Whole30 - Day 30 – All done.....sort of
All done.
January 31st marked the end of my 30 days on the Whole30, a month-long cleanse that sounds like no fun at all with no alcohol, sugar, dairy, grains or baked goods. We all walk our path alone, of course, but my sister @jayna walked a similar one on the Whole30 in January, and my husband @preparedwombat bravely gave up Guinness and all its spirit brothers and sisters in solidarity. So, while I walked my path alone, I could glimpse them through the foliage, swatting mosquitos, walking along their paths too.
@preparedwombat hasn't posted about his experience of heroic beerlessness (yet), but you can read about @jayna's experience during a very intense month of posting and falling ever more deeply under Steemit's mesmerizing spell here.
A quirky business
My experience on the Whole30 was more revelatory than fun, and the list of benefits I experienced is profound and quirky.
My vote for most head whipping and double-take making: My back no longer kinks up in the night causing me to curve over in the morning like a broken slinky. I thought I was in for that shit for life.
My vote for oddest: My ankles and wrists and arms no longer ache when I wake up in the morning. (Arms? Really? I know. I've never heard of anyone's biceps aching because of their diet. That isn't even a joint. It’s a muscle. I looked it up.)
My vote for most life altering: I now sleep through the night. In there-are-2-kinds-of-people terms, I have moved solidly and shockingly across the dichotomy line from person with a sleep disorder to person who sleeps through the night. Because. Of. What. I. Eat. Holy Brussels Sprouts Batman!
So, with all these benefits showering down like pink rose petals and golden glitter upon my grateful head, you have to ask, why would I choose on the very last day to sample, not once but twice, from the list of forbidden fruits?
You got me. I've been noodling over that one.
What I had, if you must know, is a bagel with cream cheese, representing grains and dairy, and later in the day a bowl of ice cream, representing dairy and sugar. Last night I was rewarded with an allergic reaction causing a St Vitus dance of itching that required Benadryl. I probably deserved a spanking, but at my age that isn't even fun anymore. The Benadryl made me sleepy, so I don't know what would have happened without it. But given how rotten my back and other body parts felt in the morning, I reckon I wouldn't have slept without the Benadryl.
My ride
When I ate that stuff yesterday, I suppose I was thinking something like, "Now that I've given my body a little rest from these naughty foods, I can probably have some now with impunity." Not so much. Maybe years of inflammation-causing foods have caught up with me, or maybe that was just way too much of a bad thing to have after 30 days of almost none. Whatever the case, last night's itching and this morning's aching both served to confirm for me that these foods are just not for me, in a way that the 30 days without them did not. HEY! Listen the hell up! My body is shouting its disapproval and it is up to me to pay attention and take care. This body is my ride while I'm here on planet Earth. I've definitely got skin in the game.
Bottom line
My bottom line, these foods and their prevalence are always going to be a challenge—what is easier to get in the US than a sandwich with a side of sugar? But steering clear of them is worth it. I like feeling good and getting rest. I like not being a broken slinky. So, like it or not, yesterday wasn't an end but a beginning for me.
Thanks for reading. Steem on!
My Whole30 Posts:
Whole30 - Day 28 – Solidarity Wombat
Whole30 - Day 25 – Making Friends with the Middle
Whole30 - Day 20 – Eat Monkeys, Eat!
Whole30 - Day 16 – To Sleep Perhaps to Dream
Whole30 - Day 13 – Food restriction for a Foody, food for thought
Whole30 - Day 11 – Looks like a knife fight, tastes like heaven
Whole30 – Day 10 – Lest ye mistake me for a paragon
Whole30 – Day 6
Whole30 – Day 5
Whole30 – Day 4
Whole30 - Day 3
Whole30 – Day 2
Whole30 – Day 1
An older post you might enjoy
An F-Bomb for Christmas
Getting Married at the International Food Court
pixabay images
Hi ducksaplenty, it was nice meeting you at Caffetto the other day! Congrats on the whole30 challenge! I worked at a Raw Vegan Restaurant named Ecopolitan for ten years, have eaten a plant based diet for 12, and now for the past year, my wife Natasha is on the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet in a battle with psoriatic arthritis. So, dietary restrictions have been a focal point for me for a long time and now more than ever because of Natasha’s arthritis. The AIP diet has helped her immensely with controlling inflammation. If you are not familiar, AIP is on the same track as what whole 30 is, kind of like paleo but even more restrictive. No sugar, alcohol, grains, etc. She went this route as a way not to have to take icky chemo drugs that would further compromise her immune system in the long run. It is a constant battle and it is worth eating mindfully, so thumbs up to you for taking charge of your health!
Very interesting, @boxcar. @ducksaplenty and I have another sister who may benefit from that diet (if she's willing to make life-altering changes; as this post describes, it is very difficult to do). I'm very appreciative that you mentioned it!
It is challenging in many different ways. It may be helpful to just start with eliminating one or a few things at first and go from there. Refined sugar would be a good place to start of course.
Thank you very much. I have passed on the information to her. She has been doing some work on her diet with a health practitioner, and is realizing just how extreme it must be to get results. This info may really help!
Thanks @boxcar. Nice meeting you too. Caffetto has nice ambiance and that almond milk latte was heaven. I'm happy to hear your wife has had such good results with the AIP diet. I will definitely take a look. @jayna is right, autoimmune appears to run in our family, rheumatoid arthritis with our dad and Epstein Barr and other diseases with our oldest sis. If diet can help, I'm in. I'm interested in your choice of a plant based diet. Was that driven by health, conscience, religious or other considerations?
With the whole grain free thing, it is difficult to find foods that are filling and satisfying all of the time. A couple of tricks that we recently discovered I want to share with you. Frozen yuca is really cheap and delicious and fairly easy to prepare. I buy it at Little India in NE Minneapolis but have also found them at a mexican grocery store too. Its a good option instead of potatoes for starchiness. I am currently trying my hand at writing a steemit food blog with yuca and a cilantro sauce. We'll see how it goes. Also, sweet potato noodles can be found at asian grocery stores. They have the same texture as rice noodles. These are some of our new comfort foods.
I started eating plant based for a few reasons. I first stopped eating meat in my early 20's after reading Gandhi's Autobiography. I thought that Gandhi was pretty cool. Then I got into environmental and animal rights stuff a little bit and when I gave up dairy, i felt much better and just kind of stuck with it ever since.
Thanks @boxcar, just seeing this now. Sweet potatoes noodles and frozen yucca. I’ll temember that. I have a good food co-op near me that would carry them. Is your food blog in Steemit? I’ll take a look. I’m Interested in how the yucca is prepared.
My fave plant comfort food right now is roasted butternut squash. Doused in olive oil, garlic and herbs and slow roasted, it is sweet and crispy on the outside and, at least to me, almost irresistible.
Happy cooking!
Actually, I think I can make the sweet potatoe noodle myself with a spiralizer. I’m making beet noodles with it this week. Better and better.
It is impressing and motivating. I can easy live without alcohol, sugar or grain, but how to refuse baked goods? You know, it is much easier to go through such challenge when you get body problems, pain and so on. But when you feel enough healthy you think that you do not need it. But you need. In order not to get such problems in the future. I congratulate you.
Thank you. I agree. It is much easier to stay away from the unhealthy things when pain is the result. I also agree that baked goods are the hardest thing to stay away from. For sandwiches, I have them as salads instead. For pasta I have vegetables. It actually works pretty well. I haven’t found a good substitute for bagels though. For some things there is no replacement. Thanks for reading and commenting.
So inspiring!
I wish I could upvote this post more than 100%! You have such wisdom and such a wonderful writing voice. I love reading your stuff. I know, I'm totally biased because you're my sister. But so? You're the bomb!!
Favorite lines:
While I'm sorry you can't eat the naughty foods with impunity, I am so very very happy that you have figured out what was turning you prematurely into an old crone! I believe, very honestly, that figuring this out will add years to your life. All that inflammation and pain was your body trying to tell you that it was ailing badly. I suppose you may need the occasional reminder, followed by St. Vitus, Benadryl, self-flagellation, and bending over, walking with a cane, a limp and a snarl. But at least now you know.
Hey, can you do other grains? Spelt? Quinoa...?
Thanks honey. You're right. At least I know. Maybe the state of knowing is a process, like reaching spiritual enlightenment. I apparently need the periodic stumbles to gain strength and know at a deeper level. This morning, my family is having pastries from our little patisserie in town, and I was able to say 'no thank you' quite easily. Having the negative outcomes dead in my sites right now really helps.
Thanks for reading and for the encouragement!
It is that way with me and chocolate. I no longer crave the stuff because I have had such bad experiences. The good news is that I can very occasionally eat a teensy bit. (Not that I find it; but it finds me. Refer to your Eat Monkeys Eat post for the reason I consume chocolate at all when it has nearly killed me on multiple occasions!) The bad news is that “a teensy bit” is a moving target. For instance, yesterday the Girl Scout cookie sale occurred (aka chocolate apocalypse) and I had three thin mints in a momentary lapse of memory that—oh yeah! That shit is deadly to me!—and was thus up all night with the kind of excruciating acid reflux that makes death seem like a viable alternative. But I digress. Yay you got it figured out!! ❤️
No on the other grains. No grains at all. A little paleo flour seems fine though.
Thank goodness there’s something you can occasionally use for... baking? Thickening a sauce? I don’t suppose paleo flour cookies are all they are touted to be.
Yes, paleo flour, a combination flour from Bob's Red Mill, as well as nut flours and coconut flour. Those are all 'in.'
I did some reading about the AIP diet today. Similar to Whole30, there is a period of high restriction followed by re-introduction. But the restriction period is longer, 6-8 weeks, and there are more restrictions. No herbs from seeds such as mustard, cumin, coriander, fennel, cardamom, fenugreek, caraway, nutmeg, and dill seed, and no nightshades including tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, paprika, mustard seeds, all chili's including spices. Also a limit of two fruits a day to limit fructose. It seems like more than I am willing to take on without some indication that I need to. It does make me a little nervous not to give it a try since some of these foods supposedly harm you "silently." But, I think my body is being pretty vocal and getting my attention sufficiently to keep me on track. I know I want to steer clear of grains and sugar permanently. I am still on the fence about beans and dairy. I don't plan to eat a lot of potatoes, but do plan to have some occasionally. I may treat beans and dairy the same way, not a lot, but sometimes if they don't cause any problems. I haven't seen any ill effects from nuts so plan to keep those happily on the 'in' list.
Oh, and no eggs for 6-8 weeks with AIP. Cannot imagine what that would be like.