A whole 30 (without drinking)

Jane and I (and daughter Carrie) did the 'Whole 30 Program' during the month of January. Jane and Carrie were likely pretty strict about it. I basically just ate whatever Jane prepared for me, so mine was probably more of a "modified" version. I still put an occasional honey and milk in my tea and had some non-fat Greek yogurt now and then. The big thing for me, though, was NO DRINKING OF ALCOHOL for the entire month! And, actually, it's been over a month since I've had a beer (I was taking daily shot(s) of whisky around Christmas-New Years while I was sick).

As far as the food part, I think the Whole 30 is pretty good (tasty). There aren't many things we have to do without as part of our daily diet, and you can eat as much as you want. So my/our diet doesn't change that much. Jane is great at making a variety of great-tasting meals - many of which she found in the whole 30 cookbook - and there was never any deprivation food-wise. I'm a big fan of veggies anyway!

Again, the biggest difference for me/us, was alcohol. Not that it should take a special meal program for us to change our drinking habits..... but it certainly doesn't hurt. We actually gave up drinking for Lent last year, and Jane did a whole 30 late last year as well (I did the eating part but didn't give up the drinking).

So, not only did I lose some weight this month (I'm down to 160 - could stand to lose another 5-10 lbs), but I feel great mentally and physically as well. I like not drinking. Not that I don't also like having an occasional beer, glass of wine, or nightly nip, but my mind simply works better when it's clear and I have more energy. I also tend to like myself more as a sober person.

I could probably go without alcohol altogether if not for the occasional social encounter. However, being someone who struggles with addictive behaviors, even social drinking is sometimes difficult for me. So I'm going to play this by ear for awhile. As of right now I have no desire to drink whatsoever.

So, that's that. I don't really know what I weighed at the start. I'd guess I maybe lost not quite 10 lbs - and over the holidays even - so I'm happy about that. 160 actually feels pretty good on me. I had to switch back to my 30x30 jeans (when I actually wear something other than sweat pants). I could live at this weight, but I could also still stand to get rid of the remaining ripple of this spare tire around my midsection. 150 is ideal; 155 is probably a little more realistic. We will see.

I guess I would consider myself a fan of the Whole 30. It doesn't seem like a diet at all to me (and maybe it's not), and the food is actually really good. And that's about all I know...