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Starting Round 2 on Jan. 1st!


JessFind

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Hi friends! 

I'm excited to start my second round of Whole 30 on January 1st. Even though my first round only lasted 10 days, I loved it and learned a lot. (I got to take an unexpected trip to Copenhagen and I firmly believe a big part of traveling is experiencing the food, so I stopped.) 

I'm sticking to my guns this time and gonna finish this round! On my first round, I felt amazing after about day 3. The first three days were real rough, but after day 3 I felt great and was sleeping much better. I learned that food prep is SO ESSENTIAL. If I get hungry, the gig is up and I'll grab whatever is closest. Thankfully I knew this about myself and always packed more food than I thought I needed. Lettuce wraps with sugar-free deli meat were my savior, along with avocados filled with bacon and tomatoes. I also learned that my Sunday food prep only really lasted me until Wednesday before I either got sick of what I made or ran out, so I'll need to carve out time on Wednesday nights to cook some more. 

I work for a major retailer and we don't have New Year's Eve off, so I'm staying home and may or may not stay up until midnight. I'm gonna take some good time beforehand to go through my cabinets and get rid of any trigger food and do a long grocery shop and food prep so I'm set up for success. 

(Oh, did I mention I'm married to a BAKER?! Yeah dude. So temptation won't ever totally go away.)

So let's start off this new decade right! I found these forums to be a huge help before, so I'm gonna continue to update this string with my daily thoughts and feelings. Feel free to join in!

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I decided with my husband that we're actually going to start on Dec. 30th. I don't have Jan. 1st off and starting in the middle of the week just seems impossible to me. So we're going to be prepping food this weekend and starting on Monday! After all the heavy food and alcohol I've had this week, I'm SO looking forward to lots of veggies and getting all that stuff out of my system. 

Hope everyone has had a great holiday, no matter what you celebrate! 

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Day 0 - Meal prep

Meal prep was surprisingly fast and easy for me today. I took some of my favorite things from my last round and am actually looking forward to them! I work a desk job, so I’ll be packing my breakfasts/lunches and then making a new meal for dinner with my husband. He’s joining me for this round of the Whole 30 and I’m excited to do this with him. So here’s what I made: 

- Chicken soup with potatoes, onion, garlic in chicken bone broth (made sure to check for sugar!) (4 portions)

- 4 Turkey burger patties 

- 4 Avocado bowls with 1/2 avocado, 1 piece bacon, and 3 cherry tomatoes each 

- Turkey lettuce wraps with tomato and compliant mayo and hot sauce (2 portions) 

- Portioned out grapes and almond butter 

I hope this all lasts until around Thursday. Then I’ll do a mini prep night to prepare for Friday and the weekend. 
 

Upcoming challenges: I have a nail appointment tomorrow at the mall after work, and my nail gal always gives me free champagne with my appointment. I’ll need to turn it down. I also usually eat something fast food at the mall, so I’ll need to pack and eat dinner at work before I go. 
 

On Tuesday, my boss is taking my team out for a holiday lunch. I’ll need to look at the menu ahead of time and see if I can make any of their salads work. 
 

Here we go! 

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Day 1 - Monday, 12/30/19

I woke up with a huge headache and an upset stomach. NOT what I wanted for my first day of the Whole 30. But honestly, it's my own dumb fault. I cleared out my pantry while prepping and decided to try to eat as much of the "bad" stuff as I could the day before, because I didn't want to waste that much food. Of course, this left me feeling gross. JUST THROW THE CHIPS AWAY, JESSICA! Ugh. Thankfully my prepped food allowed me to just grab my lunch bag and go in the morning, so I stayed on track. 

Here's what I ate: 

M1: 1/2 avocado with cherry tomatoes and bacon

S1: 2 turkey lettuce wraps 

M2: Turkey burger patty with lettuce and tomato, grapes with almond butter 

M3: Chicken soup

~96 oz of water

I'm feeling much better this morning. My boss is taking us out to lunch today and I've already looked at the menu and picked a dish that can be easily modified to be compliant. 

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! 

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Hi Jess.  Congratulations on getting started.  Tomorrow is my Day 1, and I can't wait. 

You made me laugh at wanting to eat all the bad stuff so as to not waste it!  I actually had an extra roll of refrigerator sweet rolls .. you know, the kind you pop from the tube?  I had bought two of them for Christmas breakfast and we only made one.  I didn't want to toss the second one, and didn't figure it was something that would freeze.  So of course, I had to make it. And eat all of them on Sunday (with the help of my kids, thank goodness!).  And really, they aren't very good.  Why couldn't I just toss them?!   

To me, it looks like you're not eating very much ... are you finding yourself hungry?  My typical breakfast has been a panful of sauteed spinach & red bell pepper, topped with 2-3 eggs, 1/2 avocado (or handful of olives), and a blob of pico de gallo.  Maybe even a slice of bacon.  From my own past experience, I know I totally reach for snacks between meals if I don't eat enough at mealtime (especially piling on the veggies).  And I (generally) eat this much (or more) at each meal, and have snacks in between if I get hungry, and have been amazed to have still dropped a few pounds each time I've done this. 

Just my two cents, for whatever it's worth.  Happy New Years :) 

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Thanks, Ann! At least I know I’m not alone with not wanting to waste things, even if I know I should just give it up, haha. And thanks for your tip! Not being hungry is really my #1 priority because I will totally reach for unhealthy snacks. Thankfully I haven’t felt hungry so far. I feel like I’m getting a good amount of healthy fat. But I’ll remind myself to eat more if I start to feel deprived. 
 

Happy New Year and good luck tomorrow on your Day 1! 

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Hi All,  My husband and I started on January 29th and so far so good.  I wanted to ask if there was a template that is available to tract how you feel each day.  For example, sleep quality, emotions, digestive health etc.?

LAN & TDN

 

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1 hour ago, LANTDN said:

Hi All,  My husband and I started on January 29th and so far so good.  I wanted to ask if there was a template that is available to tract how you feel each day.  For example, sleep quality, emotions, digestive health etc.?

LAN & TDN

 

Whole30 doesn't have a template like that, but if you Google something like "food and mood tracker" or "food and mood template" someone is bound to have come up with something along those lines that you could use. 

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@LANTDN - there's a little planner-type book called Whole30 Day-to-Day which has a few pages for each day that include tips and words of encouragement, and also sections to track:

  • What went well today
  • What could have gone better
  • What I'll do tomorrow
  • Scale of 1-10 for energy, sleep quality, cravings, and includes space for notes in each category, and then an area below that to create your own categories to track
  • What I ate today (Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3, Snacks)
  • Day XX reflections 

I got mine on Amazon, but I bet you can find it lots of places.  It's pretty cool.  

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@LANTDN I also have an awesome food tracker I got from Amazon. It's specifically made to track food sensitivities, so it has sections for your meals, how much water you drank, your mood, how much sleep you're getting, and even your bowl movements. I love it! Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/144132772X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

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Day 2 - Tuesday, 12/31/19

Happy New Year! Yesterday I felt better than Day 1 but still had a pretty nasty headache. I have chronic headaches, so this isn't super abnormal for me, and is part of why I'm doing Whole 30. I also know my body is freaking out because of the lack of sugar and carbs. 

So here's what I ate: 

M1: Same as Day 1, 1/2 avocado with cherry tomatoes and bacon 

M2: Went out to lunch with my team and got a Brussels sprout salad with almonds, blueberries, and grilled chicken. It was yummy and filling! 

M3: Pan seared chicken with mashed potatoes made with ghee and roasted broccoli

I ended up getting hungrier later than I expected, so I had two snacks: 

S1: Banana with almond butter 

S2: Two turkey lettuce wraps 

I know this isn't ideal, but I'm giving myself a little grace during this first week while my body is trying to adapt. I went to bed around 11:30 last night and woke up feeling rested with NO HEADACHE! Yay! First major NSV already in the books. I'm also feeling less bloated. 

I'm excited to see you guys interacting with my journal! I love talking with you guys. Happy New Year!! Welcome to everyone who is starting today! 

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@JessFind if you want to avoid snacking later in the day, you might try adding a little more to your breakfast. If you're not in the US, I understand bacon can be a little different than it is here so maybe I'm wrong, but at least in the US bacon is more a fat than protein, and to get enough of it for a full protein serving (the length, width, and height of the palm of your hand), you'd need a fair amount of bacon. Maybe add some scrambled eggs or those turkey lettuce wraps, and see if it helps you not need snacks later. 

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Hi Jim and Shannon - Thanks for the tips! Honestly, breakfast is the hardest meal of the day for me. I am NOT a morning person, so the idea of getting up earlier to eat is hard. And I'm not looking to get rid of snacking. I usually have two small snacks throughout the day. I just didn't love having to snack so much after eating dinner. But I'll do my best to eat more earlier in the day to try to limit that! 

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Day 3 - Wednesday, 1/1/20

Even though I had to work, I was able to work from home, so I really enjoyed being able to spend some time and cook each meal rather than just grabbing my pre-prepped food. I also felt GREAT! No headache at all, which is super rare for me. And even though I relaxed for most of the day, I felt mentally alert and clear. Yay! 

So here's what I ate: 

M1: 3 scrambled eggs with onion, garlic, and a dash of truffle oil and ghee, with 3 pieces of bacon 

M2: Beef burger patty with a whole tomato and potato "fries" - aka thinly sliced and baked potato - with a hot sauce/mayo aioli

I enjoyed lunch on my deck  I’m trying to do a better job of being more comfortable sitting still.

S1: Banana

M3: Chicken salad with mixed greens, mixed nuts (no peanuts), and compliant avocado Cesar dressing which was DELISH

On to Day 4!

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Day 4 - Thursday, 1/2/20

Yesterday was just OK. I really struggled with my appetite so it was hard for me to eat enough. Then I started to have cravings and a mild headache because I didn't eat enough. I was also feeling bloated and gassy. 

Here's what I ate: 

M1: I added 3 egg whites to my now very mushy, overly-ripe avocado I prepped on Sunday. The change in texture was welcomed. I couldn't finish all of it, and I estimate I left 1 egg white uneaten. I was also called into an early meeting so I ate a bit later, which threw me off. 

M2: Chicken soup and grapes with almond butter. I only had a few bites of the soup. 

S1: A good amount of cherry tomatoes dipped in compliant avocado dressing 

M3: Two small zucchinis worth of zucchini noodles with homemade tomato meat sauce. This was the first satisfying meal of the day and I ate all of it. 

S2: Banana with almond butter. 

~ 120 oz of water

I need to figure out more breakfast items I can prep ahead of time. I've done egg white cups in the past that have worked pretty well, but not awesome. I can also do smoothies. Anything else I can just prep and then grab and go? 

Happy Friday!

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It doesn’t seem there are enough vegetables in your meals.  Which also may be while your meal 3 with all those zoodles was so satisfying. Remember, every single meal should ideally be:  2/3 of your plate veggies (lots of colors), one or two palm size servings of protein, a thumb or two of healthy fat, and a small portion of fruit (optional).  It may help you with headaches and appetite stuff. 

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@Ann Good point! I've been focusing mostly on protein and fat so I don't get hungry, but I could definitely use more veggies. I do eat a lot of tomatoes, and always try to have a good portion of veggies with dinner, but I can use more during breakfast and lunch. Thanks! 

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4 hours ago, JessFind said:

I need to figure out more breakfast items I can prep ahead of time. I've done egg white cups in the past that have worked pretty well, but not awesome. I can also do smoothies. Anything else I can just prep and then grab and go? 

@JessFind I'm trying bacon and fried eggs for breakfast.  I cook them the night before and then heat them up in the microwave in the morning for a grab and go, which is what I did today.

Happy Friday!

Jim

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Day 5: Friday, 1/3/20

Yesterday was rough. Things have been slow at work for two weeks and it was like all of the sudden everyone was back and everything had to be done RIGHT NOW. My job is always meeting-heavy, but yesterday was crazy. I had meetings from 8:30am-5pm with virtually no breaks, not even for lunch. Thankfully I took advantage of a little break after my first meeting and went to go get an omelette from my company's cafeteria, which is a bigger breakfast than normal for me and held me pretty well. And then when I got home (an hour later than normal), my husband had a whole tub of his chocolate chip cookies on our dining room table because he did deliveries today. I mentioned he's a baker, right? And his chocolate chip cookies are SO GOOD. So between being very hungry and mentally tired, it was all I could do to not grab one. I also REALLY WANTED A GLASS OF WINE. This is typical for me after a hard day at work. I knew that was the only reason I wanted one, but it was hard to shake the thought for a while. 

Anyway, here's what I did eat: 

M1: Omelette with spinach, mushrooms, onions, and turkey with a side of potatoes. I ate all of it, which I was thankful for later. 

S1: I had just enough time to grab a handful of pistachios at 12

M2: I finally had enough of a break to heat up a turkey burger patty at 2:30

M3: My husband made a great pot roast with carrots, potatoes, onions, and jalapeños. It was welcomed, but I still feel like I didn't eat enough of it. 

S2: I had some watermelon to combat my sugar cravings from the cookies. It was sufficient.   

One silver lining is that I drank SO MUCH WATER. I kept my water bottle with me in meetings and kept using it. I drank around 200 oz of water yesterday, not including a black tea and a cucumber seltzer. 

This isn't a typical day for me, but is a good reminder that I need things I can grab quick in between meetings. I'm proud of myself for not giving in to easy things along the way. I'm having a big breakfast today and am going to do more research for my food prep this weekend. 

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Hi Jess!

One breakfast I meal prep and LOVE is chicken apple sausage. There are great recipes on Pinterest, but I love the recipe from Paleo Running Momma (https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/easy-homemade-chicken-apple-sausage-paleo-whole30/ ). They’re super easy to make: mix, bake, done. Two of these and a small avocado are an easy, ready breakfast with enough protein and fats (although low in veggies). 

Another one I loved to meal prep on my last whole30 is sweet potato hash, it has bacon and eggs for protein and fat as well as starchy carbs from the sweet potato. I believe this is the recipe I liked: https://www.realfoodwithjessica.com/2016/02/01/paleo-sweet-potato-hash/

Remember that you don’t have to eat traditional breakfasts, if you are up for heating up your dinner leftovers for breakfast there’s nothing wrong with that. You got this!

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Day 6, Saturday 1/4/20

I felt a bit lethargic yesterday and in the morning #killallthethings was definitely out in full force. My husband made us a great breakfast, but I was annoyed with him for some reason? Yeah. Thankfully, yoga helped me get my mind right and even though I was still tired, I was still able to be productive. 

M1: Big breakfast of homemade hash browns, two fried eggs, and bacon

Activity: 1 hour of yoga sculpt

M2: Three lettuce wraps with turkey and prosciutto

S1: Banana 

M3: 3 scrambled eggs with a heap of spinach and a couple slices of bacon 

I'm not great at tracking my water intake without my water bottle I keep at work. 

NSV: My wedding ring is loose! My inflammation is probably the lowest it's been in several months. 

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