Contessa's June Realignment

[Contessa]

Food journal for 6/26/20:

Breakfast: sweet potato + broccoli + ground turkey + sauce

Lunch: Roasted brussels sprouts + ground turkey + mashed potatoes + sauce

Dinner: Turkey burger + steamed broccoli + mashed potatoes + sauce

A very boring but satisfying day of food.

[Contessa]

Food journal for 6/27/20:

Breakfast: Apple "cereal" (not sure where this recipe originated. A mix of apple, coconut, chia seeds, almond butter, etc. that comes together via food processor into a porridge. I've been wanting to try this egg-free breakfast for a while and today I finally did! A nice break from eggs and "bowls of stuff"

Lunch: Chicken fingers and fries

Dinner: Sweet potatoes + ground turkey + roasted brussels sprouts + sauce

[Contessa]

Reintroduction thoughts for 6/28/20:

Spent a good portion of yesterday thinking through my reintroduction and trying to think through what I will need on a physical and spiritual levels in order to be successful. Here is my game plan for the next two weeks:

• Day 31: Legumes: I'll try some peanut butter, soy sauce, and black beans.
• Days 32–33: Back to the Whole30
• Day 34: Reintroduce non-gluten grains: I'll try some oatmeal, some white rice, and perhaps some corn tortilla chips. I did notice on on my spontaneous sushi date night with my bf last weekend that the soy sauce caused noticeable belly bloat the next day. That was an unintended but useful mini-introduction.
• Days 35–36: Back to the Whole30
• Day 37: Reintroduce dairy: Ahhh, this is probably the one I've missed the most — and I also think it will be the one that affects me the most. I will try some cream in my coffee, and I will melt some cheese into my "bowl of stuff" meal for lunch or dinner. I still have about six different kinds of cheese in my fridge, which I never threw out before the Whole 30. They are probably getting moldy.... hmmm.... I need to do a fridge audit before my next grocery shop.
• Day 38-39: Back to the Whole30
• Day 40: Reintroduce gluten grains all by themselves. I've been feeding my sourdough starter through the last 29 days, so perhaps I will bake up a loaf of sourdough and see how that goes. I think I have some wheat crackers I can bust out of the cupboard as well.
• Day 41-42: Back to the Whole30
• Day 43: Re-evaluate notes from the past couple weeks and post a reflection about what I learned. I will commit to doing that in this space. (And if f I say out loud that I'll do it.... I know I'll do it!)

Now a big list of hacks and discoveries from the past year or so that I would like to start or re-start:

• Meal planning and treat planning. In addition to my standard meal-planning, I love the thought of pausing on Sunday to think about the coming week, and to plan a treat or two. This approach will make more sense outside the context of Covid, where the world expands and I am enjoying meals with friends. Still, I like the thought of thinking ahead around treats. I want to avoid returning to the point where I just half-heartedly toss a pack of Oreos into my shopping cart because they're there. That does not feel like a treat. (Actually having a pound of Oreos in my house is a panic-inducing thought.) I want to preserve the specialness of treats.
• On this note... Use my findings from my re-intro to influence my grocery shopping list. I may discover in the next couple weeks that ice cream doesn't agree with me. I need to pay attention to these discoveries and shop with them in mind.
• Consider short mini-resets along the way — after a vacation, when my energy dips, when I'm feeling sludgy. Consider micro-resets. I have sometimes made pledges to myself to avoid just sugar for even a single day, and that has been a helpful discipline.
• Eat "301" —  "301" is my term for three meals a day, zero foods between meals, one day at a time. The structure of eating just three meals a day is hugely helpful for me. There are times in life when I do get extra hungry and need a snack, and that's fine. But I generally have no reason to snack every day between meals. When I start snacking, my meal times start to dissolve, and the day becomes one unboundaried graze-a-thon. Feeling crappy is the inevitable result. I know there are people who can eat this way, but I am not one of them.
• Experiment with the alluring single square of really fine chocolate. I've heard food people talk about that one daily square of perfect dark chocolate. I've never tried it. This idea is influenced by Special Agent Dale Cooper, who spoke about it in an episode of Twin Peaks. I love you, Dale Cooper. And I love this idea because it involves slowing down and paying attention, which is what this is all about. It's impossible for me to "hoover" dark chocolate.
• Last and most importantly, pay attention to how I'm doing emotionally and spiritually from day to day. The significance of attending closely to my inner experience can't be overstated. I need to be reflecting on my experience, learning from my experience, becoming a loving detective of my experience.

More to come.

[Contessa]

Food journal for 6/28/20:

Breakfast: I slept right through it!

Lunch: Sweet potato + kale + roasted cauliflower + turkey burger + sauce

Dinner: Riced cauliflower + steamed broccoli + Nom Nom Paleo's chicken tinga. (This may have been the dietary low point of the entire Whole 30 for me. Or maybe I'm just pretty tired of piles of veggies plus a protein....)

[MadyVanilla]

This is such a well-planned reintroduction-It's one thing to read it and say, "yeah, I can follow that" and another to actually write out what you want to do.  This is fantastic!

22 hours ago, Contessa said:

I love the thought of pausing on Sunday to think about the coming week, and to plan a treat or two. 

Yes...thinking ahead to any social occasions or a new tart recipe I've come across and planning, looking forward to, those opportunities to enjoy something special.   The ability to savor those moments, that glass of red with a creamy Camembert and slice of raspberry tart while sitting on the front porch with a friend on Friday evening...that is so much more life- and soul-affirming than mindlessly shoveling a bag of Doritos.  Plus, I can afford better wine and cheese if I'm not wasting money on junk food.  

Agent Cooper has the right idea-it's so hard to notice and enjoy the daily small gifts when we are wandering aimlessly, turning in Tasmanian devil circles, through the blizzard of junk.  Noticing the daily present will keep my mind clear and focused on my goal of health.  I don't want to live in the blizzard, the dense fog existence that I much too frequently find myself in because of poor food choices.    

Cheers to you!   

[Contessa]

Food journal for 6/29/20:

Breakfast: crummy ol' hard-boiled egg, in a hurry

Lunch: Sweet potato + steamed broccoli + roasted cauliflower + spicy chicken tinga + sauce

Dinner: Stovetop marinated chicken + mashed potatoes + green beans almondine + a splash of kombucha

Because I started this adventure a couple of days before the start of the month, I am considering today my last official day of this Whole 30. Now the real adventure begins... figuring out how to translate my observations from the past 30 days into sustainable ways of feeding myself. I've been at this adventure of sustainable eating for quite some time. In some ways, the Whole 30 is the easy part... the challenge comes after the external expectations are withdrawn and I am left to make my own judgment calls.

My goal is to eat in a way that is flexible, pleasurable, and life-affirming.... and to lean on my own authority for determining what that looks like. Melissa Urban is never going to show up in my kitchen and tell me that that English muffin is not in my best interest. So I need to put a lot of energy into consciously thinking about my food freedom. I plan to start another thread in the Re-introduction area for cataloging these reflections.

So grateful to have another few weeks at home to think about this and experiment. Thank you, W30 squad, for your companionship along the way!

[MadyVanilla]

Yay!  Congratulations! Your posts are thoughtful, funny, and genuine.  I've found so much of what you say applicable to my own situation.  I'm going to continue to follow you in Reintroduction as you start the next phase.  To science and experimentation! 

[Contessa]

Thank you Mady <3  I feel the same about your posts.

I've been working on this food stuff for a long time and I know I'm not alone. I find encouragement and help in all kinds of different places, and just want to go on sharing what works and what doesn't. Fortunately, I have a pretty good grasp of what doesn't work. I think all of us doing a Whole 30 probably have that part of the spectrum covered. Focusing now on what works.

[RachelR]

On 6/29/2020 at 7:11 PM, Contessa said:

In some ways, the Whole 30 is the easy part... the challenge comes after the external expectations are withdrawn and I am left to make my own judgment calls.

 

I can relate to this so much!  I wish you the best as you continue with your reintroduction and food freedom!

[Kirra]

@Contessa I just copy-pasted your reintroduction plan onto my computer. LoL. Will definitely be pulling that up again for ideas in a few weeks. Thanks! And congrats!!! 

[Contessa]

Anyone wishing to follow along with my once-a-week re-introduction updates can find my reintro thread here. I will post reflections here for the next couple of months.