Whole30 Wrap Up

Yesterday was the first day off of Whole30. The only thing I did that is totally non-Paleo is I had a quarters worth of Hot Tamales from the machine at work.  Silly hot tamales just suck me in.  Everything else I stuck to Paleo.  I had some vanilla almond milk in my coffee.  It’s not great.  Kinda left a weird after taste.  I may have to go back to regular flavored creamer.  Since I never use a lot of it I hope it won’t mess with my system too badly.  Last night I had my first bite of the Coconut Almond Bark.  Yes it’s heavenly.  I love the combo of the sweet chocolate and the salt on top.  I’m pretty sure I could eat a whole batch at once.  I didn’t, and I won’t, but I certainly could.  I also made some chocolate covered bananas.  I found the idea (although not rocket science) on Pinterest, but they add peanut butter to the melted chocolate.  I left that part out.  Those things are darn good, yes I may have had one this morning with my eggs and almonds.  Just one piece – they taste like ice cream.  You can’t even tell it’s a banana.  I’ll definitely be making more of those.  A good healthy snack that also satisfies the sweet tooth!

Ok so lemme get on with the Whole30 wrap up and go into more details of my personal results.  My starting weight was 132.  Ending weight is 127.  But like I said my goal was not weight loss.  I was hoping for more energy, better sleep, less headaches, clearer skin and a flatter tummy.  Some of these I got. 

More energy = yes.  Not tons but enough that I could feel myself working harder, longer and stronger in my workouts as well as feeling more able to get the things I needed to get done, done. 

Better sleep = no.  At least not better.  I think I got more sleep, more consistent anyways because I didn’t wake up near as much as I usually do, but only about 50% of the time did I wake up in the morning feeling truly rested.  A lot of times I woke up feeling great only to feel not so great by the time I got to work.  (and being at work may be to blame for that, not so much sleep or lack thereof).

Less headaches = yes.  Make that NO headaches!  Aside from the initial sugar withdrawal headache, I haven’t had one since.  Well I have had one.  But I could tell it was an ‘I’m not feeling so good headache’ and not just a headache that shows up simply because it wanted to and decides to take up residence. 

Clearer skin = no.  Not at all.  My skin is still terrible and worse than it’s ever been.  Any suggestions on that I’ll take ‘em!  PLEASE!  I’m willing to try anything.  And I’ve already tried a LOT!

Flatter Tummy = yes.  Although it’s not as flat as I would like, it’s definitely flatter.  I don’t have near as much of the ‘pooch’ that I felt prior to starting.  I think I posted during the challenge that one day I just felt like my stomach had deflated.  That is a good feeling.  So that I for sure want to keep up.  I have a feeling that is the elimination of gluten/grain.  If I do decide to have some of that I will be sure to keep an eye out for the tummy ‘pooch’ and make sure I don’t eat a lot if that is indeed the culprit. 

I think overall I have learned how important it is to look at labels on the foods I put in my (and my family’s) bodies.  There isn’t any need for a lot of the ingredients that are in foods.  As much as I can eliminate those unneeded things I will.  And if I can find healthier alternatives to the things I like, those will most def be permanent changes. 

So, overall this experience was very much worth it.  I have learned a lot about myself and my self-discipline.   It has also allowed me to try many new foods that before I wouldn’t have given a second thought.   Steak, pork, butternut squash and coconut are some of the few.  Another positive from this experience is all the wonderful support, encouragement and help from friends, both old and new, that I have received.  As well as the inquiries from a few people who are interested in trying Paleo for themselves.  I would love to be able to help people on their own journey with Paleo and/or Whole30.  I have really enjoyed sharing what I have learned with people who are interested or intrigued.  And I hope that continues.  I also hope I continue learning more and more.  I’m currently waiting for my copy of Paleo Confort Foods to arrive.  It’s taking a lot longer than I wanted it to.  I want to start using it already! 

Final thought – if you are remotely entertaining the idea of trying Paleo – DO IT.  It’s always worth a try.  If you discover you don’t like it or it’s not for you, that’s fine.  Just stop.  But think of what you may gain from just trying.  And when you do try please let me know how it goes!!      

Room Makeover for Buggy

I finally got some pictures of Bug's room after the new paint is complete.  I still have some things I want to hang on the walls, as well as purchase to finish the room - like some shelves for the walls and a bookcase for books and other nice things.  But for now you can get the idea of what it looks like.  The stripes were definitely labor intensive.   Had they not already been there thanks to the prior owners I don't think I would have attempted them on my own.  I guess altogether the room took about 2 weekends to get all painted.  Not horrible in the grand scheme of things.  And it feels so nice to paint over all the 'leftovers' from the previous owners and make it all Buggy!  Again I took these pics with the panorama app on my phone and it's super hard to get them lined up perfect.  But you get the general idea!

 {before - not bad colors but a little more baby than what i wanted for Bug.  plus if you looked really close there were lots of coloring marks, nicks and cracks in the paint that needed fixed}

Here are 2 of the 'inspiration pieces' that led me to decide owls would be the theme. Not totally owls, some butterflies and dragonflies too, but mostly owls.  I have so many more owl things to get - I just have yet to find what I'm looking for!  

 {personalized owl pillow from the Rye's for Buggy for Christmas - i ADORE it!  Bug does too - she frequently carries it around hugging on it}

 {owl print from Ikea, $10 - yep ridiculously cute & affordable}

Now for the after.  Not completely finished but very much an improvement on the before! I did a little furniture re-arrangement too. Not sure if I'll keep it this way but I do like this better than how I had it before.  (Minus the ugly print fabric on the glider rocker - but I'm working on that!)

 {after}

The only portion of her room that was not even touched was the closet.  And let's not even go there for now.  She's got a great closet - I wish mine was this big! - but it's the same color and the walls used to be and there are TONS of holes in there from a shelf that for some reason was taken down and never replaced.  She likes to go in there and play and I'm thinking of re-hanging the animal net in there more at her height for easy storage and hanging some floating shelves I have from Ikea for toy storage at her level.  But for now it is this.  Thank heavens there is a door that can be closed!!

 {closet - colossal mess.  pretty much all the time.  she plays in here more than she's in her playroom, go figure!}

Bug's room is still a work in progress but my next painting project I'm thinking will be the playroom.  I have a vision with orange and safari animals that I hope I can bring to fruition!

Whole 30 Day 30

LAST DAY!  I made it with only one slip up.  Pretty good I must say, I'm impressed with myself.  I wasn't sure I could do it.  But here I am.  Today I was home with a sick Buggy and didn't have an opportunity to eat much.  Just coffee for breakfast - with the last bit of my coconut milk.  Bun-less turkey burger with mustard and a tomato along with some fruit for lunch - although it was closer to dinner time than lunch.  I did manage to get a Fit & Active strawberry fruit leather in for a snack.  Yum!  For dinner I made some more of the pecan crusted chicken and green beans.  I didn't eat much for dinner since lunch really wasn't that long ago but I made extras to pack for lunch tomorrow.  Which I have lunch for tomorrow all packed - and there is zilch of non-Paleo items.  I do plan on having some of the Coconut Almond Bark I made the other day tomorrow but other than that no junk food for me.  I know for a fact I will make coffee in the morning and use some vanilla almond milk.  The kind with a bit of preservatives (I grabbed some at the store this past weekend).  But I won't use a lot and I could do worse!  So we'll see how that goes.  I plan on posting tomorrow about all I've learned through my Whole30 and some of the changes, both positive and negative that my body endured. 

30 down, 0 to go!!  Yippee yahoooooo, I completed 30 days!!

Music to my Ears

I find comfort in music.  Certain lyrics dance through my head and find a way to make themselves a part of my life.  This song is pretty.  And the message is also pretty darn powerful.  It's slightly religious but not so much that a non-religious person cannot see the message.  When I first listened to it I found myself immediately thinking of love being that of 2 people in a romantic relationship.  But the more I listened to it the more I realized this song speaks of love in general.  All love.  And then I turned to the love of friends, mothers, sisters, brothers, etc. Anyways, take a few minutes to listen and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Owl Phone? Well yes please!

You all know I have an owl obsession.  Not brand new but fairly new.  So much so that I chose it for Bug's new room decor - pics to come once I get some things hung.  I was perusing Instagram today (another obsession I'll admit) and came across this RIDICULOUSLY adorable owl iPhone case.  AND they even make it in my favorite bright green color.  Only bad thing is it's for the iPhone 4, which sadly I do not have.  I hope to soon.  Well, sooner than later.  So in the meantime I will post a pic of the case I want, for the phone I do not have.   Come on, you can't tell me it's not SERIOUSLY cute!! :O)

 {iPhone 4 owl case via Ebay}