January 2021 graduates

[Rebecca001]

@becssounds like you have had a tough day. I hope you’ve managed to have a better evening. 
 

I love the rules as well, I think I will write mine although mine are very similar to original W30 rules right now! It’s behavioural for me: not eating when I am not hungry is a big one for me, particularly in the evening. And not calorie counting (I just can’t help mentally totting them up, even when I’ve been 100% on plan. Too many years of it I suppose. And I do it more when I am stressed, like it’s a ‘control issue’) - I’m going to have a think about mine and put them to paper. 
 

Another grind of a day in front of my computer lies ahead! Although I have a dentist appointment this afternoon, and here, 5 weeks into lockdown, I feel actually quite excited to be going out into the world. This lockdown is particularly hard, most people I know are struggling now, I miss my parents and my friends and we all just crave normality. 

[becs]

Good morning (afternoon), everyone! I got up early and started the day off with a sunrise run, and I'm ready to have a much better day than yesterday. I was planning on doing a sugar reintro today, but I've changed my mind. Maybe I'll add it to the end of my reintros, but for now I don't feel the need to bring sugar back, even for one day. I like my nutpod coffee and plain old tea - why mess that up by adding sugar?

I made chicken/shrinp Laap (a Nom Nom Paleo recipe from the cookbook Ready or Not) for dinner last night, and it was so tasty and easy. I think I could happily live off of Nom Nom and Well Fed recipes for the rest of my life!

 

[Rebecca001]

@becs what an incredible view!! Glad you’ve had a better day. 

I ordered a Well Fed cook book after reading about it on here and I’m excited for that to arrive. Today I’ve made a slow cooked curry with cauliflower rice and all the odds and ends of veggies from the fridge (mushrooms, onions, peas, potato) and it smells so good, I’m really hungry now! 

you can tell I am feeling on fire today as I was supposed to be taking a rest day, so no running - but I did instead a 40 minute arms and abs workout while watching tv. Tiger blood I think! 
 

james and I have been discussing the weekend and the likelihood of us having an alcoholic drink- hmmmm, I keep thinking yes, then no, then maybe. Haven’t made my mind up yet! I think because I feel like I’m not quite ready to burst the bubble yet and although I fully intend to stay 100% on plan with food, alcohol makes it not officially W30. Watch this space, let’s see what the weekend brings. Although being ‘allowed’ a drink somehow makes me want one less! 

[christine19]

In the spirit of reducing food boredom, I made a SWYPO breakfast - just one “compliant” almond and coconut flour pancake. My recipes either have stevia or honey and I made it without either. It was dry and underwhelming! No need to make another.  I was overzealous in buying veggies so also rushed to roast some Brussels sprouts this morning before they walked out of the fridge. Tonight is going to be one of those ugly, weird dinner nights @becs LOL there’s a random mix of leftovers from pork carnitas to grilled chicken to eggplant strata to zucchini noodles and now Brussels. 

59 minutes ago, Rebecca001 said:

james and I have been discussing the weekend and the likelihood of us having an alcoholic drink- hmmmm, I keep thinking yes, then no, then maybe. Haven’t made my mind up yet!

There’s a difference between not being allowed to have a drink and choosing not to have one! Mentally so much easier when it’s your choice! 
 

[becs]

I'm waffling about wine on Saturday, too! Today I'm 72% sure I'm going to do it.

[Rebecca001]

It’s quite reassuring though that I’m not ‘100% I’m having a drink on Saturday’ and I think that says quite a lot really. 

[Rebecca001]

Morning! I was very tempted to weigh myself this morning as I’d had a good day yesterday, and it’s now day 35; however when I woke up I felt really cranky. I was tired last night at 8pm but ended up not actually going to bed til 11.10 and then was overtired and couldn’t sleep. Woke up this morning and I’m retaining water as my rings are tight on my fingers. So decided not to, as I’m fairly confident that would have further improved my humour! 
 

I’m off into work now, and then have a nice man coming round to measure our (freezing cold, draughty) house for new windows which I’m very excited about! Then a run later, and if the forecast proves true, it will be mild enough for shorts! Weird climate that we live in huh? 

[Catherine N]

I did Whole30 in January and just introduced corn yesterday with some canned corn at lunch and a corn muffin with dinner. Initially I thought it went well (although I did want to eat multiple corn muffins!), but last night I woke up sometime between 2 and 3 and could not get back to sleep. I have not had any sleep issues since starting Whole30. Has anyone else had similar experiences with corn?

[christine19]

Another week is nearly over. Feeling better and I think the next 10 days will really make a difference. Cravings are really down and my sense of smell and taste buds are much more sensitive  - carrots and celery are so sweet to me now. I did have a SWYPO side dish for dinner - plain French fries that were in the freezer. They were all iced up from being in there awhile and I have to say...I prefer our freshly-made oven fries! So...we will just finish up what bags are left and I won’t buy them again! With the fries, I had Applegate’s Whole 30 beef hot dogs - they were pretty good. And coleslaw.  Felt like a little bit of summer meal in the middle of winter. Weekend is almost here! Will it be a dry February too? 

17 hours ago, Catherine N said:

Has anyone else had similar experiences with corn?

Corn bothers my stomach. Was there anything else in the muffin besides corn, like gluten? Not sure about the sleep unless it was digestion-related.
 

 

[Lorna from Canada]

On 2/3/2021 at 11:38 AM, becs said:

started the day off with a sunrise run

Be still my heart! That photo becs! Thanks for sharing with us!

On 2/3/2021 at 12:03 PM, Rebecca001 said:

Although being ‘allowed’ a drink somehow makes me want one less! 

This, as @christine19points ouit, is a key thing isn't it? I was working hard on my "what makes something worth it?" rules last time when my mom got ill and I abandoned it. This time around figuring that out is paramount for me. I realized I am undercounting my extended W30 days (I'm on W36 not W35 like I have been thinking) because I chose not to go off plan on the 31rst because I actually didn't want a glass of wine. So, indeed an interesting process.

On 2/3/2021 at 1:13 PM, christine19 said:

before they walked out of the fridge.

I've got a fresh bag of brussel sitting next to a handful of yellowing ones - I need to peel those and cook them before everyone starts walking!

20 hours ago, Catherine N said:

I woke up sometime between 2 and 3

Definitely an issue for me - and Hubs too who is (was?) as addicted to popcorn as one can get. I blame sugar for waking me up in the middle of the night though and corn isn't THAT sweet so, for me, I think it's the work my gut must be doing trying to digest corn. We both have this problem with popcorn and plain nacho chips but not plain potato chips so we attribute it to corn. As a result, we limit corn consumption to height of season fresh corn in the summer as a rare treat.

2 hours ago, christine19 said:

Will it be a dry February too? 

That's a big ole yes for me ma'am

Everything is good on this end. I'm not as bored as I was a few days ago and I think I have a new definition of TB for myself - it's the fact that I don't feel "too tired to go to bed" - do you know what I mean? 11PM comes around and I go to bed because it's time. I'm not semi-passed out on the couch dragging my heels nor am I exhausted at 9PM and drooling during Murdoch Mysteries. So - TB it is!

Alright - I have to run to a group session - I am the leader so I should probably be there  

[Rebecca001]

I don’t eat corn so cant comment on that specifically, however I do get a very odd ‘heart racing’ sensation sone nights, like I am absolutely wired and energy coursing through me. I know from my Fitbit that my heart isn’t actually racing when I get this feeling. I haven’t eaten anything non w30 yet but I must admit it’s only reading this that I have considered that it might be food related, something W30 compliant, that could be causing it. 

[becs]

@Catherine NI don't recall any issues with corn, either. I know it's easy to attribute everything to the Whole30 process - good and bad. If you're not sure if the corn contributed to your sleep troubles, and you want to add corn back into your regular life, I would try introducing it again after a few days of W30 to see what happens. I felt off for a couple of days after reintroducing legumes - mentally off, mostly - and I feel like it's a stretch to blame it all on the hummus. On the other hand, I don't feel the need for legumes in my life. I probably won't try introducing them again, but if it's worth it, I'll totally eat them on occasion in the future (say, at a fancy Mediterranean restaurant) and pay attention to how I feel. 

Chugging along happily over here with the W30 life, even though I'm technically in the reintro phase. I'm going to split a nice bottle of wine with my husband tomorrow night. I know how a full bottle makes me feel (unfortunately), but I'm curious to see what happens if I limit it to two glasses. I'm also curious to see how hard it is to stop at two glasses! We do have all kinds of tempting alcoholic beverages in the house, but I'll make sure we only have the one bottle of wine.

@Lorna from CanadaWednesday's sunrise was definitely one of the great ones! My husband told me I missed a good one on Monday, so I was glad to get a "re-do." Since I started running again in October, I try to time my runs so that the best part of the sunrise happens when I get to the running path 0.75 mile from my house (where the pic was taken). I've decided that I'm going to start collecting sunrise pictures. I think it will be cool to look back at a year of sunrises that I've had the privilege of witnessing, even if many will be much less spectacular. Beautiful sunrises are one of the perks of living where I live...

Happy Friday, everyone!

[Rebecca001]

Good morning everyone. So last night I had half a bottle of red wine. It was nice, first glass was really nice. But overall, it wasn’t anything special really, despite being a good bottle. I slept pretty badly, waking at 4.44am after having a weird dream and have woken this morning with a weird fuzzy head (not hungover as such, as I didn’t drink enough) - so I think I’m satisfied that the experience was done but I’m not in any huge rush to drink tonight. Let’s see what I feel after a day at home doing chores with the kids! 
 

menu is done for the week and I’m heading out to the shop shortly. I’ve googled a lot of recipes this week just for some variety as my cookbook hasn’t arrived yet. I’ve still not weighed myself and I have now put the scales in the loft. I was feeling quite unsure about it and I’m not sure I’ve lost anything anyway, and felt I wasn’t ready to have this experience reduced to a number (which may or may not be big enough/small enough) 

 

plan today is no run, Long yoga, domestic jobs, and spicy pineapple pork for dinner! Have a great day everyone! 

[Rebecca001]

So yesterday I felt progressively crappy as the day went on- really irritable above all else. So I didn’t drink last night and felt so much better for it this morning. Did my long run today (21km) taking 5 seconds off per km since January 17th so I’m pleased with that! W30 NSVs!! 
I bought a multicooker yesterday, so I am experimenting today: I have a ham which I’m going to slow cook in there and have with mashed potatoes and veg tonight, really comforting food. 

[becs]

Well, I did my wine reintro last night. The plan was to have half a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, my husband didn't cooperate and only drank one glass. Guess who can't seem to leave wine left in the bottle? So, yeah, I drank more that I was planning to. I didn't love the feeling of being slightly tipsy, and I woke up feeling less than stellar. Strangely enough, it didn't seem to affect my sleep. Like you, @Rebecca001, that first glass was delicious and totally worth it, but it went downhill from there. 

I'm making three new recipes from Well Fed two this coming week, all of which look really tasty. Now that I'm starting to look forward to cooking after work, I don't feel such a strong need to do as much meal prepping as I did in January. I still have a few things to prep today, but I don't think I'll be in the kitchen for hours this afternoon.

[Lorna from Canada]

Good morning everyone! Day 38 for me - 38 days without wine but who's counting... well, clearly I am. I am just fine without it although I miss it the most of all. Three more weekends before I think about it again. 

Benefits of an extended W30 are starting to show up:

• I have stopped foraging for food. You know that thing you do where you constantly get up and check the pantry and fridge and cupboards to see if the magic food fairy has left anything good to eat since the last time you checked 30 minutes ago? I don't do that now. Because we have kept a "clean" food house for years, the foraging always ended in handfuls of grapes and nuts and slivers of cheese and slices of meat. Or a date squished between pecans. This is a recent development that I noticed this weekend and I attribute it to a decreased focus on mindless eating and saiety.
• I am noticing my "full" signals sooner and am stopping eating when I do. I am an inveterate plate cleaner so this is very new. 
• I've gone from being hungry all the time to rarely being hungry. I'm not doing much - my heel pain is keeping me grounded and I am currently expending the energy of a geriatric sloth so, I don't need much to eat to keep me functioning - my appetite matches my life at the moment - a refreshing change.

These are interesting awarenesses. I've done a previous W37 and a W45 but they ended during strange times. First was while I was flying to Australia - I decided to extend during my travel so I could reintroduce under more normal circumstances and I'm glad I did that but 36 hours of travel and jet lag hid any benefit of the longer W30 from me. The W45 was during the early days of my mom's illness - I was so worried about what was going on and spending so much time running her to doctor's appointments that the opportunity for benefit was lost again. I abruptly ended that W45 with a bottle of wine shared with my mom on a glorious spring afternoon right after we got her diagnosis of terminal brain cancer.  This time it is just me and Hubs in perpetual lockdown so there is TONS of time to invest in figuring out what's going on. I'm grateful to have this opportunity to pay attention.

Lamb shanks for dinner - built up my appetite by cutting my hair and cleaning out my bathroom cabinet.  This pandemic just keeps dragging along...

[Rebecca001]

@Lorna from Canada I was just thinking today that actually now on day 38, coming up for 5.5 weeks, the positive changes keep coming. For me, putting the scales away has lifted a tremendous weight off my shoulders, plus I think it’s tuned me back in to my eating behaviour. I have found myself the last two evenings just not having that little extra bite - I wanted it, but I didn’t need it. Tonight as well, I have eaten dinner and ‘closed the kitchen’ and that’s a big development for me. I definitely empathise with your foraging ! 
 

[christine19]

True confession. Made the mistake of getting on the scale over the weekend because I was feeling bloated and just wanted to “check.” I’m struggling with the volume of food, maybe eating more because I really want something else? I didn’t buy any more fruit, so there’s only a few pieces left. Instead of wine, I’ve been drinking some kombucha, not sure if the fruit juice is too much sugar. I’m thinking of drinking my pea protein shakes - eggs for breakfast is getting tiring. The shakes have stevia in them. I was really hoping I would have more energy at this point, but maybe it’s just the winter - we got another 10 inches of snow on top of the 12 we had plus more coming this week. I’ll be snow shoveling as my workout today! 

[Lorna from Canada]

Oh boy - those scales are such monsters! I think I am going to go the rest of my life without knowing what I weigh. I can guess close enough when I need to - I "knew", for example, that I have gained at least 30 lbs since the start of my mom's illness and I "know" now that I have probably lost around 10 lbs judging from how clothing fits and my loose rings. I am going to rely on this kind of knowing and the scale be damned. Seriously. 

W30 trudges along here - we watched the Super Bowl last night without cheesy nachos or 7 layer dip. I didn't serve an extra veg with dinner (just the veggie laced gravy the lamb was braised in) so we had buffalo wing cauli and asian brussel sprouts with garlic beans for snacks. Worked!

Today (W39) I am dealing with a client based in Australia who seems to have forgotten that not everyone is lucky enough to live on a sparsely populated, heavily regulated island during a global pandemic. Their global team is under-motivated and sluggish and they want me to find out why and get working on them!!! Their team is located in USA, Europe, China and India - ummm, all of them are in deep winter and mostly locked down either by government or their own self imposed rules with weak vaccination implementatin plans and no end to this pandemic in sight. Honestly - go get another glass of cab sav and have a wee sit by the pool and calm the hell down... usually by now I'd be into the wine myself but I am totally composed and dealing with this. No stress eating, no foraging for sugar, no baking - nada. I've been quite calm in dealing with them and measured in my response. Usually I'd be ready to club them! So - pretty happy despite it all.

So - that's my win for the day. Coping with stress without medicating it with food is a big win for me!

Keep making brilliant progress. I don't know what you'll land on around your issues @christine19 but it sounds liem you're asking the right questions and are paying attention!

 

[Rebecca001]

Funny you say that about the correlation between stress and foraging for sugar. I had a stressful day today too, and after my dinner I found myself in the cupboard. I’m restrained enough not to go for the kids stuff (they have a box each with their treats in, we still have Xmas chocolate!) but then there isn’t really anything ‘safe’ for me to eat so I ended up having a whole nut/fruit bar (I guess Uk equivalent of a Larabar) banana and a big glass of water and closed the kitchen. We have snow too (mm not inches though!) and James and I went out for a walk in the cold which was good and cleared my head. It is half term holiday next week and I think we’re all suffering with that ‘last week’ feeling. 
 

I made some homemade yoghurt today in my multi cooker. It’s impossible to get a w30 compliant yoghurt here because the only non dairy one that’s sugar free is made of soy milk. So I did a bit of research and I’ve used a carton of almond milk and a tin of coconut cream, the bacteria (bought online) and some vegan thickener Agar powder. I have no idea how this will work out, it’s currently incubating, but I hope it does work. It could be a nice breakfast with some apple and/or nut butter. 
 

 

 

[christine19]

2 hours ago, Lorna from Canada said:

W30 trudges along here - we watched the Super Bowl last night without cheesy nachos or 7 layer dip. I didn't serve an extra veg with dinner (just the veggie laced gravy the lamb was braised in) so we had buffalo wing cauli and asian brussel sprouts with garlic beans for snacks. Worked!

We made chicken wings on the smoker dressed in compliant Buffalo sauce (Noble Made brand) and turkey chili - my husband put mine aside and added beans to his! Missed the chips to dip a little but had it over cauliflower rice. 
 

2 hours ago, Lorna from Canada said:

Keep making brilliant progress. I don't know what you'll land on around your issues @christine19 but it sounds liem you're asking the right questions and are paying attention!

Thanks @Lorna from CanadaSomeday hopefully I’ll learn not to use the scale as a report card! #lifegoals 

Had a good snow shoveling workout and more snow is coming tomorrow, so I’ll be back at it again! 

[Rebecca001]

Good grief I am in the foulest of foul moods today. I slept really badly. Woke up early. And the day got worse from there. My 5yo son is off school with a cold, but school insist on a Covid test, so I had to wrestle a swab into his nose which really improved my humour. It’s too icy for a run to clear my head, and I am craving sugar/carbs/anything really badly today. I ended up eating some nuts, a banana and other extras after my lunch. 
 

i’ve prepped my evening meal already, we’re having chicken and caramelised shallots, cauli rice and lots of veggies. Hopefully after a bath and an early bed I will be in a better mood tomorrow! 
 

 

[Rebecca001]

The chicken in shallots was DELICIOUS, so simple and very tasty. I made cauli rice with coriander, lemon, spring onions and Brussels sprouts 

https://nomnompaleo.com/post/2743098688/david-lebovitzs-super-easy-roast-chicken-with

 

 

[Lorna from Canada]

Quote

Day 40 - nothing to report from this end - sorry you had a crap day @Rebecca001  - ugh. I am kind of waxing and waning in mood but I attribute that to February. My SAD has been pretty good this year but I recognize the rumblings of my black dog. I'm finding it harder to deal with my Australia client and am feeling less patient with them. However, on the whole, I feel much, much better than I had expected to this winter in this awful, perpetual covid lockdown.

 

[christine19]

Wow it really is day 40, isn’t it! I’m feeling better today. I think I had too much cauliflower rice combined with Brussels sprouts this week. I had some stomach pain and was a little backed up and grumpy. Getting some fresh air while shoveling snow helped and also doing my indoor boxing video workouts has made me a little peppier. I’ve just been keeping the cooking simple, made a batch of grilled chicken tenders for a few days and for dinner I will make pork chops with sautéed mushrooms and roasted sweet potatoes. I also whipped up a double batch of lemon tahini dressing to make lettuce wraps with the chicken and to dip veggies. Trying to also drink more water...winter is so dry and I’m itchy!