I don’t know about you guys, but after the months of November and December (really November starts with Halloween because we all know the candy takes over your house and is peaking around every corner calling your name…) I just feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. I know I’ve gained a few pounds, my sugar dragon is raging with highs and lows, my energy levels are horrible and I think I’ve cooked three meals total since Thanksgiving.
So my head tells me, “Jenna bear, (yes that is what my brain calls me sometimes) it is time for a reset.”
And so we reset.
How? Whole30.
If you know me at all, you know I’m kind of obsessed with Whole30. Since we’ve done our first round last year, we’ve convinced a number of family members and friends to try it too and they have all had positive things to say about the process. Before we started our first round, I had had a few friends who did it and I kind of thought they were nutso because it cuts out a ton of foods I liked to eat (hello cheese, my angel child) and I just KNEW I could not commit to that kind of diet for a WHOLE 30 DAYS! (WAT?)
But, when you feel crummy and everything you have tried just doesn’t help, and maybe you have the last 5-6 pounds of baby weight that just will. not. go. away. no matter what you’ve tried, you give in and just do it.
I knew it would be work, but I believe it is good to set attainable yet challenging goals in your life. Discipline is good for you. Depriving yourself of things that are just extras or unnecessary is good for your soul. And you know what, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
The hardest part for me, was getting through that first week slump where your body is switching over from burning through carbs to fats and protein, making your body more efficient. You’re just so so tired, so go to bed early and don’t plan a lot of extras. Do easier meals and don’t plan on trying to exercise. There will be time for that later. The meal prep and clean up was challenging but it got easier as I went along. And the more you do it, the easier and easier it will become. It will become second nature to just think like that.
So, I’ll step off my soap box and just say that if you aren’t feeling as good as you could, maybe you aren’t totally happy with your weight or relationship with food, just try this. It’s only 30 days.
We have done two rounds so far, and decided to do a third because it is just a good rest for your body and helps you get back on track. It’s so easy to make poor food choices, especially during the holidays and fall into bad habits again, so this is just a tool that we like to use to break those habits and get back into a good routine again.
I also love the Whole30 process, because once you finish the 30 days, you have the reintroduction period, which I find is the most telling, to reintroduce foods back into your diet and see how they make you feel. It will make it so much easier in the future to make better food choices or at least to be prepared for the side effects and decide if it is worth it or not.
And one more thought. Whole30 truly is practical. Jacob and I talk a lot about all of the diet/shake/get healthy promotions out there, and while they may be helpful and have miracle effects, they are often times expensive and not a feasible long term plan. This is long term. This is something you can fall back on when you need a reset and something to help you get back on track because it is specific to you and the needs of your body. There’s no monthly fee, just your grocery bill, which may go up buying more produce and meats, but you may also see that the money you spend eating out goes down, so it all balances out. So, just another thought to consider from Jenna bear. 🙂
My plan is to blog again as I go along, this time making one big post for my month of meals with links to individual posts for the recipes. I wanted to do this last time September but it just didn’t happen haha! So join me and follow along, you won’t regret it!
Might I suggest going to the Whole30 website and getting educated from the source before diving in! Their books, “It Starts with Food” and the “Whole30 Guide” are great sources too. I just ordered “Food Freedom Forever” so I will keep you guys posted on how that reads. I also follow Whole30 and Whole30 Recipes on Instagram, and they are always posting helpful tips, encouraging thoughts and amazing recipes so definitely add that to your account if you have one! The links below are posts I wrote from our first round last year, which you can also find under my nutrition and recipes tabs above in the navigation drop down menu. I hope that there is something here that can help you!
Whole30 – Introduction & Information
Nutrition Tab (Where to find other meal plans)
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