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Round 2… I thought this would be easier


hmb13

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Hi all,

 

I'm a 32-year-old embarking on my second Whole30. I did the first in October 2012. I did it alone. I did it without the help of the daily newsletters. But I made it, and made a complete lifestyle change in the process. I switched to Primal post-W30 (I'm on the thin side and lost too much weight during my 1st W30, so the pastured dairy and white rice & potatoes help to keep some meat on my bones), and have been sticking to it about 95% of the time ever since.

 

But then there are the holidays, and one Christmas cookie turns into 5, and there's cocktails and wine almost every night, and who can refuse Mom's Christmas Kringler or special cranberry bread that she only makes once a year? After several weeks of eating Primal only about 70% of the time, I decided the new year would be a good opportunity to clean things up, get back on track, and start the new year out right. 

 

I need to take a time out here to mention I live in Minnesota, and the forecast for Sunday is -14 F. Yes -- you read that right: -14 F for the HIGH. This is whiskey-drinking weather, people. This is curl-up-under-a-pile-of-blankets and stuff your face with pastries and pancakes (albeit Primal ones), and all manner of things with melted cheese. Anything that will stick to the ribs. This is NOT a good "convert my body to a fat-burning machine" season. I need all the fat I can get to stick to my bones so I don't freeze to death!

 

Aside from January in Minnesota being THE WORST time to try a 2nd W30, I thought it would be easier this time around, since eating Primal is not a far cry from W30. Just need to knock out my grass-fed full-fat yogurt, avoid the almost-daily bits (more often, half-bars) of dark chocolate, and skip the occasional glass or 2 of red wine. Oh, the red wine… my favorite way to unwind on a Friday.

 

Today is Day 2. It's Friday. And I just found out my ex-husband is getting married this weekend. The battle is on between me and that bottle of cabernet in my cabinet… Dear God, help me to hold on.

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Yes, we're in the negatives here in Maine too, and we've run out of places to put the snow!

 

I find it helps to eat really hearty, nourishing food like stews and slow cooked beasts, and I drink a lot of hot tea as well - not quite a cabernet, I know, but soothing all the same. Throw in a cozy blanket and a good book - jackpot! 

 

As for the ex, nothing says "I've moved on" like vibrant good health (and a smokin' hot bod)  :)

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Good luck to you…sounds cold.  Glad I'm in Arizona right about now.  Anyhow the cabernet in your cabinet just reminded me that I forgot to clean out my cabinets of non-W30 foods.  It makes the temptation unbearable.  Last W30 I brought everything to my friends house for storage.  This time I'm just going to box it up and put it in the garage.  I found that if its out of site - out of mind.  But I did have to dump the organic catsup into the compost bin for the chickens.  I couldn't handle looking at it every time I opened the fridge.  Today I made W30 approved catsup :)

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I thought my second time around would be easier as well.  You know, that whole idea that I did it once before.  Not so much.  It was so much harder the 2nd time.  I'm hoping 3rd time is a charm.

 

I feel you on the ex-husband front.  Nothing like adding a little stressor to the situation.

 

And from Iowa, little warmer, but not by much, so yes want nothing more than hot chocolate, blanket, and couch.

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Hi! This is my second Whole 30 as well. I did one alone in September and it changed my life. I did a Whole 60 and then a week of just paleo but I was eating too much chocolate so I went and tried a 21 Day Sugar Detox but I was sick the whole time. So since December 7th lol I've been primal and I find I eat way too much chocolate and the cacao amount goes down with every bar I buy haha. I started Friday on this second round cause I started the first and failed within an hour haha. I thought it would be easier this time, but I have a hard time without dark chocolate and the ability to do what I want, so I think that means I definitely need to do this. 

 

I'm in Boston and it was 5 yesterday but with the wind it felt like -15. I did the Polar Plunge on the 1st and it was 25 and the water was 35. OMG cold! Which is why I failed on the Whole 30 so quickly - I needed hot cocoa. 

 

I think what's great about forcing yourself to do a Whole 30 is that it forces you to really deal with all the stressors in your life in a healthy way instead of by eating. Until I did the first W30 I was a binge eater and trying to recover in any way possible, but going paleo has been the only thing that's helped.

 

Good luck guys!!! 

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Hey Alex - I think you've totally hit the nail on the head -- W30 forces you to deal with your stressors in a healthy way instead of eating (or drinking).

 

Good news - I did a Jillian Michaels workout video last night instead of opening a bottle of wine. Bring it on, Day 3.

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Day 3 and 4 in the bag. I'm feeling good, already noticing some of the bloating/water weight from my holiday sugar binge has disappeared. And despite the topic of my original post, it _has_ been a little easier in that I haven't had the massive headache that nearly *killed* me the first 10 days of my first W30.

 

Another strategy that seems to help me along is that I've told several people both in my personal and work life that I'm doing this. Even though nobody in my close personal circles is doing it with me, it still helps to keep me accountable!

 

My mind still floats to thoughts of dark chocolate, and I have my eye on that bottle of cabernet as a reward at the end of this. But all in all, I'm trucking right along.

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Day 12 - Round 2 does seem to be a little easier overall, if for no other reason than I am already familiar with how to shop, how to cook, etc.

 

Strangely, I find myself craving things I didn't crave before… mostly sweet things, like cake and chocolate truffles. So maybe those sugar demons have their claws in me deeper than I realized, even though 95% of my indulgences pre-W30 were still Paleo/primal. I guess a teaspoon of honey here and tablespoon of maple syrup there still adds up and creates physical/psychological dependency. I notice I especially crave sweets when I'm tired.

 

I'm managing to fight it off, but generally getting bored with the exercise. Need some reinforcement to help me realize this is worth it and that I can last another 18 days!

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NOOOOOO!!!! I just found out that the homemade venison jerky my brother made has both sugar *and* soy in it! I've been noshing on this for my post-workout snack. I'm 16 days in, people... WHAT TO DO? 

 

Do I restart to give my body the complete reset? Or continue on (not eating the jerky, of course) because I was still following the intent of W30? What if I never found out what went in his jerky? 

 

I don't know if it matters, but I eat Primal about 85-90% of the time (except for my faltering during the holidays), and have been for the past 1-1/2 yrs or so. So this W30 is not about me reversing 20+ years of bad habits... it was more about cleaning up/resetting for a new year.

 

Thoughts??

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NOOOOOO!!!! I just found out that the homemade venison jerky my brother made has both sugar *and* soy in it! I've been noshing on this for my post-workout snack. I'm 16 days in, people... WHAT TO DO? 

 

Do I restart to give my body the complete reset? Or continue on (not eating the jerky, of course) because I was still following the intent of W30? What if I never found out what went in his jerky? 

 

I don't know if it matters, but I eat Primal about 85-90% of the time (except for my faltering during the holidays), and have been for the past 1-1/2 yrs or so. So this W30 is not about me reversing 20+ years of bad habits... it was more about cleaning up/resetting for a new year.

 

Thoughts??

 

Bummer.

 

Unfortunately soy is one of the biggies that does merit a restart. How you ate before a Whole30 is irrelevant in this case.

If it works better for your mindset, you could say you're doing a Whole46.  :)

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