Whole 30

Well, the festivities are over for awhile and it is time for me to embark on the next phase of my journey. When we first began Paleo we cut out a lot of things. We went Whole Paleo. No grains, no refined sugar, no dairy, no legumes, the whole nine yards. But I know myself and I knew that eventually I would need to take it to the next level. I really needed to get my system cleaned out. In short, I needed to do a Whole 30. What is a Whole 30? Well, it's where you take yourself off everything for 30 days. All the things stated above and then some. No sugar or sweetener in any form (well except what is found naturally, like a piece of fruit, but even that is limited), no dairy (which we had added back, in strict parameters), and no alcohol. Now, honestly, I did not feel like this would be very tough for me. In the past I have done more restrictive diets and I had already cut out a lot of the things, so how hard could it be? Yeah, famous last words, I know. First of all, I love coffee with creamer and splenda, I hate black coffee but being one of those caffeine addicted people I knew I couldn't go without. So, choice one; "cheat", go without, or drink it black. And the winner, black coffee (although only half of what I usually drink), I didn't die but it was a close call. Here's another thing, and those of you with children will be able to relate, I was shocked by how much I "nibble" off my children's plates! No wonder I was having trouble loosing weight. Oh, and another thing, I have come to rely on my dark chocolate and glass of red wine! I hadn't realized how much a part of my routine they had become until they were no longer a part of that routine. One of the unforeseen benefits, I have seen how much I rely on food for comfort, even good healthy food. In stead of looking to God for peace I had begun to rely on that glass of wine and that piece of chocolate to help me "unwind" from the day. Without that crutch I am once again being turned to the Lord, from whom comes all my help.  So, although I'm only 3 days in I am already seeing the benefits, both physically and spiritually.