Hey! Guess what! No, not chicken butt. I've lost 31 pounds! Thirty of those pounds came off between today and August 1st of this year. One of those pounds came off in the two months before August. Guess what else! I still have 16 Relpax tablets (migraine abortive) left from my September prescription of 32 tablets. I used to barely make it to the end of the month with my prescription. Guess what else! (last one for now) I'm not taking any antihistamines. I used to take a 24-hour zyrtec every night -- for the past 10 years or so (and before that, it was a different antihistamine). It is Whole30 magic!

That's not to say that I don't have some sneezing every now and then. And I do still get a headache that turns into a not-so-nice migraine sometimes. But I don't think I have the words to describe how dramatically life changing these past three and a half months have been. Recently, I've been adding in some non-Whole30 foods to see what would happen. I'm shocked to find that cow dairy causes problems for me. My family is from Wisconsin, how could this be? But sheep or goat dairy seems to be fine. Bacon with no preservatives and almost no sugar is okay. I don't have the desire to try grains, so I'm not going to. Also, I've found that if I let more than a little sugar into my day (in the form of Larabar-abuse [one day I ate three; why do they have to be so good?] or juice or erm, Halloween candy), it causes a landslide of sugar cravings and more headaches. At 44, I'm learning new things about myself and my body.

Each week, regardless of Halloween candy or not making it to Bulldog, I continue to lose 1-3 pounds. I take this as a signal from my body that it is happily returning to its non-inflamed state. I don't continue eating this way because I think we should eat like our ancestors or even because I am still losing weight. I eat this way because I feel good when I do. It's not a "diet" in the sense that when I get to whatever my "normal" weight is, I'll start eating pasta again. I'm not really "sticking" to anything with willpower or by counting points or calories. This is just how I eat. Does that make sense to those of you who aren't eating the same way as I am? I make sure to have plenty of non-processed foods to choose from -- and yes, I do have to cook and plan a little. But other than that, it's simple. I eat when I'm hungry and I stop when I'm satisfied. I try to have healthy fats with my meals. I have no desire to eat until I'm stuffed like I used to. No more rolling on the couch trying to release my pants! I eat what I want and if I get hungry again, I eat again. This is simple, but it is such a difference from how I used to be.

I'm still struggling to figure out my schedule with Bulldog and I missed this past week due to my work and tutoring schedules. But I know that I need to get there at least twice a week. The weight is coming off, but if I don't build muscle, I'll be flabby... and droopy! (Get it? Droopy?) This week I'm going to put my effort into getting to Bulldog. That does take willpower!