The Whole30 Challenge. Best decision I ever made this year so far. I tried journaling when I found the time because I wanted to document my current feelings at that time during the month. Instead of only writing a reflection at the end of the 30 days. So when you’re reading, some of it may be redundant. But overall when I read through it, I’m thankful for what I learned and what I experienced. Along with journaling my thoughts, I kept a food log with everything I ate or drank. That helped a ton too.

When you’re done reading my thoughts let me know if you have questions for me. I honestly didn’t know what to expect or what the outcome would be but I’d love to talk about it more if you’re interested. Of course I’d love to help better your life and diet! When is that ever a bad thing? So…here goes. Enjoy my thoughts!

Whole 30 – Day 1-8
It started with inspiration through Instagram. A friend I went to college with had done the Whole 30 Challenge and I asked if she recommended it. I don’t know if it was easy to start for me because I was so desperate for a change, or maybe I’m just ok with healthy and clean food but so far so good. The first week has been really great. Only a couple days where I really felt hungry and craved junk. During those times it was my own fault because I didn’t plan enough to eat. That is the key this month. Eggs. Meat. Veggies. Fruit. Nuts. Plan ahead, pack ahead, cut ahead, and cook ahead. I had gotten so lazy with meal planning and grocery shopping it’s not even funny. I just felt tired all the time…exhausted from work or photography jobs. Or who knows what.

So there is a lot of learning on this journey. I really have to pay attention to labels and ingredients. You can’t eat salad for a whole month so being creative is the way to go. I’ve tried new things this month like brussel sprouts and coconut milk. The biggest thing I miss (which makes me realize I’m addicted to it) is coffee with cream & sugar. Now, I like coffee black, just not all the time. I’ll usually have a cup of each every day. So my mornings I have to retrain my brain to indulge in strong black coffee…so no caramel or toffee nut flavoring. I tried unsweetened almond milk in my coffee which isn’t bad but currently it’s not what my body wants. I’m hoping to change this addiction. The best thing I’ve eaten this month so far is a bunless burger. I topped it with a fried egg, avocado, onions, homemade mayo (never buying mayo again), and mustard.

Trying new recipes has been fun too. I made ghee which was cool. Who knew you could boil the dairy out of butter? My friends and I made a date nut coconut bar that was pretty tasty. I will definitely be making that again.

Basically this journey is all about life changes and habits. I don’t want to go back to eating crap all the time. I have never eaten out this much in my life. Growing up, my family didn’t live near fast food or other restaurants. So I don’t know why when Scott and I got married that I thought it was a good idea to eat out whenever. Not only does it cost more money, it digs a deeper whole backwards when you’re trying to stay in shape.

I am just sick of being a slave to food. Sick of feeling gross and always caving for the easy way to fill my stomach. No one really teaches you good habits if you really think about it. Yes, my parents fed me well-rounded meals growing up but once I started feeding myself, where did those good habits go? Or who tells you just to try a gluten free or vegan meal? I feel like anyone who has gotten into eating “whole” or paleo or vegan..etc.…had to try it first for themselves and then stick with it. No one teaches you that. From not keeping good habits and eating things that are quick and easy your body ends up saying…hey that fast food tastes great. Give me more. Or hey…I need 3 times the portions of food in order for my eyes and stomach to be satisfied. As grumpy cat says, no. Your bad habits and bad choices teach you that. So with Whole30 being my “reset button,” I hope to create new good habits and stick with them! I want to retrain my brain to think of food as fuel. I don’t want to worry about what my friends are thinking if I eat something. I don’t want to constantly think of how I am failing at eating the right things. I’m tired of saying tomorrow, I’ll start tomorrow. I’m tired of my clothes being too tight and having that constantly on my mind. Who wants to live like that? Certainly not me anymore.

It is time for a change. And now that it is Day 8…we’ll see how far I go. 2014 is a year of goals being accomplished and trying new things. A reset.

This challenge has also been entertaining because my mom and a few friends from church have decided to join me in the Whole30 month. It’s really nice to have some accountability and to have someone to send my food pics to. Not everyone on Instagram wants to see what I’m eating. I also chose to do this in March because nothing really exciting happens in March. I’m not sure how you can get through December with the restrictions…not impossible but it would be tough.

Whole30 – Day 24

I can’t stop thinking about sweets. And Coke. And chewy food that’s so good to snack on at 11 at night.

The hardest week for me so far was the week of my lady probs. It’s bound to happen every month but this month seemed worse because I couldn’t stuff myself with satisfying sweets and salty goodness the whole week. I never notice my cravings for more food during that week until it’s halfway over. No wonder I was a grump. I think I ate more fruit and nut butter that week.

Even on day 24 I’m having a tough time with black coffee. I love black coffee. But it’s not giving me what I need in the morning. Cream and sugar have been greatly missed and thought about too much. The only substitute that I can manage with currently is unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It’s alright. Just not the same. Every other substitute I’d like to try has chemicals and crap in it that I am not allowed to have nor would I choose that any more.

On a more positive note, my pants are looser. I’m really anxious to weigh myself. I decided I wanted to see how much my diet affected my weight so I haven’t exercised all month. Not saying that I would have anyways but I didn’t want to blame my weight loss on working out. It is funny how changing your diet and way of thinking about food can affect your self-esteem. I couldn’t stand the way I looked in certain outfits and worried about it all day. But here I am in my third week of the challenge and I haven’t bought any new clothes. That’s a step in the right direction.

The week before I started the challenge I started to read the book the founders wrote – It Starts With Food. It intrigued my interest in learning more about how food affects the body and brain. But I didn’t finish it and didn’t pick it back up until yesterday. It has really given me a new perspective on why I eat what I do. I used to think that eating things in moderation was the key to maintaining a healthy weight. I don’t agree with that anymore. It has never worked for me. I’m not sure if it’s because I have no self-control or because I don’t have that athletic body anymore like I did in high school. I doubt it is because of my self-control though. I just about finished 30 days of eating whole unprocessed food, no sugar, no gluten or grains. It did help to have my mom and a few friends from church do it with me but doing it by yourself in your own home, grocery shopping by yourself, and spending time by yourself a lot, seem like a huge accomplishment. Now, I’m not blaming Scott for not doing it with me but he didn’t make it easy either. A few trips to McDonald’s and watching him eat pizza were pretty painful at times. But he was supportive with the meals I cooked. Never complained and for the most part he liked everything new we tried. Except for brussel sprouts and carrot/parsnip mash.

Whole 30 – Day 30, finale!

I got an email from my mom saying happy day 30! I woke up to that Sunday morning and it really made me smile. This month flew by really. To be honest I really only suffered during week 2. The rest of the time just felt like a marathon. Keep going…you’ll finish….anyone can do something for 30 days. It helped a lot to have Cyle and Patty experiencing the same things as me. We shared a few meals together and whenever we were over hanging out they always had a snack for me while we drooled over Scott eating donuts. Other than that, as long as I kept my fridge stocked with fresh food, I wasn’t tempted to grab things in the cupboard. Since it’s the end of the 30 days, there isn’t much left in the cupboards anyways. I have maybe a few boxes of cereal that have gone stale and cans of corn that are left but for the most part the processed foods have left the building.

I would not recommend not exercising for a whole month but for me, I really wanted to see how much my diet affected me. So I did very little exercise. Plus, the weather was terrible this month so I did not miss being outside running around. I will say, Reggie is so excited to be outside for longer periods of time. She loves walking with me and I can tell her energy levels inside the house are off the wall. She’s so anxious and just wants to run. She’s another reason to get outside and enjoy the sunshine instead of sitting in front of the computer or TV. Anyways, back to the challenge. I lost 8 lbs this month! 2 inches on my waist and 2 inches on my legs! I honestly had no idea what to expect so I’m not disappointed with that at all. All around, I’ve slept better, feel better, more energy and less cravings.

This will probably sound weird to most people, but this whole month reminded me of how I studied/trained for art in college. Whatever the media was, paint, pencil drawing, photography, I succeeded WAY more when the assignment had restrictions. For example, I would be assigned to paint a painting and the only restrictions were I could use black, white and red paint. Now initially, you’d think that seems difficult but in reality, I did way better with assignments like that. More so than I would with the professor saying the painting could be whatever I wanted. Having that restriction made me focus more, think of new ways to do things and overall learn more through that type of creativity. It was the same this month with food. The goal was to focus on the restrictions and create something new with what I was allowed to have. There’s a lot more you can do than people think. I had no trouble finding recipes, or tweaking recipes I already had. It was a lot of work trying new recipes and doing the dishes a lot more but it was worth it. Especially after stepping on the scale this morning.

One of the hardest things was explaining the diet to other people. Especially if you’re over their house and they offer you something, or someone brings in homemade sweet rolls to work and they cannot believe you denied one. Most people were understanding and intrigued, others had a whatever attitude about it. It’s hard because when you’re in someone else’s house, their fridge isn’t stocked like yours, their recipes are not your recipes and you haven’t read their labels. So when you’re over their house, it seems impossible to explain that Whole30 really isn’t that difficult, it just seems difficult to them because I’ve said no to everything. I promise I’m not starving myself…I really am eating a lot…just not what you have in your fridge.

With Whole30, it didn’t really restrict you on how much you can eat, other than having the correct portions of different types of food. But I liked not having to count calories and worry all the time about over eating. I basically just ate when I was hungry, ate big enough meals to keep me full longer, and tried not to snack late at night on grapes and almond butter (one of my favorite combos now!) After this month, I noticed how much protein I should have been eating. I was totally malnourished before Day 1 and now I know why I was feeling so crappy. I’m not a meal supplement, protein shake, powder fan, and so getting my protein naturally was key for me.

All in all, I’m so thankful I took on this challenge. It definitely won’t be my last. I plan to continue a Whole30/Paleo diet until summer(probably stick with Paleo for a long time) and I plan to add exercising back in. My mom and I are doing our monthly 5K’s again this year April-December. We did it last year and loved it. It’s an excuse to see my mom and to get outside, enjoy community, and stay active. I will continue to keep a food journal, log my inches and weight, and look forward to long-term results. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone along with the book the founders wrote – It Starts With Food.

I feel like this year is my quarter-life crisis. I’m 25 and I’ve already done things I never thought I would do. Dyed my hair red, bought hipster glasses, took a risk and left a job I liked, and started a job I now love….and now, I experienced a life-changing challenge. Maybe they don’t seem as major as I think, but compared to how year 2013 went, I’ve had a great 2014 so far. I’ve learned so much about myself and how important being healthy is. I’ve always had an interest in eating better, trying new things that seem odd to everyone else, and challenging myself but I never could find the time or motivation to actually DO IT. That’s the best thing about Whole30 for me. It makes perfect sense to me and works for me.

Would I recommend the Whole30 Challenge? Oh yeah. It is something I think everyone should experience at least once. Walk away from the processed foods, sugar, and bad carbs, and introduce yourself to whole food. Food from the ground God blessed us with. I can guarantee everyone that has finished the challenge has never regretted it. It is worth it and it is life-changing.

For more info on the Whole30 challenge visit their website: www.whole30.com

It Starts With Food book

And of course, I have more food pics and my month experience on my Instagram feed: @linzyeagley