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My personal manifesto


ereiam

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Now I know that the W30 is not meant to deal with food addiction, but as a food addict I believe that I have found the solution in the W30.

I have always struggled with overeating, but it wasn't until I got married at 27 that I started packing on the pounds. Four pregnancies and then some meds that cause appetite increase did me in. I tried Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous and a thousand other diets. It wasn't until I started eating paleo a year ago that I started to have peace about food. I found the W30 in July and have done 2 1/2 W30s since then. I knew I needed something more because of my addiction, so I went looking around.

I found a group on Yahoo of food addicts. I started reading their posts and learned a lot about addiction. However, their food plan, while wheat free, had a lot of grains and involved weighing and measuring (a deal-breaker for me). I've tried to keep eating paleo but found myself cheating here and there, rationalizing to myself that it was an important occasion, etc. (Yeah, the cookie in the office was really a special occasion.)

So here's my manifesto: The Whole 30 is my new food plan. It needs to be a Whole Life for me (one day at a time). Anything short of that and I end up cheating. I need a structured plan that I can follow for the rest of my life. Will I do it perfectly? No, but I will keep learning as I go along.

The bottom line: the ONLY time I have had peace about food is when doing a W30. The cravings and obsessions just go away.

In the spirit of addiction groups, thanks for listening. :-)

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I hear ya loud and clear my friend! I feel a little lost when I'm not following the Whole30. I like the simplicity of it, and instead of feeling confined by the guidelines, I feel "safe" if that makes sense. I too have had addictive tendencies in the past when it comes to food, so I have come back to the Whole30 as my safe haven. I know there will be times when I am not compliant - like if at a restaurant or at someone's house for dinner - but I'm okay with that. I don't have physical issues with any of the off-plan foods, just emotional ones. I like your manifesto and will right there with you! Best of luck on your WholeLife :)

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Excellent manifesto! I am a recovering alcoholic (3+ years sober), and I turned to sugar and processed foods to help me adjust to life without alcohol. I tried W30 twice before but couldn't handle it. This time is different - I am on Day 22 and feel great! The only change I plan to make after Day 30 is to allow myself some bacon (I can't find any compliant bacon near me) otherwise I am sticking to the program, too. It used to be that I couldn't go a meal without sugar - I even had dessert after breakfast and continued eating it all day - and now I can honestly see myself living sugar free, one day at a time. Sweet!

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Day 10 here of my W30 way of life. Doing good. I decided to weigh myself once a week, since this is going to be a way of life for me rather than a 30 day break from the scale. I was disappointed to see that I hadn't budged the scale since last week. Oh, well. My body is going to do what my body is going to do.

I'm wondering about fruit and root veggies. I've been having a couple of pieces of fruit a day and usually a sweet potato or turnip, etc. with dinner. I'm not sure but think this might be too many carbs for me. I do know from experience that when I don't eat fruit at all, I feel (mentally) so deprived that I really really want to go off road. I guess it will be a question of balance for me. What is the least amount of carbs I can eat and still feel good about the food plan.

Altogether, I had lost 90 pounds. Now I'm 5 pounds up since the major off-roading I did in December. I can't seem to shake that five pounds. I'd like to but maybe my body is settling in at the weight I'm at. I guess the solution is to W30 on and let the pounds fall where they may!

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You're doing great but I really, really would advise you to ditch the scale. I know you see this as a way of life, not just for 30 days and that's fantastic, that's how I see it too. However you were disappointed when you stepped on the scale. You don't need that disappointment in your life. Whether it's for 30 days or a lifetime, W30 teaches us to nourish our bodies and learn to trust them, to form new healthy relationships with our bodies and with food and to let go of old destructive habits. Weighing ourselves once a week isn't in any way going to help with any of that.

Believe me, I know how difficult it is, I've had to plank my scale where I really can't reach it (when I get someone to get it down for me, it's going to the charity shop) because otherwise the temptation to step on and 'just see' is almost overwhelming. The trouble is every time I've done that, whether I've been happy or disappointed, like you, I've immediately started looking at my food log to see how I could tweak it. The funny thing is I'm so like you, I start wondering if I should cut the carbs, maybe only have them once a day or whatever. Then I realise, this is not concentrating on nourishing my body, this is trying to force it to do what I want it to do and not what W30 is all about.

We all deserve to have the best possible W30 or lifestyle that we can. I know you're doing brilliantly, I was so inspired by your first post in this thread, learning to trust and to ditch the scale will only make it better. Good luck with your whole healthy lifestyle.

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Thank you Kirsteen! I love what you had to say. I do need to rethink nourishing my body vs. trying to whip it into some kind of (arbitraty) shape. I have to admit the idea of ditching the scale sounds downright scary. I've lost so much weight and I am terrified that I will gain it back. But I can see how it leads to unhealthy obsession.

Pondering ditching the scale...

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Ditch the scale.

I feel like a broken record bc I keep posting this story but I'll do it again: I lost 9 lbs on my first go at w30 (19 days). My next go was only 9 days but during that time I shrank down into a pair of jeans that hadn't fit me before- so when I was on day 0 I weighed in knowing I must have lost another 5 lbs- wrong- I gained 2. That's right- 2 measly little pounds shook me up bad! That scale had betrayed what I knew in my heart was true- that I was getting healthier and smaller. So I took my revenge- I took out the battery and threw it behind the washing machine. It's an unusual size battery- I don't have a replacement- so going to the store for one would give me enough time for rational thought to return. I am now 7 days into my 3rd go at w30 (I have not gone off plan this whole time though, so really I have 30+ days of good eating) and I am sitting here in a pair of shorts that typically only fit during my summer skinny phase- and it's still winter. I have very little regard for portion sizes and eat to satisfaction. Last week I ate 10 sweet potatoes and 5 lbs of beef, plus fats and eggs and loads of other veggies and even some dates and figs. What I'm trying to say is you absolutely must stop worrying about the numbers to reap the true benefits of the plan. So much anxiety- really it is- keeping your cortisol levels elevated. Don't be afraid to nourish yourself, you deserve it.

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OA restricts sugar in its members. I have to believe THAT is one of the key parts of the program. My dear friend lost nearly 80lbs using OA and a nutritionist. She does have artificial sweeteners, wheat, etc, but no sugar.

However, for me, Whole30 is the most I've felt at peace. I'm also reading Lustig's book about sugar which is evidence-based and convicting. I'm 100% compliant to Whole30 *except* I am weighing myself. I have been dealing with the same weight range for 16+ years with ONE (yes, just ONE) time of getting below it. I had been dieting for a while (low carb/cal) for a while before starting in on this so I know the "whoosh" isn't from a new diet. I'm also losing the most weight (VERY noticable!!) around my rib cage/upper abdomen.

Anyway, the reason I am weighing is it helps me to feel less anxiety. Even if I stay the same, it's fine. I don't really obsess over numbers, but I have been practically in tears on NOT being able to find a program that works for me. I'm now 3lbs below that set point that I'd been unable to get down before. I'm eating three filling meals per day and not measuring/counting (other than the generic measuring - thumb for a fat, etc). This is huge for me and I think it's the sugar. I'm 10 days into the program and I'm down 5lbs with the most changes around my abdomen. I hope this means I'm losing the 'bad' fat from my organ area.

Sorry to ramble. I just think that for food addicts the plan needs to be different than the average person. And sugar has been proven to be addictive (and toxic).

Hang in there. This is the only way I can do it too.

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