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Sunday, September 1, 2013

The Challenge in ON!

My breakfast this morning...yummy but the sausage was, meh.


Ladies and Gentlemen...we have a quorum!  The Whole 30 Challenge is on!

Here are our start dates:

  • Sherry - September 18th 
  • Annette - August 26th
  • Carrie - August 29th
  • Dawn - September 18th 
  • Mrs. D - September 18th 
  • Amy - September 18th 


If you're out there following along and just want to comment and ask questions from time to time then DO IT.  As I told Annette earlier this week, this doesn't belong to me, I'm just the secretary.  I just thought that together we'd have a better shot at getting this "science experiment" (as RoS calls it) done.

So here's a few things, caveats, and pearls that I discovered in this last week.

  • I'm an alcoholic so I have the disease of MORE.  Nuts are out for me.  I don't know when to say when and they are loaded with fat (good fat but still) and calories.  I love them and the occasional small handful of them is fine but I can't rely on them as my go to snack.
  • Since I am an addict, I have to be careful with "sweet" things lest they wake up the beast.  Thankfully, so far fruit has been very kind.  Fresh fruit has become my go to snack during the "witching hours" which are about 3:00 pm and then after dinner and on into the evening.  Have I mentioned (of course I have) that I don't really like fruit?  Well that ain't true anymore.  I LOVE it.
  • The witching hour is lessening.  I noticed last night that about 9:30 I wanted a snack.  Just a snack. So I came down and put watermelon and freshly cut pineapple (it's REALLY easy to do and so much better than canned - "You Tube" it) into an ice cream bowl and took it upstairs where I was watching HGTV.  As I sat and ate I realized that I got the snack in response to hunger rather than entitlement or boredom.  Score one for clean eating!!!
  • I can find something to eat anywhere.  During my dinner the other night at the fried food feast, I ordered fried chicken (white meat only, from which I peeled all breading and skin) a double order of collard greens and green beans.  I was full...even though I REALLY wanted that damn biscuit.
  • My body is changing.  My clothes are fitting better.  I feel more comfortable in my skin (a little).  I'm really proud of what I'm doing.  
  • The hubs called me his hero in a comment the other day.  Me?  His hero?  Wow...no really...wow.
  • My regular diet is very low fat.  I'm having to get okay with bumping my fat intake up a little to compensate for the lack of sugar.  I'm trying to keep it to good fats - olives, olive oil etc.  But as a treat I ate a couple of link sausages this morning.  They were good...but I think I can do without them going forward.  It's was kind of..meh.  Plus I'm sure there was a fuckload of chemicals used to preserve them.  I'm trying to get the courage to read the label.


This has been a course in experimentation.  What do I like?  What does my body like or dislike?  Because I'm not getting on the scale, I'm forced to really listen to my body and figure out what it wants and what is best for it.  It's not, "Oh Lord the scale was up 3.6 ounces today...no breakfast for me!"  It's more like, "Hmmm, I'm not hungry yet.  Let me take some eggs and fruit for when my stomach tells me it's ready."

Wait.  What?

Tell me how you're doing.  What choices are you making?  How are you feeling?  Have you killed anyone?  What are you doing to prepare for this journey?  What's your body telling you?

My book came so I'll read it this week and report back on insights and learnings.  I'm excited and so happy to be doing this will all of you!  Let's kick some Whole 30 ass!

Namaste

"The common conception is that motivation leads to action, but the reverse is true -- action precedes motivation. You have to prime the pump and get the juice flowing, which motivates you to work on your goals. Getting momentum going is the most difficult part of the job, and often taking the first step is enough to prompt you to make the best of your day." ~Robert J. Mckain





13 comments:

  1. I'm excited for this too! I had my last "all are welcome" lunch at my folks today- BBQ, hushpuppies, and lemon cheescake my dad made for dessert. Starting tomorrow: clean eating and gearing up. Portion control is my big thing, and also eating after 5 (much like all of my drinking I eat and eat after 5, even when I'm not even hungry) I downloaded some meditations on my phone today and will listen to a short one after dinner to calm down and stay in touch with reality. :) I'm so glad we're all doing this together! :)Sept 18th here we come!

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    Replies
    1. Can you share the meditations? I think I could benefit from the also!

      Sherry

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  2. I am too, I so need this. Last night I did my usual 'tiny bowl of cereal with 3 huge spoons of sugar on it at 8,30pm...' I seriously have a problem..! My mouth feels sugary all the time and my jeans are tight. I know that I am in a bit of a funk emotionally and all my good feelings that transfer into wanting to eat well have gone out the window. I haven't even been to the gym in 3 weeks. Going this morning! Going to look at the website link you gave.. going to get a notebook and plan some foods.. ordered the cookbook from the library... I will mention that I am doing this in my next post .. bring on Sept 18!

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    Replies
    1. I'm going to make a prediction that the emotional funk will lift when the sugar is gone. (But not until week 3 - you may want to hide all the knives in the house or send the hubs on a business trip until then). After I got through the detox part, my pink cloud returned and my head got quiet again.

      I hope this happens for you too!

      Hugs,
      Sherry

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  3. Day 4 is just ending for me. Been a bit hungry and disorganised on the menu planning front so think that is the problem. Little things, like I went to make the mayo and had the wrong kind of oil and the couldn't find the bit for the blender!
    Breakfast is fine, as long as you don't mind mainlining eggs! Fruit is a Godsend and am sure I am slightly (alcoholic, so read hugely) overdoing that.
    Loving the nuts. Bought myself one of those little mints sized tins to portion them out for the day, have them with a coffee (black of course) or in a tiny bowl with some chopped grapes in front of the TV.
    Lunch is the hardest part for me as I am an on the go kinda lunch girl The good news is that I am so busy missing things like bread and yogurt that I am not even thinking about cookies cake or chocolate which is the real purpose of this for me. My sugar monster has been shocked into silence for now and I am frankly enjoying the break from the voice that tells me to have another one!
    Can't stop peeing either which means, dun dun dun...weight loss is imminent!!
    Overall, loving it so far.
    26 days to go...
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here are some things that work for me and some others.

      Grill chicken breasts in bulk and keep them in the fridge. Then, if all else fails, you can grab one on the go. You can do the same with eggs. Also, chop up veggies and put the in individual zip lock bags in the fridge so you can grab and go. If you're on the road, invest in a lunch bag with a cold pack so you can keep everything chilled. Often I don't eat everything in my lunch bag but I like having it all there in case. I don't want to end up in the fast food line or down at the little store in my building trying to figure out what I can eat. Too stressful.

      Peeing a lot----I totally get that one!

      Sherry

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  4. Night time is the hardest for me. And eating at home is hard because there is everyone elses food, and then there is mine. lol However, tonight we are having a grilled London Broil minus the usual package marinate that I use and instead have it rubbed down with olive oil, sea salt and lemon pepper. I will have a big salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and some watermelon....Gods gift to fruit eaters. I am focusing on eating "real" food....at least that is what I am calling it. Food as it comes to me....not with additives and preservatives. So I am not making a lot of recipes because I simply haven't had the time...but maybe soon. I saw a great looking recipe on Pintrest for stuffed hamburgers.....stuffed with mushrooms and onions and whatever else was in there. They looked really good. So my start date was August 26, and most of you all are starting on Sept 18... I do think I will be restarting Sept 26 for round 2. Last night I had an hour to kill between dropping my girl off and being at work and that was hard. My usual behavior would have been a lg diet coke or some other treat....frozen yogurt, or something. Instead I bought a bag of sunflower seeds... they satisfied that hand to mouth need, but this morning my eyes were puffy from the salt. So I really have no desire to do that again. Thank you Sherry for doing this!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. You still have a little one so I know it can be hard finding things she will eat and having to make what amounts to two dinners. Our protein at meals is generally acceptable on the Whole 30 so I've added extra veggies to our dinners and put fruit back on the table (which I always did when they were little)which means I only have to forego any starch or grain they've added to the meal. The good news is, that's happening less and less. I'm hopeful they'll all see my results and want to join the challenge.

      A girl can dream right?

      XOXO
      Sherry

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  5. Oh this is AWESOME, Sherry! I'm so glad y'all are doing this! I'd join in, but marathon training is a beast of its own and requires well-timed carbs and sugars to replace burned glycogen. (blah, blah, blah)

    Sherry, Annette, Carrie, Dawn, Mrs. D, and Amy: I am rooting for you all!

    Just a nice little science experiment to see what happens, right? You can do anything for 30 days, y'all got this!
    ~ Christy

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  6. Good luck to everyone!

    I will cheer from the sidelines :)

    I can't wait to hear all the stories!

    Blessings,
    Paul

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  7. thanks for the tips am going to have a cook up/chop up this weekend. Am surviving so far, my salads are getting better by the day!
    Did drool over granola and museli this morning at home...30 days? That's nothing!
    At least peeps dont give you a hard time about not eating granola!
    More for them Carrie x

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  8. How does one join the challenge and what exactly is it?

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  9. Okay, just checking in - today is day 1 for me (yes, I falsely said I'd start yesterday, but dammit, there was chocolate chip brioche that I just couldn't ignore!) - and aside from a small slip up (I had a couple of Altoids - oops!) I did it. And I'm not starving. Bring on Day 2!!

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