I was trying to lose weight and look better before heading to Oregon for Sean and Dana's wedding. I wanted to look nice in pictures and I wanted it to be a "quick fix". For me a month sounded like a quick fix compared to the MONTHS of time I spent with Weight Watchers and the gym a few years ago. They all say that W30 is not about weight loss, but I didn't believe it and I just wanted that to happen. So, I broke the cardinal rule - I weighed myself, a lot. And I was discouraged, a lot. I was truly only doing it to lose weight and it wasn't working as quickly as I wanted. I mean seriously, no wine? I should drop 30 pounds in a week. Ok, not really, but that is how bummed I was about missing wine.
I also think that the summer is the worst possible time for your first W30. There is so much going on that it is darn near impossible to stick to plan. We went away for a few days and I completely fell off the food wagon. It just didn't seem worth it. And then I thought, well I am just going to have a glass of wine if I am already going to eat the bad food. Fail. When we got back from our trip I went back to the W30, but it was half-hearted. And I was a horrible battle buddy. Heather had jumped on the challenge with me and I was not living up to my side. AND I knew that I was only really doing a W25 - because we were going to West Point for Labor Day and I sure wasn't going to deprive myself that weekend.
So, big fail. Not the right mindset AT ALL!
Why did I decide to try again? After the epic fail of the last time why would I do it again? Because I am tired of being complacent. I move through my food (and beverage) choices without being conscious of them. I snack because I am bored and I drink wine because the kids are in bed and I want to relax and watch TV. Why can't I relax with a glass of sparkling water or tea? Because wine had the emotional connection. Right? Isn't that what It Starts With Food talks about? I really don't see too many emotional connections with my everyday food. But the habit of relaxing with some wine? Absolutely.
So what is different this time? First, ever since my first W30 I have actually been more mindful of my food choices. Not all the time, but much more often. I make my own salad dressing almost all the time because it tastes better. I don't ever really eat sandwiches or a lot of fried food. I have even noticed that I eat A LOT less sweets. I actually threw away the Oreo balls and chocolate covered pretzels this year because they didn't get eaten - that is unheard of. So, my withdrawal has not been nearly as bad. By Day 2 last time I was dying. I had a horrible headache and my cravings were out of control. I was the textbook Whole30 Timeline ( Whole30 Timeline 2.0 ). I had the headache for at least the first week. And I was CRANKY! But this time, no headache, and no huge mood swings. I think that I am a slave to hormones, as the first few weeks after the birth of both babies can attest. I can be a crazy b*tch when I am hormonal. Probably another reason the first time didn't work for me.
So, I decided the best way to stay motivated is to try to write down what I am feeling and what I am eating. And get my W30 buddies to do it with me (if they want) and post any helpful/funny websites I find. That way everything is in one place and if I decide to go on this crazy journey again I will know where everything is (besides just Pinterest). I am a little behind the ball, but I figure it is only Day 2 so I can still catch up. And I don't imagine I will post every day, only when I feel "inspirational"
Day 1 -I think I made the decision to do another W30 about 48 hours before I started. I had been contemplating it, but after the epic failure of the first attempt I wasn't sure if I wanted to take it on again. Also, there was SO MUCH WINE in the house! How could I have a 30 day challenge of no wine with so much in the house? Willpower is not my superpower. But, I knew that wine was one of the main reasons I needed to embark on this challenge in the first place. So, down to the basement it went. Also, because it was a short-notice kind of decision I did not yet have a lot of W30 food in the house - quite the opposite - I still had a housefull of Holiday Food! So, I purged a lot of the holiday food and off to Costco we went.
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs with onions, asparagus, and bacon. (I never thought I would eat asparagus for breakfast but it was delicious.
Lunch - I had a late breakfast so lunch was more of a snack. After Costco I made a quick trip to Whole Foods for some Ghee and Coconut Flakes and picked up a Larabar. It was very good. But I can also see why they say to not eat them regularly. It was a blueberry muffin bar and even though it was compliant, it could definitely trigger the sugar demon.
Dinner - Ben grilled up some awesome salmon and we had a big salad with it. I made my own ranch-ish dressing, It was amazing.
Day 2 - Snow Day for everyone but we needed to go to the Commissary so we actually made a trip down to VA to got to Ft. Belvoir. We picked up some nice groceries because their commissary is much larger and nicer than the one by us. But, it is always funny to see what the commissary does and does not stock. Like any form of squash? My commissary usually has 3 or 4 types of squash, but all Belvoir had was zucchini. Oh well, they did have a lot of other compliant things I was looking for, and we loaded up on some more fruits and veggies.
Breakfast: Scramble with leftover steak from New Years Eve and veggies.
Lunch: Lunch was a challenge because we were out at Ft. Belvoir and we went to the food court. I ended up getting a chopped salad at Subway which was actually really large and good. I had them dress it with a little bit of oil and vinegar.
Dinner: Deconstructed Taco Salad. The family loves tacos so I made all the stuff I usually make, but added some sauted peppers. They ate tacos and refried beans, I had a taco salad with lots of veggies, salsa, and guacamole.
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