Today I added wine back into my diet - specifically blueberry wine from Sorrenti (Cherry Valley Vineyard). I purchased a case of the wine prior to my Myrtle Beach vacation, so I'm very excited about being able to drink it. The wine is VERY good; however, it is sweet, so one glass is my limit.

Additionally, I have purchased another paleo cookbook - Nom Nom Paleo. I used the author's blog throughout my Whole30 journey, and the reviews for the cookbook are positive. I also looked at the inside of the book, and there are some simple recipes as well as more difficult ones. That will make it easier to sustain the cleaning eating throughout the school year.

I'm going to continue to follow the paleo plan, but I'm still not going to add sugar back into our diets. I did make pancakes with coconut flour. While the flavor was a bit different than conventional white flour pancakes, they were good. We had red raspberries (picked at Schmidt's Berry Farm) on top instead of syrup.

Remember, that all of these changes take a while to get used to. However, starting with the strict Whole30 helped carve the way in thinking about whole foods.

30 days of the Whole30 have come to an end. However, we have decided that we will continue with the clean eating--especially daily at home and at work.

Here are the totals in lost weight:
Karla 8 pounds
Donald 10 pounds
Karanda 18 pounds
Whopping 36 pounds between the three of us!
With results like that in only 30 days, it must be worth maintaining.

Now that my pantry is de-junked and I'm seeing some great results: sleeping, mood, stamina, digestion, etc., I know that we have found something that we need to continue to do.

I know that when we go out to restaurants that Don will probably not stick to the "plan" and that is okay. I may not either at times, but I also don't want to pay for food that is going to give me a stomach ache, or worse.

Oh yeah, I lost another 2 pounds!

Well, the vacation in Myrtle Beach might be over, but the clean eating continues.

I'm happy to say that while on vacation, I was able to sustain my clean eating habits by shopping at a local grocery store (or two), as well as by searching out menus from local restaurants in advance to see if there would be options for me. One area that was a bit distressing was the fact that I could not have any wine while on vacation. That is one thing I do plan to bring back into my "diet" after 30 days.

We made our breakfasts and lunches in the condo, but we ate out every evening. The big killer while on vacation (or anywhere for that matter)--going to the movies and not having movie popcorn with butter. This was always a sad adventure. However, I always sneak in my own water, so what's wrong with sneaking in some clean snacks?

For dinner, we ate at the following restaurants:
Red Robin (Did you know you have a burger wrapped in lettuce - no bun, please?)
Ruth's Chris (This is a pretentious and overpriced place. My husband and I were not impressed.)
Barons Steak and Spirits (The scallop dinner was divine!)
Captain George's Seafood Buffet (Don cheated here; however, I did not. I was happy with King Crab Legs--hold the butter. I may have had to work for my food, but I left satisfied. Don said while he felt he had to cheat at a buffet, he was NOT satisfied. He said the taste of the "bad" food was not a good as he thought it was going to be. Thus, he realized that he isn't missing that much.) Additionally, I'm excited about this place because there is one in Williamsburg, and we will be going there in August!
Red Lobster (Telling a waitress to not bring the cheesy biscuits was a bit rough.)
Bonefish Grill (The waitress realized we were eating healthy, so she made sure any sauces were on the side, and she was very helpful with the ingredients for everything.)

I will admit that during this Whole30 experiment, I'm missing my wine during the summer months.
Additionally, Don and I are getting ready for a week in Myrtle Beach, and eating out for every dinner will be a daunting task.
I had people say to me, "Why would you do it over a vacation?" Well, the answer is simple. If we waited until there were no special occasions or events, we would never transition into a healthier diet.
Which brings me to the word "diet". I'm getting to hate that word. Diet to me has always signified the cutting out of food in order to lose weight. Usually, the diet was so bland that it was soon cast aside. On the other side, diet means counting calories or points, or some such nonsense.
This Whole30 (and the paleo eating plan - which is what I will consider myself after 30 days), does not have a person counting calories or points. The only thing to focus on are the ingredients in the items purchased. To me that is a lot easier than adding up my daily numbers only to know that I've gone over...again.
At this point in the Whole30, I've lost 8 pounds, Don has lost 6 pounds, and Kara has lost 15 pounds. Not bad for considering that all we did was eliminate the junk.

I bought a cookbook - The Paleo Slow Cooker. There are many out there. I got mine on the bargain book shelf at Barnes & Noble. It is a good resource for clean eating. The only thing is that all of the recipes are for the crock pot (slow cooker). So eventually, I'll have to purchase a "regular" paleo cookbook.
However, the paleo diet differs from Whole30 mainly with the use of honey, coconut crystals (sugar), and almond/coconut/flax flours.
While I am not going to "cheat" during the 30 days, I am going to add the flours into our diet after the 30 days. I'm going off of regular flour products for good. I'm feeling really healthy (internally), and I have to attribute it to my food choices.
I'd like to add that I have a friend who is also doing the Whole30. I know she plans to continue the clean eating after the 30 days as well. While our husbands don't think they NEED to continue the clean eating, little do they know that they need it just as much as anyone does. High cholesterol, high sugar, and other ailments are not just medical conditions of people who are "overweight". The cholesterol and blood sugar is a hereditary condition, which can be exacerbated by a bad diet. 

Doing some research today for sugar-free meat, specifically BACON!
Valley Farm Markets has some great meats, but my family is miffed at not being able to have a BLT (minus the bread and with homemade mayo).
So here are some links to meats that can be ordered online and shipped directly to your home. The site is great, as it lists ALL ingredients.
Caveat: You have to order a 7 lb. minimum and $75 minimum in order to check out on the site. The shipping is $7.50.


Sugar Free Pork Breakfast Sausage (ground)
Sugar Free Pork Bacon Ends

Today was the greatest find at Wegmans: Cinnamon Apple Chips.
Ingredients: Apples, Cinnamon. period.
Very excited.

My summer is really getting off to a great start. I'm home with my husband during the day, as he works middle shift. During the school year, we have limited time together, as we don't see each other from 9:30 a.m. on Sunday until 3:00 p.m. on Friday.
But it is all worth it when summer rolls around each year. We spend most days together--he is in a golf league on Wednesdays (Thanks, Kenny!), and he still works on Sundays.

When he goes to work Monday through Thursday, I have time each day to do other things like swim at my friend's house (Shout out to Theo!!). Today was a lovely day; it didn't start out looking like it was going to be great, but it was. Theo is very supportive of my new eating habits with Whole30. We talk about how it is going, as well as different recipes.

That is the key to healthy eating. If you want to change your eating habits, surround yourself with people who are supportive of your choices. It is very difficult to choose to eat clean--everything has "crap" in it--even "organic" items have sugar in them. It can be done, but one must be diligent in reading EVERY label, and then even confirming it with another person. I do like going shopping with someone else right now because we double check the labels if we think we found something Whole30 compliant.

I have been printing out great recipes, and today I remembered about spaghetti squash. We had it for lunch, and it was delicious. There is enough leftover, so my husband can take it to work tomorrow instead of a salad. For dinner, Kara and I had chef salads (minus the cheese) with organic ham and roast beef from Wegman's deli. We used 1/2 a lemon each for the dressing. Kara said the salad was more tolerable (she is a NOT a salad/lettuce lover). I thought it was delicious. A great change from the same salad each day.

Signing out for now.

Kara cheated again--she weighed herself. TEN POUNDS LOST! That is amazing.

Between the 3 of us, we have lost 20 pounds. While that is not the goal of my Whole30 endeavor, I did figure that moving to a healthier relationship with food was going to result in weight loss.

Another milestone today...I walked over 5 miles with my friend Georganna (shout out!!). We started as her house, walked to the Bethlehem Township Community Center, walked half of that, detoured around Baglyos Circle, finished the other half at the community center, and walked back to her house. It resulted in a 5+ mile walk. While my hip was hurting a bit (I have some issues with my lower back and hip--especially on long walks), it was great. We are planning to do it again soon.

The combination of exercise and healthy eating will continue to bring great results for me and my family.

Each day I feel better than yesterday. I'm waking up without feeling excessively tired (yes, I still feel tired, but not exhausted), and I seem to have more energy later in the evening. Previously, I was sitting on the couch by 7 p.m. each evening because I was exhausted. Now, I am finding other things to do. Hopefully, I can continue this throughout the summer moving into the new school year.

No rest for the wicked on this Sunday morning.

Kara and I went grocery shopping: Walmart and Sam's Club.
We found some great things at these stores.
Sam's Club - chicken, steaks, pork chops, ground turkey, and best of all: bratwurst.
Walmart yielded some items that we found elsewhere, such as coconut milk for a lesser price. That is why I'm making a list of where to find items, so I don't (A) waste money and (B) waste time.

Our meals are interesting, as we are trying to make different recipes each day.

We are finding that we can't purchase too much produce because even though we are eating a lot of it, some of it is going bad before we can use it. Thus, planning even snacks is important, so again--no waste and no overspending.

A week has passed on the Whole30 and believe it or not, things are getting a bit easier.

Today, we went to Schmidt's Berry Farm to pick strawberries and snow peas. It was a great morning, as the sun was shining, the humidity was low, and the fruit and vegetables were easy to pick. We were done in less than an hour. We will be going back mid-July to pick other berries that will be ripe by then.

Our meals are consisting of:
Meal 1: some sort of egg dish with a fruit cup
Meal 2: either a salad or some recipe I've found online
Meal 3: same as above

Occasionally, we've been snacking on cherries and nuts in order to fill in the void of the "snack". However, we are finding that a small handful does the job nicely.

Finally, my morning cup of coffee has graduated from "sucks" to "okay". Progress for sure.

More later...