One Week to Go & Random Sneak Peeks...

I seriously cannot believe I have only one week left of this program.  Now that I have reached the 23rd day, time feels like it flew by.  Past day 16 or 17, things became easy and almost automatic.  I was no longer paying attention to how many days had gone by and how many where left...things just became routine.

I fall asleep and wake up SO much easier than I used to.  My energy is present and consistent through most of the day.  My post-lunch and post-dinner ravenous cravings are non-existent or easily satisfied by eating a piece of fresh fruit.  I haven't had a headache in who knows how long, I haven't had an upset stomach since I started the program and my mood/outlook has greatly improved.  My irregular heartbeat that I felt quite often {I have SVT} hasn't occurred since I started this program, and dizzy spells that I would frequently get have not reared their ugly head either.

I didn't start this program to lose weight, but it's happened without trying.  I don't stop myself from eating "too much" and I haven't exercised for a single second...yet I've still managed to drop 8 lbs.  Yes, I know...they say don't weight yourself during the 30 days, but I'm not doing this for the weight loss.  I'm doing it to improve my health...so I have been weighing myself quite often since I took on this challenge.  Even if I didn't step on a scale, I would have know I lost something because NONE of my work pants fit me anymore...a belt can't even remedy the situation because the gap is too big.  It makes dressing for work each morning quite difficult, but it's a problem I love to have. :)

So far...this program has been TOTALLY worth it!

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And while my life may seem like it's been all about food, I have been getting some other things accomplished too!!  Here's a little sneak peek at some in-progress projects I have going on behind the scenes {or not so behind the scenes if you follow me on Instagram ;) haha}.

Happy Tuesday, friends! :)

The Whole30...1/3 Of The Way There!

I've been chronicling my days doing Whole30 here, but since I reached a little bit of a milestone yesterday, I thought I'd go further in depth in case you guys are interested.  For those of you who couldn't give a hoot about anything non-decor-home-related, my apologies...and feel free to skip this super wordy post. ;)

The end of day 10 meant I'm 1/3 of the way through this process!  When I thought about starting this program, I thought there would be NO WAY I could resist certain sweets and foods.  I thought I'd surely fail within the first couple days, but here I am.....no cheats and 11 days in.

Taking on this program certainly isn't an easy task, but in all honesty, it hasn't been crazy hard either.  I thought my cravings would be the toughest part, but so far, I've been able to get through those by venting to hubby and other supportive people...or just eating something that's "approved".  After all, the program doesn't restrict how much you eat, but WHAT you eat.  I've realized if I put myself in the right state of mind, then I can make it through the cravings.  I remind myself that I'm not doing this to deprive myself...rather to heal my body.  I want to give it a break from any abuse it's gotten, and restore it's proper function.  Rather than harping on what I canNOT eat, I think about the beneficial foods I can eat.  I change my focus from the craving to finding new recipes or foods to try...even a hot cup of tea or taking on some sort of task is enough to distract me from the nagging pull of unapproved foods.

Since the cravings haven't been too difficult {yet....I know this can change, eeek!}, I'd have to say the hardest part was meal planning.  Having 3 solid meals a day, with go-to snacks, that are all approved....well, that was super overwhelming for me, especially before I even started the program.  To solve that, I did a large shopping trip and purchased a bunch of "approved" items off of the shopping list they provide. Good meats, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts, eggs and oils all went into my cart.  If I could freeze certain things, they went in the freezer to stay good....and then I just dove in head first.

I knew eggs were my go-to breakfast.  I also knew I liked peppers...so I started buy cutting up a bunch of them.  I'd wrap them in a paper towel and place them into a zip lock baggie.  Every day I need breakfast, I go into my pepper stash, and dump some out into the pan.  Then I wrap the peppers up in a FRESH paper towel and back into the baggie they go.  I learned this trick from my mom, and it keeps the cut-up peppers nice and fresh for quite a few days.

For my lunches, my and hubby have gotten into the habit of grilling a bunch of chicken on Sunday night. Then I always have a good protein source for my lunch, and I can supplement that with a salad or leftover veggies from the previous night's dinner.  Also, another fab time saver is to make a ton of dinner.  Hubby usually eats what I eat for dinner, although I add a rice or couscous side for him, and then I put the leftovers into containers for my lunch.  That way, all I have to do is grab the container, some fruit, some nuts...and head out the door to work.  I love it!

I haven't noticed any of the "magic" they talk about in the book, but I'm also not at that point in the program yet.  Just because I haven't seen any of this "magic" doesn't mean I haven't had some awesome results though.  So far, I'm down 4-5 lbs, and my pants fit so. much. better.  I also don't have a crazy bloated feeling after every meal anymore.  It's amazing to lose the bloated 24-7 feeling.  I'm falling asleep quicker and I wake up earlier, without my alarm clock.  My energy has been a little "eh", but I hear that happens in the beginning because your body is changing from being a carb-for-energy fuel system, to burning fat for energy. Hopefully my energy levels rebound soon because I have a lengthy to-do list for our house! ;)

Any questions...just ask! :)