ronwina Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Hi all (sorry in advance this is so long)! I’m closing in on the end of my first round, R1D28…and am writing for help as I move into the next 30 days. While I have made some incredibly drastic changes in my relationship with food, and been 100% compliant to the best of my knowledge, I am still struggling with a lot/most of the basic program tenants. Re-reading through my post, and looking at my Instagram feed, I see that I’ve eaten plenty of white potato, but even more SWEET POTATO. Need to scale back on those items and ramp up the green leafy’s! Plus, I think I may have identified a nightshade sensitivity so I want to eliminate both the bell peppers and potatoes (the nightshades aren’t a part of my diet) I’ve been relying on during the next 30 days. Truly, I’m more interested in having a long-term, healthy relationship with food than weight loss, however, also very surprised I have not lost given previous lifestyle of extremely poor food choices (i.e., fast food 3x a day, 24/7…seriously) thus leading me to believe I could be doing my Whole30 “better”. OVERALL STRUGGLES -Eating within an hour of waking up -Eating dinner at a reasonable time - and NOT at 1130p. Ugh. -Still sooo tired. Often find myself nodding off in the afternoon. -Still a lot of brain fog (although better than before; when I was ramping up to start my W30, I had a couple of weeks experimenting with recipes and deciding whether I wanted to jump in, and, I felt ah-maze-ing. And, then the fog returned...) -Eating enough vegetables -Eating enough *cooked* vegetables -Eating too much fat -I’m actually craving more greens, but a bit unsure and afraid of how to prepare them...other than the boring wilting/sautee. -Adding exercise back into my life -Biggest craving is for some chewing gum -Drinking enough water -getting away from the vegetables I’m comfortable with (sweet potato, bell peppers) -Have not followed the “symptoms” along timeline (good or bad) Well, what am I eating? typical breakfast** -2 eggs (which I loathe) -1/2 to 1 chicken/apple sausage, sometimes with a TB of mayo or dijon -1 to 2 C of steamed broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, and/or wilted spinach -1/2 avocado (when I can find them, otherwise nuts or olives) -coffee and some compliant creamer -Anywhere from 930a to 1130a -Honestly, I think this is the meal closest to the template typical lunch I now believe I’m eating too much fat at breakfast and thus not hungry for a lunch…even when I’m out working hard in the garden…”Oh, it’s 4:30pm! I should start to make something for ‘lunch’”. Then my lunch is so late, dinner is also late, and thus I’m going to bed with too much in my belly. Recently, since lunch has come so late, I’ve been trying to make mini-templates for lunch with a HB egg, dollop of mayo, LOTS of baby carrots or 1 HB egg, almond butter, and sliced apple sprinkled with cinnamon. MORE eggs…egg salad (sometimes solo, sometimes over baby romaine leaves) avocado bell pepper slices to scoop up the egg salad sometimes, dump ranch is added to the mix - if I have it. (home) roasted chicken steamed broccoli baby carrots dump ranch favorite dinner(s): 1/2 avocado 1C tuna poke 1 zucchini, zoodled 1/2 sweet potato, cubed, pan-fried 6oz-ish sirloin with chimchurri sauce 1/2 - 1C sautéed swiss chard 1/2 - 1C cold roasted beet salad w/pistachio 1/2 sweet potato, baked fries 1/2 - 1C cold roasted beet salad w/pistachio 1/2 avocado 1 zucchini, zoodled 1/2 sweet potato, sliced taco meat with buffalo sauce **quantities are an approximation. I don’t measure/weigh, but on the flip side I’ve had no concept whether I’m consuming a cup or a pound of food…so trying to be more cognizant of portions. Thankfully, not all has been a struggle. NSVs -I didn’t weigh myself at the start, and don’t own a scale, so I’m not able to quantify any (if any) weight loss. Some clothes feel and fit better, others don’t. -I am sleeping better - and without the TV on throughout the night - something I haven’t done for the last 20+ years. -I *can* do this. I *want* to do this. I *deserve* to do this! -I can walk down the chip aisle and not even pause or think about the items that used to fill my shopping cart. -I can take the time to read labels and recognize all the garbage I don’t want to put in my body. -I can have someone eat a corndog in my enclosed car and get grossed out by a smell I used to love. -I can drive by my favorite fast food joint without stopping for, or wanting to stop for, one of many beloved treats. -I have identified trigger times when I have previously enjoyed mindless eating and resisted! -I feel good about myself knowing I’m eating real and wholesome food. -Biggest repeat craving is for some chewing gum, not candy. -I have been making mayo, ketchup, and ranch dressing! Who am I?! -I had a bag of Cuties that were going to go bad if I did not eat them soon. That seemed daunting. So, I juiced the 5 remaining fruits which made about a cup of juice. I was hesitant to have the juice, fearing the dragon, but drank the juice after my meal. It was super sweet and delicious…and I didn’t want a drop more than what I had…or anything else for that matter. I am delighted to share that I have truly enjoyed this process. Just need to dial it in to be closer to how the program was intended. Would love any advice/feedback you might be willing share! Am I on the right track as for recognizing what needs to be modified? Any other thoughts are welcomed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted May 3, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 3, 2017 Why are you eating eggs if you loathe them?? Some thoughts - yes, you need to eat breakfast within an hour of waking... don't wait for it to just 'happen', you have to work at it and make actual actions towards doing it, such as maybe cooking your breakfast the night before etc... You are not eating too much fat at breakfast, it's just that if you're eating it so late, of course you woudln't be hungry for 'lunch'. Eating at 1130 makes sense that you wouldn't be hungry for your next meal until about five hours later (4:30 as you said). Back up your schedule so you're eating when you wake up and lunch hunger should start to come at lunch time and then dinner isn't nearly midnight (??!?) Why do you feel you're eating too much fat? Are you eating more than what you've listed here or snacking on nut butters etc? I don't see anything standing out that tells me you're eating too much fat... which, incidentally is extremely hard to over eat. Are you following the template? You say you want help 'working' it... are you using your palm and thumb to come up with portion sizes and then filling your plate with veggies? Starchy carbs are recommended to be a fist sized serving a day to start... if you have unstable moods or are an athlete, you may benefit from having a serving at every meal. There are plenty of great recipe blogs that you can peruse to get ideas of how to cook veggies that you're unsure of... Nom Nom Paleo, Mel Joulwan/well fed... Oh She Glows is a vegan site, so you'd have to make sure there was nothing that is not compliant, but I'm sure she must have loads of veggie dishes/side dishes/cooking methods that would work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronwina Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 Thank you for your detailed reply! =) I'm still a babe in the kitchen and get overwhelmed with the timing, techniques, planning, etc. More often than not, what I cook is never what I envisioned and end up with...bleh. So, I'm eating eggs because I know how to prepare them and know my results will be relatively consistent. I've always struggled with my lack of ability to view a recipe and recognize good ingredient/flavor combos (to me) or even think a recipe is achievable. BUT, an unmentioned NSV of my W30 is that I am willing to, and have been, trying new recipes. Just haven't been able to get out of the egg "box," yet... As for eating within an hour of waking...thank you for reinforcing this point. It is a real struggle as I often take an hour just to realize I'm awake and need to get up and moving. Not trying to make excuses, but explain my situation. Simply put, I'm a night person. I move like a sloth in the am but have hopes this can/will change despite it being a lifelong "ailment". At this point, I don't know what else I can do to prepare for my first meal. I've got everything chopped and ready to put in a pan, but it still takes me forever to get it all to a plate. I can think of nothing more unenjoyable than walking straight from my bed to the stove...haha! Pre-cooking my typical breakfast (as it exists now) also sounds really unappetizing. Not trying to shoot down your suggestions; I appreciate how they're helping me think through this. As I'm already stretched for time, it's clear my first meal is not a time for experimentation, unpreparedness, or lolly-gagging. And, it appears I'd benefit from diverting my menu away from breakfast-y foods that need cooking each am. Thankfully, I'm no stranger to eating LO steak and potato (for example) for breakfast. Anything (compliant) with a ready-to-eat portability will be ideal. Phew! I think I'm eating too much fat because I could easily go without eating well past the 4-5 hour mark. Definitely not eating more than what was listed (another NSV: very, very rare mindless eating/snacking!). So, good to know my fat consumption is within reason. I guess my fear/my thought had been my current breakfasts are akin to getting a super-high fat egg/bacon sandwich from a place with golden arches and not being hungry the rest of day. As for the template, I have definitely been trying to accomplish templated meals...but unlike how you've described. (My title should have said something like "Need help adjusting my template to be veggie-heavy" but couldn't figure out how to edit the title.) Not one to have previously included large veggie portions with my meals, I'm pretty sure I was unintentionally focusing first on the protein and veggies as secondary. Someone else suggested to focus first on the veggies. Simple. That statement already makes more sense and is more "true" to the template as intended. Your template and portion description are also quite helpful in redirecting my thinking. I like the idea of keeping starchy carbs to one serving/day...but, I can def get moody... Your recipe blog suggestions are super, super appreciated. I will check them out now! Thanks again for your reply and the sharing of your knowledge! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SugarcubeOD Posted May 3, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 3, 2017 10 minutes ago, ronwina said: Thank you for your detailed reply! =) I'm still a babe in the kitchen and get overwhelmed with the timing, techniques, planning, etc. More often than not, what I cook is never what I envisioned and end up with...bleh. So, I'm eating eggs because I know how to prepare them and know my results will be relatively consistent. I've always struggled with my lack of ability to view a recipe and recognize good ingredient/flavor combos (to me) or even think a recipe is achievable. BUT, an unmentioned NSV of my W30 is that I am willing to, and have been, trying new recipes. Just haven't been able to get out of the egg "box," yet... As for eating within an hour of waking...thank you for reinforcing this point. It is a real struggle as I often take an hour just to realize I'm awake and need to get up and moving. Not trying to make excuses, but explain my situation. Simply put, I'm a night person. I move like a sloth in the am but have hopes this can/will change despite it being a lifelong "ailment". Believe it or not, if you actually work on this hour from waking thing, your hormones will regulate and you may become more of a morning person... Not being hungry, being sloth-like, feeling like you need an hour to notice you're awake etc... are all subsequent to not having balanced cortisol/leptin responses... Being a night owl is also a symptom, so if you really want to change that, breakfast is the place to start! At this point, I don't know what else I can do to prepare for my first meal. I've got everything chopped and ready to put in a pan, but it still takes me forever to get it all to a plate. I can think of nothing more unenjoyable than walking straight from my bed to the stove...haha! Pre-cooking my typical breakfast (as it exists now) also sounds really unappetizing. I wouldn't want to walk right from bed to stove either... can you walk from bed to stove, get something in a pan on low heat and then go take a shower? That should wake you up and when you're out, your meal should be heated (perfect for leftovers!) and then you're more alert and it's been more than five seconds since you left your bed. Not trying to shoot down your suggestions; I appreciate how they're helping me think through this. As I'm already stretched for time, it's clear my first meal is not a time for experimentation, unpreparedness, or lolly-gagging. And, it appears I'd benefit from diverting my menu away from breakfast-y foods that need cooking each am. Thankfully, I'm no stranger to eating LO steak and potato (for example) for breakfast. Anything (compliant) with a ready-to-eat portability will be ideal. Phew! Yep, any food is good for breakfst. To save time, try dishing up a template plate of food at dinner designated for breakfast the next day... that's a good time saver AND you don't have to spend any brain power in the am thinking about what to eat... I think I'm eating too much fat because I could easily go without eating well past the 4-5 hour mark. I'm guessing this is your hormones too... your timing is pretty screwey as discussed so I bet this resolves itself as your meal timing and hormone balance gets better.Definitely not eating more than what was listed (another NSV: very, very rare mindless eating/snacking!). So, good to know my fat consumption is within reason. I guess my fear/my thought had been my current breakfasts are akin to getting a super-high fat egg/bacon sandwich from a place with golden arches and not being hungry the rest of day. As for the template, I have definitely been trying to accomplish templated meals...but unlike how you've described. (My title should have said something like "Need help adjusting my template to be veggie-heavy" but couldn't figure out how to edit the title.) Not one to have previously included large veggie portions with my meals, I'm pretty sure I was unintentionally focusing first on the protein and veggies as secondary. Someone else suggested to focus first on the veggies. Simple. That statement already makes more sense and is more "true" to the template as intended. Your template and portion description are also quite helpful in redirecting my thinking. I like the idea of keeping starchy carbs to one serving/day...but, I can def get moody... Monitor your moods and your starch intake (a journal is a great place for this, we have a section of the forum you can make a thread for yourself and keep all your logging there). Often women need more starch (and food in general) in the week leading up to and of their period. Your recipe blog suggestions are super, super appreciated. I will check them out now! Thanks again for your reply and the sharing of your knowledge! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronwina Posted May 3, 2017 Author Share Posted May 3, 2017 You. Are. Most. Awesome! Another response with fantastic suggestions. Thank you, thank you for your insights!! I remember reading in ISWF about the need for cortisol/leptin balance and wondering whether it was cause for my lethargy. Certainly makes sense. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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