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5/7 Start Date - looking for a buddy


jokane

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Amy, you knit yourself a dress - that is impressive!! I knit too, but we are talking scarfs, hats, blanket and baby sweaters lol.  I love that you have a plan and a backup plan. I plan on sticking with whole and healthy foods FOREVER (lol) But I know I will do another strict whole 30 in August or September because I really do thrive on rules and regulations. So if I do a strict 30 days every so often I know it is just a good way to keep on track. 

Emily, thanks for your feedback, and what the heck are snackaroons?

6 days to go, not quite at tigerblood level, but unfortunately the meds I have to take I think are a bit of an interference. Lots of noticeable NSV's so I'm going to focus on the positive!! 

Happy Sunday everyone!!

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Hi, can't believe it's day 29.  Lots of chaos here, company and out for dinner (I was only one to not drink) and then grad parties left and right.  Yesterday I stopped into Whole Foods between parties to get some compliant food and ate it in the car before going to the next party.  

It will be interesting to see which foods, if any, cause an issue when I reintroduce.  My skin (acne) has cleared up (yeah!).    Since it tends to be tied to monthly hormones, I may have to do a slower introduction schedule.  I'm not sure.  For some things that cause bloating, it's pretty quick to know culprit since it usually happens within 24 hours.  but for acne it can take days to surface (and weeks to heal/go away), plus the entire monthly cycle needs to be factored in.  I'm not sure how to go about that. 

My main goal is to KEEP eating the template especially for breakfast.  I think the protein and fat in the morning is such a good way to start.  It's 180 degree change in direction from the toast and coffee (w/cream & sugar) I used to eat every day without fail.  I think if I can keep the breakfast template, maybe I will have less cravings through out the day.  And, another goal is to add fat to my lunches.  I used to strive to eat no or low fat lunches.  Now I get that it's just setting me up to not feel satisfied/satiated for the rest of the afternoon.  100 -200 calories from good fat at a meal has to be better than a 100 -200 calories of highly processed junk an hour or two later when you are hungry again. 

Great job to all of you so far... hang in there!

 

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@Susabella627 I haven't finished the dress yet! I'm still working on the yoke portion and after that I have the entire body and skirt area left to knit. I'm not graduating until the fall though, so I have plenty of time to work on it. :)  I'm glad you've had several NSVs! I have too, but I'm also not feeling any tiger blood. 

@AB_MN Great job on staying compliant while at parties all day! I agree with you that having some fat and protein is a great breakfast. Before I started, I thought I would miss my plain greek yogurt with fruit and granola breakfasts, but I don't and wouldn't choose to eat that much sugar in the morning again. 

I read some of Food Freedom Forever over the weekend and came across a part that was talking about the end of the elimination part of the plan. It had a reminder that this isn't the end, but a transition to a new phase (reintroduction), and even once reintroductions are finished, it's just another transition to food freedom. That's helpful, because as many of you have pointed out, once I've been "good" for so long my mind starts telling me I deserve a "treat" once it's over. No! It's not over! I'm moving to a new phase. I might buy a non-food related treat to celebrate my victories, but no sweets.

Hope everyone is having a great start to their week!

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Happy Day 30! Whoo hoo! :D 

I'm totally with you @NoneOtherThanAmy - my cravings always seem to get worse near the end. I've been cravings sweets like mad for days. The Sugar Dragon is so tricky! My last reintroduction, gluten was what woke up my Sugar Dragon big time, so be careful! Especially because you're reintroducing over the weekend when it will be extra easy to talk yourself into a sweet treat (it's like we think calories on weekends don't count or something, isn't it? #facepalm)

Snackaroons: DELICIOUS, that's what. http://www.thelaughinggiraffe.com/lemon-snakaroons.html

Love the things you noticed about fat at your meals, @AB_MN! I think that is important too! My breakfasts have always been carb heavy (even when they were compliant ingredients) until I really started following the meal template and I have definitely noticed a difference. GREAT JOB not slipping on Day 29 despite all the temptations - this final day is totally worth it! There may be some other chains out there about acne and how to figure out the timing of it but I think now that you're done with a W30, your hormones might be more stable? As long as you keep a journal during reintroduction (which I HIGHLY recommend), I think you will be able to figure out the linkages even if you do a traditional reintroduction schedule. Plus, even if you're not sure exactly what caused it, you can just do a Whole7 or Whole14 to clean up and try reintroducing the suspected  thing again. It's a lifelong learning process, but it might be more intuitive than you think. 

I am not feeling my best. I did not do a good job this weekend - Saturday I basically snacked and skipped lunch, Sunday I ate lunch much later than I should have, I overdid it on nut-related things again, and I don't think I got enough fat with each meal (I was out of avocado and that's my go-to, especially at breakfast). With that in mind, I am going to skip the intentional sugar day tomorrow and start my reintroduction on Friday with alcohol. I'm going to let up on the added sugar rule in ketchup still, as is generally recommended as of Day 31, but I'm not going to intentionally seek it out and then remove it again like I was planning to. I'm hoping the bloating and crampy-ness is also related to that T.O.M. that should be coming and once that starts and I eat the meal template for a few days that I will feel good Friday and have a clean slate to start reintroduction on. Here's to hoping!

Happy Day 30, you did it! :) 

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CONGRATS to those that are on Day 30 today!! You Made it and hopefully learned many new things about your relationship with food along the way!

For me Day 25 and counting... not really "craving" anything, but really looking forward to some food freedom after reintro. 

Emily, thanks for the snackaroons link, they do look delish!

NSV for me - I have been wearing a surgical type bra ever since my mastectomy in Oct 2015. As I mentioned I had reconstruction in January (and my surgeon used my own tissue to reconstruct, no silicone or implants in me), but the shape is well, lets say wider and it just doesn't quite move like normal. I've been bra shopping several times and just never found anything that worked and often left the stores frustrated and in tears. So I don't know if it's because I've lost a few pounds or if I just have a better attitude but I found 2 bras that fit well and they are really cute. Every little thing that makes me feel like my pre cancer self is a win!!

Have a great Day Everyone!!

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Just (fairly) easily passed up donuts. You know why? It's not because I'm on Day 30. It's because TIM HORTON'S DONUTS ARE NEVER WORTH IT. Even during Food Freedom. Donuts from the donut shop in my hometown? Heck to the yes. Leftover meeting donuts from Tim Horton's? NOPE. 

(I don't have anything against Tim Horton's, I just had to share this revelation). :lol:

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Hi all. Day 29 today and I honestly lost track of it--just had to count. (And I even signed up for the Daily emails. :D). 

I'm feeling in really good company, hearing that several of you aren't roaring with Tiger Blood, either. We head off for our camping trip Thuraday and I'm ready to stay compliant and stretch this out to a W45-60. There are things I want to master better like the breakfast template, as @AB_MN mentioned. I also need to manage the pre- and post-workout meals--I've not done well with that and am sure that can be contributing to the lack of energy. Also, I need to start getting myself to bed earlier (I've been saying that for over 10 years...), and I'm sure that will help. 

So, I'll just integrate more into this lifestyle change and see where I am towards the end of summer. Definitely seeing NSVs, like better stamina in workouts, muscle definition has popped!, etc. 

Like @Susabella627, I do better with structure and guidelines.  And I'm so happy you found some bras that make you smile. :)

@NoneOtherThanAmy, PLEASE post photos when you are done sewing and knitting!  Even if it's months from now, I would love to see. Those are both arts that are becoming lost, it seems to me. I'm so impressed. I also appreciate what you said about "this isn't "over"--I'm heading into a new phase!"  Perfect way to frame it!!

And @emilyelowe, love the link and really appreciate the wise counsel to JOURNAL the reintroduxtion phase!  I'll remember to do that!  I also admire your honesty on a weekend that may have not been your best as you look to cross the finish line. Really respect that. ;)

Kudos to us all!

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@Susabella627 What an awesome NSV!!

@emilyelowe Sorry your weekend was not that wonderful. I also find that weekends are the hardest for me to eat the 3 square meals each day. I keep forgetting lunch and often don't end up eating until 2:30. Thanks for the advice on the gluten. I keep thinking that I'll have horrible GI effects from it and then will never want to touch gluten again, but I never thought about it reawakening my sugar dragon. I'm planning to be pretty busy that weekend with packing for my trip the next week and starting to get ready to move, so hopefully those things will keep my mind off any renewed sugar dragon fire. LOL about the Tim Horton's. I have a friend who lived in Canada for years and she talks about Tim Horton's very fondly, although she admits that it's pretty average food and coffee (she swears they add something to make the food addictive though, like crack or maybe just extra sugar?). :lol: I've been told that I MUST try something from there when I visit Canada later this month, but I didn't know there were any in the US. Is it pretty much just in Ohio?

I'll admit I wasn't feeling my best this weekend either. I think it was user error though. ;) In week 3 I started feeling like I was eating too much and was worrying that I wouldn't have lost any weight (I know, that's not the point, but it's hard to ignore that feeling). I was getting pretty full from my breakfasts and lunches, so I stopped eating everything I set out for myself and tried to listen to my body's signals. Well, that led to me decreasing the portion sizes I was setting out for myself and ended with me not eating enough in general which led to decreased energy, some nausea, and lightheadedness, especially after working out. Not exactly a fun weekend. I ate a big supper last night and ate a bigger portions for breakfast and lunch today and I am feeling much better. 

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@emilyelowe Just a clarification...I didn't mean to laugh at your NSV. That's an awesome realization to have! I just thought it was a funny coincidence that one friend is telling me that Tim Horton's is a must have and one of my Whole30 buddies is telling me that it's not worth it. :) I'll probably go and get some coffee but skip the donuts, just so I can tell my friend that I went.

@Steph the Desert Rat I'm planning on doing some sewing this weekend (apparently while also packing for my trip and preparing for moving...maybe I need to rethink my weekend plans a bit :blink:), so I hope I can show off my skirt soon. The knitted dress will likely be done sometime in September or October...I started it at least 2 months ago and made a mistake that caused me to rip out a bunch of rows of lace. It went in timeout after that so that it would learn its lesson and keep its stitch counts correct. :P I've started working on it again recently and I'm hoping I'll make good progress over the next few months! It's interesting to hear that knitting and sewing are dying out. I come from a fairly crafty family, my mom, her mom, and almost all her sisters sew, and my grandma was also a prolific knitter and crocheter. I think it was for those reasons that I turned to knitting when I needed something creative in my life to survive the stress of my first year of grad school. It's more of an art/hobby than anything else because it's NOT at all cheaper to make your own clothing. I'm loving it for the ability to customize fit. I can never fit into store-bought dresses because I'm bottom-heavy, so by the time I get a size that fits my hips, the chest area is too baggy. Oh and I'm short, so I trip over anything floor-length. I can knit and sew customized versions that will fit me though, so I'm excited about that!

@Vguck Hi! Hope things are going well with you! Feel free to jump in, share your crazy whole30 stories, NSVs, or struggles. Glad we've been an inspiration. :) 

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@NoneOtherThanAmy - Tim Hortons is disgusting... don't bother with it...  The 'cream' they put in coffee is an edible oil product that if left to cool in the cup of coffee, creates a skim of this white-ish goop... it's so gross!  If you want a good Canadian donut, let us know where you're going in Canada and I'm sure someone will give you something more worth it than Timmies... it's a Canadian staple for sure... people either love it or hate it... I used to Loooooove it... now, I just find it atrocious!

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6 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

@NoneOtherThanAmy - Tim Hortons is disgusting... don't bother with it...  The 'cream' they put in coffee is an edible oil product that if left to cool in the cup of coffee, creates a skim of this white-ish goop... it's so gross!  If you want a good Canadian donut, let us know where you're going in Canada and I'm sure someone will give you something more worth it than Timmies... it's a Canadian staple for sure... people either love it or hate it... I used to Loooooove it... now, I just find it atrocious!

EWWW! No worries, I always drink my coffee black. I gave up drinking my calories years ago. :) 

I'll be in Montreal for a conference. If you know of any places that are worth it or any places that have good healthy food in the area, I'll gratefully take all suggestions!

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@Steph the Desert Rat Not sure what you've tried for your pre and post-WO or when you work out but I work out first thing in the morning, so I have been doing a tablespoon of cashew (technically, it has a bunch of nuts in it, but it says cashew on the label) butter on the way to the gym and just a whole HB egg post-WO when I get home. Pre-WO fat, Post-WO protein. I stopped trying to get carbs in after my workouts because after reviewing the chart in It Starts With Food again, I realized my workouts are probably not intense enough to actually warrant them (as much as I love them - haha). Then I shower and get ready and cook my normal template breakfast. I was really nervous I wouldn't be able to make it without pre-WO carbs (and was a little hungry at first) but now it feels great and really easy/sustainable. So that's a thought for you! Good luck figuring out what works for you!

@NoneOtherThanAmy I had never seen a Tim Horton's until I moved to CENTRAL Ohio, so not sure what the deal is as far as location! I don't drink coffee so I've never really paid a lot of attention to places like that, though. And no worries about the NSV - it was funny! I was laughing while I typed it. @SugarcubeOD - Hilarious. I really didn't intend to attack Tim Horton's. Sounds like it's the Dunkin' Donuts of Canada, though. Do we have any East-Coasters? Those people are all about the Dunkin'. :blink:

Also, Amy, it sounds like we might be the same person. I'm a towering 4 foot 11 inches. I went to try on some leggings the other day and the girl was like "Do you want 3/4 or full length?" and I was like, "...what's the difference?" :lol:

Ate a pretty fat-heavy dinner last night so I felt GREAT at the gym today. I really need to make sure I keep doing that. However, I'm finding my primary (read: only) go-to fat is avocado. Does anyone have any other favorites? I don't like olives.

On the other hand, I ate dinner too late. I was hungry at like 4:30/5 so I ate something thinking, "Oh, I'll eat a full meal in a little bit," but then got busy and didn't end up eating until like 8 p.m. (darn fat adaptation, making me forget to eat! :P) so I didn't sleep well and I'm guessing that is why? I think you're supposed to eat like 2 hours before bed to let your hormones settle in. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep though, so not sure if that's why or not. 

Day 31 Report: I am down 2.6 pounds and 1.8% body fat since May 2, which is a really big deal for me! (As noted above, I'm just a little nugget). I had also been worried the last week or so that I hadn't made any measurable progress, which would have been OK, but this is definitely more fun. :) Definitely feeling better today after my good dinner last night and great workout and breakfast this morning. I actually was more excited about reintroducing food yesterday than I am now, but I guess willpower is higher earlier in the day so maybe that's why. I just really feel like this group has made an incredible difference in my motivation and perspective on this whole thing - definitely my best Whole30 yet! Planning to reintroduce alcohol tonight as a test and then again this weekend (happy birthday to me!) and move through the rest of the 10-day plan next week. (but you guys already knew that because I posted a calendar like a nerd ^_^). NSVs definitely include moving away from counting calories, more energy, more alert in the morning, fewer cravings, more comfortable in my clothes (and even bathing suit) and LOTS of progress in the gym!

I think reintroduction is the toughest part because all of a sudden you get weird cravings and crappy symptoms and your motivation to be good to yourself goes down the toilet (at least that's what happens to me). Don't fall for the Sugar Dragon's lies! We can do this! So close to Food Freedom!

(And welcome new peeps, and happy last week to people who aren't done yet - you're so close! *cheers* :D)

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Thanks for the suggestions, @NoneOtherThanAmy! Do you incorporate those things just as your cooking fat or in addition on/in the meal? I cook with olive oil, coconut oil, and ghee but thought sometimes we were supposed to also specifically eat fat in addition to that. Maybe I should re-read the meal template to check. I did buy unsweetened coconut flakes last week, so need to figure out how to incorporate them. I've heard they're good to put on meats before baking? Has anyone tried that? I'm sure some crispiness would be a delightful treat. :)

Bummer about the confusing signals! I'd like to start taking some different/additional vitamins, but I'm waiting until after my entire reintroduction to incorporate them because I was afraid of that. The beauty of it, though, is you know how to start over and figure it out now! Go back to compliant W30 for two days and try again WITHOUT the different training schedule. Tada!

Interestingly, my friend who just did her first W30 in May found out rice made her INCREDIBLY tired. She literally texted me at like 2 p.m. and said, "I'm dead to the world. Rice is not my friend." I had never heard of that affect before but now I would definitely not be surprised if that was the impact of the non-gluten grain on you, too. I'm sure you'll figure it out with a little more digging! No worries!

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@emilyelowe You're right. Cooking fat doesn't count. I'm talking about adding olive oil to greens in a salad, adding coconut oil to coffee or tea, or using ghee in place of butter on a baked potato. I've also been known to just eat a spoonful of mayo if my meal looked low on fat - only my homemade mayo though. :wub: I think the whole30 book has a recipe for curried coconut chicken or something along those lines. I haven't tried anything like that yet because I'm worried it would be a bit like SWYPO for fried chicken, which is a food I will definitely overeat and so could be a trigger for cravings, etc. That's specific to me though, I don't think coconut-crusted meat is frowned upon in general in whole30-land.

Smart move to wait to change anything until after reintroductions. It didn't even occur to me until after I got back from my run and was exhausted. Live and learn! I will have to do some extended reintroductions later, after I get back from Canada. Interesting about rice's effect on your friend. I had rice at lunch today, but didn't think it affected me for better or worse. It could just be quinoa for me. 

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Hello Gals, 

Sounds like your reintro's are well under way. @emilyelowe, You did awesome and had some great results!! So many awesome NSV's!! Love that you call yourself a little nugget, not an issue for me as I am 5'9  (which comes with it's own problems lol). As Amy said re: Fat,  I also add Olive Oil to a salad and ghee sometimes to potato or veggies. I  will toss  walnuts or pecans  in a salad or put a smear of almond butter on a banana. Also, I love whipping up coconut oil in my coffee. Anxious to hear how your alcohol reintro went. 

@NoneOtherThanAmy so did you get thru your day? Sorry your run may have altered your response, but thanks for the heads up, I would have never thought of that. 

Hope everyone else is getting to their finish line... 

 

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Congrats to all that finished! If you are wanting to discuss reintroductions and eating of non-Whole30 compliant foods while you work out your food freedom, that's totally fine............you just can't do it here. ;) We need to keep the Whole30 areas of the forum clean and streamlined and that means not discussing non compliant foods even in a reintroduction framework because it can be confusing to people that don't understand that you're done.

I've moved the posts specifically discussing eating reintro foods to a new thread in Post Whole30 which you can find here: 

 

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