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Category: Health

One Whole30 Week Down…

Clearly I must just have an aversion to blogging, but at least I’ve been live-tweeting my Whole30 experience! Here are my thoughts from the last few days, shamelessly copy/pasted from Twitter:

  • Whole30 Day 3: when I need to find a new appreciation for black coffee because life without coffee isn’t worth living.
    (I know I said that in my last post, but it was worth re-stating, because it’s that important to me haha).
  • Whole30 Day 4: the carb cravings commence. My kingdom for some pancakes! (I haven’t even had pancakes in months, whyyyy cravings?!)
  • Today and tomorrow are supposed to be the “Kill ALL the things!” days, but so far today I’m not grumpy, just perpetually hungry #whole30
  • Whole30 Day 6: I have a nasty, nasty headache today.
  • (In response to someone asking me for motivational tips): When I feel deprived, I eat bacon ;)
  • Oooh… its a day late according to the timeline, but the “kill ALL the things” phase just kicked in. #badmood #whole30
  • (In response to someone saying I’m making them never want to try Whole30): It gets better. And it’s not like I’m never grumpy otherwise ;) It’s not [fun], but I get amazing results from it. A little suffering builds character.
  • Whole30 Day 7: My kingdom for something that is NOT eggs for breakfast…

So that’s where I am right now. Sick to death of eggs, still missing my coffee, tired and slightly grumpy. The good news is that next week will be better. Also, I really need to get to the gym, but I am remarkably unmotivated to do so lately. Gonna try hard t make myself go this weekend though.

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Whole30 Day 3 Thoughts

Starting a Whole30 on a weekend is rough. It’s the preferred beer-drinking time of week, for starters. Not to mention that there’s just something about playing Pathfinder that makes me crave junk food (I’m pretty sure that’s genetically hardwired into all nerds).

All weekend long, both Kevin and I kept saying, “All I want to eat is things I’m not allowed to have”. I don’t usually start off so discouraged, which is a little bit not-promising for the longevity of this plan.

I started my day today without coffee, which sucks. A day without coffee is a bad day. So I bought an iced Americano while I was grocery shopping and added a little coconut milk to it, and it’s drinkable. I will need to find an appreciation for black coffee if I’m going to stay sane.

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Whole30 Take… 4?

I’ve spoken about wanting to lose weight here before, a long long time ago. What I didn’t speak about (mostly just because I wasn’t blogging at the time) was that about two years ago, I actually lost almost all the weight that I wanted to lose; those last five pounds are still neigh impossible it seems.

I did it by doing CrossFit at a great place down in Beaverton with really friendly people and super helpful coaches. I was there about 3 times a week working up all kinds of sweats and lifting heavy things and having a ton of fun. A few months into being there, I started a Whole30 because I needed to stop eating so badly. I went through the kitchen and got everything that wasn’t Whole30 compliant out of the house, and whilst quitting Starbucks cold turkey was tough, I survived the 30 days and saw great results. After I was done I wished I had blogged it, but I did at least take pictures of much of the food I ate.

After that, I was staying mostly-Paleo for a while, and continued seeing good results. I had lost almost 30 pounds, I had a ton of energy, I was sleeping better, and I wasn’t embarrassed to wear a bikini out in public. I wish that was the end of the story! I wish it almost as much as I wish I was rich.

Shortly after that I met a boy. I love him dearly, he’s awesome and I still have him and plan on keeping him forever and ever, but it turns out our favorite thing to do is eat, and we really love pizza and beer. Sooooooo here I am, two years later, pretty much back at the weight I started at. Ugh! We’ve done a couple Whole30s together during these two years but we’re not diligent about not reverting straight back to really bad habits, nor about going to the gym. Pizza and beer occasionally is great, but we wind up eating all carbs all the time when we’re not paying attention.

So now we’re at today. A couple months ago I started trying to lose weight again but it’s been a little half-hearted. Now it’s time to kick things back into high gear, and we’ll be starting yet another run through 30 days of no processed carbs and no added sugar. I also plan on checking out a couple of the local CrossFit places to see if one is a good match for me, because I really miss it and it works well for me.

This time around though, to help with accountability (and also because it’s kind of a fascinating 30 days), I’ll be blogging some about how it goes. What I eat, how I feel, how tired I am of eggs, whatever strikes my fancy. Probably not daily, but I’ll strive for at least once or twice a week. We’re starting on August 1, and I’m going to try really hard not to gain 3 pounds drinking coffee and eating ice cream before then, but I make absolutely no promises!

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SLIMQUICK Cleanse: Final Review

I know I said I would document it daily for those playing The Home Game, but honestly, there was nothing to report most days. Every other entry would have looked much like Day 3, and wasn’t worth writing home about.

The final tally wound up being 5.6 pounds less than I started at, which isn’t bad at all. I still really think it was all water weight, and noticed the slowdown right at Day 4, which I assume is when I ran out of excess water to drop. Measurements are all about a half inch lower, except stomach which is a full inch lower. Not really a visible difference but not a bad start.

I don’t know that I can confidently say that the SLIMQUICK Cleanse had much, if anything to do with this though… I honestly think that drinking a lot of water (which I am notorious for not having done before starting this program) and eating reasonable food did it all. I’m going to hit all the points that The Cleanse says it helps:

1. Eliminate TOXINS: SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients which help eliminate toxins from the digestive tract.  Toxin elimination is a key process in any cleansing or detoxifying regime.

It’s hard to comment on this specific point. What do toxins look like when they vacate the premises? How do you feel after? I don’t feel any cleaner… *shrug* No ideas on this one.

2. Increase METABOLISM: An increase in metabolic rate helps contribute towards weight loss by increasing calories burned throughout the day. SLIMQUICK cleanse contains clinically researched key ingredients to boost metabolism.

Another one that’s hard to comment on, as you can’t really *feel* your metabolism. Can’t really weigh the weight loss results against anything either as I drank more water and ate less calories while my metabolism was “faster” so there’s no way to measure this claim.

3. Improve functions of DIGESTIVE TRACT: SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients to help with daily functioning of the digestive tract as well as ingredients to help promote a healthy intestinal flora.  Healthy intestinal flora is central to the functioning of the digestive tract.

My digestive tract did not seem improved. More on that in Point 5, which may be a bit TMI.

4. Increase ENERGY: Increased energy expenditure or calorie burning through physical activity is a key factor in any weight-loss program. SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients shown to elevate one’s energy levels.  By increasing energy, women are able to get through their busy days and still have energy to undertake regular physical exercise and maintain an active lifestyle.

Not at all. I felt just as tired the whole time I was on the cleanse than I did before it… moreso on some days. I even cheated one day and had a cup of coffee in the morning and was still not more energized.

5. Cleanse the COLON: SLIMQUICK cleanse contains ingredients which have been shown to help increase one’s ability to achieve effective bowel functions by increasing the frequency of bowel movements and improving the efficiency of the colon.

NO. No, this did not happen at all. If anything, I pooped less than I usually do. I feel rather constipated and would love nothing more than to have an “effective bowel function” right about now. The only effect SLIMQUICK Cleanse had on my poop was making it softer (which wasn’t necessary, my poop was not rock hard thx), smaller and stinkier. I think I’m more backed up now than I was before.

6. Balance BLOOD SUGAR: SLIMQUICK cleanse is designed with ingredients to help balance blood sugar (glucose) and promote healthy blood glucose homeostasis. It is important to maintain blood glucose homeostasis for overall maintenance of bodyweight and good health.

This point, however, I am more than happy to give them. I am inclined to say that it did help stabilize my blood sugar, as I didn’t get dizzy when I got hungry, which happens to me often. My blood sugar has been known to tank with no warning, leaving me feeling horrible on top of being hungry. This did not seem to happen during my cleanse. I was, however, chronically hungry all week.

So, over all, it seems like many of these claims are not really measurable. I did lose 5 pounds during the week long cleanse and am very happy about that, but I just don’t know that I believe the Cleanse had anything to do with that. Drink plenty of water and eat reasonably, and I suspect those first 5 pounds will come off easily… if it works like I think it does you’ll simply pee them away. In a nutshell: I wouldn’t do it again.. at least, not without trying the water-and-healthy-food thing first, to have something to compare to.

I do have the SLIMQUICK Caplets, which I intend to try out starting tomorrow (I really need a break from swallowing ginormous things, ugh!) and will share my thoughts on as they come up. Stay tuned.

SLIMQUICK Cleanse series: Intro · Day 1 · Day 2 · Day 3 · Final Review

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SLIMQUICK Cleanse: Day 3

Morning weigh-in: 153.2 (down 2.6 from yesterday; 4.4 total) <—wow…

I skipped the Rise and Shine Liver Flush today… I just can’t do the warm lemonade today. Stomach says “do it and die, woman”.

There’s not much new to report today. Yesterday’s menu left a bit to be desired (I was hungry ALL DAY) but I drank tons of water and that helped a bit. Today I’m cheating a little because I didn’t make it to the store, but I’ve made it a point to stay within the calorie guidelines so I think it’ll be okay.

Still doesn’t seem to be any negative side effects from the Cleanse, which makes me happy.

That’s all for now!

SLIMQUICK Cleanse series: Intro · Day 1 · Day 2 · Day 3 · Final Review

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