I am not sucking at life

No, I'm not. I'm drinking coffee with creamer. It's not the best tasting creamer I've ever had, but it has natural ingredients. And I'm not blending my coffee with coconut milk and cinnamon in my Magic Bullet. Why am I telling you this? Because yesterday was my last day on The Whole 30.

If you know not what the Whole 30 is, visit the link above. If you're sluggish all the time, want to change your relationship with food, want to look younger, want to sleep better, want to lose a little weight, you might want to give it a try.

How I feel after having done the Whole 30...

Food: Food and I are friends again. For awhile we had this weird relationship, It was mostly good,

sometimes I cheated on it. Sometimes I ignored it altogether. Other times my love for it was so intense I had to have it all. Also, I found myself having a quickie for dinner way too often.

Now I eat every meal, 3 a day. Sometimes I have a snack in between lunch and dinner, or after dinner if my stomach is a little grumbly. I'm cooking again. Sometimes I still need the quickie, but instead of turning to my longtime friend, Popcorn, I'll grab leftover meat (I always make enough to have leftovers) cook up some sweet potatoes and throw a salad together. Okay, it's not the 2 minute meal I've grown accustomed to, it's more like 30 minutes, but it's healthier, it's delicious and it treats my body good. I think I can handle an extra 28 minutes for that.

I buy most everything fresh except my coconut milk. I don't mind reading labels now, but if I buy fresh, I don't have to. I'm getting my fill of veggies and fruit, which I'd been neglecting for a while. I'm eating all good fats, almonds, ghee, avocado, olive oil. No more butter or margarine.

Alcohol: Alcohol and I used to be tight. You see, with me, alcohol is that friend that pesters you into hanging out until you cave. I mean, you love it, it's that friend you can lean on when you've had a hard day, or been given some bad new. Sometimes you'd just like to say no, but it always seems to be hanging around. Sometimes it overstays its welcome. I put alcohol in it's place. I made it go away until I'm ready to be friends again. Do I miss it sometimes when it's not around? Sure. But I'm confident that when we become friends again, I'll just see it socially and not be so dependent on it all the time.  Besides, I have a new friend that treats me better - sparkling water.

Sleep: A few years ago, sleep decided it didn't want to be friends with me anymore. I mean, it came around from time to time, but not as much as I wanted it too. Sleep and I have improved our relationship. Now it comes around every night and stays until morning. It usually leaves early, but I'm okay with that. Usually I've had enough to the point that I feel good and am ready to face the day.

Weight: My relationship with weight has been a rollercoaster ride in the past. Lately however, it's like I'm stuck at the top of the hill and no matter what I try, I can't get down. The Whole 30 helped me get down the hill. Just a little hill, but I'm hoping to get down a bigger hill soon enough until I can get off the ride for good. I don't think I'll share how much weight I've lost since the program isn't about that, it's about everything else. I'll just say, I look better and my clothes fit better. If I'd exercised more (I do, but I need to step it up) I'd probably have lost more. I actually had the meat guy at the grocery store flirt with me yesterday. It's been awhile since someone flirted with me.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: I've never liked CFS. Our relationship is parasitic. CFS is the friend who is always complaining and always miserable and after you've been with them for a while you just want to crawl into a hole and die. This relationship has also improved. Am I cured? No. But I get through the day without a nap (which is BIG for me). My energy level is higher during that time and I'm more productive than I have been in a long time. It still hits in the early evening though, 7 or 8 o'clock. But I'm okay with this because it's better and I can just crawl in bed with my phone or a book or my computer to watch Netflix.

What comes next?

Happy Hour. That's right, tonight I celebrate this achievement because to me, it's big. Don't worry, happy hour is not going to get me back into my old habits. I like the way I feel, I like the way I look, I like the way I eat. I will keep eating this way for the most part. I don't miss cheese or really any dairy (except my coffee creamer) for that matter. I'm not missing grains. I may have a glass of wine or a drink from time to time. And hey, I'll probably eat some popcorn, but not as much as I did at one sitting and not for dinner.

What am I hoping to gain from all this?

I'm hoping to shed a few more pounds. I'm hoping to have the energy to get to the gym regularly. I'm hoping to get another book published. I'm hoping to be more productive around the house and in the yard. I'm hoping I can be there for my kids and my parents when they need me.

I'm hoping this lasts a lifetime because I feel and look better than I have in years.

The Whole 30

I was going to write about the rioting in Baltimore or the Religious Bigotry, I mean Freedom Act, but I started the Whole 30 yesterday and a friend said she hoped I would blog about it. So here I am. I heard about the Whole 30 from a friend last week. She had not done it specifically, but done some Paleo eating and said she had never felt better in her life, plus she looked like she probably dropped some weight.

She used to suffer from Fibromyalgia. She said that after eating Paleo for a while, her fatigue went away and her aches and pains. She said it also helps with many other ailments, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrom (CFS) and other things we just may not like about ourselves.  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that recently I was diagnosed with CFS. You also know that it took a couple years to diagnose and that I absolutely hate it. When my doctor told me I just had to live with it and learn how to love myself this way, I was like "Hell no!" So when my friend told me how it helped her, I thought I would give it a shot.

Let me say this first and foremost: The Whole 30 is not a "diet." Yes, it will probably help you lose weight, but it's more about your body, mind, and soul. This is a lifestyle change.  This is supposed to improve everything about you and make you realize that you don't need all the extras you eat and make you NOT want to go back to the way you were eating.

Now, I'm just starting, so I have no proof about this, but here is a list of only some of the things the plan can do for you according to the Whole 30:

Inner physical rewards:

1.  Fewer blemishes
2. Glowing skin
3. No more circles under your eyes
4. Stronger nails
5. Thicker hair
6. Fresher breath 
7. Flatter stomach
8. Defined muscle tone
9. Looking younger

Outward physical rewards:

1. Less stiff and painful joints
2. Fewer PMS symptoms
3. Increased libido *cough*
4. Less gas, bloating, heartburn, acid reflux and all the other nasty stuff that comes with a bad stomach
5. Fewer illnesses
6. Fewer allergies
7.  Less chronic fatigue (YAY!!)
8. Less chronic pain
9. Improved blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar

Emotional rewards:

1. Happier
2. More patient
3. Less anxious
4. Less stressed
5. Fewer mood swings
6. Improved depression
7. Fewer sugar and carb cravings
8. Better body image
9. More self esteem

 Brain function improvement:

1. Improved attention span
2. Improved work or school performance
3. Improved memory
4. Faster reaction time
5. Fewer ADHD symptoms
6. Clearer thinking

I'm going to stop there because they tout SO MANY more benefits. Basically on top of all the above, you'll sleep better, have more  energy for EVERYTHING!! You will exercise more, harder and better. You will have a better relationship with food and rid yourself of cravings, emotional eating, using food as a reward, etc.

In a nutshell, you will be awesome.

For me, the physical, emotional and brain rewards are where it's at. If I can improve my energy, lessen my fatigue and allergies, and get a clearer head, I'm good to go.

So, what's involved? I will talk more about that tomorrow because this blog is getting really long. I want to tell you how my first day went.

It went fine except I didn't do proper shopping (which I highly recommend you do. Print out their shopping list and go to town) so I got a little hunger at night, but not until 8 or 9. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast
Palm sized pork sausage patty
Pineapple
I'm pretty sure I had something else, but I can't think of what it might have been.

Lunch 
Chicken thigh (I bought the kind with the bone because I'm going to make some stock out of it which you can use for the program)
Green salad with topped with hot sauce
Banana

Dinner

Grass fed Angus patty
Bed of lettuce, onion, tomato and Avocado
Pineapple (I had to finish the pineapple because it was very close to being bad).

I was fine through dinner. Not hungry at all. Then, like I said...I'm sure it's because I didn't eat any real hearty vegetables. So I'm going to pick some more up today.

I'm not really good at eating veggies. Mostly because by the time I eat I'm starving and I'm not in the mood to clip, cut, wash, etc. Probably why I've been eating popcorn the last few months for dinner. So, to help me fix that, I made these veggie packs for snacks in case I get hungry, or if I do a fail at a meal and still need my veggies. They contain radishes, mushroom, snap peas, carrots and grape tomatoes.


I will say this about yesterday, I was surprised I wasn't more hungry and I felt well rested when I woke up today. Which for me, is very good because I never sleep well, including last night. I tossed and turned a bit, but still felt really good this morning. Woke up at 6 am and stayed up. That hardly ever happens anymore.

Tomorrow I'll talk more about the program, if you want more info before them, you can always visit the Whole 30 online.