Awesome 2014!

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Things are back on track, finally! I've just been making pots of stews and soups this week as the weather seemed perfect for it. Started an exercise routine on my Wii.. The Biggest Loser exercise program, the exercises are great and I really feel it! I do that 3x a week and DDP yoga 4x a week with Sundays off. I need to also find some time to walk at minimum 20 minutes a day.

 

Last night I made cabbage with some spicy ground sausage and a couple dollops of whole grain mustard, really kicked it up in the flavor department, definitely on the remake list.

 

Dinners have been filling but I think I need to up my fat intake just a bit to squash that little niggling of hunger that happens before bed.

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

[Jtandi]

hi all! hope everyone is doing well! I'm ok - I ate something that had SOMETHING in it that got my gut to drop - 99% sure it was corn (found out later) and I never thought I had any reactions to it in the past. seriously. but other than that I'm doing all right. I have tomorrow off from work and plan on making some food with my 21 (!) new spice blends! I have to go back to work on Sunday so I need something.

 

long day yesterday and long day today make for less than optimal meal choices. I need to re-visit my main objective: increase in vegetables. I have let it seriously slack. tomorrow I'll grab some good veggies at the store and see what these spices can do!

[1Maryann]

Maybe I'm just cranky this morning, but a lot of these threads are ticking me off.  No matter how many times smoothies are addressed, somebody has to ask, "But what about a smoothie with THESE ingredients?  Would that be okay?"  And when they are told no, they admit they've already drank it.  Why are you asking IF you can have something AFTER you did it?

 

And the ones who say they want to do this program but they hate vegetables.  Then why are you here?  Everyone doesn't like some vegetables, but when I see someone make a blanket statement like they don't like ANY vegetables, I picture a two year old in a high chair.

 

Or the ones who absolutely do not have a single option on the face of the earth except a whey protein shake after a workout and want to know how much damage that will do if consumed 3x a week throughout the W30.  Really?

 

Guess I better go play somewhere else before I get myself in trouble.

[okeedokie]

Maryann, I absolutely adore you!

 

I liken it to the Paleo group I joined in Chicago that has loads of events and often meets up at a pizza joint.  Really?  Because I'm not aware of much on THAT menu that I can eat.  How about you?

 

The same group of people sponsored a WHole30 meet-up and the facilitator stated he would be semi-compliant because he needed the protein in his cheese.  Well for F sakes!

 

In other words, I get it.  And I think I get so upset about this because I have made the commitment to be compliant.  And let's tell the truth, being compliant for 30, 60+ days can be incredibly challenging!

 

I honestly get jealous sometimes of what people eat that I cannot go near.  

 

I am reminded of an outburst I had at my therapists office many years ago when i complained that "everyone else" was doing whatever they wanted to do, nobody was working at changing their lives the way I was.

 

This was the only time he yelled at me in 10 years.  He said "What you're saying is that you want to be unconscious like a large majority of the population!  That is not how you live and you would be miserable if you did choose to live like this!"

 

And here's right, the bastard!

 

So what it boils down to for me today is that I am going to make every effort to live my life in a conscious manner.  Some days will be good and others not so much but I keep moving forward.

 

The people with the smoothies might not be ready yet!

 

Thank you so much for this post.

 

It is Day 27 for me and it's been a real struggle.  I don't feel very good and haven't all week.  I think I'm not eating enough as I've been in a funk and have just been doing cook ups and eating leftovers but not enough I think as attested by the number of low blood sugar crashes and headaches I've had this week.

 

It's my birthday today.  I am 54.

 

I'm making gratitude lists and trying to shift to a more positive place.

 

Perhaps instead of food, I'll just make a smoothie!  LOL!  Just joking.

 

Hugs,

 

Linda

[Jtandi]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA!!! and thanks for the great post - I love what your therapist said. exactly what I needed. I'm such a "it's not fair! it's not right! waaaaah waaaaaaaaah wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I WANNA!". yes. that's me. mentally (thankfully), I try to rarely let that obnoxious baby out of my head. this is hard. it's not for everyone. and some people aren't ready. I have to re-affirm what you said to myself - how do I want to live? how do I want to fuel my body?

 

Maryann - having said that I know exactly what you mean. especially when the same post has been started about 2 lines down.

 

up today with some good intentions and the promise of "just one day" - today is the only day I need to worry about. today I will be compliant.

[Rebecca30]

Pheew! I thought I was alone in this. My husband will hear me muttering "Have you even read the book?!" and he says..."You must be looking at your forum." LOL

 

I try to remind myself that these people did come here looking for a change and that is a start. It may just take them a bit longer to really commit to doing it right.

 

I guess I just feel this way because myself and so many others do accept the challenge of doing it the right way and it is rough sometimes. Then you see people adding in these cheats and slips and still taking credit for completing a Whole 30 but "it wasn't as great as everyone said, I still feel the same." Seriously?! 

[1Maryann]

Happy Birthday, Linda!!!!

 

 

Thanks, ladies, to know I'm not alone.  I don't see it as not quite ready, I see it as we have become a totally spoiled and self-centered country and we think that all rules should be bent for us, and us alone. 

 

Jess, I like the "just one day" concept.

 

I have been breezing through this W30.  No issues at all, but not seeing the same results as quickly.  My first W30, by Day 12 all my joint pain was gone.  This time it took until Day 23.  All the more reinforcement to remain on this path and not off-road with things that I know will damage my body.  I'm staying in for at least another 30 days.

[Jtandi]

hope everyone's day is going well - I just had to pop on here and say how important setting my intention on here was for me today - I'm just starting my period, cranky, and CRAVING SUGAR in the most obnoxious way. throughout the day I have told myself many times "just for today" and known that I made a commitment to myself and you that I would stay compliant today.

 

a sad realization came to me today when I found myself buying my daughter's sugar. I got them cookies and frozen yogurt today. they don't need either of those things but because I wanted it I got it for them. sigh.

[Karen]

Happy birthday, Linda!

I had a moment of feeling jealous yesterday and pissed off at others potential choices... can totally relate to what you guys are saying. Boyfriend and I (we were able to get over the hump that we thought we couldn't -it's pretty amazing) were at the grocery store picking up some odds and ends for dinner (nom nom'a Hawaiian pork) and he was eyeing up single portions of cheesecake. I was so mad that he can eat that and be totally oblivious of the effects. He has psoriasis and yeast problems that he has recognized are due to food, but won't do much about when he's not with me. Huge, huge sugar dragon. So, with my pms glare, I made sure he knew that wasn't welcome in my house and he didn't buy it. He's a grown man, he can do what he wants, but for a moment, I felt like I had to deny him because I knew what was best for him. He needs to get to that point on his own - I can't make him.

[AmyS]

Howdy folks!  I'm on day something-or-other of my current Whole60 (I know the last day is February 28, so that's the best I can do with what day I'm on).  I sang a concert last night and it went very well - and I attribute a great deal of the success to the food I eat.  It affected my choice of music, my approach to vocal technique (and the fact that I sought out a new teacher last summer, with incredibly positive results), my emotional state about the concert (nervous but aware of it, which is huge - the awareness), and my endurance (fantastic). 

 

I've been following everyone's posts, but between work, kids, and preparation for the concert I haven't taken the time to respond.  But each post has given me food for thought (Whole30 compliant, no less!) and encouragement.

 

Some general responses to the larger conversation here - because I can't remember who said what when.

 

Regarding when we see results on a WholeX this go-round: I'm finding that as my body gets more in tune with itself, I don't notice what I consider positive results until a few weeks into a WholeX (assuming I take a substantial break, as I did before I re-started this January).  So I'm with several of you in that regard.  It's the end of January, and it's just been in the past few days that I've noticed that all of the visible inflammation has gone and my skin has really cleared and brightened.  After reading about so many of you experiencing the same phenomenon, I started really thinking about this.  I know that when I began my first Whole30, I had absolutely no clue how to eat in a healthy way.  The meal template (and set of compliant ingredients/foods) was a total revelation to me.  So each meal that I ate made me incredibly healthier than I was before.  And each day brought changes that I could see and feel.  That's one of my favorite memories of my first Whole30.  As time has passed and I've been more Whole30 in my eating than not, I'm much more aware of subtle changes (for good or for ill) in my body.  At the same time, whenever I depart from Whole30 eating, my experiences with non-Whole30 foods become less and less happy.  And then, when I return to Whole30 eating, I'm already healthier than I was when I first began Whole30, so the changes that seemed so immediate and so dramatic when I started this journey are now long gone.  It's because I've started from a place of much (much, much etc.) better health than before.  It's not that I'm not seeing results as quickly, it's that my body is healthier and is fine tuning rather than shedding unwanted and unhealthy inflammation that had been there for a decade or more.

 

All that said, it really helped to read here that others are finding that the very dramatic changes of a first Whole30 are simply not there for a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. Whole30.  It helped me put into perspective how far I've come.

 

One odd thing that has happened in recent weeks is another level of change in my food preferences.  Until very recently, I've lived with an undercurrent of anxiety about non-compliant foods.  But the fact is that, for me, all of the non-compliant foods are part of a group of foods I was allergic to as a child, and to which I react badly now (I just didn't realize it until I started Whole30 and kept at it for a while).  Also, those foods provoke a reaction in my body that I once considered normal - not an allergic reaction here, but an energy surge/crash cycle reaction.  And as I've gotten healthier and am taking steps to improve my adrenal function, I simply don't have the urge to burn out my engine with those foods.  I can actually drive past Starbucks without yearning anymore.    I can't describe how huge that is for me.  I know that 90% of that is due directly to the food I'm eating, but that 10% that comes from the supplements I take for my adrenal system is a pretty huge 10%.  I'm not ruling out the possibility of consuming a non-compliant food item or ten in the future, not at all.  I'm just aware that it's now going to be a choice, rather than my body's near-desperate reaching for some quick energy.  I can't tell y'all how much I love that.

 

When it comes to food, I've not been incredibly creative in the past weeks, but I don't mind because all of the food has tasted good and it has really fueled me well.  I'm considering hauling out my cookbooks now and making some of the recipes my children and I bookmarked last summer, before we moved and took some time settling in to new environments.

 

I wanted to comment on the posts about how people ask about non-compliant foods/drinks with a kind of desperation to keep those foods/drinks in their lives on a Whole30: I'm in the camp of those who think that if they're asking online, they're probably serious about Whole30 (at least in contemplation).  I think a simple straightforward answer is the best response, and our moderators usually chime in with this.  I think we can forget how devastating it can feel to discover that 90% of what you eat and the way you eat is off limits.  I still remember, vividly, the day it finally hit me that only about ten per cent of what I saw in my local grocery store actually counts as food from a Whole30 perspective.  I feel fine about how I shop at the grocery store now, but that was a HUGE mind-shift.  And I remember how betrayed I felt to learn that almost everything I heard and saw about what was healthy, was WRONG.  I am so heavily into a Whole30 mindset now that it seems easier to me than my former way of eating.  But it was a monumental change in my entire way of life.  I think when people ask things like "can I keep my whey protein smoothie?" they are really asking, "Isn't there ANYTHING I've been doing right, that I can keep in my Whole30 for familiarity's sake?"  I sometimes get a tummy ache reading all those smoothie questions   but I think it's worth remembering how far I've come that I no longer look at smoothies and think "excellent choice!" 

 

I'm glad this group is here and glad to be a part of it.  I wish everyone the best.

[melbournegirl]

Great reading all about this, shows have far we have come and that the journey hasn't ended yet! I also have seen many changes... for me the current change is realising how well I feel when I eat three regular small to-template meals with a bit of fruit and starchy veg but not too much and exercise each day during the week... then when I change it up on the weekend - a bit more fat, a bit more fruit, an extra meal I feel uncomfortable and bloated, don't sleep well and don't feel like exercising... Too much compliant food can still be a bad thing for some of us. Today is a Monday but a public hol but I decided to make sure I treat it like a workday foodwise (and will be more careful next weekend too now that I have had the penny drop). Wonder what my in-laws thought when I had raw carrot and cucumber with my bacon and eggs which I wrapped in a lettuce leaf - no one was game to comment - hah! I was excited that I felt like having salad for breakfast.... usually I would have had cooked tomato and spinach.... Here's to enduring change!

[1Maryann]

Amy, I love that you're part of this group.  You always have such amazing insights.  No Starbucks?  That's huge!  I remember when it was your shameful little secret.  You wanted advice on how to deal with it without naming the food. 

 

Karen, I'm impressed!  This must be something worth fighting for if you were both able to get beyond an issue that was a deal-breaker.  Good for you! 

 

Gotta run!

[okeedokie]

Good Morning!

 

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes!  It turned out to be a pretty good day and I chose to spend the weekend inside (-27 out now so kind of a no brainer) and watch movies etc.

 

I did really well right up until the next door neighbor showed up with a box of sugar free chocolate with nuts.  Really?  She didn't know it was my birthday.  it was a thank you for shoveling her driveway this winter.

 

I would like to tell you that i stayed the course but the truth is I caved and am now on Day 1 again.

 

I made it 27 days so thats very good.  I weighed and measured this time.  No weight loss but a solid inch lost in my bust, waist, abs and hips!  I consider that a big success.

 

I really beat the crap out of myself for eating the chocolate but I did it, I own it and I'm being honest here about it.  That's the most important thing to me.

 

I am going on vacation for 10 days in mid February.  I am going to make every effort to stay compliant and get through the next 30 days feeling good about my food intake and improved health.  Now if I can just convince my parents of that!!  LOL!

 

Amy, I loved what you wrote!  All so true.  I appreciate your insights on our journey.  It helped me a lot.  Also congratulations on your concert!  It sounds like it was a wild success.  I am very happy for you!

 

I've got to run and get ready for work, which today requires loads of layers.

 

Will try to pop on later.

 

So grateful for all of you!

 

Linda

[Karen]

(Maryann, totally worth it! After we walked away, no less than 7 friends bluntly told me it was a deal breaker for me because of my mom and the crap I went through with her regarding that particular issue. So, that was an eye opener that I was holding onto all of that and allowing someone I really, really cared about walk out of my life because of old resentment. He and I talked about it and came up with a plan to work through it together, and we're making the necessary progress! Forgiveness of my mother will likely be required at some point as well to fully resolve it, but one step at a time!)

[1Maryann]

Really rough day.  Proud of myself that I stayed compliant.

 

Had to put one of my dogs down today.  Actually one of the 'healthier' ones.  She was a little subdued last night.  This morning she didn't want to eat and just lay in one spot on the floor.  She has bad hips so I thought she was just sore.  After a few hours, I finally gave her a better going over and realized her gums were almost white!  Called my vet and he said not to bother coming to him, to bring her to the specialty vet.  Her spleen was the size of Montana, part had no blood flow (probably torsion), there was a mass on her liver, and her abdomen was full of fluid, probably blood either from the spleen or the liver mass.  Too many things going wrong at once.  Major multiple organ surgery with no guarantee, and no guarantee the mass was not cancer, which would mean more treatment.  So we decided it was kinder to let her go. 

 

I didn't get home until almost 8:30.  Let the dogs out, fed them, ran back to the store to check on birds, etc (I put a sign on the door and ran out with her, so never finished my day) and realized I hadn't eaten and had nothing prepared because I had planned to do a small cook up tonight.  Ran across the street to TJ's, grabbed a package of Applegate hot dogs and some sauerkraut, and dashed home.

 

My first instinct had been to stuff my face with "comfort" food--pizza, mac and cheese, etc.  But I am coming to grips with the fact that comfort food leaves me feeling very uncomfortable.  So I decided that just because I was feeling sad was no reason to punish myself by making it all feel worse.  Major step, that.

 

RIP, Sadie girl!  Our time together wasn't nearly long enough.

[Karen]

I'm so sorry, Maryann. My heart goes out to you. :-(

[Jtandi]

Maryann - I'm so sorry for your loss! your animals are so lucky to have you, I know how much you love and care for them. hoping that you find some quiet time for yourself today in the midst of your crazy busy life

[dmp3107]

Maryann, so sorry to hear about your Sadie girl.  We never have them long enough

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

Awww I am crying for you, Maryann! -big hugs- RIP lovely Miss Sadie! My husband sends his regards too.

[1Maryann]

Thank you all.  It was a really terrible day.  A couple of hours before I realized Sadie was really bad off, I had learned that one of my previous fosters had died unexpectedly.  This was a dog that had a really tough road, and it took her a very long time to find the right home.  She was with me nearly a year, and had only been in her forever home about a year.  If you've ever fostered, it doesn't matter that they got adopted, a part of them is always your dog.  So I was already mourning her when I had to make the decision on Sadie.

 

I'm still compliant, and not planning on stopping.  I'm in for at least another month.  The only things I have any desire to add back are 'gateway foods' that make the next not-so-good choice easier.  For some reason, adding back white potatoes makes it easier to justify wheat.  A bit of sugar or honey or maple syrup in my coffee makes it easier to cave on the coconut milk ice cream.  It never stops with just the first item.  When I step back, I can see the progression, so until I get control of that, I'm staying in.  I think the only reason I have successfully eliminated alcohol, legumes, and diet soda is because I haven't allowed them in at all.  Some black beans as a side dish would lead to a full-on Mexican meal with corn tortillas and cheese.  One glass of wine or can of diet soda makes it easier to justify the next one and the one after that.  I would be back to consuming both regularly in no time.  "Occasionally" is a hard concept for me.  I'm a very black or white person.  There's not a lot of grey.  I'm still trying to get that pendulum to stop swinging so far out from the center.

[okeedokie]

MaryAnn,

 

I'm so sorry for both of your losses.  And in one day too!

 

Those pups were so lucky to have you and to be unconditionally loved.  They knew full bellies and belly rubs.  Warmth from the inside out and that matters SO much.

 

Having a big heart some times means it breaks a little but it's so worth it, isn't it?

 

Sending you love today and in the tough days ahead.

 

Linda

[AmyS]

MaryAnn, I'm so sorry for your losses.  I'm on my starter dog still (4 1/2 year old golden retriever), and I can't imagine life without her rowdy li'l self.  Big hugs.

 

I'm hangin' in there.  I'm about to decide that chocolate chili is food without brakes for me.  Also kale.  Snort.  I ate chocolate chili over kale with roasted carrots three times today.  Obviously, I live for variety.

 

In interesting news, my daughters are once again expressing curiosity/interest about Whole30.  One daughter seems eager to give it a try.  We discussed this early last summer before we moved, but moving and personal stress just about took me down for several months.  I'm finally feeding all of us well (though the children are not Whole30-style well fed, they are eating very well considering where we were in August, phew).

 

I go until Feb. 27.  I'm not sure what I'll add back after that.  Right now I'm getting much more interested in following recipes and making actual whole meals, and that may become my focus going forward.  It will also help incorporate more Whole30-approved foods in the children's eating.

 

From the island of chocolate chili, I bid you aloooooooha!

[melbournegirl]

I've had a break for a conference in sunny surfers paradise Queensland and fallen off the wagon and the sugar, alcohol and lack of sleep has been too much for my immune system and I have caught my first cold in 16 months.... Freezing conference rooms coupled with outside temps of plus 40 degrees C and hot nights and needing to sleep with the air conditioner on hasn't helped. Nor did eating chocolate cake today!

Sooooooo back to it tomorrow for a perfect 30 days, it will be a relief!

[Jtandi]

hi all! where did everyone go?! I have had a horrible week...last Tuesday Troy called me at work saying he had chest pain right where his previous pneumonia had been, he went into work that night (he works night shift) and on his way home at 8am called and asked if I would meet him at the ER. I brought him down to my hospital and he was admitted and spent 5 nights there. if I had known he was going to be admitted I would've had him brought to the hospital that is only like 5 minutes from my house...instead he was 25 minutes away and I drove down there at least once a day, my parents had the girls way too much, I had no food in the house and wasn't able to get any let alone have time to cook (I ended up having to throw everything out of my fridge, too) and I am a self-admitted sugar stress eater. that should sum it up. I ended up having ice cream every night while he was there and take out for all food (although I didn't go crazy with gluten or anything like that...but still not great), and he came home Monday which is even more stressful, but it has made him realize how important food is in his life. so we both have off the rest of this week and next week and it's going to be a great time to get serious. as it is he didn't even get out of bed once yesterday, his follow up isn't until Friday, and he's still having the pain. his final diagnosis was necrotizing pneumonia. pretty bad. we are hoping the spot on his lung is at least smaller on Friday or they will have to go do a biopsy of the tissue.

 

come on people! I want an update!! where is everyone and how are you all doing with food? if no one is still doing a whole30 would you want to jump back on the post board? let me know. whole30 or not being on here helps me be accountable for what I eat.

[AmyS]

Oh my god Jess.  That's so scary.  Sending lots of good thoughts for Troy.  For now, do what you can and don't worry about the rest.  Really.

 

I'm having a fine Whole60, no big issues, and even taking on some recipes (something I've never done before).  Last week was chocolate chili, the only actual recipe I ever made on a Whole30 before.  This week I went wild and did NomNomPaleo's chicken and gravy.  I can't even describe the deliciousness.

 

I feel my health continuing to improve the longer and longer and longer I eat this way.  It's very gratifying.

 

Sending more good thoughts and healing thoughts to Troy.  Jess, take care of yourself and don't force yourself to do more than you can right now - that stress isn't any better for you than any other kind.