#SeptemberWhole30

[ShellyM]

P.S. my dishwasher is getting quite a workout.  And there's always a pile of bowls, pots and pans in the drainboard.  I used to run the dishwasher every 2 or 3 days, now its almost everyday.  It's not a problem, just an observation. 

 

 

[Bookgrrl]

I've also been on a September Whole30 with a few friends. It's great to have a local and in person network, but we're all experiencing different things so I'm hoping this group will give me wider perspective. I have endometriosis and my doctor recommended changing my diet as part of a pain management plan. I'm hoping whole30 can help me identify and cut out the foods my body doesn't like, and eat better overall. I do yoga, but have never been one to enjoy exercise. 

[alw289]

Day 18!  I've been making an effort to be more active.  What that looks like for me is taking a 20-30 minute walk at lunch and doing about 20-30 minutes of "active" house work, i.e. yard work last night and scrubbing the kitchen the day before (thanks whole30! ;).  The running has fallen off as life has gotten busy.  I think once I'm done the whole30 I'll restart the couch to 5k.  It seems I'm only able to focus on one health/wellness goal at a time!

NSVs- more consistent energy, can go longer between meals without being hungry, less bloated, better sleep and better skin 

@ShellyM - the kitchen feels like a war zone after dinner most nights!

@stacie66 -  those look so good!

Hope everyone is rolling along

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

Yay! So happy to see new people and more activity here! Congrats on the NSVs all and keep at it! Day 21 for me and I feel like I'm cruising along at this point!  

Oh, but the dishes.  I don't have a dishwasher, and even when I did, I used to do a lot of my dishes by hand. So much time and effort and I'm just cooking for one over here!  I remember during my first Whole30 I found that doing dishes was a great way to distract from random after-dinner cravings. Now it's still work, but I feel like I've gotten into a good routine with dishes and as long as I'm not cooking every single day they're manageable.

@alw289 I hear you on the only able to do one health goal at a time. My various crafting hobbies have taken a backseat while running and eating healthy food have taken over. I now sometimes marvel at how much free time I had before I started all this healthy stuff. Of course, I was always generally tired, so one of the reasons I was sitting around watching Netflix and crafting all evening was just because I didn't have the energy to do anything else. Now at least I have more options! 

I'm curious if anyone here has tried Nutpods, specifically the new fall flavor, pumpkin spice? I haven't had creamer in my coffee in years, but I'm thinking that sounds like a good way to get my fat in at breakfast. That's the one meal I sometimes struggle with fat. I'm also wondering if it would make a good base for creamy soup, like a butternut squash soup if I don't like it in coffee.

[ShellyM]

@NoneOtherThanAmy I've been using Nutpods all month.  I bought a pack of the pumpkin spice and I like it a lot.  I think the flavor is pretty low key, not at all overwhelming.  I'm thinking it wouldn't flavor a soup enough to make it worth it. But then again, if you want to get rid of it, butternut squash soup would probably be the perfect place!

 

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

2 hours ago, ShellyM said:

@NoneOtherThanAmy I've been using Nutpods all month.  I bought a pack of the pumpkin spice and I like it a lot.  I think the flavor is pretty low key, not at all overwhelming.  I'm thinking it wouldn't flavor a soup enough to make it worth it. But then again, if you want to get rid of it, butternut squash soup would probably be the perfect place!

 

Thanks! That's exactly what I was thinking. If I didn't like it in my coffee, what else could I use it for? I can always add more flavor to the soup, but as long as it would work as a creamy base I'd be happy.

Edited to add: Nevermind... they're completely sold out right now. I suppose I could try a different flavor, but I was kind of looking forward to pumpkin spice. 

[alw289]

In one of the whole30 facebook groups i follow, someone mentioned using the original nutpod and using pumpkin spice seasoning (not sure if that'st he right word).  

[stacie66]

6 hours ago, NoneOtherThanAmy said:

I'm curious if anyone here has tried Nutpods, specifically the new fall flavor, pumpkin spice? I haven't had creamer in my coffee in years, but I'm thinking that sounds like a good way to get my fat in at breakfast. That's the one meal I sometimes struggle with fat. I'm also wondering if it would make a good base for creamy soup, like a

I've also used Nutpods (French Vanilla and Pumpkin Spice) in my coffee.  The suggestion to use in the Butternut Squash soup sounds great! It doesn't take sweet at all. I used to drink half & half in my coffee, and drinking it black was less than tolerable. This takes the bitter edge off and I'll probably never use dairy in my coffee again.

50 minutes ago, alw289 said:

In one of the whole30 facebook groups i follow, someone mentioned using the original nutpod and using pumpkin spice seasoning (not sure if that'st he right word).  

I use the French Vanilla Nutpods in my coffee, but add 1/2 teaspoon on pumpkin pie spice to the coffee grounds before I brew the coffee.  I just sprinkle it right on top of the grounds. It smells great and gives just a hint of flavor.  I don't use the pumpkin pie spice when I'm doing the Pumpkin Pie Spice Nutpods...I don't want to be a complete freak about pumpkin spice 

[Bookgrrl]

I'm on day 15, and really hoping things get better soon. I'm barely sleeping, experiencing systematic joint pain, and have no interest in eating. I have to force myself to eat every meal! I'm going to cut out nuts (inc. butters and milks) and hope that helps with the pain and tiredness.

 I don't have a dishwasher, and boy am I getting a workout with all the washing!  

[SugarcubeOD]

8 hours ago, NoneOtherThanAmy said:

Yay! So happy to see new people and more activity here! Congrats on the NSVs all and keep at it! Day 21 for me and I feel like I'm cruising along at this point!  

Oh, but the dishes.  I don't have a dishwasher, and even when I did, I used to do a lot of my dishes by hand. So much time and effort and I'm just cooking for one over here!  I remember during my first Whole30 I found that doing dishes was a great way to distract from random after-dinner cravings. Now it's still work, but I feel like I've gotten into a good routine with dishes and as long as I'm not cooking every single day they're manageable.

@alw289 I hear you on the only able to do one health goal at a time. My various crafting hobbies have taken a backseat while running and eating healthy food have taken over. I now sometimes marvel at how much free time I had before I started all this healthy stuff. Of course, I was always generally tired, so one of the reasons I was sitting around watching Netflix and crafting all evening was just because I didn't have the energy to do anything else. Now at least I have more options! 

I'm curious if anyone here has tried Nutpods, specifically the new fall flavor, pumpkin spice? I haven't had creamer in my coffee in years, but I'm thinking that sounds like a good way to get my fat in at breakfast. That's the one meal I sometimes struggle with fat. I'm also wondering if it would make a good base for creamy soup, like a butternut squash soup if I don't like it in coffee.

Hey Amy!  You would need to use a LOT of the nutpods for it to count as fat for your meal... The canned coconut milk which is way higher fat concentration is recommended to be 1/4-1/2 a can... consider the nutpods more of a bonus fat than the main fat for your meal.  (also, I'm mailing your book this week, I swear!)

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

40 minutes ago, SugarcubeOD said:

Hey Amy!  You would need to use a LOT of the nutpods for it to count as fat for your meal... The canned coconut milk which is way higher fat concentration is recommended to be 1/4-1/2 a can... consider the nutpods more of a bonus fat than the main fat for your meal.  (also, I'm mailing your book this week, I swear!)

D'oh! Of course, you're right. I'd probably have to drink an entire carton for it to count as my fat for the meal. I'll skip it then, thanks! I actually love black coffee.  I was just getting sick of adding mayo to my breakfast veggie saute every morning.  I bought some coconut flakes a while back, maybe I'll have to see if I can figure out a breakfast hash that incorporates coconut...

(No worries on the book...there's no rush!)

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

1 hour ago, Bookgrrl said:

I'm on day 15, and really hoping things get better soon. I'm barely sleeping, experiencing systematic joint pain, and have no interest in eating. I have to force myself to eat every meal! I'm going to cut out nuts (inc. butters and milks) and hope that helps with the pain and tiredness.

 I don't have a dishwasher, and boy am I getting a workout with all the washing!  

Ugh! That sucks. Glad you've got a plan moving forward and I hope things get better. Let us know how things work out. 

[SugarcubeOD]

9 minutes ago, NoneOtherThanAmy said:

D'oh! Of course, you're right. I'd probably have to drink an entire carton for it to count as my fat for the meal. I'll skip it then, thanks! I actually love black coffee.  I was just getting sick of adding mayo to my breakfast veggie saute every morning.  I bought some coconut flakes a while back, maybe I'll have to see if I can figure out a breakfast hash that incorporates coconut...

(No worries on the book...there's no rush!)

Try souping up your mayo?  I like a version of the secret sauce Mel Joulwan has with her Egg Foo Young... mayo, sesame oil, a bit of ginger, a dash of coconut amino... or try making a pesto?  Or putting a heaping few spoons of sundried tomato in oil (costco has one that is olive oi) or avocado?  Sunshine sauce would be a good one too...

[alw289]

16 hours ago, stacie66 said:

I've also used Nutpods (French Vanilla and Pumpkin Spice) in my coffee.  The suggestion to use in the Butternut Squash soup sounds great! It doesn't take sweet at all. I used to drink half & half in my coffee, and drinking it black was less than tolerable. This takes the bitter edge off and I'll probably never use dairy in my coffee again.

I use the French Vanilla Nutpods in my coffee, but add 1/2 teaspoon on pumpkin pie spice to the coffee grounds before I brew the coffee.  I just sprinkle it right on top of the grounds. It smells great and gives just a hint of flavor.  I don't use the pumpkin pie spice when I'm doing the Pumpkin Pie Spice Nutpods...I don't want to be a complete freak about pumpkin spice 

I would love to just add the spice right into the grounds!  Unfortunately my husband is a coffee "purist", so I'll have to figure out how I can finagle this.  Fortunately, we both like our coffee black, so it's not a dire situation!

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

18 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

Try souping up your mayo?  I like a version of the secret sauce Mel Joulwan has with her Egg Foo Young... mayo, sesame oil, a bit of ginger, a dash of coconut amino... or try making a pesto?  Or putting a heaping few spoons of sundried tomato in oil (costco has one that is olive oi) or avocado?  Sunshine sauce would be a good one too...

Great ideas, thanks again SugarcubeOD! I did enjoy the ranch I made out of my mayo the other week and that seems like it would go better with my breakfast than mayo. Sundried tomatoes in oil and avocado would be good too! I keep thinking avocados are crazy expensive right now, but they're really only $0.25 more than they were when they were on sale during the summer. 

Hope everyone else is getting on well! I had a weird day yesterday and only ate 2 meals. Then today I forgot to pack lunch, so of course I'm starving at noon and I've got to be here until 3 PM or so.  Last night I had my first food dream of this Whole30 and now I'm wondering if that's connected to not eating enough yesterday. In my dream I ran a race and then ate something like 5 bagels afterwards. Apparently I needed some extra carbs or something. LOL.  Hmm, I also didn't have any starchy carbs yesterday...maybe there is something to the dream being connected to reality. 

[ShellyM]

@NoneOtherThanAmy my favorite sauce on almost anything is chimichurri

Tonight on Day 22 I cooked Pork Braised in Coconut Water from Michele Tam's (Nomnom Paleo) new cookbook Ready or Not.  The prep wasn't very complicated, but it did take a few extra minutes to brown the pork chunks.  Then it just simmers on the stove for 90 minutes (she includes directions for cooking it in the crockpot or Instant Pot). It is very good!!!  My husband really enjoyed it.  The flavors are more subtle, especially compared to most of the sauces and marinades I've been cooking with lately (like chimichurri!).  There was a lot of broth left in the bottom off the pot, which I poured into a jar.  I'm thinking I can use it to make a serving or two of soup.  

I also made my go-to kale salad which is raw kale, a vinaigrette dressing, some sliced dates and and some sliced almonds.  The trick to making the raw kale salad-worthy is to massage it!  Sprinkle a tablespoon each of olive oil and whatever kind of vinegar you are using on the kale, and massage it for a minute or two.  This really softens it and makes it much easier to eat raw.  

Like @alw289 and @NoneOtherThanAmy I am working on the food part of the equation before ramping up my exercise.  The good news is my knee feels significantly better, so I can handle more activity. I also have more energy so I am hoping to get into a more productive routine that includes getting to the gym more regularly.  

@Bookgrrl You are a warrior!  hope things get better very soon.

 

 

 

 

[stacie66]

Hello, All!

Day 24 and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! The past week was a little discouraging as I wasn't noticing any substantial changes in my body. I know it's not a weight loss program, but a girl can dream   Anyway, the last couple of days has definitely brought on some more changes. I had some cellulite that I've noticed is visibly less, so of course, I'm thrilled about that.

I've also been able to concentrate on those projects that have taken a back seat these past few weeks. I've spent so much time prepping, shopping and looking for new recipes, that I feel I've put everything else aside. It's all for a good reason, but ready to get back into my normal routine as these changes have started to become much easier.  Sitting here making a list of projects to begin this week. I like to repurpose furniture, and now I feel like I have the energy to tackle the bigger projects that have been sitting there for months.

Also, I've moved here just a few months ago and still haven't found a primary doctor, so that's on the list this week.  Going to have an annual physical and blood work done. I'm very interested to see where my cholesterol numbers are. I was borderline high last year, so hopefully this clean eating has lowered all of that. I am a little concerned, since I'm eating much more meat, but we'll see.

Hope everyone else has a great final week.  Stay strong W30ers!

 

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

Glad you're feeling good about your progress again @stacie66! It does become easier as time goes on, but eating this way takes a lot of time and effort. I'm in the middle of a big cook up for the week and halfway dreaming about the days when I could lay around and watch football all Sunday long!  I'm also curious about the cholesterol thing. I know the science is explained in "It Starts with Food" but it's just so against the grain of everything I've heard all my life. 

Thanks for the sauce recommendation @ShellyM! I'll have to give it a try! Thinking of that...I ran out of mayo yesterday and didn't have any fat with my breakfast this morning.  Oops. 

Things are going well for me on day 24! I'm surprised at how much it feels like my body has changed. I'm going to have to start buying new running leggings and shorts pretty soon. I was pulling up my shorts every few strides for the first bit of my Saturday AM run (luckily, they stuck in place after I started sweating ) and I hadn't had to do that with those shorts before. It's getting a little expensive to keep replacing all these clothes.  Other than the clothing, I felt pretty good on my run. I'm doing the No Boundaries 2 group with the Fleet Feet here and we moved from intervals in No Boundaries 1 to running the entire distance plus adding in some speed bursts or hill workouts. It's a little intimidating, but I'm enjoying it. I joined these groups to RUN!!! I *should* be exhausted by the end. 

How's everyone feeling about reintroductions starting next weekend? I have a few food groups I want to try such as legumes and non-gluten grains. I screwed up my reintroduction with NGGs last time, so I want to see if they really make me extra exhausted or if it was trying to go for a run before work! As a scientist I should have known better than to change another variable on a reintroduction day. After that, I'll probably go into slow-roll mode and do my best  to stay as Whole30 as I can until the end of the semester and the holidays. 

[stacie66]

19 hours ago, NoneOtherThanAmy said:

How's everyone feeling about reintroductions starting next weekend? I have a few food groups I want to try such as legumes and non-gluten grains. I screwed up my reintroduction with NGGs last time, so I want to see if they really make me extra exhausted or if it was trying to go for a run before work! As a scientist I should have known better than to change another variable on a reintroduction day. After that, I'll probably go into slow-roll mode and do my best  to stay as Whole30 as I can until the end of the semester and the holidays. 

I am feeling anxious about the reintroduction phase. I've read a lot of people really fall off the plan then, and I don't want to waste all of this hard work. Planning to reintroduce a glass (or two) of red wine first, then dairy, non-gluten grains and then grains.  Not too concerned about dairy, as I really don't even miss it.  The delicious breads might be an issue, but there are so many great GF breads now that hopefully it shouldn't be too difficult.  We'll see what I struggle with and go from there.

I know this board was only for the September 30, but I would like to see how you guys are doing with the program after it ends...or if you plan on doing another one.  If anyone is on Instagram or Facebook, please feel free to reach out. I'd love to follow you guys, too.  

Instagram - shebakes66

Facebook - Stacie Merriman

 

[alw289]

@stacie66 I'm also not necessarily feeling many body changes and am a bit disappointed.  I know I still have a few days to go  (today is day 22 for me) but I just don't think the weight loss will be there this time.  So, I'm trying to focus on my NSVs and remember that I didn't really go into this for weight loss, I went into it to get my eating back on track.  I may be in the lucky group of women who holds onto an extra few lbs while breastfeeding and that's ok!  My body is sustaining a tiny human and that is amazing.

@NoneOtherThanAmy I'm also thinking about reintroduction.  I'm always better with a concrete plan so here's how I'm going to handle the reintro: day 31- non gluten grains, day 34- wine/alcohol, day 37- dairy, day 40- gluten.  I'm not really tempted by legumes, so I'll probably slow roll that or tag it on after the gluten experiment.  I'm going to stick to it this time.  The other two times I was only thinking of it as a 30 day reset and faceplanted into cheesy, gluteny wonderfulness so did NOT take advantage of all the hardwork.  This time, with a plan in place, I fell confident that I can handle the reintroduction.  

I'm also looking forward to setting another "health" goal which will be fitness related. Once again, I'm better with a concrete plan, so I'm going to start on October 9th and I need to figure out what that fitness challenge is going to be!  

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

@stacie66 I had a lot of the same worries around reintroduction during my last Whole30 as well. There are a few very good articles around this site on life after the Whole30 (moderator @ShannonM816 has a bunch the links her signature) that helped me gain a good perspective about reintros. Specifically, one called "Riding your own bike" was very helpful to me. The thing I needed to hear is that I won't be perfect as soon as I complete my first Whole30 and that's OK. I'll try my best and when I get way off track, I can come back to the Whole30 to get back to where I want to be. This 2nd Whole30 has been amazing for me in terms of learning things that I didn't learn during the first round. I think I've mostly conquered my sugar dragon, but I still definitely have a 'convenience/celebration' dragon that demands junk foods Friday nights and after a hard day of work. I'm getting better about working through that, but it's so much easier on a Whole30 when those things are just completely off the table.

We can make a group thread over in the reintroduction section when that time comes. We did that with my last group and it was a great space to work through some of my stumbles and figure out my sugar triggers. As for other social media, I'd love to keep up with everyone else too! I really only use Instagram right now and I'm the same user name there - NoneOtherThanAmy - but, I will warn you ahead of time that about 1/2 of my posts or so are about my other hobbies, knitting and spinning yarn, with a few random science-y posts thrown in here or there.  I do post some whole30-related things too, of course! 

@alw289 Your plan sounds great to me! It's great to hear that you'll be putting your hard work to good use this time by doing reintroductions. I'm also glad you're focusing on your NSVs. It can be very difficult to maintain positivity when you're not feeling like you're getting to a goal that you were hoping to make even if that wasn't the main focus. I've been having some great NSVs lately too. I'm much happier and more confident than before and those NSVs are much more important to me than any of the other changes. To put my body changes into perspective, it's not as if the clothes I bought at the beginning of September are falling off. I don't think it's been a big change in body composition, but I wasn't expecting much change at all, so any small change is kind of exciting.

 

[ShellyM]

I can't believe its September 27!  The last week has been the most difficult for me, I am so tired of all the time in the kitchen..... and I like to cook!  I have been trying to plan or find simple quick meals.  My husband is out of town this week, which is good and bad.  I only have to think about feeding 1 person, but it is also easier to be lazy.  I did go food shopping today including the farmers market, so I am planning on a bit more kitchen time. Chicken Tinga in the Instant Pot!  I also found this beautiful romanesco.  Anybody have any suggestions?  I'm thinking of roasting it.  

I am going to extend my W30 at least another 2 weeks.  I am scheduled for minor (arthroscopic) knee surgery on Oct 13. My biggest NSV is how much better my knee feels.  I even considered not having the surgery.  The anti-inflammatory nature of W30 has really helped and I need to stay with it.   Anybody that started later in the month?  are you still here? 

I am on FB-- Shelly Mozlin. Lots of people in bike helmets

I am on Insta too-- vergenceranges. That's where I put more food/w30 things.  

 

 

[alw289]

Day 26 for me and I'm feeling good!  Definitely have more energy in general, even if I do still feel tired.  I plan on still meal prepping on Sunday to have whole30 compliant foods for the work week.  I'm hoping that'll make the reintroduction easier to stick to.  

Other than that, nothing much to report!  I'm going into this weekend knowing that it may be tougher to day no since I'll be "almost" done.  I am looking forward to some wine next Sunday with my family and also looking forward to knowing EXACTLY how it makes me feel//affects me.  

[NoneOtherThanAmy]

@ShellyM & @alw289 I'm feeling similar to both of you, somehow. It's almost the end! So I'm excited and kind of "blah" at the same time. I spent Sunday making up veggies for the week and didn't do much meat prep, so I had to do it on Monday. I've just sort of felt out of sync ever since then. The food has been fine, but I didn't really have a good plan for the week, so things were just sort of made on the fly with whatever I had on hand. I also had a mayo disaster (olive oil and raw egg all over the counter and floor) on Monday. It just hasn't been the week I was hoping for. 

@ShellyM I've never seen that vegetable before. It looks interesting. What did you end up doing with it? Hope the rest of the week has gone better. I only cook for myself and I kind of enjoy it.  I can make whatever I want, I can make recipes the way I want, and I have leftovers for most of the week! I had a bf once who was a super picky eater and I hated it (like no onions...just, WHAT???? ). It's not why we broke up, but I am now completely grateful to be able to make food according to my preferences.  I've also been thinking about extending my Whole30. I'm not sure if I will or not, but it might be nice to try for a Whole45. 

[stacie66]

Since it's the last day of this Whole30 for me, I thought I'd check in one last time. Thank you everyone for your motivation, experiences, recipes and just being there. I wish all of you the best.  I'm going to reintroduce foods with the Fast Track option...very excited about my glass (or two) of red wine that's chilling in the fridge. Which option are you going to try?