June 7, 2014 – Day 7

What Did I Eat?

Love my purple plates!!

Meal 1

Scrambled Eggs

Spinach

Avocado

Meal 2

Turkey Sausage Pieces

Cucumber

Meal 3

Turkey Sausage Appies

Veggies from a platter

The Day

Sean and I had hair appointments with my good friend Dora today. Can I just say how talented she is for a minute? I have been friends with this lady since she was a receptionist in a non-hair-related industry. She found her passion, went to school, and has been cutting and styling hair for a few years now. I won’t go to anyone else. 

Needless to say I woke up in a good mood, stoked to see my friend and of course to get pampered. Sean needed a haircut before the big day next week, and for the summer, and I just needed to add some layers. I made myself some scrambled eggs, about 4, with a side of spinach sautéed in ghee and half an avocado and we headed out to get our hair did. I was not disappointed and was so excited that, for once, I had plans after. I usually end up having great hair and no where to go. 

Then I had to head to the store to get some ingredients for a potluck/housewarming party at another friend’s new place. This potluck, I was determined to do better than the veggie bowl I brought to the last one. I didn’t have a plan really though so I wandered Whole Foods for inspiration, reading labels and thinking of ideas. There were some good looking wings but of course they were coated with bread crumbs and I did not see any plain ones available. I sort of had the idea of toothpick appies before I got there and I found some compliant turkey sausage in the deli. I grabbed two packs of 4 and wandered to produce. I looked for veggies that could be cut up and easily stuck on a toothpick and came up with cherry tomatoes of varying colours and cucumbers.

Whole30 Appies!

When I got home, I popped the sausages in the oven and applied my makeup. I cut up the cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and methodically put them on toothpicks. I ended up with about 45-50 little toothpick appies when I ran out of tomatoes. I ate the leftover cucumbers and sausage (about ½ of one and the ends of the others) as 2^nd meal. On top of me eating them, they were a hit! They were gone within an hour of me getting there. 

When I got to the potluck, the only other thing I could have was veggies from a platter so I made a plate of veggies and some of my appies and was completely happy with that. It was so nice to chat and catch up with friends. It was a beautiful almost summer evening. There was live music, kids running around the back yard. It could not have been more perfect. Of course all good things come to an end and we all headed home.

How Do I Feel Today?

Woke up in a good mood. Was satiated all day long. 

June 5, 2014 – Day 5

What did I Eat?

Meal 1

• 2 Leftover Italian Baked Eggs (Oeufs En Cocotte)
• Over leftover ground pork and spinach

Meal 2

• Apple
• Banana
• Larabar
• See below for why

Meal 3

• Roasted chicken leg/thigh
• Mashed Sweet Potato 

  

The Day

Today was the opposite of yesterday in that it started off well and kind of went downhill – food-wise.

In the morning, I took the extras I had of spinach and cooked, seasoned ground pork from last night and put the two leftover Oeufs on top, for breakfast. I got to work and heated it up in the microwave. I try to limit my use of this appliance if you wondered. When I write about leftovers at home, assume I have used an oven or stove top. Sometimes I just chow down on cold food, depending on what it is. I mashed the eggs rounds over the other meat and spinach and it was delicious. I enjoyed a black coffee too. I felt satiated until 12:00.

Fun Fact: Sean accidentally broke our microwave before Christmas and we have not yet replaced it over 6 months later. The only place I really use one now is at work for lack of any other options.

I went for lunch and remembered that Freshii across the street from my work has a new(ish) Green Wrap, where they will Big Collard Greens as a wrap instead of a flour tortilla. I also knew that you can order a pre-made wrap, or customize one. There is no way that can’t be Whole30 friendly right? I used one of their checklists to order my ingredients and hand it to the cashier. I wait patiently for my wrap and am ecstatic when they hand it to me. It must have weighed about 2 lbs. I asked for double chicken, romaine, carrots, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, beets, olive oil, and Pico de Gallo all wrapped in a big collard green leaf. The extra chicken, and Pico additions brought the wrap to around $12. A little on the expensive side but I don’t know anywhere else near my work that I can get food that fresh and healthy for less. As you can see by the picture, I was hardly ripped off.

I got back to my desk and began to eat. I had three bites across the top that were mostly collard green from the way it’s folded. I looked in the wrap and the sauce appeared to be creamy… I got a plate opened the wrap. There were clear chunks of goat cheese mixed in! I was beyond disappointed. I thought: What do I do? Do I keep eating? Because this is all I have for lunch and I am technically back on the clock. Besides I have already ruined my Whole30 right? I put it aside while I contemplated. 

I remembered seeing a recent post on a Facebook group I follow. It was regarding accidentally being served non-compliant foods and what to do. There are of course hard-core people who are dead-set about starting over for the smallest of breaches. Then there are people who say it depends on what it was and how much and the details. They believe it’s case by case. 

For me personally I feel it really does depend a) on the situation and b) on why you are doing a whole30 to start with. Your reasons are personal and so should your decision to carry on if you slip up be. The important thing that I keep reading is to not stress the small stuff. Your stress levels and mental health are just as important to your health as the food you eat.

For me, I am really early into this, I barely ingested any of the fillings, let alone cheese so I do have a hard time feeling this will be affecting me negatively by day 30. I will also be doing a proper reintroduction this time, unlike the last round, and I will be doing many more Whole30s in life. I decided that for me personally, these few small bites are not going to ruin my round. But I sure as hell was getting a refund. 

I recycled the wrap into the compost bin and ate my fruits and a Larabar instead.

I emailed via their feedback form and explained what happened. I explained that during a Whole30, when one consumes foods they are not supposed to, they have to start at day 1 and asked them to contact me regarding a refund. I got the nicest email back within 24 hours form their director of business development. Here is an excerpt: 

I can only hope that you caught it in time so as not to go back to day one on your eating regiment. This is especially bad as we are supposed to be the restaurant that helps with your diet and doesn’t hinder it.

I’ve let our team at ****** know to be very careful when building our meals so this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.

Rebecca, I’d like to give you a $20 gift card which can be picked up anytime at our ******** location, as our way off apologizing as well as thanking you for taking time out of your busy to write us which helps us improve.

I blocked out the location name for my own privacy (as I have said it’s across from my workplace) and because I am not here to call shed a negative light on this company. They beyond exceeded my expectations for rectification and I will consider going back there again, though I may just be very clear about no dairy. Perhaps I can even go so far as to say I have an allergy to ensure it’s not mixed in from tools, or the assembly boards. I knew previously and full believe that they intend to be accommodating for all diet types, be it paleo, allergies and sensitivities, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever else. I will take them up on their offer to give me a gift card, order lunch or dinner, and see how it goes. If another mistake happens, then maybe I can’t rely on them during Whole30, but for now, I will view this mistake as just that.

When I got home, I put a chicken in the oven and boiled some sweet potatoes. I thought I would try making them mashed instead of frying them up like I always do. After scanning a few recipes on how to do this, I set out without any one recipe in particular and began mashing and adding things. I added coconut milk and ghee and used my hand mixer to mix it all up. It turned out a bit liquidy while at the same time stringy. So I tossed it in the blender to smooth it out. This resulted in baby food for lack of a better description. I re-read a recipe after that recommended only 1 tablespoon of coconut milk. I didn’t measure but I would estimate that I put closer to ¼ of a cup in mine (based on the milk I would add to mashed potatoes – so not the same!). For me, the nuttiness of the milk and sweetness of the potatoes did not complement each other. Between the texture and the flavour, I was gagging on it. I forced some big bites down since lunch was so sparse. I saved the chicken and a big glass of water to chase it down and called it a day. 

These mistakes are important to share so that we all learn. I have now learned to specify how important it is for me to not have dairy in restaurants, and how not to make mashed sweet potatoes.

How do I feel today?

Disappointed in my food situations, but overall cleaner, clearer headed, and positive.

June 1, 2014 - Day 1

What did I Eat?

Meal 1

2 Eggs Scrambled, no milk or butter

Wilted Spinach, approx. 2 cups raw

Mandarin Orange

Black Coffee

Meal 2

Hearty Meat Sauce

Spaghetti Squash, riced & blanched

Meal 3

3 oz. Steak, seasoned & grilled

Green Beans, steamed

Yashbrowns

1 Nectarine

The Day

I woke up at my sister’s house today. She lives a significant distance from me considering I do not drive, and I had committed to her product party before committing to Whole30, then she also committed to Whole30 for June 1 and we thought it would be a fun idea if I slept over and we could shop for her first week together and start on June 1 together. It only costs $8 one way to greyhound as they are two towns over. Sean and I normally drive, and it takes just over an hour, but he was not coming for this visit. I find Greyhound relaxing anyway and I was able to get further in It Starts With Food so it was a good trip.

My sister and I had some coolers last night and stayed up late chatting only to be woken up by my 18 month old nephew crying for mommy around 5:30 am. My sister did not want him to wake me so early, so she ran to grab him right away and took him to her room. He was pretty awake and wanting to play so she asked my brother-in-law (BIL) to take him to play in in the living room and invited me to come sleep in their bed a little longer with her.

I felt spoiled when I woke up again a couple hours later. I woke up in a big king sized bed, with my sister bringing me my first Whole30 meal of this round. Plus her and her husband aren’t coffee drinkers so BIL went out to get me a black coffee from Starbucks specifically. On top of feeling spoiled, I was overcome with excitement and pride for her too. After revealing there were 2 eggs in the breakfast meal, I assured her she can add more next time. I had just read about general portions in ISWF on my way to their place. If eggs are your only protein, you can use as many whole eggs as will fit in your hand without dropping any.

My sister revealed that they were opting to give me the dehydrator and meat slicer that I wanted to buy from them previously as part of my birthday and Christmas presents this year. I was not able to buy them due to finances at the time, so it is more than generous that they were willing to give them to me as gifts. I can’t wait to make some compliant jerky and dry some of my herbs that are now growing like weeds in their planter box.

I played with my nephew and then I made lunch for all of us. It was an adventure. I made a compliant meat tomato sauce of my own recipe and we gutted a spaghetti squash for all of us. It was my first attempt at subbing squash for pasta and I had no clue what to do. BIL says he has baked it, then scraped it out with a fork but this takes about an hour total. I had heard that you can scrape it, then blanche the noodled flesh and it seemed faster. 

I started scraping and the squash did not make nice long noodles whatsoever! It was short and coarse like long grains of rice instead. I went with it, and we blanched it, strained it, then poured the meat sauce over top. It turned out to be not so bad but perhaps next time I will try the baking method. Overall the taste and texture was good and the meal itself was quite satiating. Though there was not enough for everyone (disaster #2 of this meal) and BIL had to make regular pasta for him. (He is not doing a Whole30, but is supporting my sis)

We had the product party which was lots of fun. It was a quick demo of the product and ordering, so no food was served and once everyone left we made dinner, and then my sister and I had sweet moments with my nephew while he drank his bottle before bedtime. We sat on a loveseat with his feet on her lap and his head in mine and I savoured that moment. He is really just the cutest.

Once he was in bed, my sister drove me home with my new gadgets and we said goodbye. Overall, it was a great weekend of bonding with my sister and I cannot say enough how happy I am that my family is doing this with me this time.

How do I feel today?

I started the day feeling off from the coolers last night and the aforementioned junk food eating in the last few weeks. I was tired and foggy for the first half of the day, from lack of sleep. By the end of Day One, I was feeling more alert, but I went to bed early since it is a work night. I am regretful that on day one, I have not exercised. Hopefully I can get out to the pool tomorrow.  

Intro to My Second Whole30

It’s been a crazy few weeks and I am very excited to start Whole30 again for the month of June. It could not be more perfect in that June started on a Sunday and has exactly 30 days to it, right?

I am even more excited that some of the most important and most influential women in my life are doing it by my side. This includes my mom for her second round, as well as both of my sisters, and My Dad’s fiancé for each of their first rounds. In my opinion, Good Health is the best and most important thing you can wish on your friends and family. With good health, your chances for a long, happy, healthy life dramatically increase, and of course we want our loved ones around as long as possible, but we also want them to have a good quality of life in that time and good health is the cornerstone to a good life.

Starting Photo - 06/01/2014

This time I have taken starting photos! I love my curves, but I would love to lose this gut by reducing my bloating. Here are my starting measurements:

Height	5' 7 "
Weight	207 lbs
Chest	42"
Arms	14"
Waist	35"
Hips	48"
Thighs	29"
Calves	18"

To be honest, I knew my birthday weekend was going to be rough but I did not realize it would be so easy to fall into my old habits of grabbing fast food for lunch often and mindless snacking, after a long weekend of partying and I do not feel good about it. I am craving good whole foods and very excited to get back into the Whole30 life after the last two weeks. On the upside, I will be able to feel a difference once again in the way my body feels.

On top of trashing my body for 4 days over my birthday long weekend, and slipping into old habits, I had another weekend wherein a completely gorged myself on fatty, high calorie, high carb foods in prep for a round of HcG. I will leave it to you to research HcG if you are interested. I have done it 3 times before with great results, under the care of a naturopath.

The HcG Gist: The first two days, you are required to eat as much as you can to fill your fat stores and this leaves you less hungry when you start, while the HcG builds in your system. Once the hormone builds, you no longer feel hungry and do not need to eat much, you then begin eating a very low calorie diet from a very short list of allowed foods. Then your body begins burning fat as fuel and of course, you lose weight that is mostly pure fat.

I feel this can be a good kick-starter only, for those interested in losing weight really fast and then switching to a healthy lifestyle for good. My naturopath will not allow people to use it for a crutch which is why I like doing it through her.

So, I did the first two gorge days, and started in on the low calories on the third day and then we got The Call. Unfortunately, Sean will be having a major surgery Mid-June. After careful deliberation, it was clear that adhering to the very strict protocol of the HcG diet would prove too challenging for this time and I decided it was not the right time.

Sean will be in the hospital for 4-5 days post op, and I will be back and forth to the hospital, and work, and home. I may need to eat on the go and there may be emergency situations, but hopefully not. Then there will be aftercare. Life will be spontaneous, busy, and challenging for up to a couple weeks it seems. I am up for the challenge with Whole30, but not HcG.

While I stopped the HcG, it doesn’t change the fact that I gorged for an entire weekend. I was bloated, gassy, and had a major breakout on my face. Despite feeling gross, I found myself wanting more and more fast/junk food and giving in more and more also. When I realized that June was the perfect month to do a Whole30, it was an easy decision and I made my commitment. I felt good about the decision when I realized I would rather feel healthy on the inside like with Whole30, than simply lose weight quickly, like with HcG. I feel this is a healthy thought process.

This new round of W30 will present some challenges, but like I said, I am up for them. I found eating on the go, or out, to be fairly easy with W30. I will be blogging along the way as before but with a few changes:

• My blog posts will be more structured (i.e. sections for “What I Ate” “How I Feel” “What I Did”)
• I intend to include more pictures and links
• I want to come up with and add more recipes
• Recipes are now on a separate tab so as not to make my blog posts soooo looong

And finally, on top of committing to 30 days of eating Whole Foods, I am also committing to 30 minutes per day, of moving my body, for the next 30 days. My building complex’s outdoor pool is now open and last year we were in it almost every day so I feel like this should be easy. I am sure there will be challenges here too, but I feel really good about the challenges both mentally and physically.

Thank you for following along in my journey and congratulations if you are doing Whole30 too! 

Here we go again!!! 

Round One Wrap Up

Before beginning to blog about my second attempt at Whole30, I wanted to close the circle on the first round.

I can happily say I made conscious decisions to eat Whole30 approved foods for 30 days. But I cannot truly say it was perfect. Along the way, I was inadvertently served meat that was pre-soaked in salt water and preservatives. I won’t say what, when, or by whom as it does not matter and I know this person feels bad enough. Plus it was an eye-opener to them as well and they are now doing a Whole30! So in my opinion, this mistake was meant to be.

It was really early into my Whole30 and I didn’t find out until halfway through. After much thought, I decided to continue on with eating as I was. I did not want it to become an excuse to give up and return to old habits and I had gone longer doing Whole30 after it happened, than I had before it happened, so I continued doing what I had been doing.

I will never know what, if any effect that small amount of preservatives had on my body so I choose not to sweat it. I still felt amazing through the program. By the end, I was telling people I had a whole new body.

As a bonus I lost 15 pounds in a month! As good as this feels, the way my body feels inside is far more exciting. I really felt new and clean on the inside. I did not take before photos for my first Whole30 and this is one of my biggest regrets. But my hands and feet do not swell any more. My face is not as puffy. I do not ever feel bloated or gassy. I did not have any stomach pains in the time I was on Whole30. My skin started to clear, but did not fully, but that just tells me, I need to keep going. And that I have not fully cleared my body of what is causing this ongoing breakout. There is so much more too but I think it will only get better!

For this reason, I am really excited to do this next round in June.