Looking Back & Looking Forward

       2016 was an interesting year for me.  It ended with a bang with the birth of my new niece Bryndall, but other than that it was pretty uneventful. Is it weird that before Bryndall was born the highlight of my year was that my parents and I got my garage cleaned out so I could park my car in it?

       It was a year of change for me. Friends got married and moved away, I began to grow less satisfied with my church, grandma's dementia grew more severe, small friendships grew into bigger ones, I paid off one of my student loans, and I turned off my cable. Ha! That last one is a silly one, but I'm saving a bunch of money so it makes me happy and not having cable is a change.
       I honestly feel so blah about 2016 which makes me feel blah about 2017. I really think that the blah's are a result of my walk with the Lord. I've struggled at being consistent in my prayer life and personal study of God's Word. But not only that, I've spent a majority of the year in a church where I'm not consistently being fed. As of this week those things are going to change. I'm working at making my daily walk with the Lord more consistent and Sunday I'm going to start attending a new church in hopes of making that my new church home. I've been praying for a loooong time about going to this church, actually a new church in general, and I feel the most peace about going to this one. But I'll also be praying throughout the month to see if the Lord does want me to attend there.
       I'm ready to push myself out of these blahs. I'm ready to make 2017 great. It's time! I'm excited about the goals I've been thinking about for this new year. I try not to make too many goals for the year and I'm trying to make them realistic so that they are achievable.

• Read 25 books - I barely met my goal of 20 books for 2016. So adding 5 more books is a stretch, but I'm going to go for it! 
• Pay off a good chunk of my student loans. I've found ways to save money in some areas so I'm going to put that saved money toward my loans. Dave Ramsey, I'm going to snowball them!! 
• Eat right - My biggest enemy right now is my scale. I'm refusing to use it anymore. Instead I'm going to eat better and follow the Whole30 eating plan for longer periods of time and take care of my body. 
• Get moving - I have no excuse in this area. I own a treadmill. I need to use it! 
• Cross 2 things off my 40x40 list! - I have a ways to go on my list, it's time to get going! :) 

Ready or not, 2017, here I come! 

Whole30 - Take 2!

It's amazing how you really crave a certain kind of food when you can't eat it.

Like when you are fasting in the morning so you can get blood drawn.
Breakfast is usually a meal you skip, but because you can't have it you want it! I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one like this. Come on, let's see a show of hands.

Glad I don't really look like the Hulk! 

Well, today I'm starting the Whole30 again. I liked the result so much the last time that I'm going for it again. But do you know how much I WANT sugar right now? I'm usually not a huge sugar person, but today I want it so badly. I'm imagining the Hulk ripping through town in that Pepsi or Coke (can't remember which one) commercial. That's kinda how I'm feeling about sugar at the moment.

Look out people!

Whole30: Day 30!

       Woohoo! I did it!! I've made it through 30 days of eating healthy.
       Over the weekend I was majorly craving bread and chocolate. But we all know there are certain times when women crave those things more than usual.
       I'm still not sure how I'm going to continue.
       Do I stay hardcore?
       Do I continue doing the whole30 part time?
       Do I stop altogether?
       I don't think stopping altogether is a good idea. Even though it was hard at times I feel like it has been a good eating plan for me. I know for sure that I'll eat whatever (within reason) when I get invited to someone's house. That was probably the most uncomfortable part. Some people I just declined going to their house for a meal. The others I sat there feeling so guilty that they were worried about finding food for me. It was not a good feeling.
       Maybe the best thing would be to continue while I'm at home with an occasional treat like popcorn, bread, or dessert. And then when I'm out eat what is served within reason. The key is to not overeat the "bad" stuff. I can do it! I know I can!!

Whole30: Day 27

I'm on the homestretch!

       The struggle I'm having at the moment is that it has been a busy week. And with a busy week I don't have as much time to cook. I've been eating ok, but not cooking as much as I was earlier in my 30 days. I came so close to cheating a couple of times, but resisted. There is birthday cake and chocolate fondue in the teacher's lounge today. :( I took a bowl of the fruit and left the room as quickly as I could.

       Once my 30 days is up I'm going to have to work really hard at making good choices when it comes to food. It could be so easy for me to just go back to my old habits. I have to remember how good I am feeling eating the right things.

       As of last weekend I've lost a total of 13 pounds. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow! 2 more pounds would be so encouraging. I'm definitely seeing a difference in my clothes.

       I think tonight I'll make fajitas and wrap them in lettuce. I found a fajita mix that didn't have sugar in it. I know I've said it before, but do you know that sugar is in almost everything! Good grief!

Whole30: Day 15

Day 15

       I made it half way! I'm feeling so good too! Yesterday I was doing some shopping and tried on a few tops at JC Penny's and I needed a medium instead of a large! Yay!! More confirmation that this food adventure is going well. I've been too busy to really try anything new in my cooking, but this week I should have some more time. I picked up a spaghetti squash and found a recipe for some meatballs. I'm going to give those a try this week. I'm also going to make my own spaghetti sauce. Do you know that most spaghetti sauces have sugar in them? And a lot of them have some sort of cheese too. That isn't too much of a surprise. So I have the stuff to make my own.
       I also found a recipe for a chocolate chilli. I've been craving chocolate today so when I saw the recipe on pinterest I pinned it right away. I realize that the chilli won't taste like the snickers bar that is waiting for me in my freezer, but it still sounds good. I figure I can freeze some of it too so that it goes a long way. 

       Tonight I added to my goal of working on being healthy. I used my treadmill. My sister made me. ;) I just needed a little push. I have this great app called 5K runner. I've attempted to use it a number of times and never get past the first day.  Who am I kidding. I usually don't get past the first 15 minutes. Well tonight I did it! The full 25 minutes! I was ready to give up at 15, but when I saw I only had 10 minutes left I told myself I could do it. And I did! It would be pretty awesome if I continued using my treadmill and could run in a 5K this summer. I really want to accomplish that. Pretty sure it's on my 40x40 list too. 

Whole30: Day 12

Day 12
I'm almost half way through my 30 days! I can totally do this! The hardest time for me is the evenings when I feel like munching. Lara bars have been helpful.

Today's Menu:
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs with hot sauce and coffee
Lunch: Hot lunch at school today was tacos so I made mine into a salad. It was tasty.
Dinner: Chicken, spaghetti sauce, and broccoli
Snack: banana, V8 fusion (Not sure if I'm really supposed to have this. There are way too many names for sugar. I get confused)

How I'm feeling:
Well, I wondered how that soda would affect me yesterday and I figured it out. I drank it at lunch and by 3:00 I was so sleepy. It took me a minute to figure out why. Then it hit me. The Sprite! And then I realized that since I started my "food adventure" I haven't been as sleepy as I usually am. That is huge! For a long time when someone asked me how I was I always wanted to answer tired. I knew there was something wrong, but I just thought I wasn't getting enough sleep. I've been this way for years. I'm definitely starting to see how what I fill my body with affects me. And I'm really glad for that.

On a side note, today I bought my tickets to go home for my Spring Break in March! I am SO EXCITED!!! I miss my family and friends back home so much. I'll be home for a week, and that doesn't include my travel days. Woohoo!! Happy dance!

Whole30: Day 11

       Oops, it's been a while! I can't believe I didn't write anything on Saturday. I weighed in on Saturday. Guess what?! I lost 10 pounds! Woohoo! What a start!
       No I'm not expecting to lose that much every week. But clearly eating this way has made a difference. I had a few days of craving sugar and bread. And I miss having my simple go to's for snacks. I need to cut up some more veggies and use the olive dip I bought. That will help. I did discover that I can have a burrito bowl from Qdoba. That was exciting! They have excellent fajita veggies and I just asked for extra. Yum! I'm sure you could do the same thing at Chipotle. Fast food and the Whole30 don't go so well together.
       I have to admit it though. Today I'm going to cheat. I'm going to drink a Sprite with my lunch today. Not because I'm missing Sprite or anything. I'm a teacher and I held a garbage can for a student throwing up this morning. I don't think I'm sick, but my stomach just feels funny. I think the Sprite will help. I wonder if I'll notice how the sugar makes me feel after 11 days of no sugar.

Whole30: Day 5

Day 5
Today was torture!!! Hot lunch at school today was Papa Murphy's pizza. It's my favorite. And the school kitchen is right under my classroom. It smelled amazing. But I was good. I ate what I brought with me.

What's on the menu:
Breakfast: sausage and scrambled eggs
Lunch: leftover brussel sprouts, broccoli, and ground beef
Dinner: roasted sweet potatoes, sausage with onions and green peppers
Snack: apple, banana, almonds

How I'm feeling:
I've been feeling pretty good today. My self-control when it comes to food is better than I thought! The pizza...oh the pizza was a struggle today. I was craving bread today like I've never craved bread before! The struggle is real people. :)
Now I need to get my water drinking habits up to par.

Whole30: Day 4

Day 4

Well, I'm still alive! So far so good.

What's on the menu: 
Breakfast: coffee and banana
Lunch: chicken salad with balsamic, peach cup, hot tea
Dinner: baked red potato, broccoli, and cauliflower

How I'm feeling:
       Lunch was filling. Dinner was not. So right now I'm hungry. I munched a little on some left over roasted brussel sprouts from yesterday. But I'm still feeling munchy. I think I'll just go to bed soon and that will help. Other than being hungry tonight this food adventure has been going really well. I'm cooking more and eating a lot more veggies than I was before. I really love vegetables! I knew I did, I just didn't take the time to cook them. Can we say LAZY?!
       I think this weekend I'll make a big batch of meatballs for next week. I can freeze them and eat them throughout the week with spaghetti sauce and spaghetti squash. That actually sounds really good right now. Wow, I really have the munchies right now!

Whole 30: Day 2

Day 2

What's on the menu:
Breakfast: Coffee with my coconut creamer
Lunch: pulled pork and sweet potato hash
Dinner: beef lettuce wraps (they were SO good!)
Snack: almonds, apple, strawberries
(I couldn't resist the strawberries in the store. And let me tell you, they were very tasty!)

How I'm feeling:
Well, I made the huge mistake of not eating breakfast this morning. So by lunch time I was "starving." It also didn't help that one of my students brought cookies in to school today for her birthday. They looked so good. I really wanted one. But I was good. I resisted.
So tomorrow I'm going to eat breakfast. I promise!

Whole30: Alcohol
Honestly this area isn't a problem for me. I like having an occasional glass of wine, but at my job I signed a contract saying I wouldn't consume alcohol. So no alcohol for me.
Basically, it is on the list of don't's for the Whole30 because it is addictive and because when under the influence of it you are likely to make poor food decisions. It can also mess with your blood sugar levels. The book says more regarding alcohol, but I don't feel like sharing it all. You can read about it if it applies to you. It doesn't really apply to me. So, there you go.

Whole 30: Day 1

This is it! Day 1

What's on the menu:
Sweet potato hash with a fried egg
(I'm going to add sausage to it next time)
Broccoli slaw and beef stir fry

I made my own coffee creamer this morning! It is coconut milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. It was pretty good. Not as sweet as the creamer that I'm used to, but I think I could get used to it. I don't want to give up drinking coffee so this is what it will have to be. :)

How I'm feeling:
I'm not really sure if I can say that I feel any different at the moment. It's only day 1. I am happy to say that after my lunch I'm feeling full. That's helpful. I've got to drink more water this afternoon to help me not want to munch as much. But I have a tray of veggies all cut and ready to eat for when I do feel like munching.

Whole30: No Sugar
Those are pretty daunting words. No one wants to cut out sugar.
Chocolate, cookies, candy, vanilla coffee creamer...and the list goes on.
But as I've been reading about the Whole30 I've learned a lot about sugar. Did you know that sugar alters the balance of "good" and "bad" bacteria in your gut? It increases the bad and decreases the good. The result could be gas, fatigue, body aches, headaches, and joint problems.
The chapter on sugar ends with this: "When it comes to less-healthy foods, understand that the less (and less often) you indulge in them, the healthier you'll be. Where you draw that line is totally up to you." (It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig)

Honestly, I love sugary things, but I'd rather have more of the savory most days. But I'm also weak. If there are brownies in the staff room I don't hesitate to take one...ok maybe two. I'm weak. Will I be able to handle the temptation at work?

1 day down 29 to go!

Whole30 on hold

Well, I came down with the stomach flu this morning. So I won't be starting my food adventure just yet. Saltines and sprite are my current food adventure! Yay me!

Whole30 Prep

I'm continuing to read Its Starts with Food as I get ready to start the Whole30 diet. I skipped a few chapters so that I could get to the nitty gritty of what I can and cannot eat. I'll go back and read them a little later. Friday will be my start date since I'm going grocery shopping on Thursday (weather permitting, there may be a snow storm on Thursday). I'm really liking this book because it isn't just telling me what not to eat. The book explains how the food affects my body.

As I'm reading I'm working on my grocery list so that I can start with a bang and attack this diet full force. Anyone else dislike the word 'diet'? Hmm...what else can I call this? Food adventure. Adventure is a much better word. Yup, I'm going on a food adventure!

I'm also using pinterest for ideas of what to be eating on my first week of my food adventure. A bunch of people have blogged about their weekly menus when doing the Whole30. I'll take any inspiration I can get!

My Shopping List (so far)

• apples
• almond butter
• eggs
• cucumber
• sweet potatoes
• coconut milk
• tazo passion tea
• bell peppers
• broccoli slaw

I realize there is no meat on my list this week. That's because I have some in the freezer already. :) 

I think one of the harder things for me will be when I get the munchies. So I'm going to prep a container of veggies to have in my fridge all the time. I'm also going to look for some sort of dip/tapenade to keep those veggies interesting. 

Whole 30

Ok, here it goes!
Step 1 to working on a healthier year.

I'm excited and nervous about giving this a try. But I weighed myself last night and suffice it to say I need to make a change in how I have eating and taking care of my body. The number I saw was not ok and I'm feeling it in my pants as well. All those sweets at Christmas took their toll.

Like I said in my last post, I'm going to give the Whole 30 a try. I picked up It Starts with Food from the library and started reading it last night. Basically I need to be filling my body with foods that are helpful for me. That sounds good to me. It isn't going to be easy. I'll be cutting out grains, dairy, and sugar. Do you know how much food has grain, dairy, and sugar?! Do you know how much I LOVE breads and cheese?! And don't even get me started on CHOCOLATE!!! So this week I'm reading up on what I need to be eating, and not eating, as well as eating things from my fridge that I won't be able to eat. Yum! I'm going to really savor the lasagna I'm having for dinner tonight. Thursday is my grocery shopping day so starting then I'm going hard core.

30 days.

I can do this.

I'm SO ready to shed some pounds, sleep better, and overall have more energy.