Life after Whole30 – days 1-10

Day 1 – 31/10/15 – I was planning a day off as I was going to a party at my sister’s, but in the end I ate fairly compliantly. My digestion was still bad.

• Breakfast – egg, mince, sauerkraut, pear
• Lunch: egg, mince, caramelised onions
• Dinner: Half jacket potato with cheese and onion topping, 1 spoon chilli, 1 frankfurter

Day 2 – 01/11/15 – today was my official cheat day of the week and I went quite overboard with chocolate.

• Breakfast: Bacon, egg, tomato, ham.
• Lunch: 1 bag Reese’s pieces, 15 treatsize Cadbury’s fudge, chocolate orange
• Dinner: Roasted onions, pork crackling, 1 chocolate chip cookie

Day 3 – 02/11/15 – I had really strong cravings for sweets today, and even went to eat another cookie when I got home, but fortunately my husband had taken them all to work.

• Breakfast: egg, mince, sauerkraut
• Lunch: 5-spice pork, cauliflower rice, artichoke, caramelised onion
• Dinner: 5-spice pork, cauliflower mash, almond cups

Day 4 – 03/11/15 – I had bought some chocolates to give to someone on 2 Nov, but she wasn’t around, so I ate them all throughout the afternoon of 3 Nov.

• Breakfast: egg, mince, sauerkraut
• Lunch: 5-spice pork, cauliflower rice, artichoke, caramelised onion
• Dinner: Box of Quality Street, two almond cups.

Day 5 – 04/11/15 – this was meant to be my official cheat day of the week and again I went overboard, despite having already cheated on other days.

• Breakfast: egg, mince, sauerkraut
• Lunch: Beef goulash, chopped carrots and cucumber with hummus, 8 biscuits
• Snack: Fruit and nut mix (included sugared almonds)
• Dinner: 2 almond croissants, 4 chocolate ring doughnuts, 1 bag Reese’s pieces

Day 6 – 05/11/15 – I had bought the salad while out of the office on 4 Nov but didn’t eat it, so had it for lunch on 5 Nov. It had breadcrumbs. I made brownies in the afternoon, with dark chocolate and coconut palm sugar. My stomach felt terrible while I was at work and was making loud noises all afternoon.

• Breakfast: 5-spice pork, cauliflower rice, artichoke, caramelised onion
• Lunch: Chicken katsu salad
• Dinner: Cracklin’ chicken, brownies

Day 7 – 06/11/15

• Breakfast: egg, mince, gherkins, sauerkraut, brownies
• Lunch: pork, cauliflower rice, cracklin’ chicken
• Dinner: Cauliflower mash, cracklin’ chicken

Day 8 – 07/11/15 – I went on an afternoon/evening trip and chose to eat unhealthily while I was there.

• Breakfast: egg, mince, gherkins, sauerkraut, brownies
• Lunch: egg, mince, caramelised onion
• Dinner: Cupcake, half-bag of chocolate jazzies, half-bag of pork scratchings

Day 9 – 08/11/15 – I ended up eating more unhealthy food that I had left over from the previous day.

• Breakfast: egg, mince, gherkins, half-bag of chocolate jazzies, half-bag of pork scratchings
• Lunch: Pork, cauliflower rice, artichokes, caramelised onions
• Dinner: Bag of toffees

Day 10 – 09/11/15

• Breakfast: egg, mince, gherkins, sauerkraut
• Lunch: Kuku paka, cauliflower mash, spinach
• Dinner: can’t remember

I’m really behind on tracking what I’m eating; I think because I just want to gloss over what I’m eating when it’s so unhealthy.

Whole30 days 26-30 October 2015

Day 26 – 26/10/15 – As the clocks went back in the UK, I wanted to retain my wake-up time which had now become 6am. I got up then and my energy was good all day. I was hungrier than usual in the morning. My digestion showed some improvement during the day.

• Breakfast: Eggs, turkey breast, mushrooms, olives, apple
• Lunch: Pork stew, sauerkraut, artichokes, pear
• Dinner: Merguez meatballs and cauliflower rice, paleo chicken

Day 27 – 27/10/15 – I woke up at 6am again and had good energy. My digestion was good in the morning.

• Breakfast: Eggs, turkey breast, mushrooms, olives, pear
• Lunch: Pork stew, sauerkraut, artichokes, apple, pear
• Dinner:Paleo chicken, pork chop, savoy cabbage, avocado, dried fruit.

Day 28 – 28/10/15 -I woke up at 6am again and had good energy. My digestion was poor in the morning, and very noisy throughout the day. so I’m going to assume that dried fruit is a trigger for me and avoid it from now on.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, caramelised onion
• Lunch: Pork stew, sweet potato, savoy cabbage, apple, pear
• Dinner: Mince, cauliflower rice, caramelised onion, olives

Day 29 – 29/10/15 – my energy was good today. My digestion showed some improvement but was still not 100%. I was reallly hungry in the afternoon, but was out straight after work so couldn’t eat until later. I managed to resist. I noticed that my sugar cravings are reduced and at the moment I don’t feel particularly inclined to eat unhealthy food, but I am looking at paleo sweet recipes and planning to make my own chocolate as soon as I can.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, caramelised onion, sauerkraut
• Lunch: Cauliflower rice, mince, caramelised onion, sauerkraut, apple, pear
• Dinner: Cauliflower rice, mince, olives, sauerkraut

Day 30 – 30/10/15 – It took me a while to get to sleep as I was feeling quite stressed about work, so then I was quite tired when the alarm went off and didn’t get up until 6.25am. My digestion was a bit improved but still not great. I was very hungry in the afternoon again, and was working late but managed to wait until hometime to eat.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, caramelised onion
• Lunch: Pork stew, sweet potato, savoy cabbage, apple, pear
• Dinner: Steak, artichokes, olives, mushrooms

So what now? I’ve finished the Whole30 but haven’t got exactly the results I wanted, as it hasn’t solved my digestive problems. At the moment I’m planning to take a day off on 31 October, then start from 1 November with the aim of eating Whole30 six days a week and allowing myself to go offplan on the seventh day. This day would be flexible so that I could tie it in to occasions where sticking to Whole30 is difficult e.g. going for a meal with others who have chosen the restaurant, travelling. I hope this will allow my digestion to recover further, and also avoid the situation I got into before this Whole30, where I was eating ridiculous amounts of chocolate which then led to eating more carbs in general.

Whole30 days 21-25 October 2015

Day 21 – 21/10/15 – A risky day as I was leaving the house at 7.30am and coming home at around 9pm, spending the day with my boss, who likes to buy lunches and cakes. I planned ahead, taking breakfast and lunch with me to eat while travelling, and some fruit and nuts to eat on the way home. I was still suffering with my digestion.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, onions, mushrooms, olives
• Lunch: Carnitas, kale, sweet potato, apple
• Dinner: chicken and guacamole salad, grapes, fruit, nuts, steak

Day 22 – 22/10/15 – I dreamed about eating non-compliant foods so I’m apparently at the timeline stage of days 12-15. I’m not particularly experiencing any cravings though. My digestion is still quite bad but seems slightly improved from last week.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, onions, mushrooms, olives
• Lunch: Carnitas, kale, sweet potato
• Dinner: fruit and nuts

Day 23 – 23/10/15 – Still the same digestion problems. I’m getting a cold and found myself craving chocolate, which could also be because I was working from home and that seems to be a trigger for mindless eating.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, caramelised onions, olives, apple
• Lunch: Turkey steaks, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, spices
• Dinner: Paleo fried chicken (with coconut flour), merguez meatballs, cauliflower rice

Day 24 – 24/10/15 – Another risky day as I was going on a trip (part work/part leisure). I’d be leaving the house at 7.30am, out all day and getting home at around 8pm. As before, I planned ahead and took breakfast and a snack with me. My digestion was quite bad again.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, onions, mushrooms, olives
• Lunch:Carnitas, kale, sweet potato, apple, pear, dried fruit mix
• Dinner: Paleo fried chicken

Day 25 – 25/10/15 – I ate a lot in the morning and then was really bloated in the afternoon and ended up not eating dinner. I’m really hoping the last five days of the Whole30 show a better result for me than the previous ten days have.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, onions, mushrooms, olives, meatballs and cauliflower rice
• Lunch: Pork stew, sauerkraut, dried fruit mix
• Dinner: I skipped dinner

Whole30 days 16-20 October 2015

Day 16 – 16/10/15 – I slept well and had good energy during the day. My digestion was bad and I experienced lots of bloating in the afternoon and evening. I was a bit disheartened after doing Whole30 for over two weeks already, then I realised that I must be at the stage of Day 8-9 on the Whole30 timeline. In my previous Whole30s, I haven’t had an experience which closely mirrored the timeline but I have hit certain stages at different points, and I suppose this is what’s happening here. I had gone very much “off the wagon” before starting this Whole30 and had been eating more carbs than usual and a lot more sugar than usual, so I suppose this is why it’s taking a long time to reset my system.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, onions
• Lunch: Italian pork, red cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli
• Dinner: Pork chop, spring greens, lime and olive oil dressing

Day 17 – 17/10/15 – I slept well and woke up naturally, with good energy all day. My digestion was still bad with lots of bloating, but better than Day 16.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, sauerkraut, avocado
• Lunch: Pork chop, spring greens, mayo, apple
• Dinner: Cracklin’ chicken

Day 18 – 18/10/15 – I slept really well and woke up naturally, with good energy all day. My digestion was quite bad again.

• Breakfast: Cracklin’ chicken, artichokes, mixed fruit and nuts
• Lunch: Pork crackling
• Dinner: Mixed fruit and nuts, apple, carnitas

Day 19 – 19/10/15 – My digestion is still bad and I’m not sure why, I feel like I should be experiencing some Whole30 benefits by now and instead I’m almost back to square 1. My energy is good, at least.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, leeks
• Lunch: Carnitas, kale, roasted cashews
• Dinner: Carnitas, sweet potato, rosemary, dried fruit and nuts, apple

Day 20 – 20/10/15 – Still digestion problems, I can’t understand it since I’m not eating any of the usual triggers. I’m starting to think it must be the dried fruit and nuts, which is a problem as they’re an ideal food to travel with and I’m not sure what I could replace them with.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, leeks, apple
• Lunch: Carnitas, kale, sweet potato, apple, roasted cashews
• Dinner: steak, artichokes, avocado

Whole30 days 11-15 October 2015

Day 11 – 11/10/15 – I slept well and wasn’t woken up early for a change! My energy and digestion were both good. My skin has cleared up since last week. I didn’t feel very hungry again.

• Breakfast: I got up late so I skipped breakfast
• Lunch: Roast chicken homemade mayo, kale, strawberries, dessicated coconut
• Dinner: Some pork and rind, apple

Day 12 – 12/10/15 –

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, green beans
• Lunch: Italian pork, red cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, apple
• Dinner: Pork, roast chicken, mayo

Day 13 – 13/10/15 – I slept well but was woken up early so a bit tired after that. My digestion was good. I was offered free cake in the evening but found it easy to turn down.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, green beans
• Lunch: Italian pork, red cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli
• Dinner: Apple

Day 14 – 14/10/15 – I slept really well and woke up naturally, with good energy all day. My digestion was also good. I was offered free chocolate and biscuits at work but resisted them quite easily.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, green beans
• Lunch: Italian pork, red cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, pear
• Snack: 3 dates, large handful mixed nuts and raisins
• Dinner: Pork chop, rocket, avocado, artichokes, mayo

Day 15 – 15/10/15 – I woke up a few times in the night and so got up later than usual; maybe because it was cold. However, my energy was good for the rest of the day. I was offered free sandwiches at work but had no interest in them. My digestion was average.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, onion, avocado
• Lunch: Italian pork, red cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, pear
• Dinner: Mince, caramelised onions, sauerkraut

Whole30 days 6-10 October 2015

Strawberries

Day 6 – 06/10/15 – I had a lot of bloating from lunchtime onwards and my stomach was very noisy. This does tend to happen for me during the first week of Whole30. My energy was good.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, pepper, shallots
• Lunch: Roast chicken beetroot, homemade mayo, kale, potatoes
• Dinner: Steak, kale, olives, avocado

Day 7 – 07/10/15 – I slept well but was woken up early, so energy was correspondingly affected. I was very bloated all afternoon and evening.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, pepper, shallots
• Lunch: Roast chicken, beetroot, mayo, kale, potatoes
• Dinner: steak and mushroom salad (in a pub, no dressing).

Day 8- 08/10/15 – I was unusually tired in the morning and late evening, and I was very bloated again. I had an unexpected lunch out with my boss and went slightly off-plan. However, I’m just going to carry on as I think that’s better for me than giving up.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, pepper, shallots
• Lunch: Feta, butternut squash and sundried tomato salad (I ate half the feta and I forgot to ask for no dressing so I’m not sure what was in that).
• Dinner:Steak, lambs lettuce, mayo

Day 9 – 09/10/15 – I slept well but was woken early. My energy was reasonable. My digestion was great. I had some sugar cravings which were quite fleeting.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, pepper, shallots, pear
• Lunch: Roast chicken, beetroot, mayo, kale, potatoes
• Dinner: Roast chicken, potatoes, lambs lettuce, mayo

Day 10 – 10/10/15 – I slept well but was woken up early. My energy was good in the morning but I had a tiredness slump in the afternoon. My digestion was poor in the morning but good the rest of the day. I didn’t have any cravings and was easily able to resist things like pastries and Terry’s chocolate orange on offer at the supermarket, and fresh bread my husband brought home. I also noticed that I was really not hungry at all in the evening.

• Breakfast: Eggs, mince, pepper, shallots, caramelised onions
• Lunch: Roast chicken, kale, lambs lettuce, potatoes, mayo, avocado
• Dinner: Strawberries, dessicated coconut, mayo (I didn’t add salt this time, so it works as a cream substitute as well)

Whole30 days 1-5 October 2015

I started on 1 October 2015, after a couple of months of being very much off the wagon and not careful about what I was eating. In fact, I was deliberately eating lots of chocolate, sugar and carbs, and also travelled to a few different places where I was eating in a group and sometimes carby things like pasta or sandwiches were the only things offered by our hosts. At the end of September, I was feeling bloated, had stomach ache and digestive problems, had put on a lot of weight, was tired, with sleeping problems and had some skin breakouts. Over August and September, I had also had an unusually high number of coldsores and wasn’t sure if this was also related to excessive sugar consumption.

Day 1 – 01/10/15

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, mince, caramelised onions, pepper
• Lunch: Steak, marinated artichokes, kale, pear, apple
• Dinner: Steak, artichoke, onions, kale

Day 2 – 02/10/15 – I was working from home, which usually makes me feel a bit more tempted to eat, so I had some sugar cravings.However, I was able to resist them. My digestion felt better and my energy levels were good. I took a long time to get to sleep but slept straight through the night.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, mince, sauerkraut, olive oil, salt
• Lunch: Steak, olives, pickled red cabbage, kale, caramelised onions, pear
• Dinner: Belly pork (outdoor-bred), fish sauce, lemongrass, cinnamon, ginger, chili, baked kale

Day 3 – 03/10/15 – I was going out for lunch but expected to be able to find something compliant. My digestion felt ok and I wasn’t particularly hungry. I went supermarket shopping but wasn’t tempted to go down the sweet aisle. I was quite tired in the afternoon, but this is probably not related to Whole30 as I’ve been very busy and also not sleeping well due to travel lately.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, mince, sauerkraut, caramelised onions, olive oil, salt
• Lunch: Steak salad: steak, lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, new potatoes (I suspect they may have had butter on), no dressing.
• Dinner:Steak, kale, homemade mayonnaise, apple

Day 4 – 04/10/15 – I slept well and my energy was good. My digestion was generally ok. I didn’t feel hungry or have any sugar cravings.

• Breakfast: eggs, mince, sauerkraut, olive oil, salt
• Lunch: Steak, kale, homemade mayonnaise, avocado
• Dinner: Pork carnitas, beetroot, homemade mayo, kale

Day 5 – 05/10/15 – I was woken up during the night and early in the morning and my energy was correspondingly lower than usually. I then got a coldsore, which also explained the energy drop. My digestion was not great all day and I was very bloated in the afternoon.

• Breakfast: eggs, mince, peppers, shallots
• Lunch: beetroot, pistachios, potatoes, pork carnitas, mayonnaise
• Dinner: apple, steak, shallots, mayo, kale

Whole20 – days 6-10

Day 6 – 22/07/15 – My lunch was a bit small today and I was very hungry by the time I got home from work. I also wanted something sugary and ended up eating a lot of dates. Apart from that, I felt good, with reasonable energy despite a 4.30am wake-up call.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, pepper, gherkins (muffin-shaped)
• Lunch: Chicken breast, coconut milk, plum tomatoes, mixed vegetables and spices, apple
• Dinner: chicken breast, marinated artichokes, olives, avocado, caramelised onions, several handfuls of dates, canteloupe.

Day 7 – 23/07/15 – Another small lunch, and I went out straight after work so I felt a bit hungry, but other than that a steady day with few cravings and good energy.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, pepper, gherkins (muffin-shaped)
• Lunch: Chicken breast, coconut milk, plum tomatoes, mixed vegetables and spices, two apples.
• Dinner: Chicken breast, coconut milk, plum tomatoes, mixed vegetables and spices, steak

Day 8 – 24/07/15 – I was aware going into the Whole20 that this would be a non-compliance danger day as I had an all-day work meeting with my new team, off-site, with a standard work lunch booked. I ended up eating loads of non-compliant food during the day, leading to more sugar cravings in the evening. I even went to the shop with the intention of getting another chocolate orange for £1, but fortunately for me they had put the price up to £1.95 so I didn’t bother. For the whole evening I had terrible bloating and stomach discomfort, so that’s a clear sign that this kind of food is no good for me. Anyway, day 8 was a complete fail, but rather than starting again I just carried on with day 9, as psychologicallyl it felt better to ignore day 8 as a blip, and in health terms it’s better to carry on for another 12 days than just give up.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, pepper, gherkins (muffin-shaped)
• Snack: 9(!) biscuits (they came in packs of three)
• Lunch: 4 chicken goujons, 2 samosas, 1 pakora, 2 ham and cheese mini-wraps, 1 sausage roll, 1 piece of fruit cake, 6 macaroons, 1 piece watermelon, 2 strawberries, 1 bunch black grapes.
• Dinner: steak, caramelised onions, canteloupe

Day 9 – 25/07/15.- Today was hard, after eating sugar on day 8 all the cravings were reawoken on day 9. I went to a nearby city where I only go every few months and felt really tempted to buy sweet things there, under the guise of being unlikely to eat them again for the next few months. Luckily I was able to tell myselfl that the shops and restaurants I was looking at would still be there next time I go, and I didn’t need to try what I was looking at exactly on day 9. I also went past the chocolate orange aisle at the supermarket, but prices were up in that aisle as well. Apart from the sugar cravings, I didn’t feel particularly hungry

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, banana, caramelised onions, olive oil
• Lunch: chicken breast, marinated artichokes, olives
• Dinner: Belly pork, fish sauce, orange juice, ginger, chilli, garlic powder, 2 apples

Day 10 – 26/07/15 – Another day of bad sugar cravings, and being alone in the house all day, in the cold and rainy weather, I ended up caving and going to the nearby shop to buy lots of chocolate-y junk food, which I then ate most of. I felt guilty even while I was eating it, and it wasn’t very tasty, so I can’t say I got a lot out of it. I just felt really compelled to eat it. I can see I still have some work to do on my cravings and on why I eat chocolate and sugar, because it’s rarely to do with enjoyment and often in spite of the fact that I’m not really enjoying it.

• Breakfast: 3 eggs, belly pork, onion, olive oil
• Lunch: Fat from roast lamb joint, canteloupe
• Dinner: chocolate caramel slices, chocolate brownies

Whole20 – days 1-5

I’ve decided to try a Whole20 leading up to my birthday at the beginning of August. Over June and July, I’ve done some travelling and had some meals out, and have ended up eating lots of sugar and some carbs as well on some occasions. It’s not doing me any good so I’d like to take a break, with a view to doing another Whole30 in October (as I’m aware of some travel coming up in September). There is one day next week when I have lunch organised through work so I’m not sure if anything compliant will be available, but apart from that I should be ok.

Day 1 – 17/07/15 – .I was tempted to eat chocolate a few times but it seems to be much easier not to eat chocolate when I’ve told myself that I’m doing WholeXX.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, pepper
• Lunch: frying steak, avocado, sweet potato, apple
• Dinner: frying steak, courgette noodles, tomato

Day 2 – 18/07/15 – I felt fine today, not too hungry, not too chocolate-cravy. I even went into a shop selling my nemesis, chocolate oranges for £1, and felt a momentary sadness that I was missing a bargain, but wasn’t really tempted.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, mushrooms, banana (a random addition since it needed using up), olive oil
• Lunch: steak, courgette noodles, tomato
• Dinner: steak, courgette noodles, onions, fish sauce, ginger, lemongrass, fresh orange juice

Day 3 – 19/07/15 – Last night I dreamt I was eating non-compliant things and feeling bad about it! Today I felt really hungry for most of the day, not particularly for non-compliant foods, but hungry very shortly after I’d just eaten.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, mushrooms, pickled red cabbage, gherkins, olive oil
• Lunch: 4 cracklin’ chicken thighs, sauerkraut, apple
• Dinner: pork loin steak, avocado, canteloupe

Day 4 – 20/07/15.- I had another very hungry day, and was also really bloated and uncomfortable all day. I suppose this is all the sugar and carbs from last week leaving my system.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, pepper, gherkins
• Lunch: 1 cracklin’ chicken thigh, sweet potato, avocado, gherkins, olives, apple
• Snack: cashew nuts
• Dinner: 2 pork loin steaks, artichokes, courgette noodles, caramelised onions, beef mince, two coriander chicken drumsticks

Day 5 – 21/07/15 – Last night I dreamt I was eating biscuits again. Despite that, I felt good today, not too hungry, not with any particular cravings

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, beef mince, pepper, gherkins
• Lunch:1 cracklin’ chicken thigh, sweet potato, avocado, gherkins, olives, apple
• Dinner: two coriander chicken drumsticks, caramelised onions, leftover eggs from what I was making for breakfast for the rest of the week

Whole30 – days 26-30

The final stretch! I was not sure if I’d make it to the end since I’d be flying overseas on day 29 and at meetings on day 30, where I might not have a lot of choice in what I ate (as there would be lunch and dinner organised by the hosts which I would need to attend and if they picked e.g. a pizza place I would struggle to find something Whole30-compliant).

Day 26 – 01/06/15 – energy good, digestion bad in the morning but improved, quite hungry in the afternoon.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, mushrooms, pepper, beef mince
• Lunch: Chicken with tomato and coriander sauce, courgette noodles
• Dinner: beef mince, 1 egg, sriracha, sauerkraut, artichokes

Day 27 – 02/06/15 – in London for work, but at an event where lunch is not provided so I could take compliant food with me. Energy good, digestion bad in the morning but better throughout the day. I’m not sure where to go now with digestion, it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of foods left for me to cut out!

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, mushrooms, pepper, beef mince
• Lunch: Chicken with tomato and coriander sauce, courgette noodles
• Dinner: steak, avocado, pistachio nuts

Day 28 – 03/06/15 0 energy ok, digestion better than the last two days.

• Breakfast: 2 eggs, mushrooms, pepper, beef mince
• Lunch: Chicken with tomato and coriander sauce, courgette noodles
• Dinner:beef mince, sauerkraut, sriracha, olives, 2 eggs, pistachio nuts

Day 29 – 04/06/15 – travel day for my work business trip. I had a 4.15am start so made some egg muffins to eat for breakfast and lunch, as an easily transportable way of staying compliant so close to the end. I bumped into the other meeting participants when I checked in, but as I had planning to visit some places in the afternoon, I didn’t hang around with them so didn’t get roped into a pre-meeting dinner, which made it easy to stay compliant.

• Breakfast: Egg muffins: 2 eggs, mushrooms, pepper, beef mince
• Lunch: more egg muffins
• Dinner: 1 apple, 1 pear

Day 30 – 05/06/15

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, ham, apple (couldn’t check the meat ingredients but it was as close to compliance as I could get)
• Lunch: Grilled chicken salad (there was some sort of dressing on it which was probably not compliant)
• World cafe: this was an event as part of my work, and the other participants had brought local delicacies with them. I didn’t want to resist homemade Danish smorrebrod or Italian amoretti biscuits, so I ate and enjoyed them, along with licquorice, Spanish cheese and some English biscuits. Whole30 broken, but mindfully.
• Dinner: beef carpaccio, salad, parmesan; pork cheeses with apple and prune, fried potatoes; triple chocolate mousse cake. Once again, I wanted to eat some special food as this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Malta.

Conclusions

1. Whole30 isn’t enough to solve the digestive problems I experience, but it does reduce the frequency and severity.
2. It improves my energy levels.
3. I find it quite easy to stick to on an average day, but difficult when I’m travelling.
4. My sugar cravings reduce, but I still experience psychological cravings for sweet things.
5. As I haven’t been able to finish a complete Whole30 and then try the reintroduction period, I will schedule another Whole30 for a period when I definitely won’t be travelling for at least 40 days (possibly mid-August to end-September).