On February 1, I waded into the Whole30 arena. I agreed (with myself) to abstain from sugar, grains, legumes, alcohol, and dairy for the month. The fact that I chose February - a month with 29 days - was purely coincidental. Really. It was, honest.
I am NOT a tower of will power. I am a shaky little haystack of willpower, so this commitment was about more than winnowing out problem foods. How did it go? I get a gold star! Okay, a gold-ish star. I did not waver until Day 27. When I had a piece of chocolate. That tasted too sweet. The end results of so much no-ness were interesting. I slept better, but dreamt more vividly. Or maybe because. I lost weight. I have more energy. The hardest part was the monotony of the diet - meat, fish, vegetables, fruit. I am not a big meat-eater, so I was burned out by Day 5. I basically lived on salads, soup and my breakfast smoothies. I learned to bake apples with no sugar - I used raw apple cider that I get from a local orchard and freeze in pint jars. I found that clarified butter (allowed) has the same buttery flavor as straight butter (not allowed). I discovered that I could drink coffee black. As long as it was good coffee. As a matter of fact, I rather prefer black coffee.
I also got the same reaction from most of my friends when they were informed of my foray into no-ness. "Great. See you in March."
I am NOT a tower of will power. I am a shaky little haystack of willpower, so this commitment was about more than winnowing out problem foods. How did it go? I get a gold star! Okay, a gold-ish star. I did not waver until Day 27. When I had a piece of chocolate. That tasted too sweet. The end results of so much no-ness were interesting. I slept better, but dreamt more vividly. Or maybe because. I lost weight. I have more energy. The hardest part was the monotony of the diet - meat, fish, vegetables, fruit. I am not a big meat-eater, so I was burned out by Day 5. I basically lived on salads, soup and my breakfast smoothies. I learned to bake apples with no sugar - I used raw apple cider that I get from a local orchard and freeze in pint jars. I found that clarified butter (allowed) has the same buttery flavor as straight butter (not allowed). I discovered that I could drink coffee black. As long as it was good coffee. As a matter of fact, I rather prefer black coffee.
I also got the same reaction from most of my friends when they were informed of my foray into no-ness. "Great. See you in March."
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| Frittata |
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| Zoodles saved me. |
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| As did herbs and spices. |
So, what was the first thing I added, now that the Month of None is over? Oatmeal with almond milk and frozen raspberries. I thought I died and went to heaven. Part of this regimen is to slowly reintroduce dairy, grains, legumes and sugar so that you can get a handle on what causes what, if any distress. I have a sneaking suspicion that dairy is the culprit, but I am NOT giving up cheese. Nope, sorry. I will just eat less of it.
Tomorrow's addition? Do you think it's tacky to have wine with breakfast?
30 comments:
Spices and herbs are making a huge difference in how we eat too.
Cutting down on sugar and salt makes a noticeable difference in how treats taste. We had commercial Pizza for lunch in town the other day....I won't name the chain but I have always liked them and they make good pizza. I found it far to salty and noticed sweetness I had not noticed before. I don't think it was them I think it was our "new" taste buds.
Congratulations on February!
One of my goals when travelling was to learn to drink black coffee because it was always easier to just have the flilght attendant pour a cup w/o have to hassel with those little sugar & milk packets. But I just couldn't do it. Probably because the coffee served on most flights is disgusting. Anyway, even with retirement & good coffee at my disposal, I still can't do it. Oh well, I only have 2 cups a day.
what's wrong with drinking wine for breakfast?
Congratulations. I've removed milk from my diet too. I'm tempted to add back cheese which I love beyond words. I'm pinning my hopes on my theory the cheesemaking process breaks down, into a harmless form, whatever it is in the milk upsets me. Why don't I let you go ahead and give it a try and report back......
+2,000,000,000 to jaz!
Susan - we cut out dairy about 3 months ago - but kept butter. butter has almost no casein whereas dairy products have a ton of casein. now you must realize are talking to cream-addicted, cheese-addicted fools. we spent hundreds of dollars a month on a variety of cheeses that we loved!
detoxing from dairy? it took us a month to feel allright again. we wished we had have been heroin addicts and were detoxing from heroin!!! detoxing from dairy was awful! we were sluggish, no energy, stomach sick, headaches, couldn't sleep - it was pure hell. but we stuck with it!
and now our diet is really changing! we have never been chocolate or sweet people so that doesn't bother us. but we are leaning toward more raw food lately. we love meat but we don't eat it as often since we got off the dairy. we are only eating organic meat now. it makes a real difference. and we make sure to include raw food, steamed food, fermented food, and cooked food daily.
i applaud your getting off dairy and similar things - kudos and congratulations for having the will power to do it! but it will definitely change your taste buds and i am a big believer in spices! my personal faves - fresh ginger, fresh garlic - every day! EVOO and ACV - every day! ground turmeric , cumin and cayenne every day. and some fermented food - every day.
if you are interested in how we approach our food, you can go to this link:
http://framboisemanor.blogspot.ca/2011/10/framboise-manor-diet.html
again, congratulations - what you did during the month of february was not easy - and not a lot of people could have done the same. but you got...ummm...what we call up here "balls". you had the balls to do it. go gurl!
your friend,
kymber
Fiona - Doesn't it make a difference? I am rather a salt-aholic so have been trying to cut back on that as well. I think I am going to ramp up my herb garden to include some new plants and bring more in in the fall, so I can have access to fresh herbs.
DFW - That is how I felt until this diet. Of course, I made sure I got really, really good coffee, so that has made it easier. However, I do love a good latte every once in a while.
I could pretend I'm in Milan!
Susan - I will be brave for the both of us. :)
Kymber - I hope, with the addition of a small greenhouse this year, that I can extend my access to green vege. I love reading about your food adventures and love that you have done all that research. Makes it easier for the rest of us! xo
I like the look of your zoodles. Did you use a specific tool to do that? I've seen some in stores but am afraid they're not really all they claim to be...
I think you did tremendously well for the whole month! More energy, lost weight? Those are two biggies right there. You sure do deserve that bright, shiny Gold Star in my opinion.
Now give me a good helping of that frittata and no one will get hurt.
Congratulations. I would not have lasted as long before chocolate.
Do you use Kosher Salt? I was watching a cooking show several years ago...the chef said you can fool your taste buds with Kosher salt. sprinkle a few of the large grains on food instead of table salt....the burst you get from the larger crystals of Kosher tricks your sense taste....we tried it and it works!
Ha ha ha ha! Wine with breakfast? lol! I give you a good high five for doing that. I could not. I smoothie at breakfast would not get me through to lunch. Awesome job.
HG - I use a spiralizer. I actually now have two and I'm trying to decide which one I like more. I think I did a review on one of them - they really do work.
Mama Pea - Come on down! I'll make one just for you...
Gail - I even amazed myself.
Kristina - You, my dear, are my ideal!
Susan,
You've done such a great job with ruling out dairy, grains, legumes and sugar. Congratulations on the weight loss. I've enjoyed the almond milk in anything I make that requires milk. However, the one thing I don't enjoy the almond milk in is coffee. I have to train myself to like black coffee straight up. What type of coffee are you using in order to drink it straight up?
Sandy - I'm with you, almond milk is good on anything but not in coffee! I usually use a locally roasted coffee but, when I run out and am not able to get down to get it, I use Starbucks Morning Joe or pretty much any Sumatran blend. I prefer a strong coffee bean.
Hmmm; you slept better? Lost weight? Had more energy? Oh, that I didn't have to cook (a lot) for two other people!
wine with breakfast tacky...depends glass,bottle or barrel!
Back again with a question-what do you have against legumes-I'm actually increasing my bean consumption-what should I know?
Michelle - It is so easy when it's just me! Unless you get the other two to make their own meals....(hahahaha)
GG - Barrel is starting to sound good right about now.
Susan - Ask away - I have nothing against legumes, it was just a requirement of this particular detox diet. Apparently, legumes (beans, peanuts) tend to cause inflammation, which can make you feel lousy. I miss them as part of my diet and will be adding lentils back this week to see how I do.
Wine for breakfast never tacky unless of course you drink the whole bottle and pass out on the lawn:) I am kidding all who read this:) I give you a tip of my hat for sticking to this for so long. I am off to grab a cookie...sigh. Hug B
I found out that dairy started causing my acid reflux several years ago. I had been ok my whole life then bam it hit me at some point. I have found I can eat some, with food. If I drink milk on an empty stomach I had major issues :( Good fro you and hang in there!
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