Well, this is it! Whole 30! Day 30!

As I sit down to type this, I am eating lunch on my very last day of Whole 30! A chicken breast, a sweet potato, some bell pepper slices, and grapes. 

The last 30 days have been amazing. Yes, I've struggled. Yes, I've wanted to quit. No, I didn't always want to follow the rules. Yes, I'm sick of salad. But, I made a goal, and I stuck with it to the end in an area of life that I've never felt in complete control of.  And of that I'm proud. My energy levels are soaring, I'm fitting into pants I haven't worn in a long time, my skin is clear, my head is clear, working out is easier, workout recovery is faster, and I feel healthier in general. Twice in the last two weeks I've been called a health nut, and I liked it!

I have such a confused head and heart about what tomorrow and the days after hold. I want all the things I haven't been eating for the last 30 days. But, I am terrified of them at the same time! I'm scared I'll fall right back into bad patterns (and fat pants). I'm scared eating them will make me feel sick. I'm scared of losing control. But, I do not want to stay this crazy strict, either. Must. Find. Balance. 

Tomorrow will go something like this:

  1.  Weigh myself!

  2.  Drink coffee with cream and sugar!!

  3.  I'm not sure about lunch... I need to think about that

  4.  Lou Malnati's pizza for dinner with a brownie for dessert!

I'm sure I'll regret it all. But, it's just one day. 

Whole 30! Day 21!

This has been quite a week. But, it has flown by and been relatively easy to stick with the Whole 30 plan. I do have to give my sweet husband most of the credit, though. He cooked up some yummy dinners last week!

Lately, I have been craving sweets something fierce! I wanted apple cider chocolate glazed donuts SO badly on Sunday. I wouldn't normally have those, so I'm not quite sure where that craving came from. I had a dream Sunday night that I ate a turtle. Not like a swims-in-a-pond-lives-in-a-shell kind of turtle, a chocolate pecan caramel cluster kind of turtle. In my dream, someone told me the turtle was Whole30 compliant. And I ate it. And I enjoyed every bite. As soon as it was gone, it occured to me that there is absolutely NO WAY to make caramel and chocolate without sugar! Which meant that there was NO WAY that candy was compliant. Whoever it was that told me it was compliant was laughing at me. I was MAD. And disappointed in myself. It was so real that it took me a few minutes to realize it hadn't really happened when I woke up. Phew! I'm so glad that was a dream!

Yesterday I had a killer headache all day. It was just like the headache I had the first couple of days with no sugar. It almost makes me wonder if I was "dosed" with some sugar on Sunday. But, I've run through everything I ate on Sunday and couldn't come up with anything. So, I think I must have been dehydrated.

Positive changes I have noticed in the last week: my joints don't hurt, I don't get tired as early, and I can run faster. I ran 6.5 miles on Saturday (by myself because my normal running partners were both out of town) at an average pace of 12 minutes per mile! (Did I mention I was by myself? I'm pretty proud of that becaues I only ever do long runs with friends!) I had an active afternoon and was able to stay up until midnight without feeling exhausted! Normally I turn into a pumpkin at 11:00. And, on Sunday I wasn't the slightest bit sore. I ran again today (only 3.5 miles) and my average pace was 11:15 per mile! And again, I'm not sore! 

As this 30 day challenge comes to an end, I need to put some serious thought into how I will change my life going forward. What foods will I allow back in and what will I keep out?

  1.   Based on the decreased inflamation in my joints, I think I've decided to cut out legumes. I never ate a ton of beans to begin with. But, I love peanut butter. I think I can replace it with almond butter without missing it too much. I'll probably still have the occasional PB&J, but no more pre-run peanut butter toast fueling.

  2.   I will most definitely continue to read food labels. Yesterday, I ran to the grocery store to pick up some salad things for lunch. I needed a protein for my salad, so I decided on lunch meat turkey. I picked up the Applegate Farms roasted turkey because I know that brand has a good reputation. Read the label and, perfect! Turkey and water. I decided to check out the label on the Sara Lee turkey and I swear, the ingredients list was a paragraph, and hardly anything in the list sounded like food! What's the purpose? Food should be food. End of story. (unless it's candy. Then it should be sugar and a conscious decision is made to eat sugar. And sometimes, that will be ok.)

  3.   Protein! The other day I made zucchini noodles with red sauce. I also made meatballs, but they were disgusting. I could not make myself eat them. So, I ate the "zoodles" and sauce. The whole time I was eating, I thought, "There's no protein in this! I'm going to be hungry in an hour!" Funny thing is that three weeks ago, I would have gladly eaten noodles and sauce with a side of garlic bread (who are we kidding, 3 sides of garlic bread. That stuff is good!) without even considering meatballs. I have definitely realized how filling protein is.

Stay tuned for more "life change" decisions!

Recipes to try this week: 

Chicken Divan: http://popularpaleo.com/2013/07/14/skillet-chicken-divan-dairy-free/

Stuffed Pepper Cassarole: http://www.plaidandpaleo.com/2014/05/stuffed-pepper-casserole.html

Tonight, Jerry made awesome chili. Have I mentioned how much I love that man? Because I do. A whole lot. 

When I started this post I thought I had nothing to say today. That's silly. I ALWAYS have something to say, apparently. :-)

Whole 30 Hump Day!

It's all downhill from here, folks! I've made it through the halfway point!

The last couple of days have ben challenging to say the least. Yesterday began with an alarming message that my brother was undergoing emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer. A serious condition and scary surgery. I spent the day in the hospital. First waiting for him to go into surgery. Then waiting for news about the surgery. Then waiting for him to wake up. Then waiting for him to be brought to a room in the ICU where he will be watched closely for the next couple of days. After that, he will be moved to a less critical ward of the hospital for further recovery. 

When I left for the hospital in the morning, I joked with my husband that for sure there would be healthy food for me at the hospital, right? Not necessarily. Lunch consisted of a salad from the salad bar, a sub-par grilled chicken breast sandwich, sans bun, and NO salad dressing. I choked it down, but it was not very enjoyable. I waited until I got home last night to eat dinner and settled on leftover almond chicken tenders and potatoes from the night before. What I really wanted was a large glass of wine and something chocolatey. Hello, my name is Dana and I am a stress eater. 

At the hospital, I stoppd by the vending machine out of curiosity. There was not a single thing in there I could eat. If this situation had happened last month, I would hav gladly accepted the excuse for my go-to stress indulgence: a snickers bar, a bag of cheddar and sour cream Ruffles, and a Mountain Dew.  I would have had horrible digestive issues to go along with the already stressful day and I would have been completely miserable. Instead, I laughed at the stupid choices in the machine and ate the apple and nuts I brought for a snack.

A coworker has been taking a cake decorating class and brought in her most recent masterpiece to share with the office today. It was pretty and it looked beautiful. But, I politely declined a piece and went about my business. I will admit, not snatching up a piece of that cake was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was torture knowing that homemade sweet goodness and fresh frosting were sitting right outside my office. All. Day. Long. 

At Bible Study tonight I giggled to myself as a huge bag of Peanut M&M's was passed around the group. M&M's are my favorite candy. And peanuts only make them better. In fact, I woke yesterday morning from a nightmare where I ate an entire large bag of Peanut M&M's myself and had to deal with the post splurge guilt. It seemed so real! It took me a few minutes to realize that it was only a dream. Boy was I happy once I figured that out!

Here's my exciting realization for the day: My hair isn't falling out anymore!!! For the last few months, I was noticing that every time I style my hair, I would end up with hair all over my shirt. When running my fingers through my hair, 5 or so pieces would come out. Now, NOTHING!!! This is huge for me. I felt like I was going bald! I wish I could step on the scale to check my weight loss progress. But no scales is part of the plan. We tie too much of our success and failures to a number on the scale that they say stepping on the scale can derail progress. So, little things like "my hair doesn't fall out anymore" will have to be my guide for now.

Whole 30! It's Day 13 already!

Hey everyone! I can't believe it's already day 13!
Sorry I haven't written in days. I keep meaning to, but I've been busy enjoying life.
It occured to me sometime on Thursday that I haven't even thought about gum in days. And you know what? I don't miss it! That's HUGE for me.

I may have overdone it with the exercising last week. In my last post, I told you that I was going for a double workout day on Thursday. I did, and I survived. But, I was SO sore on Friday that I took an unscheduled rest day. Since then all I've had the courage for is running. The Bestie and I did 4.5 miles on Saturday. I golfed with a girlfriend yesterday. And I ran 3 miles with a couple of girlfriends this morning. I took the day off to spend with the family, so after this post, I'm going golfing with the husband and daughter. It's important to stay active!

I made it through days 10 and 11, a social gathering with friends, and a family birthday celebration this weekend, without cheating or quitting! I stopped at Whole Foods on the way to the party Friday night and made myself a salad and picked up a couple bottles of Hint fruit water (to replace the wine I would not be drinking). While everyone else indulged in pizza and chocolate, I stayed with my plan. It was much easier than I thought it would be! But, I do think I'm ordering a pizza on October 31st. :)

On Saturday, my sister let me season the taco meat and the guacamole at the birthday party so that it was compliant and I made my own version of Western dressing so I could have a taco salad. It was SO good! I'll admit that Saturday was hard. One of my favorite things to do is relax with my family and eat comfort food and sweets. I passed up some amazing looking brownies, cookie cake, taffy apple salad, and M&M's, not to mention guac and chips and walking tacos. But, I also passed on the guilt that normally follows me around after a day like that. So, it's a win!

I'm a bit nervous for this week. I haven't had much time for meal planning, so I have a feeling there are a lot of salads in my future for lunches. And I don't really like salads. Weird thing: I'm actually craving tomatoes. What? I don't even LIKE tomatoes.

Jerry said he would try out some Whole 30 recipes for dinner this week. I'm thinking:

• pot roast (http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2013/01/easy-paleo-pot-roast-whole-30-compliant.html),
• almond crusted chicken fingers (http://www.redskyfood.com/2013/09/almond-crusted-chicken-tenders.html),
• chicken apple sausage skillet (http://simplymadewithlove.blogspot.com/2014/06/chicken-apple-sausage-skillet-ii.html),
• Pork tenderloin with peach salsa (http://skinnyms.com/pork-tenderloin-with-peach-salsa-and-peppery-slaw/),
• and Steak and potatoes for Friday.

But now it's time for some eggs and hashbrowns with the family before we head to the golf course! Have a wonderful day everyone!

Whole 30! Day 8

Hey There!

I survived week 1! And, I've got one day of week 2 in the books!

I wish I could explain the mental ups and downs I've experienced the last few days. One minute I feel like this is SO easy and logical and why would I ever go back to the way I used to eat? The next minute, I want to order a pizza. My brain is all messed up. I have thought many times, "Am I just wasting my time? Am I going to go right back to the way I was before as soon as these 30 days are over?" I just have to remember that I have made a commitment to myself to follow this thing through for 30 days. If I get to the end and feel like the changes weren't worth it, what have I lost? A month of splurging, bloating, and weight gain?

Jerry and I watched "Fed Up" the other night. It's a documentary about the food industry, sugar, and obesity. It was an eye opener for both of us. I'm pretty sure that I was consuming my daily allowance of sugar before lunch most days. It's disturbing to know what years of that much unhealthy eating was doing to my body. I can't stress enough how unlikely of a candidate I am for this eating plan. I existed on nothing but candy, pasta, rice, and cheese for most of my life. Even when I lost a substantial amount of weight a few years back, I was eating processed convenience foods and not paying attention to anything but calories. It's hard to tell if I'm feeling very different yet. But, I hear the most benefits come after day 11. So, stay tuned.

The next couple of days will be challenging. And, according to the Whole 30 timeline, people are most likely to quit on days 10-11. It's times like this that I'm really grateful for social media and internet resources. I feel liike there's so much accountability and support online that I'm not likely to fail. Tomorrow, I'll work all day and then head to small group for church. I'll stop at home on the way for a quick dinner. Friday night, I'm going to an Arbonne party at a friend's house. Saturday will be the hardest. I'm going to a family birthday celebration at my sister's house. Food is always such a huge part of family celebrations. Preparation is going to be the key to success, for sure.

I've finally found the energy to workout again this week! I ran 3 miles on Tuesday and did day 1 of the 21 Day Fix workout series this morning. Tomorrow I plan to do day 2 of the 21DF AND run! Crazy? Maybe. I'll let you know how it goes.

Whole 30! Days 4 and 5

Made it through the weekend! I have to admit, I was nervous going into this weekend. Weekends are crazy busy for me and usually include lots of overindulging. This weekend included a 9:00 Saturday morning baton lesson, a baby shower, an evening at Althea's house, a baton competition, and fundraiser party at a friend's house, and youth group (followed by McD's with the students). I'm happy to report that I was able to stick with the plan and enjoy my weekend without getting overwhelmed, angry, or bitter!

I am a creature of convenience. This plan is anything but convenient. Saturday morning, I grabbed a banana and some nuts on the way out the door for a less than ideal, but still Whole 30 Compliant, breakfast. For lunch I heated up leftover fajitas. I snacked on apple slices and almond butter at the shower. This morning's breakfast was hard boiled eggs and a banana instead of the normal Dunkin Donuts pre-baton competition brakfast. I snacked on grapes at the competition and came home for more leftover fajitas for lunch/dinner. At McD's tonight, I ate a Larabar (awesome option with all compliant ingredients!).

Althea and I cooked up a storm last night! Honestly, though, Althea did most of the cooking. I browned some meat, cut up a few things, made tea, and offered moral support. But, I left Althea's with butternut squash soup, sweet potato chili, meat sauce, chicken, hard boiled eggs, and jicama for snacking. I am so prepared for this week!

You'll be happy to hear that my energy levels are finally elevated! And, I'm sleeping like a baby. I don't think I moved last night betwen the time my head hit the pillow and the alarm clock this morning. That was SO nice! I am usually up at least once during the night for the bathroom and awake many times for no apparent reason. I typically have no problem falling asleep. My problem is with staying asleep. 

Here's a random thing I noticed: my body temperature seems more regulated the last few days than normally. Maybe it's just a coincidence. For the last year or so, I've been waking up super hot in the middle of the night. I thought maybe I'm just starting menopause early or something. I throw the covers off, then put them back on. Over and over and over again... all night long. But, not lately! The night sweats seem to be gone. Awesome!

I plan to introduce exercise back into my routine this week. I gave myself a week off after completing the half marathon last weekend. My goal for the rest of October is to run 3 miles twice a week and a long run on Saturday's. I also plan to work in strength training twice a week. 

Now it's off to bed! Looking forward to another restful night!

Whole 30! Day 3

Have you ever hung out at a McDonald's with teenagers and not eaten junk. It IS possible. Who knew? Last night, I went to a high school football game with youth group and Campus LIfe students and volunteers. Our post-game bonfire was rained out, so we headed to McD's instead. I was prepared with a small container of almonds and an apple. I made it through the event without the slightest temptation! 

Today started out suuuuper rough. My brain doesn't work. And I have had a headache since sometime Wednesday afternoon. I have read that this is my body detoxing from sugar and adapting to using fat as a source of fuel instead of dending on the simple carbohydrates I used to plentily provide. Yesterday I even had the shakes a couple of times. Someone actually said to me yesterday that maybe this diet is too hard on my body. I started to agree. Then I thought about it. Would you tell a cocaine addict that quitting coke is bad for his body because he was experiencing withdrawal? Would you tell an alcoholic to have a drink because he got the shakes in the afternoon? I didn't think so. Just because the substance I'm addicted to is legal and socially acceptable does not mean it is ok to keep going the way I was. I am in detox. And that's ok. 

Some of you (yes, I just found out that there are actually people reading this!) who have known me a long time know that I am a picky eater. I've come a long way. But, I still WAY prefer anything starchy to actual vegetables. What I learned about myself yesterday, though, is that I prefer raw veggies to steamed veggies. I thought I was sick of salads until I had steamed veg with my dinner. The texture, gag. I need to add some variety to this plan. A phone call with the Bestie today gave me some hope. Tomorrow we're getting together to cook butternut squash soup, sweet potato chili, citrus chicken, and spaghetti sauce (to be eaten over zucchini ribbons). Those of you who know me well know that I could not do any of that on my own. Props to Althea for being handy in the kitchen.

I still want gum. And I have this fear that I will randomly see a piece and open it and chew it without thinking about it. Natural sweetness has actually started tasting sweet to me again. I'm curious how sweet it will be when I haven't had added sugar or substitutes for a whole month. And I don't want to ruin the progress I'm making towards that my chewing on super sweet gum. Did you know cashews are sweet? Neither did I. But I do now.

I had an awesome feast for dinner tonight. After hitting a bucket of balls with Jerry, Caroline, and a couple of friends, Jerry cooked for me! He made amazing chicken fajitas (lettuce leaves for tortillas) with super yummy avocado lime sauce and riced cauliflower. It was by far the best thing I've eaten all week. I love my husband. And he must love me to do all this work for me. 

Well, I'm tired. So, it's off to bed. Busy day tomorrow!

Whole 30! Day 2

I have read about the Day 2-3 Hangover experienced at the beginning of Whole 30, and today I'm feeling it. I'm tired and I have a headache. Sugar withdrawl, I'm sure. There are a whole host of uncomfortable detox phases I will go through in th next 30 days. Sigh. But, it's worth it!

I survived day 1! Scrambled Eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch, and a broccoli slaw concoction for dinner. I had a few almonds, cashews, grapes, and raspberries during the day, too. A boring menu, for sure. But it is all my schedule allowed for. Today will look much the same. Eventually, I'll add some variety. Or maybe not. And that's ok.

I think the hardest part about yesterday was not chewing gum. I didn't realize how much I turn to gum as a substitute for food or water. I probably go through about a half a pack of gum a day. I found myself subconscioiusly looking for it many times yesterday. It's scary that I subconsciously do things like that. Funny story about gum: After my broccoli dinner last night, I could taste my breath. I wanted a piece of gum to get the food out of my teeth and freshen my breath. I started to panic. I couldn't have gum. A mint? No, that's out of the question, too. How am I supposed to freshen my breath after eating?!?! And then it hit me. Brush your teeth, Dana. Such a simple answer. But, I've been substituting gum for mid-day tooth brushing forever. (don't judge. I don't exactly see all of you carrying your toothbrushes around with you.) 

I had a dream last night that I ate a piece of chocolate without even thinking about it and had to start my 30 days over. I know it has only been a day. But in my dream it had been like 3 weeks. 30 days is a long time, people! 

Now it's off to work and on with Day 2!

Whole 30! Day 1

Well, here we go.

Today, I'm setting off on a 30 Day Challenge to change my eating habits. Drastically. On the Whole 30 plan, I cannot have:

1.  Grains

2.  Legumes

3.  Dairy

4.  Added sugar or artifical sweetners of any kind

5.  Alcohol

for 30 days. C'mon people, it's a month! I can do this, right?

If you would have asked me yesterday, my answer would have changed by the minute.

6:00 a.m. - Yes! No problem! I'm going to come home from work, cook a bunch of things, and be stocked for the week! This is going to be amazing!

8:00 a.m. - What was I thinking, my life is far too busy to embark on a plan like this! I live on protein shakes and convenience foods. There's no way I have time to do enough food prep to be successful at this.

10:00 a.m. (after a pep talk from the Bestie) - I can totally do this. I just have to avoid Pintrest and remember that eating healthy can be simple. I will not win any awards for the prettiest dinner or the fanciest lunch. But, I will still have awesome results

12:00 p.m. (while making a shopping list) - Arghhh! There's just too much to think about! What was I thinking!?! I can't do this! I don't even know how to cook! How am I supposed to make my own mayo? The recipe says you need patience. I don't have patience! I don't have enough rubbermaid containers to store prepped food so that it's convenient. But, I can't buy any rubbemaid containers because my "Tupperware Cabinet" is so full and disorganized that I can't even open it without something falling out. How am I supposed to do a plan so restrictive and challenging without rubbermaid tubs, patience, or TIME?

2:00 p.m. - Keep it simple, Dana. buy what you can buy. Make what you can make. You CAN do this. You have never been a girl to shy away from a challenge. 

Why? I am doing this for a few reasons:

1.  The obvious - I could stand to loose a few pounds. Like 15. I don't think that's going to happen in a month, but it will give me a good start.

2.  I do not want to gain weight. I just completed my first half marathon. I did not lose weight while training for this race, like many people do. I was hungry all the time and ate... a lot. But, I do not want to gain weight post-race like many peopl do now that the hard work and dedicated training is over. This will give me something else to focus on.

3.  Sugar. Hello, my name is Dana, and I'm a sugar addict. Totally addicted. And it needs to stop. I will eat sugar until it makes me sick, and then eat some more. It is absolutely terrible. Over the years, I have had many friends remove sugar from their diets successfully and have great health benefits from it. And I have always thought that I could NEVER do that. The path I'm on will lead me to a doctor's office, brought to tears by a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. And even after that diagnosis, I bet I would head to the nearest gas station for candy to treat myself. Who knows? Maybe I'm there already. It's been years since I've had my sugar and triglycerides tested. The thought of coffee or tea without Splenda frightens me. Not to mention coffee without my beloved Coffeemate, in every sickeningly sweet flavor imaginable! And this is why I must stop. If I am so hooked on something in my life that the thought of being away from it gives me anxiety, it's an unhealty relationship. Goodbye sugar and Splenda. I'll miss you, I'm sure. But, I'll be better off without you.

4. Support. Althea asked me if I wanted to do it with her. One thing I have learned about myself. I'll do just about anything if I can do it with a friend. That's how I got hooked on kickboxing... twice. That's how I signed up for the Half Marathon. It's why I ski. It's why I golf. And, to be honest, it's why I'm doing this.

Here goes nothing. While writing this post I drank green tea with NO SPLENDA! And I did not die. So, there's that. 

For more info on the Whole 30, check out www.whole30.com. I plan to chronicle my journey here so I can remember how I felt along the way. If you're reading, I hope you enjoy it. I promise to TRY not to get to whiney along the way.