The Whole30 Results

It's been 30 days... and I feel GREAT.

So those of you who follow this blog may have noticed that my Whole30 posts abruptly stopped right around the time that I got a new job.

I assure you. This is not a coincidence. It's just logic.
I finally have gotten a "grown up" job and that entails 40 hour work weeks. Keeping up with new training, long hours, and a Whole30 daily blog was a bit too much. So I took stock and decided to discontinue posting until I was actually done with Whole30. And the majority of my new job's training.

I promise I was going to tell you guys. Really.


Anyways, here's the outline of how my Whole30 went down (and I do mean down):

12 pounds (5.44 kgs)
1 pants size
Stress levels
Cramps
Morning Soreness (joint creaks)
Inflammation in hands
Face bloat


Now here's what's up:

Muscle tone
Energy levels
Overall mood
Ability to taste things (did you know that vegetables are actually sweet...?)
Health of skin and hair


In the interest of full disclosure, I'll leave this confession here as I did on Facebook: I did not work out while I was on Whole30 this month. I really wish that I had. The weight I lost was from dietary adjustments alone. I mentioned that I started a new job, and while I can use the university's gym again as a staff member, I can only use it in the early morning. During the entire month, I managed to get myself up in time to work out only once. I can't wait for my training to end and my evenings to open up. I plan on getting a membership to a gym that I can use after I get off work in the evening. Mornings just haven't worked for me.


I saved my meal plans from my first three weeks. My fourth week was really winging it. I felt like I had gotten the routine down enough that I didn't have to actually plan out a meal and a shopping list. I did meal planning on the weekends, went shopping on Sunday, and did as much prep for the week to come on Sunday evenings.

But first, here are the pictures.

 

Left: 180 lbs January 29      Right: 168 lbs February 23

Left: 180 lbs                             Right: 168 lbs

The "Mug Shot" - I promise I'm nicer than I look
Left: 180 lbs                      Right: 168 lbs

Left: 180 lbs                              Right: 168 lbs

Left: You should know by now                          Right: Heck yes.

The Full Disclosure:

This is not by any means where I plan on stopping. I still have another thirty pounds (approximately) that I'd like to lose. I won't be staying on Whole30 to do so, but I will definitely be staying Paleo. The food I was eating was very appealing to me. It was somewhat less appealing to the husband, who tends to be more of a gourmand. His cravings sadly never went away, and food did become an arguing point between us. 

I don't say this to air our dirty laundry, but as a tale of caution: Not everyone likes this. He doesn't do eggs well, and breakfasts became boring for him. He missed the dairy to pretty extreme degrees. He also missed the convenience of bread. As a full time student, it was a definite struggle for him to find satisfying lunches that didn't need to be reheated.

Our Plan of Attack:

Now that we're coming off of Whole30, we've agreed to add dairy back in, and he's going to start making bread at home. His first results have been pretty spectacular. He's never had a reaction to gluten, and I feel much safer and happier knowing exactly what's in the bread he's eating. 

He was awesome and stuck it out with me to the end. Although I think he's much happier now with his morning milk and occasional sandwich. And honestly? I'm not going to let perfect be the enemy of good.

Workouts will become more routine for me in the weeks to come, and I need to buy a new tape measure so I can keep track of inches that I'm losing instead of just pounds. Dinner is going to stay pretty much the same. Breakfast will probably stay the same for me, too. I found nitrate-free bacon that will be added in. The husband is going to sandwiches for his lunches and I will probably be eating leftovers from the previous night's dinner, or soup that I can warm up at the office. Some days will be splurges and I'll buy a fresh salad from the cafe near my office. 

Finally, for Those Who Have Asked:

The Meal Plans

Each week is missing a few breakfasts because my husband and I fast on those days for religious purposes. Intermittent fasting is apparently a common thing in Paleo circles anyway, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone. Do your research. If you're not up for it, just make some eggs or eat some leftovers. I would always have a cup of coffee on my fasting mornings, and would not each lunch until noon. 

Our normal diet also includes several "meatless" days which were incorporated into our Whole30 as well, with little to no difficulty. 

Every week I spent around $150 for the two of us. I always had food left over (I usually actually ended up skipping one night at the end of the week just so we could get through our leftovers.)

Week One:

The Cravings Week

Sunday

No breakfast

Oxtail Stew

Salmon fillets, brussels sprouts and carrots

Monday

Breakfast Blooms (eggs in a pepper ring)

Chicken Avocado Soup

Beef with Roasted Cabbage

Tuesday

Scotch Eggs

Oxtail Stew leftovers

Spaghetti Squash Salad

Wednesday

Breakfast Hot Pot

Broccoli Soup

Salmon with Finnish Beet Salad

Thursday

Scotch Eggs

Oxtail Stew leftovers

Paleo Orange Chicken

Friday

No breakfast

Broccoli Soup

Paleo Sushi

Saturday

Scotch Eggs

Oxtail Stew leftovers

Portobello Patties

Week Two:

This Isn't So Bad

Sunday

No Breakfast

Scotch Eggs

Steak Poivre and Sweet Potato Fries

Monday

Deviled Eggs (use Paleo Mayo)

Holubtsi (sub chopped hazelnuts for rice)

Deviled Chicken Thighs with Broccoli

Tuesday

Scotch Eggs

Waldorf Salad

Stuffed Peppers

Wednesday

Paleo Granola

Borscht

Salmon with Broccoli and Carrots

Thursday

Basque Hot Pepper Omelet

Scotch Eggs

Chicken Thighs with Assorted Veggies

Friday

No Breakfast

Greek Veggies

Spaghetti Squash 

Saturday

Scotch Eggs

Leftover Free For All!

Spiced Ground Beef

Week Three:

This Is The Longest Month. Ever.

Sunday

No Breakfast

Deviled Drumsticks with Minted Cucumber Chips

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower

Monday

Scotch Eggs with Lettuce

Leftover Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Flank Steak with Sweet Potatoes

Tuesday

Cabbage and Sausage

Leftover Pork Tenderloin

Paleo Orange Chicken

Wednesday

Plantain Pancakes

Spaghetti Squash Salad

Tuna Nicoise Salad

Thursday

Steak and Eggs with Peppers

Holubtsi (sub chopped hazelnuts for rice)

Chicken Thighs with Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Friday

No Breakfast

Cream of Avocado Soup with Crab

Shrimp "Paella"

Saturday

Sweet Potato Skillet

Tomato Scallops with Shrimp and Avocado

Burgers with Carrot Chips

Week Four:

I'm Pretty Much a Pro.

I'm Not Doing This Plan Thing Any More.

I will be trying my best to go through and add links where I can for the recipes. If you find a recipe you would really like, feel free to drop me a line and I'll find you the recipe. Some of them are my own recipes that haven't made it onto the blog yet. Some of them are recipes from the husband's many books that I have lying around the kitchen. If you see something you want to make that I haven't provided a link for, just ask! It will be my pleasure to help any of you on your own way!

In the mean time, keep your chin up and I'll be making another post by the end of the month at the latest!

Thursday, 31 January: Whole30 Day5

Today was not as bad as yesterday where the cravings are concerned. Also, the husband's upset tummy seems to have gotten better. I have a few spots on my hands that have the familiar old blisters, but they are very tiny and I didn't notice them until I was staring at my fingers in traffic. I'm leaving them alone and we'll see if they erupt. Skin still feels pretty tight, but not painful. Face is holding steady with a couple of smaller blemished making their appearance around my nostrils today?

My body is weird.

I'm not going to say that the cravings are gone. I made the mistake tonight of watching a documentary on the history of sugar in the UK. It was fascinating, but unfortunately it included a lot of shots of delicious candies and specialty chocolates. If you know the husband and me, you know that good quality chocolate is a weakness. I can't remember the last time I had a visceral reaction to food. It was startling. I was sitting there watching, and suddenly, images of chocolate turtle candies flashed across the screen followed by milk chocolate ads and fudge brownies. My mouth instantly began to water. I was salivating and couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

I'm going to take it as a good sign, that I used to be desensitize to it and wouldn't even notice a shot of chocolate on the TV, but that now my body reacts to it. I may still be addicted to it, but at least I'm aware of it now.

The Menu

The Breakfast

Thursdays are busy days around here- as you can tell, no garnish.
The husband took his coffee black, I tried mine with coconut milk.
Eh. It's better black.

The Dinner

Talk about dinner on the go! The husband had late classes, so dinner
came to him.

That last meal of the day is called Paleo Orange Chicken and it's from Health Bent Blog. I read the warnings that people posted about how they wished they had made a double batch, so I went ahead and made a double batch and put it all over steamed broccoli. Orange chicken and I then went to go see the husband at school.

Let's get a closer look at that...
Mmm.

Let's just say that I didn't have any leftovers to put away this evening. 

You should go read that recipe and marvel at how ridiculously easy it is. Took me less than half an hour from very start to putting it into a to go container.