Time to pick back up

For some unknown reason, I've had the uncontrollable urge to blog again. I think when I first started I was so unclear on what exactly I wanted to do. I look at this blog and I was all over the place!! I knew I wanted to give to the celiac/gf community in some way, but clearly I was unsure how to do it.

Over the years, I have learned so much about what I'm doing, ways to eat not just better, but healthier. I've been gluten free almost 5 years, and I feel like this journey is never ending. Not in a bad way, always learning.

So I'll start by addressing a question some of you have asked me: Did I complete the Whole 30? What were my thoughts, and did I cheat?

YES! YES! YES! I completed my Whole 30! Can you tell I'm proud of myself?? :) Seriously, I did complete it. I didn't cheat... unless you count a piece of gum that I chewed while on a run. I suppose if you are an absolute purist, then I cheated. I'm ok with that.

I went into the Whole30 addicted to sugar, drinking a couple of glasses of wine almost every night, and pretending like I wanted to start exercising again. What I learned was invaluable. I learned that my body is extremely sensitive to soy. I learned how to eat breakfast without making myself feel sick; something that in my life I had not been able to figure out. I learned that I didn't need wine in the evening, that the reality was I wouldn't miss it, and that alcohol+my stomach really don't get along too well. I tried things I had never tried... some of them I feel I will not try again, but hey! I'm not worse for trying it, right? And I decided I really did want to exercise, so I stopped talking about it and did it. At the end of the 30 days, I felt better than I've felt in a long time. And yes, I lost weight. Not that I know how much... I didn't weigh myself before or after. That was not my motivation, but an awesome benefit.

My thoughts? The Whole30 is a bit extreme, but sometimes, that's what it takes. It takes something extreme to make you decide to change your habits. But it only lasts for 30 days, and in the whole span of life, 30 days really isn't that long. And in the end, I learned a lot and felt a lot better. Will I eat 'Paleo' the rest of my days? Probably not. At the core of who I am, I cannot wrap my head around an evolutionary diet. I cannot be convinced that some tribesman somewhere in the middle of the jungle wouldn't eat a potato or other tuber that grew from the ground. But I do believe we are a culture of people who eat far more starch than necessary, with most starches coming from nutrient-dead food.

I believe very strongly that our food system is severely flawed, and choose to use my precious food dollars buying local, sustainable, grass-fed as much as I possibly can. I absolutely believe it matters what you eat. I will lean toward what is termed 'Paleo' simply because of the focus on whole, clean foods, meat that way it was supposed to be (not ecologically or health destructive), and the avoidance of 'fake foods'. Because I undoubtedly function better eating that way.

I would recommend the Whole30 for anyone, especially if you are feeling like your health needs a boost. It is a challenge, but sometimes you have to work for what you want.