Starting today - Easter Sunday!

[Cavemum]

No better time to commit, 500 grams of superb quality haighs chocolate waiting to be consummed.

Is she tough enough??? Will it still be there in 30 days????

I've been doing the paleo type thing for a few months, but not truly committing. Taking paleo treats to the extreme, and spending all my time researching paleo comfort foods.... wondering why I still have the carb flu when I've been drinking wine at night and eating a bit too much of the 85% cocoa chocolate.

I love the way the whole9 doesn't beat around the bush, it's quite clear ( as you can read) where I have gone wrong.

Time to give it a good hard go and see if I really will feel better in 30 days. I'm a bit concerned though when I read about the regular members giving up nuts and fruit in order to slim down.

Looking forward to seeing other posts and talking to members and hearing about your fabulous food choices..

Post those yummy meals please..

Bon appetite

Cavemum

[HeatherM]

Hi Cavemum, I'm starting today as well. I've given this a few solid attempts before but never made it past Day 15. This time I'm going to do it! I most certainly will not be giving up fruit and nuts but I do recognize that portion control is required for both. Given that there is no snacking as part of the program, I try not to eat fruit or nuts unless it's in a meal that I've prepared, this really helps with the portion control aspect.

I agree that now is as good a time as any and I'll be avoiding those chocolate easter eggs like they are bombs

[Cavemum]

Hi HeatherM,

Wishing you the best of luck. Why do you think you stop after 2 weeks? Planning? Hunger? Did you read the whole30 book- if so do you think it's necessary to do this program? I've read lots of Mark Sisson and other Paleo blogs, and I just bought the well fed book which looks like it'll be a great resource...

I hope to keep track of you to offer support especially day 15!!

Hopefully we'll keep each other going.

Cheers

Cm

[HeatherM]

Hi Cavemum,

I have no problem with planning or with hunger when following Whole 30, what it really comes down to is dedication. The 30 days feels somewhat arbitrary and I start questioning my motives and convincing myself that I really should have a "treat". This time I'm not going to give in, I am dedicated to completing the entire 30 days.

I have read It Starts With Food twice. I don't think it's necessary in order to complete the program, there is lots of good reading material on this website. That said, it is a good read and worth the $.

I'll check in on this string daily to get/give support I'm also keeping a food log on the Food Log forum.

[jochi1543]

I'm also planning to start Easter Sunday. For me it's strictly a weight thing, to be honest. I don't have much to lose - 5'5" and around 155 lbs (quite muscular), but that also means that I don't get instant crazy results and I really gotta fight to lose 10 lbs, which is my goal. I don't know if I can get that in one month, I'll be aiming for 5. I was hovering around 152-153 a week ago but then went on vacation and ate all kinds of junk food. Definitely feels like I've put on 2-3 lbs. We're flying back today and I went to Whole Foods and just packed two full salad bar boxes of vegetables/greens with hardboiled eggs and chicken breast and tuna for the trip. Will weigh myself and take official progress pictures tomorrow.

HeatherM, I'm currently in Alberta but will be moving close to your area - Chilliwack - in about two months. Looking forward to living somewhere where I can be active outdoors and have access to produce straight from the farm all year round!

[HeatherM]

I finished Day One, now it's Easter Sunday here and Day Two for me. I'm so happy to be back on track and I know these next several days will come easier because I'm already feeling so good compared to how I was feeling during/since my vacation. My next big challenge will be this upcoming week-end. It will be a very busy work week and it becomes all too easy to justify eating convenience frankenfoods or allow an alcoholic drink as a reward for a stressful day. I am going to conquer these issues with planning. I'll get lots of Kombucha and herbal teas to replace the treat drink and I'll be sure to cook extra at dinner each night so that I have lunch prepared.

I remember how great Day 15 felt, I need to get that feeling back!

jochi1543 - I love it here and I'm sure you will too. Yesterday I purchased local turkey and produce from my favorite farmers market right down the street. Later on in the day I stocked up on cage free eggs and uncured bacon from sumas mountain farms. I kept thinking how lucky I am to have all of that so close by. It was sunny and 20 yesterday, you can't beat that! We camp and hike at Chilliwack Lake often, it's one of our favorite spots.

Hope you all have a successful day! Happy Easter

[jochi1543]

....aaand I've already run into a roadblock - I just recently discovered smoked oysters; tried them once, loved them, bought a 6-pack of tins at Costco thinking it'd be a good convenient source of canned seafood on the go. Decided to plop a few atop my salad tonight and guess what, they are packed in sunflower oil! I didn't know much about the health profile of sunflower oil and upon some Googling, found that it's terrible as far as omega6/3s go. Bah! I ate them, anyway, and will eventually finish the entire pack, but what a disappointment right on the 1st day.

[Susan W]

Jochi..w30 is not for weightloss. It is a heal your relationship with food, nourish your body and soul kind of plan.

[Susan W]

Oh and don't worry too much about the smoked oysters. Yes, it would be better to not have seed oils, but there are more important things to be picky about.

[shelley417]

Cavemum-- unless they disagree with you, you don't need to eliminate fruit and nuts. I have lost 20 lbs since last October when I started my first W30 and I am on day 90 of a W 100. Follow the meal template in ISWF. You will do great. But remember-- as Susan points out-- this is not about losing weight but about having a healthy relationship with food. You will learn alot. Best of luck. We are all here rooting for you.

[Cavemum]

Thanks Shelley, I'm really desiring the fruit today, I'm wondering if it's because I had a fresh fig last night,I think hi GI. i was avoiding so many bad foods at a dinner party, it was killing me....how much fruit did / do you eat. At the moment I'll have about 3 pieces a day. I don't want to increase the insulin levels and go back to hunger / binge cycles.

What would also be great to know is what do you guys do to relax at night? To get past the couch / chocolate association.

[jochi1543]

I went to a catered talk today, I had brought an apple and a can of tuna in case it was going to end up all dressing-soaked sandwiches, but thankfully, they had a fruit and a vegetable plate, so I had some of both.

Stocked up on some beef and pork jerky from the farm store so I have something else besides trail mix type of stuff for emergency snacks.

Day 3, so far, so good. Great workout yesterday - biked 10 miles, then Crossfit and some weightlifting work in the afternoon. Crossfit again today, we'll see how it goes in terms of energy level. I've been losing a ton of water weight, I can tell both by how I look and by the constant bathroom trips. I guess it's all the water stored up in glycogen? Now that it's day 3 and I've worked out, I'm sure I've used up my muscle glycogen stores, so it'll be interesting to see how it affects my workout performance and overall mood/energy level.

When I last did a similar challenge (but with dairy allowed), it went very smoothly for about 10 days, and then I started getting cravings, which became crazy around two weeks' time.

Cavemum, I don't do anything special to relax at night. I don't have a TV, so I usually amuse myself on the computer before bed downstairs. When I go upstairs to my bedroom, I usually go straight to sleep. Boyfriend and I usually snuggle a bit before bed (we have separate bedrooms), but he's been gone lots for work lately, so I've been alone most of the time.

[Cavemum]

Well done jochi, all those workouts...how much training were you doing before the whole 30? I have been doing about 3-4 days either running or strength classes, nothing as extreme as cross fit but I have found since I gave up the sugar 2 months ago and the grains 1 month ago I do not have the energy for any training. I don't feel excessively tired just not at all enthusiatic about going to classes. I'll be interested to see if your training / energy level improves on the whole 30 providing that you are training the same as before you started the whole 30???

Cheers

Cm

[HeatherM]

Welcome Day 5! It feels so great to be back on track. The last of the turkey leftovers is gone and I'm happy about that because now I can get a bit more creative with my meals. I have been sleeping way more heavy than normal and I feel great throughout the day. I am finding that I'm very tired in the evening. I'm also trying to break the couch/tv habit with little success. I'll try again today. My plan is to replace it with a short walk followed by housework and spending some time with my kids. I wish I didn't have a TV, unfortunately, the others in my house would freak out.

[Cavemum]

Yeah to day 5 - nearly1/4 of the way there.

The key to me breaking the couch/ tv/ snack cycle is probably stop the couch /tv too..

Now that I'm not drinking any wine at night I have lots more energy to do other things

I went to running group this morning and was surprised how good I felt considering I've had no sugar/ carbs for 4 days..

When i run its like i have heaps of respiratory milage, but my legs start to get sore half way throught the class. Im wondering about glycogen storage .. Energy requirements etc.. Im certainly no athlete and im sure someone would say ' you'd never deplete your glycogen are the speed you are running' but just wondering how others running has changed since going paleo??? Does anyone else feel the same??

[jochi1543]

I'm so confused, how is this day 5? Am I missing something? I started Sunday, so Sun - 1, Mon - 2, Tue - 3, Wed - 4....I'm actually feeling a bit better today than I was yesterday, more mentally focused. Rest day from the gym. I've been counting calories these 4 days and noticed my calories are quite low, only like 1500. I'm not really hungry for more per se, but it just seems the extra vegetables take up too much room in my stomach to consume more meat and fat. I decided I should add a bit more fat here and there because I don't want to crash and get an urge to binge later. Had some coconut milk with my blackberries and had a handful of macadamias, and had a coconut milk/avocado-based soup for lunch.

Cavemum, I've been doing Crossfit for over a year now, so this is not a change from my normal routine. I go 5-6 days a week. It's competition season now, so I'm only going 5 so I can rest two days a week. I did quite well at my workout yesterday, FWIW, so I haven't noticed a decrease in performance so far.

[Cavemum]

It's Thursday here in Australia- day 5.. I'm glad your training is going well jochi .. I'm starting cross fit on Saturday - well doing the fundamentals and then a WOD. - look forward to mixing it up a little..... And hopefully getting more benefit from the whole 30... I am heading away for a few days to the beach and I seriously do not know how I am not going to eat chocolate or drink wine whilst I am away.... I can't think of one other thing to replace it.... Quiet house, beach setting.... Naturally there will be a movie........I'll have to lookup how to make whipped coconut cream, and berries??? They may help ...

Hey jochi - that coconut milk must push the calories up... You mustn't be eating much to stay under 1500 , I'm sure I'd be way way over... Although feeling good - there's certainly no weight loss..

How are you going heather m? Hopefully we can all stick to it ogether....

[HeatherM]

It's Day 6 for me, I started on Australia's Easter Sunday (i.e. Canada's Saturday before Easter Sunday)

I've been working on a big project at work for 18 months and we are delivering the project this week, it is a VERY busy and stressful time at work with obscenely long hours. This is both good and bad. I'm quite happy to be able to eat 3 meals a day (not 5 or 6 mini meals like I was doing previously), I stay full for a good amount of time, and I'm enjoying eating food that makes me feel good. The bad part of this is that my coping technique for stress/reward is to have a drink (or several) of alcohol. Yesterday I really wanted a glass of wine with dinner, I had a strong craving all afternoon. On the way home I had a chance to catch my breath and convince myself that I didn't need it and when I got home to a very busy household my husband was drinking a glass of wine. It nearly pushed me over the edge but it didn't and I'm stronger for it today. The primary thought that I had besides keeping this W30 commitment to myself was that I didn't want to be performing at less than my best at work. I am going to struggle with this through the entire challenge, it's what kept me from making it past 15 days in my previous attempts.

So, today is a new day and I'm stronger than I was yesterday because I'm continuing to learn which is a big part of what this journey is all about for me.

I'm a runner. On Day 15 of my last W30 attempt I ran a 1/2 Marathon in FL while on vacation. I have to say I don't really find the food is impacting my performance negatively. If I'm doing a long run I will take a mini larabar or 2 with me. If I'm going to have a strenuous workout I'll have sweet potato and protein before hand. I got some organic baby food sweet potato packets and those are great for quick pre workout snacks along with a small piece of chicken. I'm also training to complete the Whistler Tough Mudder in June.

Just a note on calorie counting, I wouldn't do it. Part of the W30 is overcoming these sorts of obsessions - i.e. getting on the scale, weighing and measuring your food, and counting calories. These aren't natural behaviors and personally I've found it very freeing to let go of them. Occasionally, I'll feel the call of MyFitnessPal or the need to jump on a scale but I resist, I actually donated my fancy scale and food scale to Value Village so that I wouldn't give in to temptation. During my last attempt at W30 in March I followed a thread where several members completed the W30 and they all saw weight loss and body composition results. I'm trusting that this will work and staying away from the numbers for these 30 days at least.

Hope you have an amazing and successful day! I'm definitely looking forward to mine.

[jochi1543]

CM, I had weightloss surgery and my stomach is surgically reduced to only hold so much food, so once I drop things like dairy, grains, and sweets and up low-calorie foods like vegetables, I automatically begin to undereat because I just physically can't shove that much starch or meat down my stomach in one sitting. I can eat two eggs + 2 bacon strips in one sitting, or a small bowl of mixed greens/veggies and like 6 sardines, that's about it. So I generally have to eat things like nuts, lots of coconut cream, and avocado to up my calorie intake. It certainly helps with portion control, but if I eat crap, I still gain weight. I don't like to go too low in calories because I don't want to start cannibalizing muscle. So that's why I'd like to count calories at least for the first few days, HeatherM. My issue is not so much going too high, but rather too low. I don't weigh or measure my food, so I'm not super-obsessive about it, but I just eyeball it. I find that with the amount and frequency I eat because of my operation, my tendency is to really overestimate the amount I'm consuming, since it feels like I'm eating all the time.

Also, NomNomPaleo recently posted a recipe for a chilled berry soup with coconut cream, give her blog a shot. I haven't made that recipe, but it sounds like it might be a good fit for you.

[Cavemum]

thanks so much for your posts replies heather m and jochi it really puts things into perspective. WELL DONE heather on refusing to give in to the wine craving, i would have given myself 10 really good excuses for having it had i been under the same stress as you. it is amazing you have the mental strength- good on you.. stress causes me to cave in everytime,I always tell myself that one cant possibly handle the stressful situation AND do this very incredible stressful diet at the same time... but yes the more i watch my husband drink wine or my kids eat chocolate and continue to feel good myself it gets easier...and a half marathon, WOW you managed that on a paleo diet?? amazing!!! i must be feeding myself some incredible lies at the moment, it seems that 5km is my limit, i will have to push through it. jochi you have some big hurdles with your surgery and diet requirements to follow, good on you. do you try green smoothies?? like green vegies and bananas? and coconut milk. might help with getting the macro / micronutrients without the bulk. that way you could stay away from the nuts? which i keep reading dont help with weight loss. thanks for the nom nom tip - going to that site now... good luck with day 6 everyone... mornings are easy - its the nightime arrghhhh

[HeatherM]

Thanks for your support Cavemum. I don't think you're lying to yourself, it took me a while to get back into running when I switched to paleo. Were you eating paleo before W30? If not, it might take you a bit of time to find your running legs with your new fuel but it will come. I do remember hitting a wall at 5km at one point when I switched to Paleo from a frankenfood diet but I got past it in a couple of weeks.

Day 7 is here! I had another rough day yesterday and really wanted a glass of wine, again my husband had one and I ignored him. I AM going to do this. I slept 9 hours last night, that's amazing. I guess my body is recovering from stress using sleep...not sure but I can't believe I slept that long. I do feel like I'm overeating (protein and fruit portions too big at night) and I haven't kicked the couch habit yet but I am going to focus on that over the rest of this challenge. This week it has been enough of a challenge to resist the call of alcohol.

I planned to run this morning but it's pouring out there so I'm going to head into work early instead and hopefully leave work early and do a run or something later with the off chance that it won't be raining so hard.

jochi1543 - when did you have your surgery and what kind was it (if you don't mind sharing)? A very good friend of mine just had a WL surgery a couple of months ago and I know that she is having some interesting challenges with her diet but she is seeing great results.

Have a great day all!

[jochi1543]

jochi1543 - when did you have your surgery and what kind was it (if you don't mind sharing)? A very good friend of mine just had a WL surgery a couple of months ago and I know that she is having some interesting challenges with her diet but she is seeing great results.

Have a great day all!

I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy (not the same thing as "stomach stapling") a little over 2.5 years ago. Hit a "healthy" weight 5 months later, hit my goal weight at 6 months, dipped 10 lbs below it at 8 months. I've gained 15 lbs since, but most of it is muscle.

I'm at a point where I no longer need shakes or any supplements, and I tolerate all foods, but I definitely had lost some muscle in my weightloss phase despite protein shakes and resistance exercise. I did the Crossfit Open last year, too, and our gym takes lots of pictures. I checked out last year's pics of me a few weeks ago as I was uploading new ones, and I can tell I've put on a good 10 lbs of muscle, it's neat, considering I'm supplement-free.

I'd upload pictures of me before and after the surgery, but I don't know how, haha. I was going to upload progress pix for this Whole30 at the end, so I might as well ask how to do it now!

[Cavemum]

Gee what day are we? Day 7... It is really going slowly for me at the moment, I'm very much not interested in meat and fat too. Its impossible to find any bacon or ham without sugar in it. I wasnt prepared when we went out for dinner tonight. Everyone else had pizza and i had a green salad with a tiny piece of chicken - about 1/10 of the size I would normally eat at home - starving and NOT enjoying this program tonight. sook sook sook. I did cross fit this morning for first time and OMG, this is going to put me to the test. I was sweating with the instruction using the broomstick! pull ups!! these crazy push ups!! im going to need to carbo load or I wont survive a session ha ha ..better go through the forums and see what people are eating prior to workouts. I had a large bowl of parsnip hash with beef and 2 poached eggs before the class (about an hour) and i still felt light headed and dizzy at times.

You are a star JOCHI, you seemed to have totally transformed your life,well done. cant wait to see the after pics. I'm going to track down your posts and see waht you are eating to get through the training sessions.

Heatherm you deserve a rest- no alcohol for a week, under stress!!, you deserve a few days off training. we need to nuture ourselves in new ways. a long bath instead of a run! better than eating 200g of chocolate.

I'm off for a run in the morning- lets see if i can push through the 5 km, ive been mostly paleo for two months with no sugar for longer, apart from a bit of chocolate and wine (every night) before this whole 30- the 85% cacao variety primal allows. anyway i have lost heaps of energy for the longest time, like a carb flu- it was really more like i lost motivation completely.. I have more energy at the moment- feel quite good especially in the mornings, as I sleep really well- but have to say I'm pretty sure its due to the no acohol and sugar as opposed to the no dairy. because nothing much else in my diet has changed.

good luck with day 8 ladies- hopefully you are both ladies

i painted my nails last night rather than eat

I borrowed a book from library today- the Dinner by herman koch- which looks great and im going to jump into bed early and start reading rather than tv and eat!!

[jochi1543]

Ditto on the additives, I try my best to find additive-free bacon and the like, but you can only fight this battle for so long. I don't have health problems, so while I try to get the best products, it's not always possible and I don't dwell on the fact that my bacon has sugar on the list as long as it shows 0 carbs/sugars per serving. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself insane, IMO. I'd probably be a lot more paranoid if I had Crohn's or some other serious health issues, but I pick my battles. Must complain, though - bought some coconut milk from brands I'm not familiar with because it was super-cheap, forgot to read the label, and now that I've opened it, it's got guar gum, water, and some other crap in there (no sugar, thankfully). ARGH! I just put it in my coffee, so I'm not consuming massive amounts and I'm not gonna dwell on it, but I just had to rant.

Cavemum, I don't make a point of eating carbs or anything in particular before Crossfit. I never go on an empty stomach, though, and I will usually have coffee, it makes a noticeable difference in my performance. I'm going this morning and breakfast is going to be lamb sausage and sauteed spinach and mushrooms.

[Cavemum]

Thanks jochi, there are a lot of people in these posts who are super sensitive about additives. You feel like bit of a cheat if you are not 100%. But yes I agree, it's about doing the very best you can, for yourself and for your health. Better to have that bacon than give up I suppose. After my miserable meal last night at least I'm hungry this morning , which is a good feeling.

About the coconut milk. Her we have coconut mik which has extract plus water. Or you can buy coconut cream, which is 100% coconut extract. A lot higher in fat but no water. Is that what everyone on these posts - Americans are having.