Poindexter Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I am on my fifteenth day in a row of "day zero." Just want to encourage others to give it a try. I am somewhere between reasonably and very active. I have processed 36 cords of firewood in the last 32 months, I am on my feet about 50% of the time for my job, fun for me is having to get out of my boat to drag it over a gravel bar so I can go further up the wilderness river than the other guys. I do have a couple or three beers every daily, rarely a fourth, and I do smoke. Historically I get about 3-4k calories daily, I make a point to get 1500 to 2000 C of good stuff, and then eat pretty much whatever I want to. Cookies, milkshakes, truffles, dark heavy beer, just bring it. I still fit in the plants I wore to my high school graduation 30 years ago; they are a little tight, but I can zip the zipper. I hurt my left shoulder pretty bad in mid April. After a few days of max safe dose motrin I started having nerve pain to go with the muscle pain I recognize and got in to my doc. I ended up taking two vicodin and 8mg of zanaflex every eight hours on top of the motrin for six days, missed an entire week of work. Massage, weekly osteopathic manipulations, I went all out. Never had nerve pain before. Ended up in an MRI machine and shortly after that in front of a neuro-surgeon. My massage therapist suggested I try a detox diet. I looked at several on line, the W30 system seems logical to me. I do have a BA in anthropology, nearly did a minor in hominid evolution, and I took an entry level human nutrition course along the way somewhere. Between the sugar dragon, the nicotine dragon and the ethanol dragon I figured my best shot was to kill the sugar dragon first. You remember the line in the movie where the grizzled old cowboy says to the tenderfoot, "A man has to know his limitations?" Trying to take on all three at once was, for me, planning to fail. I quit smoking on the first of every month last year. A huge hurdle for me is driving, I traveled professionally for years. Bought a new truck on March 6, 2015, haven't smoked in it yet. So I got on the W30 program two weeks ago. On day two I forgot to take my Zyrtec in the morning haven't needed it since. I was already off vicodin when I started the W30, but I think I got off the zanaflex and mobic faster than I would have if I was still eating junk. I slipped on day 12 and had two cookies, palm kernel oil, I am sure some soy, just gross processed garbage. I felt in both of my carpal tunnels about four hours later, took a couple days to get back to where I had been. I figure I got about 15 more days of day zero killing the sugar dragon. Then I am going to kill the nicotine dragon. Once that one is dead I should be able to get through my last day zero about mid August and complete a full on actual day 30 in mid September. I looked at Paleo long and hard, I know it works for some folks just fine. I have a pretty good idea how much honey I would have purchased by now. Somewhere back around day 8 I caught myself having my fourth glass of fruit juice in one day; since then I have been rationing myself one glass of juice for each two pieces of fruit eaten whole. Even though i am not completely with the program i feel a heck of a lot better and encourage you, if in my shoes, to try killing the sugar dragon first. It's experience points for when you go after the bigger ones, and comes with rewards of its own. Best wishes, Poindexter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poindexter Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 Read the labels!!! When I stopped drinking beer on my first day zero, gin and tonic seemed like it should have been pretty safe of empty calories. 8 ounces of of tonic water has 90 calories of high fructose corn syrup in it. Ick. Rum and pineapple juice ends up being a lot of fruit juice. I am currently enjoying dry gin with a splash of olive juice over ice. It ain't Guinness by any stretch, but there you have it. I did read some soda water labels today, there's hope in that area if you can stand the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deepsea Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I chewed tobacco for over 20 years, until one day i said it was enough. I looked at my life, my health and my family and said that was enough. During my whole 30 i didn't drink in beer and i love me some beer. I did however have a couple of beers after my whole and they tasted so much better, but i have drank since then. You have to put your mind to what you want to do, only you can change your mind. I am still trying to find out what is good for me and what is not, but i can tell you that beer, alcohol and tobacco are very bad. Good luck in what ever you decide to do and i hope you can make it over the hurdles like i did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
init2winit Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I can tell you that if you want to slay that sugar dragon, you are going to have to drop the alcohol. No alcohol is one of the rules of the program and, regardless, it wreaks havoc on your blood sugar levels. It's basically poison for your body. I hate to sound extreme but it's true. I know how hard it can be to give up that ritual every day, believe me, I was...let's just say... a heavy drinker a few years ago. Your body and your mind will thank you, though!! And you'll be that much closer to getting that sugar dragon off of your back! Good luck and you deserve to do this for yourself . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTNan Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Good for you, for the progress you've made! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 The smartest decision you'll ever make is Go Cold Turkey with all of it. Many dieters resort to alcohol for a sugar hit after a major weight loss. Those who are at optimum set points can skirt around rebound weight gain and continue self-medicating or appeasing sugar cravings with alcohol rather than food. Many a 'skinny minny' can drink like a fish and feel that everything is still under control. It's a delicate balance but at some point there's a day of reckoning with that approach, too. Every fiber of your being does not want you give up any of these things. You'll have to go through the pain of withdrawal. There's no ratcheting that down in small increments. Sugar withdrawal is miserable. I have empathy for those that must give up alcohol. They feel the same angst, internal struggle and urges toward rationalization and pulling their hair out while imagining their life ahead of them without margaritas with nachos, no guinness with pizza, and no wine with popcorn...like for real, for REAL giving them up. Most of us cannot embrace the concept of NEVER because of the mental torment that brings. The entirety of life is just too huge to contemplate without the comfort of food or alcohol or nicotine. However, one day at a time that decision does get easier. Because all of them can make your life a living hell and really, who needs that? You're smart. Make a really smart decision today and GO COLD TURKEY WITH ALL OF IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 http://whole30.com/2015/06/whole30plus/ If you look at these efforts as separate and distinct (I’ll finish the Whole30, and I’ll also quit smoking), one or the other will suffer. If you can honestly see these as one and the same (my Whole30 embraces the “no tobacco” rule), your brain will allow you to devote all your attention and energy to accomplishing the big picture, and you’ll be far more likely to succeed with everything. Choose Your Own Adventure Whether you decide to take on a Whole30-Plus or split these health efforts out into individual goals is entirely up to you—but we hope we’ve given you some things to consider here, and that the support and resources we provide for the Whole30 are just as helpful and translate effectively into other areas of your life. After all, the Whole30 promises to change your life… and food is just the beginning. - See more at: http://whole30.com/2015/06/whole30plus/#sthash.HGZhkjiw.dpuf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Good for you! If baby steps works for you - go for it! Keep it going forward though. There is at some point when you will be needing to go whole hog, rip the band aid off, or tread water without your feet being able to touch the bottom. I encourage you to do that and commit to yourself that you can do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lana217 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Well done that's great progress, everyone needs to go at their own pace. I gave up smoking 3 months ago (although had a couple recently...) and I gave up diet coke 4 months ago. Diet coke was REALLY hard, harder than smoking which I found really worrying. I'm on the Whole 30 now, day 2, and I really want fags and booze!! I'm going to try and get through it though. More power to you though for the awesome lifestyle changes xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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