Here's my weakness - it's much like everyone's weakness. I enjoy food. No, I REALLY enjoy food. When I was younger and before my metabolism took a nose dive off a sharp cliff I used to work out so I could enjoy whatever food and adult beverages I wanted. If I put on a little weight, I just worked out a bit longer or a bit harder. Not the case after about my 30th or 31st birthday. My waistline was growing but I ignored it until it was staring me in the face and I couldn't ignore it any longer.
I signed up for tabata bootcamp thinking I could simply change my body without changing my food habits. When that wasn't working, I tried what "they" say you're supposed to do - eat less to lose weight. That didn't work either. So after being told the same things from my trainer, my doctor and endocrinologist, I got serious and made serious changes to my diet. I started by reading It Starts With Food by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, the premise of Whole30 eating. I cleaned up my eating habits and cut gluten and dairy out altogether. That alone made a huge difference in my life. I ate clean, eating more protein, veggies and fruit. And I filled my plate full of it! I cut out snacks, and dropped to maybe a glass of wine or cider here and there.
But I could never wrap my head fully around the Whole30 food plan. It seemed too daunting. So I put it off, and off and off. And when Shannon challenged a few of us to do Whole30 with her, well I knew it was now or never. No more excuses. May 15th we started Whole30 - 30 days of clean eating. No wheat, no dairy, no soy, no legumes, no sugar, no alcohol and especially no cheating. What's left you wonder? Protein, fruit and veggies, and healthy fats. I'm not going to lie - I worried about my variety of foods. I worried about how hard it would be when I traveled. I especially worried about the days when I hate cooking for one and tend to pick up take out. I knew I would miss my coffee with stevia and soy French vanilla creamer in the mornings, Starbucks, and especially sushi.
There were days when I wanted to quit. Like the first 3-5 days where the sugar withdraw headaches were tough, or days 5-8 where I was felt like I was walking around in a sleepy fog. I surely wanted to quit about 20 days in when I had a near epic meltdown in Whole Foods over how many sauces on the shelves had sugar, soy or both and couldn't figure out a single meal to make. And I craved sushi from Day 23 until the end like a pregnant lady craves pickles and ice cream. But in the end, it was so worth it. I slept better, felt better, and I'm sure my body appreciated me more because of it. The food was pretty good too, because let's be real - I'm a pretty darn good cook.
I'll be honest, I got some serious stares from the checkout staff, and questions from people in line about what some of the things on the conveyor were and how do I eat them.
So when Day 30 came and my last meal was eaten, I celebrated with a friend and half a glass of red wine, (which surprisingly didn't taste all that great). And Saturday, despite all the warnings to be careful how I reintroduced foods back into my system, I dove head first into the not-Whole30 pool of food with sweet potato pancakes and sugary bacon from Canopy Road Café for brunch, a big cup of coffee with soy French vanilla creamer and stevia when I got home, and later that evening Madison Social's hummus and pita, chicken tenders with honey mustard dressing and a glass and a half of ice cold cider. Needless to say, my stomach hated me Saturday night. The worst part about it? None of it tasted as good as I remembered, or thought I remembered. Not even a bite of this Madison Social chocolate chip cookie in a skillet (please don't tell Matt!).
Bottom line, I not only survived, I thrived on Whole30 and developed a new outlook on food that will stay with me forever. Thanks Dallas and Melissa Hartwig for your program, thanks Shannon for encouraging me to try it in the first place, and especially thanks to the other Badass Babes who did it with me.
