Contessa

After righting the ship and having some very good days last week, I see anew that snacking between is the start of a huge cascade of undesirable emotional and physical outcomes. I'm not talking about "Enjoying a slice of apple with peanut butter after a 5k" snacking. I'm talking about "It's mid-afternoon and I feel irritable with my job so I'll open up this bag of tortilla chips and suddenly look down and realize I've eaten 2/3 of it" snacking. A new mini-goal for this week: No snacks between meals. Period. I'll report back later on my findings

Just wanted to say that I love this plan for a reset.... sugar is also the one place where my eating feels truly unhelpful and out of whack. I spoke to a friend this weekend who permanently gave up "recreational sugar" (I love that phrase). Perhaps that's something for me to think about. If the cookies are antagonistic to my overall wellness today, is that going to magically change tomorrow? You're sure to experience a lot of benefit from this reset — I look forward to tracking your progress.

Absolutely love this thought! Perhaps we should use it as a guide and let it teach us more about how we respond to food. I appreciate your takeaway on alcohol, too. It affects me the same way, impairing my sleep. Wine and beer are great as weekend treats.

Rough going here in early September. I learned last week that cancer has returned to my beloved 75-year-old father. He had his first spin with this awful disease (multiple myeloma) back in 2014. He's beat it a couple of times, at considerable personal cost. He's had some unexplained pain this summer and now we have an explanation for it. It isn't clear yet what his prognosis is. (Weeks? Years?) He meets with an oncologist tomorrow to go over his options. I know none of us are meant to live forever. Science and skilled care have given Dad six active, high quality years since his first diagnosis. I am grateful. And... it's all just a tiny bit much right now. I was already teetering on the edge of an existential crisis before finding this out. (I dunno, a global pandemic and extreme political turmoil and the looming failure of constitutional democracy makes one start to question assumptions, amirite?) On Monday night, I ate ice cream and peanut butter cups for dinner. I was seeking comfort. Although the food tasted good, it didn't make me feel good. The urge to start another W30 does surface up right now... but at this point, I think a full W30 is not what I need. Neither is eating ice cream and peanut butter cups for dinner. So yesterday and today I wrote out a food plan in my journal. The plan is simply to avoid snacks and what I call "freelance sugar" (candy, cookies, ice cream, etc.) Today I'm sitting here chomping on cauliflower, brussels, broccoli, and garlic ground beef with spicy mayo (it's delicious!). Honestly, if I could just eat this way 75% of the time, I'd be golden. It's simple, it's healthy, it feels great, it keeps me on an even keel. Today is my parents' 54th anniversary. I hope they still have some good years together.

I just want to say that I love this so much and I relate fully to this aspiration! Brava!

I look forward to your forthcoming Whole 30 cookbook. This sounds tasty, colorful, and nourishing! Wow!

Just here to say that a "6 hour slow roasted brisket in pomegranate and pecan marinade, with a pistachio mint gremolata" sounds phenomenal. You're on a cooking hot streak!

Feeling listless on a Friday night. I made plans to enjoy a breezy patio dinner at a restaurant with my fella tonight, but in the end we canceled the reservations out of COVID concerns. Infection rates in our area seem to be really high, and I am not sure I can handle two hours in public without a mask on, even if it's outdoors. "Your 'Surge Capacity' is Depleted — It's Why You Feel Awful" This essay has been making the rounds in my social media circles, including a repost from W30's Melissa Urban. It resonates with me. I continue to find help in hearing (reading) other people's reflections of life in the time of COVID. What is happening with COVID has upended so many dependable aspects of life for us. Particularly here in the States. It continues to be a huge adjustment! The article talks about building and maintaining friendships, and on building a "resilience bank account." I hear a lot of us here on the forum thinking in these terms as well. Gold stars for my W30 pals as we continue to navigate this challenging time.

I feel like many of my close friendships slid into neutral when COVID hit. Heck, those friendships probably aren't in neutral anymore, but are kind of rolling backwards down the hill as weeks melt into months, and months merge into one amorphous blob. Yes.... those connections are so important. Every bit as good for us as leafy greens. Relating completely to what you've said, and I wish more people were talking about this. Thank you for reflecting on your experience.

Relating fully to this statement. I heard someone refer today to jeans as "hard pants" — I laughed in recognition. Please don't make us go back to the land of hard pants! Hope you get a great night of sleep.

This was a good week. Day by day by day, staying checked in with myself. Sometimes wobblingly, sometimes steadily. I took myself on a hot date to the grocery store on Friday night and paused as I noticed my cart's contents loaded on the belt at the register. That's always a moment for me. This is the stuff that will be fueling me over the next week. I usually can see all my grocery purchases at one time because I'm only shopping for myself. Looking at the foods on that belt made me feel good. I saw variety. Some fresh green stuff, some snacky stuff. Half a loaf of bread. A lot of whole foods. A bouquet of white daisies, because they're so cheerful. Anytime I can experience this kind of spaciousness around food, I feel grateful. Participating in a regular OA group online has really helped, as has meeting a new OA pal and having a good phone chat with her last week. As has participating in threads on this forum. Companionship with fellow sojourners helps me feel less isolated.... and feeling less isolated fortifies my food freedom. Today for lunch, almost without thinking of it, I enjoyed a nearly-Whole 30 meal of veggies and chicken, then noticed I'm getting low on one of my favorite Whole 30 sauces. Getting low on this mayo means I've been eating a lot of veggies and chicken lately. Good. Remember this feeling, Contessa — this is your lane!

This meal looks amazing! We'll be right over for leftovers....

Taking note of your own interior weather system feels like a great win here. You're creating space between stimulus (craving) and response, which is a really important part of this process. Small steps are still forward motion. Hugs for you on this gloomy, stormy day.

So sorry to hear about the bumpy start to the day. Migraines are 100% The Worst. Sounds like those catlike reflexes were the difference between a black coffee and a creamy coffee — glad you could salvage the milk! Hope you can good care of yourself and go easy with life today.

Posting meals and W30 experiences here does seem to dial up the level of engagement, doesn't it? You're in the right place. And yes. Dijon mustard is delicious, shit absolutely happens, and your W30 pals are here for you. Hope you are having a great day, I look forward to tracking your experience here.