I recently read a Facebook post from someone who shared a McSweeney's article , "An Open Letter to Paleo Diet Enthusiasts." It's funny and snarky and just exactly like McSweeney's.
So, I will say right up front here, if you do not want to read about my Whole 30, then don't. Feel free to ignore. :) That'll be just fine with me.
I decided to try this because I need a kick start. I am also convinced that flour and sugar are a big problem for me. For years I didn't ever have either in my house, I never ate refined suger anywhere, and I maintained a 40 lb weight loss for about 10 years, accompanied by regular exercise. THEN, life happened, along with new people who encouraged me to "just try a little!" Uhmhm.
So, here I am, almost as heavy as I have ever been, and it's time to make a change. I have some physical issues (knees, hip, being a woman nearing age 50) that are not allowing me to just "work it off" like I could in the past. Certainl, I plan to include appropriate exercise with this eating plan, and I hope and believe that as my body sheds inflammation from gluten and other substances, I will be in less pain and better able to do more, physically.
Essentially, this is a 30-day plan of removing several food groups that tend to cause systemic inflammation and digestive difficulties (and MANY other problems). You remove those foods from your system, going (they say) through some fairly unpleasant detox symptoms*, and then you add them back one by one, after the Whole 30 is complete, to see how your body reacts.
So, what DO I eat on this plan? Here's the Whole 30 "elevator pitch", taken directly from the link here.
The Whole9 Nutrition Elevator Pitch
I eat “real” food – fresh, natural food like meat, vegetables and fruit. I choose foods that are nutrient dense, with lots of naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals, over foods that have more calories but less nutrition. And food quality is important – I’m careful about where my meat comes from, and buy produce locally and organically as often as possible.
It’s not a low calorie “diet” – I eat as much as I need to maintain strength, energy and a healthy weight. In fact, my diet is probably much higher in fat than you’d imagine. Fat isn’t the enemy – it’s a great energy source when it comes from high quality foods like avocado, coconut and nuts. And I’m not trying to do a “low carb” thing, but since I’m eating vegetables and fruits instead of bread, cereal and pasta, it just happens to work out that way.
Eating like this is good for maintaining a healthy metabolism, and reducing inflammation within the body. It’s been doing great things for my energy levels, body composition and performance in the gym. It also helps to minimize my risk for a whole host of lifestyle diseases and conditions, like diabetes, heart attack and stroke.
So, there you go. I am going to be recording my meals on the blog, because I want to keep track of what I eat, when. Otherwise I'll get to a point where I can't think of a SINGLE thing to eat, and this will help me. Again, don't read it if you don't care.
Tuesday, Feb. 4 - Day One. For breakfast I had scrambled eggs and some roasted cauliflower and carrots. Black coffee to follow.
For lunch, a big salad with olive oil & balsamic vinegar plus cukes, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and some pineapple meat balls (I made these the night before) - most yummy.
For a snack, some whole almonds.
For dinner, I enjoyed a steak, cooked in ghee (clarified butter) and sea salt. Delicious. I had more of the cauliflower and carrots with it.
According to the Timeline, this is "SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?" day, and so far that's how it feels.
To drink: water, or iced tea, or herbal tea, no sweetener. I've been working on weaning myself off of all sweeteners for the past few months.
I was not raised to use sugar for any beverages...certainly not in iced tea. As I was growing up, we used a saccharin liquid called "Sweeta" for the tea we always had with dinner. My mother had read William Duffy's classic, Sugar Blues, and did not give us sugar in drinks like tea or Hi-C. Instead, we used Sweeta or pink packets...later, blue or yellow packets and Stevia. We all know how dubious the science on those is.
I'm on schedule to do this with a friend, which is comforting, and I have another friend who has just finished her Whole 30. I'm going to link to her blog post about it, here.
So! that's my story. We'll see how it goes. :)
* there's a timeline of typical symptoms that folks experience during the Whole 30, linked here. If I am difficult to get along with this month...please be patient with me!
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