Sarah's 1st Whole30

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Although yesterday I was fully Whole30 compliant, today is technically my Day One, as yesterday I spent the day preparing and making food for the week. This journey is going to be a triple-whammy (sp?) for me, as yesterday was also my first day with no cigarettes and without my daily bottle of wine (yes, embarassingly, and appallingly, I said whole bottle, not glass). I have no idea why I started smoking again at 30 years old (about to turn 34 this month), or how I got the the point that finishing a bottle of wine every evening is normal or okay (although that started during a period of unemployment just after my father's tragic and untimely death at 53 years old). 

All that to say that I am walking into this program, fully committed, and knowing all too well that it is going to be a struggle for me. A struggle through many vices, bad habits, and self-medicating patterns. I've been saying for well over a year now that I needed to make a major change, a commitment to myself and my health.   I even paid a life coach for three months of help and weekly meetings. 

Nothing has stuck. When I make my own rules, it is all too easy to renegotiate them. So this time I'm going to follow someone else's rules. Not blindly, but because they make perfect and beautiful sense to me. I've always been opposed to any "diet" plan that requires protein shakes and costly supplements. Humans evolved over millions of years without consuming commercially manufactured protein powder, multi-vitamins, etc. I will follow Whole30 because I believe that it is truly good for me, and the best course to begin meaningful change for better overall health.

Day 0 Food Prep:  Yesterday I roasted two whole chickens with meat set aside for four lunches and two dinners. The bones turned into home-made stock brimming with fresh vegetables for future meals. I also made fresh mayo.

Day 0 Food Log:

Late Breakfast:  2 Eggs scrambled with Spinach, Tomato, Parsley, Basil, and Dill, along with half an Avocado, all topped with Hot Sauce

Snack in place of Late Lunch (eaten when the first bad nicotine fit hit):  Sliced Banana drizzled with Almond Butter, topped with Toasted Coconut

Dinner:  Chicken Cacciatore from the Whole30 book, served over Cauliflower "Rice" seasoned with zest and juice of one Lemon, and fresh Parsley

Made it through my first day with yummy results!

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Official Day 1 (mostly because I didn't sign up for the daily email until yesterday, not due to non-compliance).

Food Log:

Breakfast:  1 Hard-boiled Egg, and a sliced Banana drizzled with Almond Butter, topped with Toasted Coconut

Lunch:  Chicken Salad made of Roasted Chicken tossed with homemade Mayo, Granny Smith Apple, Onion, and Celery in Romaine Lettuce cups topped with shredded Carrot, Avocado, and toasted Almonds

Dinner:  Bell Pepper stuffed with Chorizo, Mushroom, Scallion, Carrot, and Garlic, served with sautéed Spinach, and roasted Potatoes and Tomatoes (I was too hungry to take a photo tonight) 

Sticking to the no wine or cigarettes today was a bit harder. I also slept terribly last night, which added a bit of crankiness today. However, overall I felt good. No cramping or headaches. A slightly strange feeling in my head, but may be just the lack of sleep. 

[Anji Branch]

Way to go!  Keep it up.  Today was my "official" first day as well.  

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Day Two Down!

Although my second night of sleep was also terrible, I felt pretty good today. Not tired or lacking energy. 

 

Food Log:

Breakfast:  1 Hard-boiled Egg, and a sliced Banana drizzled with Almond Butter, topped with Toasted Coconut

Lunch:  Chicken Salad made of Roasted Chicken tossed with homemade Mayo, Granny Smith Apple, Onion, and Celery in Romaine Lettuce cups topped with shredded Carrot,  and toasted Almonds

"Mocktail" Hour: Grapefruit Perrier with muddled Basil and Lime

Dinner:  Salad of Romaine, Spinach, Roasted Chicken, 1/2 an Avocado, Carrot, Bell Pepper, Mushroom, Cucumber, and Radish, tossed with Vinaigrette (toasted cumin seed-infused olive oil with lime and apple cider vinegar)

[ColleenSw]

Congratulations for all you're doing!  Your pics look delicious and you really have a knack for food presentation. Wow! 

I'm in warm-up mode right now, starting Day 1 on Monday, and I worry about the wine cravings. How did that mocktail work for you? 

[Anji Branch]

That looks amazing!  I'm feeling a little blah today.  Tired and run down.  

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

On January 4, 2017 at 9:22 PM, ColleenSw said:

Congratulations for all you're doing!  Your pics look delicious and you really have a knack for food presentation. Wow! 

I'm in warm-up mode right now, starting Day 1 on Monday, and I worry about the wine cravings. How did that mocktail work for you? 

Good luck! Thanks for the photo kudos (full disclosure: I'm a culinary school graduate, so it makes cooking delicious meals a lot easier).

The mocktail worked great during the week. Last night (first Friday on Whole30) was a bit more challenging. I really wanted to give in. But then I started cooking dinner and tried to keep myself distracted. I think if I can get through this first weekend, it will be easier.

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

On January 5, 2017 at 11:49 AM, Anji Branch said:

That looks amazing!  I'm feeling a little blah today.  Tired and run down.  

Thursday was my worst day so far for energy levels. After I ate lunch at work I took a brisk 30 minute walk in the cold, and that helped wake me up enough to get through the rest of the afternoon. Hope you're feeling better today!

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Day Three Food Log (1/5/17):

Food Log:

Breakfast:  1 Hard-boiled Egg, and a sliced Banana drizzled with Almond Butter, topped with Toasted Coconut

Lunch:  Chicken Salad made of Roasted Chicken tossed with homemade Mayo, Granny Smith Apple, Onion, and Celery in Romaine Lettuce cups topped with shredded Carrot,  and toasted Almonds

Dinner:  Taco Night! Ground Beef and compliant Chorizo with home-made taco seasoning, served in Romaine lettuce "shells" with Guacamole, Tomato, Radish, Pickled Jalapeño, Pickled Onion, Scallions, and Lime-Mayo drizzle (sorry, should have taken some pics, but I was too hungry to wait)

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Day Four (1/6/17):

Today was definitely the hardest yet in terms of cravings. I'm fortunate that I wasn't a sugar fiend before starting, so the sugar cravings haven't hit me. But today I was definitely craving gluten-type carbs and when Friday evening started, I was dying for my evening wine. I drank some kombucha, followed by my grapefruit Perrier and white-knuckled it through making dinner. Proud to make it through another day!

Food Log:

Breakfast:  1 Hard-boiled Egg, and a sliced Banana drizzled with Almond Butter, topped with Toasted Coconut

Lunch:  Chicken Salad made of Roasted Chicken tossed with homemade Mayo, Granny Smith Apple, Onion, and Celery in Romaine Lettuce cups topped with shredded Carrot,  and toasted Almonds

Dinner: MahiMahi marinated in Lemon, Dill, Garlic, and Olive Oil, served with Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado Salad, and roasted Baby Potatoes and Radishes tossed in Garlic-Ghee and Dill

[Julzology]

I am loving  your food pics.  

Me too with the wine.  Usually my husband and I split a bottle and then I had a couple of single malt scotches after dinner.  It's a hard habit to break.  

Good for you for making it through another day.  Weekends are hard because for me they were always an excuse to drink a little more than usual.  

You're doing great.  Hang in there. 

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

4 hours ago, Julzology said:

I am loving  your food pics.  

Me too with the wine.  Usually my husband and I split a bottle and then I had a couple of single malt scotches after dinner.  It's a hard habit to break.  

Good for you for making it through another day.  Weekends are hard because for me they were always an excuse to drink a little more than usual.  

You're doing great.  Hang in there. 

Thanks for the encouragement! The no weekend drinking is definitely the hardest part for me so far. Trying to keep busy with accomplishing a ton of things I've been wanting to get done, instead. 

Glad you like my food photos! More to come (I must admit I went to culinary school, so I have a bit of training in plating, though obviously not food lighting).

[kirkor]

You are brave for tackling major changes in food, drinking, and smoking all at once!

But to make sure you don't make it harder for yourself than it needs to be, when eggs are the protein source in a given meal the recommendation is to have as many can fit in the palm of your hand, so for most people that's 3-4. That will set you up for the day better than the banana/almond/coconut will.

Love that you're rocking homemade mayo right out of the gate!

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

14 hours ago, kirkor said:

You are brave for tackling major changes in food, drinking, and smoking all at once!

But to make sure you don't make it harder for yourself than it needs to be, when eggs are the protein source in a given meal the recommendation is to have as many can fit in the palm of your hand, so for most people that's 3-4. That will set you up for the day better than the banana/almond/coconut will.

Love that you're rocking homemade mayo right out of the gate!

Thanks for the encouragement! I have been reading that I should eat more eggs, but I'm working up to that. I'm not super hungry in the morning and can't eat much. I usually eat the egg when I get to work, and the banana about an hour later. Overall, I'm finding it hard to eat as much as is recommended. 

As for the homemade mayo, I went to culinary school and learned to make it early on. I do it by hand, because washing a bowl and a whisk is much faster cleanup than the whole food processor, and I can control the consistency! I also only use the egg yolks, as the raw egg whites are far more likely to get you sick than the yolks, and overconsumption of egg whites can cause biotin deficiency. 

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Day Five (1/7/17):

Yesterday was a fairly typical Saturday. I tend to eat less on the weekends than I do during the week. Usually only two meals per day.

The non-typical (and AWESOME!) part is that I survived having my brother and his girlfriend over for the evening. Along with my fiancé, they drank wine and beer and ordered some serious take-out (cheese-steak subs and french fries). I stayed compliant and ate my taco night leftovers. They were delicious. I definitely wanted to grab a bite of cheese-covered meat from my fiancé's sandwich, but I did not! The smell was hard to resist.  

Food Log:

Breakfast:  1 Fried Egg, 2 slices Bacon, leftover Roasted Potatoes Sautéed with Pickled Jalapeños, and Sautéed Spinach topped with leftover Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado Salad

Afternoon Snack: Sliced Banana drizzled with Almond Butter, topped with Toasted Coconut

Dinner: Taco night leftovers - Ground Beef and compliant Chorizo with home-made taco seasoning, served in Romaine lettuce "shells" with Guacamole, Tomato, Radish, Pickled Jalapeño, Pickled Onion, Scallions, and Lime-Mayo drizzle

[aprilb]

Wow, @DeliciousNotDeprived, your honesty and grit almost brought tears to my eyes! The fact that you are owning your demons (and their root causes) is huge, and I believe will bode well for you in this 30 days and beyond! So proud of you!

I totally get it on the wine thing! The two biggest reasons that I kept putting off doing a Whole30 for so long were: sweet, creamy coffee and wine. I'm on my second round of Whole30 now (started 1/2/17), and I have to say ... giving up the wine (in the first round) wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. It was hard, but certainly not excruciating, and the restorative sleep that I regained from that choice made it well worth the trade off! Giving up wine this round hasn't even really phased me. (And yes I can do a whole bottle, or at least half for sure, regularly if left to my own devices!)

So anyway, keep rocking, girlfriend! XOXOXOXO

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

@aprilb I appreciate the feedback! Being honest with myself is a life-skill I've been developing for a few years now, and it makes major life changes a lot easier, even if they're not less painful. It has definitely been a struggle. I've been pretty much okay with the food changes, but the cigarettes and wine have not been easy. Now that I've made it through my first weekend without the usual crutches, I'm hoping it will get easier (fingers crossed)! I definitely had a more productive weekend than usual. 

When I first decided to try the Whole30 a couple weeks ago, I hadn't even read all the rules yet. I saw it on Greatist, and thought I'd give it a go. Once I started reading more about it, I got the book, "drank the Kool-aid", and jumped in. I think that not giving myself time to over-analyze what I'd be giving up was probably for the best. I may have put it off for a lot longer. But January is a great time to hit the reset button (especially since it's also my birthday month). So far, so good. I'm not regretting it, despite being occasionally cranky about it!

Good luck to you, too! XOXO

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Yesterday's food log will be coming tonight when I get home. But today, at the start of Week 2, it seemed a good time to revisit my goals and reflect on what the first week brought.

Goals:

Stop being tired/lethargic all the time

Sleep better and longer

Quit smoking

Limit alcohol to weekends

Stop using food as comfort, reward, and punishment

Go to the gym at least 3 times a week

Cook dinner at home most nights and eat before 8:00 pm

 

Benchmarks so far:

My energy level is not amazing yet, but I'm not feeling tired all the time. Energy is pretty consistent throughout the day.

The first few nights of sleep were terrible, but it's getting better. Still need some work on going to bed earlier!

I've successfully completed a week with no smoking or drinking alcohol.

I've kept mostly to three meals a day without snacking. I've felt full and satiated, with minimal cravings.

I've cooked dinner every night, and eaten by 8:00 pm most nights.

I haven't been back to the gym yet, but this week I have planned time for at least three visits.

 

Overall, I'm feeling good about the changes that are beginning. I'm noticing that even though I'm spending more time cooking and washing dishes, I'm also being more productive and getting more done at home. I'm feeling confident that I can successfully complete this challenge, and am grateful for the support on here, since I'm doing it alone. 

 

Best wishes to everyone in meeting your goals! XOXOXO!

[Emma]

I enjoyed reading through your posts.  I thought about stopping coffee, but chickened out.  Reading that you stopped cigarettes and wine is impressive and hard stuff, though I've read that it's often better to just do the whole shebang than lots of little steps.  I used to smoke and quitting was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  I love your photos.  It inspires me to think outside my own box of go-to meals.  I also am inspired by your increase in productivity.  I'm not productive these days and I hate it.  I'm either "on" or "off" and I'd rather just be steady.  Cheers for week two!

[ChiggerCane]

love the pics.  I'll be checking out your journal for some food ideas.  I laugh as I admit I was glad to see you have culinary training - I was feeling rather inadequate in my food presentation!  Good luck with everything.  I find the food changes a challenge - can't imagine changing food, drink and smoking all at once.  All the best to you!

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

Day 14

I haven't posted my food log all week! It was a pretty good week, and maintaining the Whole30 has been easier, and so I've spent less time on this forum and reading the book. I haven't needed the reminder, as choosing healthy meals is starting to become more ingrained. Yay!

This week was a lot of leftovers from Sunday night's crock-pot pork roast. I cooked a 7 pound pork picnic roast, which turned into two dinners for me, two lunches, and some leftover meat went into a coconut-curry soup filled with veggies. 

I changed up my breakfast routine this week and tried out the egg baked in avocado, with a side of roasted tomatoes, and an apple. Lunch was dinner leftovers. I also tried zoodles for the first time this week, served with Thai turkey meatballs and a spicy tomato sauce. As a long-time pasta lover (and someone who makes hand-made pasta dough, ravioli, etc.), I was pretty skeptical, but pleasantly surprised by the veggie "noodles"! They are going to be a recurring favorite on future menus. 

In addition, I set a goal of making it to the gym three times this week, and I did it. Feeling great about that. 

So, I'll just include a few photo highlights from the week, and end it there. Hope everyone else is having an easy-going time, as well!

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

[aprilb]

@DeliciousNotDeprived Good for you! Keep it going! Awesome to hear that the Whole30 cooking is starting to become a way of life! I feel the same.

Yesterday when I went to the story I bought hubby a bomber bottle of hard cider. Up until last night, it hasn't been too hard to go without alcohol. But man, the hard cider sure sounded good! I took a couple of long sniffs and that actually helped!!!! I know that's weird but it works for me. LOL

[DeliciousNotDeprived]

1 hour ago, aprilb said:

@DeliciousNotDeprived Good for you! Keep it going! Awesome to hear that the Whole30 cooking is starting to become a way of life! I feel the same.

Yesterday when I went to the story I bought hubby a bomber bottle of hard cider. Up until last night, it hasn't been too hard to go without alcohol. But man, the hard cider sure sounded good! I took a couple of long sniffs and that actually helped!!!! I know that's weird but it works for me. LOL

It's not weird at all! I found myself deeply inhaling a bottle of pinot noir last night. I wondered whether it would be torture or helpful, but it turned out to help! Then I had another seltzer with lemon. 

Also, the way of life thing is becoming true. I don't think I can go back to the way I was eating before. I feel too good now. And the health conscious choices are spreading to other areas of my life. I've wanted to try yoga forever, and I just signed up for a six week intro course that starts at the end of the month. I've also been back in the gym this week, and I requested personal training sessions for my birthday gift, instead of junk I don't need. I've always found that the more good things I bring into my life, the more good things I want to continue to bring in (the same principle applies to the "bad" things, for me). 

Cheers to you for keeping it going, as well!

[aprilb]

 

22 hours ago, DeliciousNotDeprived said:

I've always found that the more good things I bring into my life, the more good things I want to continue to bring in (the same principle applies to the "bad" things, for me). 

@DeliciousNotDeprived Someone very wise in the area of health, whom I respect, calls this "crowding out." So instead of thinking of all the things that you CAN'T do or CAN'T have, you simply add in the ones that you can. A much healthier approach and it sounds like that's exactly what you're doing.  Keep it up!