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One month dedicated to a healthier me


ldmd

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It's hard to believe that this whole thing started with asking a coworker to share a whole grain bread recipe. Ironic, really. The blogger who had posted the recipe mentioned she had done a Whole30. I didn't know what that was, so I clicked on the link and fell into a new world that fascinated and terrified me. Much like a drinker would fear that they are an alcoholic, I questioned what I would do if I was successful with a Whole30. I'm a prolific home baker and former food blogger. I've also struggled with food issues since I was a teen and I'm now 54.

My motivation to do my first Whole30 wasn't weight loss (but that would be nice) nor having 10 of the health issues on the list in ISWF, but a rare digestive problem. I have a crico-pharangeal bar (CP bar for short), a condition where a tiny muscle in the throat closes up and makes swallowing difficult and sometimes impossible. It normally occurs in the elderly where there's an underlying condition. The specialists say it's due to a motility problem in my esophagus, for which there is no treatment. Great. A year and a half ago I had a Botox shot to treat the CP bar. That restored normal swallowing for about a year, but my symptoms have been slowly coming back. I started to consider Whole30 in hopes it would resolve my esophageal motility problem, but after a month of reading about it, I'm very excited about the other possible changes.

Meal one today has been a bit challenging. I made the frittata from ISWF and I'm having it with chard, guacamole and salsa. All good but I think I overcooked the frittata so it's been a little hard to get down. As the CP bar progresses, it's harder to eat solid food so I rely more and more on my Vitamix and, hello, homemade ice cream. I'll have to be creative about choosing recipes that are a little easier to swallow and avoid stressful eating situations that seem to trigger my symptoms. But I'm grateful that I'm not dealing with some of the health issues others are.

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Day 1 was pretty uneventful. No massive cravings and cooking ahead last weekend made it much easier. I would suggest making at least your day 1 food on day zero if you have a hectic schedule or long commutes. I've never disciplined myself to cook a meal when I get home from work, but that can be 7:00-9:00 or even 10:00 as it was on day zero.

I had the sweet potato hash from ISWF for lunch yesterday and it was amazing! Dinner was beef & broccoli curry from the book, sprinkled with coconut flakes and I wanted to lick my bowl. I still can't tell when I'm full but I'm going with the meal planning guide in the book and not stressing about it.

This morning, I had another serving of the frittata. This time, I made the kale recipe mod Tom shared in my question about kale/chard recipes for haters. It was delicious, and he is totally right about those vegetables needing a splash of vinegar (he recommended apple cider or balsamic). Anyway, I served the kale over the frittata and topped it with a few spoons of salsa. Nom nom!!

Last night, I realized I'll run out of my premade meals after meal 1 saturday so I need to get busy planning a cook day Saturday. Luckily, Well Fed arrived yesterday and my crockpot should get here today, so I'm thinking stews and chilis and a first try for bone broth. Oh, and at least 4 times as many veggies as I roasted for the first three days.

No mistaking it, Whole30 is expensive. I probably could have done it without a crockpot but it did seem like having one would provide a shortcut to tasty meals. Since I routinely work 12 hour days, shortcuts are my friend.

If you're on your own Whole30, I wish you the best. If you're a veteran or a mod, I can't thank you enough for how you support this community. We heart you.

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You're doing great! You're right, this takes a lot of pre planning. There's less grab and go food for me without dairy and eggs.

Day 2 has gone well for me. I'll need to get cookin this weekend as well.

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