Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Whole30...1/3 Of The Way There!

I've been chronicling my days doing Whole30 here, but since I reached a little bit of a milestone yesterday, I thought I'd go further in depth in case you guys are interested.  For those of you who couldn't give a hoot about anything non-decor-home-related, my apologies...and feel free to skip this super wordy post. ;)

The end of day 10 meant I'm 1/3 of the way through this process!  When I thought about starting this program, I thought there would be NO WAY I could resist certain sweets and foods.  I thought I'd surely fail within the first couple days, but here I am.....no cheats and 11 days in.

Taking on this program certainly isn't an easy task, but in all honesty, it hasn't been crazy hard either.  I thought my cravings would be the toughest part, but so far, I've been able to get through those by venting to hubby and other supportive people...or just eating something that's "approved".  After all, the program doesn't restrict how much you eat, but WHAT you eat.  I've realized if I put myself in the right state of mind, then I can make it through the cravings.  I remind myself that I'm not doing this to deprive myself...rather to heal my body.  I want to give it a break from any abuse it's gotten, and restore it's proper function.  Rather than harping on what I canNOT eat, I think about the beneficial foods I can eat.  I change my focus from the craving to finding new recipes or foods to try...even a hot cup of tea or taking on some sort of task is enough to distract me from the nagging pull of unapproved foods.

Since the cravings haven't been too difficult {yet....I know this can change, eeek!}, I'd have to say the hardest part was meal planning.  Having 3 solid meals a day, with go-to snacks, that are all approved....well, that was super overwhelming for me, especially before I even started the program.  To solve that, I did a large shopping trip and purchased a bunch of "approved" items off of the shopping list they provide. Good meats, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts, eggs and oils all went into my cart.  If I could freeze certain things, they went in the freezer to stay good....and then I just dove in head first.

I knew eggs were my go-to breakfast.  I also knew I liked peppers...so I started buy cutting up a bunch of them.  I'd wrap them in a paper towel and place them into a zip lock baggie.  Every day I need breakfast, I go into my pepper stash, and dump some out into the pan.  Then I wrap the peppers up in a FRESH paper towel and back into the baggie they go.  I learned this trick from my mom, and it keeps the cut-up peppers nice and fresh for quite a few days.

For my lunches, my and hubby have gotten into the habit of grilling a bunch of chicken on Sunday night. Then I always have a good protein source for my lunch, and I can supplement that with a salad or leftover veggies from the previous night's dinner.  Also, another fab time saver is to make a ton of dinner.  Hubby usually eats what I eat for dinner, although I add a rice or couscous side for him, and then I put the leftovers into containers for my lunch.  That way, all I have to do is grab the container, some fruit, some nuts...and head out the door to work.  I love it!

I haven't noticed any of the "magic" they talk about in the book, but I'm also not at that point in the program yet.  Just because I haven't seen any of this "magic" doesn't mean I haven't had some awesome results though.  So far, I'm down 4-5 lbs, and my pants fit so. much. better.  I also don't have a crazy bloated feeling after every meal anymore.  It's amazing to lose the bloated 24-7 feeling.  I'm falling asleep quicker and I wake up earlier, without my alarm clock.  My energy has been a little "eh", but I hear that happens in the beginning because your body is changing from being a carb-for-energy fuel system, to burning fat for energy. Hopefully my energy levels rebound soon because I have a lengthy to-do list for our house! ;)

Any questions...just ask! :)

14 comments:

  1. I did the low carb thing for months and felt so much better after dropping the weight. Even though that is different than what you're doing, it's the life style change that's the hardest. You're doing great... keep it up :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did the whole 30! I had so much less bloat! but now im back to being a fatty and eating whatever is in front of me... I need to do this again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you?! That's awesome!! I can't believe the difference in bloat when eating on and off the whole30! I'm hoping to keep up my good habits for as long as possible! I know there is no way to eat this way allllll the time, but if I could keep up as many good habits as possible, I'll be happy! :)

      Delete
  3. You are awesome and I'm so proud of you but for some reason I feel filthy, yucky and stuffed into my pants now ;) LOL but I'm not at the point were I could try this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks Julia! Oh man, I don't want you to feel that way...I'm sure that couldn't be further from the truth! :)

      Delete
  4. I am really impressed with your staying power on this program. I've heard that once you're over the "hump" you really don't crave the forbidden foods. I'd say you are well on your way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much!! :) I'm hoping that the cravings subside after this program. I've heard the same thing...now fingers crossed it's true. ;)

      Delete
  5. Wow!! I'm impressed! I should try this ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sarah...it's definitely worth giving it a shot! :)

      Delete
  6. Hi Gabbi! I did something similar before my wedding and I definitely felt much better! After about 6 months I lost around 30 pounds! The first month I only did some minimal weight training, NO cardio, so my body would get used to eating 5 - 6 small meals a day. Then once I started cardio, I burnt fat SOO fast. It was amazing! Sadly, after the honeymoon, I went back to 'normal' eating, my pants are tighter, and I feel like a whale lol. I never realized HOW bloated you actually can be from all the extra salt and sugars and carbs that were normally a part of eating. I will definitely go back to 'clean' eating after the holidays! I cannot afford to buy new clothes again, so I MUST fit in the ones I already have LOL! Good luck and keep going, it is really a great feeling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, sounds like you made quite the transformation! I am curious how introducing a few things into my diet will go after the whole30. I don't want to add things back in that I didn't miss, and I want to maintain as much clean eating as I can. Like you said, it's just crazy how much less bloat and how good you feel without all the sugar/carbs/dairy in your diet. I haven't done any working out and lost a bit of weight, so I'm going to start a routine soon and see how my body changes then. This has been quite the ride. Good luck getting back to it after the holidays!! :)

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.