January 2021 graduates

[SugarcubeOD]

Oh and just got invited to stay here with my best friend's family for a few days in June... I will dream of this every night until I go there! It's in Tofino BC, right on Chesterman Beach. I go there every year in summer with this friend but I think this place is going to take the cake as the nicest view/place in the 13 years we've been going... It's so west coast vibes it makes me laugh!

[christine19]

Got my first vaccine today and feel fine so far. Hubby was yesterday and my parents on Tuesday, They all have some arm soreness but not much. 
With Easter coming, I’m going to splurge a little. I bought a gluten free pie crust and I’m going to make pecan pie this weekend to test it and if it comes out good I’ll make another! Of course it has sugar AND maple syrup in the filling.  Yikes! And I probably won’t eat too much crust anyway since there are grains in it. Let’s see if it passes the “worth it” test! 

[Rebecca001]

Sounds good @christine19, I hope you enjoy it

 

i had my vaccine on Tuesday and it absolutely knocked me sideways, I felt like I had Covid all over again. When I had CV19 I was so emotional, I really felt it affected my brain chemistry and I was right back there on Wednesday and Thursday. As a result I have had quite a tricky week. In the end I admitted defeat to a degree and bought a box of dates, some nut butter and had some ‘commercially prepared’ chips/fries that were compliant ingredients. I bought them knowing full well I was going to eat them all, and it was pretty much as close to a ‘binge’ as is possible really. My arm was also really aching, and only today is it any better.

I’ve taken it easy today, no run or workout, and I feel a bit better now. my meals are planned and shopping done and I’m all set to get back on it tomorrow. We break up for Easter next Thursday and have a much needed two weeks off school so I am determined to get back on track before then to see me through. 

What are you all doing re: Easter? I have toyed with the idea of getting an egg, not sure. The options are I guess, a dairy free dark chocolate egg (plenty available here) and a luxury one would have only sugar that’s non compliant; a dairy free milk chocolate egg, which from looking today would have sugar, soy, rice starch etc, or a ‘proper’ dairy choc egg. To be honest, a dark one might be disappointing as I’m not a huge fan, the dairy free milk one seems almost as bad as real chocolate, and I just don’t really feel like I want real chocolate as my last reintro wasn’t great. But I worry that I might actually want one of all the family are tucking in.... hmmm... dilemmas! 

 

 

[christine19]

1 minute ago, Rebecca001 said:

What are you all doing re: Easter?

Pecan pie for a second time if it goes well!  It’s a cup of sugar and a cup of maple syrup plus the crust has rice flour. My family is Italian so I always make an antipasto platter and I won’t worry about sugar in pepperoni or salami.

I had “real” Hellman’s mayonnaise with sriracha as a dipping sauce yesterday instead of the sugarless avocado oil Primal Kitchen one. So trying the “added sugar” in small doses in prepared foods. And I’ve been drinking white wine every weekend. Not feeling crappy but not drinking entire bottles of wine either! 
 

Sorry about the reaction to the vaccine @Rebecca001 my arm hurt for 2 days and I had a har red patch below the injection site that got really itchy yesterday but that’s it. 

[christine19]

Ugh...I spoke too soon! Woke up with that pain in my hip again and I didn’t even eat the pecan pie yet! I ate commercially prepared eggplant dip and almond flour crackers yesterday, but nothing odd in the ingredients. Hmmmm

[christine19]

Oh I forgot....regular mayonnaise has SOYBEAN oil as the first ingredient. My back and hip started hurting Saturday afternoon BEFORE I ate the crackers and dip. I had the mayonnaise on Friday night. Interesting...... 

[Rebecca001]

Interesting @christine19 , have you ever thought soy was an issue for you in previous rounds? 
 

I am suffering at the moment. I’ve struggled the last few weeks and since my Covid jab especially, and at the weekend I ate a lot of nuts, nut butter etc. Which I had been avoiding. I also did have some dairy choc a while back also. I think the combination of those things has aggravated something in my hip, combined with a steady mileage now each month since December (I’ve just mentally totalled up and I reckon 650-700 km since 1st Dec) and then I have also  not been very kind to myself and continued to run after noticing a twinge in my hip. Well, the last few days it’s been excruciating. I think it is bursitis, it’s very painful. I don’t think the food is solely to blame but I think it has potentially aggravated it in tandem with overtraining. So annoyingly, the very day that outdoor classes reopen here, I’m in pain and can’t exercise!  
I am definitely going to rest it properly for a few days and cut all nuts and anything non compliant out of my diet as well to try and get it back on track. 
 

 

[christine19]

@Rebecca001sorry you are not feeling good, I can attest hip pain really is the worst! I haven’t been able to exercise until today.

Soy has been an issue but I never attributed it to joint pain. Like if I have gluten free soy sauce, my stomach doesn’t feel well. I know it sounds crazy but pre-Whole30 i ate a lot of regular mayonnaise, especially in the summer, because I make dipping sauce with it instead of dairy and use it in coleslaw or tuna salad. I’m not sure that a few tablespoons of it would make one hip hurt, so I’m trying to remember if I hurt it doing something else, it’s finally feeling a little better. Although I did have pain on the same side when sleeping at night and then Whole30 resolved that, so.... something to pay attention to since I had been physically feeling good with no knee pain this year. 
 

The pecan pie was delicious but very sweet! I just ate the filling and skipped the crust since it stuck to the pan anyway! Mostly just got a headache from the sugar and felt bloated. Plus I ate pepperoni and drank wine so Sunday wasn’t the healthiest day but it tasted good! 
 

 

[Rebecca001]

I have been very good and rested my hip well, so I’ve not run since Monday (unheard of for me!). Last night at my fitness class I was almost pain free. My pain in my toe/foot has also subsided quite a lot which is also probably a combination of rest and diet. I am planning to rest it until Sunday. 

I’ve ended March feeling a bit glum though, it’s been a tricky month with a few disastrous reintroductions and I’ve also lost my tight control on compliant food as well, and as a result I have actually gained a few lbs. I’ve had a long think about April and where I’m going and how to take the reins again. I think back to my really successful times and it’s less about the food and so much more about behaviour: not snacking, not eating too much fruit, increasing my veg, following the meal template, so that is what I’m going to focus on. 
Of course, Easter weekend here, coinciding with being able to meet in groups of 6 for the first time this year so we have lots of family things scheduled, so I won’t be too strictly on plan until Monday/Tuesday.

Have a great weekend! 

[Rebecca001]

Saturday morning here, and I have a slight hangover as I drank too much last night! And now going to outdoor bootcamp as punishment haha

the week has been quite tricky. I feel like I can’t get my head back in the game and I have eaten a lot of compliant things that I know I shouldn’t really have too much of: fruit, dried fruit and nuts mostly. I’ve tried to go with it to a degree, I’ve not been running this week due to my hip and therefore I have felt quite down anyway, but I know that food is not the way to lift my mood. 
 

I can run again now, but I’m limiting to alternate days and not going too far, so that is helping. I’ve done quite a lot of food prep yesterday so I now have a chicken, some salads, and a few other bits to see me through the next few days and I am just going to go back to basics again as I know, tried and tested, that is what brings the best results for me. 
 

I’m not sleeping brilliantly either, my period is due and that always affects my sleep, and I’ve had a few restless nights in succession which does nothing for my mood. Again, I’m hoping that a few quite strict w30 days will help that to reset as well. 
 

 

 

[christine19]

I’ve been drinking a little too much this week myself. Having the pecan pie and then a gluten free cupcake on Easter started me on a little relapse of carb craving so I also had some jasmine rice too this week. I don’t actually feel terrible, but I can tell my taste buds are affected where now my sugarless ketchup and sauces taste a little bitter instead of sweet - after eating real sugar. So I’ll pull back now since there’s really no reason like a holiday to go off the rails. 
 

I had a reaction to my first vaccine, apparently it’s called “COVID arm” a big red and purple circle on my arm that showed up nearly a week after the shot. Itchy too but now it’s almost gone....just in time for me to get my second one in 2 weeks.  The weather has been a little warmer, so been out doing yard work to get some fresh air and exercise!

[Lorna from Canada]

GRADUATES! Hello - I've been MIA - just coasting along on a W30 based diet and staying safe in covidice. Thanks for the shout out Darcy @SugarcubeOD - I just haven't had much to share. It is a perpetual Groundhog's Day in my neck of the woods.  Hubs and I have decided to live grain free (with the exception of his 3 times a week beer) so that's been an adventure figuring that out. Eating oatmeal and feeling completely in pain the next day makes it not worth it for me. I can tolerate white rice but the rest are off limits. I've also decided to stop drinking unless it's really, REALLY worth it. I've had single glasses of wine on 4 occasions since January 1 and none of them were worth the middle of the night anxiety that came with it. Basically we're living a W30 version of paleo and loving it so far!

My biggest learning from these past few weeks is that you cannot plan for something to be worth it. I missed this idea reading through FFF before but planning for carrot cake for my b-day then it really missing the mark made me revisit the whole concept. I'm enjoying figuring out what that means because it takes quite a commitment to presence to decide, in the moment, if something is worth it. Planning ahead doesn't cut it.

That's all for me - oh - and I've decided to retire which has been quite the challenge. My biggest client wanted me to sign on for another 2 years and, instead, I committed to the end of May. Once I got them calmed down, I decided to retire full on by the end of 2021 - closing my practice completely. It's been a VERY BIG DEAL mentally - I thought I would work until I was 70. Nope - once the decision was made it's been logistics and planning and increasingly difficult to show up when I am supposed to. I am super excited about the freedom

That's it for me. Got my vaccine so I feel like this might come to an end... cheers

[Rebecca001]

@Lorna from Canada it sounds like you have been busy! I totally agree with your ‘worth it’ dilemma- I was the same around Easter. I felt my expectations of a chocolate egg were just too great, and it would never live up to it, so I didn’t have one, but I did for the first time since starting this, really really want one and I just couldn’t make the decision. 
 

i’m just ticking along here. I must admit I struggled around Easter and have thankfully now settled back into the plan, although I am being really strict as I know that’s the only way to get myself back on the straight and narrow. We are going away this weekend (uk opening up first stage after lockdown) to my parents holiday home by the sea, and then on returning I am going to do another full round of W30- no alcohol! Which will take us up to our mid May holidays here and hopefully summer on the horizon.

time is flying! 

[Rebecca001]

I’ve made the decision to do a full Round 4 W30 starting Monday 19th April - and I can’t wait!! I’m not going to go crazy before then, but we are away at the seaside so we did drink last night and with drink does come occasional ‘compliant ingredients’ snacks (salted veg crisps?) so.... 

I found the most amazing recipe book though, here in my parents holiday home, it’s called The Doctors Kitchen and I’d say 50% of the meals are compliant, plus it’s a vegan book so often it’s beans/chickpeas that are non compliant and I could sub that out for a different protein source. I’m excited to try a few of them out! 

[christine19]

On 4/16/2021 at 2:16 AM, Rebecca001 said:

I’ve made the decision to do a full Round 4 W30 starting Monday 19th April - and I can’t wait!!

Good luck with W30 @Rebecca001! I know you will rock it!

I’ve been a little down lately, I have a dear friend who is fighting cancer and took a turn for the worse and is in ICU in the hospital and does not live close by. Of course, COVID complicates things and no visitors are allowed. So, I don’t want to say I’ve been eating food for comfort, rather I have been being kind to myself and not stressing over eating certain things. How’s that for rationale?  Over the past few weeks, I have had some jasmine rice, gluten free toast, gluten free pancakes and a few corn chips....and white wine. Surprisingly, not feeling terrible from the food, but a few things are noticeable.  I can tell right away I get headaches with too much sugar and I definitely do better with one GF grain rather than a mix. So, I felt a little crappy after one slice of GF toast as compared to eating plain rice. And the GF toast is almost too sweet tasting. So maybe a little “food freedom” experiment as I think about how short life is and how food and emotions fits into that. 
 

Second COVID shot is on Thursday! Prepared for flu symptoms but hoping for nothing! 
 

Congrats on retirement @Lorna from Canada Now you can really enjoy that new house! 

 

[Rebecca001]

@christine19 sorry to hear about your friend. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating to be kind to yourself in these circumstances. You know how to pull it back if you feel that you need to. 
 

I did R1D4 yesterday, it went well. I made some sofrito chicken which I had for lunch with salad and mayo, and for dinner I had a lemongrass Thai curry with coconut and cauliflower rice. Really tasty, lots of veg. I did only have 2 meals yesterday however. I find when I am not running that my appetite drops significantly. I am just going to follow my appetite and eat when hungry today also but if I continue not running then I will probably start enforcing the 3rd meal even if it’s only a small one. 
 

I’m not running because of an ongoing painful hip, and while it is significantly improved it isn’t right yet, and I keep letting it get almost better then running on it when I actually need a few clear days before I resume. It’s ok yesterday and today, I have a fitness hiit class tonight and so I will see how that affects it, and may resume running. 
 

today marks 9 months since I first started my first R1. To think on one hand I could probably count the occasions I have eaten non compliant food (if we don’t include wine!) in that time. I am really proud of myself. I wish I felt a bit more ‘tiger blood’ today to celebrate my achievement but anyway, I know I have done something really amazing for my health and the tiger blood will return. 

[Rebecca001]

Just checking in. Coming towards the end of April I am looking bank over this month, I feel like it’s been a total rollercoaster. Some disastrous reintroductions and it’s thrown me off course quite significantly. I feel tired, I haven’t felt like this for a long time and yet my food had still been, pretty much, on plan. Certainly for the last week or so. The tiger blood feels a very distant memory. 
 

so with the remaining 5 days of April I am going to continue my round 4, and just try and claw myself back onto the straight and narrow so I can start May fresh. I am genuinely worried about weighing myself May 1st as I don’t know what the result will be, I feel like I have gained weight and I’m not happy about that. For the first time in a long long time, this month has felt very ‘diety’ and I have the horrible food guilt feeling, which is actually ridiculous as as I said the majority of my food has been 100% on plan 

hope you are all keeping well 

[christine19]

Last week was awful, my friend passed away and it all happened so fast. Then I had my 2nd Covid vaccine, and only felt flu-like for one day so that wasn’t too bad. Lost my appetite for a few days and had wine all week long. Honestly, drinking and eating some crap food didn’t comfort me at all only made me feel worse. 
 

After eating some GF grains, I definitely have an issue with multiple grains mixed together.  So I can have some jasmine rice alone with not much effect, but I had GF pasta (corn, rice, quinoa blend) last night and I have a headache and my hands hurt today. 

I’ve had some sugar cravings too, so I definitely need to eliminate the grains again and save it for a special occasion - none are planned at this point. So maybe May will be a mini reset. 

On 4/25/2021 at 8:19 AM, Rebecca001 said:

Some disastrous reintroductions and it’s thrown me off course quite significantly.

What did you reintroduce @Rebecca001and how did it affect you? 

[Rebecca001]

Oh @christine19, I am so sorry that you have lost your friend. I hope you are ok
 

 I found Easter really hard. I couldn’t make a decision about chocolate (which sounds so stupid as I write it) and I had injured my hip which really does impact how I feel because running was agony and my mental health was suffering. When I say ‘disastrous reintroductions’ it’s more that I ended up feeling very out of control with foods, I ate lots of compliant things that I didn’t need, and then a few things non compliant (a slice of toast, some chocolate, a biscuit) which again I know sounds ridiculously nothing but it was the way I did it which felt very out of control. I think looking back now (as I like to psychoanalyse myself) it was almost punishment/sabotage and I felt very low. I’m now taking an enforced break from all sports until May 1st to really heal my hip as those foods have caused it to flare up and it is feeling much better, although still tender in the mornings (which does lead me to believe it’s inflammatory and overnight water retention is causing the initial pain) 

 

the stupid thing is, I KNOW dairy makes me feel like this, and I have strongly suspected gluten products do, so why oh why I thought to have them I do not know. This week I have been much better, my meals are planned and I’m using new recipes and sticking to my 2/3 meals a day (not nearly as hungry when not running although I know I need 3 really) and I’m already feeling a bit better. I’m not sure I even will weigh myself now on 1st May as I’m still a bit scared of the scales! 

[christine19]

Thanks for your condolences @Rebecca001  I’m doing OK. 
 

it’s definitely interesting and super crappy that some foods trigger eating others. I’ve actually been thinking of trying some dairy again but soooo worried about it - it’s been 5 years and frankly think I’d spin out of control.  But some of what I have read says the cows have in the United States have  hormones and mutations over the years that European cows don’t and the European milk / cheese is more easily tolerated. Have you heard that? Also goats and sheep milk/cheese from Italy or Greece is better to digest for the same reason. Not sure about the UK. But I can get cheese from Italy here so, I’m still thinking about it.... 

I do hope you feel better but try not to be so hard on yourself! Be kind 

[Rebecca001]

@christine19 I think here in the UK our food standards are a bit higher overall and use of antibiotics and hormones is certainly less than in USA. There are quite a few additives that are banned here but allowed in the US. I’m not sure if wider European rules follow suit though; I know danish pork for example is quite inhumanly reared, not sure about hormones though. 

[Rebecca001]

How is everyone. How is it May already??! May means holiday and the start of summer and yet here in the uk it is still pretty chilly and not feeling very summery at all. 
 

I’m going to start a 14 days reset tomorrow, just another back to basics few weeks to try and get myself back feeling the tiger blood and feeling a bit brighter. I have had a horrible April and hopefully now my hip is on the mend. I may attempt a tentative run tomorrow but I’m not going to unless I really feel it’s 100%. It flared up again this week and when I tracked back I had eaten something dairy so now dairy has to be 100% out. 
 

hope you’re all well.