Thursday, February 21, 2019

??? - Five days of Whole30 so far

One of the tenets of the Whole30 diet is that your weight losses don't matter (as much as other health improvements, anyway) and that you shouldn't weigh yourself during the first 30 days. That's really difficult for me to do since I'm usually so obsessed with "knowing my numbers". Instead, I have to rely on signs like how tight or loose my clothing feels and how tightly I do up my belt. Based on that alone, I feel like I've neither lost much nor gained anything during the first five days of my Whole30 diet.

Here's what I've noticed about my own journey. I've eaten more fruit in the last week than I have in the past. I had previously been avoiding a lot of fruit because of the fructose in it. So many other things are verbotten that being able to snack on a clementine or a banana or some berries is quick and easy.

I've been eating a lot more avocados than usual, which is not a problem for me because I love them. I've also made more snacks with celery and crunchy almond butter than I ever used to in the past. Surprisingly (to me) my consumption of eggs hasn't increased (although, to be fair, it was already quite high compared to other people). And the amount of meat that I've eaten is slightly higher than on my former "diet".

Preparing meals (using wholesome, fresh ingredients) takes longer when you take away the convenience of packaged (albeit minimally processed) foods. And some of the "alternatives" (sugar- and nitrate-free bacon, for example) are more expensive than their conventional counterparts.

The thing I miss most is definitely cheese! Drinking coffee unsweetened (not even with stevia) is not as much fun as it is with a dash of dairy creamer or the luxury of hot frothy, whipped (or steamed) milk.

It's still too early to tell if there have been any other significant changes such as tiredness or energy levels. At this time I'd have to say that I'm glad it's only for 30 days. It might be good to do for a "reset" from time to time, but it's not the kind of diet I could happily follow for a sustained period of time.

Monday, February 11, 2019

251 - Trying the Whole30 diet for... 30 days

After a long period of radio silence, I'm back.

251 lbs (113.8 kg)
The yo-yo weight bouncing up and down continues, only lately I've been able to bounce down a lot faster than before. It used to be true that a single "bad" day (of eating too much of the wrong thing) would take a solid six days to make up for. These days I can get back to where I was, weightwise, within just three or four days.

A new incentive is my new lady friend. My other close friends already know about this development, but it's very exciting for me. I feel like she is someone I can truly and happily spend the rest of my life with.

The other significant development is not quite so welcome. Keeping the story short, it's finally time for me to get some treatment for my varicose veins. A diagnostic ultrasound and first consultation with a vascular surgeon has been scheduled for early March. I'm expecting the outcome to be that my legs will not be tired at the end of my work shift, and that any sores on my legs will heal quicker than the ones I currently have. They've interfered with my mobility slightly.

Still, I'm looking forward to the spring and summer. Once my health issues are sorted out I'll be changing jobs for something with better hours. It'll be "hasta luego" to the chaos of a badly organized workplace and hello to a new career path in the (non-profit) voluntary sector. But I digress...

The other new news is that I'm going to give the Whole30 diet a go. Together with my beloved, Pam, we will start on Saturday, Feb 16th, and for thirty days we'll avoid all traces of dairy, grains (including all corn, rice, quinoa, wheat, etc.). No alcohol, no legumes, no soy, no processed foods, no junk food and definitely no added sugar. Instead, we'll be eating plenty of fresh vegetables, some fruit, unprocessed meats (no sugar or nitrates), seafood, eggs, nuts and seeds. (So, Monday, March 18th  will be a bacchanalian orgy of wine and cheese and dark chocolate). We've started experimenting with some recipes already (a really good sweet and sour chicken, and today's dinner was coconut battered shrimp). More details next time.