September Whole 30!!! Who's with me!?!?! page 16

[PrimalLizard]

Day 13 here. Can't believe I'm almost half way there. I have been reading, "It Starts With Food" and have found it very helpful.

I can't figure out if that not stepping on the scale is a good thing or not. On one hand it sounds like a good idea, to concentrate inward and forget about the body image issues and the number games. On another hand, it feels like avoidance, right there with not looking in the mirror. I feel like a mess.

I decided to stick with not weighing during the whole 30 so it wouldn't trigger emotional eating if the scale wasn't showing progress. I normally weigh at least once a week which I think is healthy to keep on track.

I got home last night from a LOOONNNNGGGG work day and an intense workout, to my roommate taking apple pie out of the oven. I almost killed him. However, I ate my broccoli and chicken quietly and avoided pie and ice cream. Phew. Maybe I'll break out the almond/apple crisp recipe this weekend.

More importantly though, I am having that issue again where I bloat like crazy after a good workout. Any thoughts? People have said it could be lack of carbs, but I eat some carbs after I workout so... idk

I agree @Ledia, not stepping on a scale makes me feel like a mess.

wow, you deserve a medal for resisting fresh apple pie! that would be tough. My husband bought dark chocolate and was offering it to the kids the other day. that was hard enough to resist but baked goods.....

After three weeks of Primal/3 days of W30 I had my first urging cravings.

I have been feeling protein starved all day, despite having a 5 egg breakfast

I was home alone the whole time with no way to get anywhere to pick up food. Literally all we had was a can of tuna and fats/carbs.
I wasn't inclined to eat any fat and had a small serving of watermelon, but the tuna just sounded so revolting to me. So I'm jonesing for some kind of meat and getting that desperate, crave-y, eat anything feeling. All I want in the whole world is chicken nuggets. Not Primal, free range, coconut flour chicken nuggets - I'm talking the freezer-burned bag of breaded pseudomeat at the bottom of the freezer.
Chicken nuggets have ALWAYS been my favorite food but I was able to stop myself and think, if you eat chicken nuggets, you'll need ketchup. And if you have ketchup, you'll feel sick from the HFCS. And then you'll rationalize eating a bag of cookies. And then you'll pass out from your insulin spike. And when you wake up in the morning, you'll be FATTER.

So I held out - I did eat some watermelon so that'll put me out of where I want to be in terms of carbs, but I feel like it's a much better trade-off and it distracted me.

Mom just came home with steaks so we're in the clear now.

glad you made it! some days are just hungry days, I find, even if you have the right foods available.

[JayGee]

Day 5 and feeling great! Just this morning I noticed that the eczema on my fingers is starting to heal! Can it really happen that fast? This is my 4th Whole30 (although #2 failed at day 27 and #3 failed at day 24), so maybe my body quicker to respond to this WOE since it's done this before.

Scale - not an issue for me. I had to dig my scale out of the closet to weigh in before starting. But I am not really focused on weight loss, although it would be a bonus.

[Louisa655]

Day 9 of my 3rd, Whole 30: All is good on this front. My clothes are falling off me and I'm actually putting clothes that no longer fit into a bin. I used to be able to just pull the belt buckle tighter, but even that is not working anymore (yeah!) The interesting things is that my weight seems to be stuck between 150-154. Hoping for a woosh soon --- kind of feeling like there's going to be one soon. I weigh myself daily - no big deal for me as I'm not obsessive -- just curious and wanting to document the journey. Cheers, everyone! /louisa

[Leida]

For me not weighing myself is about facing my biggest fear, that if I do not control my food intake and track and stuff, I will gain weight to infinity. So, yes, I will not be weighing myself, and if I come out of this exercise 5 lbs heavier, and another inch fatter, I will know that I need to track and control. Well, to lose good 10 lbs as well, but that's how it goes.

[Ellen]

Yesterday was Day 9 and the sweet cravings and caffeine desires are waning. We're making a lot of iced herbal teas for a hint of something non-savory. Teas with Blueberry, Mango, Lemon, Ginger, Orange -- all natural flavors, no sweeteners. None actually taste sweet, either, which is good for not inducing cravings. Just refreshing.

We did our weekly batch cooking over the weekend to prepare food for the entire week. This week is 1) stir fry shredded chicken (mix of light and dark meat) with vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, broccoli) in coconut oil, 2) meatballs (just ground beef + spices) in a chunky veggie/tomato sauce (onions, red/yellow bell peppers, zucchini, canned tomatoes), and 3) antipasto (sliced roasted chicken breast with mustard, salami, black olives, baby dill pickles, and celery hearts). This is the fourth week we've been consistent with our batch cooking and super budget (all meals from scratch and no eating out). We are doing at least 2 meals options per week, but trying for 3 to keep it interesting. Only during the second week did we have a meal choice that we both got really really sick of mid-week. That sucked. Otherwise it has been an effective strategy for us.

After three weeks of Primal/3 days of W30 I had my first urging cravings.

I have been feeling protein starved all day, despite having a 5 egg breakfast

I was home alone the whole time with no way to get anywhere to pick up food. Literally all we had was a can of tuna and fats/carbs.
I wasn't inclined to eat any fat and had a small serving of watermelon, but the tuna just sounded so revolting to me. So I'm jonesing for some kind of meat and getting that desperate, crave-y, eat anything feeling. All I want in the whole world is chicken nuggets. Not Primal, free range, coconut flour chicken nuggets - I'm talking the freezer-burned bag of breaded pseudomeat at the bottom of the freezer.
Chicken nuggets have ALWAYS been my favorite food but I was able to stop myself and think, if you eat chicken nuggets, you'll need ketchup. And if you have ketchup, you'll feel sick from the HFCS. And then you'll rationalize eating a bag of cookies. And then you'll pass out from your insulin spike. And when you wake up in the morning, you'll be FATTER.

So I held out - I did eat some watermelon so that'll put me out of where I want to be in terms of carbs, but I feel like it's a much better trade-off and it distracted me.

Mom just came home with steaks so we're in the clear now.

Seriously, way to power through! That's awesome. It is crazy how cravings works -- knowing that a food will make you feel physically bad, but really really wanting it, none the less. I have gone through that over and over in the past. "Never again" after a pizza binge...then two weeks later, repeat. Glad to have you and everyone on this thread to run with for this Whole30!

I decided to stick with not weighing during the whole 30 so it wouldn't trigger emotional eating if the scale wasn't showing progress. I normally weigh at least once a week which I think is healthy to keep on track.

I seem to have the opposite challenge when the scale isn't showing progress. I feel like I need to restrict further, or eliminate something else, or adjust my macros, tweak something. Instead of just giving it time (more than 1 week) I will think I am doing it wrong. This is a mentality I'm working to change. I am still weighing once a week during the Whole30, but I won't be evaluating the weight changes or making any dietary changes until after 30 days. That should keep me sane

Day 9 of my 3rd, Whole 30: All is good on this front. My clothes are falling off me and I'm actually putting clothes that no longer fit into a bin. I used to be able to just pull the belt buckle tighter, but even that is not working anymore (yeah!) The interesting things is that my weight seems to be stuck between 150-154. Hoping for a woosh soon --- kind of feeling like there's going to be one soon. I weigh myself daily - no big deal for me as I'm not obsessive -- just curious and wanting to document the journey. Cheers, everyone! /louisa

Awesome about your clothes! Congratulations! That is such a great feeling I like what you said about feeling that a whoosh is coming. I'm going to adopt that attitude (and terminology!)

[Spooky_Rach]

Leida - not getting on the scales at least once a week and weighing in a big fear of mine too. I'm resisting getting on them in the spirit of the Whole30. I am still tracking my calories + other macros, I can't help it, I'm an addict >.<. I figure if I lose inches and feel awesome this month then screw the scales .

Louisa655 - \o/ to the clothes.

Day 4 for me today - been another good day, I'm wondering why I never tried a Whole30 before. I got tempted by a couple of primal cookbooks on amazon, having more tasty primal recipes is always good right? ¬_¬

[TLoRu]

I'm on day 19! Feeling good- no cravings. I've totally cut out nuts bc I think I was overindulging. I'm not limiting fruits, but I'd like to work on adding more veggies throughout the day. I've also added kombucha bc I've been having stomach issues. Just bloated at weird times. Just started my womanly cycle haha (10 days late, thanks paleo, but no pms symptoms at all. Just a bit bloated and weird rumbling in belly).

Overall can't complain. Gym workouts have been great.

How's everyone coping w snacking? I'm obsessed w this aspect of the whole30- I'm a grazer so it's been tough for me to adapt to eating larger meals w less snacking.

[Louisa655]

How's everyone coping w snacking? I'm obsessed w this aspect of the whole30- I'm a grazer so it's been tough for me to adapt to eating larger meals w less snacking.

I've never been a snacker so can't say that I've become one now, either. I eat two meals a day with a bullet coffee in the morning and that's that. I'm eating around 1000 calories a day with 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbs. Keeping the carbs <20gr. I think I'm a little low on the protein but because I'm in ketosis, I'm not all that hungry and not motivated to eat much. I had more food on the weekend, so I think I'm averaging out the week in an okay state.

[Seaglassgreen]

Day 2 for me, went well, but I honestly hate not drinking. Not that I have a drinking problem or anything, I just like to have a glass of wine or 2 in the evenings. Meh. maybe it's one of those things I will stop missing as whole30 progresses.

[Greensprout]

Day 2 for me, went well, but I honestly hate not drinking. Not that I have a drinking problem or anything, I just like to have a glass of wine or 2 in the evenings. Meh. maybe it's one of those things I will stop missing as whole30 progresses.

I hear you on that, as I'm the same. Day 17 for me, and the wine cravings have pretty much faded, particularly after getting through the first weekend. Not that I wouldn't like one, I had a stressful weekend and today hubby had the front end of his car smashed on the way home from work. But I'll settle for a kombucha or club soda with lime.

As far as snacking goes, some days I've felt like eating all day, and the past couple my appetite has sort of faded. I expect it all balances out in the end. I'm not aiming for ketosis, but I do think my carb levels are lower than usual, and I've not been very interested in vegetables for the past few days. TOTM crept up a few days early yesterday without the usual several days of cramps beforehand, though I've had a headache for about a week, on and off. Otherwise, I think the fatigue level I'd been feeling for the first 2 weeks is starting to ease.