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Shadow’s May 2020 Whole30


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Day 7, Tuesday January 12, 2021

M1: l/o shepherd's pie

M2: green beans and carrots, fried egg with steak bites from the freezer

3pm snack: banana, walnuts

M3: oven roasted vegetables including white and sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, onions and broccoli in olive oil and PK greek dressing; pork tenderloin medallions

I woke with a mild headache this morning, a daily occurrence over the past few days.  The first day it happened I thought that I was dehydrated.  Then when it happened again I was worried that maybe I caught the virus, but when I woke today with the same mild headache I realized that it's probably just the carb flu.  It only affects me for about a half hour after I wake up, and I feel relieved knowing that if it's the carb flu it will soon pass.  

Husband brought home a hot chocolate for me and box of donuts, because he knows I like them. I haven't broadcast that I'm on Whole30, it's just easier this way to prepare family meals without them thinking I've put the family on a diet.  I don't want to expend any more energy trying to explain W30 to anyone who doesn't care to learn.  I simply told him that I don't feel like having any today.  'Nuff said.

I loved everything I ate today and all week, and I love eating this way, simple veggie-centric home cooked meals.

Week 1, done.

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20 hours ago, ShadowInTheKitchen said:

I haven't broadcast that I'm on Whole30, 

Agreed - it can become such a big THING if you tell people - they tend to get anxious. Oh no! It's the weird complicated diet thing!!! 

20 hours ago, ShadowInTheKitchen said:

I loved everything I ate today and all week, and I love eating this way, simple veggie-centric home cooked meals.

Week 1, done.

Yay!

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Day 8, Wednesday January 13, 2021

M1: 1/2 portion of shepherd's pie, l/o veggies from last night's supper

11:30am snack: banana, walnuts

M2: romaine salad with 2 cups chopped lettuce and 2 cups of chopped grapes, avocado and chicken, tossed in Primal Kitchen Green Goddess dressing.  

Snack: dates and pecans

M3: stamppot including turnips, carrots, white potatoes and sweet potatoes topped with browned bratwurst finished in the oven

No headache this morning.  My sleep is still not great, I had insomnia last night but only for 1/2 hour.  I look forward to the restful sleep that comes with being on Whole30.

So much variety in my vegetables! I love it.

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Day 8, Wednesday January 13, 2021

M1: 1/2 portion of shepherd's pie, l/o veggies from last night's supper

11:30am snack: banana, walnuts

M2: romaine salad with 2 cups chopped lettuce and 2 cups of chopped grapes, avocado and chicken, tossed in Primal Kitchen Green Goddess dressing.  

Snack: dates and pecans

M3: stamppot including turnips, carrots, white potatoes and sweet potatoes topped with browned bratwurst finished in the oven

No headache this morning.  My sleep is still not great, I had insomnia last night but only for 1/2 hour.  I look forward to the restful sleep that comes with being on Whole30.

So much variety in my vegetables! I love it.

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Day 9, Thursday January 14, 2021

M1: pineapple & strawberries cup; sweet potato roasted in olive oil; kale; Mexican spiced pork bites; 1 xlg egg pan fried in ghee

M2: salad w/ 2 c. chopped romaine; 2 c. green grapes, avocado, chicken and walnuts, lemon juice & PK GG dressing

Snack: cashews and dates

Snack: walnuts and raisins

M3: l/o stamppot refried in ghee; green beans, roast beef

NSV: I woke up this morning feeling totally refreshed.  Slept 11:30 - 7:30 straight through, 8 hours of solid sleep.  This is just the beginning of improved sleep quality - yay! ...YAAAAY!

I took stock of my kitchen freezer again this morning and am feeling pleased with the change-over of foods this week, even if it was just a few things out (some f & v) and a few things in (hamburger soup).  The assorted shredded cheeses have been taken to the basement freezer because there is no sense in having them handy for at least the next three weeks while I finish this W30.

Today is the first day of a four week Provincially mandated "Stay At Home" order in what is the latest attempt to curb the rising cases of coVid.  Only essential outings are allowed, and visitors are not allowed into our homes.  I'm feeling hopeful that I can stick to this W30 especially now without the distractions that this order removes.

I continue to feel drawn to snack between meals.  I believe it's due to boredom, although sometimes I genuinely feel a bit hungry.  However, I will not allow myself to feel shame about this.  My snacks are healthy and that's a big win for me.  Losing the desire to snack will happen soon enough.  For now I'm keeping my focus on eating well.  

A snow storm is expected overnight Saturday to Sunday.  I need more fresh vegetables.  I know we can survive for a long time with all the food that is in this house, but too much of it is just not compliant.  I continue to struggle with meal planning and with buying too much food.  My anxiety ramps up when I think we'll run out of stuff.  When I go to the grocery store(s) tomorrow or Saturday morning, I will try my best to keep to the list.  This really is a challenge for me and I'm noting it here to try to get an understanding of this problem I have.

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Day 10, Friday January 15, 2021

M1: l/o stamppot; l/o bratwurst; 1 xlg egg fried in ghee, 1/2 c. raspberries

M2: tomato vegetable soup with hamburger bits

Snack: walnuts and raisins

Snack: pineapple spear as I was preparing dinner

M3: pasta primavera modified from this recipe https://www.food.com/recipe/angel-hair-primavera-206621 using a spaghetti squash bed and topped with carrots, broccoli, sweet peppers, julienne sun dried tomatoes, chicken, garlic, lemon zest and dried basil

My stomach was upset immediately after I finished my breakfast.  Perhaps the raspberries were just too much?  I think I need to curb the size of my breakfasts and stop thinking that I need fruit or berries with M1.

DD18 picked up the groceries for me, just a few things to ensure we get through the weekend and only what was on the list.  The snow storm is starting tonight, a day earlier than I thought.  I'm ready.  

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Day 11, Saturday January 16, 2021

M1: roasted sweet pepper, roast beef strips, fried egg, olive oil

M2: romaine salad with avocado, green grapes, chicken, PK gg dressing

5pm snack: cashews and dates 

M3: mashed skin-on potatoes, carrots, green beans, gehaktballen

My energy was low today, same as yesterday and I had insomnia last night.  Hoping for better sleep and increased energy soon.  

I made it through most of the afternoon without having to snack.  I did grab a snack at 5pm as I was wondering what I was going to cook for dinner.  I think that if I'd had a plan, it would have been easier for me to power through to 6pm dinner without snacking.

NSV: M1 and M3 were a bit smaller than what I was eating up to this point.  I hope I'm settling in to a better pattern.

Day 11, done.

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Day 12, Sunday January 17, 2021

M1: l/o spaghetti squash; kale; onion; l/o south-west pork; egg; salsa

M2: l/o potatoes & onions fried in ghee, green beans, 1/4 bratwurst, walnuts and raisins

M3: veggie confetti cauli-rice with sauteed chicken strips

M1 was uninteresting except that I felt pleased to be using up healthy leftovers rather than throwing them out.  I took solace in knowing that my next meal was not far off and would taste better.  I'm wondering how I ever came to think that every meal must be a gastronomical feast fit for royalty.  

My stomach was feeling uneasy at lunch so I had a small lunch which happened to also not taste great.  Maybe I have a stomach bug but I hope its just my gut flora adapting to the elimination of short chain carbs and the huge increase in vegetables.  I'll have soup for supper if this continues through the day.

My energy level is still not great but I did spend a few hours this morning cleaning around and under the fridge and stove and it feels much better to me now.  This continues my kitchen cleaning streak this week.

NSV: I slept 8 hours without insomnia. Unfortunately I didn't wake up feeling very rested.  

NSV: I didn't snack between meals today, I didn't even feel drawn to snacking.

NSV: I haven't had any major food cravings since I began this Whole30.  

Pasta sauce for dinner tomorrow night is prepared and I made a 4-portion shepherd's pie for myself to eat over the next four days (nobody else in my house eats it willingly).  I also have a serving of soup thawing in the fridge so I can rest easily knowing tomorrow's meals are already prepared.  Dinner is the only meal that I cook for my husband and grown daughter, they sort their own breakfast and lunch.  This is the time in my W30's that I usually struggle with food boredom, so having a plan will help get me through this.  

 

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Day 13, Monday January 18, 2021

M1: shepherd's pie

11:00am snack: pecans and dates

M2: tomato veg hamburger soup from the freezer

3pm snack: pineapple, dates, pecans

5:30pm snack: Larabar

M3: marinara sauced ground beef on top of spaghetti squash

I had insomnia again last night.  Sigh.

NSV: My belly is less fat than it was two weeks ago and I feel like I've lost a bit of weight.

I was hungry at 11:00am, so I had a snack.  I was super hungry at 5:30 so snacked again.  The 3pm snack was just habit.

I spent time today moving much of the excess and non-compliant food from the kitchen pantry to the new shelving unit in the basement.  Now I can see what I have.  I also cleaned the pantry shelves and one wall of cabinet doors.  

I cleaned and took stock of the fridges, the second time since I began W30.  Knowing exactly how much food I have will help curb any unnecessary trips to the grocery store, or buying food that I already have but forgot about.  

I'm hoping Tiger Blood kicks in soon.

Not really loving spaghetti squash this round.  I have another half in the fridge (3 servings), hoping that I will enjoy it when I cook it up later this week.  

 

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Day 14, Tuesday January 19, 2021

M1: shepherd's pie

Snack: walnuts and raisins

M2: Big Ass Salad following MU's template in the email this week: Romaine & massaged kale, cucumber and grated carrot; blistered orange pepper; warm chicken pieces; pineapple; walnuts; lemon zest, avo oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs

M3: shepherd's pie

Both fridges need repair, a technician is coming tomorrow.  That's the thing with doing a thorough cleaning, you find problems that you didn't know about.  I'm so thankful that I didn't get too much fresh produce last week, everything is stuffed into the basement fridge and cold storage right now because the kitchen fridge isn't cooling properly.  

NSV: all of the inflammation in my hips, knees and ankles is gone, but I continue to have a bit of pain in the top of my left foot and a tiny bit of plantar fasciitis in my right foot.  I think I need wider hiking boots and plan to replace them once the stores re-open in three weeks or maybe longer.  I really think that proper walking boots and shoes need to be fitted correctly, especially with these problems I have.  I also continue to stretch many times daily for the plantar problem.  My revised goal of walking seven km daily has been difficult to reach so far this week, but I will continue to try.  I'm grateful to Whole30 for getting rid of the inflammation so that I can get out to walk lots.

I had trouble falling asleep last night and had a bit of insomnia at 6am, too early to get up.  I've considered adjusting my sleep goal down, to 7.5 hours each night but won't do that until I finish this round and see if 8 hours is truly what I need.  I want to see if the insomnia ends or even just improves with eating Whole30 first.  I use my FitBit Charge 3 to track my sleep.  

NSV: I'm not experiencing any bad cravings.  The odd time I'll feel a tiny twinge, like this morning I felt a bit of a desire to have cereal with milk, just for the combination of crunch, cold and liquid.  It passed.  It's super important for me to have ready-to-eat meals handy though, for when these cravings hit when I'm hungry.  I continue to snack on nuts and dried fruit throughout the day.  There are worse things.... 

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Day 15, Wednesday January 20, 2021

M1: 1/2 cup onion beef soup while breakfast was cooking; sweet potato, kale, prosciutto, eggs, 4 oz OJ

M2: carrot, onion-beef soup

Snack: cashews and dates

M3: stamppot with potatoes, carrots and ghee; tenderloin steak

My sleep was solid from midnight until 6am.  The problem is that I went to bed at 11 and got up at 9.  From 6 - 9am I slept lightly, about 1/2 of the time.  I just wasn't rested enough to get up at 6, and I was falling asleep on the couch last night at 10:15.  I'm beginning to realize that my sleep patterns reflect other stuff going on around here that I'm working on to overcome.  Being isolated throughout our Stay-At-Home order isn't helping.  I will continue to eat well to give my body the best fighting chance to work through this while my mind is occupied with its own struggles.  My goal last W30 was to learn to cook easy and healthy every day meals, and to be on auto pilot with respect to healthy meal planning.  I continue to work on those goals.  Meal planning is still a struggle but yesterday I searched for some new recipes to move this goal forward.  I've come a long way.  

NSV: I believe I look a little less muffin-toppy

I'm half way :-)

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Day 16, Thursday January 21, 2021

M1: shepherd's pie

M2: sauteed sweet pepper, l/o stamppot reheated with l/o steak bites

Snack: carrot

M3: l/o onion-beef soup, potato-egg salad

NSV: 6 1/2 hours of solid sleep, 11pm - 5:30 am straight, no insomnia.

Placed my order for a new kitchen fridge today, ETD is March or April but at least I'm getting the fridge I want.  I won't settle with a cheaper fridge just because it's available now.  Feeling grateful this happened in the winter, we have a few options available to keep our food chilled in addition to using the basement beer fridge.  I'm glad the inflammation in my ankles is gone because I will be doing stairs a lot over the next two to three months.  

I was feeling a bit queasy this morning and have a headache this evening.  No idea what is causing it, maybe Rooibos tea?  I will avoid it for the next few days.

Day 16 is in the bag.

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Say 19, Sunday January 24, 2021

M1: carrot sticks, potato-egg salad

Snack: dates and cashews

M2: sweet pepper, potatoes, eggs, bit of steak, ghee

Snack: carrot

M3: stamppot - potatoes, turnips, carrots, sweet potato; l/o roast beef w/ arrowroot gravy

Sleep: 11:30 - 7:00, 7 1/2 hours straight through

Another day done.  :-)

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Day 20, Monday January 25, 2021

M1: l/o stamppot; 2 small eggs, prosciutto, ghee

Snack: nuts, raisins, apple

M2: tomato-veg-hamburger soup

Snack: chicken wings

M3: romaine salad with grapes, avocado, chicken, GG dressing

Sleep: 11:30 - 7:00, 7 1/2 hours, awake twice for 11 minutes and seven minutes

Energy: through the roof from the start of the day!  Def feels like Tiger Blood.  

Hunger: I was HUNGRY this morning, and ate lots of trail mix. Too much maybe, but I was definitely hungry.

 

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Day 21, Tuesday January 26, 2021

M1: romaine salad with grapes, avocado, chicken, GG dressing

Snack: dried blueberries, walnuts

M2: l/o stamppot, kale, prosciutto, eggs, ghee

Snack: raisins and walnuts

M3: stir fried carrots, onions, celery, red and yellow sweet peppers, chicken

Sleep: 11:30 - 7:30, 8 hours with 15 min awake at 2:45, but I woke up feeling I like I didn't sleep well, lots of weird dreams

Energy: high from the start of the day.  I had tons of energy on my two walks, 3km and 5km, got my heart rate up to my daily cardio goal.  I feel like going for another walk after dinner, rather than watching TV all night.

3 weeks down.

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Day 22, Wednesday January 27, 2021

M1: green beans, prosciutto, 2 eggs, ghee

M2: l/o mixed stir fried veg in olive oil, chicken wings

Snack: pork rinds, dates and cashews

M3: romaine salad with grapes, chicken, green goddess dressing

Sleep: midnight to 7:00am, 7 hours with 15 minutes awake 4:30

Energy: high in the morning, fairly high all day long

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Day 23, Thursday January 28, 2021

M1: romaine salad with green grapes, chicken, PK gg dressing

Snack: banana

M2: sweet potatoes, prosciutto, eggs, ghee

Snack: nuts and fruit

M3: green beans, potatoes, roast beef

Sleep: 10:00 - 9:00, with 45 minutes of recurring insomnia at 1:30, 3 and 4.  Feeling rested after this big sleep.

Snacking: I just do it.  I'm so bored, working from home with orders to stay home except for essentials.  Ugggh.  At least the snacks are compliant.  I know I would feel better if I restrict snacking, but with coVid restrictions as they are, I feel that putting further restrictions on myself would be too much.  So I eat too much.  

One more week to go.

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Day 24, Friday January 29, 2021

M1: sweet potato, green beans, carrots, kale, prosciutto, 2 eggs, ghee

M2: tomato veg chicken soup

Snack: raisins

M3: grilled sweet peppers, onions, chicken

Sleep: 11:00 - 7:30, 8 1/2 hours with 6 periods of being awake, but only for approximately 5 minutes each time, no insomnia.  My legs, hips and glutes ache from sitting around so much which I especially feel at night.  Its extremely cold outside, too cold to walk much and with the Stay at Home order I can't hardly go anywhere other than to the grocery store. I believe I will sleep better once I can move around more throughout the day.  If there was junky food in the house I know I would be eating it.  I'm so bored. 

I'm coming down the home stretch.  Just six more days to go.

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Day 25, Saturday January 30, 2021

M1: shepherd's pie

M2: romaine salad with avocado, green grapes and chicken, PK gg dressing

Snack: banana and walnuts

M3: peas and carrots, white potatoes, roast beef and gravy

Tea with caffeine after dinner

Sleep: 10:30 - 5:30 straight through, 7 hours of solid sleep and I felt well rested at 5:30.  I got up at 6:00.  Energy was high all day.

Energy: I had lots of energy when I got up at 6am.  It was too cold to walk so I did a bit of paper work and prepared a shepherd's pie for myself for breakfast and for the next three days.  

Meal time and snacks: I have been working on trying to keep a regular mealtime. Breakfast at 8am, lunch at noon, dinner at 6pm and eating within a half hour on either side I consider good enough for me.  Snacking seems to be worse when I'm bored.  Keeping unhealthy snacks out of the house is my best bet to keep on track with healthy eating and I know that I feel better if I don't snack between meals so I will keep this in mind and try to avoid snacking.  I've read that my hormones work better if I just don't do it.

I'm beginning to consider my options for reintroductions.  I'm really looking forward to eating bread again.  I hope to determine exactly how much is a perfect amount for me to eat at a meal or in a day.  Before going into this Whole30 I was fairly certain that just one small serving of bread/wheat at a meal was about right for me.  But can I eat three servings a day, or only one without having gastric upset?

I'm missing cheese.  I will need to reintroduce dairy, including milk which I don't drink much of but I like it with a bowl of cereal occasionally.  Besides, I will need to know exactly how it affects me and to what extent.  So I may need to hold off on eating cheese and experiment with milk only.  Yuck. I don't like plain milk much but I will try 4 oz at a meal with lots of ice.  I am also curious about yogurt, can I eat it without ill effects?  Reintroduction of yogurt will mean buying sugar free yogurt and I'm not really keen to do that.  When my gym re-opens I will be buying protein shakes again.  They contain milk, yogurt and whey powder.  I want to know how milk affects me before I begin to indulge in protein shakes again.  

Corn, rice, and peanuts. I'm almost certain that these don't affect me in a negative way.  It would be wise to reintroduce them though, just to be absolutely sure.

Cashews.  I think I need to check if these affect me.

I'm not missing wine, and I don't expect to have reason to drink any for a while.  

When I indulge in too much junk food, it takes more than two days for the bloating to settle, so I'm planning to take a full week between reintroductions, or at least four days if I find seven days is too much.  I think that two days between reintroductions won't be long enough.  I want to be sure.  

I'm curious about what the effects of adding mixed food groups will have on me, like having a bowl of cereal with milk or pizza with cheese.  I just don't know if I can keep this up for another month before experimenting with this.  

Only five more days to go, then I can begin to reintroduce.

 

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