Happy Monday & Day 22!!!

Happy Monday! It's almost April and officially Easter week! I love Easter! Time is flying and I am trying to cherish every waking moment because before we know it summer will be here! The weekend weather was fabulous and I was semi-productive; organized the pantry to be more "paleo", went on a walk outside, spent time with friends and prepped food for the week. 

We are here at Day 22 and I cannot believe it! A little recap of how my Whole30 Journey has gone:

Week 1-2: 

Major detox for me, hormones were balancing out/shifting as in (I was a little hormonal hot mess), but thankfully that has balanced out. Bloating and overall feeling like my pants were just a little tighter than normal (which is normal, read the book). I also had a little bit of breaking out on my face, exhaustion/tired, and really just overall out of sorts. I was not feeling too hot, still having some digestive issues and really in a nut shell my body was trying to re-figure out what the heck was going on. Let's just say, I am very glad the first two weeks are over! :)

Week 3: 

Hitting my groove, as I like to say. Energy increased, waking up early to workout was still hard at first, but had more sustainable energy throughout the day, started seeing physical differences in my body, hormones/emotions started balancing out and the mental process of eating "healthy" did not and still does not seem foreign to me. I am starting to hit the point where eating "whole30/paleo" is just what I do, it's what I eat and I know it makes me feel better. 

Do I feel 100% yet? No, but that's because I'm not done. I still have a little over a week and I'm excited to see what these last 8 days hold for me. I am so beyond happy that I am doing this program, and to see and feel the difference in my body has been so rewarding. As you all know I have wanted to do Whole30 many of times.. and failed. But this time, I was determined and told myself, it's 30 days. It's going to change my life, and so far it has. 

Whole30 Tips

As many of you know I have entered the world of Whole30 and am LOVIN it! I can't say it enough, if you are wanting to update your lifestyle habits please give this a try. Is it hard, yes. Will you want to quit, probably but is knowing you are making your body healthier forever worth it, YES. 

I wanted to give a few tips on what has helped us stick with the program.

*images from pinterest.com

1. I highly recommend reading the book. It gives you so much detail on why food is good/bad for you, how to do the program, recipes, tips and so much more. This really helped me because it helped me understand WHY you are doing this program. Knowing that I was making food choices because it impacted my health has really helped me stick with the program.

2. PLAN AHEAD. I can almost guarantee that if you do not plan/prep ahead you will not be able to complete this program. Don't quote me on that and I'm sure there's some super human out there that's able to wing it, but not me folks. I need to have food in the refrigerator, lunch planned out and "emergency" snacks in the event that I won't be home. This is key, and this is one of the most important things. I always make sure I have bacon pre-cooked in the fridge (we bake the entire package for the week and then warm it up on the stove when getting ready to eat), veggies pre-cut, fruit ready to go and chicken, beef, sausage ready to go.

3. If possible, buy in bulk. If you have a Costco or Sam's membership I highly suggest buying in bulk. You can buy organic eggs and meat at Costco and I think the price is much better than if you were to buy that much at a regular store. Just saying.... 

4. Be patient with yourself and the program. I'm not done yet, but going through the detox, slowly seeing results and some days still feeling tired are all normal... for me ;) Be patient with yourself, your body and the program. We are so used to "quick fixes" today that we don't even give things a chance to see results. This is your life. 

5. If possible, do the program with a partner! This is just a bonus, but for me, having my husband do the program with me has been so nice and extra motivating. Having someone right there to eat the same foods as you, help you when you're feeling down and just encourage/motivate you along the way has been an extra bonus, and I'm loving it!

I hope this has been helpful! If you've started, way to go!! If you're thinking about it- do it! 

Day 15- a huge breakthrough!!!

Today marks day 15 of my Whole30 Journey! Wow, I have good news people, today I feel NORMAL. Today I have reached a different level and I am beyond thrilled to tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel. I actually feel happy. Literally, I actually feel like I like people again! ;) 

My husband and I are officially 1/2 way through the program and I am truly proud of us. I am not going to lie when I say the past 14 days of detox have been absolutely horrendous, painful, psycho/crazy awful. Today, waking up and looking at the world in a happy manner again makes me realize how insane these last 14 days of detox have been, I truly don't think I realized it until I reached the "light" today. This may sound totally dramatic, which it probably is, but honestly I have feel so.much.better. today. And to think, I'm not even finished with the program yet! WOOOHOOO! Eating healthy foods is not as hard as it was, I still get the occasional cravings, but I've decided, it's not really that I crave unhealthy foods, sometimes it just seems easier to eat unhealthy. Especially in social settings, but it's really not even that the foods look appetizing. 

Over the weekend I still had low energy, mood swings, some food cravings and bloating. Today I woke up with some detox stomach issues again, not stomach aches (like I used to have) just going to the bathroom....

Today I have:

energy

clarity

happy mood

motivation

*cleaned my house

*worked out

and it's not even 9:00am. ;)

I encourage anyone who reads this blog, which is probably all 5 of you, to read through the whole30.com program and consider it for yourself. Our meals have stayed pretty simple, quick and easy, that just works best for us. Here's an example of a typical food day:

Breakfast:

Tea

Eggs

Bacon

1/2 Avocado

Potatoes

Spinach

Lunch:

Chicken Sausage

veggies (cucumber & carrots)

potatoes

avocado or green olives

If hungry: 

Larabar (apple)

Dinner:

Chicken

Sautéed broccoli

potatoes

1/2 avocado

apple

WATER. WATER. WATER. WATER.

We switch out our meals, always try to stick with organic and if we eat out we end up at Chipotle for a salad. Here's to a great week! :)

DAY 10!!!! WHOLE 30 JOURNEY.....

People of America... this is an urgent announcement. I am officially on DAY 10 of my Whole30 Journey! This is officially the farthest I have ever gone and I'm feeling pretty darn excited about it! (Minus the Shark Tank episode I watched this morning where the product was Cake balls.) I may or may not have wanted to jump through the tv and eat every.single.one. 

But... anyways back to my post ;)

Ok, where were we. I left off with Day 8 which was Monday. I had slightly more energy but Day 9 and Day 10 (today) is when I have felt an energy shift. I am still having random cravings but I feel fully invested this time. 

*What I am about to write next is slightly TMI but... if you're annoyed you can click out. ;) The major difference and I think hurdle I am facing so far with this Whole30 Journey is that it has thrown off my cycle. (NO, NOT PREGNANT). My hormones have been ALL KINDS OF CRAZY! I can literally go from happy-sad-emotional-irritable-irate-annoyed-crying-laughing, all in about 3 seconds. I'm not kidding people, my hormones are out of control. I have done eating plan similar to this before and the same thing happened to me, so I know this is a tell tale sign my hormones need a firm correcting, which is another huge reason I must stick to this plan. I can tell I am literally re-wiring my body- for good!

These last two days, like I said I have seen an increase in energy but I have definitely had some of the bloating, gas, stomach issues they said would happen. I will leave it at that and let your imagination take over. ;) I haven't had my sparkles/sunshine/aha moment yet, but I know it's coming.

Last 2 days recap:

1. More energy
2. Emotions still crazy
3. bloating/gas
4. still some food cravings, but no actual desire to eat the bad food
5. still working out

Workin it out!

Hey y'all! This is Jessica and I am so excited to write my first "official" post on our blog! As my first post there was a lot of pressure for the topic but I decided to go with what I'm currently focused on... Bikini body!!! I mean let's be honest the minute summer rolls around we are all frightened and/or terrified to try on that bathing suit! Not only that but I am in a wedding this summer and gotta fit into that dress! So... I do what any rational/normal girl would do- push it into gear a couple weeks before the event ;)

I can honestly say though this has become my favorite go-to workout! If you haven't heard it's called Tabata and it's a quick 8-cycle rotation 20 seconds on 10 seconds off. You can do any exercise you want and it goes so fast! I like to go to the track with my husband and we will do a couple rounds of sprints and then maybe an abs workout! I am not one to dwell on a long workout so this is absolutely perfect! You can download theTabata  timer in the apps store for free! Give it a try and I know you wil like it!