WHOOOOOOOOOA We're HALFWAY There...

With days 14 and 15 done, I can’t say I have much to complain about. Sure I had to be sober when I went out with my friends on Saturday night – and before that I had to stare at the bun from my steak sandwich without eating it, but basically no complaints. I feel like I talk about food ALL THE TIME though. And for that – I apologize. But it’s just so good, and there’s so much GOOD stuff that I just can’t eat right now. So if you’re tired of my talking about food, don’t read my blog – or look at anything on Facebook or Instagram. #sorrynotsorry

After my full two weeks were done yesterday, I tried to be positive. I tried to think “I only have 16 more days to go!” instead of “I’m not even halfway done.” Day 14 was also a day of “firsts” for me. I made a pot roast for the first time with sweet potatoes and carrots – and it turned out pretty damn good. I may have overcooked it a little bit – so now next time I’ll know. I also opened up a pomegranate for the first time. I mean I had to google “what to do with a pomegranate” before I started, but I did it. And they’re pretty good actually. I also had NO IDEA what a pomegranate looked like inside, so I was totally surprised when it was literally JUST seeds. And that’s the part you eat. Mind = BLOWN. I put some in the freezer (apparently they last a while in there) and some in the fridge to make with smoothies and just a topper with my other berries. Not too shabby.

I also had been on a search for the last few days for tahini. I had no idea what it was either – Wikipedia had to fill me in. I wanted to find it because I had found a recipe for a salad (yes I needed a recipe for it) and tahini was in the dressing. I must have looked like a dummy wandering around Dahl’s and Gateway Market trying to find this stuff. All I could picture, was trying to find a ginger root type thing – but really I was not even CLOSE. Tahini is basically ground up sesame seeds turned into a paste. Anyway. I made up the dressing for this salad and I think it’s going to be pretty good. It kind of tastes peanuty, kind of, but a little sweeter. This salad should be pretty decent. I’m kind of excited to try it out. I also bought some almond butter to hopefully take the place of my peanut butter cravings these past couple weeks. Definitely has a grittier texture, and it was like $15 for the tub of it, but it may be worth it. And a source told me that if I buy it from HyVee and grind it myself then it will be cheaper. It kind of looks like dog turds but I bet it tastes good!

I’m 9 classes in on my 20/30 challenge – and I have a confession to make. Yesterday – I was grumpy. It’s possible it was because the devil children were up and running around at 6 am, or it could have been because someone had a cold and was “dying” and I didn’t get to see them. It’s also possible – that it’s because I hadn’t done any yoga for two days. I feel like I’d been pretty relaxed and go-with-the-flow for the last couple weeks and I think taking two days off in a row really made me realize just how good it was for me. So once I got my yoga in last night I immediately relaxed. Yesterday’s intention was “love.” And above all else – love yourself. Love yourself for coming to your mat, for attempting crane instead of crow, for clearing your head and being present. Just love yourself.

I’m going to be making a change this weekend… moving out of my one bedroom apartment where I live by myself, into a place with someone else. I have to get rid of all my “living alone” habits and remember that someone else will be there too. Someone who doesn’t leave clothes on the floor and someone who doesn’t hit the snooze button 6 times before crawling out of bed. This will be a big change for me. And I’m really, REALLY excited about it. Plus – this new place has a pool and hot tub – so there’s that. Of course I’m a little nervous, but it’s going to be great. And then we get to decorate it and furnish it together – and that really excites me. And I have someone to share coffee with in the morning – even if it will be plain ol’ black coffee for another couple weeks.

Let’s check the count again:

15/30 - #whole30 – I’M HALFWAY DONE!

9/20 - #PLY2030 – I’M HALFWAY DONE! (after tomorrow anyway)

I won’t know what to do once my 30 days are up. Maybe I’ll go back to being lazy and eating crappy, or I’ll keep ideals from both and be so much happier. Only time will tell…

Love yourself,

S

Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Well kids - I'm on Day 13 and still feeling awesome. I've got 8 yoga classes down and I had a co-worker tell me my face was looking thinner. All wins? For. Sure. I've eaten lots of fruit this week, a little more veggies and some protein - not nearly as many eggs as last week. I had a couple crappy salads, so disappointing, and an even MORE disappointing Friday lunch of a poor excuse for a taco salad. I couldn't eat the refried beans, cheese, sour cream, rice, or taco shells - so I had chicken, lettuce, and salsa. Womp womp. But whatevs - later that afternoon I was craving a smoothie, and searched EVERYWHERE around town for a place that made them without yogurt. I finally remembered that Fuel made them without and I got SUPER excited - probably too excited for a smoothie - but it totes made my day. Acai berries, pomegranate, banana and blackberries. NOMS.

Friday (Day 12) was the first day I actually had a craving for something. I wanted a cookie so damn bad. Or a piece of cake. Or some chocolate. SOMETHING. Sure I've had plenty of sugar with the fruit I've eaten this week, but not the kind of sugar I wanted.  I wanted the sugar that was BAD for me. I know it's bad for me - but it still sounded so good. I wanted a 500 calorie cup of coffee with caramel and milk and foam and yum. But black coffee will do.

As far as my yoga practices this week, those have been amazing. On Tuesday I went to a sculpt class (died), on Wednesday I went to a Power 2 class - and it was amazing. A lot more spiritual than a lot of the classes I go to, it really helped me to be in the NOW, to be positive and present. To go between ease and effort. These classes really do open up my eyes to what's going on around me - sure that hour of class may be a time to escape what's going on outside, but it's also an hour for me to focus on ME. And so I did. I focused on me. I went deeper into poses than I have before and tried new poses I hadn't done before either. Always ways to improve MYSELF.

I got to celebrate Valentine's Day with my love - and got to eat a bacon wrapped filet. It was SO DELICIOUS I want to eat another one right now. Sure it came with a baked potato and a piece of garlic bread that I couldn't eat, but I had a little salad before to help tide me over. Once I inhaled that filet, I had no cravings. I didn't need any chocolate or cookies or cake. Although I did have a dream the other night that I ate red velvet cake and felt SO guilty about eating it. You'll have that right?

This week I totes clichéd out - went to Whole Foods on my lunch and started reading It Starts with Food. I grabbed a salad with random healthy stuff on it - and read my book. I'm sure people were judging, but I don't care. This book is pretty interesting - makes you think about all the different stuff you put in your body and how it affects you. It's pretty amazing. And then makes me feel guilty about the shit I put in my body - that sugar is yummy and I love it - but ouch.

Remember all these things. I like the way they sound. Just be frickin happy. Just do it.

 

8/20 #PLY2030

13/30 #whole30

 

Don't worry, be happy.

S

Day 8: I feel GOOD.

Well kids - 8 days down and I still feel good. Besides being FREEZING cold - but hopefully that will change in the next month or so. COME ON SPRING!! Plus I need to start running outside and I don't want to do that if there's a possibility of me catching pneumonia. So I shall wait.

So Monday morning started out like a Monday morning - full of crazy. I made myself a cranberry, banana, kale cube smoothie for breakfast and brought it in to work - but didn't get to touch it until about 11:00 after my crazy morning had calmed down. That was a terrible choice. It had gotten warm, mushed together and ick. What a waste. I felt like my brains were oozing out of my head. It was Monday for sure. Blah. Oh well - at least it went by quickly. That was the major plus. I chowed down on a hamburger and veggies (starving) since my breakfast consisted of coffee and an apple and then headed out to drop a car load of stuff at Goodwill. I have acquired so much CRAP in the past... it just amazes me. I'm sure I could get rid of even more... but then I'll start having separation anxiety and I don't want to do that.

I kept trying to maneuver my night around so I could make it to a yoga class before dinner, but I just couldn't quite make it. Which bums me out - but I've always got tomorrow. Dinner tonight was making me nervous... the make up birthday dinner trip to the OG. I'd been looking at the menu online all week trying to figure out what I could eat that wouldn't ruin my #whole30 trip. I ended up ordering Steak Tuscano with a side of broccoli - and oh hot damn. It was delish. My medium steak was seasoned with Italian seasonings and EVOO and my mouth was WATERING. I pretty much inhaled it. It also didn't help that I had breadsticks and baked risotto sitting in front of me too. And then dessert time came - come on now. There was chocolate mousse, lemoncelo (sp?) and amaretto cakey things within arms reach. I wanted them all. But somehow I managed to say no. I am pretty damn sure that has NEVER happened. Ever. In my life. I love dessert, I love carbs, I love eating until I can't move. But I also love sleeping like a baby and waking up completely rested. I'm full after dinner, but not overly stuffed. But damn - that steak was good.

A recipe was forwarded to me today - full on #whole30 with eggs, ham and veggies - bake them in muffin tins and BAM - breakfast on the go. Super excited to make those this weekend so I can be set for the next week. I found some awesome peppers, asparagus and sweet potatoes to eat the rest of the week and I can't wait. It's fun to go through and see all the new recipes I can come up with and see how they taste. Noms. While I obviously love food and drinks, it's really pretty awesome how I feel after just eating this well for 8 days. Working out consistently, eating well, and getting rest - it's amazing how quickly those little changes can make in your life. I may not always stick with EVERYTHING after this #whole30 is done, but I for sure can keep a couple of these going.

 

 

These are pretty wonderful feelings - and I really love how wonderful I continue to feel. These next 20 days are going to be tough, sure. But they'll also be AWESOME. I'm going to work my ass off and see what happens. I apologize for this post being a little all over the place - but I just feel... good.

 

Spend some of your own time feeling good. I dare you.

 

Loves and hugs,

S



7 Days Done. 5 Classes Done. I'm Alive.

Well kids - 7 days down, 23 more to go. I've made it a WHOLE week and haven't died yet. In fact - I feel pretty damn good. I sleep well at night and I wake up well rested. Sure I'd love a glass of wine and a slice of pizza, but it's not killing me. It's making me mo betta. Let's review...

Day 5 (Friday) was a pretty decent day. I tested out my green smoothie recipe again - the one with my frozen kale cubes. HUGE success! Didn't have the chunky part since I'd already cooked it and liquefied it - plus then once I put it back in the blender, it got even more liquefied. Lunch proved a little difficult seeing as we got biscuits and gravy with mashed potatoes for lunch. When I ordered that I hadn't planned on not being able to eat the potatoes, biscuits, or chicken and veggies in the dairy-filled broth. I had a meeting at the beginning of lunch so I missed out on the first smells of the pans opening, and I decided I should do 20 minutes on the elliptical before trying not to eat EVERYTHING in site. I came back in time to see it all put away - grabbed myself some veggies and a salad and warmed up my burger patty. Boom. Made it through. Oh - and it was Girl Scout cookie season. A few people at work have kids selling them, and of course they brought some to work to sell. I wanted to buy 20 boxes and just put them in my fridge until March, but I just don't know about my self control. After work - I didn't get called in, woop woop! - I decided to head to a sculpt class. My ass was still sore from the Power 2 on Thursday - and this made it NO better. I sweat my ass off in class number 3 and then headed home for dinner. I made another green smoothie with kale cubes, cranberries, banana and strawberries, another hamburger, and an apple and my dinner was made. Noms. After a lazy night of watching the Opening Ceremonies and realizing I don't remember anything from high school history/geography, I slept like a baby.

Day 6 (Saturday) I cooked up a couple eggs and had a banana with a cup of coffee and then headed to a Power 2 before I worked my 3 hour stint at the yoga studio. It was more of a Bikram style class - holding poses longer, more breathing, all that business. But it was awesome. I can feel my hamstrings stretching out which makes me happy. All this yoga is clearing my mind, stretching my body and making me feel overall BETTER. Once I finished up there I headed home for some lunch - another spinach salad with tuna, egg and cucumber. Toby seemed to like my salad too - as he couldn't keep his little nose away. I even shared a couple bites with him. After a couple episodes of Dexter, a shower and a little cat nap, I grabbed a quick dinner of  a hamburger (only one more I swear), an apple and almonds and then headed to work. It was a slow night - but once I was home (early) then I headed to bed. There was a party going on upstairs (weird) so it took me a bit to fall asleep. I set my alarm for 8:00 and figured I'd sleep till I woke up.

Day 7 - today! I woke up and was functioning after 7 am and even got some laundry started. It's amazing how rested you can be after eating well and working out. Who knew! I got to meet my lovely Creston lady who's in town training for her new job. We spent some time at Starbucks catching up - over my Blonde roast, no cream or sugar. I'd had a small breakfast - egg scramble with salsa - and was starting to get pretty hungry. After we were done with cawfee tawk (coffee talk - get it?) I headed to the store to pick up some essentials for the week. I picked up some ground turkey, sweet potatoes, peppers, apples, spinach and cauliflower. My #whole30 buddy and I made some turkey burgers today with red peppers, garlic and spinach and some spicy cauliflower "rice." We had a little fruit salad with strawberries and banana - plus some pineapple flavored coconut water, way better than plain coconut water. After an episode of OITNB, I headed to class at 4. Another kick ass sweat session put on by my new yogi (DEFINITELY make a trip downtown for his class... I promise you won't regret it!) and back to watch some Dexter and write to you! I haven't decided what I'd like for dinner yet - I had an apple and a big water after getting back. What I'd really like is some veggies and dip - I realize I can't have the dip portion, but it does sound pretty good. Maybe I'll mix up some red pepper, sweet potato, hamburger and... eggs? With a side of green beans? We'll see. I should probably shower first.

My #whole30 buddy and I have discussed "what happens next" once we're done with our 30 days. Obviously I'll have a glass of wine, and maybe a slice of pizza - but then what? (Whoa - just realized I wrote that at the beginning too. Freudian slip...? Maybe?) I like the way I feel with the food I'm eating, I like the fact that I feel so good after working out and sleeping so well. I can tell that these next 23 days are going to make me BETTER - mentally, physically, emotionally.

"I am just striving to be more me than I have ever been."

I want to be more me. Maybe this eating healthy and working out thing is more ME than I've ever thought. So why not? Why not try.

5/20 - #PLY2030
7/30 - #whole30

Be YOU, and I'll be ME

S

Impossible? Nah - I'm Possible.

Four days down. It's not terrible. Let's reminisce...

On Day 3, I woke up KNOWING that it had been snowing all night and that I’d have to clean my car off in the morning. I also thought my building knew that it had been snowing all night so I was surprised when I went out to clean off my car that the sidewalks and stairs had NOT been cleared off. Plus – the plows had come through, so there was a nice area of roughly a foot that had accumulated at the base of the stairs. Wonderful. I slow motion Tebow-ed into the snow after getting to my car and once I’d cleared it all off I kicked snow away from the tires that the plows had pushed around. Thought I’d be golden. Wrong. That snow got packed and I got stuck. Little Red got herself stuck at a 45 degree angle to the curb and as I was throwing a tantrum (in the car) and getting ready to climb out to scoop myself out, a nice man from down the street told me to get in the car and he’d help me push. Then another nice man was driving by, pulled his car over and got out and helped. Faith in humanity restored. Thanks good Samaritans!

Breakfast consisted of black coffee (tasted like poop) and switched out for some lemon tea, an apple, banana and a hard boiled egg. And I was generally full until it was time for lunch. I headed to the gym for a 30 minute elliptical ride and started a new book – Gang Leader for a Day. Pretty intense so far. I can’t wait to keep reading it. After the gym I headed back to the office for some more work and some lunch. I had some leftover hash from the night before (if it has “hash” in the name I’m going to eat it) and some green beans. The hash was seriously still as good as it was the night before. Making that again FO SHO.

Dinner was supposed to be a birthday celebration at the Olive Garden. I seriously LOVE the OG and the carbs that live there. All you can eat breadsticks, bottomless pasta – I probably would have cried walking in there and just SMELLING that. I searched the menu to find something I could eat and settled on an Chicken Breast with Apricot on top and veggies. It’s a good thing we didn’t go – a girl at work said it probably would have had extra sugar. Didn’t even cross my mind. Looks like I’ll just have to be one of those people who asks “what’s in this” when ordering so I make sure I don’t slip up. Instead of the delicious OG, I ended up with spicy sausage links, a garbage salad (eggs, olives (I ate a couple!), bacon, apple) and a banana. I had some mixed nuts as well as an unsweetened tea before bed. Normally I hate unsweetened things – but they’re growing on me. I have a DEFINITE sweet tooth, but I also have a salt tooth (is that a thing?) so I like switching it up with chips AND candy. Noms.

I didn’t sleep well the night before – probably because I drank non-decaf coffee WAY too late, or because I watched an episode of Dexter. Could be a combination of the two. But I have faith that my sleep habits will only get better as the weeks progress. As far as workouts go, I have worked out in some form for the last 5 days. I like how I feel.

And now on to Day 4. I woke up feeling RESTED. Which is awesome. I didn't even go to bed early and sleep in late. I slept a normal amount and woke up actually feeling ready for the day. I got to work at a decent time AND had breakfast and lunch ready. This #whole30 thing may actually be working. Breakfast consisted of black coffee, a banana, an apple, and mixed nuts. Kept me pretty full. Lunch was a spinach salad with tuna, cucumber and egg. Definitely something to eat again. It was so filling! And so easy.

After work I hit up class 2/20 - a Power 2 class. I haven't taken a Power 2 in a long time... and this one totally kicked my ass. I was dripping in sweat, with shaky legs and dead arms when I left. I may make that a weekly trip. And I may have caught a little pneumonia on my way back - probably doesn't help that I was soaking wet and walked outside in the negative degree weather back to my place. Whatevs. Worth it.

And then it was time for dinner. And I was STARVING. After searching for recipes (thank you Pinterest) I found a recipe for some sweet potato hashbrowns with eggs in the middle. Figured I could use up a half a sweet potato and a couple eggs with that. And over my lunch I found some chicken sausages with spinach in them - so I cooked one with it. It was seriously effing amazing. Maybe it's just because I was starving, or maybe it's because I'm an awesome chef. We'll go with that one. Also - I tried making kale chips. They were the worst thing ever. I threw them away. It made me want to die. I don't know what I did wrong, but damn. Those were nasty. And then I decided to cook some kale and then liquefy it so I can freeze it, and try it in my smoothie in the morning. Details to come.

In class today (while getting my ass kicked) I also had my mind working. We talked at the beginning of class about aspirations. An aspiration is a hope or ambition of achieving something. The example he gave is PERFECT for right now for me. Take a word - let's use "impossible." Change that into a hope or ambition - and you get to "I'm Possible." This #whole30 is not impossible, it's totally possible. And these 20/30 classes are totally possible. Don't forget to dwell in possibility.

I need to keep searching for recipes - maybe some ricing cauliflower this weekend... could be fun. Suggestions are ALWAYS welcome. Just remember the stipulations: no dairy, no sugar, no grains, no white starches, no alcohol (sob). And as my mother said when I told her we were cooking a healthy meal she said “so you’re having water??” Rude. We had some tasteless tea as well!

Day 4/30: check. #whole30
Class 2/20: check. #PLY2030

Good luck to my #whole30 warriors… WE CAN DO THIS!

S

Day 2 - if it's got "hash" in the title, I'll eat it.

All right you guys - day 2 is done. And I'm not dying. Pretty cool right? I mean - I know there's so much that can happen during the next 28 days... but I think I really can do this. I started off my morning (running late... again) by making my breakfast, lunch, and planning my #whole30 dinner date night. Pretty successful morning. But then I had to trek it through the snow - not terrible, city of WDM. You've improved since the last snow fall.

Breakfast consisted of a hard boiled egg (I think I overcooked them a little) and a smoothie. This smoothie was WAY mo betta than yesterday's tragic attempt. This one consisted of a banana, cranberries, and blueberries. Noms. I drank my coffee black again - and didn't hate it, again. I for sure love my coffee sweet... but it's not terrible. The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly, and I got my ass handed to me in my 20/30 challenge. One class down, 19 to go! Zero chaturangas, yet I was still DRIPPING in sweat. Which was really fun considering I had to go back out into the snow to get back to work. Whatevs. I got back to work and ate my pre-made breakfast for lunch - an egg scramble with spinach, chicken and sundried tomatoes and an apple.

I took off work a little early to make sure I could get home without all the idiots out driving around and had time to watch a couple episodes of Dexter before my #whole30 dinner date. On the menu tonight: Sweet Potato Hash with hamburger, peppers, onions, and eggs. Let me tell you - it was AMAZING. Plus - I've got leftovers for a meal tomorrow! My #whole30 buddy and I talked about how this whole "clean eating" thing really isn't THAT bad. I mean - the hardest thing (which is sad) is the booze. With the snow today, all I wanted to do was pick up a bottle (or two) of wine on the way home from work, snuggle up on the couch with Toby, watch Dexter, and watch the snow fall while relaxing with a nice glass (bottle) of $5 Barefoot wine. Meals like tonight make it seem so much easier than it might actually be. Now the key is to PLAN ahead. Dinners like that are awesome. I'm totally full, I have leftovers, and it was delicious. I could have that every day.

AND THEN - while watching episodes of OITNB, I decided to search Pinterest for #whole30 recipes. And seriously - SO MANY RECIPES. I found a ton of them, and they all sounded really good and reasonable. As long as I can "trick" myself into eating healthy stuff, I'll do it. I mean, I saw recipes for cauliflower "rice," cauliflower mashed "potatoes" and sweet potato damn near everything. I like where this is headed. Of course I'm going to miss pizza, cottage cheese, beer - but it's 30 days. And after seeing pictures of a before and after the #whole30, I really am convinced that it works. It's going to be hard - but it won't kill me. It's good for me. And maybe, just maybe, it will change my way of eating for the future.

While surfing Pinterest tonight, I found something that makes this #whole30 thing a little harder. I like to have fun and eat good food. I like to try new beer and new recipes. But I've also got goals. I want to look good in a bikini (they're the worst) and I want to feel good in some bridesmaid dresses this summer. I want to live my life, but I also want to be healthy.

"In between goals is a thing called life, that has to be lived and enjoyed."

Live your life, but be smart about it. Have some fun - make some stupid choices. But stay strong too. Work hard to achieve your goals. TRY. Try hard, you'll get there eventually.

Two down, 28 to go - #whole30
One down, 19 to go - #PLY2030

Stay strong,
S

Day 1: I need to try harder

Well – Day 1 is here. I thought I was SO prepared for it too. Turns out – not even close. After being woken up at 6:00 yesterday morning by the devil child running sprints, I was immediately put in a bad mood. I had a day to sleep in and didn’t get to enjoy it. My original plan was to sleep till I woke up, go on a brunch date, do some grocery shopping for the upcoming #whole30, hit up yoga (pre 20/30 challenge) and then relax and watch the Super Bowl with some last minute beers. And you know what happens when you’re busy planning things? Life. Life happens. And that little life form who lives upstairs began sprints at 6. So I got out of bed (on the wrong side, mind you) and decided to get my grocery shopping done and out of the way. I stopped for a quick pick-me-up at Caribou (last day to have yummy, sweet coffee) and hit up Dahls. Well it was me and the retired crowd at the store, which was fine by me because then I didn’t need to fight for space with everyone and their mom. I’d made a list beforehand so I pretty much KNEW what I’d need when I got there.

My list included the basics: chicken breasts (frozen are so much cheaper), ground beef, frozen fruits (for smoothies), frozen veggies (cheaper than canned? Not surprisingly), kale, spinach, apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, olive oil, and eggs. My PLAN (remember that plan? The one I was busy with when life was happening?) was to make smoothies for breakfast (hence the fruits and kale), chicken and such for lunches, eggs intermittently spread throughout. I added in some avocados (those are a good fat), some sundried tomatoes and some balsamic vinaigrette for this awesome salad recipe I found. I’m golden. I can totes do this. I’m so prepared for the next week I’m impressing myself.

So I went on my brunch date (and was grumpy – sorry about that) to Waveland Café – probably the BEST place for brunch in Des Moines. I wanted some carbs because they are my favorite food – and I wouldn’t be able to eat them for the next month. So what did I do? Biscuits and Gravy on hashbrowns, with two eggs – over easy. I got a cup of coffee and poured in my signature 2 splenda packs (thanks for teaching me that, Dad), and with each refill, I didn’t add anymore sweetener. It didn’t taste terrible, so I figured I’d be good to go with my creamer-less and sugarless coffee in the mornings. Just prepping myself. After brunch I got dropped off so I could continue with my plan. I turned on Dexter (omg it’s so weird) and got started.

So first, I baked my eggs (325 degrees for 30 minutes) and let them cool for 10 minutes in ice water once they were done. I think I only had one half-explode which was pretty impressive considering I’ve NEVER MADE HARD BOILED EGGS BEFORE. Laugh all you want. This was pretty impressive for my first attempt. I can scramble with the best of them – but the rest will take practice. But I can do it. Then I decide to bake some chicken breasts for the week – may as well get it out of the way and put them in the fridge so I’ll just have to grab one and head to work right? I’ve got those done – and by this time it’s time for yoga! Hooray!

I got my sweat on, teared up a little reiterating our intention of “try” and held crow for the longest time yet. At that point – I thought it was going to be a good week. I spent a lazy night watching football – terrible game – and drinking some Angry Orchards and Canoe Paddlers. My PLAN (remember the plan?) was to get up at 5 am so I could work out at 5:45, be done by 6:30, and be good to go to head into work a little early. So you see what happened was… I slept instead. I was warm and comfy and I just didn’t want to be outside in the freezing cold at 5 am. So I slept. I got moving at a fairly decent time, still plenty to get ready for the day. Pack lunch and dinner, make breakfast, get my bag packed for a work out and work, and get on the road. So here are a few things I learned on day 1 of my #whole30.

1)      Kale needs to be liquefied before going into a smoothie, otherwise it’s chunky and gross

2)      I don’t necessarily like avocado in its normal state – I’d rather have it as a spread, or in guacamole

a.      No matter how many times I’ve seen someone cut an avocado, I am unable to do it in a pretty way

3)      Black coffee isn’t terrible

4)      Peeling hard boiled eggs is a pain in my ass

5)      I was not prepared for this week AT ALL.

By following #whole30, you eat 3 meals a day. I’m so used to having breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack (and more snack). That will probably be the biggest challenge for me. That and the fact that I would love a bowl of pasta. But it’s 30 days of my life. I’m sure I’ll feel better in 30 days anyway – it’s just going to be hard. And I would like a challenge. Plus – this is a perfect month to do this. No bachelorette parties, no weddings, no races – just Valentine’s Day where I can stare longingly at chocolate and wine all day long. But it’s okay – I’ll celebrate once I’ve completed my #whole30.

So here’s what made it on my plate today (in case you’re keeping track of me and making sure my food is clean):

Breakfast: smoothie (nasty) with blackberries, kale and banana with an apple and black coffee

Lunch: Spinach salad with chicken, sundried tomatoes, avocado, and cucumber with balsamic vinaigrette dressing with raw carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and celery

Post workout snack: pistacchios and tea (post workout snacks are allowed)

Dinner: hard boiled eggs, raw carrots, half a sweet potato and green beans

 

How’d I do? Plus – I’m not starving… which is good. Maybe this won’t be so terrible after all.

Like I said earlier, I teared up a little during our final discussion of our intention in yoga yesterday. That intention was “try.” Try to be better, try harder, try to improve in every aspect of your life. A very smart yogi told me that. It doesn’t go just for yoga either – it goes for this challenge, it goes for your work life, your personal life, your general OUTLOOK on life. Just try a little bit.

So here goes – day 1: done. Only 29 more to go. I’ve got a #whole30 date night dinner tomorrow… let’s see what we come up with to make. Noms.

 

TRY.

S