A Recovering Sugar Addict's First-Ever Whole30, Week 1 Completed

[mego]

Hey there Whole30-ers!

I am a 25-year-old girl living in a suburb of Chicago making my attempt at my first ever Whole30 after learning about Paleo through my CrossFit gym. I have had a sweet tooth since childhood which was exacerbated by the fact that my parents let me eat whatever junk food I wanted as a kid and now as an adult I crave sweet all the time. My number 1 goal through this Whole30 is to slay my sugar dragon.

Here are two other goals I laid out for myself and how I'm making progress so far:

Goal #1: Nutrition: I will eat three SQUARE meals a day at least 5 times a week and do so without my iPhone, computer, tv, book, Instagram, or other electronic device nearby.

Goal #1 Progress: Though I eat pretty hearty breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with plenty of protein (I think, usually about 5 oz of chicken, fish, or beef), it is SO hard for me to make it through the next mealtime without snacking! I am so used to snacking! Granted, I'm not snacking on apples and peanut butter anymore, my snacks look more like a bite of chicken, some cantaloupe, some macadamias, or some heated up acorn squash, but I still need those snacks between meals. I know my Whole30 would be more successful if I didn't snack between meals. Only human I guess. Thoughts anyone? As for eating without distractions, I have been doing that successfully and enjoying every bite of my meal rather than snarfing stuff down while scrolling on my iPhone on looking at blogs on my laptop.

Goal #2: Stress Management: I will drink herbal tea before bed and turn off my phone and TV 1 hour before bed.

Goal #2 Progress: Decaf peppermint tea is the bomb! It is like my new dessert! I have been shutting off electronics before bed and sleeping like a baby (this is partially attributed to being so tired from 5:30am Crossfit classes!), but nevertheless I am rocking it in the sleep department. Go me.

2 Funny things that happened to me this week:

1. I bought a generic brand shaving cream for my husband because it was cheaper, and he was upset when I came home with it because he asked for the name brand kind. Then he made a comment about how I have no problem dropping cash on my grassfed beef for my paleo diet at the grocery but I couldn't even get him his $4 shaving cream, and I FLIPPED A LID. Literally I went nutso girl on him and nearly bit his head off and probably scared the neighbors. I am so defensive of anyone making any comment about my new diet or lifestyle. My husband is generally supportive of me, but he doesn't completely understand what I'm going through, and I'm not versed in the language enough to tell him why I'm eating paleo and why it's making me feel better. He offered me wine and he said he missed his "sweet, cookie-making Meg." This made me angry as well. Oy vey.

2. I went to Mass this morning and ate the Communion wafer. Oops? There was no way I could have not taken communion. I'm sure God will forgive me and help me heal my gut lining. I'm not too worried about it, or should I be?

Over and out.

Week 1 Completed.

11/18/2012.

[Xandra]

Congrats on all your great progress! I had the same experience taking communion, and I take it in both forms. There is no getting around taking gluten in your communion; alternatives have been ruled invalid, sparking huge debates but no progress, even for people with severe allergies. I accepted this violation of Whole30, because I will be making the same exception for the rest of my life and so had nothing to gain by eliminating it for the 30 days.

[kb0426]

As far as your need to snack goes, make sure you have enough fat with each meal as well. That is key for me to be able to not snack.

[Tom Denham]

To minimize snacking, either eat 3 bigger meals or add a fourth meal. Actually, I ate 5 to 6 meals per day when I began my original Whole30. I did not work down to 3 meals per day until about a year and a half later.

You get a free pass during a Whole30 for communion. My church offers gluten free wafers as an option. I did not realize that any group was debating whether that was okay or not.

[melbournegirl]

One of my goals is to eliminate snacking! Most days its working out okay, especially now i am making sure i eat enough fat (today is s great example 12pm lunch followed by a walk, home from work early but still sitting here happily at 6pm thinking, hmm must be time for dinner soon as a feel a bit hungry... Wow 6 hours!).... but I really like the idea of being able to add in a fourth meal, especially on those days when the other three meals have all been a bit earlier... Rather than adding in a "snack". Thanks Tom