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Have I got a challenge ahead of me!


moviegirl

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My name is AlexSandra and I am diabetic (type 2). I was diagnosed about 2 years ago, stopped testing and watching my foods when my mother died last year (Only because she had so much crap in her house we had to clean out and I had to eat what was presented with or go hungry and the choices were not healthy) . That took so dang long that I just fell off the wagon in watching how much sugar I put in my body. After that, my life became a whirlwind of emotion and flurry of activity, including a move across the state.  Ever since the move 7 months ago, I just haven't felt well and have developed driving anxiety (I do have to share the road with a lot of truckers now and most of them have proven to be road hazards!). I figured it was just age creeping up on me (I'll be 50 in 2 months), but I went into the Dr. for some issue or another and he did a complete blood work-up. My results came back over the top-and by that I mean that everything bad was high and everything good was low. He told me that my triglycerides were so high that they wouldn't even register on the chart. He was about to send me to a cardiologist, but some time had passed and he did another blood panel. This time it was a little better, but still not very healthy. I had a friend who read the book It Starts With Food who had highly recommended it. I figured it was about time to look into it and ordered it. After getting into it, I was getting more and more livid at the food industry!  My husband had been nagging me to help him lose some weight (he's about 100 lbs overweight), yet he's a total sugar junkie. I was down to an acceptable weight before we got together, but soon I was indulging like he was and now I'm up there on the scale myself. I was sick of not feeling well and him complaining and everyone just not happy! After reading the book, I resolved that we were going to do this 100%!  Now for the unusual challenges...my husband kept his old job, so he drives 100 miles to work ONE WAY!  He has gotten to the point of staying with our older kids while he's there so he only does that commute twice a week, but still. He has sleep apnea, so he eats the entire drive home to try to stay awake. It' s either that or fall asleep at the wheel.  No, chewing gum or yawning or any other trick does not work-he's tried them all!  He eats fast food crap when he's in town, as he has no way to prepare his own food (interesting situation where he stays-long story).  He leaves for work at 4 AM. So as far as I can tell, I'm going to  have to get up at 3 AM to make him the  proper breakfast he needs and also get him lunches and dinners for the nights he will be there, pack them in a cooler and go back to bed until the kids need to get up for school 3 hours later when I will have to again make them a proper breakfast and lunch to eat at school.  Oh yeah, there are kids involved in this. My VERY picky and stubborn 15 year old son who has ADHD (and yes-he WOULD rather go hungry than eat what is presented to him) and my 11 yr old daughter who will fight this as well because of the kinds of food that will need to be eliminated. How the heck can I ensure they will stick with this and not just go to school, dump out their lunches and beg junk off their friends?  I REALLY want to see if this way of eating will really help the ADHD (I have it as well and I think my dear hubby is ADD as well).  Any suggestions for any of these huge hurdles in front of me so we as a family can be successful?

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Hey there & welcome to Whole30 :)

Just to give you a few pointers..... It's ok for kids to eat so called SWYPO foods, so if muffins, pizza etc made with compliant ingredients will make things easier for your kids then this is fine. Obviously you can't eat these things yourself, but it may prevent your kids emptying the contents of their lunch bag & begging for junk ;)

With regard to you wakening @ 3am and prepping breakfast for your husband, please don't. Whole30 does focus primarily on food, but sleep is just as important, and this constant disruption to your sleep will dramatically impact your results. I'd suggest you do some batch cooking so that you have foods prepared in advance that he can grab himself in the morning for breakfast, and pack up to take with him. A huge number of people cook up things like egg/veg/meat muffins which can be eaten on the go, or a large frittata packed with meat & veg that can be sliced and quickly reheated.... Other options would be blended veg soups with things like meatballs, or (compliant) goujons or mini fillets on the side with some mayo or guac for dipping... Or wraps made using lettuce or steamed cabbage leaves also work well. Cook up a while chicken, a tray of chicken thighs, a huge pot of compliant chilli & have some grab & go veg options available too - roasted veg, mashed root veg, pre-mixed salads....

Your husband is going to have a good look at his schedule and figure out when will be best for him to eat - grazing really isn't ideal as the digestive system needs some down time between meals, and really you're aiming for that 4-5hr window between meals to allow your body to become fat adapted. I've not read about improved sleep apnea systems on the forums, but who knows - perhaps this will cease to be an issue for him. Fingers crossed!

Preparation is very much going to be the key to your success here - and don't be afraid to get the kids in on the preparation too - they are much more likely to eat foods that they've been involved in preparing, and dishes that they've possible even chosen the recipes for too...

There may be a battle on your hands at first, but I think when your son sees/feels the improvements in his ADHD symptoms (which he will) he'll be much happier to stay on board.

Good luck - and don;t be afraid to reach out for help if you need it!

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