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Whole30 success: fueling a creative life!


ArtFossil

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It's Day 31 and I've completed my Whole30! I was 100% compliant (I believe). Hooray for me!

 
Here is what I said when I started on November 9th:
 
I'm doing this to help with my GERD/lose weight/eat more mindfully/identify food that nourishes me vs food that makes me feel less than optimal. So, any benefits in any of these areas will make it a success. I'm keeping my foods pretty simple and basic. 
 
And here is where I am on December 9th:
 
Nourished and energized. It's the last day of classes (university teaching) and I know how I often feel on this day (like a puddle on the floor). Instead of being exhausted and depressed, I feel full of energy and eager to attack my grading and then focus on my research and creative work during my break. I have energy, clarity, calm and have re-discovered "satiety." :-)
 
My food isn't a reward or punishment, and it isn't a treat--it's fuel. (OK, except for black coffee and LaCroix. Those are treats!). I make food choices without guilt and those choices aren't "clean" (or "dirty') and don't make ME "good" or "bad." They do fuel my daily activities and yes, eating food is satisfying and pleasurable.
 
(Let me just add that I brought donuts from a wonderful regional donut shop to my morning class and have cookies for the afternoon class. I had no interest in eating a doughnut and won't have any interest in the cookies, either.)
 
More mindful. My theme for 2015 was mindfulness, and Whole30 helped me extend that theme into meals and eating. My acupuncturist has suggested for "a while" that I MUST chew my food completely and I'm happy to report that I'm eating more slowly and chewing 1000% more. 
 
With dramatically reduced heartburn. I have GERD and am looking at a deadline of May to heal my esophagus to avoid a painful procedure. This is motivating! I eliminated all of my nighttime reflux and was now working on bouts of heartburn for a half hour or so somewhere between 3 and 5 PM. I've had lots of days with no heartburn, some days with just 5 minutes and I'm confident I can get it to zero with a few more tweaks. (Adequate hydration is one of them. Who knew?)
 
[The "benefit" of my GERD is that it forces me to make sure that my eating is done by 7:30 PM (8 PM at the very latest and only when my schedule has been shot to hell by events beyond my control). I've built on this with my Whole30 and have a disciplined and workable meal schedule that makes sure I eat three meals and don't get hungry in between--another success from Whole30.]
 
With a re-formed body. I lost a lot of weight. I'm not even going to post the number of pounds because no matter what the number some people would read it and think, "That's all?"
 
My body has dramatically compacted and re-arranged. This is NOT "water weight" or lost muscle mass. I do 55 minutes of Pilates once a week with a personal trainer and she knows every part of my body intimately and she is astounded at the changes. (When I get to the university in the morning and see my reflection in the glass doors I am amazed at how much my upper torso has changed!)
 
I'm facing a hip replacement in May. This is also motivating as I decided I would do the rehab BEFORE the surgery and that I would lose 10-15% of my body weight to make the surgery and my recovery easier. Since August, I have lost almost 8% and I'm confident I'll make my goal.
 
I do water exercise 3 times a week and Pilates once a week in order to keep moving, stretch, and strengthen. These activities are my first priority and are not negotiable and I kept them up during my Whole30 and measurable improved my strength.
 
So, my Whole30 was a success beyond all my hopes and expectations. I'll be forever grateful to Courtney Carver for mentioning it on her blog, bemorewithless.com, as I'd never heard of the program until then.
 
I'll be posting my Reintroduction plans later today. (I'm starting tomorrow with black beans. Whoot!) My Reintroduction is, for me, even more important than doing the Whole30 as I am eager for information on how best to fuel a complex and creative life. (And my nutrition is part of a bigger project as I move toward a "simple" physical life with a tiny house in my future.) It may be a long process toward "optimal" health, but I can see that "excellent health" is certainly within my reach.
 
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For those interested, I also drew on Ellen Langer's research where she immersed 70+ year-old men in an environment that replicated their environment 20 years prior. They not only felt younger, but they had measurable physiological improvements. During my Whole30 I channeled how I felt and looked and what I did 20 something years ago, during a period when I was satisfied with my weight, my energy, my exercise and my accomplishments. 
 
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For those interested, I also drew on Ellen Langer's research where she immersed 70+ year-old men in an environment that replicated their environment 20 years prior. They not only felt younger, but they had measurable physiological improvements. During my Whole30 I channeled how I felt and looked and what I did 20 something years ago, during a period when I was satisfied with my weight, my energy, my exercise and my accomplishments.

I just read about this in another venue --- fascinating stuff! I've always liked the "you're only as old as you act" philosophy.

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ArtFossil - I loved reading this.  The entire post just radiated CALMness, clarity, peace and contentment.  Since we have been doing this almost "together" and you have cheered me along the way, I really enjoyed hearing this and felt as though I was celebrating with you.  Thank you for that.

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren (GGG)

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ArtFossil - I loved reading this.  The entire post just radiated CALMness, clarity, peace and contentment.  Since we have been doing this almost "together" and you have cheered me along the way, I really enjoyed hearing this and felt as though I was celebrating with you.  Thank you for that.

 

Cheers,

 

-Lauren (GGG)

Thank you, Lauren! I admire your tenacity and I'm cheering you on! I'll be posting my eccentric reintroduction plan later today.

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  • 1 year later...
4 hours ago, MeadowLily said:

 Artfossil, when I read some of the things I was up to years ago.... coffee screen smiley

Yours was a favorite. So I'm bumping this thread. 

 

You're a source of inspiration, MeadowLily! 

And speaking of the creative life, I just discovered Patti Smith's amazing performance at Dylan's Nobel Prize award ceremony, and her equally amazing comment in the New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/patti-smith-on-singing-at-bob-dylans-nobel-prize-ceremony

Good for all of us to remember when we are disappointed because we/it isn't perfect. Personally, I believe art should show "the mark of the hand" and this performance, when she entered into Dylan's lyrics so completely she couldn't continue for a few moments, demonstrates that perfectly. And also shows her consummate skill to be able to regroup and go on. 

 

 

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