Whole 30 Day 2

 Well Lovers, 

Today was the mondayest Tuesday that there ever was! The first hour of my day included waking up late and breaking a glass food container that was full...did you hear me...full! This was on my way out the door mind you! The rest of the day just seemed to follow suit...but there are a lot of positives too, Like, I didn't get in a car wreck (but was close!). 

I tell you all that to emphasize how important meal prepping is. The fact that I had food already prepared was the only reason I stayed on track today.  I mean that with every part of my body and soul.  Having good food ready to go literally kept me from the drive thru's and saying screw it!  I made it through a rough day with no cheating, so we can do that ya'll! It's in the little victories. 

Some physical observations about today: 

1) I was a bit tired. Haven't hit "the flu" part yet...dont worry it's coming! 

2) I had a few times I wanted to throw the towel in and eat the candy in my desk

3) I had a good workout, probably from not eating crap and then working out. 

4) But overall, feel good and feel proud I didn't give in,

Thats all I got on this Monday/Tuesday! 

Y'All come back now, ya hear! 

XO! 

Whole 30 - Day 1 + prep

 Hey Lovers! 

So it really wasn't my intention but after prepping for the week and discovering it was all whole 30 I said what the heck! LET'S GO! 

So I'm going to preface this whole situation with I can't do complicated.  So everything I'm going to share with you over the next 30 days is meant to make life extremely easy! I have done several whole 30s in the past and while I am not perfect I have learned some tricks.  

PRO TIP 1 - get your food prepped all at the same time

I prep my food on Sunday because my work week is M-F but I know that's not the case for everyone. Just prep before you get into your work week.   Here is a list of what I prepped for the week 

1. scrambled eggs 

2. frozen pepper mix (put the frozen veggies in a skillet with some ghee or oil...done) 

3. sweet potato hash (I simply grated sweet potatoes and cooked them with ghee, cinnamon and nutmeg...will probably cube next time to see how that turns out)

4. mashed poatoes (boil potatoes and add ghee and almond milk, salt, pepper and garlic and mash) 

5. threw some chicken in the oven with primal kitchen BBQ sauce 

6.  Chicken Apple Sausage with a bag of pepper mix (literally just cooked them all in the pan)

7. cut up sweet potatoes into fries and put in the fridge to air fry when needed.  

That's it! They are all in containers in my fridge and I pull out what I need. I will make a "to go" container for lunches the night before.  The whole process took me about 2 hours from start to clean up. 

PROTIP 2 - invest in snacks and sauces.

I love going to our local health stores because they have all kinds of fun things. I love Lara Bars (just don't get chocolate or peanut butter flavored ones) and RX bars.  They make great snacks and on the go breakfast for those crazy mornings. 

Primal Kitchen! Primal Kitchen! Primal Kitchen! this company makes the greatest sauces and most are compliant! I currently have a BBQ sauce, Ketchup and Italian dressing.  Sauces are essential to keep food from being boring. 

PROTIP 3 - don't be afraid to bring your own stuff to a restaurant and don't be afraid to be picky when you order. 

whole 30 is hard enough as it is,  we can't be stuck at home or have to tell our people no for a whole month! And let's be real...no one likes going to a restaurant and watching others eating delish food (Although we have all done it)!! so we have to be creative and smart to be able to go out to eat. 

I met a friend at our local McAllisters Deli this afternoon.  I got a salad (had them take off the cheese, croutons, bacon and no dressing and add extra onions).  I had my primal kitchen dressing with me so BAM no dry salad for me! I also ordered with my choose 2 a potato.  I got a just a spud and had them hold the butter and sour cream and add all the veggies. I took that home, added my own ghee and chicken. topped with BBQ sauce.  So eating out can be done, just takes some planning. 

So now that we have some protips out of the way let's get into the day.  I feel great today! I know it's the stars in the eye, it's something new, flying high feeling but today was a good day. It's also amazing how much fuller you stay when you eat good foods over crap.  I did weigh and take a before picture.  In the interest of complete transparency I am starting at 221.6.   Now, whole 30 is not meant for weight loss! Be certain of that, but hopefully its a nice by product!  If you have done a whole 30 before you know you hit "the flu stage" a few days in and you feel worse before you feel better because your body is detoxing it passes and in the end you feel amazing!  

I am really glad you are here to go on this ride with me! I want to reenforce that I am so far from perfect, I will probably be throwing a two year old temper tantrum, because I was some dang pizza,  But there is value in sharing an experience and I will share all the tips tricks and ways I make it easy and doable.  

hollar at ya girl if you are doing this with me!! 

see y'all tomorrow lovers! 

XO! 

Breaking up with WW

 Hey Lovers!  

Until I find some sort of constant theme we are just gonna talk about whatever is currently going on in my life.  A whole bunch of me rambling and hoping you glean something from it.  

I am just like every other girl out there. I have done practically every diet, lifestyle and exercise program out there.  I have done WW for the longest (on and off since I was 15, true story).  I have done the programs where you order the foods. I have killed myself at the gym, done at home workouts...tried it all. Here is what I have learned, nothing works if your heart is not in it. Meaning if you are in it for the wrong reasons, or not fully committed you are going to fail.    Here are my views on a couple of the programs I have done.

WW - Probably the most livable program out there.  You count points, and basically decide if what you are going to eat is worth the points. When you go to meetings they compare it to a bank account.  It is a very slow process when using WW. Which slow is better in the long run, but can often be very discouraging because you can bust your butt all week and not lose anything. Then if you are like me you start thinking what the heck did I do all that work for? Enter the shame spiral...girls. Don't let yourself shame spiral!  

FOOD DELIVERY PROGRAMS - ummmm do you want to starve? you are gonna lose weight because you are gonna starve! Im just keeping it real with you! They are expensive, the food is generally not good, and if you are a hefty girl, such as myself, listen to me....you will starve and be grumpy!  These programs are not sustainable. They are not meant to be....so in return when you stop buying the food, you gain back the weight! 

GYM CLASSES - these are great until you are next to the skinny, blonde hair, blue eyed, doctors wife, who has the luxury of exercising as much as they want.  Girls, the shame spiral...once again. So you push yourself so you don't look bad next to barbie and then you can barely walk out of class and getting out of bed the next day is a workout all in itself.   Then you don't go back...then you start just donating your money to the gym. GUILTY! 

ONLINE WORKOUTS - these are wonderful because you can workout in the privacy of your own home, and avoid the comparing factor.  The downside is being alone sometimes we can cheat ourselves. I have found a really good trainer with Beachbody and Ilike what she says "You don't cheat me, you cheat yourself if you don't give 100%".  

So, where is the middle ground? How do we take care of ourselves and not burn out? First of all break up with those programs that don't work for you! BYE WW!!!  Keep things simple. That's how!  Enter, whole 30! 

So. whole 30 in and of itself doesn't come across as simple when you read about it. There is ALOT and I mean ALOT you can't have. No grains, no sugar, no legumes, no dairy.  Unfortunately, this means basically no eating out unless you really plan ahead.  The good news is you can make this super simple, and it's totally worth it.  

So we have food covered now what about exercise, pick one thing and concentrate on that. maybe taking a walk everyday or taking a bike ride.  I decided I would tackled a very very beginner yoga class offered on my beach body account.  pick one thing, stick to that and only that. 

Girls (and guys) we are in the mess together! I am going to take you through my whole 30 journey. You can count on me to keep it real with you! I promise just because today is great tomorrow I may be cussin' the world because I want a soda and pizza real bad.  So let's ride this train together!!!! 

Until tomorrow lovers! 

XO!