What a month it has been...

Wow, my head is spinning with all of the things going on right now. All good, but still...

I finished Whole30 on April 30 and I have to say it was somehow profound and life changing. Giving up many nummy vices (sugar, dairy, grain to name a few...) really helped me gained some perspective on how much my mood and the way I feel is driven by the sugar dragon. The first two weeks were very hard in that I missed soda and really, honestly, emotional eating. It's hard to binge eat "whole" and healthy food - so when I would feel frantic, I didn't have any go-to "grab-able" favorites. It was a painful, wonderful a-ha moment. I have a new found love of eggs - it's crazy. I have found myself thinking I could put an egg on just about anything at all. And like it. (Old peaknit did not like eggs that much) Overall, the "whole" experience made me realize that I could kick cravings and feel empowered over my own bad habits. I didn't lose a lot of pounds but my body seemed to recalibrate - not so much "congestion" in the middle - my old pants are out of storage. I would recommend this process to anyone really wanting to put their habits under the microscope. A side note - I found a great deal of inspiration as well as some recipe ideas at Living, Loving, Losing. I felt a kindred spirit with the author, which helped keep me moving forward. The book It Starts with Food was also very helpful.

In addition to the Whole30 piece of the process, I did this with a group of yogis at DragonFly Yoga Studio, a "hot" yoga studio located in Madison. After experiencing a serious disc injury about 5 years ago which led to some talk last year about considering surgery (hell no!) - I had fallen away from yoga. I have felt mad at my body, and at myself, that I allowed the injury to get in my way. I had a nice practice prior to my injury, and was sad to allow myself to become inflexible and negative. This joint program of yoga/ Whole30 support was really inspiring for me. Katie Hill, the leader of this process, was very excited and amazing - her gregarious personality is absolutely contagious. And, I found that I actually felt better than ever getting back into sun salutes, and have been able to continue my former practice. It has been such a blessing.

So what else did this "selfish" (in a good way) journey do for me? I think that somehow, this empowerment gave me the courage to apply for a new job. It is still within the Department of Corrections - but it required an interview and a nice jacket. I started this new position last week for a couple of days, and continue full-time as of tomorrow. I am wanting to document this for myself because it is tremendous to me - I have been a probation agent for nearly 20 years (and mostly really dug it), so this change is pretty awesome for me. I have been comfortable being savvy at the same job for so long - comfort is good in that I went to to work feeling confident even if the offenders were sometimes tough to face, comfort is bad in that I have recently wondered if I am on autopilot, and can I do that for 15 more years? Yikes, I didn't think so. So now I am moving into a less offender contact position with potentially a better view of the landscape. While I am scared out of my mind to not know what I am doing and to leave some very dear co-workers behind, I feel ready for a new challenge. I can't help but wonder if the mind clearing process of Whole30 combined with recommitment to my yoga practice really helped me make this decision. (pipe in "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone" - cheese)


Goodbye Office, hello CUBICLE!

What am I doing now? Well, I turned 42 this month - so I confess pizza and cake was ingested - as well as my mom's annual rhubarb birthday pie (OMG). But I am continuing to try to eat more whole, be mindful and feel better. My husband is curious and has expressed that he would like to try Whole30 with me for June so I think I will do it again - with the idea that it may help me to keep the cobwebs clear as I turn this new chapter. In the big picture, I hope to maintain some level of "paleo" eating so I can feel better physically and think a little clearer. Time will tell.


Birthday pie!

I'm knitting a little, reading more - I'll be back soon...