Whole30: Day 8

You know what drives me nuts? Love triangles in books. They make me want to punch someone in the face. I guess that's the emotion the author is trying to evoke. Well, maybe not violence, but that "Oh, my gosh, what is this stupid girl doing?! She's supposed to be with this dude, not that one! Gah, now I have to read the next book to find out what happens" feeling. It's a mark or a good author, but still, I just want the girl to end up with the guy and eliminate all the drama in between. Clearly, I've been reading too many young adult dystopian trilogies. I just finished Delirium, the first book in one such trilogy. The premise is pretty cool. Love is a disease, and at the age of 18, every citizen receives the cure (a slice and dice to the brain). Of course, the heroine becomes "infected" a few months before she is to be cured. I love first love, escapist reading, but I don't know if I'll be able to finish the series. The love triangle is coming, and my nerves can't handle it. So I need something else to read. What are your suggestions? I'll throw one out. You must read Cutting for Stone. It's one of the best books I've ever read. I laughed; I cried; I didn't want it to end.

Word to the wise. Those caramelized coconut flakes I posted about the other day...don't get carried away and eat two whole batches. You'll feel like a dozen razor blades are shredding your stomach to pieces the next morning. Trust me; I've got firsthand experience. Despite the intestinal agony, I felt pretty good yesterday. I woke energized, not groggy, and the haze that usually clouds my brain lifted. At 2:00 it was back, but I had a large lunch of steak, spaghetti squash, and cucumber salad. Afterward, I was ready for a siesta.

That brings me to a few things I've noticed in the first week of Whole30. One, I've been eating beyond the point of fullness. I eat heaping servings of veggies at each meal, but I hit the satiety point about half way or so into the plate. Granted, I'm not snacking because I'm not hungry until the next meal time. The Whole30 creators prefer that you only eat three meals a day and no snacks so I'm successful in that, but should I be overriding my satiety signals for the sake of gobbling lots of veggies? What do you think?

Two, I think I eat too much salt. I only add it when cooking, but I season meat, most cooked vegetables, and soups with it. I strive to be mindful of how much I use. I don't put it on my eggs in the morning or on steamed veggies, but almost every special recipe I've made has used salt. I drink a gallon of water every day so I think I'm flushing everything out, but it's possible I'm still holding onto water weight if I'm eating too much salt.

That's my other struggle. For me the purpose of the Whole30 is health, not weight loss, but my old, obsessive thoughts kick in sometimes. I worry about frivolous things like holding onto water weight. This morning, I caved and weighed myself. I was curious to see what number popped up on the scale, even though I didn't weigh myself before we started so I have no way of knowing how much weight I've lost. It's silly how that one digital number can dictate our mood. I used to be addicted to weighing. I'd weigh every day, and if I was even a few ounces heavier than the day before my mood would tank. I'd obsess about it for hours. A few ounces lighter was considered victory.

Why do we place so much importance on our weight? Weight is arbitrary. It fluctuates from day to day and is affected by numerous factors: what you ate the day before; how much water you drank; the amount of sleep you got; how much muscle vs. how much fat constitutes your body mass. Yet so many of us act as if this number is an absolute that defines our self-worth.

A couple of months ago I hid my scale in the linen closet under a pile of towels. I didn't want to be a slave to that number any more. Why didn't I just throw it away? Baby steps, people, baby steps. I'm not quite to the point where I can get rid of the scale for good, but I have started to reverse my need to weigh. Now if I want to weigh, I have to dig the scale from the pile of towels, which gives me time to reconsider why I want to step on it. Often I decide against it. This morning it got the better of me, but that's ok. Tonight, I will get my hubby to hide it, and maybe in a few months I'll have him toss it. If you're a scale addict too, consider hiding yours. Measure your weight loss by how your clothes feel and by comparing progress pictures. Or just forget weight altogether and just enjoy how you feel.

Much love to you all.
Christan