My first Whole30: done and dusted!

[megbeveridge]

Ugh, I really need to recommit. I feel like every other day there's a new "reason" to eat unhealthy food. One day I'm at a site for work, one day I meet my parents for dinner, one day I have an outing with friends, etc. I keep thinking, "oh this is just a special occasion, I'll do better tomorrow." My logical brain has been having a cow lately, scolding me for being so weak-willed. I knew I'd go down this landslide after Whole30 ended, I just was hoping that knowing my problem would help me fight it. Apparently not.

As far as my current SMART goal goes, I'm totally failing. Yesterday I had a sandwich for lunch and pizza with dinner. Wednesday we had a snow and ice storm and I didn't much care what I ate. Today I've done okay, but that's really because I haven't eaten much. I don't know if it's the guilt keeping me back or if I'm really not hungry. I suppose I'll just eat a big dinner if I can.

Exercise has been tricky this week. Monday I climbed and I planned to go back Wednesday, but the gym closed due to weather. This morning I made it a point to get in the office by 8 for the yoga practice. It felt great! I'd really like to climb tonight, but I feel bad for my dogs. It's just me this weekend and they're not going to see much of me as it is. I might just do a yoga practice in the morning so I feel like I've done something.

Tomorrow I have a get-together for a friend's birthday. I'm in charge of making a cake, which is my specialty. We have a reservation for a restaurant I've never been to for lunch and I'm not sure what we're doing for dinner. It's definitely going to be hard to resist over-eating and drowning in sugar. Wish me luck!

[megbeveridge]

I am genuinely delighted that today is Monday. It smells like new beginnings to me! Looking back on my reintroduction, I'm realizing that I need to find a realistic and flexible way to maintain some of the W30 ideals while living my life comfortably. I've said before that I need strict rules in order to keep up with something, and while I think that's still true, I'm going to have to work on it. Being too much of an all-or-nothing person is sabotaging my health goals. If I tell myself I can't have something, but then I end up eating it anyway, I feel like everything is messed up and I might as well give up. It happens day after day. 

I planned all of my meals ahead of time this week with the exception of Wednesday's lunch because it will be catered. While I didn't end up liking the planning during Whole30, I seem to do better with it in the aftermath. Maybe it's because I can eat a wider variety of food. Whatever the reason, it should help me to limit carbs and sugar while keeping protein high. I made the plan based on the groceries we bought yesterday and I bought groceries based on my goals. In theory, this should be all I need for success. As long as there are no pesky "special occasions" this week, I'll be good to go. I'm weighing in again at the end of the week since it'll be the beginning of a new month. My hope is that this strategy will keep the scale numbers going down and my climbing skill going up.

[megbeveridge]

Oops, I meant to do this every Monday! Oh well, I'm only a day off. I've been doing really well with limiting my grains and sweets consumption. I've only had alcohol once since my W30 ended. All in all, things are going well. 

I've definitely decreased the amount of meat I've been eating and increased dairy, mostly in the form of Greek yogurt. Sometimes a sprinkle of shredded cheese. My reasoning for this is pretty obvious to me, I was a vegetarian before and I don't like eating factory-farmed meat.  Of course, I know that factory dairy farms are no better, which is why I still only have one or two sources of dairy each day. I try to eat high quality proteins, which includes the plain or lower-sugar Greek yogurts, fish, chicken, and beef. For example: yesterday my sources of protein were Greek yogurt and swordfish. I didn't go out and get a greasy burger or some pasta dish with meatballs that are 50% filler. I feel really good about my choices. 

However, my sugar dragon is a fierce one to battle. Around Valentine's day was the worst, but now Easter candies are out and I still have chocolate that I couldn't eat after Christmas! Not to mention the treats that show up in the office kitchen (I know, I am weak). Unlike before W30, I'm able to limit myself to one slice of pound cake, half a bagel, or opt for the grapes instead of the cheese and crackers. I just don't want to feel compelled to eat something every time there's food in there. I should be eating for nourishment first and enjoyment second. 

Regardless of how I feel about my sugar dragon and in spite of eating grains and dairy, I have continued to lose weight. I'm really happy with my progress and I'm getting closer to my goal every week. Not surprisingly, some of my measurements have increased again by about half an inch, which is probably due to bloating from the off-track foods I'm eating. In the end I'd like to get down to 125lbs and then start building up more muscle for climbing. I know that I'll weigh more when I'm stronger, but the scale is only one indicator of health and it's not a very accurate one. For now, I'm climbing well and feeling good. Here's to another week of Megan, Reset Version!

[megbeveridge]

Happy Monday! This past week was really hard. I feel like all my nutrition goals went out the window when my house was broken into on Wednesday. He didn't just take my wallet, he took the side of my brain that is reasonable and healthy. While that night I really couldn't eat anything besides the chicken I made for dinner, after that was a free-for-all. For the most part, I ate with reckless abandon from Thursday to Sunday. Saturday night I made sure half my dinner plate was green, but then went on to have birthday cake. Sunday night I had a chicken stir-fry with lots of vegetables, but the sauce was so spicy I could only handle the chicken and rice. Today I was determined to turn it around for this week. Although I'm not eating all compliant foods, I'm eating cleaner. This morning was steel-cut oats with raspberries and some nutpods cream. I brought a small lunch of berries and whole milk Greek yogurt. Dinner will be a protein, a fat, and lots of veggies! I need to make my meal plan for the week to ensure that I stay on track mentally and physically. The worse I eat, the worse I feel, so staying on a cleaner diet will clear out some of the garbage in my head. 

My next Whole30 run is tentatively scheduled to start April 7th. My mom's birthday is the 2nd and we'll be celebrating on the 5th and 6th so I have to wait until after that. She would kill me if I didn't eat food that she provided, especially on her birthday. I'm really excited to start again because this time I won't have to be reintroducing meat into my diet at the same time. With any luck I'll feel way better than I did last time. 

[megbeveridge]

Two weeks until my next Whole30! I am really excited for it because I just don't feel good with the decisions I've been making. I know I could make different choices, but I find it really difficult to moderate. I'm all or nothing and lately I've been more towards the nothing side. I think I've regained some weight, but I'm definitely not back to where I started, which makes me feel better. The point for me really isn't about the weight, but about where my calories are going. I want them fueling my muscles and vital body processes, not metabolizing into sugar and storing as fat. I need this energy for the things I want to do in my life, like climbing and biking. Last week while climbing, my forearms completely seized up and I wasn't able to hold onto the wall anymore. That is not a sign of a healthy body. This next time, the goal is going to be strength and energy.