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2017 Whole9 WholeYear (3rd Annual)


kirkor

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Might as well keep the same schedule as last year?

 

Jan: Nutrition & Whole30
Feb: Personal Growth - including Reintroductions & Healthy Eating Habits
Mar: Sleep
April: Stress
May: Training & Healthy Movement 
June: Natural Environment & Getting Outside
July: Fun and Play
Aug: Socialization & Connecting with Others
Sep: Temperance 
 
As each area of focus approaches, let's post relevant & helpful links about those subjects.  And since the idea is to have this be a "lifestyle" thing, the effects and habits should be cumulative.  So in May while we're specifically zeroing in on Healthy Movement, we're still trying to incorporate lessons learned from the focus on Nutrition and Sleep, for example.
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So, LOTS of January Whole30 starts, per usual.  Those folks are welcome to join us in this thread and hopefully stay all year, but January's focus is about nutrition overall, not just a textbook Whole30.

The elevator pitch is good: http://whole9life.com/2011/09/nutrition-in-60-seconds/

For those not involved in a Whole30, what are some ways you will take time to focus on nutrition this month?

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Ok, I'm in. Again.

I've been absent of late due to other commitments but I was still doing my thing in the background regardless and finished 2016 stronger than ever.

I'm happy with my nutrition and so see no need or benefit in doing another Whole30, so my focus for January will be incorporating new recipes via my newly acquired instapot (Thanks Mum & Dad!!) - so if any of you guys have tried & tested recipes to recommend they'd be much appreciated!!

 

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I remember seeing this last year. Cool you've brought it back! So, in January, you do the Whole30... is there more to your focus for January then? Also, curious how you execute these other months. Are there specific goals set for each month relevant to the focus area? 

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9 minutes ago, CaseyD said:

So, in January, you do the Whole30

Not necessarily. I won't be doing one as I'm happy with where my nutrition is at. Others (like @kirkor who's another old timer here) will be making tweaks.

Then each month the focus shifts & we set our own goals (as per K's post above) and we 'develop' ourselves to create an all round healthier lifestyle. Some habits stick, some don't & so (for @kirkor & myself & some others at least) we re-visit each of the pillars again each year & try to expand on what we've done/learned previously....

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I'd like to join with you guys for 2017. I've been eating Whole 30 style for a few years off and on (more off than on, if I'm honest), but the back end of 2016 was pretty rough stress-wise and I let all of those pillars of health fall by the wayside and I'm feeling emotionally and physically rough right now (apparently my coping response to moving to a new country where I don't know a soul is to sit home and drink by myself...).

I will be doing a Whole 30 in January, as I really need it, but I would also like to zero in on my bodies happy place for carbs and fats.

Looking forward to 2017!

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Welcome aboard @GoJo09!

So, first meal is now in the instapot and fingers crossed it turns out because I totally blagged it with what supplies I had left in the cupboards/fridge - curried braised kale (& other random greens) it is then!

Planning on trying NNP's lemongrass & coconut chicken later but need to get out to the shops first....

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Thanks @jmcbn

Struggling to find compliant products in South Africa - seems they like to put sugar and additives in everything. Of course I'm perfectly capable of cooking from scratch myself, just pissed I can't find my fave go to brands from Aus. (Couldn't find any curry paste or coconut milk that was compliant and I really felt like curry. Wah was wah.) 

Cooked up a bunch of food today to prep for starting back at work tomorrow, including post-wo for after crossfit in the morning (I've been slack on that in the past). Also did some yoga (one of my goals for the year is to do at least 20 mins 4 times a week) and went to the movies, so quite a productive day. 

And drank a boat load of sparkling water to distract from the fact this is my first alcohol free day in at least a month... 

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So, I had an epiphany today... Day two of my #JanuaryWhole30 reset on my journey to change my relationship with food, and was just thinking about food and it's affect on bodies. Junk food, sweets, etc. are like being in a relationship with an abuser. You eat and, ahhh the bliss, things go good for a while, then you wake up one day and Wham! Your life has been taken over by this monster. Abusing you, putting you in the hospital, controlling your life, affecting how you feel about yourself and telling you it's all your fault. If only you were better, nicer, stronger, loved more etc.. Nutrient dense food doesn't always look so special, might seem boring and blah, but it loves you, feeds you to the core, nourishes you, gives you energy, happiness on a daily basis, like a real friend. The blissful moments in a bad relationship seem so wonderful because of the starkness of the dark side. Yet they really are no better than the continued day in and out of the healthy relationship there's no dark side to contrast the moments of bliss. I want that constant daily nourishing stable healthy relationship, not the monster in the house...

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It's really helped me to see food differently. It came to me as I was contemplating a remark someone made about not liking to think of food as fuel for the body. Yet really that is what it is, fuel that makes things better or destroys over time. Too often it is a love affair and a bad one at that. I think I must have needed that intensity to help me see things differently, to get a good grasp on what is important.

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I think of it more like that one friend who just sucks the life out of you - when you're with them, you have a great time, but as soon as they leave you're wondering why the hell you spend time with them, all they do is b!tch about everything and everyone, they leave you feeling terrible about yourself and you dread seeing them again. Until you catch up and remember how damn fun they are! (I actually have this exact friend in my life that I just can't bring myself to cut loose.)

Friend-food analogies are the best :)

 

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I don't think it's entirely beyond the realms of possibility that your diet could be a reflection of your lifetsyle. I'm single - have been for a number of years - and my diet is better now than it's ever been, and since I've been single and started looking to improve my overall health/lifestyle I've also dropped a number of friends who brought negativity to the table (be that in attitude, influence or whatever). I've also educated myself more in terms of training - how to improve strength, the importance of rest & recovery, fuelling my work-outs etc. And the more my overall life has improved in terms of sleep quality, positive mind-set, exercise & movement, personal growth etc., the easier it's become to keep my diet on an even keel.

Don't get me wrong, I don't (& wouldn't want to) eat Whole30 every.single.day. BUT improving ALL aspects of my life has been key in finding my food freedom.

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I've also been single for a number of years now, and while that's certainly given me the opportunity to look after my health and educate myself, it's also given me the opportunity to hibernate with giant piles of junk food (for months on end...). One of the things I need to work on.

The first few days of this Whole 30 have me realising how much I was self-medicating with both food and alcohol over the past few months. And even during previous Whole 30s/attempted Whole 30s I would eat compliant foods to distract from hunger, boredom, loneliness, sadness, etc. Even last night, I did not in any respect NEED that extra serving of nuts (eaten directly after dinner), I was just bored and I knew it at the time. Unfortunately where I live, going for a walk is not really an option, but I do need to make a list of evening activities to fill in my time. I'm wondering if doing an online course might be a good thing. Any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.

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On 05/01/2017 at 8:24 AM, GoJo09 said:

Any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.

Have you tried adult colouring? That can be really therapeutic and will take you away from your screen too... Or any kind of craft - knitting, quilting, embroidery, scrap-booking etc. Something that occupies the hands & the mind....

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On 1/5/2017 at 1:24 AM, GoJo09 said:

The first few days of this Whole 30 have me realising how much I was self-medicating with both food and alcohol over the past few months. And even during previous Whole 30s/attempted Whole 30s I would eat compliant foods to distract from hunger, boredom, loneliness, sadness, etc. Even last night, I did not in any respect NEED that extra serving of nuts (eaten directly after dinner), I was just bored and I knew it at the time. Unfortunately where I live, going for a walk is not really an option, but I do need to make a list of evening activities to fill in my time. I'm wondering if doing an online course might be a good thing. Any suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.

I definitely identify with this.  And even the times when I'm not using food or drink as a distraction, I end up watching Netflix for far too long at a sitting, or refresh my regular circuit of internet forums over and over. It's funny that those kind of time wasting projects can take away from making progress on more productive activities, the same way that "waste" foods like sugared treats and booze can take away from foods that actually nourish our bodies.  Got to be some correlation there I think?

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I'm really enjoying this thread.  I once took a workshop titled "How You Eat is How You Live."  I reflect on this a lot; when my eating goes haywire it's a clear reflection of under-nourishment in other aspects of life: work, relationships, choices I make for leisure... I eat the same way I'm living.  Which is sometimes disjointed, unintentional, messy - unfortunately.  I like your food relationship metaphors,  @cottagequeen and @Gojo.

If I start making better choices or having different goals, tweaking my life, sometimes the nutrition naturally falls into line.  However pre-Whole30 I had no idea what nutrition was sustainable for me, so here I am.  It's my second Whole30. 

@GoJo09  Taking an online course sounds like a great idea, like a positive experience towards personal growth, and non-food related.  @kirkor Does having life goals and non-food/nutrition/health goals tie into the Whole9?  I'm a relative newbie but the Whole9 for 9 months seems like a great way to investigate this thought. 

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Hi @kirkor and all...it's been a while since I've checked in to the forum here at Whole30. 2016 was a hella year. So I'm facing forward for 2017, and a Whole9 seems a great place to focus. Starting my 10th Whole30 since 2013 on the 10th, but the idea of hitting all areas of life is spot on, so count me in.

Completely get the Netflix thing, and the grabbing an extra handful of nuts for no particularly good reason, and stress can suck the will to make good choices right out of me on any count. I've never done a Whole9, but I imagine that Balance has got to be a positive outcome, if I'm paying attention. I'm looking forward to jumping in, getting wet, and learning to swim upstream again!

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15 hours ago, Nira81 said:

when my eating goes haywire it's a clear reflection of under-nourishment in other aspects of life: work, relationships, choices I make for leisure... I eat the same way I'm living.  Which is sometimes disjointed, unintentional, messy - unfortunately. 

I'd never really thought it through this succinctly, but this is 100% true for me too, @Nira81.

My problem at the moment is that I've moved from Australia to South Africa (on my own) and I don't have any friends in this city yet, so I'm spending a lot of time at home alone, and so far my job is a lot of sitting around doing nothing in an isolated office. December I dealt with this by eating crap and drinking (this was also a hangover from the month pre-move where I was not drinking so much but I was exhausted from the stress and eating rubbish constantly). I definitely feel more optimistic this year, especially after a week of eating good food and hitting the gym. I also spent Sunday morning going to yoga and brunch with a friend down in Jo'burg (45 mins away) and meeting some of her friends, and we all know that social interaction is so important for mental health. I should add that I've moved countries before, but that was with a partner, and this is WAY tougher.

It might be So You Think You Can Dance influencing me, but I'm thinking of taking a dance class as well, if I can find something close by (who am I kidding, of course it's SYTYCD! I have delusions of some magical latent hip hop ability surfacing. At 36..). We had this thing back home called No Lights No Lycra, which was a dance "party" where you show up in gym clothes, they turn out all the lights and crank the music and you literally dance like no one can see you. So much fun and a great stress reliever. I really really wish they had something like that here, but unless I want to start it myself I don't think it will happen (and I think I legally can't do it myself...).

On 1/7/2017 at 10:52 PM, jmcbn said:

Have you tried adult colouring? That can be really therapeutic and will take you away from your screen too... Or any kind of craft - knitting, quilting, embroidery, scrap-booking etc. Something that occupies the hands & the mind....

I'm not much good at crafting of any kind, but maybe I should swallow my inner critic and grab a colouring book and some pencils, especially if I can find something fun like Doctor Who or Harry Potter. I might pop by the mall on my way home from work.

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I LOVE the idea of No Lights, No Lycra! Though I must say, I took matters into my own hands before my injury, and when I was road running (and I have to tell you, I run to the KRUNKIEST, nastiest music there is for some strange reason), at stoplights I'd just dance to keep moving. Nothing like seeing a 45 year old twerk at a light...

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8 minutes ago, CrazyCow said:

I LOVE the idea of No Lights, No Lycra! Though I must say, I took matters into my own hands before my injury, and when I was road running (and I have to tell you, I run to the KRUNKIEST, nastiest music there is for some strange reason), at stoplights I'd just dance to keep moving. Nothing like seeing a 45 year old twerk at a light...

There might just be one near you :) http://nolightsnolycra.com/location/

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