Happy New Year! I’m a bit late, but it’s still the new year and I’ve haven’t stopped by in awhile, and I miss you guys!So much going on (of course) with Thanksgiving and a trip to Asheville and to see family, and the whole Christmas season is always a whirlwind, but seemed to go especially fast this year. Right? I hope your new year is starting to come together nicely. It’s seriously nice to get back into a routine, don’t you think?
I’ve been just bursting to share my Whole30 experience with you guys. I started in mid-September as a birthday present to myself, and felt so amazing that I went straight into a second Whole30. Somewhere after that I stopped counting, and kept to all my Whole30 meals for Thanksgiving. The day after I decided to indulge in a few gluten, dairy or sugar items because I’d reached my goal and decided I could maintain control. One of my splurges was Mellow Mushroom pizza….it was my first time there, and we had a nice lunch out with my brother’s family. I have to say….totally worth it! Happy to say I was able to maintain control, and came back after Thanksgiving and didn’t jump right into eating everything I wanted just because it was the holiday season. Yay me!
Throughout December I definitely planned for certain items that weren’t Whole30, but most of my meals day in/day out were Whole30 compliant. I just feel so much better when I eat this way! Some of my traditional holiday treats I made gluten-free, but others just wouldn’t be the same with the tinkering. I realized my beloved egg nog was now too sweet for me. Then again on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I splurged a bit, and off and on that weekend, but only during that week did I start to feel the effects of eating too much sugar and gluten. Christmas Day and the few days that followed I felt more tired and generally sluggish, which motivated me to get back to Whole30 again.
Now since New Years Day, I’ve been following a Paleo/Whole30 hybrid about 80-90% of the time. Thankfully I feel great! It’s amazing how well our bodies feel when we eat clean, and how we quickly feel bad when not eating the right foods. I would definitely say that Whole30 at least one time through is enough to break bad eating habits. By the second week, it became second nature for me and the energy I started to feel made me want to continue eating this way for the rest of my life.
If you haven’t tried Whole30 (which is very similar to paleo and the Daniel Plan), I encourage you to commit to just 30 days. Any sacrifice you might feel you’re making by giving up certain foods, is totally made up in by how good you feel! I want to hear from you…..have you tried Whole30? Are gluten-free or follow a paleo lifestyle?
I can’t wait to share with you guys more details like my weight loss, Whole30 meals and recipes and tips to make it easier on you. In the meantime, be sure to check out and follow my Whole30 board on Pinterest which is full of great Whole30 recipes. Let me know if you want to pin to it, and I’ll add you. I’m really excited about Whole30, clean eating, healthy living and being the best you that you can be in this new year, and I’d like to create a community where we can support each other in this lifestyle!
I’m making it a goal of mine to just share from my heart and life whatever I want when I want without constantly second guessing myself what to post, or wondering if I have the perfect picture to use or if I’ve gotten it “Pinterest Perfect” by adding text on it. I love my blog, and I want to get back to the creativity and spontaneity of it from years ago when I first started. Everyone seems to be blogging now, and blogging has changed a lot….so I’m just going to get back to my blog roots and roll with what feels natural to me. Hope you’ll join me!