Whole30 Round-up

I have finally finished my first Whole30! So I want to take some time and go over the good bits and the not so good bits. Not going to lie, I had to think long and hard this morning about this post. Reflection if you will. But first a little recap of what I have and haven't been eating in the past 30 days.

GET IT AWAY:

• No added sugar of any  kind- including honey, agave, artificial sweetners like Splenda, aspartame
•  No Grains- including wheat, rye, oats, corn, rice, bulgar
• No Legumes- including all peas, peas, lentils, peanuts, and all soy products
• No Dairy- from any source, so no cheese, yogurt, cream, milk etc
• No White potatoes
• No Alcohol

GET IN MY BELLY:

•  Meat
• Seafood
• Eggs
• Lots of vegetables
• Occasional fruit
• Healthy fats- Ghee or clarified butter (i.e. the milk proteins been removed), coconut oil, avocado etc

Whenever I mentioned to anyone what I was doing the usual response was "Well, what do you eat then?!" And the answer is good, clean food. Many people are stuck in this idea of cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta and potato based dishes for dinner. Paleo is the complete opposite of this, and in my opinion, is the right way to eat. One day I will do a science post about it.

So what was positive about my experience on the Whole30? Using the founders llooonnnggg list of consequences of it, I have compiled my own!

• No bloating
• Feeling stronger
• My knee problems that I have had for a year and half rapidly improved
• A more regular cycle (seriously, with PCOS my cycle is all over the place but this was 4 weeks to the day. NEVER happened before ever.)
• Sleep loads better
• Constant energy levels
• Healthier relationship with food. Not worrying about every calorie going into my body has done wonders for my psyche. I no longer feel a slave to the calorie.
• Fewer cravings for sweet things
• Much more knowledgeable about nutrition.
• I stuck to something 100% for 30 days. 30 flippin' days! I feel really proud of that. 

I can't believe how much better I have felt throughout the 30 days. Not feeling bloated, or guilty, or obsessed. It has been rather stress free on the food and health side. I feel like I have gotten more focused when working out too. I feel stronger and capable of lifting heavier weights. Me and a friend also have started going to a pilates class, something I swore was never for me! I like to sweat and be out of breath, not lie on a floor and breath deeply for an hour. I was wrong. This isn't what pilates is about.

Ok so those were the positives. Now onto the negatives. To be honest, for me there is one big one that definitely overshadowed the achievement I felt when I first woke up this morning. Weight loss. Or rather, the lack of weight loss. I was expecting and hoping for some shift on the scales. I knew that the Whole30 is designed for health and not necessarily weight loss but the majority of people do lose weight. I wanted to be one of them, but I wasn't. I will admit, there were tears. From the age of 12 I have always been dieting, always trying to lose weight, so the scale has been a massive part of my life! I always tell myself that the numbers don't mean anything; I know I am healthy and fit, but deep down the numbers do matter to me! I wanted to have lost around 4lbs. I am great at maintaining a weight between 147 and 150lbs. My goal for the end of the year is to be 140 and I hoped these 30 days would be a good jumping off point, so to have lost ermm nothing. Well. Darn.

I have had a few hours to ponder on this and really take a look back. Just because I haven't lost any weight doesn't mean that this has been a waste of time. If anything it has fueled me on and made me believe in Paleo as a lifestyle even more. High fat way of life? Yes please. The food is gorgeous. But there is the problem for me I think. I took the fat recommendation side of things a bit too liberally. I think I was consuming too much fat for weight loss. I was eating a diet between 1200 and 1500 calories a day, and during the Whole30 I have been eating WAY more than that. So to have stayed the same weight...well that's really interesting. Science works. Cut out the inflammatory and insulin spiking grains and sugars, cut out dairy that we humans are naturally intolerant to, up the fat, protein and vegetables, and you have a perfect lifestyle!

So what am I going to do now? Well, today me and my best friend are going to a Body Pump class then having a spa day; jacuzi, steam room, massage, reelllaaxxx, with a latte from Starbucks of course (that is the only thing I have been craving all 30 days.) Then we are going out for dinner. I won't go crazy though.
Tomorrow, I am going to carry on with the Whole30 principles but just cut back on the fat. I know the science, I know the baseline, now I need to adapt it to my needs. Too much fat? No problem, I can change that. Weight loss needs to be a slow and gradual process to be maintainable. I like this lifestyle; it isn't a diet. It works if you cater it to your needs. Right now my needs are to lose a few pounds. Once that has happened, I know that I can up the fat slightly, introduce the odd latte, and i'll be a mean, lean, fighting PCOS machine.

Cooking Up A New Year Storm!

I have made it to the end of day 2 of my first Whole30! Yay me! To be honest, it hasn't been that hard so far. The food has been yummy and filling, and fairly easy to make. In fact, the hardest thing about the past two days was sitting in Starbucks! I work really well there and having my usual sugar free hazelnut latte pretty much makes my day. Alas, this drink is definitely NOT Whole30 compliant...dairy and artificial sweeteners are a big no no. Today I had my first black coffee. And it was gross. My brother was with me and said that I just have to power through, that eventually I will love black coffee. Hmm, this may take a while. For the next 30 days I will just have to be content with trying the various fruit teas that they offer, with the occasional caffeine fix that the black, gross tasting gloop will provide.

So what have I eaten in the past two days? Yesterday I roasted some chicken thighs and some carrots rubbed with cumin. Yum. Today has been a big cook-a-thon where I roasted some more veggies, made a Shepherd's Pie, and made some Scotch Eggs! These recipes came from 'Well Fed', the recipe book that I have been raving about! As I am British, I wanted to try out the 'traditional' recipes first.
The Shepherd's Pie was made with ground lamb and topped with mashed cauliflower instead of potato. It came out really well; the taste was lovely and full of depth. The presentation of it leaved much to be desired though! A bit sploggy, if that is a word. I feel that it works as a description for it! Next time I will use a food processor to puree the cauliflower, as opposed to just using a fork. It will hopefully make it much smoother and easier to dish out.

Now for the main event...the Scotch Eggs! These are beasts. Literally, the size of Mr T's fist. Instead of using breadcrumbs on the outside the recipe asked for ground up pork rinds. While I was in the supermarket, I looked at bags of pork scratchings but found that they were jammed packed with names of preservatives and other ingredients that I had trouble pronouncing; those were going no where near my mouth. Instead, I bought some pork rind and made my own!

For my first attempt I feel pretty proud of myself. They definitely look like Scotch Eggs at the very least! Next time though I will add in some more herbs to the sausage meat (homemade I might add!) and put more of the pork rind crumbs around the outside.

I hope everyone has a brilliant New Year! Remember to make some resolutions for 2013, but they need to be achievable. All goals have to be SMART:

S- Specific
M- Meaningful
A- Attainable
R- Relevant
T-Timed

There is no point setting yourself up for a failure; find something that you can reach and go get it.