Did you find yourself sweeter and kinder after Whole30 reintro?

[MeadowLily]

My ancestors are Paleo-americans.  I can tell you that they weren't drinking tequila shooters, smoking and chewing tobacco and eating cookies, cakes and fried bread on the weekends.   It's only when they started doing those things that T1 and T2,  heart attacks,  morbid obesity,  pancreatic cancer and cancer cancers started showing up in our family tree. 

 

Genetic deal-breakers.  

 

Wild animals don't suffer with diabetes or alcoholism.  You won't see morbidly obese moose, elk and deer.  There's not a single coyote or river otter taking insulin on a regular basis. If Grizzlies are having heart attacks,  I've not seen one getting one stents or having a gastric bypass.  

 

Even with all of these things we do to counteract budgeting the weekends for full-on food explosion blowouts...we have become the unhealthiest nation on the planet.    I was in that number of unhealthy Paleo-americans.  It makes me cringe to remember what I did to myself. 

 

Find your pathway to healing.   You just have to. 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

I know someone who's at the North Pole.  For real.  They reached a fork in the road and literally took it to the ends of the earth.  Ayup.

 

They can see Russia from their 'house'.  Had a good horsey laugh over that one with the folkaronies. I won't tell you what they've said about the ends of the earth.  I knew it at Hello and I did not have to go there to know what they're talking about for crying outloud.

 

I've watched enough wilderness shows to last me a lifetime.  I don't care if I ever watch another one.  I don't want to hear about homesteading and building a cabin at the North Pole anymore. The half has not been told of what I know about living in a tipi,  for real,  in the dead of winter with absolutely nothing to eat.   Talk to the hand because this talking head is not listening, Santa.  

 

A country boy can survive but not at the North Pole.  You can't raise chickens or cattle or catch a fish. If you could see what I've been doing, Santa...you would know that I've grown accustomed to bathtubs, comfy rugs and toasty socks. I don't want to gnaw on Irish Lords.   All mouth and fins.   Big Mouth Billy Bass. 

 

 

A dream within a dream.  The grass may look greener on the other side of the fence but when you get there you may find nothing but frozen tundra and marshed mellows.  Marshyland everything.  Water seeping through your shoes and up to your knees.   Wet socks and frozen toes.  Not my cuppa tea. 

 

So how is it at the North Pole.    Not so hot.  

 

Meanwhile, back at the farm,  I'm busting my hump.  Irrigating, mowing, weed whacking, trimming and doing all of the cooking, caretaking and grocery shopping, cutting down heavy branches and wearing my steel-toed boots and hardhat.   

 

I've been at it for weeks.  Some days I roll around on the ground and crawl to my knees. I'm using muscles I never knew I had.   Ooooo,  I could cry me a river but I have much more to do.  I haven't cried once.  

 

I have a photo of M. Ali on my fridge.  I used to put up photos of people to motivate me.  It never worked.  They all became a blur but I put Ali UP there with his fists UP.   He motivates me to fight for my life and those I care for.  I put my fists UP like Ali every time I'm standing in front of the fridge.

 

I don't bring ole triggers home so that's not an issue.   It's his dignity of spirit to fight until the end.   

 

The seeker seeks happiness in the distance and the wise man grows it under his feet.  Sometimes, when you think the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence it's because it's fertilized with whopping boatloads of happy horsesheet. 

 

I don't have to go to the ends of the earth to be happy.   I'm happy right here.    You know you can mess up something good by looking for something better  and just end up with something worse.   And you can make the same mistakes 5 or 6 times just to be sure.

 

I'm too busy working on my own grass to even notice if anyone else's is greener. Some people look for a beautiful place and others make a place beautiful. 

 

The things we take for granted, someone else is down on their knees praying for it.  If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence - the water bill is higher. 

 

Paw says, if the grass is greener on the other side of the fence it could be a septic-tank field. 

 

Find contentment where you are.   

 

Today,  I will fight, fight, fight.   For my life, the green, green grass of home and the folkaronies.  Don't let anything marsh your mellow today.  Not even the marshyland.  

 

I don't shove my emotions down with food anymore.   I feel everything.  

[MeadowLily]

Standing on mountaintops and looking over the valleys.  I've done that.  It doesn't move me.  

 

When you're down in the valleys, rolling around in the dirt....that's where you really have to put your faith to the test.  There's peace on the mountaintops but you'll find your change in the valleys.  

 

Living a mountaintop existence is not reality.  Always reaching for the high notes and rush of adrenalin doesn't help you cope when you're in the valley.  Being in the valley doesn't mean you're low.  Nuh huh.

 

You'll find what you're really made of.   It takes true grit to face the music instead of running away from it.   Look it square in the face and deal with it. 

 

Seeking a lifetime filled with mountaintop experiences,  when the other shoe drops....you won't know how to cope when you're down in the trenches getting your hands dirty.   Mountaintop dwellers won't get you until they've lived through the valley experience.   It will change their outlook.

 

Don't avoid your valley.  Walk through it.  Don't overthink everything.   You'll have dirt all over your face and teeth, under your fingernails but you're going to come out as tough as a pair of leathered Harley saddlebags.

 

Ride, Baby, Ride.   

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

So am I still in the W30 Reintroduction Phase?  Absolutely.  150%.

 

After 30 Whole days,  you reintroduce yourself to foods.  The Slow Roll Reintro Phase can take longer than 10 days.  

 

Reintroducing yourself to life without highly engineered to be craved foods and finely tuned snacks may take months.  Reintroducing yourself to life without the old triggers and food offenders can be simple and easy and filled with valley experiences.   Real changes.  Permanent changes for the big WIN.

[MeadowLily]

After 30 days, you may find yourself all alone.  It's alright because you  have to learn how to be alone with your food choices and consequences almost all of the time.  In the daylight hours and all through the night.

 

Your safety nets will fall away.  Overthinking everything holds you back.  

 

One day, you'll be in the zone.  You're no longer freefalling or starting over and over and over again. Those days are behind you.  But always keep one eye open and don't fall asleep at the wheel.  For those with faulty shut-off valves....it's going to take a much longer time.   The appetite control center is in the brain.   

 

Low dopamine levels may be messing with your head and shut-off valve.  You might very well need Face-to-Face time to pull you through it.   I don't log my food or count anything.   

 

Count it all joy when you fall back into all kinds of diverse temptations and various trials.  It is the testing of what you're really made of.   No matter what you encounter....you can face the whole world and still end UP Whole.  

 

Food addictions = Sux.    Whole 30 = Whole.  Intact.    

[MeadowLily]

Birds of a feather fly together.  

 

I guess you could say we're where we should be all of the time and when we're not, we're with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend, wife of close friend.....

 

Just because some go to Saratoga and their horse naturally won, or they fly their Lear jet up to Nova Scotia to see a total eclipse of the sun....

 

Just because you've decided to take care of yourself does not mean You're Sooooooo Vain that you probably think this song is about you, don't you.  Nooooooo.

 

A relative asked me if I would eat it all back to make them feel more comfortable.  

 

I'm not vain.  I used to hide most of the time.   And run for my car if I spotted an especially snarkalicious person.  Eagle eyes,  always on the look-out for mellow marshers. 

 

Now, it's backhanded compliments or backdoor snidely whiplash.    How YOU doin?  I'm not going to eat it all  back to make others happy.   

 

Understanding and forgiveness are difficult benchmarks.  So is consistency of character.  Often it means you're going to be the odd man out.  Often it means  being the minority speaking your truth to the majority of your family members.

 

Turn the other cheek.   Be kind to those less fortunate and spare a dime for our brothers and sisters. Character gives way to fear.   Bullies we know and don't exploit that fear at the expense of their character.    Have you suffered the slings of bullies?

 

Just remember that with all of our mistakes and faults, it is our character that will decide our outcome. I'm not vain.  But I am not eating it all back to make others happy.

 

There's always something ahead worth looking for to give new meaning to your life. Because nice, sweetness and kindness matter.

[MeadowLily]

Gummy Vitamins = Sux.

 

Someone in my circle is popping those babies like candy.  They are candy and they're being used to curb sweet cravings.  I'm flushing them down the toity.  Whatever vitamins are lurking in there are covered up with corn syrup, sugar sugars and upside down sugars.

 

I read a heavy lifting blog where they use corn syrup in the form of gummy bears to actually "improve" their performance.  It was cray cray.   Yes, they were zero carbing it and then using gummy bears on heavy lifting performance days.

 

It came with a caveat that you need to know what you're doing.  Ooooo, what a bunch of hooey. 

 

The half has not been told of the damage that gummy bears and corn syrup can do to your pancreas.  Don't go there.  I am a recovering gummy bear addict.  I'm also highly allergic to corn syrup.  We eat and gravitate towards the foods/multi-crap that we are allergic to. 

 

I started on gummy bears and licorice as a small child.  They ruined my baby teeth.  Maw didn't make me brush after eating black licorice or gummy bears.  Whopping boatloads of multi-crap have kept me in the dentist chair all of the days of my life. 

 

There's nothing like a non-smoker who will carry on about the bane of smoking.   Alcohol and gummy bears, like every other food we take into our body affects different people in different ways.

Gummy bear sobriety reveals the food addict's true personality. 

 

Gummy bear addicts who become depressed, anxious, irritable and unhappy after they stop consuming corn syrup suffer the protracted withdrawal syndrome.  The years of physical damage caused by gummy bears is not completely reversed.  You may need Face-to-Face effective counsel. 

 

Are they any responsible gummy bear eaters out there.  Many responsible corn syrup eaters become food addicts.  It is the nature of the corn syrup and not the person to begin eating them irresponsibly.

 

A food addict has to want to be helped. 

 

Self-motivation usually occurs during treatment and not before.   Many gummy bear addicts cannot return safely to corn syrup in any amount because sooner rather than later it will reactivate the food addiction.

 

Diverting your attention from the physical causes of the food addiction can compound guilt and shame. It can aggravate rather than alleviate a food addiction.

 

Foods with high fructose corn syrup will bring you to an all-time low.  They will increase and intensify the desire to relieve the symptoms of corn syrup addiction. 

 

The term Reformed Gummy Bear Food Addict implies that the food addict has been BAD and is now being Good.   A reflection of the moralistic approach to giving food value judgments.   The term ex-gummy bear eater is not accurate either.   It implies cure rather than recovery.

 

Any intake of gummy bears by a recovering food addict results in a relapse.   The taking of substitute items....SWPO'S or a swapped out version of your gummy bear can seriously interfere with recovery and almost always leads to a return of full on food bender explosions of gummy bears in your life.

 

I was living under the influence of gummy bears for a very, very long time.  They ruined my teeth and my relationship with food.  

 

There were no rewards for my food addiction.  Not a single one.   

 

I am a recovering gummy bear food addict.   I know the myths from reality.   Nobody knows the trouble I've seen except another food addict who's not afraid to face the music and look it square in the face. 

[MeadowLily]

Another binge is not a cure for a food addiction. 

 

Food addictions don't have a reward.  There's a not a single so worth it moment for a food addiction.  Any comfort is imaginary.  

 

Imaginary comfort is like an imaginary Whole 30.   It doesn't exist in reality. 

[MeadowLily]

Fear prevents the food addict from seeking help and wanting recovery.   You have to want to be helped.

 

Fear of facing the music and revealing what's underneath layers of gummy bears over the years and years of multi-crap.  Fear of finding your authentic personality and not shoving anymore feelings down with food.

 

Fear is the bane of the food addict.   Fear to let people see you for who you really are. 

 

Who are you when no one else is looking. 

[MeadowLily]

I eat 9 or more cups of vege aday.  I do.   Mostly all cooked but I also eat 2 raw carrots every day.  I like shredded ones over my leafy greens or eaten with proteins.

 

”Two hundred grams of raw carrot eaten at breakfast each day for 3 weeks significantly reduced serum cholesterol by 11%, increased fecal bile acid and fat excretion by 50%, and modestly increased stool weight by 25%. This suggests an associated change in bacterial flora or metabolism. The changes in serum cholesterol, fecal bile acids, and fat persisted 3 weeks after stopping treatment.”

 

Women reduced their problematic estrogen levels by the daily consumption of 2 medium size carrots. Less estrogen generally means less inflammation and liver stress, and better thyroid health.

 

 

• Don’t eat the pre-peeled baby carrots. The baby carrots contain tons of chemicals. They are processed carrots and often colored and taste like bleach. Baby carrots are made from regular sized-carrots.

Two shredded carrots aday make me feel soooo frickity frick frick great....along with all of the other vege I'm consuming.  Every day. You want that inner glow that shows up on your skin, eat your vege.

 

You don't have to worry about turning orange or getting too much Vitamin A. That's only from taking Vitamin A in pill form.   You would have to eat whopping boatloads of carrots to turn orange.   But I'm here to tell you that carrots can make all of the difference for you.  

 

Run Forest Run and buy yourself some today.  Try 30 days with carrots. I'm cuckoo for carrots. Cocoa puffs can eat my dirt. 

 

There's nothing sweeter than a baby who has that slight orange tint on their sweet lil nose from eating their carrots and sweet potatoes.  Adorable and just too sweet for words. 

[MeadowLily]

Yesterday,  a very young relative was airlifted to the hospital. Won't know the prognosis until later.  I have known for a few years that there was a serious problem.

 

Some people have to give up alcohol.  For real.   There are genetic components that make drinking a death march.  Alcoholic pancreatitis can cause profound metabolic abnormalities.

 

Did you know that many WLS patients can become alcoholics.  They substitute alcohol for food.  Serious dieters do the same thing.  Research it.   Cross-addiction.

 

People self-medicate with alcohol, food and Rx stimulants. There are other vulnerabities but being Paleo-american carries a high potential for alcoholism/cross-addictions.  Dying from elective surgery is heartbreaking for those left behind. 

 

I have more than a handful of relatives who've chosen WLS as the answer to all of their problems.  It has not worked for them long term.   The appetite control center is in the brain.  Obesity does not originate in the  digestive tract.  Removing the digestive tract does not cure obesity.

 

Food addictions and alcoholism.  Elective surgery cannot fix these problems.  Several of my WLS relatives have eaten it all back and their metabolisms are so slow that anything over 700 cal aday causes rebound weight gain.  They become very, very depressed.  They start drinking and quit eating.  

 

It's not glamorous or pretty.  It's just the hard, cold truth. 

 

Maw pleaded with me yesterday,  whatever you do,  don't start drinking because you're no longer a binge eater.   I won't.  

 

We don't touch a drop of alcohol in my family.  My folkaronies and siblings.   We can't.  

 

When I see concern about immediately reintroducing alcohol, I wonder...do they know this is a Food Reset.  WLS side effects, alcoholism and cross-addiction.  These are the things that keep me coming back day after day.   Dying from elective surgery.  

 

If you think drinking hard liquor will solve all of your problems and you're  not eating but drinking your life away....Houston, we have a problem.  Self-medicating with any substance to take the place of food - those are some serious SWYPO's.   Swapped out versions of all of your former faves that get you through the day.  The pancreas has a lifespan.  Once it's done, it's done and it can be over.   For real. 

 

I've been praying through the night.  If a tree falls in the forest,  does anyone hear or care.   I do.  I do.

[MeadowLily]

Drinking hard liquor because you're worried about eating carbs.  Not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing.   Scared of potatoes and carrots but throwing back shots.  Alcohol doesn't prevent diabetes or pancreatitis.  No.  It shows up unannounced.  It may be silent for a very long time but when that wolf knocks on your door all huge rationalizations will be thrown out.

 

The Reintro Process is designed to help you find your sensitivities.   One size does not fit all.   

 

Choices and Consequences.   Changing your relationship with food and alcohol and everything else.

Brain Training = Head Reset.     

[MeadowLily]

Riding Your Bike

 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

Hello.  This is me.  Is this you?   

 

Have a great 4th of July.  

 

Hard work pays off.  

 

Give up.   Give in.   Give it EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT.  With struggle comes STRENGTH.    Power UPPPPPP.   

[Hutlifr]

Happy 4th to you... The Tour de France is coming to Berne next week, so will have lots of views of the capital... Try to watch it. Higs

[MeadowLily]

Yesterday, I managed 9 straight hours of irrigating, weed whacking, tree branch cutting and mowing. I've had to take on these duties for about 5 weeks now.  It's been a heckuva job.  I'm improving.  I was starting out around 7:00 AM and finishing up around midnight.   I've reduced it down to 9 hours.  I have a large mower with gears and I flood that son of a gun every day I use it.  You should hear the SWYPO words that come out of my mouth.  Swapped out versions of the real ones.  Maw doesn't buy it.  She says they're still cuss words.

 

I say, you should let a few rip now and again and release some of that stress.  I've never heard her say one cuss word, ever.   I've made up a bunch of SWYPO's for all of the Happy Horsesheet I've had to do.   I am developing muscles I never knew I had from hard, manual labor.  Bear is fishing for the Big Kahunas.  It will be soooo worth it to have great fish during the long, cold winter months.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...I surveyed all of my hard work today.  I was happy with my accomplishments.  It's not exactly professional like the Bear does everything but as Paw says, it's close enough for govt. work.  

 

I could've went to the 4th of July parade in town but that would mean leaving my folkaronies alone.  No can do.   Together is my favorite place to be.  Paw can't go,  so we'll fix some lil somethin' to eat.  I cannot BBQ like Bear does.  No one can hold a candlestick to the way that man fixes a beef brisket and ribs and everything.   We're all on the leaner side without his cooking including the dog. 

 

I do my best but with all of this field hand stuff,  I fall asleep if I sit down.  When my head hits the pillow I'm out like a light.  I feel like I'm in the Marine Corp bootcamp.  It gives new meaning to Gild the Lily = try to improve and add superfluous attributes.

 

"To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, to throw a perfume on the violet, to smooth the ice, or add another hue unto the rainbow..."  Shakespeare.

 

[MeadowLily]

Every muscle and joint aches.  Some days,  I lay down in the grass and crawl around on my hands and knees.  I'm moving irrigation equipment around and lifting heavy things.   I can't feel my face or hands or arms or legs or hiney.  

 

I can't feel anything because everything aches.  I haven't had time for an Epsom Salt bath but I'll take one today.   Showers keep me awake. Freshly cut grass is wonderful but I've had about enough of the HH (Happy Horse....)for this summer.  Oooo, there's many more mowings to go. 

 

If I wasn't eating right, none of this would be possible.   I remembered what it felt like when I was becoming fat adapted.  My knees were buckling out from underneath me. That's not happening, I am strong but becoming much stronger. 

 

Age really is a state of mind.   If you don't mind it doesn't matter.  She believed she could.  So she did.

Get UP.  Get GOING.    

 

I use self-talk to motivate myself.   I believe our ancestors did and soldiers do that.  Who are you when no one else is looking.   Say it outloud before you face a big job.  She believed she could.  So she did.   

 

You'll get stronger.  I promise you.  You'll be amazed at what you can really accomplish. Hard work really pays off. 

[Hutlifr]

Love reading your stuff, mostly from automatic emails when you post. I need a whole30 for my heart... 62 weeks and my heart still aches...