Whole30 - Week 1 Summary

... Not actually sure what to say about week 1 of my Whole30 experience.

I started out strong on Monday, and by Wednesday (and the third day of a massive headache), I was... less than enthralled by the whole experience. Feeling rather out-of-sorts, and wondering how many of my ailments could be blamed on the diet, I looked in more detail into the information about the plan, and discovered that there is, in fact, a published timeline of the side effects that commonly present in people who undertake to complete the Whole30.

The gist of it is this:

• One day of feeling great
• Two days of "Hangover"
• Two days of being angry - "Kill ALL the things"
• Two days of exhaustion
• Two days of bloating, gassy, uncomfortableness
• The hardest two days
• Three days of crazy food dreams
• 11 days of feeling great, apart from one day in the middle of them of being "Over This"
• One day of being ready to quit 2 days early
• Two days of panic thinking about what will happen on Day 31
• Day 31 - back to "Normal" or some semblance of such

Armed with this knowledge, I looked forward with some dread to being very unpleasant for a few days. As it turned out, I had a headache for 4 days, was angry for one of them, was tired for half a day, and then my first weekend "on plan" happened, and I went away to a friend's place (with some trepidition, I must confess).

The weekend was great, and I managed to stay almost on plan the whole time - here are the cheats that happened:

1. Eggs. Not a cheat on the Whole30 plan, but not supposed to be part of my diet, according to my IgG results.
2. Seasoning on vegetables and chicken at supper time on Saturday. Not sure exactly what was in them, but I believe soy sauce was at least one of the ingredients.
3. Broccoli salad, salad dressing on a lettuce salad (lettuce is in the same category as eggs), mashed potatoes, (maybe creamy, unsure) half a cabbage roll (with rice), and gravy at lunch on Sunday.
4. Seasoning on the pork at supper on Sunday. Same situation as the marinade used on Saturday night.

The only other cheat that happened during the week was that I had a little bit of ketchup on Tuesday.

I weighed myself today (against program rules, I know) and have lost 5 lbs, so that is a big plus.

All said and done, I do believe I need to start over again. Which annoys me, to put it mildly. 

Maybe. I need to think about what I'm trying to accomplish with this food plan.

Update

I have decided I need to start my countdown again, but only because I had eggs, spinach, lettuce and radish over the weekend. I am not starting over because of any sugar that may or may not have sneaked into my food.

Day 3 of my Whole30

Not sure what to say today - I have a headache again, didn't get out of bed this morning in time to do anything but pack my lunch (thank goodness for leftovers) and leave for work.

I have vague plans of getting home in time to do Day 3 of my workout challenge before cooking supper and leaving for meeting, hopefully that works out.

Supper is going to be... something. I have eggplant, cabbage (red & white) cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, fresh ginger, grapes... maybe ginger carrots with steak and a small coleslaw and grapes for dessert? That actually sounds not bad.

Well.

I think this day just got saved.

I'll head home, do a quick workout (I remembered to pack my pre-workout meal, and I have some sweet potato and meat for my post-workout meal), cook supper, go to meeting, and do the grocery shopping I didn't do yesterday on my way home from meeting tonight.

Day 2 of my Whole30

Day 2 got off to a slightly better start than yesterday - the power didn't go off before I had a chance to cook, and I was just a bit more prepared in that I have some deli meat now specifically so that I can eat it before my workouts.

I got out of bed with my alarm; chopped up a sweet potato and put it in the oven. Headed downstairs and started my workout - 15 minutes of yoga followed by 30 minutes of my 30-day full body workout challenge. By the end of that, I was absolutely exhausted, but headed upstairs and grabbed more deli meat while I heated up some sweet potato to finish off my post-workout meal. I pulled the sweet potato out of the oven, and then decided that I was too full to have breakfast right away.

My power went out again shortly after that (this is becoming a very annoying trend) and so I finished showering and getting ready for work in the dark.

For the rest of the day, the plan is to go home for a quick lunch (maybe tuna and veggie salad again), pick up my swimming stuff and go straight to the pool after work. There is ultimate frisbee at 8 tonight, so I'll see if I feel like going to that. I also have a potential coffee date this afternoon, so that will be fun.

I've developed a grocery list of things that I need to pick up, and I definitely need to get some serious menu planning done for tomorrow.

Grocery List (so far)

• coconut milk
• potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• kale
• green onions
• apples
• bananas
• avocado

End-of-day Update:

Today's Menu:

Pre-workout meal: Pepperette

Post-workout meal: Sweet Potato

Breakfast: Hashbrown, Bacon, Coffee

Lunch: Canned Crab, Yellow Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Cucumber salad with balsamic and olive oil dressing, Green Grapes

Supper: Spaghetti Squash, Ground Beef or Chicken, Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce

Other Notes:

I had a headache again today, the runs this morning, and some pretty impressive stomach gurgling all day which prompted me to look up the side effects of the Whole30... and I found a timeline. Days 2 and 3 are "The Hangover" days, where your body "is working its way through a whole host of junk it stored from the foods (or food-like-products) you used to eat." Tomorrow should be fun, but even better will be Thursday and Friday (Days 4-5 - Kill ALL the Things!!!)

And just based on the gurgling in my gut right now, I'm rethinking the whole swimming and/or ultimate frisbee activities I had planned for this evening, and focusing on picking up some groceries to get me through the rest of this week.

Day 1 of My Whole30

I am starting my Whole30 today. I had originally planned to start on Saturday, but then an opportunity came up last minute to go to Hunter convention, and since a good friend was going there, I jumped at the chance.

And so, instead of starting this program with a relaxing Saturday where I could run and pick up groceries if I found I was missing something, I'm starting on a Monday morning, hoping that the meal plan I prepared last week is doable today.

I came very close to derailing already when I woke up at 6am all ready to cook up my pre-workout meal and head downstairs for a morning workout... I was still in the bathroom, about to step on the scale for my pre-program weigh-in, when the power cut out. Not cool. I waited five minutes, checked SaskPower's Twitter feed, found nothing, so went back to bed. Where I was lying, catching up on Facebook and Instagram when the power cam back on 20 minutes later. 

Make it a habit!

I'm counting this morning as a success, because I actually got up, chopped up a sweet potato, put it in the oven to bake, finished defrosting my ground pork, and am now sitting eating 2/3 of the sweet potato (baked with apple juice, cinnamon, salt and coconut oil) with 3 of 4 ground pork patties (seasoned with cinnamon, salt, and chilli pepper flakes) and drinking black coffee. The remains patty and sweet potato are packed and ready to be my pre- and post-workout meals for tonight, which is when I have rescheduled my exercise for due to the unforeseen power outage that delayed me this morning. 

I've dug out my reminder bracelet to help me remember that I'm doing something different, I've got my meal plan and my lunch prepared, I'm feeling okay to start this day!

End-of-day Update:

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Homemade Pork Sausage rounds, Baked Sweet Potato

Lunch: Tuna, Yellow Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Cucumber salad with balsamic and olive oil dressing, Banana

Pre-Workout Meal: Homemade Pork Sausage round

Post-Workout Meal: Sweet Potato, Pepperette

Supper: Salmon, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Avocado, Strawberries

Other Notes:

I didn't feel hungry all day, and I did manage to get in day 1 of my workout plan*. I had a headache again today, but that could be due to the seasonal change - spring and fall both tend to mess with my head a bit. Also, I was more gassy than I anticipated being, but that could just be residue from the weekend.

* I developed a full-body 30-day workout challenge that incorporates arms (bicep, triceps, shoulders), legs (squats, lunges, bridges),  pushups, and abs (leg lifts, crunches, plank) based off some of the 30-day workouts on Pinterest that I am hoping to follow while I do the whole30 food plan. I also intend to try to swim fairly often during this 30-day period, but the exercise is a second priority after making sure I'm eating right.

Whole30 - focusing on food for a while

I have digestive issues. I solved most of them last year by going gluten-free, but found that wasn't quite enough, so then I went gluten and lactose free...

And that worked wonderfully for the most part - I felt really great, but something I was eating was still bothering me. A friend recommended the IgG Food Sensitivity test which she said really helped her, and so I started eating both gluten and dairy again. Unfortunately, that lasted 5 1/2 months instead of 6 weeks, and at this point, my digestive system is in constant agony, I've gained 12 lbs back, my migraines have returned, my hair is falling out, and my skin is (for me) completely ridiculous. Incredible, really what our diet can do for us... or against us, as the case may be.

I got the results of my IgG Food Sensitivity test back this week, and the foods that registered the highest were:

• Dairy: Whey
• Fish: Clam, Sole, Cod, Red Snapper
• Fruit: Cranberry, Pineapple
• Meat: Eggs
• Nuts/Grains: Corn, Wheat, Oats, Sesame Seed, Soybean, Spelt, Walnut
• Vegetables: Spinach, Radish, Mushrooms, Lettuce

To be honest, I'm not really surprised by much of the above, except the eggs, cranberries, and fish.

Some of them (spinach and lettuce) I'm ecstatic about, and was absolutely hoping would be on the list of food I could eliminate from my diet.

I am a little bit puzzled about what to do about breakfast... not a fan of veggies for breakfast, shouldn't eat eggs, fruit is too high in sugar to be a meal all on its own... need to put some real thought into this.

Potato or zucchini or sweet potato hash might work, along with some bacon, tomatoes and fruit to top it off... although I really don't like the idea of eating bacon every day - my last (and favorite) meal-planning guide recommended 4 svgs/week as a maximum, and I like that idea.

At any rate, now that I have those test results back, I need to stop eating all the bad foods at least for a while. A friend of mine is on day 25 of the Whole30, and I have been enjoying her Pinterest page about it. At the same time, a Facebook group I am part of is starting a Whole30 plan on September 19th, which is perfect timing for me, since it gives me time to meal plan and clean out my cupboards.

Sigh. No eggs. Or craisins. Quite honestly, those hurt. More than either dairy or gluten, which I had mostly reconciled myself to. (And by dairy, I mean lactose-free dairy, which is so not the same thing... eliminating dairy will be HARD.)

For now, off I go to Pinterest for inspiration. I'm really hoping to find a breakfast that I love so much that I don't even miss eggs.

Met my first milestone goal!

My 1 lb loss milestone reward

... Which was only to lose 1 lb, but nonetheless I had a reward set for that, so I walked out of Walmart yesterday with a new magazine.

I was actually surprised when I stepped on the scale yesterday morning and could post a 2 lb loss, since my overall week was a complete throw-away, in terms of following my meal plan, fitness plan, or even my daily checklist. I almost deliberately did nothing that just 14 days ago I finalized as being my ideal habit-forming plan.

As usual, I had a myriad of excuses - didn't track my go-to-bed time during week 1, so ended up completely exhausted by the end of the week, slept until noon on Saturday, and forgot to prep my planner, so didn't know what to shop for on Sunday, so did absolutely no prep... etc.

And then, to top it all off, I dropped my iPad on my face (nose) on Monday night, which resulted in a nosebleed, not getting to sleep until after midnight again, a good weight-lifting session on Tuesday morning, but a headache all day, and a secondary nose bleed on Wednesday night and migraine on Thursday. After which I basically threw in the towel and brought poutine home from New York Fries for supper on Thursday, and had pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni on Friday.

One of my friends suggested that perhaps the weight-loss was a delayed reaction by my body to my fairly successful week 1, which makes sense to me.

My next milestone reward is at 5 lbs. Not 100% sure what my reward will be; my tentative reward is a new computer game, but a new game is one of my weekly rewards, so I'm still considering what is a good 5 lb loss reward.

Week 1 Summary

So.

I love my new planner and plan and I'm very happy with my goals for this year.

This had to be said.

Week 1, which ended yesterday, started out very well and then I fell apart on the weekend.

This leads me to the idea that perhaps I should put more thought into my weekends. The standard format that worked so well for me during the week is not an option for Saturday and Sunday. First, I have a completely different structure to my weekends than to my work week, which is fairly standard, but I made an executive decision to ignore that in my planner, and so my weekend left me feeling like everything I'd done during the week was a complete waste of time. Which I'm not happy about.

I mean, I slept until noon, did almost nothing on my checklist, but still, my week was fantastic, and I feel like I'm ripping myself off because I'm not getting a reward for that effort.

Other lessons learned from the week.

• I need to get to bed earlier. My alarm goes off at 4:45 am, and I can push through about 4 days on very little sleep, but then my system crashes. Which is, I think, part of what happened this weekend - I stayed in bed until noon on Saturday.
• My journal for the next week needs to be prepped and printed by Friday night before I leave work. Or I need to set up my printer at home.
• My menu plan needs to be a bit more detailed. I found myself frequently having to log onto my computer to figure out which veggies to cook, or wondering if my smoothie should have protein in it or not.
• I need to set aside time on Sunday to prep for the next week. I didn't do that yesterday, and I'm feeling almost panicked about this week.

And now, off I go to prep myself for this week. Look for posts about my meal plans and fitness plans to follow.

Brand New Year, Brand New Goals, Brand New Planner

Last year was, to say the least, anti-climatic in terms of my weight loss and fitness journey. Strongish start, training for a 5K run that I completed in June, but then catastrophe struck mid-summer when I partially tore my Achilles tendon and basically stopped all forms of exercise. In retrospect, and after having completed my first swim of the year, I should have started swimming again when the pool opened in September, but at the time, my motivation to get out of bed in the morning was non-existent, and so here I am in January doing the walk of shame into the gym with all the other "back-atters" out there.

Not everything about last year was a write-off, if I sum it all up:

• Completed my New Year's Resolution to run a 5K race
• Lost 10lbs overall (first time I've had a net loss in a VERY long time, about 10 years!!) BIG WIN!!
• Found a real kick-boxing gym and re-discovered my love for hitting a heavy bag
• Found a portion guide that I really like
• Found a good milestone guide for weight loss
• Found several menu plans that are healthy and give me a variety of foods to eat

And probably my biggest accomplishment was the development of a program that lets me measure what I consider to be the most important habits I want to develop, and reward myself when I reach my goals. 

To start, here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2015:

1. Run a 10K (scariest goal)
2. Take a Krav Maga Beginner/Intro course (most exciting goal, see note about my love for hitting a heavy bag)
3. Unpack my boxes (have my house to myself for the first time since moving in; want to get it organized)
4. Do my taxes
5. Complete my PMI-PBA certification - left over from last year
6. Save $2500 towards Machu Picchu

Next up, the plan.

I first had to figure out what big timelines I had, and then what daily habits I wanted to develop or strengthen.

Not difficult, really, just getting detailed and required a calendar and a calculator. Still not weedy, though - that's up next.

High-level timelines (after a few adjustments) look like this:

• 10K planned for June 6
• Krav Maga probably in September
• Unpack 1 box per week, should finish in the fall
• Taxes are due April 15th, my target is end of February for this year, and some time in the summer for my back taxes
• Being audited for the PBA, so need to chase down the last of the paper work and then schedule the exam
• $105 scheduled to be moved into a savings account twice a month for the next 12 months

And now the weeds.

• What does going from sedentary injury recovery to running a 10K race in 6 months look like?
• How do I prep for Krav Maga so that I don't drop dead during my first warm-up session?
• What other daily habits do I want to develop?
• And how do I motivate myself to do all of this?

Because it's the shortest, I'll start with the details of the daily habits I want to develop/strengthen.

1. Healthy eating
2. Regular exercise
3. 8 glasses of water/day
4. Take daily vitamins
5. Brush and floss my teeth twice daily
6. Apply moisturizer twice daily
7. Apply hair product twice daily
8. Meditate twice daily
9. Get to work on time

Once I'd figured out what I wanted to focus on, I needed to figure out how to measure progress and motivate myself to stay on plan. This called for a daily tracker, and a two-tier rewards system. I scoured Pinterest for samples of planners and then I went into Publisher and started drawing boxes. What I've ended up with is this: 

• Water: 8 checks, 1 daily point
• Vitamins: 3 checks, 3 daily points
• Teeth: 4 checks, 2 daily points - must do one of each type for a point
• Skin: 2 checks, 2 daily points

• Hair: 2 checks, 2 daily points
• Spiritual: 2 checks, 2 daily points
• Food: 1 point for following a meal plan, 1 point for calculating calories eaten
• Exercise: 1 point each for: Morning, Evening, and Routine
• Timing: 1 point for getting to work on time.

This gives me a daily total of 18 possible points. If I get 110 points in a week, I get a reward.

In addition to daily point tracking, I am able to track my satisfaction after each meal, how I'm feeling overall during the day, how I feel about my workouts, jot down a note if needed, and track weekly stats.

The rewards for reaching 110 points in a week are one of the following, depending on my mood: new book, game or movie, flowers, manicure, pedicure, hair colour. 

The second tier of rewards are for when I lose weight, as follows: 

• 1lb: new magazine
• 5lbs: TBD
• 10lbs: Massage
• 10% loss: 3 new outfits (work, casual, workout)
• 25lbs: 50$ SDM GC from Sara 
• Next 10%: Massage
• 50lbs: 3 new outfits (work, casual, workout)
• Next 10% loss: Massage
• Next 10% loss: 3 new outfits (work, casual, workout)
• 75lbs: KitchenAid attachment
• Next 10% loss: 3 new outfits (work, casual, workout)
• Goal: Laser Hair Removal