Whole 30: Week 2 Reflections

I have just finished up the second week and it has been more an afterthought than an accomplishment.  This lifestyle is so darn easy.  I have had NO desires for the excluded foods.  What I have desired is more brussel sprouts, kale chips, cole slaw, and bacon, steak, and fish.  I cannot eat enough of those wonderful foods that non-human Nature has provided.  I finally figured out how to get full at each one of my 3 meals ... more fat!  I have tried more new recipes these past two weeks than I have in the past year.  And my family enjoys them as well.

Meatza Pizza (cheese on the right for Carly)

Christmas Day will be the first day of reintroduction and I am a bit concerned.  I have felt so good and my GI tract has never been better that I am afraid I won't be able to tolerate the non-gluten grains (rice, corn, sorghum) or dairy.  I am celiac so I had already eliminated gluten, oats, and quinoa from my diet.  Unfortunately with celiac disease your body with its "leaky gut" syndrome sometimes becomes intolerant of other grains, grain-like foods (quinoa, buckwheat), legumes and dairy.  And I have already fallen in to this category with oats, quinoa, and legumes.

Energy levels have been better this week.  I have not bonked while on the bike so I do believe my body is adapting to utilizing my fat as an energy source ... finally!  My pants/shorts are looser on me and I am a little more "ribby" so I do think I have lost a couple pounds of the stuff,  Added bonus!  However, I have not had any serious intensity on the bike.  It has been all about "just riding around."

I usually get a head ache or two a week for various reasons:  dehydration, stress, intensity.  I have not had one since being on the plan.  Not sure if this is a result or just a coincidence.  The one thing I do know is that my patience has been better and I have not gotten upset over "the little things" as much.  Overall, I have been happier.

Quite surprisingly, for a person who does not have a gall bladder and who has upped her fat consumption, my poops have been normal and regular.  I was worried about the possibility of diarrhea with the added fat, but it has not happened.  I guess we really don't need a gallbladder.  FYI, I had a cholecystectomy in 2010 thinking that this was the cause of my digestive problems.

I suppose the only difficulty with this way of eating is that food preparation takes longer and I have to make several trips to the grocery each week.  The other day at Ingles I was shopping the perimeter and decided to make a short-cut through the center of the store ... you know, where all those boxes of pre-packaged foods lie.  I imagined that as I was passing through, the boxes were going to ambush me, tie me down, and force their contents of chemicals into my body.  Talk about a daymare!

Now off to make some egg-based pumpkin banana pancakes (with fresh pumpkin, of course)!