My Journey from a Day 31 perspective

[Angelia]

Today is day 31 and I lost 4 pounds.  I was hoping for 4 - 8, so not disappointed especially considering I've been eating like a lumberjack.  Seriously.  I've had ribeyes at least twice a week, handcut French fries under the broiler, everything sautéed in ghee and I've finished off 4 JARS of different nut butters.  (Walnut butter is my fave.)  I'm reintroducing legumes today, just to see what's up, but I'm planning to keep the general W30 thing going for about 14 more lb. with limited exceptions (my daughter's birthday next week, wedding in late Oct, etc.) 

Just FYI about my start - I'm 55.  5 years ago I weighed 274.  After starting Zumba, then walking, then eventually running, then cutting calories, then adding weight training, then counting macros, I lost 105 lb. in 2.5 years.  And I have been on a solid plateau since.  W30 is my jump-off-the-plateau plan to get to my goal of under 155.

My journey is pretty text book, days 5-6 I thought I was getting the flu!   I had itchy skin on my neck and upper chest for 8-10 days in the middle.  My constantly drippy nose has almost completely cleared up, except during the hardest workouts.  Day 28 was literally the hardest day ever.  I desperately wanted an English muffin, then a Snickers bar, then a cocktail, but I survived.  Because I don't need it I don't have my 10am nor my 2pm cups of coffee anymore.  I also don't have a snack after work anymore.  I never mastered Pre workout meals.  I'll focus on that as I continue.  I have not seen a huge change in running or workout performance, but a dress I bought 2 summers ago that I could never really wear comfortably now fits well and looks pretty good on this ol' girl!

My favorite W30 hacks are:  1. Breakfast sausage of ground pork seasoned with cayenne/cumin/paprika, hand-pattied and fried in the same pan as the eggs and spinach.  2. Steak sauce made with Murray's olive tapenade/tomato paste/Coconut Aminos.  3. I found the 2 W30 salad dressings I tried to be overly tangy, so I drizzled some tahini over my salads and added 1/2 the usual amount of dressing.  4. Plantains cut in half, then each half cut into 4 slices long-ways, then browned in ghee, served with a drizzle of coconut cream and a dash of cinnamon.  5. A wine glass of Kombucha to round out the evening while relaxing before bed (the spot formerly filled by wine). 

I honestly can't believe how fast this time went.  After 1 week, it was all fairly routine.  My biggest struggles were days with little structure which for me is Saturdays.  I even managed to attend a couple of local baseball games with little difficulty.  In the morning when I packed my lunch for work, I also packed my dinner.  When I got home, I popped it in the microwave, took it in the car with me, and ate it in the parking lot before entering the stadium.  (On both occasions, I sneaked in a La Croix and a baggie of mixed nuts.  Shhhh....)  Problem solved!

Thanks so much W30 community!  I have enjoyed reading everyone's questions, getting advice and growing healthier together!!  Let's keep at it!

[kirbz]

Congratulations, what a wonderful journey! I wish you the very best as you continue on! 

And, I might just try your hack for steak sauce. That sounds delicious!

[Angelia]

Well, this is very telling.  Yesterday I had some peanut butter on 1/2 a banana with breakfast, soy sauce on tilapia for lunch, edamame with dinner and a small handful of peanuts (about 15-20) after dinner.  Today my chronically drippy nose is drippy again for the first time in, oh, I'd say 31 days!!   I have a mild headache and I also HIT A WALL about 22 minutes ago and had to go get an afternoon cup of coffee.  Again, this is the first time I've needed an afternoon coffee since the middle of W30. 

So 2 full days of W30 eating before trying the next thing.  After I've completed my reintroduction experiments, I'll go back and try just some peanuts or just some soy and see if I can determine which is the guilty party.  Then maybe some pinto or black beans after that.

I feel like a lab rat.  A lab rat with a very good diet!  (My work friends can't believe I've lost weight with all they have been watching me eat lately.  Generated a lot of good cafeteria conversation!) 

This is awesome!  I'm so happy with the knowledge gained!!

[Emma]

What an exciting reaction to have! Not that one wants a runny nose, but how cool to have a clear reaction and the chance to really pinpoint something that might cause it. I want those clear signs, but am hesitant to try out things! And interesting the part about hitting a wall. That's very NSVish. It's wild how foods can be impacting us in so many ways without us being aware.

I loved reading your posts. We're close in age and your weight loss over the last five years is inspiring. You're in such a good space!!!  

[Jihanna]

That's interesting about your legumes reintro and how you're affected.

If you have the opportunity later, though, I'd suggest splitting those items up to see if all of them trigger the reaction or if it's just one or two. For me, peas are practically harmless, black beans cause some gas but not much else, soy sauce is generally fine in small amounts but if I'm eating soy derivatives all day then I'm in trouble, and peanuts absolutely wreck me in a very not-nice way. But if I'd reintroduced all of those together on the same day, I'd have no idea what was wrecking me and what I'm safe enough to eat occasionally... so it's worth it to dig a bit deeper into the food groups that do cause some kind of issue  

Not necessary or required, of course, just my input based on my own experience!

[Angelia]

On ‎9‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 9:41 AM, Jihanna said:

If you have the opportunity later, though, I'd suggest splitting those items up to see if all of them trigger the reaction or if it's just one or two. 

Agreed!  That is my plan after other reintro's.  I'm not in a big hurry to get back to peanuts or soy, so I'm in no rush but I do want to know which is the guilty party.

[Angelia]

On ‎9‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 1:36 AM, Emma said:

We're close in age and your weight loss over the last five years is inspiring. You're in such a good space!!!   

Thank you!!  I AM in such a good space!  There are before and after pics in my profile, if you can find that.  I wouldn't have spent my youth dreading middle age if I'd only known how much I was going to enjoy it! 

[Angelia]

On Saturday, I joyously reintroduced red wine!   I had been looking very forward to that!!  And it went fine, no ill effects, no over consuming.  I'm planning to keep this as a once per week item but will move to a dryer wine. 

One thing I did finally put my finger on last Saturday was how much my "taste buds" have changed.  Some things that I never thought of as sweet now taste very sweet to me.  I bought a few LARA bars to have on hand that I did not eat during my W30, so on Saturday I had one as a rushed snack on the way to a late lunch.  I have never liked dates (but love figs), but dates are often used to sweeten recipes without sugar so I don't make those recipes.  My LARA bar was nuts, coconut and dates - and I LOVED it!  I was expecting to turn my nose up, but it was delicious.  Then the red wine I chose was just a "dry red table wine", one if my favorites.  It tasted so sweet to me that I actually wondered if they had mislabeled Sangria?  My last example is strawberry skyr yogurt.  Prior to W30, I could eat it but always thought of it as more sour/bitter than sweet.  Yesterday it tasted like frosting!  I really like this recalibration of my definition of sweet!

So about the yogurt - I was planning to give it 2 days after Saturday wine before my next reintro, but my fella took me out to Sunday lunch to an Italian family restaurant.  I was planning on a salad, but saw their Chicken Primavera.  It was described as a "light and delightful grilled chicken dish over fresh vegetables and penne".  I ordered it without the penne and it arrived SWIMMING in Alfredo sauce.  When they placed it in front of me I thought - Well, I guess today is when I reintroduce dairy....  and I was SO GLAD this did not happen during my W30.  I ate 1/2 the dish, then got the strawberry skyr yogurt for the afternoon, and then put plenty of shaved parmesan on my grilled shrimp and spinach salad for dinner.  The Italian chicken dish was delicious, the yogurt was VERY sweet and the cheese on my salad was fine, but certainly not a requirement for next time.  I think my bottom line is that I don't really miss dairy that much.  I don't plan to add it back much if at all, but I won't make a scene trying to avoid it, either.   So far today I seem to be a little "backed up", which may be a result of the dairy?  However, I'm not planning to give any updates in that department.  We don't need to know each other that well!! 

[Emma]

12 hours ago, Angelia said:

Thank you!!  I AM in such a good space!  There are before and after pics in my profile, if you can find that.  I wouldn't have spent my youth dreading middle age if I'd only known how much I was going to enjoy it! 

Wow - you look like a whole new person and so much younger. I figured when I was turning 50 that it was time to get my act in gear so that I could enjoy this half of the journey instead of get old in it. It's good seeing other people who have been successful and have made the deeper changes. Thanks for sharing the photos!

[Angelia]

Now that the kids are grown, I have a little more disposable income so I also got braces and Lasik surgery.  Both of these were VERY GOOD decisions for me!  We're not getting older, we're getting better!! 

[Angelia]

Yesterday I reintroduced oatmeal/corn/rice, and I do not like how I feel today.  After the oatmeal breakfast, I felt this mild jolt vibrate through my entire body lasting about 10 minutes after I'd finished my oatmeal.  It was not unpleasant, but certainly not normal, not quite jittery but borderline.  Then I fought gas for a few hours.  Lunch was W30, but for dinner I had corn tortilla chips (maybe 10) with salsa, then a carnitas bowl on top of Mexican rice.  I ate late, after socializing on the patio with neighbors (fire pit, watching sports).  Again, much more gas than normal before bed.  I did a run/walk with a friend this morning before work and I felt dizzy.  Afterward I needed to rush to the bathroom and again about an hour later.  Since then, I continue to feel slightly dizzy and the littlest bit shaky/jittery, like something just startled me (you know how you feel right after you see a snake? or narrowly miss a car accident?)  My hands feel funny.  This is icky and I do not like it!  I brought half of the carnitas bowl over rice for lunch today, but I don't think I'll eat it. 

So I have 2 burning questions:  1. Did I always feel this way before and just didn't notice or got accustomed to it?  2. What in the world will gluten grains do to me when it's their turn??

[Angelia]

For the past couple of days, I've been reintroducing gluten grains and it went much better than expected after the non-glutens posted above.  I had a beer Sunday night, whole wheat spaghetti noodles with lunch on Monday, on Monday night I had another beer and 2 small slices of deli whole grain bread (16 g, each), the same 2 slices of bread with breakfast Tuesday morning.  Nothing seems amiss.  The bread was delicious, literally tasted like cake.  I broiled it with some slices of sun dried tomatoes on top and some of the oil from that jar.   

Although to be completely candid, I got very emotional on Tuesday morning.  I made a conservative decision that made me very angry at myself (for listening to others and not following my desires/instincts).  I got a little tearful on the drive into work.  When I walked into the building, I had to wait it out for a bit in the locker room to get the tears under control before I actually started my work day.  I was angry and sad, but I rarely cry, especially at work!!  It may be a complete coincidence?  Perhaps that would have been my reaction regardless, but it's worth sharing, I think.

Bad decision will be rectified tomorrow!  Back on W30 for awhile.  I still need to test beans and then re-test peanuts and soy separately. 

I'm still hanging on to no desserts after meals, no treats with added sugar, not dragging meat through a trough of sauce.  I consider W30 to be a ringing success overall!!

[Babsie95]

I get major mood swings a day or two after I eat gluten.  I also get the digestive issues but its the anxiety and mood swings that have motived me to avoid it for going on 4 years. I can always tell when I have gotten some because the next day I will be moody, angry or tearful or both for no reason.

 

just my experience

[Angelia]

I've been away from home on vacation for 9 days and now back to the real world.  I went to visit my parents which involves A LOT of eating out and more drinking than my routine.  I stayed about 60 - 70% W30 overall, but I did eat a sub sandwich from my favorite local spot and a sugar cookie shaped like a football while tailgating.  I had one square of thin pizza at happy hour, and a slab of cornbread at the fish fry.  My big splurge for the drive home was a massive burger on a pretzel bun (1/2 for lunch, 1/2 for dinner) and a cup of frozen custard.  I didn't order anything with cheese, but didn't avoid it if it was there.  I had almonds and several LARA BARS to get me through rough spots and to help me manage the long drive (about 840 miles). 

I did try peanuts again, this time not with soy.  I didn't notice any ill effects, so it seems that soy is more of a problem for me than peanuts.  But I plan to stick with tree nuts and tree nut butters for the most part.

I weighed myself my first day back and I had gained 1 pound.  That is quite a success after partying for 6 days straight (or as much as one can party with 80-year-olds!) 

My plan going forward is to remain about 90% W30.  I'll probably eat ketchup, BBQ sauce, cocktail sauce, etc. especially if I'm away from home.  And I'll have wine or beer 2 - 3 times per week.  Other than that, I don't miss a lot of the foods I cut out.  And I'm still pretty successful at NOT ending each meal with dessert.  That was my biggest goal with W30, to tame the sugar dragon.  So, again, this is a smashing success for me!

[Angelia]

Another NSV that I keep forgetting to mention - my fingernails are getting really solid and strong!  Maybe it's just my inner cavewoman getting ready for winter?  But I'm attributing this to my diet.  My hands look lovely! 

[Patricia71]

I have loved reading this, thank you so much, Patricia

[Stargirl]

Angela, you are so inpiring!!  Thank you for sharing your story.