Whole 30 Update

On day 18 of our extended Whole 30. Feeling REALLY good. My energy is through the roof (though my strength is still off but I think that's more from the break I took), I have zero sugar cravings and I'm feeling MUCH less stressed/depressed than I was. My belly isn't bloated anymore and pants are fitting straight out the dryer! Whoooo!

I'm really taking this time to think about my relationship with food. In past Whole 30 rounds I've subbed dates and dried fruit (still very sugary) for junky treats to scratch the itch so to speak. This time I've been much more strict. I've had an RX bar a couple of times only as an emergency snack and yesterday I had a few handfuls of Go Raw lemon "cookies". I thought about WHY I was eating those SWYPO cookies yesterday and decided not to buy them anymore. I wasn't hungry, I just wanted something treat like.  

I never realized what an emotional eater I am. Feeling sad? Grab a snack! Feeling happy? Celebrate with a snack! Feeling tired? Grab a snack. Gym or race PR? Grab a snack!  Instead of evaluating and figuring out WHY I was feeling the way I was, I'd have something to eat. Even if it was something small...it was still a habit I had. Now I ask myself "are you REALLY hungry?" If I am, I eat. If I'm not, I skip it! I still don't have an issue making banana and egg pancakes occasionally but I'm not making "technically" compliant treats because I'll eat them just to eat them.

I've noticed that with all the good food I've been eating I've not been anywhere near as hangry as before! Normally I wake up gnawing my arm off. The past several days I've not been hungry until a couple of hours have passed by. Same with post workout...I'm just not starving like I'd normally be. I guess all that good fuel is getting put to good use by my body! I'm digging the way I'm feeling.

My plan is to do a SLOW reintroduction. I'll start with red wine on Valentine's day. Several days later I'll try dairy...then grains..so on and so forth. I'll really evaluate how each thing impacts my body so I can decide if its worth keeping around. I plan to continue eating this way most of the time with occasion treats. I know it's not for everyone. I get that. I just FEEL better and that's what matters to me. I'm about to step up my running again (you guys, I'm SO excited..I can't even begin to explain) so I'll need to adjust my food as needed. I'll have to play around with

that once I get started.

Obligatory food porn pic--