Day 13 and BEFORE - My Diet

I briefly touched on why I wanted to complete a Whole30 in my last post, but if you're still reading you might be wondering what my diet was like BEFORE the challenge started and how much it's changed, along with what I'm left craving. It could be that you're already really healthy with both your relationship and consumption of food, but still feel lethargic or have bad skin or bloating. OR it could be that you need a complete overhaul... Either way, I feel it's worth learning more about the Whole30, or at least cutting out certain problematic foods such as added sugar or alcohol!

So far here is my story:

My Typical Diet Before

I eat relatively healthily, and regularly. I'm a bit of a grazer, I'm always hungry. I rarely emotional eat. My active job as a fitness instructor requires A LOT of calories. I eat a fair few carbs. I love my skinny latte. I enjoy green smoothies and eat my vegetables. I cant eat spicy food. I've been a pescatarian for most of 2015. I've never liked meat (few exceptions).

In 2013 I completed the 30 day Sugar Free challenge, which really helped me to banish a few bad habits, like no sugar in coffee (that's why I went from one sugar in instant coffee to skinny lattes, no sugar), reducing my consumption of fruit juice (I now only have 200ml a couple times a week), and skipping desserts in restaurants.

Here is a typical day in the life of me:

Breakfast

• A bowl of granola with either natural full fat yogurt or skimmed milk
• A piece of fruit
• A skinny latte.

Lunch (I don't like lunch)

• This could be anything from a healthy salad, left over soup, a bowl of cereal, a sandwich if I'm desperate. Even resorting to a shop bought salad or sarnie if I'm passing and hungry.
• Green tea.

Before Class

• A bowl of cereal/granola (never more than two bowls a day) or some hummus/tzatziki with carrot sticks and wholegrain, seeded pitta bread, or fruit, or a protein shake, or on occasion a sneaky chocolate bar...
• A skinny latte.

Dinner (always after class)

• Fish or egg with salad or veg and either rice or potato. Dinner is always very plain, very basic.

After Dinner (yes it's late)

• My second bowl of cereal/granola if I've not already had one or a bowl of fruit salad with yogurt, or hummus, or anything listed above I've not already eaten loads of. I cannot go to bed hungry, ever!

Snacks

• I snack throughout the day, whenever I'm hungry. Fruit, ryvita with cream cheese, vegetable sticks, hummus, toast.

Water Consumption

• I drink around 2-3 litres of water a day.

Weak Areas

• I like chocolate, so will maybe give in a couple of times a week.
• I occasionally have energy drinks.
• I sometimes skip lunch.

Eating/Drinking Out and Treats

• I rarely eat out, but when I do it's usually fish with vegetables or salad, again fairly boring. 
• I usually skip the starters (I'm not a savoury person), I usually don't fancy a dessert, I like a glass of wine with my meal (maybe half a bottle).
• I'm not a big drinker, I only consume alcohol on average about once every 6 weeks. Sometimes it becomes a bit of a night out, drinking too much like we all do, that would be once or twice a year. 
• I always drink water between alcoholic beverages.
• I LOVE coffee, so if someone drags me into the local Costa, it wont be kicking and screaming, plus I'd usually go for a cake too.
• I don't like fast food, so if there really is no choice between Burger King or Boots, it'd be a Boots sandwich.

Starting the Whole30:

Reading the above, I still don't think my "before" diet is too bad. I eat bad food in moderation, we all deserve the finer things in life! My snacking seems to keep my energy levels high and hunger at bay but I still suffer with bad skin, bloating, fatigue etc that to be honest, I'm DONE with! Having considered the Whole30 for around a year, I finally thought I'd give it a go. I chose a date to start (6th September 2015), and that gave me a few days to begin weaning and planning.

Days -5 to -1 (1st to 5th September) - The weaning!

I used up any naughty food left in the house, such as oven chips, cereal, a chocolate bar, an energy drink. To be honest there wasn't much and most of this was gone after day -4. I began making my coffee black with a splash of milk, gradually reducing the milk used. I found the weaning process really helped, I walked through the shops not tempted by chocolate and felt proud, but boy was I in a bad mood by day -2! I had a headache. I cut back on cereal/granola. I planned and completed my first Whole30 food shop. My silly mistake was on my final day of freedom before starting the Whole30... I went to Costa, "treated" myself to a skinny vanilla latte and a almond and raspberry slice. It wasn't that great, and it was a take out so we rushed it. Within about 30 minutes my poor stomach was massively bloated and painful and I kicked myself over the decision to "treat" myself.

My First Food Shop:

My Second Food Shop:

Days 1 to 13

I could have broken down the days a bit more, but to be honest, the past two weeks have been a bit of a blur. I've been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. With the exception of one of the days, I've been fairly positive (everything went wrong that day). I've not been bloated. I haven't had as many breakouts. However, my energy levels are still yoyo-ing a bit, one minute I've got loads, the next I want a nap. According to the Whole30 timeline, tiger blood kicks in on day 16 for most people, so I'm really hoping the start of week three will be a turning point for me. I'm still hungry all the time. The Hartwig's ask you to find out if you're really hungry or just bored by asking yourself "Would I eat seabass and steamed broccoli right now?" My answer is ALWAYS yes, but do I want to cook it? NO! I need a chef!

I've so far done two big food shops (see above), and lots of little top up shops for fruit and veg. I also have started Abel and Cole boxes again from next week.

On day one, my cravings started... Not chocolate, not a skinny latte, but a chicken! For someone who gave up meat early in 2015 I found this weird. We went for a walk and came home with a whole chicken to cook! The second weekend I had friends over for a BBQ, making pulled pork, ribs, king prawns and array of home made sauces and Whole30 approved food. 

Week one I avoided snacking as much as I can as I understand the need for your body to begin processing fat for energy rather than getting the quick burst from carbs. However, week two I've been very aware that I'm grazing more (almonds), drinking less water, something which I'm confessing now because I really want to nip it in the bud for next week.

Things I've realised so far

• I'm hungry all the time
• I started eating meat again (and I'm not hating it)
• I like black coffee and will stick with this
• I don't like eating eggs too early
• I still hate lunch and need to get more creative
• I'm bored of potato
• I'm reading labels again
• I can make my own stock
• I have more interest in cooking evening meals
• I've been relying on Nakd bars too much
• I've so far spent too much money, however most of that seems to be on ingredients that'll last
• You can still socialise and make healthier choices
• I'm using different food, herbs, vegetables and am enjoying most of what I cook
• I'm not missing chocolate or skinny lattes
• I can walk past the chocolate without it falling into my basket
• I really, really want some oats, rice and hummus
• I'm still hungry
• I'm determined to do this!

I think I've already seen enough victories to persist, plus I kind of like to finish what I've started even if it's a bad book or film. I'm just really, really looking forward to week three, hoping that I'll begin to have boundless energy!

Hopefully my next blog will be reporting that the tiger blood has kicked in! I'll also be posting some pictures of the typical food I've been eating so far.

Me and My Whole30

If you've stumbled across this blog chances are you're considering taking the Whole30 challenge and are looking for reasons to either bite the bullet and get planning or throw the towel in before you've even started (perhaps with a celebratory drink)!

My name is Vicki and I'm a personal trainer in the UK, so fitness and nutrition are a big part of my job. I always try my best to keep up to date with the most recent "fad" diets and trendy classes or keep fit gadgets, but don't always agree with what they have to offer. I've always believed that the best diet is the cleanest, least processed diet, this includes choosing full fat over low fat (which usually has loads of sugar in it), and trying to avoid added sugars. Most of the foods in today's western diets are processed and offer little nutritional value for our bodies.

I rarely follow the diet plans I research as I eat a mostly healthy diet anyway, however when I came across the Whole30 for the first time around a year ago, the alleged health benefits had me intrigued (more about that later). The other aspect of the Whole30 that appeals to me is that it's not a diet, rather an elimination programme. So I'm hoping that the majority of the foods I currently feel I can't live without, will actually be perfectly fine for me to reintroduce (rice, hummus and oats for example).

What is the Whole30?

The Whole30 is a 30 day programme which you will need to commit to 100% - No cheat days! IT IS NOT A DIET. The Whole30 is more of an experiment into finding out both how your mind and your body reacts to food. Our diet can often be directly linked to many illnesses, diseases and symptoms including but not limited to:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Allergies
• Skin conditions
• Migraines
• Fibromyalgia
• IBS
• Type 2 diabetes
• Joint pain
• And much more

By removing certain triggers from the diet, many people have found their symptoms either reduced or completely vanished. The idea is that by doing the Whole30, your body gets a deep reset, a fresh start and begins to heal. At the end of the 30 days you gradually begin to add the food you've removed back into your diet, carefully assessing for any side effects. It may be that this is where you realise you have an intolerance to a particular ingredient. You'll need to cut out all grains, alcohol, added sugar, dairy, legumes/beans and eat a diet high in clean foods such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. Very similar to paleo, but completely different too. There is a reason behind cutting out each of these food groups, which I'll write about in more detail in another blog post, as well as common concerns about calcium and cholesterol. It's all covered in the book "It Starts with Food", and makes for an interesting read!

Why am I doing it?

I'm currently at the end of day 11, which according to the official Whole30 timeline is the second of the "Hardest Days" where you're most likely to quit the programme. I sit here typing with a sense of achievement for getting this far, but feel it's time to start writing up some of my experiences so far to share with anyone who's interested.

What made me finally start? It's a combination of a number of factors, my job being a big part of it (I like to practice what I preach), but also I turn 30 this year and am sooo fed up with still having poor skin. I've had acne since I was 11, and since then have never had clear, glowing skin. So I'm hoping I'll find the trigger to my acne and can cut that out of my diet as much as possible. I also suffer with quite bad IBS, and sometimes a lack of energy and headaches, sinus problems, allergies and some other medical conditions, all of which the Whole30 claims to improve if you follow their plan. Sceptical? So was I, and still am to an extent.

I've been reading "It Starts with Food" which is basically the science behind the Whole30, and if you're thinking of doing this I'd highly recommend you read this to get a full understanding. In fact, even ask your friends and family, perhaps colleagues to read it to because people love to judge you, and judge the Whole30 (diets in general), and judge you doing the Whole30. This will let them know why, and hopefully enable them to support you better.

A lot of the reasoning behind the programme makes so much sense, however, having only completed 11 days I'm still not really seeing any of the benefits, but I'm sticking with it! I've come too far to quit, but I'd really love some hummus right now (you're not allowed chickpeas)!

On the 29th August I posted on Facebook about wanting to do the Whole30 and who'd like to join me (really recommend you gathering some troops), and amazingly within 24 hours, I had set up a group with 40 members in it! Since then, we've been sharing ideas, supporting one another and ranting a little bit about the negative effects so far...

So here I sit, writing my first blog on my Whole30 experience, having completed 11 days. I think that's enough about me for now, but I'll be back with another post within a couple of days to explain more about the Whole30, and what I've been eating so far along with how I've been feeling.

If you're interested in learning more here's three things to do:

1) Go to the official Whole30 website to learn more
2) Purchase a copy of It Starts with Food to get a better understanding of WHY you'll be doing it
3) Purchase a copy of The Whole30 and get planning!

I look forward to bringing you more of my Whole30 journey soon!

Vicki