My 1st Whole30 of 2020 (and in several years)...

[LadyM]

What happens in the crock pot is the milky dairy part drops to the bottom of the pot. You don't want to disturb that by pouring the whole lot through the cheesecloth. Instead, you scoop out the golden ghee with a ladle of some sort and pour that through the cheesecloth, so the little solids that floated to the top get strained. It'll make sense when you do it and look at it. Just make sure the crock pot setting is at its lowest and that you keep the lid off. 

[SchrodingersCat]

8 hours ago, LadyM said:

You two crack me up with the not being able to sit down and eat a meal in a specified timeframe. I have the opposite problem. I finish too fast and am working on mindfulness from the opposite end of the spectrum!

I'm a classic for eating a meal over the course of literally hours. It's always cold by the end!

[decker_bear]

Day 10 (Day 1 of The Hardest Days) ... 

I am fortunate to say this has not been one of The Hardest Days and I am super grateful for that! I think part of that is due to having two adorable little rescue pups keeping me too busy to overthink this and also for my friends who are letting me coach them and for you nice people I interact regularly with here. A support group is huge! 

Breakfast - 4 eggs, zucchini and acorn squash, plus coffee with coconut oil. I've been using less coconut oil in my coffee so I added a few almonds. 

I had half a bottle of kombucha during a meeting.

Lunch - chicken wings, plantains fried in coconut oil, baby cucumbers and cashew sauce. 

I finished breakfast in just under an hour. I'm going to keep aiming for 30 minutes. Lunch went down a little easier, and I think the primary reason is that I wanted to hurry up and get those finger foods down so I didn't have to keep washing my hands before I touched the computer. 

Insights: I haven't done a great job of drinking my water today. 

[ShadowInTheKitchen]

On 9/16/2020 at 3:17 PM, decker_bear said:

Do I need to refrigerate the ghee? 

You don't need to refrigerate it if you eat it fairly quickly (within two weeks) if you use salted butter.  If you use unsalted butter I suggest keeping it in the fridge.

[LadyM]

I've never kept ghee in the fridge. Ever. And it's fine. 

[SchrodingersCat]

22 minutes ago, LadyM said:

I've never kept ghee in the fridge. Ever. And it's fine. 

Same, mine lives in the pantry. Never had an issue unless it became cross-contaminated.

[decker_bear]

Day 13 - I think??? 

I can't seem to keep the days straight anymore. This whole adopting dog thing is NO JOKE. It takes SO MUCH TIME to do medicine and potty and walks. It's exponentially more difficult having 2 than it was with 1. 

The last few days haven't been easy schedule wise but I've done my best to stay on track. I haven't eaten anything non-compliant but I haven't necessarily hit the templates. Part of the problem is food boredom and part is just being too tired to care (and too tired to be able to face more dishes). 

I went grocery shopping this morning without a list - not usually the smartest idea. I ended up buying another bag of cuties thinking I was nearly out, so now I have way too many. I guess that will be my fruit for the next little bit. 

Breakfast - eggs, zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms, coffee with coconut oil 
Lunch - apple, almond butter, chicken breast 
Snack - cuties and coffee with coconut oil 
Dinner - I'm debating between chicken wings and a steak. 

NSV - I have taken the pups on 3 walks already today 
NSV#2 - I slept really well last night despite having a small chihuahua fighting me for space 

[LadyM]

I think your meals look pretty good, if a bit light on veggies. The ever-pressing challenge. No doubt you already know this!

Good job managing the pups and coming home from wild card grocery shopping with only an extra bag of cuties. Major win!

[decker_bear]

37 minutes ago, LadyM said:

I think your meals look pretty good, if a bit light on veggies

You're not wrong! I knew it, too. Yesterday it felt like a victory just sitting down with compliant food.  Today I'm going to try to get some veggies prepped. That was the other challenge yesterday - I didn't have any veggies prepped and ready to go. It's a lot easier to eat your veggies when all you have to do is put them on a plate and heat them up. 

[decker_bear]

Day 14 

So if yesterday was Day 13, that makes today Day 14. At some point I will go back and count, but being only about halfway through right now the actual day doesn't make much difference. 

For dinner last night I didn't end up cooking at all. I had some hard boiled eggs, a couple more cuties (trying to eat them up before they go bad) and some almonds. I tried to get my son to take some cuties home with him yesterday but he didn't want them. I'll need to find balance between eating them at every meal and making sure they don't go bad. 

Now back to today - breakfast: 4 eggs, a whole kumata tomato sliced with salt, butternut squash and a cutie (just one, LOL). I also had coffee with coconut oil. 

NSV: I slept VERY well last night. I went to bed early, the pups laid down easily, and I was out until morning. 

[LadyM]

1 hour ago, decker_bear said:

I'll need to find balance between eating them at every meal and making sure they don't go bad. 

Just stating the obvious here, because sometimes I certainly need someone to do it for me, but could you put those cuties in the fridge to extend their eat-by date?

[decker_bear]

Just now, LadyM said:

Just stating the obvious here, because sometimes I certainly need someone to do it for me, but could you put those cuties in the fridge to extend their eat-by date?

 This is why I need you, to state the obvious! I seriously didn't even think of that. Thank you my dear! 

[decker_bear]

Day 14 - Continued ... 

It's football day, which usually means Doritos, chicken wings, beer and other snacky foods (which for me means gummy bears). Naturally MOST of these things I can't have on a Whole30. I also want to break my habit of mindless hand to mouth eating, even if it is of "healthy" foods. Even so, the finger foods were appealing to me. 

I made chicken wings in the air fryer and served it with sliced carrots and cucumbers. I was originally going to have almonds as my fat, but I decided I wanted to "dip" my carrots. I thought I had some cashew sauce left, but since I couldn't find any, I settled for almond butter instead. To help with the hand-to-mouth thing I ate deliberately and put it away when I was done eating. 

Lunch was admittedly a little light so I think I got hungry a little earlier than normal. I ate again at 430, which is a bit early for dinner but kind of late for a snack. I had some leftover pork loin, sweet potatoes, the rest of the cucumbers from lunch, and the cashew sauce (which, as it turns out, WAS in the fridge). I also had some Crio Bru. 

[LadyM]

Air fryer chicken wings are delectable, aren't they?!? Great eating day, especially given it was a football day. YAY YOU!!

ps I think having fun with food like doing finger foods on football day is a good thing. I remember on my first W30 feeling guilty about how much I enjoyed indulging in kale chips and chicken wings amid the food boredom phase of the 30 days. But it's all good. Makes it livable. We are, after all, still meant to enjoy ourselves, even without gummy bears.

 

[decker_bear]

15 hours ago, LadyM said:

We are, after all, still meant to enjoy ourselves, even without gummy bears.

 

YESSS!! It's so true. Funny, I got hooked on gummy bears because of a personal trainer. I was in the best shape of my LIFE, I had finished several rounds at a Boot Camp and was transitioning to more workout stuff on my own, so I hired a personal trainer at the gym. I would go first thing in the morning before work and he used to get on me for working out on an empty stomach. I really couldn't eat much or I would get nauseous when I was working out. He suggested a handful of gummy bears, like 10 at the most, just to get something in me. I remember him saying, "I cannot recommend this to most of my clients."  Well, here I am almost 10 years later with a substantial gummy bear addiction. 

[decker_bear]

Day 15 ... if my math is right

If it really is Day 15, that means I'm halfway through. I think it's also supposed to mean Tiger's Blood - if not now, then shortly! I feel like I got it right around the midway point in the past, but it's also been a few years. 

Today I did really well staying on track. For breakfast I had a leftover chicken sausage, some sweet potatoes and some asparagus. I slathered the asparagus with a little homemade mayo and a fresh lemon wedge. And, of course, I had some coffee with coconut oil. I think I went a bit light on the grub because I did get hungry a little sooner than usual. 

For lunch I had some leftover taco meat on top of zoodles, topped with some cashew sauce and diced tomatoes. I also had more sweet potatoes (which, if I'm being honest, is probably my favorite food these days). I felt good for quite a while after lunch. I ended up leaving around 4:00 to go up to the vet in Park City to pick up a new prescription for one of the doggos, and the pups kept me pretty busy even after we got home. Ulli is not feeling well and she needs so much attention right now. It's really sad. 

Anyway, I didn't end up eating dinner until around 7, but I felt good until then. I had some leftover pork loin, sweet and red potatoes I had made with the pork loin, and I steamed some broccoli I topped with ghee and fresh lemon. 

It just dawned on me right now that I had sweet potatoes at every single meal today. I should probably diversify a little.  Instead of the usual hour, it took over two hours to finish dinner because I was tending to Ulli. 

NSV: I got some extra veg prepped up and ready to go. 

[decker_bear]

Day 16 (and I counted this time so I know it's right...) 

Today was another decent day, though I think I am going to need to start setting an alarm to remind myself to eat. It was 10:30 before I got up, took the dogs out, did their meds, made a cup of coffee, showered, dressed for work, barely made it to my first video call, finished the video call and realized I hadn't made breakfast yet. 

So, while it didn't start off on the best foot, I had a solid breakfast of eggs, sweet potatoes, asparagus and portabella mushroom. The fat came from the coconut oil in a couple of cups of coffee. 

Because I had breakfast so late, I didn't even think about lunch. It was almost 4:00 before I realized I hadn't eaten anything. Once again, I didn't want to continue the cycle, so I had a smaller meal so that I could be hungry for dinner. I had some smoked salmon, almonds and a couple of plumcots. 

For dinner I'm planning the leftover air fryer chicken wings, steamed broccoli and the last of the acorn squash. 

[decker_bear]

Day .... I don't even know. 

I just know I'm getting close. At some point I will count again and figure out my Day 30. 

I've had a hard time finding time to get on the forum to track. I also stopped tracking in Day by Day. Work has been busy and the dogs are running me ragged and life just happens. I'm glad to be "almost done," but by the same token I have really enjoyed the structure and will probably stay with that for a while even after reintroduction. 

So ... breakfast today was leftover pork loin with gravy, sweet potatotes and some delicata squash. I couldn't even finish and Ulli was soooooo high maintenance. For lunch I had some Poodles or Spudghetti (both names are great), eggs and tomatoes. Dinner ... I haven't got that far yet. I just felt like I needed to get on and sort of "reconnect" to my little community. 

I hope all my frens are doing well! 

[decker_bear]

Day 26 ... and I am DEFINITELY OVER THIS. 

Like seriously. It's not like I even want to eat junk food. I mean, I wouldn't turn down a doughnut from Doughnut Boy, but other than that I am just sick of veggies. I want some oatmeal. I want a bowl of raisin bran. I want carbs that don't come from vegetables. 

Yet I persist, because that's what you do. It's almost 10am and I haven't talked myself into eating breakfast yet. I've had some coffee, but there is absolutely nothing that I want to eat ... except for maybe a bowl of oatmeal or some homemade lemon blueberry pancakes. 

Then I think of Schrodinger who is doing a Whole 1 million (insert laughing emoji here) and I think ... I can handle this for 5 more days. 

Inspire me ... how do YOU push through those last few days when you're just DONE?! 

[decker_bear]

3 minutes ago, decker_bear said:

Then I think of Schrodinger who is doing a Whole 1 million (insert laughing emoji here) and I think ... I can handle this for 5 more days. 
 

Just kidding ... it's LadyM doing the Whole 1 million. My bad! 

[LadyM]

1 hour ago, decker_bear said:

Day 26 ... and I am DEFINITELY OVER THIS. 
Inspire me ... how do YOU push through those last few days when you're just DONE?! 

Well, you're right on time with this, so take some comfort in that. 

I generally get interested again by flipping through my cookbooks and recipes and trying something new or making something that I totally LOVE. And make sure I have all the saucy sauces on hand. Or otherwise eat delicious fats, which are pretty much always a pleasure for me. Because my fat tooth is almost as real as my sugar tooth.

Or, I suck it up and just keep on keeping on. Be grateful that food is fuel, nothing more and nothing less. Fill my face hole and be done with it. Focus on other things.

YOU CAN DO IT! You only have FOUR more days! DO NOT GIVE UP! It's a WHOLE30 not a Whole26 or Whole25 for good reason. Hang in there. YOU GOT DIS!!!

[BabyBear]

@decker_bear I fought off the “eh close enough” urges by getting on Instagram and looking through recipes and printing some out to try.  By the time I was done i had enough fun new recipes to try for about two weeks.  Then I was sad because I only had a few days left on my whole 30 and my son asked couldn’t you still make those recipes even if your whole 30 is done.  Out of the mouth of babes, am I right.  I then decided to plan out my Re-intro.  Planning the Re-intro made the last few days speed by.  Do not stop, just press on.  You can succeed, failure is not an option and therefore no need to  fear it.  Do not sabotage your goal this close to it.  Best of luck and journal as much as you need to in order to punch through to the end.  

[decker_bear]

So, I finished the W30 with no fanfare and went straight into re-intro. Not because I was necessarily dying for something new (even though I was), but more because I was super excited to see how my previous favorite of oatmeal for breakfast fared against my new staple of eggs and veggies. 

Fail! Not only did I find the oatmeal unsatisfying in terms of how I remembered it tasting, I was also hungry again about 2 hours later. The same day I had some veggies, chicken and my old favorite Trader Joe's brown rice and quinoa pasta. Again, super unsatisfying! I was really discouraged by this as two of my past "favorites" turned out to be a bust. 

I definitely have rebel tendencies. Once it was no longer a situation where I "had" to eat Whole30, I was suddenly very happy to gobble up a plate of chicken and veggies for dinner. Figures, right? 

Fast forward to the reintroduction of gluten. Enter my guilty pleasure, Raisin Bran Crunch. I had a bowl for dinner one night (mostly because I could) and the next day my tummy was NOT happy. Of course I couldn't be sure if it was the gluten or the sugar, so I had to test them independently. Gluten alone without sugar triggered my Sugar Dragon (or maybe it was my Snacky Salamander). Sugar without gluten caused Food Without Breaks. Independently neither made me feel how they felt together, which was an interesting discovery that warranted further research. 

I wasn't really in a hurry to re-introduce dairy or legumes since neither are really categories I was missing a lot, so I kept W30 for a while. Then yesterday ..... 

I was having some crazy high stress which was keeping me awake that night despite my sleeping meds and other distractions. At 3am I found myself wide awake, pondering elusive solutions to my problems and craving Doughnut Boy. Of course they weren't delivering at 3am, but I browsed their menu on Door Dash anyway and selected some doughnuts that sounded particularly tasty. I closed the app and eventually went back to sleep shortly before the alarm. 

When I woke up I still had doughnuts on my mind and my sleep-deprived brain wasn't able to convince my fingers not to complete the order. Twenty minutes later I had a box of freshly fried pastries at my fingertips. (Fortunately I was smart enough to only get the half dozen, not the dozen, since I live alone.) 

First I ate the Old Fashioned. It was absolutely just as delicious as I remembered it being. I'll save the rest, or maybe give them to a neighbor. When I went to the kitchen to refill my coffee mug, it was the banana cream with chocolate and whipped cream that caught my eye. That went down even more smoothly and now I couldn't get the doughnuts off my mind. The glazed maple bar went down next, followed by the cherry turnover and half of the plate-sized apple fritter. I was on a roll, so why not?! 

It was about this point when I discovered the answer to my query of "why not" - THE HANGOVER. I had a headache, I was nauseous, and all I wanted was more-more-more. 

Fortunately I had made myself sick enough that I didn't want to finish the apple fritter or the remaining two doughnuts (at least that day). I again considered giving them to a neighbor, but like any addict, I couldn't bear the thought of actually parting with them. I left them in the box, on the counter, out of the way but still in sight and definitely not forgotten. 

By the time lunch rolled around I still wasn't very hungry (probably due to the 3,000 or so calories I'd scarfed down earlier) but I started feeling like I needed some protein (duh). I made a few eggs and was able to eat about half. I still had the headache, I was still a bit nauseous, and I just generally felt like crap. 

I didn't want to eat again the rest of the day, until I got hit with the light-headed, growling stomach and FEED ME NOW associated with having almost zero nutrition the entire day. I could have cooked, but I just didn't feel like it. I ordered Zupas, ate some cauliflower bisque and a turkey avocado panini. I had enough sense to skip the roll. 

Needless to say, that was NOT a feeling I wanted to experience again, but I also couldn't bear the thought of "wasting" the remaining doughnuts. I wrapped them in plastic to save for later. 

That brings us to today. I woke up and felt absolutely horrible. My stomach was upset, I still had the headache and my energy was virtually non-existent. Sugar and gluten are NOT my friends, and it seems to be even worse when I eat them together. Regardless of this, I still had one bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch left, so I ended up eating that for breakfast. I waited until I was hangry to make lunch, but I stuck to some chicken and veggies. As soon as I finished lunch my Snacky Salamander started squawking. I knew exactly what it was, but that didn't stop me from grabbing the second half of the apple fritter and finishing it off. 

The lesson I learned is a clear one: I cannot, and should not, have these types of foods in the house. If I am craving a doughnut, I should go out and buy ONE, enjoy it, and move on with my life. My behavior with the doughnuts is absolutely the way an addict behaves, so I feel like I should just stay away from them all together. I also learned how easily I can plunge head-first into the Foods Without Breaks and not come up for air until they are gone.

A tough lesson, but I am grateful to have learned it. In my past Whole30's I was actually starting from a much healthier point and didn't really change much when I wasn't on them. Between my last W30 and this W30 it was a much more gradual transition into the unhealthy relationship with food, so this lesson is not one I have had before. 

I'm considering a Whole10 just to recover and get back on track. I am so grateful the structure of the W30 is here any time I need it. 

[LadyM]

Good to hear how things are going @decker_bear, though I'm sorry it's been unpleasant! Very good information, though, and I imagine I would have a very similar experience. That combo of gluten and sugar is a truly toxic one for me. I'm hoping to not need the reminder, ever, but who knows. I know Melissa talks about how one of whatever her worth-it food is at the moment is generally her limit. Sounds like you've come to that conclusion, too, with your vow to go to the shop and just buy one donut next time.

Enjoy your W10 or whatever you decide to do to recover. No doubt it will feel like a relief!

[BabyBear]

Congrats on your whole 30 and learning more about you and your reactions and relationship with certain foods during your reintro.  It’s weird how sugar seems to amplify the issues.  It does that to me with dairy and makes my digestive track really sick, and with gluten it causes unbelievable almost uncontrollable cravings and impulses to eat more and more.  That is definitely  a combo I have to be very careful about even when deemed worth it.  Maybe you don’t need to put a number of days on your reset, maybe just take the time to really evaluate your NSV and how you feel until you are back to feeling your best self and have those salamanders and dragons back in check.  Best of luck!