July Snapshot: Whole30, Dreaming of Folk Fest, and Other Ramblings

Today is Day 18 of my Whole30 and things are really just chugging along.  I thought this round would be so hard but it really hasn't been.  I think waiting until I was 9 months postpartum was a great choice because I was truly ready to make a change and the baby consistently sleeping through the night doesn't hurt either. Getting dinner on the table before the baby goes to bed is the biggest challenge, but I've been trying to pick dishes that come together quickly, Dave always helps, and sometimes I prep some things the night before after she goes to bed.

I feel like I never have time to post here and sometimes I think about just letting it go, but then I'll click through my old posts and I just can't.  So here we are with a quick snapshot of what's going on right now (inspired by this blogger).

FEELING:  Unbloated, energized, productive.  Tiger blood?  I'm not sure, but I know I feel good!  Emotionally I'm still feeling pretty mixed about weaning the baby, but tomorrow she will be 10 months old and I'm so proud we've made it this far!  And I'm done pumping at work!  HUZZAH!

EATING:  Let me say it again, Whole30 is not a diet where you eat boring unsatisfying foods!  We have been eating so many delicious things.  We do a lot of easy no-recipe meals like burgers, steak or chicken sausage with roasted or sauteed veggies, eggs, etc.  But we've also made some awesome recipes from the internet:

• Mango Chicken With Coconut Cauliflower Rice
• Juicy Cuban Mojo Pork Roast
• Melissa's Chicken Hash
• Homemade Mayo
• Sweet Potato Apple Breakfast Bake
• Crispy Buffalo Chicken Fingers
• German Potato Salad
• Bacon Chorizo Chipotle Smothered Meatloaf

CRAVING:  GIMME ALL THE CHOCOLATE!  Apparently my sugar dragon is not yet slayed.  Dave and I have both been craving sweets at night which we have been battling with fruit and La Croix.  But dang, I want a Hershey kiss!

PLANNING:  Post Whole30 I am headed to Annapolis for my long time BF Jes's bachelorette party, then I have a short work week and we're headed to the Philadelphia Folk Festival!  I am so jazzed up for both events and I'm basically wishing away the next two weeks to get to the good stuff.  But there's a lot of prep that needs to happen in the meantime though!

2013, babies!

LISTENING:  I'm studying for Folk Fest and trying to get to know the must-see bands, so I'm listening to my Fest playlist over and over.  I love listening to some new genres and artists I'd probably never make space for otherwise.  Some of my top picks right now are Valerie June, Porter & Sayles, Earle and Coffin, Making Movies, and Earth Radio if you're looking for something new to listen to.

WATCHING:  I have 2 episodes left of the second season of The Handmaid's Tale and whoa.  It's so incredibly messed up but also amazing.  The show always makes me reflect on my pregnancy and the gift of motherhood.  I'm also super pumped for the new season of Orange is the New Black that just came out today.

MOVING:  I've been consistently hitting CrossFit once per week, sometimes twice, and I'm still getting my ass handed to me.  CrossFit is punishing when you're not in shape and going once per week is not really helping my cardio capacity.  But I still love it and the feeling I got from easily deadlifting + low hang snatching 90 lbs on Wednesday keeps me coming back for more.

As you can tell, life is good and busy as per usual.  I'll be back in two weeks with my Whole30 results and some body after baby updates!

It's Time: My First Postpartum Whole30!

Over the past year and a half, my body has grown and nourished a human being.  How incredible!  During that time I had given myself a free pass to eat ALL the things... and boy did I!  Now that's coming to an end!

I've been thinking about dieting for a few months now but I didn't want to do anything that would risk my milk supply.  Breastfeeding has been a wonderful journey and did a pretty good job taking off most of the 60 lbs I gained during my pregnancy.  But now I am ready to wean Vienna, kiss my pump goodbye, and drop the last 10 lbs of the baby weight.  And Whole30 seems like the perfect tool!

My eating habits have been based on feeding two people for a while now, so the Whole30 will truly be a reset for me.  I need to get back to the basics, focus on food as fuel, and kick my intense sugar cravings to the curb.  I am starting tomorrow 7/10 and ending 8/8!  I hope to blog a little, but I'll probably share more on my Busy, Bold, Blessed facebook page.

It's going to be SO HARD!  This will probably be my hardest Whole30 yet!  I know I am going to feel like crap while my body goes through a sugar/bread/alcohol withdrawal in the next few days.  I also know I am going to be tempted by fun summer events and free food (there's literally a free lunch at work on my first day tomorrow). Oh and I have a baby now!

So I'm taking steps to set myself up for success.  I'm rereading It Starts With Food to put the science behind the program fresh in my mind.  I've rallied the troops and I've got a group of 10 people doing it along with me in my private facebook support group (please let me know if you're interested in joining)!  I am meal planning simple things and trying to think of how I can do as little work in the kitchen as possible.  I ordered some sauces and other Whole30 staples from Whole Foods using the new Amazon Prime delivery service.

I am so excited and a little nervous.  But I am ready for the amazing changes I know I am about to experience!