Dirty Thirty "Roundup and Ride"!

[MeadowLily]

Get Your Head in the Game

Engage Your Brain

 

 

What can I do to make my Whole30+ as successful as possible?

 

 

"While you can’t control every circumstance you encounter during your 45/60/90 days, there are certain steps you can take to create an environment of success for yourself.  Mental preparation, careful planning and a willingness to be flexible are key to surviving your extended Whole30. 

Our advice: 

• "Get your head in the game before you start. List the various circumstances you might face during this time and come up with a plan for how to negotiate them. Include food options, how you might answer potential questions, and how you can get yourself out of the situation if you feel like you’re losing control.
  

[MeadowLily]

The only person I can really reform is myself.   I have absolutely no control over anyone else.   I cannot take another family member along for this ride.   That's not fair.

 

Rationalizations and excuses will get you nowhere good.   I am not a reformer.   I am reformed.  You have to do this for yourself and all by yourself.  No one else can pull you through it.

 

No one pulled me through it.  I Cowgirled UP and did my own research.  I got in there and had to dig for the gold nuggets.  They're there.   I found all of the old posts from the originators and moderators of this forum.  I know where they are.  I can pull them up because I had to learn everything all by myself.

 

I'm an adult.  It is completely doable.   I bought my book, cannot even remember why I did that.  I ordered it through Amazon.  It showed up.   Read it completely through and started the very next day.   

 

Dallas does not want us to stand at the door.  He wants us to go on after 30 days.   After 30 days...go back to your life.    My life no longer includes any of the multi-crap that brought me here with T2.   

 

I had to learn how to create a positive food management plan/maintenance plan going forward for the rest of my life.  There is no one here who can tell you how to do that.  One size does not fit all.

 

That is what a Food Reset is all about.   If the rest of your life needs to be  filled with brownies, scones, cakes and larabars....that's your plan.     My positive food management plan doesn't include any of those things.

 

We are the stories we tell ourselves.

[MeadowLily]

I have a meaningful series of words I hear inside my head alot.  My own spoken word theme music.  I don't speak these words outloud.  They're more powerful to me if I don't.  They are the silent soundtracks running in the background.

 

These words just pop into my head. They're the same voice that tells me to paint the stepping stones that lead to my house.  I don't choose the words deliberately.

 

We are the stories we tell ourselves.  If you've told yourself so long that you suck at math...that could be a big fabrication.  I don't like math becomes I suck at math.  Retelling these stories to ourself is defeating.

 

Be Present.  Tell yourself a new story.   Take delight that you have a brand new song and shiny soundtrack running that belongs only to you.   No one can take it from you.   It makes you smile when someone makes a snarky comment or tries to knock you off your WINNING game.   It keeps self-sabotage from ruining your progress.   Tell yourself a new story.

[MeadowLily]

So what is this?

 

Encouragement for developing your own positive food management plan once your Whole 30 compliant days are completed...encouragement for those who want to do a Whole 30 so you can stick the landing.

 

This is also help for those who are no longer standing at the door but ready to go on out there into the big complicated world without the simple non-negotiable principles for a Whole 30.

 

But this is not enabling for thrill eating or binge eating or using food for entertainment and a source of comfort.  Nope.  No can do.

[MeGA"gardener"]

Which means to improve. Which is why I'm still here.

[MeadowLily]

We're trying to help those who don't know what reintro is and how to conduct one.   I've read 1000's of mini meal pre/post explanations.   If  I had a sweet potato for every pre/post mini meal post I've read,  I could feed all of of Japan and China.    

[MeadowLily]

If I had a Larabar for every larabar post I've read...I could feed all of western Europe.   

[MeadowLily]

You don't need  a dream machine.  All you need is faith....and faith in yourself.

[Oldehiker]

So when is dinner OldeHiker? (A Very Happy Belated Birthday to you and Thank you for your service   My dad and uncle were in the Navy -- Dad served at the end of the Korean War, and my uncle after my dad. My step brother just retired a few years ago from the Army after serving 40 years, my niece, his daughter has served 6 years in the Air Force and has just signed for another 6. Hubby served in the Marines.) 

SpinSpin – You have an honorable family!

Many thanks to all of them as well.

My Son-In-Law just retired from the Marine Corp in June.

[Oldehiker]

 

I have a meaningful series of words I hear inside my head alot.  My own spoken word theme music.  I don't speak these words outloud.  They're more powerful to me if I don't.  They are the silent soundtracks running in the background.

 

These words just pop into my head. They're the same voice that tells me to paint the stepping stones that lead to my house.  I don't choose the words deliberately.

 

We are the stories we tell ourselves.  If you've told yourself so long that you suck at math...that could be a big fabrication.  I don't like math becomes I suck at math.  Retelling these stories to ourself is defeating.

 

Be Present.  Tell yourself a new story.   Take delight that you have a brand new song and shiny soundtrack running that belongs only to you.   No one can take it from you.   It makes you smile when someone makes a snarky comment or tries to knock you off your WINNING game.   It keeps self-sabotage from ruining your progress.   Tell yourself a new story.

 

These are some of my new mantra’s :

1. The only way to eat an Elephant is one bite at a time.

2. From this site:

What I put in my mouth is either good for me or bad for me. I make the decision.

3. This isn’t hard (Taken from the rules)

 

[Oldehiker]

Bellpeppers were 2 for a dollar. The grocery has them at $1.79 each!

[Oldehiker]

Another booth has zucchini all you want for a dollar!! I said “Give me two dollars worth!”

 

 

Ha ha ha just kidding

[Kelli]

Another booth has zucchini all you want for a dollar!! I said “Give me two dollars worth!”

 

 

Ha ha ha just kidding

Great to hear a man who appreciates his veggies

[MeadowLily]

 

These are some of my new mantra’s :

1. The only way to eat an Elephant is one bite at a time.

2. From this site:

What I put in my mouth is either good for me or bad for me. I make the decision.

3. This isn’t hard (Taken from the rules)

 

This is most excellent.   If you fall off of your Whole 30,  you have to start over.

 

If you're out there doing your own plan and it includes thrill eating, don't tell us.  I don't need to know.   You can post your food on a personal log. Those are not moderated so you can eat anything and no one will say anything unless they care about you...like jmcbn and the other Mods.

 

She cares.

 

I care.  

 

Laurie cares.  She's here and we all care about Laurie.

 

Hiker cares.

 

We all care. 

 

SpinSpin cares.  Just don't tell us about your going sideways unless you plan to Cowgirl Up or go sit in the truck.

 

I'm not going out like that.

Hiker.   You rocked your Whole 30.

 

I need positive hindend kicks.  I give them to myself because dcducks hasn't been around to give me some. Laurie would never dream of giving me any but she should.  I want to stick the landing.  It is more marsh for my mellow when you're out there eating multi-crap.  Do not eat multi-crap.   

 

If I had a dream machine,  I would load all of the larabars inside and send them to starving ants in Brazil.  The ants are my friends and they're blowing in the wind.

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

 

I love you in a place
Where there's no space or time
I love you for in my life
You are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were 'lone and
I was singing this song to you

 

[MeadowLily]

Lady Mule Skinner went to bed.

 

 

 

jmcbn this is Larabar Buster....I know you're in bed but someone is eating larabars for breakfast.  Coconut cream and cocoa for supper.   Miss Scarlett...who always has the will to live and thrives in the midst of adversity....this is a Larabar alert.   Who ya gonna call?

 

What can you do?  There's no food.  It's tiddly winks. There's not even pinecones and dirt, old shoes and grasshoppers, lawn clippings, ear wax and bug spray.

 

You're needed but I don't know what you can do.  jmcbn this is your arena. 

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[GAgal]

Evening y'all. How's everyone today? We spent the day at Pop's (that's the hub's dad) and worked in the garden. I got a while basket of tomatoes to cook up and can this week. They will be awesome this winter. Yum.

[MeadowLily]

[GAgal]

I'm doing security for the hubs photoshoot tomorrow. I have our lunch ready to go. Chopped veggies, homemade ranch, boiled eggs, fresh fruit and Beef jerky. Also taking some sunshine sauce for the veggies. I like a little spice. Lots of water.

[MeadowLily]

Lesson #1: Stress ruins everything.

Ironically, just a few months after presenting a lecture on stress and cravings at PaleoF(x), I found myself being manhandled by my Sugar Dragon, thanks to my old friend stress. First, I took on too many work projects at once (changing theWhole30 program rules, releasing the second edition of It Starts With Food and recording the audio book version, writing our next book, shooting video for an upcoming Whole9 project, and traveling for various media appearances). This proved a stupid overestimation of time and capacity.

 

Oh, and I have a baby now. Who needs full-time, around-the-clock supervision. (Babies are so needy.) Also, we have to eat, and inconveniently, that means actually cooking real food. And selfishly, I also want to sleep, and exercise, and maybe if I’m lucky, spend twenty minutes sitting down with friends once in a while.

 

So, there’s been some stress in my life, which makes me crave sugar. It’s biology. I can’t out-willpower it, I can’t out-reason it, and I can’t tell it, “Yeah, but I’m WHOLE30 MELISSA, so, you know, just walk on by, stress-craving connection.” Which is how I found myself eating the tops off gluten-free cupcakes while riding a Sugar Dragon thinking to myself, “This is not okay. Delicious, but not okay.”

 

The take-away: Stress is a sure-fire return to old, unhealthy habits and cravings. It can happen to anyone, and it will happen to you, and that’s okay if you’re prepared for it and know what to do (i.e., get back on the Whole30).

Lesson #2: No matter how much you know, there are times when you still need help.

 

It wasn’t like these old, unhealthy foods crept back into my life and I woke up one day saying, “What the heck happened?” I knew exactly what was happening. I knew the mechanism, I saw the signs (sleep disruption, cravings, energy fluctuations, feeling sad, negative self-talk)—I could practically predict what would happen next in my life. But despite everything I know and all the help I’ve given to others, I was feeling powerless to help myself.

 

I tried moderation. That doesn’t work for me (or just about anyone). I tried willpower. Stress laughed and handed me another cupcake. So I followed my own advice and decided to return to what I knew would work.

 

I took charge of my life where I could (my food), and I recruited help from others. I made a very public declaration that I was starting the Whole30. I asked Dallas and my friends to hold me accountable no matter what. I hid my off-plan food, stocked up on healthy stuff, and committed to eating three meals a day, exactly as our Meal Planning template described. I used the rules we created and the support of the Whole30 community we built to help me.

 

There is no shame in saying, ‘I can’t do this on my own right now.’ #whole30

CLICK TO TWEET

 

The take-away: Knowing what you should do and being able to do what you know you should are not the same thing. Everyone needs help sometimes. If you’re stuck and down about it, do what you know works for you (the Whole30) and recruit as much support and help as you can. There’s no shame in saying, “I can’t do this on my own right now.” 

 

Lesson #3: The Whole30 is MAGIC.

 

I know I’m biased and everything, but this program is magical. Not in the literal sense, like, “Whoa, that was my card, how did they do that?” We do understand how and why it works, and you’d think after reading literally thousands of testimonials and talking to hundreds of people about their results, I wouldn’t be surprised at my own experience. But I still found myself surprised at exactly how good I felt on Day 5*.

 

So energy. Such happy. Very Tiger Blood. WOW.

I know that’s the point, but no matter how many Whole30’s I do, the program still flips a switch in me and transforms my energy, mood, and self-confidence from pretty-good-okay to HASHTAG WINNING—and in between programs, I always forget how remarkable the Whole30 makes me feel. This feeling stuck with me through my entire Whole30, and is still with me today (as I have yet to go majorly off-plan—more on that soon).

 

The take-away: So the Whole30 isn’t actually magic, but this program is the real deal, people. THE REAL DEAL. I’m high-fiving myself right now. Self-five. It’s that good.

 

*The more Whole30’s I do, the faster the Tiger Blood appears.

Lesson #4: My version of “worth it” should always be evolving.

Another surprising thing I figured out during this Whole30—most things I would have sworn in a court of Sisson were “worth it” pre-Whole30 turned out not to be worth it at all post-Whole30. Heavy cream in my coffee—not worth it. The tortilla chips with my Red Iguana cochinita—not worth it. The tiny bit of parmesan in my Whole Foods kale salad—so not worth it.

 

These things were “regulars” in my diet before I took on this Whole30, because after the last Whole30, I decided they were worth it. And at the time, they were. But they aren’t now, because after comparing how I feel now (without those foods) and how I felt then (with those foods), there’s just no contest.  I’m glad I challenged myself to go without those foods I “knew” were okay for me for 30 days, and reevaluate whether I wanted to include them as part of my regular daily diet going forward.

 

One thing that’s here to stay (as soon as I decide I really, really want it)? Popcorn, covered in lots and lots of butter.  And I’m not even going to clarify it.

 

The take-away: Your definition of “worth it” should be critically evaluated on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid of flip-flopping here—you’re the one who calls the shots, and your favorite “treat” today may be tomorrow’s “this just isn’t doing it for me.”

 

Lesson #5: The “slow roll” may be prove even

more helpful than the 10 day reintroduction.

 

This article might as well have been “Dear Melissa, from Melissa,” because in our new “slow roll” reintroduction schedule, we basically outlined a road map for myself post-Whole30. (I’m glad it helped some of you too, though.)

 

The 10-day reintroduction schedule is perfect for those itching to get back to some of their regularly scheduled foods and drinks, and anxious to ditch the training wheels and ride their own bikes. For the rest of us, though, who just can’t imagine forcing themselves to reintroduce bread, milk, or sweets at this point in our transformation, we gave you the “slow roll.”

 

And that’s exactly where I am right now—slow rolling.

Since my Whole30 has been over, I’ve eaten chicken sausage with added sugar, non-clarified butter, ketchup, and the regular old (cane sugar-added) Sunbutter. Not exactly what I’d call “going off the rails,” but I feel SO GOOD (did I mention that?) that nothing I’ve come across—nothing—has been worth it yet. So I’m just going to keep on keeping on right where I am, relaxing on the added sugar rule, but sticking to the Whole30 for everything else.

 

This has proven incredibly effective at solidifying my return to healthier habits. I’ve had an extra week of Whole30-ish, still feeling amazing, not feeling restricted at all (thanks to a slight relaxing of the rules), and feeling totally in control of deciding for myself whether something is worth it or not. I feel like I can keep this up indefinitely, and that when something amazing-special-delicious-worth it does come along, I’ll be fully capable of enjoying it withoutdisturbing my slumbering Sugar Dragon.

The take-away: We’ll be recommending this “slow roll” approach a lot more often going forward, especially for people who are nervous about sliding back into automatic eating habits.

 

Whole30 For the Win!

So there you have it—five things the co-creator of the Whole30 learned from her own program. Does this motivate you to do another Whole30, finish the program you started (a few times), or slow your reintroduction roll? Share your experience in comments.

 

 

29 September, 2014

written by the co-creator of the Whole30, who still does her own program about once a year 

[GAgal]

Hiker- I love it when I find bargains like that. Congrats!

[MeadowLily]

Melissa Hartwig says

 

29 September, 2014 at 9:19 am

 

You ARE getting it together! It starts with taking just one step to get you back on track, and I love the Whole30 for that because the rules are crystal clear (no wiggle room!), and eating good food tends to make you feel nearly instantly healthier and happier, and translates to other areas of your life (sleep, stress management, exercise) fast. Good luck!

Melissa