Whole30 rocked my world...

Oh yes. I have followed the trend. If you don't even know what Whole30 is, just goes to show how much cooler I am than you ;) 

But seriously, I don't want to be dramatic. However, Whole30 has kind of changed my life. I'll first tell you the Purpose...

It's like the healthiest, most intense detox of your life!!! It's meant to boost your energy levels, give you more regular bowels, up your metabolism, boost your immune system, eliminate certain conditions or aches. The food we eat has more of an effect on us than we know or can to admit. Stripping certain foods from your diet for 30 days can have wonderful health and psychological benefits.

The Rules...

• No sugar of any kind: raw, organic, artificial, etc.
• No dairy: no raw milk, goat milk, soy milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, etc.
• No legumes: no beans of any kind, black, kidney, white, pinto, lima, peanuts, etc.
• No alcohol or tobacco.
• No grains: wheat, barley, oat, corn, rice, etc. This also includes quinoa and couscous, the pseudo-grains.
• No white, red, purple or gold potatoes. In any form.
• No carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. It's really important to check the labels of things you are buying or going to cook with.
• No paleo-ifying baked goods, desserts or snacks. You are trying to break those habits of snacking unnecessarily and eating "junk food." For the next 30 days, don't try to replicate food you miss. Just eat good, real, wholesome food.

My Whole30
I'm going to do my best to put it all into one paragraph. In the beginning, I honestly thought I was going to fall asleep at the wheel. Well, hypothetically. I live in China, so I don't do much driving. Okay, I do NO driving. But if I was behind a wheel, I think I would have fallen asleep during the first week. Depriving my body of sugar was the hardest part. I mean, I didn't gorge myself on it before, but my morning coffee always had sugar and milk. Which leads to my second challenge. COFFEE. I thought I wasn't going to make it! I was sure I was going to give up coffee altogether before the 30 days was up. But other than that I had fun cooking and trying to create new dishes with what seemed limited ingredients and spices.

Okay, I can't do one paragraph. It's going to be more like four. Week Two. I was feeling it!!! They call it Tiger Blood. I was SO energized. I was sleeping better, more fully and deeper. I was guzzling black coffee. My bowels were better than they have ever been. If you know me, I've never had good bowels. I'm almost always constipated and I usually have to drink a special tea to get things going. TMI? Get over it. I was even feeling lighter. And I was past the icky bloated stage, so that was nice too.

Week Three. Not much to say. Things were still going well. I was getting a little frustrating/bored with food. I was having a hard time feeling like I wasn't eating the same thing over and over again. And I was craving sweets and breads more than ever. But I didn't give in!

Week Four Plus 2 days. At first half of the last week, I had this anxious, can't wait to be done feeling. All I wanted to do is eat chocolate and pumpkin bread and banana bread, ANY bread! But I didn't give in or entertain those thoughts too much because I knew I was almost done. The second half was full of ideas and thoughts. How was I going to go on after Whole30? What habits did I want to continue? Was I going to allow sugar again? How can I be healthy about the amount of breads and grains I eat? Why did I EVER taint my coffee with sugar and milk before?! I'm trying to figure it all out.

Cons/Hard Stuff

1. Don't let my optimism fool you. It was tough to stick to. And I did mess up a couple times because I was a little absent-minded. But I'm not a die-hard Whole30ist, so I didn't start over at day 1 when I did.
2. I was super tired the first week-ish.
3. There was one day around day 9 or 10 that I had really bad stomach cramps. Like fetal position style.
4. After a while, it got hard to be creative with food.
5. Living in China, it was tough not having some things that could be easily purchased in America. Like seasonings or sauces other Whole30ists used.
6. At first, cooking/prepping/planning was a hassle!! What a time consumer.
7. I had trouble with breakfast. I'm not a breakfast eater. So, that was tough to do.
8. I also had trouble with the portion sizes. It felt like SOOO MUCH food sometimes.
9. Always having to cook at home. China is a social-eating society.
10. Having to go to the grocery store more often.
11. I missed yogurt a lot!

Pros/Things I've learned

1. I feel like my tastebuds have been enhanced.
2. I have more energy.
3. Better bowels and movements.
4. Sleep has improved. I fall asleep faster and longer and deeper.
5. I lost about 12 lbs/5.5 kg. Arms, legs, tummy overall skinner.
6. For the most part, I've broken my nasty snacking habit. AND if I ABSOLUTELY have to have a snack, I make it a healthy one; fruits, nuts, etc.
7. My close fit better.
8. I feel healthier and lighter.
9. I know I can live without sweets, sugar, breads and other things I thought I couldn't do with out.
10. I LOVE BLACK COFFEE.
11. My mouth salivates when I think about wholesome, all natural, unprocessed food.
12. I don't crave bad foods or junk food.
13. Having a healthier relationship with carbs. And food in general.
14. Enjoying cooking again and getting better at it. Or at least I think so.
15. Connecting with my body. That sounds so "spiritual" and "hippie." But I mean, I know when I'm truly hungry and when I'm not. And making a wise decision accordingly.
16. I have a good sense of how different foods effect my mood, body and energy levels.
17. Starbucks will be a special treat. I won't over do it.

Here's the site. Check out Whole30 and decide if it's something you want to try.

Hahahaha, and please ignore my face in the photos above.

Will you give me some...?

Jessica is an old friend. She had always seeked me out to talk to. Mostly she wanted to talk about politics and practice her English. I was okay with that.

Occasionally, I would bring up my beliefs. Okay, more than occasionally. But most of the time, she would listen and never showed any interest.

Last week, she invited herself over to have salad. Salad, for some reason, is super interesting. Of all the things students want to make or eat together, salad is usually one of those things. I've always been reluctant because they hardly ever eat raw veggies and that is pretty much all a salad is. But I decided to go for it with Jessica.

Long story short, she liked the salad and the chicken and broccoli rice I made. We chit chatted about politics and medical expenses and sporting scandals. She was going to study the Bible with a friend of mine, but then she asked if I had time to study with her. I said, "Of course!" So we set up a day and time.

The reason I love communication and the reason for this post is this:

This is what I heard next:
"Will you give me some sex?"

I almost burst into laughter. But I KNEW that could not possibly be what she really said. So, my mind began to filter through the possibilities...

sex...
six...
snakes...
SNACKS!!!

This is what she said:
"Will you give me some snacks?"

I agreed to bring some snacks to our meetings and chuckled to myself.

Thank you Asia and thank you brain.

Sushi

Well, all our foreign friends in the city had tried this Japanese restuarant in town except my roommate, Jessica and I. So, Jess and I said Let's Go! So, we did. And I have to say it was amazing!!! Sometimes people over use that word and use it to describe just about anything. But this place was truely great. It felt like I was in Japan. Not that I have ever been there. But anyways, I had a tuna roll and assorted tempura, which is fried stuff. Delish!!! I really was hoping for some spicy tuna roll, but the regular tuna roll was good anyways. Jess got the California roll and wrapped beef with mushrooms. I wish I had taken my camera. The beef was wrapped AROUND the mushrooms so they looked like little squid. So cute. And I had fried shrimp, sweet potatoes and onions. DELISH! I don't feel bad about the price. Some of the other people thought it was a little pricey. But I'm okay with spending a little more than $2 on a good meal. Well, it was a little more than just a little more. But it's one night out.

Thanksgiving

Wahoo! The day started with the 1st Annual YY Turkey Trot! Eight adults and six kids, one in a stroller. Natalie, Jess, and I jogged from North Campus to South Campus and back almost the whole way. The kids did a great job too! And even though most of them ran must of the time, they still had tons of energy for the rest of the day! The Trot totalled about 2 miles.

Next, lunch! I bake an apple pie, sweet potato casserole and empanadas. Jess made mini cheesecakse and glazed carrots. Everyone went to one house and had all the classics; green bean casserole, turkey, cranberry sauce, corn casserole, mac 'n cheese, mashed potatoes, rolls, broccoli and cheese casserole, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and more!

After that, we reminisced about thanksgiving memories. And THEN the married couples told their engagement stories! Which could have been my favorite part. It turns out, none of them went exactly according to plan. But it was all so wonderful! Then Turkey Bowl!!!

Jess and I went out with the guys to throw around the football. I, actually, love playing flag football. So, it was fun to throw it around. And amazing to see how far the guys could thorw it. Then we headed inside for desserts. Complete with apple pie, cheesecake, pilgrim hats (chocolate covered marshmallows), pumpkin pie, jello saled and more!

Then a rambauncous round of Telephone Pictionary! It was so fun and there was tons of laughter. Then a heated game of Settlers. All in all, it was a pretty good Thanksgiving.