kell_sing Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Hi, everyone! My name is Kelli and I started the Whole30 yesterday for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I'm very interested in nutrition and I'm always trying to find the best sustainable lifestyle change. I'm excited about an environmentally conscious diet that can make me sharper and healthier (Kelli 2.0). Also, I was born with a birth defect in my spine which means that the muscles around my spine get inflamed very easily. I'm frankly tired of being in pain (I'm prescribed pain killers but they make me foggy so I don't usually take them unless I'm in intense pain) so anything that can decrease the pain is great for me! Finally, I am active (1.5 hour gym sessions 3-4 times a week) so if resetting my diet will help me get fitter, than I'm all for it! I do have a few concerns: 1. I love sugary snacks. I can already feel the sugar headaches kicking in and it is only the second day. I'll be happy to kick my habit but it'll be rough 2. One of my best friends' is having her bachelorette weekend Day 10-12 so I'll need to find a way to stay Whole30 without being a sober, grumpy, craving mad killjoy. 3. One member of my family is not supportive and has stockpiled the house without non-Whole30 foods, especially sweets (They are also plagued by the Sugar Dragon too). Luckily, everyone else is on board and willing to help. Any advice or words of encouragement is always appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 Totally forgot to put my Day 1 meals - Oops! Meal 1: 3 hard-boiled eggs (seriously love eggs), two mini bags of carrots, and a pint of blueberries Meal 2: Oven baked salmon with a lemon ghee/olive oil sauce and fresh tomatoes and peppers on a bed of spinach, a few handfuls of a nut mix (almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, pistachios) while studying Meal 3: A large roasted chicken breast, sauteed mushrooms, and hasselbeck potatoes cooked in a ghee/olive oil sauce with salt and basil By the end of Day 1, I felt pretty good. I had a little trouble falling asleep (maybe I was too excited from watching the debate) but I slept a good 8+ hours until my alarm sounded this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 Before I get too involved in the Cubs vs Dodgers game, my Day 2 meals: Meal 1: 3 hard-boiled eggs, large handful of blueberries, and a mini bag of baby carrots Meal 2: Two baked chicken breasts, steamed new potatoes, alot of steamed green beans Pre-workout snack: Apple and a handful of almonds Post-workout/Meal 3: Two grilled burgers (Fun Fact: my dad's friend actually raises this beef) on a king-sized bed of baby spinach and diced tomatoes Notes: 1. I combined my post-workout meal and Meal 3 because when I got home from the gym (upper-body strength conditioning, back rehab work, and 40 minutes of cycling), dinner was almost ready. I just loaded up on food to make up for it. 2. Nothing was super out of the ordinary. I had a headache for a few hours, but it went away in the late afternoon during the workout. I've also gone to the bathroom alot. 3. My dad and my boyfriend have been incredibly supportive by far. In fact, my dad said that maybe he'll give it a try too! 4. I don't know if this is just mental but I didn't perform as well as normal in the gym, especially in strength training. In fact, I couldn't even lift the bar during my bench press. I'll stay tuned during my session tomorrow and see how I feel. Until tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 Happy Day 3! Meal 1: Three eggs over-easy cooked with olive oil, handful of strawberries Pre-workout snack: 1 egg over-easy, an apple, handful of pistachios Meal 2/post-work meal: Seared large salmon filet covered with basil and olive oil on a bed of spinach and tomatoes, handful of pistachios Meal 3: Sauteed brussel sprouts, shrimp, spinach, and tomatoes (cooked in olive oil, salt, and garlic), serving of pineapple Thoughts: 1. Felt pretty good except for a few minutes of foginess after exercising (10:30-11:00 ish) and after Meal 3 (7-7:30ish). I've been very pleasantly surprised by how good I've felt; I've experienced no "food hangover" and I never feel like I'm starving. Hopefully I haven't spoken too soon My hypothesis is that since I usually eat a clean diet, this isn't a huge shock to my system. 2. The only symptom I have is irritability. To be fair though, I've had to hear repeatedly about how my dad and his lady friend are making "long-distance" work. (Side note: my dad's new lady friend lives an hour away. My boyfriend and I have been in a US to Sweden relationship for a year and a half so this would probably annoy me regardless.) 3. In fact, the hardest part is support/getting the right food. a. My brother is extremely skeptical (he is a med student) and is afraid that I'm not going to get the right nutrients, especially since I'm active. I told him that I'm tracking my meals and this is just to get my diet on track. b. My dad has no foods at his house that I can eat. Literally none. His pantry is all pasta, peanuts, beans, and noodle soup (a very bachelor diet) and his fridge is filled with yogurt and sugary juice. However, when I talked to my mom about what food I can eat, she made sure to stock your house with them! I even made my Meal 3 for both of us and she was really excited about it. I'll be eating with her more often. Next up, weekend edition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Day 4 is over and done with! Meal 1: Three eggs over-easy (cooked in olive oil), an apple, a large carrot, and a small handful of almonds Meal 2: Two bowls of homemade chicken soup (chicken stock, chicken, potatoes, celery, and carrots), and an apple Meal 3: Sauteed broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and red pepper; baked halibut, an apple with almond butter (literally just pureed roasted almonds and salt) Thoughts: 1. I did not realize how many apples I ate until just now. 2. I've been sleeping very deeply and I woke up earlier than usual today (7:30). However, I felt totally rested which is nice. 3. Pretty irritable and had strong cravings this evening. It didn't help that my mom talked to me about her personal Sugar Dragon and her love of processed sweets. Out of all of the forbidden foods in the Whole30, sugar is by far the hardest for me. Back story: Last year, after a long diet-disastrous week at my aluma mater, I did a diet reset for a week and had the worst headaches ever. I realized it was because I had become addicted to sugar, despite my otherwise super healthy plant-and-protein-based diet (that's what happens when you make a trip to the vending machine for a candy bar everyday) so that was my first wake-up call. Then, after I moved to Sweden with my boyfriend, I had a rough time adjusting due to language/cultural differences. To comfort myself, I turned to American comfort foods like Reese's, NY style bagels, and mac 'n cheese. Never in my life have I ever been an emotional eater so I was shocked. My bf and I have a great relationship and he gave it to me straight - I needed to stop the going down this road because it was so unlike me (re: plant-and-protein-based diet). Hence why I'm here! TLDR; I realized I had a sugar addiction last year. After an international move, I started trying to drown my homesickness in American junk food, but my bf told me to snap out of it so I started Whole30. 4. I am bloating big time in my lower abdomen. I look like I'm about to pop out that alien from Alien. However, as long as this stage passes in time for my friend's Bachelorette Party next weekend, I'm super fine with it. See you tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 Day 5 meals! Meal 1: Three eggs over-easy (cooked in olive oil), mango slices, handful of pistachios, and avocado Meal 2: Sauteed cauliflower, broccoli, red pepper, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil, almond puree and apple slices, an orange Meal 3: Seared Cajun talapia, brussel sprouts, grilled zucchini, almond puree and apple slices Thoughts: 1. Less irritablity and no light-headedness today! 2. But I did have a craving for sweets tonight and I still have some bloating in my lower abdomen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 25, 2016 Author Share Posted October 25, 2016 Now Day 6! Meal 1/Pre-workout: Scrambled eggs made with three eggs, olive oil, almond milk, tomatoes, and spinach; blueberries, and strawberries Meal 2/Post-workout: Spinach, potatoes, carrots, and chicken; large carrot stick, apples and almond puree Meal 3: Cod with basil and lemon, brussel sprouts sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and salt, apples and almond puree Thoughts and feelings 1. I had a harder time getting out of bed. When I woke up, I felt awake instantly but unmotivated to get out of bed. However, throughout the day, I was super focused and motivated. 2. I'm trying to add pre-workout and post-workout meals with my actual meals to play with it and see how I feel. I felt a little light headed about 20 minutes after Meal 1/pre-workout but great for the rest of the day. Maybe I ate too much? 3. Still bloated, especially in the lower abdominal. I can see that my upper abs are flattening out but I feel gassy and run down (My mom's house is literally 55 degrees inside though so maybe I'm starting to get sick?) 4. I went to the movie theater which was a great exercise in self-control. I've been open about my Sugar Dragon fight but my other favorite food is omnipresent at movie theaters: popcorn. In fact, I'm crazy about popcorn so it was a little triggering to smell it. By the end of the evening though, I was super proud that I resisted the cravings. Side note: I looked through everything sold at the concession stand and I could only consume one item (water). That was extremely eye-opening into all of the trash we mindlessly consume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 Happy day 7! Tomorrow is my week-aversy and I can't believe that I'm almost 25% of the way through. Unfortunately, I woke up with the stomach flu so my diet today was pretty different/smaller because frankly, I couldn't keep food down until 2-3pm. Meal 1: Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, bell pepper, and spinach Meal 2: Potatoes roasted in olive oil and salt (This is the most bland and upset stomach safe Whole30-approved food I could think of), organic green tea Meal 3: Pork ribs (no sauce or flavoring whatsoever), steamed broccoli with no flavoring, a large carrot stick, and organic green tea Thoughts and Feelings 1. This was the closest I came to being non-compliant (Pepto Bismal) because I was so sick. Tbh, I find it a little crazy that I would have to start over if I had taken it (It is medicine to get me back to wellness, not guilty pleasure food). I tried to dwell on it though so I can stay focused on the prize. 2. I also found it incredibly hard to find Whole30 food that is easy on a upset stomach for today. Luckily, after some tea, I felt good enough to eat a "real meal" because eating just potatoes does not sound sustainable for even a meal, let alone a day. 3. On a positive note, my back hasn't hurt all for the past few days. This is a huge victory because I've lived in pretty horrible back pain my entire life due to a hole in my spine. In fact, I'm prescribed some intense painkillers (I hardly ever take them because the rate of opiod addiction is so high and I hate how it makes me feel). I do muscle strengthening and stretching exercises a couple times a week so I try to decrease pain as much as possible and stay active. However, anything can make the muscles and nerves act up; long walks and runs, standing for long periods of time, and even golfing can hurt so bad that I get sick to my stomach or I'm bedridden for 24 hours. I don't mean to ramble but that's why I'm so excited about no back pain! See you on my one week anniversary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kell_sing Posted October 27, 2016 Author Share Posted October 27, 2016 One week anniversary! It has already been eye-opening but more to that later. First,... Meal 1/pre-workout: Four eggs over easy, blueberries, an apple Meal 2/post workout: Pan seared salmon (cooked in basil infused olive oil, salt, and pepper) on a bed of spinach, a large carrot stick on the side Meal 3: Three small chicken thighs, green beans, an apple 1. I've been really awake and alert. For example, at midnight, I could not fall asleep and stayed up another 30 minutes reading. Then, I woke up with my alarm at 8am, feeling chipper. 2. Still pretty bloated but according to the timeline, this should go down soon. 3. I've been incredibly productive the past few days. I don't know if that's on my own volition or because of the Whole30 but I'll take it! 4. I've already started to notice some beauty pluses from the Whole 30, such as - stronger nails -brighter skin -no undereye circles -brighter eyes 5. I'm going to be traveling from Oct 28 (Friday) until November 9th, so I'm interested to see how I progress and use Whole 30 during those 12 days. During that time, I'll be at a Bachelorette party in Indianapolis and a Colts game (3 days), Indiana University to visit my senior brother and my aunt and uncle ( 4 days), Chicago to see sorority sisters (3 days), and prepping for (and attending) a fancy election party (2 days). These situations run the gambit of places to eat, environments, and social pressure - the perfect way to test my Whole30. Also, I'm excited to think that by the time I'm home again, I'll be nearing the end of the challenge Talk to you tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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