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Thursday, July 2, 2015

my experience with whole30 and total weight loss

you guys, i did it. i completed whole30. i feel like i need to say it louder..
I COMPLETED WHOLE30!!!
i am so happy i did it. when i started i wasn't sure i was going to make it through the whole 30 days. it is not an easy program to do. especially for someone like me who has eaten so horribly my entire life. i literally cannot think of a time in my life where i ate healthy consistently, which is pretty sad. it wasn't until after i had my first child that i started to see my unhealthy eating habits effect my body. i've gain a lot of weight since having my babies and i finally have had enough. i've tried so many different "diets" and i have never been able to stick with anything, but i just had such a good feeling about whole30 and i was right. 

i felt like it is very cut and dry about what you can and cannot have which i really like. i knew the hardest thing for me to give up was going to be bread. i really love all things bread. seriously, i could just eat bread all of the time and i would be so happy. i once tired to give up bread in high school and i became one of the meanest people alive.. seriously.. ask my girl friends Nicole and Kaitlin about that time. i was SO mean! haha so i was really nervous about giving up the bread. but i did fine! it was all fine! 

the first week was weird because like i said it my last post i have some seriously tooth issues going on that first week and a really bad infection in my face and i was just straight up miserable but i stuck to it and i'm so happy i did. i think it probably took about 10 days for my body to fully be rid of all of my addictions. like caffeine and bread and sugar. so once the head aches stopped it really wasn't that hard. as long as i stayed away from temptation while i was hungry i was okay. there was one time when we went to a birthday party and they had costco pizza which is my favorite and that was probably the harder 2 hours of my life. i wanted that pizza so bad but i refrained. (thanks for that aimee, jk) whole30 did great things for my self control. i said no to things that i never thought i would say no to. go me. 

i will admit that i did get pretty bored but that is not whole30's fault it was my own. I am not a great cook and so i didn't really get into making all of the really good whole30 meals that i've seen other people make. you really can make good food that is healthy which i never believed before this. i did make a few really good things that i got from the new whole30 books which i will share at the end of this post. but mostly my days looked like eggs for breakfast (i tired to make them as many different ways as i could as to not get bored with them), and then i would usually make a jeanie o lean turkey burger seasoned different ways with a side of some type of veggies for lunch, and then some type of chicken or beef with a side of veggies for dinner. i really did try to make these adventurous and yummy but a lot of the time i did feel like i was eating just because i knew i had to. the main thing that i am grateful for that happened from doing whole30 is that my stomach shrunk so much. i eat probably 1/3 of the food i used to eat at each meal and feel very full. this i think has been huge for my weight loss.

i definitely found that i had a boost in my energy and i just all around felt so much better. even about my life and my choices. i feel so much more productive and motivated to do things that i've always wanted to do. i feel like this has slowly started to help me become the person that i have always wanted to become and that just makes me so happy. i really thought this whole thing was going to make me miserable but really is did the opposite. i actually feel like now begins the hard part. now that i have completely the 30 days i need to continue making healthy choices. i will admit that since whole30 ended i have had a few treats but it's crazy how much less i need to eat and how much worse i feel when i eat bad food. this weekend we are going to be out running around and it's going to be hard to eat super healthy but monday i am getting back on the grind. i am planning to eat whole30 monday through friday and then allowing myself to have a few cheats on the weekend, not go crazy but have a few treats. like bread. ha

i think the thing that stood out to me the most with doing this was how much my skin cleared up. i have never seen my skin as clear as it is right now. and i am loving it! i have always had issues with my skin and it has been amazing having such clear skin. i can't even express that enough. it makes me really wonder what it was that i was eating that was causing my skin to be so bad. i guess that is the problem with cutting everything out at once i have no idea what it was.. but my guess is that it's dairy. i was allergic to it when i was a child and i eat a lot of dairy in the form of cheese. haha

the second best part about doing whole30 was the weight loss! are you ready for this people? i lost a pretty good amount of weight over the 30 days which was awesome!! i lost 18 lbs!! i can't even believe it! i still have a long way to go but that it the best start! i am seriously so proud of myself! every single time i've ever really tried to lose weight i have never made it past 8 lbs before giving up. but i am at 18 lbs down and that it the biggest inspiration to me. i am not going to gain that back! i am going to continue to eat right and exercise and get back to the person i know i can be! 

i did not take a before and after photo because i am lame and i still am not super comfortable showing off all this... i'm sorry! but i do plan on sharing a before and after photo when i've made a little more progress so just wait for that. :)

so back to those 2 super awesome and delicious meals that i made that will forever be staples in our house. you can find these in the new whole30 book which you can buy here. mine aren't the exact same but pretty close.
the first is this chili, i definitely would double this one!

classic chili
ingredients:
1 pound ground meat
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 cups beef broth

instructions:
heat a large pot on medium high (without cooking fat). add the meat and cook fully through which is about 7-10 minutes. with a slotted spoon remove the meat and put into side dish keeping the leftover fat in the pot.

add the onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, mustard powder, and salt to the pot. reduce to medium low heat and cook until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

add bell peppers, tomatoes, broth and beef back into the pot. turn heat to high until chili reached a boil, reduce to low heat and let simmer uncovered for about an hour. then enjoy! so good!


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^^this was made with red and orange bell peppers because it's what i had on hand and i know it's a terrible photo!^^

the second one which is seriously so good are these turkey meatballs with roasted red pepper sauce. i do this one a tiny bit different than the whole30 book. i use lean ground turkey instead of ground chicken and my sauce is just a tad different but basically the same. i also double this recipe because everyone loves it so much and it's just as good as the first time around!

turkey meatballs
ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried orgeano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cooking fat (i use olive oil)

instructions:
preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

thoroughly mix the turkey, egg, onion, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. roll into meatballs each the size of a gold ball.

melt the cooking fat in a large skillet over medium high heat. one it's hot add the meatballs however many you can fit at a time and cook about 30 seconds on each side until they are brown all over.

transfer the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and cook in the oven for an audition 10-15 minutes. make sure the meatballs are cooked all the way through.

roasted red pepper sauce
ingredients:
1 jar (14-16 ounce) roasted red peppers, drained
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

instructions:
combine all ingredients in a food processor (i used my vitamix) and blend until smooth

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^^with this i do a side of broccoli or asparagus but really anything goes good with it! again, not the best picture but i promise you these bad boys are amazeballs!^^

so overall i would say that my whole30 experience was a success and i would definitely recommend it to others. i was so happy that i was able to incorporate exercise into my routine as well. my biggest advice would be to make sure you have a good support system and surround yourself with people who won't encourage you to cheat. it's hard enough as it is and i was so lucky to have friends here that encouraged me the whole time and really helped me stay motivated and inspired me. so thank you to all of those people you know who you are! yay for whole30!

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^^this is what outdoor bootcamp will do to you in the texas heat & humidity! but totally worth it and too funny of a photo not to share here!! ^^

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