...To Preparation

When I started thinking about committing to this Whole30 business I was really gung-ho about it.  I mean, what's the big deal? You go 30 days without eating a few little things that you probably shouldn't be eating anyway, and then wham-bam 30 days later you are the healthiest person on the planet and everyone will bask in the radiance of your accomplishments. 

Easy peasy, right?

Wrong.

So let me start with the "few little things you would kill to eat can't eat".  The number one question I've gotten about this self torture 'challenge' is "What can and can't you eat?".  The list of things you can eat is long, which is nice, but the list of things you can't eat is probably longer... like I'm talking receipts from CVS long (click on that if you have no idea what I'm talking about). 

Here are just some of the 'can't have' items:

-Dairy

-Grains

-Sugar

-Alcohol 

-Fun

-Joy

....you get the picture. 

Now why most of the items listed above encompass all of my love languages (xoxo pizza),  there are several things I've discovered that are allowed on the Whole30 challenge that I'm really enjoying.  Shocking, I know.

Once you're able to get over going to the grocery store wearing racing horse blinders, it really becomes easy. The most important part of these 30 days for me has been preparation. If I'm able to have all of my meals planned out then I'm not leaving myself the opportunity to 'cheat' or more importantly go hungry... because big girl gets hangry when she's hungry.  Here's my own personal plan to planning... that has OCD written all over it doesn't it?

Step 1: What will I eat this week?

This step occurs every Sunday when I pull up my handy-dandy Pinterest and get to searching.  I'll be honest with you, I am one of the pickiest eaters I know.  So this part is a little hard for me. But after searching, I'm always able to come up with enough dinner meals to keep me happy and my husband married to me.

Step 2: What ingredients do I need to cook the food that I will eat this week?

This is where I get out my handy-dandy notebook and write down all of the ingredients that each dish needs.  A lot of these meals use some of the same materials, so it's always important to write down each thing so you can make sure you've gotten enough to last you until next Sunday.

Step 3: Take the ingredients and organize it by area in the grocery store.

Remember my little OCD comment? I like to do things that make my life easier.  And being able to go to the store and walk in one circular motion around the store without running back and forth like a chicken with my head cut off makes my life easier.  Also, how awkward is it to run into the same stranger in every aisle? I mean you can only say "excuse me, I'm sorry" so many times. So if you think this step is super redundant, then proceed to step 4. If you are trying to get in your FitBit steps, then by all means skip this step. But, if you are thinking to yourself, "Sarah, you genius lady, you!" then call me and we can be best friends.

Step 4: Go forth and conquer!

You made it to the grocery store! Congratulations! Before starting the Whole30, I honestly could not tell you the last time I went to the grocery store.  Viva la takeout! But now, this is my life.  You can find me Sunday-Fundaying in aisle 3.

Step 5: Go home put everything away and sit down.

Put your feet up, you deserve this.

Step 6: Get back up, lazy, there's food to prepare.  

Look at the menu you made for the week.  Is there anything you need to prepare for tomorrow's dinner? Set out some meat to thaw? Chop up some onions to hide your tears from not Sunday-Fundaying? Take this time to fix up whatever you might need to make for the week while you have time.  Because if you're like me, when I come home from work, the last thing I want to do is spend forever cooking.

Easy right? Okay maybe a 6 step process doesn't seem that easy, but I promise once you do it a few times you'll be surprised at how much you can do! I am surprised by myself everyday!

Here's some recipes that I made this past week that you can use to get prepared for your upcoming week!

Let me know if you try any and how they turned out!

 Bacon Mushroom Spinach Frittata... because who doesn't like saying Frittata!!

 Dirty Cajun Cauliflower "Rice"

 Enchilada Chicken Stew

 Zucchini Noodles with Scallops and Bacon 

(BREAKING: Zucchini Noodles are called ZOODLES and I can't deal)

 Chicken Prosciutto (this was so good we're repeating it this week)

 This little Ceviche number that a sweet work friend made for me that was so good I had to make it for myself! 

 Plantain Nachos...feels like you're cheating, but jokes on you because you aren't!

And finally my own little breakfast concoction.  Hmm what should I name it???

I can give you the recipe for this also if you want.  Spoiler alert: It. Was. Good. 

A little side note: Thanks a lot for the feedback guys! I joke a lot, but you have no idea how it makes me feel to know that there are other people out there who can relate to what I go through with my daily battles between food and self appreciation... and to know that I'm inspiring even one person is crazy humbling.

Enough of the mushy stuff... now go on and

via GIPHY

...To Motivation

What inspires you to do something?  Once upon a time, this was the background on my phone. 

Every time I would slide that little unlock bar to the right, this girl was staring right back at me.  I'm not even kidding.  It came up on my timehop the other day and I was like 'Oh God, what was wrong with me? ...which is basically the reaction I have to everything on timehop, but that's not the point here. 
The point is motivation.   And in 2009 apparently Kim K was my go to girl for #goals. But what really gets me here is the accurate lovely reminder to myself to 'stop eating'.   Yeah girl, that's going to really get you where you want to go. 
We've all seen those 'weight-loss' infomercials where the testimonies say something along the lines of "I've tried every diet there is known to man and NOTHING worked until I tried (insert flavor of the week diet here)!" If you're like me, you roll your eyes, keep watching for another 20 minutes, write down the number, and think... wait, maybe they're on to something.  Maybe THIS is the miracle I've been searching for! 
So I try them.  You name it, I probably gave it a go once or twice. I've tried things from the fairly popular Paleo diet (which I did before my wedding and it actually did work, but I am in fact not a 'caveman' so it really wasn't a long term thing I could maintain) to the laser blast something or other that I got off of a Groupon and was located in a less than favorable strip mall, to the monstrosity of this torturous plan that I saw floating around Pinterest.

Spoiler Alert: While you won't lose the 10 pounds this diet promises, you will lose your will to live.   But obviously none of this ever pans out because Hello, I'm here and you're there reading this still shaking your head about the sketchy laser treatment (looking at you Mom). 
So what gives?  What am I missing here?  I have moments of motivation, but when I don't see immediate results... Bye motivation! See you later, motivation! You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here, MOTIVATION!!!!!
Ugh.  I'm over it.  I like white girl literally can't with it.  
This is why I've been really surprised by myself lately. I kind of don't even know who I am right now. I have been so motivated with this Whole30 mess that I don't know why I haven't tried this before. Now lets be realistic. Do I know that I can not maintain this 'diet' every single day?  Yes.  I love cheese.  I dream about bread.  Pizza is my spirit animal.  However, anything that asks you to put down the processed foods with names that you can't pronounce and pick up a carrot or two couldn't hurt. 
What keeps you motivated?  What's your favorite motivational quote?  I know almost 100% some of them are lame and annoying, but sometimes you read one that really strikes a cord within you to make a change.  This is one of my favorites

So simple. So true. So universal. 
I'm choosing to be motivated.   And I don't need Kim Kardashian's 2009 body to tell me to 'stop-eating' to be. 

...To Moderation

Raise your hand if you've ever been personally victimized by pizza... then by margaritas Mexican food... then again by pizza.

I've always been a big fan of the YOLO life style. Because you know what, you really do only live once, and if I'm going to meet my Maker tomorrow, I want to meet that pizza delivery boy tonight!

However, this is sadly an irrational way to go about living, and if you do live your life 'YOLO-ing' your meals left and right, you may meet that Maker a little earlier than expected.  

I'm no expert, but I can read, and based on most of the things I've read and heard, the key here is moderation. 

Can you throw your hands in the air and face plant into a carton of Blue Bell ice cream every once in a while? 

YES. 

Do it! 

(and then video tape it and send it to me because that sounds like something I need to see)

Can you call you husband after a bad day and tell him to pop the top again because you've had a day you want to completely forget? 

YES.

Do it!

Please drink responsibly

Can you go out with friends and get appetizers that would feed a small third would country but in Texas is suggested to be shared between 4? 

YES.

Do it!

via GIPHY

HOWEVER, what I'm starting to realize accept is that, unless you want to be 'Momma' from What's Eating Gilbert Grape, you just can't go about living this way every night of every day of every month of every year for your whole life! 

I'm hanging up my party pants for a little while, and I've decided to 'reset' (see my 'starting over' post) my body and see what in the world happens when I stop drinking alchohol every night YOLO-ing and start paying attention to what exactly I'm stuffing into my food hole. 

At the end of each week I'm going to try be sharing some recipes I've been making following the Whole30 diet. Interested in finding out more about what Whole30 entails? 

Click here! 

Recipes, FAQs and all of the information on what exactly is 'allowed' (things that can be found in nature) and 'not allowed' (things that can be found in a drive-thru after 2am on a Friday night) are explained for you on the Whole30 website.

 Also, I can attempt to answer any questions you may have.  I mean, I am on Day 5 so I'm basically an expert. 

Click on the links below the picture to take you to the recipes I've been trying out! 

Happy eating! 

//1//2//3//4(cauliflower mash)//4(brussle sprouts)//

...To Starting Over

Have you ever woken up, thought to yourself "I could really go for a run today" and then ate 4 slices of pizza and drank a case 6 pack of beer instead?

Hi, I'm Sarah! 

For most, the New Year is a great time to reflect back on your past and make goals for your future. For me, it's a time to really ask the important questions in life like, 'When is the last possible day I can start that 30 day diet before spring break?' or "How many more days until I should probably be ready to wear a swimsuit?', and most importantly 'How often does Channing Tatum think about me?'

Now, besides the last question (which has the obvious answer of ALWAYS), I noticed a pattern.  All of my questions kind of centered around time.  'When will this be?', 'How many days until that?'. And not only was my life starting to become a countdown, but if I didn't meet my 'countdown goals', I missed out on the event I was even counting down to. I just wouldn't go. Or if I did go, I'd be so self conscious and down about myself that I (or anyone else around me...see: my husband) wouldn't have any fun.

This was a pattern for me. And after talking to a highly paid trained therapist, I decided that life is way too short to sit around and worry about what others think of me, and start worrying about what I think of myself.

So that's what has led me here. When will Sarah realize that life goes on no matter what others think? Will she ever truly accept the saying 'Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter'? And most importantly 'What does Sarah think about Sarah? 

Full disclosure: most of the time, Sarah wants to kick herself to the hypothetical curb. 

So let's start this out with some things that I have to constantly repeat to myself because even though I know that these statements are true, sometimes I constantly need a slap in the face reminder of them:

1. Time does not wait for you to 'get ready'.

This is a big one for me. Too often I've missed birthdays, pool parties, dinners, or even just a night hanging out because I didn't feel my body was 'ready'.  What does that even mean? I'm not even quite sure yet, but it starts with being happy (not comfortable, but happy) with yourself so much so that if anyone around you were to say something negative about your appearance, you would cringe, not because you thought they were right, but because you can only assume that they have some major insecurities if they're trying to take jabs at someone who looks as fly as you. (three snaps***)

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2.  No one is as critical of you as you are of yourself.

Do you actively go to parties and look at people who are your friends and nit pick every single thing about them from their hair to the shoes on their feet? If so then shame on you. You're the worst. Please take a long walk off a short cliff. But if you're a normal person then the answer is 'NO!'. Guess what, no one does that.  Not as much as you do to yourself anyway. And if you are finding yourself surrounded by people that consistently talk negatively about people that are your 'friends', then you need to not walk, but RUN because those people are 100% saying the same negative things to those 'friends' about you. 

Probably make a number one new year's goal of finding some better, more supportive friends. 

3. Stop talking about it, and just DO IT ALREADY.

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So many times I've said, 'I'll start Monday', or 'The first of the month is next week, I'll start eating better/ working out then.' Um...who made up this weird rule? If you get a burst of motivation that says, 'Hey girl, you put down that bag of chips and pick up that apple and lets do this'...then OH MY GOD put down that bag of salt and vinegar chips from Jimmy Johns because they're the best, and that bread...can we talk about it? and pick up that apple and get to work! And please see tip numero uno... because time doesn't wait for you to do what? Exactly. 

So here I am today.  I'm not waiting anymore. I'm trying my hardest going to be less critical of me. I'm DOING IT ALREADY.