Blessing #199 - Whole 30 Recap

I finished my whole 30 on Sunday! Woohoo! I survived! I don't know what it is, but I love a challenge.  The whole 30 definitely proved to be a big challenge to me, but I learned so much during my 30 days.

1. Either before or during your whole 30, read the book "It All Starts With Food" which was written by the creators of whole 30.  Some parts are a little scientificy (I realize that's not a word), but it really explained the why's of doing it.

2. Have a go to meal.  A quick and easy meal that you can use on nights when it's busy.

3. The first week is hard, feel like you have the flu hard, but if you power through it, you will learn so much.

4. I kept checking #whole30 on instagram.  It really helps to see pictures from others that are going through the same thing.

5. Make it work for your family.  Most nights, Shad would eat what I ate, but I would usually add a grain for him.  If I ate beef, peppers, and onions, I would make some rice to add to it for him.  The boys usually ate a quesadilla, grilled cheese, or whatever meat we were having.  We decided that for 30 days, this would work for our family.

During my whole 30, Shad really surprised me. He cut the caffeine and sodas way back.  If we had to eat out, he would complain, "This isn't as good as what we've been eating."  I was shocked at how much he liked eating this way with out me ever pressuring him.

6. Pay attention to how you feel.  When you are done with your whole 30, take the time to add back different foods groups one at a time. You never know what you may be allergic or sensitive to.  A year ago, I laughed when my doctor told me to try quitting dairy, and I am now amazed at just how allergic I am to it.  

7. Do what you can.

The whole 30 suggests buying really good, organic meat, and I couldn't afford those meats right now. However, that doesn't mean I can't try whole 30.  Sometimes we look for excuses to stop, but just do what you can.

8. Make a bet with someone.

That dumb bet that I made with Shad really encouraged me when it got tough.  Even though I lost, I'm so glad I did as good as I did.

1. Artificial sweeteners aren't aren't a free pass just because they have no calories. I talked about that here, and it blew my mind!

2. Vegetables are not nasty.

 I really enjoyed trying a new vegetable every week.  I learned that I like avocados, asparagus, and spaghetti squash. What have I been missing out on all these years.

3. I forgot about my dairy allergy during whole 30.

When I first went 100% dairy free, I tried to do some substitute cooking, but I always just end up feeling deprived.  When I cook simply with meat and veggies, I don't feel as deprived. I don't focus on the foods I can't have, but on the foods I can have.

4. I love how pretty my fridge looks filled with fruits and veggies. Aldi was a big help to keep the cost down during my whole 30.

5. This month, I had tons of practice with not emotionally eating.  I am so proud of myself for staying focused while Collin was in the hospital and sticking to the whole 30.  I really believe that is why I didn't get sick with all the stress and no sleep.

6. The biggest lesson I learned is, sugar and I aren't as close of friends as I thought we were.

 Sugar was a beast to get off of because I loOoOoOove sugar. Now that I've added it back some, I see how much it affects me.  During the whole 30, I liked a day without the highs and lows of sugar. Now, I am much more conscious to how much sugar I am eating.


Overall, the whole 30 was a really good, eye opening experience.  I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with energy and their health.  A year ago, I would have thought this was crazy, but now, I really do believe that many illnesses and problems can be controlled or helped by what we eat.

On Monday, I weighed myself and found out I lost 13 pounds through the whole process. That's not a bad perk, but I'm glad whole 30 has opened my eyes to the fact that food is more than just calories.

Blessing #197 - Whole 30 (week 4)

Tonight, Shad and I went out on a date!  When we went to Chillis, I was a little stressed about exactly what to order. I didn't want to feel deprived as I knew I was going to be watching Shad have bacon and ranch quesadillas which I couldn't eat if I wanted to because of the cheese.

My feelings of deprivation went away when I realized that steak was on the 2 for $20 menu! Happily, I ordered a steak with broccoli, and didn't feel deprived at all. Well, except for this....

Oh! Chips and salsa we meet again.  I ate a few, but then ended up dipping my broccoli in salsa. Which is not nearly as gross as it sounds.

Sundays are very busy days for us, but I still managed to eat good today.  Shad and the boys asked me to make them spinach smoothies this morning. I don't know if they will ask again, but at least they tried them.  I need to find some sweeter versions for them.

Since starting Whole 30, I have become a big fan of Aldi.  Going to that grocery store has made this experiment stay in budget.  I don't have to base my whole week's menu by what fruit and veggie is on sale. Aldi's produce price are usually pretty low.

I love how bright and colorful the inside of my fridge looks on grocery day.

I realize I probably should keep all my produce in the vegetable and fruit drawers, but I like being able to see what I have.  Also, I've been eating things up so produce going bad hasn't really been a problem.

Today, I tried spaghetti squash and I really liked it.  However, the sauce I put on it was gross so it ruined it, but the squash itself was great.  I am going to have to try it again with a better sauce!

I am still not feeling the amazing energy that many other people claim to get on the whole 30! As frustrated as that makes me, I'm trying to be patient.  I have to remember Collin's accident and all the stress that came with it.  I think that totally threw the energy part off.

One thing I have noticed is that although I don't have amazing energy, I don't have highs and lows in my energy.  It stays the same through out the day.  I like not having the sugar crashes.

Today was a rough day emotionally.  After reading the not so nice comments about me, my heart just felt heavy all day.  What bothered me was not so much that the words were about me, but the realization that people could be so mean.  I felt like my world is all gum drop and rainbows, and it just surprised me that people could even say those things.

Anyway, the good news is that as heavy as my heart was, I didn't emotionally eat all day! Normally, bad days called for a trip to Rite Aid for my go to bad day food, a bag of gummy worms followed by a giant Diet Dr. Pepper. After all I deserved it, right?

Shad was so sweet, and tried to cheer me up by offering a trip to Sweet Frog.  I held off yesterday, but we will probably go this weekend.  As much as I love Sweet Frog, I am really trying not to run to food when I'm stressed or down, and this month with the accident, I have had lots of practice!

I am trying to get into my brain that just because I had a bad day does not entitle me to a load of sugar which will just make me feel worse in the end.

I am coming into the home stretch.  It really has gone by so fast! The weight loss part of this experiment is such a nice perk. I don't think I have lost a dramatic amount of weight, but my clothes are fitting better, and that is very encouraging.

Next week, I share some things I have learned through this experience and some advice if you decide you want to try it yourself.

Blessing #194 - Whole 30 {week 3}

I have become obsessed.....wait I have to make sure you read that right.  You have to say obsessed like Nicki Minaj does on American Idol.  You say it kind of nasal and kind of valley girlish.

Anyway, I am obsessed with fruit and herb infused water.  In the hospital, a really kind nurse made lemon and time infuse water for the ICU floor.  That is what kept me hydrated in the hospital.

When I came home I decided to try it for myself! At first I made lemon and thyme water, then orange and basil, and right now just orange water.  All you do is slice up some fruit and throw fresh herbs in your water, and the flavor infuses into the water and just makes water awesome.

When the water runs low, just fill the pitcher up again.  I keep the fruit in there for a couple of days and then change it out to something new.

Next, I am trying grapefruit.

My entire family ate chips and salsa from Chilli's in front of me tonight. It was torture, and I don't feel like talking about it.

Today, I felt terrible.  Not sick or anything, just really tired.  I think all the stress of the week has caught up with me.  I wasn't quite ready for Collin to be around a bunch of people (and germs) so I kept him home from church.

All the amazing energy people say they feel on this, I'm not feeling.  I think my "experiment" will be a little off with such a traumatic event happening right in the middle of it.

My go to lunch during the whole 30 has been lemon pepper chicken and a sweet potato.  For days when there are no left overs, this lunch is great.

Just put some lemon juice and lemon pepper on a chicken breast, and then saute it in a skillet.  Sweet potatoes can be cooked in the microwave for five minutes (after poke a few holes in them with a fork).

It's quick and easy and one of my favorites.  Today for lunch, I made Shad some frozen chicken because he's not a big fan of lemon pepper chicken, and I don't think he likes sweet potatoes that much.  When he saw my lunch compared to his, he was a little mad.

I am also obsessed (again Nicki Minaj voice) green smoothies. I put one strawberry, a half a banana, a splash of almond milk, and a lot of spinach into a blender and mix it all together.  

Okay! I know it looks nasty, but I promise it does not taste like it looks.  Sometimes, I put in carrots or coconut oil.  Today, I bought some celery to try in the smoothies.

When I had to go dairy free, I really missed drinking milk in the morning.  These smoothies give me something creamy in the morning with no added sugar and a ton of spinach.

Today, I tried on some pants that I haven't been able to wear since November. And they fit! Sure, I had to use a pony tail holder through the button hole around the button to make a little more breathing room, but let's not get technical.  They fit!

The focus of whole 30 is not weight loss, it's wellness. You are not even supposed to weigh yourself during the 30 days.  You can weigh before and after, but not during that way your focus is on how you feel and not the scale.

That's one of the things that drew me to whole 30, looking at food as more than calories, but the fact that my clothes fit better is a nice perk.

 
Today, I lost the bet. I haven't even told Shad yet. I just can't bring myself to say the words, "I lost," to him. I don't want to see him gloat. Maybe I'll e-mail him a copy of this blogpost.

Yes, I lost. Today, the boys and I had a special day together, and I bought Shad some caramel corn to make up for him having to work. I ate some of the caramel corn. Then later, there were some reese's pieces the boys had and I ate a few.

What was I thinking! I am devastated I lost to him, but I am not giving up on whole 30! There's always bumps in the road, and maybe I can work a deal out with him.  It has to count for something that I stayed on it in the hospital...extra credit maybe.
 

Blessing #193 - Whole 30 {week 2}

I survived week one! One of the main reasons Whole 30 appealed to me is because I am a recovering picky eater.  The Lord knows my mama tried.  Most meals ended with me gagging as I had to eat my "one bite." (Even though my definition of one bite was very different than my mom's definition of one bite)

Over the past ten years though, I've really been try to eat more foods.

In my first week I ate zucchini, tomatoes, avocado, snow peas, onions, the rainbow of bell peppers, and eggs.  These were all foods I would not have eaten ten years ago.

Mom would be proud.

On Saturday, shortly after we made it to the hospital, all I wanted was a Diet Dr. Pepper and some candy, but then I remembered one of the reasons I wanted to do this experiment, emotional eating.

That moment, I decided to skip the vending machine, but I figured there was no way I could stick to the whole 30 in the hospital.

When we went down to the cafeteria for our first meal, I realized I was wrong.  Whole 30 was totally doable in the hospital.  There were so many options between a salad bar, and fresh fruit cups to go.

In the mornings, I would go down to the cafeteria and order an omelet.  For lunch and dinner I would eat some chicken, the vegetable of the day, and a salad.  I did use honey mustard dressing on my salad instead of oil and vinegar, but Shad said it was okay.

One of the ICU nurses would make water with lemon and thyme in it and put it in the snack room.  It was soOoOoOo good, and it definitely kept me hydrated.

For years, I have been through the same cycle.  If there is a stressful situation where I get little sleep....I always get sick.....ALWAYS. I knew with Collin in the ICU, I could not get sick.  I couldn't control my stress, and I couldn't control my lack of sleep, but I could control my food choices.

When I looked at it as staying well for Collin, that made it much easier to say no to certain foods.

Now that we are home, I am back to cooking my own meals.  I bought groceries right before we went to the hospital, and some of them were starting to go bad.  Today, we have been eating up zuccini and peppers.

Since starting this, I really do not like to waste.  Everything seems to get used.

Blessing #191 - Whole 30 Week One {part 2}

Today, I complete one week on Whole 30.  This week has definitely been a challenge, but I am so glad I survived.

Today, I finished my food challenge for the week and tried avocado. Yesterday, I tried one that was not ripe, and it was nasty.  Even after all the advice I got, I still got it wrong.  Last night, I went back to the grocery store, and found the idiot proof avocado.

I tried it sliced up with lemon and salt.  The flavor was a little much for this recovering picky eater, but I was determined.  I smashed the slices up and put it on top of the chicken I was eating.  That's the ticket! It was so creamy and good! Since going 100% dairy free in January, I don't get many creamy things.  I'm definitely eating this again!

My poor husband this has definitely been difficult for him.  Apparently, sugar was really important to my brain because I can't carry on a full conversation.  After struggling to have a conversation with cloudy brained me, Shad beat his head on the wall, "What is this? Whole 30 ways to torture your spouse?"

As hard as it has been with my sugar detox for Shad, he has been eating good.  This weekend he got eggs and bacon every morning.  When he comes home for lunch, I just make him extra of what I'm eating, and at night I give him what I'm eating and add a grain.  For example, tonight I made a steak and snow peas stir fry for myself.  I added some jasmine rice for Shad, and he was a happy camper.

If he had to choose between eating really good or having a wife that's out of it, I think he would choose food.

Over the course of this week, I ate a dozen eggs. That has never...ever happened before.  Remember, I said I was a recovering picky eater? Well, I don't eat eggs....at least before whole 30.

I have an irrational fear of hard boiled egg.  To see someone bite into a whole hard boiled egg turns my stomach.  It's like finger nails down a chalkboard for my eyes. I have no idea where this fear started.  It could have been when I was little and put all my hard boiled Easter eggs in the refrigerator of my play kitchen.  A few days later, I learned the hard way that eggs need to be refrigerated.

For ten years, I have really struggled with my weight, and for ten years all that mattered about food was  the calories.  High calorie food was bad and low calorie food was good.  Whole 30 has really opened up my eyes made me realize that there's much more to food than that.

For example, because Diet Dr. Pepper have no calories, I thought all I had to worry about was the caffeine. I had resigned myself to the fact that caffeine is a way of life for me as long as I have a toddler.

However, I've learned now that even though Diet Dr. Pepper has no calories, the sweetness messes with your hormones (I think insulin).  Which makes you crave and just messes you up.

What? I feel like the blinders have been taken off.  Yes, I did start reading It All Starts with Food today! Why do you ask?

Thank you so much for all your help last week with the avocados! This week, I am trying asparagus. I think I may have had it twice in my life. This week's question, how do you cook it? 

Blessing #190 - Whole 30 Week One {Part One}

I planned on posting a Whole 30 update tomorrow, but it was so big I had to split it into two days.  Tomorrow, I will have completed one week!

When I was talking to Felicia today, she asked me how I was doing.  I held my hands up and made them shake and told her I was going through withdrawals.

Who's Felicia?

Oh! She's the girl that works the drive-thru of Sonic every morning.  What? You don't know the name of your Sonic drive-thru worker?

Well, I may have a bit of a problem.  I may or may not go to Sonic three to five times a week.

Don't Judge! Let me explain!

After I drop B off at school, I usually run a couple of errands, and those errands are usually near Sonic.  At our local Sonic, all drinks....ALL SIZES are just a dollar before 11:00.  I can get a route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper for just $1, and then get a drink for Shad and be super wife!

Since Brandon started school, I think I may have become dependent on those 44 ounces of perfection.

Before whole 30 started, I told Felicia what was going on and all about my bet with Shad.  "Felicia, you can't let me get a Diet Dr. Pepper!"

Most days, I still stop at Sonic.  I'll get Shad a drink and get myself a Route 44 water.  It's like my nicotine patch.  When I'm holding that styrofoam cup, I just feel better. Plus, it really helps me drink all the water I need.

I know that sounds crazy, but it's working!

When I decided to do Whole 30, I thought the best time to start was at the start of the month which was just a few days away.  Yes, that seemed like a great plan except I left out one important detail...A PLUMMER SHOWER!

The Plummers are a family in our church, and over the past couple of years, I have been lucky enough to go to two Plummer showers, and a Plummer party.  Do you know what Plummer showers have? ReAlLy good food.  They are great cooks and the food is always out of this world.

Today, I went to the Plummer shower, and they did not disappoint.  There was four kinds of soup, chicken salad, pasta salads, pimento cheese, and other amazing foods. Do you know the only thing I got to eat? HaM! All that food and all I had was HAM!!! It was the only Whole 30 approved food I could find.

I would have given in and just buried my face in the chicken salad, but my bet with Shad really motivated me.  As I ate my few pieces of ham, I told myself, "He will not win. Not on the second day!"

Once I got home from the Plummer shower, I had to go clean at the barn.  I didn't get done until 7:00, and by that time I had a serious head ache and felt horrendous.  Hello sugar detox.

When Shad picked me up, he surprised me with Moe's pico de gallo.  His simple act of love meant so much to me.  It was a little ray of sunshine when I felt absolutely terrible.  As soon as I got home, I put Shad's gift on a salad with taco meat.

At 9:00, I went to bed feeling very weak and with a big headache. Dumb sugar.  My body must have REALLY loved it.

Today, I woke up with the same head ache I had when I went to bed. That is not fun, not fun at all.   I felt weak all day.  I can tell I'm eating enough, but I just feel so bad and weak like the day after a stomach virus weak.

When I was talking with Shad about the Plummer shower, I shared how I didn't even eat the vegetable soup because I didn't know the ingredients and couldn't risk losing against him.  He then spouting off some facts about Whole 30 that I didn't even know.

I asked him, "How in the world did you know that?" He calmly replied, "Oh! I did some research on their website to make sure you can't trick me."

This is war. This is war.
 

Blessing #189 - The Whole 30

Yesterday, I shared how I went 100% dairy free and how much it has improved my life.  Today, I would like to share how I am taking it further.

When my doctor first suggested that I cut out dairy, I laughed.  It sounded crazy, but I was willing to try anything. Taking out the dairy showed me how much the food I was eating affected my health.

Since going dairy free, I have wondered just how much all the other things I eat affect my health.  Taking away dairy made me feel better what would happen if I took out other things.

In college my major was math, but my minor was physical science so I am a very curious person.  Also, in the past month, I have read a couple of books where the authors tried a challenge for a month, and I was inspired to try one for myself.

Last week, I learned about "The Whole 30" where you take all dairy, alcohol, soy, gluten, and sugar out of your diet for thirty days.  When you take all of that out you are left with the paleo diet which is just meat, vegetables, and fruit.

The reason why I was so interested in trying this is that they called it a "food reset."  Right now, I feel like that is where I am.  The whole 30 is just a step further for me, one major huge step called no sugar.

Oh! But it doesn't stop there. The whole 30 even takes out artificial sweeteners. No Diet Dr. Pepper! Stay calm Stephanie.  It's going to be okay.

Another reason I am trying the whole 30, is that I am a recovering picky eater. Vegetable was a curse word most of my life, but I have been trying new things since I had kids.   During the whole 30, I'd like to end the life long war with my gag reflex and make peace with the vegetables.  Each week, I am giving myself a vegetable challenge. This week I am trying avocado. I know what you are thinking! Google says the avocado is a fruit, but it is dark green.  According to my rules that makes it a vegetable!

This month, I will be giving whole 30 updates on Fridays, and that should keep my accountable.....

Speaking of accountable! I made a bet with Shad.  When I first told him about trying the whole 30, he listened quietly until I got to the no sugar or sweetener part.  He jumped in, "There is no way you are going to do this!" I looked at him and said, "The last time you said that...I JUMPED OUT OF A PLANE!"

We agreed to on a bet.  If I make it through the whole 30 without cheating, he will make a laundry sorter for me that I've been wanting.  If I cheat, he wins and..........he's a man, you can fill in the blanks as to what he wins.

A year ago, I would have never guessed I would try this.  I would have called someone like this a hippie, a granola, but here I am trying it.   My dad, the king of barbeque, has had to watch his diet because of gout. In the past couple of months, he went to a VEGAN restaurant....and he loved it and went back again and again.  When you realize the power of food, you change.

If you want to learn more about The Whole 30 you can check out the website and their book called "It All Starts With Food."

If you know anything about avocados, I'm all ears.

If you think this post is rambling and random, I apologize.  I'm coming of of sugar and Diet Dr. Pepper.