First Whole 30- Starting 10/2!

[halfpint_aggie]

It really seems like I am consistently 2 days ahead of the timeline this round.  I was so bloated over the weekend.  And today, it has been hard to not snack or grab a sugar-filled beverage.  

 

Part of that might have had to do with my Mom coming into town for a few hours.  She has mixed opinions over our Whole30 adventures.  We were living overseas when we did it before, so she didn't really see all the non-scale-victories that I am wanting to repeat.  I actually hadn't told her that we were doing W30, and she wanted to go to lunch.  Luckily, I know a restaurant that she loves that serves compliant build-your-own omelets.  I had an omelet chockful of veggies, topped with avocado, and a side of fruit.  We also did some shopping, and my old habits kept wanting to suggest going to get a caramel macchiato.  I did end up telling her about the W30 because she is going to spend a night with us next week & will know.  I'm actually excited to have here around for a few W30 meals so she can see how good we eat.  I think part of my mom's worry is I have an older sister who is underweight, and she often will only eat steamed veggies for dinner.  So the goal is to make mom understand, that is not at all what we are doing.  We eat an insane amount of food.  I know she wants to eat better too, so maybe this will be encouraging to her.

[laurenmccracken]

@halfpint_aggie Totally get you! I want a mocha and a glass of wine! Being on my own with the kids for a few days, I find my patience is less... I'm more irritable and want to soothe with food. 

I'm also stressed as my mom got orders to evacuate in SoCal for the fire. She is on her own trying to decide where to go, with the cats, what's important to take, how to get the cars out, etc... and I'm in Texas. Looks like now she will be able to sleep there tonight, I might go tomorrow and help her. But my stress eating tendencies are in full force! 

My mom doesn't know I'm doing it either and is coming to visit at the end of the month...literally day 29 and 30... last time I did it, I was quite successful and dropped a couple pants sizes and so the noticeable differences were striking. She wants to do whole 30, but could never do it with all the food and meal prep. I think I fear I will get NSV and not have the physical noticeable differences on day 30 to show for it. 

I ended up with spaghetti (squash) and meatballs... here's to day 9 tomorrow! 

(And hopefully my childhood home will be there too)

[WholeCourtney]

Glad to see everyone seems to be doing well

Im on day 14 and today was a combo of kill all the things and brain fog. I've been having the most intense cravings but I've managed to make the right choices so while this Whole 30 is driving me crazy Im proud Im sticking with it.

I think my big issue is not always putting meals together properly (ie not enough fat) and not always eating at the right intervals (4-5 hours apart). So my goal for the remainder of the challenge is to make sure Im eating the right portions of the right things at the right time. 

[Betsie_n]

@halfpint_aggie - congrats on avoiding the caramel macchiato! You will feel better for it! It seems like we always struggle with our nutrition choices when it comes to our families. I guess a lot of our food "stuff" is wrapped up with our family "stuff" so when we're unpacking one, we have to deal with the other. After I read your post about your mom's upcoming visit, I was thinking it would have been a fun experiment to see if she would have noticed you were doing the W30 if you hadn't told her. She may have wondered where the bread is, but if you hadn't mentioned anything and just fed her all the yummy food you're eating maybe she wouldn't have noticed for a bit. When I have company, I usually just feed them what I eat and don't buy things I don't normally have in the house (of course, my hubs has chips and such, so I have those available, lol) and most of the time it's not a "thing" for anyone and they enjoy all of the home cooked, fresh food. Moms are a different beast, I know. I bet yours sees all your healthy food and how much better you feel and loves it! 

@laurenmccracken - Prayers for your mom's safety! I hope she's out of harm's way. I have many friends in N. CA so I know how scary the situation is. As you're getting stressed and having cravings, add more water and fat - I swear it's helping me with those issues this time around. Also, remember that NSV are really more important than scale - or "noticable" victories in the long run. Yes, we all want to drop some pounds so we get external recognition for all of our hard work (I do, too!), BUT sometimes that doesn't happen because other things need to happen first - on the inside - that create those NSVs that are more important to the big picture and are the true measure of improving health not just improving our looks. I think Melissa H did a blog post about this recently that helped me remember the main point. I'll see if I can find it. 

@WholeCourtney - welcome and congratulations on getting to the halfway point and welcome to the group! Yes! get more fat in your system to combat those symptoms. Avocado, olives, coconut, bacon! - have a good amount with every meal and drink a ton of water and you'll feel better. I've worked hard on this myself this time and it's making a huge difference. 

[Betsie_n]

Hi all!

Day 9 for me and I feel pretty good! I decided that this week I need to get out of my snack habit. I work from home so it's easy to wonder to the pantry and graze on nuts and such, which may not be horrendous, but when I'm not in W30 mode, this is when I might stick my hand in my husband's chips or crackers and have just a few....which adds up to too many. I have also enjoyed a mid-morning banana but I don't need those carbs, so I'm not going there anymore. Yesterday was surprisingly easy - all of a sudden, it was like 1:30 and I wasn't starving for lunch. I am convinced that upping my fat and water intake is really helping with hungriness and snacking. I did have an apple with coconut butter and almond butter after dinner because I didn't love my dinner so I didn't eat that much and was hungry. PS - coconut butter is my newest discovery. It's a little weird, but mixing with my almond butter makes it taste pretty decadent...and good fats! I'm also liking black olives more than I used to - still don't care for green ones, but that I like the black ones more now is another testament to how our tastes change over time as we change our eating habits. 

I have a quick and easy recipe to share that's been in my rotation for quite awhile and is definitely husband approved. I use it for nights I have meetings and don't have time to cook. It's a simple chicken drumstick and veggie crockpot meal (that is NOT soggy). http://www.creativelydomestic.com/2009/10/slow-cooker-sticky-chicken-drumsticks.html. I do a couple of modifications: 

1. See the "update" in the recipe where she describes using cut veggies instead of foil - that's what I do. Potatoes or sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips, etc. Use veggies that will hold up to longer cooking, like root veggies, and leave them in larger chunks so they don't get mushy. You can cut them down later. You really don't need liquid so don't add any! The chicken makes juice that drips down over the veggies. 

2. I also put all of the spices in a ziploc baggie, and toss in the chicken (rinsed and patted dry) and shake it around to coat. You can adjust the spices to whatever you want, also. I've done Italian seasoning, honey mustard, etc. 

3. Mine is usually done after ~5 hrs on low. 

What's everyone eating this week?? Oh - and @laurenmccracken - you're so awesome to get through In and Out and stay on track! IMPRESSIVE!

Cheers! Betsie

[halfpint_aggie]

@Betsie_n, I've been gluten free for 7 years, so the bread missing wouldn't have tipped her off.  But the lack of cokes, dairy, and booze would have.  Not to mention the spinach salad I've been eating with breakfast many mornings.  

 

This reminds me of her reaction when I decided to go gluten free.  Back in 2010, no one had even heard of gluten hardly, so when I told her I wasn't eating gluten anymore, she had no idea what it was.  She knew I had chronic migraines, she knew I couldn't get pregnant, and had a million other health problems.  And I was underweight because of how sick I constantly was.  So she googled gluten.  And of course, found all these horror stories about going gluten-free and many success stories about going GF to lose weight.  And she freaked out.  Well, cut to 1 month later, when I didn't have a headache for the first time in years.  I wasn't going to sleep at 8 because of exhaustion.  My eczema was practically gone.  I wasn't constantly having digestive issues.  I had gained some weight because I wasn't constantly throwing up from migraines.  She quickly did a 180 and is all about me being GF now and even tries to go GF herself a lot.  

 

I still need to do some good menu planning for this week.  I've gotten as far as tonight.  We're having spaghetti squash w/ turkey meat sauce.  I order most of my meat in bulk and have a huge delivery coming on Thursday of chicken thighs and pork chops.  So, we'll be having something with those.  I got a little adventurous at the store the other day & bought some chicken livers.  They were a really cheap protein, and I had just put $30 worth of compliant hot dog wieners in my cart, so the price tag was too appealing to walk past.  Going to make NomNomPaleo's Crispy Chicken Livers from Well Fed 2.  Hope we all like them because I'm excited about the possibility of a cheap & nutritionally packed protein source.

[mdraeger]

@laurenmccracken I hope your mom is okay! These fires are so scary. Good job on not giving in to the stress eating.

@Betsie_n That recipe looks awesome, I'll have to try it! I'm making roasted delicata squash stuffed with ground beef tonight and later in the week I'm planning to make two of my W30 favorites: Nom Nom Paleo's Cracklin Chicken and Well Fed's Paleo Pad Thai. I like to make sure there are some old favorites in the rotation, especially as the newness wears off and find it harder to stay focused.

Last night, I made my own cashew milk (following this recipe minus the vanilla extract and raw cashews instead of almonds). It turned out pretty good! It's pretty easy to make. You do need a high-powered blender and a little mesh nut milk bag to strain it. (Cheesecloth would probably work.) 

Day 9 has been going pretty smoothly. I had to take my car in to get worked on today and didn't really know how long it was going to take, so I packed a lunch and an iced green tea latte that I made using some of my homemade cashew milk and some compliant Vital Proteins collagen powder. I ended up not being there long enough to eat lunch, but did enjoy having the green tea latte. It kept me from wanting to stop at Starbucks and powered me through a Costco trip. 

[TreasureAZ]

On 10/3/2017 at 9:00 AM, Brensuma said:

I like to post this as a reminder for what to expect.....

Thanks for this!  Great resource to validate what is happening!

[mdraeger]

Happy Day 10 everyone! I can't believe we're a third of the way there. So far, it's been going really smoothly. I'm finally getting to be able to have 4-5 hours between meals without getting hungry and haven't yet reached the "so over the cooking and meal prep" phase. (Which is good because the last two nights, my easy dinner recipes have taken way longer to make than expected which would be problematic otherwise. In fact, it scares me a little bit that I'm going to forget I'm on the W30 and totally blow it because for the most part, it feels normal. Which is good for Food Freedom life, not so much when you're wanting to get through the 30 days. FOCUS!

I'm still not getting the magical sound sleep and effortless wake-ups that I remember from previous ones, but I don't remember when that kicked in, so it may still be too early. I still wake up periodically in the middle of the night, but I do tend to fall back asleep quickly, so I'm calling it an improvement. And this morning I was able to coax myself out of bed early enough to do a little workout, which has not been happening. I wasn't excited about getting up and doing it, but was really happy about having done it afterward. This is the story of so many things in my life...  

Not much else to report. Hope everyone is hanging tough and doing well.

[halfpint_aggie]

@mdraeger, Dinner food prep is very normal for us.  The majority of our dinners are W30 compliant.  It's the rest of the day where I find myself making bad choices, I know I just need to be more organized about planning my breakfasts & lunch instead of trying to fly by the seat of my pants.  The awesome sleep hasn't kicked in for me yet.  In fact my sleep has gotten worse.  But I'm feeling energetic during the day & not all zombie-sleep-deprived.  I am looking forward to the sleeping-like-a-rock-and-waking-up-effortlessly stage though.

[Betsie_n]

Happy day 11 everyone! I had a crazy busy day yesterday and was unable to check in. I hope everyone is still on track, even if they're quiet. 

@TreasureAZ - thanks for reposting the diagram. Apparently day 10 and 11 are supposed to be the worst. I admit that yesterday was the first day I really found myself wanting what I couldn't have: crackers and chips. Might have been stress-induced or maybe it's just day 10, but I was a little cranky about it and then moved on. 

I'm sleeping well - but I usually don't have issues there. I had a few nights of feeling like I was sleeping lighter or waking up more, but last night felt normal again - probably because I was tired from the day. 

I'm doing well with my no snacking between meals pledge. I have allowed an apple with almond butter and coconut butter after dinner for dessert. IDK if that's a bad thing since the extra fat is good to help with sleep. I may try to skip it next week and see how I feel. 

I haven't gotten my yoga habit going as well as I'd hoped. I work from home, which is a blessing and curse - sometimes I just don't find the time to do things because I'm not always in control of my schedule: last second meetings, etc. I think today and tomorrow should be quieter so I can make it happen. 

@laurenmccracken - I'm worrying about your mom. Is she ok? Did you go to help her? 

Cheers to being 1/3 of the way through the program! 

Betsie

[halfpint_aggie]

My sleep has gotten better. Yay!!!!  And I had a dream last night about eating a giant multi-layered chocolate cake. And I are the whole thing. So, once again I am slightly ahead of the timeline. 

My breakfast this morning was lighter than it should be. Unfortunately the kiddos just didn't cooperate with letting me eat before we had to get out the door for Bible Study. Then the lesson today was partially about Jesus fasting for 40 days. The teacher talked for quite a while about foods that she loves then she talked about how it must feel to not eat for 40 days. After 10 minutes of that talk, I was seriously starting to consider eating the arm of the person next to me for a snack. But wasn't sure if cannibalized human flesh is actually W30 compliant. 

Im really pleased with how things are going though. I started my period & the past several cycles that has left me in crippling amounts of pain, but I'm just a little uncomfortable this time. Was able to take care of it with some essential oils. So yay!  And I don't feel nearly as bloated as I normally do during my period  

My husband is looking a lot trimmer in his belly area. He is strutting around pretty proud of himself. We saw friends last night and when we left he was all "no one said anything about me looking thinner."  I just had to laugh at that. I'm betting he will be turning heads in another 2 weeks. I hid the scale because not weighing is a struggle for him. 

[mdraeger]

@halfpint_aggie I'm sure someone's arm would be compliant, but you'd probably want to ask them what kind of lotion they have on...  My hubby couldn't resist the siren song of the scale and (of course) has lost 7 pounds. I swear men can just think about going on a W30 and lose four pounds. I'm trying to remember there are lots of reasons for this besides weight loss, but it would be pretty sweet to see physical changes already.

The rest of my Day 10 was fine, but I came home to an unusually grumpy hubby, so apparently his Kill All The Things was late. I roasted some veggies with bacon which cheered him up. The magical properties of bacon... 

Day 11 so far has been pretty good. I didn't sleep well last night. The fires are really messing up the air quality, which reactivated my hubby's snoring (usually very minimal on W30) and the smell of smoke is so strong. But like someone else pointed out earlier, even with not great sleep I don't have that walking zombie feeling and I've stuck to my one cup of coffee. I did omit the green tea latte today to see if that is affecting my sleep. I can't imagine it is, but better safe than sorry!

So far, I haven't had any major cravings or food-cheating dreams. I'm sure it's the controlled environment of the work week and the weekend will change all of that, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts... 

[mdraeger]

I keep forgetting to mention this, but I picked up a pack of these guys at Costco: https://www.eatwholly.com/products/wholly-guacamole/wholly-guacamole-organic-minis/

LIFESAVER.

[Betsie_n]

HAHA - I'm glad you didn't eat anyone's arm @halfpint_aggie and risk that non-compliant lotion situation  I always note that my monthly is easier when I'm staying on track, nutritionally. I'm glad to hear it's working so quickly for you. That's huge bonus for any girl!

Ain't that the truth @mdraeger about men and dropping lbs so fast! Why is it soooo much easier for them??? It's funny that these boys can't stay off the scale - I thought that was a women-only issue  

I wholeheartedly concur on the magical properties of bacon. It saves the day so very often! I have a recipe for bacon wrapped baked pickles that I'm planning to pull out and try this weekend so we can have some "fun" food while watching motocross and football.  

I've had the Wholly guacamole before and it's really good! Anything avocado is up my ally! Have you all discovered Primal Kitchen brand condiments? They have some salad dressings and mayo. I used to make my mayo but I don't use enough and it would go bad in the fridge so now I buy the Primal Kitchen kind because it's clean and it lasts in the fridge. It's spendy, but I've learned to remind myself that I can step up to some of these luxuries because I'm not spending money on fast food, cereal, bread, pasta and other box 'o food products. 

Betsie

[halfpint_aggie]

@Betsie_n homemade mayo going bad doesn't compute. I eat it at least once a day, usually twice. Our family goes through 2 batches a week. 

 

I spoke too soon about my cramps. I can now barely move.  I usually take Advil, but don't want to since it has that sugary coating. Need to figure something out though.

[Betsie_n]

@halfpint_aggie - lol, I know, people think it's weird to use so little mayo, but without sandwiches I just don't have many uses and I don't have a kid at home anymore. My main use is deviled eggs and that doesn't require a lot.  I do make a pesto mayo mix that is good to dip carrots in, but that's about it. What am I missing out on that you make?

Does the Advil gel tab have a better coating, maybe? I usually do a hot pad and stretching to help, too. 

B 

[halfpint_aggie]

@Betsie_n, I think the Advil gel tab would be better, but we don't have any of those here at the house.  I'm going to try Tylenol, that hasn't helped much in the past, but maybe since I'm healthier right now it will.

We use mayo as a base for all sorts of dressings.  Sometimes I'll use a recipe & make a whole jar of ranch or italian dressing.  But most of the time, I grab the jar of mayo, dish up a serving in a small bowl & mix it with some balsamic vinegar and/or herbs.  Then I'll throw that over raw veggies as a salad dressing, or I'll use it to top meat.  Leftover chicken or a hamburger patty is a lot less boring when there's a scoop of delicious fat on top of it. 

I had made a chimichuri sauce last week, on Sunday night we didn't have enough for everyone, so I mixed it with mayo & it was amazing on some chicken.

I love me some avocado, but with the price of avocados this season, I'm trying to limit those.  (Also, I'm not sure they really agree with me, but I hate to admit that and I'm actually looking into buying an avocado tree for my yard.)

[Betsie_n]

@halfpint_aggie -Ah...I get it with the mayo! I've made the ranch dressing on occasion, too. I usually make vinegar-based dressings over creamy so that's why I let it go to waste, apparently - ha! Yes, a dollop on burgers with compliant ketchup is absolutely required! I would cry if avocados didn't agree with me - I hope it's not true for you. They're my mainstay and I'm totally ignoring the price tag right now because I'm sure I would die during a W30 without them  

Onward to day 12! I slept like a rock last night and feel pretty bushy-tailed today. I still am a snooze button girl but it's Colorado and it's dark and 35 degrees when I wake up, so it's fair to hide in bed, right? I do get up, get dressed and go for a 3 mile walk every weekday - which makes me a sane human for the rest of the day. 

I know breakfast can be challenging during W30 so I wanted to share what my habit has evolved into. First, I have to explain that when my journey began 4 years ago, I had been eating a large bowl Cheerios with skim milk, a chopped banana and blueberries for YEARS for breakfast. I believed it was healthy - omg...so wrong. Before this standard, I really had been eating cereal for breakfast my entire life, so it was HARD to change. I started by making eggs and bacon or sausage and did that for a long time. Then slowly I started trying to add some veg - a little spinach and white potatoes, then sweet potatoes in my scrambles, etc. Over time (a long time), I finally learned to eat veggies for breakfast. Here's what I do now: 

About twice a week I chop up some veggies and store in a container in the fridge. In the morning I heat the pan with some olive oil or lard, toss in a handful of my mixed veggies, let them cook, while I slice up a thick piece of bacon into bite sized pieces, then throw those in the pan (I also use sausage or chorizo). When mostly cooked, I add some diced tomatoes and chopped spinach or kale and let those cook down a bit, then I scramble in an egg and some salsa or hot sauce. I sometimes top is some avocado or do a second egg if it's going to be a long time till lunch. It's a home cooked, healthy breakfast that seriously takes 10 minutes. You can pre-chop everything; I usually chop tomatoes, bacon and spinach while the rest cooks, but it could be streamlined by pre-chopping. Typically, my veg mix is zucchini, sweet peppers and onions but then I will add in leftover veg from dinner, like I did with roasted acorn squash this morning. I also use spaghetti squash or butternut, etc. as my base - depends on season. Sometimes instead of scrambling, I crack the egg over the veggies as they're cooking, then cover and let the egg steam. There's tons of ways to personalize it, but I wanted to share that a home-cooked, hearty and healthy breakfast in under 10 minutes is possible. 

TGIF! Get prepped for the weekend! Don't lose your steam!

Betsie

[mdraeger]

Happy Day 12 and TGIF everyone! 

@Betsie_n Thanks for the breakfast info! I typically make a big batch of something for the week. It's actually one of the few habits that tends to stick no matter how far I stray from W30 life, but this is a really good idea for those times when I don't have a good idea/get tired of my old standards. I used to be a cereal girl too and now that seems so crazy to me!

I had another night of not great sleep. I woke up a ton and had some of the infamous "fell off the W30 wagon" dreams. I find it so fascinating that I still have them, even when the program isn't as tough as it was in earlier rounds. Just goes to show how deep the behavior change truly is, my subconscious is still working on it! :-) But, on the bright side, I finally just got out of bed at 5:20 when it became clear I wasn't going to fall asleep and had a lot more time in my morning to relax, drink my (still one) cup of coffee, do a little mini-strength workout and get ready at a leisurely pace and leave a little early. That was a nice side effect.

My goal is to keep our weekend open and as free of obligations as possible. I'm figuring out some fun/fancier things to make for dinner and will probably invite my brother and sister-in-law (who is doing her first W30 right now as well) for dinner. I remember how overwhelmed I was with food prep my first time around, so I always try to have W30 newbies over for dinner if I can. 

I hope everyone is doing well and staying strong. We're so close to the halfway point!

[laurenmccracken]

Sorry y'all!! I'm good, my mom is good! Evacuation orders lifted yesterday! I did not end up going at all. Today is day 12 for me. Tomorrow we're going out to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse with friends and I don't know what sides I could possibly have... any suggestions??

[Betsie_n]

@laurenmccracken - so glad to hear all is safe and sound at your mom's! Some scary stuff going on in California right now

Does the restaurant have a website? If so, I often preview the menus to see what might work for me. It might end up just being salad with oil and vinegar (or your own dressing), but you might get lucky and find some steamed or grilled veggies or a baked potato (which isn't great without butter, but olive oil or other toppings might work). If it doesn't look too hopeful, eat a little something before you go so you're not starved, then focus on enjoying the protein options. 

@mdraeger - you're so sweet to plan a W30 dinner party for your brother and his wife. Be sure to share the recipes you use with us. I hope you get a good night's sleep soon!

I'm keeping the weekend simple, too. I am meeting an old family friend who is coming to town for a bowling tournament on Saturday. She and her friends usually stay at the Native American casino and invite us to meet them for the all you can eat crab leg buffet on Friday night. Even when I'm not on W30, I can barely stand it (love crab, but not the fake drawn butter and all of the rest of the gross buffet offerings). THANKFULLY, they're staying somewhere else, so we're just going to visit at the bowling alley and don't have to attempt to dine together. I love these ol' gals, but they're old-school SAD eaters and would want Chinese or Mexican and that's just too complicated for W30 times!

Betsie

[laurenmccracken]

@Betsie_n thanks! It is a relief to know she's safe and now she has a checklist of what she wants to take with her if there is a next time... 

i woke up on day 13, with the sorest throats I've had in a LONG TIME. If my two year old felt like this, I can see why she was not a happy camper! 

I did look at the menu for the restaurant, and googled whole30 churrascaría and many of their veggies are in oil of some type. Yesterday, my always-supportive husband suggested I just quit whole30 til November 1st... so I could enjoy dinner with friends. I couldn't believe he was serious!!! I set him straight that in no way was I going to throw away 12 days and the decision I made to take action to be healthier over a Brazilian steakhouse. He thought  it would be easier too when my bff (she IS my sister with different parents basically, haha) comes to visit so I can have wine and cookie dough. There is always a reason or an excuse as to why I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted! I can justify just about anything when it comes to food. I weigh more than I ever have, and I've been eating more crap than ever. Im not breastfeeding to counteract the increase in calories anymore. NO I am NOT giving up. And it's just 30 DAYS. And then I'll see what I do from there! 

NSV: my joints don't ache anymore! I got my wedding ring off! I was able to wear it after 1st whole 30 at 6-7 months post partum, and I don't think I've had a half a chance at taking it off again in a year! 

[halfpint_aggie]

Does anyone else ever just get tired of eating?  Not just during the W30, but in general.  Sometimes I just cannot find it in me to enjoy food.  I'm feeling in one of those slumps today. 

I don't want to abandon the W30.  I'm feeling 100% committed to only eating W30 compliant foods.  The unhealthy foods aren't appealing either.

And it's not that I'm not hungry.  I am very hungry right now.  I just don't have a desire to eat anything.

[halfpint_aggie]

@laurenmccracken, if you postponed until November, you'd have to be W30 for Thanksgiving.  Obviously that wouldn't be ideal.  So, there's always something.  Just stay strong.