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Whole30: Results, Regrets, and Reintroduction

/ foodsweatandbeers / 3 Comments

“So….”

“Hmm?”

“How’d it go?”

“What?”

“Come on! WHOLE30?! How’d it end?!”

Has it been a full week since I finished that Whole30 days?! It seems like I just started it. And then I was 20 days in. And then I was finished.

Regrets

It ended with success. The results were fantastic, and I woke up on Day 31, June 30th, feeling incredible. But I just want to start off with one part that I did not succeed in. The second part of Whole30: Reintroduction.  They recommend introducing foods back into your system one group at a time, in order to figure out how your body responds.

I introduced just about every possible lousy food into my body in one fell swoop this weekend. And I’m paying for it today. See, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. I spent it with my favorite people, surrounded by my favorite food. And instead of gradually reintroducing, I rocked my body like a hurricane.

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Captain of the S.S. Eatsa Lott

From pizza to beer to hoagies to donuts, I didn’t even bat an eyelash. And on the morning of the 5th, I woke up with an aching tummy finally understanding why they suggest gradual reintroduction. Feeling like a garbage fire the past 2 days was NOT part of the plan.

I’m back on a semi-healthy wagon for a bit, not quite as strict as Whole30, but I would like to feel as incredible as I did on day 31. Ideally, I’d like to feel that great all the time, but I could realistically shoot for 80% of the time and still be living my best life.

RESULTS

Ok, let’s get to what you really wanna see. The results.  Left is the morning of Day 1, right is morning of Day 31.

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So yes. 30 days of clean eating. I forgot to weigh myself on day one, but remembered by day 3. So, in 28 days, I went from 173.2 to 166 lbs.

166 lbs is the lowest weight I’ve ever been in my adult life (I believe I hit 166.1 once before back in 2012, but in a much less healthy way that involved over-exercising, under-eating and ZERO socializing).

The most amazing thing about this experience?

I never felt like I was missing out on things. Not even once. Were there some nights when I wished I could’ve attended a PR event or try a new restaurant? Sure. But I never experienced the crippling FOMO that my generation is known for.

My friends all knew I was on Whole30, and (even though they knew I couldn’t drink or eat fried foods or food truck offerings) invited me to dance, to explore daytime festivals, to festive Game of Thrones finale meals. I felt supported and encouraged every step of the way.

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To my squad: Thank you. I love you and would be lost without ya!

Advice for folks who wanna try Whole30

I was lucky enough to have a wildly supportive partner AND a super enthusiastic mother who were both doing Whole30 with me. It definitely would’ve been nearly impossible without them. If you’re thinking about undertaking this challenge, find your support network. Teamwork REALLY made the dreamwork here.

Also: trust the process. Do NOT introduce ALL your favorite foods in the weekend after you finish. Sure, have a slice of pizza. But you don’t need pizza for 3 meals in two days (oops).

Going forward

I think I can sustain, as I mentioned, about 80% of this type of lifestyle. Whether that’s eating clean during the week and partaking in one night of indulgence every now and then, or adding cheese but not grains, or shifting my focus to some grains to fuel exercise (I never really felt SUPER STRONG during this challenge. Didn’t feel hungry after the first week, but the sustained energy just wasn’t there.)

I’ve got to feel it out. I’m thrilled to continue this journey, and learn more about what makes my body feel good, look good, and operate at peak efficiency.

Whole30: 20 Days and Counting

/ foodsweatandbeers / 1 Comment

20 days into Whole30  (well, at least when I started writing this post) and I’ve had a handful of questions from friends (IRL and Internet alike, or any strangers with whom I’ve discussed Whole30 .

To those strangers, I apologize. Really, to everyone. Sorry. Because I’ve found that, when y̶o̶u̶’̶r̶e̶ I’m on Whole30 , chances are… most conversation focuses on Whole30 . For a life that revolves around food, sweat, and beers, when you get rid of most of the foods (and all of the beers), it’s just sweat (and that’s mostly gross). But hey, in case you’re interested and I haven’t told you already, here are some updates.

How am I feeling?

When I last updated, I was feeling TERRIFIC. And now?

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Flying High

I’m still feeling pretty great. No super-powers, and my energy for exercising has kind of ranged from normal to SUPER HYPE, but mostly normal. My skin isn’t magically clear, and I don’t have rock-hard abs.

But I wake up nearly every morning before my alarm feeling well-rested. My stomach doesn’t feel bloated like… ever (ok there was one day where I ate too many potatoes.) I go to sleep feeling as good as I feel when I wake up. It’s just an even, relaxed, consistent feeling of goodness.

What’s been the hardest part?

Sugar is in EVERYTHING.

I don’t crave anything, not anymore. But I hate reading food labels to find sugar in ketchup, sriracha, salad dressing, this Brussels sprouts dish that sounded delicious but then it contained pomegranate molasses… I feel obnoxious asking to see the list of ingredients when folks offer me things, but sticking to the plan is the only option. Taking a break or veering off never was, not even for a day.

What has been the most surprising experience?

The other day, I went to put on some dress pants I hadn’t worn in a while. And then, they practically fell off. I was swimming in them.

I’ve lost weight before, but this feels different somehow. Like my body’s shape is changing. I wish I felt motivated or energized enough to exercise more. But some days, I feel like I spend enough time preparing my food that I just say “**ck It” to the gym. I’ll be curious to see the scale at the end.

I am also surprised that potatoes are allowed, and MAYBE have abused that a bit, but these smashed potatoes are the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.

What have you missed the most?

This isn’t terribly different from what I eat typically, or how I eat. But damn, I miss cheese.

What I have NOT missed is fun Philly things. Even as a teetotaler, turns out you can still find some joy in Philly Beer Week activities

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Dunkel Dare 2016 (that pie was NOT compliant)

What tasty foods have I been eating?

Thank the LORD for Pinterest. It’s a Whole30 GOLD MINE! (Click image for source/recipes)

 

 

 

How will you celebrate when you’re done?

I will officially complete Whole30 Wednesday, June 29. Whole30 advocates for a slow “reintroduction” phase. But the thing is…. On Thursday night, I’m going to get pizza. Specifically from Nomad Roman. Maybe a beer (I’m sure I’ll be a real cheap date).

I plan to continue eating relatively clean, but I haven’t drank the Kool-Aid enough to join the Whole9 movement and make Whole30 my WHOLE LIFE.

I’ll definitely be doing a recap post afterwards but, in the meantime, welcome to THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

 

Healthiest You Challenge: Progress!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 16 Comments

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

HELLO, new friend!

THAT is a number I haven’t seen in quite some time.  And even that one time I saw it, it was only once. And only for a brief second.  And there was a .5 added to it.

What I’m trying to say is WHOAH I got some progress going on!

When I started this Healthiest You Challenge, I weighed in at 178.  Which is actually 37 lbs lighter than when I started.  But still 13 lbs above my ultimate goal. And I know that weight isn’t the only measure of progress, so I wanted to share some other progress made.

I’m doing 50 pushups a day.  Not in a row, mind you. But over the course of the day, in sets of 10, I’m doing them. And I’m feeling stronger.

I’m mixing up my workouts.

Feeling that burn!

That is a combination of a Muscle Conditioning Class and the Core class right after. I’ve definitely been neglecting strength training lately, being all cardio and Zumba obsessed.  But this glass challenged ALL of my muscles, and I was sore in places I haven’t even thought about in years.  The use of weights, resistance bands, steps, and sliding disks made for a variety of exciting new exercises that kept me challenged.

Holy 191 HR!

The High Intensity Training (don’t mind that extra I in the text on the image) class is described like this:

H.I.T. only lasts 45 minutes as opposed to 60 minutes, but it is done at near maximal intensity the entire time. Cardio circuit after cardio circuit, muscular circuit after muscular circuit, the class will keep your heart pounding from start to finish, with minimal rest and maximum effort. As with any class particpants can make it as hard as they wish, with safety always coming first in the form of various options and modifications, but as a general rule of thumb, this class is not for the faint of heart.

I’ll be honest, NOTHING about that sounds fun. And, compared to choreographed workout classes, it wasn’t “fun”, per se. But it WAS hard, and exciting, and I felt like I was shocking my muscles with moves like Burpees with the Bosu ball and standing-on-one-leg bicep curls and EXPLOSIVE jumps from a standing position.  I think I rocked it.

I’m also tracking all my food intake on My Fitness Pal and have gotten a lot better about not overdoing it over the weekend.  That doesn’t mean it’s been smooth sailing.

There have been bumps (sometimes, in the shape of a family sized box of Wheat Thins split between two ladies on a Sunday evening…)

Family of two, anyone? (And yes, that’s the infamous Brian Krakow a la My So-Called Life on the screen behind the box.)

But it’s working. I’m getting over my plateau with hard work, and dedication.  And knowing I have a team behind me, cheering me on as they work for the same goal as me, that’s another welcome addition to the party.

This Healthiest You Challenge is actually making me feel like the healthiest Jordan I’ve been in a long time.  But don’t worry, I haven’t changed all that much….

Still taking life as seriously as ever.

Thanks to everyone for their support so far, June 8th is approaching quickly and I really hope I can reach my goal (or at least get a little closer!!)

Fit with Fitbook: Week 2

/ foodsweatandbeers / 4 Comments

Another week, another dollar.  Only it’s been a week and a day, and I’ve only spent dollars (you know, on important stuff like wine tastings and half-pints of beer). So, in truth, that phrase doesn’t apply, whatsoever.

Another 8 days, no dollars.  BUT I can chalk another week off in my fitbook endeavors.  I’ll be honest, this one wasn’t quite as successful as the first.  Then again, when you have two days where entire daily food entries read “Didn’t eat much other than brie… but there was a lot of brie”, a one pound gain isn’t really worrisome.  In fact it’s somewhat impressive.

I only eat carbs when they're paired with wheels of brie. #healthy

Luckily, the half-pound of soft cow’s cheese that I inhaled over the weekend and the massive quantities of beer and chocolate from Wednesday at Big Boss did not actually translate to the gain that I feared when approaching the scale.  And I’m gonna give a lot of credit to this little guy:

I haven't come up with an official name, but it feels like a fellow

Looking back at my weekly wrap up, here’s a little summary:

  • The Good: Worked out before my glass night on Thursday, avoided my standard fare of pickle chips with my beer buddies, burned 4,140 calories during the week (over a quarter of that was just from Monday’s INSANE workout), and despite a few minor/major bumps on the road, I never fully “gave up” on a day by succumbing to fully eating awful from start to finish
  • The Bad: 2 days where “Brie” was a major food group, skipped dinner on Saturday, missed my workout on Sunday due to kind of feeling sorry for myself (I know rest days are great, but this was just laziness).
  • Notes: Unless I’m like… on an epic vacation, there’s really no need for an entire day of indulgence, it’s nice to treat treats like what they are: special. Meal skipping makes me cranky and hungry and lame. My weekend eats need more structure.
Other updates:
  • This “no soda” thing is really easy now that I’ve stopped, you know, buying soda.  I think it’s one of those “out of sight, out of mind” things.
  • Grapes are nature’s candy.  Seriously. They’ve totally owned my sweet tooth.  Gotta stop at Target to pick up more.

    Grapes should always be eaten out of wine glasses. New life rule.

  • I did my first official “Meatless Monday” last night and it was a SMASHING success!! More on that later.
  • I love the calm post-sweat session where I just sit down in the gym and write up my workout and my daily eats in the fitbook (if you’re interested in getting one, and don’t wanna click through to the last post, here’s a link to the fitbook store!)
  • I forget how amazing wearing a HRM during a workout is. Remind me to never forget that again, thanks.
So yes, abbreviated update:  Weekend spent eating brie by the chunks + overindulgence on Wednesday – two rest days = 1 lb gain
However, I felt so much stronger in BodyCombat and CX30 on Monday, and the moves are getting easier, so I’ll say progress is progress.
UNRELATED: Anyone have a favorite method of cooking 4 lbs of country style ribs/pork butt?  Because when I see it on sale for $6, I can’t resist.  And now I have 4 lbs of meat.  And I live alone. And ate vegetarian last night.
Smooth, Jordan.