kah237 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Hi! My name is Katie, and I'm 23, an engineer/runner/foodie. Currently my diet focuses on whole foods (like veggies from my CSA), but I definitely eat my share of grains and sweets. I've read about Paleo/Primal before and passed over it because I really love food (it takes up at least 50% of my brainspace) and it seemed crazy to go so extreme. Coming back to it a second time, I was more open to the idea. Since graduating from college and starting work I've struggled with my health more, and experienced a lot more extreme emotional swings and apathy. Hoping to feel more energetic by changing my diet! Cleaning out my pantry was harder than I thought, because a lot of things were not in condition to go to the soup kitchen. It was upsetting to feel like I was wasting food, and to realize how many things (like my unsweetened almond milk and dijon mustard) include banned ingredients. To be totally honest, I did keep a couple things like mochi and tahini which I hardly ever use but which would be expensive/annoying to buy again and just put them on the top shelf (where it's hard for me to reach). Also my Japanese curry mix since it's the one of the few things my bf can cook and he's so proud of himself about it. I really really hope that this plan gets results, because as an avid food-blog reader I'm dreading seeing my favorite writers post gorgeous pics of things I can't eat. I have found paleo foodblogs that I'm looking forward to trying, so that's good! My life revolves around food and training, and I like it that way. Also, I'm anxious about the transition period since my first outdoor triathlon is in two weeks and being in a diet-transition fog could make that much more of a mental/physical challenge than planned! Sorry this is so long. I just wanted to share, so somebody can tell me that my issues are normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
befabdaily Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I really had issues with cleaning out my pantry too. In fact, I didn't. I don't have craving problems so having it in the house doesn't matter. No way I'm throwing out a $17 container of maple syrup, because even if I let in only a little sweet after this, that can be used! But as the days have worn on and I've felt better and adapted to the new way of eating, I feel more comfortable about tossing things that I'm pretty sure I won't go back to. At about week two, I gave a bunch of wheat pasta, cereal, beans and jars of jam and sauces to my grad student. I just got rid of remaining dregs of cheese in my fridge (some of it wasn't going to be edible anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanye Mercer Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Best of luck, Katie! It's quite possible that you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you regain your energy. You may have the best triathlon experience ever! Be sure to check out http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/ and http://everydaypaleo.com/. Those are two of my favorites among many! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanye Mercer Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 And this one! http://www.wholelifeeating.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kah237 Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Thank you for the support. I've been struggling more than I expected the first few days. I used to get excited about food, always thinking about my next meal or what I wanted to cook or what to buy at the grocery store. Now I find myself constantly stressed and terrified that the canola oil in the italian sausage i was too cheap to throw out is going to ruin me. Or that the sugar in the bacon that I ate before learning that there IS sugar in bacon ruined it. This quote terrifies me: "This isn't Whole9 playing the tough guy. This is a FACT, born of education and experience. You need such a small amount of any of these inflammatory foods to break the healing cycle – one bite of pizza, one splash of milk in your coffee, one lick of the spoon mixing the batter within the 30 day period and you've broken the “reset†button." Now I'm getting ready to go to Father's day brunch and all I can think about is what if they put milk in the eggs, cook the eggs in the wrong kind of oil? Do I really have to be the person who orders "steak omelet, no cheese or sauce, no potatoes, no milk in the eggs, cooked in olive oil?" I'm so afraid of making an accidental misstep that messes up the Whole 30 and makes it not worth it. I feel sick thinking about all the ways I could go wrong without realizing it....it makes me not want to leave my apartment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanye Mercer Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Katie, I'm a firm believer that the spirit of the program is much more important than the letter of the law. The Whole30 is designed to enhance your life, certainly not keep you trapped in your apartment. It took me more than a year to realize I'd been eating soy in tuna! And I'm sure I made many more mistakes or missteps along the way as well. None of these lessened the dramatic impact the program has had on my eating and more importantly on my relationship with food. If the Whole30 is not providing those benefits for you, perhaps you can formulate your own plan. Maybe you spend the next 30 days noticing what you notice about the way foods are prepared in restaurants. Take responsibility for learning better ways to prepare what you make at home, and relax a bit about the other. Check out this article by Dallas and Melissa. I think it might give you a change in perspective. http://whole9life.com/2012/02/whole30-gone-bad/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derval Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Or another approach to healthier eating which I did before I did W30. I did one step a week. http://www.stumptuous.com/how-to-go-primal-without-really-trying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kah237 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thank you! I've been feeling like maybe I need to take it down a notch because all the stress makes me crazy/sick. I guess I just have to be reasonable about it and hopefully the benefits of doing it well rather than perfectly are still clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wholehealth Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I 100% relate. I'm as food slash health slash exercise obsessed as you sound. And yes, I too love it. But the problem people like us have is striking that delicate balance and avoiding the step over into "unhealthy obsession" territory. A good way to tell if you're approaching that line is if "it" (the meal plan, the challenge, what you can eat and can't eat, and should eat and shouldn't eat) starts to interfere with your daily life. If you can't work properly because you're so preoccupied with food or researching food, or if food starts to lose all appeal, or if meal times are super stressful and the whole goal of optimum health has been muddied by an unrealistic pursuit of perfection, then it's time to re-evaluate. That was me a few days ago (I'm in the middle of my nth whole30 attempt.) Take a step back and remind yourself why you started this in the first place. Too feel pressured, stressed, and miserable? Of course not. You want to be healthy, but not at the expense of your sanity. And try and avoid that, "Screw it! I may as well just start all over again tomorrow!" mentally because you don't feel like you're doing things perfectly. Those thoughts are killers. At the end of the day, this isn't a test that you either fail or pass. It's a spring clean of your diet. And if you tread a bit of mud in, no problem. Just clean it up again tomorrow. Good luck! I reckon you've got it in the bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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