It’s all about Food

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Well, its been a while since I’ve blogged my journey.  As I continue eating the “whole30” way, and researching this way of eating (WOE), I am more and more in favor of this WOE.

I’ve managed to keep to my 26 pound weight loss (gaining back around 4 pounds from my high of 30 lost), even during the stress of selling my home and moving to a new home in a new town.  Although the stress of living out of boxes and not having a functional kitchen has stagnated my progress for weeks at a time, I’m still determined to stick with it because of the many other benefits of eating this way.

Why do I want to stick with this plan?

I’m finding that when I cheat too much or fall off the wagon and begin eating fast food and more processed food, that my pain and swelling increases dramatically.  I can cheat just a little with no major problems, but too much wheat, sugar, soy, etc.,  and my body starts rebelling.  My blood glucose rises and my joints and muscles begin to ache.  Once again, I find I cannot sleep at night because of the discomfort.  A few days of pain and I’m very willing to go back to eating whole and unprocessed foods.

My diabetes doc has been extremely happy with me also; especially for losing 30 pounds the last time I weighed in his office and he has lowered my insulin doses twice to help me avoid lows (lol! this seems so funny for me with my history of high BGLs).   My ultimate goal is to go completely off the insulin injections and I really believe I can do that if I persevere.

Loving anti-inflammatory foods

During the last few months, I’m finding that my tastes are definitely changing.  I’m loving the great salads I’m creating for our meals.  My husband, Mel, has said on many occasions that he is really enjoying these salads also.

When I began eating Whole30, I was sure that doing away with milk, cheese and bread would be very hard for me.  However, I’ve actually not suffered too much feeling of deprivation from these favorite foods.  That’s a benefit of this restricted paleo lifestyle.  You tend to become more satisfied and not as hungry as when you had all those carbs and sugars before.  It helps that I can eat several eggs (from cage-free, hormone free hens) each week and eat delicious lean meats like bison, turkey, some hams and pork and fish like tuna and salmon.  Adding delicious summer veggies as sides works well, and some fresh melon and fruit occasionally also helps a lot to cure my “sweet” cravings.

Foods that look good

Recently I’ve been helping a friend of mine with a gluten-free cookbook she is publishing by doing “food photography” for her book.  Many of these dishes I can use (some with a little modification) in my own cooking.  They not only taste good but look great also.  This has inspired me to add more recipes to my meal plans.  As soon as the book is published, I’ll share a link to it here on my blog.

Comments

Thanks for looking at my site and coming to this page. I would love for you to leave any questions or comments below.  In addition, I’m open to new topics to research and comment on as they pertain to my own health and experience living with diabetes.  Please share your interests and questions in your comments.  I also love to hear others stories about how they handle their own diabetes issues.

– Shirley