whole30

30 Days Hath September – Whole30 Reflections

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So, it’s September 30th.  this means a lot of things.

October is tomorrow, and Autumn is really, truly here.  I can really see this on my walks.  The trees are beautiful.  There’s a chill in the air.  The students are back on campus.  I’m drinking hot tea instead of iced.

It also means we’ve technically made it to the end of our first Whole30.  I say technically, because it has now been 30 days.  But, really, it’s just the beginning (and not really an ending).  It was a great experience, and we learned a lot about food, nutrition, our bodies, and what we’re capable of.  I lost six pounds in the 3 1/2 weeks, Jesse lost 14).

This past weekend, we had a couple birthday parties to attend, so we decided to relax the rules since we were almost done.  I ended up having a tiny portion of Yumm (locals will know that this means beans, brown rice, veggies and Yumm sauce).  I instantly – I mean instantly – got a stomach ache and it became a gut bomb for the rest of the day.  I was bloated and uncomfortable.  Jesse got instant heartburn.  Now, I always feel like Yumm is a healthy option, and I still think that it is (way better than fried foods, greasy meat, etc), so this surprised me.  I realized that ‘healthy’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good for you.’  I’m not sure what it was that wasn’t good for me, but with the bloating and discomfort, I’m going to guess it was the beans.  Suffice it to say, after a day of discomfort, I went back to the Whole30 way of eating for the rest of the weekend.

On Monday I wanted to try something else, so I got one of my favorite pumpkin muffins from a local bakery.  I figured I had done really well, and deserved a treat on my walk.  I bought it, started eating it, anticipating it to be the best thing I had ever eaten.  I ate about half of the muffin, and was full and done.  I didn’t feel gross like on Saturday, but I just realized it wasn’t worth it, so I didn’t finish it.  I didn’t get any headaches or pains, so I’m going to assume that grains are okay for me to eat.

Since then, I’ve been back on the Whole30 plan.  From here on out, I’m going to stick to it, but not strictly.  I mean, if there’s something that looks good, and isn’t too unhealthy, I’ll have some of it.  During this past month, I’ve learned ways to snack healthier, choosing an apple or a few banana chips.  I’ve learned that I don’t need as much food as I previously thought.  I feel like I’ve slayed my sugar-beast.  At the parties this weekend, I could have had cupcakes, but didn’t, and truthfully, I didn’t really miss them.

I know that the Whole30 plan is crazy restrictive and overwhelming.  I get it.  There were days that were really difficult.  There were things I really wanted to eat.  But, I kept going.  It’s easier than counting calories or points.  It isn’t just some fad diet that has crazy things like tons of grapefruits or cabbage soup.  It really felt like everything I put in my body had a purpose and was making me feel healthier and more energetic.  I learned that a microwaved apple with cinnamon and nutmeg is a wonderful dessert, but that I didn’t always even need to have dessert.  I learned that if I was feeling a slump, some tea or a handful of cashews would do the trick.

Most of all, I learned that I’m strong.  My will is strong.  My body is strong.  Today, on my walk, I walked through a beautiful oak grove and couldn’t help taking a selfie.  When I looked at the photo on my phone, I thought I looked great.  My hair is just in a braid, and I’m not wearing makeup, but I still thought I looked great.  I know it’s only six pounds, but I feel like my face looks thinner.  And my skin is clearer, my hair is shinier, my eyes are brighter.  Usually, I’ll take 100 selfies and kind of like one of them.  Today I took about 20, and liked 10 of them.  I know it sounds silly, but to me, that is strength.

Proverbs 31: 10-31 For a Modern Woman

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IMG_3079Yesterday in church, one of the readings hit really affected me.  Here is Proverbs 31: 10-31

A capable wife who can find?  She is far more precious than jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.  She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.  She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from far away.  She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant girls.  She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.  She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.  She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.  Her lamp does not go out at night.  She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.  She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.  She is not afraid for her household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson.  She makes herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple.  Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.  She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes.  Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.  She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.  Her children rise up and call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”  Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

While I was listening to this reading, I was struck by how much this reminded me of me – or at least the me that I strive to be.  The way that this woman works to make her family safe and cared for is something I strive to do.  Let’s break it down and think about what’s written here.  (Disclaimer: I am not a theologian, an expert, or anything else that gives me the right to interpret scripture.  I am, however, a woman, a wife, a mother, and a person who likes to interpret things and relate them to my own life.  And perhaps we all have the right to interpret scripture.)jenspictures 032

First let’s talk about this woman and her husband.  She builds him up, supports him, trusts him.  He can trust her, he loves her.  Jesse and I are coming up on the tenth anniversary of our wedding, and we’ve been a couple for over fourteen years.  We have had ups and downs, trials and celebrations.  I can honestly say that right now, in our marriage, we are happy.  This past year has been so hard, but I know that it has brought us closer together.  These days, we support each other, and we listen to each other.  We’re taking the time to connect and appreciate each other.  I am so proud of Jesse and how hard he works for our family, and I rejoice in the fact that he is making a name for himself in our city, he is known, and he is taking a seat with some of the elders.  I honestly couldn’t love him more, or be more proud or thankful.

This portion of Proverbs reminds me to strive to keep our relationship as it is right now.  To continue to listen to Jesse, to support him.  It reminds me that it takes work to be the kind of wife who surpasses all the rest.  But, it also reminds me that it is worth all that work.

Next, this passage talks about all the things this virtuous woman does to protect and care for her household.  I love to make clothing for my children.  I love to make clothing for myself.  I have visions of closets full of mama-made clothing for the girls.  I have dreams of owning my own sheep, shearing their wool (is that even what you’d say?), spinning it into yarn, and crafting beautiful sweaters and hats and mittens.  I know that this is just a dream that will never happen, and honestly, I’m not sure I would really want to do all that.  I can, however, buy fabric and sew clothes for our family.  I want to do this more, because I truly love doing it.  I’m still working on rising before my family in order to get things done… this is the week… my alarm is set…

This woman is also charitable, kind, and wise.  We should all try to be all of these things.  Coming into Autumn, I always start to look for ways to be more charitable.  Advent is coming, and then the Feast of Stephen.  I’ve written about how I want to focus on giving during the Christmas season, more than getting.  This year, I think the girls are old enough to start understanding this concept.  I plan on teaching this by example this year, and seeing how well the girls catch on.  By doing this, I expect that I will feel happy, and the hope is that my children will see this and know this, and rise up and call me happy.IMG_3389

She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.  This line seems important to me, especially now, this year.  My One Little Word is STRONG and I feel like I haven’t done much with my Word this year.  My resolve is renewed by doing the Whole30.  This month has taught me how strong I am.  When it comes to food, I’ve never felt like I have much self restraint.  The month has taught me that I do.  I’ve also started getting my ‘wrist party‘ daily again, and it feels so great to not eat the ‘bread of idleness.’  I’ve been moving more, eating better, and have been more motivated to create and write.  This, to me, is strength and virtue.

So, it all comes together, doesn’t it?  This past month, I have felt more active and inspired.  This past month, our marriage has been stronger and happier.  This past month, I have been creating and happy.  I see that these are all related, and that one couldn’t happen without the other.

I am not trying to say that I am like this woman of virtue.  I am not trying to make myself look amazing.  I’m just trying to share my reactions.  I also know that there are other ways to be a virtuous woman.  Working full time to provide for their families, I have friends who are also virtuous wives and mothers and women. They show their strength and love to their families in ways that are just as valuable and important as all of this.  They support their husbands and their children call them happy.

Things work in mysterious ways, and this reading from Proverbs coming into my life, on this particular Sunday was just one of those things.

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Whole30 – Halfway Point Reflections

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Jesse and I, along with some friends, have embarked upon a Whole30 journey.  I’ve been interested in Whole30 for a while, and when Elise did it, I decided to finally give it a try.  I mentioned it to Jesse, fully expecting him to poo poo the idea, but he was on board.  We planned to do it for September for a few reasons, mostly because we wouldn’t be missing any of the fun food holidays, and it’s a perfect time with the feeling of fresh starts that accompany Autumn.

The first few days were rough, I’m not going to lie.  I had headaches, and basically felt incredibly hungover.  I was grumpy and mean and unhappy.  It was crazy to me that going without certain foods was making me feel so bad.  It wasn’t that I missed the foods – it was that my body seemed to be rebelling against the new diet.  How had I become so addicted to such crap?  It really felt like I was going through withdrawals (though, I must admit that I don’t really know what that feels like…).

By the third or fourth day, I was feeling much better.  I was letting myself eat whenever I felt hungry, trying to keep the temptations to a minimum.  I figured that if I was never super hungry, I would never crave the things I couldn’t have.

We have been cooking lots of great recipes, and I don’t have any complaints about what we’re eating.  I don’t even miss the things that are forbidden.  Sure, sometimes I think that some chèvre or blue cheese would taste good, but everything is good and tasty enough without it.

I thought I would miss bread, but it’s the last thing I miss.  I realized that the bread isn’t what makes a sandwich taste good.  I’ve been eating tuna on salad and it’s just as good as on bread.  No, it’s better.  Last night we had people over for dinner and served bread with this amazing shepherd’s pie recipe.  I looked around the table and realized I wasn’t jealous of the people eating bread.  It just isn’t necessary.

One of the very best things I’ve learned is how to make my own mayonnaise.  It’s seriously so amazingly good, I’ll never go back.  It’s especially good knowing that the egg used to make it is under a day old.  I usually go out, grab an egg directly from the coop and make the mayo that way.  It has to be room temperature, so it’s perfect, and oh so fresh!

For the first week, I was snacking more, trying to keep the hangry away.  I would eat fruit, almond butter, and Lara bars almost every day.  Now, into my third week, I’ve noticed that I don’t need to snack as much.  If I need something, I grab an apple – another great reason to do Whole30 in September.

As of right now, I’m planning on starting to add back foods on October 1st.  I’m going to start with pumpkin beer.  Beyond that, I think I’ll wait until October 8th to add anything else back in (that’s when most of our friends will be done with their 30 days).  I’ll start with cheeses and see how I feel.  Then probably peas and other legumes.  Those are the only things I really feel like I miss, so I might just stop there for another 30 days or so.

If you’re thinking of trying Whole30 for yourself, I say go for it.  Give it at least a week before you even start to decide if you’ll continue.  The first days are hard, but worth it.

Having risen from the first week fog, Jesse put together some tips for our group that I’m going to share here, too:

I’ve been thinking of what I would do differently if we did this again…so I thought I’d share!

First off make/buy your sauces before you start, including:
-Mayo
-Ketchup/bbq sauce substitute
-Salad dressing
-Ranch

Make a plan for lunches when you won’t have leftovers. I often went out to eat when I didn’t bring something from home and this has been very difficult to find somewhere that has diet-approved stuff. Probably having a steady supply of salad stuff and protein on hand is a good place to start.

Figure out a good snack food. For us it’s mixed nuts (and I throw in raisins for dessert). Also have a decent supply of Lara bars for the emergencies (they’re expensive and pretty processed, but when it’s that or hangriness…)

Screw sticking to the “Whole30” only stuff! I’m eating fruit dammit! And I’m having a glass of apple juice when I want one! Even with a few raisins now and then, it’s still better than a bowl of ice cream.

To save you some time, I’ve looked at all the labels for some things and found these to be good:
-Sweet Creek Dill Pickles (Literally almost the only brand out of dozens)
-Applewood hot dogs (not that hot dogs should be considered healthy in any sense)
-Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

Coffee. Have plenty on hand and make sure it’s the good stuff that you don’t need to cut with cream and sugar. If you’re thinking of giving it up, wait. I tried the first day and was miserable, one thing at a time here folks.

Try not to think of the replacement things that you find as the originals. Any bbq sauce you make WILL NOT be as good as Stubb’s…it just won’t…BUT it still can be good if you just think of it as a sauce you put on your pulled pork, not a bbq sauce.

Try to limit going out or going to other people’s houses (if they aren’t doing the diet as well) for the first week. Watching Alma and Harriet eat corn on the cob, eat chips and salsa, and have dessert was tough, I can’t lie.

That’s all I can think of for now…I think I’ve already lost about three pounds of brain matter on this diet.

andthenthey whole30halfway1 andthenthey whole30halfway2These are a couple of our Whole30 meals… see, not too shabby!  Chicken nuggets with almond crust (way better than traditional!), sweet potato fries, broccoli and homemade ketchup and mayo.  Smoked pulled pork, sweet potato slider ‘buns,’ green beans, coleslaw.  Also, I don’t think I’ll ever figure out how to photograph food.