Healthy Tipping Point

I confess. I totally played hookie yesterday…  I really needed a mental health day.  So I left the kids with the sitter and did fun things ALL BY MYSELF.  It was weird, quiet, and glorious… But then I really started to miss everyone and raced home.  Funny how that happens, huh? 

Anyway – I got my nails done.

I also bought some new flats.  Does anyone else do this?  I always get a new pair of flats before the fall, wear them to death and destroy them, and then toss them out when the winter season is over.  My shoes see a lot of playground action so they are never nice enough to keep longer than a year.

Anyway, aren’t these Katie & Kelly shoes cute?  I liked the bling. 

Also, they were the first and only pair that I put on my feet and didn’t immediately want to rip off (how can some flats be SO uncomfortable?!) but only time will tell if they are truly comfy…

And I went to a consignment store and tried on a bunch of clothes that I have no practical use for, like evening gowns and fancy dresses.  Hah.  It was fun.  I loooove consignment shops because you never know what you will find!  I wish this dress wasn’t so small – I really wanted it!  But couldn’t breath or sit down in it so… no go.

After my solo adventure out, I spent my evening working and trying to catch up on all the things that I was supposed to have done during the day.  Still – WORTH IT.

Hit the gym this morning and did a little strength training.

Do you guys remember how my knee/leg was bothering me before my triathlon? Well, I went to the chiropractor before I left town for the race, and he did some Active Release Technique on me – which made it feel WAY better.  It only started to bother me towards the run of the run, so I was very grateful because a few days before, it hurt even to walk around my house.  It was sore after but never as bad as it had originally been.

But all the sudden, it hurts again!  Boo.  So I’ve been laying off the running and doing other stuff, like boot camp ab day and rowing.

Holy hell.  We did SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY different ab moves during that boot camp class.  My stomach is soreeeeeeee.

And last, but not least, a yummy snack:

Question: If you had several hours to yourself, what would you go do?

I wrote this post a while ago, but delayed hitting ‘publish’ because I thought one week after Whole 30 wasn’t long enough to really assess the benefits to it.  Now that a month has passed, I have a better idea of what Whole 30 did for me.  Spoiler – A LOT!

Here’s the original post about WHAT the Vegetarian Whole 30 entailed (it’s way different than regular Whole 30).

To recap, here’s WHY I did Vegetarian Whole 30:

I was eating way more junk food than I used to.  I was mindlessly eating, especially when I was tired or stressed.  And I craved sugar ALL THE TIME.  A large part of these new habits, I think, was having children…  I kept trying to change my habits with an ‘everything in moderation’ approach, which had worked for me in the past. But I wasn’t finding that technique successful in the slightest.  When I realized there was a vegetarian version of Whole 30, I thought – “Hmmm, this could be the food reset that I’ve been looking for!”  That’s kind of how I see it – a food reset.  Get back to the basics, eliminate processed stuff, and focus on real food.

Okay – so my big goal was an emotional and actual food reset. 

Verdict #1 – Whole 30 is AMAZING for the way it changes the way you think about food.  You eat a lot of wholesome, nutritious, high-quality food that makes you feel great, which reinforces the habit.  Truly – this is probably the biggest benefit to trying the Whole 30, and I’ve heard this statement from so many people.  For 30 days, I really had to thoughtfully grocery shop, cook, and eat all of my meals.  The “thoughtful” aspect of it was tremendously beneficial because, as mentioned, my eating had kind of devolved into “shoving in whatever is available” after Claire’s birth.

I still find myself falling into this trap occasionally – actually, as I write this, it’s 3:45 PM and my “lunch” was a bunch of crackers and slices of cheese and a peach that I mindlessly ate as I worked.  Vegetarian Whole 30 reinforced how important food prep is (more on that below).

Verdict #2 – I felt like I had higher and more stable energy levels on Vegetarian Whole 30.  This was mainly due to not eating a ton of added sugar, as I had before.  By the way – withdrawing from added sugar was really, really hard, but I quickly adjusted.  As a result, I slept better.  When I returned to eating added sugar after the challenge was over, I found I didn’t need or want as much as I would’ve before.   Cutting added sugar out completely helped my taste buds adjust.  <— A month later, this is still true. Some things still feel way too sweet.  I don’t feel like overdosing on dessert or CRAVE it all the time as I did before.  Basically, I got off the Sugar Train.

One month later, my new eating style has stuck around… for most meals (which I think is pretty awesome!).  I have Vegetarian Whole 30 meals at least twice a day (usually breakfast and dinner).  I also reach for a different type of snacks now.  I ate a lot of potato chips and granola bars for snacks after Claire was born.  Now I aim for protein-based snacks that have way more fat and protein than my old snacks did.  I have gone back to eating grains, especially in the form of rice, quinoa, and gluten-free goodies like crackers or pizza, but not as much as before.  Please note that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with grains, but I have observed bigger energy spikes and drops when I eat meals where carbs are the focus.

Verdict #3 – I “discovered” a whole new way to eat. Most mornings, I would wake up and roast two huge cookie sheets of vegetables and potatoes so we could snack on them throughout the day.   I ate a lot – a LOT – of eggs.  Good thing I love eggs!  All of this food prep made it easier to stick to the plan when the day got hectic.  Here are some of my Vegetarian Whole 30 favorites:

Macadamia nuts

Edamame

Coconut milk, as a base for sauces or mixed into coffee

Full-fat PLAIN Greek Yogurt <—totally discovered a new appreciation for this

Yogurt messes with unsweetened coconut, nuts, and cocoa powder

Roasted Yukon potatoes with tons of spicy brown mustard

Frozen cherries

Spices!  Cocoa powder (in savory dishes – yum), cinnamon, turmeric

Sunshine sauce <— the jam

Baby bell peppers, raw or cooked <—also a new obsession

Stir-fries with cashews mixed in <—warm cashews are the bomb

The only foods that I really missed on Vegetarian Whole 30 were cheese and yummy grab-and-go snacks.  I’m glad to have cheese back!  And I didn’t miss rice as much as I thought I would. 

Verdict #4 – Sticking with Whole 30 is really, really hard.  Whole 30 demands perfection, which is not something I am used to doing with my diet.  I’m sure some people will argue that I didn’t really “do” Whole 30 because I “slipped” a few times (pizza one night when I had nothing to eat and was starving, pizza again in Chicago, electrolyte powder and crackers the day after I spent an entire night puking my brains out).  I totally get WHY Whole 30 demands perfection, but that just wasn’t for me… I made an effort, I stuck with it 95% of the time, and I’m happy with the approach I took with Whole 30.

Verdict #5 – My skin looked amazing on Whole 30.  Seriously – amazing.  I credit a TON of plants – I ate soooo many veggies and fruits in the past month! – and better sleeping while on the plan.  The Husband even randomly said to me one night, “Your skin looks like it’s glowing!” And I didn’t lose weight on Vegetarian Whole 30 (I didn’t want to), but my body shape changed and I felt/looked stronger than I did before having kids!  Crazy what protein + plants and strength training will do! Here’s a pre-Whole 30 v. end of Whole 30 photo comparison:

(And yes, I photoshopped a more modest top onto myself! Hah.)

Verdict #6 –  All this yummy vegetarian food reminded me that real food is really delicious!  I loved spending so much time cooking and eating such wonderful, nutritious foods.  It was nice to take a month to focus on healthy eating.

Verdict #7 – On that note, this challenge made me realize that, at this point in my life, I make healthier choices when I have structure – kind of like a training plan for workouts.  I’m so busy and it’s nice to have guidelines to cook and eat under that make me feel so good.  This challenge also made me think about what “everything in moderation” means.  Moderation may be once or twice a week – it’s probably not every single day. 

And the big upshot of all of this… Vegetarian Whole 30 gave me a huge food reset that lasted well over a month since I stopped the challenge.  Taking time to cook balanced, healthy meals is hard for everyone with a busy life, but it is especially hard when you’re adjusting to life after your second baby.  Vegetarian Whole 30 taught me that when my plate is full of protein + plants, I feel really good physically, and that means the effort is worth it.  This eating style isn’t something I would want to maintain 100% forever and ever, but definitely influenced many of my meals and snacks as I continue to live post-Whole 30 life.  Grains certainly have a place in my life, as do processed foods and treats, but this allowed me to really figured out how to include these foods in a more balanced way. 

This challenge really helped me understand how the food that I eat influences my energy levels and mood, and that is a truly priceless lesson, especially when I need *so much* energy in my day-to-day life. The bottom line is that food is SO POWERFUL.  It has the power to make us feel strong, fit, alert, and patient.  It has the power to make us feel sluggish and sleepy.  I know how I’d rather feel!  Food is also fuel and medicine.  It can be pleasure, too, so it’s worth saying that Vegetarian Whole 30 was tasty, too.  Real food is pretty delicious! 

Have you done a Whole 30 challenge?  What did you learn from it?

Workouts

I’ve had a weird time recovering from my Olympic triathlon.  It’s been well over a week and I still don’t feel recovered.  I know I was undertrained – but this is ridiculous.  I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of strength training but am so sore.  Since the race, I did 1/2 a bootcamp class (didn’t want to push it), another strength class, and a 3 mile run – and I felt destroyed by all the workouts!  Whew.  I need more time off (I’m not complaining, hah!).

So I’m thinking my poor recovery is mostly due to a combination of things – mostly lack of sleep and lack of hydration.  I’ve been getting in bed early and clocking a decent total, but Claire is teething and waking up a lot.  And I know I haven’t been drinking enough.  Today, the water game is ON.

Pride Parade

I took the kiddos to Sunday’s Pride Parade.  The idea of someone being LGTBQ goes over Henry’s head – he’s too young to understand it – so I explained that it was a parade about loving each other and celebrating how we are all different.  The book NutureShock, especially the chapter on how white parents talk about race, has really shaped my ideas about addressing such issues with the kids (the upshot is it’s better to talk about it head-on instead of hoping they learn tolerance by osmosis, such as by being in a diverse school). 

The parade was fabulous. Lots of support from local businesses and churches.  I left feeling very positive and hopeful – the South can be very conservative, of course, so it was wonderful to see such a welcoming parade in Uptown Charlotte. 

The only downside was, after the parade was over, a man in an elevator shouted out a hateful slur as I exited (I had a rainbow flag with me).  It takes a special kind of coward to say something hateful as the elevator door closes.  It upset me so much!   

I guess I just have to focus on teaching my kids the principles I want them to embody…

Claire

Claire said her first word – MAMA!  I didn’t count Mama/Dada as words with Henry because I felt like they were more sounds than actual words, but Claire definitely uses Mama as a way to call for me. It’s is so adorable.  I love it.  I guess the months and months of brainwashing her – I really did whisper “Mama, mama, mama, mama” every time I picked her up – paid off! 

And this morning, she CLAPPED for the first time.  So fun.  Off to go update her baby book (I’ve done a much better job being on top of the baby book entries this time around – I played catch-up with Henry’s book and realized it’s way better to just keep it out on the coffee table and write down things as you go instead of thinking back and trying to remember milestones).

Purchases

Are you thinking about fall shopping yet? I am!  Every summer, I buy a new pair of sandals and wear them to death, and each fall, I get a new pair of jeans and a pair of ballet flats.  I just bought these jeans from LOFT – they’re running a 40% off sale right now!

And that means I’m officially on the hunt for new ballet flats.  I think the pointy toe look is in? Maybe I’ll drag the kiddos to the shoe store later…

What are you up to?

Hi guys!  It’s Maggie here.  The big human told me that I could tap out a post with my paws today.  Oh, wait – what was that?  Did you hear that?  I’m going to BARK BARK BARK BARK to scare it away.  AHHH!  BARK BARK BARK BARK.  Hmmm.  Actually, there was nothing there.  I’m going to BARK BARK BARK just to be sure that we’re all safe…

Whew.  Yup. We’re okay.

One more, just to be sure.  BARK.

Okay – moving along.

This weekend, I turned 11 years old!  Wow.  That mean I’ve been with the family for exactly nine years.  Time flies when you’re snoozing the day away, sitting under the highchair waiting for the baby human to drop something, and barking.  Time also flies when you have the attention span of a gnat.  Wait… what were we talking about?

Oh yeah.  My BIRTHDAY!

Here’s what I did on my birthday:

Mom let me sleep in her comfy bed.  Sleeping is my #1 skill.  I rocked that bed.  Then, I got to eat the baby human’s leftover eggs for breakfast.  And after, the humans took me and my main man, James, to the dog park!  We were super excited to go for a ride in the car.

I felt pretty nervous walking up to the dog park.  There were lots of smells, and I could hear other doggies barking.  It’s not easy being long and little.  But then, the big human saw a sign that read…

Duh.  The big human totally should’ve thought about that.  I don’t know what she was thinking wrangling me and James and a baby human and the short human all by herself, anyway.  That’s an accident waiting to happen, right? I twisted the leash around her legs a few times just to prove to her that she was being extremely silly.  After she untangled herself, she announced that we’d go on a hike through the woods instead.  That was much more my speed!

The short human walked me.  I like it when he walks me because he cheers whenever I go pee-pee, which is very often because I have the bladder the size of a bean.  So hooray for me!

It was so nice.  I love being outside…

We came home, and I took an epic nap.  Then I barked some more (just checking to make sure those vocal cords still work – yup.  Definitely do!).  I took another snooze in my crate while the humans headed out for errands, and when they came home, the big human made me a BIRTHDAY CAKE!

The humans ate some of my cake, too.

She said she used this dog-friendly recipe from my 9th birthday as her inspiration. Yum.

I spent the rest of my birthday relaxing with my favorite humans.  It was real nice.  The short human gave me gentle touches.  And the baby human chased me down the hallway – she is obsessed with my tail!  The big human told me that she’s so happy they rescued me.  I know I’m happy to be here, too.  I think I’ll go bark in their faces for a little bit to remind them how special I am.  See you later! <3 <3 <3