Time to Reboot

I need to work on my follow-through these days. After my last post about jumping into the Whole 30 program, I decided to go in a completely different direction. I think I was just feeling a bit burnt out and low energy. As a result, I did a couple weeks of what was basically the second step of the Metabolism Miracle (using Paleo carbs like fruit/sweet potatoes). It felt nice to just eat a few more carbs for awhile, you know? But, the cravings started to creep back, my appetite was primed, and I found myself snacking a lot. So, it’s time for another reboot.

Since I already follow a Paleo Diet, doing The Whole 30 is about being more mindful of my choices and tightening up on the “iffy” parts of my diet. How this will look for me includes focusing on eating 3 good-size meals a day, each of which will leave me satisfied until the next one and thereby eliminating all the snacking. I’m also going to limit fruit and starchy veggies to once or twice a day with a meal, only if I want it and have room after the protein, fat, and non-starchy veggies. I have bone broth and herbal tea for in between meals or right before or after them and a bag of nuts for “emergencies” (times when a normal meal is unexpectedly delayed or I’m in a place where there aren’t any good choices).

Another biggie for me is the darn coffee. It’s just not working for me, sadly. I can’t seem to do it without any sweetener (I’ve been making my Bulletproof Coffee with a bit of maple syrup), and my energy levels have been decidedly lower lately. I find myself craving the caffeine jolt, which is not something I want to be dependent upon.

Lastly, there are a few borderline items that I’ll be nixing this month as well: grocery store salami, the aforementioned maple syrup, Kerrygold butter (I’ll use ghee only), heavy cream (I’d been splurging occasionally on ice coffees at Starbucks), my dark chocolate, and the coconut milk ice cream I’ve been buying (intended as an occasional splurge, but was turning into a nightly ritual – I AM proud that I was able to keep it to the actual serving size, having a pint last 4 days – progress!) I must admit to a bit of “last supper eating” last night, though. I ate the final 3 servings in my current pint all at once, knowing there would be no more after that. I haven’t done anything like that in awhile and refuse to feel bad about it.

Today is off to a great start. I’m feeling good despite no coffee and I enjoyed my bacon and eggs breakfast. My next goal for breakfast is to start incorporating vegetables into that meal, not just lunch and dinner. I like how the It Starts with Food book (by the Whole 30 people), talks about Meals 1, 2, and 3. There is no law that the first meal of the day has to be “breakfast food”.

I think my goals are pretty manageable and I am super excited to see how this month goes. I’m ready to start feeling better and kicking these lingering cravings to the curb. I’m working on shifting my focus away from losing weight as a gage of success, so how I’m feeling will be the ultimate barometer by which I judge this experiment.

P.S. This is such as great book. Check it out!