Another Marymount Day May 21, 2013

Unfortunately, my daily posts may not be too exciting because Monday-Thursdays our days our usually pretty similar. 

I have a break in my teaching right now so I had an opportunity to blog. I am about to wrap up this Tuesday of teaching. It has been a good day. I received some good feedback from Ms. Pagano about the lesson that I taught yesterday. I am hoping to channel some of her comments into the preparations I’m making to teach science again tomorrow. I will be having my formal observation by my professor on Thursday so I am trying to polish my teaching and get as comfortable with the class as possible before then. The element of being watched always adds some extra nerves and stress. 

The most exciting part of the day was that Ms. Pagano unfortunately had to leave school early to go to the doctor, but due to this, she trusted me to handle the class instead of calling in a substitute. It was exciting to me that she had that much confidence in me, and it was good for the students to learn to respect me in the same regard that they respect Ms. Pagano. 

I am excited to travel home after school because we have started a new tradition of getting gelato right after school at our favorite place, Old Bridge, which is right by the bus stop near our apartments. Mmm, I can taste my banana and mango gelato already just thinking about it. 

Thanks again for reading this. Ciao! 

Post Whole30: Gluten containing grains reintroduction (days 4-6) — Jenny’s menu February 10, 2013

Bye bye dairy (again), hello gluten containing grains! Also, I realized at some point during day 4 that TECHNICALLY I’m supposed to be adhering to all the Whole30 rules throughout the food reintroduction phase with the exception of the food group that I’m adding in at the time…. I may or may not have broken a rule or two. Oops. But for the most part I am still adhering to all the rules.

Day 4

Breakfast: whole wheat bagel with some Welch’s all natural grape jelly (didn’t think that choice through well since I can’t have any dairy again nor can I have peanut butter yet! And I’m out of eggs..)

Lunch: Last bit of the left over Taco Salad (lettuce, beef w/homemade seasoning, salsa, guacamole), I also ate a vanilla cupcake that was left over from the super bowl. My roommate brought in Raven’s themed cupcakes from Wal-mart to her classroom on Monday

Snack: Apple

Dinner: whole wheat pasta with some all natural marinara sauce

Day 5

Breakfast: egg sandwich on wheat bagel with some salsa, banana

Lunch: 1/4 of a foot long turkey sub from subway ($5 footlong deal!) on honey oat bread with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, onion, cucumbers

Pre-dinner snack: apple

Dinner: General Tso’s chicken with some fried rice and egg roll (Well….this broke the Whole30 rules because of the rice at the very least, but it was Chinese New Year….so I made an exception.)

Day 6:

Breakfast: egg sandwich on wheat bagel with some salsa, banana

Lunch: 1/4 of a foot long turkey sub from subway on honey oat bread with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, onion, cucumbers

Dinner: leftover Chinese food

Post Whole30: Dairy reintroduction (days 1-3) — Jenny’s menu February 9, 2013

Here is what I’ve been eating for my food reintroduction schedule!

Day 1

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with a little bit of cheese and salsa

Lunch: grilled chicken nuggets, carrot sticks and Danon Light n’ Fit Greek Yogurt

Dinner: Taco Salad (lettuce, beef w/homemade seasoning, cheese, salsa, guacamole)

Dessert: small piece of birthday cake (I made an exception for this while at a neighbor’s birthday party)

Day 2

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa

Morning snack: Greek Yogurt

Lunch: Taco Salad (lettuce, beef w/homemade seasoning, cheese, salsa, guacamole)

Dinner: grilled chicken nuggets, steamed asparagus, baked sweet potato fries and a nice cold glass of milk!

Day 3

Breakfast: scrambled egg with cheese and salsa, apple, greek yogurt

Lunch: Taco Salad (lettuce, beef w/homemade seasoning, cheese, salsa, guacamole), small bowl of chocolate ice cream

Dinner: (We went to Chili’s with some of our close friends to celebrate being done with the Whole30 and to thank them for all their support over the past month!) I had the Parmesan crusted steak (the Parmesan/Monterey Jack cheese combo on top of the steak was a little much in my opinion) with steamed broccoli and sweet potato fries. (Unfortunately there really weren’t many side options that could work with where I am in my food reintroduction. I thought about just ordering a house salad but I thought I wanted more than that and it wasn’t until my roommate did that with soup that I realized I REALLY should have done that…especially when I got the bill. Ordering steak out is NOT always cheap! However, for the price, the steak really was the best option considering most of the other dishes I would have had to ask them to take several things out of the dish.)

Day 30!!! — Perspective from Jenny February 6, 2013

Today is day 30!! I have eaten my last dinner that adheres to all the Whole30 rules. We’ve made it. There were so many times that I thought this day would never come because it felt SO far away. But we’re here! Just a few more hours and we’re done! It’s funny that looking back on this experience, it doesn’t seem that hard. Sure there were lots of hard moments and really hard days but now that I am so close to being done, it seems like it went by relatively quickly. I feel a lot healthier having eaten so many fresh fruits and vegetables over the past 30 days and feel great most days. I’ve been waking up before my alarm, which has been a little unfortunate because I never feel quite ready to get out of bed when I wake up.

Tomorrow begins the food reintroduction period. Ariel and I differ on this, but I’m taking the cautious route on this one. And if I went 30 days without eating grains, legumes, dairy, added sugar, then what is a few more days? The Whole30 gives this recommended sample schedule to reintroduce food:

Days 1-3: Reintroduce dairy. Keep all the other Whole30 rules.

Days 4-6: Remove dairy, reintroduce gluten-containing grains. Keep all the other Whole30 rules.

Days 7-9: Remove gluten-containing grains, introduce gluten-free grains. Keep all the other Whole30 rules.

Day 10: Remove gluten-free grains, reintroduce legumes.

I think that the food reintroduction schedule would take at least 13 days if you eat legumes for 3 days like the other food groups. I don’t think that I have any food allergies but so much of the Whole30 website talks about how so many people suffer from mood swings, irritability, sleep issues, fatigue, etc., because of the food that we eat. If I went through all of this for 30 days to detox my body and reset my metabolism, then I might as well take a few more days to see if I do notice any negative reactions to food! Not to mention I’d rather not take the risk of being sick to my stomach after adding so much back in! I may not take a full 2 weeks to reintroduce everything, and I may not add things in only to remove them a few days later. I might add dairy, then a few days later add the non-gluten grains, then add gluten-containing grains, and finally add the legumes. Or then again, we’ll just stick to the sample schedule. Who knows?! I think that I am most excited to see the post-Whole30 results. How do I respond when I eat these “normal” foods? Will I actually notice a huge difference in how I feel? Will I realize that I have been feeling GREAT these past few weeks when I suddenly feel like crap when I reintroduce foods?? Only time will tell! I just know that when I went to the store yesterday and bought some dairy, and some legumes, and some grains…I was SO excited. I have never been that excited to buy food, and it felt great, although a little weird that’s for sure! Someone suggested that maybe I’ll actually enjoy these foods more as I slowly reintroduce them into my diet. But I’ve also read online of people who realize they don’t really like certain foods post-Whole30. Which, if that’s the case, that could be really depressing depending on what the food is!

Anyway, sorry I’ve been a little MIA on this Whole30 blog! Unlike Ariel I haven’t really made anything super interesting or experimented a ton with food but rather I made things that I would eat normally with a lot of fresh fruit and steamed veggies! I have eaten a lot of steak this past month and oven baked sweet potato fries! So those two things are definitely atypical for my diet! But maybe they will stick around 🙂 I’ll try to make up for my lack of presence on this blog with my post-Whole30 experience as I reintroduce foods! 🙂

The Whole 30 Experience February 5, 2013

30 days. 30 days. I’ve always liked the number 30 seeing as it’s my birth date, but 30. I have never felt so many emotions towards this two-digit monster. As I sit here on Day 30, I feel very reflective on what these past 30 days have taught me, how they’ve changed me, and what I’ve learned. I am very anxious for day 30 to pass and to see how The Whole 30 has transformed me and what it’s lasting effect will be in my daily routine. I’ve always wondered why there is so much positive response to The Whole 30 online. In our low points, Jenny and I searched the web high and low to find blog experiences from people who struggled, or even failed with The Whole 30. We were puzzled when we discovered no blogs on such topics. Now, however, sitting here on Day 30, I get it. Had I not been blogging throughout my experience and if I just wrote one summary blog post for the past 30 days, I, too, would not have much negative to say about my experience. I’ve finally reached that point where I feel great, confident, and healthy. The challenges and low-points along the way seem miniscule in comparison to how I feel and how far I’ve come. I would highly, highly, highly recommend The Whole 30 to anyone who is even considering it. In my final Whole 30 Post, let me share with you some of my triumphs and what I’ve learned:

Lessons Learned:

1. Sugar, sugar everywhere! So much of what we consume is packed, in sneaky ways, with sugar. It’s no wonder that we constantly crave it, it is such a big part of everyone’s diet. If you need to cut back on sugar, you can’t just stop with cutting out treats and desserts, you have to go so much deeper.
2. Fruit is filling. Prior to The Whole 30 I would eat fruit just to satisfy my daily fruit requirements, but not to truly fill myself. I would eat a banana and then go straight for something else. The Whole 30 has taught me that fruit is satisfying and filling. As I venture into my post-Whole 30 lifestyle, I want to continue keeping fruit (and vegetables) as a central part of my diet.
3. Sweet Potatoes are delicious. Who needs to load one up with marshmallows, brown sugar, and butter? A simple, plain sweet potato is satisfying, tasty, and well, healthy.
4. Exercise is crucial. Clearly as a result of this diet my nutrition and eating habits were very healthy. But eating healthy is just the beginning of a healthy lifestyle. Throughout the Whole 30, the days that I felt best were the days that I also incorporated some form of exercise into my day.
5. Sleep is a necessity. I will forever remember the article on The Whole 9 blog which spoke to the fact that sleep is our body’s #1 need. If you wake up early to go to the gym and feel overall exhausted, it is more beneficial to your body for you to take the time to sleep another hour, than to force yourself out of bed and make yourself go to the gym. Yes, you read that right.
6. Food doesn’t define me. The Whole 30 taught me how to eat to fill my hunger but not to eat simply to fill cravings or boredom, etc.
7. Cooking makes it taste better. I have never planned and cooked so many meals in my life. Due to the limits of The Whole 30, it is impossible to succeed without researching and finding good, easy (ish) recipes. At first it felt like a burden to have to set aside an hour or so just to prepare my food, but I actually discovered a new love for cooking and sense of pride in eating something new and exciting that I had prepared. Post-Whole 30 I’d like to continue cooking frequently throughout my weekly meal routine.
8. You have the power to say no. You may not think you do, but, you do. The Whole 30 has forced me to say no on countless occasions in social situations that I never before have felt that freedom. For example, birthday parties. I broke the social norm not only once, but three times, that you must eat cake at a birthday party. Was it hard, yes. But could I do it, yes. There are so many other scenarios in our culture built around food that we often feel pressured to eat regardless of how hungry we are or how healthy the offering is. But, as the Whole 30 has taught me, you can always say no and be in tune with what your body is truly asking you for. The more you do it, the easier it gets. I hope that new-found sense of freedom will stick with me post-Whole 30.

In conclusion, this has been a whirlwind journey filled with some low lows, but some magnificently high highs. Were there times I wanted to throw the towel in? Absolutely. Just ask my Mom, Jenny, and my housemates! But in sticking it out I have been so rewarded. It is hard to believe I’ve survived these 30 days. I’m excited to see what is in store for me post-Whole 30. And after reading this article my Mom showed me, http://whole9life.com/2013/02/multiple-whole30s/, who knows, maybe  this won’t be my last Whole 30! Thanks for reading my blog and for your encouragement along the way!

What is Happening to Me?- Perspective from Ariel January 29, 2013

Today marks the one-week to finishing mark. I’ve been anticipating that glorious day for a few weeks now….Day 30. In each of my cravings I’ve yearned for Day 30 to arrive. But as it gets closer, I’m surprisingly a little more hesitant for it to arrive than I once was. Every blog on the Whole 30 website states that this will happen. They say people will begin to approach Day 30 and have anxiety about what will happen Post- Whole 30. I would read those comments and smirk. “Really people?? You think I would want to do this forever??” I would think to myself. But now, as I sit here 1 week out, I get it. The Whole 30 holds you to strict standards which make what you can and cannot consume black and white. Post-Whole 30 it’s back to your own self-discipline to continue making good and healthy choices but without the support of the Whole 30. Now if I pass up cake at a party or say no to the bread on the table, I can blame it on the Whole 30. But after next week, I still need to continue making these choices but I have to own them. I have to make these choices simply because I know they’re the right choice and not because of “that crazy 30 day thing I’m doing”. So, yes, I am excited and longing for Day 30 to arrive when I can eat my beloved grains and dairy again, but I also am experiencing the anxiety that comes with the territory as well. And I know that it is possible to live healthily and balanced with grains, dairy, sugar, and legumes in your diet, so that is what I am seeking to attain. ONE MORE WEEK!

Day 22- Menu from Ariel

Breakfast: 2 Scrambled Eggs with Salsa

Lunch: 2 grilled chicken tenders, plain sweet potato, applesauce

Dinner: Hamburger topped with lettuce and salsa, applesauce

Day 21- Menu from Ariel

Breakfast: Ihop Veggie Omelette With no cheese (I specifically asked not for their omlette batter but for plain eggs to be used)

Lunch: N/A Breakfast was very filling

Dinner: Cracker Barrel grilled fish with no butter or seasoning (plain), Plain sweet potato, Plain green beans

Day 18- Menu from Ariel January 25, 2013

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with salsa

Lunch: Homecooked hamburger topped with salsa

Dinner: 2 fried eggs

Whole 30 Blues- Perspective from Ariel January 24, 2013

I don’t think this will be a surprise for you, but the Whole 30 is hard. I honestly think it’s the hardest challenge that I’ve ever taken on in my life. It saddens me to say that because I know it’s just food and I shouldn’t be that attached to what I eat, but it goes beyond that. It’s about the money I’ve had to spend on each meal, the pre-planning that must go into each meal, the birthdays I’ve not been able to eat cake, the social events in which I felt excluded because I couldn’t be eating and drinking with my friends. I continue to say that I don’t regret doing this. And for whatever reason, I truly don’t. But it is so, so hard. Yesterday I came the closest yet to wanting to give up. I know deep down that I can’t give up and that I won’t, but boy do I want to. I’m dreading this weekend eating meals out with my grandparents and not being able to order what I want. I’m dreading superbowl weekend. The only thing that is motivating me is my weight loss, my skin appearance, and the fact that I only have 12 measly days left. 12. I can do this. I’ve come so far. I know the benefits. I’m trying to remind myself of all of these truths. I’m sorry for the depressing nature of this post, I just needed to be honest with where I’m currently at in my journey.