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First W30 Attempt! May 1 - May 30


maelys

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I'm already on day 14, but was looking for a little extra motivation and accountability, and came across this forum. Seems like a good idea!

My decision to try a Whole30 was made during a bout of insomnia at 3am on April 27th. To be honest, I can't for the life of me remember how I even came across the idea, but I fell back asleep deciding that I would try it starting May 1st. Turns out the saying about how nothing good comes out of making decisions late at night isn't entirely right!

The first week was absolutely the toughest so far. Before trying this I was drinking ~3-4 times a week, and smoking cigarettes 1-2 times a week as well (always when drinking). I also was getting really out of control with emotional eating and would routinely abandon my healthy packed lunch in lieu of fast food. Something as small as bad traffic would justify ordering a pizza that night. I've struggled with binge eating in the past, and I was starting to get alarmed by how out of control I felt with my food impulses.

Cut to now: I'm 14 days in and have stayed strong in the face of a lot of temptation, emotional days, and obstacles. I've also now gone longer without alcohol than I have since 2013. My energy levels already seem much more stable, and I feel fuller for longer. I still jump to the idea of food to soothe me when I'm upset, but I'm actually stopping to explore those feelings and try to find an alternative. Also I should note--I'm avoiding potatoes entirely, as I'm mostly sedentary and don't think my body needs the extra carbs/calorie-dense food.

I'm going to do a little picture-dump of some of my favorite things I've eaten so far! Will plan to log daily from here on out (as much as I remember to). :)

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There's a burger under there somewhere!

 

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I could really eat zucchini and squash all day.

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Bought a spiralizer off of Amazon and am now fully on the zoodle-train!

 

FullSizeRender_1.jpg.d2f3f13c77f356549a3d76f577d46157.jpgCauliflower chicken fried "rice" was a big win too. Shout out to coconut aminos.

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Day 15! I've decided I'm going to use this as an outlet to post pictures of what I'm eating, because I think my friends are getting sick of me showing them.

 

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For breakfast I had a small salad with chicken, cucumbers, and tomatoes, with a little drizzle of Tessamae's lemon garlic dressing (on the right). In hindsight, I think I shouldn't had a bigger meal, as I was hungry like 2 hours later.

For lunch, I had roasted chicken, onions, and carrots that I prepped yesterday (left). It's funny, I don't think I've ever realized how sweet carrots and onions are before. Wondering if my palate is acclimating to the lack of added sugar? 

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I've still been packing snacks. This is one thing that I would like to work on, but I always seem to misjudge how much food is going to make me feel full, and I don't want to make my meals too big or I'm worried I'll overeat, so I usually pack one serving of mixed almonds/cashews and 3-4 strawberries. 

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Dinner was definitely the best today-- leftover carnitas I made on Saturday (pork shoulder + orange + garlic in crock pot for 6 hours), cauliflower rice, and a homemade avocado salsa with red onion and tomatoes. 

I'm feeling pretty strong, and my energy levels are definitely more stable now than before. I had a really stressful day at work and usually this would mean going home to order a pizza and drink wine/beer, but instead I made a delicious dinner and am going to use a Lush bath bomb and watch a feel-good movie. 

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9 minutes ago, maelys said:

Day 15! I've decided I'm going to use this as an outlet to post pictures of what I'm eating, because I think my friends are getting sick of me showing them.

Just a warning! I discovered after posting lots of food pics here that there is an "attachment allowance" (check your profile drop down in the top right corner). You have a limit of what you can attach within your posts, but it has been suggested to me to have a Flickr or Photobucket account to share from by URL. Then it is unlimited!

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Just now, brittanyxo said:

Just a warning! I discovered after posting lots of food pics here that there is an "attachment allowance" (check your profile drop down in the top right corner). You have a limit of what you can attach within your posts, but it has been suggested to me to have a Flickr or Photobucket account to share from by URL. Then it is unlimited!

Oh shoot! Thanks for the heads up, that would've been a rude surprise when I hit the limit. I'll post from URLs instead in the future. :) 

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Day 16! No pictures because I literally ate the exact same thing as yesterday (except added in a compliant breakfast sausage link to breakfast and half an avocado to dinner for some added fat). The bit of added fat seemed to really help keep me full til lunch! 

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Day 17

I got really lazy last night with meal prep, so I had a salad for breakfast and a (hilariously pitiful) compliant hot dog and green beans for lunch. Dinner was steamed salmon with zoodles & asparagus. It was kind of a mediocre food day all-around, so I'm hoping I can treat myself with something more exciting tomorrow. 

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Day 18

I ended up having a really busy day-- 12 hours with no breaks-- so I wasn't really able to make anything fancy tonight. BUT, NSV, I was able to resist a platter of my absolute favorite cookies (the Costco party tray ones) that were in the breakroom today. Last time we had them at work I ate 3 of them, which I've now realized was over 600 calories and 48 grams of sugar. As someone who has had no control over resisting my cravings in the past, I'm really, really proud of myself for walking right past them every time I went to refill my water bottle.

Breakfast: fried egg, 2 sausage links, asparagus

Lunch: zoodles, chicken, marinara sauce

Dinner: hot dog & green beans

Snacks: strawberries & cashews/almonds

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Breakfast: 2 sausage links & a fried egg, strawberries

Lunch: Roasted chicken, green beans, 1/2 avocado

Dinner: Went out to a Japanese place with my boyfriend! He got his sushi fix while I had some tuna sashimi and robata (skewers)-- broccoli, chicken thigh, and bacon-wrapped quail eggs. It was delicious!

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Day 20! (Can't believe I'm two thirds done.)

Breakfast: 3 slices bacon, fried egg, sauteed zucchini and carrot

Lunch: Breakfast was really filling (and later than I eat breakfast during the week), so I just had some berries and almonds/cashews

Dinner: Hamburger and roasted brussel sprouts

Also I picked up some (compliant) kombucha at the store today and it was super yummy. Just nice to have some variety!

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Day 21

Breakfast: Zucchini & eggs, cold press

Lunch: Hot dog, roasted carrots, berries

Dinner: Roast beef & brussel sprouts

I haven't really felt hungry all day, so I ate what I could but didn't have very big meals. I have tomorrow's breakfast/lunch all ready to go though!

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Hi! I'm glad it's going well for you, this is my day 1 and seeing/reading what you've made each day is super helpful! Quick question though - what kind/brand of sausage links and hotdogs are those? I wasn't able to find any that were Whole30 compliant when I went grocery shopping yesterday.

Thanks! 

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6 hours ago, llaly said:

Hi! I'm glad it's going well for you, this is my day 1 and seeing/reading what you've made each day is super helpful! Quick question though - what kind/brand of sausage links and hotdogs are those? I wasn't able to find any that were Whole30 compliant when I went grocery shopping yesterday.

Thanks! 

Hi llaly, welcome! Glad my posts have been helpful for someone. :) For hot dogs, Applegate is sold most places around me and I believe all of their hot dogs are compliant (I think their bacon has sugar though). For sausage links, they're trickier to find, but these ones by Jones Farm are compliant.

There's also a great resource on Whole30-compliant sausage here. Good luck!

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Day 22

I've had a horrible headache since around 2pm, not sure why. My job involves a lot of programming & detail-oriented work, so maybe it's just because I stared at my computer for 8 hours straight. It doesn't seem like it could be food-related, at least.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, zucchini/carrot

Lunch: Roast beef & brussel sprouts

Dinner: Chicken thigh & broccoli

Snacks: Berries

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Day 23

Turns out the headache was actually a migraine that lasted into today. Which sucked, but I powered through.

Breakfast and Lunch: Same as yesterday

Dinner: Curried cauliflower, chicken thigh, brussel sprouts, and a bite of the potatoes I made for my boyfriend to eat. I was SO happy to find some compliant curry sauce, and oh man was it good. Excited to still have some leftovers for tomorrow.

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Day 24

Breakfast: 2 eggs & half an avocado, mixed nuts

Lunch: Accidentally packed my leftover cauliflower instead of my lunch,  so I went to Chipotle and got a steak salad with guac

Dinner: Chicken thigh, the leftover cauliflower, and some berries

 

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Day 25

Breakfast: 2 eggs & half an avocado

Lunch: Roast beef, roasted brussel sprouts, zucchini, & carrots

Dinner: Hot dog & zucchini

Snack: Mixed berries 

I recently started seeing a therapist, and she asked me yesterday what my plans are for once the 30 days are up. I know I want to reintroduce soy, corn, and rice, but honestly I'm feeling so much better that I think I might wait a while before going back to sugar, alcohol, wheat, or dairy. I felt so out of control before starting this, and I'm just really amazed at how different I feel now. Can't believe there are only 5 more days left!

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Way to go! I too am on day 25 and thinking about how and what I'll be reintroducing. I've been making all my meals for the week over the weekend. I think at this point it'll be just easier to go one more week strict and see what happens next weekend. A co-worker noticed that I was drinking my usual black coffee today. It got me thinking about the lattes I used to get from Starbucks and how crappy I felt later in the day. I can't imagine how awful it would be after a month of no dairy. Five more days, then a glass of wine :)

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10 hours ago, Ashley Bailey said:

Way to go! I too am on day 25 and thinking about how and what I'll be reintroducing. I've been making all my meals for the week over the weekend. I think at this point it'll be just easier to go one more week strict and see what happens next weekend. A co-worker noticed that I was drinking my usual black coffee today. It got me thinking about the lattes I used to get from Starbucks and how crappy I felt later in the day. I can't imagine how awful it would be after a month of no dairy. Five more days, then a glass of wine :)

Oh that's awesome, congrats to you too! Agreed on waiting until next weekend...it's tough because I'm going camping next weekend, then up to my (vegetarian/vegan) friends' farm the following weekend, and then to my boyfriend's grandmother's house the weekend after that. So there will be a lot of interesting situations I'll be put in food-wise, but I think I'm going to try staying mostly compliant in the midst of it. And I feel you on the lattes! I don't know about you, but I think I'll stick with mostly black coffee with an occasional almond milk latte as a treat! :P

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Day 26!

Breakfast: hot dog & 1/2 an avocado (totally not fitting the template at all, but it's Friday and I ran out of eggs :()

Lunch: cauliflower "fried rice" with leftover pot roast:

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Dinner: We ordered in-- I got prime rib with steamed veggies (and asked for extra veg in place of mashed potatoes).

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Day 27

Breakfast: 2 eggs, half an avocado, berries

Lunch: Had a family thing, so we went to Applebees and I had a 6oz steak topped with avocado and cherry tomatoes. There was a salad served with it but it had dressing and cheese on it so I just left it. :\ 

Dinner: Sausage & green beans

Snacks: Mixed nuts, some more berries 

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Day 28

Breakfast: Egg, sausage, green beens

Lunch: Salad with berries (and a drizzle of Tessamae's lemon garlic dressing), chicken thigh

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Dinner: Hamburger patty, roasted brussel sprouts and carrots, half an avocado

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I went hiking for 2 hours this morning too, so I had some mixed nuts and a few strawberries after!

 

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Wow! Your pics are inspirational. Look at the color in your food selections.

 I did Whole 30 a couple of years ago, and loved the Facebook community as it had great recipes and lots of NSV victory posts. Unfortunately, an overzealous moderator kicked me and about three others because we supported a poster re: a weight loss, but oh well.

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5 hours ago, VintageSedona said:

Wow! Your pics are inspirational. Look at the color in your food selections.

 I did Whole 30 a couple of years ago, and loved the Facebook community as it had great recipes and lots of NSV victory posts. Unfortunately, an overzealous moderator kicked me and about three others because we supported a poster re: a weight loss, but oh well.

Thanks so much! Yeah, it's really fun to look through this thread and clearly see how kind I've been to my body over this past month. 

Sorry to hear about the facebook group! I kind of wish I had come to the forum before I started my Whole30 and joined up with the other May 1st starters, but it's tough when some people take it so seriously (understandably, but still intimidating to newcomers). Best of luck on your second Whole30!

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Day 29?!?! How did that happen??

Breakfast: Sausage & green beans

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Lunch: Leftover hamburger & veg, quarter of an avocado

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Dinner: Taco salad that was surprisingly tasty! Ground beef/pork, salsa, and half an avocado over romaine

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