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First whole 30 challenge 3/25


MeghanE

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Hi! I am planning on starting my first whole 30 on Monday 3/25... I would start tomorrow but I have had a getaway planned with my girlfriends this weekend forever. I am going to use it as my last big hurrah!

I have been eating mostly Paleo since mid December 2012 and have noticed improvements in my body, mood and energy levels. However, recently, I have found myself slipping and can see how crappy I feel. I figured committing to the whole 30 challenge would be a great way to get back into a healthy lifestyle!

My BIGGEST challenge is going to be alcohol. I LOVE wine... And I have an active social life with family and friends, so giving up wine for 30 days is going to be hard. Also, I have been eating dark chocolate because some Paleo sites say its ok!

My other challenge is work. I am a nurse and work 3 12 hours shifts per week. It is so hard to pack all 3 meals into a little cooler bag and be satisfied for the whole shift. Snacks are hard, eating nuts every time I am hungry can't be good. And sometimes I don't have time to heat up a meal and eat it. Does anyone have suggestions for quick meals that don't need to be heated?

Wish me luck! Is anyone else starting Monday??

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Chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, salmon salad, crab salad.

Seeing that fishy, eggy sentence makes me think I should invent a cold roast beef salad with diced pickles, jalapenos, and mayonnaise. Hmm.

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I am starting Monday too!! This will be my first Whole30. I did a modified Paleo a while back, but have been off the wagon for quite some time now and just got back from a 7 day vacation to California where I ate terribly. Nervous to give up my coffee (I like my creamer!) and afraid I am going to miss an ingredient on a label that is not ok! Also nervous about the challenge of finding things to eat and the time it takes to prepare the food, but I am determined!! I can't expect my kids to have good eating habits if I am eating poorly!

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How is everyone today?

Day 1!~

I bought some coconut milk too add to my coffee along with coconut il.

What are you all eating this week?

We are eating chicken breast with marinara, sweet potatoes, kale salad with apples, olive oil and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Meal 1 will be quiche with salsa.

:)

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I actually started yesterday 3/24, so I'm finishing up day 2. I work a lot of nights, so it's taking some time to get meals and snacks ok with satiety. I've eaten "breakfast" usually at 2 or 3 am before bed when I'm at work until 6. Tried to stick to 1 snack only if needed but just got hit with real hunger, had an apple and raw cashews.

Not harder, just different.

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Day 2 down and so far so good! I made the switch from coffee (because no matter how hard I try I cannot drink it black) to green tea, which has been no problem. I am dreading Easter because of all of the delicious chocolate and the honey glazed ham! Luckily I love hard boiled eggs!

I just noticed on a bag of cashews that I bought and thankfully didn't eat yet, that they have peanut oil and cottonseed oil in them. What?? Can't they just put cashews in a bag of cashews?! So rude :)

This week I am eating a lot of grilled chicken breast, tuna (searched hard to find one without soy), salads, a delicious chocolate chili, avocados, eggs, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale and spaghetti squash.

Keep up the good work everyone!

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I also started on 3/25. Day 2 is over, my teeth are brushed and I've been cranky all day. The hostess who wouldn't give our party of 3 a table for 4 at dinner took the brunt of it. I had studied the menu and knew what to order. I left pissed and hungry. It's okay, tomorrow is another day and I'm ready to meet it, smiling...

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I started on 3/25 as well! This is my first whole30 and it is going well so far. I started it on my spring break from teaching, so I have been able to do lots of meal planning. I also can take a nap when I need. Speaking of naps, I need one! Good luck everyone:)

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Hey everyone! I also started 3/25. It's going surprisingly well, but would be a whole lot better if there wouldn't be so much free food going around this week for some reason. Grrr! I think the worst part for me is smelling other foods. My fiancé had spaghetti last night and it made my mouth water. Hope everyone else is doing well! Happy Day 3! (going on Day 4!)

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We also started on 3/25!

I thought I'd miss my nightly glass of wine, but am doing fine without that.

For 12 years, I have made myself an iced latte with 2 cups of skim milk every.single.morning.

That's what I'm missing most!

Other than that, it's just thinking about what I'm putting into my mouth. Old habits die hard!

The one thing I've already noticed is a dramatic decrease in the hot flashes that have plagued me for the past month or so...

I hate to think that it's the wine, but it probably is....

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First big challenge today, I filled my children's Easter basket with my favorite candies. It was incredibly hard but i didn't even try to sneak a bite! Tomorrow will be my next big challenge, Easter dinner! Wish me luck¡

6 down, 24 to go!

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I have been doing pretty well after 7 days. My sleep is finally coming around, and I am getting some more energy than earlier this week. I have noticed a big difference in my skin. So far, I have been very satisfied with the food I have been eating. I thought I would have major sugar cravings, but I seem to miss wine, hummus, and oatmeal the most. I am excited for the changes in the next 23 days. How is everyone else doing? Happy Easter!

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I was pleasantly surprised about how much easier getting through Easter dinner was than I thought. I think my big cravings day was yesterday. I almost ate candy about 100 times, but didn't. And the wine bottle on my kitchen counter was literally begging me to drink it.

Today I went to my parents house where the wine flows freely and there is so much food we could feed a small country. Usually we congregate around the kitchen island and eat appetizers and snacks and drink and talk and laugh until we are so full we couldn't eat another bite and then sit down to dinner! I was able to eat only a few snacks (some shrimp and veggies) and then sit down to dinner with an appetite! It felt great!

I noticed today that I had way more energy and didn't feel like I needed a nap and I don't remember having that foggy-brained period around 3pm.

Next big challenge.... I am hosting our monthly girls night on the 11th. Luckily I am cooking, so I can control what I eat, but there will be plenty of wine being passed around, so it will be hard to not have a glass. Hopefully being on day 18 by then I will feel so good I won't even miss it! We'll see!

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My sweet MIL cooked a Whole30 friendly dinner for us last night! She didn't even drink wine with her dinner. I hope she had a glass after we left! :) We're doing fine after the first week. Tried a roasted green bean recipe that was a bust, but have tried other recipes that were awesome. Trying a slow-cooker stew tonight!

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I also started 3/25, today being Day 11. I am so cranky it's almost unreal. The past 3 days have been the worst yet. All I want is to eat some comfort food. Tuesday I might have killed for some sugar. The first week was pretty easy. Now I am just cranky, tired of cooking and sick of doing so many dishes. Anyone else feel this way?

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I also noticed that the least few says have been harder, but i have been working 12 hour shifts, so i thought that was the reason. But i could kill for some chocolate and a glass of wine right now! Today has been an awful day at work and i am not looking forward to relaxing with a boring old cup of tea tonight!

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Oh, thank God I'm not the only one. I thought it was stress. My stress levels have been through the roof this week due to circumstances well outside of my control. For the first time in my life, I've decided to live with the stress, and not focus on destressing.

I have stuck to my nutrition goals and plan to continue doing so.

Good luck to you all!

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Halfway!!!!! Still craving, but not as bad.... I heart after the halfway point it gets so much easier. Is this true? I definitely have more energyj.. a weird thing is happening, i am actually excited to get up and work out tomorrow. Usually i dread it and drag my butt out of bed and invent 20 extras things to do to avoid spending too much time in the gym... But i am genuinely looking forward to running tomorrow..... Well see if it continues at 4:40"when my alarm goes off :)

How is everyone else doing? Does anyone notice any big changes 2 weeks in?

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  • 3 weeks later...

I did great! I had a couple days around day 25 where I felt kind of sluggish and tired and discouraged... But by day 30 I was back to feeling good! I stepped on the scale on day 31 and I lost 7 lbs! I could not believe it. I haven't weighed this little since high school (17 years ago)! And I see muscle in my body, instead of being skinny fat, I almost look fit! It is awesome!! The only bad thing is that only one pair of jeans fit (which isn't really too bad!) and I might have to buy a whole new summer wardrobe!

I started my reintro yesterday by having some yogurt with lunch. I haven't had any kind of reaction at all yet, so I guess I will be ok with limited dairy.... Although I am kind of confused about what to eat now... I was mainly Paleo before my Whole30, so I guess I will go back to that. Am I supposed to still really look at labels and make sure nothing has added sugar, or can I back off a bit and just eat them in moderation... And I am thinking about having a glass of wine to celebrate my accomplishment, but is that counterproductive? I haven't really missed it, and I definitely didn't miss the sluggish feeling the day after!

Today I pretty much stuck to the plan

M1 eggs, sweet potatoes and kale

M2 salad with grilled chicken, olives and olive oil/balsamic dressing, small hand full of cashews

M3 (making now) grilled chicken with avocado and bacon, grilled asparagus and grilled sweet potatoes (I am running tomorrow). The bacon is uncured, but does contain some sugar per the ingredients...

I have not had bacon since I started the whole 30.... Maybe I will just skip it... I don't know!!!

How did everyone else do????

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For reintroduction (as outlined in the book) you should include the food group you are trying with all 3 meals and than go back to whole30 for 3 days. The idea is to get a lot of it in your symptom and it can take a few days to actually form a reaction (if any). My understanding is once you have reintroduced what you are going to reintroduce this way what you do going forward is kind of up to you.

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