Whole 30

[InanimateCarbonRod]

I'm going to do the Whole 30 challenge starting on the 1st of February. Anyone interested in joining in?

For those who don't know what Whole 30 is I'll give the links:

whole30.com/

A brief synopsis is that you basically eat whole foods for all your meals for thirty days. Sugar, grains, dairy and legumes are all off the list.

For any doubters among you here are the testimonials that the whole food way is life changing:

whole30.com/2011/06/the-whole30-a-z-real-life-testimonials/

Don't think I have seen this blog before, it is uk based I think www.naturallyleah.com/food/whole-30/whole-30-but-what-do-you-eat/ love the idea of frozen medjool dates tasting like caramels, how strict is everyone going to be about 3 meals a day and no snacks or paleoifying to make deserts?

I knew there would be a MN thread about this. I started today and failed already by eating bacon :o Ho hum.

Vanilla extract is on the banned list, as is mozzarella...

I've had a huge lie in this morning, so am off to eat some eggs.

Holly how has it been today, lovely to have a lie in follwed by eggs ?

Hi Harry bacon isn't the worst cheat at least - and you can still do February with us

Did anyone else start today. I have been struggling a bit but no major cheats I don't think, unless ibuprofen isn't allowed! I have been having herbal tea but about to have black coffee

bf: broccoli, parma ham, lemon and e v o oil
L: chicken, carrot sticks, salad ( was at my mums and lots of the nice things for lunch had sugar and stuff added)
D: planning lamb steaks, roasted peppers, carrots and kale, maybe some new potatoes.

Thanks yum :o

We were away this weekend so I've had:

Last night: steak, peas and tomato.

Breakfast: 2 x fried egg, mushrooms and grapefruit

Lunch: handful of cashews, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, carrot, cucumber

Tea: Chilli-seasoned chicken, lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, red pepper, mango and mixed seeds

I haven't felt hungry but, apart from this evening, it's been a round of restaurants and a party so I did feel like I was missing out on loads of yummy things. I just have to keep reminding myself that I want clear skin and a non-wobbly body more than I want crisps and puddings... maybe not bacon though! Parma ham is ok so I'll sub it for that.

I've been doing the 30 Day Shred for a couple of weeks so will carry on with that too.

I had boiled eggs for breakfast, a big salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, tuna and boiled eggs for lunch, a date at around 4pm and beef stew with cabbage and roast cauliflower for dinner.

Woo hoo good that you guys are still doing it too Holly and Harry, hope today went well!

I still have a rotten cold which isnt shifting sob. Have also had a massive headache today; black coffee and a lot of twinings organic white tea, didn't help get rid, but I was craving honey like no ones business and I don't even normally eat it so I had an apple and that seems to have worked as headache is now gone.

Right now dinner is on pasta and chicken for the children but I am doing a prawn and veg stir fry for dp and I, with courgette noodles and also some rice noodles for dp. I am marving but resting the urge for mindless grazing another snack.

bf - 2 egg omlette with leftover roast peppers
snack, chunk of cucumber which I actually enjoyed
lunch- 2 runny fried eggs, leftover veg, new potatoes squashed up with kale (dd loves pots so they will probably feature a bit, but I gave them a miss in the end yest)
snack - apple

Well done you two. I'm hiding upstairs while the DC and DH eat apple crumble and custard

I feel ok today but do have a headache so I'll take your tip and munch on a banana. My new scales have arrived so I've done my 'before' measurements and weight.

Today's meals:
Breakfast: avocado and coconut chunks
Lunch: leftover chicken and mango salad from yesterday
Tea: king prawn stir fry w. spinach, red pepper, red onion, carrots, ginger and garlic. Not bad!
Snack: handful of cashews, a banana and I'll have some almonds after my workout later.

Avocado and coconut chunks sounds like a fabulous breakfast.

Headache here, too.

I didn't eat breakfast because I was late and feeling ill.

Lunch was leftover stew, cabbage and cauliflower from yesterday with some chunks of mango for pudding.

Dinner was a hamburger with grilled portobello mushrooms and a big salad of lettuce, spinach, rocket, cucumber and tomatoes.

I've been doing a Whole 30/Primal blueprint since January 5th and it's been surprisingly easy to stick to. What I love about it is being able to eat fruit and the fat filling you up. It has meant my body is still functioning properly - something which ground to a halt when I've tried low carb in the past.
Has anyone completed a Whole 30 before and then slowly added the eliminated foods back in?

I'm struggling with not eating bacon. I'm paleo so obviously I do all but wash my teeth with the stuff.

Anyway yesterday I made myself a roasted mixed nut granola that I'm happily munching on. It's delicious.

Tonight is roasted broccoli frittata!

I stocked up on Parma ham this morning so I can have it instead of bacon, yum. One of my favourite meals is mushroom and Parma ham omelette. I know it's practically sacrilege to cook it but needs must...

Sounds ridiculous but I felt slimmer this morning - or maybe just hungry! I've come down with a cold so I've had loads of blackberries, salad, pomegranate, banana, oranges, seeds and smoothies today.

Andharry that is brill you feel slimmer, you prob look slimmer too either due to wheat belly effect or low carb effect!!

Holly hope you feel better today I have ordered some beef and cauliflower as really fancy the sound of your stew.

Inanimate your granola sounds good, I need to try that too ! Have ordered a very expensive coconut yogurt from tesco and granola would be perfect on top, have never made it before.

Silverstreaks I have tried whole 30 before and got near to the end without cheating but then fell off the wagon with just a couple of days to go and didn't reintroduce properly . Really want to reintroduce properly this time, and also to keep sugar low. Sugar has been an eyeopener this time as I am checking labels rather than just eating foods I know are ok, and it is amazing how sugar is in nearly everything! On the subject of which sainsburys smoked salmon seems to just have salt added and this harrisa paste only has one suspect ingredient (lactic acid?)

bf: mackerel in evoo (66p!) and organic kale from tesco (lasts ages), 1 black coffee and lots of herbal teas through the day

lunch: turkey, clementine, olive salad, chopped veg, apples sliced with almond butter

Dinner, turkey with a bit of harissa, leeks, kale, carrots and squeeze of lemon on top

sorry for mammoth post

I did a whole 30 2 years ago and found that reintroducing food was OK, but I found that proper paleo eating doesn't suit me long term because I ended up having regular binges on forbidden foods. My plan for the end of the 30 days is to eat a primal diet when convenient, but be upfront from the start that I will go off plan on a regulating basis and will think about how the grains/sugar etc make me feel. I know from last time that I'm fine with high fat dairy and occasional rice, for instance.

Clean cottage pie this evening felt very indulgent.

I'm not doing too badly with wishing I was eating something else - except when other people are eating it right infront of me! - but I don't think I could keep this up long-term. I hope that it will give my fitness a kick-start and also help me to stop the constant grazing and cravings that made me pile on so much weight in the first place.

I think socialising def makes it hard to maintain this, I think I could eat pretty happily this way but I don't want to be a pain or come across as pretentious. Actually I already know I am going to have a slip to some degree on fri as having a curry with friends so will be a case of damage limitation and getting back on track immediately on saturday. Hopefully it wont cancel out the benefits of having eaten healthily the rest of the time!?

Lunch today is broccoli and cauliflower sautéed with garlic and sprinkled with toasted almonds. I can't wait to tuck in.

Socialising is hard. Last night I went to my friends house. She knows I'm off grains so thought that gluten free cakes would be a good substitute. I had to eat one because it would be unforgivably rude considering she went to the trouble of looking for them. It was cloyingly sweet and made me feel like shit. Today I have a sugar hangover headache and am drinking lots of water to counteract the effect.

I wouldn't have believed how quickly my body has become sensitive to crap food. I've been paleo(ish) primal, whole food, low carb high fat etc for nearly a year now. I have come to accept that I can't eat "bad" foods that are high in sugar any more. It hits me like flu.

How is everyone else getting on? I started last Monday so a week early. I'm already 2kg down which is a miracle as I'm battling with a very unhelpful thyroid.

I'm definitely slimmer. A pair of work trousers that were tight last week are sitting perfectly on my hips and flapping around my legs today. Weird.

I've had an avocado, banana, Urban Fruit dried apple and pear, and homemade vegetable soup today. Trying spiced pork tenderloin and salad tonight and really looking forward to it.

I'm now on level 2 of the 30-day Shred (started a couple of weeks ago) and ache all over today. The headaches seem to have stopped though so that's good.

Just arrived home to find that my Hotel Chocolat tasting box has arrived It can't stay here for the next 4 weeks so it'll have to be BIL's birthday present :(

Wow harry hi five for the amazing willpower and generosity to boot! My headache is gone too so that's quite funny, obviously a standard response.

I had chicken, chorizo and sundried tomato stew thing at the work canteen today...it sounds like it could be paleo and I didn't ask any questions!

I am cooking roast chicken tonight smells so nice and sizzling away.

Inanimate I would have done the same tbh. well done on weight loss!

Hi how was everyone today? my meals were a bit scrappy as wasnt home from work till late and I wasnt hungry for breakfast this morning, but no cheating so pretty pleased, even if the salt and vinegar hula hoops in the kitchen do look really inviting...

Potato, salt and vinegar are allowed yumyum :o Come on, I fought off the urge to eat the entire box of chocolates and dispose of the evidence before DH got home, you can do it too!

I did my BMI calculation this evening and it's told me to lose 13kg. I really didn't think I was that bad and was aiming for 5. On the plus side, I'm still really full from my lovely Parma ham and mushroom omelette 5 hours ago and level 2 of the 30 Day Shred is no longer preventing me from climbing the stairs to my office the morning after.

Harry thanks - I was tempted to go with your first thoughts but hoolies are now safely in the cupboard!

Coffee with friends this am will be strong and go with herbal tea or black coffee, its all about the company after all not the cakes and delicious creamy lattes...

How did coffee go in the end?

I had a wobble today when I thought I might have to have roast beef without mustard (or Yorkshire puddings ), luckily saved by a dash to the Co-op for a different sort.

Well done Harry, which mustard did you get?

black coffee must have been super strength as I felt really ill afterwards, but good to see friends.

I cheated a little bit this eve with wine on a night out but I remembered you when I got home and the hoola hoops started to try and lure me in to eating them! Just need to get to bed and not eat anything else.