Staring today June 25th 2015

[ladyshanny]

I'm truly so happy for you, homemade mayo is one of the main ways to avoid food boredom as far as I'm concerned.  Anytime I can put mayo on a meal, the meal is redeemed...even if I'm eating a plate of leftover grass clippings.  

[Syd1974]

Gracie, you truly would not believe all the things I dip or mix with my mayo.  Eggs, tuna, meatballs, ALL vegetables, sauerkraut, fruit, EVERYTHING :-) You will probably never buy store mayo again, ever.  I started using 1/4 c avocado oil with the olive oil.  Nice mild flavor, light green color.  I like the idea of adding garlic and cilantro. Both just chopped or minced and added?  Do you think we could add to the mixing process or best just afterwards?  I'm sure there's a recipe that would tell me that! 

 

I really haven't had a problem with sugar this time.  Which sort of surprises me.  People have been eating treats in front of me at work and I've joked about how many days I have left until I can join them.  Not doing that.  What I really, really, really want is a glass of wine, preferably a glass big enough to hold a bottle so I can still say it was just one glass.  (This sort of sounds like a problem for another group, doesn't it?)  I'm thinking I'm not going to do that either.  I like my LaCroix Mineral Water, coconut flavored mixed with a couple T of Pom juice.  I think Pom is ok.  It's just juice, nothing added. 

 

I think I need to re-read the reintroduction of foods part.  At this point, wine is the only thing I want to re-introduce and I'm pretty sure alcohol is not on the re-intro list.  I understand all the reasons for that, believe me.  Maybe I'll pour my coconut LaCroix/Pom mixture in a wine glass and see how that feels............I'm really wasting way too much energy on this...............

 

When you walk your 4 miles each day, how long does it take, do you vary your route, time of day?  I think I'm walking vicariously through you!  I'm happy to walk on days I don't work my restaurant job.  On work days, I feel like the gazillion steps I take at work count for something, maybe.  I will say that when I come home from work, I don't veg like I used to.  I'm happy to cook, clean, do laundry.  Well, maybe not always happy to.  Not too tired to.  How's that?  I really do have more energy when I take care of myself and believe me, I am really happy to be taking care of myself!!!

 

8 days left?  We are so worth this!!!

Happy Friday to you!!

[Syd1974]

Ok, Gracie!  You have me worried.  You've been posting everyday (I think), sometimes several times.  Where are you???  Everything OK?  It's Sunday morning and I didn't check in yesterday so thought I would early today before work and there was nothing from you :-(  Hope all is well!  Not seeing a post from you makes me realize what a lifeline you have become for me as well.  Take Care!  Stay Strong!!!  That being said, if you find yourself in a position of having to start the W30 over, do not abandon this ship!  We are all here for you!!! 

 

Oana, not sure if you're reading these but hope all is well with you too!

 

Syd

[Gracie35]

I'm here.  I'm still all good.  er, clean eating that is!  I was too tired last night to post.  Found a cockroach in my bathroom, and it turned me into a lean mean cleaning machine!  I'm off for  walk now, but will post more later.  Thank you Syd!  Day 25!!!

[Gracie35]

Hey Syd,

 

I'm back.  Long walk, slow pace, and good conversation. Tell you more about it in a sec.

 

First though, I'm so with you on the glass of wine.  I invited two friends to join me on day 31, I bought a very nice red, and we will sip it and celebrate.  The book even suggests a nice glass of wine on that 31st, so that was all I needed.  Now, I'm sure they don't want me diving face first into the bottle, but a glass, maybe two, is fine.  The re-intro seems to be a bit neutral on alcohol except beer, with it gluten-laden ingredients.  The only precaution it seems to mention is sulfites and sugar, so moderation is key, and anyway, my old Irish tolerance for alcohol - with all its sugar content - will be way gone. So that's my plan for Saturday!

 

Walking - I'm sure you're on your feet all day, is walking what you feel called to do? I walk first in the morning Monday thru Friday, and this is a vigorous walk, Sunday is slow and casual.  I live on the side of a mountain, so we have a 3-4 mile loop that we do from the neighborhood.  It's the only kind of exercise that's ever worked for me, close at hand, out in nature, and with a buddy. 

 

I finally had two outings, one was a pool party, and one was at a restaurant.  Both were hard but for different reasons.  The pool party was hard not because of the food situation, the hostess had done a Whole30 two years ago, and was very up on it, and helpful, and I felt really comfortable.  The problem was that someone made the party really stressful, and I so wanted a glass of wine.  But I didn't have one.  Excellent experience and I gave myself a gold star for staying strong.  The second situation was the restaurant, and boy, it was hard to find something that I could have.  Even salads were covered with pecans that were sugary or dried cranberries which I couldn't remember if I could have, so I didn't risk it.  I ordered a burger no bun, with just lettuce tomato and onion.  That was the only thing on the whole menu that was compliant.  Some people seem to be unaffected by the looks and snarlings of others, I on the other hand dislike the attention I get, which seems to be mostly aggressive, when I ask for food to be prepared a certain way or whether the beef has any sugar in it, etc. It will be a relief to ease up a bit.  Also a good lesson in not letting other people's behavior affect my mood or behavior!

 

So much drama the last couple of days...I really appreciate your concern, Syd!  It was totally worth it resisting the temptation to give it up, and then to see your encouragement, thank you.  

 

So how are going?  Do you have plans for the 31st day?  And are you thinking about doing a slightly modified Whole....Life?! You spoke about the re-intro.  I don't plan on re-intro'ing much.  I will have wine, but gluten, dairy, sugar, not so much.  Maybe once in a while...This process has been life changing, I can cook, who knew! And i like and it tastes so much better than the processed stuff I was eating.  I look great, feel great too! I am so looking forward to the weigh-in. Which by the way, I have access to scale only on Fridays, so I will be doing my weigh in on Friday not Saturday, but I'm cool with that. A friend of mine close to do a different eating regime change, and her's allows her to weigh in on Day 11, she texted and was thrilled with her progress. So I'm pretty excited about it!

 

5 more days.  Wow, we are almost there...sending you good wishes for clean eating!

[GFChris]

 

First though, I'm so with you on the glass of wine.  I invited two friends to join me on day 31, I bought a very nice red, and we will sip it and celebrate.  The book even suggests a nice glass of wine on that 31st, so that was all I needed.

In which book and on what page did you see this suggestion? I own both It Starts With Food and The Whole30, and I'm not seeing this in either. If you decide to have wine on day 31, that would be your wine/alcohol reintro day.

[Gracie35]

page 41, The Whole 30. Cheers.

[GFChris]

page 41, The Whole 30. Cheers.

Got it - thanks!

[Gracie35]

Hi Syd,

How are you?  It's Monday, do you work on Mondays?  Here we go, another week.....

 

This will be a musing post.  I remember about 10 days ago, I looked at other forums where participants were at days 26 -28, I was curious to see how they were reporting and exchanging information. Mostly, what I found were people who were happy, upbeat, and proud of their accomplishment. I'm all of those things, and I'm also feeling other feelings. 

 

I have a sense of, what now?  I'm proud of the new slimmer me.  A tiny bit nervous about finishing, but also very content in the knowledge that I've learned things finally about eating and nourishing myself that I simply refuse to unlearn. This made me think of the other areas of my life that I have procrastinated on, I mean seriously getting to be a 52 year old woman with no clue or confidence to cook a meal for herself, what's that about? 

 

I think what is driving this is a feeling of being out of place? That's all I can put my finger on. My previous bad habits covered over this sense of displacement or lack of self acceptance.  Well, not anymore, the feelings are there, and they want and need to be integrated. So, on this emerging moment of success, I find myself thinking about beginnings and endings, and all the stuff that makes up the difference, in other words: life.

[Gracie35]

Well, now it's my turn to start to get concerned.  Hi Syd, I hope you're still rockin and rollin, I'm thinking about you.

 

After the angst of the last few days, I figured out on my walk this morning that I was being challenged by two things:  the 'oh no it's almost over, what do I do now', thing and the 'I wonder why this was so much easier to do, and i spent all these long years in pain not doing it' thing?

 

I have some answers.  First, Melissa and Dallas finally created something that works where other programs don't:  I feel witnessed. Supported. Giving a chance and a place to see my efforts rewarded.  Doing something on my own has never, ever worked for me. Take walking.  Love to walk, but without walking partners, I'll talk myself out of it if I'm tired, hungry, or irritated by something. Losing weight.  Always a hidden, semi-shameful event, that caused people, even close friends, to make unflattering or unhelpful comments.  

 

All of a sudden it dawned on me.  What are the other things in my life that I am a failure at, or at least, in my own mind I am ashamed of....? And could the Whole30 work for those things too? And then you will never guess this, but I checked my Daily 30 today, and guess what?  The whole post was about applying the Whole30 to other things in our lives.  

 

So, feeling better, feeling stronger, I am putting my new energy toward Whole30 Business!  For 30 days, I will remake the program into a focus on my business goals.  I have a goal of reaching 50 new potential clients, making them aware of mentoring, and what it can do to help achieve their goals:  starting a new business, switching jobs, getting a raise, negotiating a salary package, updating their resume and LinkedIn profiles to attract people and companies to their brand and receive job invitations.  I've been doing this for 12 years, and I've had success, and now it's time to take this to a "Whole" new level.

 

I couldn't believe the synchronicity today of the email and my thought process!  Very cool. Syd, let me know what's up with you, and don't worry if you decided to stop or whatever, I'm here.  Let's 'talk'!

[Syd1974]

Thank you, Gracie!  I knew when I didn't post something you would have my back!  You have been the best cyber partner!!!  And really?  I can't come this far and blow it to have to start over.  That danger lies in the 1st 15 days or so.  This isn't hard work but it is a goal and accomplishment!

 

We've had company since last Friday.  They will be leaving this Friday.  It's been an interesting journey with them here.  A successful one, I might add!!!!!  My husband, Marty, explained to them that I was doing this program and to please not try to derail me.  He's so sweet!  I've been just fine with them here.  Like I said in an earlier post, this time around has been almost automatic for me.  I have spent a lot of time 'witnessing' I guess I would call it.  Both the men here have horrible inflammatory issues.  Psoriasis, lots of gut issues, hbp, the list is almost endless.  One couple has decided to give it a try, the other gentleman is perfectly content to take all the nasty drugs he's taking and look the other way.  I feel very badly for him.  It was interesting.  One of them said they wished I could eat what they were eating (I didn't feed them badly but they did have bread and dairy while they were here.  Figured they probably wouldn't want to join me for the eggs/sauerkraut/apple plate :-)  I wanted to yell at them that I wished they would eat what I was eating!!!  There has been lots of wine consumed.  They know that I would love to join them in that, but that hasn't bothered me either!  I had a glass in front of me with a liquid in it and that's all I really needed.  (I have club soda or LaCroix mineral water with a couple T of Pom juice added for a bit more flavor)  That being said, on Saturday, I will celebrate our (you, me and Amy's) victory with the W30 complete and the fact that my company has gone home :-)

 

Not sure if I've mentioned Amy before.  She's been another long distance partner.  She's my niece who is only 30 (coincidence?) and is a good bit overweight, suffers from migraines, sleeping issues etc.  When I decided to start this, I asked her if she'd like to buddy with me.  I took a chance on that as we had never discussed her issues before.  She jumped at the chance and it's been delightful to see how far she's come and how much better she feels.  Not 1 migraine in the last 3 weeks!!!  And she's dropped 2 sizes!!  How awesome if that?  I'm pretty sure if I had been doing this on my own without your support and Amy's, that I would have bailed on day 24 to enjoy wine with my company.  I'm so proud of myself (a bit of bragging :-)  and thankful that I took the extra steps to have someone else who might be counting on me to be strong with them.  It's been an awesome journey!!!

 

I love what you are doing for your next W30!  Mine is going to be 30 days of concentrating on getting regular exercise even on the days I'm working.  I like your casual walks.  That might be just what I need on those busy days.

 

At this point, the only thing I want to re-introduce is wine and ice cream.  Caramel Toffee Crunch, to be precise.  I know. Not the best choices.  Wine will be first.  Not a bottle.  2 glasses max.  I will toast our success, Gracie, and savor every sip.  I already know what dairy does to me.  It turns me into a coughing, hacking, throat clearing, nose blowing machine.  I'm not sure the CTC will be worth all that.  I like the idea of staying with this plan and maybe enjoying an outing 2 - 3 times a month.  I don't know about that either.  I really have enjoyed this month.  And I LOVE HOW I FEEL!!! 

 

Hoping we can keep this thread going long after! 

 

I am here, Gracie!  I promise, I'm not going anywhere!!!

Hope you are having a great Day 28!!!!

Syd

[Gracie35]

Yay!!!!!  I had to write the second I got this.  Phew, we are walking across the finish line together!!! (And with Amy too!)  That makes me so happy.

 

Syd, wow, I admire what you've been dealing with and how well you did it.  What is it with people saying things like, "I wish you were eating what I'm eating?" I get the psychology, they don't want to feel bad about their choices, yada yada.  And I have compassion for that, I've been there.

 

And this is an epidemic of ji-normous proportions. One of my friends here has now invited me to three separate events, one to a pub, one to her birthday celebration, where she is 'so looking forward to the yummy chocolate cake', and now this morning leaves me a message saying she has 'quite a few bottles of red wine and now that I am off of this thing, we should find a time to open a couple.'  Hmm? Sabotage?  Offer of friendship and fun?

 

I think this bears looking at a bit closer.  Yesterdays' Daily30 email was about three behaviors that will make us feel bad about the Whole 30, and or maybe sabotage it. The Crusader, the Secret Agent, and The Hermit. I love your experience, Syd, of just 'matter of fact' saying what you will and will not have. It got me thinking about why my friend's comments bother me so much.  I handled the first two invites, with a decline, saying that her birthday celebrations need to be fun and whatever she wants to do. And I offered to get together with her after my reintro, for a celebration. (Hermit behavior).  

 

Fact is, I was perfectly happy to go to a restaurant with her, but she's the kind who will measure everything you eat against what she's eating to decide if she was "good" or not.   (She's thin, and a healthy eater, with body image challenges). I suddenly realized reading your post, Syd, that there is an underlying people pleasing behavior I exhibit with food and drink choices. And, I am still not owning my new behaviors!  I'm scared to eat out with her, to face the 'ah, go ahead have a piece of bread, glass of wine, extra dessert you deserve it after everything you've been through'. 

 

With your post Syd, I see that the choice is just a firm, matter of fact, no thanks. No crusader, no secret agent, and no hermit. You inspire me!!  Thanks!!!

[Gracie35]

I want to ask you about continuing our support for each other. I checked out the other forums, in the after Whole 30 section.  We could maybe start one those who finished around our time to use as a check in and an accountability.?  You with exercise, me with marketing my coaching practice.  

 

I smiled big time when I saw your energy about how you feel!!  I'm so happy for you!!!  I actually think this is going to get better.  I felt yesterday that my body went into another round of 'detoxing' or for lack of a better word, eliminating.  I could actually feel the heat of that 'burning' or flushing stuff out. I then read some of the more science-y stuff they write about habits, and really needed to let it sink in that changing a habit is much longer than 30 days, it's 60 -120 days.  

 

I think I need to continue this, modifying for a glass of red wine and easing off the total sugar obsession just slightly like that the book suggests, might just be enough to keep these new behaviors at the forefront of my mind and attention.  

 

Love the ice cream, Syd.  I really enjoy it too, but I know the dairy gets to me, so if I'm not going to add it to my coffee, yet, ( ahuge deal for me!) it's not coming back in another form. I even think the eggs make me a little mucous-y in the mornings, so I will probably shift the morning routine to leftovers from the night before. 

 

Ok, gotta go to work, I'm so thrilled about your progress, and very happy to hear from you! 

[Syd1974]

Things are continuing to go fairly well, I'm happy to report.  Co. leaves Friday.  Sad to see them go but happy to get on with life on our own :-)

 

The couple still here is the couple who wants to try the program.  They're kind of hung up on the weight loss aspect and I told them straight out, it's not a weight loss program but that seems to follow naturally when you eat according to the W30.  They mentioned that when they tell people they're trying to lose weight, the sabotage begins. 

 

I found the W30 so freeing because the 1st time I did it wasn't about weight loss at all.  It was totally about my blood pressure and the 30 (well, maybe not that many, but there were lots) other things that were really bugging me at the time.  I didn't even mention losing weight to any of my friends when they raised their eyebrows at the fact that I wasn't drinking!!  No one said another word about how I was eating!!!  I loved that.  Mention losing weight and everyone tries to derail you, mention a health issue and all seem to understand that!  Why can't people understand what being overweight can do to a person and respect that goal!!!  I don't get it!

 

Gracie, I have a couple friends like yours who measure everything they eat to what I'm eating and the commentary is almost endless!!!  I think you handled your social invitations well. 

 

I think we have a good plan in place for continuing this program with slight modifications!  I will be toasting you on Saturday right after we share our success :-)

 

Yes, we are going to stay in touch!!  In the meantime, only 2 days to go!!!!!

 

Happy Wednesday evening to you!

Syd

[Gracie35]

Syd,

 

29!  Wow.  

 

Syd, can't believe you've done this twice! And you had the great results with your BP.  How do you feel now?  I think I went through another round of something in the last few days.  Just feel like my body's pushing some crap out.  Realized I wasn't drinking enough water, though.  Got on that fast. 

 

It is hard to tell people like your company, 'no wait, it's more than that.' I'm going to look up all the benefits they list on Saturday, and check off the ones that apply. 

 

It's strange to say, but is there such a benefit as being more straightforward. I seem to be saying what is on my mind, if the timing is appropriate, rather than censoring myself. I'm kind glad, I think you said it right, we are worth it! Something has shifted for me.

 

I just made my guacamole: just avos, jalapenos, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and kosher salt.  Yumm-o! So delish!

 

So, re-reading over re-intro, it seems like ours will be a bit modified.  We're both choosing to have wine on day 1. But it looks like the book then says go back on whole30 for the next 2 days, and see how you feel. I kinda feel like I know not to add back sugar and dairy, and I really dislike legumes, although hummus and soy sauce are an exception. And I have to confess to a bit of fear adding back gluten, basically grains, because bread, bagels, chips, these were the nemesis. Maybe what I'll do is get another 15 days under my belt, just add back red wine, and ease up on sugar, ie if there's some sugar in a vinagrette its fine. And then maybe try gluten.

 

Okay, looking forward to hearing from you!

[Syd1974]

I know!!  Can you believe we are just minutes away from starting Day 30???  I am so excited!!!

 

My bp is great.  Been off the meds for 2 years!!  My sleep is much improved and I go back to sleep easily after my middle of the night trip to the bathroom :-)  (Oh, those 'as we age' things!!)

 

I need to read the re-intro stuff too.  I am going to have wine on Sat.  I can do 2 days of the plan after that.  Not a problem.  Jury's still out on the ice cream.  I might hold out for sushi next Friday night!  Might.  That means rice probably.  Not sure that's what I want to go back to either.  Maybe I should just do the re-intro the way we're supposed to.  That being said, I think 'It Starts with Food' suggested adding back only dairy and leaving the rest in the past.  I lent my book to a friend so am hoping my memory is serving me correctly.

 

Your guac sounds awesome!  We had trout, roasted cauliflower and roasted sweet potato fries for dinner!  It was yummy!

 

Day 30 tomorrow!!!

[Gracie35]

Today!  wow, we did it! 30 days. Wasn't it just yesterday I wanted to kill all things!

 

How did this day go for you?  I took it easy today. Had a massage at the end of the day, and a steak dinner, all compliant of course! watched a great movie, Danny Collins, highly recommend it.

 

I'm heading to bed soon. I'm happy. And proud of us.  Phase one is done.  Phase two - coming up!  Looking forward to reporting my results with you, and getting my last Daily 30 email, and tallying up the non-scale achievements. Tomorrow....

 

Syd, thank you!  I'm so happy to have had your partnership.  

[Syd1974]

Congratulations!!!  I meant to do this last night but I wanted to complete the whole day first!!!  Would you believe I seriously thought about having my 1st glass of wine at midnight..............No, I didn't do it!!  Only weighed myself.  No time to do measurements until later.  Lost 9.4#.  Only 3 pounds away from my total weight loss of 2.5 years ago.  I'm really pleased with that.  Sleeping has been really good, no acid reflux, moods very even.  I am a happy girl!!

 

Starting my day with an apple and cashew butter.  I know.  Not the best choice but it's 5:30 am and I have to leave for work at 6.  A bit early for me to eat my regular breakfast.

 

Steak, kale salad and baked sweet potatoes for dinner tonight with a good glass of red :-)

 

Hey, guess what!  I finally remembered that your name isn't Gracie!! It's Kelly ~ y or i?  I can make this adjustment! 

 

I really need this to continue for us!  Should we start a new thread somewhere or keep going with this one!

 

Give yourself one hearty pat on the back, Girl!!!  You deserve it for a job very well done!

[Syd1974]

I keep forgetting to ask although you may have written about it in an earlier post.  Why did you do the W30?  Who suggested it to you?  Do you know others who've completed it?

 

I know.  It's a bit early for 20 questions!!

[Gracie35]

Syd!  Yay!  That's amazing.  Congratulations. Wahoooooo.  And, lol, can you believe it? I thought about the midnight thing myself.  Of course, didn't do it. But funny.  How many people think that, I wonder?

 

My results are in too: 14.5 lbs lost!  I weigh 167.   I'm thrilled.  6 months ago, I set a normal weight for myself of between 152-162, so this process uts me within 5 lbs from the top of that range, which is what I weighed 3 years ago, and it really worked for me.

 

Now for phase 2!  I was reading in the book about this re-intro part a little more, and they use a term, "riding your bike" - as in, taking off the training wheels.  I thought I would 'graduate' us to the 'after whole30' section.  Would you be willing to continue posting in that other section with me, maybe others will jump in too?!

 

Why did I do the Whole 30 and who told me about it? One of my coaching clients said she was going on the whole30 program to get ready for surgery.  I checked it out, liked what I saw.  Besides my personal reasons, which were health related (weight, self esteem, confidence, heart, and breathing concerns), the Whole30 offered me support. I haven't had that.  I am the one that gives support to others, it is my role to be in service, which sounds an awful lot like marytr-dom or victimhood, and it could be, but in my case it isn't anymore.  I am a 2 on the enneagram which means I help others, it is my personality to be giving, people-pleasing, self-effacing. That core personality almost killed me (melanoma) as I was continuing to place myself in situations where there were only takers. Give, give, give, until there was almost nothing left of me.  I recognized that was causing a problem several years ago, and set out to change the balance. And I did change it.  The pendulum had to swing so far to the other side, where I was taking, more assertive and aggressive, and bolder.  That wasn't me either.  So, I shifted back to a middle ground, in the last two years.  And I recently got my "PhD." test in whether I could balance helping others without diminishing myself. I passed the test, marginally, but I passed. The Whole 30 offered me the kind of support I wasn't getting in my relationships. The forums, your partnership, the Whole30 book, the Daily 30, all helped me feel witnessed, encouraged.  That then led me to tell my walking partners what I was doing, and one woman in particular, began cheering me on. I don't even know this woman very well, however, today, Genevieve even sent me a text this morning congratulating me, even though she is on vacation! My next door neighbor, he knows about this and has also acknowledged my efforts, put a card under my door this morning, more congratulations.  And one of my clients, who agreed to begin her 30 days, two weeks after you and I, sent a text yesterday with congratulations! 

 

My outcome:  so much more happened in these 30 days for me, than just eliminating food that was unhealthy: I eliminated the 'itty bitty shitty committee' that needed that weight to prove to myself that I deserved not to be supported, or witnessed, or cared for, or worse yet, even loved.

 

I have been seen, supported, and acknowledged, and it feels GREAT!!!! I want to shout: thank you, on so many levels and to so many people.

 

One other thing I did was to copy and paste this record of this journey (mine, only) into a word document, so I can revisit the feelings and emotions if ever I stray too far from the healthy path. That is why I wrote such a long response to you questions.  I was actually doing a heart dump, so the experience is clear, accessible, and meaningful...to me.

 

Thanks, Syd, for everything, you are so very much in my thoughts today, and tonight when I toast you and us!! On to the next phase, yippee ki-yay.   Kelli.

[Syd1974]

CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done!!!  How exciting for you in so many respects!!!  I lost 9.4# bringing me to 157.  I'm ok with this weight for now and want to start exercising to tone up what's there :-)  I did toast us at 4 pm yesterday when I got off of work at the restaurant and marched right over to the bar side and had 2 glasses of wine with one of my favorite people.  He's a cranky, little, elderly man who reminds me so much of my dad.  It was delightful.  Then home to a wonderful steak dinner, salad from our garden (just the greens, we live so far north, it's hard to get anything to grow!) and sweet potato fries.  I did have 1 slice of cheese (little) and it did nothing for me.  Cross that off the list for now!

 

Kelli, I wish I could give you a great big hug!  I was a bit stunned to read your post because I could have been the one writing part of it.  I'm still in the give, give, give stage and need to figure out getting out of that downward spiral.  I'm currently working 3 jobs, 7 days a week because I feel the need to help the owners as workers are hard to find where we live.  Congratulations on taking charge of you and turning things around in your favor, on your good health (melanoma is a force to be reckoned with) and on dumping the 'itty bitty shitty committee'!!! 

 

This forum and partnering with Amy and you are the biggest changes I made this time around.  I'm so thankful I did!!  Amy lost 20# and 2 clothing sized.  She's beyond thrilled!!!

 

My goal today is to read the Whole 30 re-intro.  I loaned "It Starts with Food" to a friend in April.  There it is again.  Help, help, help........  I need to get it back!  I'm off to work in the diner again.  I know I want to do the 30 day plank challenge.  Would you be up for that?  Google it if you've never heard of it.  I'm also going to go for a walk.

 

Yes, I will follow you to any other part of this forum you think we should go.  I, too, would like to connect with others.  That being said, if it's just you and me, I'm so good with that!!!

 

Thank you, Dear Kelli, for being there for me these last 30 days!!!

 

Let me know where we're going next!!!

Have a great day!!

[Gracie35]

Hi there!!!  

 

I'm gonna call this Day one, of the next part of our process.  I created a forum called "July 26th:  Dorothy, you have always had the power to go home." It's in the Life after Whole30 section of the forum, click on Re-introduction, and then you'll see it. I gave it that title and I know a bit dramatic, but it felt right in a strange kinda way.  We do know how to do this for ourselves.  !!!  I'm beginning to post over there now and in fact this will be my last post here.  Come on over!

 

I toasted you at 4 pm too!  That's so funny. Wow, your results are awesome, and especially that you've done this twice, I don't know if I have your strength, Syd. This was hard, whatever anyone says.  And Congrats to Amy!!  She blew it away.  Well done.

 

Let me check out the plank challenge, I've not heard of that.  Onward!!!  Hope you had a great day today! Kelli