Day ONE August TWO

[misshannah]

My spouse and I are starting our first Whole30 today!! I leaped up out of bed so excited to grow in my sensitivity to my body, and to heal my gut enough to figure out what causes it problems. 

 

We had a long-planned for event last night that prevented us from starting yesterday, but for the past three weeks we've been following a general template that works for us on weekdays; 

 

• Bfast = grassfed ground beef + a bunch of cooked veg (often some combo of cabbage/squash/mushrooms/greens/sweet pots) + fat + seasonings
• Lunch = a couple of baked chicken thighs over a big raw veg salad w/balsamic and olive oil dressing. Usually additional fat like olives and/or avo. 
• Dinner = eggs cooked in ghee and whatever veg

 

This has been working really well for us. I like to eat heavier earlier in the day, so the "big" meal is actually breakfast. I'm not a big fruit eater, but I'm trying to add it to the evening meal, at least. We drink black tea and water, and sometimes bubbly water for "fun."

We do a prep day for the chicken, cooked veg, and chop up stuff for the salads. 

 

However, there are some days, and weekends especially, where we haven't been following this, and some days where we swerve WAAAY off course. 

 

My goals for this W30 are WHOLEistic... I want to learn new techniques to manage stress (without cocktails), learn and practice good sleep hygiene, eat without any kind of screen in front of me, and use my newfound energy to add some regular movement to my days. 

 

Our plan for successfully navigating the weekends is to try out some more complicated and fun recipes for meals those days. That should keep the boredom monster away, and keep us compliant every day. 

 

I hope there's at least one other person out there starting today, I'm looking forward to sharing this journey! 

 

 

[JayneNZ]

Hi there

 

I'm a couple of days behind you (Day 1 today) but popped in to say Hi

 

How's it going??

 

Jayne

[misshannah]

Hi Jayne! It's going very well! It's midsummer here, so there are lots of wonderful fresh veg and fruits at the farmer's market. I took advantage of the excitement and motivation and did a Big Cook yesterday. My spouse and I spent all day preparing for this week. I think it'll be worth it. 

 

It's the middle of winter in NZ, are you eating lots of wintery foods? Stews? 

[misshannah]

I'll move most of my posting to my not-yet created log thread, but I realize that I didn't really share much real stuff about myself. Partly because I'm kind of shy and feel like a failure at forums (I think I've killed every thread I've posted in here), but also because...I don't know, I like to appear like I have it all together. 

 

So, here's the rest of the story. I'm a big fat fat lady and have been pretty much my whole life. But as I get older (mid 40s) that's making me feel worse, like joint pain/back pain, edema, asthmatic episodes, etc. I love all kinds of food, healthy AND unhealthy. I honestly haven't been eating a Standard American Diet for a few years now, but I indulge myself in a lot of restaurant foods, and especially in my downfall ultimate food with no brakes: potato chips. Really, any salty crunchy snack is a no-brakes situation for me. 

 

Despite being very fat, weight loss isn't my goal. I'd be lying if I said I don't secretly wish to change my body composition to something that would make buying clothes a little bit less traumatic, but I honestly believe my happiness and well-being (and health) are within my reach no matter how the fat is arranged on my body. And that is the truth. 

 

The thing I'm scared if is self-sabotage. I tend to be hard on myself, and have a low opinion of what I deserve. I can already hear my gremlin whispering, "this isn't for the likes of someone like you" and "see all these normal people? You'll never be one of them." 

 

So. 

 

I'm ignoring that gremlin, and this forum is critical for that. Reading everyone's experience makes me see that mine isn't any different, really. I mean, it's  unique to me, of course, but we're all just trying to heal our bodies and our relationship with food in some way or another. 

 

I'm truly glad to be doing the W30 and to be reading this forum. It's helping already. This morning I put on some pants I bought at the thrift store (that were actually too small when I bought them), and my husband said "those look really loose on your legs." And it's true, they're loose all over. Crazy.