Almost to the End!

The end of our Whole 30 is almost here! Sunday is our last day, and I’m already dreaming of what I might eat on Monday :) I’m going to do my best not to go too crazy, but I know I’ll eat at least one bowl of ice cream. It’s been in the freezer all month waiting on me…

Some of you know that Travis has been having his cholesterol checked a lot lately. Most of his numbers are fine, but his LDL is borderline too high. It was 117 back at the end of December. Under 130 is supposedly “normal”, but under 100 is ideal. His doctor told him it should be under 70, which I think is a little extreme, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, on Wednesday Travis had his cholesterol re-checked. I thought it would be interesting to see how our recent diet changes had affected his numbers. Well, much to my disappointment, his LDL went UP to 127! All of his other numbers were still good. I was initially surprised by that news, but after thinking about it, I’ve decided that it’s all the eggs we’re eating. Maybe the coconut oil too?

I’m pretty disappointed because we’ve felt SO good all month eating this way. I guess after we’re officially finished, we’re going to make some changes to our diet but hopefully still eat healthier than we did previously. Less casseroles, more fruits and veggies, and hopefully less sweet treats overall (for me!). We’re also going to try to eat mainly chicken, turkey, and fish and less beef and pork. Instead of so many eggs for breakfast, I’ll probably try to eat a healthy cereal (without added sugar) and Travis may eat oatmeal or something like that. Hopefully with those changes (and some regular exercise), his LDL will be much better in another 3 months.

We’ve also found several really good recipes during this Whole 30 challenge that I’m going to add to our regular rotation. You really don’t need anything other than a mix of spices to make meat taste really good! We had catfish tonight that was seasoned with 5 or 6 spices and cooked in some olive oil on the skillet, and it was great.

Other yummy recipes from the past week…

Balsamic chicken with steamed zucchini, sugar snap peas, and fresh  fruit

Bacon-wrapped Asparagus…this was AMAZING (although I guess it needs to be a special treat since it has bacon in it…)

So, a few things I’ve learned in the past almost-30 days:

1. I can eat strawberries without sugar and actually enjoy them. This will be a change I make from here on out…

2. Cashews are so good!! I’m afraid I’ve eaten more cashews and raisins this month than I should have…hehe.

3. I’m definitely a creature of habit. Wait, I already knew that. Prior to starting Whole 30, I ate cereal for breakfast. Every day. During Whole 30, I ate scrambled eggs for breakfast. Every day. Never got tired of them!! I’ll probably still eat them for breakfast some mornings. They really keep me full until lunch time.

4. It’s amazing all the things that have sugar in them that I didn’t realize!! We couldn’t use any store bought salad dressings or condiments because they all have sugar in them. Soups, chicken broth, all sorts of stuff like that have added sugar. I’ll definitely be more conscious of that in the future.

5. Doing Whole 30 really does make you have some crazy dreams. There was only one night that I dreamed that I was eating something that I wasn’t supposed to, but I’ve had a lot of really strange dreams that weren’t about food too. Usually I don’t dream (or don’t remember them at least), so I guess that means I’ve been sleeping better. I definitely have more energy and feel more rested when I wake up than usual.

6. Buying more meat + more eggs + more produce = more $$ spent at the grocery store. It was HARD!! I am so frugal that I hated to spend that much money each week. I spent about $140-150 each week on groceries. Normally I try to spend about $75-80. I guess that’s the cost of eating less “processed” food and more fresh food. I’m going to try to spend less than we’ve been spending on Whole 30, but I’m planning to buy less processed stuff overall, so our grocery bills may be higher than pre-Whole 30. I guess it’s worth it when you’re eating healthier and feeling better overall.

7. I didn’t miss eating sweets and drinking milk as badly as I thought I would have. Sure, I would have eaten that stuff if I could have. But, I do much better when things are just off limits. It’s not hard to resist that stuff when I know I’m not allowed to eat it. The problem is when I know I can eat anything I want to, but I don’t need to eat much of it. I’m not very good at setting limits for myself; thus, if there’s ice cream in the freezer, I’m usually getting “just a spoonful” when I’m in the kitchen. Hopefully I can do better about that in the future…

8. Mostly, I reaffirmed that I can do something if I set my mind to it. I never would have dreamed I could give up all added sugar, dairy, grains, beans, etc. and actually enjoy it. It really wasn’t that hard! Sure, it was a lot of work. Lots of cooking, washing dishes, and time spent researching recipes I could make. But, I wasn’t ever tempted to quit. I think if I could do this, anybody can. It’s very eye-opening and interesting to see the way your body changes just in 30 short days. Better sleep, more energy, softer skin, flatter tummy, and my clothes fit better. If it weren’t for Travis’s cholesterol issues, we might consider sticking closely to this diet for good. Seriously!

Okay, now for my weekly Brooklyn update. I feel like I need to write this stuff down because she changes every week! It’s crazy! Right now, she is very interested in showing us things by holding them up for us to see. She likes to show me her books and other things she’s holding. It’s pretty cute. She also likes to hand things to us for us to hold. Pointing out things is another favorite activity.

We’re starting to fight a daily battle with Brooklyn called “don’t drop your food on the floor”. It’s already getting old, and she’s only been doing it for about a week. Popping her hand and telling her “no” haven’t discouraged her too much so far. Even if it makes her cry, she’s doing it again 2 minutes later. She likes to pick up a bite of food, pretend to put it in her mouth, dangle it over the side of the high chair tray, and stare at us to see what we’ll do. I guess I didn’t realize she would start pushing the limits this early in life…eek. Hopefully she’ll eventually learn (sooner rather than later) not to do that!!

Surely, this little cutie isn’t capable of such antics, right??

I don’t know…she looks like she might be up to no good here ;)

Brooklyn isn’t walking yet, but she likes to stand behind her walker sometimes and push the buttons on the front. She refuses to walk behind it though; if it moves, she’ll just drop to her knees. Stubborn little thing!

Aunt Melissa stayed with us for a few nights last week, and we really enjoyed it. Brooklyn especially loved the extra “aunt” time, even if you can’t tell it from her expression here :)

Squeaky clean after a bath

Don’t all 13-month-olds walk around Home Depot like this? Maybe we just have a little daredevil on our hands…

Speaking of Home Depot, we’re getting close to the end of our garage renovation! The painting is pretty much finished (except for a few spots that need to be touched up). It looks worlds better already just with fresh paint! The only stuff we have left to do are hanging the blinds on the 2 windows and buying some shelving and putting that up. Can’t wait for it to be finished!

I’ll finish this post with a couple of videos. Brooklyn’s language skills are improving so fast! Mostly, she is still babbling things that we can’t understand. And, she loves to be loud! It’s hard to keep her quiet most of the time. But, she’s learned a few new words lately, and it is so cute!!

It must be tiring to be a toddler…

And, I KNOW it’s tiring to be that little toddler’s mom!! :)