Did you find yourself sweeter and kinder after Whole30 reintro?

[MeadowLily]

I've had some wild dreams and a blast from the WD30 past wrote to me. They said, to this very day, they still tell others about the extra special magic that the WD30'rs had together. 

Lightning strikes.  Maybe once. Maybe twice.

It was a collection of eclectic peoples.Ancient philosophers in young bodies. Sharp minds, quick witted and mostly all heart. Broad tastes and palates with diverse ideas and styles. Multifaceted and all embracing.

They've scattered to the wind but I won't forget them. Behind the scenes was someone who was praying for the group. It made a huge difference and you could...I could feel the prayers. They were praying for our success and for our folkaronies, too. All of the bases were being covered for those facing an enormous health battle. 

Excellence of spirit.  There was a daily flow happiness for 30 days. Some of us felt like we were floating and sure, most of it could have been the fat adaptation process but our fearless leader, dcducks was catapulting everyone forward into success. 

He was a huge part of the hands-on springboard and launching pad into the future beyond the WD30. That legacy is cemented but you can't capture lightning in a bottle. 

Tough times come and I don't know of anyone who gets out of this life without experiencing some pain.  Wisdom and understanding are the keys to happiness that lasts.

Wisdom * Honor * Power * Purpose = Excellence of spirit.

Loyalty will lead you to victory. Consistency.

When you are a person with a strong purpose, you will name it, announce it and stand on it no matter what.  Nobody will be able to sway you to the left or the right.

Loyalty with consistency means when everyone else is throwing the towel in and giving up - you become more determined. When everyone else is pressuring you to be a milk toast/mediocre, you firmly plant your feet on the ground and shake your head...Noooooooo.

The wash-out rate may be as high as 50% for following the protocol to a Texas-Tea but you are unwilling to compromise.

When you develop real purpose like that, you realize that it is even greater than your own opinions. Having such strong loyalty leaves no room for compromise.

This kind of loyalty prepares you for future battles that you will face. It gives you strength and security.  It will be the anchor that holds you together in one place as you are tossed to and fro with raging storms.

Let the wind blow and the storms rage. Let the battlefield get heated.

You're not backing down. You are not running away. You're not going out with your tail tucked down. Defeated.

Prayer is many things. My spirit is the best part of me.  In a nutshell and not the whole bushel it is the strongest form of communication. A conversation - from beginning to end.

You don't have to search for the most eloquent words and perfect English grammar is not required, minding every p and q. You don't even have to be on your best behavior. Good girl. Bad girl. Naughty or nice.

Just saying...'help' can be enough. Those are the strongest times when you will get answers, answers, answers. 

They may shock you. Words of encouragement or direction. How to get it right the next time when everything flops.

Being still or letting your whole heart on a matter hang out there for everyone to see.  There will be potshots taken from across the bow and your knees may buckle out from underneath you. 

You will get back UP.  You will continue to make a stand. There will be days when it is stink on stink. But let the tides of stink be turned back the other direction.

Make no mistake, there are those who will be on your side. Quietly asking for intervention behind the scenes. Prayer can help you avoid alot of mistakes when you don't know which direction to turn.

You'll never be sorry you took the time. Even just a short one will do. Purpose and prayer, a powerful combination.  It can make all of the difference between completely washing out, falling out of a program and being an overcomer.

From captivity to freedom. 

Stay excellent in spirit.  Isn't that the way.

 

 

Rest in peace, Gregg Allman. You were excellent.

[MeadowLily]

The gift of faith is powerful.

Faith is not moderation.

When you have faith, it's not either/or.  You either believe it or you don't. There is no between with faith.  Either something is true or it's not. 

There are not 50 shades of faith or gray. 

Faith believes that your prayers will be answered. Without it, you believe in nothing but vast spaces of emptiness and endless blackholes for eternity.

But you see, it takes faith to believe that eternity even exists. It takes faith to believe that blackholes even exist. It takes faith to believe in our own opinions. Faith is not moderation. 

Faith believes that everything is possible. That includes being an overcomer from food addiction and binge eating. Faith believes that if you follow a 30 day elimination protocol that you will gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding about yourself.

It takes an intervention to get you off the gerbil wheel of thrill eating. A snap-out-it moment in time.

 

Failure is not an option. From your captivity to freedom. You are on your way.

Open. Mind. Insert. Possibilities.

[MeadowLily]

Faith believes everything is possible. ISWF said I could change my life in unexpected ways.

I believed that and it took faith.

There may be those behind you that have more faith to see you through than you have. Be thankful and grateful.

What if you're doing this all alone. That's alright, too.

They say that social media can't really touch your life. That you can't find joy-filled and thought provoking words from all over the world that may help you in your walk. 

That you might as well just throw it out with the bathwater. That your favorite social media platform is imaginary friendship. 

I say, Ooooo, brother where art thou. The WD30 and W30 continues to be a virtual fountain of inspirational vitamins for me.  A great tool that brings a daily refreshing and renewal to my spirit with caring and compassionate peoples.  

Much Love. Felicias.  Much Love.

 

 

 

[MeadowLily]

Stop editing yourself and everything will fall into place. Perfect grammar and spelling are not required. 

The greater your efforts to refine yourself into a pile of perfection, the more you will find stink on stink. 

Many may be able to meditate in silence.  I can't begin to clear my head of thoughts. If I do, what a mishmosh of the junkiest bunch of nonsense I've ever told myself. Fountains and fountains of useless information.Worthless.

I don't try to clear my thoughts. I mill around and shoot the breeze with the Universe. When I leave my computer or journal, hang up the phone and start walking into another room, I receive what I need to know. It's just the way I roll.

Trying to clear my head of all of the dross, 100 more pieces of  information tries to move in and take its' place. Bacon and eggs. Makin' copies. SNL. Never mind.  

 

 

There's a wash out rate for almost any higher educational or military  program out there in the Universe. Throwing the towel in before you make it to the Finish Line. 

Throwing the towel in after you make it across the Finish Line. Immediately. Start eating it all back after a W30.  

I thought about a pro athlete who threw it all away after their mentor was gone. The athletic legacy is set in concrete but the reputation was tarnished. It takes true grit to rehabilitate your reputation once it's knocking up against the rocks.

It doesn't matter if you have your own jet plane, yacht and everything that money can buy. Stress, anxiety and depression can really mess with a head and your life-long goals. It can kick the props out from underneath your ambition. Takes the wind right out of your sails.

It takes true grit and humility to ask for help. Sit down with someone, face-to-face. That pro had big dreams. Is it too late now to see them fulfilled. Everything is possible.

Were they doing it more for the mentor than themselves. No one can do this for you. If you're not doing it for yourself you risk throwing the towel in and giving up. 

Doing it for yourself and by yourself can make you stronger in the end. You don't have to please or edit yourself to fit anybody's box or ideas. You are not under their control.

Shawshank it and get yourself free. 

[MeadowLily]

 

When you're stuck...like stink on stink.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

We can see the Northern Lights right now. Seeing them in Alaska is far easier but it's a gift when you can see them here. The sun has its own seasons but we'll see the total eclipse of the sun.

So worth it moments. Those have their own seasons, too.

How do you know when and where you'll find one. You choose. You decide. Maybe every single day is filled with so worth it moments. 

My dog is sick from absorbing waaay too much stress. That's what the Vet said. I slept in the garage last night, next to my dog. The concrete floor was hard even with lots of cushions. Concrete will sux the life right out of your vehicle batteries and I think it suxs the life out of every living thing. It's hard to stand on your legs all day on a concrete floor. It doesn't matter if there's a carpet on top of it. Concrete makes everything ache in your body.

Conifers that are placed too close to a concrete foundation will die. It puts too much lime into the surrounding soil.

I turned the radio on for noise, left the door slightly open. My dog and I watched the Northern Lights.  I hope she gets better soon. She's sicker than a 'dog'. 

So worth it moments. We went out for breakfast and I'm stuffed to the gills. Everything was cooked in commercial clarifed butter.  The omelette was enormous. 

  

We are the Hole in the Wall Gang. 

Someone said to me, 'no more disappointments, no more pain and suffering'. You wouldn't want your loved ones to experience another day of that. But there's a hole in the wall. Their leadership, wisdom and guidance that you relied on for so long has gone missing.

People always talk about closure. What a bunch of hooey. There's really no such thing as closure. You accept reality but you don't ever close the book and throw away the key. The key that unlocks the door to your heart.

No. You mill around and shoot the breeze with the Universe. Memories are allowed to come and go as they please.  Bouncing in and out of the Light. 

The Walking Man takes it back outside and lets the sunshine dry the tears as you linger long on all of the so worth it moments.  You choose. You decide. 

  

 

[MeadowLily]

When you're stuck...like stink on stink.

They say that music experiences a renaissance every 40 years. We're overdue. Rock and Roll. The peak of the hippie era gave us everything and it's stood the test of time. I hear those same songs today and that era was great. Where have all the flowers gone.

The older folkaronies thought that long hair was the end of civilization. Get a haircut and get a real job. Clean your act up and don't be a slob.

The hippie era gave us health food stores. Brewer's yeast, wheat germ, granola, yogurt and GORP.... Honey, herbal teas and everyone's parents were doing Dr. Atkins. 

They were eating bricks of cheddar cheese and meat proteins. It was all the craze and everyone's bowels were locked up tighter than a drum. Grandmaw enjoyed those 'diet plates'.  A hamburger patty, a few slices of a mealy tomato with one scoop of cottage cheese sitting on a leaf of iceberg lettuce.

Every little burg had a joint that served a 'diet plate' special. I can remember diets since the days of my childhood. Everyone was dieting and wanted a quick weight loss fix. There's really nothing new under the sun.

Every tiny dancer still wants that fast weight loss and tiny hiney for summertime. For some, being tiny means everything. It becomes a livelong pursuit.

I have a folkaronie who told another one several years back, that they'd never looked so good. Wow, you're nice and thin. You look great. They died of cancer shortly thereafter but being thin and tiny was the main attraction.

I was just waiting on a Chinook during that long, cold, snowy winter. One of the longest on record.  Now, I'm waiting on a renaissance. I want new music and something exciting in the air. The hippie generation brought about all kinds of change. It was tangible and you could feel it. The older folkaronies may not have liked it but they look back and think, Ooooo my, that music was really, really good.  Change is good.

I don't know what tomorrow holds. Maybe bricks of cheddar cheese, waffle stompers and long hair.  There's something happening here, what it is I ain't exactly sure...I still know the lyrics from those songs. They were poetry in motion. 

Stay sweeter and kinder. Summer is here and we need something to look forward to.  Change. 

I don't know what it is about weight loss and tiny hineys that makes people so darned happy but it does. Given the choice, many would choose that above everything else. Yes. They would.

Grandmaw wanted one. Bless her heart.

Remember those cans of "slim in the shortest time possible" made with corn syrups and sugars and nonfat milk. I used to wash my chocolate covered orange jelly slices down with a can of that multi-crap.

The half has not been told how bad I felt while trying every diet under the sun. It was a huge mistake.

 

[MeadowLily]

Clean Eating is just like Paleo. It can mean absolutely everything.  No one owns either of those terms.

Clean Eating means there is Dirty Eating.  Good Girl. Bad Girl. Naughty or Nice.  Black or White thinking.

Dirty Eating for many can mean no pork, shellfish and other stringent dietary laws and rules. No sea spiders or catfish, they're bottom feeders and dirty eaters. Dirty Eating for some means not letting it rain taco chips UP in your house or allowing potato chips to sweep you off your feet or being gluten-free. But it may be grains in their entirety and not just taking out the dirty gluten parts that irritate your gut.

One woman's dirt is another man's idea of life sustaining grub. Clean Eating, saying that term causes more self-monitoring and food anxiety in my brain. Shawshanking is no longer a reality and once again, I'm held captive to food.

I'm a dirty girl and a dirty eater. Bad. Naughty. Off the rails. Going sideways.

This is a judgment free zone. There are no moral judgments attached to food.  If you start calling yourself a Clean Eater, that can mean a 100 different things just like Paleo. A Clean Eating mindset can result in more food disordered thinking.

There comes a time when you have to allow yourself to get out of bed and walk out those food prison doors as a free woman. There are conversations I can't participate in.

Food Addiction doesn't make food decisions with logic, it makes them with feelings.  "I feel fat".  Fat is not a feeling.

Our inner wisdom is a gift. Develop it and act on it.  Only you can make sure that you listen to your heart.

Shawshanking it out of Food Addiction means you have to check out of autopilot. You only have about 5 seconds to make a decision. Your brain can kill ideas in less than 5 seconds.

We only do what we 'feel' like doing.  We either do or we don't.

Food Addiction is chronically rewarding yourself with food rewards. 

Sugar = Cheering and Approval and Love

It starts in childhood.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

A Dirty Cheater.  Cheat Meals = Dirty Eating.

So worth it moments. Who knows when those are. You choose.

When you cheat with dirty eating, you shove food into your mouth. It's a cultivated mindset. Gluten is arsenic and sugar is crack.

After 3 years as a recovering food addict, I have to distance myself from other people who are stuck in dieting, clean eating and hail bent on pursuing a tiny hiney above everything else in life. 

They may deplete you, too.

The brain overestimates who cares about what you're doing on a daily basis. People are hard pushed to take care of their families, paying their bills and keeping their job.

Most of us cannot be on a perpetual vacation, telling others how to be zen and enlightened. We're punching a clock, keeping one eye open when we sleep and the other eye on the boss.

Most of us no longer even take a full vacation. We give it up to impress the boss. Heard that this week, we can't afford to fall asleep at the wheel and tiptoe through the tulips.

We use jedi mindtricks to get out of bed every single morning, make the coffee to energize ourselves, constant juggling while plastering a wax smile on our face.

Stress cortisol exposure and insulin excursions are off the chain. Coffee, sugar and energy drinks. The trifecta of the burnt out adrenaline junkie.

You have got to take care of yourselves.  Paw knew that good food was important for healing. I fed him his last meal. He tried to eat breakfast that day. It was difficult for him to drink a few sips of water.  I did not know that was going to be the last time.

Maw said, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.  Me, too.

Taking extra special care of your folkaronies is the greatest gift you will ever give to yourself.  You won't regret one single day of it, I promise you.

There are more important things in life than being a Clean Eater or a Dirty Eater who's living for the thrill of the chase of dirty food. Thrill Eating.

Check out of autopilot and get yourself free.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

I don't want to sound like a sad, country song but my dog is very sick. She is absolutely the best dog friend I've ever had. She is a creature and not a child. I know that.

I've been sleeping by her side in the garage for 3 nights now. Come Monday, if the situation doesn't improve, we're at the end of her trail. She's absorbed alot of stress as dogs do and it's all been too much. She's quit eating and drinking water. You can see the life fading from her eyes.

The wise and good doctor told me to do all of my crying on my own time. It's very important not to lean too heavy on those who've been through the mill. I understand why and the first few weeks are key in helping someone get their sea legs back.

I've been gone for days at a time and that stressed my dog out, too. The Vet told me that dogs know what's going on. They have feelings and can die of a broken heart because of their intense loyalty to humans. 

Come Monday, it won't be alright if I have to follow through but I will not let her suffer in any way.  Not for my sake. She's given me her all.

I was reading about it online and many have said you are a gutless wonder if you don't sit with your dog and help them transition on through. They need the comfort of your voice and touch...just like humans do. 

I'll be there. It won't be easy but creatures and humans don't want to be all alone in the end. They need their loved ones around them.

I've told that dog all of my secrets. Jimmy Stewart wrote this poem.

Ode to Beau

He never came to me when I would call

Unless I had a tennis ball,

Or he felt like it

But mostly he didn't come at all.

When he was young

He never learned to heel

Or sit or stay,

He did things his way.

Discipline was not his bag

But when you were with him things sure didn't drag.

We are early-to-bedders at our house

I guess I'm the first to retire.

And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me

And get up from his place by the fire.

He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs,

And I'd give him one for awhile.

He would push it under the bed with his nose

And I'd fish it out with a smile.

And before very long

He'd tire of the ball

And be asleep in his corner

In no time at all.

And there were nights when I'd feel him

Climb upon our bed

And lie between us,

And I'd pat his head.

And there were nights when I'd feel this stare

And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there

And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair.

And sometimes I'd feel him sigh

And I think I know the reason why.

And now he's dead.

And there are nights when I think I feel him

Climb upon our bed and lie between us,

And I pat his head.

And there are nights when I think

I feel that stare

And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair.

But he's not there.

Ooo, how I wish it wasn't so

I'll always love

A Dog Named Beau.

 

 

 

Come Monday, it won't be alright.

 

 

[MeadowLily]

 

 

[MeadowLily]

It's a wonder of nature and another Christmas miracle.

Today, my best dog friend ate some strong probiotics I put into full fat greek yogurt. Then, she ate her dogfood and took 32 slurps of water. I counted. She sat in the grass and then ran across the yard. Adorbs. 

Come Monday, I believe it will be alright. 

I cried a waterfall of tears and I did sleep in the garage by her side again, 5 nights now.  

There are many threads where W30 peoples say they cannot quench their thirst. Back in 2014, I just couldn't help myself and I posted these falls. I remember laughing so hard at the time.  Simply drink water.  It will sustain you.

I'm hopeful that things are looking UP and I pray that everything improves around here. I have an idea that an extra special someone said some prayers for me.  Again. Asking for a change to come, a good one.

We all need something to smile about. It's a heady thicket...adulting it. You're trying to be a force of strength when multi-crap hits the fan. Your dog is sicker than a "dog". 

Quench your thirst with water. Take a long shower until your fingers get all pruny. Blow the stink off. Stinkin' Thinkin' is stink on stink.  

 

 

[Stegner]

Those old doggies can surprise us. I'm so happy your dear old doggie has perked up.  Go probiotics!  

[MeadowLily]

She's only a few years old, that's the hard part. We're not yet out of the woods so I'll be sleeping in the garage again. I leave the sidedoor cracked so she can run outside but it kinda gives me the willies. There are many other creatures roaming around this time of year. I've crawled in the backseat of my vehicle a few times in the middle of the night. But then she sits by the door and wants in, so I get back out on the cot. 

Maw wants to know if Bear will be joining me on the garage floor and he says, heckatoot, nooo. He'll saw logs by himself in the house.

I listen to an all night radio station, Coast to Coast, for entertainment.The Doug Stephan program comes on at 3:00 a.m. and I'm wide awake until daylight. Then I sleep like a brick for a couple of hours...no critter worries including bigfoot/grizz outside my door. Too much Coast to Coast, I should switch the channel but now I'm hooked.

If the wind rattles the garage door, I cover my head. I've been rummy since the 1st of May, running on an hour of sleep here and there. Welp. Time to get my pallet ready. Catch you on the flipflop. Maybe I'll see the Northern Lights, again.

 

 

[Stegner]

Why don't you bring her into the house?  The thought of you sleeping on the garage floor again is painful to me. 

[MeadowLily]

She was so sick that I was up all night cleaning up messes. I decided to take it outside and the first few nights I had to carry her outside. She was too weak to climb up or down any stairs. Last night was better and I'm hoping to make it back inside soon. Like a child running a fever, hot and cold. I cover her up when she's shivering and she rests when I put one hand on her body. My arm falls alseep, my legs feel like stiff pretzels from not moving. It's a labor of love, for sure.

[MeadowLily]

It's never too late to start over. If you weren't happy with yesterday try something different today.

Don't stay stuck. 

"You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down and it has made all the difference in my life."  – Steve Jobs

[MeadowLily]

Knowing Is Not Enough; We Must Apply. Wishing Is Not Enough; We Must Do. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Momentum is a gift.

Motivational quotes can inspire you when you're stuck. We are the things we tell ourselves. WINNING = people who succeed have momentum. When you start falling down, that downward spiral can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You're going to have to fight your battles more than once for the Big Win.

The secrets of success are found in our daily routines. I've created this happy place as part of mine.

You have to accept total responsibility for your life. Only you can get you where you want to go.

You can't sit and  wait around for your inspiration. You have to get UP and go to work.

The successful person is the one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks that others may throw your way. You're going to experience potshots taken at you from across the bow. That's human nature.

Don't shout me down while I'm preaching good...(from the TV). The number one reason people fail and throw the towel in is because they let others try to control them.  You can't do that. Controllers cannot even manage their own lives.  Don't let them get ahold of yours.

Don't listen to the naysayers and potshot takers from across the bow.

Others may think you're silly but they'll just have to eat your dust. Success is your rising out of the ashes with no loss of enthusiasm.

It will always seem like it's impossible until it's done.  It ain't over until the healthy lady sings. Rise UP out of your ashes today.

 

 

[Stegner]

I hope with my whole heart that she makes it.  And because I always think of Lyme when there's a mystery illness, that's what I am thinking of.  Around here, it's so prevalent the vets treat for it without a blood test. 

[MeadowLily]

Good one! She was on a very strong antibiotic for 7 days and it seemed to strip her gut health. Today, she's running around and feeling pretty good.

I added that extra strength 10 strains probiotic back in. It seems to be working.

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

Find Your Mind

Our minds want to use the least resources possible to manage inputs, run our bodies and more. The smaller the effort, the more mental capacity we have for emergency processing -- like when that woolly mammoth charges us or when all heck breaks loose.

The more we can respond out of habit or instinct, the less energy our mind has to use. We create habit after habit to allow our minds to have excess capacity for those all important moments. The challenge is that those instincts and habits often get in the way of our own best path.

[MeadowLily]

Our initial perceptions are formed in early childhood. Between the ages of 0-7, every single thing that happens in our world becomes a truth to our mind. We then build on those initial perceptions and they become like fly paper -- attracting more experiences that match the perception to make it true.

This is why there is always more and more to discover, why we never stop learning and expanding. It's the function of our mind to expand.

Your mind is the ruler of your reality. 

[MeadowLily]

"The success you are achieving with your Whole30 is money in the bank that you need to spend on additional improvements. You know how to use food as a safe haven, but have you learned how to apply other skills to achieve a safe haven? - Walking away from destructive situations. Enlisting appropriate help. Emotional self-soothing. A lot of us need to spend a few years in a counseling or therapy relationship to develop these skills. Our families did not teach us how to manage our lives in a healthy fashion. You can't learn it from a book or develop it from watching functional families on TV. We need face to face relationships with people who can help us develop skills that were missing where we got our start in life. Like a lot of things, it starts with food, but there is more work to do. You really can do it."

Tom Denham