The Whole 30 - Round Two

Motivations come in weird packages.  

About a month ago I finished with the Whole 30 program and if you read my previous blog on this page you know my feelings about the success of that program.  I was amazed at the physical energy I felt, the lack of internal stresses and the feeling of DOOM that sometimes threatened to overcome my senses. 

Right after my first round of 30 came I did my best to keep on the diet. For the most part I didn't run out an binge on CAKE (i dreamed about black forest cake almost nightly)  and I stayed away from baked goods. I kept dairy to a minimum and also the added sugars but I went about my life not being as careful as I was during the diet.  I did however have PIZZA the first night off the diet and the next day regretted it (felt really bad.) The whole30 diet is to make you have better all around health, the weight loss is an added bonus. 

Also during that two week hiatus, I had a trip to Bonaire planned with a group from my shop, Divers Incorporated.  The thing with island life is that you are never sure what the boat will bring in so you can't be too choosy when it comes to food.  Also the ingredients are not normally something that you can choose from easily.  Breakfast would be easy, eggs and bacon are usually ok but I wanted to make sure that my newly cleansed system wouldn't violently reject my sudden change in diet.   So the week previous I made sure that I at least tried a lot of the stuff that I would be eating in Bonaire.   The results were mixed.  While I didn't have the violent reaction that I feared, eating what used to be a "normal" diet of  a hot dog and chili for lunch, chicken chunks at Kate and Al's (bar/ diner)  and a beer gave me the equivalent of a five-day-bender hangover the next day.  After that I was careful but not crazy.  I didn't pay attention to what ingredients went into everything that I ate but I was careful not to overindulge in the grains and dairy.   I did try RUM though.  The thought of going to Bonaire and not being able to partake in the awesome ROM RICON from the Cadushy Distillery was a thought more horrible than the food hangover.   So I tried it and I ate carefully that day.   No hangover the next day (YAY!) 

In Bonaire, I found that my newly discovered health made hauling gear that much easier.  I felt like a super hero most of the time and the stress of my normal life seemed gone.   The food did make me feel a little funky and I am sure it was the food because I ate sandwiches most of the time.   I did indulge myself with an amazing Creme Brule on the second night but decided what I felt like the next morning made it not that worth it.   It seemed I had grown accustomed to "feeling good" in the morning and wanted to keep my (off plan) dietary stuff to the necessities.   I was careful with my snacks too,  paid for cashews and apples and dried fruit (it was a fortune there) but I was able to skip a few meals at the cafe and ate in. 

When I got home I weighed in and for the first time in 15 years I had actually lost weight on a dive trip.   I figured that there was something to this whole30 life style.  I was not sure that I wanted to do the program in its severity again but I would try to figure out better ways of eating.

But there was a very real component to the two week hiatus that I had failed to mention.   Right before I left for Bonaire, my professional aspirations required that I get a doctors ok to go scuba diving.   I want to be a Course Director and one of the prerequisites is that you get a check up.   So in I went to my doctors,  my doctor is a diver and I have known him at least 35 years.  We are nearly the same age and I told him all about this amazing diet I was on and how I had lost so much weight.   Since I had not seen him in 3 years (wow that time went by fast)  He pulled up my old chart and astonished me with the fact that after losing nearly 20 lbs,  I was 4lbs heavier than when he last saw me.  By the guidelines of  the Recreational Scuba Training council I was in perfect health for diving.  By the guidelines of the medical profession I was borderline obese.  By the guidelines of the Boy Scouts of America for adult counselors in their  High Adventure programs  I would be benched. 

How is that for a kick in the head?

Now I am on Day 13 of my second round of whole30.   I think I am still losing weight but I am not allowed to check until the 30 days are over.   I have had great success keeping with it and I have high hopes for the fact that I may be able to drop some more of my excess weight.   I look skinnier which is nice and my complexion has cleared up a bit.  Mentally I am a bit more focused and happier.  I think I drink too much coffee and Holy Cow do I eat a lot.   This blog page was motivated by some research I did this morning (Easter Sunday) as I craved the lbs of jelly beans that My kids got from the Easter Bunny,  lbs of diabetic poison that came from a rodent is what I tell myself to keep away.  The research was prompted on the whole calories issue.    I have not been keeping track at all,  you are not supposed to.  In this diet the thought is that if you keep away from the easy sugars your body gets more used to making what you need and discarding the rest from the proteins and fats you consume.    But I tell you,  my rough guess from the past two days is in the neighbor hood of 3000 calories a day and I am actually eating less than my first time through.   Just amazing.   Every article read the same thing.  No counting or tracking.  Journal how you feel.  

And this cool article about what to expect:  I didn't read this the first time and probably should have. 

http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/

I also wish I would have read that prior to discussions with friends.   Since it is spring, people I have not seen since last season have been stopping by work or popping in my life and noticing my weight loss and probably noticing my more cheerful, less stressed demeanor.    I happily tell them about the whole30 and tell them to do their own research.  Most people cannot fathom giving up grains, alcohol, dairy, etc.  I probably couldn't either at the time but now they are mostly poisons to me.  Change came in the form of a 30 day habit.   It wasn't hard, I didn't need to exercise (if I don't drop weight this go around I will change that) and I feel great.   

The biggest thing happening this time around is that my clarity of what is important in my life has become laser focused and crystal clear.  Cutting a lot of emotionally draining objects, tasks and people from my life has become my new step in the 30 day process and I think that is a weight off my shoulders more important than the weight off my waistline.

Looking forward to what the next 17 days will bring to me with this program.   If you have tried it out and need some encouragement, I am here for you.  Just leave a comment below.  God Luck!

Diving into the Whole 30

This a post about a diet.  I want to be a better diver so I need to have a better functioning body.  I am well on my way because of this change in my behavior.  Enjoy the story - Rich

Since about mid October I have been keenly aware that something is just not right.  I  was tired, ached a lot, carried a lot of stress and had been struggling with my weight all summer.  I was beginning to "Feel My Age."  I wanted to do something about it but never could find the time.   A meme that I saw comes to mind,  "I would do anything to lose weight except eat right and exercise."  Seriously though, it was something I wanted to do but the only thing that seemed to work was binge drinking Monster Rehabs to take away the cravings.   Not wanting to dig an early grave I gave up Monsters last fall and started back on coffee.   I had it with lots of creamer but no added sugar.

I started reading a lot about how diet could be the cause of a lot of stress and anxiety along with weight gain and difficulty sleeping.  Not sure where to turn I started back to counting calories and controlling portions.

Then the Holidays arrived.  Out the door went counting calories, and I gained back the little that I lost.  The link between my stress and diet never occurred to me since I own my own businesses and stress is part of the formula. 

While on vacation at Christmas, our host, Sue O'Brien started telling my wife about a diet called the WHOLE 30.  She said that it was simple, free to follow on their website, and if you were creative in the kitchen (like I am) not all that out of the realm of enjoyment even though it seemed to be one of the strictest diets I had ever seen.  I had been reading a book called "Grain Brain" by Dr. Pearlmutter.  That book had horror stories about what  an improper diet could do to you later in life and I was sure I was on the right path to my own well being. Thing was that Dr. Pearlmutter was all about supplements and I am not a big pill guy.  He was also about gut health and that wasn't something that interested me.  

Back home and Done with the Holidays and a family time share trip at the end of January, my wife, Jill, and I started looking into the program that Sue had told us about. It looked easy to do but tough to stick to. Jill was totally for it and so, by default to keep it easy, I was too.  Jill had gone gluten free out necessity a few years back so I was keenly aware of the problems associated with trying to separate diets.  This diet was similar to the elimination diet but it took out a lot of those "Safe" foods too. 

I did my research, (and I suggest you do the same) about the diet outlined at WHOLE30.COM.  It  was super simple and although at first glance it seemed extreme it really wasn't. It did take away most of my favorite snacks, took my drinks away and reduced my favorite beverage to a cold, black, bitter mess (much like my heart) but it was simple.  The why's  and how it worked escaped me at the time but that was way above my pay grade anyway. 

Here are the Basics: 

• No Grains - Nothing, Nada, Nilch - No Rice, Quinoa,  nothing even on the elimination diet. No grains what so ever. Period.  Goodbye bread, biscuts, crescent rolls and CAKE!!! (I missed Cake!)
• No Dairy of any kind,  No butter, No margarines (they were mostly made with grains) Nothing.  There was a clarified butter exception to this but I didn't need it. 
• No Legumes.  No beans, peas, peanuts, soybeans nor anything made with Soy. (I absolutely had no idea how many things contain soy.  Canned TUNA is made with Soy as their vegetable broth) There are a couple of exceptions that I will get to and they are all listed on whole30.com
• No Alcohol - Not even for cooking - All alcohol contains sugar and also fall under the no grain rule.  No smoking was allowed either but that didn't affect me. 
• No MSG, Sulfites, Carrageenan - There goes Chinese take out. 
• No Added Sugar or sweeteners of Any Kind - Including sugar substitutes. NO added sweeteners with one exception that I will get to.  It is amazing how many foods add sweeteners... some for no apparent reason. 

After all the NOs I was looking for a couple of  "Yesses" and they had a couple. You could have green beans, snap peas and snow peas even though they were technically legumes.  You could have fruit juice added as a sweetener, you could have vinegar and you could have salt.  No limit to quantities either. 

Armed with these rules I attacked our kitchen pantry, fridge and freezer.  I figured if I got it out of sight we wouldn't be tempted.  I moved everything we were not allowed to have out of the area and pretty much stripped it bare.   I tell you, after taking out all the stuff we could not have my fridge looked like the one I had in college after my Mom shopped for me.  We had broccoli and Franks hot sauce but little else.   I saved it all figuring after 30 days I would want a break and I hate wasting things.  AND my kids didn't need or want to be on it since it was mostly stuff they wouldn't eat anyway.   But It was empty.  From there I had to restock.  I took the list of stuff that was on the WHOLE30.COM shopping list and went out to the store.   I read every package for ingredients.  Did you know that corn syrup, corn oil, peanut oil and Soy are in EVERYTHING!  For those things that aren't containing the above they added sugar.   My list was simple and although it was a little more specific than this it did not have to be. 

We could eat a ton of stuff: What I ended up liking the most was the following

• Black coffee - At first it was horrible but I learned to like it as the toxic sugars left my body
• Nuts - We could have tons of different nuts but I had to roast a lot of them myself.  Almost all nuts were roasted in peanut oil.  We ended up going through tons of Pistachios after finding the ones with no shells. 
• Almost all Vegetables - We loved veggies so this became easy. 
• Almost all Fruits - Although it was difficult to find them without preservatives or added sugars dried fruits became a mainstay in our house 
• Almost all meats, chicken, beef and seafood.   There were few exceptions.  Bacon was a disappointment.  The only bacon that did not have added sugar was the low sodium stuff. 
• Eggs  - These were a God Send.  We boiled them and kept them ready for lunches. 
• Tuna Fish - Once we found a canned tuna without soy or oils we couldn't have we ate this a lot. 
• Pickles and Olives - Jill didn't like them but they helped me with Lunches. 
• Potatoes -Yep, I was surprised by that one too  couldn't have fries unless they were cooked in coconut oil but baked they were awesome. 
• Olive Oil -  We substituted this for everything.  Mostly oil and vinegar salad dressing and anywhere we used to use butter. 

There was more but this was the majority of what we used.   One of the coolest things was Almond Flour.. Crushed raw almonds made and amazing chicken nugget.   Olive Oil was consumed way more than normal and so was Coffee. 

So now we were ready for the final rule:  You do not need to count calories, no need to weigh, measure or portion and you can eat as much as you want of the approved foods. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STEP ON A SCALE AT ALL DURING THE WHOLE 30 DAYS!

The Process:

I hated coffee at the beginning,  love it now.  I absolutely CRAVED CAKE.  I dreamed about a black forest cake around day 10 and it stayed with me for about two weeks.   I was hungry a lot but not uncomfortably so.  I snacked a lot and ate a ton of food but by day 21 I could really feel the difference.  I literally felt better, amazingly different.   This gave me a level of motivation towards a diet that I had never felt before. 

The most horrifying thing about the process was eating out.  We avoided eating out except out of necessity.  We could eat almost anything but the salad dressing had to be olive oil and vinegar and we had to be super careful about sauces.  Everything is cooked in butter and oils that are bad for you.  It is also amazing how many things come with cheese on them. We traveled to the upper peninsula and this part was really difficult. But Jill and I ate a ton of nuts, fruit and meats.  Good meals, although simple. We cooked with olive oil and coconut oil. Baked a lot of potatoes and cooked a number of eggs. This diet was simple and as long as I got the mindset that people eating anything on the DO NOT EAT list were suicidal and poisoning themselves it was all good.   Truly the only downside was when I forgot to pack lunch.  You cannot find healthy stuff in a convenience store, gas station or fast food joint.  Don't kid yourself, it isn't there.  At first the thought was that it would be the longest 30 days of my life.  A week into it each day was better than the last. 

Not to get too into the details but lets just say the first two weeks were horrible on the body processes and leave it at that.    Eating healthy after all the crap that I used to eat shocked my system something fierce but I did not get sick from the flu or rotavirus so that is a definite plus.  

The Result:

Bottom line is that I would like everyone that I care about who is struggling with their weight or  "feeling old" to try this.   This program worked better than I ever hoped or dreamed it would.  I feel fantastic.  Today was the last day of my whole 30 and I now have the knowledge of what can poison me.  My stress is gone, my aches and pains are limited to strains from exercise. I have more energy and I feel mentally sharper.  Most of all I lost 18.6 lbs in the 30 days and I am under 200lbs for the first time in 5 years.  I am 28 lbs off my heaviest and my waist size has shrunk by two.   I live for results and this one changed a lot for me.   I learned a lot about my diet and what works.  I do plan on taking a couple of weeks off from the strictness of it and try some foods sparingly to see what happens.  I like baked goods, Creme Brule, Chili,  Rum, Cheese, Ketchup and sushi.  

I hope they don't kill me. 

I will take it slow since I know my tolerance to bad foods will be lowered.  I would like to clean out my fridge and pantry without wasting it.  Giving it away feels like giving poison to a friend so I would rather "take one for the team" and get rid of it through limited consumption. 

There are things that I will not go back to.  I will keep drinking my coffee black.   I won't use butter if I can use olive oil instead.   I will keep nuts on hand for snacking and roast them myself.  I will reduce dairy and keep away from ice cream.   And I will not consume sugar if I don't have to. 

Like I said above I feel great.  There is an added benefit to knowing you will not have to go through your day in pain. The weight loss is something I would like to keep working on.   I am totally stoked about that.  And I have so much more added energy I may just have to start exercising.   Let me know if you have questions.  I love talking about the success that I have had with this.