Okay, y'all. Here for good.

Hi Readers!

Now, you probably didn't miss me, but I MISS YOU! I miss having a place to put my thoughts down, write about my life, and pretend people care. I'm so self-centered (but I hear if you own it, the stigma goes away...)!

Anyway, Monday is the first day of the third Whole30 I plan to do. I currently have two under my belt, and this time around I want to really get serious about what I am doing. I am setting some pretty serious goals this time around and hoping that my results will be better than what they were during my last round. Since you are here to keep me accountable, below are my goals:

1. Exercise at least 4x/week.
2. No Snacks!
3. No Cheats! --This one is important. Last time, I gave some leeway on what was "technically" whole30. This time, no technicalities: just pure, real food.
4. Do this whole deal, for both M and I, as cheaply as possible. Eating real doesn't have to be spendy. 

That said, this brings my blog to a new level in fun. This is what you can look forward to:

1. Food Photos (NOM..I am planning on dinner for sure, but will try for more - its usually lefties)
2. Weekly Grocery Costs
3. Food Waste Friday (because, seriously, we all have zucchini that goes bad)
4. A glimpse at my favorite food blogs!

I hope you join me in a commitment I am making to you, myself and my kitchen for what could be quite a while! I can't wait to see you here!

**Please connect with me via social media: @babybarnacle (twitter) , @sadienewell (instagram)!

S

the hiatus that lasted almost 30 days.

Readers, did you miss me?

Don't lie. I know you forgot. 

Anyway, like I mentioned over a month ago, I set out to do another Whole30 because my vacation took a toll on my body. Like real bad. Like I gained five  eight pounds of pure food. Yes, I enjoyed my vacation but I came back a bloaty mess - pants didn't fit right, I was uncomfortable in my own skin, etc. Imagine my joy in seeking refuge in Whole30, Round 2.

I was excited, motivated, and ready to see a change in my body. Ready to embrace the idea that I wouldn't get to drink for 30 days, eat anything like ice cream or cake pops or fruity beverages....I was okay with all of that. I was ready. 

And then, it all went downhill. Day Four came around, and I was a huuuuuge you-know-what. I couldn't even look at someone without feeling the urge to kill them. It wasn't the best day, I'll tell you that.

Then Day 16. Tiger Blood? Nope. All I had to show for my midway point was more bloat, less foods I could eat and this overwhelming sense of failure. I had stuck to the rules, stuck to the ideas that I could only eat certain things and was staying mindful in my food choices. I was confused. I couldn't help but to be sad about the lack of change in my body.

Then Day 20. Still bloated.
21. Bloated again.
22. I bet you can guess how I felt.

So now, I'm on Day 29. I don't feel amazing, I don't feel like I have really changed physically, I don't feel like I've accomplished anything. The whole reason I did this the first time was to accomplish something and prove I could do it. Well, I proved it. And a few things this time around were different. Let me list the things I suggest you DON'T DO on a Whole30 for optimal results (and also note that I've extended my Whole30 for another 15 days. Whole45 to make up for all the stupid things I've done thus far).


1. I worked out 4x/week on this round. Last time, I maybe worked out five or six times max; I was less tired this time around which is good, but my body decided to compose my fat elsewhere (which was a little bit rude). This didn't hinder me, per say, but it is a reason I didn't get the same results as my first round.

2. Snacks, snacks, snacks, snacks, snacks, snacks EVERYBODY! I snacked. I knew I wasn't supposed to. With a new work schedule, less time to plan, the old saying rang true: Failing to plan is planning to fail.

3. Fruit in all forms. My fruit intake was MUCH higher this time around and it wasn't until about Day 17 I stopped eating fruit. Within 24 hours, I had noticed a change in a lot of ways: my stomach didn't rumble, I was thirstier (duh), and I got rid of this weird stomachache I had going on.

4. Get depressed. I got really sad when I didn't see the results I wanted. I had to remember that I had to trust the process, that this was bettering myself in all forms, that what I want is a long-term solution to a problem that took me a week to make.

5. DO Surround yourself with people that love you and are willing to go through mood swings, outbursts, moments of vulnerability and when all you want is a cookie, someone to say "no way!" I noticed that I needed a lot of self affirmation during this round, and that I needed someone to also tell me I was doing things right. That I was pretty anyway.


Readers, I still stand behind Whole30 for anyone who wants to try.  That said, don't be an idiot like me. Thanks. :)

One Month Post W30

Hi Friends!

I wanted to update you a little on my life here on the blog, and also on what has happened in the last 30 days. It is incredible, the process I went through and how much I realized about myself.

Shortly after I finished Whole30, I almost died in the proverbial sense. I felt like I was run over by a truck (seriously, remind me why I never realized I felt this way) and I felt like I was ready to crawl into bed each and every day. My body didn't do a whole lot of fluctuating - I lost 9 pounds in my month and since yesterday, I've kept most of it off (plus or minus two pounds, people). What I have found super weird is that I'm bloating. Like, seriously bloated. Pants-don't-fit bloated. I didn't miss that feeling.

I've convinced M to do another round of Whole30 with me when we get back from vacation in a week or so. I'm excited because now that I have the first one down, I know I can do it and I'm incredibly excited to share this experience with him and with my dear readers! The next round I am going to focus more on what we eat, when we eat it and how we feel day to day. Less bitching, readers, more information....at least, I think that's what we are going for!

Until then, greetings from the west coast. We sure do love it here.

procrastination is my middle name

Okay, it's been a bit of a minute since I've given you an update, readers!

There's been enormous change in my personal life, but nothing I want to share with you just yet, darlings. To deter speculation, I am not pregnant, engaged or otherwise planning a big surprise announcement; my apologies! Let's talk Whole30, shall we? I have so many interesting things to share (which probably won't interest you in the same way they interest me)! Feel free to skip to the part after this if you're interested in just my ...symptoms.

Okay, we left off on day 25. Five days left and I started to get antsy. It wasn't that I didn't want to eat Whole30, I was just sick of my options, hadn't been to the grocery store, and was totally living the motto "failing to plan is planning to fail." I was close. Regardless, I pushed through. Let's do a quick recap of the last five days and then a recap of what happened in my POST W30 mess.

Day 26 - July 4. 
Happy Independence Day! M had to work so it wasn't a temptation for drinking and what not. We went to our fave restaurant  for dinner and called it a day. I had a delicious kale and pomegranate salad and we ate mussels. Easy peasy.

Day 27 - July 5. 
I got on a plane and went to Portland, Oregon. Larabars, raw sweet potatoes and kombucha, oh my! Life was good, easy, and my wonderful sister took me to Trader Joe's to buy groceries. We ate steak and grilled peppers for dinner, and I tried my hand at prosciutto wrapped figs. #delicious. 

Picture for extra effect - and so you keep reading. 

Follow my instagram to see these firsthand! @sadienewell


Day 28 - July 6
Lindsay and I spent another wonderful day together, ate another wonderful meal together from the grill, and watched a TON of catfish. YOU GUYS, I'm obsessed with that show! She took me on a walk where I pretended to hate it and not want to walk (which I didn't, so I guess I wasn't pretending) but I did get to see some amazing views. Portland is probably the prettiest city in the world. I say this with the most biased tone ever! Portland is wonderful - where else can you find parks down a CITY STREET with trees this amazing?

This was seriously a quarter mile from Lindsay's house, and the trail we walked went on for at least a mile. It is gorgeous and I am so happy she drug me along! I had a wonderful summery time!


Day 29 - July 7 
Homeward bound. I went back to where it all began: Long Beach, Washington. The place where dreams are made of. The place that makes me who I am, where everything makes sense and I feel peace in my heart. Where anxiety fades and I am surrounded by the people that I love and adore. This trip was hard for a few reasons - namely, all my friends are doing really amazing things with their lives and I am not. I feel like I am unremarkable, and that I need to do more. I'm working on this, but that's a blog for another day. I went home and after debriefing my dad and his lady about this Whole30, they were intrigued and supportive of my choice! We had fresh (and I'm talking, came off my dad's boat and into my mouth in the same day fresh) salmon with asparagus. Delicious. That's my dad. I get my good looks from him, obviously.

Day 30: July 8
It was a day like any other... but no, really, it was. I made my signature breakfast (sweet potatoes and eggs) and totally added salmon. I thought about the things I wanted for the following day. Cream in my coffee, a glass of wine, maybe a chocolate something. But what happened was much worse in a few ways, much better in a few others. This doesn't make much sense right now but I can't tell you until I tell you what happened in my post whole30 glow!

My last breakfast. It was delicious. Salmon is so different when it tastes like butter, and feels like Jesus wrapped you in a hug. I seriously swear I felt sunshine in my belly.

Let's talk about the next part, the ... fallout. 

I'm not one for self-hate these days, but I can really be an idiot sometimes. I read the reintroduction chapter of It Starts With Food. I knew what I had to do. I knew to only do things one at a time, a day between....I knew I shouldn't do whatever I wanted. 

It may be important to tell you I'm a gemini right about now. This is what happened. 

Day One of Poor Life Choices. 

I went to a bar with Madeline. THIS GIRL AND HER BARS. Literally, if you don't want to be irresponsible and drink a ton, don't go anywhere with this girl. She also has a much higher tolerance than me on a regular day, and then add to that my lower-than-normal tolerance and we are all sorts of screwed. Well, I was. At least I looked cute. 

My head also looks much too big for my body. This is something that happened to me years ago. Like, when I was 14. 

This had vodka in it. High fives to the bartender, Eric, ensued. Also names for the local clientele ensued. Sadie was back on the town (and had no idea what was about to happen to her body). 

I woke up the next day feeling LIKE HELL. I had what, 3 drinks over a 6 hour period? I wasn't hungover, let me make that clear. I wasn't vomity, sweaty, unreachable. I was just uncomfortable. My stomach was cramping, I felt like I got ran over, and I was really uncomfortable. Note: not a hangover! Just icky, icky contractions of food and alcohol digesting. If this is what labor feels like, count me out. 

Day Two of Poor Life Choices:

Martinis with my sixth grade literature teacher (no lie), a pseudo-bachelorette party where the apps were delicious, and the rose was sweet. We had shrimp curry and I was very excited to eat rice. In my brain it was a wonderful idea. 

I had zero foods of nutritional value (no, wait, we did go to Walgreens and I found some approved nuts and fruit) and the next day I wanted to die. 

Labor pains is what I'm deeming these feelings. Labor pains forever. 

But wait, I continued. Because apparently I have a deathwish. 

Day Three of Poor Life Choices:

I. Ate. This. A sandwhich. With cream cheese. Cheese. Raisins. Pineapples. Apples. Turkey. Lettuce. And LOTS OF BREAD. 

I felt terrible. And of course I ate the whole thing, which was probably 800 MILLION calories. I was so full and labor pain-ey that I had to lie down in a public place. I'm an embarassment to society. 

These were the highlights of my poor choices. I felt terrible. 

Needless to say, my hey day is over, and although I'm incorporating some more paleo foods and less whole30 foods, I already feel better. Just fantastic! 

I also don't think it's a coincidence that I totally broke out as soon as I stopped eating unprocessed foods. YOU GUYS. IM OVER IT. Homemade LaraBars, dates, and other foods, get in my belly! 

Thank you, readers, for reading my thoughts through this journey. Now that I'm done, I don't know what this blog will turn into, but I'm willing to find out. It won't be over, and it may be where I document my 30 days of something else. I did find that through this, I became more. More aware, happier, more confident. 

Would I recommend this to someone? Absolutely, yes, without a doubt. If you have food issues, unresolved or resolved, looking for a way to get a healthier handle on life, yes. Yes, yes yes yes yes. 

five to go!

Today, I'm ending day 25! I'm very excited to be done with this, as shopping for groceries is really hard, especially when learning a new store, but I'm also excited to finish it. This has definitely renewed my willpower, drive and has recentered my life just a little. I may not be smarter, prettier or nicer when the 30 days is up, but I did learn a lot about myself and shockingly about what we put into our bodies every day.
Speaking of, I'm obsessed with this kombucha. I didn't have much of a taste for it before, but now it tastes so much like a fizzy juice that I can't say no. This flavor, Guava Goddess, has been my favorite out of all the Synergy flavors thus far. 

So, I'm not going to stand on a soapbox here and tell all (ten) of you that you should do this 30 day thing, that it'll change your life (I'll write it on Facebook instead!) or that this is the answer to your problems. To be honest, it isn't. Whole30 won't be the answer. For the first three weeks, I was convinced it wasn't the answer for me. I did not honestly think that I could commit for 30 days into a program and it change my life. It did, but in different ways than I predicted. 

Yes, I wanted to look bomb in a bikini during our vacation. Yes, I wanted to eat right. Yes, I had heard the hype and YES I wanted to show myself that it isn't impossible to commit to something.

I'm going to speculate and say that we oftentimes think that "life gets in the way." Sure, life gets in the way of a lot of things. I forgot Alene's birthday this year, I didn't send my mom a card for Mother's Day (I don't think...), I don't get to go home as often as I like. LIFE gets in the way. My job gets in the way, the things I have to do in the city I live get in the way.

But life did not get in the way of what I ate - that was a choice I made, every meal. It was my choice to put something in my body, to either adhere to the guidelines or not. It was my choice to follow directions.  The first time I attempted (halfheartedly at best) Whole30 I didn't try to follow the directions. I failed. This time, I've followed the directions, haven't made anything classified as SWYPO (Sex With Your Pants On), haven't tried to fit junk food into a clean eating cycle. Even on the days where I didn't have the outcome I wanted, where I wanted to give up, where I thought it would be easy to just throw in the towel...I chose not to. I don't think Whole30 is the answer, not because it doesn't work, but because some of us don't necessarily try. Effort also looks different to people. My sister is going through a lot of the same choices I am right now, and she's bettering her body. It's awesome to be her cheerleader and hear about her journey - although different from mine, her effort is matched or even surpassing mine. I don't know if I have ever put 100% effort into anything, this included. I wonder what that would look like.

I digress. As I was saying, my life has been changed but not in the ways I predicted. I'll get back to this just because it's something I haven't figured out for myself just yet - when I know how to verbalize it I will, but the space is not today; plus, I'm sure you're done hearing my rambling!

 Now let me show you a picture of my dinner from yesterday because why not?! If you made it this far, you  may as well see what I ate.

Beef, pineapple salsa on a bed of romaine, peppers, sundried tomatoes, and a few broccolini. I tried to do olives, but I just really don't like them. Never have, and apparently never will.

I'm still not one for a big dinner or really ANY dinner in the night so I'm trying to be really cognizant of what I eat throughout the day. My life has been crazy lately and I feel like I'm subsisting on hard boiled eggs and larabars, but we are getting there. Slowly but surely, and with time, we are getting there.

Stay tuned for day 26, where we discuss America's [pretend] Birthday! 

what does my tire and my stomach have in common?

Twenty Three, you guys. Twenty. Three. 

Now, I know it's been a few days, but I want to let you know I have NOT fallen off the bandwagon. I've made it, the last few days, even with all the things going on in my life. I'm not going to lie - today I wanted to seriously drink some wine, scotch, disaronno, etc. Anything. Maybe even actual grape juice. I wanted chocolate - but I knew it was coming from my emotions and not my belly. Now, I know that this is only supposed to be about the Whole30, but sometimes I think that we are human and need to talk about our lives. Plus, this life is too crazy to even make up. Let's start with...ummm, well, I don't know. Last night!

So, last night I was driving around OKC, just hanging out, living the dream, driving on 235 South. Let me set the stage: 10:30 pm, it's dark out. A little windy, but no rain in sight. Jake Owen on the radio. The on-ramp I want to take is blocked because of construction. No big, I'll take the detour. I take the detour which, if you ask me, should also be closed for construction. I hit a pothole (or something in the road, it is hard to say in the dark), feel my car jump in the air and skid to a stop. I put the car in park, obviously, and there was this weird grinding noise (more on that later) so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to jump out of my car and check for fire or not. When I got out, and sensed impending doom, I ran over to my right side and saw this:

So...that's not just a flat tire. That's a hot-ass-mess.

I do what any normal being would do - checked my trunk for my spare and my jack. Apparently, I'm the last person to realize that my Kia didn't come with a spare tire. It comes with a bubble-wrapped inflator and a PSI reader. In this situation, I did not have a need for either one of those things.

So, Triple A said they wouldn't bring me a tire, but they would tow my car. Well shoot. I don't know where anything is but OK. Tow my car, let's do it! I'm sitting there just laughing at the irony of this, knowing M is at work late, doing his thang, slanging his players, and I'm over here stranded on the side of the road. Of all days, it has to be the first day of free agency. Good thing I had my taser!

I tow my car to a Firestone and go on my merry way to bed. No big. I go back to my Kia today to give the people my key and they tell me to go home and they'll call me with a prognosis.

Apparently my axel tore out of my transmission. I need a new wheel. The car is undriveable. The wiring has been chewed by dogs. My airbags won't deploy. I don't have a car. All this and I still can't have a glass of wine?! 

To keep this long story from getting out of control, I spend 45 minutes on the phone with my insurance who tells me that if the cost of the car repairs is 60% of my car's worth, it's considered totaled. Right now, I'm hovering very close to that number. Well....we won't count on the total but in my  mind, I just don't know why I would want to put more money into that damn thing. 

So. What does this have to do with Whole30? Well, I realized today that I was driving past places I would never, in the real world, want to eat at. For some reason, Panera, scones at Starbucks, fried chicken (really?!) and soda. I can't even. I realized though, that it was because I was feeling emotional and wanted to curb it. I didn't give in, and instead ate my usual diet of eggs, broccoli, sweet potatoes, veggies, what have you. I am so incredibly thankful for Whole Foods. 

TODAY. Today I had a non-scale victory. I have been feeling a little discouraged with my progress on Whole30 because I haven't lost weight. I know it doesn't happen to everyone, and I also didn't eat terribly beforehand. I have been feeling pretty down on myself and its not like my pants fit any better - I just hate wearing pants anyway. Dresses are much better. I decided to bite the bullet and try on some of my cocktail dresses from college. To be clear: I haven't been able to wear those since college, and even then it was questionable. 

It was a moment for me. A definite victory. It feels really good to know that even if I'm not feeling the best, and even when I can't tell if this is doing anything for me, I can try this on and it'll fit! Yay!

day twenty three, turn down for what?!

where's my bowling bag?!

Today marks the end of day 19, a big accomplishment in my mind! This week, I have been tried and tested and have found that I'm really doing okay at this. 

I've been testing myself, that's for sure - giving jelly beans to my students, or happy hour with the girls, and just making sure that this life is sustainable when I leave the confines of 30 days. I noticed that I don't miss a lot of things anymore. Yes, wine is always a perfect complement to any meal, and yes, sometimes I'd really like a toffee nut americano. But I know that these things are necessary and its hard to argue with feeling so damn good. 

But today was a struggle. I know I've mentioned (a million times) how tired I am. Well, I still am tired. I've come to terms with it, and realize that I have some other things to worry about like if I'm tired because of my job or because I'm medically tired. Time will tell. Anyway, today started with a leap out of bed after looking at my iPad for the time. It was 6:56 am - and I report to work at 7:15 each morning. Unfortunately, I didn't feel well the night before and hadn't packed my lunch - I also make my breakfast in the mornings before work so my eggs are fresh and over easy. Today, that wasn't in the cards. Cue breakfast:

Raw sweet potatoes and black coffee. It took me about ten minutes to open up the vacuum sealed Applegate turkey I had, but when the scissors came out, I added protein to this breakfast of champions. And perhaps a larabar.  

Lunch wasn't much better. Blueberries (more than I care to admit), the rest of my turkey, macadamia nuts and an apple that didn't make it in my stomach. 

Second Lunch/First Dinner was the best bet so far. We stopped at Kona, and after being a brat and explaining the confines of Whole30 to my bestie Elijah, he came out with a beautiful plate of bibb lettuce and a shrimp/chicken mix that wasn't seasoned or dipped in weird sauce. I am so thankful for him and his knowledge of whole foods. 

I'm betting there will be another meal/snack in my future, but I'm not really sure just yet. If there is, I don't plan on mentioning it ever so live it up now! This day was just a bust, but I found that I was able to navigate the waters of oversleeping, making choices on a gametime level, and still making a good choice for my health. Everyone was a winner today! 

Day 20, and the 10 day countdown start tomorrow!