It’s no doubt we’ve had a bit of stress in our lives this fall dealing with hurricanes and now the channel marker incident trying to leave the Keys.
After returning to Marathon post-Irma, we really noticed our diet had gotten pretty unhealthy during all of the chaos.
It was too easy to default to stress-eating and drinking.
Too often a “meal” constituted a bag of Cheetos, a frozen (gluten free) pizza and bottle of wine. Oh, and M&Ms or ice cream for dessert.
Sure, fun every so often – but not a healthy sustainable everyday diet, which is where we were heading if we didn’t get this under control.
It was weighing on our bodies, quite literally.
We had been so blessed in the hurricane, it would be a shame to let our health suffer more.
So in early October I proposed to Chris we tackle this problem together and try Whole30.
It’s not designed to be a long term diet, but more of a reset to rebalance your relationship with food. To make what you eat more of a conscience choice and even pinpoint how different foods impact you.
We both set off to do our independent research and checked in with each other – yes, we were doing this.
We set the date for the day after our 11-year “date-a-versary” in mid-October (they day we first met and knew we were made for each other).
After that we’d completely cut out:
Sweeteners, diary, legumes, grains, alcohol and certain additive ingredients (MSG, sulfites, etc).
And because we were both consuming way too much caffeine, we decided to cut that too.
That meant none of our favorites – no rice & beans, no tortilla chips, no pizza, no tofu or soy sauce (soy is a legume), no cheese with our wine, no wine either, no yogurt for breakfast, no coffee or energy drinks.
Wait, what were we doing?!!?
We’d be sticking to “real food”.
Only meats, veggies, nuts and some limited fruits.
And since we keep a strict no-mammal household anyway, meats would be limited to poultry and seafood.
Together, we set a plan of attack. We’d consume the perishable bad stuff in the boat, and lock away the rest. We made a provisioning run to the grocery store and stocked up on the good stuff.
And then we did it.
The first week was a bit tough as our bodies went through withdrawal (concentrating on eating the bad stuff the week before probably set us up for this). We had headaches and felt hung over in general. We had fatigue.
But we knew to expect this, and trudged through.
But then after the first week, we both started to notice more energy and generally feeling great.
We took advantage of a good weather window to leave
Marathon and start making our way north.
We figured being mostly at anchor as we headed north would greatly reduce temptation for local dining (only to have another tropical storm force us into a marina for a bit, and now being “stranded” in the cultural food mecca of Miami).
BUT… we have successfully completed our 30-days of whole foods!!
We marked the occasion and shared some thoughts on YouTube live last night before we went out for our date-night:
We could not be more pleased with the results.
We’re both feeling fantastic (the most important thing!).
While we’ve not weighed ourselves (it’s not encouraged on this “diet”) – we both definitely have dropped a few pounds and feel so much less bloated. My general arthritis aches and pain are minimal for the first time in a long time.
And quite honestly, I’m not sure we could have handled the channel marker incident as well as we did if we weren’t already well down this path.
Our stress levels in general are just super low and moods super even keeled.
Now that it’s over, it’s not like we go back to our Cheetos & wine diet. Actually, neither of us are craving much but more variety in general.
It’s now a slow re-integration of the foods we cut out. One by one, we try them and take note of how they impact our body.
We started with rice last night. In the form of a sushi roll (and ironically, the one one the menu that called us both the strongest was the rice-less one.)
So cheers to good health!
We’re planning our first glass of wine for tomorrow evening, shared with our Patrons during our monthly video happy hour hang-out.
Congrats! I did the Whole30 the month of July 2016. Best thing I ever did for myself. Decided to go organic as well during the process. The results included losing my sweet tooth, losing the bloat, losing 25 lbs., getting off allergy meds, clear skin, and overall good health. My husband and I continue to eat organic except in social situations where we have no control and I don’t buy products with sugar or chemical additives except for my . I find I eat smaller portions and no snacks. I don’t exercise per se and still have kept off the 25 lbs. Keep up the good work from your reset And thanks for all the info you provide
Chris ‘n’ Cherie, my wife and I started the Whole 30 plan last Tuesday. Biggest thing for me was to give up coffee with flavored creamer. Doing ok otherwise, but had gallbladder complications which I’ve worked out now, so thinking we’ll do ok. Can’t say we expect to lose a lot of weight as much as we’re getting off the sugar and other things not good for us. Glad you guys made it so well, I’m sure you’re examples for more than just the two of us.
OK I have a real serious serious question for you,,, if I was going to eat M&M what wine would you recommend,,, An would I have to change the wine if I change the color of the M&M ????
We are fans of a nice deep red blend (the new 4 Hands Stampede) with the dark peanut M&Ms … they paired quite nicely. 😀
You would have gotten through all boat issues for one simple reason. You had to do it. If not for that mindset then you would have never gotten through all the trials and tribulations of life on the road in the bus. We do things because they’re things that have to be done.
Do you fish off the boat and have fresh fish daily? I know I would.
I didn’t say we wouldn’t have gotten through it (of course we would have). I said we wouldn’t have handled it as well as we did. Coming right off the Irma-stress, it would have been compounded stress on top of unhealthy eating. Instead, we both were calm, cool and collected.
And no we don’t fish.. just not our thing. But enjoy if you do, for sure.
I’m not much of a vegetable eater so I now eat mostly meat, fruit, nuts and healthful fats. My weight loss stopped since adding the fruit but since it’s not going back up I’ll settle for that.
It’s all about finding your own unique blend of happy and health.
I am going to do Whole30 with my partner and friends, day after Thanksgiving, just no way before that. Then repeat day after Christmas. We going to meal plan and have it all set so there’s no stress of ”what are we going to eat?”.
Good luck with Whole30!
We did meal planning the first week, and it really helped during that initial transition. But after that, it just became second nature to make up our meals on the spur of the moment.
I’m so impressed! Wow, giving up coffee! Mine is sugar and it’s difficult. I’m thin but I don’t always eat healthy. Congrats to both of you!
Given that Chris doesn’t drink coffee, and I only have a cup or two a week .. that wasn’t too difficult. But we were each consuming an energy drink a day just to keep up.
Congrats on completing Whole 30! I feel so much better after doing it in August and adopting a paleo lifestyle since then. I can imagine how hard it would be to stick to it during your issues with the channel marker, being hauled out, etc. Are you going to add caffeine back in? Have you ever tried matcha? It has become my go-to.
We’re both not missing the caffeine, and thinking we’ll leave it out for a while. Sticking it to the diet during the incidents themselves hasn’t been difficult – but the temptation with all the cultural diversity around is there. 🙂
Good for you! Your unhealthy food choices were certainly understandable at the time. I’m glad you and Chris are feeling better.
It’s hard to beat ourselves up during the month of September.. it was tough stuff. But so glad we had teamwork to fall back on and not let that become a habit. Hope you and G are doing great!