Dirty 30 "Best Group on W30"

[MeadowLily]

.

[dcducks1]

Meadow - good for you. The sunny side of life is shining on you.

Yeah....damn it all.....I mean tramadol! Got some pain pills which will make me time travel but at least I will be able to sleep. The boys will enjoy watching me drool on myself too. As soon as this swim meet is over.........I'm taking a mental vacation.

Dave

[CCLaymon]

MEADOW!!!! Whoo hoo!  I'm so happy for your success!!

[MeadowLily]

MEADOW!!!! Whoo hoo!  I'm so happy for your success!!

Pilamaya aloh.  Thank you very much.

[Laurie]

I'm going to respond to some of the posts when I have more energy.

 

Who is continuing with the Whole 30 - are you doing another 30 days, or a shorter period of time?  I thought I would do another 30 days but I'm not sure.  For now, I'll keep going.  I don't really have a good reason to deviate from the plan (except I will have plain baked potatoes when out for dinner - my choice which is fine).  I would love to do another Whole 30 as a group.  I think a few people have written about doing Whole 30 in August.

[Geminimik]

Rose,

 

How will I look in a frosted brownies with pecans HAT? Just the thought makes my mouth well up with saliva...sheeesh, no sugar aholic here.

 

I want rick to cook for me!

 

Deb, sorry about your food famine....but you were the 1000 person, so now you'll be Dave's favorite!

 

Dave, where are you? So sorry about that silly shoulder of yours. I'm think GIJoe might be able to heal it.

 

SO tired, off to bed. 3 mile walk at the beach. Brussels Sprouts and a Turkey Patty.

 

miki

[cara123]

After yesterday's dairy re-intro I slept really badly, more dreams than the entire 30 days and wide awake in the middle of the night and subsequently I woke with a headache (which has lingered all day). I'm putting this down to the sugar in the icecream rather than the dairy? Or am I deluding myself?

Anyway back to Whole30 for the next 2 days .

Miki- I'm too liking the idea of my own paleo/Whole30 chef. All this cooking is a challenge.

Laurie- I'm doing re-intro to check out my reactions and then I will go back to mostly Whole30 & paleo. Not ready to commit to back to back Whole30's but I could be tempted by August

MeadowLily- you should be the Whole30 poster child with your wonderful achievements. Very inspiring!

CC- kids are certainly exhausting mine are back to school after winter holidays on Monday, which makes working and life a bit more organised.

Deb- congrats on the results. I don't really think I'm experiencing an increase in stamina or energy, maybe I just need a little longer . It's interesting watching peoples approach to food, I'm finding at times at work people almost want you to eat the bad stuff so they can feel better about what they are eating.

Dave- hope you can get some relief and answers for your shoulder soon, living in pain is awful.

Rosean- if you are still about I heard you can buy paleo macaroons in the USA, I thought of you and the possibility of a niche market there

Okay it's going to be dark soon so time to drag the kids out on a bike ride so I can go for a run. Fingers crossed.

[cara123]

Oh and I forgot to say Higs I made a post Whole30 splurge today and purchased a new mandolin, mine is a real struggle and anything that helps with prep and makes me eat more variety is a positive in my book. Did you get your Slow Cooker?

[theheywhohaa]

Hello lovelies,

I'm just making myself comfortable in the confession box before I begin yet another long-winded yackfest.

 

I had quite a tussle with my inner feminist yesterday about posting a before and after photo. Despite never being particularly overweight, I have spent the last four years or so hampering my own happiness with self-loathing because I couldn't make my body look the way it did before my little boys were born. Everyone in my family has thyroid issues, our metabolisms are screwy, each and every one of us. For years I was in the *lucky* overactive camp and could pretty much do as I pleased with food, that is until I turned 30, when that all suddenly reversed. I've been a consistently healthy eater over the years, but boy can I binge when things get dull, or I have a low-level anxiety to avoid dealing with, or I'm sulking because I don't feel sufficiently appreciated for all of the (frankly unnecessary) things I do for my people. I was pretty much resigned to feeling this way until I stumbled on the w30, and then it seemed as though a light was switched on and I could finally see the underlying causes of my situation. Not my thyroid, not my frustrations, just my head doing crazy round-robin thinking that usually drove me into the arms of ice cream. The chilly, slippery arms of a love that should not be.

 

I'm fairly self-aware, and I knew that I was making myself miserable, which was perpetuating the very circumstance that I thought caused my initial misery...but I couldn't stop. I was imprisoned by my belief that looks are paramount, a belief I intellectually reject with all my heart but one that remains regardless of all the logic bombs I can drop on it. 

 

I want to think of my body as a useful friend that helps me get things done, not an enemy I have to punish or berate for its failings. I mean, how dare I hate my body? It is healthy, it gave me my children, it gets me around and is the intermediary between the pleasures of this world and my brain. Without it I would have none of the things I treasure. And look at all the wonderful people out there who want nothing more than a body that works without pain and suffering? Good grief, what a butt munch my brain can be. 

 

So I was on the horns of a dilemma with posting photos because the last thing I want to do is perpetuate the myths that led me to feel the way I did about myself until quite recently. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to share sensations online. If I could do so, I would rather communicate the relief I feel from my own body fascism and judgement, the satisfaction of accepting the way things are without feeling like I am a bad feminist for changing the status quo and getting fitter. 

 

I need to get a tshirt that says "BAD Feminist". I would wear that sh*t to death.

 

Sorry for the long and boring post today, I had to get that off my chest. I send you love, like Mr.Burns after his radiation therapy.

Rose

[MeadowLily]

Rose...

 

I'm not posting any before photos.  

[higs]

Rose, I so love you and everything that you contribute to this group.  I can relate to a lot of what you are saying.  It is so sad that so many of us wrestle with our body image.  I too have a big inner feminist that tells me to love my body as it is, but I have a strong inner critic that berates me for letting me get to the point where I had myself in baggy clothes.

 

I am going to be a big reunion of friends next weekend, and before I started W30 I was thinking that I might not go, because I felt fat, depressed, had low energy, and didn't think it would be fun.  I had had a similar experience at a family reunion a couple years ago where I was so insecure about how I felt in my skin, I shut down all weekend and had a miserable time.  I don't want to be ruled by those feelings, but in my brain I am still a 20-something long distance runner, and the outer and inner me still don't match.  My biggest goals, though, and what this W30 is really helping me to achieve, are to be strong, healthy and confident, and I have come such a long way towards that end this past month.  Hallelujah.  And I'm definitely not done yet.

 

My reintro plan will keep me mostly W30 for another couple weeks, and I'll probably eat mostly clean until our big trip in mid August when I'm certain that everything will go completely off the rails (and I hope I don't make myself sick in the process!).  I do want to do another W30 right afterwards and I have almost exactly a 30 day window in between a big vacation and a short backpacking trip.  My tentative oddball dates for Round 2 are Weds Aug 21-Fri Sept 19, where I will celebrate Day 30 on top of Mt. Margaret in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest in Washington State.  I'm thinking of it as the "Harvest W30" because my garden will be exploding with green beans and tomatoes and zucchini by then.  The dates are weird, but I would LOVE to have this group back together to join me;  or if we want to have an assortment of overlapping start dates, that would be great, too.  Who is in?

 

As far as reintros go, I'm still feeling good and am going to try legumes on Sunday (I added an extra day in between only because of another hike planned on Saturday).

[dcducks1]

Meadow - you only have to be beautiful to yourself. If anyone else wants to find your beauty....that's up to them. Smile within and don't worry about the skinny blondes that haunt the grocery stores of our lives. Be free.....and happy! I have no idea what it is like to live as you have and be ridiculed or teased for who you are. I am white......I guess.....and grew up around white.....who were surrounded by white......etc. I am only 4th generation American since my ancestors moved from Slovenia after the Great War. I don't speak it or know much about my ancestry except they came from Novo Mesto which looks like the most beautiful city ever. Too bad I don't care for cities and would rather live in the country. Anyway, I am sorry that people have treated you this way for who you are. I'm sure you are solid, courageous, wonderful person...and better than the bunch who made fun of you. 

 

I'm very groggy from pain meds and getting on the road soon to go get my son from computer camp north of Baltimore. It's about 2 hours each way......long day but should be rewarding.

Dreamt that my arm fell off........but the pain was gone so I think I was smiling in my dream.

 

Thanks to everyone for getting our old thread over 1000 replies, that is quite an accomplishment. I tried to get us tons of free stuff but the moderators weren't budging......not even on the Pinecone-of-the-month club....dang! Things must be tight.

 

Miki - it sounds like you need me to say it soooooo.................you are still my favorite.......but Deb is catching up quick....and Rose....and Laurie..... and Cara...and Meadow...and Higs.......and TRAMADOL!

 

Rose - love...love...love your writing style. Very hip, trendy, edgy, funny...and on point. Don't beat yourself up about what you think you are supposed to look like...you are you!

Love to everyone

 

Dave

[higs]

MeadowLily:  

 

Your results are incredible.  Congratulations!  I can tell what a beauty you are, inside and out, and you are clearly on the path to greater health and fitness.  I love how proud you are.  You hold your chin high just like your uncle when you see that blonde lady in the grocery store, and cast away those survey results.  They were probably testing a certain hypothesis, and there are undoubtedly other surveys that would report opposite results.  What counts is how YOU feel, and you are strong and invincible!

 

I am trying to post a roosterfish photo for you and I keep getting upload error messages, #$@%@?!?!  I'll try it again later.  The chickens, by the way, are several breeds:  no rhode island reds, but the reddest one is a new hampshire red.

[higs]

Cara, I'm glad you splurged on a mandolin!  Yesterday i went shopping for hiking poles and got overwhelmed at the cost and the varieties.  I decided to take my old cross-country ski poles hiking tomorrow and see how I like using them before I invest.  I'm sure the slow cooker will come soon.  I also want a cast iron frying pan.

[CCLaymon]

Dave - sorry you are still battling the bum shoulder. Safe drive today - maybe your wife is driving instead?

 

Laurie - I'm on Day 3 of Whole 30Part 2.  If everyone does it again in August, I'll jump in there, too. I'm shooting for Whole 100, but if something fabulous comes up I'm not necessarily going to pass on it.

 

Cara - I love the mandolin, but also I've used the food processor for the first time ever in my life. So many more dishes and pots and pans to clean when you are eating this way, yes?

 

Rose - interesting reflections on the pictures.  I grew up my whole life thinking I was fat - my parents told me so, and put me on a diet starting at age 12.  When I was getting married one time (not to Rick!) at about age 27 my parents put together one those videos showing your pictures from babyhood to the present. I couldn't stop crying. I WASN'T FAT. Athletic, yes. And I hung out with very skinny girls. But the pictures in that case actually helped me to get a grip on reality. I'm not sure if that's helpful in anyway, and this journey is about you. We love you with or without the pictures!

 

Meadow - thanks for sharing so openly. I liked the part about "that's not what normal people do."  I use that as a guide all the time. What would a normal person do? What would a good wife do? What would a good mom do? It's part of my "fake it til I make it" strategy!

 

I did a four mile run this morning, and it was a SLOG!  For about the last week I've been drinking coffee with coconut cream (NOT coconut creamer!)  I drink about 8oz, with 2 oz of cream, and it's pure heaven. But I think it's not a great idea with early morning exercise. I think I'm going to wean myself off over the next few days.

 

Rick and I have a big outing planned today: Buying food storage containers and visiting the local food co-op. We must have you all sitting on the edge of your seats, LOL!  There used to be a lot of eating out and consumption of adult beverages. Sometimes, karoke. Alas, not now.

 

Happy Friday everyone!

[MeadowLily]

"You hold your chin high just like your uncle when you see that blonde lady in the grocery store, and cast away those survey results.  They were probably testing a certain hypothesis, and there are undoubtedly other surveys that would report opposite results.  What counts is how YOU feel, and you are strong and invincible!"

 

I am going to throw that survey in the garbage can, Higs.   I will think about him from now on when I see that woman in the store.  

 

I can't watch that 'biggest loser' show anymore.  That approach may work but some of that 'coaching' & letting it all hang out would be complete humiliation for me.  When they stand them up on the block for the numbers and the 'loser' walks off with a kick in the pants,  "you must leave now, don't let the door hit you in the rear".

 

Rose, your writing touches the heart.

 

Thanks for everything, Dave, CC, Cara, Higs, Miki, Laurie, Deb....all.

[theheywhohaa]

Hey guys,

A quickie: survey says "bullsh*t". That grocery store lady is all kinds of sad within. It comes out of her like that because her skin is porous and can't hold all the poison in. Its not about you, its never about you Meadow. Its about all the bad information we all carry around, like CC's mistaken childhood belief that she was fat instead of just exactly how she should have been, and Higs' hiding her light inside some baggy clothes and me thinking it matters whether I can still wear a size 6 and on and on and on. BAD INFO.

I broke my favourite knife today, and directly after I knocked over the blender cup and it smashed too. SO I guess I have some investing to do before that 2nd w30 in August, because I am all in. Not to fit a pair of pants, but to fit the contents of my head into a better appointed salon, one that functions as it should without my constant scrutiny.

Love to you all,

R

[Deb.]

Trying to stay caught up with y’all!!

 

Rose – brilliant post that I can wholeheartedly relate to.

This is my favorite part “I want to think of my body as a useful friend that helps me get things done, not an enemy I have to punish or berate for its failings”. Yes. Yes. Yes.

I struggle with many of the same things and a firm belief that we don’t /shouldn’t have to conform to societal norms. Yet, I hate being heavy. And I want to look like a societal norm.  So yes. Does that make us bad feminists really? I felt a lot of peace around my body when I went to Costa Rica last year. Did yoga, hung out in sarongs, and witnessed a lot of good local folk just working hard, living their lives and embracing their curves. I’ve had so many befores and afters in my weight life, I didn’t want to do it here.

 

Meadow – I am so happy for you for those amazing achievements. Over and over it validates that in many cases, our prescription happy MDs don’t know what they are talking about. I’m so so glad you had such huge health changes, and so fast. I’m curious to know more about the sunshine mixes? Can we all get onto that?

Whatever’s going on with Ms Snooty in the grocery store, I know you know that its all her stuff and nothing  to do with you whether you look good bad or fabulous. She must be very unhappy to treat other people like that.

I loved this in your post “Normal people live their lives and take each day, one at a time.  Their focus is on living and not former fattie photos.  Do you know one average person who posts their belly looking exactly the same - before and after... I don't”

I also want to thank you so much for giving us some insight on the Native American community. Its something that is so out of sight for so many folks living in this country – when I first moved here I was astonished at this. I really appreciate you sharing it with us. The vibe I get from you is so strong, articulate, proud.

 

Higs – we should all get t shirts with “strong, healthy and confident” written on them.

I can’t wait to hear how your friends reunion goes in your new W30 skin.

I could be in to join you on your next round, I will be settled in post production and back working from home by then (can’t wait!). I got two cast iron pans at the swap meet and I have used them SO much, I really love having them.

 

Dave, so sorry you are struggling so with your shoulder. Suck down those pain meds. I may have missed this but what did the MRI say? I know you will mind mend it but I hope you're continuing to rest it. 

 

CC, somehow I missed that you were starting right back in!! That’s super awesome! Keep us posted! Isn’t it funny how satisfying the food container purchase is?! I did two Costco runs and so love having just plenty of containers!

 

 

Miki Mik. How are you and can you think of any restaurants in MB or El Seg that are paleo friendly! 

 

Its pie day here today! 

 

Much love my friends. 

[Sadie]

DEB - You have been on my mind so much the last few days - I can't imagine having to be around all that wonderful food and no trying any of it and the hours oh my, I poured into bed at 9 last night exhausted. I am so happy for your energy levels! Happy Holidays!

 

CC- thanks for your wonderful W30 experience post - and congrats! on all your wonderful positives . Had to laugh at Rick's wine glass hunt - and I have to say I am a bit jeolous - every girl should have her on personal sous chef, what fun. My husband makes a mean Hamburger Helper and His "world famous chili" (his name for it) - but I haven't had either in years - I wish I could get him interested in just trying some of the wonderful food I have been eating.

 

Lily - You are on a roll girl, WOW. Wonderful success story. I am so very happy for you. I would have loved to see the look on your doctors face- I wish more of them would get on board of healing us thru food.

 

Rose, Dave - have really enjoyed ya'lls pictures.

 

As for me - I put lemon in my roasted chicken the other night - won't be doing that again any time soon - my head felt like it would explode and yesterday was reminiscent of the exhaustion felt before W30 - feeling better today - so I guess I will be staying on the W30 train for a while longer, with my low histimine and auto-immune protacols. I was so hoping to get to add a few things, but I never had a day of being completely headache free so I guess I am rushing things.

 

I know this is the beginning of the journey for me. I will continue to SEEK out ways to live a healthy, happy life.

 

SO glad you are all still here - you are definitely my corner stone .

[MeadowLily]

                                                             Chief  

[higs]

Still having issues uploading a photo for you, MeadowLily. Sorry no rooster fish yet....

[dcducks1]

I am reading the pain and humiliation that many of you ladies are expressing. I am hearing your inability to show your before and after pictures and I understand. I read an article a couple days ago about a woman who was morbidly obese and decided that she was going to wear a bikini and it went viral on the internet. She said she was proud of who she was and she didn't care anymore about what people said about her weight or what she wore. Before I say anymore, let me just say that I think of all of you as friends and I am going to express my opinion and hopefully not upset anyone. I don't care if the woman wears a bikini or not. The forum thread that followed her online was, for the most part, very positive and encouraging....with many overweight women claiming they were going to be "as brave as she was and start wearing whatever they wanted!" I have a problem with this. Our country/society continues to grow more and more unhealthy at am alarming rate. WE have personally witnessed how bad the food is that is readily available for us everyday. WE have seen how they sneak sugar, chemicals, and all sorts of garbage into our diet. In my opinion, this woman was "giving up" and asking the media to help her convince the rest of the world to "give up"! If everyone is "ok" with an unhealthy, overweight body, then why try at all? If we can get the media to demonize the healthy.....then we can eat whatever we want and still be beautiful. I'm not saying that everyone needs to be a Victoria Secret model...I'm just talking about HEALTHY! I don't want to live in a society that says "this is getting kind of hard so maybe we should quit." That's what I got from this article. I honestly believe if I could ask this girl, "if I could make you slender and healthy...right now......would you do it?" I know the answer would be YES! But instead of fighting and working for what she wants/ needs.......it's easier to just ask the media to help her "normalize" her situation. We need the courage to look at what we are/ who we are and what we are not doing correctly to our bodies and fix it. We need to adjust our diets, exercise, eat healthy and EXPECT to have a healthy body, not a body loaded with excess weight, organs straining to do their jobs, and veins loaded with medicines designed to "keep us going" because we were too lazy to do it ourselves. Sorry for my rant......I will blame it on the pain meds.....not meant to hurt anyone on here.....love to all of you wonderful Dirty 30...ers........

 

 

Dave 

[theheywhohaa]

Hello my deep and meaningful friends,

I feel the need to clarify one small thing. My problem with the before and after picture is how I use it to objectify myself. How it diminishes a person, the life they lead, everything we each bring to the great table of life, to nothing but a set of body parts or a number on a scale. I have a problem with this because I think it is so reductive and unhelpful to bring a life down to appearance. This is NOT to say that I think it would be good for me to be happy about being overweight. Nope. What I mean is that I want to be more concerned with who I am and what I do than with how I look. I want being a better friend, mother, sister, neighbour, student, leader...not a better bikini body...to be the stuff that keeps me awake at night.

I could not agree more that pretending fat is fine is equally bad juju. This is still bringing the person down to the level of appearance, its just reframing the question as a matter of viewpoint (Rubenesque anyone?). It doesn't change the question to change the words you use to express it.Where I feel like a bad feminist is when I start conforming to that needy impulse to post my "results" in hopeful exchange for other people's approval. Which Meadow rightly smacked down for the crap it is. And I know that other people are far too concerned with their own struggles to give a damn about how much I weigh or how I look in my jeans. Again quite rightly.

My stepmother, who is the kindest person I know-if a little right-wing for my comfort- is dangerously overweight. She wears a breathing apparatus to sleep because her apnea could kill her. She has to take a tank with her when she goes to the store, and cannot walk from the car to the door because the combination of her weight and her eroded joints make such an achievement unattainable. I would never argue to celebrate this. It is hellish and terribly saddening to watch. The saddest part is that I feel it is impossible to bring up the w30 with her because it would hurt her so greatly to be confronted with the truth: I think her obesity is a terrible disease and needs treating, and I don't accept her bulk as cuddly, or zaftig, or Botticelli-inspired.

Dave, you are right. Our health is our wealth. It allows us to stick around to be useful to our kids and other loved ones. It means we can give something back to our society. You could never offend me by saying something both true and kind.

You are all beautiful to me. You have all helped me to remove my blinders and view the individual as a holistic unit. I'm putting that grocery store lady persona in my own head out to pasture and getting real, and I thank you all for the wake up.  

[Sadie]

"This is getting kind of hard so maybe we should quit"

 

Dave that struck a cord with me this morning. Yesterday after work I was exactly there. I was tired, exhausted really, my head was pounding, I was overwhelmed, emotional and discouraged -

I decided to heck with it, and I pulled into the liquor store to get stuff to make me a margarita- I had had it. As I was pulling in I decided to call my daughter cry into my soon to be glass of all this is bigger than me margarita. YUM!

About 45 minutes later I left the parking lot without having entered and headed to the book store instead and left with two wonderful resources in hand- came home fixed the best supper I know how to right now and decided that I would learn more and SEEK out the answers to what my body is trying to tell me.

I have to saw I feel stronger this morning.

 

Reminds me of a quote I read one time - "I'm not telling you it's going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it."

 

Think I'll post that on my mirror for a few days!

Smiles to all - Sadie

[dcducks1]

Rose - post the pics that show YOU! The pics that show you happy, with friends, healthy, with your family. The pics that mean something special to YOU! It doesn't matter how thin I get, I still wouldn't want to post a BEFORE picture since I am disappointed in myself for getting that heavy. I don't want people to gasp and go "oh my god.....what a difference......wow....I would date him...NOW! I actually don't think people would gasp at my photos....I don't think the largest I ever got to would be any kind of stark contrast. Women seem to be crazy about the before and after pics and most guys don't care. Secret: we also don't really care for the fish face selfie that girls make either.......just smile........ if you are married and making seductive selfies for Facebook or wherever......you might want to ask yourself "who am I trying to impress?"

And Rose - do you think that your step mom doesn't know how big she is? Don't you think you could approach the issue from the angle of caring, love, and better health without hurting her feelings? Tough spot to be in.

Sadie - so proud of you for being bigger than your exhaustion...for blasting thru the urge to say "screw it" and for doing the right thing. You get three gold stars today...and a smiley face !

 

Love to all......headed out to the island for an afternoon of sun and fun....and they have a band today...sweet!  

 

Dave