Whole 30: Support

you thought i was done posting about whole 30 huh? well apparently i have a few more things i wanna share before i call it quits. well atleast until i do another whole 30 :)

while i was scanning thru facebook, i came across this. as i read thru this whole 30 timeline i found myself shaking my head and saying "uh huh" to just about everyone single one of them. especially days 10-11, days 12-15, day 21 for sure, day 28, and day 29-30. im glad to know it wasnt just me. but they are all just phases that you seem to make it through. but everyday i was thinking "is this over yet???"

i remember reading this from the book/website: "It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime."

while many people think this is hard, it really wasnt. it just puts you out of your comfort zone and isnt convenient. you have to think about everything you eat and prepare. you cant just drive thru a fast food place like many people do. i was more frustrated/annoyed with the fact i had to prepare every single meal. i got tired of cooking. and eggs. i hope i dont eat eggs for like a month. but any new change in your life can be "hard". you just have to adjust.

one way i found it to be less "hard" was all the support i had. bless my dear husband, he had to listen to me everyday whine about it. and everyday i would say "this is hard, i just want some ice cream". oops. but i had an awesome support group. my parents and siblings supported me. i had friends who reminded me everyday to keep going and that i could do it. a few are still supporting me today in my plan to keep going. i dont think i would have made it through without them pushing me along. i sure do love them :)

yes, there were some hard times where i really thought about cheating and giving up. but then i remembered why i was doing it, and wanted to prove to myself that i could do it. and i had so many people watching me do this and cheering me on. how could i let them down too?

so my advice: tell people youre doing this. tell them what its about and how itll change your life. no, they probably wont join you, but i bet youll inspire them to do something. i inspired a few people. they didnt join me, but they supported and followed me. 

so if youre scared to do it, dont be, its not hard. and its only 30 days. and itll change your life. you owe it to yourself.

Whole 30: Final Recap

well. i have finished the whole 30. and while i dont have that "omg i feel amazing!" feeling that some people got, i do feel pretty good. i dont have that "im full of junk" feeling. my skin has kinda cleared up. im not bloated. and ive lost weight. but more on that in a minute.

there a huge factor in what could have varied my results. i didnt follow it perfectly. you may all gasp now. ill wait.

i didnt eat wheat, dairy, beans, or anything horrible. but some things had added sugar in it. like certain salad dressings cuz i was lazy. and i ate far more fruit that i should have to curb some of my cravings. but dont get me wrong, i dont think it effected me that much. i do feel better, lighter and healthier. but theres something even better.

i feel like i can take control over what i eat now and ive learned alot. ive learned of fruits n veggies i never thought i would like, i do. ive eatin more veggies over the past month than i probably have most of my 26 years. i can go the day with just 3 meals and not snacking. i can eat enough protien to fill me up and keep me full. i can eat enough veggies to fill me up, cuz no one ever got fat on veggies. ive learned to read labels and im buying "free range" "cage free" no hormones" meat and eggs. im buying organic fruits and veggies. im trying to eliminate as much stuff from my meals that shouldnt be in it. i can pass up breads and sweets pretty easily. i just have this whole new view of food and what i want to put in my body!
 

though i had quite a bit of cravings, they arent as strong anymore. i was hoping they would go all away. but it looks like my sugar craving is here to stay. but i wont obey it everyday. maybe only like once or twice a week :)

ill be doing another post about the "after" but i dont plan to stop. i plan to keep up with the paleo lifestyle atleast 80% of the time. and also add in some exercise.

this has really been a good experience and id recommend it to just about anyone. especially if they have any illnesses that could be mostly cleared with this diet. and it feels really good to have inspired some friends in family to atleast try it :)


so here are my number results. i have lost 10 pounds and 4 inches overall.

i know i woulda had better results if i had worked out. but it was more about food for me than working out. i do have plans to start working out though.

i decided to treat myself for doing such a good job and bought myself a new dress. i love it!

 

if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or email me (lacesandladles@gmail.com)

now if youll excuse me, im going find some ice cream! ;)

Whole 30: Week 2 Recap

well, ive made it another week. im proud, but also SO tired of this already.

by this time, my cravings should be going away. but my cravings have been increasing as time goes. i want pasta, and bread, and ice cream. but, ive held strong and made sure i dont eat any of that. most days i look at jamie and say "i wanna quit" and he tells me "no you cant" ugh. i have such a supportive husband. but gosh, i just want some ice cream.

the biggest problem so far: i dont like veggies. ive been trying lots of veggies, and i just dont like them. i think its more of a texture thing. but i do not like brussel sprouts or eggplant. i did find out peppers arent as bad as i thought. but i cant only eat green beans, broccoli, and cucumbers every night. my fall back is usually a salad, but even that gets old. i just feel restricted to what i can eat. im ready for more variety.

they say going into the 3rd week you have so much energy and feel awesome. honestly, i feel the same. i dont feel like super awesome. maybe cuz i never really felt bad to begin with? im not sure. i havent really done any working out, so im not sure if i have more energy. i plan to get back into running this week, so maybe ill see a difference.

but on the plus side, i have noticed a difference in my body. slimming down. and i broke the rules *gasp!* i weighed myself since i was starting to get discouraged. im about 9 lbs down. in 15 days! thats a big crazy. its kinda my only motivation now to keep going.

16 days down.. 14 to go...

week 2: grocery haul

today starts week 2 and i have a better idea of what i should be eating and what fills me up. but im also getting bored with eating the same meats and veggies all the time (i love fruit, i could never get bored with it) so i decided to add in some new veggies this week, a few different fruits and i finally got me some almonds. after making this weeks meal plan i made the grocery list and off i went. 

at first i was afraid that all these new things would cost me lots of money. people always say eating healthy is expensive, but i only spent a little more than i usually do in a shopping trip. but im also not eating out or picking up treats, so it really comes out to be cheaper.

i shop at the local krogers. we dont have a whole foods, or trader joes, or any fancy healthy stores, so i just make do. heres what i bought:

brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, carrots, red and yellow peppers, and spaghetti squash. lots of color :)

raspberries, bananas, apples, and avocado

ground pork, steaks, pork chops, lean ground beef, and eggs

passion fruit tea, light tasting olive oil (for homemade mayo) and almonds

my meal plan for this week:

monday: spaghetti w/ spaghetti squash

tuesday: steak, sweet potatoes, and green beans

wednesday: chicken tenders, brussel sprouts,carrots

thursday: hoping for leftovers (wont be home to cook)

friday: stuffed peppers

saturday: grilled chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli

im hoping this livens up my meals for this week so i can keep going on this thing without being extremely bored with the food. ill be half way thru after this week :)

Whole 30: Week 1 Recap

well. i survived week one and live to tell the tale.

they describe the first week as the "angry" week cuz all the caffeine and sugar most of us consume have been taken from us. your cravings are out of control. you have headaches and withdraws. you are tired and feel like you have little energy. misery.

well im happy to say, i had no headaches, only tired one day. but i had lots of cravings. i wanted ice cream every. single. day. me and sugar have a love hate relationship. i love it. it loves my hips. i hate my hips. ugh.

i dont really have any complaints really. except im not a big vegetable eater. i could eat fruit all day long, but you are suppose to limit the amount of fruit you eat because of the sugar. but im slowly working vegetables in. sweet potatoes, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, spinach, and mixed green were all consumed this week. ill be adding a few more veggies in this week. gotta keep it interesting. i still got 23 days to go!

for most of the week i felt hungry often, but the past few days the hungriness has subsided. does that mean its working?  also, one good benefit.. im am not bloated like usual. ya know how you feel and look bigger at the end of the day? well that goes away, and i feel thinner and stay thinner throughout the day. i wouldnt say i have extra energy. that supposedly comes in week 3. but so far im liking the benefits im getting out of this diet.

and really, the diet isnt that bad. eating meat and veggies should always be how we eat. but the industry packs so much crap into foods to make it super yummy and we just cant help ourselves. now im not saying ill never eat that stuff again. but i will definitely limit how much of that i eat. there is added sugar in so many foods, its crazy! but ill save all that for the last recap.

7 days down, 23 to go!

Whole 30

for awhile now, ive been reading into the paleo diet. ive read books, ive read sites, one of my boss' does it. ive said many times i was gonna do it. paleo is basically the "cave man" diet. you eat what people wayyy back in the day ate. meats, veggies, fruits, and nuts. the basics. no cheese, no pasta, no bread. (eek!) when i was doing my reading, i kept seeing something about "whole 30" so i looked into that. and now im obsessed with the idea.

whole 30 is basically a strict 30 days of paleo. no cheat days. it detoxes your body of all the toxins and crap we have put in our bodies by eating lots of processed food. it may help if you have any kind of health problems (blood pressure, arthritis, acne, etc.) its basically making you the healthiest you can be by eat natural, whole foods. but you dont have to eat like this forever. you just continue the paleo diet after the 30 days. the program recommends adding dairy, wheat, and legumes (beans) back into the diet in the end as a process of elimination of what could be causing your health issues, but ill get more into that at the end.

there are a few reasons i want to do this.

1. ever since i got sick lately, i just havent felt great. when i was eating decent and working out almost everyday, i felt GREAT! like i couldnt believe how good i felt. but now i feel like crap basically. i dont feel myself anymore, and i wanna get to feeling great again.

2. ive expressed this to jamie before. i wanna be the healthiest i can be when i get pregnant. i dont want to just fill my body with junk food when im pregnant. i wanna make smart choices for me and the baby to be healthy. we dont plan on getting pregnant for another year or so, but why wait til then to try to get healthy?

3. ive been hush hush about this, but my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in february. its scary. and i wanna make sure my body is as healthy as possible so i dont have risk for certain healthy problems. my dads family has lots of health issues that im trying to avoid. if i really enjoy this plan, i plan on helping my mom adapt this lifestyle if she likes after her treatments (she cant eat certain foods right now, or has to prepare them certain ways).

i mainly wanna do this to get healthy, but i also wanna lose weight. weight loss is a "side effect" of this new lifestyle. so win win? healthy and healthier weight.

i plan on doing weekly updates. but ill be updating my "whole 30" page daily with the foods im eating. i have a few social events to go to this month, but ill just have to do my best with it. life doesnt get put on hold, and if i wanna carry on with this lifestyle, ill have to learn how to deal with these situations. jamie has agreed to do it with me at home to support me. which i love. id really love if he would do it all with me, but ill take what i can get.

im ready for this new journey!