Day 23...and beyond

Day 23...I don't remember what I ate, probably eggs, asparagus, chicken, berries, sweet potato, etc.  Those were my go to items.  I did make it through the day.  After that, I was done.  I was out of town, it was Memorial Day, it was nice out and I didn't care if I was eating Whole 30. It wasn't because I was craving something or starving, it was because I just didn't care.

My main goal was to make it 21 days, so I did succeed at that but I didn't make it the 30 days.  I had a tinge of disappointment in myself but overall I wasn't upset that I didn't make it the entire 30 days.  I am proud of what I accomplished and did learn a few things that I will take away from it.

Let's start with the cons.  I will preface this with saying that it may not be fair to make these assessments given that I didn't finish the entire program, maybe things would've been different, but this is how I felt after 23 days.

• The cost.  It's expensive to do this program.  Grass fed, organic meat is spendy.  I didn't buy everything organic but for the most part I stuck to that philosophy.  And the space in wallet proved that. 
• I'm a planner, I love cooking but this took both to a whole new level.  When I eat paleo/low carb I am use to a fair amount of planning but this was much more in depth.  I didn't mind doing this but going out of town a majority of the time, made it difficult. It literally consumed me.  
• Where was the boost in energy and feeling better?  I did feel a bit better, the carb brain fog was gone but I didn't feel a lot of the great things people talked about.  This was the most disappointing.  Maybe I needed to do it longer than 30 days to find success.  
• The numbers.  Ok, I know.  This was not supposed to be about losing weight.  But lets be honest, I have a lot of lbs to lose.  After sticking to this for 23 days and only losing about 10lbs is a big fat disappointment.  I've lost 10lbs from pooping before, changing what I was putting in my body, should've made more of a change. 
• I don't know that this a con but just a general observation.  I think I ate too many sweet potatoes and to curb hunger, I upped fats instead of veggies.  May have hindered me.  

The pros

• Snacking.  My outlook on snacking has changed.  I try to only snack when I'm hungry, really hungry.  Not bored or because food is around, but because my body needs it.  It's still hard.  Snacking and grazing is mindless but doing the Whole 30 made me super aware of this and is something I will carry with me going forward.  
• Experimenting.  I'm much more open and less scared to experiment with new foods or use foods in ways I hadn't in the past.  Like making ranch dressing out of cashews.  
• I felt good because I knew I was putting good food in my body.  
• I'll take away a lot of good recipes and cooking methods.  
• The book, It Starts with Food, has a ton of great info that I will continue to look back on.  

So, would I do the W30 again?  Probably not.  I loved it while I was doing it, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but overall it wasn't worth the time, money and energy.  Maybe a Whole 3 or Whole 7.  However, I would recommend that every/anyone try it for themselves, I don't think one eating plan is right for everyone!  

What's next?  I am going to go back to Paleo/Primal/low carb which is very similar to W30 but I will have some cheese in my diet.  This is the 3rd time I've given up dairy and have not noticed any difference.  So, it stays!  I just want to make good choices with my dairy, it's terrifying what's in some of it.  I also plan to start T25--eek! The modified exercises obviously.  My journey continues....

Day 22

Breakfast:  Green beans and half of a sweet potato 

Lunch:  Chicken, avo, raspberries

Dinner:  eggs, bacon, avo, brussel sprouts, strawberries

Current ailments:  neck pain—so annoying! 

Feeling:  Super sleepy and hungry again

Something weird is going on, I just don’t feel right.  I’m thinking it is my cycle, ovulation/PMS maybe?  I am craving everything possible.  I’m not losing anything; I’ve actually gained a pound.  But clothes do fit a little better.  It’s just weird.

One thing I was hoping for was that my face would clear up, I don’t have acne and people always comment on how nice my skin is but without makeup and when I’m looking close up in the mirror, there is a lot red and bumpy areas.  I always attributed it to the crap I ate.  Maybe it’s not from that or maybe it is and I just don’t have all the shit out of my system yet. 

I want to eat everything.  

Day 21

Breakfast:  Green beans and half of a sweet potato 

Snack:  Applesauce, almonds, olives

Lunch:  Chicken, asparagus, strawberries

Dinner:  Carnitas, guac, lettuce

Current ailments:  neck pain--worse

Feeling:  Sleepy, hungry

I was really hungry today, needed to snack.  I was starving all day.  And I wanted to eat whatever I wanted.  Wondering if it has to do with the time it is in my cycle?  I don’t know. 

I was super excited to make Chicken with Caramelized Shallots for dinner but forgot that I was walking with Kelly so I had to hit Chipotle instead.  Hope to make it tomorrow night. 

Right now is kind of a lull in the program, the excitement is gone and it’s not quite the challenge it was the first 2 weeks.  I need to get back to trying new recipes; I eat a lot of the same things mostly because it’s easy.  I’m looking forward to it being done and taking what I've learned and incorporating it into “normal” life.  I’ll add cheese back in right away and see how I feel, if it doesn't affect me, it’s staying! 

I put on a pair of pants today that I forgot I had, they've always been a little loose on me but today they were ginormous, I had to roll them just so I could wear them.  My rings are also becoming very loose, my thumb ring actually fell off last week.  Good signs I guess.

I’m bored.

Day 20

Breakfast:  Green beans and a couple nuts—I know, wtf?

Lunch:  Chicken, asparagus, raspberries

Dinner:  3 scrambled eggs on half of a sweet potato topped with avo and bacon crumbles (SO good)

Current ailments:  neck pain

Feeling:  super tired and my sinuses are acting up

Not too much to report today, not feeling the best with sinuses and allergies.  I again didn’t want breakfast.  I had to force myself to eat. 

They say in the book that you will start dreaming about the bad food and start imagining seeing it.  I thought they were crazy.  But I totally dreamt about Hy-Vee pull apart dinner rolls, I can give or take bread but those things are my ish.  Slathered in butter.  Might be better than sex.  Just kidding. No I’m not.  And then there was a juicy cheeseburger in a grilled bun.  Apparently I miss bread…only when I’m sleeping though because when I’m awake I don’t miss it. 

I’m sick of my neck hurting.

Days 16, 17, 18, 19

Day 16, 17, 18, 19

Breakfast:  Larabar

Lunch:  Carnitas, guac and lettuce

Dinner:  Chicken and sweet potato, turkey wrapped avo

Breakfast:  Eggs, green beans and raspberries

Snack: Macadamia nuts

Lunch:  none

Dinner:  Steak on the grill and asparagus

Breakfast/Lunch:  Chicken and sweet potato

Dinner:  Bacon wrapped sweet potato

Snacks:  Cheese, raspberries, couple cookies

Breakfast/Lunch:  None

Dinner:  Chicken, sweet potato, asparagus

The last few days have been crazy.  Friday I was NOT hungry, couldn’t force myself to eat to save my life.  Hence the Larabar for breakfast.  I spent the weekend at Dane’s and thought I had brought/prepared enough food but didn't.  The weekend was eye opening for me, I need to prep a lot better when I’m going to be out of my comfort zone. 

I did have some drinks on Saturday and some cheese on Sunday and a cookie or two.  It was one of those things that I just didn’t feel bad or care.  I’m not stopping the Whole 30, I still really like it and don’t even think of it like a 30 day plan anymore.  More like this is my new way of living.  I’m not going to re-start the 30 days, I will probably add a couple days on since I had a mini setback but I’m not beating myself up about it.  It was worth it, I had such a fabulous weekend. 

Dane is uber supportive and that is really helpful but having someone who loves you the way you are and who eats whatever he wants, can be difficult but he motivates me to want to be better and is totally on board with eating Paleo with me so that’s exciting.

I will be going back up there this weekend so it’s a good chance for me to try planning and prepping again.  I’m already thinking of meals we can do and how I can combat being out of sorts.  I need to focus on how I can ensure I’m doing 3 meals a day and forcing myself to eat at least something even if I’m not hungry.  There definitely won’t be any drinking involved, that was a fun lapse this weekend but not worth the calories.  I’m thinking maybe I’ll send Dane my meal plan before I go up there so he can help me stick to it and we’re prepared for the weekend. 

I’m out of sorts but still kickin! 

Day 15

Breakfast:  Leftover grilled hamburger with green beans/ghee

Lunch:  Whole foods salad bar (romaine, spinach, kale, unprocessed turkey, carrots, zucchini, peas, almonds and olive oil/lemon dressing), raspberries

Dinner:  Leftover steak with eggs and asparagus, raspberries

Current ailments:  knee pain, arm rash is back

Feeling:  Worse headache all day

Reflecting on my worries from day 1

·         Eating within an hour of waking up—this still proves to be difficult and about half the time I’m eating at work, it’s just not worth the nausea for me to eat within in a hour of waking up.  I’m eating much earlier than I was pre-W30 so I’m doing what I can. 

·         Not weighing myself for 30 days—I’m horrible at this one.  Personally I think they are bat shit crazy for saying you can’t weigh yourself.  Weighed in today, down 12 lbs.  Wearing jeans today—they’re tighter than when I started.  Makes so much sense?!

·         Headaches—the true headaches for me didn’t start until this week, all week I had one and they progressively got worse.  Thankfully none were that bad that it affected my day but still annoying. 

·         Sugar—I am pleasantly surprised with this one.  Probably because I’m still eating fruit but it hasn’t been that difficult giving it up.  Dairy is much harder.

·         Work—I’m proud of myself for taking myself out of situations at work where I may be tempted.  It’s meant more eating lunch at my desk and having a lot of self control—why does everyone have candy at their desk?  Jerks. 

·         Snacking—Overall, I’ve done pretty good with this one.  There were a couple days where I needed to snack because I could tell my blood sugar was super low.  That was always during the day.  I’m great at night, no snacking needed.  This has probably been the most eye opening for me.  Not snacking unless you’re really hungry makes me hyper-aware of how much mindless eating I do and how habitual it is.  I hope, hope, hope to keep this new rule when I’m done with the Whole 30.  It’s such a good feeling only eating when you’re hungry. 

I think I’m a little behind on their timeline, I’m wondering if it’s because I had SO much crap in my system it took longer for the detox to start and everything to get out of my system.  The last couple days I definitely felt crappy, headache, runny nose, nauseous, etc.  I kept wondering where it was the first week…now I know.  Still, much better than I expected. 

I haven’t had the ah-hah oh my gosh this is the best thing ever quite yet.  I hear that comes in the last part of the plan.  I notice I have a bit more energy, the brain fog is pretty much gone but I don’t feel that much different than I did before.  Just little things.  Which is better than nothing. 

I have no plans of giving up or stopping and my goal is to still continue this type of eating, adding in good cheese 90% of the time and have some cheats the other 10%.  When I’m done with this, I would like to start working out again.  I feel like I will be ready to combine the two once I’m done with the 30 days.

I remember days 1-5, I was seriously thinking how the f*&^ am I going to make 30 days?!  Those were the slowest days of my entire life. I remember thinking there's no way I'm going to last 30 days, this is taking forever.  Now I'm half way there and it's flying by.  Keeping yourself busy and getting a lot of sleep has been very helpful.  

I’m half way there!

Day 14

Breakfast:  scrambled eggs with bacon bits and brussel sprouts

Lunch:  Leftover hamburger with guac, 3 strawberries and asparagus

Dinner:  Ribeye on the grill, half of a sweet potato, salad with ACV, applesauce with cinnamon

Current ailments:  knee pain

Feeling:  Headache all day, woke up very nauseous, bloated after lunch

·         They have a section on the website that runs through the days and what you will probably be feeling like.  They said around days 8-9 your pants will likely be tighter…um, check!  The below paragraph outlines exactly what is happening with me right now, it just took me a few more days to get to this part. 

“The enzymes that digest your food and the millions of bacteria that live in your gut are adjusting to your new intake of meat and vegetables, and the lack of easy-access sugars.  This is something they do naturally, and these adjustments have contributed to humanity’s ability to flourish throughout our history.  However, these adjustments can be a bit… uncomfortable. Bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or all three may appear as your gut starts to heal, rebalance, and process this new food effectively. The good news is that most people find this phase passes relatively quickly, and their pants are easy to button again within a week or so.”

·         I heard when you switch to this eating plan; your nails grow faster and are healthier.  Lies.  I think my nails are growing even slower if that’s possible.

·         I’ve always drank a ton of water but I’ve upped it even more.  With feeling so bloated and constipated, I’ve made myself believe drinking more water will help. 

·         They brought in Qdoba for lunch at work today.  I love Qdoba.  Usually when we have it, I’m overjoyed because I can eat low carb—chicken, lettuce, guac and cheese.  I went online to see if I could at least have the chicken, no go.  I could’ve done the lettuce and guac.  I made my lunch prior to it coming and ate at my desk to not be tempted by it.  It was a little torturous but still I had no desire to cheat.  Even when I saw the 4 huge bags of their salty, amazing chips and 2 trays of brownies and cookies. 

I’m a peeing machine.