January 1st Start Date!

[Rebecca001]

I did know that about the baked goods and I know I would not be able to resist them so I’m glad they’re out. I do have some really good paleo bake recipes for after the 30 days though! It’s certainly a lot easier navigating this as I never leave the house except to pick the children up from school and to go for a run, so no meals out of the home to deal with. 

[christine19]

6 hours ago, Lorna from Canada said:

I am going to spend the day planning my furnishings for my NEW BEACH HOUSE!!

WE GOT IT! We survived 2 bidding wars each with 3 offers

Congratulations Lorna...a voluntary extended quarantine is just the thing to do in your new home! 

[christine19]

Day 14 is done. Made pork chops and roasted veggies for dinner. Had a headache all day and I was tired again. Fingers crossed for Tiger Blood tomorrow or the weekend! 

[christine19]

4 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

Chips or Fries: Not if they’re commercially prepared or deep-fried

I’ve successfully ignored the 3 bags of Alexia All Natural Fries in my freezer and I roasted potato wedges last night and not only were they delicious but more filling and satisifying.  Usually I eat French fries like a vacuum cleaner. 

[SugarcubeOD]

1 hour ago, christine19 said:

I’ve successfully ignored the 3 bags of Alexia All Natural Fries in my freezer and I roasted potato wedges last night and not only were they delicious but more filling and satisifying.  Usually I eat French fries like a vacuum cleaner. 

good work!  I like my own roasted potatoes much more than a frozen french fry also... I've been doing 'oven fry' experiments to try and get the crispiest oven fries using only potato... to soak or not soak, to pre cook or not pre cook, to dust with starch or not... So far the ones I just soaked in hot water and then dried and oiled tasted like the best potato I'd ever eaten in my life but they were not even remotely crispy so... LOL!

 

[50andstillhere]

Hello everyone, my last 4 days have been rough with gassy beans  and feeling so starved. As far as the LaraBars are concerned, I sometimes use it to bring up my blood sugar because I am hungry. Yes, I eat a lot but I think I have a high metabolism, plus I don’t want to lose anymore weight.

 All of the runners- Rebecca, and Lorna do you have issues like that? I walk fast on the treadmill and do some weights for my arms, and I can’t imagine running miles on this program. (I use to be a runner, but my knees get too sore now, so I am jealous of runners.  )

 

Lorna-Congrats on your beach house- that is so exciting!!

[Lorna from Canada]

10 hours ago, SugarcubeOD said:

Wow, that is BEAUTIFUL! CONGRATULATIONS!  Will you be relocating there full time? I can imagine it's stunning in every weather and season!

We'll be retiring there in a couple of years - Hubs is a Newfoundlander and has done his time (40 years) for me in Ontario  In the meantime we'll use it as a cottage. 

9 hours ago, becs said:

YOUR BEACH HOUSE IS AMAZING!!! Congratulations! PEI sounds so romantic to me. Just the name takes me back to my cozy reading nook when I was 13 and obsessed with Anne of Green Gables. You can save the champagne celebration for your first visit (assuming that, like here, you have a 30-day escrow period), and enjoy it on that fabulous deck!

Anne of Green Gables - what a WONDERFUL book and childhood memory. You can see from the photos that we have the red beach!

8 hours ago, Rebecca001 said:

I suppose as a lot of people are coming to the end of day 14 there will be others feeling the same as me: tired, work’s picking up, days are long and cold, and it’s nearly the 3rd alcohol free weekend! I think maybe I’m just feeling a bit melancholy 

Definitely - plus we've just been herded into an even deeper lockdown here - it's all very depressing without wine and friends and good cheer.

and...

8 hours ago, Rebecca001 said:

I haven’t reintroduced sugar since my July whole30, literally I had 1 choc and a piece of cake at Xmas and that’s the only grain of sugar that’s passed my lips since 20th July.

That's IMPRESSIVE. I've decided to go 6 months sugar free to see if it really does help with my anxiety the way I think it will and this gives me hope that I can do it!

Day 15 tomorrow - sing it!!

"Woah, we're half way there
Woah, livin' on a prayer with care
Take my hand, we'll make it I swear
Woah, livin' on a prayer we're half way there..."

[Rebecca001]

@Lorna from Canada funny you say that about anxiety; one of the things I noticed after doing my first W30 was that I didn’t feel anxious driving anymore. I used to get terrible anxiety on fast roads and I’d be gripping the wheel til my knuckles were white, and then one day noticed I just wasn’t doing it anymore. Now I don’t drive anywhere fast due to Lockdown! 
 

@50andstillhereThe reason I started doing this was because of running. Previously I had done LCHF and lost a fair amount of weight, but as my running increased, I couldn’t sustain it. I would end up bingeing and I felt really down; I was in a spiral of eating/running/eating and I couldn’t run as fast as I could eat! this appealed to me because I could eat if I needed to. It felt like the jigsaw pieces finally slotted together and over the last 6 months I have maintained my lowest ever weight and also got very lean/toned so something must be going right; all without constantly ‘dieting’. Eating real food! Who knew?? 
 

The thing I find hard is the pre/post snack. I run fairly long distances and often run fasted. The problem is that running makes you hungry (HUNGRY!!!) but not always when you think it will, but it also suppresses appetite in the short time after, so cramming down a tin of fish after running 10 miles was not nice. Plus I run 5x a week, and do 2 quite intense classes- I do not need 14 additional ‘meals’, sometimes 4 on one day!- and I could never quite get it right. The act of Running is surprisingly poor at calorie burning, especially if you are fit because our bodies adapt so well to it; however regular running builds big muscles (glutes, hamstrings, quads- these are huge muscles, the size of a good side of ham!!) and these require a lot of calories just to exist and protein to repair them, just not immediately- more of an ‘afterglow’ effect 
so what I do now is ‘bank it’ as in I know I need additional food if I’ve run a lot, but not necessarily in that tiny window. I will allow myself a pm snack if I’ve run that day. Or mid afternoon I’ll have something if I ran in the morning. Or sometimes I just feel like the stuffings been knocked out of me and I’ll look back over my miles and my food and think ‘yeah you need to EAT’ and choose something deliciously calorific (almond butter and apple slices? ) and have it. I know that’s not technically the w30 way but it works for me. I think you have to know your own body and your limitations. 

[Rebecca001]

@50andstillhere I just realised I didn’t exactly answer your question!! Personally from what you’ve said, I would eat more protein than those bars. I’ve never used those raw type bars because that puréed fruit is basically sugar in a different guise. But if you’re feeling low blood sugar (unless you’re diabetic, that’s different) you probably need to eat more generally by increasing your calories at meals. (if you’ve genuinely got low blood sugar you need glucose not fructose, fructose doesn’t raise your blood sugars) 
 

Do you do the pre/post workout snacks? They are largely protein based, not carbs and may work better for you? 

[Saiee]

I have been doing ok.  Poaching eggs or making scrambled eggs using olive oil, black pepper, and paprika. And ground beef patties with spicy brown mustard.   In the evening usually grilled chicken breast and green beans. 

Also am doing crockpot soup, diced cabbage, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, diced yams (instead of russets), sliced mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower florets and ground beef then spices. 

On 1/7/2021 at 6:04 PM, christine19 said:

My spaghetti squash with meat and sausage sauce came out perfect, all stringy just like spaghetti. I haven’t had red meat in a couple weeks so it hit the spot. Day 7 is done...tired today waiting on that “tiger blood” energy to show up!

I do have one question, I thought we couldn't have spaghetti or sausage? 

[christine19]

1 hour ago, Saiee said:

I do have one question, I thought we couldn't have spaghetti or sausage? 

Hi @Saieeit’s spaghetti SQUASH not actual spaghetti... but sure does act and look like spaghetti! I make it roasted from the recipe in the Well Fed Cookbook by Mel Joulwan. 
 

Pork sausage is allowed...it’s on the list of protein, you just need to make sure that there is no sugar in it. Be careful with chicken sausage or breakfast sausage, those can have added sugar. hope that helps! 

[christine19]

10 hours ago, 50andstillhere said:

As far as the LaraBars are concerned, I sometimes use it to bring up my blood sugar because I am hungry

I would say you need to eat, and probably more fat, you shouldn’t be hungry. Your body will naturally adjust. My lunches are probably half the size from my first week. It’s hard not to worry about the calories in an entire avocado, but in the beginning days I just eat, the cravings are bad enough without having to worry about portions. Do you have the Whole30 book? The chapter called “Your whole30 plate” is helpful. Olives are good to add to salad or on their own too! 

9 hours ago, Lorna from Canada said:

Day 15 tomorrow - sing it!!

"Woah, we're half way there
Woah, livin' on a prayer with care
Take my hand, we'll make it I swear
Woah, livin' on a prayer we're half way there..."

It’s half-time! Woot woot! Still looking for Tiger Blood.......
 

 

[Rebecca001]

@Saiee i am yet to find a compliant sausage (I am in uk) - all of ours have wheat added, or if gluten free they have rice flour added, even really expensive brands. Plus usually sugar. It’s one of the things I have missed most because my husband and boys have hotdogs on Saturdays after football and I can’t join them! 

[christine19]

38 minutes ago, Rebecca001 said:

 i am yet to find a compliant sausage (I am in uk) - all of ours have wheat added, or if gluten free they have rice flour added, even really expensive brands.

Do you have plain ground pork available? Then you can add brown it and add spices and it will taste more like sausage. Can’t help you with the hot dogs though! Lol 

[50andstillhere]

7 hours ago, Rebecca001 said:

@50andstillhere I just realised I didn’t exactly answer your question!! Personally from what you’ve said, I would eat more protein than those bars. I’ve never used those raw type bars because that puréed fruit is basically sugar in a different guise. But if you’re feeling low blood sugar (unless you’re diabetic, that’s different) you probably need to eat more generally by increasing your calories at meals. (if you’ve genuinely got low blood sugar you need glucose not fructose, fructose doesn’t raise your blood sugars) 
 

Do you do the pre/post workout snacks? They are largely protein based, not carbs and may work better for you? 

I really don’t eat a pre snack because usually I am on the treadmill after dinner. I was thinking about having something to eat afterwards because I am so hungry when I wake up in the morning. If I lose anymore weight then I tend to get a cold or strep so I am just being really cautious because I do work in a school full time with kids. BTW- I had the driving anxiety happen to me too so I would go out on a Sunday morning and drive by myself on the highways just to get back on the road. Thanks for the advise. 

[Rebecca001]

I think (certainly post w30) you could introduce a pm snack, but I’d go protein and fat. Mirror the choices she gives but just eat them at a different time. I do that now within my 30 days (because I’m a rebel) - but like you I’m not here for weight loss and it works for me and supports my running better to do it that way. 
 

@christine19 yes we do have ground pork, I could make little sausage shaped with that. Going shopping tomorrow so I will definitely try that. 
 

it’s Friday night here, the weekend has landed, my third dry weekend is nearly upon us! I’ve mixed up my own jerk seasoning (sugar free) and am having jerk pork and pineapple with buffalo cauli and sweet potato wedges, and I’m toasting up some garlic salted mixed nuts for later if I feel peckish (ran 6 miles today in zero degrees so feel it’s justified) 

[50andstillhere]

 

Rebecca001 - I use to love running in the winter, especially if there is a light snow falling. It is so peaceful,,..Yes another Friday with no vino-WE CAN DO THIS!

[Rebecca001]

I actually feel quite empowered this weekend by it. 3 weekends without alcohol, 2 full weeks with no sugar, grains, dairy, processed food, junk food, takeaway, cake or crisps. After 2 weeks of lockdown so many of my friends are commenting that they feel rubbish, they’ve gained half a stone, they are really tired and fed up, and I’m just....not. 

 We are amazing- hear us ROAR!!! (Ok not quite tiger blood yet, but grrrr!) 

[becs]

Glad to hear everyone is still on track! This weekend will be a breeze (my mantra for the next three days!). Looking forward to being over the half-way hump tomorrow.

@Rebecca001 Nice job on the freezing run! I agree that cold-weather running is pretty awesome (at least after the first half mile). It's been close to freezing on a couple of my runs over the past month, but not quite. My running has been suffering over the last week or so. Since I'm getting back into it after a long layoff, I'm doing heart rate training and keeping most of my runs at or below 70% of heart rate reserve. I was seeing my paces at that effort steadily decreasing, but then suddenly last weekend I had to add almost a full minute per mile to keep my HR down. Same thing happened on my Tuesday and Thursday runs. So frustrating! I've decided to take the rest of the weekend off to see if some rest might help. Not to mention I'm still a bit nervous running in the mountains. I'd rather not come face to face with a bear or a mountain lion (though I guess bears would be hibernating right about now).

[Rebecca001]

Wow, mountain lions and bears?! Amazing! The most Dangerous thing I encounter on my runs is kids from the school I work at smoking in the underpasses and shouting ‘hi miss’ at me!! 
it’s cold here but not crisp and sunny, it’s foggy, murky and damp. Sun forecast for Sunday so I’m taking advantage of that even if it’s not far above freezing. 
 

my dinner was amazing. Actually delicious. Crispy juicy jerk pork, grilled pineapple, wedges, mayo... and I even had ‘dessert’ of pineapple and a spoon of coconut cream from a can of coconut milk (saving the watery part for kids smoothies tomorrow!) - I’m feeling good today and glad it’s the weekend! 

[Saiee]

9 hours ago, christine19 said:

Hi @Saieeit’s spaghetti SQUASH not actual spaghetti... but sure does act and look like spaghetti! I make it roasted from the recipe in the Well Fed Cookbook by Mel Joulwan. 
 

Pork sausage is allowed...it’s on the list of protein, you just need to make sure that there is no sugar in it. Be careful with chicken sausage or breakfast sausage, those can have added sugar. hope that helps! 

I will have to get some spaghetti squash, but I admit I have never had or tried to cook squash, unless you count pumpkin pie.  I will have to look up that book thank you.  My meat sauce though, funnily enough, is easy to make whole30 compliant as all I change is no Italian sausage. It is just crushed tomatoes, petite diced, tomato sauce and meat (may use venison) and add spices and let cook in the crockpot. 

I did go searching and found this https://www.wholekitchensink.com/whole30-compliant-sausage/  They show even Whole30 compliant hot dogs and breakfast sausages... I will have to reread the book as my interpretation was that would be like making fake pancakes. 

[Rebecca001]

I’m confident that whole30 versions of eg. Sausages, burgers, meatballs etc are fine @Saiee. It’s usually ‘sweet’ or ‘treat’ type things which aren’t allowed , so eg bread, pizza crust or cakes made with almond flour, or (as Melissa goes on about a lot!) pancakes. Probably as a response to the fact that paleo cookbooks often have a huge section of baked goods, I find. 

[christine19]

1 hour ago, Saiee said:

I will have to get some spaghetti squash, but I admit I have never had or tried to cook squash,

I made it again for dinner tonight! Cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds (they look like pumpkin) and put it flat side down on parchment paper with a few sprinkles of water. This is what it looks like after it’s roasted at 375 degrees for 40-45 min. Just take a fork and scrape the “spaghetti” strands out! It’s very neutral so it goes with anything, just top it with your sauce, protein and veg! 

[christine19]

3 hours ago, Rebecca001 said:

my dinner was amazing. Actually delicious. Crispy juicy jerk pork, grilled pineapple, wedges, mayo... and I even had ‘dessert’ of pineapple and a spoon of coconut cream from a can of coconut milk (saving the watery part for kids smoothies tomorrow!) - I’m feeling good today and glad it’s the weekend! 

That dinner sounds amazing! Still want a cocktail but, we are on the back half now..happy weekend! 

[Saiee]

Was really wanting some jerky so look and found Epic Bars. Now I know not all of them are compliant so I looked for the ones that were and got one of each to try them. I had the venison earlier this afternoon and enjoyed it, then after dinner decided to try the Wagyu beef steak stick.  Now I had passed on all with brown or maple sugar in them... but as I was finishing the stick I just happened to look at it and that was when I noticed honey was the second ingredient and I had missed it.  

So back to Day One... I can do this, I will do this, I just need to be more observant.