Although I’ve stood on the rooftops & proclaimed my love for all things grain & coffee, I decided to take some serious measures to get to the bottom of my stomach issues. Not feeling well for over 6 months really encourages exhausting as many options as possible.
I’m on day 6 of the Whole30.
I absolutely never expected to partake in this form of
punishment eating yet here I am. I’m still processing my thoughts so this may seem a little jumbled but here is what I have so far:
1. I miss my creamy, yes, sugary coffee. I miss it a lot. I’ve managed to find some substitutions but so far they absolutely do not measure up-at all.
2. My emotional connection to food is alive & thriving. My co-whole30 friend (Emily-bless her heart) asked me if I felt empowered for not giving in to temptation. A bit of me does but a part of me doesn’t because I still feel sad about not having my lovely coffee drink. I got out of bed for that business! It brightened my morning! But perhaps this isn’t the healthiest relationship…

3. Some of the Whole30 propaganda is a kind of off-putting. There is an elitist attitude that comes across in their website along with post-ers to the question forum. I don’t care for it. And I have no intention of becoming this type of food/health snob. It’s also one of the reasons I was hesitant to try it in the first place.
4. However, the sugar cravings are real. I can’t tell you how many times in the last 5 days I’ve wanted to reach for a “treat” when feeling stressed. Sugar “calms” me (albeit a temporary salve) so to have to deny myself is tough. I knew it but didn’t KNOW it.
5. I can feel a difference in my waistline already. I don’t feel as “puffy” & the bloat has left me. This has resulted in somewhat looser pants-win.

6. Grocery shopping takes me to a whole new level of despair. I hate it already & now that I need to scrutinize every label it’s even more time-consuming. Whine.
7. I went to my first meat butcher shop yesterday! It was pretty cool. The pork & meat were all locally grown & grass fed & the prices are better or on par with the grocery store. I will be going back-even when I’m done with these 30 days.
8. I drink a truckload of water.
9. I do like some kind of snack after dinner. Last night the munchies hit me over the head with a sledgehammer. I ended up overindulging in pistachios. So much so that today my tongue feels kind of raw from all of the salt. Not one of my finer moments!

10. I do hope it helps change some of my current habits. I realized how much I count on foods of convenience – peanut butter sandwiches, yogurt, whatever else is quick & I don’t have to put a lot of thought into. I kind of quit cooking after my mom died & now it’s become a habit. This has forced me to cook meals and plan them in advance. Right now it’s really annoying. I’m hoping that will change. Or at least I will get better at prepping meals for the week.
This is the start of my thoughts. I’m not sure if the pros are more prevalent or the cons. I do know the other day I met a friend & we ended going to a coffee shop for the meeting. I had to watch these beautiful coffee drinks pass in front of me. That was simply too much pressure for me! I won’t be going through that again for a little while-it tested me! I passed but not gracefully!

More to come in the upcoming weeks. Happy Halloweenie!
[…] are mixed on this Whole30 deal. If you would like to read what I have so far, my posts are here, and here. I refer to the timeline quite a bit on the Whole30 site as I found it to be fairly […]