First some awesome news - I have been a-fib free for just over 1 year and.... as of Friday, I am 100% off my heart medication! This is very monumental for me as the past year and a half has been filled with more EKGs that I can count, cardioversions (where they shock your heart into rhythm - yikes), a catheter cardiac ablation (game changer for me), hospital visit, wearing a heart rate monitor (those modules burn the fuck out of your skin btw), and the worst part in my opinion .... medication. LOTS of medication. I actually have an old lady pill box with an AM and a PM side to make sure I would remember to take all my shit. UGH. Pretty sexy to keep that on your nightstand. That is going in the trashcan today!
Of all the meds I was on - the beta blocker was the worst. It made me feel so tired and just weird all the time. I had zero energy, difficulty concentrating and forget about attempting to maintain a healthy weight. I packed on about 15 lbs since being on them. I know not everyone experiences this but - I did for sure. Now, not sure if it is the beta blocker itself or - lack of energy, frustration with my situation or my love for wine & cheese or... all that wrapped up into one perfect storm but.... happy happy happy to say I am off the meds! I am already feeling better which I am sure is psychosomatic but yesterday - I was walking Charlie in the park and was able to run sprints with him - which is something I have not had the energy or even the inclination to do for quite some time. It felt so good to run fast again or - even just run again. So... YAY ME!
Enter another round of Whole30.
So... no grains, no dairy, no sugar of any kind (agave nectar & honey, I am looking at you), no artificial chemicals/additives (bye bye sugarless gum), no pasta/bread and here is the worst part - NO ALCOHOL. Whole30 sounds terrible when you start out by thinking of all the things you cannot have. But - if you look at it as a focus on whole, fresh, natural foods - so lots of protein, fresh veggies & fruit - and attempting to eliminate as much junk from your body for 30 days - it is much more doable. It really helps me to see my relationship with what I consume and the why behind it.
I am on day 5 and I am finding it very similar to my past round - I do not miss the carbs, or cheese, or cupcakes (that will probably all hit next week). I do not mind all the food prep and planning... or all the slicing, dicing and chopping of veggies. It is the lack of vino that is my biggest pain point. I miss my damn wine! I was using it as an all occasion salve....
Celebrating a special occasion? Wine!
Feeling sad about how tight my jeans are? Wine!
Girls night out? Wine!
Gee I want to work out but... Wine!
Shitty day at work - Wine!
Productive day at work - Wine!
YAY it's Friday - Wine!
Shit, it's only Tuesday - Wine!
This really does help me to reflect on how much of the nectar of the gods (aka Pinot Grigio) I was consuming and how much of a crutch it had become. Five days in I am realizing I need more kombucha on the regular in my life and less vino. As of now - I have no plans of quitting the vino for good but - definitely need to practice more moderation for sure.
So... since I will be sober for the next 25 days... I anticipate more posts on my Whole30 journey. "The devil will find work for idle hands to do" - I cite this phrase to Morrissey (gotta get my Smiths reference in here), but it could be Chaucer or a bible verse who knows.... translation here is - expect more blog posts on my food for completely selfish, self-cataloguing, and distracting entertainment purposes only. It feels good to be back!
