Should I start over? need help.

[tiffanysummer]

Hi all! I am new here. This is my first post. I need to know if I should restart. I am thinking yes.

First I didn't really officially mark a start date. I came here and read the program rules right after thanksgiving and thought okay I can do this. So I started to just eliminate some of the stuff i was having. Paleo breads and desserts and sweetener where biggies. I can't remember what day I started. I did buy the book and just started to implement what I was learning. i guess I am on day 12 or 13 I thought I was following it right but maybe not.

First thing i did was keep my morning smoothie the first week - I used coconut milk, half a banana and a little berries. then threw in tons of superfood powders and chia (helps me eliminate) plus coconut oil. I like smoothies because I like to take super foods like Maca & green powders. It keeps me full for hours and the biggest thing is I am a stay at home mom of four and I can NEVER get myself a fully cooked meal within an hour of waking. I pack lunches and make breakfast for everyone then I get to finally sit down and by that time i am ravenous. Smoothies help. Plus We are really active in church and smoothies are sometimes the only way I eat on a Sunday. We are there for 4+ hours and are always running behind in the mornings with all the youngins.

Next I kept my vegan warrior protein powder that is fermented brown rice protien and hemp along with nopal cactus. I will blend it with coconut milk after a work out. no protein powders at all during whole30? not even after weight training?

also... I am finding myself eating fruit after every meal or having a few huge spoonfuls of coconut butter. I really feel that a grapefruit or apple is a nice satisfying way to end a meal. just feels well rounded to me and marks the end of my eating. I have felt very well nourished on this program and have never gone this long with added sweetener in my whole life was big on stevia and raw honey. and some maple syrup. I find myself eating lots of fats though. One day I got an over ripe box of persimmons (my favorite fruit) and wanted to eat them before they went bad and ate 2-3 after a meal.

today I accidently ate meat covered in plain whole yogurt. i forgot had been cooked in yogurt for my family and ate a few chunks.

I am just wondering if I should restart this officially like as in mark my calender and also like to know if I am doing it wrong the way I am doing it? I feel better than ever. but I over ate on applegate farms salami and felt really brain foggy later. which was weird. wonder if it had msg or something.

thanks in advance for any help or encouragement!

Tiffany

[MJam]

My thought is yes start over for these reasons

- no smoothies on Whole30 the reason being that liquid food isn't recognized by the body like solid, need to chew it food. Also your smoothies are all fruit is just going to spike your blood sugar.

- No protein powders on Whole30 and yours is particularly "offensive" to the whole 30 as it is a grain based protein powder. Not even after a work out. There are better options for post-work nutrition rather than a the powder like a hard boiled egg and some sweet potato. Both are easily made in batches ahead of time, store and travel great.

- Fruit after meal...I am personal huge stickler for this PERSONALLY as this is a food combining NO-NO. Fruit should be eaten on a empty stomach as it digests very rapidly. When you eat fruit AFTER a meal it sits on top of everything else fermenting and causing bloating. But on a more Whole30 note...eating fruit after a meal only continues to reinforce the notion that you NEED something sweet after your meal to feel satisfied.You should feel satisfied without the fruit or coconut butter after the meal. I suspect that you meals are not either large enough or lacking the proper macronutrient ratios or that this is the case for all your daily meals (especially if you are consuming fruit smoothies)

- to me it is 100% or nothing...there is no accidentally for me, it's 100% or nothing...being on the Whole30 means you are to be conscious of everything that goes into your body, no eating on auto-pilot. You should be thinking every.single.time your hand with food in it goes to your mouth..thinking "what is in this?" "Am I actually hungry?" if you are not thinking, you are on auto-pilot and that is not the spirit of the Whole30

My suggestion....restart...make a big mark on the calendar, use this as a great learning opportunity and start again fully conscious of all your food decisions and read read READ labels and "It Starts With Food" if you haven't already. The book really provides the solid knowledge base for moving forward successfully

[tiffanysummer]

Thank you for taking the time to reply and offer advice and ideas. I do know about food combing from my days experimenting with raw foods. Food combining is big in that community. I really believe fruit is a healthy addition to my diet so I want to include it. It's just that... I have a touch of insulin resistance and figured eating it with protein instead of by itself would slow the sugar. See it's weird. I studied Ayruvedic style of eating a while back and they believe including all tastes in one meal is very beneficial. I can't remember all the details but I remember sweet, pungent, salty... etc etc. I always feel more satisfied if all those tastes are in my meals. I really actually do feel satisfied most meals even without the fruit well... if I have sweet potato especially. I really want the well rounded affect from adding in a fruit or two. the micronutrients and the bit of pleasure. Berries are especially healthy so I want them in my diet.

what I eat in a day might include these items besides the fruit - all organic and pasture raised animal products... beef, chicken, liver, fish, lots of eggs, kimchi, bone broths. cabbage, broccoli, green beans, soups and one pot meals such as beef, broccoli and sweet pots... i use a lot of seasoning like turmeric, ginger, cayenne, garlic, sea salt and pepper... etc and lots of fats such as coconut oil, ghee, and organic palm shortening for higher temp cooking. like I said I feel well nourished. I do notice some unhealthy habits still going on like over eating on coconut butter and the fruit situation - I am stumped. I need to keep my blood sugars level. I want to have a fruit or two a day. and yes I will give up the smoothies. I guess I need plan B for quick meals when I am super busy with kids, church etc. boiled eggs is good idea.

[Tom Denham]

You've made some valuable improvements, but you haven't gotten to a Whole30 yet. And you would probably do best to just keep making improvements and learning from It Starts With Food and maybe join the crowd starting in January. The holidays are not generally a good time to commit to a new way of eating. You have too many other responsibilities to manage.

I hear you about having 4 children to manage first thing in the morning. However, eating when you first wake up is important to helping your body get into a good hormonal rhythm. You might want to try my current favorite breakfast (my favorite breakfast tends to change every few months). I eat 3 or 4 boiled eggs and 1 or 2 dill pickles for breakfast. I boil eggs in batches and keep them in the refrigerator for breakfast, pre-workout snacks, or to add to salads. You could even peel eggs before you go to bed at night so all you have to do in the morning is chew and swallow. Another good breakfast alternative is to have leftovers. One that you can eat cold is Pulled Chicken with Diced Tomatoes and Guacamole. Here is a recipe: http://www.wholelifeeating.com/2012/08/pulled-chicken-diced-tomatoes-avocado-and-onion/.

The problem with smoothies is that your body digests liquid food differently than solid food, typically faster. Also, it is easy to overeat liquid food because you pack it in faster than your body can recognize it is satisfied. So smoothies can have you eating more than you need and feeling hungry sooner than you should. Smoothies are not banned, but they are a bad idea.

All protein powders are banned during a Whole30 and completely unnecessary generally. We want Whole30 participants to get 30 days of experience eating real food exclusively. Your body uses real, whole foods more fully than powders and supplements.

Chia seeds are not banned during a Whole30, but they are discouraged. Find the explanation in the book. When you are eating a real, whole foods diet, your elimination situation works just fine.

The best food to eat after a workout is lean protein like a chicken breast and maybe some carbs like sweet potato. Personally, I eat sardines, but that's me.

During a Whole30, you have to read all ingredient labels of everything you eat if it has a label. Just because something is organic or hyped as superfood doesn't mean it passes the Whole30 criteria. For example, your vegan warrior powder is out not only because it is a processed powder, but because it is made from rice. Rice is a grain and no grains are okay during a Whole30. Also, you mentioned Applegate Farms salami. That includes sugar, hidden by the name "organic dextrose." That makes it off plan. Not to mention, salami is pushing the border of too processed to work as a Whole30 food. You wondered if the Salami had MSG. That's another reason you have to read labels. Applegate sells some acceptable foods for Whole30s, but some of their stuff fails.

We encourage people to limit fruit to about 2 servings per day. You don't actually need fruit because you can get everything you need from vegetables and veggies are generally more nutrient dense. And we want you to learn to be happy without dessert. So the ideal way to eat fruit is incorporated into a meal. I frequently add apple pieces to sauerkraut or wilted kale. You can add pieces of fruit to salads. I add dried cranberries to stir-fry dishes all the time.

[tiffanysummer]

Tom what a well written and thought out reply. I am very grateful for your time in replying and your care and concern. Very thoughtful I am going to do as you say. Boiled eggs are perfect for my super hectic morning. Maybe I can just try harder to eat before the family is up. I will start over and I will take your advice. I also love sardines.

thanks!!

[silk]

Between Mjam and Tom, you've raised a question / dilemma that's occurred to me several times during this Whole30 -- fruit on an empty stomach for food combining reasons vs. fruit incorporated into a meal. I've been eating fruit incorporated into a meal because "whole30 says so" but it does feel weird after all my years of 'eat fruit by itself' for food combining reasons. Any thoughts ? There doesn't seem to be any way to reconcile those opposing ideas except to not eat any fruit at all.

[MJam]

I would say eat the fruit however you feel comfortable eating the fruit. I'm not a fruitist and I only fruit about 3 times a week usually half a banana dipped in coconut oil after my bone broth, before my breakfast in the morning one day or 2 dates and a hard boiled egg immediately after a workout while I am fixing veggies and meat for my post workout meal. So it's always part of my meal just eaten first but more food always follows the fruit, it is never a snack eaten alone with nothing else.

For as infrequently as I eat fruit this works for me but it seems like Tom enjoys his fruits mixed into his meals which is also great because you can avoid a blood sugar spike when you eat it with a meal. Both ways are fine (IMHO) I am just personally stuck on eating fruit first or on an empty stomach based on years of doing this. I would see the bigger issue as eating fruit AFTER a meal reinforcing the need for "dessert" or sweets rather than worrying about eating it before or during a meal.

But I have been known to be wrong before so if any mods want to put this non-fruitist in her place please do so

[Susan W]

I would say eat the fruit however you feel comfortable eating the fruit. I'm not a fruitist and I only fruit about 3 times a week usually half a banana dipped in coconut oil after my bone broth, before my breakfast in the morning one day or 2 dates and a hard boiled egg immediately after a workout while I am fixing veggies and meat for my post workout meal. So it's always part of my meal just eaten first but more food always follows the fruit, it is never a snack eaten alone with nothing else.

For as infrequently as I eat fruit this works for me but it seems like Tom enjoys his fruits mixed into his meals which is also great because you can avoid a blood sugar spike when you eat it with a meal. Both ways are fine (IMHO) I am just personally stuck on eating fruit first or on an empty stomach based on years of doing this. I would see the bigger issue as eating fruit AFTER a meal reinforcing the need for "dessert" or sweets rather than worrying about eating it before or during a meal.

But I have been known to be wrong before so if any mods want to put this non-fruitist in her place please do so

Tom is a mod and he eats fruit with his meals because that is how it should be done according to M and D in ISWF.

[Robin Strathdee]

We're not really concerned with "food combining" past having protein, fat and veggies at every meal. I, personally, don't have digestive trouble with fruit no matter where I place it - empty stomach, full stomach...doesn't really matter for me. If you have a different experience, feel free to tailor as necessary. Just don't allow yourself to treat it as dessert, as that sends the wrong behavioral messages.

[Susan W]

Oh see..silly me. I thought we were always supposed to have mini meals..so never anything by itself. Relax Susan :0)

[Robin Strathdee]

While it's always best to eat mini meals, for sure, sometimes ya just want an apple (note: not a "treat", not "something sweet"). As long as you're keeping your fruit reasonable you should be fine.

[EmilyB456]

Hi Tiffany!

I finished my first Whole30 in July, plan to do another in January, and lurk on here all the time. I finally created an account just so I could respond to your question.

I am also a SAHM of 4. We live in the middle of nowhere and so have to order most of our good food, my husband is a rancher with ridiculous hours so I have little help from him, and we are active in sports, Girl Scouts, a church Mother's Day Out program, piano lessons...lots of stuff. All that is to say, I get completely where you're coming from!

What you need for breakfast is a plan. Make the slow cooker and freezer your friends. I like to have egg muffins in the freezer, and those can be microwaved in no time for a complete meal. Sometimes, I make frittatas on the weekends and eat them all week long for breakfast. There are some great slow-cooker breakfast recipes out there, too. And you say you are cooking breakfast for the kiddos...are you not making enough for yourself, too? Or are you just making them something you can't eat?

As far as your elimination troubles...have you tried a magnesium supplement like Natural Calm? That will help, if you need it, and is Whole30 approved.

After a workout, I usually have some sweet potato and maybe a little prosciutto or something without nasty additives, for protein and carbs. That is, if I have anything post-workout. But that's me.

And the fruit after the meal...you sound like me, when I was still justifying my need for a dessert and my sugar dragons had not been slain. I may be projecting, because I had a major sweet tooth and it was too easy for me to overeat on fruit (especially with coconut butter...mmm...). I do still have some fruit, but not to treat myself, and it's not something my brain thinks I need to end a meal.

This isn't as easy as going through a drive-thru or cooking a meal-in-a-box or throwing a bunch of stuff in a blender to slurp down on the way out the door, but you CAN do it, and you can do it all the way. You are the only mom your kids have, and you have to take care of your own health so that you can take the best care of them.

[tiffanysummer]

Oh cool of u to create an acct. to reply to me! Thanks for the advice. It's well received.