One Week Left!! I've GOT This!

Day 23, and I can see the end! Things have been going well, although I am definitely recycling the "easy" meals and not experimenting as much as I probably should. Is it easy? No, and it probably never will be completely easy. The time in the kitchen is still a bit of a pain, and while I am eating veggies three times a day, I do not crave them. Well, maybe sweet potatoes, but to be honest I have eaten more of those than I should have. And really, this is itself a big deal, since I would not even eat sweet potatoes without butter and brown sugar a month ago!

Here are the "ups" I have seen these last 23 days:

--Less between-meal hunger.
--Looser jeans (I'm even wearing a pair that I could not wear a month ago).
--Better sleep. Still not a solid 8 hours, but longer stretches. I made it until 4 a.m. one night recently!
--Overall more sustained energy.
--Ability to resist quick and easy (a/k/a NON-COMPLIANT) meals.

This last one was very evident last week when my hubby and I had to make an unexpected trip to the emergency room. We were there for over 5 hours and it was past 8 p.m. when we finally got kicked loose. In past times I would have run to the nearest drive-through, even though fast food is not a particular weakness of mine, just to get something quickly. Instead, we headed home and I cooked a relatively quick but completely compliant dinner.

I also ate out last week. That one was a bit tougher, because this particular restaurant has AMAZING bread that is served prior to the meal, complete with softened butter. It is also a place where I routinely order a glass of the house Chardonnay. No lie, giving those two things up was not easy. However, I ordered wisely--a spinach salad (without the bacon and with dressing I brought instead of theirs), topped with delicious, perfectly cooked tenderloin. I focused on enjoying that tenderloin and did not dwell on the fact that I was not sipping Chardonnay or stuffing myself with freshly baked bread. The result? I felt much better than usual after the meal and was proud of myself for sticking to the plan.

The funniest thing that happened the past couple of weeks occurred when I was preparing some veggies to roast in the oven. I spritzed them with olive oil, then started to sprinkle Lawry's Seasoned Salt on them as I always have. Then I stopped and looked at the Lawry's label, and sure enough, the second ingredient listed was--you guessed it--SUGAR! Who knew? I never would have guessed. My 9 year old said, "Oh well, Mom, you'll just have to start your Whole30 all over again!" NO WAY!! That was NOT happening! I quickly dumped the veggies into a colander and rinsed them off and then started over, this time using plain spices.

So here I am with a week to go, and while I do not look forward to another week of cooking compliant meals, I DO look forward to weighing in next Sunday. That alone is amazing! I do not have any idea how much weight I've lost, but I am guessing at least 5 pounds. Not stellar, and of course I'd like more, but the NSVs (non-scale victories) are pretty significant. If you are thinking about doing this but don't know if it is worth all the work, from my experience it is. If nothing else, just knowing that you have put NO added sugar or processed foods in your body is reason enough. It is only 30 days. You can do anything you put your mind to for 30 days!