Day 4 Minus 3 of Whole 30

[Ariane]

Hi there.  I started on November 1, after having eaten pulled pork sliders on Hawaiian bread so X that day.  November 2, I incorporated orange juice in my green smoothie which I thought wasn't allowed but turns out juice is allowed, as long as it's NAS (no added sugar.) November 3rd, there was less than 2% sugar added to my turkey sausage and I thought that shouldn't be too bad, until I started reading the book which explicitly says NO ADDED SUGAR, meaning less that 2% is still less that 2% sugar added.  So hence, today, November 4 is my official start date.  I had headaches all of November 2 and none today.  I really don't like the idea of cutting out so many food groups, BUT as I'm doing this Whole 30 challenge, I'm everyday realizing things I do love about it.

1. Makes eating easier in a way cause it's black and white what you can or cannot eat.  No question.  And when in doubt, don't eat it.
2. I'm finding a lot of the recipes have less than 8 ingredients which are easy to find at the grocery store cause they're not anything crazy.
3. I'm also finding that a lot of the recipes take less than 40 minutes to make, including prep time which to me is a huge plus.
4. In a way, this plan is cheaper because if you think about it, fruits and veggies cost less than meat and grains and milk.
5. I love that it allows me to get creative with eating and cooking!  Who knew you could make rice out of cauliflower???
6. I'm excited at the prospect of doing a challenge.  It gives me purpose and focus in my life.  Kinda helps with boredom cause now, I find myself looking for compliant recipes, reading sub-Reddits on Whole 30, reading the book, planning what to eat the whole day tomorrow, planning for all those road bumps I'm sure to hit (like Thanksgiving and my upcoming trip), planning what I'm gonna say to all the doubters, reading this forum and even writing this post, listening to podcasts on healthy diets!
7. Because Whole30 consumes so much of my mental energy, I'm actually saving money cause I'm not at the stores shopping (except for groceries of course)
8. I like that I get to introduce it to other people like my co-workers and perhaps inspire them to jump on the bandwagon with me.

Well, day 1 is out of the way.  I've got to say, I've stayed pretty full on red curry, cauliflower rice, grapes, almonds, a green smoothie, and dried apricots today.  Never felt tired or out of energy.  I've read in the book on what to expect for the rest of the month and I know it's gonna be worse before it gets better.  That's why I'm working on my if/then strategies right now.

1. If I get dessert cravings at work, then I will do 20 jumping jacks or eat a really good fruit.
2. If I get hungry in the car on my way to/from work, I will call a friend to talk to or snack on almonds and dried fruit and drink some ice cold water.
3. If someone offers me non-compliant food, I will tell them I'm allergic and will go into anaphylaxis and die! JK.  I will tell them I'm doing an experiment on myself and can't take their offer.
4. If I eat out at a restaurant with my family, I will order grilled fish and veggies.  I will also always suggest we go to a Japanese restaurant so I can eat sashimi!  I love sashimi! Or seafood restaurant works too!
5. When Thanksgiving comes and there's tons of non-compliant meals and desserts at the table, I will put on a movie, play a card game with my cousins, or start reading the Whole30 book and do 20 jumping jacks.  I will also prepare my own food that day!

Anyway, there truly are harder things in life.  Trust me.  I'm a nurse who takes care of cancer patients who have to endure 24 hour nausea/vomiting, zero energy, blood transfusions, hair loss, isolation, infections, getting poked and prodded every hour of the day, living in a hospital room for 100 days, not sleeping in your bed, not being with your friends and loved ones.  Not being able to eat some food groups is really hard too, but I think with the proper planning, we can make it work.  With that said, please let me know your favorite Whole30 recipe with less than 10 ingredients and takes less than 30 minutes to make.  I need about 25 more for my collection to make it through this month!

Have a magical day!

[ShannonM816]

Hi, Ariane, it sounds like you've got a good plan here. If I could suggest one tiny little change, though -- when you have dessert cravings, rather than eating fruit (something sweet), if you can't distract yourself and stop thinking about it (the jumping jacks should help with that), have something not sweet. Fat is a really good thing to have to fight cravings -- if you like olives, they're a great choice because the fat will definitely help satisfy you, and they're anything but sweet, which will help break the habit of having something sweet.

Honestly, after a week or two, if you're building your meals correctly, you should rarely be hungry between meals anyway, so it won't matter too much, but until then, rewarding your sweet tooth with something sweet is sort of like giving in to a toddler when they throw a fit in a grocery store demanding candy or a toy or whatever -- they've gotten you to give in once, so now they'll keep asking every time you go.

For recipes, this site has a bunch of good ones, but specifically quick and easy ideas, there's burger toppers, or her No Recipe Required meals give you ideas of things to keep on hand and ways to put them together. These salmon cakes don't quite meet your ingredient limit, but they are easy, the freeze well and reheat well and are good hot or cold, so they're great to make on the weekend when you have a little time and keep around for days when you need something fast.

[Ariane]

Hi Shannon!

Thanks so much for that great reply!  Super helpful and I will definitely implement it (except the olives cause I'm not a fan.)  But I'm sure I could find a substitute for olives right?  Thanks again.

[ShannonM816]

Olives are just one option. Some avocado/guacamole, mayo or ranch dressing with some veggies for dipping, leftover protein, a hard boiled egg. Just try to go for something not sweet.

If you ever feel like trying olives again, look for the Castelvetrano variety. They're green, but don't taste like green olives, they're much milder flavor than others. I used to think I didn't like olives unless they were part of some dish with lots of other flavors to tone them down, but these I can eat straight out of the jar.