Now that it's January 21st, it's been three weeks on the Whole30 nutrition plan, wahoo!
I started the Whole30 on January 1st on one of the few hangover-free New Year's Days in my adult life. I was that motivated to start, I had absolutely no desire to party my way out of 2015.
After buying the Whole30 book for my boyfriend on Christmas, and strategizing with his family over the holidays (they'd done the Whole30 before and one family member lost 7 pounds, another 17!), I was SO eager to start.
I've written a Three Part Series on the Whole 30. Stay tuned over next few days for Part Two, "Let's Nerd Out on Science" and Part Three, "So, How's It Going?"
Quick Whole30 Definition
For 30 days, eating real, whole foods: veggies, fruits, clean meats, nuts, eggs and seeds. And coffee. And komucha! And almond milk. All that abundance!
Now the kicker: no grains, no sugar, no processed food, no legumes, no alcohol, no dairy and no hummus. Not that hummus is a food group, but well, it kind of is.
Before I dive in to the science of the nutrition plan in Part 2 of my Whole30 series, here are some of my personal motivations, ranging from serious to sentimental:
Preparing Real Food
As a NYC-resident of 7.5 years, I've developed a grab-and-go attitude towards food.
I do absolutely love that I live a few blocks away from Chop't, sweetgreen, Digg Inn Seasonal Market and (sometimes) Dos Toros, but combined with my past job in finance and ordering Seamless web for lunch every day for six years at my cubicle, I'm rarely pressed to create my own delicious and nutritious food. Instead, I rely on my favorite salad combinations on the fly.
I'm determined that in 2016, I will continue to build my recipe repertoire in the kitchen, to make prepping meals stress-free and satisfying!
Eating Real Food
Along the same lines, given my constantly changing schedule of personal training clients, teaching running classes and health coaching clients, I sometimes eat six small meals a day, at odd hours.
One of my 2016 goals is: Eating real food: Doing the #Whole30 this January to re-structure some of my automatic habits and prioritize cooking in my life. Building my repertoire of easy meals I crave, rather than relying on chopped take-out salads, green smoothies, or oatmeal/dark chocolate/almond butter.
Just because I'm having a second late lunch at 3pm doesn't mean it needs to be almond butter-based, but instead it could be a light salad or roasted veggies, etc.
For my Clients!
I've tried out almost every "diet" in the book. Atkins, South Beach, Vegan for one year, Vegetarian, Hamburger-Free (is that a diet?), Plant-based Paleo, Plant-Powered, Paleo etc. I feel the huge need to test-run the Whole30 to support my current and future clients! I love and need to walk the walk, and talk the talk.
Yep, to lose 5 pounds
I've had some sweet reactions when I told my clients this one - really?! Your trainer wants to lose 5 lbs!? Yes. Definitely.
I don't really weigh myself anymore and have built up a lot of self-confidence stepping away from the number on the scale and tuning in to how my body feels. But, I jumped on the scale at the end of December and saw that over the course of 2015, I had slowly and steadily gained 5 lbs.
Yes, I could tell a bit by how I looked in pictures, but my priorities in 2015 were building up my personal training business, launching my blog and health coaching business, spending so much quality time with my boyfriend and healing my elevated cortisol levels, NOT doing intense workouts or measuring my bodyfat several times a week like I'd done in previous years.
I'm glad I took a year to sort through my issues with the scale, I've learned a ton! But I'm excited to put the tools I use for my clients in action for myself again these next couple months and have those pounds melt away!
Being a Cheerleader and Part of the Team
Support is everything right?! It would be really hard to do the Whole30 alone.
I've synced up with two free online community coaching groups, one by Brooke Brennan on Instagram and one by Liz Barnet on Facebook. Both ladies are fabulous fellow health-coaches and I love learning from them and being inspired by the group posts. It's also crucial to have a safe place to vent when cravings for chocolate go haywire!
Quick PSA: How can you find a support group for your "secret" health goals? Take a look on Instagram: the support of "strangers" can be super powerful. Or book a free session with me here, I'm sworn to secrecy with my clients and value the confidential information you all share with me. I love being your cheerleader!
I'm also honored to be part of my boyfriend's family's Whole30 January. Over one of our last holiday meals in Ohio, over chicken pot pie and a crisp glass of white wine, we strategized on our plan for January and everyone's health goals. Talking about nutrition? My sweet spot! My happy place!
I love how January celebrates nutrition and fitness, two things I hold near and dear to my heart. I really try not to preach, so it was fun to have the conversation naturally veer towards my passions.
I'm turning 30 this year!
Yep, in May. It's not just a coincidence. I want to be freaking ROCKING it on my 30th birthday from a health, fitness and self-awareness perspective. If my 20's were all about "finding myself," my 30's are going to be about "owning my truth" and spreading my passion for health and nutrition personally and professionally.
Teamwork makes the Dreamwork
My boyfriend is a self-proclaimed recovering Sour Patch Kids addict. It's been a great bonding experience going through the ups and downs of the Whole30 together and developing a shared language on our food choices. He's really working on cutting back on sugar and I'm trying to kick my daily dark chocolate addiction. It's fun to do something with your partner. So pick a friend, parent or co-worker and see what challenge you can do over the next few weeks. Tell me about it here on my contact page!
Let's nerd out on Science
. . . . Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3! And truly, thanks for reading!
So my friends, now that you know my insider information, are you willing to challenge yourself and try the Whole30!? Buy the Book, I dare you.
I'm here to support you! Any questions!? Email me directly at michelle@fitvista.com and I promise to respond personally.