Post Whole30

[Emma]

I was hoping for bells and whistles at the finish. I think my husband and I both pictured a celebratory night out at our favorite pizza place with a couple beers in hand. Boy, we didn't have a clue what we were embarking on!

The thought of going out and putting all that in my body makes my stomach feel bloated just thinking of it! I suppose I wouldn't mind a beer, but not really the consequences of what go with it.

So we will continue on as we've been doing and maybe discuss some intentional choices for reintroducing things in the upcoming weeks.

I know that I'd like to continue and to refocus again in June without meds. I want to get that energy that people speak of, but mainly I want my little joint pains and inflammations to GO AWAY. I also want my big one in my knee to go away. If those pains go away, then exercise and getting outside using my body will be so much easier. Right now it's just kinda hard to make happen and disappointing because I keep getting hurt, but I missssss it.

I know I feel a thousand times better than I did a month ago when I truly needed coffee to get through each little part of the day. Everything was so hard. Now it's not. I love that I'm putting healthy foods in my body and I love that it's getting easier and more natural to just do so. I love that I'm not worried about what I eat because everything I eat is good stuff and calorie-wise, I think I'm starting to self regulate without even realizing it.

My kids' have also been doing great. They announced that they don't want to continue eating like dinosaurs so we may have to discuss how we'll address that as a family and what that really means for the kids, but I do know I want to keep going till my daughter's eczema clears up. It doesn't look too bad except for the area on her face where her pacifier rubs against the skin. I also just want my kids having good healthy bodies.

So today is May 2nd and our menu plan looks pretty much the same as the past week with our paleo template guiding the way. It's sunny outside and, if I can get through the stressful planning I must do today and the planning for next week for work, then I find myself downright optimistic and hopeful for a beautiful spring and a lot of good outdoor activities for summer. Optimistic and excited is a nice way to be.

[Emma]

These are the challenges:

My kids announced they no longer want to eat like dinosaurs. Hmmm. I asked what they would like to eat and my boy responded, "Rice Krispies". I said we'd discuss it as a family and dad and I would determine what things we would maybe have. I'm quite content putting that conversation off as long as possible.

But then my husband came home from his trip. His 30 days is done today. You know what he announced? He said he misses rice. But not just rice. Rice with beans. And not just rice with beans, but rice with beans with tortillas. He smiled dreamily at the thought. He also doesn't have the obvious physical woes that I have though he's not a good sleeper and gets dragged down by life without good sleep. I pointed that out (with glee that I could find a good point for him to continue).

I argued my points that I wanted our house to stay whole30 or that at least this month could be a little loosening but that I'd like more time to get my body and the kids' bodies into better shape.

But then he talked about how nice it would be to go out to eat. Out to eat! What do I order then. What about the kids? We don't have many choices in our very small town so invariably it's burgers or pizza. There's also a soup fundraiser this weekend. There are probably better choices, but there are not great choices.

Oh - to have my cocoon collapse!

It was so nice when we were all on board as a family. So nice. Made it so easy to make the paleo template our normal way of being instead of something special. Made it easy to stay on track. But I can't control or micromanage or spend my energy trying to get others on board longer than they're willing so I think I have to do some letting go and plan on some compromising with the husband about foods we have in our home. Maybe we have rice and beans but we truly do limit the portion size for the kids? My husband hasn't read ISWF. I'd like him to read it before we have our post whole30 discussion, but even that, I can't make happen.

Alas. These are the ups and downs of anything new and thankfully, these are small problems in the big picture of life.

[pjena]

Ahh, I'm sorry the family isn't on board with continuing to be dinosaurs. My family never was on board, though my husband and 8yo are fine with never having pasta or rice again as long as they can have zoodles and cauliflower rice instead. But, they won't give up their bread or ice cream for anything. When I was following the W30, it wasn't hard. I planned meals that could be easily adapted. Mainly planned W30 meals and added toast for them or something similar. I'm not sure yet how hard it will be to stick to this now that I don't have the all or nothing of the W30 to keep me ok with not eating what they eat. I hope that I can keep the parts of the plan that I want, but admit I am worried. It'll be interesting following your log to see how it goes!

[Derval]

yeah that's what happened to my kids too, 10 year old said "I don't feel ANY different, I want to have cereal again!" What could I do? So they have their cereal for breakfast and non-paleo lunches in school and a paleo (ish) dinner. I will cook pasta for them while I have zoodles but usually they eat the same as I do for that meal.

[Emma]

Ahh, I'm sorry the family isn't on board with continuing to be dinosaurs. My family never was on board, though my husband and 8yo are fine with never having pasta or rice again as long as they can have zoodles and cauliflower rice instead.

We haven't made cauliflower rice yet and we have a cauliflower in our fridge. Maybe I'll try it for dinner and see if it could be a replacement for my husband's rice and beans vision. We also haven't had many zoodles, but we've had a lot of spagetti squash and that's been a real hit. Yeah, I really want them to eat like this because it makes me less likely to fall into my old ways.

[Emma]

yeah that's what happened to my kids too, 10 year old said "I don't feel ANY different, I want to have cereal again!" What could I do? So they have their cereal for breakfast and non-paleo lunches in school and a paleo (ish) dinner.

That dang cereal!

And Rice Krispies! They are just empty fluffy things.

I'm lucky that my kids are young enough that I won't really create a power battle by nixing certain foods, but I do want my kids to have the freedom to make choices.

Today I subtly pulled up some images on the computer of other kids who were eating like dinosaurs. None of the kids in our town do which means my kids are doing things differently and so I was hoping to begin building a visual sense of a larger more global dinosaur community for my kids. They looked intently at the photos online. I have not broached the subject of other foods again!

[Emma]

We had a beer. We didn't intend to. We were hosting a Real Foods dinner for our friends and they brought over a six pack and well, it just seemed kinda nice. So we each had one and we sat down and ate and talked and enjoyed our evening. But before heading to bed, I found I had quite the upset stomach. Things cleared through and I went to bed, but it was not a great night's sleep. It was the sleep of two months ago before Whole30. My husband also had a beer and then he continued the celebration with some wine. He had quite the smile on his face when I went to bed, but his smile didn't last. During the night he burped and grumbled and rolled around and woke me up and then around four in the morning his body he went to the bathroom and vomited. Wowzers.

Was it the beer? The alcohol? The stomach bug?

It could actually be any of those. I certainly would not be surprised that my reaction was the beer, nor my husband's from the quantity (not that much, but more than our recent normal), but one of our guests also threw up the next day and the stomach bug is going around town.

Regardless, I didn't like it and I didn't like how my stomach felt bloated and sore the next day. I found myself really looking forward to getting another clean day under my belt so I could get a good night's sleep and get back my body which doesn't feel icky and then searching for food to un-icky it.

As for scientific investigations? Well, it seems like we need to try out another beer to determine if it was the beer or the local stomach bug (smiling), but not until I finish my project because no way do I want to sacrifice my good feeling body at a time when I need to be well slept, well nourished, clear headed and positive.

[Emma]

Going along day by day eating squash and meats and sweet potato hash. Went to my doctor and it felt SO good to be able to say that I was eating well and I was trying to be a healthier human. Usually I think of doctor's appointments as one of those times when you're reminded of what you should be doing, but aren't doing. I feel like I'm on the right side this time.

I'm not exercising yet however and that does need to change, but not for another week or so. My knee continues to be an issue. My work load increased and I'm about to travel till the end of the month. But I've been eating well and sleeping well and I got through the stress of my work fairly gracefully so I think I'm doing okay.

The thing I have noticed is that I'm bloated. I'm not sure why. I had a beer a couple weeks ago. I had a glass of wine. I've been snacking on some really good dates here and there, but overall I'm eating the same EXCEPT for Kombucha. I've been drinking the Synergy Kombucha and usually opt for the gingerade or trilogy. Could my bloatedness be from that or could it be from the dates or from the spicy foods? Hmm - last month I didn't eat the nightshades and this month I know they've been sneaking into our spice mixtures. We had some AMAZING Rogan Josh following the Well Fed recipe.

Well fancy that - just a little reflection and I start generating possible reasons - those nightshades certainly could be at the bottom of this.

My doctor and I talked and June is going to be a drug free month for me and another Whole30 (nightshade free). I'm going to quit my allergy pills and my anti-inflammatory meds and we're going to see what happens. I'm excited and hopeful to live without allergy pills. I'm hoping my new eating will help give me a protective layer. I'm also hoping my gut heals more quickly if I knock off the anti-inflammatory medication for my knee. Maybe then my system will just heal itself - it's like a leap of faith based on all these testimonies from this forum. I've got great hope, but imagine it might not be so quick and easy.

And that's where I'm at