Honestly, since I have removed sugar and flour , I am amazed at how my cravings have gone away. Do I miss them? Some but fruit is soooooo much sweeter now and is really a special treat.
I second that. In my past experience with paleo/primal way of eating, it has always been like that. Few days of really bad cravings, so I would eat lot of honey and raisins etc., and couple of days later I suddenly realised I didn't need it anymore. Once I was done with flour, it seemed like my sugar cravings all but dissappeared. This time around I have been sneaking more and more bread products into my diet (I never really craved them, but they're just much more convenient and let me tell you I need convenient, as I'm looking after 5 kids under 6). But flour made me crave sweets, so there were cooking and there were cakes..and then it was not paleo anymore. I hope this whole30 thing will be a nice reset of my diet, fingers crossed!
Today I baked two batches of chocolate muffins with my girls. It takes lot of focus to not accidentally lick my fingers when there's chocolate or dough stuck on them, but I made it!
I have to bow down to you Ronja to keep up with 5 little ones! Like grannynancy, I am a granny too LOL But I can relate to the sugar and after that first week of induction on Atkins I found I did not miss the rice, pasta and bread. It wasn't until just this past May(?) or so that I allowed myself an occasional serving of potato. I tried a roll one day at red lobster and it tasted like raw flour so I only had the one bite. This past month I have had a spoonful of rice when we have gone to a thai restaurant but that has really been it. With that said I have to say I am not a saint when it comes to alcohol, be it a glass or two of wine or hard liquor with water. The first 4 months I had no alcohol but as an adult I like to indulge This is most likely the reason my weight loss has stalled.
B: Eggs on pan, fresh tomatoes.
L: Chicken thigh, blended spinach
D: Can of tuna, zuccini, nuts.
Snack: several slices of air-dried banana I made for my girls.
I'm definitely getting there. Hunger is still present, but doesn't really bother me. I particualrly struggle from breakfast to lunch, but I really think three eggs should be enough to last me whole morning so I'm not going to make my breakfast any bigger. Apart from that I have not been controlling my portions at all. I hope to do this soon but for now I eat until I'm full.
Also, bananas: they are allowed on Whole30 but the rules also say to avoid fruits if you struggle with sugar cravings. Sure enoug, shortly after eating few slices of dried banana, I wanted to have more and I wanted something else that was sweet...I didn't give in, but I might be avoiding banans in future just for this. I aim to limit my fruits to one serving a day and make it preferably berries or apple.
B: Eggs on pan, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers
L: Salmon on spinach leaves, grilled vegetable, two peaches.
D: Grilled vegetable
I was out and about all day, thankfulyl I was able to find a nice restaurant for lunch. The salmon was lovely. We then went to visit my husband's family and that always means lots of cookies and cakes being pushed down our throats. Really, honestly, Eastern European hospitality - if you have never experienced it - can be down right scary! I was particularly worried about our grandmother who takes it really personally if you don't eat what she had prepared. Thankfully the kids were running around and I was able to get away with chasing them and ignoring the cakes. I only snacked on some peaches which were a little over my one-fruit-a-day effort. If that's what my "bad days" are going to be like, I'm fine with that!
Good job avoiding the family pressure to snack on those cakes! An extra peach is a good substitute, I'd say.
I really am enjoying reading your Whole30 experience. The more I hear about it the more it's certainly a challenge I'm getting tempted to take on!
Thank you graciey! It's been a week now (if I count first two days interrupted by my legumes mistake) and I'm SO glad I decided to go with this. One thing in particular is that I now feel so little cravings, it almost feels like food is voluntary. I can eat, but I don't have to. This morning was a busy one, trying to get my 4 youngest kids to school, so I didn't have time for my breakfast. I came home aorund noon and I didn't feel hungry at all so I'm now trying to postpone my first meal of the day until diner and make it my first official fast day on Whole30. Now fast days are NOT part of whole30, but I have found IF really good for both my health and my weight loss. I just wasn't sure if I could do both - whole30 and IF at the same time - as whole30 felt like such a strict diet. But now it feels totally doable so I hope I will be back later today to report that I just had a super healthy, whole30 friendly diner and that's it!
B:-
L:-
D: Fish filet, spinach and fresh tomatoes. Half a pear and some nuts, just a little.
This was by fat the easiest fast day I have ever had. I had nothing but water until 5 pm and even then I didn't feel hungry, it was just convenient to make my diner because the kids were out of the house. Where are the cravings and starvation of the first two, three dyas? All but gone, now my apetite seems to be under control, yay!
I just keep lurking on here and checking in with your progress. I can't wait to see how your first weigh in will go
Oh nancylmrn thank you so much! I really appreciate the support. It keeps me accountable. I actually took my scales, put it on the bottom of my closet and put a huge pile of towels on the top of it Otherwise I wouldn't have resisted the temtpation to weight myself just to see how am I doing weight wise.
But I keep repeating to myslef that weight loss is secondary. First and foremost I need to find a healthy relationaship to food, eliminate things that make me both sick AND fat, and live a healthy, happy life full of wholesome food that keeps me healthy and happy. If I do that, the weight is bound to come off.
My main goal for this week is to stay on Whole30 AND eliminate all snacking, no sneaking in few nuts here and there. I think snacking has been my main problem. I eat relatively healthy (but for an occasional sugary binge) and moderate portions, but snacking in between meals is what made me obese. I want to eat three healthy meals a day. So this week, no snacking. I can have some nuts and I can have a fruit a day, but as a part of my meal, not as a snack.
Also, eliminating snacking makes my life so much easier. I now only have to worry about three meals a day, not 5 or 6!
So, this weeks goal, absolutely no snacking, none, nadda, nothing!
Next week Í'm going to look into portion sizes.
Instead of snacks, I'm going to have coffee. Either black, or with some coconut milk. I bought a can of organic coconut milk today and it's yummy, but I have also learnt to appreciate my coffee black which is a great achievement for me.
Right now I'm so in love with Whole30 I don't think I will want to stop when my 30 days are over. I have no sugar cravings, I would just sometimes like to have a piece of cheese.
Day 6:
B: Stew with ground beef and lot of zuccini and tomatoes
L: Stew leftovers with two egs on pan and assorted fresh vegetable
D: Scrambled eggs on ghee, handful of cashews and apricot.
Look at you go girl! I am going to have to look more into your Whole 30 and maybe shake things up on my end. I also just heard about putting coconut oil in coffee, it is suppose to give it a creamy taste (?) I do like coconut and almond milk, have you tried the unsweetened vanilla almond milk?
ronja you are doing so well!! Do you feel a difference in your energy and or overall health? I noticed that you said that you wanted a piece of cheese, that would be very difficult for me, I really enjoy that! You are rocking this!!
nancylmrn I can not recommend whole30 highly enough. First days were rough but now I feel really good, I have very little cravings, I feel I have enough energy and zero digestive issues. In fact some of symptoms I thought were a part of normal life (feeling heavy stomach after some meals, being constipated or bloated) just disappeared. It is amazing and I hope to follow through once my whole30 is over and stay aways from things I will find do not agree with me.
kfunk6113 thank you for your ongoing support! I feel very good. In fact, I can not imagine going back to my old ways now, because eating this way makes me feel so good, both physically and mentally. I just pray I have persistance and dont drop off in couple of months, as I have many times before!
In short, I would absolutely recommend Whole30 to anyone who feels they need to look closely into their eating habits and fresh start, or re-start they diet, if they are leaning towards primal/paleo/keto/LCHF diets. Not counting calories and simply chosing right foods, three times a day, is simple enough even for a busy mother of five.
Aside from advicing you what to eat, Whole30 also advises on when and how to eat: three times a day, your plate always containing protein, vegetable and fat. No snacking, no making "treats" from Whole30-allowed ingredients, because that just supports snacking habbit instead of eliminating it.
I will fast tomorrow again.
On another note, my laptop broke down and I may not be able to come on here daily until I have it back, but I am STILL sticking to my diet and once I am fully online, I will come to refer about my progress and feelings Stay strong, my friends!
Hi Ronja
I currently do LCHF and I don't count calories, just my carbs and they are usually around 15-20 depending on the veggies I eat. But I have noticed these past few months I seem to indulge a bit (maybe twice a month) and have a higher carb food, usually in the form of air fried french fries. So I am going to take a hard look at whole 30. Like you though since I started doing this plan, I no longer have digestive issues that have plagued me most of my life.
Days 7-9: Failing miserably with no-snacking front! I was offline for a few days, because my laptop broke down. I am not going to copy my detailed menu for these three missed days. It was all according to Whole3, but I have had some fruits and nuts snack which I woved not to have! So I am restarting today, trying to not put anything in my mouth in between meals. Wish me luck!
But I can relate to the sugar and after that first week of induction on Atkins I found I did not miss the rice, pasta and bread. It wasn't until just this past May(?) or so that I allowed myself an occasional serving of potato. I tried a roll one day at red lobster and it tasted like raw flour so I only had the one bite. This past month I have had a spoonful of rice when we have gone to a thai restaurant but that has really been it. With that said I have to say I am not a saint when it comes to alcohol, be it a glass or two of wine or hard liquor with water. The first 4 months I had no alcohol but as an adult I like to indulge 
This is most likely the reason my weight loss has stalled.
Stay strong, my friends!
