JulesWhole30+

[ThoughtsFromJules]

I am within 1 day of finishing my first Whole30, and while I see (saw) some improvements it appears I have a ways to go.  Last week I started to feel some great results in my appearance in the mirror as well as how clothes fit and how I felt with a little more energy and a little less aches in the joints etc.  Then something happened this week and I am feeling back to square one, I don't know what it was but I suspect I have some additional food triggers, foods that are Whole30 compliant are still affecting me.  I am narrowing it down a little to almonds, pistachios, eggs, or red meat.  Might be other things too, but those are some that I've narrowed down to the past week that could be affecting me.

 

I am working with a naturopath, and we are at the beginning of treatment for a new diagnosis of arthritis (not sure what type yet).  I think the overall thing I am dealing with is Adrenal Fatigue......all summer I felt great, I was under stress but I was really enjoying farm life and keeping everything taken care of around here.  We'd had a really busy but really good summer and I was working harder than I probably have since I was a teen (physically speaking and responsibility wise).  With the extra work load, extra responsibility, and my husband working away from home for 4-5 days of the week and only home on weekends I think I ran out of steam and I am paying for it big time now.  It happened when I started spending more time indoors, it was time to start up our homeschool year and do lessons for several hours per day (less activity, more sitting, less sunlight, less physically demanding work, more stress with the education of 4 children resting on my shoulders etc).

 

I crashed.  Energy-wise I was tired ALL-THE-TIME and there were weeks where I spent so much time in bed resting and sleeping that I was so ashamed.  I didn't feel depressed I felt TIRED and I had so many aches and pains!  We had just torn out our 2nd bathroom in hopes of a quick remodel, there was a little mildew in one area and we wanted to rip out the sheetrock and start over (we needed to make sure the walls weren't full of mildew or dryrot etc).  Anyway, right after we finished the demo is when all my fatigue and aches hit.

 

I am frustrated that I can't seem to snap back and get back to it, seriously it would only take 2 weeks of moderate work to finish that bathroom, but right now I can't even face it. I love remodeling, I like having projects going and I am a driven person.   It just hit so suddenly I feel so frustrated with myself.  

 

This has happened before years ago when my husband worked away from home when I had a newborn baby and 3 other kids to care for.  I think this time it was the long term stress (hubby working away for 6 months) and I had gotten into a bad eating pattern (grazing all day on carbs and very little protein or veggies).   It took a LONG time of eating wisely, exercising really gently, and waiting for my body to heal.  I am praying that by upping the healthy aspects and doing a much cleaner diet I can recover faster than before.

 

I know Whole30 is the best thing I can do to heal my body, and adrenals.  Since the first part of this Whole30 journey has held hints of improved health I want to keep it going and possibly try the AIP style Whole30 to find the foods that might be causing me issues with inflammation.  I am shooting for a Whole60 (the first 30 days was a normal Whole30, the 2nd 30 days I will try for an AIP Whole30 or progressively get to that point).  

 

So this will be the place I log my meals, and talk about what is happening and how I am feeling.  Warning: I tend to be long-winded, journaling really helps me deal with things and think things through and find connections with feelings and foods, so I understand if my posts are too long winded for most people to read! lol

[ThoughtsFromJules]

So it turns out I have gout, I have high uric acid levels at 10.3 and it is no wonder I've been hurting so bad!  I've been eating way too much meat type proteins for that condition.  I think most everything else about whole30 was excellent for me though.  That said, I am going to ease off Whole30 and embrace the gout style of eating for hopeful pain relief.  I've started reintroducing dairy as a way to have more options for proteins without as many meat options.  I am still eating small amounts of meat, but I am supposed to limit it to 4 to 6 oz per day.  The dairy re-intro has went well so far, the only thing I've noticed different is a small amount of gas with bowel movements and one mildly itchy ear canal (had that while doing whole30 a couple times too).

 

I am going to tweak the eating just enough to deal with my dietary parameters for gout and see how the pain levels go.  I plan to reintroduce beans and then peanuts and natural peanut butter next.  That will give me a couple more options for plant based proteins lower in purines.    I will also allow myself small amounts of stevia.

 

Here is my plan for health for the next 60 days:

 

*  Eat Whole Foods/Lower Carb/Gout Diet~ Low purine foods, more plant based proteins, include some dairy, but otherwise avoid bad oils,    sugars, grains, and processed foods.  Make sure to have 2 servings of veggies with EVERY meal, and fruit only 2x per day with a meal.

 

*  Continue drinking at least 80 oz of water per day and taking 1 Tablespoon coconut oil 2x-3x per day (depending on what other healthy oils I eat during meals, I won't double up on fats at meals).

 

*  Continue gentle stretching and yoga for flexibility.

 

*  Next week start a 60 day T-Tapp exercise challenge to see if I can add in more fitness, core strength, better posture, and healthy hormone balance as well.  I don't want to lose too fast doing this since rapid weight loss can cause uric acid levels to rise....do NOT want that.  Losing 1-2lbs per week should be ok though.

 

*  Try out skin brushing for dry skin and skin tone as I lose weight.  I've heard about it for years and it is supposed to help with loose skin as you lose weight.  That is one of my biggest fears about losing this weight, the excess loose skin and flabbiness of deflated fatty areas. lol  Maybe skin brushing can help, I am willing to give it a try.

 

 

~My Goals~

 

Specific~ Lose weight and gain fitness level between now and January 23rd, my annual exam appointment. Complete a 60 day T-Tapp challenge.  

Measurable~  Be at 215 lbs (or less) OR a size 18 misses/XL regular sizes (whichever of these comes first the specific weight or size).

Attainable~  I will lose 11 more lbs in 10 weeks for a grand total of 34 lbs lost since starting in spring of 2013 (or fit into a size 18 misses/XL which will mean I will have lost 2 sizes).  I will complete at least 28 T-Tapp workouts in 60 days (3 workouts per week after a 4 day bootcamp).

Realistic~  These seem like doable yet challenging goals focusing on healthy habits with reasonable consistency for my personality.  They will not feed into my weaknesses of being an impatient all-or-nothing type.  

Timely~  All these goals will be reached by January 23rd, 2014 at my annual exam appointment....I want that weight loss documented on my medical file! lol

 

I will probably weigh myself a couple times per week, BUT I will average them into a weekly weight for weightloss calculations for more accuracy than one weekly weigh-in.  Or I might challenge myself to hide the scales until Christmas or New Year's eve or something to focus more on how my body looks and feels.  I will likely measure once every 30 days.  I will try to journal my foods as much as possible for a reference in the future.

 

So that is my plan so far, I can't wait to get started on the next 60 days of healthy habits and see where it takes me.  Wait, I am already started! lol