Whole30 in September - anyone want to join?

[taxworries]

I'm starting Whole30 on 1 September if anyone else was thinking of doing it and wants a buddy to egg them on, share recipes and tips etc. Doing it mainly because i've been feeling a bit run down the past few months - need to sleep better, find more energy and losing 10lbs would be a bonus :)

[HandbagHelper]

I am feeling pretty good - I do have more energy overall.

It's also made me more conscious of what I am eating-I really needed to cut back on the treats that had snuck into my daily life.

[taxworries]

Well done Handbag. How are you feeling overall? I'd say the changes have been quite small for me - certainly don't feel so dopey and sleepy after lunch but wouldn't say I was bursting with energy either. The things I haven't missed (which has surprised me): booze, bread, cheese/yoghurt and milk. What I have missed has been sweet things, I don't eat a huge amount of chocolate anyway but like a dessert on a Friday or weekend night. I'm not sure i'll ever crack that!

[HandbagHelper]

I am nearing day 30 and am going to keep going for a few more days. I have so few cravings for what I used to eat. I am looking forward to going back to having milk in my tea though!

[taxworries]

Hi, how are you all getting on? Still going, it's got a lot easier just feeling a bit knackered due to the heatwave going on in the south. Hope you are all still ploughing on!

[taxworries]

I remember feeling v hungry around days3/4, kind of a hollow feeling even after I'd eaten a meal. Keep going! Have you tried fizzy water with lime or with bit of juice?

[TheOnlyPink]

Melissa hartwig had a live q&a on swypo yesterday, I only watched a bit of it, but was interesting.

Day4 here, feeling insanely hungry the past 2 days. Tried eating more, eating an extra fat serving, more protein, more water, and nothing is helping. I've usually quit around now in my other attempts, but hoping it's just a bit of adjustment and I'm sticking to it.

Would give anything for some coke the drink I never have it! No idea why that's the thing I'm craving!

[yumyumpoppycat]

I think the swypo thing is a bit weird too. Seems bonkers that blood sugar raising, (for me at least) nakd bars are compliant but savoury items are not?

[taxworries]

I think the concept of SWYPO (horrible term!) is a bit strange sometimes...I get it if you are a person who eats pancakes followed by a donut for breakfast every single day then it is bad to recreate pancakes from banana, egg and raspberries or try and make paleo pizza etc. But we last ate 'proper' pancakes back in April on holiday and I have them maybe twice a year max. If having banana and egg 'pancakes' in the morning once a weekend stops me from cracking and reaching for toast as I cannot bear scrambled eggs again then I'm going to do that. So no doubt i'll be breaking the rules but if it keeps me mainly on this diet of no dairy/wheat etc etc then so be it. Same with homemade crackers and vegetable dip, not the end of the world as I'm not making crisps. Anyway not that i'm going to make those as can't be arsed to hunt down almond flour!

Other than that going pretty well. After our disatrous meatballs the other night last night we had slow cooker pulled pork on top of baked sweet potato and roasted veg. SOOOOOOO delicious!

[PhoenixJasmine]

Recreating non-compliant things with compliant ingredients is a no-go for W30 sadly - making a cracker out of seeds and coconut flour would be total SWYPO. We're cracking an addiction here!

Today I remained compliant but not really on plan as I didn't eat any proper meals, I failed to plan and was horrendously busy, I basically ate eggs, bits of fruit and veg, a few nuts and a nakd bar all day. Nowhere near enough protein. Weirdly not even hungry now. I belatedly realised I have both frozen prawns and frozen mango in and could have done a nice easy salad with that if I'd thought ahead and defrosted them. Ah well. Tomorrow is another day!

Definitely noticed trousers feeling looser today. No more stomach cramps and bloat free. Yay!

[taxworries]

I told him that but he ignored me! I'm finding fruit very sweet and already eat a lot of raw veg :( Saw some conpliant type crackers in a health food shop yesterday but they were about £4.80 for a small box so a no go. Maybe I can investigate making something will almond flour...it's the thing I'm missing most. Not fussed about sweet things or booze.

[PhoenixJasmine]

Step away from the scales! That's against the rules!

Will veg crudités satisfy the something-crunchy-with-dip urge? I tend to do a selection raw carrot, celery, cauliflower, cucumber and peppers.

[taxworries]

It's been going ok. Came unstuck last night though when we followed a meatballs recipe from a blog and they were foul :( We were having them with homemade tomato and basil sauce and 'squash' sphaghetti so just ditched the meatballs. Bit glum though as one of those evenings we had MASSES of washing up and clearing up. This morning I set out slow cooker going for a pulled pork which I think we will have tonight with sweet potato wedges.

One thing I am missing is oatcakes. Or crackers. Something savoury to dip in babaghanoush or dips. Any ideas?

DH has lost 5 pounds already!

[PhoenixJasmine]

Hows everyone going?

I've had a disrupted few days with late night shifts and not a lot of sleep, but have managed to stick to allowed food only, although not always making proper meals! Yesterday wasn't too bad, eggy breakfast, lunch was during a meeting at work that was catered for so I picked on vegetable sticks and fruit, and had a tuna mayo jacket potato for dinner. Put lots of flavour/spice in the homemade tuna mayo and it was yummy. I did a chicken & bacon mayo the other day that was lovely too, and DP cooked steak & veggies one night.

I am feeling a little lighter/slimmer already, less bloated I think. IBS has been a bit better than usual although still a few spasms etc I think they were more stress related.

One more long day to get through today where will have to cobble together from whatever I have in, and then tomorrow have the afternoon off so will do another meal plan/shop/prep.

[HandbagHelper]

TheOnlyPink I have been having fruit salad with some almonds sprinkled in it for breakfast. Although not quite as yummy as the overnight oats I usually have, the nuts I find balance well with the fruit and are my alternative to eggs for breakfast.

Hoping you start seeing some positive outcomes too!

[TheOnlyPink]

Handbag, that's great to hear it's delivering on the promises! My reasons are very similar to yours. Really tired, all the time, bloated and sick stomach feeling, all the time. Eat biscuits and chocolate several times a day. I'm hoping whole30 will address all those things in one swoop!

Day2 today, found breakfast hard to face. I usually love it, but it's always bland stodge. Porridge mainly. Eggs and veg were not appealing. Had scrambled eggs, a banana and a pear. Could have done much better, but could have been worse too! Soup and chicken for lunch again, and dinner is leftovers from last night.
Glad of my cook up on Sunday, haven't had to do much!

[HandbagHelper]

Thanks yum -I have been having it black and actually bought almond/coconut milk (who knew that combination was a thing? Not me!) in an effort to find joy again but did not enjoy it at all. Maybe I will try it not being so strong and some of my fancier tea. Don't cringe but I have been having decaf English breakfast tea as I gave up caffeine a few months back -perhaps caffeine may be needed for the sake of a good cup of tea!

[yumyumpoppycat]

Handbag, I had a revelation on a whole30 when I reluctantly had tea (instead of a delicious latte) in a restaraunt but as there was no coconut milk or almond milk option I had it black. Because it had been made in a pot with a naice tea bag it was light and very drinkable and nicer than bog standard tea with coconut milk added that I had been having at home.

[HandbagHelper]

Part of my motivation in doing this was I was always feeling tired/lethargic and I was aware that I was having too many cups of tea, too many carbs and always finishing my day with chocolate instead of having it as a treat every so often.

I definitely have more energy, my skin feels better and I never feel bloated or like I have eaten too much. I have been replacing my sweet treat with a cup of herbal tea which has kicked that craving. I actually don't even feel like eating things I used to love -pasta, fries, bread etc.

I am still craving milk in my tea as it just tastes no good without it! And
I am just a bit bored of some things and am having to make other meals for my non-vegetable eating children!

Overall feeling really good and glad I am sticking with it.

[TheOnlyPink]

Handbag, would love to hear how you're feeling?

Tax, sounds like you are really on a roll now, well done!

Day 1 for me today, dropped the kids to school before I made breakfast cos I didn't want to rush it. Had spinach, sweet potato that I had roasted up yesterday, half an avocado and a fried egg. Was really quick and surprisingly nice, so I'll do that again! Had a pear too.
Made soup yesterday so having a bowl of that with some chicken for lunch, and dinner will be pork steak with sweet potato mash, and roasted vegetables. Kids will eat that too, so we're all happy!

[taxworries]

The porridge is really good! What a surprise! It's actually very quick once you have soaked the nuts. Would be good with chopped plum as an alternative to chopped apple. The only thing is it feels like food for a victim of famine - nuts, banana, raisins.But after 4 days of eggs which aren't my favourite thing I needed something different.

Today we've got cabbage slaw, a brocolli and squash salad with almond chipotle dressing and grilled chicken for lunch and doing steak with kale/spinach for dinner. I've got two raw veg and two fruit in my bag so all set.

Well done for sticking to it Handbag! How are you feeling half way through? Are the promised benefits appearing?

[PhoenixJasmine]

That 'porridge' recipe looks interesting, if a little labour intensive for porridge! It might be SWYPO as far as a strict W30 is concerned, but I don't mind that occasionally. I might try it, it's all stuff I have in my storecupboard anyway.

[taxworries]

I'll check out the social media, thanks Pink.

[taxworries]

I haven't seen any compliant sausages yet, will let you know if I see some. Had a big cooked breakfast out this morning which should tide us over till tonight. For tomorrow morning breakfast I'm making a kind of porridge which looks quite nice (we'll see!)
thenourishinghome.com/2014/10/grain-free-cinnamon-apple-breakfast-porridge/
Then for lunch we are having a cabbage slaw with grilled chicken and a brocolli/roasted squash salad with chipotle almond sauce. Dinner tomorrow is steak and veg. Trying to plan two days ahead at a time.

[TheOnlyPink]

Just had my shop delivered and about to get a few things cooked up ready to start tomorrow. Will do a pot of soup, roast a whole chicken, do some trays of roasted veg, some roasted sweet potatoes and I saw some Turkey burger things that look like they would be handy for breakfast. A will do some mayo and make ranch dressing and garlic aioli. I've plenty of eggs and avocado. Looking forward to getting started!

Anyone else going along with the social media #septemberwhole30?

[HandbagHelper]

I swear day one for me lasted about a week - I tried hard to busy myself as it felt like an eternity!

Day 16 now for me. Finding some food I am a bit over (eg avocados) but sticking with it!