Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow, We Diet!

Tomorrow, the three of us are going on The Whole30.  It is a healthy way of eating for 30 days to sort of detox your body from unhealthy foods and the bad effects from that food.  We will eat real food in it's natural state - meats, fruits and vegetables - and no processed food.  We can cook it however we want to as long as we use simple ingredients in their natural state.  It's only a 30 day commitment and it's worth it to us to see what changes occur in our health, our bodies and our energy levels.  At the end of that 30 days, we'll see if we want to continue eating this way.  I certainly hope we will.

A friend from school started The Whole30 on July 1st with two of her girlfriends and posted to Facebook what they were doing.  I was curious, so I followed the link and read about it.  I really liked what I read and began talking to the hubs about it.  He liked the benefits that the creators of the program listed, but was skeptical about all that needed to be given up.  No processed foods; no grains; no legumes; no dairy; no beverages other than water (plain or self-flavored), black coffee and tea; no alcohol; no sugars (natural or artificial); no corn; no white potatoes.  The hardest for me is going to be no soda.  The hardest for the hubs will be no Equal and no creamer in his coffee.  The hardest for B will be no grains and no dairy!  If he had his druthers, those would be the only two food groups he would ever eat.

At first, he took it pretty well that he was not going to eat cereal for 30 days.  I was suspicious.  So I let him know that meant oatmeal, too.  "What?!  What am I supposed to eat for breakfast, than?!"  Eggs.  Sausage.  Veggies.  "I'm not eating eggs," he laughed.  "Then you'll go hungry," I replied.  "I am not eating eggs," he laughed again.  "Then, you'll go hungry," I said, again.  "I am not eating eggs," he said. "Go brush your teeth," I replied.  We could've gone back and forth all day like that b/c we are both cut from the same stubborn cloth and are determined to win the battle of wills.  I was not fighting it.  I've dealt with his picky eating before.  He's not wasting away to nothing and can afford to miss a few meals.  Eventually, when he's hungry enough, he always eats what I make available to him.

B and I went to New England for a week for my cousin's wedding.  I did not want to deal with the hassle of a new, restrictive diet on the road, staying in hotels and traveling with my parents.  Regardless of what I say or what is best for B, my mom feeds him whatever he wants, whenever he wants.  One time he spent the night at my parents' house and had nothing to eat the whole time except 12 bowls of cereal.  She says that's called "grandparents' prerogative".  Yeah, was not fighting that fight on the road with my parents.

This afternoon I was reading from  The Success Guide to go over everything we can and cannot eat with my guys as well as the why we are eating this way.  The reality of it hit the hubs.  No sweetened or creamed coffee.  "We are drinking our asses off tonight!" he said.  LOL!  So we all had our own "last supper".  I had pizza, B had a gigantic cinnamon-sugar soft pretzel, the hubs had leftover Chinese food and chips and dip.  We also broke out the root beer, sarsaparilla, vanilla cream soda and Sixlets we brought back from The Vermont Country Store.  I feel sick; I ate way too much.

You are not supposed to weigh yourself during the 30 days.  You can weigh before and after only.  Although most people do experience some weight loss, everyone is different and they don't want you to be discouraged or base your success on the scale alone.  The goal is to feel and be better.  All three of us weighed ourselves and had our blood pressure measured today and we will compare those to our numbers on September 24th.  We are going to the beach for a week sometime during the next 30 days so that will be a good test.  We stay in a house with a kitchen so we can prepare our own meals.  The hubs asked, "What about eating out?  I'll be on vacation, after all."  I don't see the problem.  We go out for seafood and there are plenty of entrees we like that just get steamed.  Add some veggies on the side and we're good to go!

We went to the store this afternoon to stock up on approved foods and I made the hubs breakfast and lunch to take with him to work tomorrow.  I thought a salad would be nice and easy to send him with until I remembered he can't use a bottled salad dressing.  I calmed down and made one.  B declared in the store that he only likes to eat carrots with dip so he won't be eating any carrots.  I informed him I could make some mayonnaise and then create a dip for him from that.  I could see he was impressed.

Now I just need to get through an I-am-not-eating-eggs breakfast with him tomorrow!  Wish me luck!  I'll keep you updated on our progress!

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