Whole30: Day Zero

Here's the thing you may or may not know about me: I've gone back and forth a lot in life trying to do things that I think are healthy for me. In between those spurts, however, I've spent WAY more time doing things that are extremely UNhealthy for me. And when I back up and look at the big picture, I realize that I really don't know what it means to feel good in my own skin.

Let's start with the basics. I eat a lot of crap. Sugar has been my best friend and constant companion for pretty much my whole life. Last weekend, I hoovered a box of mini donuts in less than a day. Oh yeah, and that's not unusual. Like, at all.

Pizza? Yes please. Garlic bread? Yes please. Dessert? Never turned it down. Veggies? Not my favorite.

And I'm tired a lot of the time. I feel bloated way more than one person should. I've only got one body to carry me through this world, and I haven't been giving it the care of the love it deserves. I want to change that, and I'm going to try an experiment for the next 30 days to see if I can figure out what it means to actually feel good in This Body.

You might have heard of it. The Whole30. It's an eating program based on the book It Starts With Food. The idea is pretty simple -- for 30 days, you stop eating foods that are known to cause chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalance, digestive problems, and psychological attachment (hey there, sugar cravings, how you doin'?). And instead, you focus on whole, unprocessed foods like meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and healthy fats. When you get to the end of 30 days, you slowly reintroduce the foods you've cut out and see how your body responds.

Oh yeah, and you don't weigh yourself the entire time. The focus isn't on weight loss, its on fundamentally changing your relationship with food.

So, in no particular order, that means I won't be eating sugar (sniff), grains, dairy, legumes/soy, or alcohol. And aside from feeling pretty okay about the no alcohol part, the rest is going to be hard.

Here's the thing: I know how to do hard. Hard doesn't scare me anymore. Life has thrown me hard, harder, and hardest this past year, and I've made my way through it every. single. time. You can't go around it, you can't go over it, you just go through it.

If anything, what I've found is that the things that are hard-won are the things that are worth it. 
I've spent the past few days cleaning out my cupboards to get rid of things I can't eat, and restocking the shelves and fridge with a crapton of meat, veggies, and fruit. Jasmine and Josie have been epically curious about all the food that will be leaving the house for the next month. (And I'm pretty sure I found some of the recalled Kraft Mac N Cheese in there.) 

I'm not throwing any of this stuff away; it's just going into hiding. Because I honestly don't anticipate turning into Susan Who Never Eats Brownies. That's just never gonna happen. But I really do want to change my relationship with food. To view it as a source of driving This Body through life rather than a source of comfort. I've comforted myself my whole life with food, and I'd like to see if I can change that.

(** By the way, here's my obligatory statement that I really don't care what you personally think about Whole30. Actually, let me rephrase that: any empowering sentiments you'd like to share are most welcome and encouraged. Any "you know you could really accomplish the same thing just by moderating what you eat" or "my brother/cousin/uncle/best friend tried to eat that way and almost DIED" or other self-righteous sentiments can be documented in your own blog.)

My sister is doing it with me. She did the Whole30 a year or two ago and is anxious to do it again, so I've got my partner in crime and my shoulder to lean on. I'm kind of excited to see what the next month holds for me. 

Let's do this.