Distractible me

After sitting on the sides lines for months, I finally decided to commit to a Whole30. Husband didn’t need any convincing and Jess came along for the ride.  Didn’t think it would be possible to get the family on board. In our case, the more the Mary-er!

Why now?  For me, it was to avoid taking antidepressants and remove some of my middle.  For Jess, she tends to be sedentary and extra weight is a result.  Ataxia is part of her Angelman Syndrome.  She isn’t comfortable on her feet. Jess rolls her right ankle which makes walking great distances uncomfortable.  She had a tendon transfer surgery when she was 12. She wore an orthotic on her right foot for many years and all that did was deform the foot.  Her right foot was stunted a whole size because the hard plastic orthotic prevents proper feedback from the foot to the brain. There may be a place for orthotics and I’m sure there are exceptions, but I believe that this is medieval and does more damage than good. Anyhow, back to the Whole30, Jess carries her weight in the middle, as does someone else, not going to mention names, who has hit middle age… For the most part, a t-shirt can cover the problem areas, but that doesn’t solve the health concern.

For thirty days, we are cutting out all dairy (no cheese), sugar, flour/ grains, legumes and of course, no junk food. What this leaves us is vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs and potatoes are allowed, just not French or fried. I have to admit, I had a Home Alone moment when I was at the market. I cut through the junk food section and felt like waiving my arms up in the air and scream as I shot down the aisle, gasping for a breath of air when I finally excited out from the land of temptation. That is not easy for a chip-o-holic to do…sigh…

Part of the meal concept is to cleanse and eliminate foods that cause inflammation. Once the thirty day has been completed, you slowly add food groups back to see how your body reacts. As for carbs, they are not nutritionally dense. The body will use the carbs for energy first before tapping into the weight i.e.  energy stored on the body.  Fat is not a bad thing, but just like anything else, too much of anything is not a good thing either.

The first to cheat was Jess. Yesterday when she came home she grabbed a breakfast bar. She only had a bite, but this means “do not pass go, do not collect $200” and she has to start over. Today, when she came home, she reached for tuna salad and watermelon, grasshopper is learning.  That moment of satisfaction slipped away when I found a partial bag of Cheez-its in her backpack. It is difficult, if not near impossible, to control outside forces. I’m sure her friends saw her puppy dog eyes as she stared at their snack and then gave her some. Back to day one.

Husband was invited to spectate (just in case you thought I was implying he was playing) the Barklays golf tournament yesterday. He said he had a Falafel which is made with chick peas which is a no-no… go to jail and do not collect $200. He did not realize that this was forbidden food, but the rules are the rules.

What does this all mean? It means that we all have to start our Whole30 over from day one if you go off the menu plan, even if inadvertently.  We are all in this together. We all need to make wise choices, focus on our health and address our plump little bodies before winter arrives. We are house bunnies who like to sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate when it is wicked cold. To be clear, we aren’t doing this so we can indulge once we reach our goals, but so we can establish a healthier diet and have the occasional treat.

So far, our favorite recipes have been a cold Thai salad (this link isn’t the recipe I used, but close enough) and watermelon salad. Last night I made chicken and sausage burgers with a side of mashed cauliflower which I refer to as faux-tatoes. Yum! Yes, we are a little tired of eggs. Thank goodness hollandaise sauce is allowed. For the most part, everything else has been pretty yummy.

After only eleven days without sugar, fruit tastes sweeter and vegetables from our local farm have even more flavor. Our meals are filling and there has been little desire to snack. Sure, I miss my sweet, creamy morning cup of java and not having chips with a burger is sad, however, not feeling hungry or having trouble sleeping is its own reward, at least it is for me. Jessie misses oatmeal for breakfast, cheese and ice cream socials. It’s okay little bird, once we claim our figures back, you can have some Angel food, but for now, we need to pay the price for our days of making not such wise choices.