A little nervous, but believing I can do this...

[Portion1111]

I am starting Day 1 today, and already the fears and old habits are creeping in. I have been addicted to food for as long as I can remember, and I want nothing more than to break these chains. I am 37 year old female and weigh 324. My heart is ready, but my mind is messing with me. Any advice from other obese, always been addicted to food, but now having great results friends out there?

[Mykelogan]

Hi! I can definitely empathize on both points, being obese and addicted to food. I was well over 500lbs at my peak weight and am now down almost 200lbs from there. Still very big but working on it! I started my weight loss journey just by increasing my non-existent physical activity level and making some better food choices, I got more serious this year and was following a program I had enjoyed success at in the past when I discovered the world of Paleo eating and the Whole 30. I am now 20 days into my first Whole30 and I must tell you that I feel fantastic. Once you start eating clean, whole foods, and avoid the things that cause problems like dairy, sugar, wheat, etc it is a whole new world, no puns intended. What I think I can share that will apply most to your journey is that I feel like now, for the first time in my life, I am learning what the difference is between true physical hunger and the hungers driven by emotions and unbalanced insulin cravings. They are very different things and I feel like this is really a breakthrough for me.

So I wish you luck as you start your Whole 30!! My first week was a bit challenging as my body adapted to all the differences but by day 5 or 6 I felt fantastic and still do!! You can do this! Let me know if there's anything else I can do to assist ya!

Mike

[Jeanye Mercer]

Thank your heart for being ready. Let your mind and fears and habits know that while you appreciate the fact that they have another opinion, you have decided that a Whole30 is what is best for ALL of you right now.

Change can be scary. But it can also be exhilarating. You deserve health and wellness!

Be kind and compassionate with yourself through the process. Keep reaching out and letting us know how we can support you.

[Jeanye Mercer]

I find reading and reading and reading the Whole9 blog to be very helpful! Here are a few links to get you started.

http://whole9life.com/2012/04/sometimes-it-is-hard/

http://whole9life.com/2012/03/change-your-habits-part-1-the-cue/

http://whole9life.com/2012/04/change-your-habits-part-2-willpower/

[Shaunna]

I am starting Day 1 today, and already the fears and old habits are creeping in. I have been addicted to food for as long as I can remember, and I want nothing more than to break these chains. I am 37 year old female and weigh 324. My heart is ready, but my mind is messing with me. Any advice from other obese, always been addicted to food, but now having great results friends out there?

Good luck! You can do this, just take one day at a time. I can relate with the food addiction. To be honest, I would crave soda before 7 am most mornings, eat sugary sweets just because, and fast food the majority of the time. After passing day 5 or so, I had no cravings for that kind of stuff, I feel so clean inside. I would recommend getting Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan and/or Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso. They are awesome cookbooks! What really knocked some sense in to me was realizing that I'm 25 and not happy, at all. I realized, I could die tomorrow, feeling the way I felt, with the horrible food addiction haunting me everyday, or I could start my whole30 and move on and enjoy my life. Please keep us updated! It really helps if you post your daily meals in Your Whole30 Log.