Jump to content

Whole 30 #1 - By any means necessary


xacerb8

Recommended Posts

Well, Day One is coming to a close. We've got The Bourne Legacy cued up and that should distract me from nighttime eating.

Here's how the day went:

I woke up feeling exhausted. This is a side effect of the anti-anxiety meds I take, and I am looking forward to transitioning off of them this summer! Hopefully this new eating will help, plus the yoga.

Breakfast:

3 eggs, scrambled

4 cups spinach and half an orange bell pepper sauteed with 2 tsps bacon grease (bacon bought from my farmer, Floyd)

1/2 an avocado

2 cups black coffee

Lunch:

1 chicken breast with skin (think it fits the 2 palm-sized servings rule)

Large salad of mixed greens, red pepper and cucumber (3-4 cups of greens)

1/2 an avocado; squeeze of lime

Dinner:

Mashed sweet potato with one Tb coconut oil and nutmeg

Steamed spinach (about 3 cups)

One palm-scoop coconut flakes

3 soft-boiled eggs

1/3 cup of Bubbe's sauerkraut

4 strawberries

I had three cups of herbal tea throughout the day. Plus water with squirts of lime.

Yoga: 15 minute restorative, Rodney Yee (RY)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Two:

Even though Nemo is hitting us hard here in Boston, I feel completely prepared. My kids went off to dad's house this afternoon and it's just me and my 1 year old goldendoodle, Yeti, holding the fort. She ADORES the snow, so I've had a lot of fun bringing her out to the park and throwing snowballs. If this storm were happening mid-week, I'd be more stressed, but right now it's the perfect excuse to hunker down inside and cook good food.

And that, actually, is the thing I'm noticing most so far: it feels good to take the time to make real food for myself. I've been doing raw milk and pastured and such (a la Nourishing Traditions) for about a year, but when push came to shove, I fell into tired habits. Peanut butter toast for breakfast -- every day. The same four or five dinners -- even though they were made from scratch: meat loaf, tacos, quiche, hamburgers, shepherd's pie. Attempts to "eat more vegetables" usually resulted in steaming an entire Olivia's family size clamshell of baby kale once a week and then proceeding to eat potato chips, corn chips and Smart Puffs as my side dishes the rest of the time. This afternoon, as I sighed and thought, "eggs again?" I laughed.

So, for today:

Breakfast

Steam-sauteed spinach & kale with sliced grape tomatoes

3 eggs scrambled in coconut oil

1/2 avocado

2 cups of black coffee

Lunch

Salad of mixed greens with roast chicken, grape tomatoes. cucumbers, a dill pickle, half an avocado, and some Whole30 compliant salad dressing (organic balsamic vinaigrette - checked ingredients)

Dinner

Broiled salmon with stir fry vegetables (had to manually remove about 20 edamame!) in a red curry sauce (coconut milk, red curry paste (checked ingredients), lime juice, salt) with a small dusting of coconut flakes

About 10 raspberries

I did not read anything (email, twitter, blogs, books, a magazine) or watch anything while I ate today. It makes a difference. I worked on feeling that "almost but not quite full" feeling. I savored the experience of taking the time to make something really nourishing for myself.

Taking the dog out one more time, then some restorative yoga and an early bedtime. Here's to a great Day #3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Three:

Woke up this morning and it was still snowing. They say it snowed for 18 hours straight. But, we did not beat the all-time biggest snowfall record, which happened in 2003. I don't know exactly how much that was, but it was more than the 27 inches we got this time.

Anyway, the snow is of note only because I spent three hours shoveling and still haven't even touched the front and sides of my car! And that was with my neighbor's adorable boyfriend snowblowing my walk! I thought I'd be starving from all of the physical exertion, but my breakfast was good enough to hold me. I just drank a lot of homemade Gator Ade (water with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice)

So here is what I ate today:

Breakfast

Chicken, stir fry vegetables with sweet potato and curry sauce with coconut flakes <leftover from last night>

Strawberries (3)

Lunch

Salad: Salmon, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, 1 chopped pickle, cucumber, 2 tablespoons dressing <store bought/compliant>

Dinner

Medium stuffed green pepper (ground beef, roasted cauliflower, kale, tomato paste)

Cucumber/tomato/pickle salad

2 strawberries

I'm enjoying the food. I hope I can stay as dedicated to cooking. Today I roasted up brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and root vegetables, plus made stuffed peppers and beef stew. That should hold us for the week! I hope. But I am going to have to pay closer to what I put on my shopping list.

I was so hungry last night before bed, but I made it through. Yay!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Four:

Cooked a chicken in the slow cooker, started organizing my taxes, and spent 2+ hours shoveling snow. Plus two hour long doggie playdates. A good day!

I'm surprised by how "easy" this is. Meaning, that I'm not routinely eating half a bag of potato chips while I make dinner. Or eating a cup of cashews between breakfast and lunch. I'm really enjoying the food. It's weird!

Breakfast:

Beef stew with a side of brussels sprouts

2 cups black coffee

Lunch:

Stuffed pepper (1/2 of a large one)

Sauerkraut

A few raspberries

Dinner:

Small pc of salmon and small pc of chicken breast in curry sauce with coconut flakes

Sides of roasted root vegetables

Sauerkraut

4 large strawberries

The challenge now is feeding myself AND the kids without them complaining too much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Five:

I didn't post yesterday because bedtime snuck up on me! We had a snow day and went out to play with the dog for two hours and then, I had to feed everybody. I'm not converting the kids to paleo/primal yet. Baby steps. So I made them spaghetti with meat sauce. Had some of the meat sauce myself. But felt frazzled and exhausted by 10:00 pm.

Breakfast:

1/2 large ground-beef stuffed green pepper

Side of cauliflower

1/2 an avocado

Sauerkraut

2 cups black coffee

Lunch:

3 eggs, scrambled

Side of roasted root vegetables

Side of steamed green beans

One dill pickle

4 strawberries

Dinner:

Hamburger in pasta sauce (Whole Foods organic, fat free, checked ingredients)

Steam sauteed kale - a lot

Sauerkraut

2 handfuls frozen blueberries

It was hard to stop eating the blueberries. I had to consciously stop myself. I wonder if it's because I did a 90 minute yoga class that was really intense?

Oh well, it was a good day. I am thankful to have the time to cook, to be able to afford this good food. And thankful for finding Whole 30 so that I can take better care of myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day Six

Had to be up at 5:30 this morning to get the kids out to school for their ski trip. I spent the day at Carolyn's house which meant I had to bring my own lunch. Also, we always have pizza with the kids after skiing, so I brought dinner too.

Breakfast

3 scrambled eggs

Large side of root vegetables

2 cups coffee

Lunch

Mixed salad greens with roasted chicken breast, roasted root vegetables and brussels sprouts

2 Tbs salad dressing

8 small strawberries

Dinner

1 large bowl beef stew

It was a difficult day in that I felt exhausted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 7

So, today I have had a throbbing, pounding headache. The kind that before I would have attributed to caffeine withdrawal. I took Advil in the morning and then again around 9 pm. Other than that, it's been a good day, though I'm a bit tired.

Breakfast

3 eggs, scrambled

Side of roasted cauliflower

1/2 an avocado

Around 11 am: kombucha

Lunch

Huge salad from Whole Foods bar: mixed greens, brussels sprouts slaw, sweet potato, tuna, beets, olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Dinner

Chicken and beef shredded with coconut curry sauce

Side of roasted cauliflower/brussels sprouts

Sauerkraut

I didn't do yoga yesterday and probably won't today. That's ok. I'm really tired. And tonight, oddly, hungry. But it is 10:00 already so that makes sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 8 (February 14th)

Breakfast

Ground beef with pasta sauce over green beeans, cauliflower

Side of sauerkraut

2 cups black coffee

Lunch

Chicken breast

Salad: Lettuce, spinach, green pepper, pikcles, 1/2 avocado, 2 Tbs dressing

Dinner

Flank Steak

Roasted zucchini

Salad with tomatoes, carrots, green pepper, 1 Tb dressing

Had two helpings of salad and about an extra 1/2 serving of steak

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 9

Breakfast

2 softboiled eggs

2 sides sauteed baby kale

sauerkraut

2 cups black coffee

Lunch

Beef stew

Salad with mixed greens, romaine, tomatoes, olive oil and vinegar dressing

Dinner

Mixed greens with oil and vinegar

3 large olives, 10 tiny olives

Clearly, this day was a fail. I wanted to go out for sushi so I could have sashimi. My kids didn't. So, why not just stay home? Boyfriend wanted to go out. We went to a place that served absolutely nothing that was Whole30 compliant other than a green salad. Oddly, I did not feel hungry all night long. It was strange.

Anyway, looking forward to some scrambled eggs and bacon this morning! With a side of tomatoes of course! And maybe some greens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 10

Well, yesterday was a lovely day. It snowed a bit and we had a lot of fun outside. I am feeling great. A little bit like I have a sinus thing going on, that weird flu-ey feeling in the back of my nose. But, I have been able to be compliant very easily, so that's great.

I snuck out the to grocery store this morning. $400! Yikes, but I got a bunch of Whole30 staples: coconut flour, almond meal, more coconut oil, olive oil etc. The 1.5 pounds of crab meat killed me, but that will be a special treat and I'll freeze some of the crab cakes.

Ok, so here is how it went:

Breakfast:

4 strips bacon (U.S. Wellness)

3 scrambled eggs

Side of blue curly kale with butternut squash

2 cups of coffee, black

Lunch

Salad with chicken breast, 1.5 strips of crumbled bacon, a bit of avocado. tomatoes, smidge of leftover dressing, sauteed kale, and 6 sliced strawberries

Dinner

Shrimp scampi

Creamy spice market kale

Tomatoes

Things are going really well. I can't wait until it's over to see what progress I've made. I know it's not about weight loss, but if I could get to 150, I'd be in heaven. Then, more yoga and some HIIT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 11

In order to convince Chris that the Whole 30 isn't a "weird cultish diet regimen," I joined Foodee and came up with a week's worth of recipes. We had Krabby Patties from NomNomPaleo last night and they were gorgeous!!! Leftovers today, unless Chris scarfs them first.

Breakfast

1/2 small cabbage sauteed with ground beef

Pasta sauce (WFM fat free)

2 cups black coffee

Lunch

Bowl of beef stew

10 blackberries

Dinner

2.5 Krabby Patties

1 sliced tomato

Salad with oil/vinegar dressing, peppers, and cucumber

I was kind of bloated last night. I guess maybe from the cabbage. I think next week I have to incorporate some exercise into my routine. Maybe some long walks with Yeti and if possible, some yoga. That will be my goal because doing the eating plan has not been difficult.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 12

Breakfast

2 scrambled eggs and some shrimp

Side of roasted root vegetables

Leftover garden salad

2 cups of black coffee

Lunch

3 hard-boiled eggs with 2 Tbs paleo mayo

Lettuce, peppers, sauerkraut

6 blackberries

Dinner

Sauteed shrimp

Roasted root vegetables

Sliced grape tomatoes

Leftover creamy spice market kale

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 13

Breakfast

Ground beef sauteed with 1/2 small head of cabbage and about 1/2 cup WFM fat-free pasta sauce

Side of green beans

2 cups black coffee

Lunch

Salad with 1.5 leftover Krabby Patties, red, yellow and orange peppers, tomatoes, and 1/2 an avocado

1 orange

Dinner

2 chicken thighs, 1 piece bacon

Side of sauteed spinach with squeeze of lemon

Side of sliced grape tomatoes

1 orange

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Sarah I LOVE the sauerkraut. I think I have it at almost every meal, probably because of the salt content? I'm going to pick up some "smokra" this weekend, another addiction. Do you have it out in CA? It's spicy pickled okra with smoked paprika. I have got to figure out how to make it myself, because it's ridiculously expensive.

Halfway through! Do you have any idea what your first "off plan" indulgence will be? I'm thinking a nice glass of shiraz.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 14

I can't believe I'm almost halfway through this Whole 30. I'm feeling a little guilty that I have not been going to yoga much, but, honestly, I feel like my body is still adjusting. I took the kids sledding on Tuesday and I got tired walking up the hill. This doesn't usually happen to me. I'm going to go to yoga first thing in the morning tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday and see how that goes. Maybe I can get back into it for the last two weeks of this thing.

So, what am I noticing? Well, as I've said before, I have not experienced the same overwhelming hunger and need to snack as I used to. Although, this morning, I stopped eating when I felt that "ok, it's enough" feeling, rather than cleaning my plate, and, well, it's 10:45 and I could eat again. You know, if someone really needed me to. By 1:00 I'm going to be really, really hungry.

Another thing, when I eat by myself, I am generally satisfied with the first plate I fix (protein, vegetable, fat). When I eat with another person, I almost always find myself having seconds of something. Not sure why that is, but I do find it interesting.

It's tempting to get on the scale. Residual behavior from a life-time of yo-yo dieting and dreams of quick fixes. I resist and revel in the fact that the jeans I avoided wearing in favor of fleece lounge pants are now comfortable again.

So, here's what I ate on Day #14:

Breakfast

Ground beef/cabbage sauté with WFM pasta sauce

Side of broccoli

2 cups black coffee

Lunch

Salad of mixed greens with one can tuna and 2 Tbs paleo mayo, tomatoes, peppers, sauerkraut

Dinner

Frittata with bacon and tomato

Side of spice market kale w/pineapple

Side of roasted root vegetables (beet, carrot, turnip)

Thinking of cutting back to one cup of coffee a day....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 15

My kids went off skiing with their dad and won't be home until Sunday night. My son's Oscar night requests: Jalapeno poppers, fish tacos, and salad. That makes him sound way healthier than he really is. :) The poppers are gross and come out of a box, the fish tacos are only slightly "better," coming from a box --- but at least's it's a Whole Foods box! The salad is this meal's only saving grace. I won't be eating anything but the salad, of course.

My goal, once I've accomplished this whole 30 is to slowly start transitioning my kids. My son is a pretty adventurous eater and has recently started to care more about what he eats and its effect on his body. My daughter has never met a starch she didn't love. If she could order a rice and mashed potato sandwich, she would.

Anyway, it was an amazingly productive day here. I finished getting my taxes ready to go to my accountant, plus plowed through too similarly onerous household paperwork tasks. Tomorrow I can actually focus on work that pays the bills. And not a minute too soon! It's almost time to go shopping again!!

Breakfast:

1 pc leftover bacon-tomato frittata

Side of green beans

1/2 an avocado

Sauerkraut

2 cups black coffee

Lunch

Salad of mixed greens with green olives, apple, broccoli, peppers, meat from two small chicken thighs, and dressing

(Adapted from here: http://idreamofprotein.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/apple-olive-spinach-salad-with-sweet-apple-dressing/)

1 hard-boiled egg

Dinner

2 chicken thighs

Side of mashed butternut squash with 1 Tb coconut cream

Side of steamed broccoli with 1 Tb paleo mayo

Approx 10 raspberries

I've been experimenting with "fullness." I was definitely forced to clean my plate as a child and I find myself eating more than I probably should/cleaning my plate, because I'm worried about getting hungry between meals. I stress out a little bit about whether it's better to leave the protein, fat or vegetables on my plate. But most of the time, I just eat because everything tastes so good.

That apple and olive salad? OMG! It has the perfect ratio of sour to salty to sweet. You make a dressing for it with garlic, mayo, and 3 tsp of applesauce!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 16 (Friday, 2/16)

I've had a really productive week. Got all of my tax info out to the accountant. Got really into the flow of one of my smaller projects. And, had an inquiry from another client about my availability for a 3-month project. Yay! Mortgage covered for a bit!

I also treated myself to a $10 noontime yoga class which turned out to be so hard! I got all woozy and light-headed. So I posted on the forum and got some advice. Today, I went to a 7:30 Bikram class, but ate 2 hard boiled eggs first and had some sweet potato and eggwhite afterwards. The class was tough, but I did manage to stay in the room. I could only do the first set of some of the postures, but that's ok. I made it through! And I'm going back tomorrow.

Meal #1:

Hamburger with broccoli and 2 tsp sweet apple dressing

Side of roasted root vegetables

2 cups of black coffee

Meal #2:

Salad w/ leftover frittata cut up into it, peppers, grape tomatoes, 1/3 of an apple (chopped), 1/2 avocado and 1 Tb sweet apple dressing

Meal #3

2 Applegate beef hotdogs

Side of Greek cucumber salad

Side of pureed sweet potatoes with 1 tb coconut cream

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 17 (Saturday, 2/23)

Took a Bikram class today. It was a struggle, and I had a lot of light-headed, dizzy moments, but I managed to remain conscious. :) I had a splitting headache all afternoon so I think I need more than two meals in the day though I didn't feel that hungry.

Pre-WO:

2 hardboiled eggs

1 cup black coffee

Post WO:

1 hardboiled egg white and 1/2 a small sweet potato

1 cup black coffee

Meal #1:

Hamburger with broccoli, root vegetables, 1 tsp mayo

Side of cucumber salad

1 cube of cantaloupe

Kombucha

Meal #2:

Mahi mahi pan fried in ghee

Side of steamed spinach with coconut milk/lime/curry sauce

Side of pureed sweet potatoes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 18

It's Oscar Night! I celebrated by making OMGPaleo's "slow cooker pork and rice." So, here's the thing: the entire house reeks of cauliflower. The kids walked in the door this evening and both started gagging. I was like, "Oh, it's not that bad, you get used to it after awhile." But my daughter tasted a bite of pork and rejected it as, "tasting like cauliflower." My son loved it. And so did I. The cauliflower wasn't bad either, but.....it sure the heck wasn't rice, that's for sure.

Pre WO: 1 hardboiled egg and a closed handful of filberts

1 cup black coffee

BIKRAM!!

Post WO/Meal #1

Frittata with bacon, spinach, and tomato

Fruit salad: pineapple, cantaloupe, and strawberries

1 cup black coffee

Meal #2

Chicken breast

Side of roasted root vegetables w/broccoli with coconut milk/lime/sweet potato curry sauce

Side of Greek cucumber salad

Meal #3

Slow cooker pork

Side of cauliflower "rice"

1/2 side of roasted beets

1/2 side of steamed spinach

Sauerkraut

1 handful frozen blueberries

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've wondered about that cauliflower subbing for rice thing. I haven't tried it because of how strong the flavor is. I think I'll continue just roasting the florets and serving whatever else I am having alongside or mixed in with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...