If you know me at all, you know I love food. Most of my social activity revolves around restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries, backyard barbecues and parties with platters of yummy treats. I certainly don't have the most sophisticated palate, but there are few things in life that make me feel better than good food. The problem is, there are equally few things that make me feel as bad as food does.
Let me explain. I have struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. I have always loved food. I have never loved working out. Don't get me wrong - that high/feeling of accomplishment you get after making it through a tough workout is awesome! I love that feeling. But I don't enjoy what I have to do to get there. No, I take that back. I massively dislike what I have to do to get there. So much so that I have always made excuses not to keep it up long-term.
On top of my lack of love for working out, I have a deep love of unhealthy foods. If I had my way, my personal food pyramid would look like this:
 |
| (Clearly, I missed my calling as a graphic designer) |
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that for the past year or two, my personal food pyramid has looked like that more often than not. I know better than to eat like this - I'm a smart, educated woman who knows what you put in your body matters. But I always find excuses.
- I'm too tired to cook a healthy meal.
- I had a salad for lunch, so this is okay.
- But I can never find this beer on tap. <Drinks three>
- <Reading a box of mac & cheese> 2-3 servings? They mean for kids, right? <Scoops entire pot into bowl>
- Now that I have a life again, I need to take advantage of Happy Hour. ALL the Happy Hours.
- I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
- I had a long day - I deserve this.
- I'll cook something healthy tomorrow.
The other big problem is why I eat/drink. I eat when I'm bored. I snack/drink when I'm watching TV. I eat because everyone else is. I drink because everyone else is. I eat/drink when I'm stressed, sad or otherwise feeling bad. I celebrate by eating/drinking.
So I give myself permission to eat that thing I shouldn't and in the moment, I enjoy it. But shortly afterward, the guilt kicks in. I feel bad about eating it or about eating so much of it. Bad about myself and my lack of self-control. Bad for not making a smarter decision. Bad for not hitting the gym to burn off some of the calories. And what do I do when I feel bad? Yep, that's right. I eat more crap. It's a pretty ugly cycle.
So I give myself permission to eat that thing I shouldn't and in the moment, I enjoy it. But shortly afterward, the guilt kicks in. I feel bad about eating it or about eating so much of it. Bad about myself and my lack of self-control. Bad for not making a smarter decision. Bad for not hitting the gym to burn off some of the calories. And what do I do when I feel bad? Yep, that's right. I eat more crap. It's a pretty ugly cycle.
Not surprisingly, I entered 2016 in the worst goddamn shape of my life. At 30, I should be in the best shape of my life, not the worst. I felt disgusting. Guilty. Fat. Ashamed. Ugly. And discouraged. Here I was, stuck in this rut that no amount of working out or dieting was going to change. It was my attitude that needed to change. My relationship with food that needed to go. So I decided it was finally time to break up with my bad habits once and for all. Fast-forward 28 days and I swear, I have never felt better in my entire life than I do right now.
Note: Here's the part where I explain what I did and why it's working for me. Having zero professional background in anything even remotely health-related (other than an expertise in ignoring expert advice), this is not an endorsement or suggestion that you do the same. Everyone is different. Also, I could never actually bring myself to tell someone to give up cheese or beer.
In January, one of my best friends texted me. She, her sister-in-law and her mother-in-law were all going to do a Whole30 in February. They were going to set up a private Facebook group to encourage each other and she asked if I'd be interested in joining them. What's a Whole30, you ask? Don't worry - I asked the same thing.
I'm paraphrasing of course, but the basic idea is to strip your diet of the foods that aren't fueling your body for 30 days. That includes some foods often considered to be "healthy." No grains, sugar, dairy, legumes or alcohol of any kind. This allows your body to reset. The negative effects of these foods (some of which you may not know are even caused by your diet) subside and your body is able to start functioning the way it's supposed to again. After 30 days, you gradually re-introduce these foods, paying attention to how each one makes you feel. From there, you can decide what you do and don't want to keep in your diet moving forward.
In the program rules, the authors write, "This will change your life." I remember reading that and laughing. Yah right, I chuckled to myself. They always say that. It never does. Well, ladies and gents, I was wrong. So very, very wrong. It is changing my life. And it's awesome.
Where to start? Cooking. I'm cooking/food-prepping all the time. I feel like I am always in the kitchen. This isn't a bad thing. In fact, for a long time, I've been meaning to cook more and this has been a great learning experience. That being said, I'm creating more dishes than my poor dishwasher can handle. And my feet! Even if I'm cooking in my slippers, by the time I'm done, I just want to rip my feet off my legs. I mean, how was the 1950s Housewife ever a thing?!?
Here's the thing. This food is so good, I haven't missed the junk. Like at all. Not one, single craving. As someone who has tried all kinds of crazy diet plans, this is a HUGE win. I want to eat like this forever. And now I have the tools to do it. The major downside to this has been the cost. Buying all these fresh ingredients isn't cheap and I'm broke AF. I'm hoping to find some ways to save, including making trips to the farmer's market a regular thing.
The first change I noticed was my sleep. I've always been a light sleeper and when my mind is racing, forget it - no way I'm falling asleep before 2:00 a.m. When I finally do, it's a restless sleep. But within the first week of starting my Whole30, I was out cold. Deep sleep for seven hours straight, within 5 minutes of hitting the pillow. I didn't even notice when the cat brought the noisiest toy ever into the bed in the middle of the night.
Another bonus: my body feels 1,000 times better than it did last month. A month ago, I was getting out of bed most mornings, literally hobbling to brush my teeth. Everything hurt. My joints. My feet. My back. Since I started this? Gone. All of it. Also gone? My heartburn, which had become an everyday problem with all the garbage I was eating.
And can we talk about energy levels?! Last month, I could drink 4-6 cups of coffee a day and still fall asleep by mid-afternoon. Now that I'm fueling my body with the right foods to produce energy, I'm brimming with it! I physically can't sleep late anymore. Past my 7:00 a.m. alarm? Oh yah - still hitting that snooze. But even on my days off, I'm wide awake by 8:00. I don't even need to drink coffee every day anymore. I've been having tea in the morning and coffee in the afternoon when I feel like I need it. In the book, the Whole30 authors describe a phase they call "Tiger Blood," (thanks, Charlie Sheen) where your body is finally clear of the junk and starts working the way it's supposed to. I woke up last Saturday (Day 20) and it was like a switch had flipped. I had so much energy. My mind was clear. I felt happy. Confident. I felt like I could conquer the whole damn world. It was crazy. Crazy awesome. And a week later, even after a particularly stressful few days, I still feel that way.
I've also been trying to break some of my bad habits. Instead of eating at my coffee table in front of the TV (which just reinforces my eat-while-watching-television behavior), I've been eating at my dining room table. I've also barely watched any TV this month. It wasn't intentional, but I've found myself reading or writing or playing with the kitties at night, rather than staring blankly into the moving picture box. Because I can't drink or eat junk, I've had to handle stress/disappointment the healthy way - by crying, talking about it and letting it go. And I'm getting active again, walking about 3 miles at lunch with a coworker every day. I also get a few miles in every week when I walk dogs at the shelter. Hoping to add more hiking and swimming to the agenda as well in the weeks/months ahead. Yes, I hate the gym, but there are ways to get moving that I do enjoy. No more excuses! And when everyone else is drinking, I can still sip on a sparkling water with lime.
I've lost weight too, although I don't know how much. Because it's billed as a lifestyle change, rather than a diet, you can't stand on the scale until your 30 days are up. But my clothes are all loose and several people have told me it looks like I'm losing weight, so that's exciting.
But seriously, guys. I feel amazing. I feel happy. Aware. Confident. Energetic. Proud. Pretty. Unstoppable. Healthy.
That's why, when my 30 days are over, I've decided I'm going to maintain this lifestyle as much as I can. I will give myself room for some of my favorite things again, but in moderation. I will admit, I'm really looking forward to having a glass of wine on Wednesday (no, not beer quite yet - the authors say the negative reactions during reintroduction of foods are strongest with grains).
So by now, if you're someone who already lives a healthy lifestyle, you've probably shouted at your computer at least once already: "No shit, Amy! This is all common sense." You're right. But when you've spent your whole life eating all the wrong food for all the wrong reasons, that eat-guilt-repeat cycle is a tough place to dig yourself out of. But now that I know what "healthy" feels like, I'm not looking back. Only moving forward.
I'm paraphrasing of course, but the basic idea is to strip your diet of the foods that aren't fueling your body for 30 days. That includes some foods often considered to be "healthy." No grains, sugar, dairy, legumes or alcohol of any kind. This allows your body to reset. The negative effects of these foods (some of which you may not know are even caused by your diet) subside and your body is able to start functioning the way it's supposed to again. After 30 days, you gradually re-introduce these foods, paying attention to how each one makes you feel. From there, you can decide what you do and don't want to keep in your diet moving forward.
When I told my parents I was thinking about doing the
Whole30, they told me my brother and his fiancée had started it on January 1st.
So I called my brother to see what all the fuss was about. They were about 20
days into the program and he had nothing but good things to say about it. I
figured if my little brother, a longtime lover of chocolate, milk and good
booze, could do it, so could I. Besides, it would only be for 30 days. By the
end of the month, I was all-in and we'd convinced our parents to give it a go
too.
In the program rules, the authors write, "This will change your life." I remember reading that and laughing. Yah right, I chuckled to myself. They always say that. It never does. Well, ladies and gents, I was wrong. So very, very wrong. It is changing my life. And it's awesome.
Where to start? Cooking. I'm cooking/food-prepping all the time. I feel like I am always in the kitchen. This isn't a bad thing. In fact, for a long time, I've been meaning to cook more and this has been a great learning experience. That being said, I'm creating more dishes than my poor dishwasher can handle. And my feet! Even if I'm cooking in my slippers, by the time I'm done, I just want to rip my feet off my legs. I mean, how was the 1950s Housewife ever a thing?!?
 |
| Hell. No. |
Here's the thing. As much pain as my feet are in and as many dishes as I have to do, it's worth it. Because the food is just so damn good. I mostly stick to the recipes they offer in one of the Whole30 books. And man, are they yummy!
 |
| Butternut Squash Soup. I've made this twice already. It's amazing. |
 |
| Chicken Hash for breakfast. Not pretty, but yummy and great when you're tired of eating eggs every morning! Chicken, spinach, apples, walnuts & grated sweet potato with red pepper flakes. |
 |
| Ranch dressing, made from scratch (dairy-, gluten-, sugar- and additive-free). I'll never buy it in a bottle again. Seriously. |
 |
| Harvest Chicken Salad - Seasoned, grilled chicken on top of greens, cucumbers, apple slices and dried cranberries with a scratch-made raspberry vinaigrette |
 |
| Pulled pork carnitas on a cabbage/carrot/apple slaw (made with lemon garlic oil & crushed cashews, not mayo) with a drizzle of ranch |
 |
| Whole30-friendly pork sausage patties. |
 |
| Whole30 Shepherd's Pie - Ground beef, broccoli, carrots with mashed sweet potato |
Here's the thing. This food is so good, I haven't missed the junk. Like at all. Not one, single craving. As someone who has tried all kinds of crazy diet plans, this is a HUGE win. I want to eat like this forever. And now I have the tools to do it. The major downside to this has been the cost. Buying all these fresh ingredients isn't cheap and I'm broke AF. I'm hoping to find some ways to save, including making trips to the farmer's market a regular thing.
The first change I noticed was my sleep. I've always been a light sleeper and when my mind is racing, forget it - no way I'm falling asleep before 2:00 a.m. When I finally do, it's a restless sleep. But within the first week of starting my Whole30, I was out cold. Deep sleep for seven hours straight, within 5 minutes of hitting the pillow. I didn't even notice when the cat brought the noisiest toy ever into the bed in the middle of the night.
Another bonus: my body feels 1,000 times better than it did last month. A month ago, I was getting out of bed most mornings, literally hobbling to brush my teeth. Everything hurt. My joints. My feet. My back. Since I started this? Gone. All of it. Also gone? My heartburn, which had become an everyday problem with all the garbage I was eating.
And can we talk about energy levels?! Last month, I could drink 4-6 cups of coffee a day and still fall asleep by mid-afternoon. Now that I'm fueling my body with the right foods to produce energy, I'm brimming with it! I physically can't sleep late anymore. Past my 7:00 a.m. alarm? Oh yah - still hitting that snooze. But even on my days off, I'm wide awake by 8:00. I don't even need to drink coffee every day anymore. I've been having tea in the morning and coffee in the afternoon when I feel like I need it. In the book, the Whole30 authors describe a phase they call "Tiger Blood," (thanks, Charlie Sheen) where your body is finally clear of the junk and starts working the way it's supposed to. I woke up last Saturday (Day 20) and it was like a switch had flipped. I had so much energy. My mind was clear. I felt happy. Confident. I felt like I could conquer the whole damn world. It was crazy. Crazy awesome. And a week later, even after a particularly stressful few days, I still feel that way.
I've also been trying to break some of my bad habits. Instead of eating at my coffee table in front of the TV (which just reinforces my eat-while-watching-television behavior), I've been eating at my dining room table. I've also barely watched any TV this month. It wasn't intentional, but I've found myself reading or writing or playing with the kitties at night, rather than staring blankly into the moving picture box. Because I can't drink or eat junk, I've had to handle stress/disappointment the healthy way - by crying, talking about it and letting it go. And I'm getting active again, walking about 3 miles at lunch with a coworker every day. I also get a few miles in every week when I walk dogs at the shelter. Hoping to add more hiking and swimming to the agenda as well in the weeks/months ahead. Yes, I hate the gym, but there are ways to get moving that I do enjoy. No more excuses! And when everyone else is drinking, I can still sip on a sparkling water with lime.
I've lost weight too, although I don't know how much. Because it's billed as a lifestyle change, rather than a diet, you can't stand on the scale until your 30 days are up. But my clothes are all loose and several people have told me it looks like I'm losing weight, so that's exciting.
But seriously, guys. I feel amazing. I feel happy. Aware. Confident. Energetic. Proud. Pretty. Unstoppable. Healthy.
That's why, when my 30 days are over, I've decided I'm going to maintain this lifestyle as much as I can. I will give myself room for some of my favorite things again, but in moderation. I will admit, I'm really looking forward to having a glass of wine on Wednesday (no, not beer quite yet - the authors say the negative reactions during reintroduction of foods are strongest with grains).
So by now, if you're someone who already lives a healthy lifestyle, you've probably shouted at your computer at least once already: "No shit, Amy! This is all common sense." You're right. But when you've spent your whole life eating all the wrong food for all the wrong reasons, that eat-guilt-repeat cycle is a tough place to dig yourself out of. But now that I know what "healthy" feels like, I'm not looking back. Only moving forward.
Amy, you are so inspiring! Your new adventure has begun! Very happy for you. Thank you for sharing this honest and very personal post. It has made me think about my own relationship with food.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thank you for the kind words! xoxo
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing post. I absorbed every word with delight!! I'm so happy you said yes to doing this program with me. You've inspired me to stay in it and you're inspiring me to stay healthy by eating this way long term. Love you lots and lots!!!
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm so happy you suggested it! Love you more!!!
Delete