Starting Monday, 10/24- looking for support group

[snowflower]

57 minutes ago, PaulaWala said:

Where did everyone go from this group that started on October 24th? 

I'm here!  Day 9.....and feeling great.  I feel like I finally got a good night sleep last night despite the aching of my posterior...I think from my workout on Saturday.  That's a good ache for me...makes me feel like I really worked hard.  I did 3 sets of 12 deadlifts with 2 45# dumbbells.  I think that's the source of the soreness.

Today is a day off of intense working out, but I plan to do some yard work.

B:  2 magic mushroom chicken legs, sweet potato soup, small handful of almonds, coffee with coconut milk

L:  FINAL slice of leftover shepherd's pie, roasted carrots & parsnips in coconut oil  (My kids didn't love the shepherd's pie, but I thought it was delicious!)

D:  Morroccan Lamb Meatballs over zucchini noodles, green salad with olive oil vinaigrette

I know I'm filling my plate with a good ratio of fats, proteins, veggies because I'm going 5+ hours between meals with no "snacking" or mini meals needed.  And I LOVE that I wasn't even tempted by my daughter's halloween candy last night....She dumped it all out on the floor and wanted to sort through it to see what she wanted to keep and what she wanted to give away.  Normally I would have taken some of her give-aways for myself, but was only briefly tempted.  I thought "I could stash these away for reintroduction time and eat them 'mindfully' when I wanted to."  But THEN I thought "I would never choose a snickers bar or any of these items as a treat.  I only eat these as a treat because it's readily available at this time of year.  Yes.  I like it.  But I wouldn't choose it.  And would never PAY for it.  What I would choose is a cheese danish from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery and that is 2,000 miles away."  So that dialog led me to put all of the mini treats into a bag to give away to the food pantry.  #NSV  And led me to think about planning my next trip to Yountville, California. 

 

 

[Kyoung123]

I joined a bit later than the rest of you and have been quiet in this forum but I'm still here. Day 7 for me and feeling good today. Didn't want candy at all last night which felt great! My clothes are fitting a better, less snug. I feel a lot less bloated. I really feel in control of my food choices. I will say that I am still feeling "denied" the things I love, like Starbucks and wine. But I'll make it through. It's my 30th wedding anniversary today and I'm kind of sad that I can't go out and eat a celebratory meal. Just feels like so much work to find a restaurant with options, order the right thing and then I'm worried they'll put something non-compliant in anyway. So we're going to cook a steak at home and enjoy each other. :-) Maybe in December we'll go on an anniversary date.

[rhed]

Yep, still here, I just don't post on weekends because I avoid my computer at home as much as possible.

I dropped the ball on food logging, but I stayed compliant over the weekend, though I didn't drink enough water (always a problem when I'm free-range on the weekend instead of tied to my desk at work). 

Today's food:

Meal 1: hash with leftover roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, kale, and eggs

Meal 2: bbq beef and baked sw potato

Meal 3: salmon cakes, sauteed spinach

[tiglilygirl]

Day 10....20 days to go!! 

I am feeling good regarding food, however I still feel that my stomach is bloated, I hope this resolves soon, otherwise it makes me feel like I have gained. I know that this is not about weight loss, but I do want to lose weight, so that is a motivating factor for me. I slept better last night thankfully. My son brought home so much candy, and I am okay putting it in the pantry and letting him pick a piece or two. I realized last night, that I normally would have had a piece a chocolate and then I would have awoken my sugar dragon, causing me to consume 3 or 4 more pieces, feeling guilty the whole time--but alas I am still being compliant :).

Today I won't get a work out in because my son has football practice, but I will walk at least 30 minutes while he plays. Yesterday I didn't make it to the gym, it was getting dark by the time I got off work and I was worried about getting food into everyone's bellies before trick or treating. 

Meals today:

Breakfast: seasoned ground pork and sweet potato hash, one egg and previously frozen spinach (all cooked together with olive oil). 1 pkg of wholly guacamole and 5 black berries-- not starving after breakfast--victory! 2-3 cups of coffee.

Lunch: Pulled pork butt with mashed sweet potatoes (all cooked in olive oil) and ghee, with small sliced tomato & banana. 

Dinner: Pesto turkey meatballs, small amount of mayo mixed with spicy brown mustard, cauliflower/cabbage hash all cooked in olive oil, with olives stuffed with jalapenos. Few raspberries and Kombucha. 

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

[tiglilygirl]

1 hour ago, Kyoung123 said:

I joined a bit later than the rest of you and have been quiet in this forum but I'm still here. Day 7 for me and feeling good today. Didn't want candy at all last night which felt great! My clothes are fitting a better, less snug. I feel a lot less bloated. I really feel in control of my food choices. I will say that I am still feeling "denied" the things I love, like Starbucks and wine. But I'll make it through. It's my 30th wedding anniversary today and I'm kind of sad that I can't go out and eat a celebratory meal. Just feels like so much work to find a restaurant with options, order the right thing and then I'm worried they'll put something non-compliant in anyway. So we're going to cook a steak at home and enjoy each other. :-) Maybe in December we'll go on an anniversary date.

Happy Anniversary!!

[FightingHashi]

3 hours ago, PaulaWala said:

Where did everyone go from this group that started on October 24th? 

I'm still here, this is DAY 9 for me! I'm enjoying these daily postings and for me it's helped keep me on track and know that I can share my ups and downs with the few of you here who are listening. Feeling very energetic this morning and I even forced myself to focus more on getting to sleep last night without any help from a pill and I did just that. I think I was just tired from working out and walking with my kids from trick or treating for an hour in the rain. It felt good to shower and relax in bed and fall asleep. Not sure if that was just a fluke or what, but I woke up not feeling so groggy after I take a sleeping pill. 

On to the food. Like @habanero mentioned, I do feel like I'm just grooving now with the program and planning my meals is getting easier. Even making new meals is not stressful at all. So far all the recipes I've been making have been really simple. I can't believe I've forgotten how easy it can be to cook healthy meals. Last night's dinner was Salmon with Asparagus and it doesn't get any easier. Literally tossed it together in 5min and cooked for 25 in the oven. It was perfect for the fast meal we needed with Halloween activities. Oh...and I wasn't even tempted to have a taste of candy. I was just thinking of how crappy I'd probably feel if I had one. 

One thing I'm starting to feel is SICK OF EGGS! I've basically had the same breakfast in different forms every morning and for me, this is a lot of heavy eating and makes me feel a little blah.  This morning I had a two egg omelette with sausage, spinach, mushrooms, green onion and hashbrowns (Does anyone know if the hashbrowns count as a veggie, since they are a starch?). Anyhow I'm getting tired of that breakfast. What's everyone else having that's NOT eggs? For some reason eating meat first thing in the morning is just unappealing to me, but I've been using the sausage. 

Today I'll have: 

B: As noted above

L: Leftover chicken stir fry http://www.thebettermom.com/the-better-mom/2016/9/3/simple-chicken-veggie-stir-fry

D: Egg Roll in a bowl http://www.jaysbakingmecrazy.com/2016/06/05/paleo-egg-roll-in-a-bowl/

Pre WO: Leftover Salmon and asparagus (much smaller portion)

WO: Crossfit

PS - If you have a link to your meal, maybe you can share it like I did above? That way we can all get new recipes and say what we liked or maybe didn't like, or tips on making it if we have already.

 

[snowflower]

22 minutes ago, FightingHashi said:

PS - If you have a link to your meal, maybe you can share it like I did above? That way we can all get new recipes and say what we liked or maybe didn't like, or tips on making it if we have already.

Brilliant idea, @FightingHashi

[snowflower]

22 minutes ago, FightingHashi said:

One thing I'm starting to feel is SICK OF EGGS! I've basically had the same breakfast in different forms every morning and for me, this is a lot of heavy eating and makes me feel a little blah.  This morning I had a two egg omelette with sausage, spinach, mushrooms, green onion and hashbrowns (Does anyone know if the hashbrowns count as a veggie, since they are a starch?). Anyhow I'm getting tired of that breakfast. What's everyone else having that's NOT eggs? For some reason eating meat first thing in the morning is just unappealing to me, but I've been using the sausage. 

Maybe fish?  It's not quite as "meaty".  I love salmon cakes for breakfast.  The recipe in ISWF is great and love these from Well Fed http://meljoulwan.com/2014/11/10/oven-fried-salmon-cakes/

[rhed]

@FightingHashi Hashbrowns = potato (or other starchy veg) = veg.

What about a stirfry for breakfast? I've been using ground beef or pork, which appeals to me more in the morning than a solid piece of meat does. Or something like the salmon and asparagus -- that's still a slab of meat but as @snowflower said, it's not quite as "meaty".

[habanero]

I just looked up egg roll in a bowl.  Sounds yummmy.  Did you make the sauce?

Yesterday:

B: classic chili from book (although I used fresh tomatoes and the recipe doesn't tell you when to put the meat back in so feel like I wound up with seasoned meat instead of a chili), but it tastes good and working with it.  Added to some roasted veggie hash (brussels, potato, onion) and threw a couple of fried eggs on top and avocado on the side.  Was too much so I split it up to have half later (as mentioned previously, I feel like I'm eating too much and am cutting down my portions a bit)

L: canned salmon with mayo from the book and a little curry powder over all kinds of greens and veggies chopped up, avocado, oil/vinegar

D: pork/shrimp/veggie curry with coconut milk (as described by someone here as a quickie recipe - even DH liked it!), and blueberries

Today:

B: 2 eggs mashed with Costco guacamole, blueberry/cherry from the freezer (this wasn't enough as it's 3 hours later and I'm looking for something to eat - all part of adjusting my serving sizes)

L:  Not sure, but I'm holding out for another hour and will have a nice hearty meal since it will need to hold me over until probably 6pm at the earliest.  I have a whole bunch of choices lined up in my fridge so I'm assured of having good choices available.  Working on getting rid of some of the stuff that has been in there a while before it goes bad. 

D: not sure, but will be something quick since I'll be racing in late and probably hungry.  Again, grateful to have a bunch of meals ready to go in the fridge.  

WO:  Have been doing the most gentle of stretches, some upper body work, small walks and taking MyoCalm (a valerian type muscle relaxer) during the night to help ease/release the back spasms.  Hopefully by the end of the week will be back to doing a little more energetic work.  This issue has plagued me for a couple of years now and one of the reasons I'm doing this Whole30 program.  Need to break this cycle and get back to a more active lifestyle (at this point I'm refusing to take drugs for my various ailments and only have a couple months to demonstrate bloodwork changes to continue to avoid).   

[FightingHashi]

23 minutes ago, snowflower said:

Maybe fish?  It's not quite as "meaty".  I love salmon cakes for breakfast.  The recipe in ISWF is great and love these from Well Fed http://meljoulwan.com/2014/11/10/oven-fried-salmon-cakes/

 

Those look delish! I will have to try some!

[FightingHashi]

11 minutes ago, habanero said:

 

I just looked up egg roll in a bowl.  Sounds yummmy.  Did you make the sauce?

 

1

I didn't see the original link when I first planned for the meal, so I missed the sauce, but I may still get to run out at lunch and gather the ingredients. I thought it looked yummy without sauce too. 

[SugarcubeOD]

Re: starchy veg = veg:

Yes, however the recommendation is to start with one fist sized serving a day and then adjusts as necessary for your particular context... very active, sedentary, lots of weight to lose, athlete etc...

That means that you need to ALSO have the rest of the plate filled with non starchy veggies...

[maggie_h]

Also still here! Day 9 and felt really good today, even after a tough AM workout.  I'm forcing myself to stay up to watch the World Series game 6 right now (I'm from Cleveland, GO TRIBE!).  I have felt very tired at the end of the day - almost like a flip is switched around 9:30pm -  after feeling very energized during the day.  Paying attention to my body clock has been so interesting.

I really appreciate this forum... reading everyone's posts and meals reminds me all of the time that I'm not alone.  You all are holding me accountable, so thank you!  Posting my meals every day also has helped my process.  I am definitely less stressed about meal prep and planning ...and also came to the realization that I can't make a fancy Whole 30 meal every single day!  Sometimes it needs to be simple and that can be delicious, too.

Pre-W: 1 hardboiled egg w/ Franks (if I have any more, I feel sick when working out)

Post-W/B: Trader Joe's bison burger + sweet potato hash

L: leftover brisket, cauliflower mash, and steamed broccoli

D: protein chicken salad over romaine + guacamole by the spoonful + a few bites of sweet potato soup

[Eruiel]

Hi.  I started with you all (on the 24) and have been quietly lurking. I just wanted to say hi. It's going well I think. I really appreciate everyone's posts and questions. 

[rhed]

@SugarcubeOD Thanks for clarifying!

Tonight I'm excited to try a recipe out of Well Fed Weeknights -- BBQ meatballs and coleslaw.

Last night I had salmon cakes and the simple lemon spinach from Well Fed 2, so that's my lunch today. (With remoulade.)

[Bethjl]

Non scale victory for me... Stress levels are rising everyday but not once have I been tempted to turn to food for comfort.   I'm actually hoping I can afford to stay with the program with the cost of eating healthy. 

[snowflower]

DAY 10!  WooHoo

Slept well last night and my belly seems to be calming down a bit and doesn't feel so "weird".  

Pre WO:  2 drumsticks, coconut milk in my coffee (I hope this counts as a pre WO fat?)

WO:  60 minute strength OTF

Post WO:  lamb meatball, plain white potato chunk

Breakfast:  depends on if I'm hungry.....I had to choke down the post WO meal with a big glass of water

Lunch:  leftover Morroccan meatballs over butternut squash noodles, veggie soup, pistachios

Dinner:  beef burger with sauteed mushrooms and onions in ghee topped with kickass ketchup and mayo, roasted butternut squash in coconut oil, roasted garlic broccoli with coconut oil

@maggie_h GO CUBS!!! 

 

[habanero]

@snowflower, do tell about the butternut noodles...seeing as I have 2 more sitting on my kitchen counter

[tiglilygirl]

DAY 11! Things seem to be moving along, I am not having any troubles sticking to the WHOLE30 meal plan, and I now have more veggies than fruit in my house. I am not craving the waffles I made my son for breakfast, or the Halloween candy stacked in our pantry. My only concern is that I feel like I am gaining wait, I feel heavier everywhere, like all the fat I am eating is making a nice insulating layer on my body--this is what I did not want. My overall goals for this whole30 is better sleep (I did sleep like a rock last night), healthier GI system (no changes yet) and weight loss. I know this is not a diet, but I want to lose weight pure and simple. 

Okay, enough complaining! I plan to start working out more this week and in the future. Last week I lost the connector for my headphones and was working out without any music- torture! Yesterday I picked up some wireless Jaybird X3 buds and they are charged and ready for tonight's workout- I AM SO EXCITED!! 

Food today:

Breakfast: Melissa's Chicken Hash--not my favorite (premade paleo, but also in her book) with one egg cooked in olive oil, slices of tomato and diced fresh jalapeno, with 1 pkg wholly guac, about 6-8 black berries and 2-3 cups of coffee. 

Lunch: Marinara Chicken with mixed veggies cooked in olive oil, olives with jalapeno and banana.

Dinner: Salisbury steak, mixed veggies, avocado, tomato, 10 raspberries, two tsp almond butter, Kombucha

How is everyone else doing? Anyone else suffering from body image issues? 

[snowflower]

2 hours ago, Bethjl said:

Non scale victory for me... Stress levels are rising everyday but not once have I been tempted to turn to food for comfort.   I'm actually hoping I can afford to stay with the program with the cost of eating healthy. 

Type "budget" into search bar above.  There are threads devoted to living a Whole30 on a tight budget.  

[snowflower]

44 minutes ago, habanero said:

@snowflower, do tell about the butternut noodles...seeing as I have 2 more sitting on my kitchen counter

You can only noodle the neck...save the bulbous part for cubes or mash.  Here's a few ways to cook them:  http://www.twirlybites.com/spiralize/spiralized-butternut-squash/

[kimmiann1202]

Hi, guys! I started October 26, so I'm on day 8. I've been posting mostly in another group that started October 25 or 26, but I thought I'd share here, too, since you guys look like a fun, lively group.   

I wanted to share a recipe I made last night for chicken and veggie stir fry. http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/2014/02/04/chicken-stir-fry-with-paleo-almond-satay-sauce/

It was time consuming with all the veggie chopping, but you could buy the pre-chopped mixes at the grocery to speed things up. The sauce was excellent. My non-Whole30 boyfriend really liked it. I made him some rice to eat with it, and I ate it over some sauteed broccoli slaw. You could also eat it over cauliflower rice (I saw Trader Joe's carries frozen and refrigerated riced cauliflower). I'm having it for lunch today by itself. 

[FightingHashi]

2 hours ago, snowflower said:

Dinner:  beef burger with sauteed mushrooms and onions in ghee topped with kickass ketchup and mayo, roasted butternut squash in coconut oil, roasted garlic broccoli with coconut oil

 

This sounds delish! Did you just roast the squash and broccoli in the oven? 

 

1 hour ago, tiglilygirl said:

Dinner: Salisbury steak

How'd you make this? I LOVE Salisbury steak and haven't had it in forever! My mom sadly raised me on boxed foods, but I love the Salisbury steak growing up.

 

Okay, so I don't want to feel like I'm coming on here complaining each day, so I'll start with the good! I feel like I'm less bloated (99% of the time) and do feel like I'm probably starting to lose a little weight or just like I've flushed the "crud" out of my body that I was consuming before. I have no desire to pick-up unhealthy foods or sugars.  Due to my Hashimoto's I've gained weight each month for the past two years (no matter what I tried), so to finally feel like I'm not is a HUGE HUGE victory for me. Plus, I finally met my new Endocrine Dr. Monday and she placed me on the proper dosage of meds for my thyroid.  Sadly, I had to leave CrossFit last night after I got bad heartburn and I'm going back to the Gastro today for my major GERD issues. Wish me luck!  I'm thinking I may need to continue to modify my diet for Paleo/GERD. I was hoping just eating Paleo would cleanse my body and rid of whatever is causing it, but that hasn't been the case and unfortunately it's actually been flaring up more since I started, so I'm obviously eating foods that it's not liking.  I promise I'm not a walking medical basket case, I've just had these two issues for the past two-plus years, which is what led me to WHOLE30. I'm just finally feeling like I am finding some helpful tools and getting where I need to be to feel like "me" again!

Last night after coming home from CrossFit I felt so defeated by my GERD and was upset. I was in such pain I couldn't even muster the ability to make the egg roll in a bowl, plus I was thinking so much cabbage would only aggravate my bloat/heartburn I was having.  My husband (who can't boil water, but I LOVE him anyways) could see I was upset that I didn't know what to eat because I couldn't make the dinner I had planned and was stuck on the couch. Knowing I am trying so hard to stay healthy he offered to make me some breakfast since he's seen me do it the past couple weeks. By the time he got started and was attempting to cook I was feeling okay enough to get off the couch and help him. I was feeling so supported and loved by him in that moment. He didn't tell me to quit or to just have "junk food" instead. He knew I wanted to finish this through, regardless of how I felt. 

Wow, that was a long story today. Anyways, so I'm here...pushing through and just needing to obviously get my GERD under control. Here's what I have planned today.

B: Same ol' same ol' (for now)  I plan to change it up when I do next weeks grocery shoping. I think I'll try the crab cakes that were suggested.

L: Chipotle (because I didn't have dinner leftover) - Lettuce, carnitas, pico and guac

D: Egg roll in a bowl (let's try this again!)

WO: Crossfit (I better not have to leave again today)

 

[snowflower]

9 minutes ago, FightingHashi said:

This sounds delish! Did you just roast the squash and broccoli in the oven? 

I'm sorry! I forgot about linking recipes!!! 

Here's the Best.  Broccoli.  Ever.  I make:  http://paleogrubs.com/roasted-broccoli-recipe  I skip the lemon juice.  I've made it with coconut oil and olive oil and it's equally delicious.  Seriously...it's the best broccoli ever!  If broccoli could be SWYPO, this would be it.

For the butternut squash I didn't use a recipe.  I did about half a teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of cumin mixed with about a tablespoon of melted coconut oil.  Tossed that with cubed butternut squash.  Then sprinkled salt on top.  Roasted it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at 400 for about 20 minutes.