Whole30 Update

Can you believe that we are 6 weeks away from Spring Break???  If you have not started back with your workouts, now is the time!  If you stick to a healthy eating plan along with consistent exercise, you can make a difference in your body in 6 weeks!  More importantly, you will feel better!!!

Here is the schedule for the week.  Make sure you read past the schedule for my update on the Whole 30 challenge!   Also, if you would like to purchase a Perfectly Fit t-shirt, I do have them available for $30.

Speaking of changing your body and feeling better, I completed all 30 days of the Whole30 elimination challenge!  Let’s just say, if I can do it, SO CAN YOU!!!  If you are looking for a great way to reset your diet, I am now a believer in getting rid of sugar, grain, dairy, and alcohol for 30 days as a way to a healthier diet.  OK, my diet was not so bad before the challenge, but I do like to eat whatever I want when I am hungry.  I am not one to cut out entire food groups, so it was challenging, especially the first week.  Even though I was not looking for a drastic change, just to reset my diet to less sugar and white flour, I walked away learning quite a few things:

1.  Sugar is really bad in so many ways and can wreck havoc on your diet.  Once I was sugar free for 10 days, I lost all interest in sugar or anything bad, really.  I did eat a lot of almond and peanut butter as well as salted nuts, which satisfied salt cravings.

2.  It changed the way I view carbs from grains as a necessary part of the diet.  I was convinced the first week that I needed more complex carbs (I was craving oatmeal and rice) because of years of long distance running, my body must be so efficient at burning carbs for fuel that I was depriving myself of energy without them.  Yes, my energy was low the first week and I almost quit, but a friend convinced me to stick with it and I am glad I did.  After day 10 I really started to feel better.  My energy just kept getting better and better.

3.  For 30 days, I never felt bloated, not once!  If the middle section of the body is your trouble zone or you are a woman approaching 50, I highly recommend trying the Whole30 to see how your body responds.

4.  Apparently, I was in a much better mood for those 30 days…according to my very opinionated 13 year old daughter.  She asked me yesterday if I was glad to be done with the 30 days and proceeded to tell me that my grumpy side had all but vanished.  According to her, white carbs and sugar make me grumpy – now that might be a reason to avoid them permanently!

5.  The challenge also expanded my cooking creativity – I started cooking more with coconut oil, making smoothies with coconut and almond milk (YUM), researching new websites for ideas.  Change is good!

If you are interested in giving it a try, I am happy to answer questions or offer support.  I will probably do it again next January, but until then I will be back to all things in moderation!

Have a great rest of your weekend and I hope to see you in class this week!