First Whole30 - From Day One

[emmieloo]

My story is pretty typical - I am a young (22) college student dealing with the manifestations of a lifetime of unhealthy eating and living habits. Last year, I turned to the Paleo lifestyle to seek answers to my question: will I always be this way? I lost about 30 pounds and felt invigorated - the only way to describe it was I felt like I was thriving. I did this for about two and half months, and then my family underwent a seriously devastating tradegy that left me pretty apathatic toward my health.

It has been well over a year since that moment, and I have been desperate to try again. I have two week long spurts, and then I typically lost faith in myself and reverted to living the way I used to. I have messed around with the idea of doing Whole30 for a while, and I have finally convinced myself that having the foundation and daily encouragements, reminders, and tough love from this community will help me continue to make the right choices and push past my previous failures.

I am ready for the woman free from food-addiction, apathy, and fear to burst forth and take control of my life once more. I always apperciate the encouragement and friendship and accountabiltiy of those who know what I am going through. :-) Here is to life - and thriving!

[Meg Poore Tuttle]

This sounds pretty much identical to my journey

[emmieloo]

Day One was empowering, naturally... but I am aware of the trials to come.

Yesterday I went ahead and made food for all three meals today to prepare ahead of time since I have work. I made some pretty normal stuff -- lemon pepper chicken (remind me to never do that again) over greens with boiled eggs and guac. HALLELUJAH. With some roasted carrots. And for dinner, burger bites with guac, a fried egg, and roasted green beens. I also threw in a few raspberries.

I must say that at 10:30pm, when I laid down to try to drift to sleep... I had a mysterious and overwhelming sensation to stand in front of the fridge shoving avocados into my mouth. What could this mean? Haha. I spent the next 20 minutes researching just how many avocados a day is too many - I got split answers.

Either way, day one was great. I am going to fight off the temptation to bring out my scale, and I am going to really try and focus my energy and my zeal for health internally to externally... which in the past it was the opposite. I let the outward effects - the weight loss and the loss of headaches and lethargy - change my thoughts toward myself. So if I stepped on the scale and I didn't like the number, it really affected how I was feeling and my ability to move forward. But now, I am going to go into this really focusing on the internal health - self-affirmation, believing in my strength, trying new things, rising up to meet new challenges - and let that propel me to take creative and challenging decisions to move forward in my health.

LOVE YOURSELF PEOPLE.

But we'll see what today brings

[Derval]

Your last post really spoke to me today, thanks.

Good luck on your W30 and welcome

[emmieloo]

Today is the beginning of Day 3, and I feelllll it.... Oh man. I was seriously tempted to miss my first class because I was so tired. And yes, I do have a minor headache kinda pulsing through my skull cavity dully, and I ache from doing a lot of lifting at work. Yesterday and this morning's Whole30 Daily were incredibly helpful in normalizing and empowering me to deal with these painful situations -- just the calm before the storm. I want to push through because I know that past it all, I will not longer be addicted to sugar... my body will experience restful sleeps and boundless energy. These are the days that make it worth it.

I am thinking of all the changes I made the last time I ate Paleo seriously back in late 2011, and in many ways I feel inadequate to the intensity of that time. I was taking supplements faithfully, outdoors constantly, sleeping perfectly -- there were so many little things I was doing that I am having trouble grasping onto now... and again, I have to remember that this is a unique time, unlike any other, and it is on it's own time frame. I have to let my body work through it's own process, and I know that I will be back and better than ever.

Today I have two classes, and I may hit the gym for some lifting. I am sore, so I will have to take it easy. I am going to eat simply... breakfast, ground beef and an egg over lots of greens. Lunch, half a salmon filet, one boiled egg, greens, and guac. And I'll probably make something simple for dinner like ground beef with greens beans because I need to finish up my groceries to get a few more tonight.

I hope I make it through the day! I am tired and achy and cranky, but it is worth it all!

[KC Sunshine]

Keep it up! It started getting better for me between days 4-6. You're almost there!

Also, I'd love to hear your recipe on paleo guac. I'm a bit of an avocado addict myself, and am always looking for new things to try

[emmieloo]

I just mix this junk together:

• avocados (2-3);
  
• 1/2 purple onion;
  
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro;
  
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice;
  
• salt and pepper
  

Make sure you wash your hands after chopping that pepper before you rub your eyes

[emmieloo]

I had said that yesterday I woke up with a dull headache and extreme tiredness; however, I ended up having great energy all day after I ate. I also went to the gym with my boyfriend - first time I have been in two years. We spent time walking and lifting free weights and doing some essential exercises. I then ran to Whole Foods to pick up some local, grass fed beef and chicken legs to tide me over until Saturday. By the time I got home and cooked today's lunch, I went straight to bed at 9pm. I turned off my computer and phone and spent time journaling to ease myself into sleep; however, it was still difficult trying to fall asleep and stay asleep.

But I woke up at 6:30 feeling awake, maybe not rested. One thing I love about the Paleo/Whole30 lifestyle is that it isn't just about food and losing weight - it is about health and vivacity. It is about restoring the natural balance to our lives, and then we can let our bodies and minds thrive. I don't just want to lose weight and look like Beyonce, I look forward to headache-less day and restful nights. When I was writing my goals for this Whole30 and beyond, I put down that I wanted to realize my own strength and potential - I wanted to do things I have been too afraid to do. Like go to the gym and lift weights in front of fit people. Or bike uphill without walking halfway through. Or maybe tackling a climbing-wall with confidence. These are little things that my weight and health have inhibited me from accomplishing - and I am ready to take them on.

Day Three Food

Breakfast: 1 fried egg, grass fed beef over salad greens - spoonful of guac

Lunch: 1 half baked salmon filet, 1 boiled egg over salad greens - spoonful of guac

Dinner: .5lb grass fed beef over salad greens (I was literally not hungry after I ate this! Amazing!)

I was out of green stuff except for leafy greens so I bought some last night Here's to life!

[emmieloo]

Oh Lord help me! Just had my first INTENSE sugar craving... my roommate bought my favorite ice cream, and it is in my freezer. I swear as I walked toward the fridge with the intention of getting water, I heard a small voice call out to me. "Eatttt mmee.... just one spoonful never killed anybody..."

The devil is liar! I will not give in!

[emmieloo]

Three posts in one day is a little excessive, but this online journaling is helping me stay positive and process how I am feeling. And I want to get caught up so I am describing the day at night, rather than the morning after. OKAY, so:

Day Four!!

I mentioned I made delicious chicken legs last night -- well, they were a major part of my cuisine today. Only problem... they were tiny. Only had a good four bites on them. So I thought I would be good with two, but I was hangryyyyy all day.

Breakfast:

-2 chicken legs

-1 cup of mixed greens

-spoonful of guac

Lunch:

-2 chicken legs

-1.5 cup sauteed brussel sprouts (ghee&evoo)

Midway-i'm-about-to-die-of-hunger-meal:

-2 fried eggs

-spoonful of guac

Dinner:

-.5 taco-style gf ground beef

-mixed greens

-fresh hot salsa

-guac

I also drank lots of water and black coffee (which I was doing before, the sugar hurt my teeth ) but I feel like I might be eating too much... but I was so hungry today. I guess I have to learn to listen to my body, and maybe it needs more food now that it is adjusting to burning fat instead of sugar. I don't know! But I took a nap today because I am tired, not unnormally tired though.

Hoping to go to bed early and wake up and go hiking!!!

[emmieloo]

Well, I woke up this morning around 8am. Still trying to get my sleeping worked out - I took a 20 minute cat nap easily yesterday but once I tried to go to sleep, it just wasn't happening. For breakfast I had a three egg omelette (little salt and pepper) over mixed greens with a big scoop of guac on top. I wanted energy to carry me through my first try at a hike today. Yikes!

There is a trail, it is a very very very easy hike... the part I did today was only 2.5 miles all the way around but for a good mile there is a steady incline. And I could really feel how out of shape I was when I tried to walk up this part. I'm glad no one was around because I had to talk to myself and tell myself I could do it in order to make it to the top. I remember the days when I could run up this no problem. SEE? I keep doing that... I keep comparing my current journey to my previous ones. I can't do that because it keeps upsetting me when I think of how far I have yet to go. MY JOURNEY NOW IS ENOUGH. I have to keep telling myself that... because if I keep looking back at past failures and successes, I will not move forward. What I am doing now if a whole new thing - a whole new start. I will take what I learned from a year ago with me, but I will keep my eyes of the top of the mountain, and I will be patient and trust my body to take what time it needs to come into health. My journey now is enough.

[emmieloo]

Okay, so basic recap of my day:

Woke up at 8am.

Breakfast: three egg omelette, over greens with so guac.

I then went for a 2.5 mile hike/walk, and I even did four 10 second long sprints... yes, I know... pretty pathetic. But I was having wardrobe issues. Anyway.

Lunch: 1/4 cup gf ground beef, sauteed onions and green beans, roasted brussel sprouts

Then I went to the gym again, and I lifted some hand weights and did isolation exercises. Yes, CF kill me... I don't know how to even BEGIN to do full body, high intensity, weight lifting, barbell exercise thingies.

Dinner: 1/4 cup gf ground beef, sauteed onions and green beans, roasted brussel sprouts

I had a few digestive issues but I believe things are working themselves out hopefully. Definitely tired, but feeling empowered and ready to take on day 6!

[emmieloo]

Last night I had my first 'food' dream... I honestly didn't anticipate that whole dreaming thing to happen to me. I dreamed that ate Chinese food, and it wasn't until I had finished off the noodles and the eggrolls that I remembered that it had things like gluten, MSG, maltodextrin, and added sugar... I felt awful because I was already on Day 6 and had to start over!

Then I woke up and realized it was only a dream. Praise the LORD. Haha.

[Vibeke Sydvold Johannessen]

I follow your journal and its very interessting :-) Thanks for sharing good stories. Im at day 2 now, and Im a little bit scared of what monster that will show, and wich day! LOL. But to read other stories and people that going through the same, is very motivating :-) SÃ¥ thank you!

[robotarmy]

Hi Emmie I had pretty much the same food dream about the Chinese food recently. The part where I woke up was such a relief, hahaha!

Anyway, I just read through your journal and wanted to say hi. Good luck on the Whole30, you're going to be awesome!

[emmieloo]

So, it is the midpoint of the day. Yasss! I woke up at 7:30am and finished off my last, sad little egg and had a couple green beans leftover and ate the rest of my mixed greens. And with that, I finished the last of animal and vegetable products - it felt good not to waste any food for once. But it also meant I needed more food! Before I went, I had another go at the hiking trail. It was really cold (for Georgia) this morning, and I really enjoyed the alone time and crisp air. I still had some trouble getting up the 'mountain,' but with each step I told myself I was growing closer and closer to accomplishing my goals.

And then I went to Whole Foods. I usually do Trader Joes and then hit up Whole Foods for the leftovers, but today I was feeling classy. I think this was a mistake because I definitely overshot my budget. I made some interesting new purchases -- spent a good five minutes in front of coconut aminos weighing the benefits of putting six dollars down for it now or later and then took a risk and bought some raw organic smoked jalapeno kraut that Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites talks about. It is actually REALLY good and full of live organisms, my favorite. Then I had a serious life crisis when I discovered that the only pastured eggs were EIGHT BUCKS for a dozen. WHAT? I ain't fixin to do all that... but I am pretty sure people saw my distress because I was pulling at my hair, biting my lips nervously, and shaking my head dramatically as I looked at those beauties. Ended up not getting them and went for the "our hens see daylight once a day" brand that was four dollars cheaper. I figured once I figure out how best to budget and shop and cook I could afford such luxuries.

Lunch was three of deliciously simply spicy chicken legs, half a plate of mixed greens with kraut on top, and some roasted brussels. I am hungry, and it has only been two hours. What am I doing wrong to be hungry right now??

[emmieloo]

Ended up eating a little snack before dinner because I was so hungry - brussels and a couple spoonfuls of guac. Am I not getting enough fat or something? Anyway. Made dinner for my boyfriend - made those spicy chicken legs (success!) and some roasted carrots. He got half the plate filled with white rice (the amazing delicious, expensive kind that I love so much) because he is Japanese. I didn't even have one grain as I transferred it to his plate. I had half of my plate covered with mixed greens and a couple small spoonfuls of kraut.

Tomorrow marks one week doing Whole30! I am so proud of myself, and thankful for this community.

[emmieloo]

Today is my Day 7 or in other terms - I will complete my first week on Whole30 tonight!

I feel great... well physically.... maybe that's coming along, but emotionally and mentally, I feel fantastic. Right now, I can see the run gently rising over Atlanta, it's the first sunny day in a while, and it feels like it is shining for me. As far as some Week One takeaways... Generally my energy levels have been good, and for the past week I have attempted a sleep schedule of 10-7 (and bedtime at 9) but sleeping has still been a little bit hard to come into. But I know with time it will start to be easier. I have overcome my fear of the gym and gone twice this week! Yay me. And I went out and hit the trails twice for some play. I have made all my meals from scratch and have been learning to prepare them ahead of time for occasions like work days when I don't have time the morning of.

This has such a positive process so far. I am ready to take on Week Two knowing that each day get's easier and easier!

I will say that I have been having some serious cravings... but they are almost always triggered by something. I never realized how many commercials on TV are about food and restaurants... might just have to keep that TV off. And when I smell it on the street or when I pass by a room, I crave it. But then I go home and make my own food, and I am able to overcome it. Another thing, I had ANOTHER food dream last night! I can't really remember the details, all I know is that I cheated over something big and began to start over so I was cooking Whole30 foods in my kitchen, ahhh... crazy right?

[emmieloo]

So I guess I had my first real hiccup today - so it's Sunday, and I went to church. Since we were spending time at my boyfriend's house after, I asked him if we could pack lunches or grab lunch somewhere so we could go back to his parents place and not have to worry about them inviting us to lunch. (I didn't want to offend them in denying their food - so I figured "I already ate" was a good excuse) He said we could grab something... I was thinking Chipotle since I had read on many blogs that many of their food items are Paleo-friendly if dressed well. I was STARVING by the time we were free, and all of a sudden, I did NOT want Chipotle! I wanted a lettuce wrapped burger!

Hiccup number one: do Paleo-fied burgers represent that 'technicality' rule?

Anyway, so I looked up grass fed burger joints in the area and my boyfriend mentioned Smash Burger. I thought, okay, let's go. After ordering a plain burger patty wrapped in lettuce with spinach, cucumbers, and avocado on top - I discovered the meat was in fact, not grass fed. Naturally, this isn't the end of the world - but it put me on edge. And when I asked the cashier what the burgers were cooked on, she said canola oil! OH NO. What did I just do. I started freaking out that I would have to start over, and I despised myself for not being more mindful. But I was hangry!

Anyway, after frantically researching on forums I saw that it may not be the very end of the world, and really it is up to me to decide when I crossed the line. This was my first time eating out since I started, and it was learning experience. I wasn't planning on just doing 30 days anyway, I am in this to become healthy! And I want a good jumpstart, so I wanna go at least 45 days before I reintroduce a few foods - I plan on maintaining Paleo indefinitely. Anyway, so the end of this is to say I will continue onto Day 8!!!

Day Seven Food Log

Breakfast: small beef patty, two friend eggs over greens with spoonful of guac

Lunch: regular sized beef patty, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, avocados

Dinner: grass fed beef over greens with fresh pico and guac

[martihana60]

Emmie, I'm mutually loving your blog. You asked a couple of posts ago about whether you were getting enough fat. I think as often as you are still hungry, maybe you do need some more fat. Have you discovered bulletproof coffee yet? Seriously, that's one way to get some more fat. And when I warm up and eat chili or soup I'll often drop a couple teaspoons of ghee or coconut oil into it.

I also eat 4 meals a day, one of them being a bit smaller than the other two.

Keep it up, lady. You're doing really well. And it sounds like the errors you made with the burger were honest and small, so I wouldn't think you'd need to start over.

Onward and upward1

[martihana60]

I'm also interested by your love of guac. How do you wait that long? I just cut open an avocado and eat it with a spoon!

[emmieloo]

Hahaha I really love spicy foods... I do have avocados that I bought this week for spooning it out and eating it plain, but I make guac each week because it adds flavor and fat to every meal!

And I have heard of bulletproof coffee; however, I am afraid I will sensitive to the taste.... Does it taste good? I have been drinking coffee black for years so I have no idea how to put ghee into it.

[emmieloo]

Last night, I crawled into bed around 8:45pm and was out before 9:30pm. I woke up at 7am, feeling awake but a little achy and my head hurts a little bit. I don't feel 100% at the moment - but I do feel well rested and MORE than ready to take on Day 8 and Week 2!

I LOVED today's Whole30, particularly the part about creative visualizations and how they stimulate the brain and help the brain create pathways to achieve those visualizations. When I visualize my life - I see myself climbing mountains. Biking down trails. I see myself playing frisbee with my boyfriend and not running out of breath. I see myself encouraging my family, sick and overweight, to take back control of their lives and their health. I see long restful sleeps and full and impactful days. And I hope my brain claims it as my own.

I am hitting the trail again this morning... it is sunny and beautiful. My legs are still really sore from doing tons of squats the other day, but I am going to try and work them out a little bit through some low climbing. Wish me luck, and to all of you - I hope you VISUALIZE your dreams, and GO and ACHIEVE them!

[emmieloo]

Chicken and veggies are roasting - I'm sipping on some carbonated water - already hit up the trails for 2.5 mile hike... and it ain't even noon yet.

#igottimeforthis

[simonec]

Emmie, I'm mutually loving your blog. You asked a couple of posts ago about whether you were getting enough fat. I think as often as you are still hungry, maybe you do need some more fat. Have you discovered bulletproof coffee yet? Seriously, that's one way to get some more fat. And when I warm up and eat chili or soup I'll often drop a couple teaspoons of ghee or coconut oil into it.

I also eat 4 meals a day, one of them being a bit smaller than the other two.

Keep it up, lady. You're doing really well. And it sounds like the errors you made with the burger were honest and small, so I wouldn't think you'd need to start over.

Onward and upward1

i agree, the bullet proof coffee rocks and that little bit extra fat helps keep you feeling full a little longer.

emmie, i just have to say that all this mentioning of guac reminded me how long it's been since i've made any myself...looks like i'll be making some to go with dinner.