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Friday, May 6, 2011

Whole30 ~ Week 1

7 days of no grains, legumes (including soy or peanuts), dairy, or added sugar. 20 days of no Dr. Pepper. This is shocking, people.

Day 1: Ate good food. Had energy. Felt great.

Day 2: Levi gave me his cold bug (sore throat, stuffy head). Massive headache. Shaky and felt like I was going to pass out. Foggy brain. Yuck. Still ate good food.

Day 3: More of day 2, but on no sleep as Lola was now sick. Oh, and Luke and Leif, too. Ate more good food.

Day 4: Sore throat, headache, and shaky/dizzy feeling mostly gone, but stuffy/runny nose persisted AND Lola spent a second night not sleeping. I was beyond tired, and Little Miss wouldn’t sleep during the day, either. I wanted a babysitter and a long nap. (My mom is out of town for over a week…what was she thinking?! Just kidding, Mom. I hope you are having a terrific time.) Oh, and what I really, really, REALLY wanted was a whole batch of hot-out-of-the-oven-chocolate-chip-cookies and a 32 oz Dr. Pepper. Ate good food instead. Please pat me on the back for surviving this day.

Day 5: Lola slept the night (mostly), but not so much during the day, so I was a little tired. Lingering cold.

Day 6: More of the same. Really great dinner, though! Levi gave the bacon, onion, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, baby spinach, and shrimp (with a spritz of lemon juice) stir fry two thumbs up!

Day 7: Fabulous (not) sinus headache. Still not getting quite enough sleep at night, and it really wears on me! And I cheated. I popped a cough drop in my mouth at 4:30 am because I couldn’t stop coughing, I didn’t want to wake my family, and I desperately wanted to get a little more sleep!

I was crazy in the mood for snacking and eating out, and I had to run errands with the kids. It took all of my will-power to bypass all the drive-thrus and the snack aisle at Target and 95% of the food at the grocery store. The boys were ‘starving’ so I bought a big bunch of bananas, and they each snacked on one on the way home. This Whole30 is going to change their lives, too. I was shocked to see them inhale salmon burgers, baby spinach, and oven-roasted green beans for dinner. Who knew.

 

What I’ve eaten this past week:

Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, baby spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, Brussels sprouts, yams, pumpkin, red pepper, onion, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, avocado, bananas, kiwi, apples, strawberries, blackberries, mango. (That’s got to be some sort of record…)

Baked steelhead trout (heavenly), basil-grilled chicken (on a bed of baby spinach, topped with chopped sun-dried tomatoes), marinara meat sauce (over thinly-sliced, sauteed red cabbage), tuna, shrimp, and salmon.

I’m drinking about 96 oz of water (sometimes part unsweetened green tea) every day and supplementing with calcium.

(I’m not going to lie. I want food I can’t have. It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But I still want it.)

Do you feel sorry for me, yet?

Let me add: No portion ‘control.’ No counting calories. Ate when I was hungry. BBQ burgers (bun-less) topped with dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and bacon served with yams oven-roasted in olive oil and sea salt, sliced apples fried in a generous amount of coconut oil (cinnamon and nutmeg, too!), banana split milkshakes (full-fat coconut milk, frozen bananas and strawberries, and unsweetened cocoa powder…. oh. my. goodness!!), deviled eggs, sweet potato chips, sunflower seeds, black olives, dried apricots (like candy), at least two eggs scrambled in bacon fat with bacon every morning, most of my veggies have been oven-roasted in a generous amount of olive oil (I never knew veggies could taste so yummy!!), more coconut milk in smoothies, almond butter slathered on sliced apples, and one Lara Bar (those things are tasty!).

I would have taken pictures, but, trust me, we didn’t stand on ceremonies when it came to digging in.

I think Russ is loving this diet. He gets a hot, home-made, interesting, delicious dinner EVERY night. And a lunch packed for him every day. I think he’s getting spoiled.

(If only this diet came with grocery delivery service and a kitchen clean-up crew!!)

As I was chowing down on yummy food, I couldn’t imagine losing weight, especially as someone who never loses weight. And here it is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I lost 5 pounds.

Yep.

I don’t expect to continue that kind of weight loss (or even maintain it), and I realize much of that is water weight, but it still feels good, ya know?

Here’s to week two. Let’s raise a glass of banana-split milkshake. Anyone joining me? Grin.

Check out more fabulous recipes at The Clothes Make the Girl, Whole9 Steal This Meal, The Foodee, Whole Life Eating, and ChowStalker.

 

Live in rooms full of light

Avoid heavy food

Be moderate in the drinking of wine

Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics

Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water

Change surroundings and take long journeys

Strictly avoid frightening ideas

Indulge in cheerful conversation and amusements

Listen to music.


~A. Cornelius Celsus

20 comments:

Kim said...

Great job! Your food for the week sounds incredible!

Keep up the good work.

Rachel P. said...

Way to go! I totally would have given in if I were sick and my kids were sick. It fantastic that your husband likes the meals you prepare. Mine is just a little too addicted to fast food. Keep it up!

carole said...

Wow! That was a tough week but you made it through *and* got a surprise gift at the end! Great job! This is going to change a lot more than just your diet (if you can keep up the menu planning/cooking after it's over). Now to get the boys to do the kitchen clean up part!!

Heasleye said...

Yay! Go Heidi! Sounds like you had a great first week!

We are still going strong here as well. My fridge is packed to the gills with fruit and veg. I agree that a grocery service and clean-up crew would be great! Making a great dinner is challenging when we come home from the pool at 5:10 and need to leave for baseball at 5:20 two times a week. But we’re managing. Seth does A LOT and his parents often share.

I can tell I’m losing weight by my clothing. (Hey…you weighed! I’ve really been wanting to, but we all decided to take the Whole30 advice and not weigh until the end. It’s killing me not to “know.” :)) Even though we’ve let Ethan have gluten-free cereal and some other things we’re not having right now, I believe this all has helped him to manage himself better. There were a number of times this week when I would have expected him to have a melt down, but he pulled himself together very well. Seth said last night that his acid reflux/heartburn was non existent yesterday. Yippee!

We made some date-nut balls you might enjoy. I was thinking of posting it, but I haven’t yet. Here’s the recipe (not mine, but I’ve had it for years and don’t remember exactly where the original came from).

Date-nut balls

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw shelled sunflower seeds
10-13 dried Medjool dates, pitted

options: 1 teaspoon – 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 heaping tablespoon nut butter (cashew, almond)

Put the nuts and seeds in a food processor and blend for about 1 minute. Add the dates and any options you’d like. Blend for another 20-30 seconds, until everything is well incorporated and begins to stick together. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop and roll into balls and store in the fridge.

Makes 20-25 balls.

I haven’t tried it with cinnamon, but the cocoa and/or nut butter is good.

Elaine

Heasleye said...

Forgot to say I noticed another benefit...I usually have sore knees after a tough CrossFit workout (running, squats, etc...). Going up and down stairs usually includes a little pain in the knee joints. This week I noticed, no knee pain. Could be the no-sugar or no-gluten or a combo is helping in that department (reduces inflammation). Whatever it is, I'll take it.

E

Anonymous said...

Awesome job sticking with the diet even though you had a rough week. I'm on day 20 and have felt really tired this week. (I probably wasn't drinking enough water) I came down with a cold last night, but as you said, I still ate good food! I am going to make some chicken noodle soup, minus the noodles.

I feel like I've gained a pound or two this week. I'm not sure why, probably too many nuts and fruit. Maybe I haven't been as active as I usually am. I can tell that I am still down from where I started from.

I hope that week two goes well for you! Thanks for all the meal ideas.

Becky

jeana said...

Yes! After I go out for my birthday tonight. ;) This sounds just wonderful! Oven roasted veggies our loved at our house too. Can't wait to try the milkshke...yumm. Keep posting, this motivtes me!

jeana said...

*are loved...

Barb said...

Wow! Good for you. It couldn't have been easy to be sick, start a new way of eating, cook all that good food...and not cheat. Not to mention losing 5 pounds. Way to go.

kate@hautetotsBOS said...

wow, first off, long time lurker, first time commenter, and wow! You should be SO proud of yourself! Keep up the great work!! The blog and the healthy eating;D

Anonymous said...

Grandpa said to say how proud he is (and I am too) of how you are sticking with your new diet, even when sick. Many of the things you are eating are what we really prefer, like the roasted vegetables with only olive oil though we aren't as strict on many of the other foods. Since Melody is still trying to lose weight, when we eat together many of the other foods we normally would eat are off limits so as to not be a temptation to her.

You asked about how to cook spaghetti squash. Cook it whole in the microwave until it feels cooked when pierced with a fork, dig out seeds and shred the rest with a fork. The boys would really get a kick out of doing that. Scrape all the way to the hard shell. Serve with "legal" spag. sauce. Delicious!!! Keep up the good work. Grandma

Tina said...

Hi again, Heidi!

I finally got over to Corvallis last night and found that First Alternative has a great sale this month on Thai Kitchen organic full-fat coconut milk: $1.49 each! I got a dozen. Winco seems to be the cheapest on Lara bars at $1.19 each, but only has 4 kinds. Market of Choice & First Alternative both have lots of different kinds, and FA has $.40 coupons available right there for up to 5 bars. MOC has coconut amino acid (to be used instead of soy sauce)for a better price than FA. (I bought one but haven't tried it yet.) I also price checked a bunch of other stuff: almond flour, guar gum, etc. so if you want the info, just get ahold of me.

I also got sick with a bad cold soon after starting and I think it masked any "carb flu" or anything that I might have experienced. Decided it was a blessing in disguise!

Keep up the great work! Tina

Heather said...

Love reading about everything you do! Your meals sound very delicious and nutritious. Wish we weren't strangers and I lived closer to you, I would have loved to help you this past week.
Praying for you all to get better and live well. God's grace is much more generous than we'll ever need. :)

Misha said...

Well, Heidi, you continue to be a gift to me. I've been having (new) migraines for the last 6 - 8 weeks and we've been considering everything that could have brought them on. But I don't want to do another elimination diet, take anymore meds etc.

I've been watching you closely, reading all your updates and then last night was with close friends doing the whole 30 and they encouraged me to just take out grains and wine and see if it helps - basically do the whole 30.

So my point...I'm going to. And please keep posting these posts. I love your new recipes and excitement. And thank you. : )

Heasleye said...

Came across a gluten-free blog the other day, and specifically these...

http://www.elanaspantry.com/will-the-real-fudge-baby-please-stand-up/#more-23143

...which are better than the recipe I posted above! Fun little treat!

E

Anonymous said...

Heidi and Elaine, I am quietly joining you in this food adventure...day 1 (done :) and onto day two...Thank you friends for your friendship and inspiration!
~C in Tualatin

Heidi said...

You all have no idea how fabulous you are. Really. I've LOVED the comments lately!! Thanks for the support and kind words! And I love that so many of you are doing this, too!

Tina~ THANK YOU for the info. I've wanted to get coconut aminos and didn't know where. A trip to Corvallis is in order. I decided to get the Lara Bars at Costco and just save the peanut ones for later or let the kids eat them since they were such a good price, but I'll be sure to stock up on them when I get there. And that is an amazing price on the coconut milk. Must get some! Thank you, again!

Elaine~ It sounds like you all are doing really well! I don't know what I'd do if I had a bunch of activities around dinner time. I'm so proud of you! Yes, I cheated and weighed. Naughty me. :) And I will definitely have to try those two treats. Just bought dates at Costco yesterday.

Misha~ I'll be praying that this diet takes care of your migrains! I only get regular headaches, and they can really ruin a day. Migrains are awful! Take care of yourself. <3

Grandma~ Thanks for the info. I'm putting spaghetti squash on the grocery list!

Kimberly said...

Hi! I've been thinking seriously about making similar diet changes around my house. I have a question. Have you noticed any differences in how much you're spending on groceries? More/less? We're on a budget and so I'm curious.

Thanks and I love your blog!

Heidi said...

Kimberly~ Sadly, I don't budget. Or keep track of my spending. What does that say about me? Maybe that's the next area of my life to tackle. Sigh. I would say more in groceries, partly because I'm not using a bunch of stuff in my pantry. It is nice to not be paying money to eat out, or on snacks or junk food. (Which really added up for us.) But lots and lots of meat and fresh produce isn't cheap, that's for sure.

~liz said...

Thanks for sharing your journey with your blog readers! I'm interested in joining in as soon as I'm off my "cleanse" from processed white sugar and flour. Do you have any particular recipes that you absolutely love on this eating plan?