My Best Friend

It's almost the end of October, y'all. Can you believe it? I can't believe it. Christmas is going to be here before you know it, and I am CRAZY excited about it. I listened to my Diana Krall Christmas album on the way to work yesterday. I couldn't help myself. During "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" she changes up the lyrics to say "we'll frolic and play the Canadian way", and it makes me happy every time.

That makes it almost November, which makes it almost my third anniversary being married to Kevin. THAT is crazy. It's crazy because in some ways, I feel like we just met last week. On the other hand, sometimes I think back to before I met him, and it feels like a million years ago. 

I'll never forget our wedding. There was this moment during the ceremony when the whole "I now pronounce you husband and wife" part happened, and I was just so out-of-my-mind happy that I did this awkward hilarious little clap of glee. I sort of remember the audience getting a little chuckle out of it. I love that our sweet photographers captured the moment. I just love the look on Kevin's face. It's just this look of love mixed with "yep, she's clapping". The funny thing is, I never got over that feeling. Sometimes (all the time) I just look at him and sort of marvel at him. He's so smart, and so funny, and so kind. His heart is so big, his wit is so sharp, and I don't know what I ever did before I met him. When I was younger, I'd hear people describe their spouse as their best friend. I don't think I ever believed them. It just sounded so cheesy. I feel like it is true for us, though. He's far and above my very best friend in the whole world. I just relish every minute we have together. I love weekdays, when we get up way before the sun and go for a walk or a run at the park. I love the quiet talks we have in the morning. But even more than that, I hate when we have to be apart. I miss him during the day when we're both at work. I get super over-dramatic when he has to travel for work: "don't they know I need you every day?". He's not perfect, and I'm not either, but every day I am blessed just by being his wife. Most of the little laugh wrinkles I'm starting to get around my mouth are from him, and I couldn't be happier about it. 

Love you, Kev!

Paleo/Whole30 Mythbusters

Sometimes I get a crazy look or two when people find out that I eat Whole30/Paleo. I get some interesting questions, too. I thought it might be fun to clear up some of the myths surrounding Whole30/Paleo eating: 

"So...you can't eat anything good?"

Oh, SO not true! While Whole30 eliminates all grains, dairy, seeds, soy, etc., that still leaves plenty of really amazing things that I can eat. I honestly feel like the food we've been eating for the past couple of months has been a lot more interesting than what we ate before. Eating Whole30-compliant foods has certainly increased my love of cooking, and I feel like I have a whole new appreciation and passion for the fresh amazing ingredients that I've been incorporating into our meals lately. Tonight, for example, I brined some boneless skinless chicken breasts for a bit in a basic salt and spice brine. After a couple hours, I drained the chicken, dried it off, and grilled it after brushing it with a Moroccan spice blend that included cumin, cinnamon, and curry powder. We dipped the grilled and sliced chicken in an incredibly delicious middle-eastern-style dipping sauce of citrus juices fresh herbs, and spices. On the side was a quick salad of cucumber, snap peas, fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It was arguably one of the best meals I've made in quite some time, it was so easy to put together, and I feel so good after eating it (which is something I can't say for the sluggish gross feeling I would get after a big bowl of spaghetti in my pre-Whole30 days). So in a way, if you think about it, all we eat is the good stuff!

"That sounds expensive"

Totally a fair assumption. Eating this way is more expensive. There's really no getting around that. There are ways to do it in a less expensive way (buy frozen veggies, tailor your meat choices to what is currently on special at the grocery store, etc.) but we don't find it prohibitively costly. One perk of eating this way is that we eat out significantly less than we used to. It's just easier for us to know what goes into our food that way, not to mention the fact that I love cooking this way! Before Whole30, I used to eat breakfast very seldom, eat lunch out just about every day, and eat dinner at home. Now, Kevin and I both eat breakfast from home, and eat home-cooked dinners. I always bring my lunch to work with me, and Kevin usually eats out at lunch time. We usually grocery shop once a week, and I find that we spend about $3.20 per meal, which in my books is super reasonable! And yes, while eating this way is arguably more expensive (I mean, a $1.29 box of pasta and a $3 jar of sauce can feed a lot of people on the cheap), we consider eating this way to be a significant investment in our health. 

"Don't you miss things like cookies and beer?"

The short answer? Yes and no. Sure, once in a while I could go for a nice frosty beer, but I usually just reach for a can of LaCroix coconut with a squeeze of fresh lime, and find myself equally satisfied. Will I ever eat a cookie again? Absolutely. But the funny thing is, the longer I eat this way, the more I realize that I never want to go back to the tired, moody, sugar-addicted overweight version of myself that I was before. I know now that I'm putting things into my body that it needs, and I'm seeing the benefits in so many ways. My skin is so healthy and clear that I pretty much just brush on a little mascara each morning before I walk out the door. I'm sleeping like a champion, and the energy I have when it comes time for our Couch to 5K training is incredible. Plus, I am almost 25 pounds lighter than when I started, and you can't argue with those numbers!

79 Days: What to do?

Well, kids, it's been 79 days since I started Whole30. Crazy huh? I can't believe how fast it went. I almost started this post by saying "I'm on day 79 of my Whole30!" but it didn't feel quite right for two reasons:

Reason #1: I haven't been 100% Whole30 compliant for all 76 days! Don't worry, though, I didn't lose my mind and tear into a bag of Doritos like a crazy spider-monkey. More on my wild party weekend later in this post...

Reason #2: Is it dumb to say that I'm on day 79 of a 30-day plan? I don't know...part of me is thinking about just saying "I eat Paleo", but I feel like Paleo can mean different things to different people. I like the structure of W30, I like how easy it is for me to know whether I can eat certain things or not. I feel like my experience has taught me that my body really does work better when I put the right things in it, and I am hesitant to ever go back to eating the way I was pre-W30. I really believe in the ideas behind Whole30. I know that while technically, there may be a way to make a pancake out of Whole30 compliant foods, but I know that mentally, that's not the best choice. There are things about Whole30, though, that I didn't really stick with, though. For example, Whole30 recommends staying off the scale, but I weighed myself consistently from the beginning, and I think that is a huge reason that I've lost so much weight, and a huge reason why I've been able to stick with it for so long. The other consideration I have in my mind is that I started out thinking that I would do this for 30 days. I quickly realized how much it was benefitting me, I decided for myself that I was going to do this for 120 days. Thinking back to the first few days of this process makes me laugh a little. Now that my body is used to eating clean, it's almost funny to think back to my pre-W30 days when I would sit at my desk at work stress-eating fistfuls of Cheez-its and wondering why my pants were so tight. I think I will obnoxiously continue to state that I am on day 76 of my Whole30, at least until I get to day 120!

Now, for more on my crazy party-girl weekend...

Kevin and I went to Savannah last weekend, and I knew while I was there, I would probably want a glass of wine. Or a beer. Or both. As it turned out, I was pretty 'good' while I was on vacation. Kevin and I spent our Honeymoon in Savannah, so part of our trip was spent visiting some of the places we loved when we were there the first time. We took a trip to Moon River Brewing Company, and tried some of their beers. Leave it to a Paleo/Whole30 girl to totally fall in love with a beer that is brewed with sweet potato, and is served out of a glass that is rimmed with pie spices and roasted pumpkin seeds. Kevin and I also ventured to a great little place less than a block from our B&B called Foxy Loxy where I boldly decided I was going to have cheese. "What's the worst that can happen? I'm on vacation!". Let's just say that digging into that creamy Brie, sultry goat cheese, and pungent blue cheese was a delicious departure from my regular eating habits, but the awful stomach cramps I ended up with later that night were less wonderful. Dairy and I don't get along, I realize that now.

Anyway, back from vacation now, loving the cooler fall weather, and while that sweet potato beer was delicious, I feel much better now that I'm back eating Whole30 compliant things!

Have a good weekend, everyone!