And the weightloss is......

When I got up this morning, I was ready to weigh myself. I made sure it was at about the same time as the last time I weighed myself 30 days ago. I got on the scale and was truly not expecting much of a difference. Other that the fact that I haven't felt bloated in the last month, I don't really see much difference in my body. The waist of my jeans are not as tight, but I attributed that to the lack of bloating. I wish I had taken body measurements at the beginning, then I would see where it has made the most difference.

Anyway imagine my surprise when I saw that I had lost 8lbs.  I am elated. Lots of people doing this program lose 20lbs in the 30 days, but I am happy with the 8lbs. I have tried to lose weight for a couple of years, and just seem to add to it instead. So when I don't try to lose and load up on fats, I lose!

I am a short 57 year old woman standing at 5'1", and at the beginning of this journey I weighed 149lbs. This morning I weighed 141lbs. I had to weigh myself twice this morning, because I couldn't believe it!!

Next steps? Well I did have one Godiva chocolate this morning, then tried another cheap chocolate, that I ended up spitting out. I was thinking I will make a pizza tonight for dinner, and haven't decided on that yet.  I had skim milk in my tea this morning, (it was so good!). The fact that I have had this weight loss, makes me think I should do another 30 days. I want to get to 130lbs, so that is 11lbs more. Perhaps if I workout more often I can attain that in the 30 day period.

I will add a few things into my diet, like aduki beans, and perhaps more protein powder. I need to try to bring coconut oil back into the diet. I had to stop it as it was making me very uncomfortable. I won't be posting photos any more, if you followed me, you saw that toward the end, I kept forgetting!

So that is it. I will post now and then about any special news or progress about the program.

Thanks for visiting!

Day 30 (whoopie!!!)

Saturday morning, I made a big breakfast for me and my son, knowing today is the last day, I figured I should celebrate with breakfast!

I went shopping at the mall at Walmart and spent a bit of money on things I didn't even know I needed! I got baskets to put under the coffee table, a body pillow case, that I will cut up and will make cushion covers for the living room.  I also picked up some yarn to make a scarf, and a few groceries. Did you know Walmart sells organic veggies? Not many, but a few.

I was out from 10:30 until 5pm. Somehow missed the hunger for lunch!

Day 30

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, sweet potato fries, onion, spinach, tomatoes
  
• Snack: Apple
• Dinner: Fish, carrots, sweet potato, beets
  
• Snack: walnuts, orange, yogourt with strawberries and blueberries

I am so happy that I discovered this program. I have not felt bloated in the past 30 days, and that is the best by product I could have hoped for. I didn't get much more energy that others talk about. I didn't get the restful sleep that others talk about. My pants feel looser than they were before the program. A friend I hadn't seen in a few weeks said that my face has a better colour, and I haven't had any pimples appear in the 30 days. Not sure about allergies, when I did a spring clean, all the dust did make me sneeze, but I think that is to be expected. 

I have been grateful for the support on the Whole9/Whole30 forum. Whenever I had questions, they were answered promptly. I joined in some of the conversations, once I felt I had some experience and could offer advice.

Lots of people at work have shown interest in the program. I have told many others about it. The one day that I did go to a restaurant, I managed just fine. I will be weighing myself tomorrow morning. I don't actually expect to have lost much weight, simply because I was homebound for much of the time, and I seldom went to the gym to exercise. So come back tomorrow to see what the number is.

Day 29

Wow, it's Friday and I can't believe it will all be coming to an end soon. The eating has been coming easier, and so the decision to have some foods off the program is wavering. I heard from another person who had pizza on day 61 and although it was wonderful at the time she ate it, she says she really regretted it, and it wasn't sitting well with her.

Not sure what I will do, but I won't be limiting myself to the present diet. I'm pretty sure I will add some milk for my tea, and some beans for my shepherds pie.

Day 29

• Breakfast: Omlette, tomoato, cucumber, celery
  
• Snack: Greek yogourt, blueberries, strawberries
• Lunch: Butternut squash soup, spaghetti squash, tomato sauce, boiled egg
  
• Dinner: Fish, broccoli, carrots, beets
  
• Snack: Almonds, banana x 2

Day 28

I'm not sure what is going on with me, I forgot to take photos today. Just gonna reuse some that are of the same meals on other days.

I have been thinking about what I will do after this 30 days, and have decided that I will have a little chocolate to celebrate on Sunday, and make myself a gluten-free pizza that night too. I would like to keep the sugar at a minimum, since I haven't really had any cravings for it. I will cut out most dairy, except I need milk in my tea. I have really missed milk in my tea! Once in a while I will have cheese, like on my pizza. I will likely add beans once in a while, since I am sick of fish and eggs, and probably a little quinoa too.  Other than that, I'll keep doing what I am doing, protein, veggies, oil, nuts, a little fruit now and then.

Day 28

• Breakfast: Eggs, beets, green beans
  
• Snack: Greek yogourt, strawberries, blueberries
• Lunch: Mixed Greens, egg salad, veggies
  
• Dinner: Fish, carrots, broccoli
  
• Snack: handful of almonds

Day 27

Okay I guess because I am getting close to the end, I am forgetting to take photos. So I will try again tomorrow to get them done!!

Day 27

• Breakfast: Scrambled egg, onions and tomatoes
• Snack: Greek yogourt, strawberries, blueberries
• Lunch: Butternut squash soup, boiled egg, spaghetti squash with tomato sauce
  
• Snack: Banana
• Dinner: Fish, broccoli, carrots
  

Day 26

Back to work. A good day, and even made it to the gym again. I managed to do a Body Flow class, without too much pain. I came home after and made dinner. For the second night my son came home hungry from his intern placement at the newspaper, and I shared my dinner with him. Gonna have to put a stop to that! Forgot the photo for lunch.

Day 26

• Breakfast: Eggs, green beans, rutabega
  
• Lunch: Mixed greens, tuna salad, veggies, yogourt, strawberries and blueberries
• Dinner: Fish, broccoli, carrots
  

Day 25

Well I did manage to get my lazy butt to the gym today. This once a week thing just has to stop, I need to go at least 3 days a week. Anyway I spent 30 minutes on the bike, doing some sprints, then on to the machines for another 45 minutes. I felt good.

Laundry day, since I have the day off! I also planned to go shopping with my friend Vanessa. She bought 2 beautiful dresses, a pair of shoes, earrings, bracelet and a clutch. Then I was supposed to go to another Raptors basketball game at 7pm, however I cancelled the basketball game, as I wasn't really into going.

Day 25

• Breakfast: Protein smoothie, spinach, celery, cucumber, apple, blueberries, protein powder
  
• After workout: Greek yogourt, strawberry puree
  
• Lunch: Scrambled egg, roasted veggies, beets
  
• Dinner: Fish, sweet potato, green beans, beets
  

Day 24

I spent the morning catching up with my son, and relaxed as we chatted about his next endeavor, interning for the Toronto Star newspaper. He might even be shooting the Toronto Raptors game tomorrow, and I may be going as a spectator with Glenn, my friend who wins free tickets all the time!

 I spent some time making 2 bereavement cards, for friends who have both lost their partners. One on the first day of their March Break vacation, the other a week ago on March 25th.

I left home at 6pm to do something that scares me to death, eat out at a restaurant. I swore I wouldn't do that during the 30 days, but my friend chose the perfect restaurant, 'Fresh'. Theresa, Glenn, (the friend who wins free tickets), and myself met up with Linda, a friend who lost her boyfriend on the first day of their vacation. We just wanted to make sure she knew we were there to support her, to listen to her, to laugh with her, and to comfort her.

I check the menu online and found a meal that would be whole30 friendly. It was the Italian Raw Bowl: zucchini noodles tossed with basil pesto garnished with kale chips, grape tomatoes, Fresh Protein Boost and sun-dried tomatoes. The protein boost was brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, sesame, chia, flax, hemp, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I don't recall having any kale chips, but that was okay, because this meal was amazing! May even have to try to make it myself. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of it, perhaps because it looked wonderful and I couldn't wait to get it into my mouth!

Day 24

• Breakfast: Veggie omlette

• Lunch: Mixed greens salad, egg salad, veggies, apple, cashews

• Dinner: Italian Raw Bowl, decaf coffee

Day 23

Discovered this morning that I can't handle Macadamia nuts! Terrible stomach ache, and more!

I spent the day cleaning preparing for my son to come home. I had started yesterday, but got overwhelmed, so I have learned that to overcome that to break tasks up into smaller parts. By the time he arrived at 9pm, everything was done.

I got a little carried away with the cleaning, so breakfast was late at 10am, and lunch ended up at 5:30pm! I had dinner really late at 10:45pm, and not really being hungry it was really just a snack.

Day 23

• Breakfast: Veggie frittata
  
• Lunch: Spaghetti squash, with tomato sauce, yogourt with fruit sauce, (banana and strawberry pureed)
  
• Dinner: Yogourt and blueberries
  

Day 22

My son is returning form school tomorrow, so I went out and bought a few goodies for his Easter treats. I got a few extra in case someone should drop by. Can you believe that i am not even tempted? I know! I can't believe it either!!

I almost forgot to take a picture of breakfast, as you can see I have already eaten one egg and most of the broccoli!

Day 22

• Breakfast: Eggs, fried sweet potato, broccoli, black tea with lemon
  
• Lunch: Butternut squash soup, mixed greens salad, egg salad
  
• Dinner: Avocado and salsa with cucumber and cherry tomatoes, broccoli slaw, tuna salad
  
• Snacks: Macadamia nuts

Day 21

I forgot to take a photo of my breakfast. I also forgot it was my co worker's birthday and I forgot to take the 2 yoga balls I bought yesterday to work! So not sure what that's about!

Day 21

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, spinach, tomato, onion
• Snack: Greek yogourt, blueberries
• Lunch: Spring mix, veggies, tuna salad with homemade mayonnaise
  
• Dinner: Fish, fried plantain, carrots, broccoli
  
• Snack: handful of hazelnuts.

Day 20

Whoops! I'm a bit behind!
I went to a basketball game to see the Raptors lose again! But I didn't have the usual nachos and salsa, I snuck in an apple, (not food from outside allowed) and took my empty water bottle, (I fill it at the water fountain).  I was there at 6:30, so I had to eat dinner early.  When I got back from the game, I had a few cashews, to fill the gap!

Day 20

• Breakfast: Green smoothie (1/4 apple, cucumber, celery, few blueberries, spinach and protein powder)
  
• Snack: Greek yogourt, strawberries, blueberries
• Lunch: Spring mix, veggies, egg salad
  
• Dinner: Fish, roasted veggies, (peppers, onion, zucchini, eggplant, broccoli, turnip)
  
• Snack: cashews

Day 19

Today I think I have it all together. No hunger pangs, no cravings, even with all that chocolate in the staff room at school! Only problem is, I'm not sleeping well and I have very little energy in the afternoons.  however, I am sure this will this will come in the next little while.

Day 19

• Breakfast: Egg, broccoli, carrots
  
• Snack: greek yogourt, blueberries, strawberries
• Lunch: Vegetarian shepherd's pie
  
• Snack: fried plantain
  
• Dinner: fish, broccoli, rutabaga, carrots
  

Day 18

Another day late on posting! I'm just going to get to the food that I had.

Day 18

• Breakfast: egg, broccoli, sweet potato
• Snack: boiled egg
• Lunch: Spring mix, tuna salad, veggies
• Snack: cashews, dates
• Dinner: Fish, roasted veggies
• Snack: pistachio nuts

Day 17

I have much cooking to do today. I will roast some veggies, and steam some too. I like to have that ready for everyday, so that I just have to make the protein part of the meal. I have a rutabaga, (that we call a swede in England), so that will be a different vegetable this week. I usually like to mix it with mashed potato, but since that is off the table, I might see how it goes with sweet potato.

I have been playing it safe with a limited selection of foods, just easy, and convenient I guess. I made some mayonnaise yesterday, and it is wonderful. I have been making egg and tuna salad with EVOO and white balsamic vinegar, but mayonnaise has such a different taste. I can add it to avocado, top sweet potatoes with it, top eggs with it, so that makes a small difference this week.

I went to the gym this morning and was only going to do 35 minutes on the bike as I have been doing, but challenged myself, and added the fit fix equipment that is at GoodLife. There are lots of machines, and I did 2 x 12 reps of each of the machines. I think I was there for at least 90 minutes. So I am happy about that. Since it is Sunday, there weren't many people about, so I took my time and made sure I did the exercises properly. It made me realise that my left shoulder continues to be weak from the surgery I had in 2010.

Day 17

• Breakfast: Spring mix salad with egg salad
• Snack: Raw cashews, dates
• Lunch: Tuna salad, veggies
• Dinner: Vegetarian shepherds pie, (veggies, aduki beans, sweet potato)

Day 16

I slept in this morning, which is a first in a long time. I lazed around for an hour before getting up. Then after breakfast I watched a webcast that I had signed up for and it gave me some great ideas for using templates/masks/stencils. I may try it this weekend if I can get my paper covered table cleared up!

I shopped for a few groceries today, I also need to get some more protein powder for smoothies.

I will likely do the majority of my meal preparations tomorrow.

I was supposed to go to a live comedy show pilot as an audience member, but I cancelled as it ran from 5 to 10 pm and I know that would interfere with my meals and hunger. It's a shame as I could have used a laugh!

It's Earth Hour Day, so lights out for an hour tonight.

And it is my niece's daughters 4th birthday today, Happy Birthday Talia.

Day 16

• Breakfast: Eggs, sweet potato and onion hash, friend tomatoes
• Snack: Greek yogourt, banana
• Lunch: Spring mix, veggies, egg salad, (made with homemade mayo, YUM!)
• Dinner: Veggie soup with a handful of cashews
• Snack: Pistachios 

Day 15

I was tired again yesterday so didn't get round to posting here. So this is what I ate yesterday.

Day 15

• Breakfast: Eggs, Spinach, onions
• Snack: Greek yogourt, banana
• Lunch: Butternut squash soup, field greens, veggies, tuna salad
• Dinner: Fish, broccoli, asparagus, brussel sprouts, butternut squash
• Snack: cashews, banana.