Jen's W30 Log - April 1

[pjena]

Well, I did it. I managed a work dinner without knowingly eating anything off plan. It was harder and easier than I thought. Harder because it ended up being a fixed menu, not the full restaurant menu. I skipped the appetizers, bread, wine and dessert (which looked really good). I asked for no cheese on my salad, which was a sad 3 pieces of baby romaine and one slice of tomato and cucumber. I hate fancy places with their tiny platings. I played with the pasta course, not eating the pasta, but managing to salvage a couple forks of tomato sauce and looking like I was eating. For the main course, I chose the fish, which was delicious. It came with kale and mushrooms. I think there was about a 1/4 cup total vegetables on the plate. Don't they know I need my veggies? Other than the lack of veggies, I think I did ok. The fish was huge and there was olive oil on the fish and the salad, so I got plenty of protein and fats. It was easier than I thought because I had very clear mandates on what I was and was not going to eat. I didn't have to waste any time debating with myself over whether or not to have a glass of wine or trying to just eat a bite or two of dessert (and fail miserably). I just didn't have it and didn't have to spend any time thinking about it. That was nice. The food and wine looked VERY good, but I didn't want to be there anyway and eating cake wouldn't have changed that, so I don't feel like I missed out. Plus, I don't feel overstuffed and guilty for overeating. That is nice. Another thing that was nice was that, though I was hungry, I managed to wait very patientaly until dinner was served after 8pm. I don't think I could have done that before W30.

I am an idiot. I have two inhalers. One is the albuterol rescue inhaler for when I'm already wheezing. The other is a preventative inhaler that I'm supposed to take 2x per day and always forget. It finally dawned on me last night that I should start doing that regularily. Sure enough, I did not wake up wheezing at all last night. I'm not sure where my head was! So, I don't think I'll give up eggs just yet. I'll use the medicine my dr told me to take and see if it's better. This is the worst time of year for my asthma, so it's not that surprising that it's been bad. If it doesn't clear up, though, I will try the egg elim.

I didn't get home until 11pm last night. I was so tired. Another reason it was good I didn't drink any wine. It would have been a lot less safe to drive home in the dark and in the rain with even a little wine in me - wine makes me sleepy. I slept well until about 5:30 and managed to doze for another hour. Not ideel, but better than the previous two nights. Tonight better be a good night!

Today will be a good day.

Day 10 Plan:

M1 - hb eggs, kale salad, sw pot, drizzle coconut butter

M2 - huge salad with tons of veggies, tuna, avocado, squash

M3 - kale salad, chicken vegetable curry

[pjena]

Slept all night again, except for waking up several times to go to the bathroom. Side effect of that time of the month. Crampy still, too, but not too bad.

I can't believe it didn't occur to me for almost 2 weeks to use the 2nd inhaler.

I was so stuffed after lunch yesterday that I wasn't hungry until 8pm! That is crazy. Regardless of how the rest of this program goes, that is a change I'd like to keep. 3 good meals a day rather than snacking all day. I will make lunch a little smaller today so that I am hungry to eat dinner with my family.

After dinner, I wanted to eat a date or an orange or something sweet, but I resisted and the craving passed. Yay for me!

Day 11 Plan:

M1 - chicken vegetable curry

preWO - zucchini, almond butter

M2 - kale salad, tuna, avocado

M3 - chocolate chili, avocado, squash

[pjena]

Day 12 and still no "magic". I have to say I'm kind of disappointed. Still have bad allergies, asthma, throat clearing. Stomach still looks 4 months pregnant. Not sleeping awesome. Not feeling super energy. Kind of feel just the same. It is nice to go hours between meals without getting hungry. I know everyone is different and I want to give this program the full 30 days before I decide if it works for me, but I with the "magic" would hurry up and come!

The chocolate chili recipe is really good. My family loved it. Since I couldn't bulk it up with beans (to make it a little less expensive), I added a bag of frozen bell peppers. That was a good add to make it more than just a bowl of expensive grass-fed meat.

I made cornbread to go with the chili for the family and it was REALLY hard not to pick at the crumbs. When I'm paying attention, I'm always surpised at how many little tastes I would have taken without even thinking about it - crumbs of cornbread, licks of the sunbutter knife, etc. It's hard to remember. That would be a good thing to take away from this program, too - breaking the BLT (bites licks tastes) habit.

I'm hosting a party this weekend for my son's 1st Communion. I'm a little worried that I'll be tempted by all of the food and will be stressed with the business of the day and will stumble. I feel a little better after surviving the work dinner - it gives me some confidence that I can do it. The helpful thing will be sticking to meals and no snacking/grazing. That way, I can mindfully fill my plate with compliant food and avoid the rest.

Day 12 Plan:

M1 - chicken veg curry, squash

M2 - chili, avocado, spinach salad

M3 - crab cakes, roasted red pepper avocado sauce, big salad

[Beets]

I boiled sap and canned maple syrup again last night and didn't touch a drop! Yay me! I also "unpacked" the Easter baskets and plastic eggs so that I can put them away and didn't eat any of the candy or other treats. Yay me! I did notice that if it weren't for the W30, I would have thought nothing of grabbing a couple handfuls of the candy and that probably would have lead to more and more. So, I'm grateful for the rules. 100% is easier than 90%!

So true! The rules make it easier than freeform. I would also think nothing of those little "harmless" nibbles that eventually lead into full-blown pig outs. Great job on the Easter candy and maple syrup! The other morning I waited way too long to eat breakfast and I was pouring a bit a syrup on my kids' fruit and yogurt and I wanted to lick the jar!

That is sweet of your husband. It's hard when those things are rituals. My husband was initially all "I'm still eating my potatoes" but now he's getting more and more on board. He even sent a link to the Whole 30 page to a friend having some mystery pain symptoms. He thinks eating I'd say halfway Paleo is helping his back.

He has an autoimmune disorder (sarcoidosis, in remission) so I'd really like to see him give up sugary lunchtime drinks and sugar on his coffee. But a roundabout approach works best with him--when I make it seem like it's all his idea.

[pjena]

It's the weekend. It'll be a tough one. But, I can do it. I don't want to go into my "diet" with the family this weekend, so I planned to just eat what I eat and not make a big deal about it and hope nobody notices. But, my mom is coming tonight and helping out and will notice that I don't have a glass of wine with her tonight, drink coffee with her in the morning and eat her greek yogurt hummus for lunch tomorrow. So, I mentioned how bad my asthma has been and that I'm trying an elimination diet. Because she's dealt with my food and other allergies since I was a baby (they were BAD) and my son's food allergies now, it wasn't really a surprise. I just didn't go into all the details about how I'm not eating a ton of meat and avoiding a ton of my favorite things. It's just easier that way. If I decide it works and I'm going to stick with it, I will fill her in then.

I canned syrup again last night. Ugh! I'm very tired of syrup. I'd like the trees to STOP! This cold miserable spring is apparently very good for the sap running. It's kind of ironic that I'm spending my evenings canning syrup and I'm on a sugar free diet. Once we're all done and get a picture of our wall of syrup, husband says we can start giving it away. Get it out of the house!

The family didn't like the crab cakes. They thought they were too spicy - I guess they don't like old bay seasoning very much. Oh well. More for me. I like them.

I was not hungry at all last night until after yoga at 8:30. I need to eat smaller lunches so that I can eat dinner with my family. I only had a bowl of chili and a veg salad. I can't believe one bowl of chiil would fill me up that much. I wasn't hungry for 8 hours! If I could have just gone to bed, I totally could have skipped M3, but I needed energy to stay up to do the canning.

Day 13 plan:

M1 - 4 crab cakes, roasted red pepper/avocado sauce, salad, strawberries

M2 - 4 crab cakes, roasted red pepper/avocado sauce, salad (I gave the chili to my son)

M3 - walleye, huge pile of salad, chicken lettuce wrap - I'm pretty sure there was sugar in there, so I let my husband eat the rest

[pjena]

Well, I made it. I hosted a party with a bunch of noncompliant foods, including some I really like (hummus), and I stayed on plan. I ate way too much salmon and guacamole, though, and feel stuffed and kind of greasy. I guess it's better than eating way too many chips with hummus and too much cake, which would probably have been what I'd have done if not for being on this plan.

Sorry for TMI, but this does seem to be a favorite topic around here. I have not been regular and it's bugging me. I ate some prunes and dried apricots today hoping it would help. I also had a small cup of coffee this morning. It did not help. Ugh!

I'm 2 weeks in now. I'm frustrated that I'm not feeling any different. I'm wondering if I'm doing this for nothing.

Day 14

M1 - 3 crab cakes with sauce, spinach, banana w/ almond butter, 2 prunes

M2 - salmon, guacamole, veggies, huge spinach salad

M3 - a few bites of leftovers of the above and 4 dried apricots. I wasn't hungry.

[pjena]

Good morning. I'm halfway done. It has not been particularily hard. I have moments of wanting to eat something because it is there, but no real cravings. I have not had any negative side effects. I also have not seen any positive effects. I'm going to try to keep my motivation up to see it through the 30 days, though, to see if the good stuff will come.

My asthma is better now that I remembered the 2nd inhaler. Sigh. My allergies are still the same. I'm still sleeping the same (waking up every night, a few times not being able to fall asleep). I don't have more or less energy. My workouts are the same. I may be less crabby with the kids. Not sure, but I feel maybe a little more patient. That is good. My pants aren't looser. I'm not "regular". I didn't get a cold sore before my period this month like I usally do. That is good.

But, I do like eating 3 good meals a day rather than snacking. I like that I'm not eating any processed food at all. I like that I'm not reaching into the cereal box all night. I like that I've gotten through two events (work dinner and party) without diving into the cake. Those are changes I'd like to keep even if this doesn't help with anything else.

So, here's hoping the back half is magic!

Day 15 Plan

M1 - 2 hb eggs, spinach salad, strawberries, celery, sw pot, coconut butter

M2 - spinach salad, tuna, avocado, carrots

M3 - chicken sausages, coconut bacon kale, spinach salad (we have A LOT of spinach after a Costco run!), 2 prunes dipped in almond butter

[Beets]

Jen, I caught up on your log last night and wanted to reply to a couple things on the computer but before I forget or lose a few days I wanted to recommend digestive enzymes. I bet they'd help with the regularity issue.

A few years ago I suddenly switched to a mainly veg diet I had such brutal constipation I couldn't even eat anymore. Digestive enzymes helped almost right away. I Feb when I switched from eating a lot of processed carbs to primal that same thing happened. My mood and energy improved but I felt like I had a rock in my gut. I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was so uncomfortable. Digestive enzymes helped again.

Read more here: http://whole9life.com/2012/09/digestive-enzymes-101/

Hope that helps.

[pjena]

Thanks, Beets. Good idea! My son has taken enzymes and probiotics for years for his stomach issues, but I admit I have not been good about taking them myself. I will make myself a note to dig them out and start taking them myself. Not his. His are kids chewables and have sugar. But, I have some in the cupboard that I just need to remember to take.

[pjena]

Finally got some relief to my "issue" after breakfast today. I'm not sure if it was the prunes/apricots, the coconut milk coffee, the cooked kale last night or just a coincidence. I'm going to take Beet's advice and take enzymes to see if I can avoid a repeat. I'll also try to remember to take my magnesium/calcium supplement. And probiotics. I did a lot of reading on the blogs yesterday about it and am going to bring back coffee, but only a small cup, with coconut milk. Some say that helps. I will also try leaving the skin on my sw potato.

My husband came home yesterday with a surprise - a new puppy. It's a very cute, female, 7 week old springer spaniel. So cute, but led to not much sleep last night. I'm going to be sleepy today.

The coconut bacon kale recipe is awesome. Nadia B posted a link on KB's log. My husband, who eats anything EXCEPT kale, even liked it. My 8 yo liked it, too. The 11 yo, not so much, but he's a harder nut to crack.

Day 16 Plan

M1 - 2 hb eggs, spinach salad, strawberries, celery, sw pot, coconut butter, small cup of coffee w/ coconut milk

M2 - chicken sausage, coconut bacon kale, spinach salad

M3 - ham bone veggie soup, spinach salad, avocado

[pjena]

The puppy did pretty well last night, but started whining pretty loudly around 5, so another sleepy day. Not as bad as yesterday, though. This darn weather doesn't help. I don't think spring will ever come. We're looking at days of rain/sleet/snow again. Ugh!

The ham soup turned out great. We get our pork from a local farmer and processer who gets us ham with no nitrates or sugar. I put it in the crockpot: ham bone with quite a bit of meat still on it, big can diced tomatoes, can tomato paste, chicken broth, bay leaves, pepper, diced carrots, celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic. It was really good and everyone liked it. I would have rather had it without the ham LOL but I'm doing ok eating meat. When this is over, I may try to transition to the vegetarian protocol to see how I do on that. I don't want to just go back to the way I ate before - I'd like to keep the 3 meals, no snacks, no processed foods, no sugar, etc. But, unless something changes in the next couple weeks and I suddenly feel amazing, I do want to bring back a lot of the foods I miss like yogurt, oatmeal and quinoa. We'll see. I still have almost 2 wks to go.

Day 17 Plan

M1 - 2 hb eggs, spinach salad, 1/2 grapefruit, celery, sw pot, coconut butter, small cup of coffee w/ coconut milk

M2 - out - salad with chicken, strawberries, walnuts, olive oil, banana because the salad didn't feel like enough

M3 - ham bone veggie soup, spinach salad, avocado

Snack - apple w/ almond butter - I got hungry

[Beets]

The ham soup sounds delicious. When this is over I am going to do the AIP so we can do our alternate W30s together. (My psoriasis seemed a teeny bit better but there is very little change and I suspect I have a pretty majorly damaged gut.)

Would you mind jotting down or linking to the coconut bacon kale recipe you mentioned? I'm not coming across it in the threads. Thanks!

New pup! They are so sweet. But yes so needy! Like having a newborn. (Well, not quite. But almost.) Post a photo? Our friends just got a puppy. She is a farm working dog and they got hens the same day and set them both up in their new fancy chicken coop. My friends built it and it looks so nice I'd live it. I was feeling pretty envious thinking of all their fresh fresh eggs.

[pjena]

The ham soup sounds delicious. When this is over I am going to do the AIP so we can do our alternate W30s together. (My psoriasis seemed a teeny bit better but there is very little change and I suspect I have a pretty majorly damaged gut.)

Would you mind jotting down or linking to the coconut bacon kale recipe you mentioned? I'm not coming across it in the threads. Thanks!

New pup! They are so sweet. But yes so needy! Like having a newborn. (Well, not quite. But almost.) Post a photo? Our friends just got a puppy. She is a farm working dog and they got hens the same day and set them both up in their new fancy chicken coop. My friends built it and it looks so nice I'd live it. I was feeling pretty envious thinking of all their fresh fresh eggs.

The recipe is here:

http://girlmeetspaleo.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/balance-coconut-bacon-kale/

It's so good and super fast. I will be making it again next week.

They are kind of like newborns. I thought that this morning as I was trying to do all my morning stuff while carrying her around so she wouldn't cry. I'm not sure how to post pictures. Let me try. Didn't work. I'll have to research that.

[Beets]

Thanks for the link.

Don't worry about the photo. Don't want you to waste time on it.

[pjena]

Just thought of something - I'll change my profile pic.

It worked! I'm not sure why shutterfly would work for the profile pic but not for a post pic, but oh well. Isn't she cute?

[elle_croft]

I need to trust that I can go a while without eating and that I won't die if I get hungry.

Yes! I need to remember this too. I know I am eating enough but I still feel hungry. I think I just need to ignore it for a while :-)

[pjena]

Day 18 already! It's going fast. I need to remember that Day 31 doesn't mean going back to the way I ate before. I am interested to know if I will react to dairy, wheat, etc, even though I haven't noticed a big improvement (yet?) due to cutting them out. I don't want to ruin the experiment by diving into sugar and dairy and wheat on Day 31. I had horrible food allergies when I was a toddler. At one point, there were 7 things I could eat. My poor mom. I still have environmental allergies and my son has food allergies, so I would not be surprised at all if I have reactions. I also know I need to probably cut out eggs for the last week of the W30. I should have cut them out from the start, but it's hard when I don't really like meat. There are tons of threads about non-egg breakfasts. I just need to do it.

I feel like I may finally be losing a few pounds. My pants aren't tight. They aren't loose, but they aren't tight, either. Even though I'd really like to be experiencing fabulous sleep and tons of energy and no allergies/asthma, I'll be happy with losing a few pounds, too. Maybe the sleep and energy will come yet. Or, maybe it's just unreasonable for a super busy mom with two boys and a new puppy to get great sleep.

Goal for today - come up with a plan for egg-free breakfasts before my lunchtime Trader Joe's run.

Day 18 Plan

M1 - 2 hb eggs, spinach salad, melon, celery, sw pot, coconut butter, small cup of coffee w/ coconut milk

M2 - chicken sausage, bacon coconut kale salad, veg

M3 - crockpot pineapple chipotle pork in lettuce cups, spinach salad, avocado

[Beets]

I am not seeing it? Maybe I'll go online. (On phone because my daughter doesn't let me sit at the computer for two minutes before she wants to bang on the keyboard.)

I've been avoiding the eggs too. It's been hard to put together a balanced breakfast without them (or the yogurt and granola I generally rely on). But today I made a soup (of leftover meat and veg + broth) and it feels good. The previous couple days I was eating a sweet potato and that leaves me feeling too slow and full.

I never had food allergies but I got ringworm in high school and have always been susceptible to various skin issues, rashes, athlete's foot--gross yeast-related stuff. So I'm sure there is some kind of food sensitivity at the root.

I've never really wanted to tackle this issue but this is my time. I'm turning 39 in June and my friend thinks this is a part of a mid-life crisis. She is also going Paleo and is the one who ran the Boston marathon for the first time his week. (Feel so bad, aside from the deep tragic aspects she trained so hard.) Whatever the reason I finally feel ready for it.

[pjena]

I turn 39 in September. Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis, too. Better than buying a sports car or getting a trophy husband, right?

[pjena]

A co-worker told me yesterday that I'm getting "so thin". That was nice to hear. I do feel like at least the bloat is going down. My "fat pants" are no longer tight. I still can't wear some of my less forgiving pants (suit pants are not forgiving!), but maybe I'm on my way. I'd be so happy to be able to wear my nice work clothes again.

My lunch left me with some tummy upset yesterday. Not sure why. I still don't think my stomach is used to so much fat. Sausage, kale cooked in coconut oil, bacon and coconut flakes was probably just too much. Next time, I'll eat the kale with something like chicken and the sausage with a spinach salad. Anyway, because of that, I wasn't hungry for dinner, so I just ate a small amount of the pork lettuce cups, which were good. Then, I was hungry later. I ate a banana with almond butter and then still felt snacky, so I ate carrots and celery instead of letting myself go for the dates and almond butter that were calling my name. In hindsight, I should have eaten leftover pork instead of the banana. That probably would have helped the hunger without setting off the snackiness. Good thing to remember

I'm working at home today because of a blizzard (in April!!!!), so I have to make my own coffee. My plan is to brew a small pot, but only have one cup a day. That will be easier than trying to brew 1 cup each day over the weekend. My challenge will be the temptation to drink more than 1 cup just because it's there. But I won't. Hold me to it!

Day 19 Plan

M1 - 2 hb eggs, spinach salad, melon, veg, sw pot, coconut butter, small cup of coffee w/ coconut milk

M2 - crockpot pineapple chipotle pork in lettuce cups, spinach salad, avocado, carrots

M3 - pork, salad, guac

snack - apple, almond butter

[pjena]

Happy weekend.

I had a hungry day yesterday and was kind of tired of the rules. I just wanted a mindless snack, but I resisted. I suppose that will happen sometimes. I managed to not eat any of the popcorn I made for the kids. Yay me. I was feeling hungry because we had an early dinner, so I had an apple and almond butter. That worked to keep me out of the popcorn.

Today, I had an early breakfast because I had an early yoga class and learned my lesson last time about trying to split my breakfast. Just eating it early worked fine and held me over until a reasonable lunch time. I'll be at the (indoor) soccer field all afternoon, so I'll be testing my ability to wait for dinner even though I'm sure I'll get hungry. But, I shouldn't have to wait too long and dinner will be waiting in the crockpot when we get home.

Day 20 Plan:

M1 - 2 hb eggs, spinach salad, bell pepper, sw pot, coconut butter, small cup coffee w/ coconut milk

M2 - Chipotle carnitas, lettuce, guac, lettuce

M3 - crockpot sourkraut, cabbage, sausage, spinach salad, apple, almond butter

[pjena]

I'm going to avoid eggs this week, just to see if I feel any different. HB eggs were so easy for breakfast, but I think I figured out a good plan.

Soccer tournaments make for difficult planning. It's hard to eat 3 meals when I'm stuck at the tournament over the hours I'd want M2. M2 was at 10:30 today. I made it a big one, but I doubt that it will hold me over until dinner. We'll see. I vow to myself to not eat a snack unless I'm very hungry. I do better with the structure of the work day. Being home around food makes me snacky.

I made pancakes for the family for brunch so that they could try the maple syrup. I ate my salad and was ok with that. I know I feel better now than if I'd had a ton of sugar for my meal.

Day 21 plan:

M1 - small sw potato, coconut butter, turkey, spinach, melon, coffee with coconut milk

snack - more coffee, black

M2 - small sw potato, coconut butter, turkey, spinach, red bell, avocado, melon

snack - apple, almond butter

M3 - chicken, spinach salad, curried cauliflower

[pjena]

Happy Monday. We're getting MORE snow tonight. I am so done with winter. This is crazy.

Weekends are hard. I have much less control over my schedule and sometimes have to eat at awkward times. That makes it hard to eat 3 meals and easy to let in extra snacks. For this last week of the W30, I'm going to try very hard to stick to 3 meals.

My early lunch did not hold me over to dinner. I had an apple and almond butter mid afternoon. I wonder, though, if I hadn't had an easy option, if I would have chosen to just wait or to make something. My goal for this week, in addition to no eggs, is no almond butter. I've done great at not eating nuts as a snack (trail mix is a food with no brakes for me and tends to cause bloating - almond butter does not), but I can see from the log that almond butter is sneaking its way in more and more. My avocados are now ripe and I have a jar of olives in the pantry - I don't need almond butter as my fat.

M1 - chicken, kale salad, sw potato w/ coconut butter, clementine, small coffee with coconut milk

M2 - squash soup with chicken sausage, coconut flakes and veggies, larabar - still felt hungry after eating the soup, but now feel too full. I need to learn to wait a bit before eating more!

M3 - leftover chicken, curried cauliflower, salad, clementines

[pjena]

Yesterday was a munchy day. After my meals, I still felt like eating more. I did pretty well and didn't have any snacks or almond butter. I need to keep working on the three meals thing and learn to trust that I won't get hungry or that if I do, I won't die. My intentions are to follow the template during reintroduction so I probably will have another month to work on it and hopefully make it come more naturally.

Looking back, I realized that swapping chicken breast out for the eggs probably meant that I didn't have enough fat with my breakfast. That may have set me up for a munchy day. I added some avocado today. I also brought some eggplant/squash and avocado to add to my lunch. I'm hoping that will be satisfying enough that I won't feel the need for a larabar.

Still no magic. I think I've lost a few pounds, but my allergies, asthma, throat clearing, sleep, energy, digestion are the same. Well, I think I have fewer stomach aches, but I am not more regular, even with all of the tricks I added last week. That is annoying. I also think I might be more patient. That's hard to tell, but I feel more patient with the kids, especially the youngest who knows how to push all my buttons and does it regulariliy. That is a good thing. I don't like yelling. I also enjoy not being hungry all the time (munchy is different than actually hungry) and not snacking/grazing is good. Even though I don't feel amazing, I am going to try to do the reintroduction to see if I react badly to any of the foods I cut out. I hope to add back eggs and yogurt to replace some of the meat and really hope to add back oatmeal <3.

Day 23 Plan:

M1 - chicken, kale salad, sw potato w/ coconut butter, 1/4 avocado, small coffee with coconut milk

M2 - squash soup with chicken sausage, coconut flakes, veggies, more veggies, 1/4 avocado

M3 - beef vegetable soup, salad, avocado

[Beets]

Still not feeling amazing here either. I'm also trying to stick more closely to the template. I've strayed from in it the last few days and that has made me a lot more snacky. I've also been dipping into some dried fruit which I'd avoided for the early weeks.

Hope you get some relief from allergies and asthma this week!