First, thank you all for your holiday orders!
What fun I had baking up a storm for you and my family, plus preparing my
home for the season. This year it was just the four of us at our new home
with the tallest Christmas tree we've ever had! Oh, the joys of a cathedral
ceiling…I never knew!
My plan
was to start the http://whole30.com/ program on January 1, 2016, and I did. Here I
am, almost at my halfway point. Life without sugar, dairy, grains and a slew of
other items has been different, interesting, and challenging…but not hard. As they tell you in the book:
This. Is. Not. Hard. It is, however, new. And new is not always bad. The
Whole30 requires more thought, preparation and planning on the part of each
individual, but honestly, that is what we all should be doing all the time when
it comes to eating since it is a huge part of how healthy we are (or aren’t). I’m no longer just opening my mouth and
putting in whatever is in the fridge or the cabinets or what’s listed on a
restaurant menu and telling myself one of the following ridiculous things:
1.
Well, it is a special occasion
2.
It’s not as bad as eating (fill in
the blank)
3.
I’m hungry and this is the fastest
way to not be
4.
I have a lot of baking to do and it will be
easier if I’m not hungry
5.
I’m sad/glad/mad/exhausted/agitated/blah,
blah, blah & yada, yada, yada
You get the idea
Day three was the day I wanted SUGAR, SUGAR, SUGAR!! Eeeyow, did I want sweets. As a baker I had plenty of options but passed
on every single one. It was NOT fun. It wasn’t hard, but it was not fun. Nonetheless, as delicious as I know my Orange
Cranberry Rolls are (my favorite), I stuck with the Whole30. I did not want to start over and for the
first time in a long time I did not want to disappoint myself. I like that thought: not disappointing
myself. I’m the one who has to live this
life, and I have to do it in this body.
Not the body I remember from back in the day, but as it is right
now. The one that needs better care and
attention. The one I’ve decided to take responsibility
for again. The one I’ve decided is worth
all efforts to sustain it in a respectable, kind and thoughtful manner every
day. So I’m sticking it out until I get
to that brighter day of my weight being in proportion to my height again, and
all my lab work levels are where they need to be. It will take several Whole30 applications to
get there, but I will. Smiles!!
Once the sugar desire left the building (real location: my
mind and it required the harshest of evictions), the next deep rooted
craving? Coffee. Here’s the real problem: I don’t miss coffee, I miss the
additives. As they say in the Whole30
book, if you don’t like the taste of black coffee, maybe you don’t really like
coffee. I had never thought about it
before, and for me it turned out to be true.
I tried using extracts, coconut milk loaded with vanilla, and flavored
coffee grounds. Nope. As it turns out, coffee is just a vehicle to
get hazelnut creamer in my mouth without using a spoon. Another facet of this program? The things you learn about yourself. I’m currently
planning to drink coffee on day 31, but might change my mind. After 20+ years of not smoking I know I would
never start up again because I would NOT want to quit again. Now THAT was hard!
To paraphrase The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water,
everywhere, but I used to refuse to drink.”
Oh, how I did not like to drink water prior to the Whole30. I wanted additives (I’m seeing a pattern
here, how about you?) and the more the better.
Caramel coloring, aspartame, sugar, carbonation, on and on and on. My first attempt at a solution was to buy La
Croix flavored waters…but, ick…just ick.
Never could take the taste of tonic or sparkling water. Next brilliant idea was to make my own. Now, this is a keeper! One whole, fresh pineapple peeled & cut
in chunks, add to a pitcher of flat water and muddle, then let sit overnight in
the fridge. Amazing refreshment awaits
your taste buds! This was a great way
for me to add water to my diet and was the gateway step to also drinking plain
water. I’m sipping from a bottle of plain
water as I type this. Try it out for
yourself!
Yours in good health &, strength,
Katie Connally’s granddaughter
