Day 15 - Whole 30 - Or Half Way There!

Good Change 

• My nails and hair are growing like wildfire
• My skin is clearer, less rosacea breakouts and the breakouts I have had are less severe
• Deeper sleep, falling asleep faster most of the time
• More energy most of the time
• No acid reflux
• No body aches in the morning
• No blood sugar crashes
• No cyclical cravings

 Hopefully Temporary Changes

·         Upset stomach, bloating

·         One or two days a week of complete exhaustion

·         Every now again craving something bread-y but it’s mostly a texture thing I think

Cons

·         Lots of prepping and planning

·         Lots of grocery shopping every few days for fresh produce

·         Higher grocery bill due to eating more meat than before

·         Eating out is problematic

·         Difficult to get condiments that fit the Whole30 rules (i.e. mayonnaise, ketchup etc.)

·         Not enjoying eating meat although it is getting easier to include it in two meals a day

After Whole30 – Now what?

The book suggests a reintroduction plan to see which foods cause reactions. I already know me and dairy are not friends, but strangely enough, it’s what I miss the most. Cheese in an omelette, sour cream on chili or sweet potato soup, yogurt and berries….cream in my coffee. I think I will try to introduce it in very small amounts 2-3 times a week and see how my skin reacts. Maybe if I can keep it to small enough, infrequent enough portions, it will be ok. 

It would be nice to stay away from sugar, artificial sweeteners and wheat all the time but it’s difficult unless I am eating at home all the time, so I am thinking to make it a hard and fast rule when I eat at home or when I take my food to work, but be less restrictive when I eat out or eat at someone’s home; depending on how I feel when I have it again.

I think I'd like to keep wheat out of my diet, but I will try brown rice and quinoa again after the 30 days and see how I do with them. The other thing is, I don’t want to start the craving roller coaster again.

To be honest, I can live without legumes. I was never a huge fan and only ate them as part of something else, or my favourite baked beans in a can with a good old English fry up!

I don’t think I’m going to stress about added sugar to some foods like bacon or deli meats because I only eat them a few times a month, or about food not cooked at home being fried in non-Whole30 approved oil. At home I can make sure I always use olive oil or coconut oil.

So I have lots to think about over the next 15 days before I decide what I’m going to do next and it’s definitely not set in stone – I can make it up as I go along and see how I feel and how my weight fluctuates with certain foods added back.

It is a scorcher again tonight so as soon as I got home I wanted something cold and frosty. If there had been Coke Zero in the fridge, it would have been mighty hard to resist! Instead, I made a Paleo Daquiri - ice, soda water, 2 strawberries and a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice - blend. Heaven in a glass!

Today's Eats:

Breakfast: whey protein powder with water, light coconut milk; coffee with light coconut milk

Lunch: 2 tuna salad  lettuce wraps  (tuna salad - albacore tuna, red onions, green pepper, hot pepper and lemon aioli); strawberries.

I found this lemon pepper aioli at Whole Foods, ingredients are olive oil, egg, lemon juice,  salt and pepper. Its a delicious substitute for mayonnaise.

Liam ended up eating my leftovers from last night before I had even put them away!

Snack: date; hazelnuts

Dinner: hot Italian sausage; peppers; onions; hot pepper; tomatoes


Sausage ingredients are all Whole30!