It's been a while since I posted in this space, but here I am again with some of my more recent food musings. E and I recently embarked on a 30-day whole eating challenge. A week of indulging in wine & gluten free desserts in San Francisco followed by a week of lax eating on a family visit followed by yet another week of indulgences for my birthday in August had left me feeling like my pants were all too tight. It was time to do something to get back on track.
We considered the Whole30 format, but ultimately went with something a little less restrictive. I just can't bring myself to care about whether or not the turkey sausage I enjoyed at brunch with my mother-in-law had a smidge of sugar in it or not. My rules were: no grains, no dairy, no desserts (other than fresh fruit), no alcohol. We continued to avoid unhealthy processed oils but probably ate them while eating out. I also did not knowingly ingest soy, but, again, we did eat out a few times and I didn't interrogate our servers. When eating out, I stuck to meats, veggies, eggs. Oh, and contrary to Whole30 rules, we did eat white potatoes when they were provided in our CSA box.
The potatoes relate to something I have learned about myself during dietary experiments over the past few years: I need to eat reasonable amounts of carbohydrates. Very low-carb paleo is awesome for losing weight, but in the long term it is not a great strategy for me. As part of this challenge, I focused on eating nourishing sources of carbs like sweet potatoes, white potatoes, plantains, carrots, beets and fruit.
The challenge would have lasted through this Tuesday, but we ended up cutting it short when, last Sunday, we unexpectedly had to put one of our cats to sleep. After that experience, frankly, we both wanted a bloody mary. Since then, we've reintroduced some foods that we had been avoiding. For me, this means very dark chocolate, red wine, and a bit of dairy (mainly grass fed butter and goat or sheep cheese).
I think the challenge served its intended purpose as a general reset for sweets and alcohol consumption. I finally learned the lesson that gluten-free baked goods should be a very occasional indulgence. I had developed this attitude of scarcity-- that they were so unusual to find that I should buy and consume them when available. Well, newsflash: gluten-free diets have hit the mainstream and treats are not hard to find. I need to save them for occasions which actually warrant a splurge.
In terms of physical results, I didn't weigh myself before starting, but certainly was feeling like I had put on some pounds. By the end of the challenge, my clothes were fitting better and I was feeling good. I weighed myself this past Tuesday and was very surprised to find that I am the same weight as I was when we went to Puerto Rico last fall, which was probably my lowest ever. I know weight is only a crude measure of health, but it was reassuring to find that I could eat nourishing carbs with nearly every meal and still be at a level where I feel healthy.
