Whole30 #2 Prep

I realize this is really Whole30 #1.3 at this point, since I've tried 2 additional times and have only completed a few weeks at a time. But we're calling this Whole30 #2 because I know I will be successful this time. I am not the only one counting on it! (Growing a person is hard work!) 

I started making some general meal plans and realized that most of these foods we have been eating ever since our FIRST Whole30 - they have become some of the most requested and favorite meals. This is encouraging that it won't be such a hard transition for my family (mostly the kids*). 

This week's menu will loosely look like this: 

• Plantain nachos
• Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps 
• Balsamic chicken thighs, zucchini & sweet potatoes
• Grilled chicken, roasted red potatoes & roasted garlic broccoli
• Stir fry over cauli-rice

I am going to sit down tomorrow and make a grocery list, pulling from some of our favorites. After almost two solid weeks of eating in restaurants and fast food, my body is DYING to have some real nutrition!!  Nothing will taste better than a huge chicken salad with veggies and olives! 

Also can't wait? To get back to the gym!!  Now that my morning sickness has ended, I am excited to get back to running (goal: Run a 5K this fall and another half marathon Spring 2016). 

While I didn't "succeed" with my goals for this year, I am so happy with the way this year has gone. I have changed my health, my body chemistry and I am a better person moving forward. Thankful for all of the people who have helped me along the way and excited to see what the coming year holds for us!

*As a sidenote, since my kids have done the full Whole30 successfully and we established that they didn't have any severe food allergies, I will not keep them strictly on it this time. We haven't ever really transitioned back to cow milk for them to drink but I will not restrict them from cheese and grains, primarily at lunch time. Dinners will be compliant with no additions. 

Big Life Changes

Well, I said in an earlier post that there were some big changes coming down the road for my family and boy did I mean it! 

My husband's job is taking us on an adventure! We will be moving to the Washington DC area in approximately the next six months!  We have been scouting areas and are trying to find the perfect school district and town for our family. 

The only pickle? 

Which isn't exactly a "pickle," just a minor blip in the moving timeline :-) 

But want to hear the awesome amazing part???  

We tried for 16 months to have our first child. I was diagnosed with PCOS and required extensive fertility testing and Clomid to finally get pregnant.  We started trying sooner rather than later for my son and it took 6 months, a miscarriage and Clomid to get pregnant with him.  In the beginning of 2014, we were unsure if our family was meant to have another person or not. So we decided that if God wants another kiddo in our family, He would do it without our help. 

I'll be honest - I was pretty convinced it wouldn't happen and we would be moving on with our lives as a family of four.  I wasn't even really paying attention to my cycles anymore. 

HOWEVER - because of the PCOS, prior to my first Whole30 in March, my cycles were 45-60 days long. My ob has assured me that when your cycle is THAT long, you are not ovulating.   Once I finished that Whole30 in March, my cycles changed to 28 days on the dot. But that was back in March/April and months went by and nothing happened. I figured that, while Whole30 was amazing to me in a lot of ways, fertility was not to be one of them.  I was ok with that. Like I said, I wasn't sure if our family was meant to be bigger or not. 

I did approximately 3 weeks of Whole30 in September, just before my races. Apparently, that second round really kicked something into gear in my body because I got pregnant naturally, with no fertility interventions, in October.  For the first time in my life, I was SURPRISED by a pregnancy, something I never thought I would experience. 

Of course, I found out about the baby midweek that we were deciding about this move.  Sure, why not move halfway across the country either while pregnant or with a newborn? Makes life exciting, right?? :-) 

So here I am, 11.5 weeks pregnant and finally feeling good. I was sick for the first month I knew but I have been feeling good for the last few weeks.  I am looking forward to getting back to the gym ASAP (with the rest of the world, I know!). Goal for this pregnancy is to NOT gain 40 pounds like I did with both of my other kids.  

Of course, I am already registered for a half marathon in April, which my doctor has already advised I not participate. I have already sold my registration and it will be ok, because I plan to be back in running condition in time to do this race at Christmas Time next year!

In light of not being able to drink alcohol (my BIGGEST temptation during Whole30) and the fact that we've been out of town for so long (eating at restaurants and lots of Christmas goodies!), I am going to start a Whole30 on January 1. I would start sooner but I need a little time to get organized.  I'm doing it with a group this time and my husband is feeling just as bad as I am, so he's going to do it again too.  I'm thankful for the teamwork and ready to take on this challenge.

My goals for this Whole30: 

1) Cure pregnancy-induced insomnia - I haven't been able to sleep without the help of citrus and lavender essential oils since I got pregnant.  Looking forward to unaided sleep. 

2) Curb my pregnancy cravings. ALL I WANT IS PEANUT BUTTER! Not the healthy "ground peanuts" stuff, but the JIF that I have been buying in bulk. 

3) Clear up my skin - pregnancy breakouts have me looking like a teenager!

4) Attempt to keep my pregnancy weight gain under control.  Obviously if I am putting only whole foods in my body, it's the healthiest thing for me and the baby. I am going to talk to my doctor about several nutrients that I am concerned about getting enough of during Whole30, primarily calcium. 

So here comes another Whole30, a big big move and a lot of growing!   2015 promises to be an amazing year for my family. <3 

....

Still here. Big things in the works for our family, so my working out has gotten pushed to the back burner. I'll be posting about them next week, along with my plans for my next Whole30.  

Bring on the holiday season :-)