Whole 30 Results - Food and Energy and Contentment

Three things have occurred to me. First, I no longer feel confused or a little lost when it comes to food, as I discussed here: Redefining Our Relationship with Food. Scrumptious and delicious are no longer a driving factor. Our food is delicious, but it is in a toned down kind of way, and I don’t crave anything. I no longer feel that something is missing. I used to think it was dairy fat that was missing, but I am over that.

Second, my strength is increasing and the 50 military pushups that I want to complete non-stop are within sight. Soon I will be setting another goal. My muscle tone is almost as good as when I was lifting heavy weights 15 years ago, and what I am doing now requires such little effort and time in comparison.

As for clothes, I am wearing some of those clothes that you hang on to even though you don’t think you will wear them again…and they are loose. Even so, I can see that I am still carrying some extra and I think the Whole 30 will take care of that as well. I didn’t start eating this way to lose weight, but it is a happy byproduct. Eventually I will get around to finding someone with a scale and weigh myself.

Third, increased energy is my biggest achievement. The mid-afternoon “I need a nap sleepies” disappeared three days ago. Hopefully they are gone for good, and it is awesome to be free of them. Thank you, Whole 30!

Colson is struggling a bit at gatherings because he can’t eat the corn or wheat products (see Corn Out, Darth Vader Breathing Gone and SO MANY LESSONS AGAIN!) That is tough for an eight year old, but these foods cause him a lot of physical discomfort or pain, and he won’t forget the pain of the other day anytime soon. He strongly dislikes not being able to eat all the foods the other kids do, but little by little some of his friends are weeding out wheat, corn or other things, so it gives him comfort to know that he is not the only one who can’t eat whatever he wants.

Today at the Buddhist Center I taught the kid’s lesson on contentment. The person who wrote the lesson created a section about food and contentment, which was perfect for Colson. We developed some strategies, such as savoring the flavor and texture of the foods he likes (today we savored North Carolina apples and discussed our impressions of them) and being grateful for what he has instead of wanting something he doesn’t. Because each kid had an opportunity to talk about their own contentment challenges, and because they contributed to each other’s discussions, I think it was a powerful class and very helpful for them to see the challenges that each faces.

This week my family, and hopefully the other kids in our class, will work on strengthening contentment and reducing just one obstacle or want. It should be an interesting dinner discussion tonight. I think I will kick it off with this quote from Abraham-Hicks:

“A happy life is just a string of happy moments. But most people don't allow the happy moment, because they're so busy trying to get a happy life.”

Comments

[Donna]

Been very interested in the "whole 30" journey and the relationship to food aspect. Do you think your food cravings disappeared because the diet meets all your needs and removes the items that feed cravings? Thanks!

[Laura Combs]

Hi Donna and thank you for reading.

I think food cravings disappeared because the diet meets our needs and removes the foods that feed the cravings.

By most standards, we were already pretty craving free, as we were eating close to the GAPS diet, so the transition was quite easy for us, much to our surprise.

Hope that helps.