It's Been One Week...

Not to get too Barenaked Ladies on you...

But, it's been one week...and I lasted....and I'm still alive...and I'm not starving!! The last week was not as hard as I thought it would be. I've been sticking to my coffee, eggs and spinach for breakfast...with copious amounts of Frank's Red Hot Sauce...bringing my lunch...and making dinner.

My one mistake this week was using some mustard and in my ignorance, didn't think I needed to read the label because who puts sugar in regular, yellow mustard? Well, Italy does! Argh. I didn't stress over it though, as I hardly had any. I figure if you beat yourself over those tiny mistakes, Whole30 would turn into Whole40 and then Whole50...and so forth.

I'm feeling pretty good. I was definitely tired this week and my muscles continue to be sore. I'm still running with Cross Country and attended Gaelic training this week...and I think as I'm not eating the carbs I normally eat, it's making the recovery more intense.

My biggest test was last night. I had a birthday party for a friend and there was red wine, cheese, salami and Oreos! My weaknesses! But, I poured my frizzante water into a glass and enjoyed the fruit.

I did weigh in on Thursday at 130 pounds....which is a few pounds lower than usual. But I did come home and ate a bag of potato chips...so....it's all about balance right? :P

Some things I have realized:
- Mental preparation in this is KEY! Had I heard this and decided to do it the next day, I wouldn't have lasted. I spent a good month really looking into it, talking to friends, reading blogs, looking up recipes and most importantly, prepared my mind for this commitment.
-Positive people. People around me have been encouraging and friendly. This too is key.


More soon!!

One sitting!!! 😱

First Weekend

For the past three weekends, I have had to be up early for Cross Country on Saturday mornings. I coach it at my school. This weekend the team had a meet in Aviano and I was supposed to be out of school Friday and back late Saturday night. It turned out I didn't have to go as we only had 5 kids traveling which doesn't justify two coaches so the head coach had to go...and I got a weekend OFF! (I may or may not have been jumping up and down when I heard this news. :P)

I headed to Trionfale and stocked up on meat, snacks, fruits and veggies. I then went to my first TRX class with my friend Mandy. This was an INTENSE workout! It left me sore Sunday which I used as an excuse to not do a whole lot. As it was a pretty relaxing weekend, I wasn't very stressed thus, I wasn't very hungry. I do know that the cravings come when I'm stressed...so while I consider the first 2 days fairly easy to get through, we will see once my work week begins.

I decided on some rules:
1) Just BUY it. I'm not holding back. Since I'm not buying other foods or eating out, I'm not going to hold back on buying a 2 euro avocado or pack of pricy pistachios.
2) Plan meals. It's just easier this way.
3) Up my water intake. I drink a lot of water but not enough. I find if I drink water when I start craving something, I sometimes curb the craving.
4) Always have dates and nuts on me. I did eat a lot of dates this weekend but as I adjust to the no sugar, I'm going to let myself eat a lot of dates. How they are acceptable is beyond my comprehension as they taste like pure sugar....but I'm not complaining!!!

-Carrie xx


Pictures:
1) My favorite butchers here in Rome!
2) Snacks!
3) Breakfast: Ground pork, spinach, zucchini and Franks hot sauce.
    Coffee with coconut cream (This taste will take some time to adjust to...)

Whole 30-Day 1

Friday night was my "Carrie Gras." A friend and I went out to dinner and being that it was my "last supper," I chose...INDIAN! Full of carbs, dairy, a bottle of red wine and all those hidden sugars I will be avoiding for the next 30 days.
Many people have asked me why I'm doing this. Actually, many people have said, "Why are you doing this Carrie?" The implication being that I don't need to lose weight. They're right. I've always been underweight and struggle to maintain the 135 lbs. I should be weighing in at being that I'm 5'10".
I suppose people automatically assume this is a "diet" and while I'm making dietary changes, I prefer this to be viewed as a lifestyle shift. And the why? Well....why not? In the grand scheme of things, 30 days is not that long. From hearing about the results my friends have had in the states, I was eager to jump on this bandwagon....and I'm not a big "bandwagon jumper."

I have three motivating factors that have inspired me to take the plunge:
1) SLEEP- My inability to have a normal night's sleep has plagued me since my early 20's
2) ENERGY- I'm always tired.
3) SKIN- Why do I have to worry about this at my age?

In my reading of Whole30 and other nutritional blogs, articles, journals, a majority of the food I eat has been rumored to be a culprit of the aforementioned afflictions. And it's not like I'm an unhealthy eater. I love to cook and choose to cook rather than go out. I tend to cook chicken/beef and vegetables for dinner. My breakfast has always been eggs and spinach (kale when I was living in California) and toast. Lunches (at home) primarily are salads with homemade dressing (Olive oil, lemon, garlic and soy sauce). I've always been health conscious. Not to say I don't indulge in the occasional bag of salt and vinegar chips or gelato with panna (Okay, frequently indulge).

If changing my diet for 30 days can give me some answers, then I would be stupid not to try. And if it doesn't do anything...it doesn't do anything and I know it's not diet related. So here we go....!