sarahstardust Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Today is Day 2 of my second Whole 30. I did my first whole 30 ending on 2/16, which was the day I flew to India for 3 weeks. While I am REALLY glad I did the Whole30 before I left, it was absolutely brutal to suddenly realize that I was way out in rural India surrounded only by lentils, rice, chapatis, potatoes and holy cows. Seriously. I logged a few carb comas early on in the trip! Right around the 25th of Feb, one other person and I got a bad case of projectile vomiting after dinner. I only mention this because the stash of Larabars and Epic bars in my suitcase absolutely SAVED me. (Yes, having meat in your suitcase at an all veg ashram IS like having a hidden cocaine stash.) At any rate, I lived on bars and bananas for over a week, and then we moved to a hotel in the 100% vegetarian holy city of Haridwar. There it became obvious to me that I would never see Epic or Larabars in the same way, ever again. I have been home now for just about a week, and suffice it to say, my system is so messed up I'll just spare the details at this point and speak in general terms of digestive "improvement" or "continued imbalance." Was it worth it? Hell, yes! Am I so relieved to be home and able to cook my own delicious, sustainably-sourced meats and veggies that I could fall down on my knees and kiss the kitchen floor? Oh, yes. Definitely. As far as this Whole 30 goes, I'm changing it up just a bit. In the first round I ran into some binge eating habits with regard to nuts and larabars. Happily, I think I am cured of the larabar problem, but I'll state nonetheless that I intend to avoid those pitfalls. The beauty is that after the first round, I know exactly where the problems lie, and more importantly, I can easily identify the feelings I have when I'm binge eating something. So I can scan myself for that energy alone, and just know it means to put down whatever's in my hand. Yeah. That's the tough love. 0% tolerance for unconscious eating. At the moment, the danger areas are nuts, larabars, and while I'm cooking. Day 1 Meal 1: zucchini soup and a meat muffin (or, meat puppet, as my boyfriend calls them.) Meal 2: Apple with sunflower seed butter, chicken. Meal 3: Paleo Pad Thai. (Ran into slight nut problem during the cashew roasting.) ** I need to drink more water. And eat less salt. Still retaining water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 23, 2017 Author Share Posted March 23, 2017 Today is Day 3... Digestion is... still working on it. I'm frankly tired of thinking about it! I got into trouble with cashews yesterday, for all my talk of tough love, I just passively watched while some one inside me shoveled 'em in. With raisins and salt. Yeah. It's a problem. Perhaps I will just go for "a day without a nut" today. Day 2: Meal 1: Zucchini soup and some meat loaf. Meal 2: Salad with chicken Meal 3: Omelette with lots of veggies and tomato/avo salad Woke up this morning and roasted a chicken. The carcass is now coming to a boil with some wings while waiting for me to add the veggies and let it roll for 24 hours. My other resolution for this Whole3o - in addition to getting binge eating under control — is to begin a conscious exercise program which has got to begin with unlocking my hips and hamstrings. I have made lots of notes about what yoga poses, mobilizations, and cardio I need to add in before adding strength training... but... making notes is not DOING it. So hopefully my next post will include some notes about actually doing some stretching and maybe taking a walk for starters? How hard could it be? (Don't answer that. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 Day 4 today... digestion is still heading the right direction. I realize I am just exhausted from all the travel. It's hard to just let it be what it is and not think that something is wrong with me. Shouldn't I be... networking with a diverse and forward thinking group, launching my new blog, writing brilliantly insightful things about life and times, sharing quality moments with lifelong friends? Meh. More like, waking up at 5 am and watching the light fade in to the day, some cooking, some cleaning, some reading, some writing, some eating. Passing out cold after dinner with a book on my face. That's it. That's all I can do. Yesterday I FINALLY stretched. It was great. Whenever I finally sit down to do physical activity I really really like it. So what is the problem? I don't get it. I'm hoping its just a matter of getting things rolling at this point. I actually pulled out the now ancient "Light on Yoga" by Iyengar and made lists of poses to practice. He's extremely clear that all the standing poses are preliminary to seated forward bend, which is my Super Goal - to accomplish full seated forward bend. I'm giving myself a year. I also discovered this new book I really like called "Becoming a Supple Leopard" by Dr. Kelly Starrett. I added in a few hip openers, or "hippo-peners" as I call them, from his protocol and almost made myself puke. Lots of work to do there. The combination of Yoga and these mobilizations designed to allow you to reach optimal form for weight training (or Cross Fit) seem like a good combo for getting the nut cracked. Speaking of nuts, yes, dammit. I ate some. They were pistachios though, so I had to work for them. Day 3: Meal 1: Zucchini soup and roasted chicken Meal 2: Meatloaf and roasted cauliflower Meal 3: Leftover pad thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 Ok, I guess today is day 6? I missed a day of posting. Digestion is almost... dare I say it... normal? (!) Energy is slightly better, though still up before dawn and passed out soon after the sun goes. I guess that's a good thing, its just different for me. Food has been fine. Dwindling down on my nutty obsession. (Also, we ran out of nuts which helps immensely.) Both Day 4 and Day 5: Meal 1: Zucchini soup, Meatloaf day 4, and Meat Puppets (Muffins) day 5 Meal 2: Leftover Pad Thai, day 4; and Day 5, salad made of chopped apple, pear, jicama, chicken, paleo mayo and black pepper. (Really good!) Meal 3: Both days had chicken/sweet potato fritters -- these were SO good and easy! 2 white sweet potatoes, shredded, blended with a pound of ground chicken and spices -- salt, pepper, garlic powder, aleppo pepper (thyme? can't remember) and fried in bacon fat. Served with sliced onion, tomato, and avo the first night, and with onions and kale cooked in more bacon fat and drizzled with balsamic vinegar the second night. This recipe is a total keeper! Did yoga both days, just my own practice, trying to unlock my hips and make friends with my feet again. When did they get so far away? My friend that I traveled with in India is 70 years old. She's over 6 feet tall, and big. She's had two knee replacements. And she has lost a lot of core strength. Traveling with her was a giant wake up call to stay really good friends with your feet and keep them close. Otherwise, they will enter a realm just out of reach, and then, everything gets a lot harder. What I will say is that the body is so forgiving, and so grateful for the stretching! I found that my hips were WAY more open after just one session of yoga and supple leopard mobilizations. What I can feel when I do yoga is that my body really WANTS to carry less weight, to be more efficient, and to feel better. Sometimes, this feeling manifests as guilt. Sometimes, as inspiration. Now if I can just get out of my own way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 Also, just wanted to note that I've been filling a pitcher with water and squeezing a lime, and lemon, and an orange into it and drinking it all day. It is really helping with the hydration factor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Day 8 today. Digestion normal. Starting to have energy! This morning I am trying a product called "Better Half" in my coffee-- it is pretty good! When I was ill on the plane on the way home from India, nothing seemed edible... but Air France pours hot chocolate along with coffee and tea, and sweet as is was, I liked it. I just read about a product that is like coffee, a bitter drink, but it is ground roasted cocoa beans -- much less caffeine. I am going to try that! Ok, today is day 8... cook up time! Meals day 6&7 Meal 1: (6) last of the soup and meat muffins; (7) meat muffins (yeah, I'm a little tired of soup and muffins...) Meal 2: (6) last of the chicken salad (7) ugh. Something snacky. I can't remember! And too many pistachios!!!! Meal 3: (6) eggs with chard and fennel, jicama home fries (not my fave); (7) grilled salmon w/ green sauce, salad with fennel, orange, and onion. Oh yeah. Soooo good! Todays cookup involves: More zucchini soup (lack of creativity) Lots of veg prep Grilling of chix thighs and flank steak Slow cooking beef carnitas Tuna and sweet potato cakes Or some variation thereof! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Day 9.... I ate soooo well yesterday! Meal 1: meat muffins with magic green sauce (avo/pistachio/cilantro) Meal 2: grilled salmon on lettuce with more green sauce Meal 3: asada-marinated flank steak grilled and chopped with grilled onions and jalapeños, served with tomatillo/avo salsa, lettuce wraps, and tomato. YUM. Did an hour and a half of yoga- standing poses mostly. Feet are slowly getting closer.... it actually amazes me how fast the body responds. It's almost like.... it wants to feel good. Oh, and digestion is better today than it has been in almost a year. Thanks Whole30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahstardust Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Ulp! Well... today WOULD have been Day 11. Except I just slid back to the beginning again! This is so pathetic, check this out. I was driving to town, and found some TicTacs in my bag that I vaguely remember buying either before I lefT FOR India, or in Paris on the way back. I'm just not sure. At any rate, I had about 5, and suddenly thought, oh. Right. I'm eating sugar. And then I I thought, they're TIC TACS for gods sake. And then I ate like another 2 dozen, absent-mindedly, while driving. (Note: I had the concern that the abusive consumption of TicTacs could lead to some kind of TicTac overdose... but I seem to be fine.) On the way home, I met a friend for coffee. And two or three sips into my capuccino with real milk, I thought — Holy Cow. I just did it again. And then I drank the whole thing. It was absolutely delicious. And then I went home and ODd on Whole30 bacon and sunbutter. I don't know. It could have been so much worse (which really would have been more delicious) I sort of have to laugh. (The apples with sunbutter and bacon were seriously good though). So, I think in the interests of purity, I have to set my Whole30 day count back to zero... and I'm not restarting the clock right away at this point. The moral of the story is, the Whole30 is pretty easy (except for overdosing on approved foods) — unless I leave the house! I only went out once and my level of awareness/processing around ordering was wow — just not there. I've got some traveling to do next week in Portlandia... food mecca. I'm going to just have to try really hard to pay attention, and make conscious choices. And learn from the choices I DO make. Like for example, here's what I learned from yesterday's choices. 1) Stay away from TicTacs 2) order plain coffee. Regular half and half occasionally is fine. 3. Dairy makes me break out. 3) Avoid dairy and sugar. 4) They are sneaky. 5) Pay more attention. Since I am not strictly Whole30ing... I am switching this line of thought over to my paper and ink journal.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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