Perfect Health Diet Supplements

So as I was writing my last post about moving to Perfect Health Diet when our Whole120 is complete, I was reminded that I followed the Jaminet's supplement recommendations pretty religiously during our Whole100 in 2015. I also did a month of no coffee in February, and interestingly I started really noticing changes in my body around Day 60. I didn't do either of those things this time, nor did I see those results (at least not as dramatically). Which led Annah to ask in one of our text convos if "maybe no coffee and supplements make all the difference?" Maybe.

When people start talking about supplements, I often have a knee-jerk reaction that I'm being sold something, but as you can see on the PHD supplement page, they are not marketing some hocus pocus concoction that you can only get from them! They only use an Amazon affiliate link to vitamins that they've sourced and there are notes about why you need them.

When I first switched to the PHD protocol,  I was shocked, SHOCKED by how much more magnesium was recommended on PHD. I take two pills now that are each as big as the one prenatal vitamin I took was--and that's just the magnesium! When I don't take it, I feel a difference.

I mean look at all of that!

Honestly it's quite intimidating to get started and the start up costs can add up too, now that I've been up and running for a while it's not so bad to replace the vitamins that I run out of here and there, and have I mentioned that I feel a difference? Because I really do.

So once a week I pull up the supplement page and fill up my weekly pill box. (I use an AM/PM one and my husband does one side while I do the other.) I check the page even when I remember what all I need to take because they do make adjustments occasionally as new research comes in. Never anything drastic. It's honestly kind of a hassle and I start wishing that they DID have their own branded supplement with everything rolled into one... Obviously I think it's worth it though.

I've seen in several places (that I'm too lazy to source right now) this theory of obesity where your body is starving for nutrients, so it signals that you need more food in order to try to get you to eat the nutrients you need. But by eating whole foods and balancing your nutrition, your body will tune in to an appropriate amount of food. I wish I'd tracked my food more thoroughly in both of these super rounds of Whole30 because while my portions go down over time, I wonder if they went down further on the supplements? Or maybe it was just that my nursing baby was farther along. And I was two years younger.

I have no answers! Seriously. Wish I did.

Anyway, you'll also notice on the supplement page that there are several real foods listed as "supplements" because they believe that it is super important that you eat them for certain vitamins and minerals. Fermented veggies and seaweed were pretty easy for me, but I didn't grow up eating liver and was pretty intimidated by it. I did figure out something that works for me though, but that's it's own blog post...

Sarah's Rules

Our "Whole120" will be concluding at the end of this month, and if past Whole30 experiences have taught me anything, it's that I need to have a plan in place. Always. For me, a plan is Food Freedom; in that food freedom I'll be including a few "non-compliant" foods, but the goal is to include them in a careful and controlled way.

NEW RULES

• The Perfect Health Diet guidelines ALWAYS
• "Moderate amount" foods on Saturdays only
• Supplements and supplemental foods (seaweed, liver, fermented vegetables, etc.)
• 30 day accountability (I'll continue to do my measurements and progress pics every 30 days with a summary of what my rules for the next 30 days are)

The Perfect Health Diet

The Perfect Health Diet was developed by the Jaminets, a brainiac husband and wife team who wanted to resolve their personal health issues and figure out what foods promoted optimal health and longevity. Being hard science people, they delved into PubMed and read a stunning number of research papers which are cited in their book. The book is very research driven but I felt that it was pretty accessible. If you're into that kind of thing. What I find particularly compelling is that the Jaminets were not beholden to any particular interest group, nor have they been remotely "gimmicky" about their diet. Sometimes I think they should market it harder!

The primary differences between this and Whole30 (which is only meant to be done as a personal experiment to discover how YOU feel eating certain foods) is that you can have rice, dark chocolate, occasional alcohol, full-fat and cultured dairy. HOWEVER, all those things are expected to be kept in moderation.

I actually did PHD before Whole30. I felt fabulous when I was strictly adhering to the guidelines but I struggled with making the "enjoyment foods" in the stem and leaves bigger than the apple...

This is my second's first birthday when I was strictly PHD. Not the greatest pic, but I can tell from the angles of my face that my weight and inflammation were down.

I can't remember how I first heard of Whole30 but I immediately noticed that there was a lot of crossover between The Perfect Health Diet and Whole30, and that Whole30 pretty much cut out the stuff I struggle with. I did two Whole30s just based on what I found online, but then I decided to read the book, and I was pleasantly surprised to find an endorsement on the back from Paul Jaminet. My nutrition guru! A lot of the concepts are similar, though Melissa Hartwig has a way of phrasing things that sticks in your head (Food Without Brakes, SWYPO). And while Perfect Health Diet is SOLID on the science, It Starts with Food addressed some of the emotional and habit issues I was having with consistently eating well. (Though they aimed to figure out the best diet for health, the Jaminets themselves weren't actually doing this for weight loss. I always picture them, when faced with temptation, being horrified at the thought of ruining their health experiment. That is pure fan fiction based on nothing but my own issues.)

Anyway, if you're big into reading about diet philosophies like I am, you'll know that moderation is difficult to define for most people and pretty much impossible for an abstainer. We'll see how this goes, but right now I'm confining those foods (rice, dark chocolate, alcohol, dairy) to Saturday. The rest of the week will look like Whole30.

Thing is, I really thought I was going to correct my brain through Whole30. But while other Instagrammers who had started at the same time as me started declaring their food freedom, I just wasn't feeling it.

So I've been doing A LOT of research as we near the end of this. I've read Food Freedom Forever. I've been checking out recommended practices for food addicts. I've pondered over various research articles, some with science that was a little over my head. A couple concepts have been coming up repeatedly to the point where I think I really need to pay attention.  First is this idea that a subset of the population responds more strongly to food and is more likely to become "addicted" to certain types of foods FOR WHATEVER REASON (I've read several different explanations for why this might be). The second thing is that the most effective way to deal with this--I'm going to go ahead and call it an affliction--is to develop firm guidelines for yourself based on what you identify as your triggers through HONEST ASSESSMENT. Third thing is that you need accountability.

So that is why I'm going to continue to do 30 day assessments. If I realize that my Saturday thing is sabotaging me, that guideline will get changed for 30 days, at which point I'll reassess again. As much as I'd like to just not think about food that much, I know from experience that that only makes my weight go up.

Another principle I've come across multiple times that is speaking to me is only eating three meals a day. My nursling is nearly 8 months and starting to eat more solids, so I'm going to work toward that. But for the first 30 days I'm not committing to it yet because I'm still having episodes of real hunger--though it's usually when I haven't eaten enough at my three meals. I allowed for a fourth meal during our Whole120 to help meet the demands for milk production, but I allowed that to slip and started snacking more, so I'm going to work on curbing that again.

I feel like I have a lot more to say, but it's taken me five days to write this much, so I'll just try to do more quick snippets on Instagram.

Wish me luck!

P.S. I should mention that I've done reintroductions in the past, so I'm not worried about doing them this time. I do know that dairy makes me breakout, so if my face starts annoying me with once a week dairy, I'll cut back. I also know that flour=heroin for me, so Imma stay far away from that ish.

Let's Talk Turkey About Post Partum Whole30

I've been mulling over this post for a while
because we try to keep an overall positive tone on the WholeLifeSisters. And that wasn't hard at all the last time around when weight was falling off of Annah and I.  Each time we did progress pics, there WAS change. And I also felt REALLY good. My mood was more even, I had more energy, and I was really proud of myself.

So I was really looking forward to this round. Nevermind that my baby was five months younger than the last baby I did this with! Since this is baby #4, I have plenty of past experience to tell me that I don't lose much weight until the end of baby's first year, but I guess I hoped that some kind of Whole30 magic would happen and Things Would be Different This Time. And even if the weight was slower, I craved all of those good feelings I mentioned last time around. NSVs FTW!!!!!!!! #amiright

Thsee were my results in 2015

Well, PERHAPS I am feeling much better than I otherwise would. Hard to know what would have happened in an alternate universe. But I don't feel great. I am so tired. Mind numbingly tired. Because my baby has good nights and then she has really crappy nights and even the good nights aren't the 9 hours of sleep my body craves. I average about 4.5 hours. Because I also have a toddler. And a husband. There's not a lot I can do about this situation right now.

FACT: Being up a lot and being tired all day makes you crave carbs and also more food than you would normally eat.

Several people, when I whine about how disappointed I am with my results this round, have suggested that I cut back on portion sizes and exercise more.

Have I mentioned that I also homeschool my kids? And might I underscore that there are four of them? I don't get naps. I don't have a lot of time. Eating Whole30 has already been a huge commitment because I don't get to throw in the towel and order a pizza when the day has gone sideways. I can't even buy a standard salad dressing. Chopping vegetables is a part time job at this point. I've put serious work into making this a priority and sticking to it.

So, yes, perhaps in theory I could do more. But given my limitations of Other Priorities, budget, personality type, and life stage, it just isn't realistic. My portions have reduced naturally since I started Whole30 (this always happens, which is why I eat to satiety and [usually] don't stress about it), but I could eat less--but being hungry on top of everything else I have going on just isn't going to fly. Probably not a good idea for my milk production either. Yep, still nursing.

And if you hadn't picked up on this, I'm also in a really bad mood. Likely it's also related to sleep, but yeah. All that positivity and energy--MIA. About the only thing I feel like I've gained on this Whole120--and all that is currently keeping me going--is the knowledge that I stuck to it and I don't have to ask myself what might have been.

My mind is in a totally different place than at the end of the Whole100. Then I was contemplating staying Whole30 FOREVAH! I felt so good, and I definitely did not want to slide back into bad habits. This time I just keep thinking I want a huge glass of wine and DESSERT. I'm actually hoping I haven't hurt myself with this Whole120 by making it harder psychologically to continue eating well after my time is up. I'm wondering if Food Freedom only comes when you like how you look and feel--and if you don't, you're just screwed no matter how hard you worked.

And,  yes, I should be gentle with myself, give grace, recognize that my body has produced and nourished four humans, blah, blah, blah... it's just frustrating, SO FRUSTRATING, to do the work and still not be able to get your wedding ring back on. Still need to go buy another round of clothes in a larger size. We're not talking about the last 5-10 lbs here...I'm significantly overweight. I don't recognize myself in pictures and it feels like I'm trapped in this body.

So we have 20 days left, and I'm working to put some new rules in place. I just don't trust myself to "listen to your body" because my body is stressed out and wants cake and a martini. I don't know if this will work or not, maybe it's another bad idea, but I'll report back.