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Prairie Dawn's September Whole30 Log


Prairie Dawn

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Feeling pretty motivated right now, and did a ton of meal prepping yesterday.  Today the plan is:

M1: Sweet potato, apple, sausage and arugula hash with a poached egg on top.  Black coffee.

M2: "Taco" seasoned pork, shredded cabbage slaw with cilantro and pickled jalepenos (compliant), diced tomatoes, and fried plantains

M3: Ground beef over sautéed peppers and onions with compliant barbecue sauce.

 

I need to try and drink more water - in the past, I would suck down a few cups of coffee first thing when I woke up.  Today I had a big glass of water while my hash was heating and my egg was poaching, and it was great.  Based on my body weight I need to aim for about 100oz of water a day to fit the Whole30 recommendations... yikes, that's more than a gallon D:

Another thing I want to attempt is eating at least 1 starchy vegetable a day (I'm a big fan of potatoes and plantains).  I tend towards depression and am coming out of a pretty awful 6 month hole, so I want to monitor my moods and make sure I'm taking care of myself.  Based on what I've read, mood stuff can sometimes be affected by carb intake (which I totally believe).

I sleep terribly, always have, so I also know I need to maybe cool it on the coffee a bit.  We'll see if I can wean myself down from several cups a day... I hope so!

Other things I prepped yesterday:

- Made some dairy-free pesto with basil and pine nuts

- Made some zucchini soup and portioned it into pint jars for the week (http://meljoulwan.com/2012/11/05/silky-gingered-zucchini-soup/)

- Made 3 portions of today's M1 hash (https://thebetteredblondie.com/sweet-potato-apple-breakfast-skillet-paleo-whole-30/)

- Made some Ginger Scallion sauce (https://www.doyouevenpaleo.net/ginger-scallion-sauce/)

- Hardboiled half a dozen eggs

 

I have an evening yoga class scheduled, but it's not a terribly strenuous one.  I may eat a hardboiled egg as pre-workout if I feel like I need it.  Another thing I'm trying out this month is Orange Theory - I've only been to one class so far and yeeeeeesh it was a tough one, but I loved it.  I bought 8 classes for the month so I'm just self-improving all over the damn place ;)

 

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4 hours ago, Prairie Dawn said:

about 100oz of water a day to fit the Whole30 recommendations... yikes, that's more than a gallon

Not quite a gallon, actually ;) A gallon is 128 oz. That's actually what I use as my gauge when I'm paying serious attention to how much plain water I'm drinking during a day, because I'm horrible about counting how many "full bottles" I've done, etc. So I just fill a gallon jug, pouring from that when I'm getting water... and judging the remaining amount at day end to see about how much I've done (and where I might be able to improve).

The zucchini soup and hash both look pretty amazing. :) 

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Go you! Just a reminder to definitely pay attention to how your body feels when doing strenuous workouts like Orange Theory. I usually like to spin but haven't bought any new classes this month because I wanted to make sure I'd even feel up to it. But fingers crossed that Tiger Blood kicks in and we both nail it! 

Great job meal prepping!

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DAY 2!

Slept pretty poorly last night, though that could be because I was a bit anxious about coming back to work after the holiday weekend.  I went to an easy yoga class yesterday and have a more strenuous vinyasa class scheduled for today after work (I usually go on Tuesdays and Thursdays).  The plan for today is:

M1: Sweet potato, apple, sausage hash with 2 eggs.  I halved the amount of hash and added an egg after yesterday's breakfast experience; I was pretty full (verging on uncomfortable) yesterday and think I'm still getting used to all the fiber I'm taking in.

I also made some cold brew coffee and shook it up with some ice and coconut milk.  It was... fine.  I'm going to miss cream in coffee more than anything else!

M2: Salad with greens, shredded carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and chicken with vinagrette dressing; zucchini soup on the side.

Pre-Workout (vinyasa yoga): Hardboiled egg with some pesto

M3: Egg roll in a bowl: ground pork with shredded cabbage, onion, and carrot with ginger scallion sauce.  I have some grapes I need to eat as well before they go bad, and I'm actually really looking forward to them...!  Probably should keep an eye on that "sugar dragon" tendency of using fruits as treats.

 

This seems like a lot of food to me.  Logically, I know it's appropriate and within the meal templates, especially since I'm not snacking throughout the day.  Going to work on my water intake as well, and hopefully sleep better tonight...

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Update, DAY 2:

I'm not hungry, but I feel sooooo SNACKY.  Hitting that mid-afternoon slump and noticing how much I want to reach for something crunchy, fizzy, sweet, or salty.  I think it's a combination of low energy and being bored - I'm basically done with all my real brain-power hard work for the day, but am waiting out the clock.  Normally this is the time of day I do mindless busywork/tasks, but it feels like I just can't be bothered!

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DAY 3:

Went to yoga last night, and ended up having 2 hardboiled eggs, some pesto, and some cherry tomatoes as my pre-workout meal.  It was a bit too much and I felt kind of uncomfortable during class.  Should have stuck with my plan of only 1 egg, but I think I'm used to the idea of being FULL full after eating, even if it's just a little snack... I want to work on this.

I slept marginally better last night - I took some Natural Calm and was pretty tired when I got into bed, and woke up before my alarm.  Had a big glass of water before breakfast, and didn't drink my coffee until I was settled in at work.  Wednesdays are looonnng days for me, so I'm planning on having more food on hand.

M1 (7:30am): Sweet potato, apple, sausage hash with 2 poached eggs.  Black coffee at work. 

M2 (12:30pm):  Same salad as yesterday, zucchini soup.  Yesterday this combo really filled me up, and I ended up putting some of the salad aside and finishing it later in the day when I felt snacky. 

Pre-Workout/Snack/Mini-Meal:  Brought a hardboiled egg, pesto, a mini Chomps stick, and some blueberries.  I have a late Orange Theory class tonight and know I'll need the energy.  I'm a bit nervous about it as it's only my second class, and the first one kicked my ass HARD.  

M3 (8:30-9pm): Mahi mahi, steamed broccoli, new potatoes with ghee.

 

Don't love the idea of eating dinner so late, but not a lot I can do about that.  

I'm pleasantly surprised that I don't feel like I'm dragging today.  Hope it lasts!

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20 hours ago, Prairie Dawn said:

Update, DAY 2:

I'm not hungry, but I feel sooooo SNACKY.  Hitting that mid-afternoon slump and noticing how much I want to reach for something crunchy, fizzy, sweet, or salty.  I think it's a combination of low energy and being bored - I'm basically done with all my real brain-power hard work for the day, but am waiting out the clock.  Normally this is the time of day I do mindless busywork/tasks, but it feels like I just can't be bothered!

I know the "I just can't be bothered" feeling...but its one of the reasons I'm doing this Whole30. I had reached a pretty bad point of not being able to focus and not caring.

I keep a compliant flavored sparkling water at the office for the mid-afternoon slump.  Yesterday, all day felt like a slump so I ended up not drinking it (and debated on reheating some coffee around 3pm but didn't)...so it's there for backup.

I don't feel quite as tired today either...but my husband is just now feeling it.

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When I got home from the longest day and the hardest workout EVER (OrangeTheory is no frickin joke, you guys), I had a package on my front porch.  Turns out my best friend, who I've been running my mouth to about the Whole30 and who is a busy career mom of 2 with her own health struggles and goals, took the time to order and send me Nom Nom Paleo's "Ready or Not" cookbook as a "yay you started the Whole30" gift!  Just out of the blue!

I was so touched!  It's so awesome to have friends that "get it" and support you, even when they're hundreds of miles away with crazy lives and stressors of their own.

Also: it's a truly awesome cookbook :)

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DAY 4:

Exhausted.  Couldn't get my butt out of bed this morning and tossed and turned all night after going to sleep way too late.  I think there's a window when working out in the evening when I have to get in bed - it's like if I wait too long, I get a second wind and then I'm up for hours.  I also didn't eat dinner until almost 9, and I had an iced tea with caffeine at like 2pm.  Ugh.  That probably had something to do with it.  However, I did plan ahead and cooked 2 portions of dinner last night, so my lunch for today was prepped and ready to go.

M1: 3 eggs with chives scrambled in ghee, salsa, 1 "teeny tiny" avocado from Trader Joe's.  Iced coffee with coconut milk.

M2: Leftovers: Pan-fried mahi-mahi, new potatoes, steamed broccoli.

Snack: I brought a Larabar and a mini Chomps stick to work with me today in case I get hungry.  I'm hoping I won't need them, but I wanted to be prepared.  I was pretty hungry yesterday, which kind of surprised me - feels like I'm eating SO much food.  I've decided that this round, if I'm going to eat a Larabar, I have to eat it with some protein like a meat stick or a hardboiled egg so I manage that sugar spike/craving a bit.

Pre-Workout (vinyasa yoga):  Hardboiled egg and some pesto, a few cherry tomatoes.  I'm digging this combo for pre-workout so far.  I'm also really proud of myself that I've done something active every day this week.  That's a habit I'm trying to build; I know I feel better physically and emotionally when I move my body, and unfortunately I've never really been as consistent as I'd like to be with it.  Hoping that changes this month.

M3: Egg roll in a bowl with pork and ginger scallion sauce.  Grapes.

 

I'm a little light on veggies today.  I'm hoping this tiredness shakes off and resolves itself soon.  Tonight after yoga I think I'll take a hot bath and some Natural Calm again, and maybe that will help with the sleeping issue.  I'm also noticing that my digestion isn't as..."efficient"...as it usually is.  Hmmm.  Fingers crossed that the magnesium helps with that too.

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Question:
Do you really need a pre-workout meal before yoga?
I've never done any yoga, so forgive my ignorance, but I thought it was a low intensity exercise. And you also had eaten an snack, so you were probably not so hungry yet.
 

Also when you change your eating habits your digestive track notices it.
Most of us have experienced changes, I think it's quite frequent.

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The kind of yoga I do is vinyasa yoga, which basically means you're moving the entire time and change poses with each inhale-exhale.  I work up a pretty good sweat doing it.  Vinyasa is built on sun salutations, if you've heard of those, which are basically a series of poses that have you doing a slow burpee (think a pushup, backbend, and downward-facing dog) between any other poses you're doing.  It's definitely low impact, but I wouldn't call it low intensity.

I haven't gone all the way through Day 4 yet, so what I listed is my plan for the day... I usually log in here right after breakfast.  I might not need the snack!

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31 minutes ago, Amura said:

Question:
Do you really need a pre-workout meal before yoga?
I've never done any yoga, so forgive my ignorance, but I thought it was a low intensity exercise. And you also had eaten an snack, so you were probably not so hungry yet.

There are quite a few poses with require your head to be down/body bent over also, which if feeling light-heated, could be an issue.

I think it's a good idea to plan on the snack even if you don't end up needing it.

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@Amura I'm also just starting to get back into yoga after taking a break for several months, so things that were once easy for me are now a LOT harder.  I've lost a lot of strength and flexibility that i want back!

To give you an idea of what a vinyasa is, it's basically this sequence of movements:

Image result for vinyasa

Imagine doing that a bajillion (ok, exaggerated a bit) times during a class, over and over again.  It's seamless if you're used to it, and godawfully taxing if you're not ;)

 

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DAY 5:

Okay, so, last night was rough.  My mood took a dive in the late afternoon.  I stayed tired all day and actually took a nap when I got home from work, and I didn't end up going to yoga.  Was kind of down on myself for that as I was on a pretty good streak of being active.  Then, I felt like I just ate and ate all night!  Looking back on it, it was definitely an emotional eating/eat for comfort type of situation.  I had my planned dinner of egg roll in a bowl and then I ate a Larabar as "dessert" (not ideal, I know).  Since I had some time on my hands I made this Mexican Watermelon Salad with smoked pumpkin seeds from my new cookbook (https://nomnompaleo.com/mexican-watermelon-salad), and I ate some of that too.  And then I just. kept. eating.  I probably had at least another full meal from stuff I kept picking on throughout the night.  

Everything I ate was compliant, but it was too much and it didn't feel good, physically or mentally.  Honestly, what I REALLY wanted was a glass of wine.

I did sleep a little bit better than the previous night, and I feel overall okay this morning.  Not great, but not as tired and down as I was yesterday.  Here's today's plan:

M1 (7:30am):   Sausage, apple, sweet potato hash with 2 eggs.  Coffee with coconut milk and cinnamon.

M2 (12:30pm):  Watermelon salad with shrimp and avocado

Snack (not sure I'll need it, but it's there): Zucchini soup

M3:   My boyfriend and I are going to In n Out!  I'm excited about this as apparently there is a Whole30-compliant way to order burgers there (double meat, protein style, mustard only, extra tomatoes, pickles and onions).  They only use salt and pepper to season their meat and their pickles don't have sugar.  Yay!

Activity:  My coworker and I usually take a walk after lunch on Fridays.  Considering how tired I was yesterday and that I have a hike with a friend scheduled for tomorrow, I think I'll take it easy today and not do anything beyond that.

Hoping yesterday was the low point for me and things get better from here.

 

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OMG I totally understand wanting a glass of wine. Try not to get too down on yourself for not being active yesterday. I'm SUPER impressed that you've been as active as you have been this week! And give yourself some grace on the over-eating. Like you said, everything you ate was compliant. Didn't you say you also quit smoking or something recently? Your body is going through a lot right now and wants to feel comfortable. Give it some more time to catch up with your brain and it's good you're listening to it today. 

You got this! Have a great weekend! 

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22 hours ago, Prairie Dawn said:

@Amura I'm also just starting to get back into yoga after taking a break for several months, so things that were once easy for me are now a LOT harder.  I've lost a lot of strength and flexibility that i want back!

To give you an idea of what a vinyasa is, it's basically this sequence of movements:

Image result for vinyasa

Imagine doing that a bajillion (ok, exaggerated a bit) times during a class, over and over again.  It's seamless if you're used to it, and godawfully taxing if you're not ;)

 

Does not seem easy. At all. 
And much more dynamic than the general idea of yoga for me!

It's very interesting, I think it's the kind of thing I would not mind trying...

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On 9/6/2019 at 8:36 AM, Prairie Dawn said:

and I ate some of that too.  And then I just. kept. eating.  I probably had at least another full meal from stuff I kept picking on throughout the night.  

Everything I ate was compliant, but it was too much and it didn't feel good, physically or mentally.  Honestly, what I REALLY wanted was a glass of wine.

It's good to notice the eating, but certainly don't beat yourself up about it, nor let yourself feel like you're not doing well.  You're doing really well.  You're making a huge change and you're following the rules which is kinda why it's so nice that there are rules because that's all you have to deal with. I never limited my eating and I knew my portions were crazy huge, but I could only focus on one thing at a time. And, in time, the portion sizes will naturally diminish as your body figures out how to shift from it's old ways to the new ways.

The vinyasa picture - I thought, "Ohhhh, I should print one out and put it on the wall and do it everyday. I love it."  haha - I think there is a definite disconnect between my vision and my body's willingness.  Ha.  Pretty cool that you've done it enough to know how it can feel.  I've never gotten to that point!

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UPDATE, DAYS 6-7:

Guys, the past few days haven't been good to me.  Instead of a fun compliant burger dinner at In n Out with my boyfriend of 2 years, I ended up having to break up with him.  Long story short, about 6 months ago I found out he'd been cheating on me.  We'd just been through an unplanned pregnancy and subsequent loss of that pregnancy, so to find that out kicked the sh*t out of me.  It was horrible.  Obviously I was devastated by everything.  I chose not to break up with him then, because I couldn't face healing from that loss alone.  He begged me for another chance, promised to do better, etc. etc. etc.  So I did.  Things were getting better and it felt like we'd turned a corner.  Then on Friday night, I found out he hadn't really stopped cheating, and had been lying to me basically all summer.  I can't give him a third chance and ended things; not because I wanted to, but because I knew I had to if I had any shred of dignity or self-respect left at all.

I know this is a Whole30 forum to log meals and reactions to foods, and I don't want to get into too much personal life stuff, but I'm putting this out there because I'm not sure if I can continue the Whole30 at this point.  Weirdly, I've stayed compliant all weekend, but it hasn't been in a healthy way - my nerves are shot and I'm horrifically sad and so my appetite has been nonexistent.  I've basically been surviving on bone broth (think I went through like 2 quarts over 2 days), fruit, tea, and boiled potatoes.  I had the wherewithal to whisk an egg into the broth a few times for some protein, egg-drop-soup style, but everything has been turning my stomach.  I've been sleeping and crying a lot.

I'm not craving anything, really, and obviously I'm exhausted and depleted (I took the day off work today).  I want to continue, because I know that it certainly doesn't help how I feel to put less-than-ideal stuff back into my body, but I'm struggling right now.

Does anyone have any suggestions?  Should I try and keep going?  I kind of feel like I may as well, but I guess what I'm looking for is assurance that I won't be a failure if I decide to stop and start again when I feel more emotionally stable.  This sucks.

Thanks for reading. 

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I am so sorry you're dealing with this. You don't deserve to have someone in your life who would betray your trust this way, so ultimately you will be better off without him, but that probably doesn't help you feel better right now.

If you feel up to continuity your whole30, that is great, but if you feel like there are too many rules and restrictions to deal with right now, that is totally understandable. Maybe relax on the rules a bit, but still try to make healthy choices, so maybe get a rotisserie chicken or find a restaurant that offers healthier options if you don't feel like cooking. This could keep you from feeling too off track, but still take some of the pressure off as far as food prep and reading every label. Then when you're feeling a little more able to deal with a whole30, you can come back to it.

 

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Sometimes, doing what is best for ourselves is the hardest thing. Break-ups are never easy, even when there is plenty of reason.

I don't think anyone would call you a failure for choosing to stop and start again later...and you shouldn't see it that way either if that's what you chose to do.

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