A no-excuses healthy January.

I think January is simultaneously the hardest and easiest month to start a diet. Pros: it's frigid, so I don't want to eat out. Resolutions have me feeling all YEAH I CAN DO THIS. Gyms are running deals, and everyone else is on the healthy bandwagon too. Cons: it's frigid out, and all I want to do is eat all the hot cheese-covered carby things. 

So, naturally, I decided to kick off 2017 with a Whole30. 

What is Whole30? An elimination diet akin to paleo, which restricts (aka prohibits) all gluten, dairy, soy, legumes, alcohol, and added sugar for 30 days. We're talking not even a trace of any of that - it is hardcore. Basically, participants are allowed meat, fruit, and vegetables, a few cooking oils, and spices galore. Oh, and did I mention I decided to be insane and eliminate caffeine too?

This is pretty much me these days: 

Why did I choose Whole30, when it seems so extreme? I'm in need of a serious health re-set. I was sick a lot this fall, my skin has been terrible, and I sleep horribly (as continually chronicled here). Let's not even get into the fact that my December diet of ALL THE WINE and ALL THE CHEESE, capped off with a week in Sonoma and Napa, meant my pants were a little (um, okay, VERY) tight by New Year's Day.

Whole30 promises to remedy these ills and more, leaving its participants with boundless energy, shiny hair, glowing skin, smaller waistlines, and a completely new outlook on diet, health, and life. Sign me up! 

So we'll see how this goes - I'm planning on chronicling it diary-style from January 3 (start day) to Feb 1 (end date). Follow along...and wish me luck, and if you have bright ideas of how to cook eggs (so many eggs), let me know!

Day 1 (1/3): Breakfast of scrambled egg with avocado, pear, sweet potato and natural turkey sausage courtesy of the Whole Sisters. At least I thought it was a sweet potato. I just googled “difference between a sweet potato and yam” and turns out I’m eating a yam. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a yam in my entire life, and now I’m overthinking the existence and concept of yams because it’s early, I’m missing wine country, and I haven’t had coffee. Speaking of “haven’t had coffee,” I’m starting to think that eliminating coffee, cheese, chocolate, bread and wine all in the same month might actually be a suicide mission. Stay tuned. 

Day 2 (1/4): Woke up this morning with a dull, steady headache that I 100% attribute to the fact that I haven't had coffee for over 48 hours...possibly a new record for me? I'm chugging naturally caffeine-free cinnamon rooibos tea to try to compensate, and downing water like it's a lifeline. 

I also spent a lot of time on Pinterest last night and started a Whole30 board...because I can already tell that I'm going to burn out on eggs in about a week. There are so many different, crazy options that I'm excited to check out!

Day 3 (1/5): I am so CRANKY. I don't know if it's attributable to the lack of caffeine, the cleanse, or the fact that it's a -30 windchill today, but I woke up and have been grumping hard ever since. I forgot to put avocado in my eggs this morning, too, and that seems like a tragedy of the first order. 

(I've averaged an avocado a day since I started this thing. God help and save my bank account.)

Day 4 (1/6): I made homemade pesto tonight and it felt like I deserved a freaking Michelin star. That said, it was incredible. Other foods I'm loving: onion in everything, lots of spice (red pepper flakes), and lemon ginger tea like three times a day. 

Day 6 (1/8): I've eaten that pesto on just about everything this weekend...eggs in the morning, with carrots as a dip, and spaghetti squash with chicken for dinner. It's so good. I also made a chicken salad with homemade mayo...I made homemade mayo. Who am I?! 

Special shout-out to band friend and Whole30 veteran Catherine for sharing her meal-planning spreadsheet and favorite recipes...she is a lifesaver, and I can't wait to try some of her faves! 

Day 7 (1/9): I was so crabby today - it took me two hours to get home from work in a snowstorm, and I was hangry and had to pee the entire way. Thankfully I had a LaraBar in my purse...the list of which ones are Whole30 compliant saved my life. I also had this great spaghetti squash and beef casserole for dinner...I used up the last of my pesto on it and it was so good. 

Day 8 (1/10): Worked from home due to ongoing snowstorms pounding Minnesota, and took advantage of being able to multitask to put together this breakfast casserole. It smelled so amazing that I couldn't resist having it for lunch...and it tastes as good as it smelled. I never would have thought I'd be the kind of person who buys nutritional yeast as a cheese replacement (what the F is nutritional yeast?! WTF?!?!!), but for the first time in this whole process, I started thinking that changes like this could be sustainable for me in the longterm. 

Day 10 (1/12): Not gonna lie, today has sucked. (And apparently that's normal?) I've been legit having filthy fantasies about Hell's Kitchen grilled cheese, Papa John's pizza with extra garlic sauce for the crust, and Parlour burgers. And I'm cranky and my skin looks terrible. Again, all of which is normal. 

I also turned down a guy who asked me if I wanted to go out for drinks this weekend, and that's adding to the crank factor. BOO. The only bright sides to today are the carob-rooibos "red velvet cake" tea I ordered from Republic of Tea...and the fact that I'm 1/3 of the way done. 

So here we are...Day 11, and here's hoping I get over the slump! 

101 in 1001 #9: Get a skin cancer check.

As I’ve mentioned recently, I’m really trying to focus on taking better care of my skin. Sun protection is so important, and it’s all too easy to get really excited about a fantastic tan and forget about the damage I’m doing to my skin in the process. I’m still religiously using my SPF lotion, and trying to be really good about applying and reapplying sunscreen every time I’m outdoors for extended periods. To see where I really stand on the skin front, though, I made an appointment at the beginning of the summer to see a dermatologist for skin mapping.

Skin cancer has been a problem on both sides of my family…two of my grandparents had bad issues with it, so I’ve seen firsthand how damaging the impact of melanoma can be. Fortunately, my sainted mother was absolutely religious about sunscreen when we were children, and I never fell victim to the tanning-bed trend in high school or college. I thought I was in pretty good shape going into the appointment, but it never hurts to be careful!

I went to the dermatologist I saw in high school for skin problems (oh, the glory days) and they seemed surprised to see someone my age coming in for a skin cancer check. At first I felt like kind of an idiot, but the doctor was quick to correct me: while it’s uncommon for people my age to come in, the sooner abnormalities are identified, the better chance there is that care can be provided in a non-invasive manner. She gave me major credit for it, which I naturally loved, and told me to spread the word…so here’s my PSA: get thyself to a dermatologist and have your skin checked out sooner than later!

The process itself was incredibly simple: I stripped down to my underwear, and the doctor checked me over from scalp to toes for irregular moles, extensive freckling, and other weird issues. The level of detailed attention to places like the bottoms of my feet and my hairline cracked me up…I was definitely not expecting such intense scrutiny there, but it makes sense…those spots don’t really get regular sunscreen and are often exposed to the sun, after all.

After checking me over and mapping one or two spots to watch, she gave me the all-clear and complimented my mama bear on her sunscreen diligence…apparently all those hard-fought battles to douse us in Coppertone SPF 30 paid off in skin that’s minimally freckled/wrinkled and looks great for someone my age. I’m in the clear for the next two to three years, at which point a follow-up is recommended to ensure nothing major has changed.

Friends, I can’t recommend this highly enough. If, like me, your insurance covers preventive care, this should be fully covered, and it took all of fifteen minutes. I’m enjoying the peace of mind of knowing I’m doing things right for my skin, and it’s just reinforced that time invested in care now will pay off in spades later.

More 101 in 1001 here, and more info on skin cancer screenings/skin mapping here.

101 in 1001 #11: Go 30 days without eating out.

1/4/16: 

I know I’m not the only person who has essentially spent the weeks between Thanksgiving and, well, today on a moderately tipsy, cheese-covered sugar high. Every time early January rolls around I end up a little depressed and angsty, and although I usually blame it on the holiday season ending, part of me knows that it’s also largely due to the fact that I have put nothing but crap in my body for the last month-plus. This year it feels even worse, fresh off our Arizona trip where we played my favorite game, “Take ALL THE SHOTS,” and chased them with In’N’Out (oh my god, so good, SO good!). Add to that the fact that I've spent an absurd amount of money lately, and a lot of that has been on food and, worse, alcohol. Long story short, the minute my plane landed in Minneapolis tonight, I knew I needed to make a major reset in that department. 

January is always a kind of odd month for me. It’s the busiest time of year at work, it’s dark and cold and miserable, and it falls between December (holidays, duh, I love) and February (my birthday, duh, also love). What better time to go hardcore on checking off a goal? Last year, I didn’t shop for a month, and it felt really good financially and sartorially to check out for a little bit there. This year, I’m giving up eating out for 30 days, and am planning to chronicle it in the same way as last year…day by day, as interesting things happen. I started a bit late due to the aforementioned Phoenix trip, but am planning on eating in from January 5 to February 4 to make up for it. Hopefully by February 5, things will be feeling better (my skinny jeans) and my bank account will appreciate the lack of appetizers and alcohol!  

1/9:I'm realizing just how much of my social life centers around eating out...specifically, brunch and happy hour. I'm very guilty of doing the whole happy hour "apps for dinner" thing, and obviously I have a serious love affair on with brunch. 

1/10:Cooking! It's a good thing to do, as atrocious as I am at it. I think I'm going to take this opportunity to check off my crockpot challenge as well, starting today with stuffed peppers. Here goes nothing! 

1/12:Planned an alternative to brunch/happy hour with Hannah...watching "The Bachelor" with wine at my place! It'll be nice to catch up with her and stay in doing so. I also need to get something on the calendar with Claire and Kelsie...I haven't seen either of them forever. 

1/14:Funny thing I noticed this morning while getting ready: my skin is WAY clearer than it would normally be at this time of the month/year. Winter wreaks havoc on my face at all times and I am wishfully attributing the change to less gin/restaurant food and more fruit/veggies. Interesting side effect of eating in is that my dairy intake is way down too...I use almond milk for my smoothie every day and haven't been adding a ton of cheese to what I'm cooking. Maybe that's it? I don't know, but either way, I'm liking it! 

1/17: I cheated. My mom and I had tickets to the Guthrie to see "Pericles," and we went to Parlour for cocktails and split a burger. Oh the shame and ignominy! I'm justifying it by claiming that since I didn't foot the bill, I technically am still holding to the financial side of things, if not the "make healthy choices" spirit I struck out in. Shameful. That burger, though...worth it! 

1/19: I'll be going out tonight, but not eating out, as part of the Notre Dame Club of Minnesota's "Pericles" outing (that's right, I'm seeing it twice in three days!). The club is hosting a pre-show get together at Day Block Brewing, so I'll plan to head over there to socialize without falling into my usual happy hour habits. I'm finding it much easier than I expected to strike balances like this, and that's gratifying. 

1/22: I hosted Eva last night and am having Hannah over tonight for an evening in featuring a taco bar and homemade margaritas! Proof that I don't need to go out to maintain a great social life. Plus, with temps as cold as they've been lately, it's well worth it to stay in. 

1/27: An uneventful but lovely week of staying in and doing a ton of cooking. I'm making lunch every night for the next day before bed...which is such a little thing, but it's so great to just grab it and go in the morning. Instead of my 2015 "mid-morning coffee run" habit, I've been drinking smoothies at work with protein powder and a shit-ton of spinach in them. They look gross but taste really good...if I close my eyes! 

1/31: I cheated, again, but have absolutely zero shame as it was my early birthday brunch with my parents! They'll be in Florida on the 11th, so they took me to my very favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities, Spoon and Stable. Again, I didn't foot the bill, and the croque madame and pastries were so over-the-top delicious that I have NO REGRETS. 

2/2: Went home from the office early in a blizzard and cooked a giant crockpot of soup for the next week's lunches! I think that, even though I'm excited to give myself the option of brunch and happy hour again, the "no lunch out" thing is going to be a great change for me. Hopefully this habit sticks! 

2/3: MADE IT. Celebrated by going out to a pre-Anthro birthday party dinner with Jodester at Mozza Mia for sinfully delicious caprese and panzanella. 

Lessons learned: 

--Preparation is key. I found that having a ton of food on hand and ready to go at home made going out way less tempting...especially thinking about food spoiling after spending so much to have fresh produce on hand. 

--Similarly, variety matters. I started the month eating the same lunches and dinners repeatedly and got really bored. It was fun to strike out of my kitchen comfort zone and try new things--I found a few fantastic new recipes that will be in rotation going forward for sure! 

--Be up-front with friends. I just told the people I wanted to see that going out to eat wasn't an option, and everyone was lovely about it (and more than willing to stay in!). I think often I choose the convenience of meeting up with someone at a bar or restaurant over the perceived hassle of hosting, when really, it's absolutely heavenly to be able to stay in, wear leggings and drink my own wine with my favorite people. 

All in all, great success! Eating out just twice in 30 days is a massive, major change for me and I'm really glad I checked this one off to start 2016 off on the right foot. For more 101 in 1001, head here, and if anyone's in the mood to stay in with me, I'm totally up for keeping the stay-in train going! 

Liz Gets Healthy: 21-Day Fix, Week 3

Woo-hoo! Technically, I'm done with my first round of the 21-Day Fix! 

In actuality, I'm tacking on an extra week due to my upcoming trip to Mexico, and am planning on completing another round after I get back. It definitely feels great to have made it through the first 21 days, though, and I've learned some very valuable things about myself and my habits along the way. 

I'm not really the kind of person who gets off on disclosing pounds or inches lost, especially when I know I have a long way I'd like to go yet. What I will say, though, is it was fun to make it through entire workouts this week without ever modifying anything. I caught myself grinning from ear to ear after a particularly brutal plank series in the Pilates workout as I finished having stayed up the entire five minutes. Tracking and counting reps, using heavier weights, and feeling so much better at the end of every workout was equal parts empowering and humbling. 

I've had a tough year as far as body image, health and confidence go. Getting into the 21-Day Fix, hearing positive affirmations on a daily basis from the Facebook group and DVDs and knowing I'm making healthy, smart choices for myself has started to help turn that around. Planning meals and workouts has kept me busy in a good way--filling up hours I'd otherwise spend getting up in my own head over ridiculous things as we type A people tend to do.

I have more energy, and as a result, a more positive outlook on the world. I feel more productive and engaged in life in general. Most importantly, it's made me value the times I do go out with friends (and, admittedly, cheat a little) way more in light of how hard I work every day to be able to enjoy that time. 

Finally, and best of all, knowing I'm moving and shaking and actively caring for myself has helped quiet that negative voice inside, that voice that screams rather than whispers, telling me I'm not worthy or deserving or good enough. I'm proving to myself that I am, and it's so great to not need anyone else to do that for me anymore. It's extremely cheesy to say it, but I feel like the 21 Day Fix is fixing more than my biceps and butt...it's fixing my entire outlook on life. Well worth it. 

Liz Gets Healthy: 21-Day Fix, Week Two

Friends, last week taught me a lesson in fortitude, commitment and grace. And it's all been because of the 21-Day Fix. 

See, I'm a quitter, sometimes. When things get uncomfortable, when I can create a mental argument for something to be a certain way, I can justify quitting to myself. For me, with this plan, that's meant the hard day means I can have the pizza. The friend's birthday means it's okay to down a pint. The four-hour volunteer shift in shoes that hurt my feet means it's okay to half-ass the workout...just a little bit. Taken individually, none of these things would be the end of the world. Together, though, they spell out failure. 

And yet. And yet I'm still watching the numbers on the scale drop. And I think that's proof that I'm not quitting. I'm still doing workouts. I'm still packing my healthy lunches, making my careful, measured-out breakfasts and guzzling water like a sailor in a drought. I'm not sugaring my coffee or taking the cake at the office party. I'm taking the stairs and embracing the soreness of my quads. It's a refreshing but dissonant feeling, knowing how much I'm doing for myself and yet knowing how many little cheats and fails I'm still falling prey to. 

Monday night, the first night of week 3, I was just not feeling the Total Body Cardio Fix. My legs were sore, I was sleep-deprived and stuffy-nosed from a weekend of staying out too late. I was thiiiiiis close to convincing myself that I would be okay just skipping the workout...that I would get up and do it the next morning, that I would never notice the difference. A few factors changed my mind. Our challenge group's coach, Kristi, posted an inspirational photo with the caption to "Never miss a Monday," and right above it in my feed, Leah, Claire's older sister and a Fix veteran, commented a simple "Kill it gurrrrl" on my Facebook.

Reluctant as I was, I pressed play and fought through the workout despite exhaustion. It certainly wasn't the best workout I've ever had, but it was the best workout I could've given that day, and noteworthy in that it was a workout I didn't skip because of all the other noise in my life. I was so proud of myself...and as Kristi later reminded me, life's about holding yourself to a standard of grace, not perfection. 

Hannah and I took a long walk around Lake Calhoun last Wednesday to take advantage of the gorgeous evening weather and had a similar, long conversation. I think we're very much on the same page with wanting to embed healthy lifestyle changes in our daily routines without totally sacrificing all the wonderful little things about being a twenty-something. My goal for the next week is to get back to being hardcore committed, but my goal for the rest of the year is to remind myself that I deserve grace. If that's all the Fix teaches me, I think that's pretty darn worthy.