424242 Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Hello! This is my 2nd Whole30. I did my first one 2 years or so ago. About a year before that I had a radiation treatment that destroyed my gut and made me intolerant of all foods. I did a couple of elimination diets to figure out what was pissing off my body. Turns out it was grains, dairy, legumes, and soy. Sigh. I've actually healed quite a bit since then and can eat those items in small amounts infrequently. (Except gluten which causes its own special set of issues and actually all grains in general. My body has a really hard time with grains now.) Recently I've gotten complacent because I'd been doing much better. I'd been having more energy than I'd had in 3.5 years. My body was also handling food better...not great...just better than the year before. Then, I went to beach last week. I live in Mexico in a town where there are no gluten free cookies or crackers. The store in this beach town had GF items and I went a little nuts. I also ate yogurt every day at breakfast. And black beans. And peanuts. And a ridiculous amount of milk chocolate. My body is so unhappy. I've felt like garbage for 5 days. So, I'm doing this W30 to feel better, but also to get myself back on track. I actually really love eating foods that make my body feel great. I'm in my last 6 months of grad school and have recently been letting myself talk myself into eating things that I know are going to make me feel bad because I'm stressed and "deserve" it somehow. In this month I'd like to do a little rearranging of my relationship with food. It would be great if when I was stressed I craved eating something nourishing rather than something forbidden. Also, I'd like to fix the damage I did last week and get another step closer to healing my gut. I start tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 Day 1 B - Coffee with canned coconut milk, sweet potato hash with ground beef, avocado, sprouts, raw cucumber L - Chicken breast, steamed carrots with olive oil and balsamic, raw cucumber, water D - Chicken breast, avocado, baked mystery squash S - Raw sauerkraut, pecans A couple weeks ago I bought a giant squash at the market. Winter squash is super uncommon here, so I always buy it whenever I see anything close. I found this giant green item that looked like a small watermelon. The lady assured me it was a squash and in telling me how to prepare it kept telling me to use lots of sugar. I finally busted out the squash last night and it's a cucurbita ficifolia, or shark melon, or chilacayote in Spanish. After googling how to prepare it, I found out in Mexico it's typically used in a sweet squash water drink or candied - both preparations require tons of sugar, which may be what the lady at the market was trying to tell me. So, I roasted it in the oven with coconut oil and cinnamon. It came out a bit watery, but kind of stringy like spaghetti squash. Since I still have a ton of it (and I'm out of cinnamon), I think I'm going to make a spaghetti sauce today for the rest of it. Had a very low grade headache for most of the day yesterday (which is strange because I never get headaches) and was also super low energy, but I've been low energy since I got back from the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 Day 2 B - Coffee with canned coconut milk, sweet potato hash with ground beef, avocado L - Sautéed squash with chicken, onion, and yellow pepper, olives, water D - Grilled salmon, grilled veggies, salad with no dressing, water S - Orange, pecans I decided to stay in and work on my final project rather than go to the market, so I didn't make spaghetti. Instead, I used leftover chicken and made kind of a stir fry out of the squash, onion, and yellow bell pepper. It was actually quite good, which is nice because I'm having it tomorrow too! Went out to dinner with a friend to this little organic market that makes fresh, organic food and the best salmon in the city. Then I FINALLY got to see Black Panther. I loved it intensely. Drank water at the movie and declined going out for a beer afterward. Now, since I ate dinner at 4:30, I'm having a snack. It was a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Day 3 B - Coffee with canned coconut milk, sweet potato hash with ground beef, avocado, black tea with canned coco milkL - Sautéed squash with onion and pepper, chicken breast, sprouts, blueberries, extra coconut oil, water D - Salmon, tomato, avocado, roasted zucchini, sparkling water with lime S - Turmeric tea Eating today was pretty easy, but I really wanted an adult beverage this evening. Did the sparkling water with lime thing and put in a few blueberries to make it pretty. It was almost satisfying. Went to the market and got a bunch of veggies and some mangos and a papaya. On the way there I saw a guy who was walking away with one of my mystery squashes! His was even bigger than mine. I wanted to ask him what he was going to do with it, but we were crossing traffic going opposite directions, so I didn't. When I went to the grocery store yesterday, I bought a slab of salmon. I bought the smallest piece in the case and it was 3/4 of a kg, so I'll be eating salmon for a few meals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Day 4 B - Coffee with canned coconut milk, salmon, tomato, avocado, roasted zucchini S - Mango, cashews L - Veggie scramble (3 eggs, tomato, spinach), avocado, mango, water D - Salmon, avocado, raw yellow pepper, sparkling water Had a mango and cashews at 12:45-ish pm instead of lunch. Not even because I was hungry, but because I was so cranky. SO cranky. I remembered there was a calendar of what to expect during W30 and I googled and found it. Turns out I'm right on track with "kill all the things". Yay. The rest of the day didn't get any more enjoyable really. I strongly needed (wanted) sugar all freaking day. And a glass of wine. And for people to stop talking to me. It was fairly ridiculous. I just hunkered down and actually got lots of work done and made good headway on my final project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlyMcF Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 On 3/1/2018 at 7:52 PM, 424242 said: Recently I've gotten complacent because I'd been doing much better. I'd been having more energy than I'd had in 3.5 years. My body was also handling food better...not great...just better than the year before. Then, I went to beach last week. I live in Mexico in a town where there are no gluten free cookies or crackers. The store in this beach town had GF items and I went a little nuts. I also ate yogurt every day at breakfast. And black beans. And peanuts. And a ridiculous amount of milk chocolate. My body is so unhappy. I've felt like garbage for 5 days. I've been gluten-free for years and finally had to admit to myself that gluten free cookies, bread and crackers often make me feel worse. Not as bad as wheat products, but they often put so much sugar and starch in the gf baked goods... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 13 hours ago, AlyMcF said: I've been gluten-free for years and finally had to admit to myself that gluten free cookies, bread and crackers often make me feel worse. Not as bad as wheat products, but they often put so much sugar and starch in the gf baked goods... Yes! Unfortunately, this is so true for me too. At first I thought it was some weird ingredient that was in GF baked goods, but now I've figured out it's the grains themselves. And same for me....my reaction is not as bad as gluten items, so I rationalize it....usually when I'm stressed. But also, because I live in a town that doesn't sell GF snacks, when I go back to the U.S., I eat lots of them. And then I feel like crap. I have 3 trips planned to the U.S. in the next 4 months, so I'd like to get a different mindset about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Day 5 B - Coffee with canned coconut milk, fried eggs, steamed carrots with olive oil and balsamic L - Tuna salad with avocado, steamed chayote squash with olive oil, mango D - Cashews, salad with homemade vinaigrette, water Less cranky yesterday (thank goodness). I had to give a final presentation this morning for my graduate program, so last night after work I had to finish the presentation. I had a little snack/mini-dinner early in the evening and then at 10:30pm when I finished my presentation, I realized I never ate any protein. So, not the greatest dinner. Sticking to this W30 the last couple days has been a big deal for me, however. I'm very much a stress eater....and drinker (ahem). And I've been stressed the last couple of days. I've had so much school and work added to the fact that public speaking makes me really nervous. A bunch of years ago, the guy I was dating's church did a Lent-ish thing and I didn't eat added sugar for 40 days. I did this over Halloween and this was giant for me - to choose not to eat sugar over a holiday that for me had always been all about the sugar. I've gotten better at decoupling sugar/treats from holidays/events, but stress eating is still a major problem for me. I'm currently trying to find other tools to help with stress that aren't cookies, crackers, or chocolate. Meditation, going for a walk, exercise, sitting on the roof of my building in the sun.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 Day 6 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, fried eggs, steamed carrots with olive oil L - Salmon over sautéed spinach and tomato, pecans S - Iced black coffee D - Salmon, avocado, mashed potatoes with olive oil, kombucha Lordy, I was tired today. I slept terribly last night, which is normal for me when I have to get up early to do something important. But I did not sleep through my alarm and I gave my presentation with no problems. Then, I worked for a couple hours and was so tired that, to keep myself from falling asleep, I went to a cafe to write my final paper. Drank coffee which had to be decaf because it had no effect on my sleepiness whatsoever. Finally got my paper turned in at 8pm, so now this class is done!! One more class, a wee internship, and a thesis :/ and I'm done! I was thinking about food while I was walking home from the cafe (shocker). I was craving nachos, which is strange because I don't tolerate dairy well, so I haven't eaten nachos in 3 years. Mostly I was feeling sorry for myself because I was so tired and still had to finish my paper. I wanted a treat!! And of course a treat meant something unhealthy/forbidden. I had just 2 hours earlier eaten the most beautiful, nourishing lunch. Why don't I crave that when I'm stressed and feeling sorry for myself? Why do I crave something that's only going to make me feel crappier? If I could solve this, it just might change my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Day 7 - 1 Week! B - Coffee with canned coco milk, veggie scramble with onion, red bell pepper, and spinach, coconut oil L - Tuna salad, raw sauerkraut, almond butter, roasted zucchini, hibiscus iced tea S - Apple, tahini, water D - Salmon, orange, apple, tahini, kombucha Today was a little harder since, due to my final project being so consuming, I let myself run out of food. I managed OK with breakfast and lunch then had a snack before a 6pm dentist appointment. After the dentist I walked over to the cathedral where there was a kind of music concert for International Women's Day. I stayed for a while, but I was hungry, had not brought any snacks and my friend had only chocolate, and I couldn't think of anything compliant to eat between the concert and my apartment. I had gone to the store this afternoon, but hadn't cooked anything. When I got home, very hungry, and was looking in my fridge at all my uncooked protein and raw veggies, my neighbor came over with a piece of salmon for me! What? It was even compliant. I ate it while standing in the kitchen getting the rest of the mystery squash ready to go in the oven. The squash took freaking forever to cook, so I ate an orange and then an apple and tahini. So, not pretty, but I made it. Also, I slept for 9 hours last night and was marginally less cranky and tired today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Share Posted March 10, 2018 Day 8 B - Coffee with coconut milk, fried eggs, steamed chayote squash with olive oil S - Iced black coffee L - Broiled catfish, steamed broccoli with olive oil, papaya S - Apple, tahini D - Broiled catfish, mango salsa, steamed broccoli with olive oil Today I really miss Whole Foods. All week I've been missing compliant prepared stuff - Epic bars, Tessemae dressings, compliant mayo....that I can't get in Mexico. All of those items definitely made my first W30 much easier, but today I miss the meat section of WF. Bought some white fish "basa" yesterday thinking it was bass....turns out basa is catfish. Maybe catfish isn't at creepy as it sounds? I can't bring myself to google it since I still have several pieces to eat. Anyhoo....I made fresh mango salsa to put on my catfish and my dinner was fabulous! I have a lead on a shop that sells ground turkey (it's not available in the markets or the grocery stores), so I'm going to check that out tomorrow. Super tired today too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllieHH Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 Catfish isn't as creepy as it sounds - I'm originally from the South in the US and people eat it all the time :). Today is day 10 for me - hang in there and make some homemade mayo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 On 3/10/2018 at 3:30 PM, EllieHH said: Catfish isn't as creepy as it sounds - I'm originally from the South in the US and people eat it all the time :). Today is day 10 for me - hang in there and make some homemade mayo! Thanks, Ellie!! I ate all the catfish and it was just fine. I'm no longer afraid. I've made homemade mayo before and I really liked it! Here in Mexico though the eggs aren't pasteurized so I've been nervous to eat them raw. I've just been improvising with avocado and olive oil. It works....when I'm not out of avocados! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 Day 9 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, catfish with mango salsa, mashed potatoes with ghee L - Ground chicken taco meat with mango salsa and avocado, roasted squash, sparkling water S - Almond butter D - Ground chicken taco meat with mango salsa and avocado, sautéed spinach Day 10 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, catfish with mango salsa, avocado, mashed potatoes with ghee L - Ground chicken with mango salsa, avocado, sweet potato/coconut oil D - Ground chicken with mango salsa, avocado, fresh pineapple, sautéed spinach S - Almond butter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 Day 11 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, fried eggs, roasted sweet potato S - Almond butter L - Ground chicken, avocado, sliced raw orange bell pepper, mashed potatoes with ghee D - Tuna salad lettuce wraps, mashed potatoes with ghee Day 12 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, fried eggs, raw sauerkraut, sliced raw orange bell pepper L - Salad with ground chicken, avocado, homemade raspberry vinaigarette S - Almond butter, jicama D - Ground chicken spaghetti with zoodles, coconut oil, orange Yesterday I started fantasizing about quitting early. I know I still shouldn't eat grains, dairy, or legumes, but I started trying to rationalize eating the things that I don't have a reaction to (wine and dark chocolate mostly). I didn't go off plan and am back to being committed today. Although I do have to admit I am not thrilled by my food lately and am kind of just slogging through. I'm going to google a couple of fun new recipes to help perk things back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlyMcF Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Have you tried Crio Bru? It's a cacao drink which can help give you a bit of a chocolate fix, without the sugar. I know what you mean about getting bored with the diet. I've had enough of sweet potatoes, mushrooms, meat, coconut aminos... Keep trying new recipes that sound good and hopefully you'll find some new favorites that will give you the urge to carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 15 hours ago, AlyMcF said: Have you tried Crio Bru? It's a cacao drink which can help give you a bit of a chocolate fix, without the sugar. I know what you mean about getting bored with the diet. I've had enough of sweet potatoes, mushrooms, meat, coconut aminos... Keep trying new recipes that sound good and hopefully you'll find some new favorites that will give you the urge to carry on. I've never even heard of Crio Bru! It's like coffee, but with cacao beans? Super interesting. Is it good? I definitely can't get that here, but I'll look into it next time I'm back in Colorado. There is a ton of delicious drinking chocolate here in Oaxaca, but it's made by melting/blending actual pieces of chocolate - therefore not compliant, but SO good! I spent some time yesterday trying to think of a meat/seafood I actually wanted to eat, and came up with nothing. Blech. So, I'm going to make these tacos: https://whole30.com/2018/02/whole30-taco-2/ Mostly because I can get all the ingredients here, but also because the meat is hidden by a bunch of other items. Good luck to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlyMcF Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Yes you can even brew Crio Bru in a French Press. And it is good! It's like liquid chocolate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 12 hours ago, AlyMcF said: Yes you can even brew Crio Bru in a French Press. And it is good! It's like liquid chocolate. Awesome, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
424242 Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 Day 13 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, ground chicken spaghetti with zoodles, raw sauerkraut, avocado L - Salad with tuna salad and homemade raspberry vinaigrette, olives S - Jicama, tahini D1 - Ground chicken spaghetti with zoodles D2 - Ground chicken spaghetti with zoodles, avocado, orange I had a dentist appointment tonight at 7pm, so I had a little spaghetti snack/pre-dinner/first dinner before my appointment and then ate actual dinner (second dinner) when I got back. Also, it appears I ate ground chicken spaghetti with zoodles three times on this day. Day 14 B - Coffee with canned coco milk, veggie scramble, avocado, raw sauerkraut, sliced cucumber L - Ground chicken spaghetti with zoodles, tahini S - Apple, tahini, coconut water D - Ground chicken spaghetti sauce, sliced cucumber, strawberries with coconut "cream" (I bought a ridiculous amount of ground chicken. I had heard there was a shop that sold ground turkey, but when I went they only had chicken. I'm still not that great at converting pounds to kilograms on the spot and asked for a kilogram and half of the chicken. They gave me 1.62 kilograms, which it turns out is 3.5 pounds of ground chicken! So much. And since I don't have a functioning freezer I've been eating it for days. I actually threw the last serving away last night. Over ground chicken for a while.) Also, the canned coconut milk I can get here is really thin - kind of like coffee creamer consistency. The can that I opened the other day is super thick! Like whipped cream thick! It seemed like a waste to melt it into coffee, so I bought strawberries yesterday and last night had strawberries and whipped cream with dinner. SO happy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllieHH Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Hi! Just thought I'd check in...I laughed about the coconut milk - where I am it is kind of cold so it's always solid on top when I open the can - but I didn't like how thin it got when I melted/mixed it, so I scooped out the thick part and just poured off half the bottom liquid and then melted/mixed and voila - creamier. Hope you are still doing well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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