2/20/13 One week of #Whole30 down!

What an eventful week! I have completed 7 days of the #Whole30 Challenge and feel pretty good! The blogs I have followed and read from others have helped keep me motivated, but they definitely take a different track than I do. This has been as much of an emotional journey as a dietary one, at least to date. This week, I do see myself venturing out a bit more food-wise. There are a lot of whole30-approved foods other people find delicious that I just cannot choke down. Fortunately there are also some delicious recipes from the ones who have gone before me that I am enjoying. I am particularly enjoy the breakfast foods as I find that is my biggest meal of the day. However, I hardly find myself starving and the other tangible changes are quite noticeable and positive!

Heartburn that I used to battle daily...gone! Bloating/gas issues...gone! Almost daily stiffness and Advil popping...gone! If one can actually feel leaner, that is how I feel, like I am actually taking up less space in the world!

I am sleeping great, feeling just that much stronger in my workouts, and it’s only been 7 days! I think I was more worried emotionally going into this about getting through tailgates sober—VOILA, made it through 4 days of Opening weekend festivities & games, in the freezing cold (especially for this Florida girl), cold sober! <pun intended>. One great thing about tailgating, I can easily have the meat done on the grill—no extra oils/sauces, totally whole30 approved! I actually found myself telling my friends what I was doing and they were quite supportive, which helps! Seeing people I haven’t seen since last season and receiving compliments—why yes that REALLY helps!

So as I head into week 2, my will is stronger, but alas, another huge temptation ahead...my best friend is coming home from Nicaragua for a month! I think I can manage my actual food choices and still avoid the dairy, sugar, grain, beans…but without sounding like too much of an alcoholic...can I still avoid alcohol? Which, by the way, would also likely entail some no-no’s when you add in mixers. Sure, I had already weaned myself to Crystal Light as mixer…but from the reading I’ve done, the sugar substitutes are nearly worse for the body than real sugar...just less calories. So we might not be hitting up my favorite Mexican restaurant for margaritas and queso, but I think we’ll manage to have some fun all the same! J

I can honestly say that I am surprised at my will power, even if I am not quite as extreme as some participants may be—this has still been a huge overhaul to lifelong eating habits, and so far seeing very positive results! As I like to say, YAY ME!