nsquared kicking off first Whole30+ on 1/1/13

[Nila]

Perfect. Must do.

[Nila]

What day is it? Day 30!

My daughter greeted me this morning with a hearty "happy Whole30 day 30!" Nice.

I had my 3rd not-so-hot night of sleep. This time it was the weather radio screaming out alerts that kept me from a solid 8 hours. So after dropping off the kids at school, I headed back to bed. I was awakened by a call from my biggest client requesting a lunch meeting. I quickly showered and made myself presentable. Thankfully, we went to a restaurant that accommodated my needs without fuss. The conversation: would I be interested in a full time job with the company? Whoa. Not expected. I successfully said no to dessert. At home though, as anxiety was having its way with me, I went straight the refrigerator, opened the door, and started imagining all the tasty delights I might soothe myself with. I caught myself very quickly, closed the door, and decided on a cup of tea instead. That was just enough mindfulness to get myself where I needed to be, both with food and with the anxiety.

Later I ended up out of the house and hungry with no portable food. I stopped by a health food store and found the best I could do was a Larabar and a banana. Hey, I didn't have a bar of chocolate.

Eaten:

1. Breakfast casserole (egg, chorizo, mushroom, broccoli, onion), avocado dressing
   
2. Bison burger, avocado slices, salad (all vegetables) with olive oil
   
3. Banana, Larabar (my first of the 30)
   
4. Beef roast, puree of the roasted vegetables as a sauce for the beef, green beans
   

I'm going to weigh tomorrow. I'll probably do pictures and measurements this weekend when I have my helper. Otherwise, I'm sticking with the program. How long, I'm not sure. I don't really miss any foods right now, other than maybe white potatoes though I'm not dying to have them. More importantly, I'm still dealing with some skin issues, the main blood figures aren't where I want them to be, and I'm feeling good but maybe not quite magical yet. So I'll carry on and weigh, measure, and shoot more pictures at the end of February to check progress. I may also do blood tests again mid to late February. I'll assess that as I go.

[ORBren]

Congratulations on this W30!!! I am with you on staying on plan for a while. I need to see more improvement. Good luck, are you planning to keep this post going or switch over to a post W30?

[Contessa]

Well done, Nila. I really admire your commitment to this path, and hope you keep getting encouraging results.

[Nila]

Congratulations on this W30!!! I am with you on staying on plan for a while. I need to see more improvement. Good luck, are you planning to keep this post going or switch over to a post W30?

I think I'll just hang out here in this thread. Thanks for the congrats and wish of good luck!

[Nila]

Well done, Nila. I really admire your commitment to this path, and hope you keep getting encouraging results.

Thank you!

[Nila]

Day 31

I weighed myself this morning. I'm down 12.5 pounds from January 1. I'll definitely take it. Many more to go. It will happen in time, especially after I right the metabolic ship.

After 3 nights of not enough sleep, what did I do? Yeah, I stayed up late working. Duh. So, we'll make it 4 days now. I'm going to be earlier tonight. I swear.

Eaten:

1. Breakfast casserole (eggs, chorizo, broccoli, mushrooms, sweet potato, onion, Cholula), Cholula mayo
   
2. Macadamia and coconut encrusted chicken breast, sesame seed cucumber salad
   
3. Small pear, 5 or 6 olives
   
4. Chorizo; roasted turnips and rutabaga; pine nut and raisin cauliflower pilaf
   

Having hit a brick wall working on technical stuff, I went on a cooking spree late this afternoon, roasting rutabagas, turnips, and brussels sprouts; cooking 2 pounds of chorizo; ricing a head of cauliflower; and toasting pine nuts. I brewed a new pitcher of herbal tea to ice. And when I made my lunch chicken, I made extra for tomorrow. I'm thinking that will be meal 1 as a change of pace. I'll be heading out to my favorite omelet place for a lunch meeting. So I'll switch eggs to meal 2.

Speaking of which, tomorrow is a string-of-meetings day. I'll be ready for a day of R&R on Saturday.

I am considering making a banana-chocolate mousse (banana, cocoa, coconut milk) on my birthday. I'm undecided. I either simple break the gotta treat myself for ________ cycle or I have a taste of chocolate. I will mull another day.

[Nila]

Focus for February

1. Get 8-9 hours of sleep every night
   
   • Though I got 8.05 on average in January, it came as 6 hours some nights and a record 13.5 another. I was at my best on days when I got 8.25-8.75 hours of sleep the night before - I had optimal energy and was focused and clear for decision making.
     
   • I will come up with as sort of set of rules and routine for getting myself to bed early enough to read, wind down and get to sleep in time.
     
   • I'll discuss that set of rules with my family and get their buy-in.
     
   • I will look out at my calendar for times when I know this may be a challenge and write strategies for meeting the challenges.
     

[*]Prepare for regular healthy movement in March.

• This doesn't mean I be a two-toed sloth in February. I do have a goal to finish the month with 14 days having practiced yoga. For me, yoga is about preparing my body, mind, and heart for meditation. It has the benefit of keeping me flexible throughout the day and combatting the stress I put on my body by sitting at a desk for hours. It is a part of my fitness, but not the total plan...at least not how I approach it now.
  
• Speaking of sitting at my desk for hours, I won't do so for more than an hour. I'll get up and move around at least a bit once an hour.
  
• This does mean that I'll be gathering information and planning for building stamina, strength, and cardiovascular health. (I may come up with new language as I research.)
  
  1. I have Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Fitness sitting on my desk ready to read.
     
  2. I also want to read the fitness section in Everyday Paleo.
     
  3. I'll look for other resources.
     
  4. I'll gather any things I think I might want or need. (Getting my bike ready for spring would be an example.)
     
  5. I'll create a flexible plan for what March will look like.
     
  6. I'll go through the exercise of understanding what barriers/challenges I may face and developing strategies to address them.
     

Also in February

1. Continue to follow a "strict" paleo eating style
   
2. Keep on my supplement schedule
   
3. Keep my log here
   
4. Weigh, measure, and take pictures at the end of the month - data, data, data
   
5. Get blood tests for my 5 key markers (cortisol, CRP, insulin, fibrinogen, homocysteine)
   
6. Meditate daily
   
7. Listen to my intuition about all of this
   

I may come back and add thoughts to this post for myself.

Though I just recorded some of this over on the Whole 100 log, I wanted to summarize here. I like keeping this stuff in one place.

[Nila]

Day 32

Eaten:

1. Leftover macadamia/coconut chicken, rutabaga and turnip home fries
   
2. Omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs; chicken sausage; avocado slices
   
3. Coconut butter
   
4. Burger, guacamole, asparagus (like 7 tiny spears) - this was out at a restaurant...meh
   
5. A macadamia nut...I'm serious...one
   

Tomorrow is my birthday. Groundhog's Day. Everyone keeps asking me what I want to do. Family and friends want to get together. I can't think of a restaurant that would be good within the boundaries and not cost a fortune. There aren't movies out I want to see. What I really want is for someone else to do the work, the housework, the cooking, and the deciding. I want to lounge, read, get a massage, take a bath. I think that probably sounds pretty anti-social to everyone else.

Okay...off to meditate. And sleeeeeep.

[30Canandaigua]

Happy Birthday Nila!

What a better day to celebrate you, than today <3

[Derval]

Happy Birthday Nila! - how about doiing something non food/drink focussed with yor friends - go to a day spa/ pedicure - go for a hike, trip to the zoo, nice gardens, something like that?

Love all you goal setting & well done on 12.5 - brilliant!

[Run4fun]

Happy Birthday, Nila - the journey to better health is such an awesome gift to yourself! Kudos!

[Nila]

I found a silly garden show at a local conservatory...Garden Gnomes! We have a gnome we take on trips, so we're going to haul him there and take pics. There's a great butcher nearby there with no-sugar bacon and other local, preservative free goodness. Happy birthday to me! And it's snowing...pretty!

[Nila]

The strictest interpretation of the Whole30 rules came to a halt today for one meal. For my birthday, we went to brunch where I decided to have the signature omelet that included bacon and sun-dried tomato pesto cream cheese. And it was served with a side of roasted potatoes. Everything else I ate for the rest of the day was compliant.

I had a good birthday - my first without sugar. No cake. No chocolate. We visited some of my favorite little shops where I bought gifts for other people and a German style meat market where all of the beef, pork, veal and lamb products are completely free of preservatives and sugar. Including bacon. <choir of angels singing> And then, the best, we went to a garden gnome exhibit at the botanical gardens. It was lovely to be in this tropical environment while snow gently fell on the other side of the glass.

Eaten:

1. Omelet with sautéed onions, sun dried tomato pesto torte, bacon; roasted potatoes, fruit (just a little)
   
2. Landjaeger (a semi-dry sausage)
   
3. Wiener würstchen (kind of like a hot dog, but really not at all a hot dog) and mustard; banana with coconut oil, coconut butter, macadamia nuts
   
4. Beef/pork burger, bacon, guacamole, tomato; mayo, lettuce, orange slices, almonds; green beans; sweet potato oven fries
   

And that, my friends, is what a birthday food log apparently looks like for me. It's a lot of food. Overall, it looks better than about any given day in 2012.

My stomach is a little oog right now. Not too bad, but... I don't know... like something didn't set quite right. My money's on the cream cheese thing in the breakfast, not that there was much. No worries. I'm back to the plan.

[Derval]

Birthday bacon! Fry up a big pile of it and stick a candle on

Sounds like a great day.

[Nila]

Last night, as I lie in bed waiting for the sandman, I noticed rumbling in my tummy and a little unhappiness in the general intestinal region. I think my non-compliant breakfast was having it's way with my gut. My money's on the dairy.

I did manage 9 hours of sleep. I awoke only 6.5 hours into my sleep feeling like I was ready to get up but said, "no, no, brain...back to sleep" and eked out another 2.5. As a result, my energy was plentiful today.

Eaten:

1. 3 eggs, gloriously compliant bacon, blueberries, half a mashed sweet potato
   
2. roasted turkey, roasted zucchini (olive oil) (at Whole Foods)
   
3. landjaeger (an appetizer?), smoked kielbasa (no sugar, no artificial/preservative stuff), dijon mustard, roasted brussels sprouts (coconut oil), red leaf lettuce tossed with avocado dressing
   

Odd thing...I distinctly ate too much kielbasa at dinner. I was satisfied but I didn't quit. I might be doing a psychological food thing, likely related to yesterday's stroll outside of the rules. It could also be anxiety over a few business things I'm dealing with. Hmmm... Maybe I'll take this to meditation.

[Nila]

We are closing on our new house in two weeks. What I am buying myself to celebrate completion of my Whole30 and 21 DSD is a stand up desk. I am going to start building up standing while I work...I'll begin with 15 minute intervals, then increase to 30 so that eventually, I am standing at least half of my work day. I'm hoping that helps since I sit on my butt all day long, glued to my computer.

Congratulations on improving your blood work results! i can not wait to go to my doctor to do blood work again. He is going to be so impressed with my A1c and chances are he will either discontinue the ACE inhibitor (prescribed to protect my kidneys because of the diabetes) because my blood pressure is dropping too much. I have already cut the pill in half, but I am going to have to cut it in 4ths because I am still having problems maintaining a normal number. The doctor on call when I had the problem originally told me to stop altogether, but when my doc called back, he suggested cutting it in half instead.

Part of me feels guilty because I feel like I am experiencing these great results where others on our other board are struggling, but I know it is because I had so many medical issues to fix as well as the fact that I did a 21 DSD at the same time (which means my fruit intake was a lot more restricted) and I cut out coffee and I really haven't had any dessert/snack type items at all.

What test does your doctor run that indicated inflammation? When I had a hysterectomy a couple years ago, my doctor told me that when he opened me up, every organ in my body appeared swollen. I wondered if there is anyway to monitor that and I know you have discussed inflammation, so I thought I would ask

I found a community center in the city we are moving to and they have a covered pool. They offer water aerobics so I have decided that is how I'll start the exercise. We move on the 8th of February, so I'll start membership there that weekend. I'm also looking into Yoga at Helen's recommendation.

I'm still going back and forth about whether I am going to continue past the 30 days or take a day or two and then start again. Honestly, the only thing that I would do that would not be considered Whole30 is a have a glass of wine. I know I am running out of time to decide though, LOL.

I love reading what you post, even though I don't always comment Once the 30 days is up (I had committed to logging my food daily), I think I am going to expand my blog to discuss how I am feeling more like your log here. I think that will be more beneficial to my continuing to stay on plan.

Keep up the great work!

I'm not really sure how I missed your post a few days ago. I'm so sorry!

Love the stand up desk. I saw a picture of an office that had a sort of articulated desk top thing so the owner could move it up and down to accommodate both sitting and standing. I'll have to find that again.

Awesome on your A1C and reducing the ACE inhibitor. When do you do you next set of tests?

For inflammation we're looking at insulin (serum...not glucose) and hsCRP (aka cardio CRP). I also look at fibrinogen, homocysteine and cortisol as related factors. The first is typically far too high (same with insulin and CRP) and the latter two are typically way too low.

I was going to keep going toward a WholeIDon'tKnow and then my birthday happened. I've been deciding how I want to look at this. So I'm going to do a Whole60. And I think I'm starting a new log, with my real name. I don't know why really. I can state all the logical reasons in the world but the truth is I'm just following my intuition. What did you decide?

I don't recall looking at your blog. I want to. Is the link published here somewhere?

[Nila]

I've decided to start a Whole60 with yesterday being Day 1. It was a compliant day. I need the time boundaries to keep me going. I'm still learning to make this a lifestyle. And so I've started a new log, with my real name: Nila's Whole60. I'll be posting over there from now on. I'd love it if you'd follow me over there. All of you who've visited me here have provided much needed accountability and support. I love you for it. And please let me know how I can be most supportive of you.