First Post Whole30 meal; A recipe and review.

I made it through the first part of whole30, and now am in part 2, the reintroduction phase. One of my issues with whole30 is it's not really only 30 days, it's actually 42 days. Yep, you heard me right. Because they say that when you start reintroducing food groups, you eat one food group for one day. Then you go back to the whole30 diet for two days before introducing the next food group. And even then you are only allowed to eat that one food group! If you've already reintroduced dairy for example, and had no issues with it, you stop eating dairy again for another 9 days. You can't have milk in your cereal if you're introducing grains. You can't have ice cream after dinner the day you do legumes. You have to wait to have cheese pizza because you're not supposed to mix food groups. What the heck?

False advertising.

Anyway, today I am doing my first reintroduction and decided to use a recipe I found awhile ago on Pinterest. It's called "Apple Pie Quinoa" and is found on Food Babbles. They said, "After a healthy start to my day by enjoying this apple pie quinoa, I quickly came to realize this is just the thing to calm your sweet tooth."  

I had high expectations for this recipe. I mean, APPLE PIE. 

To keep it in line with the whole30 reintro program, I subbed the skim milk for coconut milk. I also added some nutmeg.  As I was cooking it, it smelled delicious and I couldn't wait to eat some! 

This morning while heating it up it again smelled delicious... sort of. Then I took a bite. Blech! It was super BLAND. I added some milk, a lot of cinnamon, and more sugar than I thought I should. It still was gross. 

Now, I've heard some post-Whole30-ers saying that food doesn't taste the same after whole30. Things are disgustingly sweet, and taste fake and chemically. This was not the case with this quinoa. It was plain old bland. I am a person who likes really flavorful food, I always put more in than the recipe calls for when it comes to spices. This recipe just did not cut it. It tasted nothing like apple pie, nowhere near sweet, and cinnamon was just a smell. 

If I make it in the future, I will halve the quinoa, and double the spices and sugar. I think that might fix the problem. 

I'm off to eat some popcorn now. 

Whole30 Day Zero

I start the actual diet tomorrow. I have to admit that I haven’t finished reading the book, as a graduate student I have a lot of other readings, and writings, that I need to do. And I’m super diligent about my self-care, and while this diet is part of self-care, I really wanted to read some novels this week too.

Here are two WTF thoughts I’ve had so far.

1.   Smoothies are discouraged, especially for ‘breakfast’. WTF?  I love smoothies, they fill me up and I know I’m getting some of the nutrients I need from the fact that I can pack 3 servings of vegetables/fruit into one smoothie. I don’t add sugar to them either, so yes sometimes they don’t taste great. While I understand that dairy and dairy replacements are not allowed, I can still make a smoothie without those. (I tried yesterday, it was gross, but it might have been the combination of fruits I had in it.) This might be a part that I go rogue on from time to time. Sometimes, I just need a smoothie.

 2.     Corn. I love corn. I always counted it as a serving of vegetables or a nice, low calorie, healthy snack in the form of popcorn. But CORN ISN’T ALLOWED! Apparently it’s considered a grain? This one will be a little difficult, but I will stick to it, and just be glad I finished by celebrating with some popcorn.

The Game Plan (for Now)

I explained earlier that we are poor college students and I can’t make myself throw away every non-compliant food in our house (Think of the food storage!), so I’ve come up with a plan of attack for this aspect of our lives.

First, I threw away all opened food that would go bad by the end of the 30 days. Mostly chips and cheeses and some other miscellaneous dairy products.

Second, I moved all non-compliant foods out of the ‘easy access ’ cupboards to less accessible ones. (In case you’re wondering, I’m super short so the only easy access cupboard for me in our kitchen are the below the counter ones. That’s why I used quotations.)

Third, I went through our freezer and fridge, and put stickers on all non-compliant foods in there so there is a visual reminder that those aren’t compliant. Foods that would keep for the 30 days like ketchup and frozen corn. This way I’m not going to have to constantly read labels or try to keep a list of what is and isn’t allowed.

Fourth,  I will be going to the grocery store to pick up some replacements (like olive oil instead of the cheaper vegetable oil we’ve been using) and to stock up a little on meats in addition to my weekly fresh vegetables and fruit stock up.

Finally, meal plan. I love meal planning, it makes the week much easier all around. I know exactly what to get at the grocery store, and don’t end up wasting money on unnecessary things. And at the end of a long day, it’s nice to know that the meat is defrosted and ready to go, you have everything you need, and sometimes, when I use the crock pot, the meal is ready and waiting for you! The book has recipes, the website has recipes, and I’m pretty sure if I searched Pinterest, they would have recipes too.

Stay Tuned... 

I did my measurements last night, since I started that detox treatment which claims I ‘might lose weight’ with it. Psh. I’m pretty skeptical about this since the last ‘detox’ treatment I tried was total bunk. The placebo effect was very strong in some people for it. But I was raised by scientists, and do approach things with an experiment mindset (let’s see if this really works, here’s a, there’s b, do I really get there following these instructions, etc.) so I think (hope) that the placebo effect doesn’t occur with this detox, and the diet afterward! 

Whole 30 Preshow: Act 2

The closer it gets the more I'm ready, but also not so ready to do it. I'm especially worried that my husband will not follow the diet plan as closely as I am going to, and then get frustrated when I'm being so picky about things. It's a big deal to me, doing Whole30, and I have to do it right if I want it to work the way people says it does.

I kind of had the thought that I would do some "test" days leading up to it, where I would do Whole30 for a day, but if I wanted milk at night or a scoop of ice cream it would be okay because I hadn't officially started. After reading some more about it, and really thinking about how I work, I decided this is not a good idea. When I start I'm going full throttle, no test days, and no cheat days (as per the rules of Whole30). My husband doesn't know this yet, but I also plan on going through our cupboards to pack away the biggest temptation foods we have. 

Whole30 tells you to throw out your foods that are non-compliant. But we're college student poor, and the thought of just throwing away all of the food storage we have (what little we do have) made me sick to my stomach. It's good food, and it will still be good come May 1st. Financially, for us, throwing away all that food is so stupid, we might as well start eating out for every single meal we eat AND use our credit cards to pay every time.

I didn't plan it this way, but I also got a detox kit that I wanted to try. I got it in the mail today and will start it tonight. I'm not sure how Whole30 approved it will be, but I'm going to do it either way. I should be done with it by Wednesday which was my original start date, but with the way I'm feeling, I'm bumping the start date up to Saturday, Sunday at the latest. 

I noticed that a lot of people online talk about how much weight they lost, "I lost xx pounds!" But I haven't seen anyone really talk about losing dress sizes or inches in the waist or anything. So for me, I'm going to take my measurements as well as my weight at the start and end of Whole30. As much as it pains me to say this, I pulled out all of my shorts and not one of them fits anymore. Not in a "oh, it's a little snug" way. In a "I can't do up the button" way. Oy vey. So, while I won't post beginning and ending weight and inches, I do plan to let you all know with my own "I lost xx pounds AND xx inches" testimonial. 

 I'm also going to make a real effort to get some regular exercise in, hopefully that will help my muscle tone be better. I've been feeling rather flabby lately. With my record with exercise,(Remember when the bike broke my arm?) it probably won't be anything beyond some simple yoga, calisthenics, minor weightlifting (at home) and walking. 

Enjoy the Spring Weather (while it lasts, it's suppose to get back down to January temps this weekend for us.) 

What I Learned When I Started Tracking Calories

First off, I know that some of you know me and will go into panic mode. So, go look at this first, then you may continue to read this post:
Things Only Skinny-Fat People Understand

The past few months have been rough. Grad school, marriage, moving, and moving, and all that drama. Not surprisingly, I've been stressed. A sad side effect of stress this time around is that I have gained some weight.  I don't fit into clothes the way I used to, and it's bothering me. For the first time in my life, my weight is a concern for me.

For awhile I've been meaning to get into better shape by exercising more regularly. Because, well, exercising is good for you (so they say). My husband is really into fitness stuff, and that has been influencing me quite a bit. Then with the weight gain, well, I knew I had to boost it up a bit.

I decided to go ahead and try to track calories again. I have an app on my phone (Runkeeper) that recommended a specific calorie tracker called Lose It! (I think the exclamation point is to help you think that it will be fun...) . It asks questions like your gender, height, weight, and goal. Then gives you a recommended daily calorie intake. Since it links up to Runkeeper, it will automatically upload the exercise you do and calculate how many calories you burn.

Here's some things I learned from using a calorie tracker:

- Eating is a habit. You need to try to break the habit/impulse to eat all the time. You don't really need that snack. You don't really need that candybar. Or soda. Leave the food in the kitchen, that way you aren't mindlessly ingesting calories while watching tv each night.

- You know how it's recommended to drink 8 glasses of water a day? Do it. I've heard that sometimes your body gives you hunger signals when it really needs water. So, whenever I thought I might be getting hungry, I drank some water and waited. Use water as a delay tactic to avoid eating when you don't really need to. This strategy got me through most mornings and afternoons without the massive amount of snacks I usually have.
Added bonus on this one, your skin will look better, the sugar withdrawal headaches won't be horrific, and your body will be flushing out more toxins. (You will eventually get used to it and not need to pee every 10 minutes. It takes a couple weeks though.)

-Veggies. I for one enjoy vegetables and fruits. I found out that if I were to eat only broccoli one day, I could eat all that I could possibly hold, and still be under calories for the day. WAAAAAY under. Of the foods I ate over the past few weeks the lowest calorie ones were broccoli, spinach, celery, cantaloupe,  and apples. The fruit generally was higher calorie than the veggies, but both were still low.

-Walk on your lunch break. Walk instead of having a snack break. Find 10 minute online workouts and do them. Track all of the exercise. It will add up.

-It's hard. Really really hard. The first week I ended up under calories. But only because that week included Fast Sunday. Since then I have not been able to end a week under calories, or even 'breaking even' on calories. I never realized how much I eat before. It makes me more intentional about what I am eating, when I am eating it, and that I should be exercising more.

-Still treat yourself. I can't live without chocolate. It's a fact of life. I like chocolate, cookies, cake, and all that. As long as I exercise, and eat really well the whole day, I can eat something I love and it will be okay calorie-wise.

Just a few tips for ya! I still have a lot of room for improvement, and will keep you updated if I learn any more lessons, have any tips, etc.