Done with Whole30, Round 1!! What's next?

Today is Day 31. We did it! We made it through!! Whoo! : )

That was my celebration. I'm done now, lol. It is a pretty big accomplishment though. It's been a long time since I've finished something all the way through. And I have to admit that I was tempted several times to just have a little bite or something, and even last night I was tempted to say, "It's close enough. Why not just go ahead and have a little snack?" ... But I didn't. I thought about it and I would have been disappointed to have to say that I did 97% of the Whole30.

I decided to add a thanks to Whole30 in the survey they sent me. Here's what I said,

"Thank you so much for your program! I was one of those people counting calories and killing myself with workouts and still binging and gaining weight each month. I really wasn't sure what to do anymore and I happened to come by your webpage and the Whole30 program. I read about it and my husband and I decided to give it a try.

I don't know what I was expecting exactly, but I didn't get to drop 6 inches. Instead, I lost 6.5 pounds and about 3/4 of an inch in my waist, but the other benefits are incredible.

We are sleeping better. We no longer take 3 hours to wake up in the morning, more like 3 minutes. No more achy joints or back pain or daily headaches. Our energy levels have been consistent throughout the day and I no longer feel the need for a nap at 3:30 in the afternoon.

I've also noticed I no longer eat until my stomach hurts, while still wanting more. I eat until I'm satisfied. As a "clean plate" person, I can now take my plate back to the kitchen and save whatever I don't need to eat for the next day. I've never been able to do that before. I used to just shove it in even if I was full. And then go for seconds.

I only lost 6.5 pounds, but I'm happy with that. Never before in my life, ever, have I been able to eat what my body feels is the right amount, not counting calories burned or calories eaten, and lose weight. That is pretty exciting. And I was only doing about 15 - 20 minutes of exercise 2 days on/1 day off rotation.

And I know that if I continue to eat Whole30/whole foods, I know my body will even out and so will the weight. But more than that, I'll be healthy. And in the end, it really wasn't that hard, not when you see all that you're doing for yourself. So I just want to thank you. It's been an amazing 30 days! "

My hubby also lost 6.5 pounds, even though he wasn't trying to. It's kind of odd that we both lost almost exactly the same amount of weight. Mine was technically 6.4 and his was 6.6, but close enough.

So what do we do now?

credit: fitnessblender.com

We're so excited that we made it all the way through the first round. We're going to take today and tomorrow to have a couple of Paleo-ified foods we haven't been able to have and then on Friday we are starting Whole30 Round 2!!

I'm still going to continue with my Fitness Blender 8 week challenge too. I started that just a short while ago, so I've still got most of that to do yet.

I love the schedule though and I'm really happy to be starting another Whole30 soon. I can't recommend it enough! 

Time to Celebrate!

Why are we celebrating?

My bro and I.

Today is not only our 10th day on the Whole30 program (1/3 of the way done!), but it's also my little brother's birthday! He's 25 today! 

My family throws birthday parties for everyone, no matter if they are 3 or 93. It's just an excuse to get together and celebrate usually, but why not celebrate your birth and your life? You deserve it! The only problem is that these parties are usually a weakness for me and I end up eating things I know I should not be eating. So I am already starting to figure out what kind of foods I'm going to bring to his party for hubby and I to snack on while everyone else enjoys the cake and whatever else is prepared. 

My bro, his girlfriend, me, and hubby.

This will really be the first big test for us too. Up to this point we've managed to use our meal plan and haven't had to deal with dining out or dining with other people much. When hubby went kayaking they stopped at a Fricker's, but he didn't get anything and we had dinner together when he got home. I know that if we go to a party and don't have anything to eat, saying no will be harder. So it's just kind of a good idea to have something available that is a better choice. 

Normally my family doesn't have too many things to say about me bringing my own food or not eating certain things. I started doing that back in 2008 when I joined Weight Watchers. Occasionally I get a comment about how their pizza tastes and looks so much better than whatever is in my bowl or they'll say one bite won't hurt. But now I've got my husband on my side to help me, and vice versa, so we can stick to our Whole30 plan. I think the guilt I would feel of letting myself down and not completing the Whole30 without cheats would greatly outweigh the pleasure of a bite of cake. At this point I don't even know that I could enjoy it because I would think of how hard I've worked these first couple of weeks to stay on track. 

If your friends or family are a little less than supportive or maybe they're even going out of their way to try to sabotage your change of lifestyle, Whole30 has a great article on how to handle it, called "With Friends Like These...".

So, I'm not sure what we'll be taking with us, but I know it will be delicious and healthy and guilt-free!

Speaking of guilt-free and delicious and healthy ... 

I need to share my new favorite recipe. Not just any favorite recipe. THE most delicious recipe ever... if you like shrimp... which I do! : ) 

This is a recipe from Eat Live Grow Paleo, called Slow Cooker Jambalaya. I had a craving for some shrimp and found this recipe, so we decided to give it a try. I could not believe how tasty it was! I'll have to double the batch next time because it definitely did not last long enough! It has the perfect amount of hear and the cauliflower instead of the rice really wasn't an issue for us; we love cauliflower! It wasn't very hard to make either. Peeling the shrimp was probably the most time consuming. I know you won't be disappointed with this one.

Jambalaya:

Ingredients:

credit: eatlivegrowpaleo.com

-  1 lb. of spicy smoked sausage, sliced
-  1 lb. of chicken meat.  Can be breast, leg or 

    thigh, but cut it off the bone to make it easier 

    to eat.
-  1 large cauliflower, cut into small pieces

-  28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
-  1 chopped onion
-  1 chopped pepper (green or red)
-  1 cup of chicken stock
-  2 teaspoons of dried oregano
-  2 teaspoons of dried parsley
-  2 teaspoons of Cajun Seasoning (recipe below)
-  1 teaspoon of cayenne
-  1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

-  1 lb. shrimp

Directions:

• Put the cauliflower, chicken and sausage into your slow cooker.  
• In a large bowl mix together all the rest of the ingredients (except the shrimp). 
• Pour this over your chicken and sausage, cover, and cook for 7 to 8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.
• 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the shrimp.

Cajun Seasoning: 

Ingredients: 

-  2 1/2 tablespoons of salt
-  1 tablespoon of dried oregano
-  1 tablespoon of paprika
-  1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
-  1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients together and store in a small jar with the rest of your spice mixes until needed.