Whole30 Episode 2: The Avocado Strikes Back

[Rottiegirl2017]

You're doing great!

 

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D10

M1: Three scrambled eggs with spinach, half an avocado. Coffee & almond milk. (The usual!)

M2: Leftover mustard-crusted tilapia and cilantro lime sweet potato wedges.

M3: Convinced boyfriend to go to Yours Truly for dinner because 1) I needed a break after 9 straight days of cooking almost all my meals, and 2) they have a KILLER W30-approved salad there! It's a bed of baby spinach with strawberries, cranberries, walnuts and grilled chicken. Asked for no blue cheese and substituted oil and vinegar for the raspberry vinaigrette. Super duper yummy.

Woohoo, 1/3 of the way done! For the first time in this round, I had some mild cravings today. Mostly because I saw people at the table next to us at Yours Truly order pumpkin pie and I wanted to rip it out of their hands! But that's okay. I will have plenty of time to make pumpkin pie myself when this round is over, in preparation for Thanksgiving. It's all good. I got this. 

In other news, sleep is getting better. Trying to pair my W30 with 30 days of yoga practice as well. I desperately need daily yoga to keep my back healthy and pain-free. Plus it helps me focus on what's important and quiets the noise that is usually in my brain.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D11-13

So I was too busy over the weekend to record my food, but here are some of the highlights!

We went over some friends' house for dinner Saturday night and they ordered pizza. I brought a salad I had bought at Heinen's and had that instead. They were all super cool about it. Everyone drank but me, but I wasn't really tempted.

We went to Aladdin's yesterday for lunch. I got their Shawarma salad but asked to remove the feta. I checked to make sure their house dressing was approved and it is! It's basically olive oil, lemon, garlic and spices. Super delicious!

We made pot roast last night in the crock pot. Bought a 2.5 lb shoulder roast and plopped it in there for 6 hours along with mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. The usual onion soup mix I use had soy and sugar in it so I ditched that and just used beef broth, garlic powder, salt, pepper and a TON of spices. SO GOOD! I packed a bunch more for lunch on D14.

All in all it was a successful weekend! We shopped on Saturday for this week's groceries. On the menu is seared scallops, salmon, ground beef and veggies, and all kinds of good things. Tomorrow (D15) I'll be halfway through this round, which is crazypants. Time flies when you're cooking up a storm.

 

[littleg]

Are you using Real Plans W30 this round?  I'm on the fence about trying it for a month.  Are you happy with it?

[kellyfoss]

2 minutes ago, littleg said:

Are you using Real Plans W30 this round?  I'm on the fence about trying it for a month.  Are you happy with it?

So far I'm very happy with it, yes! I was hesitant to spend the money but I feel it takes a lot of pressure off of finding and organizing recipes and meals yourself. I'm working two jobs and I'm in school right now, so I needed this round to be as easy as possible.  I usually keep most of the meals the program suggests, or move them around/delete them as needed. Then (my favorite part) it generates your shopping list automatically. You can check off what you already have, add/delete things, print it all out and you're done! I don't think I'll renew my membership after this round, but for the purposes of a W30 it adds a lot of convenience.

That said, I did my first round earlier this year without Real Plans and I was just fine. I just had to dedicate a couple of hours a week to planning rather than 20-30 minutes.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D14

M1: Three scrambled eggs with spinach, half an avocado, coffee/almond milk.

M2: Leftover pot roast. YUM! Boss commented that something at my desk smelled great.  Brought a Lara Bar in my purse in case the leftovers weren't enough to fill me up, but didn't need it.

M3: Prosciutto-wrapped scallops (3) with a spinach salad tossed in mustard vinaigrette. Super delish, I haven't made scallops possibly ever. Or it has been a looong time. They turned out pretty well! Next time I'd like to get more of a sear on them but still good.

After-dinner-during-horror-movie-marathon-snack: Banana

Today (D15) is the halfway point already! Damn! I can't believe how fast and smooth this round has been so far. Not to jinx myself of course. I still have to make it through (gulp) Halloween. And the scale and measuring tape are calling already, big time. Between the W30 and my new and improved thyroid meds, I can tell I'm losing weight and feeling a lot better in my clothes. Still have a ways to go, so I need to try to ignore that and stick with the process! Not gonna lie though, I'm not mad about looking even hotter in my witch costume.

Other NSVs I'm already noticing at the halfway point:

- Nails are stronger and growing faster (also taking Biotin, for what it's worth)

- More energy, sleeping better

- More focused

- Better mood consistently

Let's see what the next 15 days bring!

[kellyfoss]

M30R2D15

M1: Three scrambled eggs with spinach, small cup of sliced bananas and raspberries. Coffee & almond milk.

M2: Another (final) round of leftover pot roast. Still good! This time I did have a Lara Bar afterward to make sure I wasn't hungry until dinner. Kinda felt "meh" about it. I think I'll save those for after my W30 is over. I don't really need them and they feel too much like snack food.

M3: Asian-inspired salmon bowls! Another really delicious recipe from Real Plans (I'm basically a poster girl for RP at this point, ha). Nori sheets to line the bowls, topped with broccoli, shredded carrots, sliced avocado, baked salmon, green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Topped with this citrus/coconut amino sauce that was killer! I should've made more to take for lunch on D16, but oh well.

The tiger blood is on its way, I can tell... I have more energy for yoga now (as long as my back continues to cooperate) and it takes me less time and less coffee to wake up in the morning. Can't wait to see what the rest of this round has in store.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D16 (There was a typo in yesterday's post here and I can't edit it - nooo!)

M1: Three scrambled eggs with compliant italian chicken sausage and spinach. Some apple slices and almond butter.

M2: Spinach salad with leftover salmon, cucumbers, carrots, olive oil, salt and pepper. Avocado and apple chunks on top.

M3: Boyfriend's mom cooked for us! Grilled flank steak and salmon. Roasted squash and broccolini on the side and a side salad. I used olive oil for my dressing. Very good and she was super careful to keep it all compliant for me, I was touched.

So I did a bad thing yesterday... I broke the rules and weighed myself. BOO HISS, I know. Don't follow my example. I was honestly more curious because of the new medication and the fact that my body feels really different already after 16 days into this round. I did everything "By the Book" in my first round and that's great, but this time I wanted to see what ~2 weeks could achieve rather than an entire month.

I've lost 10 lb already (159 lb to 149 lb). HOLY CRAP. And that's really just the icing on the cake because I've also got stronger and longer nails now, I'm sleeping better and feeling happier and all that other jazz. My skin is clearer and brighter, I don't feel like an 80-year-old woman anymore (no offense to the 80-year-old women out there, I'm just almost 28 and I'd rather feel my age a while longer!). I'll wait to weigh myself again until the end and I'll hold off on the measurements. Even if I don't lose any more weight I'll be happy with my results.

I'm really excited to see how quick and effective this way of eating is. And I'm never hungry! That still blows my mind. I always feel strong and satisfied. How do I love thee, Whole 30... let me count the ways. <3

[brittanyxo]

4 hours ago, kellyfoss said:

So I did a bad thing yesterday... I broke the rules and weighed myself. BOO HISS

*cue dramatic music*... haha. Well thankfully you had a positive result to your check-in! As you say, not to recommend it to others, I think usually people would be more let down than happy with their mid-way results, especially if they've been struggling with staying on track. Normally you'd expect big results like you had for how much work we put in, but of course, is not the case for many people.

Congratulations to you though! Hopefully all of your good feelings continue to grow over the next 15 days!!

Stay strong for Halloween! I know I stared down all of the candy aisles in Wal-Mart yesterday and felt like I could taste it. It was Day 10 for me (hardest days), so I didn't time that very well. Luckily I don't have kids so I will not have to have any candy in my house.

[kellyfoss]

16 minutes ago, brittanyxo said:

*cue dramatic music*... haha. Well thankfully you had a positive result to your check-in! As you say, not to recommend it to others, I think usually people would be more let down than happy with their mid-way results, especially if they've been struggling with staying on track. Normally you'd expect big results like you had for how much work we put in, but of course, is not the case for many people.

Congratulations to you though! Hopefully all of your good feelings continue to grow over the next 15 days!!

Stay strong for Halloween! I know I stared down all of the candy aisles in Wal-Mart yesterday and felt like I could taste it. It was Day 10 for me (hardest days), so I didn't time that very well. Luckily I don't have kids so I will not have to have any candy in my house.

Yeahhh Halloween is gonna be rough. But we're considering not going to a Halloween party this year purely because I can't drink or eat much of anything there, and we're going to be super busy this weekend. I think we may just stay home with our compliant food and carve pumpkins. And hand out candy on the night of (stashing some away in the freezer for when this round is over, of course!).

I definitely considered not posting about my weight, but this is my personal log and I wanted to be as transparent as possible. Also it's good to keep track of these things for my own future records. Again, I do not recommend breaking that rule, especially if it's your first time doing this. It easily could've gone horribly wrong and took the wind out of my sails. Luckily it did the opposite - now I know that no matter what, I'll be happy with my SVs and NSVs when this is over! Full speed ahead.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D17

M1: Cut-up italian sausage sauteed with baby spinach. Small bowl of sliced bananas and raspberries. (I was completely out of eggs and avocados at this point - the horror!)

M2: Ordered another Shawarma salad to-go from Aladdin's because delish! Made sure to specify no feta and their compliant dressing. This kept me full so long that I was barely hungry for dinner.

M3: Turkey meatballs from the W30 cookbook over zoodles, with (and I was very very excited about this, probably too excited for a normal person) compliant pasta sauce from Giant Eagle! Their Market District brand! I had to read the ingredients 15 times, I thought I was dreaming. It was so good! Mixed in garlic, chopped up onions, carrots, red peppers and mushrooms.

I stocked back up on eggs and avocados in the evening so I wouldn't run into the problem of having weird non-breakfasts again. 

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D18-20

This weekend was fine. Stayed compliant the entire time despite some struggles (like not being able to get to the grocery store until Sunday afternoon and throwing together some random meals from what was left in my fridge). I was very tempted to go off-plan on Saturday when I had a weird little scare while driving. I was sitting at a red light when I got the overwhelming sensation like I was going to pass out. Having passed out before, I know what it feels like when it happens. My blood pressure bottomed out and then spiked back up again, throwing me into a panic attack. I got really hot all of a sudden and my hands were shaking like crazy. Luckily I was able to turn off into a parking lot to calm down and call the boyfriend to come meet me.

I felt okay the rest of the day once the fear and adrenaline wore off, but damn... what the HELL was that?! Never experienced something like that come on so quickly. All I wanted was food to make sure my blood sugar and pressure had stabilized, but we were nowhere near anywhere with compliant options. When I got home I ate a salad and started to feel normal again. So. Weird. I have a doctor appointment Thursday so I'll mention this to them and see if maybe my newish medication could contribute to it.

Other than that, I stayed on plan and I am going strong into day 21. We made gumbo last night with chicken apple sausage, ground beef and shrimp (a modified Northerner version, heh). It was delicious and we have enough for several days of leftovers. Hoping to finish out this last full week as strong as possible, despite Halloween and having candy in the house.

[kellyfoss]

Side Note: Doing some searching and reading online makes me think that my weird faint/dizzy episode may be a result of a period of HYPERthyroidism combined with my recent higher dose of synthroid. Because I have Hashimoto's, my thyroid is pretty much always in flux. It's either putting out way too much hormone or not enough. On days when maybe I haven't eaten enough and I'm in hyper mode and I take a high dose of synthroid... it's possible that this could cause me to feel all of the symptoms I experienced. Going to check with my doctor this week, of course. But maybe I need a dose that falls somewhere between 75 and 100 mcg to stay balanced. 

Also, I need to eat more. A lot more. Hopefully that will help me to avoid these episodes.

Oh - and if I really have been experiencing a hyperthyroid episode, that's most likely the reason I lost 10 lb in roughly 2 weeks. I wouldn't call that remotely normal for this program. My metabolism is probably on overdrive.

Ain't thyroid problems fun?

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D21-22

I MADE IT THROUGH HALLOWEEN!!  Insert all the happy dances here! I successfully avoided two different kinds of delicious homemade cake, a giant bowl of candy (some of which was leftover and is sitting at home, still taunting me as we speak), and an invitation to go hang out at a restaurant where there is literally nothing I could have ate or drank. I did homework instead like a loser, but it was worth it!  The hardest day, in my opinion, is now behind me. One week from today will be day 30. This is the home stretch!

I visited the doctor yesterday and had more blood drawn. Should be getting those results soon, so we can see if my suspicions about being over-medicated are correct. The doctor suggested that in case they are low blood sugar episodes, I should add even more protein to my diet. In which I kinda laughed in his face because I've been eating more protein in the past 22 days than I have in the past 6 months. But I said I would try. Once we get the lab results we may adjust my dose.

In the meantime I'm just drinking a ton of water and hoping for the best. Oh, also... (potential TMI moment ahead, beware!) I have been spotting for the last 24 hours even though I'm on the pill and my period isn't due until next week. Definitely something funky happening with my hormones... pesky things.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D23

M1: Three eggs, cut up chicken apple sausage, spinach, half an avocado. Coffee w/ almond milk.

M2: More leftover gumbo (the last of it, I believe!).

M3: Seared sirloin finished in the oven with roasted potatoes and carrots.

Getting reaaaaal tired of this food at this point. But the good news is I am in full-on tiger blood mode right now! My energy is humming and my sleep is so good that I've been having insane dreams pretty much every night. Going on a small road trip to visit my best friend on Saturday (who is on day 25 of her first Whole30 - woohoo!) so we'll be cooking dinner there together. Excited for that. Otherwise I'm pretty ready for this round to be over. No more dizzy/faint spells since Monday, which is good... maybe it was a fluke? Still waiting on the blood test results.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D24

M1: Three eggs, half an avocado, roasted potatoes and carrots. Coffee w/ almond milk.

M2: Salad with roast beef, cucumber and avocado.

M3: We sprung for Outback Steakhouse tonight just because, and it was yummy! I ordered the 6 oz. filet and a plain sweet potato on the side. Ordered grilled asparagus but didn't finish it because it kinda sucked, so they kindly brought me a second sweet potato instead. Water with lemon.

[DanaRe]

6 hours ago, kellyfoss said:

W30R2D24

M3: We sprung for Outback Steakhouse tonight just because, and it was yummy! I ordered the 6 oz. filet and a plain sweet potato on the side. Ordered grilled asparagus but didn't finish it because it kinda sucked, so they kindly brought me a second sweet potato instead. Water with lemon.

Good for Outback to recognize that they served you something subpar!

[kellyfoss]

On 11/3/2017 at 3:42 PM, DanaRe said:

Good for Outback to recognize that they served you something subpar!

Yep! The server was great, she immediately went and got me a replacement and she answered all my questions. I definitely recommend them.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D25-27

Well this past weekend, my last full weekend for this round, was rather tumultuous! Friday I sprained my right wrist pretty badly (thanks a lot, yoga!) and woke up Saturday morning around 3 AM in excruciating pain. I couldn't move or bend my wrist at all. I drove to the 24 hour grocery store praying they had wrist braces, and luckily they did! I wore the brace all weekend (while popping Aleve so I could function). Saturday morning I had class for three hours and then I headed down to Columbus to spend the night with my BFF. She made a W30 dinner for us since I was partially maimed and could barely help - coconut curry with shrimp and cauliflower rice. So good!! Sunday morning we went to First Watch. I got the Market Skillet Hash with no cheese and I substituted a side of fruit for the bread it comes with. I also got their Kale Tonic to drink - it was super yummy and very fresh! I think my words were, "This is what Mother Nature must taste like!" Which in retrospect sounds kinda dirty. Oops.

When I got back home last night the boyfriend and I braved a thunderstorm to grocery shop for the last few days of this round. We made stuffed peppers for dinner and I brought extras to eat for lunch on D28. Almost done with round 2, I can't believe it! My wrist is much better today after resting it for the whole weekend. I'll be very gentle with it and lay off the yoga for a few more days - at least the kind that forces me to carry my entire body weight on my wrists. I'm looking at you, downward-facing dog!

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D28

M1: Three scrambled eggs with spinach. Banana. Coffee w/ almond milk.

M2: Leftover stuffed pepper. Epic Bar because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with them - meh. They're okay. Got the chicken one. Basically tastes like beef jerky and wasn't really worth the money to me. It did have like 12g of protein which was good, if what my doctor said about keeping those "fainting spells" away is true. I haven't had any in about a week so maybe he was right?

M3: Baked chicken breast, roasted potatoes and mushrooms.

Getting down to the wire here... successfully ignoring the leftover cheesecake and Halloween candy in my freezer. Only a couple of days to go! My wrist is almost 100% again. Just keeping the brace on it to give it a little more time to recover before I dive back into using it normally and putting weight on it. 

Made dinner reservations at a nice restaurant nearby for my birthday this Saturday. Looking at the menu I just about started drooling at the thought of being able to eat anything I wanted... but then I tried to mentally rein it back in. I don't want to go way off the reservation so quickly after my round ends. And I think after this weekend I may go back on another week of W30 eating until Thanksgiving, to make sure my system stays happy. We'll see.

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D29

*ahem* IT'S THE FIIIINAL COUNTDOWN! Duh nuh nuhhh nuh... Sorry if that's stuck in your head all day now. I have no regrets.

M1: Three scrambled eggs with compliant chicken sausage and spinach. Coffee w/ almond milk.

M2: Leftover chicken breast with roasted shrooms and potatoes. A banana.

M3: Lettuce-wrapped burgers (an old favorite from round 1!) with tomato, onion, guac, and a splash of Frank's Red Hot (the original kind, totally compliant and makes all the difference when you can't have ketchup).

One. Day. To go. So I came to work a half hour early today for no reason other than I was wide awake, like maybe-she's-on-drugs awake, and I was eager to get my day started. Woke up a full hour before my alarm went off, not tired at all. I've already done half my homework for the week and lots of other "work" work too, and it isn't even 8:30 yet. The tiger blood is in full swing, probably to the point that if I wanted to I could scale Mount Everest and cure cancer and still have time to design this brochure before lunch. It makes me not want to stop eating this way at all. But because it isn't sustainable forever, I will have to ease up a bit and "ride my own bike" starting this weekend. I'm ready for it, I just want to bask in this feeling for a little while longer. The energy level is insane - I wish I could bottle up this clean, clear, non-caffeinated level of awakeness and sell it. I'd be rich. On to day 30!

[kellyfoss]

W30R2D30!

M1: Three scrambled eggs with compliant chicken sausage. Side of guac. Coffee w/ almond milk.

M2: Salad with cucumber, tomato, carrots, and more compliant chicken sausage because I'm running out of protein. Banana.

M3: Meatloaf with a compliant sauce that did not use sugar, mashed potatoes on the side. Yum! Boyfriend devoured 3/4 of the meatloaf and asked if there was more. Note to self, next time make two!

Since I'm actually writing this on day 31, I'll go ahead and post my final results and talk about some NSVs!

• In the past 30 days, I went from 159 lb to 145 lb. About a 14 lb loss. That's actually sliiiightly better than my first round, but almost the same. WOO!
• I lost two inches in my waist and about an inch around each thigh. Didn't measure my hips but I'm sure I lost inches there too (sadly, because I really only have a butt when I'm carrying an extra 15 lb, but what can you do?).
• Sleeping wonderfully and waking up feeling rested and without back pain!
• Stable energy levels throughout the day.
• Strong nails that are growing and not flaking apart.
• Healthy, shiny hair.
• Healthy, glowing skin with zero blemishes.
• No gastrointestinal distress after eating.
• Consistently sunny mood even when faced with stress and adversity.
• Mental focus and improved memory.
• Planning and cooking skills improved.
• Anxiety about grocery shopping improved.
• Addiction to sugar managed.

Some things that did NOT get better, just for reference:

• My psoriasis.
• My Hashimoto's. Got my blood tests back and although my new medication is helping regulate my hormone levels, my antibodies and inflammation are just as bad as before.

So apparently the Whole 30 isn't a cure-all for autoimmune stuff. Didn't really think it was. But that's okay, it is definitely helping me live with those things much easier. My birthday is in two days and I plan to have a weekend where I off-road a bit with my eating. Then I'll hop back on the W30 bike until Thanksgiving. Really happy with my results this time around and glad I stuck with it!

 

 

[brittanyxo]

On 11/8/2017 at 5:30 AM, kellyfoss said:

Sorry if that's stuck in your head all day now. I have no regrets.

It's all I can hear in my head now. Haha.

Congratulations on your results!! Fantastic job! And Happy Early Birthday!

Maybe come back with the January W30 and do the reintroduction at the end? That's what I'm going to do (I've done 5 rounds and never done the re-intro).