So, for those of you who have known me for a while, you know that I have “whole-thirtied” before. If you haven’t heard about the Whole 30, it’s worth a google search. Basically, though, its an almost-paleo approach to eating only whole foods. It works to help you get rid of your sugary, starchy, junky cravings and work real food into your diet. It helps you eat what you need and cut out the extras. And when I did it for real, the first time, it really stuck. And it really worked. I am not exactly sure WHY it works for me. I think it’s because you don’t snack (I’m a grazer), and because there aren’t a ton of carbs involved and that’s what keeps me fluffy. I also think it works because, at least for me, it makes you feel BETTER. Once I get over the 15-or-so day hump, everything seems better…my skin, my attitude, my sleep, my bloat/inflammation. So, I saw some actual results pretty quickly and that makes me stick with something. Overall, I think I lost about 25 pounds just by changing how I ate. And that, my friends, kept me in business. Really, I’m shallow.
So, I think I did my first Whole 30 three years ago? But maybe it was even more than that. I started it in January with the rest of the world, but I basically changed my eating lifestyle for over a year. I loved all the food I made and I didn’t miss anything. I should make sure to note here that, for my general sanity, when I’m doing Whole 30 I still have ONE good (read: with creamer and splenda, just the way I like it) cup of coffee in the morning and I still drink wine. And once I get used to the change I usually add back in some vodka-sodas and gluten free beer and/or cider. Look y’all. You have to make things work for you!
Then, I won’t lie, at some point I decided I just wanted to eat pizza. And when I go down, I go down in flames. And y’all, here I sit, feeling bloated and yuck and having gained that weight back all over again. And there are so.many.things.to.blame. I have a million actually pretty good reasons that I’ve gotten back here. Also a million bad ones. But either way, here I sit.
And here we go. Onward and upward and starting my Whole-Forties. Get it? Ha.
I’ll do my best to write about my journey, not because I think you find it to be a super-fun read, but because it might keep me honest and on track.
Today, is day-one-ish. Once I drop off the littlest, I’m going to head to the store for my first haul. Because my first tip, if you are looking for one, is that you HAVE to plan ahead. And my cabinet full of snack-sized chip bags and fridge full of cheese and kid lunches isn’t going to cut it.
Here we go!