Checking In – Whole30 challenge

At the beginning of the year, one of the goals that I set for myself was to break my sugar addiction. To be honest, I haven’t done a very good job of it. In fact, I think it’s probably the worst that it’s ever been. So while sitting at our favorite pizza place waiting for our food, my husband and I decided that we needed to make some changes in what we eat.

I don’t want to go on a “diet”. I am happy in my body, I work out four times (or more) a week and have a healthy body mass percentage. I’m not looking for some quick fix or something that isn’t sustainable. I believe in a healthy lifestyle with balance and moderation.

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Why Whole30

What I have noticed is that I’ve started to have more frequent bouts of anxiety and I have a very shortened attention span. My energy levels and my mood can fluctuate drastically in a 24 hour period. I know that nutrition can make a huge difference so I’m embarking on this experiment to see if I can change those things for the better by changing what I eat.

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Whole30 program and after reading the book, I identified with a lot of the points that it made about the direct relationship food has with your overall well being, not just your pants size. A 30 day reset was exactly what I was looking for.

Thankfully, my husband is onboard as well and this can be a family affair. I’m nervous about navigating the temptations – there is no way I can take away Big Nugget’s favorite PB&J’s. I’m excited about how I’ll feel once the 30 days is up. Not just my moods and energy levels but also the sense of accomplishment that comes from completing a challenge.

I bought two books to help me prepare for this challenge and I’ve liked them both. The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom outlines the who/what/why/when/how of the program and it has some good recipes in it. The Whole30 cookbook has a very brief synopsis of the program but has a ton of great recipes, I’ve marked at least 30 of them.

I’m a planner and have already figured out the first week of food for us all – and we aren’t even starting until next week. I’ll share our meal plan and shopping list once I have it all completed and let you know a full review of week 1.

Be sure to follow my new Whole30 Pinterest board here.

Beyond Whole30

I’m still tracking on my other goals that I set at the beginning of the year. I’ve been vigilant about my one line a day journal. I finished reading Daring Greatly and have started on Little Fires Everywhere. Professionally, I feel like I’m taking some big steps to grow my business. I’m really excited about putting all the things I learned at the Mom 2.0 summit into action. I also signed a consulting client so I’ve been helping them strategize their social media strategy to grow their audience.

Did you set goals for this year? How are you tracking towards them?