Cassie's Whole30 Log

[cassiemarie10]

Day -9:  That's right it's day negative 9 for me.  My family and I need a reset.  We're all a little round, lazy and tired.  My husband and I have achy joints and enjoy our alcoholic beverages a little too often.  He has back problems that are probably made worse by the extra pounds in the middle.  I have chronic headaches (anywhere from 25-30 headaches a month), migraines (3-4 per month), heartburn (daily) and digestive issues (we'll just leave it at that...).  Even though I've been concerned for years, this was the year that our son's doctor told us that he needs to stop gaining weight or there could be serious health issues and he is starting to show early warning signs for diabetes.  I had brought up his weight in the past, but was always told that he's a growing boy and not to worry it will work itself out in the end.  This year at his check up when he jumped on the scale, it came back at 200 pounds (for some context he is also 5'9" so it's not quite as bad as if it were an 11 year old of average height). 

The month after this check up, I encountered three different people that have completed their Whole30 and adopted healthier eating habits and their lives changed for the better.  I took it as a sign from the universe and downloaded It Starts with Food and Food Freedom Forever from Audible and came to this website to do a little research.  If my family and I can experience even half of what I've read, we can give up sugar, bread and dairy for 30 days.  Since I am a bit of a planner, I decided that we will start on May 1st.  This will give me enough time to create the meal plans for the first two weeks, clean out our pantry and get some shopping done.  

Here are my goals for my family's Whole30:

• Tame all three of our Sugar Dragons. 
• Show my son that food doesn't have to be covered in sugar, covered in cheese or deep fried to be delicious.
• Learn a new coping mechanism other then a glass of wine or beer every night after work
• Find out if something in my diet is causing my headaches, migraines, heartburn and digestive woes.
• Increase my families energy so we will want to do something other than sit in front of the TV all day.  

[cassiemarie10]

Day -5: I’ve been listening to Food Freedom Forever on Audible for the last few days, and today I put it into practice. I stopped by the grocery store to pick up something really quick and thought I’ll get a six pack of beer since in a few days I won’t be able to drink at all in a few days when I start my Whole30.  When I got to the beer aisle and saw that my beloved Stella Artois was on sale (score!), I grabbed the beer, picked it up about an inch off the shelf and paused. I thought to myself,l Do I really want a beer when I get home?

Voice In My Head:  Well pretty soon you won’t have that option so you should enjoy it while you can!

Me: Last night I didn’t drink and I had a great night, in fact I slept all the way through the night and didn’t wake up to go to the bathroom once. 

VIMH: You’ll be sorry next week when you can’t have it.

Me: No, thanks. I’ll save the $8.

And I walked away... Amazingly it’s 6:27 and I’m sitting next to my fire pit just as happy with my water bottle as I would have been with my beer bottle. I haven’t even started my Whole30 and I’m making better decisions! A month ago just the thought of not being able to have something would make me jump at the chance to have it! #smallvictories

[cassiemarie10]

Day 2 (morning):  I forgot to post yesterday so we'll just pretend this is day 1 night.  I stuck to the plan.  For breakfast I had 3 scrambled eggs with spinach and tomato.  At breakfast, I learned that I'm not a big fan of eggs.  I like egg whites but not egg yolks, even if their in scrambled eggs.  Lunch was tuna salad in lettuce with veggies on the side.  Dinner I had grilled chicken with chimichurri sauce, sweet potatoes and salad with dump ranch.  I never new that making mayo and salad dressing was so easy!  This alone has changed my life!  I also had some filler snacks at work of blueberries and almonds.  I do have to say that toward the end of the night I really wanted some of the peanut butter filled pretzels my husband and son were snacking on.  They are headed out on a turkey hunting/camping trip tomorrow so they will be a little delayed in joining the Whole30 journey.

I had my husband take before pictures of me on Monday night.  Even he made the comment that my shirt was not very flattering, but that's the point of a before picture right.  I never noticed how much I suck in my gut until that night.  He was ready to take the picture and I was like oh wait.  I'm supposed to show all of my rolls right now and would relax and let it out.  

Here are my pre-Whole30 measurements.  Now the measuring tape and scale have been put away!

Weight: 209.4
Bust: 44'
Chest: 38'
Waist: 44'
Hips: 48.5'
Thigh: 28'
Knee: 21'
Calf: 17'
Upper Arm: 15'
Forearm: 11'

[cassiemarie10]

Day 2 (night): Today was a pretty good day.  I have had a headache almost all day.  I usually have a headache so who knows if it is from W30 or just another one of my chronic headaches.  I did notice that I didn't have to take a Zantac for my heartburn today.  I didn't even realize it until a few minutes ago.  I think that is the first time in months that I've gone a full day without heartburn.  I know I'm only two days in and I tend to be overly optimistic, but I think I'm on the right track.  There were two times today that I found myself reaching for food I didn't even want.  The first was when I got home from work.  The container of peanut butter filled pretzels was open sitting on the coffee table.  My hand was actually in the container about to grab some when I thought What are you doing?  You're not even hungry!  I pulled my hand out and went and got a glass of water.  The second, I was making dinner (fried eggs, sausage and sautéed spinach) and I grabbed two pieces of bread and put them in the toaster.  It's like I was on autopilot and didn't even realize it until I did it.  I threw out the two pieces of toast and quickly got rid of the rest of the bread.

Luckily, my husband and son left for a hunting/camping trip today and took most of the tempting food with them.  Tomorrow morning I am going to finish cleaning out the cupboards and fridge and take the few temptations to work and leave them in the break room.

I really hope this experience helps me to be more mindful of my food choices.  How many years have I been eating food that I don't even want because I've been on autopilot?  

 

 

 

[JenJenRN]

@cassiemarie10 You’ve got this!   I found myself doing autopilot as well. It’s amazing the bad habits we make when not being mindful!

[cassiemarie10]

Day 3: Thanks for your support @JenJenRN!  Today was great.  I was running late this morning so I had a smoothie for breakfast.  it was avocado, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, chia seeds and coconut milk.  It didn't keep me as full as a real breakfast would have, but I figured it was better than skipping breakfast.  I needed a snack mid-morning so I had a handful of raw almonds.  Lunch was two sausage patties (my grandma's recipe using ground pork), a hard boiled egg, sweet potatoes and spinach.  Dinner was fantastic!  Grilled chicken with garlic rosemary roasted red potatoes, asparagus and cherry tomatoes.  I even roasted extra veggies for breakfast and lunch tomorrow!  Another day heartburn free!  I did have a headache most of the day, but that's normal for me.  

Follow my Whole30 journey on Instagram cassie.marie84

[cassiemarie10]

Day 11: I've been a little busy so I haven't had a chance to check in.  It's been going pretty well, but I have been a little impatient and moody the last few days.  Hopefully that will go away soon.  I don't know how much longer my family will put up with it.  My family decided not to go on this journey with me.  It might be better that way.  If they were to be half a moody as me, I don't know if we would survive.  They are eating compliant dinners because I'm not making two different meals.  

I am surprised by the foods that I'm craving.  Just 11 days ago cheese was my favorite food.  I couldn't live without cheese, but now I could take it or leave it.  I really don't miss it.  Chips and crackers on the other hand.  Oh how I long to have that salty crunch!  Luckily, my husband is super supportive.  Every time I say I want some chips or just one cracker.  He reminds me that I've come so far.  I'm a third of the way through my Whole30 and the few minutes I would spend enjoying that food isn't worth it.  He reminds me that I haven't had heartburn in 9 days, and asks if I want it to come back.  I love him.  He's the best.