Here I am again

So...

I am trying to get back into the groove here of blogging.  But I am failing abominably at it.  Nothing for it but to get back up and write about anything that comes to mind.  Here's what's happening on the dairy now.

Whole30
Last Saturday I started "The Whole30" plan.  It's not really a "diet" as you'd think a diet should be.  It's more of a lifestyle change really.

There are no calories to count.
No points to keep track of.
No portions to weigh.
Just lots and lots of whole, delicious foods to eat.

A friend asked if my food was boring.  No, not really.  I am, or was, a boring eater anyway.  Though I do like the varied spices in Indian foods, and try to imitate their cuisine when I can.  I am attempting to be a bit more creative with making my meals compliant to the program.  We are supposed to go easy on the fruit, but I am probably pushing that rule to the limit.   

Here's what the basic rules consist of:

For 30 days thou shalt not consume:

Wheat, in any form
Soy, in any form.
Legumes in any form, including green peas and peanuts or peanut butter
No dairy in any form
No sweeteners of any make or model in anything
No additives like MSG, modified corn starches...etc.  They have a list.
Nothing that has any of the above as an ingredient in any amount.

If you mess up; even a lick of a spoon or a stick of gum, you start all over.

Thou shalt consume:

Vegetables
Fruits
Meats

Easy peasy!

You do this for 30 days.  Today is day 8 for me.  I feel pretty good.  I can honestly say I don't really have any cravings for sugar or sweets now.  Today I made a batch of apple butter.  I didn't even lick the spoon.  I let Ellen taste it, she said it was good, so I took her word for it.

What I do really miss, and this sort of surprises me, is gum.  Usually I have a piece after a meal, so it's more habit than anything else.

Several people have asked "Why?"

Because:

Until I started this program I would go to bed at night berating myself for my poor food choices during the day.  I would wake up determined to do better and then fall off the wagon again.  Since Ellen was about a year old I have gained so much weight and seem to have little energy.  And no matter how I tried I just couldn't break the sweet tooth habit. I would make small efforts that would last a day or even maybe a week, and then I'd give in to the cravings and start gaining weight again.  A never-ending cycle.

It was awful.

I had come to the realization that I needed to take a drastic step.  The old cliche about the definition of insanity has a grain of truth in it; you can't expect different results if you are doing the same stupid thing over and over and over and over.

So I took a drastic step.  I am glad I did.  I sleep better at night; not only because by body is no longer trying to come down off of a sugar high, but also because I no longer feel emotionally drained by mentally flogging myself for my poor food choices.  I wake up in the morning knowing that I can eat as much as I want of wholesome foods.

Knowing without a doubt what I can and cannot have to eat really made things easy.  And for me it's kind of a fun challenge to come up with menu items for ME that the fam will eat too.  Really it's not that difficult.  A chunk of meat, some peeled veggies, salt, pepper, garlic...another spice or two: chuck it in the crock pot.  Voila! 

Tomorrow I am going to make sweet potato chili.  We shall see how that will go over.

Ha!

(Thankful.  I am thankful for that scripture: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13.  Several people6 have commented that they couldn't live without cream in their coffee, or some such.  But I have a promise from God to sustain me.)

(Ellen added the number above, the one that's out of place.  See if you can find it!)

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