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Adapted Whole30 - Half20something?


Cassie M

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Cassie M is feeling low these days and needs some semblance of structure.

I finished my second Whole30 on April 10, but instead of fanfare and delight, I just felt very 'meh'. My body composition didn't change significantly. I gave in to nuts and Nakd bars so often that I didn't get to the stage of feeling the magic. A lot of that I attribute to the crazy health issue I was experiencing. It still hasn't cleared up and in all likelihood could be something very scary. Testing and waiting and worrying is emotionally draining; cookies and chocolate have been my solution in the two weeks since I completed my W30.

What I value from my second W30 - even though I felt like it was a failure - is what I've learned: I do really well with structure (the program restraints) and accountability (my Whole30 Log). I'm not ready to go whole hog again (hey-o, how do you like that pun?!) since I'm going home for a visit in just over 3 weeks, but I don't want this current anxiety to be an excuse to abandon my health and fitness goals.

So ... I'm setting some ground rules for myself. It's not 'Whole' - more like 'Half' - because I am allowing myself:

- Greek yogurt (good fat, high in protein, and Cassie M likey!)

- double cream for my coffee

- hummus, black beans & lentils (I have no intolerance issue with legumes)

- the occasional smoothie with peanut butter

- a drink or 2 if I want it (but with all of my medical issues lately, I haven't felt like drinking)

- a bit of leniency regarding 'treats' - once a week in my book makes for a sustainable lifestyle

What I'm not allowing myself:

- nuts

- Nakd bars

And since I won't be committing for 30 days, I'll aim for 20-something days. I leave in 24 days, so 21 would be nice.

Introducing: CassieM's Half20something

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Day 1: Monday, April 22nd

Breakfast: 1 baked egg, 1 turkey, sweet potato & green onion patty, 2 coffees + cream (somebody had a case of the Mondays!)

Lunch: Gingery eggplant curry, Side salad (mixed leaves & cherry tomatoes)

Dinner: Grilled chicken, roasted vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes & parsnips), Greek yogurt

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Day 2: Tuesday, April 23rd

Breakfast: 1 baked egg, 1 turkey, sweet potato & green onion patty, 1 coffee + cream

Lunch: Gingery eggplant curry, Side salad (mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, 1/4 avocado & squeeze of lemon)

Snack: Apple + Almond butter

Dinner: Grilled chicken, roasted vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes & parsnips), Hummus, Greek yogurt

Hmm ... yesterday I had to force myself to eat lunch & dinner because I just wasn't hungry. My lunch kept me full for 5 hours yesterday; I had the same again today (with avocado) and got very hungry just 3 hours later. Then I sailed right through dinner time with little to no hunger, but made myself have a small plate of food, which resulted in me feeling really full. I don't get it.

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Good call, Tom. I checked out that thread and there are some good points in it. I used Nakd bars as "emergency" foods in my last W30 ... trouble was, I found myself in a lot of "emergencies". Thanks for the info!

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A better emergency food is a can of tuna. I've never bought bars because I know those will be my downfall!

Hope your health issues don't wind up being something big. :-(

Oh man, I really wish I liked canned tuna, but I find it revolting (which is odd, cause I love tuna steak and tuna sashimi)! I am hoping to get to a stage where I can just have 3 filling meals, but my hunger levels are up and down because of whatever is happening with my insides.

Thank you so much for your good thoughts! I should have some answers next week.

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Hi Cassie, I'll be thinking positive thoughts for you that it won't be scary news. What a worrying time for you. And so easy to eat those feelings....

Wishing you best of luck on both fronts.

Thanks, Derval! I love the phrase "eat those feelings" ... gonna have to borrow that :)

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Day 3: Wednesday, April 24th

Breakfast: 1 baked egg, 1 turkey, sweet potato & green onion patty, 1/4 Avocado, 1 coffee + cream

Lunch: Gingery eggplant curry, Side salad (mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, 1/4 avocado & squeeze of lemon)

Afternoon: 1 coffee + cream

Dinner: Burrito bowl (Carnitas, lettuce, black beans, hot salsa, pico de gallo & guacamole)

Went to an event after work and had to grab dinner on my way there - which if I wasn't Whole30ing or Half20somthing-ing would have resulted in allowing myself a burrito or quesadilla, so I'm delighted that I said no to rice, cheese, sour cream and the tortilla. Instead, I stayed compliant with the terms of my H20something ... not to mention that my burrito bowl, which was basically a taco salad, was delicious and filling!

I still don't understand why my hunger levels have plummeted and why I feel full and gross after eating - even if I just eat a little bit - but I have another appointment on Friday so hope to get some answers soon.

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Day 4: Thursday, April 25th

Breakfast: 1 turkey, sweet potato & green onion patty, 1/4 Avocado, 1 coffee + cream

Lunch: Salad (Grilled chicken, mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, 1/4 avocado, pumpkin seeds, Balsamic + EVOO)

Snack: 2 Oranges, 1 coffee + cream

Dinner: 2 (small) handfuls of popcorn, BBQ salmon + guacamole, Seabass + sweet potato

I was back to being hungry this afternoon, so I ate some fruit before my hunger went away (it's been on and off lately). And a pick-me-up, since I'll be out late tonight. I have a girls' night out tonight, but we're going to a fish place and I've already scoped out the menu. I know I have lots of fairly healthy options for my dinner (and can't wait for some yummy fishes!)

We had to wait for a loooong time for the restaurant to even take our dinner order since we were a group of 23 and I was freakin' starving (which I was happy about, considering my hunger levels lately) so I couldn't resist the popcorn on the table, but kept it to a minimum (to eliminate my hunger but not go nuts!)

It was a nice dinner and I was the only one who didn't get dessert, but I was happy enough with that decision because I felt sick after eating. That's been happening a lot lately. Hopefully my appointment will clear all this nonsense up.

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Day 5: Friday, April 25th

Breakfast: 1 turkey, sweet potato & green onion patty, 1 coffee + cream

Lunch: Grilled chicken breast, roasted vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes & parsnips), hummus

Afternoon: 1 coffee + cream

Dinner: Salad (Mixed leaves, SDTs, pumpkin seeds, Balsamic), Moroccan lentil soup, Wine

Appointment today. Thinking good thoughts and hoping for some answers to what can only be described as a clusterfuck of symptoms.

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Day 6: Saturday, April 27th

Breakfast: Blueberry muffin, Flat white

Lunch: Salad (Mixed leaves, chicken, tomatoes, sunflower seeds), Popcorn, coffee + cream

Dinner: Lots of beer ... then Falafel + garlic chips

Day 7: Sunday, April 28th

Breakfast: Greek yogurt, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, hummus

Lunch: Roasted vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes & parsnips), hummus

Dinner: Pork chop, Apple sauce w/ thyme, Cauliflower

Dessert: Peanut Butter milkshake

Saturday's breakfast & Sunday's dessert were planned treats; Saturday's beer drinking led to a less-than-favorable decision at dinner, but I'm not beating myself up for it.

Week 1 is done and I feel pretty good about this being a sustainable way forward. And my skinny jeans are fitting well again, so that always helps :)

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Day 8: Monday, April 29th

Breakfast: PB, Banana + Kale smoothie, 1 coffee + cream

Lunch: Eggplant curry, 1/2 Avocado

Snack: Grapefruit, Pumpkin seeds

Dinner: Pineapple, Turkey breast, Cauliflower, Sweet chilli hummus

Exercise: 2 mile walk / 33 mins (Heuston --> Home)

Great day today. I ate clean and got a nice walk in.

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Day 9: Tuesday, April 30th

Breakfast: PB, Banana + Kale smoothie, 1 kiwi, Pineapple, 1 coffee + cream

Lunch: Eggplant curry, Cauliflower, 1/2 Avocado

Snack: Apple + Almond butter

Dinner: 2 fried eggs, cherry tomatoes + hummus, Greek yogurt

VICTORY IS MINE!!! I have been bleeding for 46 days straight. Until today. My doctor is still completely puzzled (as am I), but for today, I am going to enjoy this tiny bit of normalcy. (Is that even a word? I think so. OK I just Googled it. 'Normality' would have been a better choice. Whatever. I'M NOT FREAKING BLEEDING!)

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Hello, May! What has two thumbs, isn't bleeding and is totally excited to be going home for a visit in just over 2 weeks?! THIS GIRL!

Update: Uggghhh. Apparently I spoke too soon re: the bleeding. But I'm still excited to be going on vacay soon.

Day 10: Wednesday, May 1

Breakfast: Grapefruit, Apple + Almond butter

Lunch: Sweet potato & snap pea curry, Salad (Mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes + squeeze of fresh lemon)

Dinner: Salad (Mixed leaves, chicken, tomatoes, bell peppers, mixed garbanzo & kidney beans, 1/2 HB egg), 1 pint of beer

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Day 11: Thursday, May 2

Breakfast: Apple + Almond butter, 1 coffee + cream, 1 small handfull of pumpkin seeds

Lunch: Sweet potato & snap pea curry, Salad (Mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes + squeeze of fresh lemon)

Snack: Grapefruit

Dinner: Salad (Mixed leaves, SDTs, sunflower seeds), Broccoli + hummus, Greek yogurt

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It's Friday, it's a long weekend, the sun is shining, I leave for my vacay 2 weeks from today ... and yesterday I had a full 24 hours of ZERO bleeding after 47 days consecutive days of WTFness. Today is a good day (cue: Ice Cube's "Today was a good day"...)

Day 12: Friday, May 3

Breakfast: Apple + Almond butter, 1 coffee + cream, Flat white

Lunch: Sweet potato & snap pea curry, Salad (Mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes + squeeze of fresh lemon)

Snack: 1 coffee + cream

Dinner: Nando's 1/4 Chicken, Peri-Peri nuts, 1 Sam Adams

Well, I broke my "no nuts" rule at dinner, but am fine with that decision; we were at Nando's, they didn't have the black beans I wanted and I was starving. The Peri-Peri nuts are a small portion and my husband shared them with me, so there was no opportunity for me to go to town on them!

Temptation is all around me, especially on the weekends, but I'm finding that every time I say no it's like I have a super power that gets that little bit stronger with every healthy decision.

Long weekend ahead, with a few planned treats!

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Day 13: Saturday, May 4th

Breakfast: 6 cherry tomatoes + hummus, Greek yogurt + Strawberries, blueberries & raspberries, Coffee + cream

Lunch: 3FE Latte, 1 Bulmers, 2 Tigers

Dinner: Goat's cheese & pear salad (Mixed leaves, chicken, goat's cheese, pear & walnuts)

Dessert: Magnum white chocolate ice cream bar, Coffee cake, Donut

Yeah ... I kinda went on a sugar binge after dinner. My liquid lunch helped me justify that one!

Day 14: Sunday, May 5th

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, cherry tomatoes + hummus, SDTs

Lunch: Americano + cream, Sunflower seeds (3 closed handfulls), Vegetable soup + poppyseed roll, Latte

Dinner: iComida especial para Cinco de Mayo! Chicken burrito bowl (Mixed leaves, fajita-spiced chicken, refried beans, tomatoes, homemade guacamole, fresh lime), Cerveza (1 Sierra Nevada, 4 Sam Adams)

Not a great weekend in terms of food choices.

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Coming down with something. Blerg.

Day 15: Monday, May 6th

Breakfast: Greek yogurt + Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries & kiwi, Coffee + cream

Lunch: Americano + cream, Cherry tomatoes + hummus, Popcorn

Dinner: Chicken burrito bowl (Mixed leaves, fajita-spiced chicken, refried beans, tomatoes, homemade guacamole, fresh lime), Greek yogurt

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Day 16: Tuesday, May 7th

Breakfast: Grapefruit, Smoothie (Greek yogurt, banana, Better'n PB, blueberries & kale), Coffee + cream

Lunch: Salad (Arugula, chicken, SDTs, HB egg, hot mustard), Starbucks iced Americano + cream

Snack: 2 Oranges, Cherry tomatoes + hummus

Dinner: Grilled salmon + chilli, lime & ginger sauce, broccoli & carrots

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Day 17: Wednesday, May 8th

Breakfast: Apple + Almond butter, Smoothie (Greek yogurt, banana, Better'n PB, blueberries & kale), Coffee + cream

Lunch:Salad (Arugula, chicken, SDTs, HB egg, hot mustard), Popcorn

Snack: Orange

Dinner: Salad (Mixed leaves, SDTs, 1/2 avocado, sunflower seeds, hot mustard), Cherry tomatoes + hummus, Pineapple

I noticed the return of a bad food behavior tonight: Eating just cause I feel like it. I had my delicious salad and immediately felt like I wanted something else ... so I went for the cherry tomatoes and hummus. Shortly after, I opened the cupboard to pull down an eggplant to make my lunch for today and spotted a pineapple. I wasn't even hungry, but I suddenly wanted pineapple so I sliced up two rings and ate them. And then about an hour later, I was making my breakfast smoothie and helped myself to 2 tablespoons of the PB that I add to my smoothie. Why? Cause it looked nice and tasted nice. Hungry? Nope. FAIL.

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