The end of Whole30

Okay. Here is the scoop on my first Whole30..
I started June 23rd and ended July 23rd.
In those 30 days I ate
No sugar
No grains
No alcohol
No legumes
No dairy
No preservatives
No processed foods
Lots of organic and pastured meat
Lots of fresh local eggs, veggies, and fruits
Healthy fats, etc.

!!I lost 18 pounds!!
Many, many inches
I tightened my belts up 2-3 notches, and my fitbit up 2 notches
My fat clothes are too big (yes!)
my skinny clothes are still a little tight though..
It is awkward to be in the middle stage!
My hair is shiny
my skin is softer, and not dry

I feel like I have finally learned how to cook! I have tried tons of new recipes and ingredients.
My pantry staples went from
flour, sugar, premixed mixes
to
Vinegar's, ghee, coconut aminos, coconut flour, dates, tomatoes in every way they come, and more spices than I have room for!

I am so happy with my new paleo lifestyle. I have finally found a community of paleo people that I can fit in with. It feels so awesome. I am comfortable, I am at home with this all.

I started another round of Whole30 again this week, if you want to join in and keep up with us it is never too late to join! I am happy to help you stay on track, I am here for questions and support!

Lets Have a Baby la la la

Guys. Let me start off by saying I am so grateful for my Owen. He is so rotten, and so awesome, I love him to pieces!! But, I am so frustrated. I'll just cut straight to the problem. I have been trying to get pregnant for ten months. TEN. I feel like a spoiled rotten brat being mad, worried, and frustrated because I know there are people who try for a lot longer, or people who can't conceive at all. But now I don't mind being a little selfish because I am hurt, and no matter what there will always be someone who has it worse than me, so when is the appropriate time to share? I have been wanting a baby since Owen turned one, so I was just waiting for my cutie husband to be on the same page. Finally he was so we literally got busy right away, if you know what I mean ;) When we found out I was pregnant with Owen we were surprised because we had not been trying, so this whole trying thing is new to me!
I have been tracking my cycle, and ovulation times long before we started trying to get pregnant. I wanted to be familiar with my body, and timing because I wanted to get pregnant when I wanted to get pregnant. When David decided he was ready for another baby he said he didn't want this to be a chore, and still wanted it to be fun so not to talk to him about cycles and ovulation because that's a big turn off to talk about lady stuff I guess? I don't blame him! So I have kept my lips zipped. I have not been on birth control for over 4 years, I have had a plethora of ovulation kits, and pregnancy tests in the bathroom so surely he has seen them.
People are always asking me when I am going to have another baby and I joke with them about how Owen is enough for me, but it's a lie. I have always hated when people made comments about how Owen is almost 3 it's time for another because I have always felt like trying to conceive and being early in pregnancy is a very intimate thing and should be kept a secret between two people, and sometimes with parents, or a close friend. Why though? Why can't people know? I have always heard that you should not say anything just in case of a miscarriage. But if I ever miscarry I want people I am friends with to know, It would be so heartbreaking and so I would want people to know why I was sad so they could just let me be sad for a little while, and maybe give me a hug. I don't want to pretend to be okay when I am not, so that's why I am sharing this post. I am not okay with NOT having another baby. Owen needs a brother (or sister! I won't be picky!).
I have talked to my doctor about my concerns and she wanted me to wait until I had been trying for 6 months, so I waited, then I decided to clean up my eating a lot, and lose some weight to see if that would help my body before bringing it back up with her. That was the #1 reason I started Whole30. I have done so much reading on how to tell the minute your body is ovulating (with out tests), ovulating in general, cycles, tips and wives-tales to help, and so far it's been a bust. Whole30 has not let me down so far I lost 18 pounds, haven't had problems with IBS or geographical tongue, and just feel better. It is supposed to help in a lot of cases of infertility and so many other health problems. This is the last thing to check off of my Whole30 list. If anyone has any tips, thoughts, stories, or anything I would love to hear them.

Ahhhh...I think it's time to go to the sea.

Whole30 Helpful Guides and Sources

Here are some papers that I find super handy to have around all the time! I keep copies in my purse so if I am stumped at the grocery store I can pull them out and double check, or if someone is curious about Whole30 I can just pull them out and let them have a look! At the very least keep the links where you can easily access them.

Just click the photo to enlarge, or click the title to open the document up from its original source.

Good Meat Guide

Sneaky Sugar Guide

Helpful Pantry Staples Guide

Fresh Produce Guide

Budget Guide

Meal Planning Guide

Shopping List

Travel Help

Travel Help 2

Dining Out Guide

Other Guides:
Low Histamine
Low FODMAP
AIP
Vegetarian & Vegan

All of these documents were created by Whole9 http://whole30.com/pdf-downloads/

Organization

When I first started reading up on the Whole30 one of the things they want you to do to prep for the lifestyle was clean and organize your house. I really try to be a good house keeper, but it can be hard sometimes! The older Owen gets (or is it the older I get?) the easier it seems to be to keep up on house chores.
A couple years ago I created a list of house chores, and what day to complete them on. I had it written in pen on a lined piece of paper, and then stuck it in a plastic sleeve. It was far from fashionable but it was so helpful!

This is the chart I created for my home. It has changed in design, but the chores are the same, although there are more chores that are not on this list ( yes, I know how to spell furniture ;).

Having a good chore list and actually doing them helps you stick to your meal plans, it helps you eat your meals at a good time, and even the same time everyday.
Schedules are important. My counters are clean, my dishes are done and I don't have to spend and hour cleaning before I can start chopping up veggies.

Seriously, I am not saying my house is clean 24/7 because it is not. Other things that have helped me keep a cleaner house are
scheduling semi- regular pick ups from the local donation center. If something does not have a place, junk it! I always had this laundry basket in my room with matchless socks, random articles of clothing that I didn't wear, much less have a place for. Just throw it out and start clean!
Set aside days once a week, or twice a month to DEEP clean, and put everything where it belongs!
I keep my alarm set for 7:00 am every morning, except Mondays I wake up at 5:00am. When I don't sleep in, and laze about I get so much more done. I also try to be in bed by 10:00pm..sometimes it's earlier, sometimes it's later. Such is life.
I write down everything. I mean everything, even if it already happened or was last minute. I keep a very detailed planner, and it works wonders.
Keep a grocery list going on the fridge, when something runs out write it down.
We have some super awesome stores here that are full of amazing bargains, but guess what? Every time I go I buy useless cheap stuff that clutters my house! It might be a good deal, but if you don't need it, it's really not a good deal at all. I stay clear of those stores now to prevent my house from filling up with junk!

Be optimistic, set goals and fulfill them!

I want to know what you do that helps you stay clean, organized, set goals, and all in all be a better spouse/parent/friend/etc.

News from Whole9

Ahhhh! Whole9 shared some exciting news today.

How cool is that?
Potatoes are now allowed on future Whole30's. I am not going to have any while I finish up the challenge I am on (my Whole30 is over on Tuesday! Whooop!), But Thursday (24th) when I start my next Whole30 I will be incorporating a little bit of white potatoes in. White potatoes are very starchy so I don't think I will be eating a lot of these, but I am excited to add some potatoes to my Sunday Crockpot.
Enjoy the exciting news!


To read the full guidelines on the new Whole30 rules read ~HERE~

I'm Done Dieting

"Ughh!" and eyerolls are so annoying. I am tired of people talking down to people because they don't like their healthy food choices. Don't be mad at me because I don't want to eat a whole package of triple stuffed oreos.
"Well, I don't want to diet my whole life"

Oh shut up. nothing about me has changed. I'm still Laura, But I am choosing to eat healthy.

"I want to eat real food"

Uhmm, nothing gets more real than this.

"Diets are stupid, they don't last, you'll yoyo"

I am not dieting, I am eating healthy foods, you are probably right that I would gain weight if I stopped eating real food and I start binge-ing on sugar, and unhealthy fats. So, if that is considered 'yoyoing' then yeah I guess I would. (But I won't be!)

"You don't need to diet"

Ok. I am not dieting. No counting points or calories, no eating tiny portions or taking special supplements. I am just eating what ever healthy foods I want until I am full and satisfied. 

"You can't learn to eat right if you diet, you can't eat that in the 'real world'."

I am not doing anything but eating whole foods, so whats not realistic, balanced, and right about that?
"I need flavor and want to eat things I enjoy"

You wouldn't complain about flavor if you learned how to cook with whole foods, herbs and spices. I love this food, my body loves this food. It is not like I won't ever again eat your beloved sugar and preservatives, because I will. Not everyday, not once a week. In moderation. They made me sick before, when my body was used to them, so now that I have let it heal a bit I can't imagine how it would make my body hurt. 

"Why can't you just be ok with yourself?"

I am very ok with myself. I think it is safe to say any overweight person would like to lose a few pounds so painlessly. I love my body enough to not poison it with artificial ingredients, and chemicals. I'm feeding it food that make me happy. Make it happy. Foods that don't make me sick or have IBS symptoms. I'm eating foods my body can recognize, and foods it knows how to break down, foods that make me strong and healthy. How's that for loving myself? 

Remember when we were told to treat our bodies like a temple? It's a special privilege we only get one of. The temple wouldn't be as special if they only occasionally took care of it. Rarely mowing the grass and not going beyond that. Temple workers take 101%  the best possible care of all temples. We should too. 

Think about your sweet babies. I love mine more than myself, no doubt. I want him to be strong and healthy. Why would I WANT to feed him things that could make him sick, grouchy, uncomfortable or weaken his body? I have been taking away fruit snacks and crackers, and successfully replacing them with nutritional foods. I won't always say 'NO' to everything sugar, he can have things in moderation. Fortunately for me he is not one for ice cream, cakes, cookies, etc. So taking the bad food away was no struggle ( I was the one who ate the most of it anyway!), the hardest part has been introducing nutrition packed foods. I don't plan on taking away his grains or dairy, like I have with myself. But building him up is so important right now. I want health, and choosing what to eat to not be something he has to struggle with or question when he is older.
This is all worth it to me to get my family healthy, BONUS: it's working for me too!
Stop being negative when myself or other people tell you their food choices, especially when they are being so healthy, passionate, and diligent.  

FOOD!

Oh, my.

I wanted to share a couple pictures of food I ate this last week. I have got to take more pictures, so I can show you really how awesome eating this way is!

top left: mini quiche wrapped in prosciutto
top right: watermelon, and a guacamole smothered beef patty
bottom left: Homemade (and approved!) BBQ sauce, with beef roast, and sauteed zucchini with onion
bottom right: oven baked omelet w/(approved) bacon, eggs, green pepper, spinach, mushroom, yellow onion, green onion, tomato, cilantro.

I will be sharing some of these recipes this week so you can start eating food this delicious too! In the past I have often felt like eating healthy was boring, with no flavor but, I am proving that thought WRONG! There is so much flavor in every single meal I have eaten! Today marks day 15, and I have lost 14 pounds. I feel better, I look better, my clothes fit better, there is more room for confidence. I love it!

IBS.

Can I tell you guys something kind of unfortunate? It's actually really embarrassing to talk about this, but kind of exciting too!

I have I.B.S. 

There were/are three reasons I started Whole30
1. shed some pounds (I'm down 13lbs so far!)
2.(& 3.) improve 2 health problems I have been struggling with. (one of them being IBS)
Whole30 is supposed to 'reset' your body, and help correct health issues. I am proud to say it has helped my I.B.S. and hopefully corrected it completely if I stick to my health diet and goals.
If you have ever dealt with IBS, you know how seriously painful it is to your whole body. I am proud to be pain free, and medication free!


Is there a health problem you have to put up with? Can you imagine how good you would feel not having to deal with it anymore, or having to take medication for it? Well, I can tell you how I feel, and it's really good! No more worrying about when my IBS is going to make me sick. I. Feel. Great. I think this alone is worth sticking to Whole30/paleo forever! I've got another 60 years to live so I might as well do it comfortably!

5,000 Calories/Day

Calories are something most of us have been taught to count. 1400 calories a day is the average advised intake of calories for a grown person. I was taught to eat what I want to weigh (120 lbs) x 10 (1200 calories/day) and that would be the amount of calories I should intake. Oh, boy.
I was taught that 3500 calories = 1 pound. So, in order to lose 1 dang pound, you have to eat 3500 calories less than normal(over time), or work it off at the gym ( I have also heard that running (not walking briskly) one mile burns 100 calories if you weigh more than 150lbs.).
But I was also taught that if you eat to few calories, or cut your calories drastically you will gain weight because your body thinks you are starving and holds onto and stores all the fats.
So is 100 calories from a candy bar the same as 100 calories of artichokes? After all, a calorie is just a calorie right? Nope. Wrong.
I am not saying that counting calories all together is a terrible idea, but we don't need to obsess about it. I tried to eat 1200 or less calories for the last few years. Now, I am not counting calories. I have no idea what my calorie intake is, but I am fairly sure it is well over 1200cal. I do keep a food journal but it is just so I can look back in case something needs tweaking, or so I can share meals with you all. Just because we were taught things one way, doesn't mean we can't change the way we think. There is always room for improvement.

Sam Feltham from Smash the Fat is one of my favorite heath activists. He works hard on improving peoples health, and he does trial diets so he can experiment the way the body reacts to different foods, not the way science says it should react, but the way the body actually reacts. This is a clipping of one of my favorite trials he did. Please read it, or turn the audio on (18 minutes) so you can listen while doing other things. I have listened to this audio many times, it never gets less interesting, he is a very smart man!

http://live.smashthefat.com/why-i-didnt-get-fat/
http://live.smashthefat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Why-I-Didnt-Get-Fat-From-Eating-5000-Calories-A-Day.mp3