Whole30 First Timer, The Journey

[AndieK]

I am Andie and this is my first time trying Whole30. A little background about me, I am not the most unhealthy person. I have followed the 21 day fix challenge and love it! I never could quite stay 100% committed for the boyfriend and I love our weekly treat where we devour buffalo wings and tap beer. And with the football season coming up, saying no to that will be a challenge! But we are heading to Florida in September and I want to feel good about myself before getting into a swimsuit. It's not about looking good in one, but FEELING good. I have always struggled with controlling what I eat, when I crave something, I eat it. And I know better, I am 32 years old for crying aloud. But I love to cook. Being in the kitchen, creating recipes or changing up classics is what I cherish doing.  I do also enjoy a nice glass of wine after a long stressful day at work. I decided Whole30 was the best way for me to go because it doesn't matter how healthy I eat, I always some how feel bloated, gassy, like crap afterwards. I followed all the 21 day fix challenge recipes and the food was delicious but I strongly believe I am lactose intolerant and possibly gluten intolerant.

I am on day 2, and so far, I haven't felt too strong of an urge to stray away. The first two weeks I have decided to keep the meals simple because I am also having to try this while on a tight budget, with the vacation coming up and all. This week I am starting my day off with two scrambled eggs and half an avocado. Lunch is a chicken kale salad with carrots, a hard boiled egg, and Whole30 balsamic vinegarette. For dinner this week, I made the Whole30 Walnut Crust Pork Loin and Fried Cauliflower Rice. I will mix it up each night and switch the cauliflower rice with a sweet potato. I have blackberries to snack on during the day.  The only thing I wish Whole30 had was dessert recipes for those like me that have a ridiculously bossy over powering sweet tooth! Anything to trick that sweet tooth into believing it's getting what it wanted.

I came to this forum to look for support in a more untraditional way for I have no social networks! The boyfriend and I will support each other but via phone because he lives an hour away. This weekend we will be spending our time together picking, making, and jarring sauces. Well, I will be making them while he does yard work and keeps the dog company.  We will also be enjoying some pork ribs, kabobs, cabbage/broccoli slaw, and mocktails. 

I look forward to purchasing the Whole30 cookbook because I refuse to follow any Pinterest recipes...which is difficult but I live on Pinterest. I have found so many splendid recipes but many of them have contained little ingredients that I know are not allowed and I will not cheat or break in any way when it comes to this. I will make it to the end, plus more, for I am not a young spry chicken anymore. It's time to get serious about my health. 

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN!

[AndieK]

Day 2 has come to an end and I am now calling this a fail day. I went through the day feeling a little off, my head almost felt like a drank a whole bottle of wine Monday night. I came home looking forward to my leftover pork and to dish myself up some cauliflower rice. It was good. When I sat down for the night and started reading up and doing some more Whole30 research and putting together a grocery list for this weekend, when I realized that the chicken bouillon cubes I used were BAD...also a shout out to SugarcubeOD for helping me with that as well....they aren't what Whole30 meant by homemade broth. Now I have to start back at Day 1 tomorrow. Which in the end, isn't a terrible set back since my day 30 would have been a Tuesday, and naturally with meal prepping, I would have kept up the goods until Friday. 

My Whole30 journey hit a slight bump in the road, but thank goodness it was still at the entrance to the path and all I have to do is a turnaround, run up to the parking lot, fix my pack, and head back to the path to restart my journey. Easy peasy.  

Good thing tomorrow is garbage day because in went my cauliflower rice and bouillon cubes. 

[AndieK]

Day 3....it was an early up and early to bed kind of day. It was a good day. I had my usual, two eggs and avocado for breakfast with a cup of coffee. For lunch, chicken kale salad w/ carrots, cauliflower, hard boiled egg, and Whole30 balsamic vinegarette. Lunch is always my favorite part of the day...I love salads! And for dinner, still working on the leftovers for the week, walnut crusted pork loin and half of a sweet potato. 

Last night with dinner, I decided I need to fix up my water because it's so boring and I usually have a glass of wine with my dinner, so I put some lemon and lime juice in my water and was pleasantly satisfied with the refreshing taste it adds to such a boring beverage.

All day I felt sluggish, was yawning, what felt like, every 20 minutes. But I pushed through it and lasted until 930 pm! Woot woot!

I write this on Day 4 while eating my breakfast and I feel like I went to a college party and did a few too many keg stands last night....minus the post party beer gut rot! Staring at the computer screen isn't helping either. Lucky for me it is almost Friday and that means I will be able to go home after work and take a nice long nap before the before arrives and I spend the rest of the weekend in the kitchen preparing sauces, broth, and meals. I can't wait! 

Today I am going to do a little research for snacks. Ive just been eating a handful of blackberries as a snack and as my "dessert" after dinner, but I would like more of a snack food to satisfy the crunch craving I get, like cashews or almonds. Cashews are my favorite! 

 

[AndieK]

Day 4 ended nicely. I was asleep before 830 but managed to get some cleaning done around the house, ate dinner, the same as the rest of the week, Whole30 pork loin and a sweet potato. 

It is Day 5, and only 1030 am. I sit at work and between the humidity, the warmth in my office, and this new lifestyle, I want to pass out every time I stand up. Is that normal? I ate two scrambled eggs with some hot sauce and a handful of fresh watermelon and grapes for breakfast. I drank one cup of black coffee so I can get my morning caffeine and am now sipping on lemon water. I can't understand how the boyfriend works outside in this heat daily! But he has for over 14 years, so his body is conditioned to it, the lucky jerk ;P Then there is little old sally me, I can't handle it. We are taking the dog to the lake tomorrow for a day of fetch and hiking and there may be a chance he has to carry me back to the pickup if I keep getting light headed so easily like this. Ha.

Tonight I am making us Whole30 baby back ribs with Whole30 tangy bbq sauce, along with Whole30 slaw w/ lemon oil and some mocktails from the book. I am so excited that ribs are in the book because I am a bbq rib junky. I went to Texas a few years ago for my 30th, on my usual yearly solo road trip, ended up in Austin and met some amazing people on my first day there, still good friends with one to this day, and he brought me to Austin's famous Salt Lick BBQ place...OH MY GOODNESS!!! I have tried Tennessee BBQ places, I have tried even my home state South Dakota's, plus one other place in Austin that had a pet cat running around..whom I paid more attention to than my food (animal lover here!) and hands down, Salt Lick is the best. Let's see if Whole30 can come close them....I'm the one cooking them, and I hate to toot my horn, but I'm pretty darn good in the kitchen, so we will see. Let's hope I don't screw them up, because its also about how the meat turns out, not just the sauce

 

[AndieK]

The weekend came to a quick end!

Day 5 - Friday - I attempted to make those ribs that I was super excited about. I followed the Whole30 recipe exactly, well 1 hour for 2 lbs of baby back ribs, is definitely not enough! I left them in there for almost 2 hours and then grilled them and they still weren't cooked all the way through. I couldn't stomach it so I saved them for Saturday night and I would try again. Friday night was a night of Edward Norton movies. A little note, I forgot to mention about me. Edward Norton is my favorite actor in the whole world, hands down. I have almost every single one of his movies. My dog is named after his character in 25th Hour, Monte.  But anyhow, I let the boyfriend pick out the movies and he chose, Italian Job and Bourne Legacy. Both great movies. 

Day 6 - Saturday - We were lazy but Monte wasn't. We took him to the river as planned and let him play fetch and swim for hours. We relaxed on the "beach" and sipped on my new obsession, La Croix. It is Whole30 approved sparkling water infused with fruit. SO GOOD! Our local grocery store had a sale too so I stocked up. Before we headed out to the river, we stopped at our locol co-op store to check it out...found Larabars and Epic bars. We bought a few of those despite the prices. When it comes to jerky, the boyfriend and I must have it. I also made some homemade trail mix for the trip because we wouldn't be around for lunch and I couldn't find any deli meat that I felt comfortable risking. We got our protein from the Epic bars, trail mix, and fruit and greens from the Larabars that were so good! That night, after I napped on the drive home from the river, I put the ribs back in the oven, for almost another two hours. While they cooked, we went back to our younger days and watched Waynes World. Always a great movie! Party On! Excellent! The ribs turned out so delicious. They weren't fall off the bone as I would have liked, but they tasted great, and this time, were cooked all the way through. I have a lot of Whole30 bbq sauce left over...I am going to have to get creative before that goes bad. 

Day 7 - Sunday - We were still pretty lazy, for the most part. We grabbed groceries for the week and while the boyfriend was outside doing yard work, I was having a blast in the kitchen...where I belong! I made Whole30 beef bone broth, pico de gallo or Whole30 salsa, Whole30 ranch dressing, beer butt chicken on the grill with a can of water in place of the beer, and vegetable skewers that consisted of onions, red and orange peppers, and whole mushrooms. I brushed them with olive oil, roasted garlic, basil, salt, and oregano. I jarred up some of the ranch dressing and pico for the boyfriend to take home with him. Sunday, we gave ourselves a little break in between groceries and kitchen time and laid in the pool and soaked up we could of the sun in the backyard before the darn tree got in the way...errr. After dinner, we cleaned up, ran a few more errands, then crawled into bed and watched a few episodes of Shameless. 

Day 8 - I suffered a major case of the Mondays, ugh. I have never been so out of whack. For breakfast, I had two scrambled eggs, pico and a cup of coffee. Lunch was a simple chicken spinach salad with cauliflower, carrots and Whole30 balsamic vinegarette. For dinner was some leftover ribs, one vegetable skewer, and some cauliflower to get more vegetables in. I did get my 30 minute total body cardio fix in. It felt good. This week is going to be a rough week....I am currently suffering the joys of that one week a month where women curse being a woman. And I am cursing it ten times more because I want everything. I want dark chocolate and wine, which is usually my go to cure to make me happy during this time. I want soft pretzels and cheese sauce. I want potato chips and Top the Tator dip. I want gummy bears. I'm also hungry every two hours. Sigh. Not even two hours after dinner, I was hungry so I had to grab a handful of grapes to satisfy me. My cat could even hear my growling tummy from the foot of the bed. 

Today is Day 9 - and I started the morning off with two scrambled eggs, pico and hot sauce with a cup of coffee. Lunch will be the same as yesterday but I brought Whole30 ranch instead of balsamic. I needed to switch it up. And dinner tonight will be Whole30 chili that I am excited to use that delicious Whole30 broth in. I am not sure if this is typical, but I am still feeling groggy in the head as if my eyes are still having troubles focusing. I thought the "hangover" phase was just the first few days but I feel as if my body is going to take that hangover phase a little further. I think my lifestyle choices before Day 1 were a little more extreme than most peoples and now my body is paying for it and going through some major shock! All in all, only 9 days in and I already feel different and a little better. And I didn't experience the "NOOO! my pants are TIGHTER" phase the last two days...and I'm on "the devils week" as a woman too! Tomorrow is the day that they say is the hardest...we will see if I curse it as bad as I am cursing this whole week already! Ha. 

I keep a daily journal at home as well and in that journal I have my day one measurements. I am going to add those to the log so that when day 30 comes, I can see what the difference is. I didn't take any photos..that is just my "I EXTREMELY hate selfies, I hate getting my pic taken, period" attitude. 

Back to trying to focus on Day 9....Trying is the key word. 

 

[AndieK]

Alright so I lied previously, I really wasn't that rough on my body and what I put into it, but like I mentioned before, I liked my wine at night and when I was craving something, I would eat it, just small amounts of it. 

I have the Whole30 chili on the stove..because of "the devil's week" and me wanting all the chocolate, I sprang to my favorite fall recipe once football starts, healthy spicy chocolate chili that I make. Now that chili consists of quite a few no no items, so I stuck to the Whole30 recipe and added 100% cocoa powder with the rest of the seasonings and some red pepper flakes to add some heat. My original recipe has the cocoa powder and actual chunks of a baking cocoa bar which is also 100% cocoa and only meant for baking, but I didn't have any lying around the house like I usually do. That chocolate chili is so good that I made it for the boyfriend on our second date and he devoured it, didn't care there was chocolate in it....it was spicy too from the chipotles so he was happy, spicy, meat, and chili, a guy won't say no. 

I will be working from home for awhile tonight, so I better get started, before I do, my measurements as of Day 1 were: Dominant Arm: 11", Chest: 36 1/2", Waist: 31", Belly: 38 1/2", Hips: 39 1/2", Dominant thigh: 25", 1 inch above knee: 16", and weight of 150 pounds. I'm 5'-6" and am a woman of curves. Just look at my measurements, you can tell! I've always had curves...years ago I was at a bar with some friends and a guy's pick up line to me was "Wow, I love your child bearing hips.". My friends with me were all guys, so needless to say, that guy got punched in the stomach by one of them.  

Andie, out!

[AndieK]

Andie's back again!

Here I sit on my exercise ball, loving the idea that today is Day 11 and I am still going strong, minus my dreams where I find Whole30 haunting me...in last night's I opened a can of La Croix flavored sparkling water and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream scoops popped out of it. The boyfriend was on an old fashioned bicycle with a basket on the back, full of cans of La Croix and I dumped my opened one in the trash with tears in my eyes and cursed at all the unopen teasing cans! Want to know what I am craving right now? Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream!!!!

Day 10 and today, I have woken up with terrible gas cramps in my stomach. I wrote on another forum all about my Interstitial cystitis and how there are a lot of foods I should avoid and I'm lactose intolerant, perhaps maybe gluten intolerant, and well since I can remember, anytime I eat anything, I always feel bloated, gassy, and uncomfortable afterward. I have tried many different diet fads out there: Jackie Warner's, 10 Pounds in 10 Days, 21 Day Fix Challenge (my favorite), The Abs Diet for Women (I greatly enjoyed this one), Stronger w/ Nicky Holender (Working out to Nicky and his British accent made it worth while :)), and I've bought a bunch of different DVDs to get me to follow different style workouts. One was to hopefully teach me a little dancing rhythm, but that's a lost cause on me! Through all of these diets that I have tried, it didn't matter what I ate, I never felt good. Starting this weekend and from here on out, I am trying recipes that omit foods that trigger gas and that trigger irritation of my IC. With this in mind, I am going to take to the Blogging and start creating my own recipes and recording my results. I might have to go back to being a bartender part time in the evenings to keep up with the groceries I'll be buying to experiment and well to feed the boyfriend with my limited foods..he's a growing man and a garbage disposal :). 

I have been trying to narrow done what is the root cause of the sudden gas cramps, is a combination of "devil's week", the acidic chili with green peppers, and the raw veggies I ate with the chili? Last night I just ate chili and no veggies since I've read about raw veggies irritating other individuals. Well, we are narrowing it down to just the chili since I still woke up feeling icky. The chili is delicious, but it may be a combination of the green peppers and can of diced tomatoes since tomatoes are a big no no for me with my IC. Tonight I am going to eat some chicken and cooked vegetables with Whole30 Tangy BBQ Sauce, keep it simple and see how I do tomorrow. There is plenty of chili to feed the boyfriend this weekend so it definitely won't go to waste! 

I fought through the uncomfortableness and got in my workout clothes to sweat through lower body/leg day. It was awesome. The first week of working out after a few slack weeks is my favorite...the burn of your muscles getting worked and being sore! Best feeling ever! I always fear I'm not doing something right throughout my workouts so the burn tells me I did something right, and that is success to me! At least it's a start anyways. 

By now, you would think I am sick of eggs, but I haven't gotten there yet. I switch it up when I make my two scrambled eggs in the morning. Last week was avocado, this week I have been alternating between pico with hot sauce and without hot sauce. This morning I skipped the pico altogether because of the raw onions and tomatoes and just did cilantro and hot sauce. That lasted two bites before a fly decided to make it his meal of the day and break a wing while getting at it :(. Thank goodness I packed a hard boiled egg for my salad. 

Now back to this blogging idea..I will take any suggestions. I always love looking through people's with recipes and house decor. I have plenty of stuff to share in that department. I just recently moved into my own tiny little place and have full blown went "I'm making this a home dang it". I've painted, I've made furniture, I've bought cheap furniture and spruced it up, and I've even let my mom put to use her sewing obsession and make me curtains...ok she begged to do so and I didn't want to tell her no, she gave me life for crying aloud. And I am glad I didn't say no because what she made turned out perfect for my kitchen! I like to believe I could make a successful blog; I decorate, I cook, I create, I have a few life stories worth following, I have a dog who is the cutest big headed mutt ever...I better not leave out the cat, I have a cute one of those too, and I don't have a life during the week so really, what is stopping me? Now, where to start? 

Andie Out!

[AndieK]

Day 15, 1st day of the 3rd week. Following Whole30 is becoming easier and easier. I really am becoming addicted to reading labels! I made zucchini noodles for the first time ever this weekend, and I went into it a little scared, but fear nothing, they were delicious!! It was well worth the $12.99 I spent on the little handheld spiralizer. I made us a chicken and pesto pasta and even making my own homemade pesto was awesome that I am making more this week for lunch and dinner. This weekend was full of cooking experiments. We started our weekend off with a very satisfying evening of Whole30 Buffalo wings. So so good! The boyfriend devoured them. He was loving them so much that I almost thought about leaving him alone with them. And because he's getting too skinny, I pretended I was full so he could finish the rest of them. Ha! Saturday I found another interesting recipe on the Whole30 website, Scottish Eggs. I gave those a try and they too were awesome. Of course, like I do with any recipe, I always add my own touch to everything. I roasted some asparagus and carrots to eat with those. And Sunday I made a hash that was just sweet potato, white potato, onion, Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage and some seasonings. That is my new favorite go to meal. You can switch it up in so many ways, you can add ground pork, beef, carrots, peppers, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, chicken breast, sundried tomatoes, even pesto if you want to, to it and it will always be simple, cooked in one pan and delicious! I will be experimenting with this recipe for some time. I love one pan wonders! 

Well I have to say, in all honesty, I am into my 3rd week already and I feel a little better, but I am not feeling a true change besides not getting bloated after every meal. I am still waking up feeling gassy, and its always in the morning. My clothes still fit the same, unfortunately, and I am always tired. I am pretty sure the boyfriend and I slept in well passed a decent time both days this weekend. Neither of us wanted to get up. Tonight I will see how I handle my least favorite workout routine. I am not giving up entirely or losing faith. I still have two weeks and I believe my body just has that much more to get rid of. 

 

[AndieK]

Day 16, sigh. That about sums it up. I feel a little happier but all I really want to do is step on the scale and see if there has been even the slightest change. I'm insecure about the weight I've gained and all I want is to get back to the days when I was confident in myself. This society cares too much about the thinness of a girl and the muscular-ness of a man. I've never been thin and I don't want to be. I'm "curvy" and I once loved my curves. I want to get back to that... I realize I'm not at the end yet and I'm not getting discouraged and I won't fall off the wagon by any means, but I just need to get in the state of mind that it doesn't happen overnight. So, I sigh...sigh.

Last night I got home, worked out, and had some chicken sausage hash and I was out like a light by 730pm. I slept the whole night and woke up this morning ready for my day. It's halfway over and I'm still going strong but I believe my tall iced black coffee might have a role to play in that. 

Is there such thing as timely stress weight gain? All week long, I will feel great and comfortable and feel almost like there is a difference in my clothes, and then bam, come Friday right before it's time to spend the weekend with the boyfriend, I feel like I am back to my heavy weight and my stomach is bloated and I just want to wear a moo-moo. I mean come on! Yesterday I was working out and I noticed even my workout clothes weren't as tight as usual and they just got washed! But I will bet you, come Friday, while I'm doing my cardio workout, it will feel like I gained 10 lbs and it won't go away until Monday! Do our minds really have that strong of an effect on us? It is driving me crazy!! !! What I don't understand, is he is the one who loves the way I look. He didn't know me when I was smaller, so to him, this is who I am. It's not like he is the one pushing me to lose weight or discouraging me in any way. So my mind is stressing out over looking perfect for my man...?? Maybe I'm just crazy

[SweetEnough]

2 minutes ago, AndieK said:

Is there such thing as timely stress weight gain? All week long, I will feel great and comfortable and feel almost like there is a difference in my clothes, and then bam, come Friday right before it's time to spend the weekend with the boyfriend, I feel like I am back to my heavy weight and my stomach is bloated and I just want to wear a moo-moo. I mean come on! Yesterday I was working out and I noticed even my workout clothes weren't as tight as usual and they just got washed! But I will bet you, come Friday, while I'm doing my cardio workout, it will feel like I gained 10 lbs and it won't go away until Monday! Do our minds really have that strong of an effect on us? It is driving me crazy!! !! What I don't understand, is he is the one who loves the way I look. He didn't know me when I was smaller, so to him, this is who I am. It's not like he is the one pushing me to lose weight or discouraging me in any way. So my mind is stressing out over looking perfect for my man...?? Maybe I'm just crazy

You're so not crazy! I empathize with every word you wrote, and even the spaces in between those words. And the punctuation! LOL!

Body issues absolutely affect our actual physical bodies, in my opinion. It's like we worry ourselves right into realizing our worst fears. I do the same thing. I've also experienced the opposite phenomenon, where I looked awesome because I happened to feel great about myself. We just have to remind ourselves that we are worthy of a perfect partner regardless of body size/shape/weight, because it's the truth.

[AndieK]

22 minutes ago, SweetEnough said:

You're so not crazy! I empathize with every word you wrote, and even the spaces in between those words. And the punctuation! LOL!

Body issues absolutely affect our actual physical bodies, in my opinion. It's like we worry ourselves right into realizing our worst fears. I do the same thing. I've also experienced the opposite phenomenon, where I looked awesome because I happened to feel great about myself. We just have to remind ourselves that we are worthy of a perfect partner regardless of body size/shape/weight, because it's the truth.

For starters, wow! I didn't think anyone read this and I was just honestly free writing to thin air and to myself. Ha. 

I'm glad I am not alone in this feeling. I've always been complimented on my body, then and now, and like I said, I used to have confidence in myself and I used to actually strut my stuff. I never wore tight revealing clothes, but I sure had the ora that screamed confidence and the "I'm too sexy for my walk" walk.

And you couldn't be more right about being worthy of a perfect partner regardless of body size/shape/weight!! 

[mamashark5]

1 hour ago, SweetEnough said:

You're so not crazy! I empathize with every word you wrote, and even the spaces in between those words. And the punctuation! LOL!

Body issues absolutely affect our actual physical bodies, in my opinion. It's like we worry ourselves right into realizing our worst fears. I do the same thing. I've also experienced the opposite phenomenon, where I looked awesome because I happened to feel great about myself. We just have to remind ourselves that we are worthy of a perfect partner regardless of body size/shape/weight, because it's the truth.

I am going to chime in on this because you are "sweet enough" to share your journey and I am just starting mine.  I am a mom, a pediatrician and a hypnotist so my advice comes to your from that place.  Creating change takes 5-6 weeks to become a pattern in our lives.  Every day is totally different because of stress, hormones, diet, activity, viruses...the list goes on and on.  Perhaps you are gaining muscle this week because muscle weighs more than fat or perhaps your hormone balance or water/salt balance is different.  It sucks when your favorite going out clothes don't fit.  It affects your mood.  I have been there but you can't let it ruin this good habit you are developing.  By pushing through until the end of this challenge, you will hopefully find you do not have as much of a weight fluctuation each week.  It is odd if the change is every week.  Do you have a favorite restaurant, coffee shop beverage or food that you eat every wednesday or thursday?  Do you drink water or another beverage from a certain place that could be contaminated?  People with GI issues to see changes with stress.  But it is time to change your diet this month and you can just continue to see if it happens every week and take it up with your physician, counselor or self when you are done.    

Try this the next time your clothes, or something else challenges your mood.  Turn on your favorite "going out" music and get in the mood for 5 minutes.  OR Sit down and relax.  Think of your favorite place or something that makes you really happy.  Enjoy the thought for 5 minutes.  Really get into the image by looking at the ground, the sky, the people or lack of people around you.  Is it sunny?  Enjoy that good feeling and try to take it with you to date night in an out fit that fits and flatters you that day.  OR imagine yourself at the end of 30 days or at a date in the future when you have met your goals.  What will you look like then.  Did whole 30 pay off (YES!).  Remember that this challenge is for you and to make you a better, healthier person.  If your boyfriend doesn't like it or he does, it doesn't matter.  This is for you.  Relax and enjoy those special times.

[AndieK]

I forgot to report my food...the main purpose for this log....

For breakfast yesterday and today, I had two scrambled eggs with hot sauce. Today I added some pico to spruce it up a little. For lunch yesterday, I had a left over scottish egg with some asparagus and carrots and a cup of grapes. I already mentioned my delicious dinner of hash. And today for lunch I had left over hash that I added a handful of cooked carrots to it. And well, this week will be salad less. As much as I love them, two weeks of them is enough. I am done. I can't look at another salad for awhile! 

Also, this weekend, a discovery was made, iced coffee! I am not a fan of black coffee. I like sweetness in mine, some dark chocolate, soy milk, and even nuts. I don't own a coffee pot, shame shame, and since I can't have green tea because of my IC, we walked to a close by gas station because I needed a dose of caffeine badly. Upon arrival, I was already getting a little sweaty from the heat, and hot black coffee didn't sound appealing. Well thank goodness for plastic cups, ice, and chilled brewed coffee...it is delicious!! It really does taste better than hot black coffee. The one time I will say thank you to my mind for playing those tricks on me. 

Tonight I am excited to make some zoodles and pesto for I will be having shrimp and pesto pasta. YUM!!

[AndieK]

3 minutes ago, mamashark5 said:

I am going to chime in on this because you are "sweet enough" to share your journey and I am just starting mine.  I am a mom, a pediatrician and a hypnotist so my advice comes to your from that place.  Creating change takes 5-6 weeks to become a pattern in our lives.  Every day is totally not different because of stress, hormones, diet, activity, viruses...the list goes on and on.  Perhaps you are gaining muscle this week because muscle weighs more than fat or perhaps your hormone balance or water/salt balance is different.  It sucks when your favorite going out clothes don't fit.  It affects your mood.  I have been there but you can't let it ruin this good habit you are developing.  By pushing through until the end of this challenge, you will hopefully find you do not have as much of a weight fluctuation each week.  It is odd if the change is every week.  Do you have a favorite restaurant, coffee shop beverage or food that you eat every wednesday or thursday?  Do you drink water or another beverage from a certain place that could be contaminated?  People with GI issues to see changes with stress.  But it is time to change your diet this month and you can just continue to see if it happens every week and take it up with your physician, counselor or self when you are done.    

Try this the next time your clothes, or something else challenges your mood.  Turn on your favorite "going out" music and get in the mood for 5 minutes.  OR Sit down and relax.  Think of your favorite place or something that makes you really happy.  Enjoy the thought for 5 minutes.  Really get into the image by looking at the ground, the sky, the people or lack of people around you.  Is it sunny?  Enjoy that good feeling and try to take it with you to date night in an out fit that fits and flatters you that day.  OR imagine yourself at the end of 30 days or at a date in the future when you have met your goals.  What will you look like then.  Did whole 30 pay off (YES!).  Remember that this challenge is for you and to make you a better, healthier person.  If your boyfriend doesn't like it or he does, it doesn't matter.  This is for you.  Relax and enjoy those special times.

6

Thanks very much!! I appreciate all that you have said and will definitely keep it in mind. I can be very hard on myself sometimes. 

Right now, I have one my favorite dresses hanging on my wall as a daily reminder of what my goal is. I want to fit back into that without it cutting off my circulation.  

[AndieK]

Day 17 and I am loving watching those numbers grow daily...at least those are the only numbers growing if you know what I mean

Last night was my upper body workout and I smashed it! It's my favorite! For dinner I devoured the shrimp and pesto zoodles. Oh my goodness it was delicious! I added some extra asparagus and sun dried tomatoes to it, because well, I didn't want to leave just a smidge left. But now I wish I wouldn't have done so because I would stop at the grocery store on the way home and grab a zucchini and some basil and make it all over again tonight! 

For breakfast today, I kept it simple and had two scrambled eggs with pico and a couple baby carrots while I waited the 55 seconds for the eggs to cook. I am starting to notice that I am one who needs a crunch in everything I eat. I've been like that since I was a kid and had to have nuts or sunflower seeds in my ice cream. I didn't want chocolate syrup, just New York Vanilla ice cream, and nuts! I need different textures. 

I sit patiently waiting for my coffee to freeze up a little so I can down my iced coffee and wake up already! 

I received note yesterday about my snacking habit of fruit in the afternoon and that playing into my lack of energy and it not increasing. I am going to finish my bags of grape for this week, but I'll eat them with my lunch today instead of at 3pm like I usually do. I am also going to skip on my homemade Larabars and see if a week from today, I start to notice a difference. I read about how all these Whole30 do-ers are already waking up before their alarm, well I have always been one who doesn't like to wake up when my alarm tells me to. I wait until the last possible minute to give myself just enough time to shower, feed the pets, let out the dog, get ready, and pack up my stuff for the day, so about 25/30 minutes. That's all I need! Sometimes in that time period, I am even able to water the flowers. I wouldn't mind a few extra minutes of morning time, maybe get a game of fetch in with Monte so he's worn out before I leave for the day....

My yawns are filling my eyes up with tears making it more and more difficult to type this post. So Andie, logging out! 

[AndieK]

Day 18 is here! Yesterday, I would say was a success. I ate the leftover shrimp and pesto with zoodles, stunk up my office like garlic and it was well worth it! Got home and did my leg workout which is my least favorite. After my workout, I entertained the dog for awhile, cleaned up a little and made myself a random concoction with I could find in my house. It turned out superiorly delicious. All it consisted of was ground pork, carrots, green onions, pine nuts, seasonings, and Whole30 bbq sauce. One pan, simple, and delicious!! I had a few extra raw carrots with it because I have ran out of other veggies in my house and accompanied it with some grapes. After dinner I sat and worked from home. A typical evening for me! 

This morning I have already shoveled down my two scrambled eggs with pico and am currently working on my iced coffee. YUM! Lunch will be last night's concoction leftovers and dinner will be either more leftovers or I might grill myself up some burgers and enjoy those with a sweet potato. I might even attempt to use the sweet potato as the bun . 

I was running around the backyard with the dog last night and I noticed, my little pajama shorts that I've had since 2009 are actually starting to fit a little looser around the hips and thighs. That is a good feeling. Of course, I was skeptical at first, so I grabbed the other pair, just like them, but a different color, that just got washed and haven't been worn yet since that washing, and those were even a little looser. I may or may not have done an embarrassing football touchdown victory kind of dance that would have left the boyfriend highly entertained and peeing in his pants from laughing so hard or walking for the door! 

It looks as though I just needed a few more days to really see what was going on with me. 12 days left of this wonderful change in my life and so far all I really miss is certain carbs, wine, and dark chocolate. Yesterday I received three tantalizing emails that I had to make sure and torture the boyfriend with as well; Sickies which is our Sunday tradition of the best wings in town and beer, Old Chicago with its fantastic Italian Nachos and pizza, and Auntie Anne's pretzels. I swear, the rest of the day I could taste a warm soft pretzel in my mouth. At one point, I almost had to wipe up the drool off of my desk. Ok, I won't lie, I miss cookies as well. I always have the ingredients needed for me to bake cookies. I have spent many weekends just baking dozens upon dozens of different cookies and bringing them to my guys at work. What fun is it to keep doing that but not being able to sneak a few as soon as they come out of the oven, or to sneak some of the dough? Not worth it! :/

 

[AndieK]

My screen was getting temperamental and wouldn't let me type anymore without deleting everything from the last paragraph. ERRRRRR!

So today I am going to continue focusing on no snacks and just my three meals. With my lunch, I will add the grapes, because it's routine, I pack them with my lunch. And I am going to spend today, working on my balance while sitting my exercise ball all day and trying to get up and walk around more. These computer screens are taking a toll on me!

Andie Out! 

[AndieK]

Day 19, Friday, and all I want is a nice dinner out where I don't have to cook and a huge glass of wine. Maybe the whole bottle! Ahhh stress!

Last night for dinner I kept it simple and just seasoned some ground beef, added minced up onions and a jalapeno, and made little burger patties. I ate those with some hot sauce and had the rest of my baby carrots. 

Also last night I got my other least favorite workout in before the weekend, cardio blast. It felt good to get it out of the way though. That way if all I get is some hiking in, I won't feel as guilty about missing the tough workout for the week. 

For breakfast today I had my usual two scrambled eggs with some hot sauce. For lunch today is a farmhouse salad with shrimp, avocado, cherry tomatoes, eggs, cucumbers, and homemade salad dressing consisting of olive oil, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar. 

Monte and I are loading up after work and heading to Mitchell to spend the weekend at the boyfriend's house. When at his house, he gets to do the cooking. He keeps it simple and right now, simple sounds amazing! I'm exhausted. 

I'm pretty sure fall weather is hitting us sooner than expected and I am pumped. I don't need to lose weight anymore, its sweater weather, hahaha. Just kidding. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

[AndieK]

Day 22 is here and I had a deliciously filled weekend. I visited the boyfriend and I sat back and let him do all the cooking! Relinquishing control of the cooking was a challenge for me. It's not that he3 doesn't know what he is doing, it's just that I love to do it so much. I was pleasantly pleased with all that he did this weekend. Friday night we kept it simple with some chicken breasts, asparagus, and mushrooms. Saturday for lunch/breakfast we had two eggs each and some homemade hash that consisted of chicken sausage, sweet potato, potatoes, and onions. For dinner Saturday night we enjoyed some delicious steaks with mushrooms, potatoes, and onions. Sunday he made me breakfast in bed, two eggs, and the leftover hash. He is such a stud! 

After I drove home, unpacked, paid some attention to the cat because she was beyond excited to see me, cleaned a little, and prepped for the week, I was exhausted and just wanted to heat up some dinner real quick and then lay in bed, instead of doing my yoga. So that is exactly what I did. I reheated some of my pork mixture up, fried up two eggs, and had a quick delicious protein packed dinner with some grapes before becoming a lazy bum. I had no choice, the cat was all over my neck, not letting me move and if I did try to move, she would get so sad. I couldn't disappoint her. After all, I did leave her home alone all weekend long.

It really feels good to know I have made it this far and as much as I miss some of mine and the boyfriend's traditions, I refuse to let all this hard work go. I am already looking into how to keep a Paleo-ish lifestyle going. I'm looking up recipes to make us delicious pizza but without the cheese and to use naan or cauliflower crust instead. I already have pinned a whole Paleo Thanksgiving meal plan and I can't wait! I'll definitely reintroduce wine back into my life and beans when I occasionally have them, but as for grains, I am sticking to gluten free and absolutely no dairy. I found an article this weekend about how those that are lactose intolerant can actually have cheese because the fermentation process actually breaks down the lactose. I have noticed that I still do get sick when I eat pizza but is it the cheese or is it the tomato based sauce? Again, I can't have tomato based products because of my IC. They are too acidic. So there will be a pizza experiment put to place. First pizza will have sauce and no cheese. And we will see how my body reacts. I love food experiments! 

I am about to MAKE the boyfriend step away from the Whole30. He is an active 6' tall landscaping man and I'm pretty sure he almost weighs the same as me at 5'6". It is getting pretty bad how skinny he is getting. He refuses to stop now and wants to stick with it because of me, but seriously, he needs carbs. He needs his milk back. It felt like I was sleeping next to a skeleton this weekend, ;P. He really is losing a lot of weight and it's borderline no longer healthy looking. And it's not that he doesn't eat! I have never seen a person eat as much as he does. His body hasn't gotten used to the no carbs and no milk routine just yet. 

I am still waking up gassy and uncomfortable. This week I need to focus on no carbonated water and just drink plain water with lime juice or lemon juice in it. And only have my one iced coffee during the day, and as for my diet, I can't figure out exactly what it is that I am eating that is causing it, besides perhaps, the cooked onions. Sigh. I stopped snacking on fruit last week and I still am struggling with the energy part. I'm happier, but my energy has not picked up. I hate mornings, always have and I definitely still do! I've yawned probably 5 times while writing this...and now that I just talked about yawning, I yawned again. ANYHOW!

This week I am going to take a break on the cooking fancy stuff for meals and just keep it simple. Soon I will start experimenting and when I do, I will write it all down, take pictures, and soon I will get that blog I want to start, up and running!

Andie Out - Happy Monday All!!!

 

[AndieK]

Andie here, on Day 23. The homeward stretch from here! I woke up this morning, yet again, uncomfortable and gassy with pains in my abdomen. This is getting irritating. I'm eating my usual breakfast of two scrambled eggs. For lunch will be more hash with what I have left of grapes. For dinner I am making buffalo wings. I am going to grab some Thrive Market ranch dressing from the Coop to enjoy them with. 

Last night I didn't work out, I got home and my energy was gone, I had a ton of work stuff to do and just couldn't find it in me to work out. Instead, I heated up some hash with two fried eggs, poured a glass of water in my wine glass and curled under the covers to begin the research for work. Tonight, I am going to punch it hard with my workout, if my energy ever picks up. 

Sigh.

[AndieK]

Day 25 and I can already taste the sweet nectar that I call the finish line and wine! 

I have to say, taking chicken drummies and grilling them until they are slightly charred and then sitting them in Whole30 Buffalo Sauce and serving with carrots and Whole30 approved ranch dressing is probably the best dinner I've made yet. I love me the tiny little chicken wings and legs but these drummies had more meat on them and oh it was so good! SO SO GOOD! That was my meal for dinner two nights in a row and I'm sad I don't have more for this evening. Back to the homemade hash or I could probably cook up the pork and make something out of that. 

For lunch today, I met my former CEO to pick her brain about certain topics and she chose Buffalo Wild Wings. As someone who was once addicted to BWW's and had a support group started with co-workers, I should get a thousand millions point for going there, having only water, and nibbling, like a frick'n rabbit, on carrots and celery. I have said this once before and will say it again, I REFUSE to be that customer who goes to an establishment and requests them to change things about an item on the menu just for my dietary reasons unless allergies are in place. It is a server's and a cook's nightmare. I've been in the industry, if you're going to be a picky eater, eat at home. 

One week from today, I can call Whole30 done with and I can finally relax a little when it comes to finding ingredients for meals and reading labels of the little amounts of food I eat here and there. The restrictions are more difficult for me now then there were at the beginning. I'm so close to the end that I just want french fries and wine. Or after a stressful day, a big glass of wine with some pizza rolls, my go to comfort care food! Chips and queso. So many things that I want. I really am going to bake a ton of cookies for the guys at work and so I can have a bite of each one. As I type this, I keep looking at my second screen and its Klondike advertisement just staring at me from up in the corner! ERRRRRRR! 

There is a paleo mint chocolate chip ice cream that I had made once a few years ago. I will be making myself a whole lot of that before this summer is over.

Tonight is Pilates, and I look forward to it, I have been slack on my workouts this week and spending my extremely stressful week working from home all evening long...I better get myself prepared for my pilates

[Rottiegirl2017]

AndieK - thank you for sharing your journey!  I love that you shared all your meals and am so happy to see there is another BB lady out there!  I did 21DF and DFx more than a few times.  I did the 21DFx challenge (meal plan) once.  I enjoyed 21DF yoga; hated 21DFx pilates.

I am feeling like my DVR missed the end of an awesome movie - how did your last days go?  How are you doing now?

[AndieK]

Hey Hey Hey all! I went missing for awhile there...I do apologize.

 The Whole30 journey was definitely an eye-opener for me. I struggled towards the end and won't lie, we planned it out all wrong!! We should have started so that we could have ended on a Friday, instead of a Tuesday. The weekend before the end is where the boyfriend and I couldn't take it anymore. We went 4 weeks of me prepping, cooking, making sauces, spending A LOT of money on groceries, and not going out to eat.... we didn't leave the house but to go get groceries or take the dog hiking. The exact opposite of our usual lifestyle! So that last weekend, day 27, I needed out, I was getting cabin fever, I couldn't look at another dirty dish or my kitchen being a mess. We went and spent our Saturday like we used to do...hitting antique shops, going to Menards, running around town and running errands. After a few hours and us spending a good amount time at our local Organic grocery store, we started to get hungry. We then decided to end our journey, so close to the finish line, but we were exhausted. It was a good decision for us. We sat there, getting carbs into the boyfriend's belly because he was looking sickly skinny, and we wrote out our plans to still remain paleo and eat healthy 80/20. We need our weekends to splurge. It's our only time together and we like to get out, treat ourselves, enjoy a drink, and we need our dose of wings. Wings are our weakness...and wine. 

I still spent my whole week eating healthy. I had leftover hash for a few days. I made gluten-free spaghetti and bought organic spaghetti sauce. I enjoyed a chicken salad for lunch. I'm still enjoying my two eggs for breakfast because it's so quick, easy, and satisfies my early morning belly grumbles. I did splurge a couple nights last week and had a few spoonfuls of SO Delicious Dairy Free Mint Chip ice cream. I even ordered my work crew their Friday lunch...pizza. I ordered myself a gluten free and cheese less pizza with chicken, bacon, spinach, mushrooms, and light sauce. It was suprisingly good. We had a picnic that evening for his work, I didn't eat anything because I was actually still full on my gluten-free pizza ha. Plus I didn't have time to put any food in my mouth because it was too busy moving and chattering away at all of his coworkers.

I also find myself at the grocery store sticking to the organic aisles, produce and meat areas, and when I went over to the dairy and frozen area, I was only looking for dairy free and gluten-free. I have been programmed. It is the reading labels and omitting anything that may contain sugar that I am not fretting about anymore. Most of the stuff I eat that has sugar in it is going to be small servings here and there and I just can't handle the stress of wondering if I am allowed to eat it or not. I will not over indulge myself on sugar though.... The Whole30 journey made me feel great again. I never gained energy but I learned a lot. I enjoyed most of it. I am definitely satisfied with my results and I am so glad that I gave it a whirl and I look forward to remaining 80/20. 

Before the weekend, I saw the dress that I had hanging on the wall as motivation, and I decided to try it on. I couldn't believe the difference. It was definitely looser on me. It was a great feeling and that right there makes me the most motivated to keep up with the eating healthy and working out. I am just going to limit the restrictions so I can still enjoy the simple pleasures of life.  

@Rottiegirl2017 I have to ask, BB lady? Haha, that has been racking my brain all weekend... 21DF's workouts are probably my favorite workouts of all...I struggle with 30 minutes of Yoga though. The first time I ever did a yoga workout was with the Abs Diet for Women and it was maybe a 15 minute long yoga session. Doubling that took a lot of concentration on my part, but I still love it. I enjoyed the 21DF meal plan and actually still use the little colored cups for my snacks I bring to work and for dressings. I really like the recipes in her FixAte recipe book...

It was a good journey! I lost some weight, I feel better, and well, I am now a little more aware of what I put into my body. 

 

 

[Rottiegirl2017]

Nice job AndieK.  Your journey sounds perfect for you.  I am excited to see how my journey continues.  I started week 2 today - so far, so good.  Keep up your awesome habits and love yourself and life!

[AndieK]

@Rottiegirl2017 Good job for making it to week 2! Keep up the hard work and fight past the cravings. I found the easiest way to get through Whole30 is to keep all meals simple during the week and maybe try the Whole30 recipes out of the book on weekends. And plenty of extra for leftovers! It saves on headaches and worrying about what to make and saves on $$ for groceries. 

How are you feeling so far?