Trying Something New(ish)

I clearly haven't written for a while, and that's due to a few different things:

First, as I briefly mentioned back in August, I started school (again) -- like, teaching school and also attending school. I am working on my Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degree, and it turns out that grad school is a lot of work. Much of my away-from-teaching time is now dedicated to reading and writing about administrative practices in the education system, which leaves not a lot of time (or motivation) to write for pleasure.

Second, I have felt like a total failure on the nutrition front. I am kicking butt with my fitness routine, which should be a shock to absolutely no one, but I am not doing wonderfully with nutrition. I had a stellar week with Weight Watchers when I first jumped back on the bandwagon, and then regardless of how many "perfect," blue-dot days I had, my weight would remain the same or would even increase. It was super frustrating. Also, I feel like WW is designed for people who are not necessarily as active as I am, particularly with heavy-lifting. Relatedly, I think they're behind the times when it comes to fat; like, I want to be able to eat avocado and not blow all my points for the day.

Because my frustration level with WW went through the roof, I essentially just said, F it -- and ate whatever the heck I wanted to. That spiraled, and I found myself drinking wine far too often, snacking on popcorn and candy corn every night, and just making all around less-than-ideal choices.

I decided I need a reset, and I need a reset with something I know works for me.

Whole30.

I have done Whole30 several times in the past. Like, I don't even know what "round" this is for me.

I like this program because I don't have to count or weigh anything; rather, I just have to look at the label (or simply eat foods without labels). I also know that eating this way makes me feel good. I am also hoping that it can help get my hormones back in check; ever since I went off birth control, my hormones have been all over the place, and they're taking it out on my skin, particularly my face. I never had acne issues as a teenager, but now that I'm 36, I look like I'm going through puberty.

I'm also hoping that Whole30 will help with my tummy. I have always, always, always had a flat stomach; regardless of how much I've weighed, my tummy has been relatively flat. But lately, I feel like I look like I'm about five months pregnant. I need the bloat to go away.

I know it's superficial, but I want to look like I'm as strong as I am. I have some mad muscles under this layer of fat, and I want those muscles to pop. I want to see my body look like it's capable of looking.

That being said, I know there are some not-so-great things about the program, particularly with how it can lead to some disordered thinking around food. But, I am only going to do it for 30 days.

I created this calendar. As you can see, the top row has the days of the week, and just underneath that, I listed the dates. So, I'm starting tomorrow (October 28th), and my last day will be November 26th, just before Thanksgiving. I am clearly not going to be Whole30-ing it for that food-filled holiday, which means my Whole30 will only last for 30 days (unlike the 50-some days my first one did).

Yes, I also realize that going from eating 100% clean to, well, not in a matter of a day -- sans reintroduction period -- is likely to make my tummy go crazy, but I guess it's a good thing we have more than one bathroom in our house.

Oh, wait.

But I digress.

On the calendar, I also labeled each day with what Whole30 says I might be feeling. So when I am feeling super bloated on the 15th, I can check the calendar and realize that that's totally normal.

Another proactive measure I took was chatting with my trainer regarding my nutritional plans. He advised that I just keep talking about it (so as not to get too "in my head" with the potential of disordered thinking). I also mentioned that after Thanksgiving, I would like to chat with him about the possibility of looking at macros -- or something a little less restrictive -- to keep me on track.

Honestly, though, any sort of tracking has the potential to get me a little too Type A, a little too preoccupied with perfection.

To help with my planning, I created another document. (Remember that whole Type A thing I just mentioned?)

I'll be creating this each week so that I have a game plan. The far left column lists meals (Whole30 recommends numbering the meals rather than calling them breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I also created a row for snacks; while Whole30 does not advocate for eating between meals a whole heck of a lot, I would prefer to be prepared in case I get hangry. After all, my commute can be long -- and very close to dinner time.

The bottom row tells me what I have going on for the day, things that might interrupt my schedule. For instance, because I have grad school on Tuesday night, I want to plan something fast and easy to cook. The same goes for Thursday, when I will be getting home from work super late due to teaching independent study and then handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. That meal is a crockpot one.

Today, I spent approximately one million dollars at three separate grocery stores (Trader Joe's, Target, and Whole Foods): I forgot how expensive this is. But, I'm hoping it will be less expensive going forward now that I have some of the staples (i.e. arrowroot powder, coconut aminos, sugar-free mustard and salad dressing, etc.).

I then spent a few hours prepping food: hard-boiled eggs (courtesy of my Instant Pot), breakfast quiche for the week, and tomorrow's lunch. I also packed everything in their individual containers so they're good to go for a fast meal-packing tomorrow morning.

So, here's to something new(ish). Stay tuned for how it goes!