Whole30 Kuwait

[Gonzosan]

Well as promised, I've created a log here to keep track of my progress from day 1 to 30. I'll have to take some pictures, but mostly this'll be a way for me to "keep up" and show that I'm still on track throughout the whole time. I will post what I've eated, and maybe even get feedback from others who have been in my situation. I'm currently deployed, and I remember reading a story about a few military members who were doing a whole 30 while they were deployed as well so I figured I had no excuse not to try it. It'll be hard, but I'm willing to try it out. I have less to choose from, but that may be a blessing in disguise. I'm not looking for a "quick fix" diet, I'm looking to change the way I look at food and hopefully pick up some good habits and a new found healthy relationship with food. Today was day one of 30. I wanted to try the "eat-stop-eat" method of eating, since I'm fond of Intermittent fasting, but I think that would add unecessary stress. I'm just going to stick to eating when I'm hungry and go from there.

Todays Breakfast:

Egg omelette with ham and tomato

[Gonzosan]

Today for lunch I had chicken/beef fajitas (not the best of meat, but what was available) and broccoli. I had a small pear and a few grapes with water to drink. Overall not a bad meal, and it was compliant.

[Annie]

suh-weet! All you can do is... ALL you can do... and you're doing it!

[Gonzosan]

For dinner I had some Chicken shikila, or something like that. It was basically cut up chicken pieces with green bell peppers and tomatoes with some sort of spices. Also had some lettuce and tomatoes with no dressing. Water to drink, with a pear and a plum as well.

[Carie Skeahan]

You are doing a great job, especially considering your limited options.

Thank you for all you do!

[Gonzosan]

Thanks. So this morning after a grueling kettlebell workout I had another ham and tomato omelette with bacon, which I'm not fond of, but I know I'll need the protein/fat. Also had some "oven browned potatoes", which I suppose might be frown upon for the whole30 so I'll probably drop them as well. Had water to drink and a banana as well. Had some salsa on my omelette and it was pretty good overall. Also had an espresso from this machine, but I'm not sure if I'm really sensitive to the taste or there's some sweetner in the espresso. It has that very "mild" sweetness that you'd get from a unsweetened oolong tea. I'm thinking it might be because the same machine dispenses sugared coffees. It's a shame because it would be a great way to get my coffee in the morning since the nearest coffee shop is a good 5-10 min walk from work each way. The sign on the machine didn't say "with sugar" under the espresso tab, while all the others did say it. Also above the espresso tab there was another tab (that didn't work) saying it "no sugar". Not sure if that was supposed to mean the espresso didn't have sugar but we'll see. None the less I'll be buying my favorite instant coffee made by Mount Hagen. It's organic freeze dried coffee that I usually bought from Whole foods, or certain health food stores and for an instant coffee it's pretty damn amazing. Best part is they come in single serving packets so I can keep it at work. It's better than buying beans and grinding them myself.

[Gonzosan]

So far I've been lucky that I haven't had to make my own meal from a variety of compliant foods. Today for lunch they had chicken and shrimp fajitas. So they gave me plenty of that, I added some salsa for better taste and threw in a handful of chopped tomatoes. Had a plum and banana along with some water. Tried the espresso again today, and it was definitely strong on the sweet side so I poured it down the drain and just walked to the coffee shop to get an iced black coffee. Also, while I was eating my banana (near the end of the meal) I had a sudden surge of energy, like I was ready to sprint and also felt really good for no apparent reason. I wonder if this is common. So far feel pretty good.

[Gonzosan]

Well another day down, today was a bit easier. I just need to find foods I like. I usually tend to see what I'll get for dinner and look forward to the fruit. I've been pretty keen on the plums today, so at least I have that to look forward to. Dinner was Jerk chicken. They had some rice and some breaded pork chops I think so I just had the piece of chicken and got some lettuce. Unfortunately I didn't see that the "quick order" line had the shrink and chicken from lunch time. Wasn't a big meal, but I wasn't starving either. I had a couple of plums which helped plenty. Lunch and dinner are a crapshoot at times, but at worst I can expect to eat grilled chicken and salad with some fruit. Overall pretty great day, had some gas but I think that was from the potatoes in the morning, so good reason to chuck them next time. Tomorrow I'll see how well I recover from my morning workout. I tend to be fairly sore the next day and even the day after that.

[Gonzosan]

Well I was waiting for the incredible soreness I usually get the day after a rough kettlebell workout and to my amazement I have barely any. I usually feel this day the second day after the workout, but definitely not the first. The difference is almost night and day, and considering this is the second time I've done this type of workout, I don't think my body adapated that quickly had it not been for my eating patterns. I guess it helps that I slept like a rock again and I don't feel like I moved once at night. I had one of those deep sleeps where your alarm actually startles you (I use my watch) and you think "already?". None the less once I get up I actually feel great, well as least as great as you can feel at 6 in the morning in a pitch black room. Had the same breakfast as yesterday sans the potatoes, and replaced the bacon with actual ham. I'm hoping I can workout every other day using kettlebells, taking Saturday off (maybe) since that's my day off.

[Gonzosan]

Well today's lunch was less than stellar, but at least it was compliant. We had "pineapple chicken" which was far from what you'd expect. It was basically boiled chicken with salt and pepper with pineapple chunks . It was ok at best, even for chicken. Had some steamed baby carrots and lettuce with some chopped bacon on top. Had a banana as well, unfortunately today was not a plum day. Had some water, and realized I need to switch it up. Might start drinking unsweetened tea to keep my sanity. I drink enough water throughout the day as is. I also went to get a packet of dressing for the salad and thought Italian would be a decent compliant one. I read the list and knew it wasn't, so I didn't use it. Luckily the bacon provided enough flavor to keep my dry lettuce company. I have a feeling dinner is going to be a similar meal. So far my favorite meal of the day is breakfast.

[Gonzosan]

Well my last post didn't go through for some reason, none the less today I went to the shawarma place and had the chicken. It looks like they grilled half a chicken and served it up. It was pretty damn good, although they served it with 3 giant pita breads and some hummus and garlic sauce. I had the garlic sauce, although the hummus wasn't something I knew about nor cared to try. Afterward I had a fruit smoothie, which was just fruit and ice. So far so good.

[Annie]

I'm loving breakfast as well... so much that I'm having my breakfast for dinner LOL... you're doing great!

[Gonzosan]

Well this morning I really didn't feel like working out, but after my roommate set his alarm clock to go off in 10 min intervals starting at 0520, I was pretty much up by 0600, which is what my single alarm was set to. So I got up, took a swig of water and a caffeine pill and made my way to the gym. I did a 7 min warmup doing 10 "halos", 10 "pumps" and 10 "wall squats, which come from "Enter The Kettlebell" for all those wondering. At 7 minutes I still wanted to go home because I wasn't feel great at all, but I prevailed. I did 3 sets of 20 swings with a 44lb KB and I was getting smoked. I was ready to throw in the towel and just go home, but I decided to make it a heavy day today, rather than an interval day like I usually do. I also decided to try to get my form right on the snatches, which were always something I wanted to work on but always shyed away from. I did presses with the 44lb KB, then with dual 66lb KBs did a farmers walk which was maybe 30-40 yards total. Came back and tried doing snatches with a 35lb KB and was amazingly doing well with my right arm, but the left arm is always laggin and ended up banging my arm plenty of times. So I decided to step down to the next smallest KB they had, which was an 18 pounder. It was pretty light, but enough for me to really get my form down. Right arm was quite easy and I got into a nice groove, although the left arm still needs plenty of "pratice". I think I have a strength imbalance since my right arm really didn't get much of a "pump", yet my left arm felt it plenty when doing snatches even with the 18lb KB. Still, I really loved doing them so I might start including them more often. Rather than just doing swings I'll do swings and snatches more often. For those that have experience doing them (right), would you say doing the KB snatch is like doing one fluid motion of KB cleans+presses? That's the way I saw it. Basically bringing the KB up to a clean but before stopping quickly "punch up" like a press. Usually this ends up with the KB slowly rotating around my hand rather than flipping over and hitting my forearm. Thoughts? I'll continue using the 18lb KB until I feel like I have the motion down perfect. I think I'll wait until I can do 20 snatches perfectly with each arm before I move up to the 35lb KB snatches. As far as my meal this morning, I was dreading walking into the chow hall. Today is "waffle day". They have the cooks making fresh waffles, and they have all the usual strawberry/blueberry/whipped cream add ons. It smelled amazing, but I wasn't tempted and went for my usual omelette with tomato and ham. Had some bacon as well, although this breakfast didn't feel so great but I ate it anyways. I'm really craving juice, not sure if it's acceptable to drink a small portion of juice in the mornings or not. They have those small box juices that are just orange/apple juice, nothing artificial or added besides the juice. I think if that small portion of juice can be had my meals would be much better overall.

[Derval]

Your workout sounds awesome, well done.

Fruit juices are not allowed during the w30, but you could add a portion of whole fruit to your breakfast.

[Gonzosan]

I was thinking about that workout all morning actually, felt pretty good. Revived my motivation for working out again. So lunch was ok, dinner was a bit of a let down. I went in to get porkchops (they also had chicken which I should have gotten) and while I was looking away the guy serving them smothered them in gravy. I just looked at him for a few seconds and he said "what else?" and I just said "that's it, thanks...". I had a bacon salad with that, and tried my best to scrape off all the gravy. I think I did a pretty good job, but my plate was pretty much covered in it. I know a lot of times gravy is made with flour, not sure how this one was made but I wouldn't count on it being compliant. While doing the whole30 here, my main goal is to really clean up my diet, I can't really focus on things that are bound to happen here, so I will just live with it. I'm taking this first whole30 as a learning lesson on what to expect. I hopefully plan on keeping this style of eating for at least 80-90% of my meals afterwards. So far I will say the cravings are slowly going away, although it's still pulling hard at times. I had lunch with some co-workers, one of which was my boss and he and his friend decided to go to the dessert cart to get some cake and ice cream. He kept making jokes with me saying my fiancee didn't want a skinny guy. I laughed, but politely declined. I will say it didn't help that they are carrot cake and chocolate mint ice cream in front of me, but my plums helped my sweet craving. Day 5 down, 25 more to go.

[Shaunna]

Keep up the great work!

[Gonzosan]

Thanks Shaunna. This morning I woke up and didn't have any soreness whatsoever, and I'm also able to go into a deep sleep much faster. This morning my roommate had his usual alarm go off at 520/30/40 again so I was up at those times. I had my alarm set for 7am, and between 0540-0645 I was in a deep sleep, dreams and all, before my other roommate's alarm clock went off and I just stayed awake. I felt refreshed. It feels pretty good to sleep that well. If I knew how good I'd sleep I would have definitely done this before, especially during my rough training days flying. I feel a lot less stressed as well, and best of all I actually feel leaner. I'm not sure if I am or not but I feel "tighter" overall. My uniform, which felt slightly snug when I first got here, now feels "loose", so it feels great. My skin has a slight glow to it as well. Pretty awesome that I'm starting to see these effects, even with the subpar food they serve here. This morning I didn't workout, I decided I will workout every other day to maximize my workout efficiency. This morning I had the usual omelette, which is starting to get boring, but then again that's a circumstance of this place in general. Regardless of what I eat, they serve the same things in the mornings everytime, with the occasional change from french toast, to pancakes but the rest is the same.

[Gonzosan]

Today for lunch I decided to go to that Shawarma place again and order the chicken. Pretty good chicken, and had some pineapple cup as well. I forgot to mention, this morning I was feeling a bit gassy. Not sure what it was. I had the usual breakfast of omelette with tomatoes and ham, with bacon and salsa on top. Also had a banana with water to drink, and a black coffee afterward. I'm wondering if it's something in my breakfast, or something I had yesterday.

[Gonzosan]

Well today was my favorite day of the week, least for food. Today "Specialty Bar" was BBQ. I got some grilled chicken, then made my way to the bbq area and loaded up on pulled pork and a couple of ribs. I feel quite satiated to say the least. Had lemon iced tea, and a plum as well. Another day down.

[Gonzosan]

This morning's workout was alright, I did something similar as last workout but didn't end up leaving the workout feeling as great as I did on Monday. None the less I used it to improve my KB snatches, cleans, presses, and swings. I have the swings down just fine, and I settled on using the 44lb for swings and the 35lb one for cleans and presses. the 18lb one is still for snatches until I feel like I can get really good with my form, which is still spotty right now. Still, definitely had a great workout, I just need to focus on a routine rather than just going in there and doing whatever. I think I'll do the workout I was doing before, but mix it up with different KB moves. Before I did a 10 min warm, followed by 20 kb swings, by a minute of something to keep my heartrate up (jumping jacks, squats, running in place). You do this for 12 mins straight, with a one minute break after I believe 4 or 5 complete sets (a set is 20 kb swings and one min jumping jacks/running in place). Either that or you have a "comfortable" stopping place. What I plan on doing is the same thing, but alternate swings with snatches/cleans/presses. I like swings, but they can be boring if you solely do those. Hoping this routine will keep things varied and focus on a whole body routine at the same time.

Breakfast was the usual, although instead of the subpar bacon I had subpar sausage patties. I don't know if it was the sausage, but I felt queasy eating this morning. I felt like I wanted to puke, but it subsided eventually. Tomorrow will be my one week mark into my Whole30, also today is my one month mark in Kuwait. I was starting to get that "is this working?" effect, but then I realized I've only really been changing my habits over the course of a week. I've been off and on the whole month, so looking onto that, I realize that even during this short amount of time I feel some noticeable changes. So hopefully a month from now I will see some bigger changes.

[Gonzosan]

Well lunch and dinner kind of sucked, I didn't eat much and it wasn't all that appetizing to begin with. For lunch I had grilled shrimp, which really was just cooked shrimp with spices on it, and since that was pretty much everything that was compliant, I just got a salad and had a shrimp salad. Also had a plum with some iced tea. Dinner wasn't any better. They had Tandori chicken and beef stew. I wasn't in a beef stew mood so I just got the chicken and another small salad (no dressing). Plum for dessert, pretty lack luster on my last two meals but oh well. Hopefully tomorrow will go better.

[JimS]

Props to you for taking on the Whole30 while abroad, in a far off place without easy access to compliant foods. You're doing great... keep at it one day at a time!

[Farback]

Sounds like it's tough to get the food choices there, but your workouts sound killer. Keep the faith. Thirty days looks long from the early end eh?

[Gonzosan]

Thanks for the support all. 23 days left to go. Honestly it's not really a matter of food for me, but a matter of how I use food. Right now I'm feeling quite down and dragging, and the first thing that pops into my head is to go eat some cookies to cheer myself up. So I have to tend with that. It's a bit of an inconvenience not having the same food choices as I do back home, but I'll be fine. Today for lunch I had chicken skewers at the shawarma place down the road. Unfortunately unless you get fries/onion rings, you only get the chicken. They had 3 large pieces of pita bread, but I couldn't have that. So I paid $8 for about 2 grilled chicken breasts cut up into cubes. I put some hot sauce on them and ate that, then had a pienapple fruit cup. Not the best lunch, and I'm not feeling great today either. Ugh. I could really use a pick me up, but my choices are limited. Coffee isn't even doing it for me.

[Gonzosan]

Well yesterday was pretty terrible up to dinner which really helped me out. The increased food intake definitely seemed to make me feel better overall. My workouts are dragging though, I think I need to take a few days off, or make my workouts less intense. Lately everytime I wake up to go workout I'm feeling much more tired than usual. Even when I take a caffeine pill it doesn't give me the same rush. I often have to "power through" and keep saying "just a little bit more and you'll start feeling good". Unfortunately that lasted the whole workout, and even when I was done and relaxed I didn't get the usual "euphoric" feeling after a good workout, but more of a "damn I'm tired" feeling. I think I'll keep two days of rest between my workouts and see how that works. I read the "Elimination experiment workout" which is a side book of "Eat Stop Eat" and he talks about getting down to the core exercises that really benefit him the most. He was working out quite often, then started "eliminating" certain exercises and started cutting down the amount of days he workout as well. For him it turned out that 2 days a week gave him the same, or very similar benefits than working out more often. So I may start doing that myself, after all the diet is the most important part. I'm not looking to compete in anything, nor do I care about big muscles. I just want to be healthy and fit.

For breakfast I just got ham and scrambled eggs, which was lackluster and even though I had plenty of water to drink I just felt like my body wanted something "more". Like it felt depleted and the ham and eggs was just not cutting it. I ate an apple as well, and that seemed to help, but I still feel a bit worn out. I'm hoping I can head home for lunch today and take a quick nap to recharge myself. Also I'm eating Pistachios. They seem to be pretty beneficial and have some decent fat content which I hope will satiate me.