Today is the first day of the rest of your life!

[hollysmokes]

"If you care about the Whole 30, you will complete a Re-intro Process" -Meadowlilly

I care.

And, theoretically, I can learn from my mistakes. I did not do a proper re-intro after my first W30, thinking that since I didn't have any food allergies or sensitivities I didn't need to do one. That was just plain, old wrong thinking. Or non-thinking. I backslid. I caved. I didn't have a plan and it showed. Not this time!! I'm prepared AND I have a plan.

"You will pay homage and honor the Whole 30 pioneers who've gone before you." -Meadowlilly

I've been reading the forum and making a plan; a "Positive Food Management Plan" and I will NOT let anyone take control of my nutritional decisions. I have finished a W60 after realizing that I need more than 30 days to instill new/better habits and today is Day 1 of re-introduction to the rest of my life! Many thanks to the moderators and to everyone who has shared their experiences- good, bad and indifferent. 

The Plan:

#1- Ease the rules a bit and see what the effect is. I took my supplements that have a bit of rice flour in them but will either stop them or buy better quality supplements when I finish these.

#2- I WANT corn back in my life after several years of abstaining. It will be occasional, special and heirloom and I will savor every bite. That will be my first re-intro. Dairy will be my second but it will not become a frequent flyer as it was in the past.

#3- I will stay vigilant reading labels. "They" are getting as sneaky with soy as they are with sugar. No soy!

#4- Keep moving beyond the speed of sofa. 

There's more but that's enough for a good beginning. I didn't get here overnight and I'm not going to be fixed overnight. Baby steps but I WILL ride my own bike this time.

Many thanks and well wishes for everyone swimming in these waters.

 

 

[hollysmokes]

So today I will have some carefully planned corn: heirloom stone ground grits from Anson Mills at breakfast and popcorn (also an heirloom variety from Anson Mills) later as a planned snack with a movie later in the day. I haven't re-introed dairy so my grits will have ghee, not butter.

My first re-intro day was good and easy- stayed compliant except for my supplements. Yesterday I eased the rules as planned and had some local bacon that was cured with sugar. After reading some other posts, I was worried that it would taste sweet but they mustn't use much sugar; it was just bacon yumminess AND I only had two slices instead of my usual three. I also had an Rx bar before lunch- blueberry and not the chocolate brownie-like one I wanted. It was really good but I think I could have them in the house and not be tempted to eat them all or eat them all the time. I need to find some bars that I can take hiking or have on hand for emergencies but not treat them like dessert or a candy bar snack. I developed a bad habit of having a KIND bar after breakfast at work. NSV- that ain't happenin' any more. I can't even remember when I thought about having one-yay! Now I have two different bars that have good ingredients that I can enjoy but control. One has a little honey so it isn't compliant but it's made with really good ingredients and is totally not sweet, which I really like. 

I REALLY wanted to snack yesterday. Not sure if that's my sugar dragon rearing her ugly head or my brain trying to find balance riding her own bike so I will have to keep an eye on that, for sure. If I find that I really need to limit even small amounts of added sugars, I know that I can- NSV!!!

Has anyone else had problems with snack attacks? It wasn't sugar cravings just snacking for the yum of it. Gotta nip that in the bud. Somewhere in the forums I read a suggestion to do 30 jumping jacks to knock the wind out of sugar cravings. I'll have to try that with snack attacks. 

Towards the end of my W60, I started adding in more fruit. Meadowlilly's inclusion of fruit as part of her meals rather than a snack or dessert caught my attention. I really enjoy fruit and hadn't realized how much I missed it until I had a beautiful, just-picked red grapefruit a few months ago. It was so delicious and perfect that I wanted to cry. Really. Now I'm including fruit with a couple of meals a day but realize I need to monitor my body's reaction to that as well. Blackberries, blueberries, mandarins and red grapefruit so far and I'm really enjoying it. Can't wait for strawberry season!

[hollysmokes]

No snack attacks yesterday! I probably still should have done the jumping jacks, though.   I'm thinking it was just my 5 year-old inner self trying to push  the boundaries now that the rules have eased. 

M1: 2 fried eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, holy cow delicious grits w ghee and a handful of cherry tomatoes

M2: 3 NomNomPaleo's wonton meatballs w cherry toms, blackberries & blueberries then decided I didn't have enough fat so I had a few olives and almonds

M3: baked buffalo wings and popcorn! 

Got woken up at 1130 with a coughing fit- tears running down my face, trying not to pee my pants coughing fit. My sinuses were a mess but not sure if that's the corn's fault or not. I don't think it was so I'll have another day with corn in a week or so and see.

Back on track today with just a bit of added sugar (I'm pretty sure) in a little piece of country ham at breakfast but otherwise staying compliant. Yesterday was a little light on veggies so I'm making sure to get plenty of them in today.

Dairy re-intro will be Wednesday so I made some whole milk yogurt yesterday and will drain the whey out of it tonight. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my yogurt culture was still good; it's been months since I've made any. 

Does a really big cook-up count as exercise?

[hollysmokes]

I'm still hoping that my sleep will improve as I continue this process. Every time I think it's getting better, I wind up having a less restful night. I used to think it was the wine I had most nights but I haven't had any alcohol since the beginning of December so that's not it (even though I'm sure it doesn't help). I tried blue-light blocking glasses but didn't notice any change. I take Mg before bed and that does seem to help and so does my silk eye mask but if I wake up or get awakened, I have a hard time getting back to sleep. It's a work in progress, I suppose.

Yesterday was a good day and I even got an hour of yoga done after I got home from work and before I strained my new batch of chicken bone broth..

M1: 3 eggs w turnips, broccoli and country ham, 1/2 avocado

M2: Jalapeno Tuna Slaw

M3: pork shanks w apple and cabbage served over sauteed green beans

I think I could easily let fruit enter my diet too often so I had no added fruit yesterday except what the pork cooked in and I won't have any today either. My weight loss has stalled and I'm not sure if it's just the natural progression of things or if it's the result of re-intro plus fruit. I added fruit and some high carb veggies during the last 8-10 days of my W60 and have kept the fruit but backed off on the high carb veg. 

I'm having a hard time staying off of the scale but I'm not letting it dictate good/bad. I'm trying to treat it as data so I can learn what works for me. N=1

[hollysmokes]

After complaining about the quality of my sleep, I had really good night's sleep last night. I hit the rowing machine for 30 minutes- trying to get to 3 miles and I'm up to 2.8 so that's progress but I caved and had a big handful of blackberries afterwards- so much for a no fruit day. They were so delicious and juicy! I know the snack's not recommended but it's better than a giant pile of nuts and 2-3 glasses of wine like I used to do!

M1: same

M2: leftover pork shanks and a bunch of cherry tomatoes with (compliant) ranch dressing

bloated and windy all afternoon but not sure why

M3: 1/4 lb burger patty with a big pile of sauteed brussels, onions & red bp's

Still bloated this AM, too. Dairy re-intro planned for today went down the drain- literally. My yogurt culture apparently didn't survive the long period of neglect so when I tried to put it into cheesecloth to drain the whey out of it, it all went down the drain. It was a gift from someone special so I'm mourning the loss that my neglect caused. As a friend of mine used to say, "self-inflicted drama"!

[hollysmokes]

Slept pretty well again last night! Since I didn't do my planned dairy re-intro, I decided to do an alcohol re-intro. I had one Hendrick's gin with soda water and it was delicious and intentional. I was good with the one drink and would like to keep it that way. I don't feel like it kicked off a craving for more or for sweets and that's what I'm trying to keep a watchful eye on. I'm also trying to break the habit of rewarding with beer/wine but it was a bit of a celebration- an anniversary, a milestone in a work project and good news on a new job for my husband that he's really excited about. 

M1 was the same- I make a breakfast casserole most weeks and eat the same thing every day but vary the ingredients week to week. KISS theory! Even if I don't do anything else on my weekend cook-up, I get my breakfasts done.

M2: Broccoli salad & a slice of pate- it's about the only way I can sneak offal into my diet. I wish I liked liver more...sigh.

M3: leftover brussels with leftover pork shanks

Bloating is better but my weight was up this morning. Since I peed three times in an hour after getting to work, I'm guessing some of that "weight" was fluid. Starting to obsess over the weighing but still not letting it dictate my mood/life/outlook. Just trying to figure things out...

 

[hollysmokes]

OK, so maybe I need to re-evaluate my relationship with the scale and trust myself and the process. Why am I having SUCH a hard time with this????

Yesterday M1 was the same

M2: pate and a big arugula & radicchio salad w lemon vinaigrette. I forgot to put the pepitas or sunflower seeds on it so I was worried that it wouldn't hold me but it totally did and then I was glad I had forgotten them.

snack fail: BIG handful of blueberries

M3: big chicken & veg stir-fry with nomnompaleo's stir-fry sauce.

[hollysmokes]

Excellent chilled out weekend that was mostly compliant. I re-introed beer and only had one, as planned, with no bad side effects. I was hoping that I had lost my taste for it in the previous 69 days since I had had one, but nope, it was delicious. I also had some real, not deli cold cut, salami that I really enjoyed and found some compliant smoked salmon. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I was so excited to find some that didn't have added sugar. At least the sugar in the salami is for the lactobacilli to feast on, not me  

No big cook-up this weekend but still managed to get my breakfast casserole made for the week. I have enough other stuff in the fridge and freezer to limp through the week with out it so, I'm good and not stressed. I think I'll do the dairy re-intro this week. I just have to decide if I think I should separate the lactose part from the casein part. I've never noticed any problems from dairy so that may be overkill.

I weighed this morning and am committed to limiting my relationship with the scale to a once-a week get-together. I need to practice what I preach and have confidence in the process!

Happy Monday!

[hollysmokes]

No weigh Tuesday! I felt great this morning and wasn't even tempted.

I didn't do dairy with all three meals yesterday but I had cheese and sour cream on my tacos for dinner and it was so delicious. My love affair with dairy hasn't ended but it has changed. It is no longer my go-to snack and I don't "need" it on my breakfast casseroles. I think I will re-re-intro and have lactose-heavy dairy separate from casein-heavy dairy. I got a little bloated and had a couple of pretty sharp gas pains last night but it wasn't terrible. I would still like to know the culprit, though, so I can make an informed decision abut when/how often to include it. I have a sneaking suspicion that it was sour cream but I won't know until I test it out. I'll wait a couple of days then have tacos again (darn ) without the cheese. I made a double batch of cauli tortillas at the beginning of December then decided to W60 the next day so they have been patiently waiting in the freezer!

I'm limiting fruit to once a day with meals and that's going well but I did have a handful of almonds when I got home from work. The good news is that I was able to decline my husband's offer of some pistachios a little later. I'd like to limit nuts to one serving a day, at most, and, ideally, not have them as an afternoon snack. That's a work in progress.

Happy Mardi Gras!