What is the whole 30 really about?

well my friends, it's a 30 day challenge. its paleo to the extreme, no dairy, no rice, no white potatoes, no processed foods, no sugar, no gluten (obviously), no paleo treats (eeeeekkkk).... sticking to clean foods, fruit and veggies. we are planning on eating more veggies than fruit or meat but taking in enough protein and fat and nutrients. i just hope i can do it. i know i can do paleo, it's just a matter of sticking to the restrictions and re-starting my paleo journey.

so this means no almond milk coffeeeeeeeeeeee. (i can make my own almond milk but i need a blender and a cheese cloth). oh paleo.....might mean i need to buy a blender ;)

happy night before the 30 days begin...for now i enjoy my gluten free brownies in peace :D

Starting the Whole 30

I took the plunge and signed up for the Whole 30, it begins tomorrow. Today I spend some time meal prepping and taking a look at some websites and figuring out what the heck to make for a weeks worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Nom Nom Paleo has a great list of recipes which I will most likely be pulling from. Luckily I am not in this alone. I have two friends doing it with me. I know that the Whole 30 probably won't be as hard because I generally eat a lot of the foods anyway and don't eat most of what's on the list but I have gotten lazy and do enjoy my fair share of RICE, bacon and white potatoes. 

I like this idea of the Whole 30 because it suggests you set goals for the 30 days and take a before and after shot. I never did a before shot when I started Paleo and I wish I had. So today I will be thinking of some goals and what I want to accomplish in the next 30 days.....

Goals:

1. I will walk/lift weights/do Pilates for 45 minutes 5 days a week.
2. I will do the loop at least 4 times during the 30 days.
3. I will take 4 classes at my gym in the 30 days.


For now, 3 goals is good. 

Day 00 and 30 more days to go. Here goes nothing. I will attempt to blog frequently during this process so be on the look out! Keep me accountable and cheer me on :)

Coffee and almond milk

A few weeks ago, I gave up dairy. I have been having coffee with almond milk only and if I have dairy, I bloat up almost immediately and get tons of gas. I will say that cold brew coffee and almond milk are an awesome combo! If I make it at home, I do not need sugar, which is even better because I'm not adding those calories. 

I'm just sharing my experience. You'll be surprised at how awesome almond milk is and how much it can change a cup of coffee.

Happy Thursday!

Yummy paleo snack!!!

These almond butter bars are amazing! I just had one as a snack and they are so yummy!!!! Creamy and delicious. I highly recommend them!

This is what cutting dairy looks like

Most recent photo of this Pilates addict!!! Progress, progress, progress 

On the left was 3 years ago

On the right was taken last year

Don't believe me that I eat real good good and haven changed my body? That's proof! 

Happy Sunday!

Dairy

I sit in my living room with my hot green tea thinking about my desire to just loose 10 more lbs and contemplating what I can do to make that happen. My brain is thinking "Victoria, it's Saturday, you can have your vanilla latte from Starbucks." My non-bloated tummy says "NOOOOOO dairy gives you gas and you get so bloated." If Starbucks had some almond milk maybe it'd be better but none-the-less it feels like I've lost something because I'm going with my non-bloated tummy's feelings about the dairy.

I can see now, clearly, why dairy is such a restricted item in Paleo. Some people can take it and I can, once and awhile (but with Starbucks, I can take it overboard).  When I do consume a lot of dairy I can get a difference in my stomach and gas levels.

So interesting how digestion can be so interrupted with something as small as dairy.

So back to my original point....how to loose that 10 extra pounds....Maybe it's not as important as continuing to strengthen my body and become lean through Pilates and working out at the gym.

I did go ahead and decide to get a tall Vanilla Latte with milk and guess what? I'm bloated and gassy. It didn't take very long, about 30 minutes. So I guess the verdict is, no more milk!

The Whole 30

It has been decided. I will start the Whole 30 (on pay day...the 26th). The Whole 30 is Paleo but stricter. It's going to take more effort for me because I've become lax in a lot of ways. I had a lot of milk today in my coffee and that needs to be cut out. I need to restart, recharge and reenergize my body. When I transitioned to Paleo, I felt so good and I still feel good but I've gotten more relaxed in a lot of ways and have allowed some things in that I shouldn't (raw sugar, coffee, the occasional vanilla syrup). This is going to take time, commitment and encouragement! But I'm committed to having a flatter stomach and being more Paleo than I am currently. This gives me a little over a week to finish off that processed coffee flavored Almond Milk and other goodies in my fridge at a normal rate or they are gone.

I'm feeling inspired for this today because I'm here at this conference and I'm just not eating like myself. I'm finding currently that I have NO idea what to eat for dinner (and I'm hungry). I'm at a loss because things are expensive and I want to eat as much food as it takes to feed me but good food not fillers. 


Want more insight?

http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

As the journey gets closer, I will share more but for now, 80/20 and then I transition to whole 30!