My WholeHealthyLife :)

[jhmomi]

Thanks Renee and Derval!

I didn't even drive the route before the race today because it would have made me overthink it. I look forward to the day that I am such a strong runner I can enjoy every minute of race day! The course started out flat then sloped down a bit, then flat, then slightly down, and I quickly realized that coming back would be far more uphill than the first half of the race. I ran a little faster than was comfortable and pushed it as much as I could, knowing that the worst I would do is go slow for the last couple of miles. No split times were called during the race so I have no idea how the first mile compared to the last. This was only the second time I had done 6 miles since I started running two months ago. It was a more challenging course than I thought it would be, but I am pleased with how I did, Next 10K I want to be sub 56 minutes. This was only my fourth 10K ever, but this was still a PB for me today, by 5-6 minutes (previous PB was a race in my 20's and did it in about 63 minutes).

My eating was good today and mostly compliant, but timing was off on everything...

PreRace: 2 HB eggs and a baby food sweet potato pouch.

PostRace: An apple.

When I got home: 2 more HB eggs, coffee with coconut milk.

Lunch: 2 AF hot dogs, a few bites of leftover sweet potato, an ounce of mixed nuts (roasted in canola oil), a handful of grapes.

Mid-afternoon: small plum

Dinner: Steak and Egg Salad. I didn't special order the salad other than to skip the bleu cheese. The salad had caramelized onions (with mystery oil), and a small medium boiled egg that was very lightly battered and fried to a crisp. Totally worth off-roading a little bit tonight. Yum!!!

Snack: Almond and raisins. Large serving. Think I wanted a big treat to end a really good day. Not ideal, but I am ok with it.

All in all it was a fabulous day. I had my 10K, my husband had a 3 set ALTA match (ALTA = Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association - HUGE network of tennis teams - tennis is really big here in Atlanta), my youngest had a T-ball game, my daughter a soccer game, and my oldest a baseball game. I took a nap when it was all over!

[jhmomi]

I was compliant with my eating yesterday and did well overall. Busy day with church in the am and a memorial service for my neighbor in the afternoon. Not much else got done but I did manage a walk before church so the exercise streak I began on January 1st is going strong.

Surprisingly after my 10K run on Saturday morning - I WOKE UP SUNDAY AND WAS NOT SORE OR STIFF! I really expected to be hurting since I ran harder than I do on a non-race day but no pain. Just a little slight sore tweak in my left knee when I went down the stairs but that was it. I know that eating Whole30 compliant has made a HUGE difference in my recovery. I began training so much harder at the start of my August Whole30 and I just don't get sore. Each time I think that I overdid it and will hurt, I don't. Proof positive to me that the anti-inflammatory properties of this dietary lifestyle are well worth passing up pizza and cake!

Monday, September 24

BFD5

Preworkout: HB egg

Exercise: Squats - final weight 125 lbs 3x5, Clean and Jerk - final weight 66 lbs 3x5, flipped a big as$ tire on an astro-turf "field" 2x10, and did some mountain climbers on a slide board. Fun workout in new training facility. This morning it was just two awesome trainers and their clients in a large and very cool sports training facility that does training camps and has batting cages, etc. Really great equipment and lots of space, no mirrors, and there is a huge wall of WINDOWS. I loved it!!!!

Meal 1: 2 eggs, one AF beef hot dog, coffee with coconut milk.

Mid-morning: one more AF beef hot dog.

Meal 2: broccolini topped with grassfed ground beef and marinara. Cherry tomatoes.

[jhmomi]

Meal 3: Crockpot pork roast, leftover broccoli, TJ's Healthy 8 salad mix with sunshine dressing, a small plum.

I made crockpot pork roast today and it was REALLY GOOD and REALLY EASY. And THREE thumbs up from the kiddos!!! My MIL and I enjoyed it too. Hubby wasn't home for dinner. The flavors were good but mild and the pork fairly lean so it didn't feel too heavy. I didn't really follow a recipe, but here is what I did. Forgive my explanation, I am not exactly a gourmet cook and I never seem to follow a recipe. i just look to them for inspiration and then start throwing things together until it seems right...

Cook 3 lb pork roast in crockpot on High for about 3 hours. (The label on the roast said "boneless pork rib ends for roasting" and there were two 1 1/2 lb pieces in the package). When the roast breaks apart fairly easily with a fork, then ladle out most of juices, leaving maybe 1/3 of it in the pot. Shred the pork into chunks with two forks. Add about 1 cup (1.5 cups?) Sweet and Mild BBQ sauce. Simmer on low for an hour more. I used just enough sauce to add some flavor but not drown the meat. Yum!

"Sweet and Mild BBQ Sauce"

For the sauce (the seasoning amounts are a guess, just adjust to suit your taste)

• Puree one 28 ounce can diced tomatoes plus one 20 ounce can pineapple chunks in juice in VitaMix or other blender.
  
• Add 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp each of cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and Liquid Smoke plus a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Blend for 10-15 seconds and then transfer mixture to a large pot.
  
• Bring sauce to a boil and then simmer uncovered on stove over medium-low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  
• Adjust seasonings to suit your taste.
  

I used about a third of the sauce in my crockpot, saved some in the fridge, and froze the rest. Super easy meal I will definitely make again. My oldest never eats much meat and he gobbled it up. I think he loved the fact it was so tender and easy to chew.

[jhmomi]

I was so happy with my crockpot pork, I bought another roast to make more since I had leftover sauce. It will be so nice to have a couple meals ready in the freezer.

I'm so glad the weather is beginning to get cooler and it is time for soups and stews. So many yummy things we will get it eat over the winter.

The official results were posted for Saturday's race. I was 8th of 22 women in my age group (45-49 LOL) and I was 4 seconds faster than I thought - 56:51

[Derval]

I can see you too!!

Nice race results!

[jhmomi]

I have a confession to make. I've been thinking about sharing it for a while but I was concerned I would be judged. I finally decided I don't care.

Between September and December 2011, I lost 25 lbs on the Medifast/Take Shape for Life program. I was at a low point and unhappy and my doctor suggested it. I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try. I began the program one year ago last week. It was easy to lose the weight. I didn't have to think much about what to eat, no weighing or measuring, and not too much cooking. 5 MF meals and a Lean and Green meal per day. That was it. The program made me stop junk food, alcohol and processed foods cold turkey (except for MF products). Most of the junk simply didn't get added back to my diet once i reached my goal weight. I still continued to eat protein bars and processed snacks (some MF meals, and some other brands too) along with a lot of healthy "Lean and Green" meals of meat and veggies (this part of my diet was Paleo and I didn't even know it). In January I made a resolution to improve the quality of the food in my home for my family. I knew the processed foods needed to go and as I developed a maintenance plan for myself I learned about the Whole30 and gave it a try in February. My family is not Paleo, but they do eat a lot better than a year ago.

I'm not really sure, but I think the reason I am sharing this is that I want people to understand. Just because I ate unhealthy processed foods before or I used Medifast products to lose weight or I was a couch potato, doesn't mean I deserve anyone's judgment, contempt or pity. And it doesn't mean I didn't care about my health or that I was ignorant and didn't know that my choices were not always the best. There is so much more to the equation. All the trials and tribulations in my life eventually led me to finally develop a maintenance plan based on whole, unprocessed foods. I am happy with how I eat now, I am healthy, and I like my body. The Whole30 helped me get to this point, but it certainly wasn't the only thing that made my transformation over the last year a success. I've done a lot of soul searching about why I turn to food for comfort and I have worked hard to develop healthy habits one by one to help me be healthy and fit for the rest of my life. The Whole30 was an important piece of the puzzle, but not the only one. I still have plenty of work to do to become "Healthy - Mind, Body and Soul", but I keep getting a bit closer as the weeks and months go by...

Thanks for "listening".

Susan

[Derval]

Well if anyone would think any less of you for that Susan more fool them. I'd say nearly everyone here has dabbled with diff weight-loss programmes in the past, some succesfully (as in they lost weight) and some not.

But it's where you are now that matters.

Heck Summer 2009, just before I started WW I bought a pack of "thermo" fat-burners. Turned out I was allergic to them, I was home alone and I started to puff up, my face, my hands, then very scarily my tongue & throat. My breathing became very constricted, in a panic I drove to the doctors but he was shut for lunch, so I went to the pharmacy & took a double-dose of anti-hystamine tablets. The experience scared the crap out of me - "dying to be thin" right? I joined WW a few days laters and lost 35 lbs over the course of 18mths or so.

[Laura B]

I don't see why anyone would criticize or judge your for it. It helped you get to a healthier weight, probably made you feel better about yourself, and brought you to where you are today! I bet it feels good to get that off of your chest. One of my favorite things about the W30 is the focus on health. I was trying to get to a perfect body through carb cycling which is seriously crazy. Lots of measuring, timing and obsessing. I focus now on the foods I'm eating. I ate a ton of apples over the weekend, but it's OK because it could have been a lot worse. So what if my belly puffs up from all the sugar, it will go down. I'm really getting to a good place where I don't worry about how my body looks, more how it feels. And I am sooo glad to be done with the scale!

Derval, my trainer introduced me to a "natural" fatburner. I took a caffeine tab, an L-Carnitine capsule & a green tea extract twice a day. Pretty sure it did nothing for me except make me a little bit crazier.

[jhmomi]

Thanks for sharing ladies. I really believe that since we have Post Whole30 logs there are going to be some that might look to us for insight. I think by sharing how far we have come on our own journeys perhaps someone struggling with their 1st Whole30 might think they can do it too. Not every day is easy but it's totally worth it!

[Bridget]

Great posts, everybody. And Susan- so many of us have stories like that-or I don't think we'd be here!

I was easily talked into using Herbalife products back in 1998. Nasty green stuff in a blender, capsules that raced your heart. Messed up my appetite, and I lost some weight pretty quickly. I ordered the second round from my friend, but had to wait three days to get it. The withdrawal my body went thru was really scary. I felt so sick, my heart was racing,and I was having trouble breathing. I was up all night and walked around the house-saw my boys sleeping, then peeked in on my new baby girl and just started to cry. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and wouldn't live to raise her. I didn't, and called my friend early the next morning to cancel my order and warn her about what happened to me when I was off the stuff.

I had two more kids and fast forward to 2006 when I topped off at my highest weight, and felt really bad about myself. I was the last person I was taking care of. I found as much WW info online as I could, downloaded binders full of stuff, and started up from home, with my daughter weighing me in every week. I judiciously counted points for a year and a half and lost 50 pounds. I became slightly obsessed with the point thing, but then again, you HAVE to if you are going to do this right. My weight started to plateau, so I switched to their "Core" plan, which was much healthier eating, and lost another 40 pounds over the course of 10 months.Healthier, yes, but still allowed some not very good for you foods.

Crappy life stuff started happening, and I lost focus, and have since put on about 30 pounds.

I am SO happy I found the Whole30, and after 40+ days, feel great and pretty much don't care what the scale says. Actually, I have not weighed myself, and don't plan to. I am continuing on this path,and have learned so much about myself-it's really great.

So many of us have been to so many places on this journey to find healthy. Glad we are all here together. Finally.

[jhmomi]

Wednesday, September 26th

Nice conditioning workout at the new gym. Really, really like it there. And I am beginning to change up my workout times every now and then to make sure no one follows me so my trainer gives me another 5-10 minutes for my session and I get to do more. He is so awesome.

Going to register for another 5K on October 6th. Plan to run the course (it starts just a mile from my home) several times before the race and try to work on pacing. I am going to give it all I have that day and try for a good time. Should be fun!

Day 2 of my cycle and boy have I been snacking on fruit and nuts the last five days. Ugh. Declaring a nut and raisin free day today. I also told my trainer that for the next two nights, no snacks after dinner. Instead of an early dinner and then a snack, I am going to try a late afternoon snack at around 5 and then have dinner at 7:30 pm. Usually I eat dinner around 5:30 or 6. If nothing else, it will be an interesting experiment for me.

Had one egg before my workout and three more after. I make my HB eggs (and soft boiled too) using this Microwave Egg Boiler that my trainer told me about. It is so great I can't even rave about it enough. Put a little water in the bottom, place 4 eggs on the tray and microwave about 8 minutes. Perfect HB eggs every time. Never overcooked. They peel easy too. Love having them freshly made too. My absolute favorite is a nice soft-boiled egg with that glorious runny yolk. Mmm. This is why I eat 4 eggs EVERY DAY. Might need to double check my cholesterol at some point. Been exclusively Paleo since July 31 so i think I will give it three months and get bloodwork done. Here is a link for the egg boiler, About $8 on Amazon, but my trainer got his at Target for $10...

http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-64802-Microwave-Boiler/dp/B0007M2BN0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348665101&sr=8-1&keywords=egg+boiler

[jhmomi]

Whole Foods Friday Sale:

Wild-Caught Sea Scallops $12.99/lb ($12 off). Yum!

[Laura B]

Man do I love sea scallops!

[jhmomi]

Ate WAY TOO MUCH yesterday. Just an off day. Enough said.

Thursday, September 27th

BFD1

Pre-Run: 2 HB eggs

Run: Finally put a running app on my phone. Tried to work on speed this morning. At 5 minutes my pace was just over 8 minutes. Finished part of my upcoming 5K course 1.74 miles with pace of 8:26. It was a bit uncomfortable, put not horrible to run at that pace. Then I walked a little and ran another small stretch of the course even though my legs were a bit fatigued. I ran 0.38 miles with a pace of 7:55. This gives me hope that with time and practice plus a little more strength conditioning, perhaps I can get down to some really nice 5K and 10K times. My last 5K was 27:22 so I really want to break 27 minutes on this next one. The course is similar with no major hills, just gentle slopes up and down. To break 27 minutes, I need a pace of about 8:42 and I believe I can do it, especially running with a group. I am going to run the course on Sunday and just go as fast as I can without puking. I have to get used to the uncomfortable pace. Conditioning wise I know I can run faster than I have been doing, but it's easy to get complacent. My 5K is in just 9 days so I will push hard Sunday and then do short sprint type runs Monday and Tuesday. (I know this is a bunch of tedious detail, but I am a novice runner and curious to see how fast I can go. Plus posting here keeps me accountable. It gives me goals to work on and makes me push harder in training. Without a goal, I wouldn't have even run at all today. Just wasn't in the mood.)

Post-Run: 2 HB eggs, few bites sweet potato. Coffee with coconut milk.

Late morning snack: Can of sardines.

Meal 2: Turnip greens topped with ground beef and marinara. A few snow peas with guacamole.

[jhmomi]

OK this is pretty amazing to me. I was thinking back to a year ago when I began to lose some weight and try to get healthy. So many changes in the last year and I am so pleased with how far I have come. My body is better and I really like it, even though it is flawed.

This is what I realized this morning:

My happiness does NOT come from having a more aesthetically pleasing body.

What I have done over the last year is develop a healthy lifestyle. One in which I fuel my body with the healthiest whole foods possible every day. And I exercise, even if it is just a walk, every day.

So this morning's revelation was this:

I am happier, more confident and more positive today because I treat my body with the love and respect it deserves. Every day. And in doing so for many, many months, I have finally earned my own love and respect.

My husband always used to tell me I cared too much about what other people thought and he was right. But now MY opinion of myself is the one that matters most to me. And it's a good one.

And that's a beautiful thing!

[Laura B]

Good for you! It is so hard to get to that place, and you did it I, too, am working on loving myself no matter what. I think it's sad that we felt so badly about ourselves before, but no time like the present to make the change!

[jhmomi]

Laura, yes It is sad, isn't it? Not sure why we women are always so critical of ourselves. So pointless. If you learn now, you are way ahead of me but yes it's great to be discovering this at ANY age.

This morning I went to Whole Foods early and did my morning walk. Training with Jonathan later this morning, not our regular time. I did intervals in the parking lot and it was fun. The Merchants Walk parking lot is huge and well lit, and just a few people around. Think I might do intervals there again next week. Feels creepy to go to a high school track and be isolated and alone if there don't happen to be other people using the track at the same time. And if there are wooded areas near a track at a park it creeps me out too. I'm crazy about safety stuff like that.

So after my walk/sprints, the store opened at 8 am and I bought 8 lbs of scallops! 3 beautiful 2 lbs packages are in my freezer and one is in my fridge for dinner tonight. Yum!!!

Happy Friday everyone!

[Bridget]

I took a really nice walk on Wednesday afternoon-beautiful area where we live, wooded, but residential, so I usually feel pretty safe. Two hours after my walk, a 250 pound black bear was hit by a pickup truck. Exactly where I had just been walking-less than half a mile from my house. Jeeeepers !!!

(Don't like the track when I am alone, either)

[jhmomi]

I took a really nice walk on Wednesday afternoon-beautiful area where we live, wooded, but residential, so I usually feel pretty safe. Two hours after my walk, a 250 pound black bear was hit by a pickup truck. Exactly where I had just been walking-less than half a mile from my house. Jeeeepers !!!

(Don't like the track when I am alone, either)

Yikes Bridget. That's scary. We are in a residential neighborhood but have a creek that runs through our backyard very close to the house and into the woods next to us where they couldn't build a house. I've seen a coyote on the edge of our cul de sac a few times over the years.

I had an awesome workout with my trainer this morning. Squats, clean and jerks and deadlifts. Fun stuff!

[jhmomi]

Busy day yesterday but it was fun. Went to see the Kukkiwon Taekwondo Demo Team perform here in Atlanta. It was absolutely amazing. A team of 17 from Korea (including two women) with simply incredible martial arts and acrobatic skills. I was impressed with the height of their jumps and stunning back flips and their precise movements as they demonstrated forms and broke boards and sparred. I looked it up when we got home and each member of this demo team is at least a third degree black belt. There was a group of about 30 of us from my children's Taekwondo school that attended so that made it even more fun.

Had a non-compliant dinner. A Greek salad with a couple of nice slices of feta and some gyro meat. Who knows what is in that stuff since it's a mixture of beef and lamb and processed. Oh well. They were out of chicken. Seriously. The waiter told us before we ordered that they were out of chicken. We got back quite late from the demo and I should have taken more food for myself. I had two small Primal Pacs while we were there, but the amounts and timing of my earlier meals were off so I played catch up all day. Just one of those days.

Don't feel bloated from the feta, but I have been on a mindless snacking rampage for a few days and haven't been planning ahead enough in the kitchen. Just can't seem to have enough to satisfy me and I think it is stress related. Have a big party at my house in a couple of weeks and I have been planning/shopping and cleaning/decluttering my house a lot. I know I can get everything done, and I work a little better under pressure, but I think my diet is slipping in response.

So beginning tomorrow, as hard as it might be, I will be nut and dried fruit free for the next 7 days. I have to do this. The fact that it will be a challenge confirms my need to do this. I will allow myself fresh fruit, but only two apples per day. It's too hard to stop with a small serving of grapes or berries or even plums, so I will limit myself to apples.

Well, that's the plan. Have a good Sunday everyone!

P.S. I tried the GT Gingerade Kombucha. OMG that stuff is so yummy!

[Bridget]

So beginning tomorrow, as hard as it might be, I will be nut and dried fruit free for the next 7 days. I have to do this. The fact that it will be a challenge confirms my need to do this. I will allow myself fresh fruit, but only two apples per day. It's too hard to stop with a small serving of grapes or berries or even plums, so I will limit myself to apples.

I know what you mean !

I am happily out of nuts at home, and did not buy any when I went shopping last Wednesday. Dry fruit is gone,too, as my daughter dehydrated a bunch two weeks ago & made trail mix for everybody. I had to stay away from that,but it was difficult. Best to not have that stuff around, as I have finished my whole30 a couple weeks ago, and started relying on them a few times as substitutes for meals. Don't wanna go there-

Yikes Bridget. That's scary. We are in a residential neighborhood but have a creek that runs through our backyard very close to the house and into the woods next to us where they couldn't build a house. I've seen a coyote on the edge of our cul de sac a few times over the years.

As for coyotes- we are frequently waken up by them doing whatever dastardly things they do at 3 in the morning in the woods across the street- we live right by a state forest. It is the most unsettling sound, as they seem to be in a pack tormenting some helpless animal. They howl and yelp with a really eerie sounding delight... We have seen one or two on occasion, as well as bobcats- which are newer to the area. I love it ! (from the safety of my car or house:)

[jhmomi]

I just decided I will also be snack free after dinner Monday through Thursday. I like more flexibility on the weekend and this is better than I am currently doing so it is my goal this week in addition to remaining nut and dried fruit free until at least Monday, October 8th.

I really liked the Gingerade Kombucha I tried this week. When my husband gets back, I am going to go to WF and buy seven more bottles of kombucha for this week. Make that eight bottles, I want one tonight. Not sure if I will have a full bottle each night but I will buy enough just in case. Big splurge at 3.49 per bottle but I found it very refreshing and I think it will be a nice replacement for a snack after dinner. I know it's not the same as a mixed drink or wine, but something about it seemed indulgent to me. Probably the price, right?

Hold me accountable my Whole9 peeps!

[Derval]

Hold me accountable my Whole9 peeps!

[jhmomi]

Love it Derval. Thanks!

Just bought a case of Gingerade Kombucha at Whole Foods a little while ago. 12 bottles/case and I got a 10% case discount so they were $3.14 each.

[Laura B]

I was wondering of the case was any cheaper. I usually just have 3 a week. I drink half a bottle at a time to spread them out more. Gingerade is the best I think. I got a mango one last week and didn't realize how high the mango made the sugar content. Oops!