Woohoo! Week three of my Whole30 is in the bag! Just 9 days left.
(If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, my husband and I — along with two of our kids — are doing the Whole30 Challenge. You can read more about what I’m doing — and why.)
Here’s a look at my food journal from week 3. (You can see what we ate for Week 1 and Week 2, as well.)
Day 15 (Wednesday): Egg “sandwich” – flat omelette, folded in half, stuffed with avocados and tomatoes. Blueberry Larabar*. Ground beef, sauteed with onions, kale, peppers, coriander and cumin. Whole30 “meatloaf”, spicy roasted cauliflower and roasted brussels sprouts (minus the Balsmaic, because I can’t find kosher Whole30-compliant Balsamic in town).
*Larabars are technically allowed on the Whole30. I shopped at Sprouts this morning and picked up four – one for each of my family members. I told them it was a treat for making it thru the first 15 days. It tasted SO sweet to me, I actually felt a bit light headed after eating it (which totally surprised me).
The cold I was nursing at the beginning of the week, seems all but behind me. That was quick! I usually keep a cold around for a good week or longer. I’ve heard that Whole30’ers get sick less often – and stay sick for less time. Not sure if there’s a link, but I’ll take it! I made up the meatloaf in a dinner-cooking-panic moment. It turned out really good, so I’ll definitely be making that come Pesach. Recipe coming soon..
Day 16 (Thursday): Scrambled eggs and kale. Meat “scramble” — ground beef, kale, peppers, carrots and onions with cauliflower “rice”. Salmon, mashed cauliflower, roasted brussels sprouts.
I’ve realized that there are (at least) two kinds of cravings: physiological and psychological. The first week, I was fighting the physiological cravings. You know, when you can practically taste the food or beverage you’re thinking about. Not to mention the headache and overall moodiness that would set-in from not eating the sugar/carbs/caffeine. That is largely behind me, but I still find all these “triggers” causing me to have a psychological craving. Pinterest is a minefield for me, with all their pictures of mouth-watering desserts. And just seeing an ad for a Coca-Cola gets me thinking/wanting/borderling craving one for a good 20 minutes. I was hoping to just be “above” it all, but I guess that’s another level entirely. Wondering if I’ll get there at all.
Day 17 (Friday): Eggs, avocado, sliced tomatoes. Chicken roll-ups with shredded carrots, sprouts, homemade mayo, and cashew “hummus” rolled in a Romaine lettuce leafs. Roasted chicken, salad, fruit.
It’s Family Shabbat tonight at our shul, which means a communal meal together after davening. Good thing I’m one of the organizers, so I could make food for my family to eat. I’m not so worried about myself – I’d gladly eat before or after. But it’s important to me that our boys not feel deprived (any more than they might already do for not eating cake, etc. at dessert). Have I mentioned lately how proud I am of them? Seriously – their dedication to this has been incredible. When I’ve wanted to bail (and there have been moments!), the fact that my 8- and 10-year old are sticking to this has totally kept me on the straight and narrow. Way to go, boys!!!
Day 18 (Saturday): Banana. Small salad with avocado, cashew “hummus”, sprouts, tomatoes and shredded carrots. Top of the rib roast (yummy!) with roasted asparagus and roasted brussels sprouts, orange wedges. Salad with mixed greens, broccoli, cucumber, avocado, shredded carrots, sprouts, a tablespoon of the cashew hummus (for dressing). Banana.
The last 24 hours I’ve been fighting major feelings of deprivation, which has caused me to be somewhat grumpy. Again. Thoughts like, “Why am I doing this again?” and “I don’t even feel like I’ve lost any weight!” and “Seriously, aren’t the cravings supposed to be gone by done? Sheesh!” were plaguing me all day. But then I read this — about the extinction burst — and it all made sense. My body is having a temper tantrum. It’s used to its sugar. It’s p.o.’d at me for not giving it sugar. And it’s making one last ditch to get me to feed that sugar demon. Well played, body. But will power is gonna win this round – even if I’m not happy about doing it! Loathe tho I am to do this, I’m going to cut down on the fruit. It’s healthy and natural, don’t get me wrong, but it’s keeping my “sugar demon” alive.
Day 19 (Sunday) Scrambled eggs with kale and tomatoes. Spinach salad with hard boiled egg and lots of veggies. Easy chicken “marsala”.
Cravings were a little better today. Gonna keep trying this no fruit thing to see if it’ll help.
Day 20 (Monday) Scrambled eggs. Big salad with tons of veggies and roasted chicken. Left-over chicken from Shabbat, sweet potato “fries” and broccoli.
I wasn’t hungry at all for dinner, which was weird. I think I’m having food ennui. My meals are definitely less creative these days.
Day 21 (Tuesday) Egg “sandwich” with avocado, sprouts, and chopped veggies. Half a banana. Turkey and kale meatballs in tomato sauce over spaghetti squash. Chicken soup (that cold I had last week is now working its way thru my other family members) with cut-up veggies for those who could taste them. Hard-boiled egg white (I was still hungry after the soup).
The egg sandwich I have most mornings is far and away my favorite “recipe” to come out of this diet. Well, maybe that stew I made last week is #1 and this is #2. But really, it is so yummy. I’m starting to think about our mishloach manot, which is somewhat torturous, because, let’s face it, I’m not going to make a Whole30 MM. Pinterest + pictures of chocolate peanut butter hamantashen = self-inflicted cravings torture.
Are you doing a Whole30, too? What day are you on and how’s it going for you? Are you a Whole30 veteran? Does the last week look about “right” to you?
no legumes?
so no bread, rice, oatmeal? gonna check out your journal. im on weight watchers, wondering how i can incorporate some of this
No legumes or beans, Bracha M Komarov. Our diet is basically fish, meat, chicken, eggs, fruits and vegetables, and some nuts and seeds.
wow..
Shayna Creeger – Correct, no bread, rice, oatmeal, quinoa, etc. I don’t know how it would work with WW, as part of the Whole30 is not to limit the foods that you are eating. They encourage you to aim for one thumb-size portion of fat at each meal, one or two palm-size portion of protein, and at least 2 cups of veggies. They also urge you to fill up on your meals, so you aren’t hungry and snacking in between. I miss certain foods a lot, but I love not having to count calories!
Good for you! Thats amazing! I”m tempted to try this with my husband as well. My question is: What are you going to do for Pesach?
Abby Kerzhner – Other than the required matzah at the seder, this is actually totally compatible with Pesach. That said, we’ve only got 9 days left — so we’ll be done even before Purim. I’m still not sure what we’re going to do next — and how much we’ll keep this Paleo eating as part of our regular diet.
so the foods you have logged seem pretty compatible with what I eat aside for some foods such as a little cheese I eat daily with my eggs, and yogurt- thats actually a big one. thanks for posting- I definitly need to cut out rice and oats
Best of luck…I couldn’t do it…but then I dont have sweets in the house…..and recently I haven’t been eating carbs.
Can you tell me what the logic is behind no legumes?
Also, how is the budget going, do you think this is a more expensive 30 days than usual?
Nicole – Here’s a piece on the legumes. http://whole9life.com/2012/09/the-legume-manifesto/ As for our budget, we are definitely spending more than normal. We don’t eat much meat during the week normally, so we’re spending a lot more on that. On the other hand, we’re buying zero packaged foods. I’ll do a final tally when we’re finished and let you guys know.
Thanks for the direct legume link. I couldn’t be bothered reading the entire whole30 info just to find the legume info. It was interesting, thanks!
Very very much enjoyed reading your diary portions. So helpful to understand feelings more than just a menu. Todah for sharing!
Would you mind sharing your cashew hummus recipe? Bevakasha!
Teresa Cavender – I’m working on it 🙂 I want to “perfect” it first, and then I’ll share. It’s really quite easy, though. Just need raw cashews (which are not super budget friendly, that’s the only downside.)
Wow- I would never be able to do this but I admire the four of u!! Poor N- hope she isn’t starving…:)
Ha, Carla. She’s eating granola bars and Nutella like there’s no tomorrow 😉
Can you have dairy?
Nope, no dairy, Hannah!
Interesting- one caution though, as I was reading about you cutting down on your fruit and natural sugars. And it’s something that worries me about these eating plans. Your brain needs sugar. Glucose is the ONLY form of nutrition/energy that your brain uses to keep itself going. And cutting down on your natural sugars in favor of proteins can be unhealthy. If you do it too much it forces your body to produce ketones to feed the brain and those are very acidic so you go into ketoacidosis. Which is what happens to a diabetic when they get really sick. Not a good thing. So I’d be careful to keep some of those natural sugars in your diet. —On a different but related note, I’ve been following a vegan diet of late due to my still breast feeding son is severely allergic to dairy and eggs and nuts. I’ve been vegetarian for years, but vegan is very new to me. (This is going to make Passover SO unfun…) So I’ve been eating a whole foods plant based vegan diet- including whole grains, quinoa, rice, and legumes obviously. I think cutting out the dairy and eggs has been really good for me. Especially because cutting them out means cutting out all sugary/baked goods as they are hard to find egg free unless you make it yourself. More whole foods is awesome, but more and more research I’ve done is linking the meat and animal product consumption to disease etc. It’s been an interesting experiment. I think in the long run I’m getting used to it and may stay dairy/egg free, or at least limited after I wean him and/or if he grows out of the allergies.