Whole30

For quite some time I have seen the postings of various people claiming the amazing difference they seen from taking on the challenge of the Whole 30 diet.  Of course the disclaimer is that it isn't really intended to be a diet in the traditional sense because the focus is not on weight loss. It is not intended to be a permanent way of eating either, you follow the rules for 30 days and then you start the process of reintroduction. The focus is on good quality meats, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and healthy fats.  No grains, legumes, or dairy. You limit processed ingredients in the sense of not eating things with multiple ingredients of the label but you can still use some canned and jarred products like olives, tuna, diced tomatoes, etc.  You may even partake in a emergency Lara Bar if needed.  So I am doing it!  I am tired of the energy zap I feel after a day at work and family.  Quite frankly most days my stomach is a bit of a wreck.  And overall my intake of junks has increased.  I worry about how that example impacts my kids and to a certain extent my husband.  But more importantly I am doing this for me. I love the section of on the Whole30 website that talks about owing it to yourself the whole 30 days.  It also talks about about it not being "hard." And the truth is, it is just food. Food that is intended to fuel your body not be an obsession, not something that impacts your healthy detrimentally.  To me this is not only a physical challenge but a spiritual one. I recently did a bible study on the book "Seven: an experimental mutiny against excess" which takes you through a series of fasts including food which is the area I stunk at the most. I will be using some of the tools learned through that study to help me through.

Here are few things I am hoping to get out of this 30 days:

1) Better eating habits...duh :o)
2) More energy, particularly stopping the crashes at  2:30 and 8:00pm.
3) A more regularly digestive system (less bloat, gas, and irritable bowels)
4) A reset of my taste buds. I really love good food but I also like cheese fries, Dr. Pepper, chips...you get the idea
5) More recipes ideas
6) To get my littles and Nick (shhhh don't tell him) to eat better. Luckily for me Leia is more than on board with this plan. She loves salads, fruits, etc. Just the other day she was dancing for a kale salad...no joke!

I spent some time over the last few days stocking and meal planning for the week. I am have tons of produce and a well stocked meat supply. I also am lucky to have a sweet friend who is taking on this challenge with me. It will be nice to share our meal ideas, frustrations, etc.

So here we go, this Puerto Rican girl who was brought up on beans and white rice is avoiding those along with dairy for 30 days.