Today was a wonderful day. Woke up a little before 7:00 without my alarm (I work from home on Fridays, so I can sleep in, and since Derek is still enjoying his "vacation" until next week, he didn't have an alarm set either). Got work done, ate breakfast and lunch at home, went and ran a few errands, and then came home and relaxed before dinner.
I'm realizing that if nothing else sticks with Derek and I after Whole30 is said and done, we have learned one very, very, valuable habit that will keep us at least mostly successful. We've learned how to adapt our menu plan if something goes wrong/is missing/etc. without saying "fuck it" and going out. This has happened a few times during the past 20 days... whether we forgot to pick up something from the store, or something went bad too quickly, or hell, if we just changed our minds and weren't feeling the menu item we'd planned, we made do. We found something else in the house to eat, or adapted our plan to fit. Obviously right now we don't have much of a choice in the matter, but I think that we've learned to be comfortable enough with it to carry it over post-Whole30.
That's not to say that we'll never eat out, of course, but the hugest problem we had was boredom/laziness about cooking. I think it's safe to say we've grown out of that, and I've gotta say, I think this is the most valuable thing we're taking away from Whole30. Yes, I've learned that my body can survive without grains/sugar/dairy/etc., but that's not as important. Part of me is still sort of in "everything in moderation" mode. But we needed this to shock our system. And it has. And I am grateful.
I'm also learning a lot about willpower. The willpower that is required to walk down the grocery aisle that has all the crap you can't eat to get to the one item you need without adding extraneous things to the basket; the willpower that is required to say "no" when friends/family/coworkers invite you to eat out with them; the willpower that is required to cook when you'd really just rather order a pizza. I've never really had a lot of that, to be honest. Lord knows I've tried. This has been fairly easy because I went into it with the mindset of "it's only 30 days", which quickly changed to "dozens of people have witnessed my promise to complete this and I am NOT a promise-breaker", to "I don't want people to see me fail." That last one has kind of guided my entire life, so it's no surprise that it's kind of what I lean on when the fuck-it-order-pizza days rear their ugly heads.
I think I still have a lot to learn. I think that this battle is still going to be a difficult one, even post Whole30. Decades of bad habits don't get erased overnight. Or, well, over 30 days. And there will always be temptation. Unlike an alcoholic who can steer clear of complex social situations to avoid temptation to his vice, I can't avoid grocery stores or restaurants, or, well, eating. I have to learn a healthy relationship with food, and thankfully, I think I'm on the right path. I may never lose all the weight I need to lose, which is kind of a bummer, but if I can learn to treat my body the right way and physically feel good a good 80% percent of the time, I think I'll be okay.
And with that, the day's deets (and the photo that accompanied today's accomplishment email):
What I Ate:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, strawberries, and sliced bell pepper strips
Lunch: two hamburger patties with tomato, onion, and mustard, and some pickles.
Dinner: a steak, roasted potatoes, and tomato wedges, with a handful of nuts earlier (while dinner was cooking).
How I Feel:
I may not be noticing a physical difference in how I feel, but I'm certainly noticing that my mood is better. I'm more upbeat and optimistic about things in general, and I don't feel quite as ho-hum. As I mentioned yesterday, I still feel like I have a lot of sleep to make up before I'll ever feel truly awake and alert, but I'll get there. I hope. I know that I'm doing my best to get there in terms of what I put in my body, so the rest will just have to come in time.
Derek's ankle is healing well (we'll find out for sure on the 21st, but he hasn't been in any pain) and we've had fairly mild weather lately, so I'm hoping to take some walks with him before it either gets swelteringly hot again (I think I made up that word), or before it gets too cold. In the DC Metro area, you can get both in one week, so...
That's what's up! See you tomorrow!
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