Whole30 Lessons

Note:  I completely forgot to blog about the Spartan Sprint and the Rhode Island powerlifting competition.  Both of them were extremely difficult, and I'm pretty sure I died during the Spartan. However, they are both done and I'm proud of myself!  In September, I had 2 OCRs scheduled.  I did the Diva Dash, but missed the Insane Inflatable because Brian was sick.

The day of the Diva Dash was also the first day of Whole30, and over the 30 days, I posted my meals on Facebook and discussed daily impressions that I gleaned from the day's vittles.

Here's what I learned.

1. As a recovering food addict, being honest around my food choices with others was difficult.  It was even harder to honor my decision to stick to the plan.  In the past it was easy to commit to something, decide to do something else, and then spend lots of mental energy rationalizing.  I really enjoyed the simplicity and structure of the Whole30 program.  There were several occasions when I had to change my menu, go back to the store at night because I picked up an ingredient that wouldn't work, or pack a day full of food in order to get stuff done.  I worked very hard to maintain 100% honesty, and I'm really proud of that.  
2. I enjoy documenting what I'm eating and how I'm doing.  It was fun posting my dishes and my impressions of what I learned and experienced.  People sent me great recipes and wanted to talk to me about cauliflower rice and brussel sprouts.  Having a foodie community was cool, and this push to document will serve me well in the future.
3. Cooking healthy food is more than just knowing what healthy foods are.  It requires a time and financial commitment.  I had to keep a spirit of adventure and discovery in order to keep myself engaged with the process.
4. I can feel different things about food throughout the day.  In one moment I can be raging for a specific taste or texture, and the next moment I'm not thinking about it at all.  I'm glad that I didn't give in to all my temptations.
5. There is a lot of fat shaming and food shaming in the world.  People said incredibly rude things to me while doing Whole30, many of which had to do with the fact that my friend and queen of fitness Alex did it with me.  Many people assumed that this was a program that she had put together for me.  Others remarked that I was lucky to have a fitness instructor doing this with me because she'd keep me in check.  Many people wanted to counsel me on why eating grains was the right thing.  I found that I really don't have time for food shaming, and I really don't have time for a whole lot of people.  I just can't be bothered.

In 2 weeks, I'll embark on another fun food-related adventure, and while I won't be blabbing about it on Facebook, I will continue documenting and learning good stuff.

ok, now it's time for tap dance class and pho!