Week 12

I think I must admit that consistency is NOT one of my strengths.  I'm still struggling to keep up with this blog.  I'm committed, though!  Even if I miss a week (or two, or three) I want to try to see it through.  I'm determined.

I think what really motivated me to post tonight was some research I've done over the last few days.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have to wonder about the possibility of being addicted to food.  Addiction is definitely an issue in my family - alcoholic grandparents, a chain-smoking father and brother, and I went through my own addiction to cigarettes in my 20's.  That thought prompted me to visit the amazing Pinterest and search "food addiction" and see what popped up.  A lot of it was mumbo jumbo in my opinion - "Distract yourself from food in these 50 ways!" Pah!  It's not about distraction.  It's about self-medicating with food.  It's about eating a whole bag of chips because an awful parent sent an awful email.  It's about drowning in a container of ice cream because we're so behind on our finances.  There's no chance of distraction there.  It's about a serious emotional connection to eating.

I did find something that seemed relevant, though.  It started with this article.  The article gave some great insight into food addiction and I really resonated with the 8 signs of food addiction.  So I kept reading all the way to the end where it talks about getting help.  It lists a few websites that deal with food addiction and for whatever reason, Food Addicts Anonymous stood out to me - probably because of the name.

I visited the website, which is pretty basic, but also resonated with me.  I started with the "Are You a Food Addict?" page and decided that, yes, I am leaning more and more towards calling myself a food addict.  I looked for a local meeting, but there isn't one.  Their other two options are phone in meetings and email meetings.  I think the introvert in me kicked in and I decided that the email loop would be less daunting.  I signed up and have lurked in the wings for a few days now, still being introverted and too nervous to throw myself out there.  I do have to cut myself some slack though and admit that I have a million questions about the program and the email loop that are not easy to answer using the website or the group page.  That means I will have to work myself up to asking someone.  The thought makes me cringe, so it might take a few days.

Aside from my need to get over myself in regard to jumping in feet first, I am not entirely sold on their premise.  Abstinence is their answer.  Committing to never again have sugar, wheat or flour (here's where my questions bubble up - why are wheat and flour separate?  Any flour? Coconut flour? Almond flour?)  I know when I quit smoking, abstinence was the answer.  I was never a once-in-awhile smoker.  I was either a non-smoker or a two-pack-a-day smoker.  There was no in between for me.  Maybe there is no in between with sugar, wheat and flour, either.  I have to wrap my brain around that idea.  It means never having birthday cake on my birthday again.  It means never having mac'n'cheese again.  At least with Whole 30, those are possibilities.

So the big question becomes, can I go for the rest of my life without these things?  Is it worth it?  My answer right now is, I Don't Know.  I need to research more and delve more into the FAA materials.  I will keep you posted.

Week 10

I want so badly to start this by building a framework of excuses.  I've been so busy.  I've been tired and not feeling well.  I let my husband talk me into cheating.  I'm tired of the program.  Blah, blah, blah.

Let me just be straight.  I am two weeks late with my post.  And I CHEATED.  Yes, I said it.  I cheated on the program.  I wanted to go for a full 365 days with no slip ups.  The reality is, I think I was looking for an excuse to cheat.  I've been staring hard at things I know I can't have.  Not really having those cheater dreams that make you wake up hating yourself, but the wide awake awareness of wanting something else.  Wanting something off program.  Then someone brought doughnuts to work.  Ugh.  My kryptonite.

I can't say what this means.  It makes me think that my body feels it's missing out on something.  Or maybe it's the cravings controlling my sub-conscience.  That's probably more likely.  My plan is to keep going.  I'm not going to let one slip up stop me.  I'm just going to keep evaluating what I've experienced so far and hope that I can get to the heart of what's going on with my body.

On another note, I think Sunday/Monday is the worst time of the week for my to sit down and write.  I'm going to shift to Saturday and see how that works.  I never feel like I have enough time to dedicate to writing on Sunday and Monday.  Maybe that will be different on Saturdays.  Wish me luck!

Week 8

I can't believe I've completed 8 weeks already.  Here's the thing about Whole 30 - you need to plan.  You need to prep ahead of time.  You need some go-to recipes that don't take a ton of time to prep.

My first round of Whole 30, I was spending hours and hours each week prepping and cooking.  It was exhausting!  I had to search and find a whole new set of recipes to use.  All of them were new to me and it took some time to figure out what was worth it and what wasn't.  Now I have a nice little collection of recipes on Pinterest that I go back to over and over again.

I also have some simple methods of cooking veggies that make the process far simpler.  There is nothing better than roasted sweet or regular potatoes - a little olive oil, salt, pepper, broil.  In about 30 minutes, you have the most divine side dish.  My other go-to is just a simple veggie steam.  It keeps so much of the nutrients in the veggies and it works for so many different kinds - broccoli, green beans, artichokes.

I keep lunches simple and take leftover or make some tuna salad - make your own mayonnaise!  It's easy and yummy!  Then I make a version of this casserole that lasts me most of the week for breakfasts.

Whole 30 is doable for a long stretch.  You just can't let your brain win the addiction battle.  I definitely eyeball much of my son's food, like the honey Greek yogurt he had in his lunch today, but I just tell myself it's against the rules.  I'm okay as long as I plan.  It's the times I don't plan that trip me up.  The moral of the story?  Plan, plan, plan!

Week 7

I am soooooo tired.  I have been so exhausted the last two weeks, I couldn't gather my wits to post last week.  Most nights I've been falling asleep on the couch.

I'm kind of caught in a vicious cycle with energy and lack of movement.  We're still in the middle of an epic forest fire.  With back burns and new spots cropping up, the smoke has been horrific.  While I have been mostly symptom free for almost 10 years, my asthma has reared its ugly head.  I find myself wheezing and struggling for air, not to mention dealing with the croupy cough.  The idea of moving too far, inhaling more smoke, and fighting for breath has left me fairly sedentary for the past few weeks.  It's catching up to me.  I think I almost feel worse for lack of movement.  But history has taught me that pushing my limits with my current symptoms will only land me in Urgent Care on a breathing treatment - still one of the most frightening things I've ever experienced.

It all just makes me want to sleep.  That and the late nights I've had the past couple of weeks.

But...my food is still on point.  We actually went to a birthday party last weekend where they served donuts rather than cake.  Ouch.  Donuts are my kryptonite.  Not only did I eat beforehand since I couldn't be sure there would be anything compliant - which there wasn't- I said no to the donut.  They did smell amazing, though.  Mmmm...donuts.

I had a similar experience Sunday at a family event.  I passed up on the fast food everyone else was having and ate when we got home.  It definitely was a winning weekend.  Now my goal is my butt moving.  I just need the darn fire and smoke to stop.

Week 5

I can't tell you how shocked I was to realize yesterday that I have already completed 5 weeks of Whole 30.  While the first week felt rather long, the total length of time feels as if it has flown by.  I know starting back to work has definitely helped with that feeling, but I think it's also due to the fact that the Whole 30 lifestyle is not very foreign to me.

It was a huge help this week that I did a ton of prep work over the weekend.  I didn't have to spend too much energy trying to figure out what I was going to eat each day and that makes the temptation to stray off plan significantly less.

Planning also helped me survive a Labor Day celebration with family and friends.  It was funny.  I got some raised eyebrows for not eating what everyone else was, but nobody said anything.  I was even preparing what I was going to say, but I never had to.

Aside from being exhausted from the start of the school year and trying to figure out how to juggle my own schedule and my son's schedule, it was a pretty uneventful week.  Food was the easy part of the week.  I'm so grateful for that.

Week 4

Good Grief....

Well, needless to say, I fell behind last week.  It was our teacher work week last week and there just weren't enough hours in the day.  I'm currently the outgoing Technology Director AND a full time teacher.  Since we haven't hired a new director yet, it's still me.  So...that meant that last week was all about everyone else.  I had to come in on Saturday just to make my classroom minimally ready for the first day.  That meant dusting and throwing out my trash.  I came home and continued to work.  Then I spent all day Sunday prepping for the rest of the details for the week.

Let me paint a picture of my Sunday.  I spent about three hours working in the morning - lesson plans, setting up Google accounts, trying to figure out our new testing program, etc.  I roasted a whole chicken.  I prepped lunches for my son.  I did ALL the laundry.  I picked out my clothes for the week.  I cooked dinner.  I made chicken stock.  Seriously.  I swear I'm taking no drugs.  I just have that amazing Whole 30 clarity of mind that allowed me to put together a massive to-do list and knock it out of the park.  I haven't felt that accomplished in ages.

Unfortunately, I forgot to blog.  So here we are on Thursday, because despite the extra energy, nobody is infallible.  I'm TIRED.  I've been getting about 6 hours of sleep each night and working my butt off, so I'm wiped.  I'm still playing catch up from my back log last weekend, so it's been just a constant push with little down time.  I literally fell asleep on the couch at 8 p.m. last night.

I apologize for being late, but this week has been even busier than the typical first week of school.  Hopefully, I will make up for lack of sleep this weekend and start next week fresh. :)

Whole 30 Week 3

Ah, week 3.  Still more focused.  Still accomplishing a ton of work.  Ramping up to start back to work.

I'm still having some digestive issues.  I'm not sure what that's all about.  I had issues like this on a previous Whole 30, but as soon as I cut out the caffeine, it cleared up.  Since I'm not drinking caffeine this round, I can't figure out what it is.

I'm also having some bothersome lower back and hip pain.  I'm scheduled to go to the chiropractor in about 10 days, but I'm debating trying to get in to see him earlier.  It's a weird kind of pain that I don't normally experience.  It's more like a deep bone pain than a muscle spasm.  Meh.

Aside from the aches and pains, I'm hanging in there.  Trying to come up with some new recipes so we don't all die of meal boredom.  It occurred to me the other day that I could probably find a way to tweak some of my non compliant meals to make them compliant.  I also tend to add in some non compliant sides for my husband and son.  So week 3....were hanging in there.