Project phoenix

[kittycat]

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans

That's what my yoga teacher Gabriela said today.

However, I guess there are plans that should still be put out there, even if part of their purpose is to make God (or however you want to call them) laugh.

My plan is to start on January 1st and post my food here because I value the support by the community members a lot. When I switched my diet to Paleo about 6 weeks ago and attempted a first Whole 30 (5 weeks ago) I fell into the nut trap because it was such convenient snack food when I was running around as usually and didn't find time to eat properly. This is the first thing I need to focus on. What I learned was that I needed to plan better until I have internalized the principles and elaborated ways around traps sufficiently to manage it on the go.

What worked pretty (surprisingly) well so far:

- Getting off grains and legumes. As I was vegetarian for 20 years before this, I relied pretty much on these elements, and that change was huge (digestion improved heaps, pounds fell off me)

- Eating crazy amounts of veggies and trying new ways to prepare and combine them

- Avoiding ready-made stuff

What I need to work on:

- nuts (I always have too much of them, I have now realized that many of us in this forum fall for them)

- fruits (I know they are good stuff in general, but I need to restrict myself a bit more here)

(- wine & chocolate (even the very dark stuff) - they are off for Whole30+ anyways, but thinking long-term)

What will help me:

- meal planning and precooking so I can always take something with me in case I don't come home after work

- posting my food in this log as I have found the forum members very supporting and helpful, also constructively criticizing when something seemed to slip (deserts introducing themselves into meal plans, too many nuts, etc).

So all you people out there willing to be on the challenge with me - here we go, spirits up and rise like a phoenix

[Derval]

Bring it!

[kittycat]

Bring it!

Thank you very much, Derval - you made my day

[AmyS]

Lovely!

[kittycat]

Ok, started today.

Woke up with a bit of a hangover but the party was worth it and 2013 has started with a real blast Looking forward to getting the crap out of my system now though.

Munched down a carrot, an apple, half a banana and 4 walnuts for breakfast.

Lunch was a colorful salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, and carrot and a Japanese soup (home-made) with onions and pork stripes.

A small apple, 4 olives and 15 hazelnuts as pre-workout smack.

Dinner will be a hokkaido stew. Yum!

[missmary]

Munched down a carrot, an apple, half a banana and 4 walnuts for breakfast.

This is not enough food, and not enough protein. If you follow the meal guidelines for every meal including breakfast (palm sized amount of protein, thumb sized amount of fat), you will be less likely to succomb to the nut monster.

good luck!

[kittycat]

This is not enough food, and not enough protein. If you follow the meal guidelines for every meal including breakfast (palm sized amount of protein, thumb sized amount of fat), you will be less likely to succomb to the nut monster.

good luck!

Thanks, missmary, you are right on that - I failed to stock up on breakfast protein and wasn't really hungry either but I'll have it in mind the next days and have better breakfast.

[kittycat]

D2: Yum - big and late breakfast with my roomies, finally reunited after the holidays!

Omelett with onion and bell pepper, two clementines and an avocado, plus black coffee.

Went to a thermal spa with friends (snacked one banana), then had a late dinner of (Subway) salad with chicken.

D3: Late breakfast again - got dragged to McDonalds, thanks, but managed to get a grilled chicken salad, along with black coffee. (I'm still surprised by the fact that I can actually enjoy black coffee.)

Ok, fast food chains are certainly not the best when it comes to food choices, but I was relieved that I could simply have a salad instead of making a fuss that I wanted to go somewhere else

For an equally late lunch a nice omelet with bell pepper, onion, avocado, an apple, a banana, and almonds. Yes, I was REALLY hungry.

Update: two boiled eggs after workout. Definitely enough eggs for one day. Tmrw I'll have some fish, I think.

[kittycat]

D4: Breakfast of a fruit salad and an omelette, jasmine tea.

Lunch was sauerkraut, an avocado, half a bell pepper, a handfull of hazelnuts, and kaki fruit.

Now off to yoga class, looking forward to that. Dinner will be fish with veggies.

Not feeling well today, was a little dizzy already yesterday, which I blamed on too little sleep, but after 9 hours of sleep last night, that should have gone away. However, it hasn't.

The yoga class will lift my spirits, and I'm meeting friends later, I'll be ok.

[missmary]

Lunch was sauerkraut, an avocado, half a bell pepper, a handfull of hazelnuts, and kaki fruit.

...

Not feeling well today, was a little dizzy already yesterday, which I blamed on too little sleep, but after 9 hours of sleep last night, that should have gone away. However, it hasn't.

Kittycat, seriously!? Day one and two, maybe I can give you a pass but you are not following the program here. You need a palm-sized portion of protein at lunch! no wonder you are dizzy.

ps. you might want to check ingredients for that chicken at McDonalds...most fast food chains pump their meat full of soy and other nasties.

sorry if I'm seeming hard on you, but I really want you to get the most out of your whole30, and to do so I think you need to take a carefull look at these choices.

[missmary]

Here's the McDonald's Grilled Chicken Fillet:

Chicken breast fillet with rib meat, water, seasoning (rice starch, salt, sugar, yeast extract, canola oil, onion powder, maltodextrin, chicken skin, paprika, flavor, sunflower oil, chicken, garlic powder, chicken fat, spices), sodium phosphates.

Prepared with Liquid Margarine: Liquid soybean oil and hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, soy lecithin, mono-and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

CONTAINS: SOY LECITHIN.

bummer, right? definitly worth making a fuss and going somewhere else.

[kittycat]

Hey missmary,

thanks for looking into this.

For the first post, about the protein, I should mention that I've been vegetarian for the past 20 years and for my impression, I'm eating heaps of animal protein right now, I can't do it more than twice a day. In that lunch you cited, there was protein in the cabbage (5g per 100g, I had about 350 g) and in the hazelnuts as well. I'll continue paying attention to this.

For McDonalds, f***, you're right, I definitely underestimated that. I thought they had become better, but obviously not at all, thanks for pointing that out, I won't fall for it again.

Btw today I'm feeling much better, already have yesterday evening after yoga and a nice dinner of tomato-and-shrimp salad with a couple of figs and cashews.

How are you getting along on your challenge? Have a wonderful weekend!

[missmary]

ah ha, I know a little bit about transitioning from vegetarianism: I was vegetarian for about 15 years, and I took several years to transition (slowly adding fish for the first year, then just broth, then gradually more and more meat). If I knew then how much my health would improve I might have made the transition a bit faster. At any rate, just be aware that you are making a choice not to follow the program exactly as presribed (even though cabbage and hazelnuts have some protein, yes.) If I were you I would query a mod for some suggestions, and maybe add some good fats to make up for it as well? you don't want to be dizzy and malnourished

my challenge is going great. It's #2 for me, but I've got some fine tuning to do. It feels good to be back to 100% whole 30.

[kittycat]

missmary, thanks for sharing! And I'm glad that your second round is going great.

I went skiing today and had an incredible amount of energy although I had a tough training session at the gym yesterday. Maybe the tiger blood is already kicking in. I had attributed the dizziness more to less carbs but I might have been mistaken - in any case, I feel very good now.

D5: breakfast - kaki fruit, sauteed kale and salmon

lunch - chili soup (with ground beef) and an apple

pre-workout/snack - tiny bit of pineapple and some mixed nuts (I know, there should be more protein in there as well, but hey, I had lots of it at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and just didn't want any) and a cup of tea

dinner - apple, bell pepper, mixed nuts and salmon

D6: breakfast - kaki fruit (still some left for breakfast tomorrow, a single household has to survive on fewer things at a time to be able to finish them), carrots, boiled eggs

lunch - goulash soup, an apple, cashews

dinner - big pot of veggies with chopped pork

Ok, skiing was great today, had packed breakfast and half of my lunch, had dinner, now off to the movies where I might fall asleep because it was such a long day. Question is - where the heck do I get a handfull of coconut chips on a Sunday night in a German city for movie munchies? Well... might have to go without munchies and simply withstand all the popcorn and other stuff.

[kittycat]

D7: energy levels are good and spirits are up!

breakfast of veggies (kale & tomatos) with curry chopped turkey, a couple of nuts and an apple,

lunch of veggies (pumpkin, kale, cauliflower) with rest of chopped pork, a handfull of hazelnuts and an orange,

[planned] dinner of veggies (tomato salad with olive oil), another apple (Germany is "apple country" when it comes to fruits and I just love them), and some turkey.

Still need to work on my prepping - tonight I will precook the red cabbage that is sitting in my fridge for tomorrow.

I really like veggies for breakfast but that means even more cooking

[kittycat]

Mmmm, well, didn't get around to cabbage cooking tonight, came home very late from climbing, just a little snack of sauerkraut and tiny piece of leftover meat, off to bed - doesn't matter, I'll save it for tomorrow when the friends come around.

[kittycat]

Cabbage is finally bubbling along in the kitchen

D8: breakfast of cauliflower with pesto and kaki fruit (missing protein, I know, but there were no eggs left)

lunch of kraut with chopped veal and an orange (is this what our catering can do? tomorrow self-cooked again)

dinner of salmon, spinach, eggs and [too much] cashew butter (now a whole lot of protein as I felt I needed it)

I realized that I had too much cashew butter when digging the spoon into it and then put it into my mouth instead of into the cooking dish, and it was emotional eating, not hunger at all. Reflecting upon this and the past couple of days I see that I need to relax and sleep more. Trained four days in a row and didn't have the proper snacks at hand, not good. While I'm eating compliant in terms of choices (though not always in the best combination) I still don't get the whole benefit, I know that, so my task for the next days is to relax in between.

Off to bed with me for a start

[kittycat]

D9: After my binge with the cashew butter I half expected to wake up not hungry, but I was in fact quite hungry.

Breakfast - omelet with spinach and avocado, cup of black coffee

Lunch - red cabbage with tuna, yummm, the colleagues envied me, red cabbage is definitely worth prepping at home

Afternoon - hand full of (unsweetened) coconut chips

Dinner - salmon with spinach, eggs, and figs. I don't know where the craving for fish came from, but it felt like it did me good. And I happened to be at my parents' and they loved it.

D10: Breakfast - an orange, half an apple, leftover salmon, and spinach with coconut milk.

Lunch - salad of tomato, bell pepper, banana, almonds, topped with coconut milk, and tuna on the side.

Feeling GREAT today! I'm wide awake and very concentrated at work. This is good, me=happy

And I managed to sleep more and kept up my morning meditation. It is short, but as long as I can turn it into a habit, short is good enough for a start.

[kittycat]

Dinner - a little late, but workout was just so much fun and I just got home from the gym at 10pm - roaring hungry!

Snow peas with eggs and onion, side dish of green curry veggies, a couple of cashew nuts.

Now a 11pm tel co and then quickly off to bed

Have a wonderful evening, all of you!

[kittycat]

D11: breakfast was veggie curry with coconut and a little chicken and a few cashews

lunch red cabbage stew with turkey and hazelnuts - awful headache in the afternoon, drank water although I thought I had enough liquid, little better

dinner salmon with broccoli, carrots and tomatos, and a kaki with too many nuts (careful, this is becoming emotional again, be aware, eagle eye... but I'm learning to listen to my body better bit by bit.)

D12: breakfast was an omelet with spinach and some fruit

lunch was tuna and kaki (not hungry, so I ate little)

dinner was salad, veggies, and a STEAK (I have to write it uppercase because I actually went to a steak house for the first time in my life to - guess what - have a steak, and it was yummy!)

late night snack (after a life concert that left us covered in sweat) was some chili con carne, where I fed the beans to my friend who likes them a lot

D13: breakfast of fruit salad and spinach with an egg

lunch of red cabbage and chopped veal & beef

pwo of spinach-coconut-cinnamon-banana smoothie

dinner of chicken and veggies stew, cashews during movie

Feeling good, full of energy - although I haven't been as relaxed as I want to due to the move Munich-California coming closer. Watch out but enjoy is the motto

Managed to throw out a couple of boxes of stuff today. I guess all my belongings now fit into about 5 boxes and my big backpack. The other stuff (bicycles, bed, and kitchenware) I will simply give to charity.

Sticking with the short daily meditation is good and says "please turn me into a habit"

[kittycat]

D14: nearly half way. Breakfast: omelet with onion and spinach and chipotle, coconut chips and an apple - I felt I was still craving more food, not satisfied, need to change my breakfast to find out whether it is not the right mix or whether it is emotional craving.

Lunch: red cabbage (1 cabbage takes long to finish, maybe I should freeze the rest until I want it again) with avocado and tuna and an orange - trying to fight slight cold symptoms for the past couple of days so I feel I need more fruit

Dinner: pomelo, hazelnuts, chopped pork and avocado

I keep telling people who want to have a social drink with me that I'll be celebrating goodbye in February with them, but I don't want a whole30 follow-up of 21 days of drinking - that's completely missing the point! I need to work out a strategy for that.

Before, I need to find out why feel unsatisfied - I'm definitely having enough protein (feels like 3 times more than I had the years before) and fat (although I don't always list exact amounts, I assure I add the right oils and stuff, too many nuts though) and carbs (little sweet potato but enough fruit, also for the vitamins).

Too much going on in my head that leaves me restless and that I only protect on food? Maybe. Think about that.

Thinking the other way round: If I wasn't on whole30 this month, I'd probably drink too much or eat way too much chocolate in a vain attempt to fight stress, which is even more counter-productive. Ok, breathe, relax, all will be good. Off to bouldering, might help.

PS at 10pm: PWO hand full of snow peas and a carrot - feeling much better.

[kittycat]

D15: Thanks, PMS, that's where (at least part of) the emotional craving came from... feeling much better today and energized.

Breakfast: Salmon with snow peas and an orange.

Lunch: Salad with avocado and orange and chicken.

Dinner: I will be going out with my cousins and I found a small restaurant where they have a compliant steak salad on the menu - that'll be my choice

[Aberrantatavia]

Great job making it to the half way mark! I know if I eat fruit with my breakfast I'm far more hungry after (and sooner) than when I don't.

You'll probably find that after 30 days of feeling great, you don't want to drink for days on end. I used to enjoy wine almost every night, I really love alcohol in general. And now it's an occasional treat. As are foods that make me less healthy.

Good luck!

[kittycat]

Thank you, Melissa! I don't think I will drink for days, in fact I hardly miss alcohol at all. Different with chocolate, I'm still craving the taste.

And, yes, half way through - yippieh!

[kittycat]

D16:

Breakfast: big omelet with zucchini and an apple, coconut chips, carrots - attempt to doing home office, ending with running away from the kitchen and actually going to the office to work there, as I was realizing that I was tempted to keep eating forever although I was already full, only because of emotional craving and not wanting to do the actual work. Good thing is I'm realizing now when it is emotional, bad thing is it is still hard to stop myself

Lunch: fruit salad with nuts and carrot and fish - sounds weird? Was yummy. Had a really hard day at work and helped myself over the afternoon with dried fruit which is not the best choice, but I was very aware of what I was doing and promised myself a very relaxing evening with a friend and a few days with definitely less fruit to see and learn.

Dinner: fish with veggies an a handful of almonds, followed by relax time with a good friend and her kids, then a nice chat with my mum and off to 8 hours of perfectly deep sleep - first time in days no weird dreams.

D17 start: woke up with tiger blood