Grains Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Well, I am unable to start any sooner than August due to travel plans, but I kind of like the idea of having plenty of time to mentally prepare. I hope to use the time until my tentative start date (8/14) to get my back up plans ready, menu ideas lined up, grocery list...I also hope to get healthier in the meantime by maybe losing some weight, exercising, cutting back/limiting/eliminating certain unhealthy foods like sugar in my coffee, sodas, etc. Does anyone else have a late start date like this? Thoughts? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted June 25, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 25, 2015 I think having time to get ready is great, especially if you know your schedule won't let you start a Whole30 for a while. I applaud your desire to get healthier in the meantime, but caution you not to rely on weight loss as a measurement of how healthy you're getting. Whole30 isn't focused on the scale, and now is a great time to start trying to lose that focus in your life. Believe me, I understand wanting to lose weight, but you really will be much happier in the long run if you focus instead on eating healthy, delicious food and doing other things to improve your health, like exercising, getting good sleep, and limiting stress as much as you can. If you focus on those things and you have weight you need to lose, you will lose weight, but keep in mind that one thing many people find is that they don't lose as much weight, but they can tell their clothes fit better (or end up too big), or they can tell they can move better or workout harder or just have more energy to do things around the house. I've seen people post on their Day30 about how happy they are, and they're sleeping better, and their clothes fit better, and their mood is better, and then on Day31, they weigh and find out they haven't lost as much as they thought they should, and suddenly, they're depressed and saying Whole30 didn't work for them. Start trying to focus on things other than weight now, so you don't end up feeling like that at the end if you happen not to be someone who loses 10 pounds in a month (which really is actually not a common result, but it's the one people remember and what everyone thinks they should get). Definitely start giving up sodas and obvious sugar (like adding it to coffee). Start trying new recipes. As you run out of pantry staples, things like canned tuna or mustard or spaghetti sauce, start looking for compliant versions. You could even cook extra of some basics now to put in the freezer, like grilled chicken or meatballs, so that when you have days that you don't feel like cooking, you have something ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grains Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Thanks so much for the thoughtful response Shannon. I think it would also help to practice responding to stress etc triggers in ways other than food and drink. Any suggestions that work for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted June 26, 2015 Moderators Share Posted June 26, 2015 Thanks so much for the thoughtful response Shannon. I think it would also help to practice responding to stress etc triggers in ways other than food and drink. Any suggestions that work for you? I definitely haven't perfected this, but then I'm almost 40 years old and can remember eating in response to stress when I was about 11 or 12, so I've got a few years of bad habits to break, and it does seem to be getting easier over time. Probably the biggest thing for me is to make sure that I eat enough at meals that I know for sure I'm not hungry between meals -- not being hungry, and knowing for sure what I'm feeling is not hunger, makes it easier to recognize that I need something other than food. As for what to do instead of eat, everyone is different, so you may have to try a few things and see what works for you. I do a lot of crafts, so sometimes I turn to that when I'm stressed -- there's something about playing with paints and markers and glue that is really relaxing to me. Sometimes I just grab a pen and paper and doodle for a while, something that keeps my hands busy and requires little actual thought. You can also go for a walk, do some yoga, meditate, journal, read, clean, call a friend, take a bubble bath, make yourself a cup of tea, meal plan, cook. Find something that keeps your hands and mind occupied, or failing that, call it a day and go to bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators ladyshanny Posted June 26, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 26, 2015 Find something that keeps your hands and mind occupied, or failing that, call it a day and go to bed. I remember doing that quite a bit when I was recovering from a binging lifestyle and also quitting smoking at the same time. Sometimes I would finish eating dinner and just go to bed. It was safe there and I knew that while my body was healing and dealing with the change, any extra rest would be welcome anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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