Round 2 - Whole14 Reset

[JCV]

Well, here we are again.

I successfully completed my first round of Whole30 about 2 weeks ago. Seems so soon to be back. A major reason I want to do a shorter reset is because I did not do a proper reintroduction last time. I did not go crazy and nose dive into pizza and cookies - in fact, I just had the sad realization that I haven't had ANY pizza. Almost feels like a sin  and while I tried to stay compliant, at least as far as my grocery shopping and meal prepping goes, I was eating out a lot and eating foods that had been off limits for a month. My body did not like that.

I've struggled with acne my whole life, since I was 11. I am now 26 and my hormonal adult acne is a constant struggle. On any given day, I have anywhere from 3-10 active zits. The under-the-skin painful ones. They only occur around my mouth. I call it my "mustache and beard area". I've known for a while that dairy is one of my triggers and cut it out back in March, and that did wonders for a couple of months until my body caught on to me and flared up again. So I decided to start my first Whole30 on June 26, the Monday after my 26th birthday with the intention of doing a slow reintroduction to really pinpoint my problem foods (because even when I cut out dairy, I was still experiencing GI issues). 

My first Whole30 was great. I was already a pretty healthy person, having lost 30lbs within about a year and a half due to exercise plans and tracking macros. Which leads me to my other reason I wanted to start Whole30 - to be able to live life without tracking. I had forgotten how to eat without having to plug it into an app and abiding to numbers. I had forgotten what it felt like to be hungry, because I was constantly eating just to hit these macros that were set in place for myself. I wanted to get out of that cycle and learn to listen to my body. My first round of Whole30 successfully taught me that and I haven't tracked a single crumb in over 1 month now - how liberating! 

During my first round, my skin cleared (besides when I think I accidentally must have consumed either sugar or soy while out to dinner once). My skin was under control, I was no longer having any GI issues (literally barely farted besides after eating brussel sprouts lol). I even lost 5 lbs, which doesn't seem like a lot but on my 5'2" 122lb frame is incredibly noticeable, after having been stuck at that plateau for SEVERAL months. 

Flash forward to day 31 - my first meal was my favorite meal with my girlfriends of wine and curry pad thai. Not the worst thing I could have, but it was at once right off the bat. And things just kind of continued from there. I'd pack compliant breakfasts and lunches, and cook compliant for dinner. But I was so excited to finally be able to go out to eat again or get takeout, that that's what I did. It wasn't every night, but maybe 2-3 times per week. And I would deem these instances as "worth it". My acne returned with vengeance and my hormonal acne now is unlike anything I've seen on my own skin. It is so incredibly frustrating.

So that is why I'm back. I went to a bachelorette party over the weekend - it was a chill weekend at a cabin on the lake up north, and it was amazing. And the food was amazing. Food like brownies, taco dip (with lots of cheese and sour cream - SO good), bagels and cream cheese in the morning. Basically all of the best foods I can think of. And knowing I would be starting my reset the Monday after this weekend, I just indulged. And it was SO much fun. But my stomach has felt like it is carrying a bowling ball ever since. My GI issues are pretty bad right now, which I expected and accepted. But I'm just ready to reset and reintro the correct way. I need to narrow it down. So here I am. Day 1. And I will be logging my experience again the way I did with round 1. I like that accountability and journaling of my experience, even though no one but me reads it - and that is totally okay. 

Day 1:

I'm feeling exhausted. Bloated. Lethargic. Gassy. You name it. I'm still so full from all of the food this weekend. But I was looking forward to this reset, and I am still feeling so eager about it. I truly love this program and everything it has taught me. According to Food Freedom Forever, this is actually all part of the process. Even though I feel like I messed up royally, that is part of the cycle, and the important thing is that I'm here again, acknowledging my slip ups and taking the steps to reset my body. I find comfort in that.

[JCV]

Day 2:

Yesterday was a doozy. I felt so sick all day (so many GI issues) still coming off from the weekend. I'm still feeling pretty bloated today, but better than yesterday. I'm still tired. I'm just happy to be doing this again. I'm also in the process of reading Food Freedom Forever for the first time and I feel like that's really keeping my motivation up. Not that I need it - after this weekend, I never want to see another cookie or piece of cheese again.

[JCV]

Day 3:

My GI and digestion issues from the weekend finally seem to have leveled out. My bloat is finally gone and I'm feeling good. I'm feeling like I should. My skin, though I still have a few active zits, also seems like it's calming down. Thank the Lord. 

This week, I've prepared my favorite burgers for lunch. They are the Cattlemen's Ranch unseasoned black angus beef patties from Aldi. They are amazing and so easy to make! I've been eating these with portobello mushroom caps as the buns, with a very small amount of avocado oil mayo (since the patties are so high in fat) and brown mustard. I also have brussell sprouts and roasted potatoes on the side. I've been finding these to make give me a little bit of stomach pain and I'm not sure if it's the brussell sprouts (which make me gassy) or if it's the very high fat red meat. 

While I'm on food, for breakfasts I've been having 2 hard boiled eggs and 1 banana, and 1 apple usually soon after. I know it's not as green and leafy as it should be, but that's about as much as I can do at 8:30 in the morning.

My dinners vary. Last night I made coconut curry thai chicken over cauliflower rice - one of my staple dishes while on Whole30.

Overall, I'm feeling good and feel my body getting back to its happy place. I guess sometimes you need to take a step backwards to take two steps forward. 

[SweetEnough]

3 minutes ago, JCV said:

My skin, though I still have a few active zits, also seems like it's calming down. Thank the Lord. 

Thank goodness!!!! My daughter introduced me to Whole30, and she also suffers from acne, and also eczema. Her skin mostly cleared up from the clean eating, but then she also added collagen to her daily regimen and both the acne and eczema went away almost completely. Have you ever tried collagen? I have been adding it to my coffee for the past week, and it's undetectable. If I didn't know that I put it in there myself, I wouldn't know it was there. Might be worth a try! This is the kind I bought, recommended by one of our moderators here on the Forum: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Lakes-Gelatin-Collagen-Hydrolysate/dp/B005KG7EDU 

[JCV]

1 hour ago, SweetEnough said:

Thank goodness!!!! My daughter introduced me to Whole30, and she also suffers from acne, and also eczema. Her skin mostly cleared up from the clean eating, but then she also added collagen to her daily regimen and both the acne and eczema went away almost completely. Have you ever tried collagen? I have been adding it to my coffee for the past week, and it's undetectable. If I didn't know that I put it in there myself, I wouldn't know it was there. Might be worth a try! This is the kind I bought, recommended by one of our moderators here on the Forum: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Lakes-Gelatin-Collagen-Hydrolysate/dp/B005KG7EDU 

Thank you so much for reading! I used Collagen Peptides from Vital Proteins during my first round and added it to my coffee. It was obviously during the time of significant diet changes so it's hard for me to pinpoint whether those helped or not. Maybe they did! I ran out and haven't repurchased but if my skin doesn't clear during this reset the way it did during my first round, then I'm hoping it will be a sign that the collagen worked for me! The collagen you linked is WAY more affordable than Vital Proteins so I'll have to give it a try.

And oh my gosh, your location is Grand Rapids?! I'm in Grand Rapids too! Hi neighbor 

[SweetEnough]

7 minutes ago, JCV said:

Thank you so much for reading! I used Collagen Peptides from Vital Proteins during my first round and added it to my coffee. It was obviously during the time of significant diet changes so it's hard for me to pinpoint whether those helped or not. Maybe they did! I ran out and haven't repurchased but if my skin doesn't clear during this reset the way it did during my first round, then I'm hoping it will be a sign that the collagen worked for me! The collagen you linked is WAY more affordable than Vital Proteins so I'll have to give it a try.

And oh my gosh, your location is Grand Rapids?! I'm in Grand Rapids too! Hi neighbor 

So true, it's hard to know exactly which changes are helping what when we are changing so much at once! My daughter only really became a BELIEVER in the collagen after she got out of the daily habit of using it, and her skin went crazy again. 

GRAND RAPIDS HOMIES UNITE!!!!!!!!!!

[JCV]

Just now, SweetEnough said:

So true, it's hard to know exactly which changes are helping what when we are changing so much at once! My daughter only really became a BELIEVER in the collagen after she got out of the daily habit of using it, and her skin went crazy again. 

GRAND RAPIDS HOMIES UNITE!!!!!!!!!!

My skin went crazy again once I was off it as well, but it did also align with falling off of the wagon. I'm really curious to try Vital Protein's Collagen Peptides in the new coconut vanilla flavor! I imagine it would taste amazing in coffee. But wow for $75 it better make me glow like a unicorn lol

[SweetEnough]

Just now, JCV said:

I'm really curious to try Vital Protein's Collagen Peptides in the new coconut vanilla flavor! I imagine it would taste amazing in coffee. But wow for $75 it better make me glow like a unicorn lol

I'm pretty sure you'll sparkle in the sunlight like those Twilight vampires... let us know!

[JCV]

Day 4:

I have a new zit - bummer. The others are still clearing up though so I cannot complain too much. I'm sure it has to do with stress and lack of sleep anyway. I've stayed up way too late the last few nights and have not gotten nearly enough sleep. Otherwise I'm feeling good. My girlfriends and I had a girls night last night - these nights usually consist of Thai food, wine, and trash reality tv on the couch. Instead, we ate dinner at Corelife Eatery, where it is completely possible to stay 100% compliant and then shopped at Target for hours (cardio?). It was nice to switch it up without the temptation of Thai and wine. 

Speaking of temptations, that is something I've noticed I'm lacking this time around. During my first round, I missed foods, and to not eat them took more thought, and I did have negative side effects at first, as expected (lethargic, menstrual issues, constipation at first, etc.) This time around, it is not like that at all. In fact, it's effortless. I'm not craving anything, I'm not having any negative side effects - I just feel normal again. Hoping that's a good sign and means that this has become my body's new normal finally and the fact that I'm not struggling at all this time around is indicative of change within my body.

[JCV]

Day 5:

Nothing super exciting today. I still feel great. Skin is still stabilizing and I FINALLY got a good night's sleep last night. Today at work there was an ice cream sundae party. There were homemade Belgian waffles that made the entire office smell like Kilwins. My coworkers know I'm doing this reset, and I got so many comments and looks from everyone having such sympathy for me because I couldn't partake. Honestly that's incredibly annoying. It's not "poor me" - this is a CHOICE I'm making. Not only that, but even if I were not on this reset, I STILL probably wouldn't have any because I now know that it's not even worth it. If I had a bowl of ice cream with a waffle and all of the toppings that were set out, I would feel like absolute junk right now. Did it trigger me craving something sweet? Yes. Did I feel like I was going to cave and give in to temptation? Not at all. I wasn't even craving something sweet in the form of a sundae, it made me want to eat a mango. A MANGO of all things. If seeing ice cream sets off my taste buds and makes me want fruit then hell, I've come a long way. 

So on my lunch break I went to a specialty health foods store. I really wanted to find some compliant taco seasoning and grab a mango. I also got a sudden odd craving for pickled cabbage. Now I am not a sauerkraut fan at all. But for some reason I was craving it intensely. I think because a local food truck I got yummy tacos from recently used pickled cabbage and I liked it. So I bought a massive jar of fancy, expensive lacto-fermented cabbage. And I feel like such a middle class white girl even typing that. But wow, I can't wait to use it on my tacos later! 

Successfully made it through 1 work week  

[SweetEnough]

2 minutes ago, JCV said:

So on my lunch break I went to a specialty health foods store. I really wanted to find some compliant taco seasoning and grab a mango. I also got a sudden odd craving for pickled cabbage. Now I am not a sauerkraut fan at all. But for some reason I was craving it intensely. I think because a local food truck I got yummy tacos from recently used pickled cabbage and I liked it. So I bought a massive jar of fancy, expensive lacto-fermented cabbage. And I feel like such a middle class white girl even typing that. But wow, I can't wait to use it on my tacos later! 

Successfully made it through 1 work week  

Really odd you said this, because I've been craving sauerkraut lately, and honestly it's been YEARS since I've had any. What the heck! 

So... tell me about these tacos! Are you using lettuce for your shells? 

[JCV]

2 minutes ago, SweetEnough said:

Really odd you said this, because I've been craving sauerkraut lately, and honestly it's been YEARS since I've had any. What the heck! 

So... tell me about these tacos! Are you using lettuce for your shells? 

I went to Harvest Health on Eastern and Burton and got the red cabbage sauerkraut by The Brinery! I recommend. It did not taste as vinegary as I was craving/expected, but because the way they ferment it is without vinegar! But I still highly recommend. 

They sell Simply Organic's  taco simmer sauce. I used it once or twice while on my first round of Whole30 and really enjoyed it but unfortunately Harvest Health is the only place I've been able to find it.  I also looked over the ingredients again today and it *does* contain cane sugar  , which I completely missed before but still ate them and still successfully completed the Whole30, so I did not let that hold me back today because the rest of the ingredients are SO clean (seriously, look at any other pack of taco seasoning and it's just a ton of chemicals). Simply Organic's simmer sauce is just a ton of organic spices, AND cane sugar - I'll live with that. I'll probably make them with chicken  and I'll either try to use a romaine leaf as the shell but it will probably fall apart and I'll make a taco salad like I usually do haha. I'll add tomato and an avocado (maybe I'll make some guacamole and just put that on the salad, that sounds yummy). And maybe some peppers and that sauerkraut

[JCV]

Update:

Well, the Whole14 that I wanted to do didn't really last 14 days. More like 5. But hear me out. I didn't quit or give up or throw in the towel. I wanted to do the Whole14 last week in order to reset my body from a horrible weekend - which I did. My biggest goal now is to start practicing and living Food Freedom Forever. On Saturday, I attended a family dinner. Tacos were on the menu and I came prepared with my own big tupperware full of salad stuff that I could throw the taco meat on. Before dinner, there were appetizers and I was getting hungry (like, actually hungry) so I decided to munch on some things that I knew wouldn't terribly bother me, and on things I wanted to experiment with. I had a couple pieces of pita bread with hummus (pita bread having gluten, so I knew this would be risky but I suppose this was my way of reintroducing it, but assuming hummus won't bother me). It. Was. AMAZING and worth every single bite that I had. I did not go crazy. Maybe 4-5 of those little pita bread rounds with a dollop of hummus on each one. I also had a couple tortilla chips with guacamole, knowing corn doesn't really bother me (besides like full corn because we all know that doesn't really digest).

Once dinner rolled around, instead of giving up since I had already eaten "off plan", I stuck with the salad I had prepared with a couple scoops of taco seasoned chicken. After dinner, I had one of the brownies that had been sitting on the table and staring at me for hours. Now, these were calling out to me long before we even started munching on appetizers. I thought long and hard about this - utilizing all of the thought processes that Melissa outlines in Food Freedom Forever. "Is this worth it? You know this has dairy and may very well lead you to react negatively, do you still want it?" I did not nose dive into the tray of brownies. I did not impulsively start grabbing them and shoving them in my mouth. I weighed the pros and cons (I can't wait until this becomes more second nature so I don't have to consciously obsess over whether or not something is worth it for hours) and I decided after dinner that yes, it was. I had one. And then two hours later before getting on the road, I had a second very small one for the road. No. Regrets. That evening, I was crampy and had very stinky gas (sorry for TMI) but I could not pinpoint if it was from the gluten in the pita bread, or the dairy (and probably gluten) in the brownies. 

On Sunday, knowing I still wanted to stick with my eating plan because I do still want to do a proper reintro (to rule out specifically gluten, dairy and soy), but not wanting to feel so restricted, allowed myself the freedom to eat things that I know do not upset me. So I pulled out my food processor and made some homemade hummus (1 can of garbanzo beans, 1/4 of tahini, lots of garlic and lemon juice, and some oil and seasonings). I had a couple spoons of it just to check the taste as I was making it, but did not have any more than that. I paid close attention to my stomach afterwards and experienced no GI issues from the little bit of hummus I had - GOOD! I guess this my version of slowly starting to reintroduce foods that I do not suspect to be problematic for me. I stayed compliant for the remainder of the day until dinner. Now, I KNOW I need to stay away from dairy. Dairy hates me and I'm starting to hate it. But I do love feta cheese on my salads. A couple of months ago, when I gave up dairy, I started eating Authentic Greek Feta made with sheep's milk from Trader Joe's (if you haven't tried it and are a feta lover, YOU MUST!). I was REALLY craving some feta on my salad last night with dinner, so I cut up maybe half of an ounce (half a serving) and sprinkled it on my salad, again paying very close attention to my stomach for the remainder of the night - and no issues! I do not experience issues with dairy in ONLY the form of GI problems, it also triggers my hormonal acne HORRIBLY. So I made sure to pay close attention to my skin when going to bed last night and waking up this morning - no new zits  I know I'm not supposed to reintro more than one food group in a day, but these were just small experimental items that I did not suspect to be problematic for me.

I will be more strict when reintroducing gluten, soy and dairy (honestly don't even want to reintroduce dairy because I already know the answer). For the next few days, I will stay compliant. I will be going out of town on Thursday-the weekend and I will do my best to stay compliant while away as well (if I do go off plan, I will just make sure it is nothing with gluten or dairy, as I suspect those to be the biggest culprits), and will do my best to avoid soy (second biggest culprit, I assume). 

I'm just really happy to be finding balance here. One year ago I would have been sent into a frenzy knowing how many fat macros I consume in a day now, because I had to meticulously track every bite that went into my mouth. I'd say I have definitely made progress.