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My first Whole30 is officially done!

I am a lifelong, since childhood, horrendous anxiety sufferer. Every single day since childhood. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Four years ago I had surgery to remove a massive adrenal tumor and lost the gland with it. Not sure how someone with only one adrenal gland can have the worst anxiety ever, but, go me! You'd think only having one gland would have lessened my anxiety.. uhhhh nope! If anything, it ramped up the anxiety. I took no medication though because they all made me crazier than the anxiety so when I say I suffered, I mean it!

I haven't had an anxiety attack since Day 4! This is the biggest change for me and it moves me to tears. LIFELONG sufferer of uncontrollable anxiety and it's gone. GONE!

G-O-N-E

I sleep so much better! All night long and I don't wake up at all. I was waking up multiple times a night, almost nightly, so this is huge for me. The sleeplessness only fueled my anxiety and my anxiety fueled my sleeplessness.

My head is not so cloudy. I'm able to handle stress, whereas this summer it was killing me. My skin and coat ;-) are smooth and healthy looking. The rosacea I'd developed is gone. I have the skin of my youth again! My nails, which have always been thin and split easily, are growing strong and healthy! The phantom joint pain I'd had that was almost debilitating on some days has disappeared. No headaches. No tummy rumbles except for hunger. Ummm, what else? I know there is more..

Ohh! GUM! I was a daily gum chewer, multiple pieces a day. Ditched that habit! Ya baby!!

I was totally compliant on the program with the exception of a few hidden sugars and once I found hidden MSG in some beef bouillon after I'd put it in the stock. Grrrrrr! I didn't eat or snack between meals any longer. Maybe some veggies and guac in the afternoon some days if I know dinner is many more hours away. I'm full and satisfied and I listen to my body.

I did this Whole30 on a ridiculously tight budget so no one is allowed to tell me that can't do this because it's expensive. YES YOU CAN! When I say tight budget, I mean NO budget because there isn't enough money to budget. I also fed a family of five doing this which includes a couple of teenagers that eat like starving animals all the time and a husband who also has a very hearty appetite. YES YOU CAN!

I live very rurally and do not have access to a Whole Foods or any organic store like that. I had to buy my meat from my tiny little grocery store so it was never grass fed (I guess that would be non-compliant but ordering grass fed meat online was not an option). They had nothing organic in my tiny store. Nothing. None. Nada. Period. I never used anything like coconut aminos because I couldn't find it anywhere. I worked around not using that sort of stuff in recipes. I was already a "primal-ish mostly" eater so the transition wasn't too difficult. Kicking alcohol and cheese and crackers was my biggest hurdle and finding hidden sugar in EVERYTHING!!! I did go to the "big city" twice during my Whole30 to the grocery store (Smith's) and while they have a small organic section, mostly everything had sugar in it or some other non-compliant ingredient. I did find some almond butter that only had salt in it and I bought it because I felt like I'd found a treasure! I've only eaten it once with some frozen sliced bananas so I guess I really didn't need to buy it LOL

I weighed myself this morning on the most ancient scale ever so I don't know how accurate it is. I threw out my regular scale. I did lose weight.. twelve pounds which is much more than I thought I would since I wasn't doing this to lose weight but to feel better and to stop my alcohol and cracker binges and to reset my system. The weight loss was a super nice added bonus! I was hoping for a five pound loss! I knew I'd lost some inches because my work skirts are very loose in the waist. I still have some mama hips on me though!

I'm not really "stopping" today.. I will start 100% again Monday. I'll be off-roading a little bit this week. I have some foods I'd like to eat this week before they go bad! I have some really yummy chicken jalapeno sausage that has sugar in it... stuff like that. I'm not going to dive in and bathe in brownie batter, although, that does sound nice ;) I will remain primal, mostly.. My daughter is dying to make some brownies and I might have one. I will for sure stay away from crackers this week since I know those are a pretty big trigger.

I will begin another Whole30 on Monday morning, Oct 22. I have a few cravings I need to nail down and figure out what I am eating (or not eating) that is triggering them. I want to know that if I eat X then Y will happen so at least I know what to expect and can manage it.

I can't thank Melissa and Dallas enough for the daily newsletter, the website, the forums, everything! I really felt like they were cheering me on personally in the newsletters and on the days I was really struggling, it was addressed in the newsletter which reminded me what I was going through was normal for the program.

I am super proud of myself! I've been beaming all day! This is the longest I've done anything! My family has been very supportive and are proud of me too! This, hands down, has been the best thing for me in a very long time.

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Congratulations, Croll! Your post is super inspiring. I too have a serious gum problem and it's my main incentive for doing a Whole30. Who needs to be spending that much money on something that isn't even edible?

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