I lasted a whopping 19 days before breaking the streak on my Whole30. It’s not something I’m proud of. I wished I had made it the full 30 days. However, in the end, I am proud of the fact I beat my previous record for eating ‘whole’ foods for consecutive meals. I wish it could have been the full 30, but that is what it is. Now, I’m focusing on a new fitness challenge. I will be unveiling it shortly. Gonna be a hard one.
Whole30
Not to give this too much press or nothing, but I am going on a new WHOLE 30 starting tomorrow! After Vacation, I thought a switch off Slow Carb would be fun to keep this weight loss effort interesting. Stand by for ultra depressing rage filled blog posts!
Fail. It happens. Happens to me A LOT! This 2nd Round of WHOLE 30 was a complete and utter FAIL. So, I am starting over. Starting over from SCRATCH as of Saturday June 1st. This means I will have a NEW completion date for Round 2 on June 30th. Fairly round number. This means that just in time for my vacation I’ll have done another Whole 30, and this time without a big fail.
This Round Never got off on the right track with a lot of celebrations and family visits, but that’s just my own excuses talking. Realistically, I just relaxed too much. The success of round 1, made me feel invincible, and that’s not the point of the exercise. The point is to make solid food choices that aren’t based on re-warding myself emotionally or soothing myself emotionally with poor food.
Today is a GREAT example. Sick kids, sick myself, and my wife wanted me to go get us some lunch. We were all starving. The first choice (where I would have eaten a salad was PACKED with a line out the door. So, I hit up In N’ Out. Not for a Double Double with Fries, but for a Double Double PROTEIN style, with no sauce, no cheese and lots of vegetables. I left the fries, ketchup and dairy to the wife and kids.
This was a good choice. I have had pretty poor sleep, I felt bad myself, but I did not make a choice to soothe my discomfort with some ‘junk food’. I made a choice to eat within the boundaries that will keep me on the track towards a healthier life style. Sure, NO fast food would have been better, but I had to make a good enough call. Not just GIVE UP and give myself an excuse to make a bad choice nutrition wise.
So, this is me, raising my hand, and saying I failed. I need to be accountable to that fact and to my own goals. Here’s to hoping I can make enough progress to fit into my suit for my Brother In Law’s wedding.
34 Days on the #Whole30 plan was QUITE the undertaking I put myself through. As a veteran of the ups and downs of Slow Carb, going this long without a Cheat Day was my big concern. I was also concerned about how difficult it might be to actually source food ‘on the road’. However, in the end the plan presented the same challenges that any ‘diet’ presented. However, THIS WASN’T about losing weight. This was about learning about my food habits, my viewpoint on food, and understand how I need to change more than just what I eat.
So, you’re probably thinking, “Fat Ass, is just saying all that because he didn’t lose any weight, FAIL!” No, I did lose weight. In fact here’s what I lost.
- Weight – 287Lbs (down 7 lbs)
- Chest – 48.5 inches (down 1 inch)
- Waist – 50 inches (down 1 .5 inches)
- Hips – 45.5 inches (down .5 inch)
- Biceps – 17 inches (no change)
- Thighs – 28 inches (no change)
- Neck – 17 inches (no change)
Pretty solid 30 Days, if I do say so myself. Lost 7 lbs and a total of 3 inches off my frame. So, yes, if you’re reading this and thinking, “Maybe I should do Whole 30,” I won’t discourage from doing so. It definitely works. And you learn a LOT about yourself.
What did I learn? Well, I learned I cheat with little to know thought, which was scary. What I mean by that is, despite ANY resolve, andy PUBLIC statement of my intent, when left to myself in certain situations, I cheat. How many times did I cheat in whole 30? Well, let’s say you eat 4 meals a day. 3 squares and a snack in there. For Whole 30, I had 136 meals. That was 136 attempts at eating clean. I ate clean 89% of the time, the other 11% I was didn’t eat clean. So, as I went along I started to chart the reasons I cheated. This may be interesting for you, because you may notice the same pressure points for yourself.
- I will cheat when I am mentally stressed.
- I will cheat when I am in a hurry (Drive Thru Dilema)
- I will cheat when I am happy (especially around friends)
- I will cheat when I feel accomplished.
- I will cheat when I am angry or frustrated.
- I will cheat when I am physically exhausted (post work outs for example).
- I will cheat when I am sad.
This became clear to me, because I picked (deliberately) a stressful month to do the Whole 30. I picked the MOST stressful time at work, and (unforeseen by me) a fairly stressful time for my family due to illnesses, etc. So, what did I learn. I learned that when I’m calm and focused, I can make the right food choice fairly easily. When I’m in any of the states above, it is difficult to get enough clarity to make the right choices. This means ultimately, I have to do a better job at pre-planning my choices for food so I don’t end up getting into a tough spot. For example, if I know to go to X Restaurant and order Y meal, for lunch before I hit the, “I’m hungry” moment, I’ll be putting myself in a better position to succeed, and I can find the calm of knowing (even when I’m stressed) what I am going to do for food. But I need to be actively PLANNING these choices, and considering what meetings I am in before, I go etc. Really important for me to know ahead of time what I am doing for good, as my state of mind in that moment is not predictable.
I also learned I have cravings, bad bad bad cravings. Here were the top crave offenders during my time on the Whole 30.
- Sour Dough Toast
- Sushi
- The Breakfast Burrito from Lucky Boys
- White Potatoes (French Fries, especially)
- Cheese burgers
- Pizza
- Ice Cream
- Donuts.
- Rueben Sandwiches
- Beer
I’m still trying to pick up the reasons I crave these foods so much, but clearly it’s not about nutrition, it’s more about some sort of emotional connection I have to these foods as well as probably being hungry in that moment for carbohydrates, as most of these involved starchy carbs. However, to be honest, I didn’t feel light headed or cranky during this entire Whole 30 in any way. That’s a nice transition to….
“How did I feel while on Whole 30?” I felt GREAT! I slept better, I had more clarity of mind, more focus. In general I felt over-all more emotionally stable. I also felt I stayed more focused on the here and now. I was not looking for the NEXT THING to be interested in to distract my mind, I could enjoy the simplest things more, like rolling on the floor with my new baby girl, or watching my son as he played on his jungle gym. The smallest things in my life brought me a lot more joy.
I had this same experience on Slow Carb, but strict clean Paleo brought all of that to a new level. It was if I sharpened the blade of my mind and spirit even further that I had before. That refinement of focus actually came in handy as my Critical Thinking and Decision making processes were put under the gun multiple times a day during the month. So, that was very helpful. I can contrast that to my first day off yesterday, where I had some of my craving foods as a ‘reward’. I woke up this morning feeling like I had slept a few hours, and spent the whole night sparring with Jon Jones. Some reward. I felt sluggish this morning, and it took me over an hour to type up this blog. So, there you go.
Also, fundamentally seeking out Organic, Clean and Local foods as my primary source of food was not only fun, but healing in some ways. I developed a stronger connection and consciousness to and around my food. I began to see it more as fuel for my body, mind and spirit and not something to get done so I can move on to the next challenge. I was much more critical of what I invested my money into as well. Why would you buy a FAST FOOD hamburger for $4.00 dollars when an organic piece of fruit costs less and satisfies you more. I also discovered foods I had forgotten like sweet potatoes. Lord, do I love me some yams. Many of these lessons, I learned in the last few years, but they became more vibrant, more important on Whole 30. And I think that’s really key. Sure it is WHAT you eat, but the Quality of that food plays such a huge role in feeding your body what it really needs.
So, what now? Well, after taking two days off to reflect (and eat pizza), starting Monday May 6th, I will start a second Whole 30 Friday May 7th. Yep, I’m going right back into the fire again, and this time, I’m striving to be even cleaner than I was the last time. If you want to join me, feel free. It will change everything for you.
Well, I have learned a LOT about myself doing this #Whole30. As a reminder, I’ve stripped dairy, sugar, grains, heavily processed foods, alcohol and soy out of my diet for 30 days. I only drink water and 1 cup of coffee. This is basically super strict Paleo. The focus is to understand my eating ‘habits’ not lose weight. And I have learned a lot about my choices.
I am 100% an emotional binge eater, there’s no doubt about it. What does this mean?
When I am having a good time, especially with friends, all my dedication goes out the window. Case in point, Birthday party for a friend at my house. We got pizza, cake, ice cream, beer… I got a salad. I ate the salad. I then ate pizza, beer, ice cream, cake… disaster/epic fail.
When I’m STRESSED/SAD/FRUSTRATED all my dedication goes out the window. Case in point, last Friday, alone, tired, hungry and stressed. I went to a restaurant and ordered… Ruben Sandwich with French Fries. Disaster/epic fail.
How do I handle this moving forward? I think better meal planning is key for me. If I have a choice ahead of time, then I don’t make the choice based on emotion. When I can master that, I can master healthy nutrition.
How do I feel on this program? I wake up Hungry every morning, and I can understand my hunger more clearly now. This is key. I feel that when I hit meal time, I NEED to eat, whereas before, I would thing… oh, I should probably eat it’s lunch time.
Also, what I’ve noticed more importantly is my clarity and focus of mind while eating this clean. I get a LOT more accomplished, without getting to BRAIN DRAIN. Case in point, in my later stumble, after I had the sandwich and fries, I came back to work and just felt awful for the rest of the day. Simple, clean eating helps my brain in a major way.
So, now I’m over the half way point, I’m in the 2nd half. 15 more days to go!
I spoke about HOW angry and confused I was yesterday, and apparently it’s NOT uncommon for folks doing something like the WHOLE 30 to experience Third Day ANGER! I was speaking with my old trainer, Brook Purdy, via facebook, and she pointed out she did something similar and around day 3, she just had this irrational anger. My poor wife, who by default is doing this with me expressed the same bewilderment about how she felt yesterday.
“I was so mad at you, why is Mick doing this stupid DIET!” she said to herself.
However, today I’ve reached some sort of crossing point. I feel terrific. Absolutely 100% happy and well. I have energy. I have clarity of mind. Now, granted I had a cup of BP coffee and a wonderful breakfast of eggs, leeks, spinach and avocado, so I’m flying high on healthy fats right now… but I think this all has something to do with HOW CLEAN my diet is right now. I feel as good as I felt back in 2011 when I switched to SLOW CARB. It’s amazing.
So, to all of you starting Whole 30, the first three days suck rust off a trailer hitch, but hang in there. Day Four can be amazing!
I begin the Whole Food Challenge on March 31st. 30 days later, I’ll end it. So, every journey has a beginnig, and I have a starting line. I’m going to provide you with my STATS as of Saturday before my last Slow Carb Cheat Day. It was actually a positive results week. I’ll show you why.
- Weight – 294 Lbs (down 3 lbs)
- Chest – 49.5 inches (down .5 inches)
- Waist – 51.5 inches (down .5 inches)
- Hips – 45 inches (no change)
- Biceps – 17 inches (no change)
- Thighs – 28 inches (no change)
- Neck – 17 inches (no change)
- NIKE FUEL BAND SCORE: 15167
- FITOCRACY: 0 (that’s no bueno)
So, I lost three pounds from the measurements a few weeks back until now. So, all in all that’s good news. That means heading into #Whole30 I should be on a roll. The reality here though is that this CHALLENGE is NOT about weight loss. Sure, I hope I drop some weight, but this 30 day period is more about trying something different and taking stock with HOW I FEEL on this program, and less about RESULTS. so, I’m excited to take this big step. Updates will follow.
After a lot of research and soul searching, I have decided to focus on a change to my diet. This may come as a bit of a shock, as most people have probably come to my blog due to the fact I’ve been on SLOW CARB for about two years. However, while I’ve apppreciated SLOW CARB and everything it has done for me, I was encouraged by none other than Tim Ferris during his recent appearance on THE FAT BURNING MAN podcast to consider making a switch. During the podcast, he described how folks had told him that the Slow Carb diet was a great Pre-Cursor for more difficult body experimentation and diet plans, specifically this was linked to PALEO. That statement lead me to a lot of thinking over the past few months.
I have been toying with the idea of going PALEO for quite some time, but didn’t know how I wanted to make a switch, until I heard Melissa from Clothes Make the Girl talk about doing the Whole 30 challenge (once again) on THE FAT BURNING MAN podcast. After some research, I decided that this was the way to accomplish a few things:
- First, explore PALEO, which is very similar to Slow Carb.
- Second, EAT INCREDIBLY CLEAN for a prolonged period of time.
- Third, eliminate all questionable food from my diet, even the healthy stuff so I can understand how I feel, as I work them back in.
The reality is that for about four months, I’ve hovered between 290 and 295 with little to no change. I’ve done the homework. Slow Carb has potentially run its course with me. I have cut out Diet Soda and All Sodas from my diet. I’m exercising a minimum of twice a week if not three times a week, so I should be losing more FAT with steady muscle mass gains. I have to do something more challenging to re-kick start my body, very much the way Slow Carb kick started me to loosing 40 lbs of FAT and gaining 10 pounds of muscle in 2011 as I was prepping for Obstacle Racing.
Hopefully, the Whole 30 will provide me with a renewed sense of purpose and drive as I negotiate the tight turns of a very challenging 30 days. I will start March 30 and I will end April 29th. The hard part? No more Cheat Days during this entire run. That will be rough. However, in the end, I think the data and the experience will be well worth it.
So, here are the rules straight from the website!
- Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
- Do not consume alcohol, in any form, not even for cooking. (And it should go without saying, but no tobacco products of any sort, either.)
- Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. Yes, we said corn… for the purposes of this program, corn is a grain! This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
- Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
- Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
- Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
- Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it’s best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes off your plate.
- In addition, no Paleo-ifying dessert or junk food choices. Trying to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold will ruin your program faster than you can say, “Paleo pizza.” This means no desserts or junk food made with “approved” ingredients—no coconut-flour pancakes, almond-flour muffins, flourless brownies, or coconut milk ice cream. Don’t try to replicate junk food during your 30 days! That misses the point of the Whole30 entirely.
- One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer. So, no weighing yourself, analyzing body fat or taking comparative measurements duringyour Whole30. (We do encourage you to weigh yourself before and after, however, so you can see one of the more tangible results of your efforts when your program is over.)
If you click that link, above it takes you to the website if you want to do it as well. By the WAY, this means NO measurements for an ENTIRE MONTH! That’s right, I won’t be tweeting out weekly results. AT ALL! I’ll be doing one last PREP Results this Saturday as usual to establish my Bench mark for the start up on Sunday. I WILL be doing weekly VLOGS over at the YOUTUBE CHANNEL as I go along, so you can check in on my progress! Join me, your support is always helpful. And your TIPS are always welcome.