Whole30 from Kuwait

[Gonzosan]

Hello all my name is Jonathan, I've been interested in doing a whole30 for a while. The longest I've done it is probably a week then I eventually slipped up and just fell off the wagon after that. I'm deployed to Kuwait, and I figure I should start one now. It might actually be easier to do it here than back home in Las Vegas, considering I can't drive down to In and Out/Chipotle/Wendy's/Cinnabon etc. If you've ever been to Vegas then you know there is a plethora of buffet style places within walking distance of each other on the strip. Here in my deployed location, you can either eat on base at the chow hall or eat at a shawarma place, subway or a pizza place. That's about it. So I will be limited in my food choices, but I think that would make it much easier to stick to this for 30 days. I started this morning when I had a omelette with ham and tomato. I'm not going to restrict "night shades" or anything like that. I figure if I eat natural foods (meat/vegetables/fruit/nuts/fats) then I will be doing something great for my body. Since I've been here I have been eating pretty badly, which wasn't a goal of mine when I came down here. I've always been focusing on the workouts, but never made the progress I've wanted and I always knew the nutrition aspects were sorely lacking. I fortunately (half glass full) put on weight, and don't have the best skin, so I should be happy I'm not the natural model looking type of person that can eat whatever and smoke and drink and still look amazing. I don't think I would change otherwise. It's much easier to make the change when your lifestyle affects how you look and feel. So today is day one for me, I will try to create a log here somewhere so I can update it once a day for 30 days and record my progress.

[Annie]

Good luck! You can make it work... you ARE doing something great for your body!.. and thanks for serving our country! Your sacrifice for my freedom is greatly appreciated.

[Gonzosan]

Thanks Annie. So far today is going good. Usually by now I'd have two energy drinks and a cup of coffee just to keep up. I'd also be bloated, but right now I feel fairly awake and not feeling bloated at all. I think once I get through the first three days I can get through the entire 30 days.

[Shaunna]

Good luck, Jonathan! Keep us updated

[Gonzosan]

Well I do feel better. After work I was feeling pretty hungry, and unfortunately the only place open that has chicken as one of their meals was closed so I had to find something to eat that was compliant. This wasn't easy, considering the BX is stocked like a massive 7 Eleven, but I settled on some pineapple chunks (not in syrup). I was tempted to get some canned sausages (those bite size ones), but read the label and instantly put it back when it was more than a few ingredients. I was going to get Spam, although I've never had it, and I wasn't sure if it was compliant or not so I didn't get it. Still, day one is down and it was great. I might have to be a bit more lenient in some areas if I plan on making it through the 30 days, I can't limit myself too much on an already limited amount of foods available to me. Well 29 more days to go.

[Jeanye Mercer]

I applaud you for giving this a go under less than ideal circumstances! There are several folks on the forum who are deployed. Hopefully you can connect!

Best wishes!

[Gonzosan]

Thanks Jeanye, I figure if I can do it here I can do it anywhere. Ironically this might be easier for me here since I'm pretty lazy back home. I don't like to cook often, even though I have fancy kitchen "tools" like a sous vide supreme and cast iron pans and such. So here I can just "pick" what I like from the chow hall and not have to worry about anything else. Cooking natural foods tends to be harder since everything either has to be home made or prepared fairly well, as opposed to getting a "premade" box dinner or something. It's day two, and I slept like a rock. I usually sleep like this when I take sleeping pills (which I was taking almost regularly every night), but I don't have the side effect of waking up groggy from a deep sleep. I took a caffeine pill first things in the morning on my way to the gym and felt great. I pretty much annihilated myself in the gym swinging a kettlebell but it felt great none the less.

[OldFarmer]

Hey Jonathan, the shawarma place might not be the worst thing, depending on how they prepare their meats, and whether they offer plated shawarma, or just sandwiches. We have an old-school shawarma shop down the street here (Dubai, so probably more like Vegas than Kuwait) that serves fresh-cooked bone broth soup, plates of arugula and veggies, homemade fermented veg pickles, and can serve shawarma as sandwiches or just shaved meat from the spit--chicken and camel are both on offer, but the camel goes fast.

Can you get water-packed tuna and sardines instead of some of those canned meat products?

And as previous posters have said, thank you sincerely for your service, and kudos to you for going for it.

Keep cool, too. Don't forget to stay hydrated now that the heat is back on.

[Gonzosan]

The Shawarma place here isn't the best. Most of their food is sandwiches, and they pack them with chicken/beef and french fries. They also have roasted chicken which I'd like to get. They don't offer much, not even side salads, so I might have to pair it with something else I'd buy. I'm not a big fan of tuna or fish in general, and I don't plan on getting any canned products in general. I'll just stick to eating at the chow hall and just stock up on good food there. I'm drinking plenty of water, and this is the first place I've seen that actually has sodium in their water. It's not much, just odd to see it, but I guess out here in this heat you need it. Luckily the base offers up bottled water like there's no tomorrow, so there's no shortage of that. It is getting pretty hot, but luckily I only have to go outside for chow and the 10 min walk home (usually in the cooler times of the day).

[Gonzosan]

forgot to update this last night. My boss let me go home early so I was out of there fast. Last night before dinner I was having some major cravings. I kept thinking about wanting to eat a pizza or get a cheeseburger. Probably because at lunch I had a "meh" piece of chicken with some lettuce and a banana. Not exactly satiating, but luckily dinner was much better. They had "rib eye steak", which here is a crap shoot. It'll either be boiled, so it tastes like roast beef, or it'll be charred so badly it's actually black on one side. Doesn't help that they give you a butter knife to cut it. Needless to say it was the latter, but still amazingly good, especially since I was really hungry. the guy gave me a few, and I had some lettuce and tomatoes with a lot of cut up bacon. Also had a banana. Pretty good meal and the cravings went away. Today I didn't go eat breakfast since I slept in, and I didn't exactly feel like getting up just to eat. I'm going to eat at that shawarma place today, just going to get the broiled chicken.

[Shaunna]

Keep up the great work!