2.29.2016

my 28th birthday + the start of Whole30

Over the weekend, we celebrated my birthday on Saturday...and started Whole30 on Friday. Poor timing, to say the least. Before I get into that, the brightest spots of the day were sleeping in until 10:00am--especially after hearing Jake wake up at 6:45 with "Mommy, my nap is over!"--and then having this card delivered to me by Jake, who told me that he's the tall guy and Daddy is the one holding the balloon. ;)


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If you've never heard of Whole30, check out the website for tons of information. But the general idea is to cut out anything that messes with digestion, inflammation and hormones. So: no grains (not even quinoa!), no recreated baked goods or sweets, no refined sugar (not even as an ingredient in mustard, salad dressing, etc.), no dairy. If I'm missing anything, just think of any food that you actually look forward to eating and add that to the list of forbidden food. Sigh.

Whole30 will be the hardest thing I've ever put myself through, guaranteed. I honestly don't want to do it, but it caught my attention a few weeks ago when I read a few testimonies from pregnant women who experienced major improvements in digestion and an increase in energy, my two biggest issues with this pregnancy. There are numerous other benefits but those two were biggies for me. I explained it to Deric, bought the book and read through it, and we decided to start on Friday in order to finish by Easter.


^A small fraction of our grocery haul on Friday. Our grocery budget is gonna be through.the.roof this month and there's just no helping that when all we can eat is produce and meat!
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Thanks to our perfect timing, I spent my birthday feeling like I'd been hit by a train thanks to the lack of sugar (after just one day! ridiculous). Headache, fatigue, overall anger at myself for doing something so stupid. Deric and I went to a steak house for dinner and had to be those people asking a million questions about ingredients and cooking process, yada yada. But we got steaks with sides of steamed veggies and once we tore our eyes away from the steaming bread on everyone else's tables, we did alright. But suffice to say, birthday numero 28 will not go down in the books as a favorite memory. ;) I will say that it was sorta fun to whine and complain together at dinner about all the things we couldn't have (like the brownie topped with ice cream that was carried past our table) and laugh about how pathetic we were. Weird, but even in this inconvenient and uncomfortable process, its more fun to do it together.

Yesterday was a little more of the same hangover feeling, but the headache was thankfully not so strong. Deric actually didn't have one at all, so he must have eaten less sugar than I have recently. Still experienced a strong sense of frustration and annoyance at myself. But then for dinner I made almond flour encrusted chicken parmesan (minus the parm) with zucchini noodles and homemade marinara, and suddenly I could smile again. I can't tell you how much that meal boosted my outlook. I didn't feel like I was missing out on good food, plus there was no bloated, uncomfortably full feeling after consuming pasta. (I told Deric we *may* be having chicken parmesan twice a week if thats what will keep me going for the next 27 days.)

And today, its a good day. I know it won't be smooth sailing for the next four weeks, but today I'm feeling good. No headaches, no fatigue, and all three of us have experienced improved digestion already. Plus it doesn't hurt that its 60 outside and we played at the park this morning plus ate lunch (leftover chicken parm!) in the backyard.

^Breakfast this morning definitely didn't suck. Hash brown and sausage casserole minus the cheese, and really I didn't even notice the cheese missing.

More recaps will follow--not every day, promise--if only to remind myself later of how this process helped me out. After the thirty days is over, we'll follow the guidelines to reintroduce food in a way that will hopefully help us pinpoint what food groups cause what issues for us. I think this will be a major benefit for all of us long term, even once we're back to eating normally. Three days down, twenty-seven to go!


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