Whole 30 Wrap-up

I completed my Whole 30!!  It was a very positive experience and I have been feeling pretty great.  I lost 9 pounds which broke through my weight plateau, I feel more energetic overall and I've had better sleep.  Take that last one in context, I do have a co-sleeping toddler.   I found that eating full paleo really seems to have much more of an impact compared to when I gave up wheat last year, where I saw little to no changes.  I notice a difference with no honey or maple syrup and limiting the amount of fruit I eat, especially dried.  Even with those restrictions I don't think I'm eating anywhere near low-carb but I wonder how sustainable it will be in the long run.  Sweet things tend to be a slippery slope for me even when I avoid all refined sugar.  I also think there is a significant benefit to making sure I get raw, dark green leafy vegetables every day.  I only had one or two days without a big salad, usually with at least some raw kale.  The salads gave me a chance to be more creative so they didn't all taste the same, and really helped cravings.  I do look forward to allowing myself to "cheat" occasionally, especially in social situations.  So far I've let myself have a "carb up" day this past Friday.  I had almond flour pancakes (with a tiny amount of maple syrup), bacon (which I had been avoiding because of the sugar), roasted white potatoes and some coconut milk ice cream.  Of course I also ate salads, other vegetables and some meat that day too.  Only the bacon seemed to give my stomach trouble.  Maybe it was just too much of a sugar/salt/fat punch and I need to take it slower?  For my current plan I would like to keep eating clean paleo but allow myself 3-4 small indiscretions a week, IE something sweet or starchy.   I can't decide if it's better to keep them all in one day or spread them out.  I'll just have to wait and work it out as I go.

My January Whole 30 Prpgress

I've passed the halfway mark for my January Whole 30 .  Here are some notes on the experience so far:
-After the first couple of days I decided to give up dried fruit.  The figs and dates were just too tempting and I felt like I was sure to overload on them.   Fresh fruit has been easier to eat in moderation, though I did have a few days last week where I ate more apples than I'd like.
-I feel really great when I eat my greens.  That extra rule is the one I've been most consistently following.   Also I've discovered a few chopped, toasted hazelnuts will do wonders for a salad.  Previously I neglected this nut, maybe it's time for hazelnut oil vinaigrettes?
-Week two was by far the easiest.  I ate much more low carb that week and I even had a vegetarian day, with only eggs for protein.  I felt really full of energy.
-Week three has been the hardest.  I ate more apples than I would like and had more sugar cravings.  Every time I walked by the above pictured snow-covered light I thought about whipped cream and ice cream.  I'm also missing alcohol more than I thought I would, just a single glass of wine or even just wine for braising.   I find that strange because I'm really not someone who drinks regularly.
-I miss good hard salami.  Every brand I can find has at least some sugar.  It's going to be the first thing I add back in to my diet.
-I've become more curious about how much the cravings and high energy feelings are related to my hormonal cycles.  I guess I need to chart more to figure that out.

Just 9 days to go!

Sunrise Moonset

Our recent sunny weather has led to colorful mornings with the moon setting in the west as the sun rises in the east.  I took some photos of the moon going down yesterday.

The words Sunrise Moonset make it so that I can't get this song out of my head. Even if wedding scenes don't make you want to cry, this one is a tear-jerker.

Two nearly forgotten food books of 2011

Adding to My Food Books of 2011 List are these two.
"What I Eat" is such a cool book and I almost forgot it!  I had it from the library and everyone who came over and saw it couldn't put it down.  Even Alex, who is over my shoulder and just saw the cover picture, says he loved it and can we get it again from the library.  It has photographs of the daily diets of people from around the world organized by their calorie count along with short biographies.  It's just fascinating!  

Food Books of 2011

 Here's a list of food books I read in 2011, some I discussed earlier in the year here.

Updating to add two I forgot

This list is for the Foodie's Reading Challenge built by Margot better known as Joyfully Retired. 

Special thanks to the Traverse Area District Library!

And two books I have picked to start off 2012, the first I started yesterday on Kindle for my iPhone and the other I ordered a used copy off Amazon today.  Gotta love $.01 books!

A New Year

 

This January I'm trying the Whole 30. The last week has been a hiccup in my attempt to gradually transition to a more clean, paleo/primal way of eating for myself and our family. Over the past year I've given up wheat and most soy and cut down drastically the sugars and grains in my diet. Of course there were plenty of slip ups and some major overindulging in fruit.  Generally I think that for me wheat isn't necessarily a big issue but we do think it causes stomach trouble in Alex which is the biggest reason we took it out of our house.  I have found that I feel much better eating low sugar and low grains. The Whole 30 is a way for me to start the year well and recover from the indulgence foods of the holiday season.

Here are a few things I want to add or emphasize for my Whole 30 January:
-At least one large serving of dark leafy greens a day, salads or sauteed
-At least one meal of organ meats a week, my favorite is chicken livers
-Limit nuts, seeds and fruit as treats
-Make sure I take my supplements, including maca which I have started this past month
-More seaweed, use snacks to satisfy the salt cravings, dulse flakes as seasoning and make some seaweed salads
-Cultured foods every day, homemade coconut kefir, sauerkraut, pickles, cultured mixed vegetables

What I think I will struggle with the most:
-Losing that little bit of honey/agave in my salad dressings, I'll add egg yolks to make creamy dressings instead
-Fruit, not eating a huge amount of dried fruit when I'm craving sweets/comfort food
-Giving up "paleo" baked goods.  Unless I absolutely can't stand it I'm going to give up my date sweetened cookies, almond flour pancakes and coconut bread for the next 30 days.  I know I will reintroduce these foods but it will be good to focus on lots of fresh vegetables and quality meat for a month instead of trying to see how "healthy" I can make treats.
-Sunbutter, the spoonable evil temptress

So I can have some of my New Year's Day foods I will actually be starting the Whole 30 on January 2nd and finishing it on the 31st.  But I figure it's good to get this all down now for accountability.  Wish me luck!

P.S. I'm also going to try and keep my Facebook time down, but have no fear it will be only for January and I won't go cold turkey but I may cut down to once a day or less.

Snowy walk at the farm

We're finally getting some snow, so we took a walk at the farm with visiting family.  Alex loved the ice and Penny even tolerated her new snow suit.

New discoveries: this sign and a scary trapdoor in the middle of the barn floor

Christmas Photo Outtakes

Yes Megan, it is "an impossible task" but that doesn't stop us from trying to get a decent picture of the kids for Christmas sharing.

There were "interesting" faces

And some sweet ones

In the end you have to *try* and enjoy the process as much as the result, in practice I'm still trying to figure that out.

But the sweet moments help.  She yelled "Huggies!" seconds before.