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health, Whole 30

Whole 30 – The Real Deal

THIS IS IT YOU GUYS!!!! THE FINAL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that I have completed the Whole 30, I wanted to share my thoughts and results with you. Whole 30 isn’t for everyone. I don’t think I am better than you because I was able to go 30 days without grains, sugar, alcohol, dairy, legumes, and processed foods. Some people have no need to cut those things from their diet.

For me, Whole 30 was about proving to myself that I could go 30 days without these things. Because if I am being honest, I haven’t really succeeded with anything this strict in the past. Not that I ever officially tried. I would say that I was watching what I ate or counting calories, but I would always have little cheats and no one else would know it…but I knew it. Whole 30 was proving that food does not control me.

I also have been having a lot of skin issues the past year. My cheeks are constantly broken out and I have never had it this bad my entire life. I knew something had to change and changing up all the skin care products wasn’t doing a thing for me.

Things I have Learned:

–You in fact wont die without cheese and grains. Crazy, right??? I was sure I would.

–I actually didn’t miss alcohol. Not even a little.

–I didn’t really miss much of anything after the first week if I am being completely honest. It literally got easier and easier as the month went on. Sure, I would have loved to have some crackers and goat cheese or a cheeseburger or whatever, but I really didn’t miss anything. I even got to the point where I literally didn’t crave anything sweet.

–It is really helpful to have at least one friend doing this with you. Besides Amy and Laura who hosted The Breakup Challenge, my best friend Laura and her husband did Whole 30 with me. One of my coworkers joined me on week two and another joined us on my third week and we all three ate lunch in the break room every day and talked about all the fun things we have been cooking and how we have been feeling. I thank every single one of them for being supportive.

–If you already meal plan, this really isn’t much extra effort. The only thing that I have had to change while grocery shopping was that I really had to pay even more attention to labels than I already do.

–Eating super clean and healthy is more expensive. I think we all already knew this, but it was proven as our grocery bill has been higher since I started this. But to be fair, we are eating more meals at home than we did before. And I am spending zero money on alcohol or coffee out…so I think that makes up for it.

–I can actually drink black coffee. You get used to not having creamer after about 7 to 10 days of straight up black. However, if I had to say one thing I missed the most…it was the creamer in my coffee in the mornings. It is just so much more enjoyable that way.

Myth or Fact:

—Hanger – The second and third day I was a little tired and hangry, nothing I couldn’t get through. It was my fault for not eating enough the first week. Also, I had just got home from a vacation, that following week having to go back to the real world is a always a little trying anyways.

—Tiger Blood – Yes, this is in fact true. While Tiger Blood didn’t last a full week or whatever for me, the feeling came and went certain days and it was euphoric!

Other than that, I didn’t really experience the other things that people claim that they go through. I wasn’t wanting to kill all the things or nap for days. I didn’t want to throw in the towel half way in. I honestly started feeling better after about day 5 or 6 and have been fine since. Ironically, my sugar cravings stopped around that time too. Go figure, right??

Results:

I wish I would have taken measurements, but I didn’t. So I can’t really give you facts like I shaved 2 inches off my waist and ass or anything like that. What I can tell you is that I fit into a top that I haven’t worn in a year. My “tight” pants aren’t so tight anymore. I had a male co-worker tell me “I was looking slimmer” and that “whole 30 was working for me.” One of my beloved Ahole Bros girls told me “You are looking fucking fabulous.” So yeah, there have been some body changes!!!!

As of this morning, I have lost exactly SEVEN POUNDS! That’s right 7 lb’s!!! Sure that might not seem like a lot to some people, but 7 pounds is the most I have ever lost in one month. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when I stepped on the scale this morning. Disappointment, perhaps? I mean that is usually the feeling one gets around the scale. I basically danced all over the house.

Also, and most importantly for me….my face has completely cleared up. Sure, I have been left with some nasty scarring that I am going to have to figure out how to deal with. Does Mederma work on the face???? But I haven’t really had any bad breakouts this entire month which is HUGE for me.

Sadly, that means that I am in fact allergic or sensitive to something that I had been consuming regularly. I am side eyeing you dairy and grains. Ohhhhh the day when I figure out which one it is will be a sad, sad day my friends.

These next two are both AFTER

That white shirt is the one that didn’t fit me very well a year ago. And you can see that my black work pants are too big on my legs, they are puddling behind the and under the knees. Granted, they are a wider leg flare bottom, but not supposed to be that big where the knees are.

Confession:

You guys, I literally did not even cheat once during this 30 days…..intentionally. You see, Saturday after my nephews basketball game….we ate a late lunch at Logans. I made sure to order my sweet potato with no butter or sugar, just cinnamon, etc. I did, however, forget to tell them no cheese on my salad. I ate at least 6 bites before I realized why the salad tasted so fucking delicious and amazing. It was because there was cheese in it. YOU GUYS!!!! I literally almost started crying at the table in the packed restaurant. Chris and my sister laughed and made fun of me, “Oh no, cheese!!! You’re going to die!!!” But seriously, I was so sad and upset with myself that I didn’t even notice and had consumed a few bites.

Obviously, I quit eating it immediately. But still. I had to be very honest and say that I did consume just a few bites of cheese on accident.

Coincidentally, or maybe not so coincidentally, I woke up Sunday morning with a pimple on my cheek. Just one. I am not sure that a few little bites of shredded cheddar could do that, but who knows. I mean, I doubt there was even a piece of it in every one of those 6 bites anyways.

What Now?

I am still trying to decide 100% what I am going to do now that I am done with Whole 30. My plan for now is to drop down to Paleo during the week and allow myself one full out cheat meal on Saturdays and perhaps a half a cheat for Friday lunches. Who would have thought that I would say something like “Drop down to paleo” in my entire life??? Not me friends….not me. And yet, here I am.

What is my first cheat meal?

Laura and I plan to try out a new restaurant later this week and that will be the first “real meal” that I will be having. Does someone smell a cheeseburger?

Will this be me on my first cheat meal?

Time will tell!

I plan to update you guys in a few weeks after I have gone through “reintroduction” and let you know my thoughts on all that and what I will be doing after. You know….the whole “lifestyle” thing.

February 2, 2016 by Nadine

about me, fitness, health, Whole 30

Whole 30 – Why I Am Doing It

Normally on Mondays you come to my blog preparing yourself for food porn. Well not this Monday my friends. You see, this weekend I continued on with my Whole 30 journey and I managed to not hate life. Imagine that!

So you might be asking yourself, why Whole 30? The obvious answer is because it is healthy. Because it detoxes and resets your body. I might shed a few pounds. There is a chance I have a food allergy and this might shine light on that. All of those answers are part of the reason. But I like to be real with you guys. The real reason why I am doing Whole 30 is to prove to myself that I can. To prove that food doesn’t control me.

I have a 40×40 list. You can see it up there below my title. It is still a project in the works as I have been adding on to it for the last year. Well, this weekend….I added Whole 30 to the list. You see, I wanted it on there last year when I started my list. It was the very first thing that came to mind (after Disney). The truth is, I didn’t have faith in myself that I could ever do it.

My mind has really started to change over the last year or so. Sure, I have been regularly waking up at 4:35 am five days a week for my workouts the past two and a half years. But working out was never really a problem for me. It has always been food. It probably will always be food. But something has changed in my mind.

I can be good Monday through Friday morning but then Friday at lunch I will go with friends. Friday night I will come home and snack on pizza or nachos. Saturday we hit up World of Beer where I have two or three beers then we are off to for a burger and fries. Sunday I am making cheesy pasta or chicken fingers and fries. It’s pretty much been that way since I came home from the beach this summer.

Everything is ok in moderation, right? The thing with moderation for me though, is that it is hard to walk the line. There is always that gray area. Say Tuesday I am really not wanting what I brought for lunch. I had a bad morning and I want to get out of the office so I go down to Jimmy Johns and have a sandwhich and chips. No big deal, it was just one meal. But then I get home that evening and while I am trying to cook our healthy dinner, I am starving and snack on chips and salsa. Wednesday morning while making Chris’s lunches, I play the one slice of cheese for his sandwich one slice of cheese for me to eat game. Thursday morning I am tired and swing by Starbucks for a grande nonfat caramel macchiato (my drink of choice.) Annnnnd I have already shared what Friday-Sunday typically look like.

All those little things add up. And for what? Did it make my week better? Did it bring me joy? No. Not really. That is why I need an all or nothing reset. Whole 30 doesn’t allow for those foods to even exist. You flat out can’t have them.

So my thoughts on Whole 30 after the first full week? I am alive and still positive about my experience. I haven’t intentionally tried to cheat. There was one day last week where I was unaware that I was consuming something that had an ingredient I wasn’t supposed to have.

On Wednesday I was a little more tired than usual. Some asshole left donuts and brownies in our break room and I wanted to go punch them in the face. So perhaps I was a bit cranky that day. On Thursday evening Chris ate chips and guac in front of me. I was wanting that chip so bad. I even jokingly asked him if it was cheating by just licking the chip. I didn’t do it…but that was how bad I wanted it.

Every day that passes by, I feel more and more confident in myself that I can do this. I can go 30 days without sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, and yes friends….I can even go without cheese.

I would like to give a shout out to Laura who is doing this with me. G-Chatting with her daily about wanting to lick tortilla chips and punch people in the face every time they open a diet coke has been quite helpful.

Amy and Laura are also great hosts on having the #breakupchallenge2016 and answering any questions I have. I wanted to link up with them tomorrow, but it’s book day so I am posting this a day early!

Oh, I lied. I did have a burger picture to share with you!!! My turkey burger, roasted potatoes and “ketchup” that I made with compliant ingredients. Boom bitches!!!

I probably wont link up every week to check in, but I will do a recap post on my thoughts and results at the end of the 30 days. You can follow along with me on Instagram to see some the #whole30 meals I eat! I hope you all have a great week!!!

January 11, 2016 by Nadine

book review, books, health

The Longevity Kitchen

Most of you know by now that I am fairly health conscious through the week. Of course, my weekend shenanigans posts will tell a different story. Hello food porn! But in general, over the last few years I have been much more aware of the types of foods I am putting in my mouth, the cleaners that I use have less to no chemicals now and I have been slowly converting my rubbermaid containers to glass.

I believe that what you eat can dictate how you look and feel. The healthier I eat, the better my body feels. Simple enough. But did you also know that certain foods can help different areas of your body function better? When I read about The Longevity Kitchen, I instantly thought about Chris. He suffers from chronic back pain and inflammation. He also has to watch his blood pressure. I suffer from asthma, can have a crappy immune system at times and I have to keep my sweet tooth in check. We both have pretty bad allergies.

The Longevity Kitchen has 125 recipes using the top 16 foods proven to fight the most chronic conditions. There are menu plans that you can follow for your main concerns. I plan on incorporating these 16 power foods in our weekly rotations to see if there is going to be any improvements. I am really excited to try out some of these recipes. I have my eyes on:

Gluten-Free Blueberry Mini Muffins
Bento Box Soup
Minted Guacamole with Pomegranate Seeds
Yogurt Berry Brulee with Maple Almond Brittle
Insanely Good Chocolate Brownies (that have no added sugar and use almond flour!!!!)

There are also lots of recipes for different marinades, dressings, sauces and even directions for how to make your own almond flour!

What I really love about this book? It is more than just a cookbook. At the beginning, there are a few chapters talking about the science behind the foods we eat. It goes in to length about the main functions of our bodies and why certain foods are important. There is even a culinary pharmacy section that breaks down certain foods and tells you beneficial facts of each food. Like did you know that almonds are antioxidant, blood sugar regulators and help with heart health? Or that coconut milk/oil is an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and supports bone health.

Before the recipes start, there is a break down to tell you what pages to look for what ails you. Immune boosters, stress reducers, mind enhancers, blood sugar regulators, flexibility promoters, liver boosters, heart strengtheners, skin enrichers, and LDL cholesterol reducers.

If you have a certain condition that you would like to try to treat naturally, I would check this book out! Or even if you just want to make sure you are incorporating healthy foods in to your daily diet.

Read more about the author, Rebecca Katz here.

To see more information on this book, go here.

Add this book to your Goodreads list.

Have you considered changing your diet to help with any health problems you’ve been experiencing?

**I received this book from Blogging for Books but all opinions are honest and of my own. **

December 14, 2015 by Nadine

fitness, health

Food Does Not Control Me

Food does not control me, or something like that. That is what I am trying to tell myself these days. I was doing so good with the whole grain free, dairy free, no processed shit kick that I was on. And when I let off a little so I could enjoy our beach trip, then my birthday, and well you know….life…I slowly started retreating back to old habits.

A bag of M&M’s somehow got in to my cart the past two weeks. Surely I wasn’t the one who put them in there, right?? A handful here and there, they don’t count. It’s not an entire serving. A frappucino because it is Tuesday and I hate Tuesdays? Why not!

Yeah, that’s what I am talking about. Those little choices that I used to not even be tempted by during the week are back and I am putting an end to them right now. Or well, after I finish the rest of these M&M’s I have.

Last week I confessed that I was able to purchase a pair of jeans in a smaller size. That was a great feeling. I rode that high for a week. Then yesterday I grabbed a pair of jeans by accident out of a stack of clothes that used to fit not because I was in a hurry. I literately threw them on and ran out the door. All day yesterday I was miserable, they were tight and uncomfortable at the waist. And the thing is, the legs and butt fit. Damn you eating!!! I thought to myself, yeah Nadine…eat some more of those M&M’s. A fat lot of good they are doing you.

The holiday season is quickly approaching. It is time to get back on track before it gets too out of hand! I want to be able to enjoy a slice of apple pie or a cup of hot chocolate during my favorite time of year. I cant enjoy those things if none of my clothes fit!

I am going to clean up my eating again. This past weekend I didn’t have an ounce of alcohol. That is the first thing I cut because drinking empty calories is the worst. We already have our meals planned out for this week, which aren’t terrible by any means…but two nights are not grain free. So that means starting next week I am going back to grain free during the week. I had so much success with that and I felt awesome when I was doing it. Why would I not want to feel awesome?

I also plan on cutting back down to just two cheat meals on the weekends. No mindless snacking on tortilla chips and salsa. No Whataburger at 10pm just because stops. Nada.

As far as work outs go, I have been getting up and working out every day. But besides the days that I run, I am not really pushing myself. I need to be giving my all and then some. every. single. workout. What’s the point of waking up at 4:30am if I am not giving my all? Back to structured weight training instead of free styling it like I have been doing.

So who is with me? Who is taking back control before the holidays?

For those of you who need some encouraging words…

October 27, 2015 by Nadine

fitness, health, reviews

Fitbit Charge HR

It has been about two months since my wonderful husband gifted me with a Fitbit Charge HR. A just because present, he is so sweet! Several of you requested that I share my thoughts on it and I wanted to wait until the newness of it wore off to give you my honest scoop. This is not a sponsored post.

Function – The Fitbit Charge HR is a fitness tracker designed to track number of steps taken, mileage, heart rate, calories burned, stairs climbed and it also tracks your sleep. The wrist display will also act as a watch and you can get call notifications with caller ID. One of my favorite functions? It also serves as an alarm clock with a vibration on your wrist. Very convenient if you wake up 2 hours before your spouse like I do!!! I am sure he appreciates the lack of intrusive alarms on my side of the bed now!

I find the Fitbit to be very accurate with my steps taken, the mileage and for the most part…stairs climbed. There are some days when I will look down and it says I climbed no stairs when I know I have gone up at least twice. There are other days when it will say I climbed 25 flights when in reality it was probably 15-20. The mileage is always right on with my treadmill for my runs.

The only thing I don’t like about tracking is that if I am lifting weights or doing something that isn’t cardio, it isn’t really tracking. I suppose if you are doing something that is raising your heart rate, then it is getting it with that. Overall this is a non-issue for me because I know I worked out, but it is still annoying.

I find the sleep tracking very informative. If I wake up and feel tired throughout the day, I can almost guarantee that I woke up and was restless several times through the night and can see so on my profile.

Style – Chris purchased the black one for me. His thought was that it was a neutral color that would match everything. So kudos to him for thinking that through! Had I been there, I probably would have gotten the purple one like here because purple is my favorite color. However, I kept the black one because he chose it for me and it grew on me really fast!

While I wear mine every single day with any outfit, dressy or casual….I do wish that it was more stylish and looked more like a real watch or something. Or even had designer swap-able bands for when you aren’t sweating it out. Fitbit, can we work on that? People that care about fitness still care about fashion too!

Motivation – I find that when I am getting ready for bed in the evenings, if I am close to hitting 5,000 or 10,000 steps….I will run in place while brushing my teeth or hit the stairs a few times. When I am sitting at work all day and I see I have barely gone 3,000 steps…I feel guilty and try to make extra laps around the office or pace around the kitchen while I am cooking dinner. If I sign online and see my “friends” have gone several thousand (like 20,000-50,000) more steps than I have for the week, it makes me feel like I am not doing near enough! So yeah, the motivation is there.

The Fitbit also sits on my wrist daily as a reminder to make better eating choices. Sometimes I tell it to bug off and eat a cheeseburger while silently cursing myself. Other time I find myself walking to the salad bar as that damn black band stares at me from my wrist. So judgy.

Care/Durability – While the Fitbit is not waterproof…I know, annoying right??? It has held up to my super sweaty work outs and the banging around of my wrists all day. There is one small scratch on the display screen. Who knows how I got it, but I am not surprised. I am not even a little careful with it. So to say that it is durable, is an understatement. This thing takes a beating like a champ. It is also super easy to clean. I just wipe it down with some Cetaphil (the facial cleanser) and a warm wet wash cloth. Trust me when I say that it needs a good cleaning a few times a week if you sweat during your work outs.

App/Integration – The Fitbit is Bluetooth enabled and connects with your phone and computer. There is an app you can download to track everything, enter food, water, etc. You can friend others who have Fitbits and see their progress and it syncs with other fitness tools such as MyFitnessPal. If I can figure out how to do all this, so can you!

Other Features –

–You can just double tap the screen instead of pushing the button on the side to see all your tracking! Brilliant! ~~I probably would have learned that in the manual, had I read it.~~

–It vibrates when you hit your goal for the day. Nothing like a little praise to make you want to go further!

–You earn badges for different milestones that you accomplish.

–It comes in three sizes – small, large and extra large. I have the small. If you are average size or smaller, I would say that the small would be right for you. My wrists are tiny and I would be lost in anything bigger. ~~I wish the rest of me was that tiny.~~

–The battery lasts me about 4-ish days. Charging it goes by really fast! I can usually put it back on my wrist after an hour or less with a full charge.

–It does run my cell phone battery down a little more than before I had it, but nothing crazy.

Overall- I really love my Fitbit! I am glad that I have it, and I do recommend it for anyone who wants to get serious about their health and fitness. For the extra $20, I feel like the Charge HR is a no-brainer for the heart rate monitor.

Do you have a Fitbit? Let’s be friends! Let me know in the comments and we can find each other. What fitness tracker do you have your eye on? Do you have any questions about the Fitbit? I am more than happy to give you my honest opinion!

Linking up with Joey.

October 15, 2015 by Nadine

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