W30 D26, D27, D28 Almost There!

I can't believe my Whole30 is almost to a close! I have read and reread the Reintroduction section of the book to determine how I'd like to proceed post Whole30. I think I'd like to do a slow systematic reintroduction. Today is Sunday (1/29/17). W30 ends Tuesday (1/31).
On Wednesday (2/1/17), I'd like to reintroduce stevia in my tea. Thursday and Friday will be W30 as usual.
On Saturday (2/4/17), I will reintroduce my homemade plain yogurt. Sunday and Monday will be W30 as usual.
On Tuesday (2/7/17), I'll introduce a Paleo dessert. I haven't decided which one yet. Paleo bread with sugar free jelly and almond butter sounds devine right now!

I have been successful doing elimination diets in the past but I have always failed with the reintroduction period. Not. this. time. I'm determined and ready!

After having dates in coconut for my birthday, I have been craving sugar and sweets before bed. It scared me. I don't like feeling like I want to binge. That has since gone away which is a relief. But this lesson alone has made me realize I don't want to reintroduce much back into my food life. I would like to incorporate some Paleo bread and pancakes with Whole30 compliant ingredients.

Kevin has begun drinking tea in hopes of becoming less addicted to coffee and creamer. He talks about doing Whole30 one day. We'll see. He has been doing well on Low Carb so that's great for him!
Lately, I've been able to drink plain tea with plain almond milk and actually enjoy it! This is a first for me! NSV! I used to think tea tasted like dirty water.

Meal Plan 1/29-2/3:
Sunday: Pork Steaks with spiced applesauce on spinach
Monday: Zuppa Toscana in stir-fry form (I have no homemade broth)
Tuesday: Pork meatballs and green beans
Wednesday: Italian Chicken n Veggies (REINTRODUCE STEVIA)
Thursday: PFC meal with fried cauli "rice"
Friday: Steak with mashed cauliflower
Saturday: (REINTRODUCE HOMEMADE PLAIN DAIRY YOGURT)

W30 D19-D25

Time flies when you are eating good food!
I made it through my first birthday on Whole30! And I didn't even miss cake. Last Sunday, Rochelle, Courtney, and Hayden came over for my birthday dinner and a dance party. I made Whole30 Sloppy Joe's. They are SO GOOD! Definitely want to make this meal more often. I made a "cake" out of fruit. It looked like something from Edible Arrangements. I also made date/coconut balls. After eating a date I felt like I wanted to eat them all. My cravings came back. I binged on them at bedtime. It felt weird since I haven't binged since before Whole30. It made me realize just how easy it is to wake up my Sugar Dragon. I also, was unmotivated to cook dinner after eating dates. I definitely DON'T want that.

We ate at Chipotle the night before my birthday. I had the chorizo salad and then went back for seconds with the carnitas salad. Guacamole, salsa verde, no dressing. The food was good but not as good as my cooking these last 3 weeks. Yesterday, on my birthday, I made Fake Lasagna, as I call it. It was SO GOOD! I was surprised at how much I liked it. Zucchini through the mandolin makes yummy "noodles". Cashews and nutritional yeast make yummy "cheese". Kevin and Xander liked it too! Dessert was sliced banana with tajin (chili peppers, dehydrated lime juice from Mexico). It TOTALLY hit the spot!

Tonight I made Egg Roll Soup. Kevin really likes it. It calls for Coconut Aminos. I'm so glad I discovered these. They taste like soy sauce without the soy.

One week til Whole 30 is over. I want to devise a plan for Reintroduction. From experience with the GAPS Diet, I have never been successful with Reintroduction. I typically just miss all the food and want to eat it all. I find it easier to be on a "diet" than I do a reintroduction. I know the first day I want to reintroduce my homemade plain yogurt. I'm hoping this can be part of my healthy lifestyle for the probiotics. But I'm worried my stomach will hurt as it has in the past. We'll see.

Typically, at an end of an Elimination Diet I crave everything I've not been able to have. Not this time. This is HUGE for me! Because I've been so satisfied with the foods I've been allowed to eat, the new meals I've prepared and the DRASTIC results I've had, I'm not in a big hurry to reintroduce foods.I would like to incorporate some Paleo desserts using dates, honey, or maple syrup!

Before Whole 30: -daily headaches -daily nausea -weight gain -very itchy all the time -cravings at bedtime -unable to control eating at bedtime -EXHAUSTED after work, no energy to do chores at home, burning watering eyes multiple times a day

Now: -no headaches - no nausea -lost weight (I'll know how much next week) -less itchy -cravings gone -no longer eating at bedtime -ENERGY to work all day, make dinner, do homework, chores, and NOT have to sit down and rest, no burning, watering eyes

Symptoms I'd still like to see gone: -biting/picking at lips -nervous habits of tapping side -itching completely gone -better memory of staying on task/remembering what I'm doing without distraction

W30 D17 & 18

Last night we had the most AMAZING chicken nuggets EVER! Recipe is called Crispy Paleo Chicken Nuggets from Paleo Running Mama's blog. They tasted better than Chick-Fil-A Nuggets. We all LOVED them. Miles did think they were a little too salty. I definitely want to keep this recipe around. I felt great today! No headaches or nausea for the most part. I did feel nauseous after eating raw sweet peppers. I'm going to experiment and eat those again to see how I react. I've never known peppers to affect me before.

Work has been slow so I've been working less. The house chores have been kept up and new recipes are being tried every day!! I'm still in shock at how clear my head feels. I feel so organized which I'm not used to.  Tonight is Pulled Pork Tacos from Prep Freeze Cook. I made "tortillas" to eat it with. 4 T coconut flour and 6 eggs mixed with the immersion blender makes 3-4 tortillas.

I'm trying to decide if I want to slowly reintroduce food after the 30 days are up or if I want to extend my W30 to a W45. Doing 15 extra days feels more manageable than a W60. I think I'll reevaluate after every 15 days.
Progress I'd still like to see:
1. To become completely free of itching
2. To not forget why I came in a room
3. To be able to finish a task without being distracted
4. Continued weight loss (Goal of 145 pounds)

Progress I've made already:
1. Clear headed
2. Energy/motivation to make dinner every night (not relying on PFC)
3. Energy/motivation to keep the house clean (bathrooms, living room, kitchen, laundry done)
4. Weight loss (6 pounds in 2 weeks)
5. Less itchy than before
6. Less headaches/nausea (happens every few days not every day)

W30 D16 Tiger Blood

No headache/nausea today! Thank goodness! I made a point to eat alot of pork before eating potatoes for breakfast. It worked! I must remember to eat alot of protein before carbs to feel good! I continue to drink 9-12 cups of water a day! That fills my smoothie cup 3 times.

Last night I made Sloppy Joes. The BBQ recipe was from the Cookbook. It was okay. Meh. I think of BBQ sauce needing sugar and this one, of course, didn't have any. It was my first meal that I wasn't totally crazy about.

Tonight I'm making Zuppa Toscana. It's a recipe from the Olive Garden. We also make it at PFC. I only have dehydrated kale chips (recipe calls for kale) so I'll be putting those in the soup. We'll see how it turns out.  I may throw in some frozen spinach too!

Another day off work. I organized my PFC binder today. Now everything is completely organized. My head feels so clear. I took the dog for a run. Felt good to get out there! Marathon training begins in May for my October Chicago Marathon. I'm thinking about running the Lake Run Club Half on May 6 at Lake Bloomington! That will help me build my confidence that I can run long distances again! Plus eating this way will help!

I weighed myself and have lost 6 pounds (169 to 163) in 2 weeks. I'm not going to weigh myself again til the W30 is over. I broke the rules by weighing myself half way through. Oh well. I no longer worry about what the scale says every day. I have 12 pounds to lose to be the weight I was during my last marathon training (152). I know I can do it!!

TIGER BLOOD:
According to What To Expect On The Whole30, today starts Tiger Blood! It is when you get crazy amounts of energy and want to clean/organize everything! This came early for me in the challenge. I now feel like I have steady energy every day. Depending upon if I have headaches/nausea depends upon how much I get done. I'm hoping that by eating protein before carbs in the morning will help keep my headaches away. Time will tell...

W30 D12-15 Vivid Dreams Eating Cake

Half way there! My headaches/nausea have returned but I still have good energy and am keeping the house clean/organized. Meal planning feels effortless by now. So many delicious recipes to try. On D13 I forgot to eat protein for breakfast with my Veggie Lovers Breakfast Casserole (had potatoes) and I had a horrible headache all day until I got off work and could eat a bratwurst. Headache went away immediately after eating protein. Sometimes I think looking at screens gives me a headache. I've had 2 vivid dreams where I ate a few bites of cake but didn't finish the cake because it didn't feel worth it!

I've made a Whole 30 Notebook and Paleo Notebook full of recipes I've found online. I really feel like this way of eating is going to stick this time. I continue to feel satisfied with the food I am allowed to eat. I want to continue beyond the 30 days....

W30 Day 10 & 11 Clarity

Day 10

I worked at Prep Freeze Cook and then came home and still felt good. My eyes started watering/burning which reminded me that they haven't watered in awhile. This used to happen a few times every day. It feels like I am chopping an onion even though I am not near any onions. Looks like this is another NSV. (Non-Scale Victory)

I made the most awesome Shepard's Pie for dinner. It is in the Whole 30 p. 350. I made Lemon Kale Chips from Elana's Pantry and BBQ-Spiced Kale Chips from the back of the Whole 30 Cookbook as a taste test! BBQ-Spiced WON! BEYOND GOOD! I am blown away every day with how amazing this food tastes. I've never eaten so good in my whole life. I do not feel deprived at all. I feel VERY satisfied every day after a meal.

Day 11

I stay up too late in the evenings watching Once Upon A Time. I feel so good I don't want to go to bed. It makes for tired mornings. After taking the kids to school, I did the dishes, laundry, cleaned the bathroom, organized recipes in to cookbooks and began going through my files! This attests to how GOOD I feel. Sorting paperwork is VERY difficult for me mentally. It takes so much energy for me to organize. Normally I procrastinate it. But I feel so CLEAR_HEADED and want my surroundings organized so I jumped in and did it today! My energy is very stable. I'm VERY motivated to continue cleaning/organizing and eating Whole 30 with NO cheats!

NO HEADACHES, NO NAUSEA AT ALL!

GAPS VS WHOLE 30

I am getting the same results on Whole30 as I did on GAPS (lots of de ja vu)  but the difference is I don't want to cheat on Whole 30. I don't feel deprived in my food choices as I did on GAPS. It has been 15 years since I began having food sensitivities/allergies. The internet was newer back then and not a great resource. I remember reading in books at the library trying to figure out how I could eat without pain/discomfort. I was living with vegetarians who ate grains and remember feeling different because I wanted to eat meat with no grains. I lacked the confidence in telling others that I knew what was best for myself. I began realizing that food was a big part of our society when I could no longer eat the same as others without terrible digestive results. Whole 30 didn't come out for 10 more years. Paleo resonated with me but not the part about eating like cavemen. I eat grain, sugar, dairy, legume free because it FEELS GOOD not because a caveman did it. LOL My body just can't handle those ingredients. Such a relief to find something that works, that is more mainstream, meaning thousands of people have gotten results and know about it, and brings me so much joy! Whole30 on...

W30 D9 Remembering How Bad it Used to Be

Today I had absolutely no energy or motivation. I couldn't even wake up to get the kids ready for school. Kevin did. It wasn't til noon that I forced myself to eat (souffle and roasted veggies) and dinner (brats and steamed veggies) wasn't ready til 7 pm. Geesh! I can't believe this is how it used to be all the time. I've been having an exuberant amount of energy for the past few days and I think staying up late finally caught up with me. I plan on going to bed earlier tonight in hopes that my energy returns tomorrow. I've had this drive in me that was hard to turn off.

Other than that, no headaches, no nausea, and I actually pooped. Constipation has been another symptom.

I discovered Kale & Cigarettes. A hilarious blog about Whole30.

I'm hoping tomorrow I can make the Shepard's Pie that was supposed to be dinner tonight. I noticed today I felt VERY satisfied after eating meals. The food just tastes so amazing and delicious, more so than usual. 😀