Start Somewhere: On Grace and the End of Whole30

First up, grace. I’ll hit on it in a bit, but I need to let you know that I had to give myself a LOT of it after missing last week’s Start Somewhere post. I felt like I needed to give you guys an update on the end of Whole30, but just couldn’t keep my eyes open long enough to actually write the post. So there’s that – grace please? And thank you?

 

Last Monday marked the end of Whole30 for us, and y’all? I couldn’t have been happier. Seriously, it was dragging on F-O-R-E-V-E-R for me, and the truth? I ended a few days early because I knew how ridiculous it would be for me to try and be strict while at a conference. It can be done, sure, but I will forever ere on the side of community over a diet of any kind.

 

I hit on most of my takeaways already here, but at the end of it all I feel like Nate and I both came to appreciate eating good-for-you food even more than we did before. It’s certainly not the easiest choice to make, but committing to Whole30 really forced us to take a look at what we put in our bodies. It helped us to see that there are a lot of things we are needlessly consuming (looking at you, sugar) for the sake of convenience, and that a lot of “healthy” foods really aren’t all that “healthy” once you see the list of ingredients.

 

BUT.

 

We also believe in eating a wide variety of foods, and we really appreciate dairy in its various forms. It’s a good fit for our lifestyle, has not caused any issues for us or the kiddos, and we like the way it tastes. Adding dairy back in was a no-brainer, and I’ve never enjoyed Greek yogurt as much as I did the first day back! We love legumes and grains too, and while we certainly need to cut back on the quantities, we are certainly glad to add them back in as well.

 

After eating so clean for 30-ish days, though, I totally tanked. Like, this past weekend we gave ourselves a total pass and ate things that are 180º from Whole30. But grace. I’m thankful for the way Whole30 has shown me that I feel so much better when I eat better, and I don’t think it will be an issue to go back to healthy whole foods again.

 

Today marks another small challenge for me though: no refined sugar for at least a month, if not longer. I’m not going to be as strict about it as I was with Whole30, but I can feel a MAJOR difference in my moods and energy levels when I don’t consume a lot of refined sugar. Local honey and pure maple syrup are OK in moderation, but I’m still going to have to work on removing the “I need dessert” feeling after meals.

This past week I started the Fitness Blender Booty & Abs workouts, and while I love them they are definitely not made to be done in 30 minutes or less. I’m doing what I can with the time I have and already feel stronger in my core than I did before, but I think I’ll be going through these two workouts for a second round after this initial 4-week period.

 

So there you have it! A little grace after a sugar-filled weekend and the end of Whole30. Life is life and I’ll mess up, but it’s the getting back up that counts, amen?

 

How are you guys doing? How was your weekend? Any questions for me?