The end of my Whole30 coincided with my parents coming to visit for a few days. So my reintroduction has not been as seamless as my actual Whole30. However, there are a few things I have learned so far:
- gluten makes me bloated.
- too many nuts make me bloated, and I have eaten a LOT of nuts over the last month. Now I am portioning them out into a handful + 1 serving of 85% dark chocolate per day. It goes into a nice little container, I can have some with every meal or as a snack but when it’s gone, then that’s it for the rest of the day
- fruit causes my geographical tongue to flare up, as does wine (don’t know yet about other booze, as I’ve only had wine so far.. and a half pint of beer during my gluten day)
- I do not have stomach cramps if I don’t overeat nor get up and go right after eating. This happened most often at work and right before picking up the kids from school.
- I seem to do best with 3-4 meals a day, definitely an extra mini-meal when I exercise
- I am determined to continue to go straight to bed after a late shift
- I am also determined to only have a few drinks twice a week.
That’s it so far. Next up – dairy day tomorrow. I am most worried/interested about this one.
Yes I am! Though it should be said that this is only the first phase; second phase is the reintroduction, so an EXTRA 10 days.
Generally speaking, it’s going well. I don’t have cravings for sweets or booze, I’m not struggling with food choices, I easily avoid peer pressure.. except my IBS symptoms are not going away. If anything – they are MORE frequent. There is a handy Whole30/low FODMAP guide which I’ve been looking at and I’ve been keeping a diary, so far I suspect garlic and onions to be issues, as well as nuts, which I love and unfortunately can’t get enough of. If they are my trigger then I should stop eating them, right?
Another thing is, since I’ve been craving a bit of sweetness, I’ve been eating a lot of fruit. Until a couple of days ago, where I simply forgot to add fruit to my online shop (except for bananas). So for the last couple of days.. my geographical tongue has been improving. I searched deep and deeper on the Internet for triggers of GT and could only find gluten and dairy as potential culprits, but I haven’t eaten those for the last 15 days.
After I finished off the dates and jar of almond butter (which I kept ‘rewarding’ myself with), I did not buy any more. Now it’s time to finish off the nuts and say sayonara to them.
Tuesday 7th May might be a random day to start my Whole30, but I still have a lot of kefir, chocolate, cheese, wine etc to get through, so the day after bank holiday weekend it is. I’ve read a Whole30 book, bookmarked several Whole30 recipes online, completed a massive shopping list (most of which is coming tomorrow, and organic fruit, veg and meat is coming on Wednesday). Date night done yesterday, Sunday lunch at the in-laws’ due today, and I have literally no parties, dates, travel etc planned for the next month.
I am excited. I am ready to put my GI issues behind me.
That’s because I appear to have IBS. Exactly one month ago something horrible happened and my stress levels have gone through the roof, my drinking has gone WAY up, etc. So my GI issues have escalated. I have all the symptoms of IBS and thanks to Paleo Running Momma I am going to investigate this further. Incidently I have bought the book Whole30 by Melissa Hartwig on Kindle a while back. Today is Wednesday and I am thinking of starting next week. I tried it once before, I got to day 24 so it’s completely doable.
Oh my goodness. It’s been so long. Funny, I remembered my intolerance test from a few years back, couldn’t find it or any notes on it, so I decided to look here and there it was!
So what has changed? Not a great deal. I feel and look flabby and weigh 63 kg as of this morning. I’ve signed up to a gym which I thought I would never do, but always had a secret longing to do so. I mean, I kinda had to, given that a) I found a gym that is a 10-minute walk from home b) is quite cheap c) you can pay as you go and d) my employer offers a 50% discount on this particular gym! How could I NOT sign up?
What else? I gave up booze for 10 weeks last year, which is no small feat for me. Also last year I ran a half-marathon in 2 hours 41 minutes. The race itself was fun to do, albeit very painful, and I did raise some money for The Railway Children charity, but the training was long and hard, and made worse by the fact that it was the longest and hottest British summer on record. Of course, it pissed with rain practically during the whole half-marathon.
I did not fall in love with running and have no desire to ever do another half-marathon, but I did sign up to do a Tough Mudder this October, which is a 5k with obstacles.
In terms of eating, I am committed to LCHF, IF, 3 meals a day, and cut down on booze a lot. I’ve debated keto and Whole30, but I just don’t want to. I LIKE my dark chocolate and booze. Those years of gorging on food and booze late at night, after work – I am determined to not go back to that, because I am certain they contributed A LOT to my flab. Now, when I finish work late, I go home and usually go straight to bed. At the start it took a lot of willpower and arguing in my head, but now I have a short conversation with myself [you are tired, you have to get up early tomorrow and sleep is so important, aaaand tomorrow you can eat all the chocolate and nuts you want, heck, you can have BEER for breakfast if you want… then I have a little chuckle to myself and all is good. I’m not crazy, I swear;-)]
Also, I’m thinking age is catching up to me. Metabolism slowing down and whatnot.
So, I’m trying to get rid of the bloat. Any ideas?
.. But now I am back on track. I found a fabulous new training website which is perfect as not only am I a bit bored of my usual workouts, but my DVD player has broken as well. I am still devouring the contents, it is so good I set up a small monthly donation, and of course I am putting in the work – a mixture of HIIT, Spartan Trials and Ironborn for now. I’ve upped my protein, especially after working out. I fast for about 15 hours most days, it is easy when I don’t snack after dinner and easily last until getting home from the school run. Since fasting on the job hardly ever worked, I stopped doing it, making sure to bring a healthy meal full of protein, healthy fats and veg, as well as a snack or two, which is usually a banana and a handful of nuts.
I’ve cut the booze too. I allow myself one day of drinking a week – either Friday or Saturday, whichever is more convenient – and a small allowance of snacking to go with it. During the week, after my usual herbal tea in the evening, I have a glass of sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon or lime as it is calorie-free [isn’t it?!] and it is easy to tell myself that this is my reward. After all, you wouldn’t be able to see the vodka in it.
After only a few days my stomach is already flatter. I will be in fighting shape in 3 months. I’ve looked at some photos from last summer – you can’t really tell I work out, which annoys me. Skinny arms, wine belly. I am also watching ‘The Biggest Loser Australia’ for the first time and a) it pleases me that Commando is Paleo and b) Shannan said in an interview that to lose the last few kilograms and/or get where you really want to be, you will need to sacrifice nearly all of your indulgences, which is what I am doing. Finally.
I am even motivated by … playing Unreal Tournament, which is all about being super fit 🙂
Nuts, nut butters, bananas, GF crackers, GF oatcakes, booze, dark chocolate – once I start, I can’t stop, also green cabbage, bread – these are all things that make me bloated and/or constipated. I shall avoid for awhile. After all, summer bodies are made in the winter. I want to feel good, look good, shed the remaining excess fat and build more muscle.
I am working on eating more mindfully and stopping when I am full, also focusing a bit more on the eating aspect as opposed to exercising.
I will focus on hand-release pushups [on my feet, not knees, duh] and burpees.
I might try cold showers.
I initially wanted to try drinking like the French and Italian and having a small glass of wine with dinner, but I can’t do it – excess drinking is ingrained in me.
I will not drink or eat after my late shifts at work – I will come home and go straight to bed. There is no point whatsoever in sitting watching tv until 2 am while drinking and eating, and I eat and drink a lot in a very short amount of time. This is a good opportunity to fast. I can’t 100% promise on my Saturday shifts, I might have a drink or two with the others at the pub, but after that, I come home and straight to bed. Ditto on weekdays.
But I love to have a few drinks, so I’ll have some on Fridays and that one or two at the pub [since I’ve been delegated the double Saturday shift for the foreseeable future]. As with all my other triggers, it’s best when there is none at home during the week.
I can do this.
I’ve been feeling off for a while now. Either my thyroid meds need upping [just when I am due to decrease dosage!] or I’ve got adrenal fatigue. I can’t be bothered to exercise, housework is piling up, I don’t feel as bad as the last PMS but I’m still feeling so tired most days and it’s difficult to get up in the morning.
My son Rhys is feeling off too; he’s been complaining of a tummy ache for two weeks now, vomited a couple of times at the weekend, and if I don’t put moisturising cream on his body then he complains of severe itching. He’s had a small rash around his mouth a couple of times, which makes me think of an allergic reaction; maybe it’s time for both of us to see the doctor.
I am not as orthorexic as I used to be. I try to be mindful and keep tabs on sugar, alcohol, gluten and carbs. Recently though I have been eating a bit more of these things – just a smidge – but PMS time rolled around and girl, did it knock me out. It’s been awhile it had interfered with my normal life. On Monday I gradually felt worse and worse, until my entire body ached, my bones felt cold and I had a hollow feeling in my chest. I tried to do yoga but collapsed from the effort. I showered but the water raining on me HURT. My appetite decreased dramatically. I was so exhausted and worried about doing a 10-hour shift the next day, I arranged to shorten it to 6 hours.
That shift on Tuesday went not too badly, I came home and within the next few hours started to deteriorate [oh, and that morning I left the back door unlocked! I usually check it multiple times before heading out or going to bed!]. Bloodshot eyes, exhausted, my whole body ached, I managed a third of my dinner and spent the rest of the evening on the sofa.
Today is Wednesday, day three, I felt sluggish when I got up but on the whole not too bad, period in full swing now after several days of spotting, and I promised D I would just rest today, not like I feel like doing much anyway. Is this the price for eating some gluten [or specifically wheat as one website put it] and sugar? It is pretty awful and 90-10 rule should be followed, rather than 80-20.
I watched the ‘That Sugar Film’ at the start of the year. Then I started following I Quit Sugar on social media. The more I read, the more I realised how addictive and dangerous sugar in all its forms is. Suffice to say, I had an inkling, given how many times I tried sitting there struggling with willpower as D or other people devoured cake and biscuits like there was no tomorrow.
For my birthday in September I received ‘That Sugar Book’, which reinforced all I knew. I quit sugar on October 3rd and for the first time ever, it was EASY. Shall I repeat that? Quitting sugar was EASY. I did not struggle at all. Snacking after dinner, my biggest problem, my reward for what, getting through the day? It was GONE.
I was sailing along nicely. It was EASY to say no to cake, biscuits, etc. I hardly thought about it. I felt more in tune with my appetite. I did not need sugar in ANY of its forms, refined or otherwise.
I went on a trip to Edinburgh, had more carbs than usual, more alcohol, a couple of biscuits here and there. Why not, I’ve got this under control.
Yesterday I had a bit of baguette from the supermarket. Plain, supposedly French. It tasted so sweet, like it was loaded with sugar. I recall when I came to the UK over 9 years ago, that’s how I felt everything tasted, just so sweet. Yes, pastries and cakes are made with sugar, but to my tastebuds they tasted so much sweeter than the ones in Poland. Even popcorn at the cinema! [I never converted to sweet popcorn, it is vile.]
For the last couple of evenings, my sugar dragon has awakened once again. Suddenly I am craving my after-dinner reward. Once again my willpower is being tested. But it is OK, I tell myself, I’ve overindulged a bit for the last couple of weeks, but I am only human, I am not orthorexic. Make like Damon Gameau and just chill. Damon is the Australian mastermind behind Those Sugar Things mentioned earlier, he doesn’t eat sugar, or drink alcohol or caffeine.
In a few weeks we will be attending a vegetarian Thanksgiving party where I know what the food will be – proper carb and sugar overload. Sweet potato mash with marshmallows, sweet green beans, super-supersweet pecan pie and super-supersweet biscuits. We go there every year and every year I find everything way too sweet. Last year I was more hungover from the sugar than the booze. This year I am planning to take a veggie lasagna so I can have something to eat.
Sugar does not have me under control. I’ve got sugar under control.
Republic of Agastan 