Whole30: Day 1

Happy Easter!!!

Day 1 is officially in the books! Yay!

I started my morning off by weighing (yuck), taking measurements (yuck), and taking pictures (double yuck) before breakfast. I'm hoping my results will be amazing and I'll have enough courage to share before and after pictures but we'll see.

I'm not a big breakfast person because well, mainly I'm not a morning person. Before I began my healthy lifestyle, I rarely ate breakfast at all and when I did it was usually a granola bar or pop-tart. I eat breakfast everyday now but I still struggle with eating the best things. I'll still do a bar sometimes but it's usually a Cliff Bar. I try to eat things like oatmeal and Uncle Sam cereal and eggs on occasion.

One thing about the Whole30 is that they encourage you to see your meals as meal 1, 2, and 3, not breakfast, lunch, and supper. If you feel like leftovers for your first meal then go for it. I like that because I know me, there will be a morning where I'm just not feeling cooking breakfast and the option to heat up leftovers will be there waiting for me! :)

But for my first day, cooking breakfast was on the agenda and boy was it GOOD! I scrambled some eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, in coconut oil. Near the end I tossed in some fresh spinach and allowed it to wilt. On the side, I had half an avocado sprinkled with salt, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper! YUM!

  

 

After church we came home and I fixed us salads. I threw some chicken breast in the crock pot yesterday afternoon to cook up for the week which makes things easier. So I had a beautiful salad of leafy greens and spinach with shredded carrots, sliced yellow bell pepper, diced strawberries, diced tomatoes, chunks of avocado, roasted pecans, and shredded chicken. I'm typically a ranch dressing kind of girl but that goes against the no dairy and additives rule so I topped my salad with extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lime, and a dash of balsamic vinegar! Total YUM!

Since we did our Easter traditions last week and it decided to storm here after church, we spent the day being lazy. For supper, I made a creamy chicken and tomato soup. How did I get it creamy with the no dairy rule? Coconut milk! I'm not kidding, this tomato soup was outstanding! The coconut milk really intensified the flavors of the soup! I added the shredded chicken at the end but next time I think I'll just leave it on the side and eat them separately. I served it over a bed of fresh spinach. I also had half and apple with organic raw almond butter! Double YUM!

One of the goals of the Whole30 is to eat enough of the right foods during your meals that you stay full from one meal to the next. Snacking is to be kept to a minimum. I have to say, I've tried diets and programs where I was starving all day long and I HATED what I was eating! Not today. Before church is over my stomach is usually making terrible noises and I'm thinking about lunch. Not today! I didn't feel hungry up until right before I ate my salad! I'm full now from supper! I'm interested to see how the next 29 days play out.

Peace, Love, and Healthy Living,

Jessica

30 Before 30

Hello Blog! It's been a while!

If you follow my blog's page on Facebook then you already know that I've struggled since moving to Louisiana in January. Army life has not been easy. It's not that it's been overly hard, it's just taking some time to get used to, is all. Just when I think I'm getting back into the groove here comes another curve ball and I just haven't been strong enough to handle them food wise yet. I'm to a point where I'm sick of the struggle. I'm tired of it being hard. That's life though, right? I've sort of coasted over the last few months until about 3 weeks ago when I did a total face plant...right into diet soda and junk food hell! Even though it sort of felt like heaven in the beginning.

I've always been told that sin is good for a season. Meaning, that in the moment doing wrong feels good! It's later when the dust has settled that we face the consequences and feel the pain that living in sin causes. In the Bible, God says in James 4:17, "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." During my entire face plant, I knew what I was doing was wrong. I was wreaking havoc on my body physically and spiritually. Instead of resting in the LORD I was drowning in junk. And there have been negative consequences...unpleasant body functions, headaches, tiredness, feeling gross, and by far the worst, clothes that don't fit the same meaning weight gain! I'm not saying that if you partake in eating something that isn't "healthy" you are sinning, I'm saying that constantly filling my body with poison and doing it with an unhealthy mindset was wrong! It's one thing to enjoy a treat, it's another to gorge yourself! Gluttony is one of the 7 deadly sins, after all!

So, what now?

I'm tired of the slippery slope. Until I'm strong enough to handle moderation, I have to narrow my focus and by narrow my focus, I mean cut out anything in my diet that can trigger a negative response to my addiction to food.

A year or so ago, I came across a blog. I can't even remember the name now but the writer had just turned 30 and before doing so she had created a list of 30 things she wanted to accomplish before she turned 30 and had incorporated those adventures into her blog. I liked the idea. I had every intention of doing a 30 before 30 list but never got around to it. Just a few days ago, I thought of it again. The only problem is, I turn 30 the end of next month! As I began to realize the depth of the stronghold I was in, I began to look for a way to get out. I had talked to my friend Clara a month or so ago about a challenge she was doing. She had experienced a similar face plant and had found steady footing with The Whole 30 challenge and way of eating. I decided at the time just to keep doing what I was doing. I started counting calories with a program on my phone. I bought a new exercise DVD. For about 2 weeks, it worked for me. I lost a few pounds and was feeling better. Then came the curve ball and that's when I face planted. So, as I am trying to climb out of this hole I've dug for myself, I found myself thinking about Clara and The Whole 30 again. I emailed her some questions, looked at the website, looked up recipes on Pinterest, and waited for her reply. Before she even called me back, I knew I had found what I was looking for but talking to her on the phone yesterday convinced me that this was what I needed...a healthy, real approach to eating.

So, I'm embarking on my 30 before 30 journey! It's not 30 things before I turn 30, it's 30 days of extremely clean eating before I turn 30. I'm starting tomorrow! Tomorrow is Easter! Are you crazy? I know that's what your thinking but we did our traditional Easter dinner and things last weekend when my parent's were here. So, yes, I'm starting tomorrow.  My challenge will end on the 29th of April. One day before my 30th birthday. I decided to do it this way, in case I want to eat cake on my birthday. The truth is, I'm hoping I don't but if I do, I can do it and it will be a treat, NOT a cheat!

For 30 days, I wont' be eating any grains (not even quinoa), dairy, carbs (except those naturally found in vegetables), sugar (except in a small amount of fruit), or additives (processed foods). Besides weight loss, there are other great benefits that come from eating this way and I'm anxious to see some of those results as well. I will be blogging every day for 30 days. I will include pictures of what I ate, how I feel, etc. I will be weighing, taking measurements, and pictures tonight or tomorrow but after that I'm not allowed to step on the scale for 30 days. So there wont' be any weight loss numbers to report til the end. I hope you'll stay with me through this journey! I need the accountability and encouragement!

Peace, Love, and Healthy Living,

Jessica