About smoothies … and then about some more stuff

Since I haven't read It Starts With Food, I can't say whether I might change my mind about consuming a smoothie now and again. I have no trouble consuming them now, if the calories are in the bank. Since I don't use whey protein powder, I think of a smoothie as a treat or dessert, rather than a meal. I've only made a couple since April 6, one green and one fruit, and I used coconut milk for the liquid. That said, I dumped my remaining homemade almond milk into an ice cube tray and will use it for future concoctions.

Sharon's comment nudged me into adding the book to my Kindle library. I didn't revamp my menu for any other reason than to lose weight. As both of you know, I've tried every weight-loss plan under the sun, for most of my life, and been marginally successful only a couple of times. I say marginally because the two times I was able to achieve what looked like normal on the scale lasted about three years each time, and then the weight returned.

I must have thought I was cured.

The authors of ISWF ask:

What if you could increase your energy, sleep better, improve your mood and lose weight - permanently? 

What if you could break the unhealthy cycle of food cravings, indulgence and guilt - forever?

 What if you could naturally change your tastes, so the foods you love to eat are the same foods that make you healthier?

And what if you could eliminate the symptoms of your medical condition - just by changing the food you put on your plate? 

Just one of those issues was on my list. I printed ONLY the shopping list .pdf from their website. I didn't do any other research. I plunged ahead based solely on the experience of friends and my utter frustration after three and a half months of creating significant daily and weekly calorie deficits and losing just seven pounds. I know how to cook. I figured with the right ingredients available and the willingness to commit for 30 days, I would just see what happened.

I HAD NO HOPE THAT THIS WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Nothing else had, why should this?

Because I had no hope, I didn't write about it here on the blog for three weeks. It didn't even take 30 days to convince me of the benefits, based solely on my one desire, which was to lose weight.

I haven't been able to drop pounds like this since I was a much younger woman with a much more efficient metabolism.

So what else has happened? I might be sleeping better in general, but I still have a night or two, here and there, when sleep is elusive. I haven't seen the big spike in energy that most people do. My mood has not improved. In fact, I might be a little bitchier than normal. You could ask my husband about that for clarification. (I think this mood thing has more to do with outside life circumstances than with my food consumption.)

On the plus side, my hip pain is gone. I was seriously considering asking my doctor for an orthopedic consult, thinking I needed a hip replacement. I don't crave sugar. Not. At. All. Vegetables, formerly tolerable and necessary, are now delicious, and something to look forward to.

I do not write all this now to convince you. I'm not a shill for Whole30 (although I get a couple pennies from Amazon if you purchase the book through the above link). Everything I write on the blog is for me, and if something I do strikes your fancy, I'm here to support you. But I'm really supporting myself.

There will come a time when I get tired of this, if history is any indication. I don't think straying from the plan for, say, a celebration will be detrimental. I'm having a birthday party for my granddaughter in July. If I thought a piece of her cake would kill me, I'd decline. But I don't, and I won't. I don't want my life to revolve around what I can and cannot eat. I'll do my best, of course, but a happy life does, sometimes, include cake!

Just not now. And should that piece of future cake lead to daily smoothies, I hope I remember to come back here and read this post and remind myself of the goal.

Which is no longer just weight loss.