120 Months

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

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120 Months.

That number doesn’t even seem possible.  I don’t know how so much time has passed already.  With each day, I feel you growing up and slipping away.  I know you won’t every “go away.”  But, you’ll need me less and while there are times I welcome that separation–the inevitable growing up that happens brings with it a bittersweet sadness.

These days have been a magical ride and I am so lucky to get to be your mom.  Watching you grow into the boy you are (almost a young man) has been humbling.  You are funny, kind, sensitive, loyal, honest, and determined.  You are respected by your friends parents and the kind of kid others hope to have.  You do all of this because it is who you are–hopefully it is who we have helped shape you to be.

Your smile gets me every time.  Your laugh is infectious.  You know what you like and what you don’t.  I hope this resolve stays with you as the world will offer you many things that I hope you are strong enough to say no to.  You have a good head on your shoulders and it will lead you in the right direction if you listen to it and not to the suggestions of your friends.

I know that we are moving into the time of your life, where I have to start being a bit more cautious about where and what I let you do.  I’m glad that you are small for your age–that makes your brown skin less scary.  There will be times that I don’t let you do simple things, and I hope you understand that is because I want to keep you safe.  Your friends won’t always understand why there are certain things you have to be more careful of than they are.  Trust your dad and I.

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Follow your dreams.  Leave it all out on the soccer field at every practice and game.  If you want to have a chance at your soccer dream–you have to be the hardest worker at every practice and in every game.  Listen.  Taking criticism is hard–but it is necessary. You have to trust that the coaches know more than you do.  Listen to what they are saying and think about how you can get better. Having someone give you a suggestion doesn’t mean what you did was wrong or bad–it just means there is maybe a better/different way.  Be open.  Understand it’s okay to not be perfect and not know everything.  You cannot get better if you don’t make mistakes.

Thank you for being an amazing son.  I can’t imagine what our life would be like without you.  Raising you is a privilege and I have loved every minute of it.

Happy 10th Birthday Noah.

Getting Back to Whole30

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

I have been off of Whole30 for about 6 weeks and it’s amazing how fast we (I) fall back on old habits.  I have learned that I cannot be less than fully committed or I will make awful choices.  You know, those choices that taste good for .3 seconds and then make you feel bad for days.  I’ve made lots of those.

I’ve been back to making excuses and I don’t feel good about it at all.  I’m tired, achy, bloated–all of the things I was not while being 100% committed to Whole30.  I’m starting a 3rd round on April 2nd–don’t want the pressure to stick to it on my anniversary (April 1).  I plan to do a Whole80.  That will take me to our next big vacation to San Diego at the end of June.  I need to rules and the commitment.  I am not ready to make healthy choices without the rules and structure.  I’ll then pick up and do 1 more round of Whole30 before my husband and I drop the kids at camp for 2 weeks and head to Belize.  I should feel amazing by then.

I’m looking forward to committing and keeping on the right path.  I had to really force myself off the path after I finished my first Whole60 and then another Whole30.  I didn’t listen to my body–I listened to my feeling and my old habits.  I know that I can break them and stay the course.

I am so happy to have found Whole30 and that I was able to really commit and know I can be successful.

 

Whole 30-Lessons Learned

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

Today is day 28.  I have gone 28 days without eating sugar, processed food, pre-packaged meals, dairy, beans, grains, and most impressively alcohol.

I can’t believe it.  When I started this experiment (what else do you call it), I was not sure how it would go.  I have tried eating and being healthy 19,840,785,321 times before and have only stuck with something once before (that was way back in mid-90’s when I wasn’t so busy and when I look back–it also wasn’t so healthy).

I have used my busy life as an excuse for so long.  I’m too tired to cook. I’m too tired to workout.  I have too many papers to grade.  The kids have too many activities to get to.  I just want a pint of ice cream.  I could go on for days with the excuses I have allowed to dictate my behavior.

Food addiction is real.  Sugar addiction is real.  Sugar is in everything.  I have to shop at Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) just to find bacon and sausage that don’t have added sugar.  Eating healthy and whole is easy.  Finding the paying for the food is not easy.  Last weekend, I went to 3 different stores to get our week’s groceries and spend over $200 to feed the four of us for the week.

But, I did it.  I am going to do it again and again and again.  At this point, eating isn’t about losing weight (that would be awesome) but that can’t be my focus.  My focus is on being healthy and getting my PCOS under control–I have too long ignored it.  Eating is also about how I feel.  and I feel great–I’m still exhausted at the end of the day (but that is life).

I have learned so much during this almost 30 days.  I don’t need food to feel good.  And by food, I mean cookies, cakes, ice cream, fries, bread, cheese, etc.  So many of the cravings I was giving into were mental cravings as opposed to physical cravings.  Not be allowed to have trigger foods and figuring out what those are has been so eye-opening for me. I don’t eat when I am bored anymore.  I drink water.  I don’t snack on the kids food.  I have not even  licked non-compliant food off my finger.

We had a trivia night on Friday and I only ate the food I brought.  I didn’t touch the pizza, the cheese, salami or crackers, the alcohol, or the dessert.  And it was easy.  I wasn’t temped by any of the food.  I feel as though I have made real progress with my addiction to food (specifically processed food).  I don’t miss anything.

Results:
I have kicked my old habits.
I have lost 11lbs (only changing what I eat–I’m adding exercise in for the next round).
I don’t miss any foods.
I feel good about doing it and accomplishing it.

Here is to the next 30 days.

Whole 30 Week 1

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

I. Feel. Amazing.  I can’t remember the last time that I felt so good.  I am by no means perfect (still some hip pain).  But, I am more full of energy than I have been in a while. And it’s awesome.

When I embarked on this Whole30 madness, I didn’t know what would happen.  I didn’t know if I could do it–you don’t get to be as uncomfortable and as overweight as I am if you can easily commit to being healthy.  I was especially uncertain, as I was doing it alone–my kids and husband were not going to be ditching the sugar and processed foods.  So, my house is still full of all of that stuff that made me feel like crap in the first place.

But I have reached a fork in the road.  One leads to health and the other is the one that I have been on.  At my age (44), I have to take the fork of health.  Before it’s too late.

I started the Whole30 plan last Monday.  I have been 100% committed thus far.  I thought it would be hard to give up alcohol–I love a glass of wine at night.  But it’s been awesome.  I am spending more time cooking than I have in the past (breakfast/lunch/dinner).  I am eating better and tastier than I have eaten in the past.

I am already seeing the health benefits–my ankle swelling from arthritis is totally gone.  This is something that has been bothering me pretty severely for nearly a year.  But today, after 1 week of eating only Whole Foods, it is gone.  I am looking forward to what other benefits I see in the coming weeks.

If you getting ready to start Whole30–know that it’s awesome.  Once you decide, it isn’t hard.  Planning is the key.  I have a busy life–I’m a teacher, my kids have activities every night of the week (aside from Fridays).  There is little time to prep food–or at least I thought there was.  But you can find the time.  If I can find the time-anyone can find the time.

The benefits far outweigh the hassle of cooking (and all those dishes).

Juice Cleanse Day 1

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / Leave a comment

So, Over the last year or so I have tried to get my healthy eating in check. With kids, work, activities, etc., it is have been so hard. Last week I found myself on a Kairos retreat for 3 days with 40 teenage boys and the food options were so not healthy. I ate and felt so sick the whole time. Bloated, tired, and full.

I decided then that I clearly needed something drastic to put me back on course. So, I opted for a juice cleanse. after some research I settled on Life Juice’s 3-day cleanse. I know this isn’t “healthy” but I need something to reset my body and my eating habits. I’m not doing it to lose weight, but to only feed healthy into my body. I am just doing 3 days, as I think that is enough of a commitment to reprogram my brain to crave healthy food and not the processd crap I have been eating.

I woke up this morning and of course was hungry–I’m sure a big part of that was that I knew I wouldn’t be eating.  I had my water with lemon and then I did have 1/2 cup of black coffee.  I know that they recommend herbal tea and no coffee–but I needed something to satiate me.  I also had 8 raw almonds.  Just writing that seems ridiculous.

AT 9 am I had my first drink–I’ll have it earlier tomorrow.

I have to admit at this point I am starving.  But I’m going to push through.  I do have some celery to munch on if I really need it and my raw almonds.  But I am going to try to push through today and hope that tomorrow will be easier.