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When Your Body Fights You...

Hey everyone.  Week one of the Whole30 Program is done, and I'm still alive.  I didn't die by eliminating added sugars, alcohol, grains, beans and whatnot from my diet.  But I will tell you one thing, this week was not easy.  Let me elaborate.The creators of the Whole9 state on their website that, "Whole9’s original program designed to change your life in 30 days. Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food."  In reading their book, I realized that I wasn't making the best choices for optimal mental and physical performance so I decided to give it a try.  I'm going to give you an idea of how my week went - feel free to skip through the days if you aren't interested.

Sunday... I started.  It was fun playing in the kitchen and making some new dishes that were very healthy and wholistic.  I'll share some of my photos at the end this entry.  It was exciting and new and different... But around 3 pm, I had to slow down because I starting having a headache.  Eventually, I took some Advil before dinner to get rid of it.  It went away, and I was able to finish off my evening by making some great chunky guacamole.
 
Monday... I woke up after a very strange night of sleep.  Not very restful at all, which is unusual for me.  The headache was back.  The headache was back in full force.  I tried to ignore it for the day, and I didn't take any medication either.  I was worried about my work out to be honest.  My run training started this week, and I knew I need to expect some lethargy.  Luckily, I busted out the run and my 50 burpees without any problem.  Unluckily, my headache never left.
 
Tuesday... I woke up again after another weird sleep.  Oh well.  I was again worried about my work out perfomance.  Today was my personal training session, and I had to complete 50 burpees.  No worries again!  I completed 55 burpees and did a great job lifting.  My workout partner and I worked on dead lifts, power cleans, squats and overhead presses with a barbell.  I felt awesome... it it wasn't for that damn headache!
 
Wednesday... I woke up after another weird sleep accompanied by an even weirder dream.  I had a dream I ate a hellacious amount of plain m&m's.  Then, as a result, my teeth because deformed, discolored and started falling out of my mouth.  I ran to my sister for help, and she ran me to an oral surgeon while packing my teeth in ice... Really?   So, today was kettlebells, and I dragged ass until about midway through the class when my energy (or more like adrenalin) kicked in.  I finished with 40 burpees and a 35 minute walk/run.  Yeah, I was beyond exhausted at that point.
 
Thursday... I woke up.  Hmm, my headache isn't so bad now.  By mid morning, I'm not happy.  I'm a bit grumpy and struggling with some things at work that normally wouldn't even bother me.  I can't concentrate so I'm happy when it's time to work out.  Today is Zumba... and I'm not feeling it at all, and I barely finish my 45 burpees.  This day just sucked.
Friday... I woke up.  I rested well.  Finally!  Today is a half day so I go to work knowing I have another 35 minute walk/run and 50 burpees to complete. I'm feeling pretty good since today is the last day of my burpee challenge.  Well, I finish my run and do 56 burpees for good measure... it just took me a really long time.  Buckling under peer pressure, I also join some of my friends in UNLOADED - a 30 minute fitness class.  BAD IDEA.  I just half assed it. I had no energy.  No focus. I'm grumpy again.  I want some Jelly Bellies.  I'm so over this.
 
Saturday... I woke up at 3:30 am!  Family had a trip to Columbus today. I'm dreading eating out so I decide to bring my own breakfast and salad dressing for later.  I know I can find a salad somewhere.  We eat at California Pizza Kitchen for lunch, and I had a cobb salad (less the bacon, dressing, and cheese).  It wasn't that bad.  I also had some wholesome snacks - dried apricots, raw cashews, and a Primal Pac (thank goodness for Primal Pacs!).  Things are looking good. I purchased my bracelet at Tiffany's for my charms so I can wear them now.  Made my first ever purchase at Victoria's Secret (TMI...).  Awesome!  Once at home, I ate a nice dinner and passed out at 8:30... and didn't wake up until 6:30 am!
 
What a strange week, right?  I've never really had trouble sleeping.  Why now?  Dreams.  I know I have them (everyone dreams), I just don't remember them... but I remembered that weird one.  What's with the headaches?  Why am I so tired?  What's wrong with me?
 
It's called the "carb flu."  Or, at least that's why the creators of the Whole9 lifestyle call it.  (PSA... I am not endorsing this plan as the gospel so don't worry that I'm turning into one of those "people."  I'm just sharing my experiment because I find it interesting - end of PSA)  They state that by removing dense carbohydrates from my diet (sugars, grains, beans), my body isn't relying on them as a fuel source.  As a result, my body is rebelling a bit, and I'm suffering from "carb flu." Symptoms include:
  • Grumpiness, irritability, crankiness
  • Headaches
  • Tiredness and lethargy
Why is my body doing this?  Well, it's getting used to another primary fuel source (healthy fats like avocado, olives, clarified butter, olive oil, nuts and what not), and it's not happy, and I still want some Jelly Bellies, damnit!

Well, I'll let that go for now.  No Jelly Bellies for a while, but they will return eventually.  For now, I am going to enjoy the face that I had an amazing night of sleep... which is a benefit along with increased energy, loss of cravings, less pain in joints, and so on.  I'm going to keep going although I feel like my body was really fighting me this past week.  That's ok. I'm Patiently Waiting for my chance to fight back.  That's My Style...
 
Pics of awesome, wholistic food.  Recipies and reference material are located in "It Starts with Food," written by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.
 

 Primal Pac - Healthy snack for people on the go!  These will be great post-work out snacks on days when I doing some heavy lifting.  Beef jerkey, marcona almonds, macadamia nuts, dried mango, and dried cranberries.  After I tried a pac, I went back online and ordered 10 more.  YUM!

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sweet Potato Hash - Seasoned ground beef, roasted sweet potatoes, peppers and other yumminess.  Great recipie!
Egg Friatta with ground beef, mushrooms, spinach, onion, jalapeno pepper and anything else I could get my hands on.  It went great with chunky guacamole and salsa.
I'm getting great at making omelets - so my mom says.  This one was stuffed with spinach and mushrooms.  I tossed some Fuji apples and left over ground beef in it too.  Great breakfast!


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