Whole30 v2.0

I know y'all (all 2 of you) missed me while I was gone!  Our vacation was wonderful and we had a great time visiting family & friends that we hadn't seen in years!  We off-roaded a little bit, but definitely ate/drank better than we normally would have.  I had a few bites of some sweet treats and some alcoholic beverages and Husband had a lot of alcoholic beverages, which caused his joints to start aching again after a month of feeling much better!  So, today we start our Whole30 v2.0.  We are putting our own spin on this one.  It will be the same as our first except that Husband plans to continue using his pre-workout mix and we agreed to use bacon (nitrate/nitrite free from the farmer's market).  We're both looking forward to feeling our best again and we have some friends joining us for this one :)

Several friends and family members inquired about our dietary changes while we were in Wisconsin.  It was great to have everyone wanting more information and being interested in trying it themselves!  I've already sent The Book to my mother and a good friend.  My chiropractor has my copy right now and I'm thinking of buying myself a second copy.

I got my bloodwork results back (post-Whole30).  There wasn't a whole lot that needed improving, but here's a direct quote from Doctor: "Your numbers would be hard to improve on" .  That made me smile.  I plan to take his advice and try some probiotics.

When we came home from vacation, I immediately headed to the farmers market and the grocery store.  I made a batch of mayo and a batch of ranch dressing/dip.  I made a large batch of chicken salad (using homemade mayo, chicken breasts, green grapes, pecans and S&P).  Then on Sunday I made Crockpot Cabbage Rolls, Chicken soup (with my homemade bone broth!) and deviled eggs.  I burned up our blender before vacation, so I bought a food processor at Walmart for $29.99.  It came with a 2-year warranty, so I figure if it burns up in 2 years, I get it replaced.  If not, it was worth the money!

Here's a recipe that I found in a magazine. I apologize for the crappy picture quality, but I thought this looked like a fun, fresh salad to make!

Riding my Own Bike

Yesterday I was riding my own bike for the first time!  So, what did I do?  I kept my training wheels on for the most part.  For dinner I had a Jimmy Johns Unwich with Turkey, tomato, cucumbers, guacamole, mayo and ....CHEESE!  I figured I could make dairy my first reintroduction.  Although, I didn't reintroduce it like the program suggests (eat it at all 3 meals and then see how it effects you for the next 2 days).  I didn't notice any digestive effects, but I did have a brand new zit on my chin when I woke up this morning.  Related?  Maybe.

I also made these last night:

Recipe can be found here:
http://paleomg.com/strawberry-rhubarb-mini-pies/

The only off-plan ingredients are raw honey and vanilla extract.  These little gems have no added sugar (just the honey) and yet are delicious and sweet!  I ate 3 of them and haven't had that usual sugar overload feeling that I normally have when I eat sweets.  I consider these a "guilt-free treat".  Key word being "treat".  These were baked for a special occasion for a special person.  These will not be a weekly (or even monthly) treat.  

The only other thing I've changed since finishing my first Whole30 is that I eat breakfast later in the day now.  I tried to be compliant the entire 30 days and eat my breakfast within 1-2 hours after I woke up, but it was a struggle to get food down that early.  I feel so much better when I eat about 4 hours after I get up.  I think I eat more (calories/fat...etc) this way too.  

Freedom!

I bet most of you are thinking that I'm referring to freedom from the bounds of the Whole30 diet, but you couldn't be more wrong.  I'm talking about the freedom to eat good fricken awesome food and not feel even a tinge of guilt.  That's what the Whole30 did for me.  It gave me the freedom to eat amazing food and never, ever feel guilty.  It gave me the freedom to eat without measuring, counting or tracking.  It gave me the freedom to eat meals (and sometimes snacks) without feeling bloated or tired.  

So we got our scale back from the neighbor :)  

Husband lost 22 POUNDS!  That's a whopping 8% of his pre-whole30 body weight.  It's too bad that he didn't have a body fat analysis done, because he's been CrossFitting this whole time and probably lost more than 8% body fat.  I'm so proud of him and I know he's feeling great!

I lost 8lbs (6% of my weight).  I weigh the same now as I did when I hit my WW goal 4 years ago.  The important thing for me is to not let the weight fat creep back on.  I think I have all the tools to ride my own bike.  My head is definitely in the right place for total and permanent lifestyle change (I knew long before I hit my WW goal that counting points would NOT be a permanent lifestyle change for me).  I also plan to join my local CrossFit gym next month and start my running season in a few weeks.  Life is good :)

Day 30!!!!

Well, it's Day 30!  This really went by fast and was about 100 times easier than I expected it to be.  It really has changed my life!  As I type this, I am drinking an iced coffee.  BLACK!  Me, drinking coffee without anything in it!  30 days ago, I would have had a little coffee with my milk & honey.  

Husband, who was sooooo worried in the first week that he might not lose any weight, told his friend yesterday (when asked if he'd lost any weight): "it's not about losing weight".  Seriously?! Did he really say that?!  Yes, he did!  He's most impressed with not feeling tired & bloated after he eats and his gains at CrossFit.  I'm very proud of him!  

We are getting our scale back from the neighbor tonight and we'll be weighing ourselves tomorrow morning.  I'm excited about it, but more excited that I had to buy new pants in a size I haven't seen in years!  I'm also excited that we both want to keep our Whole30 going.  I am making some paleo "treats" for a special occasion this week and we will be traveling back home to Wisconsin next week, where we might have some small indulgences, but I think we'll start another Whole30 on or around August 18th when we return.

I think to keep myself from off-roading too much over the next 10 days, I will stick to mostly paleo.  No dairy (except maybe to experiment and see how it affects me), no grains, no sugar or artificial sweeteners (will have some local raw honey in my paleo treats), and no legumes.  I will have some gluten free alcoholic beverages while we are in Wisconsin though :)

image courtesy of  http://vegasspiritsongandy.com

Day 29

Over the weekend Husband starting referring to my homemade paleo mayo as "heaven juice".  He even planned our meals around having something to dip in it or smother in it.  He says I should never buy "regular mayo" again.  So, there ya have it!

It's hard to believe that our first Whole30 is almost over already.  We plan to stick close to plan while we are traveling next week and he wants to start another Whole30 when we return.  I plan to make some paleo treats for a friend at work that is leaving.  I'll be sure to share the recipe and experience later this week!  Prior to our Whole30 we were "mostly paleo", but now I think we are total paleo converts!

I had some fun creating our breakfasts over the weekend.  On Saturday we had Sweet Potato Hash Browns with fried eggs. 

I started by peeling & shredding 2 sweet potatoes.  Then I mixed them with

some green onion (Husband's Idea).  I fried them in coconut oil like I would 

regular hash browns an served them eggs over easy!  YUM!

On Sunday I made this recipe from Every Day Paleo.  It was pretty good.  Husband wasn't sure he liked the eggplant and I was unsure about the tomato slice, but it was a fun experiment and we will probably make it again (maybe with our own additions/subtractions to the "stack" next time).

 For our weekly cook-up we made:

• Crock Pot Smoked Beef Brisket
• Slow Cooker Chicken & Veggies
• Sausage & Egg Scramble

I also plan to make something with a pound of ground beef that I have thawed out and a package of drumsticks.  Also, after removing the chicken and veggies from the crock pot, we put the bones back in with more veggies and water and I am making my first batch of bone broth!  Hope it works :)

Measuring Up

Yesterday was our 6 week measurement day.  Every six weeks my friend and I take each others measurements and write them down to compare.  This time I lost: 

1/2" at my waist (for a total of 1-1/2" in the last 12 weeks) 

1-1/4" at my hips (3" total)

1" and 3/4" around my thighs (they didn't change last time)  

3/4" around each arm (1-1/4" total).

My hips actually measure around my "pooch", which is what I call that bubble below my belly button.  I really had wondered if it was shrinking because, well it's still there.  But obviously, as I have lost 3" in that region, it really is shrinking!  

I'm glad that I measured, even though its technically a no-no during the Whole30, because now no matter what the scale says next week, I can be nothing but happy.  

Here's my dinner from last night.  Not a great pic, but it's a grass fed hamburger, grilled with onions, tomato and cucumber on top, covered in home made paleo mayo.  Served with sweet potato fries (peeled, wedged sweet potatoes tossed in oil and sprinkled with s&p.  Baked to perfection).

Day 24 - Is it Really that Difficult?

I cringe when people say that it's hard to eat healthy.  I shouldn't cringe because I've been there, I've said that.  But, after 24 days of the Whole30, I don't really think it's very hard.  In fact, I think it's mostly easy!  There have been some difficulties, I admit.  And I do wonder if I would find this "easy" if I wasn't doing the Whole30 and didn't have that to make all my decisions for me.  I guess we'll find out next week if its really as easy I think it is.  One thing I am sure of, I am honestly enjoying my meals (almost all of them!) and I don't feel deprived or hungry at all.  

One thing that I know for a fact that is making this easier is pre-planning and pre-cooking our meals.  It's been the biggest lesson for me.  Husband and I get excited while planning our meals for the next week and we really enjoy cooking together on Sundays.  This was NOT a normal part of our marriage prior to Whole30.  He rarely ever helped cook before.  So, Whole30 has even made my marriage more enjoyable!  

Another thing that has made it easy is having my husband and a co-worker do it with me.  The support has been amazing and has really made this a fun experience for all of us!

So, if you've been thinking about doing a Whole30, but thought of the reasons not to (it's too hard, my family won't join me, I can't imagine giving up _______....etc.), please know that all the anxiety of doing it is by far the worst part!  Once you get started, you'll wonder what all of that worrying was even for!

I'll leave you with this blogpost from Ordinary Contradictions.  I love her take on connecting with her food :)