i've been hearing about the whole 30 challenge more & more in the past year. i read about it on desiree's blog & then on kathleen's blog who has done this a few times & i've read all about it on her blog & it's really her that inspired me to give it a try.
i've never been a dieter...for most of my life i've been an average height, an average weight & an 'average' eater so i've never felt the need to diet or be overly crazy about what goes in my mouth. if i want chips, i usually have chips. if i want pizza, i eat pizza. i've thankfully been blessed with a good metabolism so weight has never really been an issue for me & for that i'm lucky.
now just because i haven't had weight issues doesn't mean i haven't had other issues with food. for the past 8-10 years (i've lost count) i have had stomach issues - cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, the whole shi-bang and quite frankly it sucked! long story short my doctor always told me i had IBS, i didn't really believe her. i tried cutting out dairy - didn't help, meat - didn't help, but never tried cutting out wheat. then i went to a naturopath a year ago & (for the most part) have been gluten free since as they told me i was intolerant to it. immediately after cutting it out i felt great, i wasn't having stomach aches all the time & it felt like it was really working. then slowly the tummy aches started again, the bloating came back, the gas, and all the other fun (ie: shitty) stuff also came crawling back in. then i started being more lenient with being gluten free & would give in to cravings of foods i shouldn't be eating because being gluten free 'wasn't helping anyway' ...silly i know.
anyway! this is where i'm at right now.
i hate living feeling the way i do sometimes. i fucking hate it. i've grown used to living with a sour stomach...why? i can't seem to narrow down what is the problem as it's something different every...single...time. i'm challenging myself to the whole30 because i want to feel better. i want to eat only foods that are good for me, that will aid in digestion, that will give me more energy, that will cut cravings (no more chips, no more pizza) and i want to feel in control of my body. i'm not doing this to lose weight, i'm doing this so i can feel like me again.
i'll back up a bit here because you may be saying "the whole what?" or maybe you've already google'd it, kudos to you! some people call the whole30 a diet, some call it a cleanse, a reboot, whatever you want to call it you are allowed to eat only meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruits & nuts. you are not allowed dairy, sugars, grains, legumes, or alcohol. you may have heard of the term paleo before, well the whole30 challenge is basically a step up from that. here's another great blog post from my whole30 guru. after completing the whole30 (i can do this!!) i plan on continuing with a more paleo lifestyle depending on the outcome of the whole30. kathleen has a whole section on her blog called what we eat & they make it look exciting & delicious.
i'm excited to cook with lots of veggies
i'm excited to grab a kiwi for a snack instead of chips
i'm excited to drink more herbal teas again instead of coffee
i'm excited to cut out alcohol but still present myself with social situations
i'm excited to feel the change this makes in my energy levels
i'm excited to not be tired every single day
i'm excited to say goodbye to digestive distress
i'm excited to drink more water
i'm excited to force myself to try new recipes
i'm excited to feel better
so today i start the whole30 & incase you couldn't tell, i'm excited!
