Whole30 Number Two - Feeling Good

[Emma]

Things are moving along okay - and normally.  Not enough sleep last night due to kids, but not the end of the world.  Spent last night with a crowded home and kids from the neighborhood dropping by - was really nice - makes me realize I'm living in a way I'd pictured living.  Spent this morning outside with my kids and then did some reading and thinking while they napped.  I liked that too.  Wouldn't mind getting some progress made on my work, but I'm not quite that inspired.  Didn't meditate the last few days.  It's a time stealer!  It's a time stealer, but yet I think there's something to it that I should continue exploring.  Hmm - except here I sit writing this instead of doing that.    

 

This week I aim to try cooking a couple new dishes.

Had a mango salsa on salmon the other day that was a HUGE hit.

[Emma]

Eight hours of beautiful sleep last night.  Ahhhhhhh.  SO wonderful.  And my mood was so much more even today.  It's funny though - what I write down here doesn't seem to match my experience during the day.  If I look at my day, overall it was pretty good.  I did things with kids.  I did some research.  I did some reading.  I meditated.  I took a three mile walk outside in the evening with a neighbor and my kids.  Those are good things - an A plus day.  But my mood wasn't open and joyful and exuberant.  I didn't feel on top of things or excited.  Instead I feel a bit bogged down by the clutter in our home, upcoming projects in the fall, unsettled thoughts on where to live (or even how and where to move)...and so I am not feeling very "in the moment".  I want to be living some other life I envision, but really, most of the things I want are already right here.

 

And then I wonder if it's perhaps the lack of running.  I miss running terribly.  (I'm not really a runner - I'm more of a barely mover, but I still love being outside by myself moving along in beautiful places).  But my knee!

 

The thing about my knee and my foot pain....the more I read and try to figure out what is the root cause of it, the more I am certain that the answer is not in the traditional things I come across.   For example, tonight I was reading about FODMAPS after noticing a fairly intense reaction to some bananas (or maybe it was something earlier in the day - who knows) and the stuff I read was all about prescribing drugs.  None of it said to identify the foods and minimize them in your diet.  Nothing said to eat better - not even a small disclaimer.  I was a bit shocked, but as I look up information on my knee, I see the same stuff - intense focus on one body part without looking at how one body part affects another.

 

Does it seem way out there to assume an ongoing pain in one's foot could lead to problems in one's knee?   I'd like for all my future appointments with doctors to be with ones who really Get It.

 

So...today's foods:

Sweet potatoes and eggs (kinda the standard for me and the kids)

Tuna salad with spinach and tomatoes, leftover sweet potatoes, leftover candied carrots, apple slices

Chicken thighs, banana/almond butter/cinnamon frozen treats (ya - I know this is kinda pushing limits, but it was a nice mix of three things we were going to eat anyway.  )

 

Last night we had deconstructed pizza - I don't think I cooked the meatza as much as I should have - didn't matter - the kids loved it and it made one more new thing we've tried which is a secret goal for this month.

 

Now - what to make for tomorrow!?  I love that I can create things now on the spot.  It was so unbelievably hard to plan and prepare foods during that first Whole30.

[Selene]

So cool that you are still meditating. I know that overwhelmed feeling so well! You could experiment with just sitting/being with it as opposed to feeling like you need to push it away or be disappointed when it arrives. Not an easy thing to do, necessarily, but a good experiment.

[Emma]

Selene, Sitting and being?  Aya-uh.  I'm into the meditation thing, but I do struggle to find time for it and what all it entails - or at least a willingness to find time and learn.  I downloaded one book and started to read it, but then it got too abstract because I haven't had enough seat time to really make the connections. However, I do thing it does some good stuff even if I can't quite put my finger on what it is - maybe it makes the time I spend staring at my iphone seem so much more empty.  Today I'll see about reading a bit more.

[Emma]

It seems like a break in posting to this forum goes hand in hand with a little bit of pushing the limits of Whole30.  I certainly pushed some limits this last week, but they were limits to the 30 days and not to eating healthy and nutritious overall so I won't give myself credit for a perfect whole30, but I will still give myself credit for being on track to a healthier future.

 

I really wanted to go have burgers yesterday.  Luckily my husband made up some turkey burgers with basil and onions and as we sat there eating them wrapped in beautiful romaine lettuce, I thought how different this all is from last year at this time.  Last night I again wanted burgers, but luckily my husband was ready to cook up our dinner which was salmon topped with a vinegar/onion/apple marinade and that did the trick.

 

My cravings still take me back to burgers and beer, and in July we will go out for burgers and beer with friends, but then we will come home and continue our real foods ways.  When I forget my personal reasons for doing this, I can at least remember that I have reasons for my children to be doing this.  But it's easy to remember my own reasons.  For the first time, I just feel overall healthier.  I'm not super energetic or tiger blood.  My knee and foot still hurt.  I still don't feel always present and appreciative of my life.  I'm not doing any exercise of real substance.  But I am eating till I'm full and not feeling bloated.  I am eating foods I know are good for me.  I'm not feeling guilty about my crappy eating being the cause of all my health woes and I'm not feeling that aimless to desire to eat constantly (though I do still mill through the kitchen quite a bit).

 

I feel like I'm eating like my great grandparents and it's a nice thing.  

 

And now for today!  I must drag my quite content self off the sofa and start making some breakfast.  Gone are the easy days of rice krispies and yogurt for the kids, but luckily this cooking thing really isn't so bad with a morning cup of coffee.

[Emma]

Oh my gosh - you know what woke me up last night!  The realization that I'm going to go on a two week road trip with my in-laws with my kids and without my husband!!!  The trip will be fun enough, but what to eat!  Yeegadz.   I can try to maintain our whole30 template during the trip, but not without a lot of challenges and less flexibility and a LOT of feeling like my choices are being judged.  Ick.  Or I can just let us SAD the entire trip with hopefully some moderation, but boy I wonder how that will sit in our bodies.  When we did a bit of that on our last trip we all came down with colds (probably from exposure to people and virues I know, but I feel like we'd have fought off the viruses better if we'd been eating better).  Oh - I can feel the anxiety and the tightening up in my head as I picture the group meals.  AND, our fantastic eating kids will quickly revert back to their old ways where they choose fries over anything green.  (It was my in-laws that said, "you're certainly not doing that Whole30 thing with the kids are you?!!!").  Deep breath and a smile and a plan to be graceful and calm and try to make the healthiest choices we can without rocking any boats.

[GFChris]

Ugh, this bugs me so much - to read about family who are unsupportive and judgmental of our eating habits. What right do others have to judge over what we put in our bodies, especially when our choices make us feel better??!!  It's completely all about them.

Your last thought is right on: lots of deep breaths and how can you remain in a state of grace and make the healthiest choices you can. Given you're spending two weeks with your in-laws, wonder if it makes sense to have a chat beforehand on how you and your kids plan to eat (because if you eat otherwise, you'll get sick and that will spoil your time together)?

[Emma]

GFChris,  It's a hard one isn't it!  Luckily they will be staying with us for a week before the road trip and so they'll be able to see the positive ways we do things.  They are healthy eaters themselves so they're certainly not going to be pushing a processed food agenda, BUT...I must sigh as I type....it's the subtle looks and the potential power battles with kids.   It's the insistence on eating vegetables because you "should" instead of eating them because it's part of the meal.  It's been SO nice eating with our kids and aside from the couple things they refuse, they just eat as we do.  As soon as we are on the road and exposed to restaurants with other choices, I know I'll have to make some allowances and I just hate feeling like everything will be questioned or judged and I super hate that they will insist the kids eat all their veggies - that type of language never got me eating my vegetables and I'm pretty sure it won't work for my kids too. Big breath - and lots of grace - yes!!!

[Emma]

Good solid nine hours of sleep.  It's so nice.  I just feel better and more centered.  It's a good day to get things done including the things that nourish one's soul and not just one's to-do list.

 

Breakfast was sweet potatoes and eggs

Lunch was an Applegate hot dog (now sold in our local store!) with sweet potato hash and gelatin

Dinner was going to be zoodles with ground beef and tomato sauce, but the kids are pushing for meat on a stick so I might do that with some mint raita.  As for veggies, we have leftover carrot soup and I might cook up some butternut squash.

 

It's fun that the kids are making their suggestions and coming up with good ones these days.  Maybe they'll discover a love of cooking and take over planning, shopping and preparing food by the age of six.  I'd go with that.  I suspect it's highly unlikely, but I can put it on my imaginary vision board.

[Emma]

The local parks department had a kids' program today in which they advertised "healthy snacks provided".  I knew it wouldn't be healthy, but I knew it wouldn't be super horrid.  I asked the kids if they'd like dinosaur snacks of almonds and dried apricots or the park's department snacks.  They voted for both.  I clarified it was one or the other and they chose the parks department.  It's good for me to have this happen.  My kids can go and have a snack with other kids and it's not going to really impact them negatively.  It might make that sugar monster come up, but I control the shots in our home and if we continue to stock our house with only healthy things, then it becomes a non-issue.  Guess what the healthy snack was?  Annie's chocolate goldfish.  I know.  I also know that a few months ago I would have known that it wasn't actually healthy, but I wouldn't have batted an eye.  Now I bat an eye, but know that in the scheme of things, it's not that big a deal.

 

As for the home front:

Eggs and bananas for breakfast

Grass fed applegate hot dog for lunch with almonds, bananas and carrots

Chicken for dinner with butternut squash

 

My knee is sore, but not so bad.  The new thing I've been exploring is my FOOT!  I think everything stems from my foot.  I have high arches.  I think I walk more on my outer foot.  I have posterior tibial tendinitis in my left foot and it aches a lot.  The suggestion given by the speciality clinic two years ago was to wear arch supports to give my tendon a break.  My foot still hurts and now I have all these knee issues.  I've been working on just walking barefoot this past week around the house and I really truly think my knee feels better as a result.  When I do put on my shoes or sandals and go out to run an errand, my knee or foot really hurts upon coming home.  I don't actually know what causes what, but I like the idea of letting my feet learn how to support myself again without supports.  I hope I don't aggravate the tendinitis that I definitely do have, but I'm hopeful that by next year at this time I can be out running again.

 

As for exercise - well, I haven't been doing anything and I haven't been giving myself a hard time about it.  Learning to cook and eat differently took a lot of my extra time, as well as making sure to sleep more.  However, I'm feeling a little tired of starting to feel like a flabby weakling and I miss how I felt when I was exercising.  Last night before bed, I VOWED (not really a vow, but a late night kind of bright idea) to exercise straightaway when I woke up in the morning.  Ha!  I slept in, cuddled with my kids, read them books, made them breakfast and then took them to the park's program.  I guess I could this afternoon instead of working on work.  It sounds so exhausting.  I'd rather have a cup of coffee, but I know I'll feel better afterwards - and feel a bit proud of myself.

[Emma]

Woohoo!  I exercised yesterday.  I need to clarify that I usually walk all my errands and so I'm not a total bump on a log, but I really haven't done anything that gets me sweaty or feeling like I used some muscles - till yesterday.  I broke out the old Jillian DVD which has the Get Shredded 20 minute workouts.  It was perfect.  I'm not nearly as weak as I envisioned I was, but I was also clearly reminded that I am not as strong as I was.  My knee was fine.  My foot was super sore immediately after, but fine during.  I iced it and then proceeded with my day.  Today my foot is sore and my knee marginally sore, but nothing like before.  I'm going to try to not overdo, which is my style and just do some sit ups today (overdoing in my inflammation body seems to mean doing anything more than one day in a row!)

 

I'm looking forward to the end of this month and to a dinner out with my husband, but at the same time, I can't help but notice that it's at day 27 that I'm starting to get my stuff together.  I exercised.  I meditated.  I worked on work.  I took the kids out in the evening.  I'm doing okay.  I wouldn't say I have tiger blood, but I feel like I'm trekking along at a comfortable pace.

 

The other thing that happened is that I finally got my order in the mail with the NOW digestive enzymes.  I took one last night with dinner. This morning I woke at five and had to go pee like normal.  Usually I fall back asleep for at least another 90 minutes, but today I couldn't.  I read the paper on my phone and then got up and can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE being up before the kids.  I love the morning light.  I love the stillness of the house.  I love that I can have a cup of coffee and do some work on the computer.  I love it.  

 

I like to think this is the new normal and I'm no longer in need of 8 and 9 hour sleeps, but I know this is probably a fluke.  Nonetheless, I do like it and I'd be quite happy to be healthy enough to renew with fewer hours so that I could have this glorious morning time to myself everyday.

 

Breakfast:  sweet potatoes and eggs

Lunch out in the country with other kids:  paleo bread (for my kids), salmon salad, butternut squash

Dinner: leftover chicken, whatever vegetables need to get used up in our fridge (zucchini, cabbage, spinach???)

[Emma]

Argh.  I have a cold.  It's either a cold or a strong allergic reaction to the digestive enzymes I just started taking.  The timing is unfortunate because now I'm not feeling fuzzy towards the digestive enzymes, but most likely I really did just catch a cold.  It's a stuffed head/foggy/runny nose/low energy kinda one and I'm slogging through today.  Darn.  The digestive enzymes did seem to have a somewhat positive impact on my digestive system yesterday and today which seems to be a bit more reticent and solid - I'm cool with that.  Alas.  Day 28 of a not-stellar Whole30 (not-stellar because of the limits I pushed).  I'm a total believer in my new ways of eating - it works for me, but I wish I was feeling better.  Ah well.  I guess this is a chance for my new and improved immune system to see what it can do.  Cross my fingers I will.

 

As for my in-laws and traveling....Last night I realized I don't need to stress over it at all.  The truth is just the truth.  Once we hit the road and the dino template isn't such an option and special road treats are on the agenda, my kids will quickly revert back to old ways.  I know that.  I accept that.  They will eat some fries and share an ice cream and choose bread over vegetables and that's OKAY.  I can minimize the amount of off roading we do, but I don't need to stress over my in-laws' judgements because it's all just how it is.

 

Breakfast: sweet potatoes and eggs and spinach

Lunch: sweet potato left overs with mushrooms, spinach, onion and chicken all mixed together

Dinner: celery soup?, fish?, I dont know yet

 

Exercise - still wonderfully sore from the other day and as much as I'd like to just jump back into things, I'm not because I think my body does better with a slower approach (not my nature, but it might be my body).  Sit ups on the agenda for today.

Meditation - on the agenda and would have been now, but right now I'm typing and drinking some coffee.  Reading my new book though on the subject and liking what it says and recognizing how dang distracted my mind is

[Emma]

Colds really are a drag.  My head is congested.  My nose is stuffed.  I'm semi-achy, very lethargic and just overall BLEH!  It also means that I canceled the babysitter for this week.  My husband and I were going to go out and celebrate our anniversary, but between my cold and his crazy hours, we're postponing it a few more weeks.  As much as I'm looking forward to a night out and a dinner out, I really want my body to have a fighting chance to fight off this cold like a normal person.  Usually, I'm sick for a minimum of 8 days and the cold is followed by nasty asthma attacks - many of which are triggered by eating almost any food.  Perhaps this time with my system being a bit less inflamed, I won't have the same negative fallout.  The reasons for eating a real food lifestyle are so smack dab in front of my face it's crazy.  I am very glad I stumbled upon the whole30 challenge.  I am also very hopeful (and fairly confident) that our new eating ways will permeate our home life and become the main way we eat, but I do know the allure of just leaving the kitchen behind and going out for pizza.

 

We ordered some meats and jerky from US Wellness Meats.  They did a great job sending things.  Our local post office lost the box for three days which led to some thawing, but we're hopeful it's all okay.  I'm excited about the jerky and salami because those are the things I like to take out on "hikes" with the kids.  As much as I know food shouldn't be a motivator or reward, the kids and I do like having a snack as part of our outings.

 

I'm still suspicious that my cold is caused by digestive enzymes and, when I was up in the middle of the night with a congested head achy head, I was worried that my family was all going to end up in the ER with salmonella or staph or some nasty bacterial infection from eating our thawed out meat.  My mind was full of horrible thoughts last night.  My rational side thinks I most likely just have a cold and to ignore those crazy middle of the night thoughts.  

 

Day 30.   Kinda feels like summer vacation starting when it's still snowing outside.

 

[Emma]

Slept last night!  What a relief.  Wasn't the best sleep, but it was restorative enough to make me appreciate how much better it was than the previous two nights.  I think my cold is starting to pass.  Certainly my head is less congested and I have better energy, but I'm still feeling a lot of congestion in my eyes and nose.  I'm hopeful that this virus will just pass by and in a few days I'll be back to normal, but I won't know for a couple more days.  This is the point where the asthma is usually triggered.

 

It's interesting because I don't feel like eating any non Whole30 foods, but yet, I can feel myself saying, "WHEN can this end!"  In the past when I get sick, I've stopped eating all but steak because everything else seemed to trigger attacks.  But, I'd only do it till I was better and then I'd jump right back into my normal life.  I think I'm conditioned to be like, "okay yeah I get that I need to eat well for just right now, but soon I don't".  Ha.  Doing Whole30 has certainly taught me that I feel better and am better when I eat like this all the time. I like knowing that I'm taking care of myself and I love not feeling guilty that I'm not.

 

Breakfast: sweet potatoes and eggs

Lunch: leftover grass fed burgers and butternut squash

Dinner: to be decided later

 

I also love how much easier cooking is!!!

[Emma]

My cold is passing and so far (I'm still not out of the woods) no asthma!!!  I slept last night.  I woke up at 6:20 feeling awake.  IF colds are just a three or four day thing, that NO BIG DEAL!!!  I want to sigh with relief that I've figured it out.   All the years of colds becoming a one/two/three week affair are gone if I just get the inflammation down in my body by eating real foods.  However, I am still congested and snuffly and that could possibly trigger the asthma reactions so I should hold off a couple more days before celebrating, but I am feeling optimistic.

 

Now if only my knee and foot would show signs of improvement.  But maybe they are.  I haven't mentioned my knee for a while which means it's not as noticeable.  I've been doing the barefoot thing at home and I really think it helps my foot and knee, but I really do hate the cold floors or the wet socks from the water my kids seem to constantly spill.  I ordered some barefoot merrill shoes to wear when walking about in the neighborhood and I'm curious to see how they do.  I've noticed that when I put on my normal shoes (rain boots, running shoes, crocs) I start noticing pains in my knee and foot.

 

I think - I know - the Whole30 way of eating just plain old works for my body.  My body has been asking for it for years and I've been ignoring it.  I'd never ignore my kids - why do I ignore my body.  Of course, I'm not ignoring it now, but in the back of my head I'm still planning to go out to burgers and beer and onion rings in a week or two.  I wouldn't ditch my kids and go out partying so why do I think this is okay.  I feel like my moral obligation around food is not quite up to par with my moral obligation around family.

 

But not to fret - I'm not leaving Whole30 just yet.

 

Breakfast - the normal sweet potatoes and eggs

Lunch - salmon salad with tomatoes and onions and carrots and no english cucumber because I forgot to buy it

Dinner - (last night was bratwurst with grilled peppers and onions and zucchini) - tonight...um....chicken adobo with spinach?  I don't know yet!

[Emma]

Tiger Blood!

Well, not quite tiger, but last night I caught myself vacuuming and scrubbing the floor under the stove and fridge.  Who the heck does that at 8:30 at night!!!  

It was nice to notice that I wasn't feeling manic or stressed to get things done - it just kinda happened as some in-the-rhythm thing of picking up after dinner.  And then I went to bed and slept relatively well and woke up eight and a half hours later feeling okay.

My cold has not yet triggered any asthma attacks - none!  This really is a first.  I mean it's possible it's a second and has occurred some other time in my life but not that I can remember.  My nose is still stuffy so I'm not in the clear yet, but I'm feeling optimistic and very certain I'm not straying from the Whole30 just yet.

Seems like it takes my body a lot longer to start reaping the benefits of good eating - probably because it's been under such a mudslide of crap for so many years.  Thirty two days to tiger blood.  I just need to remember that so that next time I don't plan on a Whole30, but rather a Whole30+.  Or heck - a Whole30 works well for me because once I'm at this point, I don't really care to change course.   This happened after my first one as well.

 

Dinner last night was chicken adobo with onions and spinach - huge hit with the kids.

Breakfast today - same old sweet potatoes and eggs

Lunch - maybe some more chicken adobo and something with cabbage

Dinner - salmon with mango salsa and stuffed mushrooms or something of that sort

[Emma]

No asthma.  For the first time, no asthma attacks after a cold.  It is SO nice to not be trapped in that miserable aftermath.  This is day 35 and I'm noticing that I am doing things again.  I painted with my kids this morning and then did another project.  I got our house out of the danger clutter zone and looking normal.  Things are happening.  I also weighed myself this morning and I think (our scale is not perfect) I was under the 140 mark.  That puts me three pounds away from being in the healthy BMI zone.  I still get bloated easily and my weight can go up and down quite a bit over the course of a day, but I'm still feeling fairly optimistic about today's weigh in.

 

I'm hoping my knee and foot pains magically disappear.  I somehow suspect that the injuries or micro tears or whatever they are will not just up and go away, but I'm curious.

 

Breakfast - scrambled eggs and banana

Lunch - salmon with mango salsa and butternut squash and a couple dates

Dinner - not sure yet