Self Care and Clean Eating: a Whole30 Review

 

A couple months back I took on the Whole30 diet, which is 30 days of clean eating: no alcohol, dairy, grains, legumes or added sugar. It was a rough start, since I do love bread and cheese, but then I quickly appreciated how my body felt and how much energy I had without these foods. I kept a food diary and focused on the great meals I actually was having that were tasty and truly nourishing.

I ended the 30 days in late May, then promptly went on vacation to France... of course while there I consumed plenty of rosé, cheese, bread, and desserts (on top of the fresh fruits, veggies, meat and seafood that I love). As much as I savored those treats while on vacation, now that I'm back home I am working on going back to (and maintaining) a mostly Whole30 way of eating. Here's what I learned from that experiment that I am trying to keep in mind:

• The Whole30 made me realize that my body was addicted to sugar and grains which I did not expect. Even though I rarely added sugar to my food (sometimes to coffee), I had to start paying attention to ingredients and now don't buy anything with sugar listed. I also had to think of other things besides rice and bread to include with my meals (cough cough, veggies, cough).
• Overall I had to put more effort into preparing my own food, which is something I had fallen away from in the past year. (I still remember this Michael Pollan op-ed, pointing out how our culture is all for watching cooking shows but not actually cooking). Making sure I could make some meals myself has been as big a part of self care as the quality of the food itself.
• I want to move away from mindless snacking and grazing to having real, structured meals. (Getting away from my desk for lunch is a big priority.) Whole30 cautions you away from snacking by having bigger meals, but that was a harder habit for me to adjust. So for now I just pay attention to what I snack on, being careful to stock nuts/trail mix instead of chips or candy. 
• Finally, going through the diet was a challenge, especially since I basically stopped some of those ingredients cold turkey, but it was never impossible. I started it when I did because a couple friends were doing it at the same time, but fortunately I was already aware of the teachings around it. All that helped me be prepared mentally to take it on, knowing that I had a support system. But in the end, it felt good to know that I really could do this. 

Some further reading if you're interested:

NYmag on breaking bad habits

Vice on the myths of clean eating and wellness (such a popular blog topic these days)

Life Lately: Exercise, Diet, and Connecting with Others

Baker Beach

We're heading into the weekend and I feel more and more like it's summer, with the balmy weather and long days. Last weekend I had my first real beach day (as in, sitting out in the sun, not hiking to/from the beach) and it's just what I needed. I've had so much on my mind lately, here's some of what I've been up to:

I tried Zumba for the first time and it was really fun. Not sure how I missed the initial phenomenon, but doing it now is good because the music is fun and makes the time go faster. (I don't like a lot of actual workouts, but I like the effects.) My office gym is offering free group classes for the next month so I've decided I should go to at least one during the week. On weekends, I've been going to Pilates and just bought a new pass for the yoga place that I like. I don't have any hikes planned soon so I should probably get on that.

Coincidentally, I jumped on the Whole30 diet bandwagon and have crossed the halfway mark (it's basically 30 days of even cleaner Paleo). I've never done a real diet (I gave up on a juice cleanse on Day 1) but lucky for me, a couple friends were also doing Whole30 so the partnership and accountability really helps. Honestly, the first couple days without bread and added sugar were worrisome, but since then I've felt great. Of course I still psychologically want pizza and the like, but my body doesn't crave these foods like it used to. I thought it would be tough to go without alcohol as well, but the truth is my hangovers just kill me now that I'm 30. And knowing how great I feel without all this in my body is going to make me avoid the unhealthy stuff more (if not totally, since hey, I still like french fries). The diet's also made me be better about food prep and cooking at home rather than relying on take out. At the end of the 30 days, I'm supposed to start reintroducing the ingredients that I temporarily eliminated and see how my body reacts so I can make longer term adjustments to my eating practices.

In terms of mental practice - Have you ever sought advice from someone and come out feeling lighter and more confident about a given situation? I had some good business/career conversations with folks in the last week or so, and they helped me think through some challenges I'm facing. Not much else to share on that, just that it's good to reach out to others, they usually are more than willing to help.

Finally, I have never successfully been part of a long-term book club, and I actually don't think I know anyone who has. A couple friends at work and I were joking we need to have an 'article club' since we already share good news articles with each other, mainly on tech and overall business and finance. Here are some recent articles I found interesting:

Tory Burch on owning her ambition: Fortune
What's behind Facebook's success: Wired
Tech companies with the best engineering talent: Fast Company

Individuality and the School Uniform (harkens back to my recent post!!): The Billfold

Recent photos from around San Francisco:

Baker Beach

El Techo

Smokestack

Smokestack

my mocktail at Smokestack