Whole30 Day35

Still plugging away here on the Whole30. It's past the 30 days, but last week and this coming week the box is have a PR partner challenge, and one month's membership is at stake. So I'm staying on the Whole30 until it's over on Friday. Here's why:

20 PRs in 34 days.

That's a lot of PRs.

Now, it's not like it's anything major. 5# to a lift here and there, but as I've been really struggling since having the baby 10 months ago now! (wow!), I need this. And I've actually gotten almost three (I think) really solid months of training in. It might be only two (I have to check my book which isn't near me), but I've been able to do a lot since the Open I feel like. And most of the time I'm feeling better. I certainly feel better in the gym since I'm not eating crap.

I did do my weight and measurements on Day 31 though. 4 pounds down, 9 inches lost, about a dress size down, lots of improvements in strength. A bit disappointed in the weight loss aspect, and I really was hoping to have gotten closer to my pre-pregnancy size, but for me, clearly, this is a very very slow process. I am at least getting stronger and gaining some muscle here, too. So I have to accept that I'm making progress and not get too down on myself about it. Considering where I was a month ago, I've made some big gains/losses I think.

A couple of things though. I don't think I'm getting enough food/calories. The first two weeks I was feeling great, but the last week and a half or so, not so much. I'm getting enough sleep and despite the number of PRs I put up, I am actually taking some solid rest days (sometimes three a week), so I'm not overworking at the gym. I'm not a huge fan of logging my food, especially since I'm eating clean, but I think I need to to see if I'm getting enough energy in.

According to the Eat To Perform calculator, I should be taking in about 400 more calories than I am, and if yesterday's log is typical, then I am fine on the fats but low on the protein and carbs lately. So, for the next week, I am going to work on adjusting these things and see how I feel because I'm getting cranky and bitchy lately, and it's got to be some dehydration, lack of calories, or both.

I'm starting the Whole Life Challenge on Saturday, too, with my sister (it's really for her). And rather than continue hard core as I have been, I am going to allow myself a treat here and there when I want (but no more than once a week), and see how I feel and function on a maybe 90/10 Paleo scheme here. I think I got about another week of the Whole30 in me, and I'm motivated mainly by wanting to win the PR challenge, and I don't want diet to be the thing that boots me out of the competition, so I will carry on, and save my treat for Friday night. But we'll see how adding calories and carbs and protein goes this week. I don't want to follow the ETP plan because the reviews had a lot of people say they got soft and fat, strong, but soft and fat, and that's the opposite of what I want. But I have been suspicious over the last week and a half that I've not been eating enough lately for the amount of energy I'm expending in the gym and just in life in general, and I think that's why I'm not able to get the work done that I need to like I was.

Whole30, up to Day 16

So we're on Day 16 now. Made it past the Day 10/11 mark, which was about when I really just wanted some chocolate. I don't know why. I think because it was the end of the week for me, and I was just tired. But then I hit a PR at the box on Friday, and I was sooooo glad for the Whole30. I'm really starting to notice a difference in how I feel, especially during my workouts. I'm feeling a bit better in the afternoons, too. I feel like I'm a bit more focused and more easily able to get through my class prep. And I feel like most nights, if the temp is the house is comfortable enough, I'm sleeping better, and when I get sleep, I'm not waking up exhausted or stressed.

The biggest difference though has been in the box and with my clothes. Jeans that fit but were just a tad uncomfortable (but wearable) even just a week ago are fitting better already. I didn't have to hold my stomach in Friday or Monday to get them on, and they were fine to sit in for extended periods without my having to undo the top button. And some of my shirts are fitting better across the bust, some not quite there yet, but getting there. And at CF, man, right now, I am feeling good! I'm still disappointed in how bad/weak my deadlifts still are post-baby; pregnancy really messed up the deadlift. But, I got my best ever (barely though, but still) back squat and strict press yesterday. Used a significantly smaller band today for the pull up and improved in the push ups, sit ups, and air squats from December. I've finally been able to get a good solid nearly 8 weeks of training under my belt, and really just within the last week have I started to actually feel strong, and I contribute as much of that to the Whole30 as I do to consistent training.

Since I am making great gains here and knowing that I still won't have achieved my goal of pre-baby size by the end of the Whole30, I am continuing on to the Whole Life Challenge that starts May 3rd. It's 60 days and more flexible than the Whole30 (the goals are different), and I think because of my stress level and given how easily I backslid 6 weeks ago, I think I need just a little bit more accountability before I take the training wheels off again. And part of why I'm doing it is because my sister needs to do it, so I started a team for us. We established a prize for the winner. I hope she does well at it.

Really what it's taken this time around is for me to see improvement in my workouts and for me to go down a dress size/half a dress size and to see my bigger sized clothes fitting really, really loosely. The effects of the Whole30 are really kicking in this time, and again, that big difference has been the elimination of Spark and butter. Such a little change that really does show that you have to comply to really feel the difference. I'm just really positive about my performance in the box right now. And I'm glad that we're doing "testing" this week because I haven't gotten maxes in a long, long, long time, so I don't know what I'm capable of right now, and to know that is going to help me get stronger. Anyway, yay for the Whole30 and yay for the next challenge so that by the time summer is in full swing, I may have finally re-established good food habits and be closer to getting my writing and research done. Here's to a successful second half the quarter, second half of testing week, and second half of the Whole30. 

More Love

Yesterday I let my "love" be reading. I hadn't read all day, and while I did plenty of staring at the computer, and should have been writing, then well, I just couldn't bring myself to write. But I made sure to dive into the novel on which I am planning to write.

I am happy to report that I've only got hopefully three more days (or 2.5) on this damn elimination diet and then I can get back to true Paleo eating full of variety and love and perhaps do some cooking myself. Baby has another ear infection, but the meds seem to be working already, so hopefully by the time I'm ready to add cooking to my 15 minute lovefest every day, I'll be good to go.

Back Again? Giving it another go...

I keep saying I'm going to revive this blog. And every time I say so, I earnestly mean it.

The fam and I have been doing the Whole Life Challenge since September 7th. The lifestyle challenge this week (and perhaps it's for the remainder of the challenge) is do spend 15 minutes a day doing something you love. I love writing. Over at my other blog I spend a lot of time working through the baby's health issues and trying to balance work, and here I'd like to get back to talking about the other parts of my life that I enjoy--Paleo cooking, CrossFit, and health.

TBH, I haven't done hardly any paleo cooking since Swee'Pea Disceaux got here. The parents are staying with us because there is a scarcity of childcare here, so Mom's been doing all the cooking. And I've only been back at CF for about 6 weeks (c-section recovery took way longer than I had hoped). And with the new lifestyle challenge for the WLC, and after reading the intro to Melissa Joulwan's new Well Fed 2 in which she talks about being her best self (plus with some other stuff I've been working through on the academic blog), this is one of the things I want to get back to. There are some complicating factors though. Even though I'm doing the WLC, I'm on a restricted version of this because of the Swee'Pea's issues. Baby girl may have food allergies (we get the blood test results on Monday), so I've been on the Dr. Sears Elimination Diet for three weeks (which is an issue in itself being on it that long)trying to eliminate allergens in my system in the hopes that I can begin nursing again. I must remain on this until the 24th.

Until the 24th, I'd like to use this space to write and think about my health goals, what will make me happy, and how to integrate that in with my academic life, how to get to balance and how to get to more happy.

After the 24th, once I get the clearance from the pediatrician, we'll say Sunday the 27th, I want to participate more in the cooking. I miss it. I didn't do nearly enough of it when I was pregnant, but cooking, especially loving, wonderful, beautiful Paleo meals grounds me. It's a good stress reliever for me. It makes me feel like I contribute something greater to my family. So, I would like to start sharing the cooking responsibility with the Moms once I can start adding variety to my diet again.

The good thing about Paleo life is that if Miss Swee'Pea is plagued with food allergies, then this is a good way of eating on which for her to grow up. Furthermore, it's important for me, especially since I have a daughter, to have my child see a healthy lifestyle and healthy relationship with food and fitness modeled. I don't want her to grow up seeing a mother constantly dieting and denigrating herself at every turn (like I saw growing up).

So we shall see how I can develop this space in the next week. I'm looking forward to diving into Well Fed 2 and reporting back on it.