Whole 30

Many of you follow me on instagram and have seen all my yummy food pics I've been posting.  There are many questions around what I'm doing exactly. 

Let's start at the very beginning. 

I started doing Crossfit about 3 months ago.  (we just got new t-shirts and I was the model that day)

More on Crossfit later.  But to sum it up, I'm loving it!  The month of October, there is a gym-wide Whole 30 Challenge.  We had to do a baseline workout, measurement, weight and in 30 days redo it all and see who has the most changes.

This is Holli (and myself), my workout buddy.  We go to almost every single class together and push each other every single day (friendly competition I promise).  We had to get a pic in front of the "NO SUGAR" sign b/c that's what we are the most sad about for this next 30 days.

 

So Whole 30...the quick rundown:

• very similar to Paleo, but more strict
• Do's: meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, oils and fat
• Don'ts: SUGAR, dairy, grain, bread, flour, wheat, legumes, alcohol, white potatoes, corn, there is more to this list, but that's the big stuff
• Purpose: to cleanse your body from foods that are having a negative impact on it. Sometimes you might not even realize.  Theory is that some aches, pains, digestive problems and inconsistent energy levels can be linked closely to your diet.

Everyone asks if our whole family is doing the challenge.  No, it's just me.  For dinner I do make things that we can all eat.  I might substitute a lettuce wrap for a tortilla, but we all eat the same basic thing.  I've had to get a little creative, but I've done tons of planning so it wouldn't be so hard.

My input on things:

I've actually never done anything like this in my life.  Those of you who know me, know I'm a sucker for a challenge.  Since our newest addition 8 months ago, I still have a little baby fluff leftover that I'm working on going bye bye.   I'm close but not quite where I want to be.  And this isn't technically a weight loss plan (at least to my understanding), it's just a focus on being/eating very clean and healthy and in the process, weight loss results usually happen.

Here is a little rant...I'm convinced food is quite the addiction for most Americans.  You want something, you go to a drive-thru and get it.  We are drawn to quick results, quick meals, quick everything...but in that process, have sacrificed much.  In conversations with people, they say things like.."good luck, I couldn't do that" or "I could never give up....blank"  The further in I get with this, the more aware I'm becoming to our dependence on food and honestly, self-control, or lack of. 

Now I'm the first to say, sometimes you just gotta have that piece of pizza or that piece of chocolate cake.  There is nothing wrong with that...where the problem comes in is, most people I know are overcommitted in one way or the other.  Because of that, there is no time to include eating healthy and exercising.  Fast food is a normal way of life,  which leads to being overweight which leads to taking diet pills...blah blah blah. 

 And honestly...I'm not gonna lie...being healthy...it's work.  You aren't always going to make the right decision about what goes in your mouth, but EAT REAL FOOD PEOPLE!  Don't take a pill to get into smaller pants!  Find a way to balance your diet and lifestyle.  If you continue to follow me through this journey, you will see, I'm not eating boiled eggs and lettuce everyday.  I've worked hard to find yummy alternatives to things I'm cutting out so I can feel satisfied and good at the end of the day.

I'm just gonna be honest...this challenge has been quite the effort.  I've been preparing for a few weeks.  Only because I wanted to make sure I do this to the best of my ability.  With that challenge, comes lots of meal planning, blog reading, and searching out recipes that will work for me and our whole family.  I'm almost through the first week and things are going good so far.  I'll be making a post each week to share my plan and progress.  Hoping this will encourage and challenge someone, or lots of someones, to make some healthy changes for yourself and your family.