Sarah Snyder Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I'm on Day 7 already but just discovered the forums. Woo! This is great b/c I've been wanting a place to put my progress out there. So far today: Last of a roast chicken and a hard boiled egg mixed into a chicken/egg salad hybrid with homemade mayo, handful of blueberries. 2 cups of coffee (half caf) with coconut cream (one with Miessence BerryRadical antioxidant superfood). An entire (but short) bunch of asparagus, blanched and served with salt & pepper and seasoned homemade mayo (i just added dill and pepper), 2 hard boiled eggs, handful of blueberries Clementine orange and about a teaspoon of coconut cream (snack needed and I don't have much else to work with at the office!) I have no idea yet what I'm making for dinner but I have a fully stocked fridge so I'm not too concerned. Maybe roasted beets served over their sauteed greens, with fried eggs on top (using olive oil). Maybe an artichoke instead since I have the mayo? Thinking about maybe baking an apple with some coconut butter and cinnamon while I have the oven on. I'd totally eat this pre-Whole30 so I don't think it's too SWYPO but I've already had a few servings of fruit today so we'll see. Maybe I'll bake it tonight but eat it tomorrow? TBD. How I'm feeling so far: Mostly great! I started this to battle the sugar demon, which I've done in the past just by cutting out processed sugar/carbs, but that sucker creeps back in. Sugar/carb/chocolate cravings have been almost non-existent, and most days I don't eat as much fruit as what you see up above. However, I can't get a cheese pizza with extra cheese out of my brain for the last couple days. I didn't really know why I was cutting out dairy and grains and legumes at first but thought I would just take a little leap of faith and go for it, and I'm so glad I have! I've had mild but chronic sinus issues pretty much my whole life. Mild enough that I didn't even really notice anymore (which is why I didn't even think of it before), but bad enough that while sitting quietly, a friend once told me to just blow my damn nose already. Well, just a week in, I've never felt clearer! Fascinating. I should probably step away from the cashews. Energy has been great except for today. Mood has been pretty much stable except that I was pretty annoyed with my dog this morning, just doing her normal dog thing. So I guess today's the toughest day so far? And honestly, if today's tough, I'll take it. I think my dog really likes the Whole30 though b/c she helps me sample things like butternut squash, apples, carrots and blueberries to make sure they're safe. I think beet greens are her favorite so far. I also gave her the solids after making chicken stock, all whirled up in a high-powered blender into the most disgusting-looking mess I've ever seen, but it puts her in doggie heaven so who am I to judge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 I wound up having 2 scrambled eggs with salsa and half an avocado, and an artichoke with homemade mayo. Made an extra artichoke so I have one for tomorrow's lunch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 15, 2013 Author Share Posted February 15, 2013 Today went like so: Banana and a tin of sardines in spring water. 2 cups half caf coffee with coconut cream Artichoke with homemade mayo, 2 eggs fried in olive oil, handful of blueberries Panera egg bowl with steak Today was great until I got home from work! In fact I was so focused I didn't even realize it was time to go home. But then I got home and despair set in...I'm so tired of cooking! I had a big night of roasting planned, trying to use all the oven heat at once, and I'll probably still do that to prep for the next couple days, but I just didn't want to do it for tonight. I would have forged on through because I have dinner plans Saturday and eating out once is stressful enough but I also had a serious craving for red meat. This happens very rarely so when I crave it, I listen. I saw in these forums about the Panera hidden menu, and the egg and steak bowl was just what the doctor ordered! They wouldn't fry the egg since it wasn't breakfast but a diced hard boiled egg was just fine. Was it as good as anything I could have made myself? Definitely not. But at just over $5, it really got the job done. This also made me realize that I'm pretty bored of eggs, which is too bad since they are the most affordable protein I know of! After panera I went and bought a steak for possibly the first time ever, and I'll be prepping that up for tomorrow and beyond. Not a bad day aside from that little crash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Day 10! Today consisted of: For breakfast I had maybe 3 ounces or so of steak, a few bites of sauteed beet greens, 2 cups of half caf coffee with coconut cream, half a handful of blueberries. Lunch was a larger portion of steak, maybe 5 ounces? An actual serving of beet greens, and some carrots roasted with coconut oil and curry powder (amazing!), plus a few blueberries (just like 5). Dinner was steak again (I bought a huge one!), a banana, half a red bell pepper dipped in some homemade mayo. If I'm really being honest...I'm not that into the homemade mayo. It was my third attempt and it feels very unstable like it's going to break any moment. I miss my yogurt-based dips. Was sort of cranky today but work just does that to me sometimes so I kind of doubt it's Whole30-related. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Okay yesterday was day 9 and TODAY was day 10! A third of the way there! First time really eating out since all this started... Breakfast was steak and scrambled eggs topped w/ salsa and avocado. Where have steak and eggs been all my life? So good! I'd planned to eat some beets as well but they would up not being cooked enough. Oops. Lunchy snackiness was a banana, steak, and some almonds. Was gardening for most of the day so just did nibbles here and there to keep my energy up and blood sugar feeling good. Dinner! My aunt was in town and we went to The Stinking Rose in San Francisco, where they basically worship garlic. And it was EASY!! Their rabbit was totally compliant on its own, and then I just swapped steamed veggies with olive oil and garlic for their famous garlic mashed potatoes, and it wasn't until I just wrote that sentence that I remembered to be sad I was missing out on the potatoes. The table ordered a bagna calda (garlic slow simmered in olive oil with a hint of anchovy until the garlic is super soft), and I wasn't even tempted by the bread you put it on. I just waited til our entrees came and put some cloves on my veggies. =) (Yes there's some butter in there too but I tried to just get the cloves and felt okay about it.) I passed on dessert. Today felt...normal. Like this is just the way I eat and how I feel, which is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Yesterday was day 11 and it was loooonnnnggg! Some friends and I did a little day road trip around the California central coast, which is gorgeous, but it required some planning to say the least. Breakfast was sweet potato hash, coconut curried carrots, and 2 hardboiled eggs. We were having a late lunch so I packed a snack that was just a smaller version of breakfast. Also macadamias, cashews, and just a couple deglet dates from our stop to the most awesome fruit stand, Casa de Fruta. First dried fruit since starting! I love dates but I've only had Medjool dates before and these deglet dates had a much deeper flavor, almost like caramel. Or maybe my taste buds are just changing? Lunch was a picnic! Sweet potato hash, beet greens, beets, and steak. I really didn't cook the beet greens well at all. They weren't quite done and I put too much other stuff in there so they were spicy in a way that overpowered them. Sigh. For dinner, we went out to Montrio Bistro in Monterey. Very cool place, and after I talked to our server and she ran to the kitchen, she suggested I have the oven roasted brick chicken. WOW was it good! Perfectly tender and juicy, very flavorful. It came with mashed potatoes and green beans seasoned with cumin and coconut. I swapped the mashed potatoes for more green beans! Very very very tasty, and I never would have thought to cook green beans that way, so I'll have to try that at home sometime. Even though dinner was so yummy, I found myself stressing a little about trusting the kitchen to "do it right." Did I ask all the right questions? Did they listen? I had an iced tea too and although our server swore it was just tea, it tasted very sweet to me and I started to get a little paranoid. My friends tasted it and said it wasn't sweet at all. She wasn't lying: http://www.sportea.com/sportea_key_ingredients.php Soo...maybe some control issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Day 12 is done! Pretty lazy day which meant I didn't really eat a meal and just sort of munched all morning/afternoon...not the best, I know, even though the foods were all compliant. At least I think they were...I'm wondering if the cashews and macadamias I bought on Sunday are actually roasted in bad oils...still learning to get all the questions answered I guess! Dinner was an actual meal though: turkey "pesto" meatballs over zucchini noodles. Needed salt but was a good base for playing with flavors. Pineapple for dessert. Gosh I love pineapple! I'm fully planning to gorge myself until I can't feel my tongue when I go to Hawaii in April! My tummy was less than pleased with me last night and this morning, and has been on occasion through these 12 days, so I also ate a naturally fermented pickle. I'm normally a big home fermenter, drinking kefir daily and eating cultured veggies fermented using kefir whey as a starter, as well as kombucha. Obviously kefir and the veggies are out for now, and my last batch of kombucha came out WAY too sour, so I'm definitely short on my probiotics. Hence the (storebought) pickle... Other than tummy issues, I've been feeling really good! Good enough that I want to mostly keep this up and just allow for breaks occasionally. I feel like the sugar dragon is vanquished, and even the cheese dragon is a little weak thing. I do miss my kefir, so I hope my body doesn't react negatively when I reintroduce dairy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Lucky number 13! I did much better with actual meals today! Breakfast was a few turkey meatballs and roasted beets. 2 cups of half caf coffee with coconut cream, one of which also had miessence berry radical. Lunch was scrambled eggs with spinach and ground turkey, with a clementine for dessert. Dinner was zucchini noodles with sautéed mushrooms, some jarred tomatoes from my friend's garden, and ground turkey. I threw together chocolate chili in the crockpot on high while I went to a friend's house to watch The Bachelor, so I had a few piping hot bites of that and a couple macadamias when I got home as I was a bit hungry. I might have burned my taste buds in the process but I'm still excited to eat that stuff for real tomorrow! Another day that just seems sort if normal, in a good way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Day 14! Almost half way! Breakfast was the last of the beet greens with the turkey mixture I made the meatballs with. Great combo! The greens were over-spiced and the turkey was sort of bland so they balanced out perfectly. YUM! Plus 2 cups of half caf coffee w/ coconut cream (one with Berry Radical). Lunch was zucchini noodles with chocolate chili (half turkey, half ground beef) that had mushrooms added to it and half an avocado sliced on top. Bosses commented on how this "diet" didn't have such bad food after all. Win! Snack of coconut cream and a banana. (It was going to be 6-7 hours between lunch and dinner) Dinner was chocolate chili and broccoli, plus a few macadamias. Pineapple for dessert. The chili is VERY rich so I'm not 100% sure my servings are big enough b/c I just can't eat that much of it. We'll see how I feel as I work my way through the pot. Red meat isn't really my thing so it takes some getting used to.. I have a bunch of kale in my fridge that really needs eating right now but I'm feeling too lazy to de-stem it at the moment. I think I'll take it to work tomorrow and cook it for my coworkers. =) I can't believe it's already after 10pm and I'm not even remotely hungry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Ok maybe I had a bit of "kill all the things" right before bed, when my dog decided to roll in the stinkiest thing possible when I let her out for pre-bed potty. Now, this is something that is pretty anger inducing for many people, but I never get mad at my dog. Like ever. So I don't know. Seems like I shouldn't get crankypants this late in the game, but I'm also not feeling anywhere near tiger blood yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Day 15 yesterday... Breakfast was chocolate chili and broccoli with 1 cup reg. coffee with Berry Radical and coconut cream. Lunch was chocolate chili (wow that recipe makes a lot...) and kale. Snack was coconut cream and blueberries. Dinner was technically on plan but really not anywhere near the spirit of W30. A banana here, some nuts there...chomp chomp munch munch...blah. I felt very lazy all night until about 10pm, when I suddenly decided it was time to move the bookshelves in my bedroom, put away laundry, and do some bathroom cleaning. Gotta take advantage when the mood strikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 16 days done! I feel like I did it just right today. Or at least the closest I've been. Breakfast was ground turkey un-meatballs (too lazy to form them) and kale, 2 cups of coffee w/ coconut cream. Lunch was chocolate chili and broccoli. (are we seeing a pattern here) Kombucha too! Finally it's done! Snack of coconut cream and some pistachios. I like that they make you work for them! Dinner was late--just some sashimi at a sushi restaurant. Very filling, yet light, and I don't feel like a leper for having to ask a thousand questions, but sorta bland without all the accoutrements. Must get coconut aminos... That's all! Nice and simple! I still haven't had any strong side effects. No carb flu, no fatigue, no crazy dreams, no tiger blood...occasionally I'll feel hyper alert though, maybe that's the best it's gonna get? Makes me wonder if I'm doing it wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Canandaigua Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Hang in there!!! I didn't see much until the last few days P.s. try adding some compliant horseradish to the mayo, or mustard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Woke up early on Day 17 thanks to my dog, and after walking her, I felt oddly compelled to wash all my dishes (and there were a lot from all this darn cooking!), sweep, take out the trash, and a couple other little things before showering and going to work. If I keep this thing up, my house is going to be freakin spotless! Hang in there!!! I didn't see much until the last few days It's good to hear you didn't see much until the end! I *think* things are happening but I'm not 100% sure... Breakfast today: ground turkey with broccoli, one cup coffee with coconut cream. Lunch: last of the chocolate chili (finally!) with a whole (small) head of romanesco, which is my new favorite vegetable after getting them in my CSA box. Had a glass of kombucha too. Dinner: A friend had a get-together. I ate some pieces of the chicken I had in the crockpot all day, and took some kombucha for me to drink there. I wasn't super hungry until about 8 or so, which was kind of weird. Came home and ate some more chicken. I know I should eat some veggies but I'm beat! I really want to go to bed but I know that then my dog will just have me up at like 5:30... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Day 18 today, and it was unexpectedly tough. My dog did indeed wake me up early but I was able to go back to sleep for a couple more hours. Breakfast and lunch were sort of a mish mash as I was putzing around the house. A banana, last of the turkey non-meatballs, sweet potato hash...then later more hash with roast chicken. Total was about half to two thirds of a sweet potato. Dinner was just munching on already cooked stuff and some cashews and dates. I really wanted some veg but a friend was supposed to come over any minute to crash while she's in town and honestly I was enjoying my clean sink too much! The hard part was that my soccer team met up this afternoon at a local brewery for pizzas and beers...and I had a sip! It's one of my favorites of the few beers I like and really hard to find so I'm not going to beat myself up over it. It didn't taste that great though, not like I remember. =( Then while I was waiting to hear from my friend telling me when she was coming, I became acutely aware of the Easter candy I hid away a while ago...I actually reached for the bag at one point but stopped myself. I dislike waiting, especially when it's waiting for a plan to be formed, and I think it gives me some anxiety that I apparently try to fix with chocolate. That's the only reason I can think for my first chocolate craving hitting at day 18... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Day 19 was pretty good, if I do say so myself! Breakfast was sweet potato hash, scrambled eggs with roasted chicken, avocado, and salsa. Over-sour kombucha made delicious again by the addition of lime mineral water. Ate out for lunch with a friend. Slow roasted pork that was compliant from what I can tell, with a field green salad and iced tea to drink. Dinner was sweet potato hash with roasted chicken and a little slow cooked pork that my housemates made, roasted Romanesco cauliflower, and half a baked apple. My snacking cravings are WAY down--yay!! And sugar cravings are practically nil--double yay!!! I've made an executive decision though: cultured veggies are back in as of tonight. Yes, they are fermented with whey, but I asked myself the question "does this make me healthier?" and the answer was a resounding yes. My gut misses them terribly and I really don't want to go another 11 days without them. If that makes this not a "real" whole 30, so be it. Pickle juice (b/c I ate all the pickles already) and kombucha are just not cutting it. Today is Day 20 and this decision has really got me thinking about what my daily diet will look like for the long haul. I'm loving this food tremendously, and my hope is that by cooking this way at home, the occasional meal out of whatever I fancy won't kill me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 Woops, forgot to log there for a few days! More of the same, to be honest, so it's gotten sort of boring to write the same thing over and over. I will say this: I feel good, but no tiger blood... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 Day 25. I feel like I've had a breakthrough: I hit the point where I start to recognize that bread and pasta are really just conduits for the good stuff, and don't really bring anything to the party on their own, as Alton Brown would say. I still miss oatmeal a little bit though. The other thing is that I had my first soccer game of the season (since October), and I feel a HUGE difference from previous first games! Usually I run a fair amount in the off season but I sprained my ankle pretty bad at the end of last season and I've been chicken to push it. Ankle feels good and I didn't feel nearly as out of shape as I really should have. =) Sauteed some kale and mushrooms in evoo with some chicken bone broth and my "master tonic" concoction (hot peppers, garlic onions, ginger, and horseradish), then added some steak to that, plus a banana as a recovery meal/dinner. Feeling good. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Today is day 27? What the heck! Yesterday (day 26) I was pondering the bread/pasta thing and then it hit me that I do still really miss cookies... Yesterday breakfast was a smaller version of dinner from last night (leftovers). Lunch was a big salad from the salad bar at the grocery store made with spring mix, beets, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, roasted chicken, and a balsamic vinaigrette. I'm worried the vinaigrette had sugar in it even though it didn't taste sweet. More of that paranoia. Also had a couple clementines. Dinner was awesome! My friend and I collaborated, and neither of us really had any idea what we were doing, but it came out great! He butterflied a chicken, brined it, and rubbed with just salt, pepper, rosemary, evoo, and some shallot, and cooked it on a stovetop grill using a cast iron pot as a weight, sort of like brick chicken. I chopped up some compliant bacon, cooked it off and removed, added some evoo to the fat in the pan, and threw in some halved brussels sprouts. Tossed those around til they were coated, then arranged them all cut side down, added some homemade chicken stock, and covered so they could steam. When they were almost done, I added some sliced mushrooms and shallots and tossed around a bit, then threw the bacon back in. Seasoned w/ just salt and pepper (the broth had some herbs in it though). If I'd had a bigger pan, I probably would have left the bacon in the whole time and added the shallots with the brussels sprouts so that flavor could develop, but it was still super tasty. Out of curiosity, I used sparkpeople.com to tally all that I ate yesterday, and was shocked that it came out to just over 1200 calories. When I used to count calories daily, the idea of consuming only 1200 calories would have sent me running for the hills thinking of the starvation...but I felt satisfied for most of the day yesterday. Lunch was a little late and had me feeling sort of low in the blood sugar department, but nothing major. I'm tallish, so my target was usually 1500-1700 calories daily for moderate weight loss, but sometimes I was still hungry. If I can do 1200 and feel good with plenty of energy, that's great! I used to snack a lot, and I'm not necessarily opposed to it, but in the last few weeks I've found that I have almost no desire to snack between meals unless I know dinner's going to be pretty late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Snyder Posted March 6, 2013 Author Share Posted March 6, 2013 As I picked up my CSA box outside the door of my work this morning, it occurred to me how difficult this would be without that box of goodies! And I'm obviously eating more, since I used to get it delivered every other week and changed it to weekly. I mean seriously, it's hard enough trying to figure out what to fix and how to fix it, but also figuring out the shopping? No thanks! This way, I don't have to think about what's in season or local, b/c it just shows up at my door and I've got plenty of veg for the week--enough so that I don't want to eat out just as much b/c I don't want to waste the veggies already in my fridge as b/c it's hard to find something I can eat! To complete this unsolicited plug, if you're in California, check out Farm Fresh to You! They have two farms (one north, one south) and partner with other farms to give a good variety. www.farmfreshtoyou.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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