Hello everyone! Yes, I’m still alive.
Ya know, I get asked all the time, “How do you find time to exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, take care of 6 kids and a husband AND blog about it all?”
My answer is always, “It….Is…..NOT….easy!”
But, I love it!
However, when my blog isn’t updated for a while, it’s probably because I’m busy exercising, preparing healthy meals, spending time with my family and/or occasionally sleeping.
There are not enough hours in my day….seriously.
I also must say that preparing meals/snacks for Whole 30 takes quite a bit of extra time. I’ve also kicked my exercise schedule up a notch and I love it, but it takes extra time too. 🙂
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Soooo, I have a zillion pictures/things to share with you guys!
First off, I’m still going strong with Whole 30! It’s very tough at times and takes a TON of mental strength, but I love it and know it’s so good for me.
I’ve stayed on track 99.9% of the time, but I have allowed myself a half stick of chewing gum (I’m not supposed to have sweeteners) from time to time and I’m okay with that. I also realized that the Seasoned Salt I’ve been using has sugar in it!??! Who knew?? I was also at my sister’s house the other day and she offered me some turkey jerky. After I had eaten a couple pieces, I realized it had sugar in it too!!
WTFreak? I think everything has sugar in it.
So, other than those few weird “issues,” I’ve stayed right on track!
I’ve been making lots of interesting Whole 30 concoctions….
I usually throw together various veggies, eggs and/or meat and top it with salsa, hot sauce or guacamole. Sometimes it sounds good to me, sometimes it doesn’t, but I always eat it either way!
I’ve still been making green smoothies most days and usually have it with a side of chicken or turkey.
My smoothies are pretty boring, but they’re always refreshing. It’s usually a mixture of unsweetened coconut milk, water, some type of frozen fruit (usually banana or berries,) spinach or kale, maybe a little cucumber, chia seeds, nuts and ice!
This has been my all-time favorite snack…
Homemade guacamole and sweet potato chips! Yuuuuu……uuummmmm!
I’ve pretty much had a constant stash of these in my fridge at all times. There are many times when I’m so dang sick of veggies and NOTHING sounds good to me……and that’s when I pull out my chips and guac!
I also have a stash of roasted veggies in the fridge at all times…
I also made a batch of Cauliflower “Rice” the other day and it was great!
Some day I’ll put the official “recipe” on here, but for now I’ll quickly tell you guys how I make it.
- Wash a head of cauliflower and cut it into florets.
- Put the florets in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower becomes small pieces that look like rice.
- You can cook the “rice” many ways, but my favorite way is to roast it.
- Spread the “rice” out on a foil lined pan (sprayed with oil.)
- Drizzle a little olive oil on top.
- Sprinkle with seasoned salt (or seasonings of your choice)
- Roast at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes until slightly browned. Enjoy!
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I’ve only been out to eat ONCE in the past 16 days! Kev and I took our oldest son out to eat at Chili’s over the weekend…
My son ordered the biggest, yummiest looking burger and I really wanted to eat it!!! However, I ordered myself the 6 oz. sirloin with grilled avocado and tomato with a salad on the side….and took a blurry picture of it!
It was very good, but not very filling. It was one of the few items on the menu that was Whole 30 compliant. I did have to pick the pieces of Feta cheese out of the salad though. 🙁
We had a fun night and it was nice to eat food that I didn’t have to fix myself!
We also went up to my parent’s house Sunday night for a potluck dinner with my brothers and sisters. My mom asked ME to bring dessert!!???!
Seriously.
I made some Caramel Brownies and chocolate cupcakes with the best frosting on the planet!
I didn’t take any pictures (boo), but I’m happy to say that I didn’t eat ANY of the desserts I made, not even a lick of the spoon. I was so proud.
I was also worried that there wouldn’t be much food I could eat at my mom’s house, so before we left, I ate this….
A random salad made up of romaine, snap peas, hard boiled eggs and Frank’s Buffalo Hot Sauce. I also had some grapes on the side.
Interesting and random, I know.
I was glad I ate it though, because THIS was the only thing I could eat at my mom’s house…
A BIG plate of salad. I had to pick the Feta cheese out of this salad too!
This “diet” definitely takes a lot of hard work, determination and freakish willpower! I love it though and I’m happy to say I’m seein’ some results!!!
I’m not “allowed” to weigh myself on Whole 30, so I’m not sure how much weight I’ve lost, but I can actually SEE the difference!
It was quite interesting because I didn’t notice much of a difference the first 8-9 days, but then it seemed like a bunch of weight fell off of me! All of my clothes fit so much better and my beautiful muffin top has totally gone down! It’s been seriously miraculous.
I’m so happy about it and very encouraged! It’s exactly what I needed to keep me goin’.
I had Kev take a picture of me on Sunday, but I’m not sure if you can actually see any difference. Nonetheless, here ya go…
I did take a few scary “before” pictures when I first started Whole 30, but I’m saving those “gems” for the end. Oy.
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I’m also happy to say that I’ve been kickin’ some serious butt in the exercise department. I’ve been loving the new Vasa Fitness gym that opened near my house! It is so beautiful and it’s so nice to have it so close!
I’ve found a couple great classes there that I’ve loved! I’ve also been meeting some friends there at 6:30 AM, three times a week to do the Jamie Eason LiveFit Trainer workouts. It’s been great!
I still feel “fluffy” and I definitely still have weight to lose and muscles to tone up/show up, but I’m happy to see some progress!
I have so many more things I could share, but I think I will end this! So far, I would recommend Whole 30 to anyone! It’s hard, but awesome.
I hope you are all healthy and happy!
xoxo