Does food own you?

After my Whole30, I had a couple of weeks off. I went to NYC, played with friends and stopped watching what I ate. 3 things happened:

1 - I felt disgusting from the inside out. My tummy hurt, my joints ached and I was hungry again
2 - I began to think about food again, and when I could have more of it
3 - I realized the emptiness of using food for comfort

Insert this weekend. I spent the last week "mostly" off sugar. I'm trying to make it a lifestyle change, which requires testing myself in situations. As with all things, sometimes I fail. It's a learning experience. So this weekend, I started it off on Friday night at a new, adorable pizza place right by my house. I got a pizza, beer and a cookie.

I drank the beer, watched the game and ate half the pizza. HALF THE PIZZA.

I walked home.

I was still hungry. I felt like I hadn't eaten a single thing.

HOW????? Didn't my body know I had just consumed damn near 2000 calories? Probably more?

It didn't. I felt empty, hungry, grumpy, whiny and entirely unsatiated. And still, I wanted more. LAME.

It didn't take me long to hate that pizza. How dare it trick me like that? How dare it fill my stomach up without bothering to trip the natural *full-o-meter* that it's supposed to after eating!

While working in NYC, I would frequent a local pizza bar. One of the people I met there worked at a company just a few blocks north. Their job was to chemically test food additives that would allow companies to take up "more real estate" - her words - in your stomach. Essentially how to trick your body into being hungrier AFTER you ate than before. Some foods you love were on her list....Top Ramen, Doritos, Kraft Mac and Cheese and McDonalds were a few I remember her listing.

It's no coincidence that Americans are larger and more unhealthy than ANY other nation. We have companies paid billions to ensure we consume. This pizza? Clearly a client of hers...

What are you eating just because someone paid to use your body to make money?

Whole30 ideas for a non-Whole30 mind

I get it, I do. You're busy, you're stressed and the last thing in the world you want to do is re-think dinner. Check and check.

So I thought, "Hey! How about just a few changes to get someone started!"

Here's a few:


Buy coconut oil. Use it instead of any other fat you cook with/eat.
Buy cashew butter. Use it instead of peanut butter.
Buy bananas. Let them over-ripen. Cut them up, freeze them in baggies.
Buy coconut milk. Use it instead of all dairy.

When you want a snack, throw bananas in a blender with coconut milk and cashew butter or real fruit juice. YUM!

These require no effort, just a different purchase at the store. Will this fix everything in your life? No. But it WILL get you on the right track and maybe someday you'll be able to add a few more things to this list.

Good luck!!

Whole30 Steak Salad with Avocado

Lunch doesn't have to be annoying! I chopped up some steak last night and threw it in an already hot skillet with coconut oil and Red Robin seasoning. I brought the leftovers for lunch and ran down to the salad bar nearby for a cheap salad. $2 later I had a steak, avocado, tomato and onion salad!

Yum!

Whole30 Week 1 Complete

Week 1 is DONE!!

It's a great feeling to be in control of one's environment. After just a few days on Whole30, I was hungry less, easily making good choices and feeling myself shrink. After my first week, I'm down 14 pounds (GASP) and feeling awesome. My joints are happier, my digestive tract is happier and my clothes...don't fit.

Thanks to an awesome coworker, this isn't an issue. She literally asked me last week out of the clear blue if I'd want her "inbetween" clothes as she too is shedding weight and is about 25 pounds ahead of me. Um, YES. She also happens to have an amazing fashion sense, so I feel cute for FREE. Bonus.

I only had one weak moment this week (which I did NOT give in to). I was at a friends house and in her kitchen was a pan of brownies. Brownies are my favorite food. If I was deserted on an island and could have only one thing for the rest of my life, it'd be brownies. I love them. I heart them. And I did NOT have them. After my third time having to pass them and saying no, I decided I needed to leave and eat some real food so that my hunger wouldn't outweigh my will. It worked :)

I'm eating a LOT of fruit. Perhaps more than one is supposed to...but obviously this isn't negatively affecting my efforts. I'm also eating a lot of protein and veggies, so I must be doing something right. 

If you're at it too, keep up the good work!! If you're weighing your thoughts on whether or not to try the Whole30 consider this...it's 30 days...aren't you worth that?

Whole30 Day 3

Today I did something I'm not supposed to do. I stepped on the scale. I couldn't help it...I was releasing a LOT of water and was feeling so clean I had to know what it was doing. I'm down 7 pounds since a couple of days ago. Clearly it's ALL water, but it feels amazing to be un-bloated.

Part of this is that I'm off all starches...but the other is that last night I had "lemonade" - The quotes are because for me, lemonade is literally lemons with sparkling water. No sugar or sweetener - I've never liked my lemonade to be sweet. Lemons are a natural diuretic, so it's not surprising that this happened, but it feels awesome!

I didn't sleep great, but I know this will pass. I'm waking up slightly hungry, which means my metabolism is working properly and I'm able to easily say no to the two boxes of cookies and chocolate cake that is currently sitting in my work break room. I feel my energy climbing, so I'm excited to have this increase!

Whole30 Day 2

Today I awoke tired. I also feel like I'm coming down with something...scratchy throat and ears, tired eyes. I read up and realized I have the "Low Carb Flu" as it's being called. Lethargy and a general feeling of ick are normal for the next couple of days. Oh goody.

Aside from that, all is well. I cooked up a storm last night and have food for quite a while prepared. The newest addition to my life: baked sweet potato with coconut oil and cinnamon. Oh dear jeezus they're good! And so healthy!!!

So what did I make?

Ground Turkey with chives and roasted garlic
Baked chicken with lemon juice and red robin seasoning
Cauliflower Rice
Stir Fried veggies (in the fat and seasonings from the meats)
Baked sweet potatoes

I also used my amazing Cuisinart coffee grinder to prepare my flax seeds and cashews for easier use. I will be adding both to various things to increase my nutrition content.

Any recipes I need to try? Leave them below!!

Whole30 Day 1

My brain today is along these lines. I'm feeling great, full, satiated. I'm following the 4 meals per day plan as I follow the eat every 3-4 hours rule.

For meal 1: I had an egg, 1/2 a banana and some blueberries as well as coffee with a splash of coconut milk.

For meal 2: I had a spinach salad with fish, almonds, carrots, avocado and lemon juice.

For meal 3: I will have a couple of clementines and a hard boiled egg.

For meal 4: I will be making a bunch of things tonight, so I'm not sure yet, but I have a ton of healthy options that I'm looking forward to.

We are having an event at work today, so I'm super busy, which is a good thing for me as I am distracted :)

The no gum rule might just kill me, though...oy.

Whole30 challenge

While speaking with my sister about eliminating sugar from my diet and joining the CSA, she mentioned the Whole30 challenge. She completed it a couple of weeks ago and had amazing results. She and her husband are avid runners and cross-fitters; they are uber healthy, health-conscious and fit; and even still, she dropped a whooping 7 pounds in just 30 days! On top of that, her energy increased, her mood stabilized and she felt so great that she is still at it!

She sent me the book that day and I read it cover to cover fairly quickly. If I had not already begun eliminating so many things from my diet, this would seem a bit more daunting. As it is, however, there are very few additional changes I'd need to make, so figured...why not?!? Starting March 18th (I'm Irish - I'm not going alcohol free on St. Patrick's Day!) I will be on the Whole30 challenge!

It's quite simple - it's like a Paleo diet, but without the neanderthal inspiration. Instead, their idea is this: food either makes you healthier or it doesn't. That's it. So they evaluated everything and came up with the foods that make you healthier. There's no magic potion here, no math is involved and you don't even have to count calories. You simply remove toxic food from your diet...sugar, legumes, preservatives...you get the idea.

People have reported that illnesses have disappeared, health has improved exponentially and overall well-being is transformed. I will let you know how I feel as soon as I begin :)