Morning!

Ok, so it's been a couple weeks since my last post. I've had a lot of thinking to do and I've been trying to figure out a viable plan vs. doing another Whole30 which has proved to be pretty difficult to get going on. It's been 3 weeks since I finished, and I've felt pretty crappy since I started eating regular foods again. I've also been really struggling emotionally to figure out a balance and not be too hard on myself for my choices.

At the end of the day, it comes down to figuring out what I want. I really wanted to do the Whole30 the first time around and I did it and stuck to it and was very happy with my results. The issue this time is I'm feeling like I "should" do it rather than actually wanting to do it, which is why it's not happening.

I thought a lot about my current habits and what I've reverted back to after my 30 day journey and I've realized that things aren't so bad after all. I would say I don't eat anything out of habit right now. I haven't gone back to my Starbucks habit (even though I have one occasionally), I haven't gone back to my pop habit (even though I have one occasionally - I struggle at restaurants).  I don't have any particular thing that I eat because I always eat it, which I think is a good thing. I have maintained some of the good foundations I built during the W30...I eat breakfast every day - even if it's a smoothie....I know that if I don't, I will be set up for a terrible day of hunger and energy crashes and making poor food choices. I try to limit my snacking, but when I do, it's Lara bars or nuts or fruit or veggies. I drink water...maybe not as much as I should, but I am still drinking it and actually crave it from time to time.

I'm happy this week with just doing moderation and making conscious choices. I am choosing to limit / eliminate dairy from my regular eating because I just don't feel well when I have it and can noticeably feel the difference when I don't. I'm really watching my sugar intake and choose to eat things with less or no sugar whenever possible. I'm trying to incorporate veggies with every meal in some way or another.

Is it perfect? Nope, but then that's life isn't it? My goal is to follow the 80/20 rule for the most part or even 90/10. It isn't going to result in a 20 pound weight loss every month that's for sure, but if it helps me feel better, and I'm putting healthy good food into my body, I'm hoping that the weight will eventually find it's way out the door!

Well that's the update from me folks.

Until next time...

T

Starting Again...

Without the "rules", I'm really struggling.

I thought it would be easy to transition to normal, healthy eating when I was done my Whole30. I thought my cravings were fully in check and I could handle the little extras....I was wrong.

So I'm going to start again. Day 1 will be July 20 which puts Day 15 on the 3rd of August and Day 30 on the 18th.

I wasn't really super stoked about my round 1 results. I mean they were good, don't get me wrong. I felt better, had all the benefits I talked about in my other blog, but it didn't seem THAT dramatic. The weight loss was great.

I've noticed that just 9 short days after finishing, I've begun to unravel...and quite quickly. I did my reintroduction days with W30 days in between, but little things have snuck back in. A caramel machiatto here, a bit of ice cream after dinner there....wham....I've got some problems already.

1. I'm starving in the morning by 10 or 1030 am. My beloved smoothie, even with protein powder is not keeping me full until lunch. I thought we had a deal smoothie....I thought we were friends...you're going to have to get kicked to the curb.

2. The headaches...oh the headaches...I've had one a day for the past 3 or 4 days. Coincidence? I don't think so.

3.  Knees...my old granny knees. I only noticed a huge difference in knee pain on day 28 - 30. It just vanished...well it's back and with a vengeance!

4. Abdominal discomfort - bloating, feeling gross after eating, bathroom issues (TMI) and just all around yuckiness.

So what to do?

I can just keep going telling myself I'm in control and I can make good choices and then eat Mcdonalds for lunch instead of what I brought from home.  I can try to add in some snacks and eat 6 times a day to supplement my less-than-satisfying smoothie. Or I can just bite the bullet and get back to a way of eating where I felt much better and try that out again for a month. Yup....that's the answer.

So back I go. The protein powder and the frozen mangoes are being put away and the sweet potatoes and chicken are coming back out...sigh....

What did I do to myself with this Whole30?

Until next time...

T

Well that was a week....

Someone told me on the Whole9 forum that if you don't plan for your reintroduction and post Whole30 days, you can unravel very quickly. I can see how that is true. I did a pretty good job last week staying "compliant" and reintroducing only one type of food at a time, but we ate only 2 dinners out of 7 at home. It's been SO nice having the expensive grocery shops balanced by not eating at restaurants or ordering in, but last week we went a little crazy.

That's done though now, and we have committed to eating dinners at home all week this week. I'm going back to mostly Whole30 this week after reintroducing dairy and pasta last week on a couple of days.

I have added in smoothies for meals now as part of my post Whole30. I find them easier to manage first thing in the morning and help with getting me to work on time. Today's was spinach, mango, blueberry, banana, Vega Protein & Greens powder, chia, hemp and buckwheat with almond milk and a splash of orange juice. I find them very filling and it's easier for me for sure. I know that after my Whole30 I was supposed to be this magical breakfast convert who could easily eat savory meat and veggies for breakfast, but that did not happen.

I made up a batch of the golden cauliflower soup (recipe on my recipe post) from The Clothes Make the Girl website and will use it as a "sauce" for my lunches this week.

There will be minimal pasta and dairy for me this week as we have a wedding on the weekend that is bound to be full of amazing food and treats! See? I learned something on Whole30...it's all about the balance. I like that I can make these decisions and not feel helpless to my cravings and lack of motivation.

Happy Monday everyone!

Until next time...

T

Recipe Links and Other Musings...

So my first re-introduction day did NOT go well.

Dairy and I are FRIENDS OFF!

SO back to Whole30 eating today which feels comforting and safe and hopefully will stop my tummy churning that's been going on since yesterday.

Someone on one of my Facebook groups posted this and I LOVE it. so I wanted to share.

This is awesome and I'm so glad she posted it.

I added some links to the right for recipes I either have made or want to try. I am SO fortunate that there is a huge Whole30 and Paleo community that has such great recipes and resources.

Until next time...

T

A New Day

What an exciting morning! I feel like I'm both at the end of something and the beginning of something else.

Now that I'm officially post-Whole30, I am excited to reintroduce foods that have been off limits for the past 30 days. With my weight loss kick started (in a big way) I'm able to actually wrap my head around doing what I need to do to take care of myself.

The thought of being completely in control over this, able to do whatever I set my mind to now and set up for success is something I can't ever say I've felt. With this brand new territory comes both excitement and fear. How can I make sure that the old me stays quiet and doesn't try to take over? How can I be sure that I won't just get lazy and fall back into my old habits. I can tell you for sure I want NOTHING to do with those old habits. Am I off "bad" foods forever? No, but they will be in moderation and for good reasons, not just because. I'm torn right now between the fleeting thoughts of "eat all the things because you can" and "stay in control and keep this going".

Obviously after putting in 30 difficult days, I do NOT want to give them back. They are mine and they are serving me well. I will continue to embrace this lifestyle with my modifications that make things easier and more varied.

It's a new day....it's exciting to think of what can happen next.

Until next time...

T