Whole 30 @ 30!

So if you're on my Facebook as an acquaintance, friend or just old school mate you may have noticed I've been traveling quite a bit lately.  In fact, 10 different flights in 3 weeks consisting of 6 cities and another country (Cayman Islands) for a week.  Lucky me!  (except naturally, it gets real tough to control your eating habits.)

I mean seriously!  How do you NOT enjoy this:

OR this...

AND this...

BUT with that nice scenery comes:

  

Don Julio Boat Cruises...

A trip to the Cayman Islands Brewery...

THE MOST AMAZING dinner at Cracked Conch (seriously, the best dinner I've had in a really long time)...

 and ENDLESS sunset drinks at Macabuca....

While my workation to Philadelphia and vacation to the Caribbean was fun and exciting - it's time to buckle down and get back to business.  I mean - I think I drank enough alcohol for the the entire summer in the last three weeks (and we all know alcohol is the number one killer of diets).  This is JenisTRAYNING folks not JenisTANNING!  Not only is summer around the corner, but my back is seriously in pain and my body is wondering what happened to my amazing physique.  Don't worry body, I got ya...  can't wait to see you in a couple hard mentally intense weeks!

So that being said: 

This is my journey on Whole30!!

PROGRAM RULES - the cliffs notes version:

• DO NOT consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial (YIKES, probably THE hardest part about Whole30 - you know, since I'm such a sweetheart ;)
• DO NOT consume alcohol of any kind, not even for cooking (I'm ok with this.  I easily drank enough for the whole summer in the last 3 weeks)
• DO NOT eat grains (ugh, love quinoa but ok, fine...I get it - hard to digest and can cause skin problems, autoimmune disease and depression - not to mention spell check STILL doesn't know what it is so - well, let's give it a shot...)
• DO NOT eat legumes (again with the digestive problems...what happened to 'beans beans, they're good for your heart?...)
• DO NOT eat white potatoes (ok, this I can get down with a little easier than barley and quinoa...cauliflower mashed it is and thank goodness for yams)
• DO NOT consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites (ugh...what?  yea, we'll need to research more into this.  I should probably avoid Boiling Point with my bosses the next 4 weeks...)
• DO NOT 'paleo-ify baked goods, desserts or junk foods (man, so I guess trying to 'fake it' is out of the question)

Lastly...

• NO stepping on the scale or taking measurements of any kind during the program (this is kinda cool.  I can get down with this.  For those that don't know, when you lose weight and...err...'puff' back up - you tend to get a biiiiiiit obsessive about how every little thing effects your body and how much one good week could make you lose.)

Essentially, this is a PALEO based program.  PALEO by definition is a combining form meaning “old” or “ancient,” especially in reference to former geologic time periods.

Understanding the definition makes sense now because it's the 'caveman' diet - i.e. old, ancient - foods. Foods for humans.  Popular amongst crossfitters, PALEO is basically based on the notion that - for optimal health - modern humans should go back to eating real, whole unprocessed foods that are more healthful than harmful to our bodies.  That's fine, I've heard enough about crossfit (and even though at this time do not have intention of trying it) I might as well try out paleo in the form of Whole30, to have some sort of knowledge on the subject.

Regardless, abs are made in the kitchen and I'm down with some easily digested food for a bit -especially since I had a huge hurrah the last couple weeks.

Another Jenistrayning challenge has begun and the next 30 days should be very interesting!!