Whole 30 - Day #1

I'm not going to blog every single day about my Whole 30 maiden voyage! But I do want to share and record my experience (even if only for my own documentation and reflection).

As I'm typing this, onion/potato/spinach/tomato have been sliced and diced and are now simmering in the frying pan with some rosemary olive oil. I don't want to turn the heat up past medium with the olive oil, so it's taking a bit to get the potatoes browned. When they are just right, I will push the veggies to the pan edges and fry a couple of eggs over medium to mix in with this delicious breakfast hash.

I have not purged my cupboards or even gone to the grocery store yet. This was what I had on hand and I wanted to start today, so this is breakfast. I thought about just having sliced tomato and a hard boiled egg. But when I realized I had the ingredients for a more nutritious and satisfying meal, I opted to cook.


The hardest thing for me this morning is making myself eat so soon after waking up. I have actually been awake since a little before 7:00. I won't be eating before 8:30. So I'll be eating within an hour and a half after waking instead of within one hour. I am never hungry in the morning and eating this soon feels weird to me. But I'm trying. And I'll get better. I really just want a smoothie. The authors want you to eat your food and not drink it. So they discourage smoothies. But I'm already thinking I would really like to combine a banana, blueberries, unsweetened almond milk, flax seed and ice for lunch. 

I wanted to record where I am physically at my starting point. I weighed this morning. I am 143.4 pounds. A couple of months ago I had gotten down to 139 and felt amazing. But traveling and eating in great restaurants sabotaged me yet again! Up until 2012, my weight fluctuated between 132-134. We moved to WV and I went through menopause. And at 58, I would be thrilled to see 135 on the scale again. But this is not about weight loss for me, even though I know it will be a nice plus. I have a wedding on September 9 and I'm thinking about how slim I'm going to be feeling on Day 30 of this program. I remember how good I felt when I did South Beach strictly.

A friend lowered her A1C from 10.2 to 6.5 doing a Whole 60 and I was impressed. I immediately bought the audible book and started listening. I can't make changes without understanding the "why" of what is being advocated. The more I listened, the more motivated I felt to give this a try even though I have previously believed there is no way I could ever be successful with restriction on this level.

I want to age well and feel good in my senior years. I can't believe they are already here. I'm reaping the health benefits of having chosen to consistently exercise since 1990. I love food but have been pretty successful with moderation in all things. I have never smoked or done any kind of recreational drugs. I rarely take anything other than the occasional Zantac. But I do take supplements like fish oil, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine/chondroitin, vitamin D, turmeric, cinnamon, niacin, and recently added low dose aspirin.

I'm working on lowering my risk of heart and artery disease. I have high cholesterol and mild inflammation. I don't want to take a statin and I want to eliminate inflammation. I have some genetic risks, but the investments I have made in my health for the last three decades have kept my risk pretty low. My blood sugar is not high, but it's high enough within the normal range that it's something I'm thinking about these days. I don't crave sweets, but I do like alcohol in moderation. A glass of wine or a cocktail with dinner (especially when eating out) is just part of a great meal for me. But for the first 43 years of my life, I did not consume alcohol at all. And I've never partied or drank to excess. I think I got moderation in my DNA from both parents. And my dad was a real stickler for healthy habits (according to the knowledge of the day).

I've tried to pay attention to everything that is going on with me physically last night and this morning so I could document what changes over the next 30 days. I have mild pain and inflammation in the balls of my feet. (I have that off and on. I had Morton's Neuromas removed from both feet in 2010. I've had a successful outcome but the balls of my feet let me know they are there. They get sore. But it's nothing compared to the neuroma pain.) 

I've been having pain and inflammation lately in my wrists (I assume from age and cumulative texting and typing impact). I also have a chronic skin issue with my left ear that's bugged me for years, although I've never had it checked out. The skin in my ear gets flaky and dry, even peels. Sometimes I get a little crack in a certain spot. And I have occasional skin inflammation that comes and goes elsewhere. I self-treat with essential oils and cortisone cream now and then. Last night and this morning my arms felt itchy for no reason, which has happened before. I've never paid enough attention to correlate skin issues with food. I'm documenting even these small issues because I want to remember them being present in case they go away. I've had occasional silent reflux (more throat irritation than indigestion) for about ten years. It improves when I do not eat gluten.

I am not a terrible sleeper. Some nights are good, others are not as good. And last night was not so good. I woke up for about an hour from 1:00 to 2:00. And I dreamed about Whole 30. Hilarious. I had not even started yet. But I filled my head with the audio book while driving all day. I thought I needed a last meal drink and a few bites of ice cream, which I do not normally indulge in. I also ate gluten with my dinner, which I try to avoid. Wondering if my eating disrupted last night's sleep.

Okay, so enough information! I've finished my breakfast. And I must say, it was really delicious. No feelings of deprivation so far. And it's already after 9:00 a.m. Ha! 

I am extremely motivated. After I work out, I have a full day ... shooting a new commercial for the dealership and then stocking up on healthy "legal" foods. I am not much of a recipe follower for cooking, but I'm sure I'll try a few and at least get some ideas from Pinterest. I think I will probably create some of my own like I did this morning.