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Kirbz's Whole30 Log


kirbz

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Well, I had a false start there a few weeks. I stuck with it for a week and then reverted to the saddest of SAD eating for another week. I'm disappointed in myself but I'm also back again, so that counts for something! Here's to what will hopefully become a lifetime of healthier habits. I'm on Day 8 and feeling very, very tired. I hope my energy improves over the next week... On a good note, this is feeling very comfortable and I'm enjoying the food more than ever. Here are some of my new favorite recipes: 

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Day 15 today. Still going strong, though still struggling with energy. I've been eating three meals every day, which was a bit inconsistent in the past but isn't so much now that I work from home every day. I eat fat with every meal, though I do rely very heavily on ghee and bacon. I'm swapping out some bacon for avocado every other morning to see how that does. I'm eating lots of potatoes, at least one meal a day and oftentimes two. I may try swapping out white and sweet potatoes for some other carb-dense vegetables. Maybe some beets and some winter squashes. I'm not really sure what else to try... I struggled with very low energy on my last round as well but really thought it was due to a reduction in the amount of carbs (by relying so heavily on cauliflower rice rather than potatoes). Now I'm not so sure. Does this diet no longer work for me?

I'm definitely going to finish this round. But I'm not sure what else to troubleshoot... Maybe I also need to go back to the old pre- and post-workout guidelines? I'm  hiking every single day and tend to just take carb-dense baby food pouches, but maybe I need to try the whole pre- and post-workout snacks as previously prescribed. Guh, I don't know! 

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Oh, and I purchased an entire gallon of pickle juice so I can make Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets as often as I want, which may be something along the lines of every other day... 

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Day 22. I feel really happy with how I'm eating. It feels totally do-able (though working from home sure helps) and I've been finding all sorts of delicious new recipes.  I truly and genuinely like eating this way. I'm eating food that nourishes my body. It feels good. My body feels good. My knee pain is virtually gone and I'm feeling leaner. Though the weight loss seems to be happening more slowly than in previous rounds. My skin is super clear. I have very few cravings. I'm good. I'm feeling good. 

I could probably still eat more greens and drink more water. I'll try to monitor that more closely this week. My biggest "complaint" is that I still struggle with energy. I'm just so tired. And exercising is tough, though I do it. 

Anyway, here are some new recipes I plan to try this week. I'll report back with how I like each of them!

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Thank you for sharing recipe links.  I love 40 Aprons I have yet to make anything from her site that hasn’t turned out well.  Her ketchup recipe and chick-fil-a sauce have been a game changer for me.  I am the queen of condiments and these are sooo good and easy to make.

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@BabyBear Of course! You're welcome! She is a recent discovery for me so it's been fun to experiment! My previous go-to bloggers have been Paleo Running Momma and Mel Joulwan. Her Chic-fil-A sauce is something else! I might just drink it as soup sometime! LOL. I don't normally like making my own condiments (I normally buy) but that one is definitely worth it. I can't wait to try her P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps because I love, love, love those! 

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@kirbz I agree with @BabyBear! Thank you for posting those links.  
Interesting that you notice a slower weight loss this round.  I’m feeling the same way.  I lost 4.5% of my body weight on my W30 last September.  I think the reason for the quick weight loss last time was cutting out bread, and since then I haven’t been eating much bread, hence the slower weight loss.  I’m not sure though, but it’s a bit discouraging right now, because I can’t help comparing to last time.  Maybe for you it’s something similar?

Congrats on those NSV’s, and keep going!

Shadow

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Hi @kirbz

I read your entire log and the ups and downs are def something that I am trying to prepare for. I found lots of information in them and basically just read your thoughts and feelings as that was so much more helpful to me than the actual food. And THANK YOU so much for the links that have been appearing from different blogs on good food lol. I do see that you are almost to the end of the 30 days again so YAY! for that 
Can't wait to keep following your journey if you continue to post of course :) 
Sending happy thoughts your way

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@ShadowInTheKitchen Honestly, my comment about weightloss might not be entirely true. Every day is like groundhog day around here so it may just be that it feels slower. Alternatively, it could be that I've lost and re-gained the same weight so many times that my body is starting to resist... I'm honestly not sure, but I was definitely eating as poorly as I've ever eaten when I started this round so it wasn't that! Thank you for the encouragement! Best wishes to you as well!

@Blueautumn Thank you for reading my entire journal! Wow! I'm glad you found some inspiration through my words and experience. I will continue to post because I like the support and interaction here, it just isn't as frequent. :-) Best wishes to you! I hope you have just the experience  you're looking for! 

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I still continue to love what I'm eating and I love the way I feel. I just feel healthy. Like, my insides feel good. I have an aura of good health surrounding me. It's lovely. And it makes me feel aligned. Aligned with the vision of myself that I hold in my heart. And aligned with the woman I want to be when I'm 80 years old - active and healthy, hiking some trail in a beautiful backcountry forest somewhere. 

That being said, I am still so very, very tired. I slept nearly 12 hours last night and I could have slept through the day. It continues to be difficult to get out of the bed in the morning. And I regularly feel like I could sleep 12 hours a night. 

But... I did have a tangible experience that says that maybe my body is growing stronger even though I continue to feel tired. I did a local mountain bike ride yesterday and I made it to the top in 39 minutes. The last time I did this ride, on Day 2 of this round, it took me 51 minutes. So that is most definitely progress! The fastest I found that I've done it this year, when I was doing it several times a week, was 38 minutes. So I nearly hit my best-ever time! Though at the time I had my best time, I was absolutely eating like garbage, but we'll just ignore that for now... So yay!! A tangible milestone that says this is good for my athletic performance! 

I should also acknowledge that I am in the midst of a spiritual re-awakening and it's very likely and very reasonable that that is consuming a lot of my energy. Think Sue Monk Kidd in The Dance of the Dissident Daughter. Which, well, is precisely what led me down this path in the first place. What a remarkable and extraordinary book! It is no small endeavor to walk away from the Christian tradition that has been a lifeline my entire life and define a new spiritual path! So I acknowledge that and honor that here. 

Oh, and I think it's Day 28 for me. Ha. I have no intentions of stopping though. I'll go for a Whole45 for now and will likely extend beyond that. Honestly, I have zero reasons to not eat this way until I do a family trip to Utah in late July. At that time, I will probably indulge in some of my dad's incredible desserts. But, until then, there's just no reason not to continue. I really want to see this thing turn around for me in terms of energy. And I do feel like I'm losing weight and I need that to continue. I so wish I had taken before measurements! I have a weight, but I wish I had done measurements as well! Darn it! I guess I could do them now and see how they look in another month... 

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Oh, I should also note that I ordered Michele Rosen's Paleo Baking at Home and once I get into the 170s, I fully plan to start incorporating healthy baking into my lifestyle. I expect that'll be another couple of months. It was delightful looking through the book and that fact is, I want sweet treats to be a part of my life. I just want to get to a reasonable weight first. And I'll need to set careful boundaries to help me with moderation, because I am most definitely an abstainer. I would say I'd read Food Freedom Forever, because I own it and it may have some helpful tips for me, but I have so many other books on my must-read list right now that it just isn't going to make it to the top anytime soon...

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I don't have any cookbooks but I am in a couple of paleo Facebook groups and I'm looking forward to some paleo baking too! It looks so good. I know I'll have to be careful, because I can devour a whole container of paleo bliss balls as easily as a block of chocolate, but learning to moderate is part of the goal!

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ROUND 5 RESULTS

Alright, well, I'm officially done with my Whole30 so I thought I would log my scale- and non-scale victories! I'm also planning to continue for another month, so I've added measurements, which I will compare in another 30 days. I lost more weight than I thought this round, but it felt a lot harder to see and feel the difference. Probably because it's less easy to notice weight loss when you only wear sweats! LOL. Much easier to notice when you're actually wearing real clothing, like business pants! 

I still continue to be disappointed that I don't have more energy  but I really think it might just be the intensity of my spiritual awakening and my increased sensitivity to the energy around me (meaning I'm connecting more with the overall negative energy associated with the global pandemic). 

But... I looked up my max heart rate for my last three rides and it has gone down with each ride, despite maintaining the same speed! I also did a trail run last night and I felt good! So, my physical stamina and performance is improving, even if I'm not feeling it with my day-to-day energy levels! And that's okay!

Weight Loss: 11.5 lbs 

Non-Scale Victories:

  • Genuinely loving the food I'm eating
  • Enjoying finding and playing with new recipes
  • My insides feel healthy 
  • Feeling an aura of health surrounding me
  • My resting heart rate is lower
  • My heart rate during exercise is decreasing 
  • My skin is lovely 
  • Feeling in alignment 

Current Measurements:

  • Weight: 194.7 lbs
  • Bust: 37.25"
  • Waist: 33.5"
  • Hips: 45.5"
  • Right Thigh: 28"
  • Right Bicep: 14.5"
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8 hours ago, kirbz said:

I still continue to be disappointed that I don't have more energy  but I really think it might just be the intensity of my spiritual awakening and my increased sensitivity to the energy around me (meaning I'm connecting more with the overall negative energy associated with the global pandemic). 

I think this is an NSV in itself.  You are tuned in to you, which I think is ground zero for being everything you are meant to be.

Those victories! I'll be cheering you on as you continue your journey.

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@SchrodingersCat Thank you! I appreciate you checking in to share your support! 

@ShadowInTheKitchen Thank you! I'm definitely finding that my spiritual re-awakening and taking better care of my body go hand in hand. It's a big part of the alignment that I am seeking! And I totally agree that discovery of self is really the start of becoming something new! I'm excited for the journey to continue on both fronts! Thank you for your support and best wishes to you on your journey! 

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This round has really been a round for trying new recipes. And I love it! I recognize that the global pandemic is tragic and is adversely impacting people all over the world, but working from home has been an enormous blessing for me. I have so much more time and because I'm not bouncing around living in two different cities, I feel inspired to try new recipes on the regular. It's so much fun! 

For myself and for anyone else who reads this, I wanted to document three new favorites: 

I plan to eat the sweet potato soup every morning for the next 7 days and see how that affects my energy leves. I'm still struggling with energy this time around. But I recently realized that I used to eat sweet potatoes with a breakfast hash a lot on earlier rounds, something I no longer eat. So perhaps that has made a difference. Perhaps carb-dense vegetables early in the morning is a key for me. I'm going to give it a try and see how that goes!

And let me just take a moment to talk about that In N Out burger... Oh. My. Wow. So good. Yum. I just can't even put into words how good that was. It was the onions. I could have eaten an entire bowl of them. I did eat several large spoonfulls... The sauce was meh. But those onions were pure happiness in my mouth. I shall be eating them again very soon! I'm not sure if I'm referring to the burgers with the onion or just the onions with that statement... 

And a note to anyone reading this... if you think Whole30 food is bland or boring or uninteresting, you haven't found the right recipes! Because this stuff is as good as any rotation of recipes I've ever had in my entire life! Is it a lot of research and shopping and food prep and cleanup? Yes. Most definitely. But it is also delicious!! I love that food that makes me feel so good can be so damn tasty!

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I'm the same with the working from home. I love it. I hate what it's doing to the world, but for me personally, if I could stay working from home forever, I'd be happy. I am exercising more, my house is clean, my yard's in order, I've got stuff done that I've been putting off for literally years. And the cooking is fantastic!

 

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Congrats on finishing 30 days!  I feel like I can relate to you in regards to feeling disappointed with the energy level.  I guess I'm so used to feeling low energy and fatigued all the time that I didn't consider all of the outside stress with COVID-19, etc may also be influencing these levels.  I have noticed pockets of better feeling here and there. 

Like you, I am planning on continuing on with another 30 days once my round is complete on 6/2.  I feel like I need more time to solidify a better relationship with food, continue to seek better energy and better sleep.  

And thanks for sharing recipes!  It's so good to see ones with someone else's stamp of approval.  :)

 

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@SchrodingersCat It's strange to feel so personally benefited by something so awful, isn't it? But I'm learning to hold multiple truths within me. I can mourn for the tragedy befalling so many people and also be personally happy at the impact it has had on my life. Those feelings don't take anything away from the other. 

I'm kind of personally hoping that this work from home will last forever. Honestly, if it doesn't, it might just force me to make a career change that is long overdue. I really don't think I could go back. Now that I have seen how incredible this lifestyle is, I don't want to give it up. I want to finally make my dream come true of living a nomadic lifestyle out of a van (at least for a couple of months out of the year anyway)! 

@RachelR Congrats on finishing your Whole30! And good luck with the next 30! I am definitely committed to continuing through June. I'll re-evaluate how I feel after that point. I am determined to make this round a longer-term lifestyle change! I wish you the very best and feel free to share any delicious recipes you discover! I love recipe sharing! Here's another one I recently discovered that is oh-so delightful: https://40aprons.com/creamy-tomato-artichoke-chicken-whole30-paleo/. Tastes like Olive Garden! :-) 

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I did another mountain bike ride yesterday and I made it to the top in my fastest time ever, with my lowest max heart rate ever! I did it in 36:35 with a max heart rate of 176! My previous best was 37:48 with a max heart rate of 185! Woo, woo! It doesn't feel any easier! But my body says it is!

This is why I do this. Because the time I get to spend in the mountains means everything to me. And I want to be able to enjoy the mountains with my own body until the day I die.

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Thank you! I just don't think "I want to lose weight" is enough. I think you need a soul calling to really change. And for me, that isn't caring about the way I look. It's caring about how I want to be able to interact with the world around me. 

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So much wisdom in this. A few years ago, I heard an older loved one say that he wanted to "die with his boots on." Perhaps it's a morbid phrase, but I loved the image of engagement and presence even later in life. Congratulations on all the positive decisions that have led you to this point!

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@Contessa Thank you! I love that saying and I don't think it's morbid at all. I love the idea of knowing how you want to go out of this world and doing something to make that happen. I want to die with my hiking boots on. Thank you for checking in and best wishes to you! 

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