I Never Want To Forget

It's been awhile since I've blogged last. Lots has happened. I did a slow reintroduction. This list won't be very detailed because I haven't blogged in so long and forget the details of how I felt.

Here is the order and the results:

Yogurt (dairy): burpy

Paleo Desserts (sugar/honey): itchy

Yumz Sushi Restaurant (I'm guessing I was exposed to soy, dairy, sugar, gluten): small headache that didn't last long

Champagne and Wine on Valentine's Day (alcohol): small headache that didn't last long.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Bar: Nauseous for 20 hours. So bad I couldn't get out of bed to take my kids to school. I almost called in sick to work. The next day I was back to normal. I think the reason I felt SO BAD was because I ate SO MUCH chocolate. I couldn't stop. It is food without breaks.

Pulled Pork Mac n Cheese and 3 slices of Beer Bread (gluten): I had no energy the next day.

CONCLUSION: Diary, gluten, sugar make me itchy, burpy, and tired.

I really like Whole30 and the energy I feel on it. I'm starting another round on Feb 27 with my sister in law, brother, and mother.

Reintroduction: D1, D2, D3

I had homemade lactose-free plain dairy yogurt at breakfast after eating eggs. I felt a tiny bit of discomfort in my stomach. I was gassy and bloated within minutes. Lunch was yogurt over chicken fajitas. I didn't notice any symptoms but I was at work and really busy.
After dinner I had frozen bananas and yogurt ice cream! Once again I felt bloated and gassy. My body didn't have as many symptoms as I was expecting it to have. No terrible pain. Day 2 and 3 I'm eating Whole 30.

Day 4 is Super Bowl Sunday and I'm introducing Paleo desserts! I'm making chicken wings/drumsticks for everyone with sweet potato fries! 

W30 D29, D30, D31 ENERGY IS BACK!

Whew! What a scare! At 4:30 pm on D28 I ate Pork Steak. My energy returned immediately! I was low blood sugar all day. Hypoglycemic even though I had chicken apple sausage for breakfast but no eggs. SO THANKFUL my energy came back!

Day 30 I licked my finger after sticking it in X's Cheeseburger Soup to make sure it wasn't too hot. GUILT! I felt so guilty. So I'm doing W30 for an extra day.

Day 31. I didn't feel like trying anything new so I'm continuing for another day. I've decided to reintroduce homemade yogurt tomorrow.

W30 D28 NO ENERGY!

My Tiger Blood is gone. :( I took a nap yesterday from 3 pm-9 pm. Ate dinner and then went back to bed til this morning. I thought I would feel good today. Nope. I have no motivation to do dishes, laundry etc... This is so sad. I hope it is short lived.

On the plus side, I never get headaches, nausea, or burning watering eyes anymore!

But I want my energy back! I wonder why it is gone. I haven't eaten anything non-compliant. I wonder if it is from anxiety of W30 coming to an end and fear of going back to my old ways. Or that I have 4 parties at PFC in 5 days which is alot for me.

Hoping it returns soon.....

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)