W30 TJ's and Costco

Really helpful post on the form re: what folks buy from Trader Joes and Costco to be Whole30 compliant.

Update: another helpful blog post re: Costo paleo-friendly fare.

W30 travel tips

Here are some travel tips I found on the Whole30 forum. Helpful for my upcoming trip to Salt Lake City. Though I won't quite be officially beginning until after then. Though part of me says "why not start sooner"....hmmm.

Read this when I'm a couple days in

It's crazy how I almost fear doing this. Can I really go that long without bread? without sugar? It's like the sugar dragons are breathing down my neck and I haven't even tried to slay them yet. yikes.

Well here's an article, "How to survive your first Whole30", that I should read when I'm a couple days in. Noted.

reset

What is the Whole30?
"Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive track, calm systematic inflammation, and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food." from page 204 of It starts with Food by Melissa Hatwig and Doug Hartwig

Chapter 17 explains why it's 30 days. Basically, its the minimum to establish new habits. But they advocate no cheats, no slips, and no gradual weaning. they explain on p202:

"Despite what you may believe, habit research shows dramatic changes are actually easier for us to manage, both physically and psychologically." They go on to explain the brain science behind their claim.

And, "Simply limiting added sugar ("I'm going to have only one sweet per day") leads to incessant battles of willpower, continued cravings, and small sugar hits, which keeps your brain focused on sugar." Yikes. Why is it so scary to give up sugar completely?

They have a whole chapter (ch 4, Your Brain on Food) about the psychological slavery (my word not theirs) that sugar holds us to. I think that chapter has been one of the biggest influences to do this.

I'm not sure how much of a book is legal to quote online. I'll look into it. (I wouldn't want to keep somebody from buying the book. It's worth the $10 kindle purchase!) But I'd like to take notes and share quotes here on this blog to help keep me motivated and think through my eating. 

So. I need a reset. I desire real habit change. Lets do this.

the other BIG reason

can't believe I forgot this. But my other major motivation for doing the Whole30 is to slay my sugar dragons. and I'm a bit afraid.

My goal is to get rid of cravings, mindless noshing, and the unsatisfying cycle of eating more sugar and not being satisfied followed with more eating of sugar.

why this came about

Why should I make such a big change? the benefits I hope to get out of it:

• overall long-term health
• lose fat around my organs, where our family collects it, and where it's most dangerous
• clearer skin
• more energy
• better sleep

Coco-mania

Today I was picking up some groceries from Trader Joe's (with the regular husband directive: no extras! he knows I love the place). They now have coconut oil in a spray. Noted! And when I asked about coconut meat or flakes, non-sweetened, the helpful crew member checked into it. The computer said they're sold out at the store and the warehouse won't be getting any until June!

how this came about

My sister-in-law, Christine, shared some recipes on Facebook from Just Eat Real Food. I liked the look of them so I pinned a few and eventually started following them in my own news feed.

I think that's where I read somebody citing Whole30. I visited the site a couple times over the course of a couple months. I later became interested in the 21 Day Sugar Detox. But when I started comparing, the Whole30 seemed like a better fit for me.

[what is Whole30? here's the short version: http://whole9life.com/start/ ]

Last week I finally bought the book and devoured most of it immediately. Last night I started taking notes for myself about a meal plan and what this might really look like.

I have so many thoughts that I figured a blog might be a good place to store them. Mostly for myself, but also for friends who are interested. I'm also hoping to find a few friends to do this along with me to help with motivation.

So here's the plan. I'm a high school teacher. I want this to be my summer project. I need some time to get a real meal plan down on paper. I'd like to work a few of the meals into my family's rotation. My husband is skeptical, so I also need to strategize how to not spend big money on the food changes. I hope to start a couple weeks into summer, maybe July 1.

So...who's in?