Whole 30 week 2

This week was a challenging week as there was a holiday in there.  A holiday that normally is characterized by food, food, and more food.  

And not the Whole 30 kind.

We did well though having the cookout at our house with some friends that we had not seen in awhile. 

I was super excited that they enjoyed the food as well.

Then we had a potluck cookout at church.

Which we did not prepare for at all.

Tray after tray of sweets and salads all containing things that we could not eat passed by.

But we held strong and did not partake.

It was a little awkward just eating hamburger patties with mustard ( I checked the label) but we survived.

The results of this week are not as impressive as last.

I lost 1/2 a pound.  BUT I am noticing a definite change in my clothes.  They are getting baggier around the middle.

Whole 30 is not necessarily a weight loss regime, but I would be lying if I said I didn't care if I lost a few more pounds.

My candida die off is still there, but fading which is lovely.  And I definitely am seeing a return in energy somewhat.

I keep waiting for that "tiger-rush" of energy, but I think with 3 kids their schedules and one of them being a baby who still wakes in the night, Having enough energy to enjoy the day may be all I get.

The best part of it all though is the fact that I still have had no belly issues since starting Whole 30!

That is AMAZING in my book.

Im hoping with more water intake this week and maybe a tighter attention to my portion sizes that I will be able to see a more positive number on the scale next week.

I can do anything for a little while right?

Its amazing how one's body changes after having a baby...

or turning 30.

Of course things change physically, bellys are stretched,hips are wider, hair is a little grayer.

Oh that's just me?  Sorry never mind.

For the past year I have really noticed how varied my emotions have been, how clear of mind I have NOT been, and my over all strength and stamina seems to have taken a nose dive.

Then a few weeks ago I really became aware of how grumpy my tummy kept getting by the evening times.

After a lot of research and some soul searching I came to the conclusion that this must be diet related.

So I decided to Jump on the Whole 30 band wagon.  I figured a diet free of any and all irritants for 30 days would definitely tell me if this was diet related or if I was just getting old. LOL

I had heard of success from some of my friends of varying physical abilities so I figured this was something I could do.

I created a Pinterest page (of course) so I could go directly to approved recipes instead of seeing all of my naughty recipes in my Food page.

I want to set out some goals for this thirty days other than just weight loss so here goes.

First off: I hope to see if eliminating so much out of my diet will calm the belly gripes.  Nobody likes to be around a gassy lady.  :)

Secondly: I hope to have more energy to complete my day.  Too often I feel I'm just barely surviving.  

Thirdly: Clarity of Mind.  Im not sure if this is possible by eliminating foods, but I would love to feel less foggy brained and actually be able to carry on a conversation without forgetting what I was saying.... in the middle of a sentence.

I just finished week one and here are my thoughts.

I lost 5 lbs.  Wahoo!!

I am tired in the evenings- Upon reading the FAQs of Whole 30 it states that feeling sluggish is normal at first because the body is getting rid of all the nasties and relearning to burn fuel and fat not quick carbs.

I am hungry- Not always but there are days when I want to chew off my arm.- Again I checked the FAQs and find I need to add denser vegetables and good fats to my diet. Lots more sweet potatoes.

I am having a MASSIVE Candida Die off- This I'm not too surprised with since sugar has been a part of my life since... oh birth?  Can anyone say Sweet Tea?  Although unsurprising, being itchy in all the wrong places is terribly annoying.

My belly has not been grumpy ALL WEEK!!!! This I am super excited about and paired with the weight loss has been the only thing keeping me going.  

I DO have will power- I made it through the drive thru of a fast food establishment and did NOT order anything for me! Just munched on my trusty trail mix and passed the nuggets back. :)

My Husband is a Big ole whiner!  LOL I love him for taking this challenge with me, he came in on the tail end of week 1.  And boy did he ever gripe about all the things we couldn't have. Despite it all he is being very supportive (yet very verbal) and staying on this with me.... so far.

The belly progress and the weight are definitely my reasons for keeping on for week 2.  I hope this next week brings a bit more energy on top of the other successes.  

Hello old friend...

Three weeks ago I did something I had been putting off for a while.

I rejoined the YMCA.

I wasn't really thrilled about the situation, spending money when I had access to free equipment at home and the base gym. 

What I didn't have access to was a sitter I could afford as much as I needed.

Or children who would let me work out... because getting up any earlier was not happening.

After spending an entire day being the only person that Hazel talked to I knew I had to bite the bullet.

If nothing else I needed a few moments from the constant chatterbox my six year old has suddenly turned into since her brother went on vacation.

The first day back though I knew it was the right decision.

Being able to get back to running, lifting listening to my music and not a Kids Bop version of today's tunes was just what the doctor ordered.

It even encouraged Hazel to get out of bed willingly and get herself ready to go.  Let me tell you this NEVER happens. We have had to change dance studios and Co-ops because the struggle to get this kid out of bed and somewhere on time in the morning just turns me into the "Yelling Mom".

But here we are out the door sometimes as early as 8 am with hair combed and teeth brushed and snack in hand.

Glory!

So back in the gym I decided to finish my 10k trainer I had started back when I was prepping for the Newport 10 miler.

I love it!

And yes I am that annoying person who has to post every workout on Facebook.  I don't apologize for it.  I do it because I need the feed back from friends who will encourage me along.  I do it to prove to myself that I can accomplish this goal.  I do it to show my husband my commitment to making our lives as healthy and happy as I can.  And I do it to inspire others who see that if this girl can do it, maybe they can too.

But let me tell you....

An hour on the treadmill is killer! 

Like I got mad and said "Forget it!" today because I was tired and sore.  But I went back and walked it out and finished my 4.1 miles

I do think I will go back to my 5k trainer though and use it for a speed workout, just so I dont get bored and maybe just maybe the stars will align and I can go outside for long runs once a week and finish up the is 10k program.

Because next?  Next is obstacle training!!  YAY!!

I'm a Yeller

Ok so I have a confession to make.  

I Yell.

A Lot.

I come from a looooong line of yellers.  We are a loud group of people.

When you are yelling so loud that you can't hear what we are saying... We yell louder.

How else are you suppose to hear me right?

Problem is when you have kids and you yell and you see the hurt in their eyes or how they cower when your volume raises ......

because they are scared of you.

You  I frighten my kids.

I, the one who is suppose to be their ultimate earthly protector, frighten my children.

I don't like that about myself.  I can make all the excuses in the world about stress, lack of sleep, blah, blah, blah truth is I have gotten in a nasty habit of reaching for my yell before anything else.

Enter The Orange Rhino. 

Long story short, this mom is just like me and made a commitment to not yelling for a year and blogs about it.  Shes on Facebook too and offers great daily advice.

I've been doing better..

Until today.

Today Hazel began the day chipperly declaring that after lunch she wanted a nap.

"Ok", I laughed, "You can have a nap."

Of course when lunch came around she decided she wasn't in fact tired enough for a nap anymore.

"Changed my mind mom, let's go to the library and sign up for the reading program."

So we were off.  

After she's all signed up and tucked in with a few books that she *must* read right there in the library to add to her Summer log, in walks in another military mom with her kid.

The conversation immediately turns to homeschooling.

She is contemplating homeschooling her child for "half a year only" as they are transferring and would like to open up my brain and reap every bit of information available.

Socialization, Standardized testing, Art, Life lessons, Compassion towards others, How do I KNOW my kids are learning and WHO is checking to make sure I'm doing my job.

At this point I have answered these questions so many times the answers just roll out.  I'm confident in our choice to homeschool.  I don't need to be nervous and am happy to help.  You always get that one person though who likes to use you though as their sounding board as to why traditional school is better.

Why they are better.

It never sets well with me but Im adult enough to just let them ramble.

I feel a tug at my arm.

"Mom, I want you to put on a puppet show.."

"Give me a moment please Im speaking right now."  

Socialization, Standardized testing, Art, Life lessons, Compassion towards others, How do I KNOW ...."

"Mommy I want to write my books in my log"

"Just a little bit dear.."

Socialization, Standardized testing....."

"MOMMYYYYY!!!!!!"

And the fit ensued.

In the end Mrs. X got to say all she needed to, Hazel logged her books, and I wanted to climb under the nearest rock as my valiant effort at sharing homeschooling with someone was thwarted by my 6 year old's tantrum.

So as punishment I decided to withhold her movie for the evening. And let her know by yelling it to her in the car.  

Its like the noise just vomited out of me.  I could see the hurt in her eyes, the fear in Lillian's as she had no clue what was going on and then it all came out....

"I TOLD YOU I WANTED A NAP AFTER LUNCH THIS MORNING!!!"

So there you have it.  I should have listened to my child in the first place.  And although I doubt very seriously we were the ambassadors for homeschooling that Mrs. X was looking for, a lesson was indeed learned.

Now let's nap.

The Ever Elusive Element

Balance

Here lately I have felt like I am caught in the changing of the tide.  

Trying to manage this wife/motherhood/friend/active participant in life gig is hugely overwhelming at the moment.  Like one minute I have my feet planted and can make a little headway towards the shore and the next wave (sleepless baby, house, teaching, field trips, and in general need for an adult conversation) crash over my head and I'm left spinning head over heels hitting every obstacle cleverly hidden under the surface until I just can't tell which way is up and I'm starting to suffocate.

Then the wave subsides for a minute and I stand up, and can actually smile and make a few steps before the next crashing wave topples me.

The problem is no one else seems to be able to see anything but when I stand up and smile.

When I shamefully confess that I feel like I'm about to lose my mind I just get a sympathetic smile and a "Just know that this will pass," or a "Well you sure LOOK like you have it all under control."  

Well I'm so glad you think so, and yes I KNOW this is a phase and this will change sooner or later just as the tides do, eventually the waves will start washing me towards the shore of sanity instead of away to the depths of darkness.

Problem is I'm not so sure I'm strong enough to make it through this change right now.

Problem is people drown.

Being a military wife, homeschooling mom with a little one under foot, and in general content person has never been more difficult..... or exhausting.

There is so much need around me... good need, hard need, essential need. Everyone requires a piece of time and effort including me and I just don't know how to properly divy it all up.

"Everything cannot be top Priority Allison", my therapist once said.

"Yes but everything is so important."

"Make your lists, balance your lists, make sure you take care of essentials first including yourself and forget the rest."

My four walls, Lists, do it right, put blinders to everything else.

Dear Lord I'm trying.  Just let me make it to shore.

I did it!!

So last Saturday I got up nerves all a tingle and tidied the house, looked at the clock, paced, looked at the clock some more, and FINALLY it was time.  I was going to pick Angela up from the airport!!  We were really going to see each other, we were REALLY going to run 10 MILES!!  

She hopped off the plane and it was immediate tears!  Gahh!! I missed that girl!!

24 hours before we had agreed very last minute to volunteer for bib pickup at the Fort so away we went!  Falling right back into all our conovs like we had never been apart for 3 years!  It was great!!

Ang began to really worry about halfway through bib pickup that she was going to freeze to death as the wind picked up and whipped us for the 4 hours we stood handing out bibs.

It was all worth it though.

We thawed.  

I got a green shirt.  

:)

That night I was a basket of nerves trying to get my things together and worrying about my little Princess who has officially adopted the "I'll sleep when I'm dead" mantra.  She's why I had not trained in 2 weeks.

Could I do this? Were we going to keep Angela up all night?

And then I melted the shirt Ang made for us to support Boston.

In all honesty I wanted to cry.

Sleep was evasive as usual, but I pulled myself out of bed on time, and readied.

We hit the pre race yoga session which was awesome as I didn't struggle nearly as bad as I thought I would through the venyasas 

Once at the starting line I saw so many people I knew and really began to get excited... and emotional.

Hey no sleep for 8 weeks will do that to a woman.

Yeah I cried.

Moment of Silence for Boston...

Tears streaming...

Then the gun.

We were off.  The view was spectacular, the route much harder than I anticipated, and people were passing me like crazy.

Doubt.

Then at around mile 2 there was a couple just standing on the side of the road high clapping and cheering for every runner that passed.  

There were people there to cheer us on.

I knew then I could do it.

I may not be with the people I knew but there were people high fiving me and telling me what an awesome job I was doing.

That gave me the drive to keep going.

Right up until mile 6.

I was done, my running app had frozen, my feet were screaming and people were STILL passing me!

Then I saw a little dude from the Boston Marathon again cheering me on and right past him on the left was 

Amy, my friend and fellow runner.

Her sister was running too but had already passed and she was waiting to cheer me on.

I bawled the whole way past her!!

It really was what kept me going.

I made it to the mile 8 water station and there was food... bananas.

I could see them from way off.

I hate bananas.

Funny though my body seemed to move of its own accord and I took the banana ate it and didn't die.

LOL

It really wasn't bad.

3/4 of a mile away from the finish Ang came back for me.

Angela after she finished photo courtesy of my hubs <3 p="">

She prepped me that the finish line was a little different than we had thought, that my family was there and I was totally going to smoke my goal.

Did I mention my feet were crying?  

Another Running/Homeschool/Military friend Jen hollered as we went by.

Next thing I know she was running with us to get me to the finish.

Now this is the girl who told me at my last race, "Find someone you know you can beat, and beat 'em...... or take 'em out."  Love that girl!

So they were running with me and I had to stop and walk for just a few paces and the girls I had picked to beat passed me.

"Oh NO YOU DON'T!"  

(I really hope I didn't scream as loud as I said it in my head)

Jen laughed and we pushed right on to the finish line.

10 Miles.

in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

My goal was 2:30.

Victory was mine (and I didn't have to take anyone out).

The rest of the day was spend recouping, visiting and going back to the course with a camera.

Pure bliss.

And how did I get rid of the soreness of running 10 miles?

Oh, just took a 3 day trip walking downtown New York City. 

But that is for another post. 

:)

Proof I actually ran

(again photo thanks to my amazing hubby)

This is what we ran beside!  It was breathtaking!

Angela

Perfection.

I feel all grown now.

So being a military wife means we move..

a lot.

Fortunately that means I get the opportunity to meet some pretty awesome people.

Unfortunately that means I also have to leave those people when we transfer.

For the past 7 years all of our traveling has revolved around family.  Which is all I figured traveling meant in this life.

But over the past few years I have sat by while fellow military wives have had friends come to visit them, and they in turn fly out for weekends ALONE to visit as well.

 

I must admit I have been a little jealous.

Don't get me wrong I LOVE when my family comes to visit, but when you spend so much time rebuilding support systems everywhere you go, its nice to actually have connections beyond one duty station to another.  It also seems very "grown" to jet set to see a buddy.

Well my friend  Angela and I have bemoaned for 3 years that we missed each other, but it seemed the only way we would actually get to see each other would be for us to be re-stationed in Miami.

I told her about my latest running endeavor (The Fort Adams 10 Miler), and we fantasized about how awesome it would be if she could come up. 

But just like every military wife randomly searches rentals in locations they would LIKE to be stationed at, Angela tortures herself by looking up flights to see me.

Only this time the prices weren't so ridiculous....

Next thing I know I'm getting a picture text with a flight itinerary to me!!!!

Angela is coming HERE!  To run my biggest race yet!!

AHHHHH!!!!

To say I am on cloud nine is the understatement of the century.

Angela has been running just about as long as I have known her, and has totally been an inspiration for me to get off my duff and do... something.

Plus she's the only person who would let me box her in my back yard to blow off steam.

Gotta love friends who will let you hit them ;)

As a huge thank you I am sending you over to her blog to enter into her awesome giveaway!  Tell her I said hi ok?