Whole30 Week 3

Let’s just jump right in, shall we?

Day 15: Friendly suggestion: don’t go to the Food & Drink section on Pinterest. No good will come of this. It will be all desserts and breadsticks and cheese and you will feel a strange mix of nostalgia and sadness. Your broccoli is waiting for you.

Day 16: Sigh. I don’t really like the meals that I made for the next few days… but I don’t want to waste food. If I were going to give in and just go drive through Taco Cabana instead, this would would be the time. But I won’t! I have some delicious sounding recipes coming up though, so hopefully those will be delicious!

Day 17: I went out to dinner with my sister and her family tonight! My eating restrictions choosing to eat healthy food and not cheat certainly limited what I could have. Thankfully we went somewhere that had a few delicious options for me! (I had a HUGE salad with shredded beef at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop! Yum!)

Day 18: I just watched the documentary Fed Up and I never want to eat sugar again. I know I’m going to, but man. I’m also glad now that I mostly brought my lunch while going to school. Yeesh.

Day 19: I went to a concert tonight, and normally concerts mean that everyone around is drinking some sort of something alcoholic, which is definitely not allowed while doing the Whole30. Thankfully, I knew that the buddy I went with doesn’t drink, so I didn’t feel out of place for  just ordering water. (The concert was really great! I won free tickets to see Mae!)

Day 20: Allergy update- they have gotten better! I can’t tell if it is just because of all the rain or if they are actually starting to go away, but I’m a fan!

Day 21: Oh I just realized I’m halfway done! Go me! This is actually going by pretty quickly! (I am counting the 12 day re-introduction period as part of the process, so instead of just 30 days, it becomes 42 days. Halfway woot woot!)

Favorite meal of the week: a delicious omelet with chopped green peppers, spinach, ham, and bacon! And don’t forget the La Croix! I got the Cran-Raspberry flavor and it is so good. These just might be my new addiction.

Things were definitely getting easier in week 3, but be sure to check back tomorrow to see how the last week (plus a few days) went!

Whole30 Week 2

Week 2- here we go!

Day 8: People at work have started commenting on my ‘healthy lunches’ and I told them that I’m doing the Whole30 and at least half of the people had never even heard of it! I didn’t go into super great detail (because I don’t want to be that person that won’t shut up about their new diet or eating habits… that person is the worst) but they were all supportive. Actually I don’t think they cared, but I’ll say they were supportive.

Day 9: I kept hearing and reading that the first week-ish is horrible for some people. They get “carb flu,” horrible headaches, extremely cranky… I honestly didn’t feel any of that. I’m ok with that!

Day 10: I started listening to the nom nom paleo podcast (they’re only a few episodes in, so you haven’t missed much) and their two little kids are adorable! I hate the term paleo (it just brings to my mind a crazy, cult-like following, just like the term crossfit does) and will refuse to use this term in the future. The end.

Day 11: I have been in a pretty regular exercise routine so far and feeling pretty good with it- I’ve been doing a mix of HIIT, LISS, weights, and yoga! Go me!

Day 12: Unfortunately, the foods that are good for you aren’t always the cheapest and most affordable. I’ve meticulously planned each meal for these 30 days so that I don’t waste food and therefore waste money. My first grocery trip was more expensive that I would have liked, but I guess you’ve gotta start somewhere.

Day 13: Sugar dragon, you found me. I’ll fight you with…. carrot sticks!!! (That sounds so sad when I would much rather bake cookies!)

Day 14: Sweet potato fries are officially my favorite. Delicious.

Favorite meal of the week: ham, sweet potato fries, green beans, and strawberries! Sooooo good!

I did the Whole30!

I did it! It’s all finished! 30 days of super strict healthy eating to reset my body and then 12 days of reintroducing foods back in very slowly. It was a pretty good experience and in the end I’m glad that I did it, but I’ll be going into all the gory details later. First, a little bit of introduction to the process and a little bit about why I decided to do the Whole 30.

The Book: First off, you need to read the book. (Ok you don’t need to, but it will be really helpful if you do.) Not only does it lay out all the rules for your 30 day experiment, but it starts off giving you the ‘why’ behind it. It was pretty science-y, but they did a great job using analogies to help you understand how all of those delicious foods we love interact with our bodies and why we should probably never eat them ever again.

The Rules: Are you ready to hear some craziness? Get ready. For 30 days, you can not have added sugar (real or artificial), alcohol, grains, legumes, and no dairy. Whew. You aren’t supposed to take measurements or weigh yourself during the process, you should be focusing on the changes in how you feel and how your health changes. You also are supposed to try and avoid snacking. If you’re starving, then it is ok, but you’re trying to reprogram how your think about food here.

Once you are done with the 30 days and you’re finished patting yourself on the back, you spend the next few days slowly bringing those off-limits foods back into your system to evaluate how they make you feel. (Read even more on the official website!)

Why I Did It: Honestly, I really did not want to do this. At all. Ever. I heard about it nonstop for a while and it got to the point where the name “Whole30” was extremely annoying to me. I visibly rolled my eyes even thinking about it. I just didn’t want to jump on some bandwagon and become one of ‘those people’ who only posted instagram pictures of poorly plated food with 20 different hashtags that were all just a variation on the same 3 words/phrases. I didn’t even tell my friends or family that I was doing this because honestly, I didn’t want to annoy them with it. (End rant.)

I finally decided to give it a try because I thought, what’s the worst that could happen? I spend a month eating kind of boring food. What’s the best that could happen? I could sleep better. I could alleviate some of the knee joint pain that I’ve had since high school. I could get rid of some of my seasonal allergies. I could lose a few pounds and have my clothes fit better. I could change the way I think about food and be more intentional about what I put in my body.

So…  Do I now feel any better or different? You’ll find out soon! I’m going to chronicle my experience week by week, so get ready!

I Ran a 5K, You Guys!

As I mentioned in my previous Thanksgiving post, I ran my very first 5K while I was at home over the holiday! It was crazy awesome, and I was surprised at how many people showed up at 8am to run… there were seriously like 900 people there. It was pretty nice outside (for the end of November) which made for great running weather, I was proud of my finishing time of 31:24, AND I got a sweet moisture-wicking long-sleeve shirt to run in! (I also got a free sample of men’s deodorant, but I wasn’t too jazzed about that one…)

One of the best ways that I stay energized and pumped during a run is by having a killer playlist. The right song with the right beat can give me a boost of energy and keep me going when I need it. Here is what I listened to during the race:

• Kelly’s 5K Playlist
• So Obvious by Runner Runner
• Better Than Revenge by Taylor Swift
• Electrify by Mutemath
• Go Go Gadget Flow by Lupe Fiasco
• Zombie by Family Force 5
• Forget and Not Slow Down by Relient K
• Toxic by Britney Spears
• Finding Something to Do by Hellogoodbye
• Lucky Strike by Maroon5
• Church of Hot Addiction by Cobra Starship

I have to admit, I was pretty pumped while listening to this as I ran, and it contains some of my all-time favorite go-to songs for running. Leave me comments with some of your favorite workout songs, I’d love to add them to my playlist!