Catherine's Whole60 - This is not about weight loss.

[GLC1968]

Day 25: Whole30 injury.

This was stupid. I had removed the bottle of olive oil from my cabinet and set it on the counter. Then I was looking for a particular cookbook from a pile on the counter. When I knocked the olive oil bottle onto the floor, I immediately stuck out my foot to try and break it's fall to keep it from shattering and becoming a huge mess. Big mistake. That full glass bottle of olive oil fell from a height of about 3 feet directly onto the top of my bare foot. OUCH! I immediately started to discolor and by the end of the night, my foot was swollen. I am SO thankful that it was my left foot and not the right one that I have been rehabbing for almost a year now! It still hurts today but at least I can fit my shoes on an walk on it. I'm bowling in a tournament tonight, so if I suck, at least I'll have an excuse.

Other than that, there is not much to report. My back was unusually sore today but it has loosened up as the day has progressed so it's possible I just slept in a weird position or something.

I don't know what dinner will entail as I don't know how long this bowling thing (that starts at 6) will run. I did bring two extra hard boiled eggs and an apple to eat as a snack before I go.

B: chicken apple sausage, roasted sweet potato, a few bites of fresh pineapple, black coffee

L: salmon, steamed mixed veggies, roasted sweet potato

S: hard boiled eggs, apple

D: unknown

[Derval]

Ouch! hope it heals up soon.

But did you save the evoo?

[Beets]

Hope your foot heals quickly!

Don't feel bad about being happy about your pants. Even if weight loss isn't your #1 priority most most of us would feel happy about that non-scale victory (nsv).

I recommend this video to everybody because I think it's so helpful. I have been crawling on the floor in pain, unable to walk or stand up straight. I do this short video (which is based on yoga but not a whole flow routine, has no meditation or anything extra) and then I can stand up without pain. http://www.amazon.co...aw/d/B000U0C9UE

The jalapeño sauerkraut sounds intriguing! Let us know how it turns out.

[GLC1968]

Derval - Yes, I saved the olive oil, thankfully!

Beets - thanks for the video workout recommendation. I'll definitely check those out!

Day 26: Bad food sucks.

I don't know if I am feeling the repercussions of eating a bad egg two days ago (I mentioned this on day 24 and I *think* the bad food was a hard boiled egg that had cracked in my bag at work and was at room temp for too long) or if I'm suffering from having wings cooked somewhere other than my own kitchen but UGH. I have had abdominal pain for two days now (in addition to regular back pain) and the pain actually moves around, so it's not injury related. I think it's just bad food moving through my gut! Last night, it woke me up multiple times with sharp pains in different spots of my lower abdomen. Today it is mostly in my back, but to one side. I even drank some Kombucha last night (I'm not a huge fan of it) in the hopes it would help get things back to normal. I don't feel well and it's really getting to me.

Last night we ended up eating at Chipotle. When I got home, I actually opened up a bar of dark chocolate because I wasn't feeling well and wanted to 'soothe' myself. Stupid, I know. I didn't eat it. I re-wrapped it and put it back in the drawer. Of course eating chocolate wasn't going to help anything!

Tonight we have an appointment to drive two Subaru's at 7. I'm hoping to get out of work in time to get home and make a nice dinner before we go. I have defrosted grass fed ground beef and I really want burgers topped with guacamole! It's been such a busy week after work that I haven't been able to make it yet.

This weekend I'll be making the following:

red palm lime marinade

avocado bacon deviled eggs

jalapeno sauerkraut (though I won't get to eat this for two weeks!)

smoky chicken wings & hot sauce wings (tessamae's)

pulled pork with BBQ sauce OR Smokey Roast from Everyday Paleo

Friday

B: bacon, eggs topped with salsa, black coffee

L: meat marinara over a pile of veggies (broccoli, cauli and carrots), blueberries

D: burgers topped with guacamole, sweet potato spears, kombucha

[GLC1968]

Day 30: Half-way there!

I've been a bit remiss about posting to this log! I've been posting to our little 3/11 start group post in a different section of this forum, but somehow I forgot to come here with my updates too!

I had some crazy sugar cravings on Sunday night - like the most intense ones I've had since starting this Whole30! At one point I actually stood in the kitchen and contemplated the repercussions of eating something off plan. I didn't really have anything, but man, it was tough! I even started thinking that the second 30 of this Whole60 would be about reintroduction so that I could reintroduce sugar. Silly me! I don't need to reintroduce sugar!

Anyway, I stuffed some home cooked meatballs in my face and squashed that craving as best I could. By Monday morning, it was gone, thankfully. Now I feel really good. No more cravings and I'm feeling like I could eat this way forever...finally! I think this stage has been a long time coming this time around actually.

My husband and I had a discussion about his health last night. He's one of those lucky types who, even if a little overweight, looks 'normal' in clothing. I worry that he carries some intra-abdominal fat though. He eats mostly paleo but he does eat too many treats (even non-paleo ones) and no where near enough veggies. He'll eat what I put in front of him, but he never eats them on his own and 2 out of 3 meals each day are not made by me! He agrees with my recommendations and I think he'll try a little harder. That'll be good for me, too. It's always easier to eat on track when he is doing the same!

Now, while I have been saying all along that this is not about weight loss...I still need to lose weight. I really don't think I've lost as much during this Whole30 as I did in my previous ones. I'm not weighing, but I just don't see the difference in my clothing that I've seen in the past. This Whole60 is about correcting bad habits and getting my deep sleep back (done!), so I'm still well on my way. But I may have to address the weight loss aspect somehow in the last 30. I'm not really sure how. There isn't much that I can cut out that would be considered a problem. I suppose I could be more careful about only eating fruit as part of a meal. And I do need to stick better to the meal template, particularly on weekends. Lastly, I need to increase my activity. When the weather is good, this happens by default as I like to be outside running, gardening, walking the dogs, or biking. When the weather is crappy, I tend to opt out. We did just get our treadmill moved to our new house (finally!!), so I have that option now. And I really should make it a priority to clean up the spare bedroom so that I can do my workouts in there on days when I don't have Pilates. I'm just not sure when. The next two weekends will be totally taken up with trying to empty the farm house (furniture sale, and then packing and moving what doesn't sell out) so my spare time is highly limited right now.

Tuesday

B: "healthy 8" veggies sauteed in red palm oil with chicken apple sausage, black coffee

L: smoky roast brisket over red peppers, mushrooms and a huge pile of mixed greens, apple

D: smoky roast brisket over mashed cauliflower with sauteed veggies (asparagus, zucchini, onions, mushrooms)

[GLC1968]

Day 31: On the the back half now!

Last night I made the mashed cauliflower recipe from Well Fed for the first time. Mel came through for me again. OMG, it was so good! I don't typically like mashed cauliflower but I LOVED her recipe! It was particularly decadent topped with the smoky roast recipe from Everyday Paleo blog. With a big pile of steamed, ghee topped broccoli, I was in dinner heaven. I love it when a meal comes together (nod to Hannibal Smith)! Today I have the leftovers for lunch and my plan is to dump the whole mess over a pile of greens.

Right now, I've got beef short ribs, rubbed with BBQ 3000 from Penzy's in the slow cooker for dinner. I need to stop and buy some green veggies on my way home. I noticed last night that I have no fresh veggies that are not already slated for some recipe. I had to pull out the frozen broccoli for last night's meal (not that there is anything wrong with that). I'm really looking forward to our CSA starting so that I'll have lots and lots of fresh stuff to work with every week! Our first pick up is next Thursday, so we are almost there!

Last night was another Pilates mat class. I think I'm getting stronger! It was enjoyable but only somewhat challenging. I'm just so used to 'sore for days later' challenging that this gentle work is hard to wrap my head around sometimes. I know it's good for me though...and my back feels better today that it has in a LONG time, so I know that it is helping. I'll probably sign up for another bundle of classes once this one runs out and then re-evalueate after that. I received my yoga for lower back DVD's in the mail yesterday (recommended by Beets up above), so I am looking forward to trying those soon too. Today after work, my plan is to try a short run. It is supposed to pour rain like crazy this morning (it looks dark out right now and it's 9:15 am!) but then clear up by early evening. I won't go far and I'll take it super easy, but I really want to try it out and see how my foot will do.

Wednesday

B: czech meatballs, sweet potato spears

L: cauliflower mash, smoky roast brisket over greens, banana

D: BBQ beef short ribs, baked sweet potatoes, veggie (asparagus maybe?)

[GLC1968]

Day 37: Absent but still compliant!

I can't believe that I've failed so miserably at keeping my log up to date! Shame on me!

What I have not failed at is sticking to my guns. Though - I think I might be considering changing where I am aiming for the second half. I took a few days to think about it and I've decided that I"m going to use the second 30 days to work on controlled reintroduction. To that end, last night I had some chili with beans in it. They were the first beans I've had in almost two years because for whatever reason, I never bothered to reintroduce them in the past. I guess it's because who craves beans? Well, apparently, I do. Anyway, I have had zero repercussions for the beans last night. No stomach upset, no oddities (except weird dreams, but I'm not blaming the beans for that). There weren't a ton of beans consumed though, so I'm going to give it a day or two and try again with more. I'll make my own chili (more bean filled), have some black beans and have some hummus on the same day. Maybe on Thursday?

Other than that, I'm plugging along as usual. I do need to work on following the meal template more closely on the weekends, but during the week, I'm spot on. I'm out and about and more likely to snack on weekends...but I stick to compliant things even if their combinations aren't necessarily the best.

I'm still sleeping like the dead, still seeing improvements in back pain, still pooping like a champ and my skin is soft and my nails are strong. I'm thinking clearly, I'm remembering well and my moods are even. There are a lot of sick people at work right now, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that my new healthy and efficient body will be able to defend against all these germy things floating around here!

Tuesday

B: bacon, eggs with spinach and avocado, black coffee

L: chicken apple sausages, steamed mixed veggies drizzled with olive oil, apple

D: thai pumpkin curry w steamed veggies instead of rice

[Derval]

All sounding good C

[GLC1968]

Hi Derval!

Day 39: Thoughts about my sugar dragon

Everything is still moving along as it should. Lately I have been putting a lot of thought into my sugar dragon and why I am doing a Whole60. While I say that this is not about weight loss and I didn't even step on the scale at the start, I can't help but be a little disappointed that I'm not seeing much of a change in how my clothing fits this time around. I'm sure it's due to poor weekend compliance to the meal template, too many nuts (I had an incident yesterday that I'll recount in a minute), and a lack of regular exercise, but it's still a little discouraging. It helps to come here and ramble on a bit about all the good things I'm noticing though!

Anyway, about that sugar dragon....I know it's not dead. In fact, I'm fairly certain it will never die. I might be able to put it into a coma for awhile, but I'm pretty sure that Smaug is a part of me and he's never going away. That said, I have been kind of over-analyzing my urge to consume sugary things. The thing is, it's all about the taste. I really, really, really have zero desire to swallow that crap. I don't want it in my gut, I don't want it to affect my brain and I don't want it to end up on my rear. BUT, I still want to taste those things. Its like I want to put them in my mouth and savor them and chew them...but I have no desire to actually swallow them. What does that mean? Does that mean I have a commitment problem? LOL! I'm willing to indulge, but without committing to what it'll do to me? I don't know. It's really weird to think about it though. It's weird to me to be analyzing how I feel about doing something from a totally rational point of view. And to be perfectly honest, I feel the same way about things like pizza too. I want to taste it, but I have no desire to have it in my body.

Talk about conflicted!

Anyway, this is all just thoughts...I'm not actually going to eat a pizza or a plate of chocolate chip cookies. In fact, when that stuff is right in front of me, it's almost easier to resist than it is in my thoughts. Maybe that means I am remembering these things to be better than they actually are? Eh, not likely. I am sure that a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie is just as lovely as I remember it....

OK, the nut thing. This is my third Whole30 (or fourth if you count this Whole60 as two 30's!). In the previous ones, I ate nuts. I didn't give them much thought because I don't over-indulge when the nuts are raw. I'm also not a huge fan of nut butters. I like them ok and will use them, but the thought of eating a spoonful of it plain makes me cringe. Icky. Anyway, yesterday I had an early breakfast and a late lunch. I was really, really hungry and having a hard time concentrating (making me realize that I didn't have enough fat at breakfast, but live and learn) so I pulled a bag of dry roasted, lightly salted mixed nuts from my desk. I snacked while shooting off some emails between meetings. Then I ran to my next meeting. It ended a bit early so I planned to eat lunch but when I pulled it out, I didn't want it at all. I'd eaten too many nuts! I ate my carrots and put the rest of the lunch in the fridge. Then mid-afternoon, I got hungry again (no surprise!) and all I had time for was more nuts while running into another meeting. By the time the that meeting ended, I felt AWFUL. My stomach was so unhappy with me!! On the way home from work, I was beating myself up pretty badly for being so stupid. Luckily, dinner took a while to cook so by the time it was done, I was feeling better and I had a good, healthy, meal-template-happy meal for dinner. And I felt heaps better.

Moral of the story? Stop eating nuts. I mean, stop it. Don't even keep them around for 'emergencies'. Don't put them in your travel bag (except for maybe one single serving). And do not, under any circumstances, buy dry roasted, lightly salted nuts of any kind. Ugh. I think that remembering how awful my stomach felt in the afternoon should steer me clear of nuts for quite awhile anyway, but nuts + salt = uncontrollable situation! No more. Nuts are now a condiment and can only be used in conjunction with other food. There, take that nut dragon (OMG, do I have a nut dragon too? Damn it!).