Take advantage of summer!

Summer is a great time to take advantage of the wonderful, plentiful, fresh produce.  Reno has several locations for local farmers to sell their mouth watering, recently harvested (think tastes amazing) fruits and vegetable.   I am a vegetable fan, and summer is my time to really enjoy healthy choices, which brings me to my main point.   For the month of August I have decided to try the New York Times best-selling The Whole 30 ®  meal plan.   It is advertised to be a 30 day life-changer.  I will have to see!   It will definitely give me time to re-evaluate food.

On this plan you are not allowed to eat any of the following:

Sugars: none of any kind.  This includes honey, stevia, artificial and natural sources.  No sweeteners allowed.

Alcohol: None of any kind. No wine, beer, liquor.

Grains: All grains are off limits.

Legumes: No beans, peas, lentils, soy, or peanuts.  Insert sad face for Laurie here!

Dairy: No cheese or  milk from anything with a face.

You may be thinking: what does that leave?  Meat,seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits (in moderation), and natural fats.   It is basically a clean eating, gut reset, no processed food plan.  It seems pretty strict, but I am going to put my best efforts in and see what happens.

The authors suggest you choose a start date, build a support team, “go public” get your house ready, and plan for success.   Really if you think about it, it’s like you’ve heard during the Steps to Success video, and at your post op follow ups…you need to plan ahead and set yourself up to have easy choices.  I am a fan of making extra dinner and packing my lunch, so that part is easy.   What I think may be difficult is the absolutes, but I am telling myself “it’s only 30 days!”

One interesting aspect of this meal plan is that you are not supposed to weigh yourself.  That may seem a little crazy, but the authors want you to focus on how you are feeling, how much better you are sleeping, and how much more energy you have.  They also suggest monitoring how your close fit, if your rings are looser on your fingers, if you feel less bloated.  Do you see your nails and/ or hair changing for the better.  It is NOT all about the scale.

So here it is.  My plan.  August 1st.   I am inviting anyone who feels up to it, to give it a try.   It’s not a meal plan for those who are early post op, because you really need your meal replacement shakes to meet your protein needs, and you are so limited in what you can eat early on. However, for those of you further out from surgery this might be a great way to hit the “reset” button.  The goal is to “clean up” eating habits, cut out unnecessary sugar, and to feel fit.    Who’s in?