Round 2 Whole 21 Day 14

There's a week left! I've done well. I was hoping to see more reduction in inflammation and pain, (stuffiness and stiffness in particular) but those are still daily occurrences. On the other hand, my rings fit again, so I've definitely shed water and maybe weight. My clothes fit better and some items feel loose. 

Cravings have been more or less constant, especially at night. My kid just kicked it up a notch into toddlerhood and I find myself wanting a glass of wine to get through the end of day routine.

I'm going to make a more concerted effort to exercise in the new year. I just find its a trade off because I want to take exercise classes in the evening, but with tutoring and choir and workouts I will be away three nights a week and so I miss bedtime with my kid. I'll have to figure something out and exercise at lunch.

Whole 21

Clean eating for the next three weeks. I can do this! I need to feel healthier and happier...so stressed lately and I want to feel in control.

What I want to see change: (non scale victories)

-less stiffness

-stop sinus congestion and sneeze attacks in the middle of the night

-better skin

-better mood

I've been eating pretty well since the whole30 I did in August but I need a reboot!

Day 35

I Posting on day 36. I haven't given up clean eating! I also have not reintroduced anything but those treats I mentioned and yesterday I had red wine. A little too much red wine. I had maybe 1/3 of a bottle over 3 hours and it was too much. It was organic minervois (my favourite!) but had added sulphites. I woke to a pounding headache. Not feeling hungover so much as poisoned. Double whammy of booze and sugar. Proud to say I didn't disintegrate into bad eating habits but I definitely had sugar craving while I drank. It sucks that I am so sensitive to everything, double edged sword for sure. I'd love to research the headache as a response to eating sensitive foods--why does the body respond like that? So here I am, chugging water with an aching head and BACK. Oh yes, the wine triggered a back ache for sure. So not worth it!

Meal 1

Meal 2

Meal 3

These are spicy buffalo drumsticks. Backed with salt and pepper for 40 mins at 400 degrees and then tossed in franks red hot and coconut oil and garlic powder which I simmered on the stove. Then I put them back in the oven for 5 mins and then broiled for 2 minutes. Served with extra dipping sauce which is just the leftover sauce from coating. Amazing!!!

Going out to dinner tonight. Not drinking red wine. Limiting to one glass of white wine and not eating grains. Open to dairy tonight and we will see how that goes.

Day 34

Meal 1

This wasn't enough food but it was very tasty.

Meal 2

I made up for the puny breakfast by having a big lunch. Cauliflower rice and leftover chilli and avocado.

Meal 3

The merguez sausages were amazing. Definitely getting them again! Unfortunately the plantain was too ripe so tasted like bananas. It's ok because I just ended up giving them to my kid. I made some coleslaw and tried to recreate the creaminess with coconut milk and cashew butter. Not too bad.

So I ended up having a treat last night. Coconut bliss ice cream! It was good, but I think all the food obsession is definitely a mental thing. The anticipation of having it was way more exciting than actually eating it. I had a bit of a headache after but I feel fine today.

Day 33

Just a normal day eating whole30 style. The only annoying part of the day is that I was super unmotivated at work. It's so hot out and I made the mistake of working from home so lots of procrastinating happened. Tomorrow is a new day and I plan on leaving the house to work! 

I also had a tight chest, anxiety-like heart fluttering. I think my herbal supplement I'm taking might be causing it.

Meal 1

This breakfast was awesome. I can't believed I lived all my life without cashew butter until today. I've been missing out!

Meal 2

The beloved tuna salad. Never disappoints!

Meal 3

Beanless slow cooker chili and an avocado. I didn't have enough starchy veg today so I'm already hungry! It's gonna be a long night. I might have to eat some more chili just to tide me over.

I'm going out to dinner Friday and I want to be able to test out either dairy or gluten, so I might just skip reintro until then, otherwise the schedule will be off. But, maybe I will treat myself to some coconut bliss before then!

Day 32

Day 2 of reintro went well, since all I had to do was eat compliantly. Yesterday I had wine, and I have felt tired today but I'm attributing that to menses rather than wine. I also felt cranky after a walk but it's 40 degrees outside and I had to cart a kid up a flight of stairs with grocery bags and sweat in my eyes so pretty sure it's that and not wine.

Meal 1

Husband made this while I slept in (ie hid in bedroom from toddler while drinking coffee and watching I am Cait). Egg pie with bacon rashers inside it, peppers, onions, arugula and fresh basil. Asian slaw and watermelon that I actually found to be too sweet. Wow, tastebuds on LSD.

Meal 2

Classic tuna salad. I've taken to this lunch option. I have it a lot and it always makes me happy.

Meal 3

Husband cooked from Whole30 recipe book. Baked cod with roasted pepper and mushroom salsa. In our case it was baked sole. Really good! I can see using the salsa, which is more like a stirfry on top of anything: shrimps, steaks...

Sweet potato hash which is really just caramelized sweet pot in coconut oil. Tasted like desert. Salad and roasted salted cashews from Prana. The cashews were so much better than the ones from the cheap grocery store. Damn you expensive health food nuts! I'm going to do nuts as my fat more often as I am officially. Sick. Of avocados.

Looking forward to going shopping for more produce and meat later this week. I like having options.

Tomorrow is another day of regular whole 30 eating, then I will decide what to reintroduce.

Day 31

Heyo!

Today I look back on all the improvements I saw on w30. I finally weighed myself and lost 11lbs. I feel so much better now than I did 30 days ago:

- 90% less back pain

-less bloated

-great digestion

-great energy

-awesome mental outlook, like the feeling  that I am able to tackle any problem or any task without worry

-I learned that if I am stressed I want to eat

-I broke the habit of snacking

-stopped eating after dinner

-no cravings!

-no obsessing about food

-no guilt about what I am putting in my body

-tried new veggies

-learned new recipes

-I was able to commit to something that benefits my health

-improved sleep, waking rested 

-sounds weird, but my eyesight improved

-I really love that the 30 days made healthy eating seem normal and become habitual. 

Before and day15 face

So there you have it! I'm still taking pictures of my meals as I am still eating compliantly as I reintro different foods.

Meal 1

Hard boiled egg, Toulouse sausage, avocado (unripe, sob!) and some lettuce to make wraps with all that stuff. I also had Starbucks coffee (yay!) made at home with coconut milk. 

Meal 2

Picnic style at the park so no photo. I had Asian slaw, Toulouse sausage, plantain chips and guac and my beloved glass of white wine. It was terrific but not as awesome as I was anticipating. I'm pretty sure it was the fact that I couldn't have any for a month that made me want it even more. I kind of have a headache now...

Meal 3

Taco salad!

Tomorrow I go back to eating whole30 for two days and then onto reintro of legumes! I'm thinking peanut butter and hummus and black beans, oh my!

W30 day 30!!!

I did it! This was truly a big commitment but so worth it for my wellbeing. I cooked a LOT, chopped lots of veggies, and probably at 5 dozen eggs in these 30 days. We went through 2 litres of olive oil, over 30 avocados. I tasted jicama for the first time. I learned to make baba ganoush. My tastebuds are more sensitive--no savoury food requires sugar anymore for flavouring, like marinades and dressings. All that is sugar free now. Treats are apple or banana with almond butter. Dates and toasted coconut are sinfully delicious. Lara bar equals chocolate bar. I don't miss dairy. I don't miss bread, rice, tortillas or all the other grain foods I thought I'd be pining for. Still looking forward to my glass of wine tomorrow, though!

Meal 1

Husband made breakfast. Yummy fried eggs with sweet pots, bacon rashers and fried tomatoes. I forgot the fat so that meant I was hungry 3 hours later instead of the usual 5.

Meal 2

Lunch was scrumptious. I mastered plantain fries cooked in palm oil. Asian slaw and red peppers rolled in compliant salami dipped in mustard. Avocado on the side for fat.

Meal 3

No photo as we went out to a piri piri place for charcoal grilled chicken. I enquires about the sauce and it is compliant. Had it with salad sans dressing and oven potatoes. I'm thinking the potatoes had no no's in them because I feel so full.

Tomorrow I weigh in and report on all my victories!

W30 day 29

Tomorrow is my last day of whole30! I can't wait to weight myself and report back on that and my non scale victories as well! I'll do a recap and post my goals for reintroduction too.

Meal 1

Breakfast was quick and awesome. Leftover cauliflower rice, which my son adores by the way, hard boiled egg and leftover sausage with a bit of avocado.

Meal 2

Lunch was a bit odd because at first I felt really hungry, but as I prepared this I completely lost my appetite. I picked at this salad and could only finish half. My appetite and ability to scarf down food has completely changed. The salad had arugula, hard boiled egg, olives, crispy prosciutto and shredded chicken. Evoo and balsamic dressing.

Meal 3

Dinner was delicious. I unfortunately over cooked the pork in the slow cooker, so it was dry, but the the flavour was on point. With it we had some baked sweet potatoes. I also made an Asian style slaw with cabbage, cuke, celery and carrot. The dressing consists of a splash of sesame oil, the juice of a lime, coconut aminos, olive oil, a bit of coconut milk and lots of Korean red pepper powder. It was definitely the highlight of the meal. 

 

Eating this way has become the new normal and I am really looking forward with a bit of trepidation about how to eat long term. I think I'll do reintro and then go back to w30 but with occasional off plan eating. The only things I can see really wanting are dark chocolate, wine and coconut bliss ice cream. I don't miss anything else. Crazy! I thought I'd at least be sad about cheese or baguette, but no.

W30 day 28

Posting on day 29! Yesterday was a good day of eating.

Meal 1

I couldn't finish this meal, too full. Great scramble with onions and fresh herbs. Leftover sausage and potatoes with avocado. Al lovingly prepared by husband.

Meal 2

Tuna (packed in evoo) salad made with arugula and spinach, olives, lime juice, and julienne carrots. I love tuna salad for lunch!

Meal 3

Husband made an epic shrimp city from scratch. I made an excellent cauliflower rice with fresh coriander, shredded coconut for fat, curry powder, coconut aminos and apple cider vinegar, curry powder, cinnamon and turmeric. 

Going to look up w30 and bloating because I still feel bloated...probably pms related. Yay.

W30 day 27

Only three more days, then a victory glass of wine and some slow re-introduction. After that, I'm going to do another whole30. Why? Because I feel fantastic and I'm motivated to eat well so that I can keep my inflammation down and lose more weight. Next time I think I will take my measurements, because I am not sure how much I shed, but it definitely shows in my face. So much of looking and feeling better is down to less bloating which might not show up on the scales.

Meal 1

Egg pie made by husband with avocado and nectarine. There is like a two week window every year when nectarines reach their flavour zenith. Yeah, it's this week.

Meal 2

Leftovers fun! Kofta and last nights salsa chicken and veggies with salad and tahini sauce. So delish!

Meal 3

Salad, broccoli, roasted potato wedges and Italian sausages with kimchi. Amazeballs.

Part of my re-introduction goals include mindful eating/drinking. We still sometimes have our dinner in front of the tv, but recently started watching Dexter which puts me off food. All in all there is 90% no snacking, and about 30% TV dinner. Used to be 100% snacking through the day and 85% TV dinner. Winning! Another part of mindful drinking is the social aspect of it. I vow never to drink alone again, nor do I ever want to have a hangover again. To celebrate, I will drink wine at a picnic I am organizing on Sunday, with compliant food. Hopefully I can find a low nitrate wine so I can have a better idea of what may cause reactions.

I'm proud of myself for coming this far! 

W30 day 26

Wow, day 26! I think I slayed my sugar dragon. No cravings at all for a few weeks now, not many after day 15. In the beginning I didn't want to look at forbidden foods at the grocery store. But now I shop and go down the aisles I need and sort of feel bad for the folks buying only boxed food/smug that my cart is all green and colourful fruits with cans of olives.

Meal 1

A big morning for us! My baby went to daycare for the first time. I needed to eat well but was out of eggs, so I whipped up leftover hash. It consisted of sweet potatoes, onions, peppers, pulled chicken, pulled pork, spinach and avocado on top. It was great! My son had fun at daycare and when I picked him up he was happily eating lunch (not whole30 but what are ya gonna do).

Meal 2

Quickly made a salad for lunch: chicken warmed up with hot sauce, olives and tahini sauce for fat.

Meal 3

I wasn't very hungry but managed most of this. Plantains, peppers, onions and chicken stir fry in coconut oil with cumin and salsa. Salad with avocado and olives.

Throughout the day I ate some fruits, a few grapes and half a Lara bar.

W30 day 25

Today was a great day. We took a trip to St Adolphe d'howard (greatest town name ever) to go to their municipal beach  on a beautiful lake. Picnic time!

Meal 1

But first, breakfast. I whipped up some zucchini fritters using leftover zoodles, eggs, some almond meal and a pinch of baking powder. For spices I used homemade pesto, salt and pepper, chilli flakes and Italian spice mix. Cooked them in olive oil. Such a great change from straight up eggs. Crispy prosciutto and banana almond butter as sides.

Meal 2

Talk about dedication. We roasted a chicken *after* dinner to have food to eat on the picnic. Beet slaw, spinach, chicken and olives. With this I had some grapes, cherry tomatoes and Perrier. Ooh la la.

The view before the sun came out.

Meal 3

I'm on a cooking roll now on day 25. I look forward to cooking, and luckily for me my partner gives me time to cook and prep by looking after our toddler. I made kofta with cauliflower rice and salad and tahini sauce. I nailed both the sauce and the rice so let me just document this for further use.

Tahini sauce:

In food processor put:

3 big plops tahini

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 lime

2 long glugs evoo (3T?)

Big splash coconut milk from can (4T?)

Salt

Pepper

1T cumin 

Blitz all ingredients except olive oil. Slowly  drizzle olive oil while whizzing.

Cauliflower rice

I cooked raw frozen grated cauliflower by placing it in a frying pan with oil I used to cook kofta in. Added salt and pepper, cumin, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and lots of paprika, splash of coconut aminos near the end. Cooked on medium high to burn off the ice water. I think the acv is the key to removing the farty cauliflower-ness that is usually a bit of a turn off.

So there you have it. I have 5 days left. I feel great. No pain, amazing energy and I feel like my body is functioning properly for the first time in my adult life. I don't care about the food I've cut out, except wine. That will be my first re-intro on Sunday. Woohoo! Looking forward to seeing how much weight I lost. I know I lost lots in the face when I see myself in photos. Hopefully after re-intro I'll do a few more rounds of whole30 until I fit into my clothes.

W30 day 24

Man this day was long! I can't think of any reason why except that my toddler is teething and I went 2 hours without eating upon waking. Oh and pms. Ugh.

Meal 1

Husband cooked breakfast, yay! I had baby duty. Pesto eggs--pretty great, a must try. Pork shoulder crisped up in coconut oil, avocado for fat and sweet pot. Amazing.

A tasty meal when my kid finally napped. Shepherds pie with beet slaw and roasted cashews and coconut for the fat. 

Meal 3

I wasn't hungry for this meal even though I went 6 hours without eating. Oh, I did have a coffee snack: coffee with coconut milk and some cocoa powder shaken with ice. The fat from the milk must have held me. Anyway, I couldn't finish this meal. Zucchini noodles with organic pork and beef sauce, made with my homemade roasted tomatoes. Olives for fat.

Feeling a little bummed today becuase the pms is making me look bloated and pregnant. And I'm sooooo tired. Where did my tiger blood go? 

Tomorrow should be fun though, going to a village to swim in a lake! Roasted a chicken after dinner to have food to eat for our picnic lunch. I'm finding that meals are easy to plan since I have a whole30 template I follow. 

W30 day 23

Yeah, tiger blood in the house. Lots of energy. What did I do with it? I did two back to back exercise classes and then came home, made lunch and then danced around the living room for 10 minutes with my 22lb dance partner.

Meal 1

This was maybe the best breakfast I have had on whole30. Kalua pork on plate made guacamole (why was I dirtying a bowl all these years!), hard boiled eggs and sweet potatoes cooked in coconut oil.

Meal 2

More Kalua pork "tacos" with lettuce, salsa and guac. It looked like a lot of food but wasn't enough after working out for 2 hours. 

So I had shepherds pie after. Yum!

I tried a new vegetable today, jicama. Cut it into "chips" raw to put the pork and guac on it. Shredded it into a beet and carrot and jicama salad as well. I was still hungry after this so I had more pork.

Here's some info on jicama pilfered from the internets:

Low in calories but high in a few vital nutrients, jicama is a bit of a contradiction when it comes to its starch content. It provides one-quarter of what's needed daily in fiber per serving. But not just any fiber - jicama's fiber is infused with oligofructose inulin, which has zero calories and doesn't metabolize in the body. Inulin, a fructan, promotes bone health by enhancing absorption of calcium from other foods, protecting against osteoporosis. Inulin has a prebiotic role in the intestine – it promotes “good” bacteria growth that maintains both a healthy colon and balanced immunity. Because it has a very low glycemic index, jicama is a great food for diabetics, and low in calories for those interested in weight reduction.

Jicama is also an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C - 44% of the daily value per serving - and a powerful antioxidant that zaps free radicals to protect against cancer, inflammation, viral cough, cold, and infections.

Besides healthy amounts of potassium, this little powerhouse can help promote heart health, since high-potassium vegetables and fruit are linked to lower risks of heart disease. Jicama contains important vitamins like folates, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, and thiamin, and the minerals magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese. Like potatoes, they should be used sparingly due to the high carbohydrates content.

So nice to try something new! Tastes like a cross between an apple, potatoes, and peas.

I can't believe that this time next week I'll be on my last day. I've got to research the reintegration process. Hoping I can start with wine!

W30 day 22

Today was filled with delicious meals! I'm also happy because I got to prep a lot of food! I have Nom Nom Paleo's famous kalua pork in the slow cooker, chopped fresh papaya, cooked ground beef and pork and the freezer is full of organic meat after a trip to the grocery store.

Meal 1

Husband cooked breakfast this morning and I slept in until almost 10. Happy days! Baby ate all my grapes and I gave my smoked salmon to Matt. We were full for hours after this!

Meal 2

Yummy tuna salad meal with olives as fat.  Loving the albacore tuna in olive oil. So much better than in water!

Meal 3

I made a cottage pie with ground pork and beef with onion, celery and carrot. The key to the meat: meat pie spice and sage. I did half yams half yellow potatoes for the topping. It was my first time making dairy free mash and I really like it! Used garlic powder, olive oil, and coconut milk with salt and pepper. It was fab!  Salad on the side and evoo and avocado as my fat.

I'm really inspired by cooking and I honestly don't mind it as long as I find the time to prep. I'm trying to cook smart by doubling portions, just thinking ahead, and having quick things like sausages at the ready.

Another body change is that friends noticed weight loss.... And I have collar bones again! I am definitely not stopping after day 30. I will reintroduce foods but I want to take it up until the end of the year so that I can achieve my goal of fitting in my pre pregnancy clothes.

W30 day 21

Three whole weeks. It is getting easier as routines become habits. Like getting up in the morning and starting to chop veggies right away. Taking stock of what's in the fridge and replenishing veggies. Chopping, prepping, cleaning. It's all becoming the new normal. And this is coming from someone who likes to cook! This program challenges in that you learn to prep and cook while thinking outside the box. Don't get me wrong, you can still have some traditional comfort meals like shepherds pie, bean-less chill etc but overall this way of eating deviates greatly from the S.A.D. (Standard American diet). 

Meal 1

Standard egg pie with red pepper, onion and tonnes of chopped basil (all that green stuff is basil). Half a banana with almond butter and homemade baba ganoush. My son adored the baba ganoush, he must have eaten a cup of it throughout the day. The kid loves cumin!

Meal 2

Leftover chicken cacciatore with zoodles and cukes with baba. My problem here is that I did not add a fat (something I still struggle with--I'm jus not used to adding fat to cooked food!). As a result I was very hungry about 2 hours later. I held off until dinner.

Meal 3

Still steaming hot in the pic! Shrimp cooked in coconut oil with homemade cashew pesto, a splash of coconut milk, arugula and zoodles. Cauliflower rice made with coconut aminos, and a load of turmeric and shredded coconut as my fat. Handful of grapes with this.

I feel like before whole30 I functioned at 50% capacity and now I'm wholly functioning, mentally, physically and even emotionally. I even noticed and relished the feeling of being able to curl up around myself when sitting on the couch. Three weeks ago I would have dreaded sitting down because of the pain and would have carefully maneuvered myself in and out of position. How sad! How great that I can move again. Thank you healthy food for healing me!

W30 day 20

The countdown begins! I can see the finish line and I can see changes with my body. Clothes are looser, though I need to make a bigger effort to drink water as I think I'm retaining some since my rings are tight still. Today was a good day with great food!

Meal 1

Dinner leftovers for breakfast, why not?

Meal 2

Made shakshuka again since it was so delicious yesterday. Made with the tomatoes I roasted and homemade pesto. I ended up with the equivalent of over a dozen big cans of tomatoes from my 10lbs of roasted tomatoes, all for 8 bucks! So awesome. I'll be doing another run of roasted tomatoes at the end of September for sure.

Meal 3

Oh my gah this meal was soooo good! Chicken cacciatore with zucchini noodles and olives. The key was the roasted tomatoes and a splash of coconut milk in the sauce. I still can't get over how coconut milk doesn't retain its coconut taste in savoury dishes.

I have to say I'm really enjoying cooking again on this cleanse and I'm glad I am making the time to prep real food instead of reaching for something junky and quick.

Tomorrow marks 3 weeks! Yeah!!

W30 day 19

Tomorrow I get to start counting down! Woohoo! And tiger blood is here for sure. I was busy all day and never felt tired. I was also up for 2 hours in the middle of the night with a screaming baby with no ill effects of fatigue, other than grogginess from the deep sleep I fall into now!

Meal 1

I tried to make breakfast within the first hour of waking and I almost got there! A half hour late. It's hard to stay on schedule with a toddler around. This is chorizo with red peppers sautéed in coconut oil with eggs and avocado on top. Very very good.

Meal 2

I went to jt market and bought a bushel of tomatoes (about 10 lbs) to roast up for sauces. When a few batches were done I made shakshuka by adding in a bit of sausage to the tomatoes then fried some eggs, finishing them under the broiler. I added some arugula and homemade cashew pesto. Such a nice change.

Meal 3

Made a random slow cooker pork stew. I used whatever I had in the fridge: carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, celery...I used homemade chicken stock and coconut milk for the base. The coconut milk flavour completely disappeared, to my surprise.

Prep is getting easier since I instinctively know what to reach for and how to compose my meals. Always looking to add a fat! That's been the biggest change--the need to add fat to every meal. Sometimes it's an avocado, other times coconut flakes, olives, etc.

There you have it, a day of wonderful and delicious meals. I love how I don't feel the need to stuff myself and I can go a long time without eating. I ate at 930, 2, 730. I could have never done 5 hours without food before, since I was constantly hungry, even as I was finishing eating!