Whole30 Day 27

Whole30 Day 27

Today we were on the go most of the day.  I waited a little too long between meal #1 and #2 to eat and had a headache but felt much better after I ate.  I cooked two of our meals today which really helped me to stay on track.  

Exercise

I was too busy with family in town to exercise today, probably won't tomorrow either, but will get back to it on Monday!

Food

Meal #1
Eggs, bacon, avocado, and coffee.

Meal #2
Mom and I grabbed Moe's for lunch on the way home.
I got a salad without the bowl with quac and steak.
Then I warmed up a sweet potato  to go with it.

Meal #3
My brother, Nick, and I cooked dinner tonight.
Burgers, asparagus, salad with pecans. 

Whole30 Day 26

Whole30 Day 26

I was off work today and had family coming into town for Easter!  I was able to go out with my Gram for lunch and then all of us went out for dinner.  It was definitely harder having stuff in the house that I have been able to keep out the first 25 days (soda, chocolate, candy, etc). But I didn't eat anything!!!

EXCEPT...We were at the Lodge and I was packaging up Gram's left over chicken and just took a bite of a small piece was I was packing it up, obviously without thinking!  Before I could even chew it, mom yelled across the table at me "what are you doing?!?! that is breaded and fried'.  I quickly spit it out LOL I don't know why I even tried it, but am so glad mom yelled at me before I really ate it.  To be honest, I cannot even tell if it tasted good or not because as soon as I put it in my mouth, I was screamed at and then spitting it out haha

Exercise

Today was my scheduled rest day, so I did!

Food

Meal #1
Eggs, bacon, grapefruit and coffee.

Meal #2
Tom Kar soup -YUM YUM!
Pad Pak (shrimp and veggies) - YUMMY!

Meal #3
Bison NY Strip. Green Beans. Fruit. YUM!

We went to the Lodge tonight for our Easter family dinner.  It has been fun going to the Lodge for some holidays since I've moved to Southern Illinois.  However, when you go to the Lodge on a holiday they only do their all you can eat fried chicken, which wouldn't be very Whole30 compliant.  So my family moved our Easter dinner to Friday instead so I could order something else off of the menu and stay on track.

So, I had my first steak in five years! The Lodge serves bison steaks and burgers from a local bison farm, so I didn't feel guilty about eating it and I stayed on track.  It was so yuummy!

Whole30 Day 25

Whole30 Day 25

Today went well considering how busy I was.  I was able to stay on tack even though I was out of the house from 7:30 am until 9:00 pm.  I went to a yoga class this morning and was able to get further in a pose than I have been able to in years!  I had to eat lunch AND dinner at my office because of meetings, but planned ahead and stayed on track!  I'm super excited because my family is coming into town tomorrow but we will have to plan ahead on where we are eating to make sure I stay on program. 

Exercise

I went to a 75 minute vineyasa flow yoga class this morning before work.  It was a great class! I was able to get somewhat up into Wheel Pose for the first time in YEARS in yoga class this morning. I was able to get to where my head was on the floor!!! Just gotta work on pushing fully up into the pose now. This is obviously not me...but I was able to get up into the same position as the bottom picture!!! YAY!!

Food

Meal #1
Eggs, bacon, grapefruit with cinnamon and coffee.

Snack
After yoga, I had an apple topped with almond butter.

Meal #2
Tuna, avocado salad.
Cutie.
Carrots.

Meal #3
Meatloaf, asparagus and applesauce.

Whole30 Day 24

Whole30 Day 24

Last night I had a problem going to sleep and then woke up super early.  So today I was only on six hours of sleep so it was a two cups of coffee kind of day.  Other than being a little sleepy in the morning, the rest of the day went well.  I was busy again at work so that really helps the day go by.  There were cupcakes still at the office but avoided them again today! YAY!

I was talking with a friend today about Whole30 and the things I have learned so far from it.  The biggest thing I said I have learned so far is how to be able to sit with hunger.  In the past, I ate every 2-3 hours and never really let myself get hungry.  And if I wasn't able to eat I would get dizzy and light headed.  Since doing the 3 meals a day and spacing them out 4-5 hours, I have definitely had moments of hunger.  Today before lunch I was definitely hungry and felt the hunger pains and didn't die of starvation!  It is something I definitely have never been able to do before, which I am super excited about!

Exercise

Hot yoga day!!! YAY!!! I was slipping and sliding everywhere ahhhh!!!  Manduka mats take a few weeks to break in before they get good and sticky.  Gotta work off the top layer of film.  Hopefully I don't hurt myself before then! haha But I used my Manduka Hot Hand Towel halfway through class and it worked great!!! Best money ever spent, people!!!

Food

Meal #1
Eggs, broccoli, sweet potato, and cutie.

Meal #2
Salad greens, tuna, avocado, and EVOO/Balsamic.
Carrots.
Grapefruit with cinnamon. 

Meal #3
Left overs!!! Meatloaf and asparagus.
Applesauce with cinnamon.

Whole30 Day 23

Whole30 Day 23

Today was another busy day!  It is nice when I am so busy that I don't have time to have boredom hunger! That helps things out a lot.  I did have a lunch meeting today at a local Mexican restaurant.  I looked up their menu before I went and there was seriously NOTHING I could eat there.  I guess I could have got a grilled chicken salad or something, but I did not want to buy their chicken since I knew nothing about it.  So I went to the meeting, and it was a large enough group it didn't seem to matter I didn't eat, and just went back to my office and ate there (with Lisa! YAY!).  I was proud of myself for not eating the chips at the restaurant.  Tortilla chips at Mexican restaurants are one of my favorite things!  All and all, it was a great day!

Only one more week until Day 30!!!

Exercise

I went to a class at the rec center tonight.  It was listed as a PiYo class and I was excited to go because I am going to training to teach PiYo next month.  I was disappointed because it wasn't really a PiYo class, it was just a Pilates and yoga class.  For anyone who has been to a PiYo class, you know this is definitely not the same thing.  I'm pretty mad about it because I paid for the pass to go and my friend, Lisa, also paid to go and it was not what it was advertised.  I'm going to contact PiYo and the Rec Center to inform them both of the situation. Don't get me wrong it was a good workout, but not what was advertised.




The one good thing that came out of going to the class tonight was that I got to use my Manduka PRO Long Mat I ordered and came in today!!! It is so wonderful!!! I cannot wait until the top layer wears off so it is super sticky - they said it takes a couple weeks of daily practice.  So excited!!! And look how pretty she is :)

Food

Meal #1
Eggs with mushrooms, broccoli, and spinach salad.

Meal #2
Greens, EVOO/Balsamic, avocado, bison burger.
Carrots.

Meal #3
Salmon, asparagus, mixed veggies and applesauce.

It was someone's birthday at my office.
Didn't eat one bite of any of this! YAY!

Whole30 Day 22

Whole30 Day 22

Today was so so very busy at work, so I didn't have much time to think about Whole30.  I just ate my food and moved on with my day to the next thing.  I also took my intern out to lunch today for her birthday.  I was able to order something that I believe was Whole30 compliant and I resisted her desert.  Honestly, it didn't even look that great to me...hopefully that means my taste are changing some :)

Exercise

I could not get to the gym today because I had too much going on at work and then had to do some work after dinner.  So I just did a little ab / leg circuit while I was waiting for the meatloaf to cook :)

Food

Meal #1
Eggs, sweet potato, salad and cutie.
I was so hungry this morning and this was so satisfying!

Meal #2
Went to Chili's for lunch.
I had tilapia and broccoli.  It came with rice
but I substituted more broccoli. So good!

I took my intern to lunch today for her birthday,
And that is my sad lonely spoon that wasn't used haha
I actually wasn't even tempted by it!!!
Maybe this is working??

Meal #3
Meatloaf, spinach salad, and spaghetti squash. 

Matthew decided to help me try to cook this morning haha

Whole30 Day 21

Whole30 Day 21

Today was wonderful!!! It was snowing outside and I was warm and cozy inside all day! I was able to get some stuff done that I haven't had much time for and was able to relax a little as well.  Lee was watching March Madness all day, so other than him randomly screaming at the TV, it was a calm day :)

I did sleep a lot again the night before and super, super deep.  I always slept good before Whole30 but I definitely feel like I sleep a lot deeper.

Exercise

I didn't really exercise today.  I did some light yoga stretches but that was about it.  My body was tired and I needed the rest and took it!

Food

Meal #1
Eggs, bacon, asparagus, and COFFEE!!!

Meal #2
Tuna salad and avocado.

Meal #3 (1 of 2)
Bison burgers, kale chips, and asparagus. 

Meal #3 (2 of 2)
I was full so I didn't eat the 2nd burger so it will be leftovers!

.

Snack

We ate Meal #3 pretty early and I stopped myself from eating all my food because I thought I was full.  A few hours later I was hungry and did the test of whether I would eat fish and broccoli and I would so I knew it was real hunger.  So I had a handful of almonds and a small bowl of unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon.  

Yoga Teacher Training!!!

First, I am sharing these thoughts because when I shared them with some friends recently, I was surprised at how surprised they were that I felt the way I did.  Generally, I think I come off very confident and so it was surprising to some of my friends that I had these thoughts/feelings.  So I wanted to share them, because if someone else reading this feels the same way, maybe it will help them move forward in whatever it is they want to do.

I have been taking yoga classes regularly since 2009.  Before then, I only would do yoga at home.  I always loved it but would never go to a class because I didn't think I belonged in yoga classes.  When I would see yoga classes or images put out about yoga, the people who were doing yoga were all super thin.  So I would never go to a class because I didn't want to be embarrassed.  So I would do yoga at home and still loved it. 

Then I met my friend and yoga teacher, Lisa Dover.  She is the one who convinced me to go into my first yoga class.  She teaches the hot yoga class I go to on Wednesday nights.  I always felt welcome in the class and was surprised when the people in the class were so nice and friendly.  Since then, I have kept looking forward and building my practice.  

Now, I have the confidence to go into any yoga studio, by myself, and not worry about what the people in there are thinking about me, because I do yoga for me.  Are there people that see me, overweight, going into class wondering why I am there?  Honestly, I am sure there are, but that is their issue and I no longer let those thoughts keep me from doing something I have fallen in love with.  Sure, there are definitively some poses I cannot do because of my weight, but that doesn't mean I won't be able to one day.  And there are poses I can do that people much smaller than me cannot do.  It just is what it is.

So with all of this, I have over the last few years been very interested in taking a yoga teacher training, so I could start teaching yoga classes.  But then all those old thoughts that stopped me from going to yoga classes in the first place, came back.  What will the teacher think when she sees that I am not a size 0 and finds out I cannot do a headstand to save my life??  Will the other people in the training judge me??  Also, I'm not a gambler but I would put money down that I will be the largest person in my training.  I have friends I have talked to about this say I am crazy, but seriously, I'm not obliviously. I worried about all these things, but seriously, no more! 

Even at my lowest weight (about 50 pounds ago), I thought I needed to lose more to deserve to go to a training.  But not any more!  I deserve to be at the training just as much as anyone else.  I think I will be a great teacher one day because I truly love yoga with all of my heart.  And who knows, maybe one day I will convince someone who never would go to a yoga class before, because they didn't think they could be considered a yogi, to know they are worth it!  

I will start training in April 2013 and will be certified by December 2013.  I am super excited about it and will blog about my experience.  I cannot wait to teach one day!!! 

- Namaste :)

*If you want to learn more about my friend Lisa Dover's class, click HERE to go to her website.

**If you want to learn about the teacher training I am taking with Chris Crews out of Evansville, IN, click HERE to go to her website.

Whole30 Day 20

Whole30 Day 20

Today was a lot better than yesterday!  I went to sleep really early last night and slept late today.  I don't remember the last time I slept that long - over 10 hours!  I guess I needed it.  Sleeping in messed up my eating a little bit.  I woke up just around an hour and a half before a yoga class I wanted to go to but couldn't eat a full meal that close to class.  So I ate a snack before and then a bigger Meal #1 after.  So I only had two real meals today and then two snacks, but I made it work.

Exercise

I went to a 75 min yoga class today and it was wonderful!  It was a super challenging class and definitely what I need today :)

Food

Snack #1 - hour and a half before yoga
Grapefruit with cinnamon. Spoonful of almond butter.

Meal #1
Eggs, bacon, sweet potato, and cutie.

Lee enjoying all the dinner rolls haha

Meal #2 (1 of 2) - Lonestar
Salmon, green beans and broccoli.

Meal #2 (2 of 2) - Lonestar
Grilled shrimp.

Snack #2
Apple and almond butter.

Whole30 Day 19

Whole30 Day 19

Today was pretty rough.  I felt fine but I was so hungry most of the day and I don't really understand why.  I think I ate enough and from looking back at the pictures, it definitely looks like it.  I drank a ton of water.  So I don't know what it was.  I wasn't really craving anything, just constantly felt like my tummy was empty and rumbly. After dinner I felt better so I hope it was just a random day!  I definitely cannot handle feeling like that all the tiem.    

Exercise

REST DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

My body definitely needed it and I cherished every moment of it :)

Food

Meal #1
Eggs with sweet potato on top (YUMMY!!!).
Spinach salad with walnuts and EVOO/Balsamic.
Cutie.

Meal #2Tuna, avocado, spring mix, and EVOO/Balsamic.
Asparagus and carrots.

Meal #3 (1 of 2)
Spinach salad with nuts and EVOO/Balsamic. 

Meal #3 (2 of 2)
Salmon and asparagus.
Kale Chips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So yum!!!

Whole30 Day 18

Whole30 Day 18

Today was another challenging day.  I don't know what it is about my schedule but I will have weeks with nothing scheduled in the evening and then BAM a week with something EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!!!! Tonight I had a fundraising meeting for a Board I am on and then yoga class.  I also had a lunch meeting with our local bar association.  So I had to eat two of my meals out, which is a challenge, but even more challenging because of the places we ate at - lunch was at a Chinese restaurant (hello, soy sauce!) and dinner was at a vegetarian cafe (um one of my favorite places ever, but not meat = harder with whole30) - but I think I did my best to make it work.

PS you should check out the organization I am on the Board of, called Food Works.  Food Works mission is to support local, sustainable food systems development in Southern Illinois.  Click HERE if you want more information!

Exercise

I got up this am and went to the gym.  Seriously, my legs are still oh so sore!!! Definitely better after hot yoga last night, but seriously!  It's at the kind of ridiculous stage now :) I almost skipped the gym because I knew I was going to yoga tonight and it is definitely a great workout, but reminded myself I am going to Florida in May so 30 minutes of cardio would only help!

I did 31 minutes on the treadmill at a 3.4 speed and raised the incline up each minute and then down ... 1 min at 0.0 incline, 1 min at 1.0 incline, etc until I reached 15.0 incline, and then I did the same thing down.  I was sweaty!  PS I don't take sweaty pictures like some people post on their blogs so don't expect to see one here anytime soon :)
Then tonight I went to a 90 minute hatha yoga class :) 

Food

Meal #1
I knew I was going to have to eat lunch and dinner out.
So I decided to have an avocado with my breakfast.
I don't know if I can live without them now!
Eggs (4), avocado, cutie, salad with walnuts and EVOO/Balsamic.

Meal #2 - (1 of 2)
Tom Yum Shrimp Soup - Jumbo shrimp cooked with tomato
& basil in a spicy and sour soup.

    Had to go to a lunch meeting 

    so I had lunch at a local Chinese restaurant.

    I asked the waiter and was able to come up with      

    two options I am almost 100% positive were   

    Whole30 compliant! YAY! I probably could have   

    used more protein but I'm just glad I was able to  

    stay on Whole30.

Meal #2 (2 of 2)
Szechwan String Beans - no soy sauce.

Meal #3 (1 of 2)
My can of tuna at the office, with a little EVOO/Balsamic.

Had a dinner meeting at a vegetarian cafe (one of my favorite restaurants!) tonight.  They have eggs but only during breakfast until 11am so after that it is all veggies and then meat alternatives.  Since I am not supposed to eat soy or pasta, I knew it was going to be hard to eat there to get my protein in.  So I decided to eat a can of tuna at work before I went to the meeting and then order something there all veggie.  This was the best way I could think of to stay Whole30 compliant without going and sitting there and not ordering anything at all, when I knew I would want to...seriously so good!

Meal #3 (2 of 2)
Tomato soup and salad - YUM 

Whole30 Day 17

Whole30 Day 17

Today I realized something was working that the the book said would happen that I did not believe.  They talk a lot about how when your body starts to learn to burn the fat you eat instead of sugar, that you can easily go hours without eating and only need the three meals a day - with snacks if you workout hard.  I did not believe that would happen.  I have always though I had to eat every 2-3 hours or I would feel like I NEEDED food.  I really noticed today that I easily go between the three meals without feeling like I NEED to eat or dizzy or anything like that, kind of amazing!  I hope it keeps going :)

Exercise

I got up and went to the gym this morning even though I was still oh so sore.  Seriously, this has been the sorest I have ever been in life and I have had lots of times I have thought I was the sorest I was in life LOL.  I did 5 miles on the bike and then some abs and stretched.  Didn't want to over do it since I have hot yoga tonight!

Tonight was my 90 minute hot yoga class.  It was amazing as usual!  I was so sore from all the working out this week but yoga definitely helped!

Food

Meal #1
Eggs (4) with peppers and mushrooms.
Sweet potato with cinnamon - they are super small so I had 2.
Cutie.

Meal #2
hahah Tuna salad with avocado!
Mixed veggies (carrots, broccoli, snow peas).

Meal #3
Leftover meatloaf. Asparagus.
Salad with walnuts, and EVOO/Balsamic.
Applesauce.