My Whole30 - Day 22 - 24

8/25/2012 *Sara-Marie* 2 Comments

Days 22 - 24. I can't believe I'm already in my final week of the Whole30 challenge. Time really has flown by and this is most definitely the longest I've gone without a "treat" meal. I'm not going to lie, I have been tempted, but I'm realizing my will power is a lot stronger than I thought! I even had a crazy dream the other night that I ate two HUGE slices of cheese pizza and then realized that I wasn't finished with my Whole30. I started to freak out in my dream and I started crying! When I woke up, I actually felt guilty for a few minutes before I realized that I didn't actually eat two gigantic pieces of pizza. The mind is a powerful thing.

Mark's family came down to visit on Wednesday night for Mark's birthday so I've been busy spending time with them and putting good eats on the table. You know, I have to keep up my reputation for being the hostess with the mostess! ;)

With that being said, I have forgotten to take pictures of every morsel that I've eaten. However, I have witnesses that I have stayed on the straight and narrow, despite some serious temptations.

SO, here are my WHOLE30 EATS over the last few days that were captured:

fried eggs and avocado!

amazing mocha rub steak with roasted veggies and salad

sweet potato, sausage, avocado, and cilantro. Momma Pops and Mark really enjoyed this one :)

Apple, avocado, salsa tower. Difficult to eat, but very tasty.

ground beef skillet: indian curry style

mango coconut chicken concoction

fried eggs with roasted veggies

No, I didn't avoid the birthday boy. But I turned the other cheek to that peanut butter creme frosted chocolate cake!

I had a Larabar instead.

And then the pizza. And this was after my crazy pizza dream. I do love homemade pizza and this was VERY tough for me. But I made it through!

Instead of consuming these beautiful pizzas, I grilled some chicken tenders and roasted some cauliflower with a new spice blend called Moroccan Road. YUM. Somehow I forgot to take pictures of my dinner but it certainly was very delicious. Once I had good eats in my belly, the pizza was no longer calling my name.

Only 6 more days before I allow myself a little off-roading. I'm going to reread the chapters of the book on the "Reintroduction Phase" so that I don't totally negate all of the benefits my body has experienced during this challenge. The Reintroduction phase is a 10-15 day period where you slowly and independently test dairy, gluten-containing grains, non-gluten containing grains, and legumes to see how they make you feel. The rest of my diet should be Whole30 compliant during this period. If I experience any negative effects after adding some cheese to my salad or by having a serving of beans, I can then decide for myself if I should continue to include this food group in my diet. That's why I really enjoyed reading ISWF because they laid out their plan for what foods they believe are the best to consume for optimal health and which ones are questionable (like the 4 categories listed above). BUT, they know that everyone's body works differently, so they encourage you to be your own science experiment. If after eating some black beans, I feel fine, I may enjoy them once a week. But if I don't feel fine, its up to ME to determine if the negative effects outweigh the taste or desire to consume them.

It's all up to me.

My goal is to live mostly Whole30 compliant with some treats here or there. I would be naive to think that I could do a Whole365.  But I am loving how I feel while eating this way. I have more energy, I'm sleeping better, my skin is clearing up, I never feel overly full/uncomfortable after eating and I'm not HUNGRY. I can eat as much as I want - as long as its naturally nutritious! Oh and my clothes are fitting WAY better.

Why would I ever go back?

And while it was harder at first, it has become easier and easier each day. This lifestyle change has been the best experience I've had with a "healthy eating" plan.

I am NOT on a diet. This is just the way I eat now.

__________________________________________________________________________________