3 Tips for Sticking with Whole 30 Through a 24-Hour Crisis

A key part to success with Whole 30 is planning.  However, life does not always go as planned.   Like this past weekend for example.  I honestly didn't know if I would make it through while successfully sticking with Whole 30, but I did!  Here's the story of how . . .

This past weekend's schedule was jam packed.  I was scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday at my side hustle (aka second job - side hustle sounds more fun).  My parents were moving on Monday so our weekend was to be full of prep work, plus I had a special project to wrap up with my Dad. I had set aside time to plan the upcoming week's menu, grocery shop and meal prep (as of Friday, I was on R2D12) on Saturday evening.  Both of my teenagers were working at their summer jobs.  My husband, who suffered a massive heart attack on February 1st of this year, had plans to attend Cardiac Rehab on Saturday.  All four of us were set to move through the weekend in a carefully choreographed performance.

When I clocked out from my side hustle on Saturday evening, I checked my phone and found a text from my husband.  He had stopped at Urgent Care on his way home to have his ear checked out (he suffers from frequent ear infections).  His ear looked fine, but due to his history and the fact that he was reporting some of the same symptoms he had prior to his heart attack, the doctor suggested that he go to the ER for some tests.  They had called ahead for him and he was on his way.

By the time I arrived at the ER, my husband was hooked up to an IV and the initial round of tests had been done.  We knew at that point that he was not actively having a heart attack and were waiting for the results of the various tests.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my husband and I from

our recent vacation.

Obviously, my main focus at this moment was my husband.  However, as time went on, I began to a panic a little.  I was filled with worry for my husband.  I was tired and hungry.  My schedule for the weekend was shot.  I had plenty of time to meal plan while I sat there, but when would I get my shopping done?  How would I find time to do the prep work?  My emotions were bouncing all over the pace.  I wanted a pizza and I wanted one bad.  As soon as we found out what was going on, I was ordering a pizza.  I was going to pick it up on my way home.  I was going to eat it - A LOT of it!

But that didn't happen.  I stayed focus and hung in there.  I pushed through that intense desire to cave and maintained my Whole 30 eating habits the entire 24 hours that my husband was in the hospital.

Three things prevented that from happening and keep me on the Whole 30 straight and narrow:

1) PREPARE FOR A FOOD EMERGENCY - I had emergency provisions in my purse - a Larabar (a compliant one of course!) and an apple.  As soon as my husband was allowed to eat something and was brought a tray, I broke out that Larabar.  When I left the ER a couple of hours later to run home to get the belongings he would need for his night stay, I munched on that apple.

A schedule or a plan can change at any time.  You never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball.  It's normally always easy to find a fast food restaurant to pop in to, but that's not the type of food we're looking for now is it?  I always carry some sort of compliant snack in my purse for such emergencies.

I sent this picture to my friends from the ER - I was ready for a food emergency!

2) A STRONG CIRCLE OF SUPPORT - I know that I am an emotional eater so as soon as I settled into the ER I started texting my two friends who I am currently traveling with on this Whole 30 journey.  They texted me throughout the evening and into the next day.  Words of encouragement.  Funny memes.  When I texted that I thought this would be the moment that sent my Round spinning out of control, my phone went crazy with positive reinforcement to stay strong.

A positive circle of support is so important - whether you are facing a crisis or its just a regular Tuesday afternoon.  Support can come in person, by phone, via text or from people you've never met face-to-face - your Whole 30 Facebook family!

Me (right) with one of the members of my Circle of Support!

3) POSITIVE SELF-TALK - Early on I was thinking that I was not going to be able to hold on.  Pizza is often my go-to emotional support and, trust me, I could taste it!  However, as my friends kept picking me up off the ground, I began to change that conversation going on in my head.  I was telling myself, "You can do it."  As I drove thru the driver-thru to get my kids dinner and could smell those French fries, I ran through the list of positives in my head - improved sleep, decreased pain in my hands, faster time on my last run, looser pants.  I became my own one-member cheerleading squad!

It is easy for self-talk to defeat you and it takes purposeful effort to change the conversation, but it is possible.  Sometimes when I'm by myself or running a 5K, I talk out loud.  That way I'm not only thinking it, but I'm hearing it.  You can do it.  You got this.  You are rocking this round!

picture from www.caba.org.uk

To be honest, I'm kind of proud of myself that I faced this crisis and stuck with my eating habits.  It's the first time my emotional eating habits were tested to this extreme.  And if I can do it, I know that YOU can do it!  Just remember - be prepared with a snack, surround yourself with a strong circle of support, tell yourself that you can do it!

Escaping my Emotional Eating Escapade

This week was the perfect trifecta of stress for me.  I know that anytime I have high stress there is always a risk of my health journey taking a random sudden turn off road.

One - There was a holiday.  I secretly hate holidays (guess it's not much of a secret anymore!).  They make me feel like crap.  They never meet the expectations I have in my mind (And no we cannot blame this on my potentially unhealthy love of Hallmark movies as I'm sure some of you who know me may be thinking.  I am fully aware that they are completely unrealistic and unreasonably perky.).  Overtime I have learned to lower my expectations and always think that I'm going into the day with the right attitude and then BAM - sadness hits me in the face like a boxing glove.

Two - Work was stressful this week.  I love my job and I thrive on the chaotic world that exists within the four walls of the Adult Day Health Center.  But this week was tough.

Three - My delightful (she seriously can be quite delightful!) daughter worked six days in a row before jetting off to Puerto Rico at 3AM this morning for a week-long Missions Trip.  I don't need to say anymore here.  If you have a teenage daughter, granddaughter, niece, neighbor - you know.

My downfall started when I went to the grocery store on the Fourth of July.  My daughter wanted to make her favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip so I popped into the grocery store to get her the ingredients.  And it was there that I paused in front of the large Oreo cookie display.  In that very brief moment, I made the dreadful decision to put a pack of original Oreos into my cart.

I am tuned in to the fact that Oreos are my weakness.  I normally walk past that display at a quick pace with my back to the rows of blue and white packages.  I don't even look at them.  But on this day they were calling me and in my state of mind I felt that I needed them.  I needed the comfort of the cream filled chocolate cookie paired with a glass of cold milk.  So I bought them.  And I went home and proceeded to eat an entire row.  They tasted so good.

Later in the week my co-worker asked me if I wanted anything from the corner store when she was running over for lunch.  I handed her a couple bucks and asked her to get me a Pepsi.  WHAT?  I rarely drink pop anymore.  What was I doing?  I was craving an ice cold Pepsi - that's what I was doing.  Hearing the fizz when I opened the bottle and feeling the tickle of the carbonated beverage slide down my throat was so good.

Then there was the secret stop for an ice cream cone on my way home from work.  On a hot day, the refreshment of that cold ice cream was so good.  And the few times I visited the candy drawer at work.  Chocolate - so good!

Last night we went out for dinner to celebrate our daughter and her best friend heading off to Puerto Rico.  The restaurant that we went to serves large and small sizes of their dishes.  I ordered the large. I hadn't given it a moment's thought until my husband and the server commented on the size of my burrito (Yes that server did - can you believe it?!?  Don't give my husband's comment a second thought - It was made out of accountability not judgment.).  I shrugged my shoulders and enjoyed my meal.  It was so good.

Later that night my daughter asked me to help her weigh her suitcase.  We couldn't get it on the scale while being able to see the numbers.  As frustrations began to escalate, I offered to get on the scale and then get on a second time holding the suitcase.  I told my daughter that in no circumstance did I want to see or hear the number that popped up on that little screen.  I try not to focus on the scale, rather I use the jiggle of my chin fat to judge myself.

Despite my best efforts, it happened.  I saw those numbers.  YIKES!  I looked up and saw myself in the mirror.  Chin fat is in check, but that number!  UGH!!

Then CLICK!  Just as quickly as my emotional eating had kicked in to high gear in front of that Oreo display, I felt my internal dial click back over to a healthy eating focus as I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror.  I can't explain it.  I just knew that little off-road journey was over and I was back on the path determined to be as healthy as I can  be.

Why share this personal story with you?

1) If you struggle with emotional eating, please know that you are not alone.  I've been focusing on making healthy life choices for over eight years now and I still fight this battle.

2) It's important to accept the fact that you are going to have blips in your journey like this one because they are going to happen.  No one is perfect.  The key is to not give up.  Instead, do what you need to do to get yourself back on the healthy path.  Sometimes, like in this case, it just happens.  Something clicks.  Other times you'll need to fight - fight hard! - to get yourself back.  And that is OK.

3) I encourage you to spend some time getting to know yourself.  There were several times throughout this experience that I recognized important moments
     * I knew that high stress can trigger my emotional eating.
     * I could identify what was causing my stress.
     * I am tuned in to the fact that Oreos are my weakness and I made the choice to put
        them in my cart.
Knowing what will set you off can help you to avoid those situations.  And if you find yourself stuck in an emotional eating rut, being in tune with your body and your emotions can help you to escape.

Today was a good day getting back on track.  I drank lots of water.  I made myself a healthy breakfast and lunch.  I exercised.  And when my husband and I went out for dinner, I ate three slices of pizza and stopped when I really wanted to keep eating!  My hands are firmly on the steering wheel as I continue to navigate this crazy healthy journey that is my life.

Surviving the Office Halloween Candy Bucket with Chocolate Meditation

Last week one of my worst nightmares came true - someone brought in a large Halloween Bucket filled with various types of candy.  To make it worse, the candy supply was unending.  The bucket was never empty!  Everyday it was filled to the brim with different types of candy - chocolate, gummy, sweet & sour, fruity.

Over the years, I feel that I have developed a pretty strong Will Power.  I have tools in place to help me pass up on temptation - chew gum, drink water, avoid the area of the temptation, surround myself with people who will hold me accountable.  I was prepared for this moment.  And I did a great job . . . until Thursday.

I was unexpectedly going to have to take Friday off so I was feeling crunched to get everything done.  The homecare schedule for the weekend, which I was responsible for, was full of open assignments with a small group of staff available to fill it.  I had a site visit for the Senior Companion Program, which I am in charge of at our Adult Day Center.  Let's stop there and just say that my list of stressors was long.  My chest was tight.  My head was pounding.  I was nearing a complete meltdown.  Mid-morning I walked passed the bucket and found that it was filled with my favorite . . .

 

I grabbed one and shoved it in my mouth.  Mmmmmm . . . it was so good!  So I grabbed another.  And another.  And another.  Every time I walked by I would grab one.  I was still at work long after everyone had left.  I actually took my key and walked to the Bucket's office, unlocked the door and looked to see what was left.  Much to my delight, when I pushed the first layer of candy aside, I uncovered the mother load of Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins!  How had these gone undiscovered?!?  I am embarrassed to say that by the time I took my garbage can and set it outside my office door, it was nearly overflowing with bright orange wrappers.  Seriously Lisa?  Yep - that had just happened.

 

Thursday night I felt sick to my stomach.  Literally from the amount of pumpkins I had consumed.  And figuratively - how I had I let myself get so out of control?  After sending myself on a major guilt trip, I came to two conclusions.

 

First, tomorrow is a new day.  I would do better at making healthy choices than I had today.

 

Second, I would dust off a tool that was buried in the bottom of my Temptation Tool Box.  Chocolate Meditation.  I read about it in an issue of Psychology Today several years ago.  Since then, I've practiced it myself and included it in workshops that I've taught.  How many times, like me on Thursday, have you consumed a piece of candy so quickly that you did not enjoy it and got zero satisfaction out of it?  What a waste!  Chocolate Meditation allows you to take a moment to relax and truly enjoy the experience of eating the chocolate leaving you satisfied instead of craving more.  You should give it a try!





Chocolate Meditation
Choose some chocolate - either a type that you've never tried before or one that you have not eaten recently. It might be dark and flavorsome, organic or fair-trade or, perhaps, cheap and trashy.

Here goes:
• Open the piece of candy keeping it in the wrapper. Inhale the aroma. Let it sweep over you.

• Take the candy out of the wrapper and look at it. Really let your eyes drink in what it looks like, examining every nook and cranny.

• Pop it in your mouth (or take a bite depending on the size). See if it's possible to hold it on your tongue and let it melt, noticing any tendency to suck at it. Chocolate has over 300 different flavors. See if you can sense some of them.

• If you notice your mind wandering while you do this, simply notice where it went, then gently escort it back to the present moment.

• After the chocolate has completely melted, swallow it very slowly and deliberately. Let it trickle down your throat.

• Repeat this with one other piece.

 

Tomorrow is Monday and I am ready to face the day and face the Office Halloween Candy Bucket!  Are you?



Re-Visiting my Snack Attack Prevention Plan

My stress levels are rising.  Home life and work life are busier than ever.  My stress eating habit is wanting to rear it's ugly head!  Before things get out of hand, I thought it would be helpful for me to re-visit the Snack Attack Prevention Plan I set up for myself:

I admit it . . . I'm a stress eater.  When my stress levels go up, my willpower goes down.  The past month at work has been high stress.  It took me a few weeks to recognize it, but my willpower was plummeting.  The new habits that I had developed over the past several years seemed to just disappear.  Looking at my desk one day, I counted four food wrappers.  FOUR!  Wow!  That was the moment that I realized I needed to get my act together.  I was in a fierce battle with the Snack Attack Monster and I needed a plan. 
   
Re-Commit to Living Healthy
On my drive home that night, I turned the radio off and spent some time thinking.  I needed to admit to myself that I was slipping into some old habits.  I love snacking.  I love pretzels and chips and gummy candies.  So when someone leaves a box filled with small bags of Doritos in our Employee Lounge, of course I am going to grab one.   When I step into my co-workers office and she offers me a handful of gummy worms, of course I'm going to say yes.  When I'm sitting at my desk at the end of the day and my stomach is gurgling, of course I'm going to go the vending machine.  Really?  No!  I'm going to walk past the breakroom, graciously decline the offer and come to work prepared with healthy snacks.  Why?  Because I want to feel good, have energy, live long and not put back on the weight I've lost.  

That evening I got out two index cards and wrote down the scripture and quote that started me on my journey of healthy living:

Let us not grow weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest

if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9  

 

No one can go back and start a new beginning,

but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

Maria Robinson

The next day I posted them by my computer as a visual reminder of my commitment to live healthy.

   
Re-Charge Breakfast
The time between when my alarm goes off and when I need to be pulling out of the driveway always goes so fast!  I found that I was often grabbing a granola bar or the dreaded Pop Tart as I ran out the door to satisfy my morning hunger.  Neither are very filling.  So by 9AM my stomach is rumbling and I'm wanting something to eat. 

I had always wanted to try making smoothies for breakfast.  My hesitation came from seeing recipes that call for protein powder and not knowing exactly what that involves.  Talking with my friend Dana - a dietitian - eased my fear of the unknown.  She said that for my purposes there were plenty of ways to naturally add protein to the smoothies through bananas, yogurt, peanut butter and even pureed pumpkin!  (Note from my friend Dana after reading this blog entry - "Neither bananas nor pumpkin are high in protein but they def add bulk, fiber and other nutrients that will keep you satisfied until you need a mid-morning snack."  I want to make sure I'm sharing correct information.)

Well-educated and very enthusiastic, I dug our blender out of the basement, bought a variety of ingredients and been have been whipping up healthy, tasty and filling breakfast smoothies all week,  YUMMY!  I have to admit that I have been surprised that they truly are filling.  My stomach did not rumble in the morning all week! 

The only possible downside to the smoothies is that they do take a little longer to prepare than simply grabbing a granola bar.  However, I'm a great multi-tasker (I did almost put the chopped garlic in the blender instead of the crockpot yesterday, but I caught myself just in time!) and my husband hasn't minded cleaning up my mess - especially since I've been leaving him his very own smoothie!

Re-New My Relationship with Water
Over the past couple of weeks I realized that I have gotten away from drinking water at work.  The cup that I had always carried around the Center with me sat dry and empty on the corner of my desk.  This week I made a conscious effort to fill it up every morning on my way to our daily meeting and then carry it with me throughout the day.  One of my favorite features of the Adult Day Center where I work is the door ice and water dispensers on the fridge.  I do like ice cold water - it fills me up and wakes me up!

My battle plan is in place.  It was that simple.  I'm RE-COMMITTED, RE-CHARGED and RE-NEWED!  Workday Snack Attacks don't stand a chance against this girl.