The Low Down on Whole 30.

Last weekend, on Saturday August 9th, I embarked on a 30 day commitment to eat whole foods.  Looking back, it was a less than ideal weekend to start, but my mind was made up and I wasn't about to waste any more time.  You've likely heard of the Whole30 program, which is essentially the Paleo diet but with only a 30 day commitment.  Something about only committing to 30 days made this feel much less overwhelming for me.  I can do anything for 30 days, right?  You can read all about the program on the website above but the skinny (har-har) on it is committing to cut out diary, grains, legumes, sugar (fake and real), alcohol, and anything else that isn't a meat, vegetable, fruit, or nut.  No cheating.  No slips.  Just suck it up and do it.  So what the hell do you eat, you might ask? Turns out, lots of things. I decided to do this for variety of reasons but I can narrow it down to three core reasons. 

1.  I don't like my jean size.  I'm not sure (well I know the basics) how it got to this point but regardless, what I'm doing isn't working so I need to do something different.  The things I did to maintain and/or lose weight at 25 are somehow not working now.  But even if they were, they were not healthy nor sustainable.  This is not only about weight and vanity, but health. I'm closer to 40 than I am to 25 (holy shit), women my age get cancer all the time...I am some one's mother for goodness sake. 

2. I generally feel like crap most of the time.  My stomach seems to hurt more often than not and I have no idea why.  I'm always tired and need at least two (big) coffees to get me through the day.  At first I chalked this up to the whole "busy working mom" excuse, but I believe it's more than that.  And it's not okay....and it kind of sucks.

3. I have a little person who looks to me for cues on how to do everything and setting a good example is of the utmost importance to me.  It's on me to lead the way for her so I'm taking responsibility for that now.  Lord knows I have enough body image issues from when I was younger and the buck stops here when it comes to passing that along to my kidlet.

I have toyed with embarking on this lifestyle change for quite a while now.  I made some changes along these lines when trying to conceive, but once I was pregnant I was all kinds of pukey and lived on saltines and bagels for a good 12 weeks.  Not exactly Whole 30 approved, but I did the best I could.  I gained 26 pounds through my pregnancy (which I'm sure would have been a little more had R not been born 5 weeks early) and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 3 months.  But that was the problem.  Once R was born I had grand visions of sailing through my 6 week post-partum checkup, high fiving the doc when I got cleared to work out, and getting back on track with my trusty Jillian Michaels DVD's...with a snoozing R by my side of course.  JESUS...I want to go back in time and slap myself.  At 8 weeks post-partum I was having emergency surgery due to complications at childbirth, from which I had been hemorrhaging since.  FUN.  Once I recovered from that little jaunt to the OR I was nearly 10 weeks post-partum and honestly felt like I barely had my head above water.  I went back to work shortly thereafter and couple that with a baby that was up all night and pumping exclusively, I was lucky that I kept either of us alive.  Weight loss was not on my agenda, but being a good mom was, so that won. 

Fast forward to now.  I'm in a groove with the whole work/life/baby balance thing and I am ready to put myself first.  As moms we will always put our child's, and usually our spouse's,  needs and well-being before our own and I often find my needs are last on my list.  As the caretaker in our family, I should be putting myself up at the top of that list.  The ole' oxygen mask on a plane rule, ya know?

So here I am, winding down day 6 of the 30.  It has been challenging at times, but with appropriate planning it has been much easier than I predicted.  I'm finally through the first few days of feeling terrible and I'm feeling pretttty great.  I've stuck to the same few meals to get me through the first week and I've had everything on hand and prepared, so eating has required little to no thought.  I've found that eating on the go and out of convenience have gotten me in trouble, so having pre-made food in the fridge has been the key for me.  In all honesty I would probably kill something or someone for a large iced coffee or fountain diet coke.   I'm also surprised that I have not been particularly tempted to sneak a goldfish in my mouth when I'm giving Reese a snack or take a bite of her string cheese as she lovingly tries to "share" by shoving it in my mouth.  It's a whole new experience to forbid yourself from eating certain foods when they are sitting in plain sight in your fridge and cabinets.  But, that's real life.  Maybe this all because my head is in the game for the first time in a long time, but I'm feeling confident about this lifestyle change.