Day 19 - TGIF

All I can say is Thank Goodness It’s Friday!

This week was busy and crazy at work and I am glad for the weekend.

I got to work and had boiled eggs and fruit again. It’s inspired me to start pre-making breakfasts for week days, like Egg Muffins or Breakfast meatloaf. Getting a little bored of boiled eggs.

For lunch I went over to Urban Fare and got a salad at the salad bar and roasted chicken leg/thigh. This was incredibly satiating.

But the plat de résistance was dinner. I made Herbes de Provence Chicken Breasts and a Simple Salad. I love how all the meals you eat on Whole30 are home cooked. They nourish the body and the soul. There is a certain sense of satisfaction that you get when you make your own food. There is nothing more satisfying.

Also thanks to Whole30 I have learned to enjoy leftovers. I used to hate them, but perhaps it was because how I used to eat was never quite right in the first place.

Day 18 - What Whole30 Means to Me

Another day another dollar.

Sorry to have had two uneventful days in a row but this is life. And this blog is about how I stick to Whole30, not how exciting my life is. But I strive to keep it interesting so I will tell you what I ate today, and then share more thoughts and challenges though the journey.

Before work I pan fried some leftover Breakfast Meatloaf and served it with sliced tomatoes. I went to work and had the rest of the salad that I couldn’t finish yesterday, for lunch. Finished my day and then headed home where I made Ahi Tuna and Krispy Kale for dinner. Sean and I had a nice night in. 

As I continue through the Whole30 journey, I do more and more reading and follow more and more blogs related to Whole30 and/or Paleo and I am delighted to be learning so much. But of course there will always be articles that try to tear it down. I have found that all of the "fitness articles" that I have read that “Don’t Recommend” Whole30, miss the mark completely on what it is about and clearly have not read It Starts with Food. I love how the creators laugh in the face of this adversity by posting such articles to their Facebook page and allow their supporters to debunk the falsities faster than you can say “grain-free”. And the comments posted directly to the article from Whole30ers, correcting the writers and keeping things positive.

I am still working my way through the book, but the general concept is not hard to grasp. I knew as soon as I looked at the grocery list online that this was something I wanted to do and that it would benefit me. I made the decision to go for it and have not looked back. I have had good days and bad days, but of those bad days I have learned. I am still not perfect, but I am learning, that is what counts here.

Contrary to these articles that call Whole30 “Extreme” “Restrictive” and a “Fad Diet”, the Whole30 allows you to eat as much as you want or need to fill yourself, within the compliant food list and a general guidelines for portions. The idea is to learn to listen to your body. 30 days is the minimum they ask you to TRY eating this way, but many people, from what I have read, continue with it as a lifestyle moving forward. I have read of people who do Whole45’s 60’s 100’s and feel better the longer they go. 30 days is just the minimum that it takes for your body and brain to relearn how to process real food after a lifetime of crap.

Whole30 is not about weight loss in the least. It’s a sweet side effect but people report everything from blood sugars regulating to no longer needing medications for chronic issues because these are often caused by Chronic Systemic Inflammation, which is caused by the food we eat, which is falsely marketed as healthy. Even certain scientific studies that make claims on what food are healthy are often funded by the industries they are giving props to. This is teaching me to look into everything and not believe everything I read in order to make better choices in food and in life.

I highly encourage everyone to read “It Starts With Food”. There is much mention of Auto-Immune Disorders like Celiac, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia. The writers have nothing to gain in encouraging people to eat this way since Whole30 is free to do and the book is optional but not expensive if you want the how’s and why’s behind it all. How can eating as much whole natural food like meats, seafood, fruits, & veggies as you want, possibly be bad for you?

Day 17 – This is “weighing” on my mind

So… today was uneventful…

Work, errands, typical day in day out stuff. I had a Banana and 2 boiled eggs for breakfast, a Salad from urban fare with salmon on top, which I could not finish, Sausages and left over brussels for dinner. Sean and I always get excited when we are able to find sausages that don’t have any additives. These ones were simply meat, spices, and salt. And they were so juicy and flavourful. 

I just wish we could find bacon that is compliant. We have come across bacon without nitrates, but it was still cured with sugar. 

I do want to mention one thing that came up this week. If you read the rules about Whole30 on their website, you should know that one slip up and you have to start over, from Day 1. But as far as I know that is only if you ingest (even a lick) of something that is not Whole30 approved. I bring this up because I have a friend who thought she had to start over because she weighed herself. I won’t say who to protect their identity but she nearly threw in the towel over weighing herself so I feel it’s important to bring up and ensure no one else make the same mistakes (plural because one is the act of weighing itself, the other is thinking you have to start back at day one because you did weigh in)

The rules do say to hide your scale, but only because it can wreck your W30 on a mental level. This is important too, but there is no need to start over, just put your scale away moving forward and don’t make a habit out of it. From the website: “This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer. So, no weighing yourself, analyzing body fat or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30.”

 

And if you still find you can’t stop, you can find some support here. 

Lastly, if you need some tough love, here is 5 reasons to break up with your scale. 

In the spirit of Whole30-style tough love: If you are in this just to lose weight, you are not in it for the right reasons. You will lose weight, but you will also reap so many more, and more important benefits, so Just. Don’t. Do. It.