Hangry Whole30
I’m a little too “hangry “to post a long blog entry this week. But I hear that’s normal in the first 7 days of the Whole30 diet. I was suppose to start my Whole30 experience, fueled by Model Meals on September 2, after a totally out of control 110+ person potluck in my backyard. But then Sept. 2 was my middle daughter’s birthday, and there was sushi…and cake…and some leftover wine in the fridge, and… you get the idea. So I started September 3rd.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. I am thirsty all the time. I realize now how much I was hydrating with sugary drinks and alcohol. The moment those were taken out of my diet, I’ve felt like I’m hiking through the Sahara Desert. As a result, I’ve been drinking more water than a goldfish.
Helpful tip: To change things up a little and save some money, I’m making sun tea every day in the back yard, mostly green, but I’m gonna try herbal today.
2. The Scale. I tend to weigh myself every morning when I get up. It’s a reflex, if not a disappointing one. So, I stepped onto the scale the first morning of Whole30, only to be screamed at by my wife from across the bedroom. “You’re not suppose to do that!!!” I guess I didn’t read the fine print. Now, while brushing my teeth, I just stare at the scale from across the bathroom and wonder if all this is worth it.
Helpful tip: Put the scale in the other room.
3. Sleep comes easier. I don’t have much trouble sleeping in general, but I do find that it’s hard for me to go to bed before midnight most nights. While on Whole30, I look forward to bed, normally because I’m thinking about eating.
Helpful Tip: Embrace early bedtime. It distracts you from thinking about food.
4. I’m allowed to eat potatoes? I’ve settled on eating two Model Meals Whole30-approved meals each day, and figuring out breakfast on my own. I make some Pasturebird eggs; my wife (who’s agreed to join me on this journey) makes a smoothie. However, I underestimated our Model Meals needs for the first week and we ran out of prepped food. So, I had to crack the Whole30 book to confirm my home cooking was compliant. Wait, potatoes are ok? So for our first home-cooked Whole30 dinner, we had a Stemple Creek 45-day dry aged sirloin, some Weiser Farms fingerling potatoes (roasted in the oven with some duck fat) and a fig and pine nut side salad, homemade vinaigrette. We just stared at each other from across the table as we popped these amazing spuds into our mouths in disbelief. Surely we were doing something naughty.
Helpful Tip: If you’re craving carbs, eat spuds, preferably fatty and well salted.
5. Exercise. For the last week I’ve been struggling with my routine exercise. My weights are pathetic, running has been sluggish, and let’s just say I haven’t made any STRAVA achievements.
Helpful Tip: eat something (nuts?) before the workout, and then eat something (breakfast or lunch) after the workout.
6. Hangry episodes. I was warned by a Whole30 veteran that day nine would be traumatic. Basically, no amount of food made him feel satisfied. He couldn’t get off the couch. He was snapping at everyone, and only some pasta, a beer, or a cookie was gonna make him happy. For me, that irrationality came on day seven. I was zombie-like at the dinner table. Everyone sounded like Charlie Brown’s parents. I might have let a four-letter word slip when asking for the water pitcher.
Helpful Tip: Hangry episodes should be spent alone, reducing the likelihood of offending others or embarrassing oneself. No one wants to hear me whine about my self-imposed food struggles. Worst case, take a nap.
All I can say is thank God for Model Meals! My brain has been mush for the last week, and seeing those little yellow-banded, recyclable packages with they’re filling meals inside means I can mindlessly march along this food obstacle course with one less thing to be hangry about.
It get’s better, right?