Well, it’s been far too long since I last posted. Work for Di and I has been busy. We’ve also been focused on spending more time exercising and trying to get enough sleep. Unfortunately, there is not enough hours in the day and blog writing time has suffered.

For the next 30 days, I’ll be participating in my first Whole30. Check back for daily updates about my progress.

The first week of Whole30 is now behind me. I feel pretty good about where I’m at. Now that my body is more acclimated to my new eating style, I’m going to try to incorporate some exercise in week 2. I’m also not going to bed early enough, so I’d like to get more sleep in week 2.

Day 6 was pretty exciting for me. I finished up my physical therapy, where they had a little graduation ceremony. It was awesome. It’s hard to believe that I spent the majority of this year recovering from my knee injury. In fact, I was on crutches for more than 3 months. Now on to the food.

For the next 30 days, I’ll be participating in my first Whole30. Check back for daily updates about my progress.

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My first weekend on the Whole30 and it went well. I’m feeling pretty good and I can already see my midsection tightening up a little bit. It’s hard to believe it’s only been 5 days. I got over my fear of eating paleo at restaurants during the Whole30, and had lunch at Threadgill’s celebrating my cousin’s, uncle’s and mom’s birthday.

For the next 30 days, I’ll be participating in my first Whole30. Check back for daily updates about my progress.

Day 3 was rough. I woke up and my allergies were terrible and I was tired most of the day. Apparently that’s the norm for Day 3 of the Whole30. It didn’t help that Friday is typically our Marketing Department’s go out to lunch day, which I’ve elected to skip during the Whole30. I’m bummed I will not be attending for the next 30 days. Oh well life goes on (at least I’ll save some money).

Things got a little more exciting when I got home. A paleo cookbook I ordered recently, Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat, was sitting on my door step. I quickly glanced through it and I’m already excited about all the recipes I will be making. Who knew eating paleo could be so exciting.

Traffic wasn’t bad, so I got home a little bit earlier than usual. This allowed me to spend some quality time in the kitchen (as you can see from my dinner below).

For the next 30 days, I’ll be participating in my first Whole30. Check back for daily updates about my progress.

Day 2 was relatively smooth. We went grocery shopping last night, so I had many more options to choose from today. I had a little bit of a headache in the afternoon, but my hunger level hasn’t been too bad. I overcame my first challenge today. We had a going away party at work today for our intern, which happened to be an ice cream party. I stayed strong and passed on an ice cream sandwich. One small step for man, one giant leap for me.

I hadn’t even heard of the Whole 30 until a couple of weeks ago. Shortly after I started my 30 x 30 Challenge I received a lot of great feedback about my diet. One reader pointed out that the diet I outlined for my challenge was nearly Paleo, so I started looking into the Paleo Diet. That’s when I found Whole9life.com and their Whole 30 challenge. I picked up a copy of their new book It Starts with Food: Discover the Whole30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways and thought that the program seemed manageable.

They had an official challenge starting on August 1. The timing couldn’t have been better. I just got back from Hawaii, and when I went on vacation, so did my diet. I was looking for something to get me back on track, and I believe the Whole 30 is exactly what I need.

Week 1:

Well, it’s been one week since I started my 30 by 30 Challenge. The first couple of days were rough. My body had some serious adjustments to make with so many changes. I can already tell a lot of improvement though. My energy level is noticeably higher, I’ve been in a better mood, I’ve been able to concentrate much better and my sleep quality has improved.

My knee was acting up this week, so I didn’t get to exercise as much as I would have liked. I’ll be resuming my rehab workouts tonight and should be back on the exercise bike on Thursday (hopefully).

Weigh In Results:

• Staring weight: 210 lbs.
• Today’s Weight: 204.5 lbs.
• Weight loss this week:  -5.5 lbs.
• Total Challenge Weight Loss: -5.5 lbs.

Week 1 was much more successful than I expected. I don’t think I’ll be seeing a loss of almost 6 pounds every week, but it’s a great start. Thanks again for all your support!

A few weeks ago I turned 29. Although I still feel the same, my next birthday is one of those big milestone birthdays, 30. This is the last year in my 20s, so I guess that’s a pretty big deal. I’ve done a lot since turning 20. I graduated college, bought my first new car, got a real job (where I’ve been for 7 years), got married, bought a house, traveled to some great places, finished my first half-marathon, and so on and so forth. All in all, my 20s have been great, but there’s one thing that’s really bothered me about the last 10 years, my weight.

I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life. I can still remember being made fun of as early as 5th grade for being the fat kid (I was often called “Jelly Rolls”). I was teased and bullied about it a lot. In high school, I may have tipped the scales at 150 soaking wet. I tried so hard to gain weight for football, but had no success. In college, I gained some, but not an outrageous amount of weight. It’s hard to tell when it got out of hand really. Sitting for 8-10 hours a day at work, with an abundance of sugary treats has taken its toll over the years.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve lost some weight here and there, but I’m still no where near where I need to be. So, I’ve decided that before I turn 30, my goal is to get down to 170 pounds (technically I’ll need to lose 38 pounds, but 38 by 30 doesn’t quite have the same ring as 30 by 30.)