Whole 30 Countdown: The Goals

It was pointed out to me by my husband, ever the helpful Editor, that I had not perhaps fully explained what has already changed in my day to day life, and how I got to this point. Without boring you with a 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'-length explanation, suffice it to say that I read Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis and made a decision to implement the suggestions contained in that book as a means of addressing several health issues that were draining my energy, keeping me awake, and generally ruining my good time. I read the book, implemented the suggestions, dumped both wheat and sugar officially on September 20th, 2012, and experienced an almost instant relief of a list of complaints so long I'm glad I wrote it down because I wouldn't have remembered them all. I have said goodbye to heartburn, chronic joint pain, incapacitating lethargy, persistent skin rash, poor sleep, and brain fog, just to name a few. And when I say goodbye, I mean just that. None of those things have returned. So. I know we all know how to use The Google so I won't overload you with links, but I do encourage you to check out this book for yourself. There is a cookbook, which, in addition to being full of tasty recipes has a quick and dirty rundown of the book itself in the front.

 Anyway, one of the suggestions for starting this Whole30 is to commit to specific goals in a number of areas. These are my goals. The goals are based on what the authors refer to as the 'Whole 9 Factors'-- areas of life that need to be in balance to improve health. I apologize if this isn't one of the more exciting blog posts I've ever written, but I like the idea of putting these out there, and committing to them. I only just saw how the self-evaluation for goal setting says 'don't feel a need to make a goal for every one of the 9 factors', which I totally did like the overachieving Girl Scout that I sometimes am, so I'll edit myself somewhat and hit the most important ones.

Nutrition
I have been absolutely compliant when it comes to elimination of wheat. I have been almost completely compliant regarding sugar-- there is none in my house, and aside from a couple of treat sorbettos from the local coffee shop, I've had none. So the prospect of eliminating grains and sugar for the Whole30 is not a real big deal to me.
Dairy, however, is another story. Dairy is allowable in my way of eating, but not in the Whole30. And this will be a challenge. Because I love love love dairy products. I love cheese. Real cream is like the sweet tears of little baby angels in my coffee. And while I've been improving my health by crazy leaps and bounds and losing weight, I have definitely been overindulging in 'legal food', which I know will, at some point, hamper my efforts, so I willingly set aside my beloved Kerrygold Dubliner and cream for my coffee in order to bring things into balance.
 

Things like this, I will miss. First Place cheese. Can I join the American Cheese Society? Is there a uniform?

Yeah, yeah, so what's the goal? My goal is to increase our overall vegetable intake, increase variety, and expand my repertoire to recipes that aren't so.... cheese-centric. I'm going to continue to make an effort to source the best quality possible ingredients. I already have a meal planning system in place so that will continue.

Sleep
     Working third shift makes some unique demands on life.  Some of it involves realizing that you can't do all the things you used to do when you worked day/second shift. And that involves saying 'yes' to things very, very carefully. Showing up tired is simply not an option. My goal here is to continue to commit to rest as a priority and not something I fit in after I spend myself on everything and everyone else, because eventually, everyone gets shortchanged otherwise.

Stress Management
     I will choose two days a week to be completely free of social media. Seems weird that this would be the first thing under stress management, but I observe in myself a tendency to indulge worry, frustration, helplessness, and less honorable things like gossip and meanness if I spend too much time in the 'virtual world'. Sometimes even the sheer volume of information available about good things can be a stress. You can only absorb so much.

Personal Growth
     I will continue to read books that inform my understanding of nutrition, well being, spirituality and health, ONE AT A TIME. My reading list for the Whole 30 will be as follows:

• Made to Crave 60 Day Devotional by Lysa TerKeurst -I already started this but I'm saving the last 30 days for July.
• It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig- this is the book that explains the Whole 30 concept, I am reading it now but will likely refer to it during the month.
• The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson-I've had this for a while and just need to get to it.

Exercise

     I believe in doing what you enjoy. I am not of the mind that what Mark Sisson calls 'chronic cardio' is any good in the long run. What I do for movement, just like what I do for nutrition, needs to be sustainable and joyful or it is nothing more than a short term and ultimately untenable fix. Luckily, I enjoy a lot of things. The biking, walking, hiking, and exploring will continue. A rainy day may find me doing a DVD of some kind, but otherwise its all outside, all the time. I also want to explore some weight training. 

My Whole30 begins on July 1st. Anyone wishing to know what all this is about can head here for tons of information. A few intrepid adventurers have already let me know that they are in. Want to join me? Let me know!