CaveMom Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Day 2 - Donut Denial and Sugar on the Brain Today was officially a success, but not without some challenges. My brother has worked for our company for well over 5 years, and today was his last day. The other folks at the office wanted to bring breakfast and spend the morning chatting with him. When I arrived, the table was full, and I mean full of donuts and pastries. I had to sit with my nose practically in the box. It was absolute torture! Not only was it difficult to resist, but I felt like a real snob refusing to eat with everyone else. I’m so glad this happened on day 2 though. I could not have resisted further on. I really struggled with sugar cravings today. I would eat until I was full, but still felt empty somehow. I knew it was bad when I started eyeballing the gummy vitamins I bought my kids. Those things looked so good today! I know these feelings will pass and I’m prepared to get through it, but boy is it going to be rough! Im still very excited and I’m learning so very much about myself and the food I eat. Even my kids are being supportive and enjoying the food I’m preparing! Day 2 I ate: Breakfast: Sautéed broccoli, potatoes, peppers and onions left over from dinner with a boiled egg. Coffee and coconut milk. Lunch: Chicken salad (chicken thighs from last night, chopped boiled eggs, celery, diced pickles, avacado, lemon juice and homemade mayo) over butter lettuce and a clementine. Dinner: Baked Salmon over wilted spinach and pan “fried” potatoes. Crock pot apples. Snack: I ate a few pistachios and a few raisins. I had an afternoon coffee as well hoping it would help the cravings but I don’t think it helped much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Hey CaveMom! You’re doing great! I can only imagine how hard it would be to resist those donuts while having sugar cravings. Yikes. But you did it, so well done you. I’m scared of the sugar cravings... I don’t have them yet but I know they’ll hit soon. I spent the afternoon cooking up a storm...your picture with all the foods you got rid of really inspired me to get prepared, so thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted December 30, 2017 Author Share Posted December 30, 2017 MimiHi, I just read your post. Looks like you had lots of things on hand for a quick grab and go. I need to work on that. I know I’ll get tired of all this cooking! What’s your recipe for chia pudding? That sounds good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 You inspired me to be prepared so I'm just following your lead! I totally get it as far as the cooking goes. I did a bunch yesterday, ate most of the stuff, and now I'm thinking Holy Cr*p! I've got to do it all over again! We have a very small fridge at our house, so I'm used to the frequent runs to the store, but usually it's to pick up take out, not actual groceries to cook with! I don't have an actual recipe with exact measurements for the Chia pudding, but I know you can easily find one one-line someplace. Here's what I did, and it turned out surprisingly well! First, I made cashew milk, then added in the Chia seeds: I Took a big handful of cashews, and threw them in the blender (probably about 1/8-1/4 cup). Added about a cup of water, two pitted dates, and a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, and sea salt. Whirled it in the blender until it looked milk'ish. Mine actually looked like watery milk--not even 2%...Tasted that, and it didn't taste half bad, so I poured it into a tupperware container, added 1/4 cup of Chia seeds. Put the lid on it, shook it up, and stuck in the fridge overnight. It actually tasted great! I topped it off with blueberries. Not too shabby for the first day! Honestly, I was pretty darn proud of myself for making this and actually being prepared for Day 1 breakfast. I have you to thank for that. Seriously, that picture with all that food on your counters really clicked with me. I realized I was going to fail big-time if I didn't start out on the right foot from day one. Today I organized my fridge, created my "special Whole30 cupboard" --I'm all in, I guess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Day 3 - 10% Complete and Going Strong! If I can survive a day like this on Whole30, I can do it anywhere, any time! Prepping food saved me today! My in-laws moved in today! I started the morning making a frittata before it got super busy. Oh my goodness, that was yummy! My husband was out getting the truck and he came back with a bag of breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I liked the Frittata so well, I didn’t feel the urge to eat it at all! Around noon, the house was full of family helping with the move. I was too busy to make lunch for everyone, so I ordered pizzas. When I picked them up, my car smelled heavenly! But I knew I had leftover chicken salad that would satisfy my hunger just as well as pizza. It became very clear to me that I could eat pizza if I wanted, but I’m choosing to do Whole30. My reasons for choosing it have not changed, and food is not the boss of me! So I served pizza and ate my salad without making a fuss over the fact that I was eating something different. In the afternoon, I had to make a Lowe’s run. I was there a while and when I left at 4:30, I was feeling pretty hungry. I knew if I didn’t eat something I would be ravenous soon. I didn’t feel comfortable trying to figure out a restaurant, so I ran into Walmart, which was next door. I figured I could buy a Larabar (note to self: keep some of those in my purse.). Unfortunately, Walmart didn’t carry them, or I couldn’t find it anyway. I ended up finding hard boiled eggs in the deli section. I added some pre chopped veggies, sliced apples and single serve quacamoli. I ended up spending 13 bucks on a snack, but oh well! When I got home, I heated up some leftover veggie beef soup to fill myself up. I really can’t believe I pulled it off today. This diet takes serious planning, but I am learning so much about my relationship with food! I took a picture of my frittata, because I’m in love with it, lol! I’m not the best photographer, so the quac on top looks questionable, but it tasted good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 MimiHi, I’m having the same sort of feelings about the cooking. I’m a little nervous about having enough stamina to cook like this for a whole month. I like to cook, but I get tired of doing it from time to time. I saw a some crockpot recipes somewhere that might come in handy. I’m thinking that might save me during the workweek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Wow! You should seriously think about being a food photographer. Holy Cow. That looks fantastic. I'm racing to the fridge right now to see if I can make that myself. Well, if you can get through today, I swear you'll be able to get through any day. McDonalds and Pizza?? Are you trying to torture yourself or what?? Love the $13 for a snack! Sounds like me. This is all about planning and prepping and planning and prepping. And having a LOT of those emergency snacks handy. You definitely earned the Most-stick-to-it-ness-on-day-3 award! Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Day 4 Everyone that knows me will tell you I'm a worrier. I worry about absolutely everything. Truth be told, I worry over Whole30, just with a positive twist of sorts. Anyway, I have this theory, a superstitious worry really, that anytime I do something healthy for myself or pursue a hobby I enjoy, a bad thing will happen. It's crazy and neurotic, I'm sure. It's just,... it really does happen! Today, I got a call from my Dad who lives 12 hours away. He said that he and my Mom are feeling really awful. My Mom's arthritis has gotten really bad and she can hardly get out of bed. My Dad's got something flu like going on. They have been feeling this way for a month, but didn't want to say anything to me because... you guessed it. I would worry. Of course there isn't really anything I can do. They said they didn't want me to travel to see them. Dad just asked me to pray for them, which I will gladly do, I just wish I could do more. Anyway, I know there are much worse things happening in the world right now. I know that overall, I am a very blessed person with little to complain about. I know that my parents will be fine, or they wont and there isn't anything I can do to stop time so they can be with me forever. I probably don't have a right to complain, but I worry anyway. There it is. When I start to feel anxious, most of my resolve starts to crumble and it becomes very difficult to stick to things I set out to do. I start say things like "what's the point" and "you can do this later when things are not so crazy." But, I really feel like I need to do this Whole30, despite my worrisome nature or what might be happening around me. I truly think I have a very unhealthy relationship with food, sugar in particular. Over time, if I don't do something now, my daughters are going to be worried about me in my old age. Both my parents have unmanaged diabetes. They know they should see the doctor and take their medicine, but they don't. It's a choice they make, and it's their choice, but it sure is difficult for me to watch. I don't want to put my kids through that. I want them to know that I tried my very best to be healthy. That I gave it my all. That I was willing to suffer a little self-denial so that I could spend as long as possible with them here on earth. Whole30 has turned into more than just a diet to me. It started out that way, but as I planned for it, cleaned my cabinets and started paying attention to the food I put in my body, including just how much sugar I must have been consuming, something clicked. It's like I was given the key to a healthy lifestyle once and for all. Whole30 is a way for me to take control of my health and I don't want to let my worrying prevent me from completing this journey. Well. Sorry about the rant. I've only ever been on one forum before and strangely it gives you the freedom to say things that you would not dare to say out loud. It's been helpful to write it down. Despite feeling sad and worried today, I did pretty well on the plan. I had some leftover frittata for breakfast and then headed to church with my kids. When we got home, the kids were not hungry because their Sunday School gave them pop-tarts. (That didn't used to bother me, until now.) Anyway, I decided to have leftover chicken salad, apple slices and vegetable soup. The chicken salad was good, but when I got the veggie soup, I couldn't eat it. It's like my body revolted against the veggies. It was weird because I can eat anything. I tossed the soup and figured I could grab a snack later if I got hungry. About 1:30, I did start feeling a major sugar craving. I think I needed some carbs. I grabbed a Larabar and had a cup of coffee. It helped a lot, but I felt like I had cheated on the diet. I know I didn't cheat as far as the food content goes, but the Larabar was really sweet and it seems like the "spirit" of Whole30 is to train ourselves not to reach for a sweet treat every time the urge hits. I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet. In the afternoon, I went to the grocery... AGAIN! (It's crazy how much food I'm buying !) After getting home, I made coconut lime chicken, baked French fries, roasted Brussels Sprouts and sliced, fresh pears. The coconut lime chicken was especially good. To make it, salt and pepper and then brown chicken breasts in about a tablespoon of coconut oil on each side for about 6 minutes per side. Take the chicken out and add 1/2 cup of chopped red onions. Saute. add 1 cup chicken bone stock, juice of one lime and a couple tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Bring it to a boil then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup canned coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Next add 1 Tablespoon of coconut flour to thicken. Put the chicken back in the pan, cover and simmer for about 8-9 more minutes to finish cooking the meat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Happy New Year! I’m really sorry to read you had such a sad day yesterday. Worrying about family members is a huge stress and weight on your shoulders, and its upsetting that your parents won’t take their d*mn medicine. I think you’re doing a great job managing all the stress and changes going on, and adding this Whole30 into the mix, while a very positive step, creates a bit of uncertainty to life, doesn’t it? We can’t just rely on our old lousy habits and comfort foods, can we? So easy to say “forget it! I’ll do this a different time.” But, guess what? You are now on day 5! You only have 25 more days to go! How amazing is that? And in those five days, think of what you accomplished? You skipped out on the McDonalds, the doughnuts, the pizza, spent 13 bucks on a snack, watched your brother retire (quit?), moved your in-laws into your house, made some fantastic meals, and took some awesome pictures. AND, by doing all that you convinced one person (me!) to get her b*tt off the couch and get started Right away, not in four days like I’d planned. YOU did all that in 5 days! And if that’s not fantastic, I don’t know what is. Im not any sort of expert, but I highly doubt having one Larabar would be considered cheating. They’re on the list for a reason, and so no need to punish yourself for wanting to treat yourself. I’ve had 2 Larabars, and I have no qualms admitting it. Hopefully, you woke up today with brighter spirits. It’s a New Year, and you’re doing an awesome job on your Whole30! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Day 5 - Thankful for Support! MimiHi, Thank you so much for the encouragement! You have such a kind spirit. Today I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. It occurred to me that the more active I am, the less hunger and cravings I have. The same thing happened on the day my in-laws moved in. I think the next time I have a craving, I’ll try going for a walk around the neighborhood. Today’s energy level was great. I did have a small headache, but I think that’s due to seasonal allergies and not sugar withdrawal. All in all, my cravings have not been that bad. The level of cooking feels pretty intense and I need to figure out some easy prep, slow cooker type recipes. Today I ate: Breakfast: Sweet Potato “Toast” with almond butter, banana and blueberries. I also had a boiled egg. Coffee and coconut milk. Lunch: Tuna cakes with broccoli, apple, walnut salad. Dinner: Salmon over spinach and potatoes with a side of asparagus. It was interesting at dinner that I felt quite full after I had eaten about 2/3 of my plate. I can put away a serious amount of food, so the feeling of fullness was a surprise. A result of the plan no doubt. It felt like a win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Seriously, these pics are amazing. Super inspiring too. Yeesh. I would never have thought to make sweet potato toast. It looks fantastic. Hope you have a great day 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Do you have a special tool you use to make those potatoes?? They look perfectly cut, like thinly sliced slivers of perfection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager07 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 You are doing a great job! It's so hard to worry about friends and family, especially when you can't do anything to help. You've been through so much more in the last 5 days than most people deal with in a year. Your positive attitude and determination are inspiring not just here to all of us, but you must be an unbelievable friend to everyone who knows you. Thank you for letting us in on your challenges and for feeling safe enough here to share. Such a good example. Another awesome thing is that by the end of today, you will be 20% of the way thru your Whole30. How powerful is that?! You rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samalope Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 OOoo those photos are making my mouth water! They look so yummy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Aren't they? I swear, Cavemom posts the best pics! I keep looking on her log just to see if there's a new picture each day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Day 6- 20% and feeling good! I went back to work today! I was glad to get back into our normal routine. The kids winter break ends tomorrow and my Mother-in-Law offered to watch my girls so I could go into the office a day early. It was really sweet of her to offer and sure helped a lot. I got a text from my Dad that they were still feeling rough, but my Mom ran some errands with him this morning. He said she had not been able to get out of bed lately, so that’s an improvement. I felt so relieved and was able to relax a little. I felt so good today! I had increased energy and more mental clarity. My husband is on Day 3 and he is loving the food and hasn’t had any cravings. Stinker! This morning I was in a rush so I had a boiled egg and some leftover broccoli salad. Coffee and coconut milk. For lunch, I had leftover chicken tenders, more broccoli salad and a clementine. The chicken tenders were not very good. I coated them in coconut flour and baked them. I don’t recommend it at all. It wasn’t worthy of a picture, lol! For dinner: I roasted chicken thighs and made mashed potatoes and green beans for the sides. For the mashed potatoes, I used coconut milk with ghee and coconut oil. They tasted like tropical potatoes, lol! I’m going to have to work on that one. Im starting to think I may need to cut back on fats and oils. I’m using so much in all this cooking. I would love to lose at least 5 pounds and I’m thinking the oil is going to hurt those efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 7 hours ago, MimiHi said: Do you have a special tool you use to make those potatoes?? They look perfectly cut, like thinly sliced slivers of perfection! I use a mandolin. I really like it. It scares my husband to death every time I use it tho, lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Woah. Lord your food looks good, Cavemom. A mandolin is dangerous, huh? I think I'll stay away from that for a while, but I swear if you post one more picture with perfectly sliced anything, I might have to go buy one, and a big emergency kit to go with it. Happy to hear your folks are doing better. That helps things feel better, I'm sure. Glad you have lots of energy, and I'm sure your husband has no cravings. yet. Let's just see how he's doing in a few more days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whole30 Certified Coach littleg Posted January 3, 2018 Whole30 Certified Coach Share Posted January 3, 2018 What was in that broccoli salad? That looks like a nice side dish to keep around for easy meals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 i love my mandolin! mine comes with a sort of a cap that you put on the veg so your fingers are protected. i tend to not use that but i should--i did slice off a bit of my thumb once! but the perfect cuts are a dream, i just need to use that safety cap! i agree with everyone else here, your food pics are inspiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara M Clark Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 21 hours ago, MimiHi said: Seriously, these pics are amazing. Super inspiring too. Yeesh. I would never have thought to make sweet potato toast. It looks fantastic. Hope you have a great day 6. I agree with MimiHI- Your food pictures are absolutely amazing. I can't wait to try the sweet potato toast. Sounds YUMMY! I am really enjoying your blog. I appreciate your honesty. I hope you parents are feeling better. I to struggled with worrying and anxiety. When I did my very first round back in 2012 I had a huge decrease with anxiety. I was able to stop my medicine and never went back on it. However with the stresses of life I did find my bad eating habits came back when my MIL got sick . This round I'm looking to regain control and find balance. I look forward to hearing about your whole30 journey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 11 hours ago, littleg said: What was in that broccoli salad? That looks like a nice side dish to keep around for easy meals! It has 2 chopped broccoli crowns, a large shredded carrot, a chopped apple, 1/4 of a red onion, 1/2 C walnuts, and 1/4C raisins. The dressing was about a cup of mayo with lemon juice and a little minced garlic and salt. I thought it could have been just as good with less mayo tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 9 hours ago, Sara M Clark said: This round I'm looking to regain control and find balance. I love how Whole30 is more than just a diet. It really does seem to be a way to take back control of our health. I’m right there with ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveMom Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Day 7 - One week down and One Crazy Morning! This morning was such a nightmare, I couldn’t help but laugh... afterward of course. It started at 2am. Got a call from an employee that the heat had gone out in a group home that we operate for adults with disabilities. My husband started calling around to get someone out there right away. It was in the single digits here last night. Luckily, he found someone who could fix it quickly. Everyone at the home was still snuggled in bed, unaware of what had happened. So, crisis diverted. After a while, I decided to just get up because I couldn’t go back to sleep. Prepped a pork loin for dinner and made breakfast for my girls since I knew it would be a mad rush with it being the first day back to school. Then I decided I could get some laundy done. Started a load and got in the shower. Some time after I got dressed, I started hearing splashing water. Ran to the washer to discover water flowing in all directions on the floor. All the water that was supposed to be draining into the pipe, wasn’t draining into the pipe! Turned the washer off. It still had a tub 2/3 full of water, but I cleaned up the mess on the floor and we decided the remaining water in the tub would just have to wait til we got home to figure out how to drain it. About 15 minutes later, I hear the splashing again! I had already turned the machine off, but the stupid thing started draining on its own! Finally,... it really took me too long to realize this... I unplugged it. That worked, but there was water everywhere! Our laundry is upstairs, so the water drained into my in-law’ suite downstairs. Turns out it’s so cold here the drain pipe froze. This was all before 7:30am. I was ready to crawl back into bed and just stay there all day! But... I didn’t. I cleaned up... again. Finished getting the kids ready and headed for work. It was a busy day, at work, but really not that bad. I expected a tsunami of trouble after the morning I had, but it calmed down. We are expecting some snow here tonight though. I went to the grocery and loaded up in case we get snowed in for a few days. I’m all set. Washer is supposedly fixed, everyone has heat and the kids are thrilled they only had one day of school before being off again! For Breakfast this morning , I ate a couple of fried eggs (I’m so glad I cooked those before the craziness hit) and a banana. Coffee and nutpods creamer. Very tasty! I ordered mine on Amazon. Highly recommend it. For lunch I had a leftover piece of salmon and a cucumber carrot salad. Dinner was roasted pork loin, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, crockpot applesauce and a couple of orange slices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MimiHi Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Holy Cow! Fantastic pics once again, Cavemom. Crock pot applesauce?? What the heck is that? Are all your recipes just made up in your head? Or are you using a cookbook? I swear, you should start a blog, with all your recipes because they look amazing. You made it thru the first week, and are now on day 8! Crazy how fast the week's gone by, isn't it?? Thanks for the great pictures. They all look wonderful. I especially love seeing your side dishes. Did you put the same dressing on the cucumber/carrot salad? That looks like dill in that guy?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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