Potluck Blues!

For the first time in my 27 days of Whole30, I was at my house church potluck where there was NOTHING Whole30 approved that I could eat.  It was weird. I felt like a foreigner.  And the food looked AMAZING!  I had just finished an Americano so I wasn't uber hungry but Shelby (the beautiful hostess) offered me a granny smith.  That did the trick till I got home and had an egg.  I am not sure what set it off, but my stomach doesn't feel quite right.  I have some indigestion/heart burn.  Hm.  I did have almonds before and after the egg with a dessert of sweet potato with cinnamon -- but that shouldn't do it.  I put about a 1/4 tsp of bacon grease into my egg.  Could that have messed me up? I licked a drop of the new balsamic vinegarette that I made this evening -- maybe it was too strong?!  I don't know.  I'll just go to bed and start fresh in the morning.  It will be Day 28.

The end is near!

What a great journey this has been.  My body is so much more alert -- to what is going in it, and I do feel like I have more energy.  Yes!  One of the best things has been my blood pressure.  So good that my body has healed enough to regulate my blood pressure.  Thank you, Lord!  That is a real testimony to this type of diet.

I am glad that I made the decision to do this diet.  The only purchases I regret are:

-fresh mint (didn't like in my water, and didn't want to clean all the dirt that was with it)
-real vanilla (super-expensive tiny jar and tasted bad in my water. :()

I am going to weigh in officially on Monday.  I know, I know!  It's two days before the end, but truth be told, I accidentally saw my weight written down at the doctor's office, so I felt the freedom to check now.  The secrecy has kinda been blown.  So checking my weight has been my major "cheat".  I didn't cheat on food -- unless you count the almonds and cashews that were cooked in peanut or vegetable oil.

Thanks to everyone who cheered me on!  This was a group effort!

annafit4life

Is this over yet?

Okay, so I'm on Day 22, and my weigh in yesterday made me so sad.  Zero pounds lost.  I worked out five times last week and have been eating leaves galore!  What!?  The staff at the Y tried to encourage me with the fact that muscle weighs more than fat, but it was still discouraging overall.  I know my body shape has changed so my consistent word still comes from Ecclesiastes 7:8 "Finishing is better than starting.  And patience is better than pride."  My goal here is to finish well what I started doing 22 days ago.  And as is with most things that produce lasting change, it takes TIME.  And time means patience.

For the next week my challenge from the Y is to keep a food journal.  So I'll do that and see if there are any things that might be give me insight into any poor food choices.  But overall, I haven't cheated the basic elements of this diet, so that should be pretty good.  I do love snacks so maybe that's the problem! -- even approved ones!

annafit4life

Can't Believe I'm 10 Days Away!

This is good.  This is really good.  I feel the momentum of the backside of the mountain.  Finishing up Day 20 feels like big deal. I know it will be a bigger deal on Day 30! 


This was yet another day when I had great blood pressure.  So for that I say, the experiment worked!  What a cool thing to feel more in control of that part of my life.  Our bodies respond to how we treat them.  I know -- not a news flash by any means, but something that I have ignored in my life.  A lot!  Food is just another way that I deny my desires for better ones because I know the kind of fruit that it produces.

I had a great run today at the Y.  It was hard, but good.

The partnerships I'm looking forward to - (I think I'm supposed to introduce a food group back in one at a time after the 30 days):

coffee & cream
salsa & tortilla chips
me & sonic happy hour

And at some point I'd like to add cheese back into my eggs and with my salad -- but no rush on that one!

It is well with my soul,
annafit4life

Day 19

It is a sobering thing for me to realize that I'm on Day 19 of this new season of my life.  I wish I could say that I feel strong enough to not overeat or eat junk again, but I cannot.  This diet is a crash course in weakness.  How do I acknowledge weakness in a way that gives glory to God?  I depend. 

There is a way of thought that says that longing for the "better" things helps us have less appetite for the "lesser" things.  That's what I'm shooting for overall.  But I am also going to accompany that with grace!  Grace is power.  Power to do the right thing.  Power to not walk in shame when I mess up.

The thing I miss today: crackers (all types) :)

annafit4life

Snacky on Day 17

It's never good when I reach the evening and am in a snacky mood.  I mean really! What can I snack on?  Carrots, celery, a small amount of nuts, a piece of fruit... I just had some flaked coconut mixed with a few cashews.  It was actually pretty good together.  But my brain still wants some chips! And I'm probably not supposed to eat any snack after dinner anyway, but those salads burn off so quickly!

This morning I had a weird experience.  Since I made clarified butter for my curry dish yesterday, I thought I'd try using it for my egg this morning.  Guess what?  I felt sick for about two hours after that.  No good.  Didn't like that at all.  Really?  Can I not have butter EVER AGAIN? This is not good.  I hope it was a fluke.  But I will go back to only using it in a recipes for now.  Not worth the awful feeling at this point.

I have a feeling that when I begin to reintroduce different foods into my diet that I'm going to be unfortunately disappointed at what I find....

Day 17
annafit4life

So delicious!

I have issue with recipes that make me work really hard and then the result is just "so-so."  Well I'm here to say "Not today!"  Wow, I made this amazing Indian curry chicken today.  I've never made curry anything before.  And I used two ingredients that I've never cooked with before: fresh ginger root, and coconut milk.

This is the part of Whole30 that I really am beginning to enjoy: experimenting with new recipes.  I used to do that more when I was a wee lass, but convenience and quickness have made me settle for more of the familiar stuff.

I am still feeling great and looking forward to what 14 more days will have in store!  I can hardly believe that I'm halfway through this portion of my diet.  Then I go 2.5 more weeks until the end of the YMCA New Year's Challenge.

Yes!!

annafit4life :)