Badwolf Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 How to start this? Hmm... Well, let's start somewhere near the beginning. I have had issues with food and depression for most of my life. I remember having severe stomach pains in 9th grade French class right before lunch. I ate fast food about once a week and had a fascination with baking and sugar. This is me on sugar. At one point in high school, I went about a week with only one meal of yogurt per day. (At least it was organic!) From ages 14 to 25, I was a strict vegetarian, but still ate A LOT of bad food. Not eating factory farmed meat improved the stomach pains, but I was tired all the time and felt weak. In August 2009, I joined a CrossFit gym with my mother and began hearing about paleo. I said I would never ever again eat meat. A couple years later, my gym did a paleo challenge, and although I wasn't able to enter, I did the challenge my own way by taking out grains and legumes (except for organic soy). I showed a lot of improvement after this, but remained a slave to the sugar dragon/demon. About a year and a half later, I ate meat again for the first time and have not looked back! I still struggled with my eating disorder, but I was slowly changing the way I ate. A few months after that, I started perusing the Whole9 site and signed up for the Whole30 Daily. I had many W30 false starts, until several months later when I did my first unofficial Whole30 (I was still eating glycerin, but didn't realize it wasn't compliant.). I experienced wonderful results, but was never able to stay on track. This past August I moved back to my hometown of Pittsburgh and started a new job. I began this part of my life with another unofficial (again, glycerin) Whole30. I felt I was going to stay on track this time, but it didn't happen. Over the past six months, I had multiple binge sessions and weekends of paleo redemption. Still, I could never get it to stick. So, about a month ago, I told myself, "I really want to do this. Let's just do it. Just go. Right now." And I did. I don't know how else to explain it, but it worked. And every time I wanted to sugar-out, I just thought about how it would actually make me feel and about why I wanted sugar so badly. I also did a lot of compromising and went easy on myself. On Day 16, I was really depressed and just wanted to eat sugar and sit in front of the T.V. So, I left out the sugar part and just sat around most of the day. I may not have been productive, but I didn't give in to the sugar, so it was still a battle won! ~ Here's what went down in the past 30 days: The good... -my skin is SO much softer and my face has completely cleared up and any lines I had have minimized! -my nails are growing more quickly -I'm happy nearly every day, all day -my memory has improved dramatically! -my body composition has changed for the better -my outlook is much more positive and optimistic -I have more confidence and am more interested in being sociable -most days I wake up around 7:30 The bad... -since the end of the first week, my GI tract has not been happy -the sugar dragon is dormant, but def not slayed What I could improve... -eat more veggies! -eat a different variety of foods (there's rabbit, cow tongue, and bison chorizo in the freezer) -work on more stress reduction techniques Overall, this Whole30 was a smashing success! I am quite confident that I will be able to stay on track after this W30, even when I venture into food with no brakes territory. I feel more optimistic, outgoing, and am proud of myself! And on Day 31, despite waking up super sore (CrossFit), I woke up before my alarm, excited for what the day will bring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Awesome results! Out of curiosity, why was the timing right this time around, and what do you think worked for you this time, to help you stay committed for 30 days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Awesome results! Out of curiosity, why was the timing right this time around, and what do you think worked for you this time, to help you stay committed for 30 days? I think I was just fed up with not succeeding. I've had so many false starts that I just wanted to accomplish this no matter what. And imagining how I'd feel if I quit helped in the most difficult times. As for what worked... I was much more gentle on myself this time. I set myself up for success by giving myself helpful goals and rewards. I also took in some paleo-related info everyday. I re-read ISWF, listened to the Balanced Bites podcast, and read multiple paleo blogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toronto416 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Congratulations!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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