The End

Phew....almost to the end of this whole 30 and I can say I am sooooo looking forward to being done.  Strange at the end of my first whole 30 I felt amazing, way more energy, way less bloating, and I had gained weight (I was 102 pounds at the beginning of that first one!).  To say I felt great is an understatement.  So it came as a bit of a surprise that this time as we come to the end I can not say I am feeling amazing.  I feel pretty good.  I have energy, my workouts are better, and I am waking up earlier than normal with energy.  But I still have some weird lingering junk (bloating, joint pain, etc.).  Which leads me to the same conclusion I have always had: diet is super important, but exercise, sleep, and lower stress are also important and need to be addressed in order for our bodies to function at their optimal levels.
As for me: I am working out as many days as possible, and I am trying to increase my steps to 10,000 every day.  I am trying to get to bed on time and I am working with Faith to stay in her own bed so I can sleep all night without a 5 year old kicking me :)  Most of you know my stress levels are a bit more than normal so that is something I am working on but sometimes stress is just a part of our lives for a time so I know that some of this is just what it is.  However, I have been getting up and spending time reading my Bible and praying each day and that seems to really help get me ready to face my day (no matter what that day has in store for me).  Oh and spending time outside!  I crave outside but often find I stay in to do dishes, laundry, clean, etc.  It is essential for me to get outside every single day.  My favorite time is to sit outside and watch the sun go down, usually it is cooling down enough that I can sit out there and just enjoy watching the day come to an end (plus the cat really loves to hang out with me when I sit on the step).

So here are a few things I learned:

1. I need carbs at every meal (so for me that was potatoes and sweet potatoes).
2. I also need protein after workouts.
3. Sometimes I have to have a snack.
4. I need to drink way more water than normal.
5. I miss rice, corn tortilla chips, fresh corn on the cob, and cheese.  Oh and the ability to not study every label.  I still have to check for gluten and coconut but those are fairly easy to find on the labels.
6. Meal planning and prep is essential.
7. Groceries are expensive ;)
8. I enjoy lifting weights, but not walking.
9. I need to be outside more.
10.  I am a happier person when I work on my spiritual self.

So if you are considering doing a whole 30 I totally recommend it and stick with it even if you aren't seeing that amazing WOW that everyone talks about.  Even feeling a bit better is worth it.  Also don't be afraid to examine other areas of your life to see if you need more sleep, more water, less technology, more outside time, less stress....etc.  Food is huge but other things can contribute to making you more or less healthy!

If you make a mistake.....

So we are 10 days in, and most of the physical symptoms should be getting better, but what happens if you make a mistake?!?!?!  You ate something you didn't realize had sugar or soy or some off program ingredient in it, now what....

Well you have a choice; you can choose to continue where you are and try to make sure to read and reread those labels, or you can start over.  This is where being an adult is nice, you get to make your own decisions based upon your own life.  It is your choice.

So for example if I had made a mistake in my first whole 30 I probably would have started over at day one.  However, now that I am on my 4th, I would not start over.  I would just chalk it up to a mistake and move on.  I mostly know how each food affects me and I mostly know what my results are going to be in 30 days so I don't fret near as much as I did on my first one.

Like I have said before, this program is hard.  It is hard because sugar, soy, gluten, and corn are in so much of what we eat.  These foods are stuck into so many packaged foods that reading labels and then rereading the same labels is a must.

So if you make a mistake don't be discouraged, just make a choice that works best for you and move on!  You are still making amazing choices each and every day so feel great about the good things you are doing for your own health!

Also days 10-11 are the hardest.  You will want to quit, you will think this is stupid, you will not see the point of this any more!  But again, stick with it.  30 days will pass anyway, why not see how amazing you can feel at the end of 30 days of best health eating?!?!??!?!!!!!

How bad do you feel?

So whole 30 is one of those times that instead of feeling amazing when you start you actually feel like you have been hit by a bus.  In fact you may wonder why you are doing this to begin with! There is an entire day by day list of how you might feel throughout the month.  I can say that if your eating hasn't been horrible then you may or may not have all the symptoms but overall your body is going to go through several changes.

So far we should have passed through the excitement phase, and the hangover.  We should be right in the kill all things phase and heading into the I just want a nap phase.  Sometimes I think the phases hit you all at once!  For me there was no excitement phase.  Having just came off of one whole 30 and starting another I didn't really feel super excited.  I also haven't really had severe hangover type symptoms but, yesterday I was angry!  Angry at everything for no real reason at all.  Just mad at the world.  However, today I feel pretty good so we shall see what the rest of the week holds.  

The plan states that days 10-11 are the hardest and the time when most people give in to their cravings.  What I can say is stick with it!  No matter how bad you feel right now, no matter how much you just want a potato chip or a cookie. STICK WITH IT!   You will feel so much better in just a few short weeks!  Honestly, it is just 30 days even if some days feel like a lifetime!

So if you are feeling yucky, take a nap, and remember to be kind to yourself, give yourself a break!  Changing the way you think about food is hard work but worth it in the end.

Weekly Plan

So I keep saying planning is super important and I am not kidding!  There is going to be a day or a week that you just don't want to think about food, you don't want to decide what to eat, and you certainly don't want to shop and prepare it!  So before my second whole 30 I went through tons of recipes and found several weeks worth of things I wanted to try, I wrote them all out on calendars and I take them out before I plan the week.  It helps take some of the research out of the planning.

Here is a sample of one of the calendars:

Here is what my typical week looks like:

Most days I don't get creative with breakfast: 1. because I don't like to think about it early in the morning, 2. I want something quick and easy with minimal clean up.
Our typical breakfast is scrambled eggs with veggies and sausage and apple/sweet potatoes on the side.
Lunch is either leftovers or some type of meat/potato, veggie hash.  Again this is due to the fact that I need something fast and something I don't have to give too much thought to.
Dinner is always meat and veggies.  I try to get creative with dinner but sometimes I just go for fast and easy :)
Good luck!