Whole 30 - November Challenge (Closed Group)

Grokette

Ok gang - Here is our November Whole 30 Challenge.

We are here to support one another through our successes, tips, hints, recipes and get answers to questions we might have. This is not the place to post negative comments or failures - please keep those comments to our individual walls, other topics or food diaries.

Part of the Primal Lifestyle is to stop stressing and live life as nature intended - so we will keep it positive here.

Focus on how you feel, how you sleep, energy and stress levels. Often times when you are changing your lifestyle your body must first heal before you can expect weightloss in the form of pounds lost or even inches lost.

Grokette

Here is a quick breakdown from the Whole 9 website on our goals. This month is more important than ever with Thanksgiving coming up toward the latter part of the month.

http://whole9life.com/2011/06/whole-30-v4/

No one is perfect, but the whole point of doing this 30 day challenge is to reset your body and break away from any addictions that are food, alcohol or tobacco related.

The only way this will work is if you give it the full thirty days, no cheats, slips or “special occasions.” This isn’t Whole9 playing the tough guy. This is a FACT, born of education and experience. You need such a small amount of any of these inflammatory foods to break the healing cycle – one bite of pizza, one splash of milk in your coffee, one lick of the spoon mixing the batter within the 30 day period and you’ve broken the “reset” button. You must commit to the full program, exactly as written. Anything less and we make no claims as to your results, or the chances of your success. Anything less and you are selling yourself – and your potential results – short.

Remember, the only person you are cheating is YOURSELF.


I will keep it simple and state what SHOULD NOT be eaten during the next 30 days:

Eat real food – meat, fish, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed. Don’t worry… these guidelines are outlined in extensive detail in our Shopping Guide.

More importantly, here’s what NOT to eat during the duration of your Whole30 program. Omitting all of these foods and beverages will help you regain your healthy metabolism, reduce systemic inflammation, and help you discover how these foods are truly impacting your health, fitness and quality of life.
1.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 (and your Success Guide FAQ), because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.


•Do not eat processed foods. This includes protein shakes, pre-packaged snacks or meals, protein bars, milk substitutes, etc.




• Do not consume alcohol, in any form. (NEW! 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, millet, oats, corn, rice, 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, kidney, lima, etc.), peas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, tamari and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).




•Do not eat dairy. This includes all cow, goat or sheep’s milk, cream, butter, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream.




•Do not eat white potatoes. It’s somewhat arbitrary, but they are carbohydrate-dense and nutrient poor, and also a nightshade (refer to your Success Guide FAQ for details).




•Most importantly… do not try to shove your old, unhealthy diet into a shiny new Whole30 mold. This means no “Paleo-fying” less-than-healthy recipes – no Paleo pancakes, Paleo pizza, Paleo fudge or Paleo”ice cream. Don’t mimic poor food choices during your Whole30 program! Those kinds of food miss the point of the program entirely.



One last and final rule. You are not allowed to step on the scale during your Whole30 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 or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30. (NEW! 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.)

Grokette

Ok, in October I only lost 6 pounds, but I lost a few inches. I am keeping my own accountability spreadsheet and kind of keeping it private for myself.

I got my dogs walked this morning and did some kettlebell swings. I am off to my Doctors appointment and hopefully since I have lost some weight he will drop the whole topic of hinting around to weight loss surgery.

I am waiting to hear from the rest of you. :flowerforyou:


I want to express my sincerest gratitude toward you guys. I love each and every one of you for being here to learn, encourage and support one another.

Thank YOU for being here.

froglegjack

Good morning and so grateful you are doing this again this month.
I am starting out at 215 lbs this morning and am excited to NOT check the scale until the end.
Busy day here but will be walking and other things today to start the month off nicely.
Mary

ImNotStarving

I'm in! I haven't done much on the MFP forums - I have just used this website to track my food intake for the most part. I drastically cut my carbs and upped my protein/fat intake and have experienced a huge difference. This month, I would like to work on consuming a lot less "processed" foods - like beef jerky, lunch meat, and sausage. I think I'm getting the idea pretty well (I've been doing this for a bit over a month I think), but it would be nice to have some guidance!

msbanana

YAY! November Challenge!! :bigsmile:

Starting stats:
Height: 5'9.75" (HEY! I'M STILL TALL!)
Weight: 164.2! Surprise!!
Measurements:
Bust: 39 in
Waist: 29.5 in
Hips: 39.5 in HA! TAKE THAT STUPID FATTY DEPOSITS THAT WON'T BUDGE!! I WILL KEEEEEEL YOU DEAD!!
Right thigh: 22 in
Right calf: 15.5
Right bicep: 12.75
PRs:
Barbell bench press: 140lbs (3 sets of 8)
Dead lift: 185lbs (3 sets of 6) I am stuck and this angers me greatly. :explode:
Squat: 245lbs (3 sets of 8)
Speed:
1 mile: 7:45
5K: 27:45
12K: 66:34 (Pushed out 8 miles in 71 minutes I checked my 12K during this run and it was this number if I had been going to just the 12K I would have sprinted it out to get it under 66 but now I know I can! :bigsmile: )

justamyagain

Starting #:
11/1/11
5'3"
SW 172.2
Bust 36.5”
Waist 33.5”
Hips 40.5”

After gorging on Halloween candy last night, I am way bloated and feeling generally icky this morning . I need to remember this feeling...sugar is NOT my friend.

I'm going to continue to shoot for better sleep this month.

ImNotStarving

I will do updated measurements and weight tonight... and won't do them again for a month! That's going to be new for me

ImNotStarving

After gorging on Halloween candy last night, I am way bloated and feeling generally icky this morning . I need to remember this feeling...sugar is NOT my friend.

I wanted to so bad!! I already ate some naughty things on Sunday (a tortilla, french fries), though, so I wasn't going to make it two days in a row!

iluv2travel

Morning everyone!!! Thank you Grokette for starting this thread! My goal for this month is to start incorporating exercise back, at least 3x a week. My biggest accomplishment in October was reducing my caffeine intake from 2cups a day to 2 cups a week :bigsmile:

justamyagain - I'm with you on that! I had a slice of pie w/ lunch and pastry last night and I woke up starving. It will be a big challenge once Thankgiving week rolls in!

PrimalMorningMoon

November Challenge:

Wt to start: 179lbs Ht: 5'3"
Waist: 38" (down an inch from last month))
Hips: 45" (down about half an inch)
Tanita BF%: 43% (down 1%)
PF: Move daily, Hike 2x week, PEM workouts, kettlebell workouts, WOW, and sprints
Goals for November:
~Keep carbs below 100g/day, lower is better
~
~

busywaterbending

I'm back and doing great! Welcome to the new members on this thread. Hardcore Paleo will be on the Meetup.com/Paleo30 site. Thanks again to Grokette for picking it back up, well done to Resilientwoman for Oct.

momof8munchkins

I would love to join this month's challenge.. the last 2 really helped me stay focused.. I didn't loose a ton of weight but got my diet cleaner than it's ever been. I am sleeping better than I have in years. I am exercising again on regular basis.I feel better - all very postive things.. However, with Thanksgiving coming I think entering a challenge of this magnitude would be setting myself up for failure. Also, I've been dairy free since March because of lactose intolerance but now we have an opportunity to buy into a herd share where will be getting fresh raw cream and butter that my body can disgest and I feel good when eating so obviously I am no longer dairy free. I would still like to join the challenge to offer support and keep myself on track... but understand that I am clearly not going to 100% so I will leave this up your discretion Grokette whether I do join or not. Either way I wish everyone great success this month.

Grokette

Hey all, made it to work and had my doctor's appointment this morning. I am actually down 10 pounds this month, not 6. My Dr is happy and so was I.

I am working on lowering stress and getting back to intermittent fasting. I felt so much better when I was doing the IF sessions several times per week.

I have to get my Vitamin D levels upped. I am in the danger zone with it being low and I am fighting depression setting in at the moment.

I made some home made broccoli cheddar soup last night made with fresh, raw whole milk cheddar and it is fantastic.

I have to run and go do the D.O.D. security wipe on 8 PC's here at work. I will return shortly to continue our chat.

Grokette

I would love to join this month's challenge.. the last 2 really helped me stay focused.. I didn't loose a ton of weight but got my diet cleaner than it's ever been. I am sleeping better than I have in years. I am exercising again on regular basis.I feel better - all very postive things.. However, with Thanksgiving coming I think entering a challenge of this magnitude would be setting myself up for failure. Also, I've been dairy free since March because of lactose intolerance but now we have an opportunity to buy into a herd share where will be getting fresh raw cream and butter that my body can disgest and I feel good when eating so obviously I am no longer dairy free. I would still like to join the challenge to offer support and keep myself on track... but understand that I am clearly not going to 100% so I will leave this up your discretion Grokette whether I do join or not. Either way I wish everyone great success this month.

Actually with consumption of raw dairy you are still 100% compliant. I read that on the whole 30 site that raw dairy is now allowed with the new version.............

We have allowed dairy in tolerable amounts for the past 2 challenges and none of that has changed. It was just easier for me to copy and paste the quoted area from the Whole 30 site than to type it in.

We would love to have you as your part of our supportive and collective family here.

momof8munchkins

I would love to join this month's challenge.. the last 2 really helped me stay focused.. I didn't loose a ton of weight but got my diet cleaner than it's ever been. I am sleeping better than I have in years. I am exercising again on regular basis.I feel better - all very postive things.. However, with Thanksgiving coming I think entering a challenge of this magnitude would be setting myself up for failure. Also, I've been dairy free since March because of lactose intolerance but now we have an opportunity to buy into a herd share where will be getting fresh raw cream and butter that my body can disgest and I feel good when eating so obviously I am no longer dairy free. I would still like to join the challenge to offer support and keep myself on track... but understand that I am clearly not going to 100% so I will leave this up your discretion Grokette whether I do join or not. Either way I wish everyone great success this month.

Actually with consumption of raw dairy you are still 100% compliant. I read that on the whole 30 site that raw dairy is now allowed with the new version.............

We have allowed dairy in tolerable amounts for the past 2 challenges and none of that has changed. It was just easier for me to copy and paste the quoted area from the Whole 30 site than to type it in.

We would love to have you as your part of our supportive and collective family here.

Cool!.. I'm in!. I am loving the raw dairy so far.. for 1. it tastes great and 2. doesn't make me sick like store bught dairy did WOO-HOO.. I love that the butter and cream is carb free where as coconut milk though a healthy alternative is not . I have wondered if the extra carbs are hindering me with weight loss.

questionablemethods

Okay, I am in. I put my glorious heavy cream and Kerrygold butter in the freezer last night because I suspect it might be responsible for my skin breaking out. When I first discovered paleo I was pretty strict for a month and saw tons of progress. I was almost instantly less puffy looking and my skin really improved. But since having a lot of guests in town during the month of October, I started to allow more and more things into my diet and my skin nastiness came back in full force. Anyway, I was just talking with my acupuncturist yesterday and we decided that I probably need to be really strict for awhile, so this is perfect timing. The hardest part is probably going to be saying "no" to my square of dark chocolate that I normally have in the evenings.

I don't have a weight loss goal other than maintaining, but I'll give my stats tomorrow (already had breakfast and don't like weighing after that).

mj_zepeda

hello everybody! I am definitely IN! I am really looking forward to lose the last 6 lbs... I lost a total of 4.7 lbs in October! yay!! thanks for all the support.
I will need even more support this month!
I have stated new goals:

1 - Eat as clean as I CAN! NO cheating on wheat or carby stuff. Taking out the dark chocolate.. as it makes me want to eat more sweets. hehe and I definitely have to take out the splenda! even though I just have coffee with it.
2-IFING on Tuesdays and Thursdays after lunchtime till next day's breakfast!
3-Starting with 26.8% body fat... and aiming a 25% by the end of the month. I think it is possible???
4-Weight lifting 3 times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays)and walking to the gym and back home on those days (walking total of
5-Sleeping a total of 8 hrs per day. (That means going to bed at 12pm)

I will be posting measurements later... Haven't had time to do that yet!

Thanks Grokette!!!

hockey7fan

I'm in, but I will be weighed before the 30 days is up -- my dietitian will be doing it. So I will not be 100% compliant on that part.

momof8munchkins

I'll weigh and measure tomorrow and post stats...

busywaterbending

getting serious