Vanessa's Log

[VanessaL]

This is my first whole 30 and I just wanted to write a few things down, and maybe get some feed back.

I'm on Day 6. And I'm really starting to feel my head spin (metaphorically) and I'm not sure if I'll make it another 24 days.

I'm totally on board with no wheat/legumes/dairy etc. But it's the little hidden nasties.

On Tuesday (Day 2), I had awesome success at eating out at a friend of mine's creative writing reading. I judiciously read the menu and picked an arugula salad with seared scallops with lemon/olive oil dressing and house made tomato salsa. Afterwards I met up with my partner (not doing the W30) and his band for drinks and nachos... they had the nachos and beers, I had water. I was really proud of myself because nahcos are one of my foods where I really can't just eat a few...

Late Wednesday night I discovered an allergic reaction on my skin.. no clue what it is. In any case I was able to get in to see a doc on Thursday night and he prescribed a lotion for the itchiness. In any case, by the time we were out of there it was nearly 8 o'clock and my partner didn't feel like cooking (I could have, but I got the vibe he really just wanted to get something to take away). He asked me where I could go. I racked my brain. Indian: but they might not use a compliant oil. Sushi... out because I think sashimi would be about the only thing I could have. We did Thai from a little family-run place we really like. A red prawn curry and a green chicken curry. I put it over some leftover mashed cauliflower I had in the fridge.

The next day I brought it for lunch and it occurred to me that it could have had xantham gum as many of the coconut milks I've read labels of have that. It could also have had MSG, because for lunch not having any cauliflower, I decided to eat it as a soup. I had also brought a side of leftover carrots, but I had to run for a meeting so I didn't get to eat those. It didn't really hit me until I realized I wasn't really hungry and it was 2:45... curry couldn't possibly be that filling.

And this is what's making my head spin. I know the mantra is either you're on the whole 30 or you're not. But I feel like those little sneaky nasties could really trip me up and I find the thought of that very discouraging.

I don't plan to eat out a whole lot during this, just for practical reasons of being compliant. My first restaurant experience was really encouraging. For Valentine's my partner has a night class, but it sounds like he might take me to a restaurant we've been wanting to try for a long time (that does steak and seafood so I think I'll be good there).

Should I continue to try my best and not sweat the small stuff? I'm committed to following the rules and I think I've been doing pretty well so far.

[VanessaL]

I want to add that part of my problem was that I hadn't done a big cook up. I realized this would be a challenge, but Sunday was the last day of the juice cleanse I did immediately before the W30, and while I think I could have made it through, it seemed better to not even try.

[Tom Denham]

I would not worry too much about the Thai food. I would not recommend Thai every day, but what you describe sounds okay. Because I failed to read the guidelines carefully when I did my first Whole30, I made some mistakes. However, I had a great experience because most of my meals were good and my mistakes were small.