Musings on The Whole 30

Tomorrow August 1, on my 41st birthday, I start the  Whole 30. 2016 has been a year of change. I've been battling to change my eating habits, and my lifestyle, and never ever go back to having chronic headaches several times a week and being bedridden  with migraines for a quarter or even third of my life! 

When I juiced the month of April, I saw amazing benefits in my energy and mental clarity among other things, and have not ever descended back into eating an entire row of brownies or eating spoonful after spoonful of cookie dough. I'm still off caffeine. I don't have severe sugar cravings every afternoon and need to rummage for chocolate. But I'm gradually getting headaches back again, and my energy isn't as high and that near constant irritability that used to plague me when I was sick is rearing its ugly head. 

Juicing was really good for me in that I didn't have to eat real food and the temptation of all the not healthful food choices was essentially eliminated. But it was really time consuming, expensive and not sustainable. When I was finishing that month of my juice fast feeling wonderful and looking better to boot, a couple of my friends suggested the Whole 30 as kind of a where to go from here next step. 

I eagerly got the books from the library and immediately decided it would be impossible to not eat sugar or bread.  And cheese. They want me to eliminate cheese! It was too strict and regimented for my personality. 

But then my doctor suggested that going gluten free might be really beneficial for me, and told me it appears that my gut still needs a lot of work and that my liver is working too hard and I should do another cleanse. And then a good friend told me she's been diagnosed with thyroid issues and was going to start the Whole 30 a bit before the time I'd been hesitantly considering it. And then another one of our friends was going to do it with her in solidarity at first but then discovered all the ways it would benefit her family. And then another friend told me she'd join me on the second wave, and give up gluten and sugar.And another friend and fellow cheese lover said she's eliminating dairy. 

So here I am. I had my cup of Teeccino this morning without French vanilla creamer. I didn't have a bit of any of the kids's cookies or Italian ices. Today, so far, has been Whole 30 compliant. 

Kevin and I are going out on a dinner and movie date tonight so I'll see if I can keep up the momentum, but I like to be able to tell myself I don't have to, as I'm starting officially tomorrow. 

I'm going to cook for the family lots of on plan meals, and also have separate food for myself when the kids are having sandwiches or something. 

Kevin supports me in that he'll eat his evening ice cream in the office instead of next to me on the couch. When I was listing off all the veggies we needed to pick up at the store, he said, "And I need chocolate and beer."