annnewjerz Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Hi everyone! I've been a lurker on the forums for a few weeks now and thought it was finally time to introduce myself and start posting. My Husband and I (29 and 28 respectively) started our first Whole30 on January 14 --- which puts us at Day 4 today. We're doing it for a variety of reasons, but it would be a lie to say that one of mine isn't weight loss. In the past year, I have lost 75 pounds through calorie-counting and exercise (including CrossFit for two months before fracturing my foot) and have another 70 or so to lose before I'm in the healthy range for my height. I know that I can continue to lose weight if I continue counting calories and exercising, but in the end I know that's something I won't want to maintain forever. Quite honestly, it's exhausting --- and sort of miserable. I never have enough energy, yet I can never fall asleep when I know I should be. I feel exhausted after my work-outs rather than energized and even though I eat healthfully compared to most people I know (I eat lean meats, veggies, nuts, etc. with a cheat item/day thrown in) I don't feel healthy. My Husband has never been morbidly obese. Like most people, he struggles with the same 20 pounds or so --- gaining and losing and then gaining. He is athletic and can drop the weight fast, but he is a junk-food-aholic at heart and would love nothing more than being able to eat half gallons of icecream and burgers and still remain fit. So, after reading about a friend's success on the Whole30 --- I talked to my Husband and we decided to give it a shot. What have we got to lose, right? We are only on Day 4 but I have to say --- I'm hooked. Everything we eat is delicious. Finding new ways to incorporate vegetables into a meal for a non-vegetable eater is fun. Seeing him go back for seconds of something that I wouldn't have dreamed making him for dinner last week is mind-blowing. I go to sleep at 10 every night and wake up at 6 feeling refreshed and ready to go work out, rather than pressing the snooze button until I can't spare another minute. And the best part? I'm not miserable at all. I thought eliminating so much from my diet would make me grumpy, tired, resentful of those people who can eat pizza at dinner when I can't and in all honesty it doesn't bother me one bit. I feel happy. It's weird. Tonight I'm going to happy hour at work and I don't expect I'll envy the people who have martinis when I have water. Have I lost weight yet? Who knows. I feel less puffy, if that makes sense. If I lose weight at the end of this, great. If not? It's not as important to me as it seemed to be 4 days ago. There's talk of extending to a Whole60 already because it's been that easy. So am I nuts? Am I doing something wrong? Have I totally drank the kool-aid and just haven't gotten to the "miserable" part yet, or is it possible that I feel this good about something I thought I might hate in only 4 days? Looking forward to posting more and if you have any good advice, meal ideas or words of encouragement, I'm all eyes. Ann (and Erik too, even though he'll never post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Maryann Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Welcome, Ann! (and Erik!) If you've read the book, or at least through the info on the website, you know you are about to hit a rough patch. It varies from person to person, and also seems to have some relation to how healthy you were eating prior. Just hang in there. You will come to the same conclusion most of us who have done more than one Whole 30 have: You will feel, on a cellular level, that this is the way your body was meant to eat. I am always amazed at the variety of delicious food I can have on an everyday basis. I keep Pinning more and more recipes that look and sound good. This isn't a deprivation diet, this is a celebration diet! I am eating the types of things I once would have saved for a "special occasion" all the time. I am mastering Thai food, finding new and delicious ways to fix old standbys, experimenting with other cuisines, etc. You have a great attitude. It will go a long way to helping you through the rough spots. Check out Cooking, Recipe Sharing, and Your Whole30 Log for tips on what other people are making, or where they get their inspiration. You can eat like a gourmet every day of the week and still be healthier than you ever dreamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridget Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Great attitude- and good for you. Keep at it- it is totally worth it ! This forum is great,too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annnewjerz Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 Thanks to you both for the warm welcome! If you've read the book, or at least through the info on the website, you know you are about to hit a rough patch. It varies from person to person, and also seems to have some relation to how healthy you were eating prior. Just hang in there. You will come to the same conclusion most of us who have done more than one Whole 30 have: You will feel, on a cellular level, that this is the way your body was meant to eat. I have not read It Starts With Food yet, but it is on the way to me from Amazon. I did read in the program guidelines that after a week or two you will start to feel better. My only question right now before my book arrives is this: when will I start to feel worse, and why? If there's any simple explanation I'd love to know, because right now I feel awesome but if I should be expecting a crash, I'd like to be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Maryann Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Here's the link to the timeline. You're only supposed to feel like "What's the big deal?" for the first few days. By Days 4 and 5 you should want to "Kill All Things". You may just be a few days behind. http://whole9life.com/2013/01/whole30-timeline/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyS Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I didn't feel worse, just noticeably and gradually better, as my first Whole30 went on. I did notice cravings hitting me at various times, but mostly I just felt better. I also noticed a daily diminishing in the puffiness/inflammation in my body. I know that is not what we are told to expect, and possibly it's not the norm, but I'm just letting you know that if you don't hit a rough patch, you're still doin' it right. For me it was just a huge relief all the way around. It was a relief for my life, not just my eating. Glad to see you here and hope you continue enjoying the wonderful food and the wonderfully relief-filled way of thinking about food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyp Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Ann, I was like you. I felt great from the beginning. Day 4 stands out in my mind as the day I looked in the mirror and my stomach actually looked different. I am on day 17 now and I still have not had any really bad days. I have had days that I didn't feel as good as I did back in the beginning and a few cravings a couple nights this week but overall, I cannot complain about anything. I keep waiting for the crash too. I hope you continue to feel so good throughout the rest of the W30! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annnewjerz Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 Here's the link to the timeline. You're only supposed to feel like "What's the big deal?" for the first few days. By Days 4 and 5 you should want to "Kill All Things". You may just be a few days behind. http://whole9life.co...ole30-timeline/ Thank you! This is kind of hilarious --- and horrifying at the same time! I did have a bit of a headache when I woke up on Day 2, but that's probably because of the huge piece of carrot cake I decided I needed to eat right before bed the night before Day 1 began. Oops. Hahaha. Other than that, I did want to give my Husband a purple nurple last night for not telling me he ate the last of our sweet potato hash and I had to stay up to make more. And that's about it. I'm hoping I'm the exception to this timeline! I didn't feel worse, just noticeably and gradually better, as my first Whole30 went on. I did notice cravings hitting me at various times, but mostly I just felt better. I also noticed a daily diminishing in the puffiness/inflammation in my body. I know that is not what we are told to expect, and possibly it's not the norm, but I'm just letting you know that if you don't hit a rough patch, you're still doin' it right. For me it was just a huge relief all the way around. It was a relief for my life, not just my eating. Glad to see you here and hope you continue enjoying the wonderful food and the wonderfully relief-filled way of thinking about food. Thanks for your input! I'm glad to hear that not everyone has such a horrible time their first few weeks. Diminishing puffiness/inflammation is definitely what I noticed today. It's weird since I didn't think it would be noticable so quickly. I definitely walked through Whole Foods yesterday and said "Oh hello, gelato" and stared at it for a few seconds longer than necessary --- but ultimately I kept it movin! Ann, I was like you. I felt great from the beginning. Day 4 stands out in my mind as the day I looked in the mirror and my stomach actually looked different. I am on day 17 now and I still have not had any really bad days. I have had days that I didn't feel as good as I did back in the beginning and a few cravings a couple nights this week but overall, I cannot complain about anything. I keep waiting for the crash too. I hope you continue to feel so good throughout the rest of the W30! Yay! Glad to see another person who didn't want to kill/injure/maim anyone during their Whole30 --- at least not because of what they were eating. Good luck on the rest of your 30, I'm hoping on Day 17 I'll still not have had any really bad days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirl Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Wishing you the best.... One explanation for why some people feel better then worse before better again.... the first few days they still have sugar reserves in their muscles so plenty of energy, and they are eating really well so again plenty of energy and nutrition... then two things happen.... the body starts flushing out/detoxing since the liver is not being overloaded with junk to process... and the sugar reserves are used up and havent been replaced with sugar, but the processes whereby the body replaces the stores by converting dietary and reserve fat to muscle energy are not yet efficient and cant keep up with demand - this results in extreme tiredness for some for a few days/weeks... and the angryness due to the detoxing...... then it all comes good again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annnewjerz Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Well, we are more than half-way through Day 5 and I'm happy to report that my mood today is still really good --- no cravings, crabbiness or lack of energy to speak of. This morning when I woke up, I did think I had officially hit a speed bump because I slept horribly last night. There is a cold/flu going around the office and yesterday I finally started to feel congested, which always interrupts my sleep. Luckily, even though I didn't sleep as well as I'd hoped, today the congestion is gone and after eating breakfast and showering, I felt just as good as I have all week. This weekend will be our first on the Whole30 and I'm interested to see if that makes it more difficult or easier since I have more time to devote to cooking and meal planning than Monday-Friday. I have a special Sunday breakfast planned out. Fried eggs, plantain and bacon mash with a side of fresh berries drizzled in coconut milk. It's a little indulgent, but Erik did great getting through the work week with no complaints, so I feel like a "weekend breakfast" might be just what he needs before another whole week (and another and another) of the same baked egg cup/sweet potato hash combo. Breakfast is the one meal where I feel like redundancy might start to set in. I'm wondering if I should post my food journal from the week to make sure there is nothing I need to change before moving on to week 2. If there's anything I could be doing better, I'd rather find out sooner than later. Have a great weekend everyone! Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annnewjerz Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Well, it's been four days since my last check-in, which puts us at Day 9. I'm still cautiously optimistic in saying, Erik and I still aren't dealing with any negative Whole30 issues (or at least I'm not, and he hasn't told me of any yet). Since Day 2ish, we have both been sleeping great, have had loads of energy and in general have just felt better/happier/healthier. I'm still waiting for us to get past the Week 2 mark until I feel "in the clear" as far as not hitting any huge rough patches, so we'll see. Erik and I did have an argument last night, but after a whole week of nothing but butterflies and ponies, that was bound to happen. Erik got home from work and wasn't in the mood for what I was making (steak on the grill, grilled zucchini and cauliflower mash). He was obviously cranky and explained to me that what he'd like to be eating, he can't eat --- so it was "fine." The insinuation being that I was forcing him to do this with me. Unfortunately, saying that to a woman who has been in the kitchen cooking for 3 hours already making breakfasts/lunches/dinner is like a slap in the face and I proceeded to tell him that if he wanted to go eat pizza, he could, but that I would be sticking with the Whole30 whether he wanted to or not. The most constructive way of handling this conversation? Probably not, but once our tummies were filled we got over it. Speaking to eachother when hungry is probably not smart. Last night I made an awesome pot of Roasted Carrot and Mushroom Soup. First foray into soup-making and I'd say it was a success. I now have part of my lunches for the whole week and just in time, since the high for today is only in the low-20s. Brrr! Also worth noting, Erik told me he "did something really bad this morning." I thought for sure he had eaten something he shouldn't have --- but luckily he broke the news that he weighed himself. I know you aren't supposed to for the duration of the Whole30 and I don't plan to, but Erik didn't get that memo and decided he couldn't wait any longer. For Erik, this was more about losing some weight and supporting ME in something I wanted to undertake to change our eating habits. In the first week of Whole30, he lost 3 pounds, which for Erik is kind of spectacular. This is a man with realistically about 10-15 pounds to lose (he started at 205) and typically it takes him a month of really "behaving" to get off 3 pounds. If he wasn't convinced before, he's sure convinced now. I hope that will pave the way to an argument-free 21 remaining days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarrizleP Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I'm at day 17 and have also had nothing but awesome results. I had a headache one day but that went away with some salt and water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournegirl Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 You guys are doing great, very happy for you both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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