Saturday, January 31, 2015

Whole30 - Scale Victories

This morning, I was terrified to step on the scale. I was so used to life without it, and I was terrified of being disappointed. But I took a deep breath, and stepped on.

I lost 7 lbs.

I would be lying if I would say that I was excited about that. I am not. It's disappointing. Especially when your husband loses 18. Men always have it easier. Ugh.

But then I started thinking about why I was disappointed. Why isn't that something to celebrate? Who is telling me that is not good enough? Maybe I wanted to be a size 2 in a month. Maybe I felt pressure to perform for everyone who knew I was doing the Whole30. I don't know.

But 7lbs IS good enough. It took me 15 years to get to this point. One month is not going to reverse that. I love eating this way, and I have no reason to stop. At this rate, it will take me less than a year to reach my goal weight, which is pretty darn good!

And as Eric pointed out, this IS the easier 7lbs I have ever lost. I spent the month eating delicious food, and never feeling hungry or deprived. I don't feel the urge to gorge myself on unhealthy foods the moment the "diet" is done. I have tonnes of Non-Scale Victories to celebrate.

Now this is super embarrassing for me, but I am going to share it anyways. Because people see me in real life all the time. They know what my body looks like.




I do not see any difference in my body in those pictures. It does not looks smaller. But on the right side (After), I look happier, heathier. My face looks less puffy. I feel happier, healthier.

I am so glad I did the Whole30. It really has changed my life.







Friday, January 30, 2015

Whole30 Day 30 - Non-Scale Victories

Amidst my panic that I was not dropping enough weight fast enough, my fellow Whole30ers reminded me that weight loss is not what this is about. They reminded me that the number on the scale is not indicative of my success or my worth as a person. They encouraged me to think of my Non-Scale Victories and celebrate those. So here I go:

Digestive System: Before starting the Whole30, I woke up every morning feeling nauseous, and not because I am pregnant. I had also recently developed this pain in my stomach, especially when I ate something sugary. Taking a Zantac would help. Both of those things are now gone, thankfully.

Emotions: I feel much more level headed. Before it felt like I had lots of highs and lows of emotions. Now I have felt very even keeled. I feel less stressed out, even when I have a large workload. I feel like I have been way happier. Also, I can think clearer. The mental fog I would experience from time to time is completely gone.

Clothing Fit: While my clothes are not hanging off of me, I do feel like my clothes have been fitting better. Even my winter jacket that I just bought is fitting better.

Cleanliness: On the Whole30, you cook a lot. There is a lot of cutting up veggies and such. Which means a lot of mess. I have noticed that I have been more motivated to clean up as I go, and clean up after I cook. My kitchen is much cleaner than it used to be. I am making a habit of keeping things clean and I love that.

Cooking
: I have actually really enjoyed all the extra cooking I have been doing. It has been fun to have a fridge loaded with veggies, all I have to do it look in and decide what I wanted to make for the next meal. I used to always agonize over what I would make. My veggies would always go bad waiting to be cooked. I feel like mealtime has been easier. I am looking forward to trying lots of new recipes as time goes on!

Taste Buds: I think my taste buds have changed. I have eaten salmon twice, and thoroughly enjoyed it. That is a huge milestone. Yesterday when I had a bell pepper I noticed just how sweet it tasted.

Cravings & Snacking: My cravings for sweets have been greatly reduced. I don't feel like I HAVE to have it anymore. We have also greatly reduced the amount of snacking and grazing we do. Especially in the evenings. 



As for Eric, he says that his heartburn that he would often experience is completely gone and that he feels less bloated.

I think looking back at that list, I sure have accomplished a lot in the last 30 days. And some of the things really are more important than the number on the scale.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Whole30 - Day 27

Three more days.

I am excited.  I want it to be over.

I am nervous. I am scared for it to be over.

The last few days cravings have come back real bad. Probably connected to eating snacks again. I need to stop snacking. I don't need it.

I can't wait to eat some chocolate cake.

I never want to eat cake again.

I want some ice cream.

I never want to stop eating Whole30 foods.

Ugh, it's so back and forth today. Driving me crazy. I thought I was past this.

I am frustrated today as well, because I feel like I have no lost ANY weight. I feel like I have gained.

Yet I know that the Whole30 is NOT a weight loss plan. It is a nutritional reset. It's goal is to help you form a healthier relationship with food. I do think it has done that for me, or at the very least it has started one.

Every person's Whole30 will be different. Some people will be able to eat fruit, but some cannot because it might feed their sugar dragon too much. Some people can eat nuts, some people cannot because they end up being "food without breaks".

I have been thinking a lot today about what I am going to do going forward. I know I want our family to eat paleo-style, but I obviously do need something for weight loss. I am thinking of doing another Whole30, but stricter this time. I have stuck to the plan 100%, and at this point it has gotten quite easy. I think I am ready for another challenge. I want to do Round 2 with no potatoes, no sweet potatoes, no fruit and no snacking, just 3 square meals a day. With PCOS, it makes it quite a bit harder to lose weight, so I think I need to be stricter because of that.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Whole30 Days 8-24 - Journey To Health

I was planning on writing every week about my Whole30 journey but I kinda fell behind. The newness wore off, and I got into a groove.

The hardest day was Day 10. They said alot of people quit on Day 10. The newness has worn off, and I just wanted to eat endless amounts of chocolate cupcakes. My mind was focused on all the things I could not have, and I wanted to whine and stomp my feet and have a fit about it. I regetted saying it was "easy" the days before. So I am not surprised people give up on Day 10

After that, things got better. Both Eric and I are really enjoying eating like this. I love having my fridge stocked with veggies. Meal planning is pretty easy. I decide what kind of meat/protein we are going to have then peer in the fridge and grab a veggie or two to cook/prepare. I don't spend hours making meals. We eat pretty simple, but we eat delicious.

I think it is important to keep a wide variety of veggies on hand to avoid food boredom. It's been fun thinking up new ways to have veggies.

Looking back on the past 24 days, it has been quite easy over all. There has been some difficult moments. We shared a meal at a restaurant the other day because it was the only compliant thing on the menu, but it was $30 a plate and we didn't have the money to spend $70+ on a meal. Not only did we feel stupid, we were hungry.

But for the most part, it has been really enjoyable and simple. I could easily live like this!

We only have 6 days left, but I don't feel like it's a countdown at all. I don't want to stop this. In fact I am afraid to stop. I don't think I have a good control on my sugar dragon yet, nor do I think that my emotional eating is under control. I am still looking forward to being able to have cake. I want to be able not thing about that anymore. Not even sure if that is possible.

Something odd that I have experienced is food dreams. I am dreamed about gorging on unhealthy foods, and feeling guilty about it. I wake up feeling disappointed that I have screwed up the Whole30, only to realize it was all a dream! PHEW!

When I get to thinking that I have been doing this for 24 days, I start panicking that I must have screwed up somewhere along the way. I cannot believe that I have stuck to this for 24 days. I have NEVER gone 24 days into anything without cheating a little bit. But I have. I have done this, with not even ONE bite of anything non-compliant. It is possible. If I can do it, anyone can! I have terrible self control.

One thing I love about the Whole30 is that it changes your relationship with food. I look at food a different way now. I THINK about everything I put into my mouth now. I read every label. I ask questions about how things are prepared. I want to be informed about what I am eating, so I can decide if it is worth it or not.

I am not going to say that I will never eat *insert food name here* again. I will eat it again. But I will eat in knowing that it is not going to make me healthier, and knowing there will be consequences. I will decide whether that food is worth it or not. Sometimes it will be, sometimes it won't.

As for results, I don't think I have lost much weight. The creators didn't design this to be a weight loss plan, and I need to come to terms with that. I think eventually the weight will slowly drop off as I continue only eating things that make me healthier. But I am used to dropping lots of weigh fast. But I need to remember that it has always come back. Slow and steady wins the race. It is better if it comes off slow and permanent than fast and temporary anyways.

That being said, I KNOW Eric has lots a tonne of weight already. I can tell when I look at him. He will probably have lost 20lbs at the end of this. I will be lucky to have lost 5. Thanks PCOS!

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Whole30 Days 1-7 & Ranch Dip/Dressing Recipe

Ah! Day 7. It feels great. I am done with most of my sugar withdrawals now and the cravings have lessened.

It has been a fun journey so far. And alot easier than I anticipated. The first 2 or 3 days were the hardest as I had to make myself conscious of not just grabbing a handful of sugary snacks. I got a headache on the evening of day 2, and it lasted until the end of day 3.

I am super proud of myself for making it this far without giving up. A lot of things I would have cheated by now. I am glad the Whole30 is so strict for this reason.

The biggest change in my body that I have noticed so far is clearer thinking and more evened emotions. I just feel really level headed and relaxed, which is super odd for me. I feel like I am able to focus on things a lot better. I love eating like this and I don't want to stop at 30 days.

My favorite recipe to date by far has been the Cracklin Chicken from Nom Nom Paleo. So good and hard to believe it is healthy.

Our second favorite is Ranch dressing. On day 1 I attempted to make mayo, but I miserably failed. I made it in my magic bullet and it ended up a watery mess. (I used this method for my second batch and it turned out perfect) So I used the mixture for ranch dressing. It was our favorite dressing for salad. Today we had none left at lunch and decided to make more.

I already had the fool proof method of making mayo, but I also knew how to screw it up.  So because we wanted dressing, I decided to whip out the magic bullet blender. Well wouldn't you know it, it turned into a perfect batch of mayo! Shoot. We tried making ranch with it anyways and the result was super yummy!

Dueck's Ranch Dressing or Dip:

1  batch of Homemade Mayo, (we use 1 egg, 1 1/4 cup light tasting olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder)
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic (we have the prechopped stuff in a jar, but you could press your own)
2 tsp dried parsley
2tsp chives (we used freeze dried)
1 tbsp white vinegar.

Stir all together. Let sit for 10 minutes or so and stir again. Enjoy on salad or with your favorite fresh veggies!

Friday, January 02, 2015

It Starts With Food & The Whole30 - Journey to Health

I am going to stop short of saying I have found the holy grail of healthy eating. I have said that before and life has showed me different. But this just makes SO MUCH sense.

I cannot even remember how I found the Whole30. I think I was just a bunch of googling for low fat high carb lifestyles and came across this plan. I was originally going to start it October 1st, but nobody jumped on the bandwagon with me and I didn't have enough time to properly prepare and research. November we went on a big road trip, and December, well thats the holidays. Sorry but I am going to have treats during the holidays. I will never change this. Ever.

January it was. And why not the 1st. A new year. A fresh start.

The thing I loved MOST about the Whole30 is that the entire plan is available online for FREE. I was tired of investing money in books and special foods. This was just a simple plan with simple food you can find in the grocery store.

Because of this, I originally did not plan on reading It Starts With Food. I did NOT want to spend any more money. But an Instagrammer I follow did the Whole30 in November, and convinced me to read it. And boy, am I glad I did.

I honestly thought I had read it all. I mean, I have been doing so much reading since the summertime, there couldn't possibly be anything new for me to learn. Ah but yes, there was.

One HUGE thing that popped out to me was sort of discrediting the glycemic index. This has basically been my bible on determining what foods are good for me to eat or not. The glycemic index is a one dimensional look at a food. It does not tell you what nutrients are in the food, or if they are healthy. It just tells you how they raise your blood sugar. I do, however, feel that it is still good to know these values about food. But it shouldn't be your only measuring stick when determining which healthy foods to put into your body.

For example, the GI of watermelon is 72, and the GI of peanut M & M's are 33. On a scale of 0 being no blood sugar spike, and 100 to be the same as pure sugar. Which is healthier? The peanut M & M's. But common sense tells us that is not quite right. Obviously watermelon is the better choice. But the GI does tell us that maybe we shouldn't eat the entire melon at one time.

The authors look at food using 4 different criteria to determine if the food is worthy of the Whole30.

These are:

"1.Promote a healthy psychological response. As a rule, we think the foods that are good for your body should also not mess with your mind. And we think the psychological effects of your food choices are perhaps the most important factors to consider during your healthy-eating transformation.

This is why the Whole30 includes rules like, “No Paleo-ifying desserts or junk food” or “No stepping on the scale for 30 days.” The guidelines aren’t just about how these foods (and behaviors) are affecting you physically, but also how they play into our unhealthy relationships with food, eating, and our bodies.
 

2. Promote a healthy hormonal response. Chronic “overcarbsumption” of food-with-no-brakes leads to reliance on sugar for fuel, an accumulation of body fat, triglyceride buildup in the liver, and an excess of glucose and triglycerides in the bloodstream. But you can stop overconsuming, dial all the way back to insulin and leptin sensitivity, retrain your body to burn fat and, to a significant degree, restore normal cortisol levels, by doing one simple thing: changing the food you put on your plate.

This is why our plan includes nutrient-dense, whole foods (no nutrient-poor-but-technically-Paleo options!) and why we include guidelines like, “Eat three meals a day, trying not to snack,” and “Start your day with a breakfast focused on protein and fat.” The food choices and mealtime habits you’ll develop on your Whole30 will start to restore a healthy hormonal balance quickly.

3. Support a healthy gut. We believe you should consume only foods (and drinks) that support normal, healthy digestive function; eating anything that impairs the integrity of your gut impairs the integrity of your health.

This is why the Whole30 is 100% for 30 days—no cheats, slips, or special occasions. If you’re sensitive to a particular substance, it only takes a tiny amount to promote disruption in the gut (and elsewhere in the body). You must completely eliminate all potentially problematic foods for the full 30 days to allow your gut time and space to heal.

4. Support immune function and minimize inflammation.
Your food choices should result in a well-rested, highly-effective defense system. In other words, food should not cause excessive ongoing immune activity, also known as chronic systemic inflammation. Chronic systemic inflammation is at the heart of metabolic syndrome.

This is perhaps the most significant standard of them all, because systemic inflammation is related to just about every lifestyle-related disease and condition you can think of. It’s also sneaky, and can manifest itself in any number of different ways in the body—no two people’s symptoms are alike. And it’s why we eliminate the foods and beverages we do, as they have all been shown to promote inflammation either directly, or indirectly through impaired gut integrity.
"

I love the 4 dimensional look at foods. To me, this just makes so much sense. It seems so natural. It just feels "right".

I highly suggest you take a look at these links:

Whole30 Program Info
Whole30 Downloads - Shopping lists, meal planning guides and more
Whole30 Blog - Tips, recipes, support & more

Eric and I started the Whole30 yesterday. Today I feel fantastic. I feel like I am ON FIRE. But I know this will soon fade, and things will get tough. I will have to be creative with food. It will take a little more work to eat somedays.

But we are committed to this. We NEED to change our eating habits. We cannot keep living like this. I need to get healthier. We have lost 3 of our babies already. I need to make my body as healthy as possible, I cannot bear to lose any more.

Moving On - Paleo & More - Journey To Health

This has gone on long enough, months and months. I have read a few other books but I am going to quickly recap them because I am SUPER excited to talk about what I am doing right now.

Yes. I know. Even my eyes roll back into my head when I hear myself say that. But taking steps towards health is better than doing nothing. I have failed SO MANY times, but it is no excuse to stop trying. I am picking my heavy body back up off the ground, dusting it off, and trying again.


My desperation to read about ALL types of low carb, high fat diets lead to me read these books.

NeanderThin - This book was about the Paleo diet. I think the general idea of the Paleo diet is on the right track, but this takes it a bit too far. We have to be reasonable. We are not Paleolithic people anymore, our bodies have changed, as has the availability of food. This books highly suggests eating pemmican. I don't even know where I would get pemmican, nor does it seam appealing to me.

From what I gather, the Paleo community can be VERY strict about what you can and cannot eat. If a paleolithic person couldn't have it, neither can you. This is too restrictive for my liking. I want to eat foods based on what is healthiest for me. Not on what someone ate 6000 years ago ( or a million years ago according to the book. That doesn't fly for me either, but that is a while other post).

Wheat Free: How I lost 90 Pound in 6 Months by Eliminating Wheat from my Diet & How You Can Do It Too:  Despite this lengthy name, this is actually a really short book. I read it in one sitting. It is not so much about any diet. It really just is a story about a women who when wheat free and found her way to health. There is also not much for suggestions. I also don't like how wheat was the only thing she cut out, and she speaks about going to the gluten free bakery for doughnuts. Wheat free does NOT mean healthy in my mind. Especially if you are changing out the wheat for other carb loaded flours and sugar. It was a cheap book, 2.99. But honestly it wasn't even worth that. I wouldn't recommend that anyone read it. It's mostly about her boyfriend drama.

And with that note, I *THINK* I am up to date with everything I have read, save for what I am going to post about next. Probably today cause I can't wait. :)
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