Leah’s On a Diet? Quilting Friends Podcast #44
Or you can watch the episode and see me working on the Love the Light wholecloth quilt here:
I was stitching on the hanging sleeve to the back of this beautiful quilt while recording the podcast. This is the walking foot wholecloth quilt from my book Explore Walking Foot Quilting. I’m trying to take care of little projects like this so they don’t get left unfinished forever:
In the evening I’m still working on this forever cross stitching project. Looking forward to seeing the end of this one!
All this week I’ve been working on an update to the Winter Wonderland Quilt Pattern. This is a very unique quilt I created right at the start of the Free Motion Quilting Project to test the designs and a technique I’d created called Reverse Shadow Trapunto.
I put the finishing touches on this pattern last night and you can find it right here at LeahDay.com!
It feels so good to have this quilt pattern back on the website today. It really is one of my best quilts, and pulling it out has made my fingers itch to pull out graph paper and my lightbox to design something new.
But the big news in this podcast came at the end. Yep, I’ve decided to go on the Whole 30 diet. This is a very restricted diet and I’ve cold-turkey cut off sugar, wheat, soy, dairy, and well, a whole lot of stuff except for meat, vegetables, and fruit.
My main goal for going on this diet is to feel better about my body, to become stronger, and to look on the outside the way I feel on the inside. I want to feel great AND look great and yeah, I want to have a rocking swimsuit body this summer!
Last summer, I was only comfortable showing this much of myself in a picture:
Um…yeah, there’s a lot more to me than just my shoulders and head!
This sounds weird, but I’ve never allowed myself to want this. In the back of my head I’ve always told myself “No, Leah, that isn’t for you. You’re not good enough to have a body like that.”
This is the exact same voice that told me for years that I wasn’t good enough to run a business, wasn’t good enough to make amazing quilts, wasn’t good enough to have a supportive, nurturing family. Who do you think you are, ugly girl? You don’t deserve any of that! (Yes, that is how the voice in my head talks to me.)
In my daily work to challenge these negative voices in my head I realized I need to work on my whole body – my flabby belly, my thighs, my floppy arms – and to actively take responsibility for how I look.
This will be a big challenge, the greatest of which is finally dealing with my sugar addiction. I LOVE sweets and they have long been a problem in my diet. More than a year ago, I stopped drinking cold-turkey. I’ve done the same thing this week with sugar and yep, I’m going through withdrawal!
The crazy weird symptoms I’ve been experiencing has left no doubt in my mind how bad sugar is for my body. But I feel stronger and happier every day I don’t eat it.
Yes, yes, I’ve long heard “things in moderation” and “a little bit won’t hurt” but that doesn’t work for me. I draw strength from the fact that I can make a declaration like “I will not eat sugar again” and stick with it. When I quit drinking, every day I didn’t pour a scotch was a day I felt stronger and more resolved to never drink again. Unless I trip and face plant into a chocolate cake, it’s just not happening!
So that is my major goal for February. 30 days of meat, vegetables, and fruit. 30 days without sugar. Would you care to join me? Learn more about the Whole 30 Diet right here.
I’ll also be sharing a recipes and workout videos I find helpful in our weekly newsletter. This is the best place to find links to all the quilting tutorials we share each week. Click Here to sign up for My Quilting Friends newsletter.
So that’s it for this month! It’s been a terrific start to the year and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.
Let’s go quilt,
Leah Day
I’m praying that you achieve your health goals
I also pray that you know how wonderful and valuable you are
I am surprised you don’t know how pretty you are I think you are a cute sweet girl and I’m so thankful for everything you do to teach us quilters with your young fresh angles
Thank you so much for your sweet comment. It's taken me years, but yes, I do see that I am pretty, and I also see my value. Making this choice is another step in that direction too.
I am also starting the Whole 30 diet (soon). I started by decreasing the specific food groups so it doesn't feel as big of a shock. And I think I'll be able to stick with the diet for the 30 days as well as the reintroduction phase. So good luck to both of us! liz
Good luck with your health goals- you are an inspiration to so many. I'm sure all of your quilting fans will be wishing you success !
You can do it! Planning out your meals for a week at a time would be a big help. And no cereals or baked goods will be a lot easier that trying to make perfect baked goods / pastry with gluten free flour substitutes! Good Luck!
It’s amazing how many products contain sugar. I did Whole 30 a year ago. Felt great, lost 17 lbs, blood pressure was great and I lost the bloat. It was a challenge but a good one. Learned a lot about my body. Unfortunately, I’ve reverted to my old ways. Sipping a cup of cocoa as I write this ?Good luck to you Leah!
Thank you for sharing your experience Kathy!
That is definitely true. I've been planning ahead and that's been making my days feel much more balanced and on track!
Thank you so much Vivian! I really appreciate your support!
Good luck Liz! I do hope it goes well for you!