razor15

My girlfriend brought home a sort of cleanse/diet/eating philosophy called the Whole30 last week and indicated her desire to do it. It involves eliminating dairy and grains from your diet for 30 days, as well as all processed foods and added sugars. That basically leaves meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, oils and such. I decided to join her in this endeavour...I'm eating a ridiculous amount of vegetables!
I struggle with mood so while I'm fairly fit and am not primarily motivated by weight loss, I am curious about the effect on my mood and energy. The claims made by this plan are impressive.

It's been 5 days and I know I'm in carb withdrawal! I need my toast and peanut butter!!

Is this smart to take on so early in my recovery???

25 days to go....

Soberwolf

For sure nothing wrong with healthy eating as long as its balanced which it sounds like

Carb withdrawl lol toast and peanut butter lol

when i first started dieting it was like that but its becomes normal after a few weeks and the body loves vegetables compared to processec easier on the bowls (yuk but true lol)

keep up the good work razor

sprout50

Sounds kind of like the paleo diet-meat and vegatables.

strategery

While it's good to eat healthy, I have never been a fan of any kind of diet that restricts what you can eat. It's easy to switch one addiction for another (eating disorder to alcoholism or vice versa) by becoming hyperfocused on something.
Losing weight does bring in a lot of additional stress. I am also early in my recovery to where I wouldn't put myself through that since it would increase my chances of relapsing. You will likely lose weight by just cutting out the drinking.

Anna

I would not have been able to manage that.

My early recovery days involved me being very kind to myself.

I hope you get some good results.

TiredEnough

Ive done low carb, high protein for six months and it has helped my energy levels. It definitely hasnt hurt my sobriety. I was a carb nut and after two weeks the urges faded away. Its pretty easy after that.

paloverde

Bread isn't a regular part of my diet anymore and I don't miss it. Like you, I sure did miss it at first. I eat way more vegetables and fruit than before, and fish too. Even though I pig out on ice cream a few times a week, cutting out the flour has really helped me lose weight and my energy levels are back to where they were years ago. No more afternoon lows and yawns after lunch. I'm sure no alcohol is also part of feeling better.

razor15

Yes it is exactly that, as I've learned just recently. I have never "dieted" in my life and I don't consider this a diet either...more of a test on how to cleanse and eat healthy. Well see what the results look like. It's the mood and energy for me, and perhaps a few pounds off the waistline.

Oh, the program doesn't allow alcohol either... ;-)

biminiblue

The Whole30 is a reasonable plan.

That said, no way I could stick with it forever. Ice cream. Cheeseburgers.

I agree that eating "a certain way" feeds right into the addictive tendencies. I found myself obsessing over everything I ate when I was losing weight. I decided it was better to obsess in the short term than be 60 pounds overweight. Now I eat pretty much anything - but I've almost cut out wheat. Bread/crackers/cereal are things I tend to binge on, so I just don't buy them. I'm not freaky about it, though. I still have a Subway sub now and then.

razor15

Good to hear that it won't take long for the body to adapt to the absence of simple carbs. I read this too, but I have to admit, if I can equate my recent low mood and physical discomfort to this, I'm amazed at the effect. I actually feel pretty good today.

Thanks for this and I love your picture! One of the best movies ever...and best villians!

phoebe64

IMO, it is a healthful way of eating, but it is hard to do all the time. I try, and go off and on with it. I am diabetic and it is a great for keeping blood sugar level and I take no meds.

But, I still "cheat" and allow myself ice cream or treats. My goal is to eat like that most of the time. Beans help me make food more hearty. A soup loaded with veggies, a little sausage and a can or two of beans is very hearty, healthful and satisfying. Just leave out the pasta or rice.

razor15

Thanks! This is my plan too, I don't intend to eat this way forever at all...but depending on how I feel, I could see myself significantly shifting the relative weighting of the food groups I consume...more vegetables and less dairy, breads can't be a bad thing. I'm pretty anal about certain things too so I have to be careful about that with food...somedays I don't know how my girlfriend puts up with me! If people could only learn you put the toilet paper on the roll with the paper rolling OVER TOP of the roll. Come on people!!! :-)

Thomasthetank

I've done a low carb bodybuilding diet before and my experience was that after two weeks I felt great. Better than dieting normally, not hungry, calm, less peaks and troughs in regards to energy.

However that two weeks was a nightmare!

I'm planning on going back on it once I'm in a better place, but being this early in my recovery and quitting smoking- I need my ice cream.

Oh yeah the diet I was on was carb cycling, where you have one carb day a week. It keeps your insulin levels too low to put on weight and promotes muscle growth. I highly, highly recommend it.

Magellan

I am a pretty healthy eater, I like the whole30, also the JJ Virign diet, but either are tough to stick for any length of time unless you make sure you have enough of the right food in the house, I got very moody on these and early on my energy was a bit sluggish as you are switching energy sources for your body. I already cut out most processed foods, stomach issues, and really didn't want any significant dietary changes while beginning my quest to eliminate alcohol, figured that would be challenging enough and would have the greatest impact on my health & wellbeing. That is a lot of change on your plate, good luck.

TiredEnough

That is pretty much what I am on. One day a week I eat whatever I want and stay away the other 6 days. Weights and cardio 5 days per week. I am the LAST guy to diet but this is so easy after the two weeks of discomfort I think I will just keep going. I have dropped 16 lbs of fat without muscle loss and I never feel hungry. Workouts are fine so I am not missing the carbs at all. Its nice not to feel like a zombie after lunch

Dee74

Early recovery was rough on me physically and mentally, without adding diets into the mix.
Often hunger or hunger pangs can manifest as alcohol cravings.

Personally, I think it might be kinder on yourself to sit this out for now, Razor.

D