A Whole (30) New Month
My first post. Scary, huh, to start something new? I am about to embark on a journey that I am honestly not even sure I can finish. This blog serves as my way of keeping myself accountable, but also to track my progress throughout the month. At the recommendation of my sorority sister Kim, I've decided to challenge myself for the entire month of May to stick to the strict diet, Whole 30. It's a huge craze in the CrossFit world, so it's appropriate that Kim suggested to me in the first place. She told of her success on the plan, and her body and health certainly are a testimony to it's effectiveness. After many doubts and concerns, I decided I should give it a try. Why?
Because I have multiple sclerosis. Diagnosed officially last June, I've been struggling with the emotions of dealing with this chronic illness. While my symptoms have been minimal thus far, the thought of one day losing my ability to walk scares the crap out of me. What scares me more is that I might have to stop doing the things I love the most: running, playing my violin and anything else that requires your hands and legs. I'm terrified of the treatments that are offered at the neurologist's office (most include NEEDLES and we all know how scared I am of those!), but my doctor has yet to offer up any alternative to chemicals injected into my body.
I did some research searching for alternatives. Some friends of mine suggested the Swank diet, which is very close to the Whole 30 plan. Both plans are incredibly difficult and don't fit into our modern day world's idea of fine dining. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of delicious options with each diet. But each plan requires incredible amounts of planning. I chose the Whole 30 plan because I needed to challenge myself to trying a diet strictly, even if for a month.
Whole30 encourages high quality food that is limited in chemicals and contains no preservatives. It suggests fresh produce and grass-fed meats. (This is gonna get expensive! $$) I will post tomorrow about the plan and what exactly it is. In the meantime, just google it anywhere and you will find an abundance of recipes and blogs doing pretty much what I'm doing right here (except they actually have people reading them.)
I plan on taking before and after photos of my body so I can track the progress of my diet change. (I am not sure I want to post my before picture right now, because it's not pretty!) I will avoid the scale because it's not about how many pounds I weight but the quality of my health.
I've cleared out my pantry of all the things I can't eat.
Yah.... it's pretty sad. I'm off to the grocery store to get some food to fill these shelves. I have my list in hand and recipes ready to go. Hoping I make it out of there under $100. I'll be sure to update my post with what I end up with.
Off to HEB!
Because I have multiple sclerosis. Diagnosed officially last June, I've been struggling with the emotions of dealing with this chronic illness. While my symptoms have been minimal thus far, the thought of one day losing my ability to walk scares the crap out of me. What scares me more is that I might have to stop doing the things I love the most: running, playing my violin and anything else that requires your hands and legs. I'm terrified of the treatments that are offered at the neurologist's office (most include NEEDLES and we all know how scared I am of those!), but my doctor has yet to offer up any alternative to chemicals injected into my body.
I did some research searching for alternatives. Some friends of mine suggested the Swank diet, which is very close to the Whole 30 plan. Both plans are incredibly difficult and don't fit into our modern day world's idea of fine dining. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of delicious options with each diet. But each plan requires incredible amounts of planning. I chose the Whole 30 plan because I needed to challenge myself to trying a diet strictly, even if for a month.
Whole30 encourages high quality food that is limited in chemicals and contains no preservatives. It suggests fresh produce and grass-fed meats. (This is gonna get expensive! $$) I will post tomorrow about the plan and what exactly it is. In the meantime, just google it anywhere and you will find an abundance of recipes and blogs doing pretty much what I'm doing right here (except they actually have people reading them.)
I plan on taking before and after photos of my body so I can track the progress of my diet change. (I am not sure I want to post my before picture right now, because it's not pretty!) I will avoid the scale because it's not about how many pounds I weight but the quality of my health.
I've cleared out my pantry of all the things I can't eat.
Here is everything:
And here's what my pantry looks like now.
Off to HEB!
I'm SOOO proud of you friend! you can do this! a few suggestions:
ReplyDeleteCheck out http://paleoonabudget.com/ for budget ideas.
Read the W30 timeline so you'll know what to expect and be able to forewarn others, lol. http://whole30.com/2013/08/revised-timeline/
Donate the other stuff to the food bank.
As always, feel free to ask me a million questions and I'll do my best to answer them or steer you in the right direction!! Love you friend! I know you're going to feel the difference. :)