100 Days of Awesome "Whole 100" Group Log

[AI-Paleo]

I'm sorry about your sister juzbo - and the patients who don't want to be helped Jess. It's such a tragic shame people who are aware of the benefits of dietary change still choose not to - as they reach for junk food and medicine. Sometimes it hurts to watch. It doesn't help when many health care providers don't take diet into account with chronic illnesses.

It's an easier road now for sure Jess. The habits of an unhealthy life are kind of bad memories now. I feel steadier and less afraid that I'm going to revert or be tempted and fail. I think that's what I like most about the 100 - the new "normal" - the new habits. I also wanted to live and eat like I am now. So we're living our dream!

[1Maryann]

Was it Rob Wolf who wrote about his unhealthy parents and his father losing part of a leg to diabetes? Instead of making changes, he appeared to think a leg was a reasonable trade for being to eat whatever he wanted. Really?

[melbournegirl]

Wow Maryann, that's a 'perspective' I don't want to know about! Only four days coffee and nut free and already my body is rejoicing. I look and feel so much better, and much slimmer too, I guess what I like about eating real food is that even if you overdo it and eat too much and stack on some weight it reverses very easily I guess because your metabolism is firing optimally...

Now to stop dreaming about coffee.....

[Renee Lee]

Was it Rob Wolf who wrote about his unhealthy parents and his father losing part of a leg to diabetes? Instead of making changes, he appeared to think a leg was a reasonable trade for being to eat whatever he wanted. Really?

Yep, that was Robb!

http://robbwolf.com/2012/04/04/paleo-diet-convince-it/

[AmyS]

The latest Notes From the Other Side:

The chocolate chili worked this time. Phew! The crock pot method is going to be my choice from now on. Super easy, no pot-watching. For those who want more veggies, I agree. However, I am not a person who likes veggies cooked as part of the dish itself. Same with, say, beef stew. So what I do is to serve up some chili over veggies. Like, for instance, breakfast was salad greens, avocado, and chili. Yes, all mixed together. It was delish. When it comes time to eat beef stew, I'll roast some carrots and add them to my stew. Anyway, I do find that the chili tastes best when it is mixed with some veggies, but I just prefer to cook it separately and add the veggies after. One kid ate seconds, the other turned up her nose and didn't try it. Eh, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Medication update: I started having side effects from the beta blocker I've been taking for months. So I went to the doctor and got the OK to drop it (gradually over two weeks, per her instructions). At the same time, she bumped up the dosage on my other BP medication, but not double, just half again more than I was taking. So I'm down from four daily medications to two.

And get this: I told her about cleaning up my eating, and she said the effects of that will continue to show up in lab results and blood pressure readings over the next several months. She was really positive about it. I didn't specify what eating plan I was on, but told her what I'm eating and what I'm not eating.

Anyway, I'm really happy to be down to two medications - one is for thyroid and I'll be taking that daily for life. Doc says one BP med is probably going to be part of my daily routine for life too - but I can probably keep it to one if I keep my eating clean. Pretty cool!

Eating compliant foods though not necessarily on the timeclock and template of Whole30. For instance, that chocolate chili was REALLY good (that is all I will say about that ). And I went to a reception last night where I ate food that was compliant but it was like 10:00 p.m. so, you know, not so much with the timeclock and template.

I keep having cravings but I'm not interested in giving in. It's weird. I suppose I'm happy about cutting my medication in half, and I want to keep it that way!!!!!

[Jtandi]

aye God Maryann, that is the norm not the exception - totally crazy. one of the catalysts in my change was watching people day after day come in with health problems that were totally preventable. people coming in with type two diabetes begging for me to go down to get a pepsi from the vending machine, family bringing them in Mc Donalds. morbidly obese drinking a diet soda and "low fat" everything. patients coming in with end stage renal disease with amputations and dialysis 3 or 4 days a week with a bag of chips and candy. it's hard to see but there's not a lot to do about it...I realized that if I kept eating the way I was health problems would be a "normal" part of my life.

I'm having a bit of a dilemma in my own house with the kids and food...and the husband. just trying to get them to change the way they eat (even the baby) has been hard. I think they were all hoping I'd be "over this" by now. but I will keep trying. that means trying everything I made each night. even if it ends with a bowl of cereal I hope, at some point, the cereal lessens and the veggies increase!

[melbournegirl]

Jess you are a braver woman that me! I am making some small step successes. My daughter now has raspberries with coconut cream for breakfast. My husband who has apples and bananas for lunch quite often accepts a 'template meal' bowl of soup now when I offer it and my son makes himself scrambled eggs for brekkie. Sandwiches are being replaced with tins of tuna, salad, homemade sausage rolls etc... All going in the right direction at least.

[AmyS]

I actually told my children they couldn't have "last snack" tonight! Odd that the sky didn't fall in!

[melbournegirl]

Hey do you reckon we will make 60 pages? And will that be a record number for this site?

[okeedokie]

Happy Day 73!

What a great conversation to follow...

I was on a Facebook thread last year where a guy was arguing that it was better to eat processed food and GMO corn etc. because if we didn't we would be too limited in what we could eat AND we'd get sick. REALLY?

So the logic is to eat the food that's going to eventually kill you? And the collective answer to that is yes. WOW!

I am so glad I am on this train and yes Maryann it is SO ironic that a hospital does not have healthy food. When my daughter was in 2 weeks ago all they did was push processed crap and sugar laden jello etc. on her. Big surprise she didn't want to eat? Sheesh.

I am just back from L.A. I spent a wonderful 10 days with my daughter and did nothing but hang out with her, cook and either hike in the mountains or walk by the beach. It was heaven.

I had someone at a meeting yesterday tell me that I look "skinny". While I could care less if I'm skinny, I think this is a way of saying they are noticing the changes in me and my body which feels righteous!!

I've never tried the chocolate chili but after all of this discussion, I'm going to have to give it a shot.

Amy, congrats on losing the medication. That is an epic win!!

We're in the home stretch! Looking forward to all of the healthy surprises ahead.

Woot woot!

Linda

[AmyS]

All of you folks' stories about people with food-induced health problems - I feel so sad about this. I also understand why my doctor was so excited about my cleaning up my eating and getting off some of my meds. She must see folks suffering the end results of where I have been headed, all the time. I guess we are the lucky ones, that our brains kind of clicked on eating clean when our bodies needed it. Even though I'm not technically with you folks anymore, and that means I have consumed the equivalent of one non-compliant meal per week since I ended on Day 66, I still feel like this program has saved my life. And I love that i can eat this way (almost) all of the time from now on. Looking forward to doing a Family Whole30 (our first!) in the summer, too. It's kind of bittersweet, thinking of folks who were in the situation I was in a year ago, where I couldn't imagine how to change anything and make my life better. Oddly enough, I had reached a stress point back in September where things either had to change or I was going to implode. I was not dealing well with life. I still face stressors, but I don't experience them the same as I did. It's a relief, to say the very least.

[Connie H]

Hello! I have been following this topic for a few weeks now and appreciate the encouragement y'all have for each other. I am on day 40 of my second W30.

I did my first W30 last summer and made it to about here (day 40) before I allowed myself to have a cookie. I figured after 40 days of whole eating I was strong enough to have one without blowing it. Boy was I wrong! That one cookie quickly became the whole bag followed by the same old mind game I used to play - "Well, I've blown it now. I'll get back on it tomorrow." Six months later (Feb 3) I decided "tomorrow" is now today!!!

For years I have been struggling with losing (and re-losing) the same 20 pounds. Every time I lose the weight and decide to indulge just once, I tell myself, "Don't worry about it. If I gain weight, I know how to lose it." I now know that my problem isn't not knowing how to lose weight, my problem is that I am addicted to sugar and junk foods. Just like having that one cigarette leads to a couple of years of being able to quit. I can't have just one.

So my focus now is not about losing weight (which I know is happening). And it's not so much about being healthy either. Although that is a priority. But those two things are secondary and tertiary priorities. My number on priority is remembering that I am addicted to sugar. And I fear that just one non-compliant food will send me down that road again.

My fear though will really come around day 68 when I leave for a 4 day trip to visit my daughter in NY. My food choices right now are very controllable. I always have enough meals in the fridge/freezer to last 10 days, so that no matter what I don't catch myself without compliant meals. But what will happen when I get to the airport?

I am hoping that between now and then any cravings for junk food will become less than a memory. And that if I am unable to stay within compliance, that I won't have a problem getting back on it when I get back.

Do ya'll have any suggestions?

I get kinda long winded with the keyboard. Thanks so much for hearing me out.

[Jtandi]

aw welcome Chebert! I am a full blown sugar addict, too. (I have an addictive personality, but I actually think it was easier to quit drinking and smoking than it is to quit sugar. sigh.)

for me, personally, I don't think cravings will ever go away. I still want an oreo cookie. I still want ice cream. I still crave pizza/etc. so this whole100 is a very safe place for me. I have a lot of fear about when it's over, but I also know that I will need very strict "rules" if you will. that would be my only suggestion for you, and that's hard to say since I have not done it, so I'm not really speaking from experience. my "intention" following this period is to indulge in cake 4 times a year - my birthday, my husband's, and my girls. that's it. no other exceptions. I have expectations to make things like coconut milk whipped cream with berries, or frozen banana into a kind of ice cream with no additional sugar, but I will have to experiment with that.

so I guess my suggestion is to plan. don't go there with the thought of "I might be unable to be compliant"...rather go saying "I WILL remain compliant" or go saying "I will have THIS treat" and choose specific things you are going to have (on day two I will have one ice cream cone or on day 3 I will eat at my favorite Thai restaurant). one thing that resonates with me in ISWF is that "black and white" is SO much easier than grey. if I say "I'll just TRY" or "I MIGHT have a little" then I'm off and running. that's why I'm planning on strict rules.

bring food with you to the airport (nuts, avocado, etc.). is your daughter aware of your change in eating? will she be supportive?

[shelley417]

Hi All! Tough week. Food is compliant but my sleep is off, my eating schedule is off. I think part of he sleep issue is I am having a difficult time adjusting to the change to daylight savings time. I cant get to bed at night and i am oversleeping every morning.. No time for a proper breakfast . Also, my husband has been waking me up at night. He needs things he can't get himself. Days have been about running from one meeting to another-- man in different places.

I have been very interested in the portion control conversation. I haven't paid much attention to that but I think it's an important final lesson.

[melbournegirl]

Shelley, you have lots of demands on you, that makes it tough. I have recently seen a direct correlation with not enough sleep and going crazy with cravings later that night... Also if my lunch is too late I find it hard to satisfy my hunger later in the day. So your sleep problems are going to make your days harder, I hope you can find a way around...

Cherbert, I love your honesty. I have come to realize that my biggest health problem is my sugar addiction too. What I have found really helps me when I am away from my kitchen is now knowing what I can look for in emergency meals. For example if I am out longer than I expect and I need an emergency meal I buy a supermarket tin of tuna slices in olive oil it has a pull ring and I can eat the slices with my fingers. Add a piece of fruit And I am good for a few hours. At airports you can usually get fresh fruit and small nut packets, not ideal but good in an emergency. Subway pick your own salads are ok too

[shelley417]

Hi Cherbert! If you go back about a week in our log you will see that we all talked snout our fears and concerns snout what will happen after our W100 is done. And we have Amy still writing about her post 66 experiences and showing us what compliance looks like for her and how it can be done. Support is such a big part if this for me. I am hopeful that we will start a "Post Whole 100 " thread when we get to April 10 so that we can continue talking about our reintroduction and our experiences. I think that would be most important for me.

[1Maryann]

*snout*? ROFL! Don't you love auto correct?

[melbournegirl]

I was too polite to say anything... But I did snort like a pig... Snout... Get it???

[AI-Paleo]

Amy, I'm happy dancing for you getting down to 2 meds!!!

Chebert, Jess is right, take food with you and make sure you have support while there. And have the mindset "I AM" and "I WILL"You can totally do this. You can do it anywhere, any time. (Jess, you rock!)

Hang in Shelley, take it one day at a time. I hope your sleep and energy get better!

My sleep has been messed up too. I don't know if it's a adrenal/pituitary thing or what. I wake up in the middle of the night, every night, in a *panic*. I feel physically, like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff (and I'm afraid of heights). Like that feeling you get in your gut when dropping fast and steep on a roller coaster. I have this sense of impending doom that I can't shake. Lately, I've been trying to offload or resolve the things in my life that I know cause me stress but so far this hasn't helped. I'm going to see a new doc next month who is an MD and also a Paleo/Primal doc. She can prescibe Armour for my thyroid. This will address both T3 and T4 since I don't appear to convert well. Maybe that will help... I hope.

[Karen]

I'm still checking in and cheering on you guys! I have to say, for those of you that are worried about what you'll do when you're done, just trust that it'll be ok if you mess up. I've had some moments where I've fallen completely off the rails and paid dearly for it, but I seem to be rebounding quickly. AND, I can redirect myself quickly. I was talking about this to my rolfer the other day - I'm not perfect, but at least I have the knowledge as to what my body likes and doesn't like, and I can make an informed decision. That's not something I would have been able to pinpoint a few years ago.

I'm also finding my body is loving a bit of rice every day. I know the Whole30 isn't supposed to be low carb, but for me, it always was as I don't like most of the starchy carbs that are allowable. I'm reading the Perfect Health Diet at the moment and the carb thing is starting to make more sense to me, and it's something I really need to work on going forward. To have a few days of clear-head was bliss!

But what really got me to post here was this:

My sleep has been messed up too. I don't know if it's a adrenal/pituitary thing or what. I wake up in the middle of the night, every night, in a *panic*. I feel physically, like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff (and I'm afraid of heights). Like that feeling you get in your gut when dropping fast and steep on a roller coaster. I have this sense of impending doom that I can't shake. Lately, I've been trying to offload or resolve the things in my life that I know cause me stress but so far this hasn't helped. I'm going to see a new doc next month who is an MD and also a Paleo/Primal doc. She can prescibe Armour for my thyroid. This will address both T3 and T4 since I don't appear to convert well. Maybe that will help... I hope.

I've had that feeling before, too! I'm glad you're going to a new doc next month as it sounds like your cortisol levels might be off at night, you're not converting T4 to T3 correctly, or your current thyroid dose is too high. I've gone through all three of those, and it's not fun. My biggest breakthrough was the T4 to T3 conversion, or lack of. My integrative doc tested my reverse T3, which is what your body will convert T4 into instead of T3 when the body perceives it to be in excess. Any form of levothyroxine and even Armour completely messes with that - my body would dump the T4 from either of those meds directly into RT3 and my T3 levels would plummet, leaving me a complete and utter mess. I felt like I was in slow motion and in a constant panic. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hope your doctor has the knowledge to look outside the TSH box and offer you some insight and support. And, please, trust that it'll get better. It's not permanent. Hang in there, k?

[melbournegirl]

Nice to hear from you Karen, glad you're doing okay

[Connie H]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. So what I've learned is:

1. Take snacks with me.
   
2. Have support when I get there.
   
3. During that time, stay on or go off - either way make it a conscious decision.
   
4. Have a plan.
   

I love the idea of the canned tuna slices with the pull-top lid.I hadn't thought of that. And I can buy a salad almost any place in the airport. I'll take an apple too.

My daughter is awesome! She will be very supportive. It's myself I worry about more than anyone else. I will be staying with her and have my own car while there, so I think I could also go to the grocery store and buy what I need. The engagement dinner might be tough. (That's why I am going. She is getting married in 2014! They are having an engagement party this April.) So that might be the plan. Stay compliant except for the engagement party dinner, but don't go hog wild. ("Hog wild" Get it? Another play on "snout" )

You know what I appreciate most about this forum and Whole 9? Y'all are like a family. Looking out for each other, encouraging, and cool!!

BTW - My name is Connie. You can call me Cherbert if you like though!

[1Maryann]

I got a phone call last night from one of the friends I haven't been seeing because I'm no 'fun' when I'm not drinking. It is the height of our tourist season, and she's a waitress, so we haven't really been in touch even by phone for the last couple of months. She gets out of work at almost midnight, I'm up at 5:30 am, she's gone to work by the time I get out.

She was in the hospital all last week. She got really jaundiced, so went to the local clinic and her blood work had them check her into the hospital that night.

She beat breast cancer 12 years ago, and her mammograms have all been clean since then. Of course, they tell you to take care of your body even after they consider you 'cured', and warn that the liver is one of the organs most likely to see the results if you don't. Of course she has continued to drink daily ("I don't have a drinking problem, I never drink hard liquor, only wine.") for all that time.

She now presents with multiple problems, the most pressing being that a biopsy shows the tumor on her liver is actually breast cancer that has metastasized. In addition, she has many alcohol-related lesions on her liver, so even the part of her liver not affected by the tumor is unhealthy.

They told her if she hadn't been diagnosed when she was, and she had gone untreated, she would most likely have been dead in 4 weeks. She has already started chemo, and needs to knock out the breast cancer before they can treat the liver itself.

This is a friend I've been worried about for a long time. While alcohol has always been in the background of my life, and much of my social life has included it, when I'm not around my drinking friends, I almost never even think about it. This is someone who has a couple of glasses at the bar every night after work, then goes home and cooks herself a late dinner at midnight, accompanied by more wine (which is okay because it is socially acceptable to have wine with dinner). On her days off, she cruises around town with a go-cup full of wine, doing errands.

It was a very painful conversation. It is hard enough to hear a friend tell you she is this gravely ill, and her prospects are still iffy. But it was even more uncomfortable to hear her eat humble pie and admit she may have done this to herself. It had to be hard for her to call me of all people, because of the way she sneered at me for my "health kick" and "not being any fun".

She and I and another friend are getting together Sunday evening. This will be the first time we have ever gone anywhere that the focus will not be on alcohol. Previously, she wouldn't even consider getting together at a place that didn't serve alcohol. At this late date, she is all ears about a healthier lifestyle, and things she can do to improve her odds. I just hope it isn't too late. The plan is they first need to stop the growth of the breast cancer cells. Then they can think about surgery to remove the tumor.

The liver is the only organ that can regenerate. You can remove half of a healthy liver and the remaining portion will grow to take up the slack. But first she will need to heal those lesions, or she won't have enough healthy tissue left to do the job. Already, with no alcohol for almost 2 weeks, some of her liver levels are coming down, but her bilirubin and something else are still dangerously high. Here's hoping she can buy herself enough time for her liver to heal. Amazingly, she is pain-free and feeling fine. If she hadn't turned yellow, she still wouldn't know there was anything wrong.

Say a prayer for Elaine. I was feeling a bit hostile towards her for her refusal to do anything with me that didn't involve alcohol. I was questioning the basis of our friendship. I was figuring she might be one of the people I need to weed out of my life going forward. Now I'm glad I hadn't yet closed that door. She needs a friend now, not a drinking buddy, and I'm afraid most of the people in her life are just drinking buddies. My buzz words for Sunday night will be "organic", "free-range", wild-caught" and "grass-fed". She needs as clean a diet as she can get right now. If she can eliminate pesticides and toxins, hopefully she can give her liver the rest it needs.

[shelley417]

Dear MaryAnn, it's Saturday morning and I am sitting here crying for Elaine who I do not know and for you, her dear friend so caring. I will pray for you both. Perhaps a bag with some organic liver detox tea and the book It Starts With Food might be a good present for her tomorrow night.

Last night a long time friend who I have not seen in quite some time came for dinner. She inquired about my new lifestyle. I explained to her about my first W45 and that on January 1 a group of us committed to the W100. She asked me who ( I think she was thinking that I would tell her about other of our mutual friends who were doing it) and I explained that I had an online community of friends that were doing it together.

Good weekend to you all.

Love, Snout (go figure-- there I was trying to tell you all how much you mean to me and now we are all laughing about snout-- you are All so great!!). I proofed before i posted.

Ps-- I am about to post in trouble-shooting about Passover. You can read it there.

[Karen]

Maryann, I'm very sorry to hear about your friend. I'm sorry that you haven't felt like you could hang out with her because of your differing priorities. I'm sorry that her lifestyle choices that divided your friendship are causing her serious harm. But, the beauty of friendships is that despite the ups and downs, when push comes to shove, you're both there for each other. I'm so glad she reached out to you, and I'm glad you're open to supporting her being healthy. I hope she's open to a healthy approach. I know she'll learn a lot from you, but I also think you'll learn a lot from her.

I have read your struggles with your dragon at times, and I suspect this situation with your friend will solidify your desire to stay sober even more so. As hard as it is to see a friend struggling, sometimes the lessons we learn and the influence we try to provide to them through the hard times are ones we take with us through life. You're a good friend. I hope she's receptive to your approach and I truly hope she'll be able to turn it around. You and your friend are in my thoughts.