Elizabeth's first Whole 30

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

Despite the book recommending otherwise, I started Whole30 on Saturday without doing shopping etc in advance.  I was (and am) feeling very motivated to make a drastic change because of some modestly disquieting medical results.  I'm not bringing my family along on this journey though depending on how it goes I think it may benefit one of my kids.  I am a Jewish Sabbath-observant so since my Day 1 was Saturday I was not able to find these forums, online tools, etc. on day 1.  I also couldn't cook for most of Saturday, but we had good leftovers at home and I made do.

Day 1 (5/5/18): 

I think for breakfast I had some leftover tomato salad, an avocado, a little tuna fish packed in oil, and black coffee.  Late morning snack: Raisins (That was the only thing I could eat from a spread of things available after religious services). Lunch: Canned salmon with a sauce made of parsley and lemon juice etc. More tomato salad.  I also had a sip of grape juice and a bite of challah which are part of our Sabbath ritual, which I decided must be okay per the "Communion" exception in the book.  I don't remember what else, but after lunch I embarked on a 5 mile walk to get to an event and brought a bag of walnuts and raisins with me in case I needed a snack at some point. But when I got to the event my child was hungry and he ate my snack.  Late afternoon snack: There was a reception at my event. I ate grapes and Terra Chips, which so far as I could tell from the bag were okay. Then I walked 5 miles to get home.  Dinner: Scrambled eggs with some leftover carmelized onions cooked into it.

On the whole, this day my diet wasn't actually all that different from what I often eat on Saturdays with one striking difference: No milk in my coffee.  By early afternoon I was less tired than normal and I'm already suspicious that milk, which I start my day with every day, may be an issue for me.

 

Day 2 (5/6)

For breakfast I had black coffee and eggs that were scrambled with shallots and tomatoes.  For lunch I think I had some leftover tuna (with nothing in it) and I forget what else but it wasn't a cheat.  I went off to an event with a baggy that contained walnuts and a couple of dates for a snack, which I ate.  DInner: My husband made chicken sauteed in olive oil, a mushroom sauce that I skipped because it had sherry and bouillion in it (the bouillion had sugar), and roasted potatoes (which I ate).

On the whole, still feeling very good and getting very nervous at the prospect that the absence of milk may be helping me a lot.  I gather we're supposed to feel bad on days 2 and 3.  I don't and I'm craving less coffee.

 

Day 3 (5/7)

I had a crummy night's sleep, but I attribute that to work-related stuff, not dietary changes.  On the whole I again am feeling suspiciously much better than one is supposed to feel on day 3, which has me worried that either it's the milk OR I'm doing something wrong and not experiencing the diet properly at all.

Breakfast same as yesterday (at my kids' request - they had it on a baguette, I had it straight up).  Lunch: Picked up some veg loaf and mixed veggies at Hu Kitchen, a Paleo restaurant near my office which I was very happy to learn about. (They post all their ingredients and I made sure these items did not contain any legumes.)  

[ladyshanny]

Hi @Elizabeth in Harlem - I'm glad you're not feeling badly but I fear that if you continue on this way you won't be feeling very well soon. You're undereating by the looks of things. You want your meals to keep you going for 4-5 hours between with no need to snack. The fact you are regularly snacking tells us your meals may not be large enough. Also, if you are going to eat between meals you would want to prioritize protein + fat or protein + veg. Dried fruits (check the raisins carefully for sulphites) and nuts are not a great choice.

Just a couple more points. No commercial chips of any kind are compliant, regardless of the ingredients, so the Terra Chips are out for Whole30. And your lunch today appears not to have had any protein or fat, just veggies?  Make sure you are adding fat to all of your meals as well. 

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

Thanks.  I really really really appreciate this feedback.  I have a few questions.
1. I knew potato chips were out but thought the book specifically suggested kale chips to substitute for popcorn on family movie night.  That's why I thought I could have the Terra chips at the reception after verifying that none of them were potato. (I did want to eat something at the reception because as noted I had just done a 5 mile walk and was about to do another one, and my kid had eaten my walnuts.) Is the kale chip thing unique or did I misunderstand the book?
2. I will keep that in mind but I do think I"m eating enough.  Part of the reason I've been snacking is that I was running around so much on Saturday and Sunday - especially Saturday, when I had the 5 mile walk to the event (a kid's recital), then the event, then a 5 mile walk home. I knew there was no way I could do a 10 mile walk without eating but that was all unavoidably between lunch and dinner.  Yesterday I snacked between lunch and dinner more because I'd packed it than because I needed it - I will try not to make that mistake in the future.  Today at work I have snacks available but don't foresee wanting them, though there's a reception at my office this afternoon and if there are nuts or something there I might have some because otherwise it will be hard to be there. 
3. You caught me, I had no animal protein at lunch.  There were cashews in the vegetarian loaf but not many.  I don't eat non-kosher meat (land animals), but I do eat a lot of fish and I was disappointed to find that Hu Kitchen, the paleo place, didn't have a hot main dish with fish in it, but I still wanted to try their food so I got what I could eat.  So far it is tiding me over reasonably well.  Is the animal protein a MUST or just supposed to be good for satiety? I had plenty at breakfast and will have plenty at dinner but weekday lunch is sometimes harder because of my religious dietary restrictions.

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

Day 3 (cont'd).  DInner: sauteed cabbage that my husband made to put on pasta (but without the pasta that the regular family ate); scrambled eggs with carmelized onions; some olives.

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

Day 4.

Breakfast: 3 hardboiled eggs with failed home-made mayo (it did not become an emulsion but was still yummy). 

Lunch: Disaster.  I had a family obligation that took me to a nice restaurant.  I could have ordered plain grilled fish but in an effort to save my mom some money I ordered the vegetarian entree, which was supposed to be sauteed cauliflower with a fried egg.  I asked all the right questions - told them to hold the parm and was told no there's no butter or other dairy.  They brought it and after one bite I was suspicious so I followed up with another waiter.  Turned out they'd "changed the recipe" and it was completely dairy through and through. I sent it back and (since by then I was running late if they attempted to cook something) I got them to bring me greens with smoked salmon and oil and vinegar.  I knew it wouldn't be enough food but at least it was compliant thenceforth. I refuse to go back to day 1 after innocent errors made despite due diligence -- I've been observing religious dietary laws for 25 years and I'm applying the same due diligence standard as I do there (after an innocent error move on).

Snack: A banana and some almonds.

Dinner: Tilapia sauteed in olive oil; sauteed greens; sauteed snap peas (pods).

Still feeling very good throughout Day 4 - no desire to kill all the things or whatever is supposed to be going wrong now. Merely mildly worried that if this regime agrees with me so well there's probably something in my daily diet that is problematic and that that something is very likely dairy.

[kirbz]

@Elizabeth in Harlem The rule about chips is a fairly recent one, so the information in the book may have been outdated. Essentially, store-bought chips of any kind are no longer allowed, though homemade ones are. See here: https://whole30.com/2017/03/chips-and-aminos/. 

Are you familiar with the meal template, including the recommendations for a pre-workout and post-workout meal? If not, here it is: https://whole30.com/downloads/whole30-meal-planning.pdf. That might help clear up some potential confusion about what to eat when you're doing exercise like two five-mile walks! Because I would certainly be hungry between meals with 10 miles of walking! 

Best of luck to you!! 

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

@kirbz I appreciate your response. Somehow I had not figured out the template existed and although it won't always be practical for me to follow it I will certainly try (and with the help of this I would definitely have approached those back to back long walks differently).

Thanks for the good wishes. On day 5 I still feel fine.  Fingers crossed that that continues. :-)

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

Day 5.  Breakfast: Hardboiled eggs with failed mayo again.  Lunch: Went out for shwarma with Israeli salad, grilled vegetables, and tahini.  Dinner: Sauteed greens and turkey slices (deli style).

 

[Elizabeth in Harlem]

Day 6.  Breakfast: Shakshuka (contains canned tomatoes, onions, roasted red peppers, eggs, spices, cilantro).  Lunch: More shakshuka.  (I had made a big pot at breakfast. I really like it.)  Snack (because I had an early evening event that meant 9 hours between lunch and dinner): Cut fruit being served at the event with plain almonds I brought.  Dinner: London Broil, a little more shakshuka, salad made of tomato, artichoke hearts, oil and balsamic vinegar.

I got a headache today but I'm attributing that to lack of sleep, not the Whole30 regime.  It's been a week of burning the candle at both ends. One more insufficient night of sleep to go before I can remedy that.