Starting June 19

[Tess21]

Hi, it's me: Tess. I've got my date: June 19. It seems so far away, but I want to thoroughly prep. This will be my first Whole30 but not my first (elimination diet) rodeo. I'm nervous, of course, about accidentally "messing up." I practice a gluten free diet currently and keep dairy to a low minimum. I've had psoriatic disease for 35 years, so this is incredibly important for me to be accurate. The arthritis is debilitating and the severe psoriasis rollercoasters - one day I'm looking healthy, the next I've flared. It's either stress, food, or both. I'm concerned about nightshades, however, I'm going to do the Whole30 holistically and see how I feel on day 31. My short term plan is to elimate those too at that time if I do not see results. I'm looking at this challenge like I did nursing my two little girls: DETERMINED. I told myself if I could breastfeed for one week, I could do two. After two, I knew I could stick to it for another month. That determination saw me through 12 months nursing baby 1 and 15 months nursing baby 2 and I worked full time! So, determination is what I'm clinging to because I have to; my health is so important for me to be able to play with my girls. And to be there for my girls. I had blood work done recently and my results were kinda scary and surprising as I take supplements and try to eat well. My cholesterol was high and my liver enzymes were still high. Ugh. I hope that Whole30 teaches me to implement variety into meal planning. I'm hoping the high cholesterol is high because I eat the same ole thing all the time.

My husband is joining me on the Whole30 challenge. I'm very fortunate to have such a supportive husband, however, he will reap benefits too! His sweettooth concerns me; diabetes runs on both sides of his family. On the surface, he is super healthy, but I think everyone has some trigger foods.