Kaleena's Post30- A modified 30 Lifestyle

[Kaleena]

I'm on day 31. I'm done, I'm done, I'm done! I'm not happy to be finished the Whole30, I'm happy to have made it.

Points of Success:

• It's hard to say how much weight I lost because I started out right after the holidays and probably had 5lbs of holiday food going on. I weighed 120. Now I weigh 111. I didn't really want to lose weight, more like fill out, gain muscle and look leaner. Considering I thought I was eating a ton of food, I'm pretty happy with these results anyway.
  
• Not hungry in between meals.
  
• I probably lost 0.5-1 inch off my waist.
  
• When I look at my body, and not consider the tape measure or scale I'm happier with what I see. So..yay!
  
• I'm down from 4 coffees a day to 2. And the 2 are smaller portions. I'm drinking cream right in my coffee as my first off-road attempt. It's not as satisfying as I would have expected.
  
• Energy and stamina has increased.
  
• I feel less foggy.
  
• General feelings of well being.
  
• Skin and hair is healthier.
  

I don't want to call this Whole30 fail but this is where I need improvement:

• I succeeded at not snacking in the evenings ZERO times. Of course, it was all compliant food and a modest portion but it was my biggest failure during the 30.
  
• I'm still having trouble falling asleep and waking up too early. This could be a matter of "too much energy" at the moment.
  
• Although I'm getting used to it, the meal planning aspect was sometimes frustrating and inconvenient.
  
• As a vegetarian that is eating fish only for the 30 my meals became rather boring.
  

So what now?

I wish that my 30 ended on a Monday, oppose to Friday. Last weekend was the toughest for me because I so badly wanted some wine and chocolate. I'm having dairy and chocolate this weekend. I have missed these things the most. I'm still holding out on everything else.

I'd like to continue eating in this fashion next week with the addition of soy since I need a break from eating fish 2-3 times a day!

Sadly, I think the Whole30 has ruined my oatmeal, egg white and raw honey breakfasts because there is no way that would fill me up for 4-5 hours and there's no veggies! Lol.

I'll be logging back in to say how I feel after cream in coffee now (no sugar!), milk in tea later, and some dark chocolate tonight.

[Kaleena]

I've been on a forum hiatus! My first weekend off the 30 I went a little crazy. Off road? More like off the planet! I was pretty disappointed with myself. So I reigned it in again on the following Monday. I'm committed to doing modified Whole 5's throughout the week (cream in coffee, milk in tea) and indulging a bit over the weekend. Not that I'm making a point to indulge but I'm really regimented throughout the week and over the weekend I tend to see friends and actually go out so not worrying about meal planning is nice.

I haven't ordered takeout yet and even my weekend breakfasts and dinners are compliant.

Last night I treated myself to sweet potato brownies made with 71% dark cocoa. They were maybe even better than the ones I get at the local bakery, which must be so full of sugar because my organs actually hurt the next day after eating them. Inflammation like woah!

I've also noticed that my tastes are changing. I started the Whole30 on February second as a vegetarian that had tried fish a handful of times and I chose to scrap all of my soy and dairy in favor of seafood for thirty days.

Now not only do I not want soy anymore (reading the ingredients on the packaging is grossing me out!) I've been craving beef in a big way. I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 12 years and yet, I keep finding myself browsing the local healthy butcher shop. Well, I took the plunge today and bought nitrate and hormone free roast beef, which I plan on incorporating into a curry tonight and sugar-free dried jerky as a portable snack. I'm finding that bringing hard boiled eggs out is kind of weird! I've also noticed that eating something sugary like dried fruit or nuts (both no brakes) just doesn't work for me in between dance classes.

Also, my pimples have almost completely cleared. My complexion was awesome when I was doing a vegetarian paleo thing for a couple of years. it hasn't flared with the intro of dairy or the rice I have once a week when I get sushi. So I figure it was probably coming from sugar. I started getting zits when I was 10. by the time I was 12 my parents were buying me tons of products and taking me to doctors and now I find it kind of amusing that no one ever thought to look to my diet.

I think one of the best benefits is that I feel more confident and in control of my life.

Anyway, that's my update for now. Hopefully the beef thing goes okay. I'm actually kind of nervous/feel like a fraud but I'm really trying to listen to my body here!

[Nadia B]

Glad you are posting again My dairy experience was terrible, but I see that you handle milk in your coffee/tea well. Good for you! I am not introducing anything more for now, still cleaning up from the consequences.

I had troubles with stomaching beef, make sure you include lots of fiber or eat an enzyme with eat. Anyways hope you will be less confused and more pleased with the experience.

[Kaleena]

I'm definitely not updating my post30 log often but I do want to check in from time-to-time. I'm still doing my modified 30 during the week and every meal (except sushi once a week) is 30 inspired. On the weekends I won't be as strict. I had a dance performance on Saturday and I don't like to eat right before. By the time I finished I was hungry and the only food left was pita and hummus. On Sunday I went out with friends and had a beer for the first time since NYE and a plate of fries.

I'm known to have an iron stomach so really, I haven't noticed any adverse reactions to eating these foods. The only problem is when I eat sushi I feel extremely full but then again, I eat a lot of it.

I mentioned in my last post that I started to eat meat again. That is going well (iron stomach, no digestive problems) but I really have to undo my thinking on eating too much fat/cholesterol and red meat making people fat. I'm actually pretty terrible at cooking it right now (lots of tough beef lol) and finding myself learning new things all of the time. My husband thinks I have been possessed by a carnivorous demon or something. I'm only buying from a local butcher that uses cattle that is grass fed, not raised on hormones or given antibiotics.

For the first time since I started the 30 I felt motivated and body-ready enough to do an Insanity workout. I went all out and felt great but my legs were so sore yesterday. Today they feel much better so I wonder if recovery is finally starting to improve too.

I think that's it for now. : )

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

If you have one, you can try cooking a beef roast in a slow cooker, it should turn out pretty tender that way. Well Fed has some really good meatball recipes too.

[Kaleena]

I did try a roast in a slow cooker. It was okay. I'd work with a different recipe next time. Thanks for the meatball suggestion. I'll look into it!

[Moluv]

I was vegan for a long time and even after I started eating meat again it was severely limited. Even now, years later, I still gross out on dealing with raw meat, chewing meat etc. I still prefer ground grassfed beef to steak or roast any day. And chicken to me is like, what's the point? I say yes to meatballs! And sometimes I purée cooked liver (grassfed only) and add a little to the mix for extra nutrients. I think that way you can eat a smaller portion and get more bang nutritionally. And it adds a kind of earthy depth to the flavor that I love.

[Kaleena]

Still keeping up with the Whole30 spirit for the most part but having some issues. I haven't been recovering well from workouts...AT ALL. I've been sore, tired and foggy every day for about 2 weeks...Except on weekends when I eat some rice and chocolate. I have also been so bloated that I considered not eating this way at all anymore. 9 weeks after the start of my original 30 and I thought I'd be looking pretty good by now.

I decided to have off-road meals today and now I'm more confused than ever. *sigh* I had oatmeal, egg whites and some raw honey for breakfast and a "protein pancake" for lunch (oatmeal, egg white, yogurt and maple syrup). This is *actually* what I used to eat everyday for a year and I know that's so nutritionally lacking and unnatural. However, I haven't felt like I beached whale today, my muscle soreness went away and for the first morning in weeks I felt clear-headed and "on."

Unfortunately, I was hungry 2 hours later and once I start the day with something sweet, I almost have to have something sweet with every meal for the rest of the day. So I know this isn't an everyday solution.

No, I'm not completely throwing away the whole 30 vision but something has to change. I'm thinking that maybe it's a certain food that is making me feel bloated and sluggish, like eggs, or too many vegetables. I have to experiment but eating more + being too sore to work out is not making me feel great right now!

Anyway, I'm making a tilapia and green veg curry over sweet potato soon and I will take note on how it feels to eat over what I ate earlier.

P.S. I also feel kind of nasty because the Greek yogurt was given to me as a promo thing and I have 4 single serves of it and wanted to try some (I ate one on its own not too long ago because the meals weren't filling enough) and they are apple flavored so of course they're a total Frankenfood.

P.P.S. I have seriously limited m meat intake I think I was eating too much too soon. I still can't get over the fat per serving. It seems like so much for so little and trust me, I'm not griping about "filling out" like, I really feel like I've been packing on the chunky! gah!

[Kaleena]

Wow, my last update was miserable. That was a week ago. Since then I have been eating oatmeal for breakfast everyday and then a whole 30-inspired lunch and dinner. I have gone back to protein bars as snacks as oppose to the more calorie dense natural Lara bars and the like. I have also dropped my meat intake significantly.

I have already dropped the bloat and I'm recovering better.

I think these compromises are what my body wants right now. This is not what a whole30 forum wants to hear but I need to make these adjustments and experiments as I figure out what's right for me and my activity levels.