GoJo's Adventures in Paleo-land

[GoJo09]

(NB: I just decided to move from a blog to this log, so the first few posts here are a little out-dated as I'm now a week in.)

Since I pretty much gave up eating sugar mid-2012 on the advice of a doctor, that's not the nasty shock that it might be for some people. The thing I'm struggling with? The no snacking. Going from eating 5x a day to only have 3 main meals is going to be a bit of an adjustment.

Eating pre-exercise is something I only started doing again this past week, having 1/2 an apple and a short black before the gym, and I was actually pretty amazed with the resulting energy boost, which I guess makes it more like 4 meals a day. But the rules state protein before the gym and carbs and protein afterwards. Stomaching protein at 5am might be a bit of a stretch, but I'll give it a go!

This is also going to have a pretty big impact on my grocery bill. Not for me the cutting out of processed foods and take-away - I hardly have that stuff anyway - so there's no savings to be had there. And eating big portions of meat at least 2x a day (I'll be having nice cheap eggs at least once a day!) is going to crank up the bill. But it's only a month...

Anyway, what I'm hoping to get out of this Whole30:

• A nice drop in fat would be great! If I could shift 4kg in a month, I'd be over the moon.
  
• Clear up my skin. I've been having trouble with acne since coming off hormonal BC last year, so if I could clear that shit up, that'd be great. I also have a possibly futile hope that this might help with the redness in my triceps and on my face.
  
• I've been getting indigestion off and on for months - I don't know if it's just because I'm more conscious of it these days, or what, but it's annoying and I'd like it gone, please.
  
• I think I may have intolerances to both gluten and dairy, as they both stuff my body up on occasion - although not always, so hard to judge. Anyway, keeping an eye on the way my body responds when things are reintroduced will shed light on that.
  
• My energy levels are pretty good, but they could always be better.
  
• And fixing my crap relationship with food, calorie counting, food weighing, occasional binges - well, apparently that's what this program is good for.
  

In addition to the Whole30, I'm also starting a new exercise regime the same day, James Wilson's 12 week program. If the food's going well, I might keep that up and make it a Whole60 or 90, but I'm not committed to that - I think I'll miss my oats and occasional cappuccino too much!

So, the next week is going to be sort of an ease-into-it week. I really want to get started now, but I have a 100km, 30 hour, fundraising walk on next weekend, and there's no way I'm doing that without simple carbs and sugar! Plus I won't be exercising this coming week in preparation for the walk. Sunday I'm doing a cheese making course (hi, dairy!) and Monday I have a work dinner. I'm going to start on Monday, and do the best I can at the dinner, but I refuse to make a thing about food in front of international clients - sorry Whole30 peeps, it ain't gonna happen!

But, I've started planning, made a meal plan for this week and next, roasted a huge piece of beef today and tomorrow I'll chop up all my salads and vege for the week, so that I'm super organised.

[GoJo09]

Ok, after eating the calorie needs of a small island nation yesterday while prepping my 100km walk food, and perusing the Whole30 forums before bed, I was naturally unable to sleep. As well as all that unaccustomed sugar coursing through my body, there was a whole load of anxiety coursing through my brain. Here was this guy who ran ultramarathons without resorting to jelly snakes and Gatorade, so what was my excuse, apart from fear and ignorance?

I hadn't really intended to pack and eat crap for the walk, I survived quite well on the 50km training walk that we did a few weeks ago with mini frittatas, nuts, muesli bars, etc. But then a dietician friend told me that I would need really simple, easily digestible carbs just to make it through - something about the body being under extreme stress and not being able to digest foods properly. Her suggestion was chocolate. Even though I'm not supposed to eat sugar for health reasons. But because she knows what she's talking about, I took it on board and (using it as an excuse to indulge!) bought choc bars, lollies, pretzels (I need salt!), made pumpkin and chocolate muffins...

And of course, me being me, I pigged out while prepping. Hey, these opportunities don't come around very often! I'll be honest, the first few bites of choc didn't really light my fire, but never fear, I persisted, and before long I was more than happy to scoff four muffins...

Anyway, lying awake at midnight I made a decision - I wasn't going to do that to myself. So I leapt out of bed, pulled down my pre-packed bags and went through them throwing everything in the bin except for the nuts. I also don't need as many nuts as I've packed, so half will go to work to act as emergency snacks this week if I'm hungry between meals. And today I'll be baking up mini frittatas and roasting sweet potato cubes. I'll chop up carrot sticks, apple slices and pack a few bananas and tins of tuna. I'll fill a bottle with salty water to alternate with my straight water to replace sweat losses. I'll drink my coffee black (I do that anyway usually, but when I buy I normally go a cappuccino). And afterwards I'll have a plate of eggs and vege. It won't be hard - it's the mental game that will be hard!

Meal 1

2 eggs & 2 whites, scrambled; kumara roasted in a bit of olive oil; steamed asparagus drizzled with macadamia oil and sesame seeds

Meal 2

1/2 head steamed broccoli; homemade marinara sauce; 2 small chicken thighs, baked with cajun spices; coconut oil Meal 2 was a lot later than I'd planned - I got caught up shopping and didn't get home until lunch time, and I still had to cook everything (and nothing wanted to cook, dammit!). I was really hungry while waiting, so had a tablespoon of coconut oil to get me through. And then I thought the meat was ready so cooked the broccoli, but it turned out it wasn't, so I ended up eating broccoli and sauce, and then 10 mins later the chicken (after a quick zap in the microwave). And now I have pretty bad cramps, that may be unrelated to food...

Meal 3

head of bok choy; serve of chocolate chilli; 1/2 avocado; 1 kumara and leek frittata I was feeling a bit off most of the afternoon - was very hot and sweaty with all the cooking, but also started feeling very panicky thinking about study that I need to get done (and have been slacking off with). Got up several times between 6 and 7 to make dinner - not because I was hungry but because eating is an emotional response. And also in hopes of calming the panicking nausea. Had a glass of water each time, and finally felt hungry enough to eat at about 7.15.

Day 1 overview

All up, a pretty good day. Wasn't terribly hungry between meals, which shocked me. Didn't even think about hitting up any of the nuts or rice cakes in the cupboard (rice cakes are out, anyway), or any of the fruit available. Had some stomach issues, which are probably completely unrelated to this, although the increase in fat might be a factor. Will keep an eye on it.

[GoJo09]

Slept like the dead and woke up starving, so I hope that's an indication of things to come. If I was working out this week, I'd definitely be needing that pre workout snack.

Meal 1

2 eggs and 2 egg whites, scrambled with S&P; big pile of steamed spinach; macadamia oil; and a few cubes of roasted kumara. Coffee with coconut cream. Breakfast at 7am was enough to get me through until lunch at 12.45 - wasn't starving, but was pretty ready to eat.

Meal 2

Roast beef; 1/2 an avo; carrot, cucumber, capsicum, baby spinach. 3.15 and I'm not hungry, but my head's feeling a bit spacy - will have to add in more carbs tomorrow. Will grab a peach from the kitchen now. Ha! Yes - peach and a handful of nuts and my brain is back to normal. Score 1 for listening to my body.

Meal 3

Takeaway dinner with a friend: 1/4 rotisserie chicken (I asked about oils, they said they used none, and it didn't taste like they'd basted it with anything else, but who can say for certain); plate of Waldorf salad; at home - bok choy with salt

It looked like a good choice (the best choice, anyway), but once it was on the plate I could see that there was bugger all greenery there, and there was rather a bit of feta. As in dairy. As in banned. Luckily I'm only on day 2!

Day 2: Overview

Like I said, felt a bit spacy in the afternoon, so have included some sweet potato in tomorrow's lunch, plus I had a small handful of nuts before I left work as I wasn't sure when I would get dinner - just enough to take the edge off.

[GoJo09]

Not such a good sleep last night, more like normal though. Did have a sore stomach after dinner, so suspect there was something in it, maybe cheese, maybe something in the chicken, that disagreed with me. Although you'd think if I asked about the oil they'd mention if there was anything else in it - maybe not...

I packed an egg, broccoli and sugar snap peas today, in case I need an afternoon meal. Hopefully won't need it with the extra carbs at lunchtime.

I also learned today that egg whites aren't allowed (as in, prepackaged egg whites, not just the white of eggs). Which sucks as I have half a bag in the fridge... But out they go (at least they weren't full of sugar and added vitamins like the American ones seem to be!)

Meal 1:

chocolate chilli; broccoli, leeks and bok choy; 1/4 avo; macadamia oil

Meal 2:

sweet potato, baby spinach, capsicum, cucumber, carrot, 1/4 avo, chicken thigh, and the magic ingredient - coconut flakes!

Meal 2a:

HB egg; sugar snap peas; broccoli OK, so at this point in time, I do need a small meal between lunch and dinner - 4hrs from lunch is still pretty good though - I could have gone a bit longer, but no way I could make it through to 7pm, so I thought it was better to eat now and have 3hrs before dinner. I don't seem to have a problem in the AM though.

20 mins post-snack: tightness in my chest. 1hr post-snack: stomach grumbling with either hunger or terror. Had few nuts before leaving work. Wonder if it was the sugar snap peas, the lack of fat, lack of protein, some combo of the above...

Meal 3:

cauliflower fried rice and chicken thigh, few bites of sweet potato

[GoJo09]

The perils of Whole30 and endurance walking - I had intended to drink coconut water instead of gatorade or similar on my walk, but was just told by a team mate that it gives her the runs! Not ideal! So I had to rush out and buy a carton to test it this afternoon. Also ended up buying almonds and dates to make energy bombs for the walk - quick trip to the F&V shop ends up costing $25!

Meal 1:

3 eggs, silverbeet, slivered almonds, sesame seeds and macadamia oil 11.45 and not hungry for lunch yet. Did have a few moments of clock watching earlier, but was able to distract myself from that - bad habit instilled by eating on a clock!

Meal 2:

chocolate chilli, bok choy, 1/2 avo

Meal 2a:

HB egg, broccoli

Meal 3:

cauliflower fried rice, chicken thigh, coconut oil, pumpkin puree with coconut cream Last ditch 'carb-loading' effort before Friday's walk

And no notable side-effects from the coconut water, so good to go with that. Except it tastes like shite, so mixing it 3:1 with a 100% juice with ginseng.

[GoJo09]

Feel like I look a little slimmer through the waist and calves today - could be imaginary though! Not being allowed to weigh is both easy and hard - I wanna know if I'm seeing things or not! Last day before the big walk, so have all of my food prepped for tomorrow as well as today, and extra carbs (more pumpkin with coconut cream) for lunch.

Meal 1:

chocolate chilli, 1/2 avocado, silverbeet and leeks. Coffee with coconut cream.

Meal 2:

chicken thighs, broccolini, asparagus, pumpkin with coconut cream Was absolutely fanging for food by 11.15ish, but hung out a bit longer - was 12.30 before I had a chance to make lunch and eat it. And I couldn't finish it - it was admittedly a giant plate of vege, but I was pretty proud that there were about 2 mouthfuls left on the plate and I didn't try to force them down (even knowing there'll be no more food until dinner about 5.30-6 - well, I have nuts if I'm desperate, but I think I'll be well sick of nuts after the weekend!)

Meal 3:

chicken breast, spinach, broccoli, peas, olive oil Eating at someone else's house is hard, but my team mate was on board with my elimination diet and happy to do plain food for me (it was easier than trying to check all of her ingredients!). The dinner was plain and boring, and I guess that's why people might think this thing is hard. I also ate twice the amount of protein as I usually would, because the fat was limited (and ick) and there was no carb I could eat. They had white rolls and mashed potatoes...

[GoJo09]

Here's all the food I have prepped for the 30-odd hours of walking:

3 eggs

2 small tins tuna

1 small tin salmon

1 roasted sweet potato

2 bananas

2 apples

4 carrots

8 mini sweet potato and leek frittatas

3 bags with mixed nuts and coconut

small bag with almond stuffed olives

9 energy bombs (dates, almonds, ABC butter, coconut oil)

1 bottle of coconut water and juice

3 1.5L bottles of plain water (plus my pack filled with 2L water)

Plus, as emergency back up, I have 4 or 5 Carman's muesli bars - totally non-Whole30 compliant, but if I need them, I'll eat them.

Day 6

I did it! Well, actually, not the walk - we only made it 60km (only!), but I successfully avoided all non-Whole30 foods, and didn't spend the entire time scoffing nuts and energy bombs (you know, the tasty foods). I had to force myself to eat some roast kumara at the 50km mark as I wasn't hungry but I knew I needed energy. When we stopped at 60km, after 18 hours of walking and 21 hours of being awake, I was still not hungry but was feeling nauseous, I think from drop in blood sugar. So I ate some carrots and apple, and a few nuts, and then finished off the carrots in the car driving home - light-headedness is not to be encouraged while driving!

In all, I had, spread throughout the day with 3 "meals" and the rest eating on the go:

3 HB eggs, 4 energy bombs, can of tuna, 1/3 of the sweet potato, less than one bag of nuts, 1 banana 1 apple and 1 carrot, 4 mini frittatas, half-a-dozen almond stuffed olives, and about 1/3 of the coconut juice.

When I got up in the morning, I poured all of the leftover nuts into the jar, didn't have a single nut; I put all of the energy bombs in the fridge, didn't even have a nibble. And it wasn't because I told myself I couldn't/shouldn't, it was because I didn't feel the need to.

I can't actually think when I'll eat the energy bombs, maybe on huge workout days or something, but I can't bring myself to throw them. They should last a while in the fridge, and as long as I don't find myself mindlessly scoffing them, they can stay there.

[GoJo09]

Meal 1:

Banana mashed with ABC; 3 fried eggs, leeks and silverbeet; coffee with coconut cream, glass of juice with coconut water Woke up around 9am after 6 hours sleep. Wasn't super hungry, but knew I needed to eat to replenish my muscles, and once I ate the banana I was ready to eat more anyway. Good choices, I feel

Meal 2:

lamb chops, stirfry broccoli, zucchini, capsicum, leeks and ginger with a splash of olive oil, and some sauerkraut; olives stuffed with almonds; few bites of sweet potato Habit broken? Instead of snacking all morning as I usually would on a PJ day, esp when there's a jar of nuts in the cupboard, I didn't even think about food until it was time to cook some lunch. Threw a few things together, enjoyed it immensely, and wasn't quite full, so stood at the fridge door topping up with some olives and kumara - stopped when I was full, closed the door and walked away, even though the olives are delicious and quite moreish - I didn't need more, so I didn't want more.

Meal 3:

sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, 2 slices of apple, beetroot, almond stuffed olives, fried hoki in coconut oil

[GoJo09]

Day 8

Another day lazing around waiting for my legs to recover. Not sure if I'll make it to the gym tomorrow or if it will have to wait until Tuesday to start the new program.

Meal 1:

3 eggs fried in coconut oil, silverbeet, leeks, capsicum and zucchini sauted in coconut oil. Coffee with coconut cream (made in the nearly empty cream jar to prevent wastage of any of the deliciousness).

Meal 2:

Green salad with olives, mixed seeds and pine nuts, and leftover fried fish

Meal 2a:

1 HB egg, 1/4 avo made in to guacamole, carrot sticks, apple slice, cucumber

Meal 3:

smoked chicken, bunch of asparagus, leeks, few bits of roast pumpkin. Handful of dry roasted nuts, coconut flakes, and mixed seeds.

I've also cooked up a kilo of chicken thighs to have during the week, and 4 chicken marylands with an Indian spice marinade, roasted some pumpkin and steamed more pumpkin to mash. Should be all set for the week.

[GoJo09]

Another lazy day at home yesterday recovering, which would ordinarily mean continually opening and closing the fridge and cupboards to find something to eat to fill the hours (honestly, even when I have gastro, nothing kills my appetite/greed!). But yesterday was the standard 3 meals and a mini-meal for me - that's 3 days in a row at home with no snacking!

Meal 1:

3 eggs fried in coconut oil, silverbeet, leeks, capsicum and zucchini sauted in coconut oil. Coffee with coconut milk.

Meal 2:

Tandoori chicken Maryland, salad with 1/4 avo and olives and balsamic vinegar

Meal 2a:

1 HB egg, nuts and coconut flakes, carrot sticks.

Meal 3:

Prawns, broccoli, leeks, curry spices with coconut milk. Roast pumpkin

[GoJo09]

I'm on Day 10, and for the first time this afternoon I have the munchies, where I just want to pick and pick, even though I had a bigger than usual afternoon mini-meal.

Co-incidentally, today was the first gym workout I've done since starting. I did have a small tin of tuna split pre- and post-workout (and let me tell you, tuna at 5am is NOT fun!), and then breakfast an hour later at my usual time.

Meal 1:

huge plate of 2 fried eggs, silverbeet and mushrooms all sauted in coconut oil and then some macadamia oil over the top when it was cooked, and about 2/3c pureed pumpkin with coconut milk.

Looking at the plate I thought "There's no way I'm going to be able to eat all of this". But not only did I eat it all, but I wasn't full. (I normally have 3 eggs and a little bit of sweet potato, but changed it up because I had the tuna already.)

Meal 2:

About 150g of cold roast beef, 1/2 avocado, pile of bok choy and asparagus, and about 10 cubes of roasted sweet potato.

And then 4pm rolls around and I'm fanging to get into my HB egg, carrot and cucumber sticks and apple slices. I finished all that and grabbed a small handful of nuts. And now I'm sitting here feeling like I could easily eat the rest of the nuts in the drawer - both from mild hunger and from wanting to pick.

I'm wondering if this is attributable to the weights workout this morning (not super hardcore, but I was working), or if it's a normal little slump? Anyway, stayed away from the nuts, and made it through the afternoon.

Meal 3:

Chicken thigh, salad, mayo (quite a bit of mayo, as I tested while I was hungrily mixing it!)

[GoJo09]

Mid-morning and I feel like I need to go back to bed! So tired. And hungry - even after a big breakfast. Then checked my app and saw that it's ovulation time, searched the forums here, and sure enough ovulation = hunger (although I have no carb cravings). Have eaten my afternoon mini-meal which filled me up nicely, and will hopefully push lunch back far enough that I won't have to eat again before dinner (seeing as all I have at work is a tiny handful of nuts).

I did have an energy bomb last night before dinner as I was pretty hungry (date, almonds, almond butter, coconut oil) - so not sure if the sugar in 1 date was enough to mess up my sleep last night? Will test again next week with another bomb and see what the result is.

[GoJo09]

Still starving this afternoon, so had the last of my nuts. And then I felt super bloated, don't know if that was related to the nuts (maybe from having 2 lots in one day?) or what. Plus, I was so sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open on the train.

Was also starving when I got home. Had a pretty big dinner of chicken, cauliflower fried rice and mayo, and was still peckish afterwards, so had an energy bomb (which I guess will be a test of whether it affected my sleep last night!). Now I'm having a cup of green tea with mint and feeling completely stuffed. Ready for an early night.

[GoJo09]

Went out with friends last night after work. Had my usual afternoon snack of HB egg, broccoli and nuts at 4pm (which in itself was revealing - there had been a medical drama at work after lunch - I'm the first aid officer - and I'm not sure if the hour spent dealing with that caused a spike in adrenaline or if I was wanting to stress eat, but I was looking for food all afternoon and leapt at the food at 4).

Anyway, stuck to water, even when a cocktail was plonked in front of me - not that big a feat as I don't really like cocktails anyway, might have been more testing if it was a glass of wine! By 8pm I was ready to eat (an hour later than normal) but not starved. Managed to get a compliant meal of prawn and avo salad with straight olive oil instead of dressing. Was expensive, average tasting, and not filling at all! Came home and pounded half a banana with nut butter, some pumpkin and a small handful of nuts - not the best meal, but it was 11pm and I really just wanted to be in bed, not cooking up vege!

[GoJo09]

Yesterday was paddleboarding with a good friend of mine (and in fact the only person I speak about W30 with). Before I left I had some choco chilli on bok choy with half an avo.

While I didn't feel amazing in my bikini top and short boardies, I actually didn't care - we had a great time playing in the bay, chatting and spending some time in our own heads.

Afterwards we went out for lunch at our fav healthy cafe, where everything is organic or at least free range. I'd emailed them a few days before hand to check the ingredients of my fav drink there (a cacao chai latte) and they assured me there was nothing non-compliant in it when made with almond milk (yes, they offer almond milk!). I wasn't actually hungry when we pulled up, but by the time the food came out I was more than ready to eat my 2 eggs, bacon, spinach and mushrooms and cacao chai latte. And every biteof it was delish. My friend had my usual dish of quinoa mixed with scrambled eggs, raw pesto, kale and flaxseeds, and I was a little jealous, but not really . And then I had a few bites of a little packed of coconut butter on the drive home.

The afternoon went a little pear shaped, (maybe because I didn't have enough vege at lunch?). I was pretty starving by 4 so had broccoli sauted in coconut oil with an egg scrambled through, and the rest of the packet of coconut butter. About 5 I was still a bit hungry and a whole lot picky (Saturday afternoons are usually my "grazing" time!) so made a batch of garlic kale chips and smashed those. While picking at some nuts. Started prepping dinner about 6.30 (while picking at some nuts). Dinner was chicken breast stuffed with "pesto" (basil, garlic and almonds whizzed up with olive oil), more garlic kale chips, and a tomato chopped up with basil, S&P. Post-dinner, I had a small handful of nuts. And then another small handful of nuts. And then another small handful of nuts with a small amount of coconut flakes.

I was hungry-ish - like not hungry enough to eat an egg and broccoli, but peckish enough to keep picking. I did force myself to stop (and I do mean force), but I clearly still have my issues with nuts - hello, food without brakes! Although this is the first time in the past two weeks that I've felt like this, it's one time too many. So, the nuts can stay in the back of the cupboard, but they're out for the remainder of my W30. Will find another fat source for my afternoon mini-meal.

Not sure if the nuts are the reason, but I was not overly hungry this morning. Made up a plate of cucumber, carrot, capsicum, mayo, and a chicken breast and ate maybe half the vege, I did eat all of the chicken and mayo, but was kind of forcing it down. Plus a cup of coconut coffee. Might end up being an early, large lunch today! (And since it's a study day, I'll probably be paying much more notice of my stomach than I would usually!)

In conclusion - bigger lunches required if I eat out (double helping of spinach, please, kind sir), and no more nuts. Full stop.

(Oh, and that bacon was the first I'd eaten in donkey's years, initially because "bacon is bad for you" and then because of moral issues around eating pig. Free range pig helped me over the moral issues, and W30 got me over the guilt - although bacon still won't be high on my list of foods to eat.)

[GoJo09]

Was flat as this morning - got up and went to the gym, got out of the car, and thought "this is going to be such a half-arsed workout, there's no point", so went back home. Which is so bizarre as yesterday I was full of energy - even did cartwheels in the park when I went for a Sunday afternoon study break bush walk. And I had a big, delicious Scotch fillet for dinner. I'm thinking that maybe steak just doesn't agree with me? After dinner my stomch was gurgling like nobody's business, and I was burping garlic from the aioli on the steak.

I did walk 4km from the train station this morning though - figure I might as well make the most of the nice weather while I can.

So I had pumpkin with coconut cream with my breakfast, just to give me an added little energy boost, and that was enough to get me through to nearly 1pm without being hungry. Hopefully my big lunch of tuna, mayo, salad and some roast sweet potato will be enough to get me through to dinner without needing an afternoon mini-meal.

[GoJo09]

Oh, and I've also decided to limit coffee to 2x a day - it makes me sad to give up my post-lunch coffee (purely because I like the taste, I don't really get an energy boost from it), but I've just been hearing too many negative stories about it. So, 1 pre-gym and 1 on the drive to work, and on non-gym days, 1 on the drive and 1 mid-morning.

[GoJo09]

Not sure if I was really hungry this afternoon, or if I just felt like I was hungry because I knew I had food available. So, tomorrow I won't take any food to work for afternoon snack and see how that goes. Plus, I'm going to up the fat a little because I'm not sure I'm eating enough.

Dinner tonight was: choc chilli, 2 heads of bok choy, tsp coconut oil, big spoonful of coconut cream. Then, and egg and half a cucumber with tbsp mayo, and a handful of roasted Brussels sprouts. Didn't really feel full/satiated after first dinner, so I had the other stuff. Pretty full now, that's for sure.

My knee's seriously playing up, so going to give the gym a skip tomorrow as well.Will judge how I feel and how the weather is if I walk to work again. (Least skipping the gym means I get a mid-morning coffee )

[GoJo09]

I dished up my lunch today and was shocked how much food there was - it hadn't seemed that muchwhen I was packing it so I'd chucked in some extra broccoli. But on the plate, the roast beef, 1/2c today sweet potato, 1/2 cucumber, carrot, 1/4 capsicum, sauerkraut, coconut flakes and mixed seeds.looked like a sit load of food. And I was seriously full up! It took me an hour to get through it all! But my plan was to make it through without an afternoon snack.

And it just proves that AT is a habit for me - even though there's no way I could have fit any more food in a mere 2 he's later, my stomach was grumbling and my brain was telling me it was time to eat. Brain got a sharp shut up and belly got a cup of rooibos.

Dinner was a little later than usual too: turkey drumstick, hb egg and cauliflower faux fried rice with stacks of coconut oil and a few bites of roast kumara. And a Tbs almond butter to finish.

One thing I did notice today as I was stuck in traffic, stuck on a train, and walking to work (I was 2hrs late because of the train stuff ups) - normally I would have been angry and my heart racing from the anxiety of terrible traffic and being late. But today I was fine. I wasn't stressed at all and stayed pretty even tempered throughout.

I did just discover that the almond milk in my beloved cacao chai latte is sweetened with rice malt syrup. I've only had one last Sat, but I guess I should do a restart. Which is fine as I was planning on going longer than 30 days anyway - I guess now I have a justification for others...

[GoJo09]

Discovered last night that chai tea with coconut cream is foul - had to tip it out it was so bad. Clearly it's best with coffee!

Choc chilli, bok choy, and broccoli for breakfast, with a splash of extra oil over it, and half and apple with ABC butter on the side.

Lunch was a basil pesto stuffed chicken breast, bunch of broccolini with a splash of EVOO, 1/2c of roast kumara chunks, and about 1/2c of roast Brussels sprouts. Left about 1/3 of the chicken, a few bits of broccolini and one lonely chunk of kumara - it's in the fridge now in case I discover that wasn't actually enough to get me through. And then a lovely spoonful of coconut butter .

[GoJo09]

Didn't need to eat again yesterday afternoon, although I would have been happy to! And I was pretty ready to leap on any food that crossed my path by the time I got home!

Dinner was: the leftover chicken cut up into leftover cauliflower faux rice, a 2 egg omelette with leeks, and some kale chips. Was nicely full with all that, although I probably didn't need the kale chips - but hey, they're kale!

Breakfast this morning was: 3 fried eggs, silverbeet and leeks fried in coconut oil, a bit of pumpkin puree with coconut cream. I was going to have half an avo with it (since they're finally ripe!), but I wasn't really feeling that hungry, so decided to have a spoonful of coconut butter instead. In the end, I couldn't actually finish it all anyway, leaving some pumpkin and vege on my plate. It was actually less food than I've been having for breakfast recently, so don't know if I was just less hungry today, or if my body is getting better at telling me when to stop.

Lunch is: roast beef, carrot, half cucumber, half capsicum, some roasted Brussels sprouts and kumara, and a couple Tbs of mayo (made a fresh batch last night - it's a little salty actually, so must remember not to add salt to the food when I'm having the mayo). And since I once again have no AT, let's hope that pulls me through to dinner!

[GoJo09]

Didn't have any AT again yesterday, but unfortunately a combo of an early lunch and a slow afternoon led me to eat some nuts from my drawer. I even stupidly didn't take them out of the bag but nibbled them in situ - bad idea for portion control! However, I didn't eat them all, put the rest back in the drawer, and within 30 mins had the bloat and gas going on - so clearly nuts on their own are both bad for my stomach and bad for my willpower!

Dinner at a friend's last night, where I took my own dinner - she didn't care, and thank God I did, because supermarket lasagne wouldn't have gone down well with me W30 or not! Everyone was interested in what I was doing and why though, and another friend had actually done a similar elimination diet before (purely for allergy reasons, and she didn't do the re-intro properly, so it was a waste of time, in her words). Because dinner was so late (for me) I had half an apple, some coconut butter and a few slices of chicken before I left at 6.

Ate to satiety, which because I'd had the mini-meal already, meant left overs. By the time I got home though, it was way past the time I usually go to sleep, and my stomach was hungry, so I ate the rest of the salad I'd taken over before going to bed.

Paddleboarding exercise class this morning - just finished an early breaky of 2 egg omelette, broccoli and half an avo - should be enough to see me through until I get home again.

[GoJo09]

Haven't checked in for a few days, whoops. Been eating only compliant foods, but I'll confess - Saturday evening turned in to a bit of a mess. It started with a handful of nuts. And ended with the rest of the jar of nuts, a helluva lot of coconut butter, and me trying to stem the tide by having a small bowl of cauliflower fried rice to prevent there being any room for more food. Bit of a fail. And a flashback to non-W30 behaviour - obviously I didn't eat like this all the time, but maybe once a month, I'd just eat and eat and eat. At least I didn't feel sick on this food, and have a food hangover the next morning.

But since then I've been totally back on plan, and I'm feeling great. And looking pretty great, if I do say so myself.

Have a lunch today, and I'm a little worried about finding something compliant - I should be able to mix and match a few things from the menu to make a decent meal though. And I had a massive breakfast to fill me up just in case I end up only being able to get a salad or something light (although I'll have to go and buy something else if that ends up being the case - I didn't plan properly and bring an afternoon meal).

[GoJo09]

OK, so working on the re-intro of food.

So far, beer is ok (obviously it's still beer and is not making more healthy, but still good to know).

Choc coated mini rice cakes - gave me cramp within about 10 mins of eating them. This is pretty sad as I love those little buggers. Worth it as an occasional thing, but certainly not going to eat them every week like before. I did feel particularly picky after eating them, like I could have smashed some food if there was anything around, but it was easy enough to shut up that sugar dragon and tell myself to wait for dinner. Granted, I did have dinner earlier, just to keep it quiet...so, maybe no so worth it after all!

Full fat greek yoghurt - cramp within about 10 mins of eating, and then a quick trip to the loo. Not even sure if it's possible for it to affect me that quickly, but hard to think the two things were unconnected. Will test this again a few times, as I really like yoghurt and want to be sure it's really out. Also noted, however that even though I had a steak, vege, and a bowl of yoghurt and berries, I was feeling like eating again way sooner than usual. Part of that would be because it's the weekend, but I think there may have been an insulin spike too. So, if it causes digestive upset AND hunger, then it's so not worth it.

Read an article saying that if you've been calorie restricted for quite a while, which I was, it can take quite some time for your hormones/body to come to the party and start shifting the fat. So, I'm going to carry on with the W30 template for the foreseeable future, but not actually doing a W30 - I'll intro things as and when it seems like a good idea (like tracking down the best hot cross bun in Sydney next weekend!).

I'm feeling great, skin and hair are great according to my friend, so I see no reason to stop. I only lost 1.4kg in the month, but that's still 1.4kg without the hunger, misery and tiredness that comes with doing it on 1200cals and kicking myself in the gym and stressing about everything.