Whole 30 Challenge-Day 1

Hello all! Jesse and I decided (I suggested and he begrudgingly agreed to support me because he is awesome) to participate in the Whole30 Challenge, starting today. We talked about it for several days and decided that we could do it. We may have to end the challenge before the 30 days are over (yeah, yeah..no excuses whatsoever) because we will be going to Germany to spend Christmas with some of our good friends. Hopefully we will be able to stay on track until Christmas Eve (YAY CHRISTMAS!). I'm not even going to lie... it is going to be incredibly difficult to do that. Especially since Thanksgiving is a few days away, followed by many Christmas festivities at work. But if not now then when? And I don't want to start on January 1st. That is just too cliche. I have been encouraged by several other people who have completed this challenge, and after hearing about their results I decided to give it a go. The main reason we decided to do this is so that we will simply feel better. I also want to be healthier physically and I want my acne that I've had since I was, like..12, to go away! Do you know the effect that all the bread and sugar has on your body and your brain?? I don't. Because that's what I've been eating..forever. So this is a chance for us to see how all of this processed garbage has been affecting us. If you want to learn more about this challenge you can go here.

                                                 Here is a simplified version of the rules:

So the big thing here is no bread. No sugar (meaning no sugar added to anything in any way). And obviously no processed food, which we honestly try to do without anyway. Another big rule is that you can only weigh on the first and last day of the challenge. That is going to be hard for me because I focus so much on the number on the scale. But since that is not the main reason we are doing this challenge, hopefully I won't feel the need to weigh in. 

So the reason for this post is accountability. I am using this blog as a tool to help me stay on track. I am going to (try to) post everyday about what I ate, how I felt, how much I wanted to cry, etc..I am only putting this on my blog, not Facebook..because I am sure that people on FB have no desire to read about this. For all you poor, sweet souls (all 2 of you) who get my blog updates..I'm sorry. I'm going to be annoying for the next few weeks. I will also share pictures of my food sometimes and recipes if I used one. 

Stocked up on all of the necessary supplies. I was surprised and pleased to see that Super One and Fiesta Nutrition had almost everything that I needed. The main thing I am limited to at the grocery store is the meat selection. I am trying to get free range, cage free, grass fed..all that, meat. Fiesta had a decent selection, but it was a little pricey. I've heard that WalMart has an ok selection, but we don't shop at WalMart because we choose to support local businesses. If anyone has ideas on the meat situation, I am open to suggestions. 

Just a pretty little salad. I made some yummy dressing to go with it:

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs EVOO (coconut oil would have been better)

1 tsp balsamic vinaigrette 

salt & pepper

yummy tomatoes freshly picked from our front porch garden!

Healthy Zuppa Toscana Soup

Here is the recipe for that. I did not add the potatoes or coconut milk (only because I forgot that we had coconut milk). It was surprisingly yummy. 

So Day 1 is off to a great start! I can almost guarantee that I will be whining in just a few days. Or in the morning. But we will see. Any encouragement is welcome!

Oh, and happy Monday! My Mondays truly are happy now that I work at Wraparound. I used to dread Mondays in a big kind of way. I am thankful.

Have a happy week!