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WH30 - Round 1 - Let the Adventure begin!


Sarah_MT

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DAY 2: Be The Best You!

So, first off, to explain my title.  Yesterday I was thinking a lot about how to continuously motivate and ground myself.  I saw some suggestions for crossing off days on a calendar or pulling sticky notes off the fridge.  Great ideas but I was wanting something tangible I could carry with me throughout the day.  Off to Michaels I went and I now have 30 wooden beads and 2 mason jars.  I've written inspriational phrases and personal motivations on each bead.  Each morning I'll pick a random bead to keep in my pocket and continuously remind me WHY I'm doing this (hence, today's title).  At the end of each successful day I'll add that bead to the completed mason jar.  I'm excited to see that jar grow as I stick with this challenge to be a better me!

Yesterday was great!  I'm using Real Plans to help me keep things fresh and the first set of recipes were great! (M1: eggs, bacon & bell pepper. M2: Sonoma chicken salad over baby spinach. M3: seared flank steak & root vegetable puree.)  Tasty food, didn't even miss grains or sugar.  I'll have another round of cooking tonight for the next couple of days.  

Felt great this morning, got out of bed early to make a 6am spin class (woo!).  I'm worried about not fueling enough for harder workouts and getting too hungry (burned 641c in class today).  This morning I had a handfull of macadamia nuts before my ride and an EPIC bar (made sure I got one with NO added sugar, was surprised that several varieties were ruled out).  Had my breakfast when I got back to work and felt pretty good throughout the day.  Started to flag a bit in the afternoon.  Little headachy, stomach isn't necessarilly hungry but feels kinda empty-ish?  Don't know if this is my brain talking in place of my stomach.  In general, I'm trying to be really cognisant of what is going on with my body and how I'm feeling.  I'm driving this ship now!  Not my jacked up hormones or physiological patterns.

Just have to get through dinner and meal prep for the next 2 days!

 

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23 hours ago, Kelbel123 said:

Not too shabby! Yours? 

These first few days haven't been as bad as I was anticipating. Some headaches and a bit tired but not too bad! Still sticking with it.  I a feeling weekdays won't be too bad but I'm worried about this weekend :unsure:.  How have you felt? 

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DAY 3: You are SO much greater than this!

I had INCREDIBLE sleep last night! I got 3 (!!!) hours of deep sleep last night and it was fantastic.  Of my typical 7hrs a night I only get 1.5-2hrs deep sleep (as per my Garmin Vivoactive). I've also been getting up right when my alarm goes off at 5:30 instead of my usual 30min snooze.  Good sleep = waking rested and on time = breakfast at home at a table (instead of the usual hurried protein shake at my desk) = early to work = productive mornings.  I am loving this!

I do find myself randomly openning my food tracking app only to remember 'I don't have to do that anymore'!! It's a weird mix of freedom and an itch you can't scratch.  I'm hoping in a few more days the vague sense that I'm forgetting to do something will go away.  For now the only logging is on here where calories don't matter, only real food does!

M1: Mini kale and tomato frittatas

M2: Turkey roll ups (nitrate-free turkey, avocado, bacon & carrot)

M3: Chicken & bacon with spinach (simple and awesome!)

It was another day on plan and another bead in the jar!  My life is SO much greater than any one day...but I achieve greatness one day at a time!

 

Here's me celebrating my plain black coffee...the look of alarm in my eyes isn't due to the lack of milk. The coffee was WAY hotter than I realized!

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DAY 4: Love You

Boy, today was a doozie!  This afternoon/early eve I got super tired (kinda fuzzy feeling) and cranky. Focus was also a definite issue, especially since I was sitting through meetings about very technical topics all afternoon.  Thank goodness my box from Barefoot Provisions arrived yesterday and I had some Bitlong jerky to nosh on at 3:30.  By the time I got home at 6:30 going for my run was the LAST thing I wanted to do.  BUT (here's a non-scale victory) self control and sticking to the rules is leaking over into other parts of my life.  I snapped on some stretchy capris, tied on my shoes, got the dogs leashed up and went for a run anyway!  Sure it was a run/walk but I got out there ant that's the whole point!

M1: Mini kale and tomato frittatas 

M2: turkey roll ups, banana

Snack: some Bitlong jerky

M3: chicken and bacon with spinach

Got a sweet potato hash cooked up for lunch tomorrow and the veggies to accompany my eggs at breakfast.  Ready for another successful day tomorrow!

 

Here's not wanting to run but deciding to go anyway...

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Another day done and a bead added to the jar.  This one reminded me to love myself...something I'm not always great at...

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Okay, so I haven't updated my log since Thursday...one might think I've gone off the rails and am hiding from reality...which is absolutely NOT true!  I've stuck to the plan 100%  (Woo!) I just haven't been good about updating my log.  So, here's some quick updates on the last 4 days & today.

DAY 5: Stronger Than This

So, Friday's bead was very appropriate as it was Thanksgiving Lunch day at the office.  They had turkey, ham and all the fixings catered in complete with a full table's worth of pie (see below for proof!).  I planned ahead though and had my lunch all prepared.  I was in the galley long enough to snap this picture, heat up my sweet potato hash and head back to my office.  I broke the 'no eating at your desk' rule but when faced with sitting next to that t-day deliciousness I felt I made the right choice.  I even talked to a few people about what I'm doing and I think I have a couple of recruits for my (prospective) January Whole30!

 

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DAY 6: Today it hurts tomorrow it works

The dreaded weekend, something I've been struggling with for a LONG time.  I'll do great during the week, have a ton of motivation but when the weekend comes around it's like I'm a different person.  I lose focus, motivation, I don't want to do anything but kick back, order pizza, and drink a bottle of wine (yep, you heard right, a bottle).  Heck, at the worst there were weekends that I ordered pizza 3 times from a different place each night.  As would follow when you consume that many empty carbs I struggled to do anything during the day.  Often lounging around reading all day when I should be outside participating in the world and interacting with my fellow human beings.  Now, that's an extreme but you can see what I've been dealing with.

Imagine my surprise when Saturday morning rolled around and I felt FANTASTIC!  Yeah, I slept in a bit (up at ~7:00 instead of 5:30) but I had SO much energy. I made breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen, did laundry, played with my foster kittens (who are totes adorbs) and in general had a super productive morning.  It was downright weird and I loved it.  Took my foster dog Cooper to a meet and greet in the afternoon, went for my mile run, and had dinner with my friend Megan.  It was a really great day!  

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DAY 7: Take Charge

One week, I've made it one week, 7 full days!  It's been a very different week, there's been some challenges but in general I expected to feel a lot worse coming off my old eating habits.  And really, it's been easy to eat good...the recipes from Real Plans were SO delicious, I haven't been tempted too much by off-plan foods.  Now, I'm not kidding myself, I'm sure those temptations will come.  And Sunday I did find myself feeling a bit lazier in general.  I was tired, I hated every minute of my run, and by late afternoon I still hadn't gotten to the store or started meal prep.  But then, I 'Took Charge', I realized the pattern I was settling back into.  I got tough with myself.  I knew if I didn't shop, meal prep, just get up and going, this whole thing was going to fail.  I'd be unprepared for Monday and you can't just whip up quick meals as easy when you're eating good, real food.  I went through my meal plan, I went to the store, and I started cooking.  I got things done.  Eating well and taking care of my health doesn't magically happen.  It takes work, I've got to be on it, and it's SO worth it.  I made it through this tipping point...I need to look out for the next and be ready to push myself through.  I can do this.  I know I can.

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Day 8: Control

Today's random bead from the mason jar is pretty similar to yesterday...it's about taking charge and feeling in control of my life.  In control of food, control of habits, control of the direction my life is going.  Over the past 8 days I have felt more in control and happier than I've been in a long time.  Food isn't controlling me and I can't tell you how great it feels!  Now there's still an underlying anxiety about messing up and I need the structure of a solid plan but I'm getting a glimpse of what my relationship to food could look like in the future.  I as so excited for that day when I really have Food Freedom.  I actually started on this thing by buying 'Food Freedom Forever' on my iPad. I didn't read it (actually still hadn't read it) but the title really spoke to where I really want to be.  I wasn't ready at the time to jump though.  It took me a few weeks and gaining a few more pounds before, and my highest weight ever, I was finally at the low point where change was my only option.  I started a 5 day pressed juice cleanse (I like to do these from time to time) to get myself ready while I went back to iBooks and purchased 'It Starts With Food' and 'Whole 30'.  SO many things resonated with me in those books and I made the commitment to take control and make the change, the life-changing change, and boy it's been great so far!

M1: Spinach Bacon Quiche

M2: Sonoma Chicken Salad w/ spinach

M3: Super Meatloaf & Cauliflower Mash (OMG so delicious!)

Here's some more NSV: my clothes are starting to feel looser, I'm in a better mood, energy levels are more consistent, and I actually felt REALLY great on my run tonight (10:27/mi woo!).  Keep those changes coming!  I (almost) don't care about the scale anymore!

 

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DAY 9: No Regrets

This is a big part of what's been keeping me going every day.  I don't want to go off plan because I'll instantly regret it and have to start over at Day 1...I REALLY don't want to have to start over at Day 1.  But it's more than that...I've been living with pretty constant regrets for awhile.  Questioning why I made the choices I did in the moment, why I hadn't been able to take control, why I hadn't been able to make progress.  Things I did, things I didn't do...I was pretty much in a regret spiral, and no one wants that.  Through this 30 days I want freedom from regrets.  I want to own every choice I make and be proud of the steps I'm taking.  I want to look back in 30 (well now 20 -woo!) days and say I did everything right.  I ate healthy things, I didn't eat unhealthy things, I DID what I SAID I was going to do...and dang, that's gonna feel great!

M1: Spinach Bacon Quiche

Pre-spin class: handful of macadamia nuts

Post-spin class: Yawp bar

M2: Sonoma Chicken Salad w/ spinach

M3: Super Meatloaf & cauliflower mash (couldn't finish all of a serving...realized I was full and stopped, yay for progress!)

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DAY 10: Eat Clean, Train Dirty

Let me hear it again 'Day 10', woo hoo!  I've been looking towards days 10 & 11 with trepidation since reading through the Whole30 timeline.  Most people quit on days 10 or 11 and I'm not gonna lie I've been worried.  I mean, I'm super committed, I'm GOING to do this but I still worry.  As if some little devil is going to suddenly appear on my shoulder and make it impossible to say no to temptation.  Stay away little devil, I got this!  Still have to make it through Thanksgiving tomorrow but I have a good plan.  I have a whole30 approved menu I'm cooking, in fact made the cranberry sauce this evening and OMG if you could only smell the delight in my kitchen!  I'm staying pretty busy, making breakfast, going to an 1.5hr spin class, then lunch, then cooking!  in between making stuff for dinner I have a whole list of chores to do around the house.  Most will only take 30-60 min but that is perfect.  Enough to keep me busy and I'll get to feel the sense of accomplishment crossing all these tasks off my list.  If all else fails I'm putting one of 2 songs on and dance like a fool; I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston, Canned Heat by Jamiroquai, or Flower by Moby.  Good plan I think.

M1: Spinach Bacon Quiche

M2: Stuffed Mushrooms & baked sweet potato

M3: Super Meatloaf & cauliflower mash

OH!  And I had my annual physical today.  Proud to say, though I was sorely tempted, I covered my eyes while they were weighing me and asked them very nicely not to tell me what the numbers were.  I explained I was doing Whole30 and they were really nice.

And while I'm at it let's catalogue some NSV

  • My skin is feeling softer, on my face and elsewhere...and this is saying something, it's finally getting cooler here in Texas and that means the humidity is dropping (FINALLY) but I'm typically really susceptible to dry skin.  BUT my skin feels great.
  • My hair was so freakin soft today, no change in product or routine.  Now part of this might be low humidity but we've had lower humidity days recently and it wasn't like this.
  • Clothes are really starting to feel loser.  Jeans I would have seriously been muffin-topping 10 days ago are comfortable and look great.  Heck the capris I wore to run tonight kept falling down!  
  • I'm in a markedly better mood consistently.  I just have a happier disposition and I'm smiling more.  I think people are responding too.  Last couple of days I've engaged in more conversations with random strangers than I don't know when. Heck, I've lived in my house for a year and just this evening had the longest conversation ever with my neighbor...he used to be a professional Ironman (crazy right?!).
  • Sleep: I'm falling asleep easier and waking up right when my alarm goes off (if not before).  One thing I DO need to work on is getting to bed earlier.  I'm getting just shy of 7hrs average and I'd like to push that closer to 8hrs.  As I get better at meal prep and organization I'll be able to start winding down sooner.

 

Me hiding from the scale at the doctor's office...

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DAY 15: You Got This

Okay, so, I've been bad about keeping up with this log.  But on the GREAT side, I'm still on plan...15 days completed!  Oh yeah! (insert clip of Koolaid man busting through a brick wall).  I even made it through Thanksgiving and several days off work (always tougher because the relaxed schedule).  I made the Thanksgiving dinner from Real Plans (Herb Turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, apple sausage 'stuffing', green beans, and cranberry sauce).  It was really good and there was TONS of leftovers (still some in the freezer).  I got a bit lazy on Saturday/Sunday but I had the leftovers to eat and improvised breakfast with scrambled eggs, bell pepper, and avocado when I didn't prepare my planned breakfast.  SO, even though I didn't stick with my menu I improvised and stayed on plan.  I was dragging a bit Sunday but got myself up, went through my menu for the week and got my grocery shopping knocked out.  Otherwise I slept a lot this weekend, was definitely more tired than usual.  Feeling better today though and had great energy for my workout.

M1: Fruit salad (used persimmons, never had persimmons - they're good!) & bacon

M2: grilled chicken breast, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

M3: pumpkin turkey chili (made in the crock pot: first I don't usually do crock pot stuff and had anxiety all day about my house burning down or the chili burning to a crisp, but hey, neither happened and the chili was REALLY good!)

So, 15 days into Whole30, how am I feeling?  To sum up GREAT!  Eating the Whole30 way has been really satisfying.  Meals are delicious and filling and I'm getting enough variety that it keeps things exciting.  It's not as hard as I thought it'd be to stick with it.  Planning IS pretty crucial though, need to have a good menu and really prepare for the week based on what I have going on.  I don't give myself the opportunity to make a bad decision in the moment...all the decisions are already made for me.  I'm not even really having many cravings for things.  Given, I haven't been watching TV much.  Still whenever I see a commercial for Domino's Pizza my mouth literally starts watering...which is CRAZY.  It's been eye-opening how my brain is wired to respond to certain foods. I'm not hungry, the food I'm eating is tasty and super satisfying but it's this unconscious thing.  I'm already starting to feel a lot of freedom about food but these reactions help reinforce why I need to stick with this and complete all 30 days (or maybe more!).  I'm definitely noticing I've dropped a lot of inches.  I look leaner, I'm less bloated, my skin is looking better...it's awesome!

I've got some challenges coming up in the last half of this challenge...*deep breath* team lunch, team birthday celebration, volunteer organization dinner, company dinner @ Babe's Chicken, company Christmas party, company happy hour, and hosting an Ugly Sweater Christmas Brunch (this one is technically after my 30 days ends but I plan to keep eating Whole30 until something REALLY worth it comes along at Christmas).  The past 15 days I've been building the tool kit to get me through all these challenges but I have to stay focused!  I can do this!  I've got this!

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DAY 16: Keep Going!!

Today's inspiration was very appropriate.  It's day 16, I'm half way through this thing, I'm starting to see improvements but I need to KEEP GOING!  This isn't about a 2 week crash diet, this is about changing my habits and changing my life.  That doesn't happen in 2 weeks, it might not even happen in 30 days.  The thing is, out of all the other diets or weight-loss plans I've tried they all were definitely a temporary thing.  I couldn't see myself making the lifestyle change.  Just doing what needed to be done to lose weight then somehow (miraculously, I guess) I'd figure out how to keep it off and keep going.  Eating this way I'm satisfied, I'm happy, and most importantly, I can see myself keeping this going...really making a lifestyle change!  And that's what NEEDS to happen for me to get where I want to be, to be that healthy person I know is inside.

M1: Fruit salad, bacon, HB egg

M2: Pumpkin turkey chili

M3: Hot dogs w/ sweet potato buns (so good! didn't know I liked hot dogs)

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Hi everyone, I've been browsing for a bit trying to find some folks that started around the same time as me. Great to read your posts, I'm on day 17. Oh and greetings from Down Under! Please don't mention soup to me! we are at the beginning of a heatwave here in Queensland, with tomorrow expected to get to 38 C (or 100 F). 

The biggest thing I have noticed is that I really have no appetite, and I don't mean food boredom, I mean bugger all appetite, which I guess is awesome really, considering I'm usually hungry all the time:). So I'm just going with it and eating when I feel like it, this morning's fare was left over baked potatoes and a boiled egg. That will keep me going until at least 2pm!  Anyone else experienced this?   I've had no other issues, but my diet was pretty clean before this, and I'm gluten free, but I have a terrible gut and that seems to be improving daily (the major reason I am on this). I guess I'll find out what the culprit might be in the reintroduction phase.

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16 hours ago, AnnieAud said:

Hi everyone, I've been browsing for a bit trying to find some folks that started around the same time as me. Great to read your posts, I'm on day 17. Oh and greetings from Down Under! Please don't mention soup to me! we are at the beginning of a heatwave here in Queensland, with tomorrow expected to get to 38 C (or 100 F). 

The biggest thing I have noticed is that I really have no appetite, and I don't mean food boredom, I mean bugger all appetite, which I guess is awesome really, considering I'm usually hungry all the time:). So I'm just going with it and eating when I feel like it, this morning's fare was left over baked potatoes and a boiled egg. That will keep me going until at least 2pm!  Anyone else experienced this?   I've had no other issues, but my diet was pretty clean before this, and I'm gluten free, but I have a terrible gut and that seems to be improving daily (the major reason I am on this). I guess I'll find out what the culprit might be in the reintroduction phase.

Hey Annie!

I'm right on the same day as you (well, now day 18th, woo!).  It's finally starting to feel like Fall here in Texas (was 39 degF/4 degC here this morning!) so chili and soup is appropriate but we suffered our own batch of heat-waves this summer so I definitely empathize! Try to stay cool!

Now, on to Whole30.  My appetite has been variable.  In general, I'm not feeling NEARLY as snacky as I used to and I think my hunger signals are starting to be trustworthy again!  I find I do get fairly hungry before meals but if activity dictates meal time gets pushed back I don't experience the crankiness & energy lull I might otherwise have.

This past weekend my appetite wasn't as strong and I ate less...I also noticed though that I was more tired.  Don't know if this is related (eating too little) or if I was just going through a 'phase'.  I've been a bit hungrier this week though and noticed energy levels are up.

Otherwise how are you feeling?  I'm loving it so far...I'm happier, skin looks better, clothes fitting looser, all sorts of awesome stuff!

Do you have a favorite recipe you like?  I made a sonoma chicken salad that was DELICIOUS and would be great 'summer' food.  Also, couple of nights ago I had hot dogs (which I didn't think I liked) on sweet potato buns and they were super tasty!

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Hi Sarah

I'm not feeling too bad, but I haven't really noticed a great improvement in my energy levels I have to say. Gut issues, well let's just say that my tummy definitely feels better but I'm still having issues with diarrhoea, I have a tummy bug called blastocystis hominis and it's really hard to get rid of,  so I expect it's off to the specialist early next year.  There's been a small improvement however, so that's better than nothing. I too haven't really needed to snack,  however, I do notice when I don't have the right amount of protein at a meal, I'm in trouble (like yesterday, not enough protein for lunch as I was on the run, so I paid for that later on!).

I do miss a wine, but it's not as hard as I thought it would be, it would help if hubby didn't come home from work and have a G & T, which is lovely in this weather:).

Less aches and pains - not so much - springing out of bed - also not so much. Maybe I'm expecting too much in so little time. I haven't had one sugar craving which is crazy right, not one, gotta be happy with that. As for fave recipes, I love making the mayonnaise and the pesto is great as well. I have a Thermomix so super easy. I love the Chilli, and have perfected the poached egg, thanks to the Whole30 recipe book!  I'll give the Sonoma Chicken a try. Oh and yes, definitely have lost weight, can feel by my clothes, but I'm only ever 3-4 kgs above my ideal weight - that usually fluctuates when I'm a bit stressed at work.

Hope all is well in Texas, and feel free to 'oh ah' over your yummy soup. I'll try to come up with a delightful salad for dinner tonight.

Cheers, Annie

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DAY 18: Change your LIFE!!

When I wrote this inspiration down, I knew it would be a big one.  It sum's up everything I'm trying to day.  Make that change, build those skills, so I can actually change my life.  I know it's going to take time but 18 days into this thing has given me hope.  This is something I can keep up, something I can maintain.

Thoughts have been creeping back into my head the past few days.  I haven't noticed clothes feeling any looser (but Sarah, they're already pretty loose, you gonna notice looser?) and started to wonder if I'd plateaued on this thing.  I even got a flirting thought or two about starting to cut back on meal sizes (which is crazy - for the first time in I don't know how long my body is sending me correct signals of hungry/full - why would I mess with that?!).  I started to think about day 30 and my weight...how great would if feel if I really lost a lot, oh but wait, how BAD would it feel if I only lost a few pounds or if I didn't make it to the next 'decade' of weight, or far enough below that next number. I started building up anxiety about something that in the long-run doesn't matter...and aren't I in this thing for the long run?  30 days isn't going to make up for the last several years of poor choices...it IS going to give me the tools and the confidence to keep making GOOD choices and stick it out.  Don't expect it to necessarily work miracles but teach me how, over time, to make my own!

I need to keep focusing on the NSVs that will fuel me for the long trek ahead.  Today was actually great for that!  Had an incredible day at the gym.  Had a ton of energy, pushed all-time high weight on several exercises and felt great about it.  I'm starting to see more muscle definition and my closer-fitting work out clothes are starting to be looser.  One of the ladies at work today stopped and asked if I was still doing my 'diet thing' because she could really tell a difference.  I need to hold on to these moments...celebrate these things, don't build anxiety about a stupid scale 12 days from now.  Live each day healthy and the rest will come!

M1: Fruit salad & bacon (last day!)

M2: Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Snack: had a birthday celebration at work.  I had some jerky and nuts.  Oh, and I cut up the cake, it smelled SO sweet.  At first I was kinda bummed I couldn't have any but then when I was cleaning up I found myself grimacing at the smell.  I really didn't WANT to eat it - I think my brain was just trying to trip me up (stupid brain).  Proud that I stuck with it and didn't cave.  It definitely wouldn't have been worth it!

M3: Zucchini Lasagna

 

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