The Dress
The idea of this dress has been haunting me since the day my sister got engaged. As happy as I am for her, I couldn’t bear the idea of standing in front of hundreds of people in a dress. I’m the maid of honor, too, so I find it scary that I can’t play my usual role of blending in to the crowd.
At the time that my sister got engaged, I was around a size 22-24. I remember looking at the bridal store’s size chart and worrying that I wouldn’t fit into their largest size. It turned out that the dresses did in fact fit me, but I hated how I looked in them. So when a friend suggested the whole30 challenge, I decided to give it 30 days, then I would purchase a dress on the last day of my challenge.
On January 31st, I ordered this size 18 dress and was surprised to discover I actually liked how I looked. So it seems appropriate that the dress would arrive today, on the first day of my second whole30, to remind me to stay focused. The wedding is in May, so I should get measured for alterations on March 31st, which happens to be same day I complete this whole30.
Alright, dress. Challenge accepted. When I return for dress alterations 30 days from now, I expect they’ll have to make this dress significantly smaller.
Failures in Moderation
On January 1st, I took on my first whole30 challenge. I threw myself into it by cooking constantly, blogging frequently, and spending every minute enjoying how amazing I was feeling.
On January 31st, after celebrating the end of a successful challenge with a single glass of red wine, I decided I could keep going. After losing 17lbs, and regaining my health and well-being, I couldn’t make any sense of stopping after 30 days. I decided I’d just bring a few of the lesser damaging things back “in moderation.”
Here’s the thing: “everything in moderation” is extremely hazardous for me. The opportunistic part of me tries to make the most of that teeny bit of leeway I give myself. And once that door has been cracked ever so slightly, the sugar addict will try and force her way in.
I remained strict about sugar and dairy (my biggest vices) for 6 full weeks until I tried “an experiment” to see how I would react to them. I bought a slice of flourless torte, which was the only sugary item that I had actually missed during the whole30. It tasted good, but was very much unsatisfying.
Despite feeling like hell the next day, I thought I’d try another chocolatey, creamy, sugary item to see if that was the satisfying treat that I had been missing… I think you know how this story ends. After two weeks of this madness, I’m still wondering if this Cadbury Creme Egg in front of me is the one that will end this vicious cycle.
It’s clear to me now that I’m not quite ready to take my paleo training wheels off. So March will be another whole30 month for me. Fortunately, I have the advantage of knowing how easy it gets once I get the cravings out of my system.
The next week of withdrawals is going to be rough, though. Stay tuned.
PALEO!
I want to following everyone who is eating Paleo and following a Paleo lifestyle!
Like or reblog this post so I can follow you all!
(via 50percentsmaller)
Tonight, I went to the gym and worked out for exactly 10 minutes, then came home to sit around and eat bacon. Not feeling the slightest bit guilty. :)
(Source: primalpalette, via myprimaljourney)
Chicken Soup Makes Everything Better
I knew it was coming. My office has been a chorus of coughing, sneezing and hacking all week. I had hoped I’d be immune, but no. A couple sniffles soon turned into an all-out war on my sinuses. I fell asleep hugging my Kleenex box last night.
On the bright side, having a cold gives me an excuse to make chicken soup. And, because I’m feeling crappy, I make it as simple as possible. Here’s my lazy version of homemade chicken soup. (Pardon the lack of precision, but I tend to use the “throw stuff in a pot” method, and it has yet to fail me. If you want to learn the optimal way to make chicken stock, here’s a helpful video. )
Ingredients:
I buy a cooked Rotisserie chicken and some veggies. Generally I’ll buy one set of veggies to boil down for the broth, and another to be added to the soup. Celery, onions, and carrots work best for the broth. (This combo is called Mirepoix, and Trader Joe’s sells it pre-cut.) I also usually buy a bag of mixed veggies to be added to the soup.
To make broth:
- Fill a large stock pot with water, turn on heat.
- Cut up veggies, and throw in pot.
- Separate chicken meat from bones. Set aside meat for later. Throw bones and any remaining chicken parts in the pot.
- Throw some spices in the pot. (I really just make this up with whatever is on hand. Sea Salt, Thyme, Black Pepper, Bay Leaves, and Parsley are all good options.)
- Go watch Netflix for 4-6 hours while the stock simmers down. (Or for the less lazy among us, find a productive way to spend that time.)
- Strain to separate the broth from everything else. Discard chicken bones and veggies.
To make soup:
- Return the broth to the stock pot
- Add chicken meat and mixed veggies.
- Let simmer until chicken is warm and veggies are cooked. This may be about 20 minutes or so, but could be longer if the veggies are frozen.
- Voila! You have soup!
Reblog if it’s okay to befriend you, ask questions, ask for advice or just have a nice chat.
Always, anytime, any day :)
This has been so true for me! As soon as I changed my focus from quantity to quality, the weight just started falling off.
(Source: be-fitspo, via operationgoodbyemummytummy)
21 Days
They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Today is Day #21 of my Whole30 challenge.
That means it’s been 21 days without:
- sugar
- grains
- any processed food
- alcohol
- dairy
- legumes
- potatoes
- vegetable oils
- any attempts at recreating junk food
Honestly, I never dreamed I’d get this far. Nine days go to!! I’m excited to see what healthy habits will result from this challenge.
This is so sad. We have to break this cycle.
Not smarter. Not nicer. Not better people. Not a scientist or an engineer or a teacher or a mother. Just thinner.
We as a society have to remember that when we see ads on TV saying ‘LOSE 10 LBS N 10 DAYS!’ ‘GET RID OF THAT UGLY FAT!’ ‘TAKE THESE DIET PILLS!’, our children are seeing them too.
When you’re complaining about how ‘fat’ you look in the mirror, your little sister or brother, your son or daughter, your cousin, the child you babysit, sees it. And they internalize it. It starts them on a LIFETIME of being obsessed with body image. They’re actually MORE likely to become obese because of hyper-awareness of body image and constantly feeling like they’re not good enough. They’re MORE likely to end up with an eating disorder.
It has to stop.
This is so sad, yet so true - I remember being 5 years old and refusing to take ballet lessons because I thought I’d look fat in a leotard :(
I took ballet classes anyway. But they didn’t make leotards in my size at the local store. I had to wear a bathing suit. :( It wasn’t even a solid color. It was covered in tiny pictures of fruit. It looked like a produce stand vomited on me.
(Source: letstalkabouted)
(Source: sevenzero, via fitfoxyfine)
