Whole 30, Yes I Did It!

Yes, I did Whole 30. The entire thing. It's a nutritional reset, so when the 30 days are over you're still eating whole foods, adding one new food at a time. Here's what I learned:

I lost 7 pounds. I could have lost more, but I wasn't exercising enough. Not exercising made me even sicker. I hurt my back and the only way for it to heal was to stop moving. It got so bad, I couldn't stand up straight. I've gotten my back to a point where I can walk again. Finally! By the end of July I'd made myself so sick and I'd gained 15 of the 40 pounds I'd lost. I was desperate to feel better and get a good night's sleep. When BOBCATGIRL76 blogged about being on the Whole 30 diet, I checked it out and decided to try it. Besides, I couldn't feel any worse than already did.

It took 26 days of eating eggs to figure out that I can't eat whole eggs and then, only because my husband dropped his laptop in my lap and said, "Here, read this. Read the comments, too."

www.mayoclinic.org/healt
hy-living/nutrition-and-he
althy-eating/expert-blog/g
allbladder-removal-diet/bgp-20056135
Oh. I read quite a few of the 1732 comments. What a relief to realize that I'm not alone. Many of these people have the same symptoms! They found it difficult to eat dairy, eggs, and, some, like me, couldn't eat pork. I also realized that many of these people are really ill. I have nothing to complain about. I believe that most, if not all, of my, um . . . digestive issues have to do with gall bladder problems. I had my gall bladder removed 19 months ago, but for years I've had all these problems with food allergies and abdominal pain, and other symptoms. When you overeat and don't exercise it stresses the liver. That's why I felt so sick!

I need to lower the 30% fat that Spark recommends, to 20% or 25%, so the ratio would be 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat. This will help my liver and make me feel a whole lot better!

My insomnia is directly linked to what I eat. Eat lower fat, fewer calories, and exercise, no problems!

My blood pressure dropped. That's a good thing, but one day it was 103/50 with a pulse rate of 49. Not good. The diastolic pressure should be over 60. I halved my HCTZ (which I had previously discussed with my doctor (HCTZ is a diuretic). I had so much inflammation before my gall bladder was removed and that contributed to my high blood pressure. My blood pressure has been much better than before the surgery, but on Whole 30 it dropped even further. I'm going to see my doctor next month and see what she has to say.

I need to remember to make my carbs count. I do best when I eat complex carbohydrates. White flour and sugar really do increase my cravings. When I eat Ezekiel bread or Thomas's Light Whole Grain English Muffins I do okay and I can eat one slice and be satisfied.

Dairy is a garnish not a food group for me. I've discovered I can have grated cheese on a salad or an ounce of yogurt in a dressing, but I can NOT have whole servings of dairy products every day.

I haven't taken any allergy medications since last November--for the first time in over 30 years. None. I'm usually on at least three different medications for allergies eight to ten months out of the year. Now that I've figured out what not to eat, will my allergy to ragweed be as severe?

Check out the Chowstalker website for great recipes. stalkerville.net/
I found this link for recipes on the Whole 30 website. It's amazing. All the recipes are labeled. The website links you to blogs all over the web, it's a recipe index. (It's not just for Whole 30 anymore.) I discovered I love butternut squash. Found the recipe at Chowstalker. The Roasted Balsamic Chicken was wonderful and I've used the sauce for roasted vegetables, too.

Every issue I have can be turned around. I can feel better. I have the perfect tool: SPARK!