Busy lives seem to be the norm amongst our people – multiple preschool and toddler aged children, jobs with big titles, husbands, family, and friends to keep up with and houses to be cleaned. So much to take care of, and ultimately, the one thing that falls behind as mothers is ourselves. Our mental, physical, and emotional health constantly takes a back burner to those in orbit around us. It’s something that we continuously talk about changing but rarely ever put the steps in place to actually make happen. We have decided that we are going to take a step…..a BIIIIIG step…..and we are starting with the food we put into our bodies. It’s the least time consuming change since we are already eating so we don’t have to find an hour somewhere to squeeze anything else in. We just need to change WHAT we are eating! So in true social media fashion, we are headed down the Whole30 path. Here’s our commitment, our plan{s}, our goal. Follow along! Join us!
Hi, Sarah here!
I’ve struggled with weight my entire post-pubertal life. One day I was wearing a size 3 colored Bongo jeans and the next I was doing anything I could to squeeze into the 13. I carried this into adult life and have spent my days going up and down. {My closet holds clothes size 8-16.} I’m constantly shuffling between the sizes, with exercise and decent eating usually ending up around a 12. I’ve learned a lot since my dear diary days, and I now know that this size is both maintainable and healthy on me. Pregnancy and motherhood have taken its tole on my body and my excuses have to be conquered. The time to make the change is NOW. I have to fix this cycle.
For three months my house has been following a Keto diet – high fat, very low carb. I’ve pretty easily gotten rid of 25ish pounds, and I’m powering on. I need to get back to that sweet spot. 50 more pounds? We’ll see when we get there. I feel fantastic, never hungry, more energy, and better sleep. It’s amazing how different you can feel by removing carbs from your diet. I’m not going to hit up the science here, but it does make for very interesting reading! Keto/Paleo/Whole30 – similar but with some major differences. I’m not worried about the restrictions because I’ve already cut the grains and sugar. My biggest hurdle with this Whole30 challenge is going to be in the prep. Monday-Thursday I don’t walk in the door until after 6:30. Thankfully, my babysitter has my kids bathed and fed, and it gives a little time for play, stories, and bedtime routines. Wash and make bottles, pick up the den, and I’m looking at an 8:30 dinner – it’s got to be ready to go. To stick with Whole30 approved meals, this means prepping and cooking on Sunday and packing my fridge full of to-go lunch containers and dinners ready to be heated up. This will be the major part of my success story! Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail! {Who said that? It’s a great one!}
Ohhh, hi!! Jessica here…my turn!
Wellllll, bottom line for me is I’m looking for energy. I despise feeling tired more hours of the day than I feel full-o-life. So whole30 for me will be an experiment, and if I notice a shift in my energy levels, this will count as a win. I know what I put in my body is just a piece of the puzzle. Exercise and planned “me” time is also mandatory…but we’re just talking baby steps my friends, right?!?
The little twist we’ll be working on this month at my house is that I’m going to attempt to keep everyone on board with this little game. Josh, me, the girls, Owen – they will all be playing along. I don’t intend on cutting food groups out of my kids’ diets, so when the grown-ups are drinking almond milk, kids still get the dairy…and when we refrain from sprinkling cheese on our zoodles, they’ll be loading up. Like Sarah said, the only way we’re going to make this work is to plan and prep every single meal…breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks…yikes!! I’m nervous, but we are vowing to hold each other accountable and hoping that you follow along and join us so we can all support each other!
The great part about Whole30 is the prep work has already been done for us, we’ve just got to stick to our plans and the rules! Below are some links we’ve used to get started, please join along and let us know, we’d love to follow along on your journey! We’ll be back soon…hopefully with our success stories!
Web Links ::
Whole 30 :: Your starting point! All the directions, all the questions, and the book you need to get your hands on!
NomNom Paleo :: Home to the coolest paleo loving girl in the land – she’s giving you a month’s worth of Whole30 recipes right here!
Pinterest :: My favorite resource so far…pinterest set to search Whole30! duh!
Instagram Accounts ::
Whole 30 has taken Instagram by storm! Here’s our favorites so far – recipe inspiration, lifestyle inspiration, and some really yummy almond milk! Please let us know what hidden treasures we are missing!
We’re started our challenge on September 1 and taking it through to the 30th! Come play along with us on instagram @thelittlecrane! See y’all there!
For a mid-month update, click here.
And for the final results, click here.
