Just. Breathe.

[Not even lying that I started this almost two weeks ago and am finally going to finish and post...] I'll skip to the end first: Whole30 ended at about Whole21. It wasn't a failure though. I was reminded of quite a few things during the three weeks.  It's called Whole30, not Whole365 for a reason -- it is just next to impossible to maintain that level of strictness every single day. Getting sick was just the first part -- when nothing tastes good or sits well, you eat what you can. Next, an anniversary deserves to be a celebration! I was not going to feel "deprived" by not having a glass of wine or a breadstick.... These things came up during the month I'd had planned, and that's just how life works.  But I was reminded of how I feel when I choose certain foods over others. I can't eat cheese and feel good. Period. I can't eat much bread/flour and lose weight. Just can't. It's also a trigger food for me -- once I'd broken that af...

The last time I started a Whole30, I quit after four days. I'm at the end of Day 7. Here's how it's going. I'm back to drinking my water - yay! I make this up every day in the big pitcher, and refill my glass every time I get up. Lemons, cucumbers, and oranges go in mine most of the time.  I have gotten in a very bad snacking habit, especially when I'm stressed. This week has definitely tested my determination, with a lot of work and long hours, and just that craving to grab something crunchy or chocolate. Instead, I'm making do with this: These raspberries are some of the best I've ever tasted. Those are walnuts on top.  The meals have gone according to plan this week. Chicken salad for lunch on Monday and shrimp/chicken stir fry on Monday night. Tuesday was grilled pork chops... ...with butternut squash and kale saute, with pecans. Why yes, that IS a "K" branded on top of my pork chop. RDub was playing with his Christmas present....

Over the last month, I've reread most of my blog postings (I'm hilarious, btw), especially for 2012. That's when I was most successful at weight loss and exercised most consistently. I was reading to try to figure out what I did right, and of course, when it started not working for me. I've debated the pros and cons of Weight Watchers, Paleo, counting calories, workouts, etc.  It's been a while in the making, but tomorrow it begins -- Whole 30. For real. There will be one day off -- our anniversary is in a couple of weeks -- but otherwise, I'm in this until February 25th (31 days, to make up for the day off).  There's a bit of prep involved, even when I know what I'm doing, so I've spent the week trying to figure out menus, plan what's most important for me to do this successfully, and just get my head in the right place.  This weekend has been pretty busy... I don't care what anyone says. Meal planning is not  easy. I feel like I ...

I've been procrastinating writing this post. Like, I'll clean the entryway light fixtures if it will keep me from blogging. I bailed on the Whole30. I'm sort of mad at myself, and then I'm not. I've had 100 conversations with myself about it, both before and after I caved. Monday morning, R-Dub and I went on a long motorcycle ride, and that's some good thinking time (for the passenger). I think it finally boiled down to this for me: The entire summer -- vacations, mission trip, weekends -- I've really not stepped out of Paleo world if I had any control at all. No buns on hamburgers, no bread on sandwich meat, no sugar/dessert. Wine and creamered coffee are pretty much the only exceptions I make to what is "true" Paleo when I can make choices. Then I throw myself into this Whole30 and I realized I was very close to that completely deprived feeling, where I slip into the "poor me" mentality that has derailed me so many times in the p...

The crankiness is setting in just a smidge. Or maybe that's just my brain telling me to take advantage of it while I have an "excuse." Drinking iced tea instead of coffee in the morning. I tried hot green tea, but it was nasty without honey or sugar. I'm fine with unsweet tea -- that's all I've had for years -- so it's a little bit of caffeine to keep the headaches at bay. I've tried some fun new recipes, mostly from Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan. Last night was Pad Thai. I took a picture but apparently it didn't look very appetizing, so I'll use Melissa's instead. That way you can get the recipe, too. Melissa's pic. Mine tasted great, but I'm no food stylist! Tonight was an easy frittata, because I thought I would be leaving the house tonight. I planned an easy meal with beef I'd already cooked earlier this week. It turned out good, too. Basic recipe from It Starts With Food . I just grabbed some frozen Californ...

  Day 1 is done and I'd call it a success. No coffee, but I survived.   Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with turkey and spinach, couple of strawberries and handful of raspberries   Lunch: Paleo chicken salad   Dinner: Smoked pork loin with zucchini noodles, and a couple slices of bacon as they came off the grill   Throughout the day: 2-3 raspberries at a time (I'm addicted), a small handful of almonds, unsweet tea.      We just got back from walking the dogs, and even that little bit made my knee twinge. I'm not supposed to ramp up the exercise this week, but I'm going to do something each day to try to get some strength back in this leg. All in all, a successful day 1. I wasn't TOO cranky (it was Monday, after all) but I am going to bed shortly -- about an hour earlier than usual for me. That's one of the goals - to listen more to my body for waking and sleeping. Right now it's telling me to go to bed!

I've mentioned the Whole30 Program I'm starting today. The creators of the program explain it way better than I ever could over on their site . I got Dallas and Melissa's book, It Starts With Food , and devoured it in two days. (See what I did there? Ha.) They give the science behind their philosophy, which is very much Paleo, with a little bit of other stuff thrown in. The Whole30 Program is basically a "reset" of your system -- designed to heal, "restore metabolism, and end unhealthy cravings, habits and relationships with food." Reading their research and experiences further convinced me that Paleo is right for us, and now I know a bit more about why. Here are the rules, and they are non-negotiable for these 30 days: YES : Eat foods that make you more healthy (what the first half of the book was about) - meat, seafood, eggs, lots of vegetables, some fruit, healthy fats. NO : Do not consume any added sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, or dairy. NO...

I really am not good at meal planning. I thought I was, but I've spent about 4 days thinking before going shopping and looking through recipes and trying to figure out what I could buy that I'd cook before I had to freeze it, blah blah blah... Anyway, it took me FORever to get to an actual menu. This should not be that hard, but I have a new respect for all those bloggers who put together menus and shopping lists for their readers. This is not that blog. I said a couple of days ago that I'm getting ready for a "Whole30" experience. That's what is all about -- for the next 30 days I'll be strictly meat, veggies, and fruit (Paleo). I know my success will be based on a lot of planning, and very little wiggle room in what I have around the house to eat. I'm technically not starting until Monday, but today was shopping day, so cooking started today. In planning what to cook when, I was trying to consider the fresh meat and veggies I just bought -- I...