, hands down most important thing to do is to get that TV turned off. Your brain can detect the blue-light that it emanates when it's on during your sleep which causes the brain to believe it's day/wake time. And for you, that's the last thing you want. The blackout curtains are just decoration if you are sleeping with a television on.

I know you can't change your shifts or your schedule but you have to understand that you are already starting out with sub-standard sleep. Unfortunately that's just the way it is with night shift. So your goal is to try and mitigate that as much as possible. A silent (or actual white noise machine), completely dark, cool bedroom. Get the pets out of your bed/room. I know that one is so hard, I'm pet-people too, but when you are struggling with sleep and it's day-sleep, they are not helping you.  Dogs and cats don't watch TV. If you close them out into the rest of the house, turn a radio on for them. 

The nom-nom article has further detail but you can also do yourself an enormous favour by sticking to whatever schedule you decide works for you, don't fluctuate around too much. And invest in some orange glasses. They call them "blue blocking" but they are really just orange-lensed glasses. 

I know change is hard and uncomfortable but if you really want to figure out the sleep thing, within your parameters, you are probably going to have to make some changes. Because it sounds to me like what you're doing now is not working.

Thank you for this! I will read that right away. As for the pets and day sleeping I work 2.5 hours away from home for 3 days so they aren't actually with me. I sleep great on my work days, it is the other 4 days that I have to turn around my schedule that I struggle. I will start actually turning the television off at night, especially on nights that I'm home and Terrie is at work. 

Thanks for your advice I really do appreciate it. 

[nanette09]

On 10/22/2016 at 9:25 PM, solar915 said:

We're almost a week in! Like many of you, my kids seem to like the foods I prepare for myself. I made a spinach salad with vinegar cucumbers topped with some egg salad and my 10 yr old dug into it. I pointed out that he was eating healthy food, and he said, "but this is good." Hopefully, he's taking conscious note that 'healthy' doesn't have to mean 'boring'. 

So, on the flip side, my workplace hosted a Trunk or Treat last night. We expected a couple hundred people and got close to a thousand. I've never seen that much candy in my life, and I am happy to say that not only did I not eat any, it wasn't even tempting. If the event were less frenetic for us hosts, that might have been different, though.

Tonight, I'm looking up new meal plans for the coming week. What have you all come up with? Especially stuff you can freeze . . .

 

 

Hi Solar915,

I like the sound of your spinach salad - seems super simple! Is there a recipe for the vinegar cukes? I'd love to add them to my salads!

Good for you re the candy! This time of year is hard for me, as I usually "allow" myself to eat more of it then normally, with it being so available and packaged in those cute, bite-sized portions! Haha

As for freezing, one tip I saw was to freeze your soup in cube-size silicone trays (really they were more rectangle - the size of old-fashioned ice cubes). Once frozen, pop them out and store in freezer bags. They won't stick together. You can easily remove however many you want for a quick meal. It was suggested to put the trays on a cookie sheet to freeze, as they are wobbly. 

Hope to hear from you. Take care,

Nanette09

[Tia123]

Is anyone else feeling... not much of anything? I'm not super tired (though I was pretty grumpy Monday, but that might be because my 5-year-old was being, well, a 5-year-old).  I don't have a ton of energy, my pants fit the same, my skin is the same, etc....  I think I was expecting some kind of transformation (either good or bad) and I feel pretty much exactly how I did a week ago!  Anyone else?

[Divachef]

23 minutes ago, Tia123 said:

Is anyone else feeling... not much of anything? I'm not super tired (though I was pretty grumpy Monday, but that might be because my 5-year-old was being, well, a 5-year-old).  I don't have a ton of energy, my pants fit the same, my skin is the same, etc....  I think I was expecting some kind of transformation (either good or bad) and I feel pretty much exactly how I did a week ago!  Anyone else?

This is me . My girlfriend says my stomach is going down but I don't see it . I haven't had any major mood swings and I don't t feel different other than being proud of myself for sticking with it this far . 

[jolong]

29 minutes ago, Tia123 said:

Is anyone else feeling... not much of anything? I'm not super tired (though I was pretty grumpy Monday, but that might be because my 5-year-old was being, well, a 5-year-old).  I don't have a ton of energy, my pants fit the same, my skin is the same, etc....  I think I was expecting some kind of transformation (either good or bad) and I feel pretty much exactly how I did a week ago!  Anyone else?

Hang in there Tia!  The timeline tells us that on Days 8 and 9 our pants might even feel a little tighter.  So it may take a couple more days, but it will be worth it!  My tiger blood hasn't kicked in yet, but when it does, it is amazing!

Divachef:  It is something to be proud of so own this thing!  And if your girlfriend has noticed that is definitely a step in the right direction.

My stocking up on meals early on in the week definitely paid off.  It has been so much less stressful knowing I have options to choose from when I get home at night.  Here's to Day 10...we are almost halfway there guys! 

[jenpowell9]

I am on Day 11 and had exhaustion hit me out of the blue for the first time since I started. Also have some zits that have popped up. I thought that would have happened before now. 

[solar915]

Nanette, I just peel and quarter an english cucumber and sprinkle white vinegar over it for a little flavor. It helps.  

While cleaning out the fridge before starting W30, I had some green onions to use up and made a basil and green onion pesto; just added 'lighter flavored' olive oil (Kroger brand), lemon juice, and salt. About a spoonful on some fish or veggies makes a delicious difference.

Thanks for the tip on freezing soups; sounds like a good way to portion correctly. This would probably work well with sauces, too, huh?

 

 

 

 

[MagR]

Me too it was so rough I wasn't expecting day 11 to be this hard!

[Wendy W]

12 hours ago, Tia123 said:

Is anyone else feeling... not much of anything? I'm not super tired (though I was pretty grumpy Monday, but that might be because my 5-year-old was being, well, a 5-year-old).  I don't have a ton of energy, my pants fit the same, my skin is the same, etc....  I think I was expecting some kind of transformation (either good or bad) and I feel pretty much exactly how I did a week ago!  Anyone else?

I was thinking somewhat the same thing. I am just starting Day 13. I have had a day where the food craving was hard, but that was because I hadn't done enough prep. The only thing I have noticed is that I feel like I have more energy  than I used to at the end of the night. Usually once I get my 3 little girls to bed, I am heading straight to my own bed and can't even imagine doing anything else.  Over the last two weeks, I have found myself much more alert at the end of the day and usually lasting an hour or so after bedtime.

I am hoping that Tiger Blood really does feel different!

[ShannonM816]

4 hours ago, Wendy W said:

I was thinking somewhat the same thing. I am just starting Day 13. I have had a day where the food craving was hard, but that was because I hadn't done enough prep. The only thing I have noticed is that I feel like I have more energy  than I used to at the end of the night. Usually once I get my 3 little girls to bed, I am heading straight to my own bed and can't even imagine doing anything else.  Over the last two weeks, I have found myself much more alert at the end of the day and usually lasting an hour or so after bedtime.

I am hoping that Tiger Blood really does feel different!

You may or may not get the mythical Tiger Blood -- not everyone gets some magical feeling. But don't discount what you are feeling -- being alert at the end of the day instead of crawling into bed as soon as possible.

For many people, what they get is not some amazing burst of energy, but instead a steady energy throughout the day, even moods (people have mentioned not getting as angry in traffic, for instance), and better focus. These things are not as exciting as suddenly having a massive amount of energy, but they are good. Don't miss the good things that you do feel, waiting for something that may or may not happen for you.

 

For anyone not seeing results yet, remember that this is a 30-day program, and many people don't start noticing major change until the last week or two. If you really think nothing is changing at all, I'd recommend heading over to the Troubleshooting section of the forum and posting a couple of days' worth of food (be specific about types of vegetables, and estimate portions as best you can based on the sizes mentioned in the meal template), water intake, exercise, and sleep, and maybe someone will notice something you could change to get better results.