Thursday, January 31, 2013

Last Day of Whole30 Challenge

Today marks Day 30 of the Whole30 Challenge. I honestly can't believe I made it through the challenge! I really nervous to take it, I definitely didn't think I would make it through! The rules are pretty strict:
I think the most daunting thing for me, heading into the challenge was giving up sweets & grains. I am not a big milk drinker, I don't love legumes & I know I can go without alcohol. I was also worried about MAKING all of my food. Prior to the challenge, I would make maybe 3 meals a week, but for the challenge, I've made breakfast, lunch & dinner (at least for myself) almost every day. There were a few times where we went out on the weekends, but other than that, I was making everything. I can't believe I found out that I actually enjoyed that part about it!! Some meals were flops, especially with my kids, but I definitely found some new meals that I liked. I even surprised myself & found out that I LOVE warm kale/spinach/swiss chard salads. YUMMO!! 

What helped me stay motivated & on track was the book that goes with the challenge: It Starts with Food. I HIGHLY recommend it to ANYONE!! SO interesting about what our  modern diet is going to our bodies & how our bodies respond to all of the added sugar & processed foods that we eat. Even a modern "healthy" diet is wreaking havoc on our bodies. If you want the science behind it, READ.THE.BOOK! 

I think the best way to make it through the challenge is to remember WHY you're doing it. Your motivation has to be strong, especially during the first week or so, those are the crazy withdrawal days, where you will be cranky & irritable. I found that it really did become second nature though. I honestly don't even crave any of the foods that I "can't" have anymore. I am loving the energy I have & how good I feel, I don't want to go back to how I was eating before the challenge. I think I've said that before :)

The other thing I think is ESSENTIAL in completing a successful Whole30 Challenge is to have a buddy! My sweet friend, Blair, helped me along the way. I am SO thankful for our texts, supporting each other, asking each other how we were doing. She passed along some of her successful recipes to me, I shared some recipes with her. I couldn't have done it alone & I was blessed to have her support. Blair, I wish we could get together & celebrate when this whole thing is over for both of us!! *hugs* 

All in all, I'm glad that I challenged myself, that I stepped out of my comfort zone & did something I thought was impossible. I learned some things about myself, ate new foods & am feeling better than ever! I even lost 7 pounds, although that is not the whole goal of the program, I am glad for that side effect! I even took a before, middle & after pic, but I am not brave enough to share those with the internets. I'm just glad to have some evidence of how far I have come in 30 days. :) 



Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Get comfortable being Uncomfortable

I have not been feeling well lately, but I was determined to get outside & run today. It was 60 degrees in Chicago, in January!! AMAZING! The only bad thing is, that it was super cloudy & I could tell it was going to rain when I stepped out to run. I was hoping that I could get in a good 6-7 mile run before the rain came, but that didn't happen. I got to mile 2 & I started to feel some drops and THEN! It began to down pour. I literally felt like I was running in the shower. It rained harder & harder, my feet were soaking wet, the rain was going through my pants & even through my 3 layers on top. Let me tell you, VERY uncomfortable!

SOAKED!!

At first the rain didn't bother me. I enjoyed it, there is something primal about running outside in the rain. Who didn't go outside & play in the rain growing up?! It's something we loved, something different, something new & exciting. I think it's sad that as we get older, we reach for the umbrella, run to our cars, or stay safe in our houses. I mean, I know I'm guilty of it...but I loved getting out there today, to run in the elements. To be honest, I DIDN'T totally enjoy the whole time I was getting soaked, b/c that kind of stuff weighs you down, but it didn't stop me. Eventually the rain let up & I'm sad I didn't go for my goal of 6-7 miles, I ended at 5.

I felt like this thought process, could apply to us, as Americans. We have no reason in our every day lives, to be uncomfortable. We have abundant food supplies, we don't have to be hungry. Our lives are totally climate controlled (which don't get me wrong, I would LOVE for our house to be 80 degrees all of the time), we can go from our warm beds, to our warm cars, to our warm offices, back to our cars, then back home & back to bed. 

Well, I think it's time we start doing something new, something outside of our comfort zones.What have you done lately that was uncomfortable? It is only outside of our comfort zone that we are stretched, taken beyond our limits to learn new things, to experience new things. It could look different for everyone, it could be talking to someone new, trying a new food, start volunteering in a ministry, or even doing a new work out! :) I think it's so valuable to get uncomfortable some times, to connect to new people, new things, or even to discover new abilities/passions inside of ourselves.




Monday, January 28, 2013

meat loaf & brussel sprouts

I would like to know...who AM I?! What has happened to me?? I am an adult, capable of making my dinner & what did I make myself?! Freakin' meatloaf & brussel sprouts! LOL

Can I let you all in on a little secret? In college, I used to eat cereal,grilled cheese, fries & drink massive amounts of pop. I seriously lived off of that stuff. For my 16th birthday, I'm pretty sure I got a 24 pack of Pepsi! HAHA! And you know what, I LOVED it & probably drank it all within a week...by myself. UGH! SO, just so you know, this is a HUGE lifestyle change for me.

Yes, I am a 32 year old mom now, but my eating habits have only recently gotten better than that of my college days. I have been trying new things, even things I previously didn't like. I grew up HATING meatloaf, just the mere thought of ground beef in the shape of a loaf was enough to turn my stomach, yet here I am, years later, making it for myself (while my kids called it gross & once again, went without dinner). It was Paleo meatloaf, but still, super delicious! Like a big loaf-shaped meat ball! Don't even get me started on brussel sprouts.

I actually never had them growing up b/c my dad hated them so much, my mom never made them. I started seeing yummy looking brussel sprout recipes on pinterest awhile ago, so I figured I should try them out! Now I am trying to use up a bag of shredded brussel sprouts I bought last week. I had a kale & brussel sprouts salad last night & then cooked up some bacon, threw in some of my b. sprouts with a dash of balsamic vinegar & voila! Yummy side dish to aforementioned meat loaf. YUM!

So I am on Day 27 of the 30 day Challenge! WHAAAAAAAAT?! How did the month go by so quickly?! I am amazed at how well I adjusted to the challenge. It was a rocky start, I'll admit, but now I don't want to go back to the SAD (Standard American Diet)! I lost about 7 pounds so far & I am nervous about gaining it back, but really I wanted to challenge myself to eat better, to eat the way I know I SHOULD be eating & I've honestly come to embrace it. Now I DO miss some added sweeteners. I am currently battling a sinus thing & my throat is on fire, I would LOVE to have some hot water, lemon & honey right now...but I'm holding out until after I hit Day 30. I miss pizza & I craved some really cheesy bread at one point, but all of that passes & I am really enjoying eating clean :)

It has finally happened! "They" tell you that after you start eating clean, "normal" foods begin to taste even better, like tasteX10000!! I had that happen to me yesterday!! I was eating strawberries at breakfast & realized how sweet they were, I had some meat at lunch & could taste every little bit of it, even the fat didn't freak me out & turn me off, it had a taste all of it's own! At dinner I was literally almost licking the plate b/c it was SOOOOOO good (another dish my kids wouldn't eat! BAHA! Eggplant strata strikes again). I made some energy bites for running (foolishly hoping I would be able to run today) and OMG- the TASTE! They were SO GOOD!!! My husband said they looked like little poops, but all the better, if the rest of my family is freaked out by them, I'll get to eat them all myself!!

So add me to the list of converted, clean eating freaks that you know!! I'm not stopping once I hit Day 30! :) I also love that I feel amazing when training. I am not a crossfitter (although I would LOVE to be!), but I do run & lift weights (*ahem* & do Jillian Michaels' DVDs) and I can tell that I have more endurance & am starting to see some definition to my arm muscles!! That really thrills me actually. :)

I am struggling with being at the very beginning of where I want to be, but I know that everyone starts SOMEwhere & this is the start for me.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Waiting on the Lord

Sometimes I get discouraged. I generally have a positive outlook on things & am excited about my interests; following the Lord, physical fitness, being a wife & mom, etc. However it's hard to maintain a certain level of excitement about those things all of the time. I came crashing down hard last night/this morning. I begin to wonder what am I doing? I start feeling like I don't know anything or that I have so far to go to get where I want to go. I just want to meet my goals TODAY! I want what I want & I want it now! lol That is the time when I turn to the Lord.

There was a segment on the radio yesterday where they host & the guest were talking about using your passions & talents that God gave you to fulfill your purpose in life. (quickly paraphrasing b/c I don't remember the exact terms that were used). Anyways, they were talking about those times when you are in a waiting period, you need to draw near to God & use that time to build yourself up in the Lord. Those waiting periods are tough, that's where I feel like I am today. Sure I have passion & drive to meet my goals, but I sure need training. I am trying to be patient as I look for ways to learn more & get hands on experience that are close & relatively inexpensive. Let me tell you, it's rough!! But I am going to use this opportunity to draw close to the Lord, strengthen my relationship with Him  & wait on His timing for training & experience.

I know that I am on the right path. I prayed about it a LOT last fall & had it confirmed over & over again. I felt that I needed to take the plunge & start a workout group at church, which was again, something I prayed over for MONTHS & then had it confirmed again & again. I am thankful that God was patient with me when I kept asking for confirmation! LOL So anyways, it has begun again & now I am wondering what next? Where do I go from here? I am a complete novice at this & I would like to feel a like I have some knowledge to bring to the table. Again, the passion is there, but I don't have any real training or experience. I am just glad that God uses the willing & that the rest is in His hands.

So this morning I was feeling really bad about myself. Workout group is tonight & I have to prepare for it. I am excited for it & I love getting together with women & encouraging them towards getting physically fit. I am thankful that our church allows us to meet in their building & that they see it as a good thing for us to put a small focus on physical fitness. Honestly, that is all God's doing :) Anyways, I was praying about it & thinking about what I had heard on the radio yesterday. God would have to guide me in the next steps of getting certified or taking classes, whatever His plans are for me. Then I found it!! I found a fitness conference in Chicago, in March, one that is affordable!! I really can't wait & hope that we can swing it financially, but it isn't as expensive as some other things I've wanted to do...so it's very likely I can go! I am excited that this may be the first steps in getting training, knowledge & connecting with other people. Please pray that this happens for me!


Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sugar demons got me & a new race

It has finally happened...I am on day 19 of the Whole30 Challenge & the sugar demons have finally shown up!! I thought that the challenge was going so well, that it would continue to be a breeze, no real cravings, eating new & yummy food, that nothing could stop me. But NO!

 Today I have been craving sugar in full force. At first I thought it was because I forgot to have berries with my breakfast AND I only had a warm kale salad & pork chop for lunch, so I ate a few figs. That didn't help when after dinner I am strongly craving something SWEET!

The Whole30 Challenge is more than just a "diet", the whole purpose is to show you your weaknesses with food & to hopefully change your whole relationship with it. The Whole30 Challenge is supposed to heal your body & mind from the way you used to eat & create a new way to think about the foods you eat as well as WHY you eat.

So, let's just say...it's been a struggle round these parts tonight. I messaged a trusty friend & told her that I really want to make some coconut cream to go with berries, which is Whole30 compliant, but not when the purpose of it is to feed the sugar demons. Thankfully she did steer me away & I have been drinking water with lemon in it. All in all, I am glad that I didn't give into the cravings, but can I just say that I miss my dark chocolate??

Running: Y'all, I have some news. Scratch the Get Lucky 21K from my running calendar, I am now looking forward to running a 15 mile trail race!! Both races are on the same day, so I had to choose which one I wanted to do. I would rather do the 15 miler with friends than run the 21K by myself, along the lakefront...which is boring to me now. A trail run is always exciting with the scenery changing & new things to look at :) I'm looking forward to it, now all I have to do is sign up LOL

With a 15 miler under my belt in March, I should be pretty well on my way to my goal of running a marathon this year! I MIGHT even be ready for it by May! EEK! That makes me so excited :) And also a tad skurred.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Halfway!!

I'm at the midpoint of the Whole30 Challenge y'all!! I am enjoying the Challenge & actually have no plans of stopping once it's done. I am loving clean eating & will probably continue with Paleo once my 30 day challenge is over. Honestly, my thinking has shifted, I've been reading the Whole30 Challenge book (YES, there's a book! This is a serious  my friends) and it gives the science behind eating clean. It is fascinating stuff & I just don't think I could go back to the SAD diet after reading about insulin levels, cholesterol levels, & hormones and all of that. The Challenge really focuses on eating natural, WHOLE foods, found in nature or as close to natural as possible. Why get your vitamins, minerals, sugar & carbs from processed food, when it's all in fruits, veggies & meat??

Anyway, I made my fave breakfast this morning! Who says you have to go hungry when eating clean?! This is sweet potato hash, bacon & some fruit. YUM!

So remember how in my goals for 2013, I wanted to go on a yoga retreat?! WELL!! I found the BEST.ONE.EVER!!! It's in MOROCCO!! Only the place that I've been wanting to go to for years! You get ride a freaking on camel on the beach!! How amazing is that?! Coolest Yoga retreat EVER! So who wants to fund my trip?? I mean seriously....who wants to pay for me to go? 

In other news, I have some great things planned for Thursday night's workout group at church!! I can't wait :) 

Monday, January 14, 2013

FOOD & how Jillian Michael's kicked my butt....literally

I am still riding high on the Whole 30 Challenge. Life is good, food is good & I have tons of energy!! I am loving this!! I have cooked more these past few weeks than I can ever remember! I am trying new foods too. I currently have eggplant strata baking in the oven right now. I am actually excited to try some Danish pork belly once I buy some. I want to cook more with pork & beef and maybe, even, perhaps try lamb!! I love that this challenge is opening me up to all kinds of new cuisines...for example, I just bought my first jar of ghee last night. I enjoyed looking around the market at all of the different fruits & veggies and the meat section too (although I did walk quickly through the fish!).

My families' perspective might be a bit different! LOL I don't make them eat with me all of the time, but I do try to cook dinner for them most nights. They liked my lemon chicken & lemon garlic pork chops, making my own bbq for some chicken thighs was a bust. I made my own salsa the other night, I roasted the tomatoes, garlic & jalepenos all myself! I am planning on making grass-fed beef burgers tomorrow & chicken with veggies and bacon Tuesday night. I am not sure what I'll have Wednesday & Tuesday and hopefully I can go grocery shopping at the end of the week, but we'll need some more money for that!

So I've been making it a point to workout every day (except that I took Friday off). I've been mixing in running with doing Jillian Michael's workouts. I've done the No More Trouble Zones, 30 Day Shred & her Yoga DVD. Well, I started up the workout group at church on Thursday night & one of my sweet friends brought her JM Buns & Thighs DVDs. OH MY LANTA!! That is one tough workout. I seriously love a challenge & am hoping to buy that DVD in the near future. I feel like I have to master & beat all of her DVDs! LOL

Monday, January 7, 2013

Update on Whole30 & other thoughts

Oh how I've missed my bloggity blog! I was super busy this weekend preparing for my twin daughter's Hello Kitty birthday party :) It was a GREAT ending to the holidays & now I can sit back & relax as we settle back into the routine of life.

Let's talk the Whole30 Challenge, friends, this is TOUGH! However, I am loving it as well as struggling with it. This weekend, when I was so busy, were those dreaded days of detox where I was SUPER irritable & just feeling crummy. I don't think it helped that on the day of setting up I only ate 500 calories :/ I was NOT happy when I saw that in myfitnesspal, where I am logging my food, I actually got kind of scared b/c I DON'T want to starve myself, that is not the point of this challenge. The point of following the Whole30 Challenge is to renew the way you eat & to eat healthier & whole foods.

Anyhow, I got through those rough days and am starting to feel AMAZING!! I am SO happy to be over the hump & able to enjoy making new foods. I am also enjoying the fact that I am more in tune with my body. I ran this morning & only had a salad (with some chicken) for lunch, so I grabbed a handful of cashews, full of fat & protein, to get me through the afternoon. I am also playing in the kitchen more, I worked with cauliflower yesterday. I made faux fried rice & faux mashed potatoes. The potatoes were NOT a hit, my husband took one bite & wouldn't eat anymore & my kids saw his reaction so they didn't EVEN try it LOL I am dairy free due to the challenge, so I used coconut oil & coconut milk to make the texture more potato-like & it did end up pretty sweet. I can see how if you used butter & "real" milk it would taste better.

Onto something I am even MORE excited to talk about :) I heard a WONDERFUL story on the radio today. A woman who called in had lost over 100 pounds last year, the DJs asked her how she did it & she said that she just ate right & exercised. Sorry folks, there are no quick fixes, it really does take hard work & discipline. Anyways, she said that a friend of hers had started a Facebook group where they would log in their exercise every day AND they would have to post something amazing about themselves. Isn't that what I've been talking about?!?! I actually started crying when I heard her say that b/c I was so happy & excited that there are other people out there who think like me! And that it WORKS!! I am overjoyed to see people going from hating & loathing their bodies to doing something GOOD for them b/c they appreciate & love their bodies :)

Please make no mistake I am not AT ALL talking about worshiping our bodies.Let's keep God in His rightful place, on the throne. I am not talking about idolatry at all. Rather the motivation behind thinking positively about ourselves & appreciating the things that our bodies CAN do (which is different for everyone). I was thinking about how hurt & upset I am when my kids look at a good, healthy, nourishing meal that I spend time creating & they turn up their noses & say "ew, it looks GROSS", in some small way, the hurt I feel is perhaps how our God feels when we say the same thing about ourselves. He spent time knitting us together in our mother's womb, He delights in the way that He created us & moreover, He LOVES us!! Therefore, I think that we should appreciate the way that He made us & say thank you & appreciate the way that He made us.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Whole30 Challenge

I went a little crazy yesterday & decided to do the Whole30 Challenge. It's basically following the strictest form of Paleo eating that you can have for 30 days. No dairy, no sugar, no starches, no legumes, no grains, black coffee, etc etc. I did a "paleo" diet way back in October/November of 2011, but it was modified. I actually really love the Paleo diet, but I find that I stick to diets better if they're low carb rather than no carb, but whatever, the challenge is for 30 days & I can do it!! :) I'm really excited, I bought the book & a Paleo cookbook & I am going to go gung ho!! Wish me luck :) (here's the link to the challenge if any of this sounds of interest to you! Whole30 Challenge )

I am drawn to the Paleo diet because it goes back to the way people ate long ago. I actually don't believe in evolution, but the premise is to eat "like cavemen". LOL So you eat a lot of protein, veggies, some fruits (berries are best) and strict/hard core paleo includes things like no dairy & no grains, but like I said before, you can modify the diet to fit your personal needs (ie. if you have allergies or just how your body best processes food), so I would keep in small amounts of dairy (I gotta have my greek yogurt!) & small amounts of carbs, if I were to do it my way which I will be doing after the challenge.

Today I tried to eat as Paleo as I could, but we haven't gone grocery shopping in awhile & I don't have my Whole30 book yet, so I basically stuck to no carbs. I did have a greek yogurt this morning, which would not be right for the challenge, but I'm trying to do my best with what I have at the moment. My whole goal with doing the challenge is to make a radical change in the way I eat. I've been eating junk lately just b/c I'm too lazy to try to make anything for dinner & I really want that to change. I am TIRED of pizza & I want to eat nourishing foods that will really help my body rather than hinder it. My goal this year is to work on my body composition. I wouldn't mind losing some weight, but my main goal is to lose fat & build muscle. I could care less about being skinny, I want to be STRONG, with muscle definition.

I also got a workout in today!! I am really proud of myself b/c this morning didn't start out that great. I was up twice with my son last night, so when my alarm went off at 6:15 to run, I turned it off & went back to bed. I was just too exhausted from New Year's festivities (STILL!) to push through & run anyway. I was able to do a Jillian Michael's DVD while the kids napped. Here's me after my first workout of the new year! :)