I gotta text from a good friend last night. A friend that I grew up thisclose with, a friend I got to stand behind at her wedding, and a friend who's daughter is the cutest thing since puppies were invented.
pal:
"Read your blog. You need to read it starts with food. I did a whole 30 challenge in October. Lost 10 pounds. Was hard but worth it. You can do this."
First off: Yay! Someone read my post! lol.
Secondly: How sweet to send me some encouragment!
Third of all: Wow. Can't wait to hear more about it. She gave me the okay to post our convo, so here's the email thread that ensued. (Is that a thing, an email thread? Whatever, you get the picture.) It contains some of those documentaries I promised and even a recipe that sounds pretty tasty!
pal:
I read the book - and was inspired - mostly for my MS and trying to reduce a lot of inflammation - so i challenged myself and did it for 30 days
it was hard - and sometimes my stomach was pissed off b/c I was detoxing but it was so worth it
I'm doing it again right now - well sort of - until after I get over this terrible cold or whatever I have - but I don't eat dairy, sugar, grains, or even vegetable oils just everything in true form
so meat, veggies, and some fruit. You sleep better at the end of it and you feel better i also perform better at yoga when I do it.
moi':
Has it helped your inflamation any? Is whole 30 just this inspirational newsletter or do they give you a meal plan?
Was it difficult to plan all these meals? Did the hubs do it with you?
Did you have a specific imbalance that needed to cut dairy and sugars (in grains and sugar form)? Do you eat legumes?
I watch these documentaries and have read these type of books in the past- I think they can get a little conspiracy theory, or a little extreme, but really, I do think we eat to much crap. And I'm on board for watching/reading this stuff if it gets us thinking and fired up to make a change. (That Jamie Oliver can grind on your gears because he gets overly theatrical and seems to exploit people, but hey- a wake up call, is a wake up call) I don't think it's necessary to juice everything that goes into your mouth, but I do eat WAY too much crap. And for people trying to figure out what's going on with their bodies (like Joe Cross from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead), I think it's such a common sense approach to cut out everything, see if you feel better, and then slowly add stuff in. I know like 3 people that have discovered their gluten intolerance by doing that.
I went to the grocery store last night and bought some "health" foods: chia seeds, apples, spinach, organic milk, bulgar, real maple syrup (for sugar replacement), whole wheat english muffins and maybe a couple other things. It ran me like $50. It was just a few small bags and I was like, what's wrong with our food system that it costs way more to eat foods that have less done to them. ... Well actually I know why because I took a course on farm policies in law school, but it's no wonder we're all overweight and sick. I know that most of those things are cut from Paleo methods- I might do that sort of cleanse for lent. But right now I'm mostly concerned about isolated nutrients, preventative antibiotics, and added hormones... the hormones really freak me out.
What kind of yoga do you get into? With a group or at home?
... can I post our convo on my blog?
Miss you, hope the family is well.
See, told you I asked permission.
pal:
Yes, it has helped my inflammation. Between watching mostly my gluten intake (i rarely eat breads etc) I haven't had an epsisode in a long, long while. In fact, I can say that I have a nasty cold right now and my legs haven't went numb - usually I'll go numb while I"m sick so something is going right. I know its partially conspiracy theory too - but I honestly believe wheat is a huge problem in this country. Another very fantastic read is Wheat Belly - give it a shot too - it talks about how wheat of the 1950's is not the wheat we eat today and has been genetically modified as well. So the wheat is affecting people differently.
[Hubs] didn't do it when me the first time- ther ewasn't really a meal plan but usually my day would go breakfast: eggs and avocado, lunch would be a salad with protein and homemade dressing and nuts. dinner would be steak, sweet potato, and a green veggie - rinse and repeat - it got a bit old - I know that this whole30 thing is HUGE in the crossfit world - so I'm not as hardcore as some people.
I do agree it's insane about prices - we do try to stick to organic milk - as for organic fruits and veggies - I try to buy only organic from the dirty dozen - organic bananas aren't necessary, but organic strawberries are better to buy.
Fun fact about organic milk - it stays fresh longer - i know its weird, but it does. Organic strawberries do too in the fridge. Also I feel you on the real maple syrup - ITS FREAKING INSANE how expensive some stuff is.
I watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead too - made me want to juice everything!!!
I honestly think staying away from processed foods in general is the best form - ive been looking at ingredients more and when I can't pronounce something its probably not a good idea.
I go to a yoga studio 4 times a week for an hour or hour and a half at a time. Keeps my anxiety at bay and you can post what you want. :)
Did you read that? Her diet is helping her control her Multiple Sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). WOW!
moi':
That's awesome! I'm so glad you aren't having episodes. That right there is amazing, and like you said, something is going right.
Yea, I watched King Corn, read the Omnivore's Delima and just some other articles and so forth in my Agriculture and Rural Lands Law class- so have a little bit of an understanding of the modified wheat thing. I mean, all that stuff seems like a good idea at first- more food, less $, more people eat. But now we are realizing that this stuff is having unintended side effects. I have a friend who's involved in the agricultural world and she get's upset when people attack modern farming practices because it's necessary to feed everyone at the prices we're accustomed too. And she's partially right I think, we have to realize that we as consumers have somewhat chosen these practices, and most American's cannot afford to eat whole foods like we're suggesting. What really gets me up in arms is when food companies use science to trick and mislead consumers. So like, MSG making us fat, or using addictive isolates. As an aside, did you know one of the reasons corn is used in everything is because we subsidize it so much that big farmers are pretty much forced into using/growing it. And one of the reasons we subsidize it is because we are using leftover fertilizer (nitrogen) from the second world war. That stuff is pretty interesting.
Yea; the organics lasting longer thing is wild! Why that is!? I feel like it sets off the cost a little bit- I never have to throw organic milk away before I get to use it. I didn't realize that organic fruits lasted longer. I guess that makes sense though- there's no poison on them. I wonder about rasberries... I never buy rasberries because they go bad so quickly, especially for the price.
Pal:
That makes a ton of sense about the industry and feeding everyone.
Next summer maybe think about joining a CSA with [future hubs]- i'm sure your area has them.
I do mine all year round it just depends, but for example = for the summer - I pay a flat fee and go pick up fresh vegetables at a farm about 3 miles from my house. It's great - CSA - community shared agriculture. I get some delicious local foods and don't worry about pesticides etc b/c she's an organic farm.
http://www.localharvest.org/
