Day 13

A busy schedule limits my time in posting my Whole30 progress every day and since I don’t want to short change you with haphazard and rushed words, I decided to finish out the journey by posting every few days.

As I move into the summaries for chapters 11-13, keep in mind some of the recommendations made by Whole30 are for a complete change in eating habits.  I’m sure many can be added to one’s current diet (cooking with olive oil and avocado oil rather than vegetable oil, eating more vegetables because you can’t eat enough vegetables, and fruits are always a better snack choice than processed empty calorie foods) but some of the others might lead to further health issues if they are only added/increased in a diet still filled with sweets, grains, and processed/packaged foods.

Chapter 11: Dairy
I love cheese. And ice cream. I enjoy half and half in my coffee. And greek yogurt has made its way into our refrigerator. But, for the Whole30 cleanse, dairy is one of the foods to avoid in order to determine problems and sensitivities. The authors of It Starts with Food explain in detail why milk proteins (especially casein and whey) and lactose may cause numerous problems in the human digestive and immune systems. It addresses the issue of calcium as well. Yes, healthy bones need calcium, but they need more than just calcium to grow and stay strong. They also need vitamins C, D3 and K.  And we are always better off getting the combination of calcium and vitamins naturally from foods rather than from supplements or as an additive.  Our current diet may actually be hindering our bodies’ ability to absorb the calcium and the vitamins we need. A diet rich in calcium and vitamin filled vegetables, meat and seafood, and nuts and seeds is a much better choice.

Chapter 12: It All Adds Up
A quick summary on the section of less healthy foods.

Moving into the section of more healthy foods.

Chapter 13: Meat Seafood and Eggs
Another revelation. Meat is actually more healthy. Did you know protein is the most satiating of all macronutrients?  Which means, as the authors like to say, it is better than any food-with-no-breaks, such as a meal filled with carbohydrates (pasta, breads, rice and such). So, when I was searching for and making meals for my main man (MM) consisting of less meat and more of these filler foods, I was actually making him hungrier, which led to him to eating more, not less, spiking an overreaction in insulin and all sorts of other cascading internal responses.

The real truth of Whole30 (or any food choices) lies in the results. He is losing the weight he has been wanting to lose and he is not feeling cheated or deprived at dinner time. We both have actually looked at our plates and said, “wow, I am actually satisfied without being full/stuffed.” I kind of think that’s pretty cool.

The authors encourage as much organically grown meat, poultry, seafood and eggs as possible. I am so thankful for my brother-in-law and his wife. For the past few years they have raised a couple of cows and pigs on their farm for us. Aside from the $$ savings at the grocery store, we know how they were raised and what they were fed. Not everyone can do that, but we can try to find those areas where we can pay a little extra for a healthier choice. You can’t afford it, you say?  I say, if we’re not buying all kinds of processed crap from the center isles of the grocery store, that gives us a little extra money to purchase the healthier options.

Foods/meals we have made
Asparagus and tomato scrambled eggs
Broccoli egg bake (made a head of time in a cupcake pan for quick breakfast on the go)
Asian meatballs (made with shredded carrots and coconut!) served with veggie stir fry
Discovered almond milk turns out much better with whole almonds than with almond flour (which is too fine to strain completely)

13 down, 17 to go.