Home Stretch - lessons learned and Dehydrated in the middle of the ocean.

So, it's Mother's Day today and we are headed to the country club for a Mother's Day brunch with/for my mother-in-law. These family gatherings are the toughest for me, as there are some serious differences in lifestyle between me and my husband and his older brother and his wife. My mother-in-law is a true blessing and has her own strong convictions about how food can heal our break our bodies, so I always feel supported by her when I have to politely decline food at a family gathering. Buffets and potlucks are easier to navigate, but a sit-down dinner is always a challenge.

Today, though, I'm in the final stages of my Whole30. This week-end I experimented with adding some new ingredients into my diet. I feel the sugar demon waking from her 2 week slumber and i'm not sure if it's that I have been eating more dried fruit this week-end or because this is a 'normal' hormone fluctuation in me. Either way, I'm keenly aware that the countdown to my 'celebration' of completing the Whole30 is imminent, and I want to honour that, but at the same time, I feel so great, I don't really want to 'quit' eating like this. So, I'm taking today to figure out how to navigate the menu at the country club but also how to approach the next few months of active adventures and gatherings in regards to the food I eat.

The one thing I can say with confidence is that my approach to eating is WAY more conscious than it used to be. Eating was such a regimented and planned thing for me in the past, but now I am checking in with my body most of the time. Rather than looking at the clock and looking at my daily macro requirements to determine what and when to eat, I'm able to check in with my body to see if I'm hungry, tired, bored or lonely and then when it's time to eat, picking my food choices more organically and less clinically. I will be once again tracking my food starting next week, simply because I have a race that I'm doing in a few weeks and I want to tweak my performance for that. This time, however, it will be much more about just keeping an eye on intake and not a tool to plan what I eat. It will be another new experience for me, and one I look forward to.

For today I will be using the skills I have gained to navigate through our western culture of tons of 'food' barraging us and not much real nutrition to be found anywhere. It reminds me of that adage about being stranded in the ocean: 'water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink'. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for healthy, whole foods in my community and beyond!