Kara

Why I quit the Whole30

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Before I finally gained control overmy health, I was QUICK to jump on any and every band wagon that came along if
it promised to make me weigh less or look better.

If I noticed a friend had found success losing weight with any certain plan, I
was willing to try it. Over the years I’ve tried to grapefruit diet, Low Carb, WeightWatchers,
Slim Fast, Shakeology, Excessive calorie counting and cardio, the 72 hour diet,
and several other crazy ideas.

I would take a plan that had worked for someone else and then try to manipulate
results so that I could do the same. But they all had two common denominators:
They weren’t sustainable for more than a few weeks or months at a time, and they
caused me to take my focus off of the real motivation for getting healthy and
to place it onto the scale. 

Thankfully, I’ve learned A LOT on
this journey over the past 26 months and God has been so faithful to help me
find a new path. I no longer look to a number on the scale or on my clothing to
determine my worth, and I no longer think that I have to use some strict plan
to stay healthy. I do my best to eat in a way that honors God and a way that
makes me feel healthy.

Last year, my husband approached me about trying to do a 30 day detox plan
together. It was called the Whole30 and was based on the book It Starts With
Food. The basic premise is that the foods we eat may be potentially harmful
to our bodies due to food sensitivities and that by eliminating these food
groups, your body can heal. They encourage you to throw out the scale for the
entire 30 days and to stick to the plan without compromise so that you can
truly gauge how you feel without having the offending foods in your
system. 

We decided together that the best time to attempt this lifestyle overhaul would
be on January 1st 2015 and that we would do it together. The only
problem…after all that God revealed to me at Revelation Wellness InstructorTraining retreat, I realized that I personally had issues with taking a ‘good
thing’ and letting it become my ‘god thing’. Stated differently, I tend to
allow things to take on more power than they should and they become a form of
idol in my life.

I had committed to my husband that I would do this plan with him, and to a
couple of our friends, so I didn’t feel like I could back out, so I determined
that I would do the Whole30 with him and that I would be able to make it about
Jesus. 

And friends, I tried. I did.
 I struggled through the effects of my body
detoxing from sugar, I put up with the crazy dreams, mood swings, and headaches that come when your body
begins eliminating offending foods and healing. I bought specialty ingredients,
I cooked new recipes and meal prepped my little self to death. I utilized
message boards and facebook groups of others who were completing the Whole30 at
the same time, and tried to white knuckle my way through.

But the further I got into the plan, the more I started to see that I had once
again let a plan hijack my purpose and my focus. It was behavior modification
for the wrong reasons and put me into a restrictive mindset. For me, it became
yet another time when I would base my worth off of my performance or on how I
did that day with my food choices. I constantly was thinking about food, what I
could have, what I could not have, and what it was doing to my weight. I began
focusing on what I could not eat more than on my personal walk and so I had to
set it down.

After 21 days eating no grains of
any sort, no dairy, no legumes, no soy, no sugar, no processed foods, I ended
it.

My husband continued and my friends continued, but I knew that for me, it brought
up too many of my food issues that apparently had not yet been fully resolved.

And looking back now almost one month later, I know it was the right choice. I
am still working through some of the issues it brought up, and struggling to
recalibrate my thought patterns to what I KNOW to be true in my heart.

 I learned a lot about my own personal health
during the 21 days that I did, learned some lessons about endurance and
perseverance, and also gained some insight into some work left to be done in my
heart. For me, the Whole30 wasn’t the best choice (due to my own strongholds),
but for many of you, it may be a great choice. Please do not read this and be discouraged if you are considering your own Whole30 journey- it may be the PERFECT plan for you. But I encourage each of you before you start ANY plan to search your heart. Commit it to God and see how He wants to work in your life through it. And if at any point you begin to see red flags that your “good thing” is taking you further from Him then SET IT DOWN.

It won’t matter how healthy your body may be if your heart is far from Him. No number on a scale or in a clothing size is worth it. NONE.

For those that are curious as to how the 30 days went and some recipe ideas, come
back in the next couple days for a full run-down of foods we ate as well as descriptions of
how the detox affected me each day. I would love to give you some details and some resources you can use if you decide to pursue your own Whole30.

Vegetable Soup

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Did you know the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables we are supposed to eat each day is 9-12? Most of us don’t have too much trouble getting in a couple servings of fruits, and maybe even a couple servings of vegetables if we eat a salad or green beans with dinner, but nine to twelve? That’s a lot!

I had to gradually find ways to add more veggies to my regular meals to get more into my diet each day. I sneak frozen spinach and blueberries into my morning protein shakes and I add vegetables to dishes I normally wouldn’t have previously such as adding spinach to my spaghetti sauce or greens to my soups.

My favorite prep-ahead-of-time soup is my Green Soup. To date this is one of the most popular recipes on the blog and one that many of you hesitantly tried and loved. Even my four year old loves this soup. It may look kind of gross and be FULL of good-for-you veggies, but it is DELICIOUS! I cooked a big pot of it this morning and my son ran into the kitchen saying, “Do I smell Green Hulk Soup?!?!”. He loves it.

But sometimes, I may want a little variety, which is were my vegetable soup recipe comes in. It’s super simple and can be made with whatever veggies you have at home.

Vegetable Soup Recipe:
-Heat some Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large pot. Add some chopped garlic and onions to it once it’s hot.

-While that is cooking, chop up any vegetables you want to include in your soup. This time I did zucchini, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. (You can also use frozen vegetables).

And then add them to your large pot.

-Next, add 1-2 boxes of chicken broth. I used organic low-sodium, but you can use whatever kind you’d like. The amount you add will depend on the amount of vegetables you’ve added.

-Once your broth is added, bring it up to a boil and then add in some Tomato Paste. I did a large plop (probably half of the small can of tomato paste.) You can add as much as you’d like or as little as you’d like. It really does give the soup a nice flavor.

-Then just let the soup simmer for a bit. At this point I like to add some frozen spinach as well as any seasonings or spices you’d like to add. I added salt, pepper and a few other spices from the pantry.

-Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes or more and then it’s done!

-You can eat it like this, or you can do the same method that I do with my green soup and you can blend it in your food processor or blender. This helps disguise some of the veggies for those that may have kids that don’t like seeing the veggies, but will love the taste. Or, you can leave it like this.

I puree mine normally and then I store it in 1 cup sized bowls in the freezer. I often pull out a bowl of this and take it to eat along with my protein source for lunch. It’s a great way to get in several servings of vegetables and a good way to fill up on healthy items instead of on junk.

I hope you enjoy!

Feel free to tweak, add, or delete ingredients according to your personal preferences. I’ve never made this soup the same way twice and it always comes out delicious.

Back to Basics Challenge: HABIT 3

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For the past 6 weeks, we have been working on building in life-long sustainable
healthy habits. For the first three weeks we worked on drinking water (find
those posts here, here, and here), and for the last three weeks we have worked
on moving our bodies (find those posts here, here, and here).

Today I introduce a new habit to you- SLEEP. 

This is a HARD habit. To be honest
with you, the past two habits have not been challenging for me as I mastered
these back at the beginning of my journey. But sleep, SLEEP, is a hard one. We
lead busy lives. We rush and we strive and we try to fit in way more than our
24 hours is meant to hold. And because of that, some things are pushed to the
back burner or cut out completely- sleep needs being one of them.

The truth is, you can eat really well and stick to nutritious, whole foods and
get in plenty of exercise and still not lose weight because of one thing that
is missing: SLEEP.

I know that it is easier said than done, but I also know that it’s worth
working towards. So each day I’ll give you some new information on why your
body needs rest and some tips/ideas on how to incorporate it.


Week 1, Day 1:
Sleep
matters for weight loss. It not only affects your metabolic
functioning, but it also affects the food choices you make throughout the day.
Think back over times in your life when you were really sleep deprived (moms of
newborns I know you feel me on this one).

Now think back to the food choices you made while in this stage of life. Were
they good, healthy ones? Probably not! Numerous studies have shown that the
more sleep deprived that you are, the more ‘comfort food’ you will choose to
ingest. More specifically, SUGAR LADEN FOODS seem to be our food of choice as
well as HIGH CARB junk (both terrible for our waistlines and our hearts).

Your task for today, get out your motivation journal (if you don’t have one
yet, go back and look at habit #2 intro and week 1), and record in it your
sleep and wake times for one week. Every day this week write down the time you
lay down to go to sleep, the time you actually think you fell asleep, and the
time (or times) you woke.

Day 2:
When we don’t get enough energy from resting each night, our body will try to
get energy from other sources, namely the sugar laden junk foods I talked about
yesterday. Our bodies want to find the quickest, most accessible energy
possible, which is why we head towards sugar and carbs. As you may know,
choosing to indulge in a high sugar/high carb food feels good temporarily until
your blood sugar crashes and then you need more and more to even it out.

Your task for the day- head to bed 10 minutes earlier than normal. That’s it.
10 minutes.

Day 3:
When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, your insulin sensitivity is affected.
This is the body’s capacity to process the carbs you eat instead of storing
them as fat. By not sleeping, our insulin sensitivity can be reduced which
means you are MORE LIKELY to store food as fat, and yet still be just as hungry
after eating.
Your task for today: Don’t fall asleep watching TV, reading an electronic
device, or looking at your phone/ipad. Give yourself at least 10-20 minutes of
down time where you read a traditional book, talk with a friend/spouse, or do
some relaxation activities. Try to pay attention to if this improves how
quickly you fall asleep tonight.

Day 4:
Lack of sleep has been proven to increase inflammation in the body. That means
an increased risk of developing cardiovascular, metabolic, and
neurodegenerative diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.
When our bodies rest, our bodies are able to heal, repair and renew. It matters!

Your task for today: Cut off ALL caffeine after 2 pm. See if it makes a
difference in your ability to fall asleep quicker OR to stay asleep throughout
the night.

Day 5:
Today I want you to plan ahead and try to set a reasonable bed time. Take the
time that you are supposed to wake up in the morning and then count backwards 8
hours. Once you’ve figured out what time that would be, set an alarm on your
phone for 30 minutes earlier. For example, if I had to get up at 6am, I would
count backwards and know that at 10 pm I need to be asleep. Now, count back
another 30 minutes, and set an alarm for 9:30 p.m. At 9:30, all electronic
devices should be off and I should be either reading or resting in bed trying
to settle down so that at 10:00pm, I can go to sleep.

Day 6:
How did it go last night? Did you feel any more rested when you woke? Or maybe
you had trouble falling asleep that early? Remember that each day’s tasks are
building off of one another, so it’s important that you’re doing things such as
cutting off all caffeine after 2 pm, and turning off electronic devices and the
TV at least 30 minutes before bed. Today, I want you to spend about 10 minutes
before your bedtime in prayer, stretching, or relaxation exercises. This will
signal to your body that it’s time to begin shutting down and to prepare you
for a good night’s rest.
There are some great resources you can utilize on YouTube or even apps you can
download for your smart phone that will coach you vocally through different
relaxation techniques. 

Day 7:
Did you know that your immune system relies on sleep to keep you healthy? To be
able to defend your body against foreign and harmful objects, proper amounts of
rest are required. Those that are chronically sleep deficient are more likely
to be sick and to have trouble fighting off common infections.
Today’s task: Continue each of the items from earlier this week, but add in a
new one: Set a “stop time” for work. This is a time that you pre-determine that
you will not work past. If all of your tasks/work isn’t yet done for the day,
you still set it aside and go to bed. I can promise you that even if you don’t finish
everything, you will be MORE productive the following day if you’re properly
rested.
Now go spend your 30 minutes relaxing, praying, stretching, and head to bed!

For the printable checklist for the week, you can access it here:

Here
are links to ALL previous Healthy Habits Posts:


INTRO to Healthy Habits
 
 Habit 1, Week 1

 

Habit 1, Week 2

 Habit 1, Week 3

Habit #2-
 Habit 2, Week 1

 Habit 2, Week 2

 Habit 2, Week 3

Deep Waters…

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Today during the fitness class that I lead we focused on Isaiah 43:1-4. It says:

But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypti for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.

And so as we exercised, I talked through each of these statements.

“FEAR NOT.”

Truth is, this one is hard for me. Bottom line, when I choose to fear, I’m telling God that I don’t trust His promises. That I don’t trust His provision and His plan.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”
Deep waters of difficulty will come. In fact, I’m in the midst of some now. Many of you are also.

Here’s the truth: When in deep waters we have two choices: DROWN or Swim and GROW STRONGER. Is swimming in deep water easy? No. But if we do, if we CHOOSE to grab hold of Him and allow Him to save us, WE GROW STRONGER. The choice to go THROUGH the deep waters grows us in our faith, grows our trust in Him, and grows our willingness to step out of our comfort zone.

You choose: DROWN or TRUST.

“When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- because He is GOD, your PERSONAL God, the Holy of Israel.” (MSG translation)

Our PERSONAL God. OURS. You are known, loved, designed and cherished.

“He has CALLED US BY NAME”

See, the world and satan call us by our sins. They call us by our ‘lack’ or our ‘excess’.

Too slow, too old, too fat, too dumb, too loud, too quiet, not good enough, not kind enough, not patient enough…the list goes on.

But God, He calls us by our name. He looks at us and says “Good. GOOD job. Keep going. Keep trusting me. Keep choosing to show up and put one foot in front of the other. I love you. I LOVE YOU. I’m here. I will not let you drown. I will not let the fire burn you. That mountain that is looming over you right now? It’s just a pebble under my feet. Yes, it’s over your head. But it’s under MY FEET. YOU ARE ENOUGH. TAKE MY HAND. TRUST ME. GO deeper. Don’t fear deep waters. Don’t fear trials. DON’T FEAR. I have CALLED YOU BY NAME.”

I’m not sure why I felt like I needed to post this today, and I don’t know that anyone will even read it. But I know that I often need the reminder of TRUTH to drown out all the noise that comes from the world.

Today, you get to choose- DROWN or GROW STRONGER. FEAR or TRUST. World’s names for you, or GOD’S view of you. YOU CHOOSE.

I’m praying that you choose well!

Back to Basics Challenge Habit #2 Week #3

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Hello, friends!

On January 1st, I launched the #backtobasics2015 challenge where we
would tackle a new healthy habit every 21 days. No more quick fixes or
10 day plans towards six pack abs.

Small, sustainable changes that will add up to change your life.

To read more about it, you can click here.

You have made it to the third week of our latest healthy habit: MOVING OUR BODIES!

If you missed the last two posts for this habit, you can find them here and here.

Here are this week’s tasks. Feel free to print off the checklist if that helps you, or save a copy of the picture on your phone for referring back to it quickly each day.

I’m so proud of you!

Day #15: February 5th:
You’ve now spent 5 weeks working towards better health. I am SO proud of you!
How’s the water intake going? Are you still getting as much as you need?

The past two weeks you began incorporating some daily movement into your life.
Congratulations! This is a big step. Some of you may have easily mastered this
habit, and others may be taking it a bit slower. I want you to RUN YOUR OWN
RACE. What I mean is that I want you to move the way God made your body to
move. Whatever form of exercise you are trying to implement, make sure that
it’s focused on HIM. It won’t matter how many reps you can do, how fast you can
run, or the amount you can lift if you aren’t focused first on Him and His
purposes.

Today’s challenge: find some stairs and walk up and down them for at least 3
minutes. If you only have a few at your home, you can do this same challenge
but using a step stool instead. Spend 3 minutes stepping up onto it, then stepping
down and repeating with the other leg. If you have access to flights of stairs
at your work place or where you live, use these. Spend at least 3 minutes on
them.

Day #16: February 6th:
On Day #13 I asked you to begin doing calf raises while you brushed your teeth
and doing squats while you brushed your hair. Today, add in some side leg lifts
while you are reheating something in the microwave.  Try to begin making it a habit to use these
types of times to add in physical movement. Little changes can add up to big
results, so keep at it.

Some other examples: do 20 jumping jacks before you take your shower each day,
do a set of crunches before you get into bed each night. Hold a plank or wall
sit for 1 minute while waiting on something that is baking in the oven. While
at your child’s athletic practice, walk laps around the gym or the soccer
field. Having to wait in line somewhere? Perform calf raises, squats, or side
leg lifts. People may give you a strange glance. Just smile back and say “I’m
getting stronger so I can serve Him longer!” They’ll still look at you crazy,
but you can smile and press forward anyway. I’m proud of you!

Day #17: February 7th:
Today I want you to take inventory of any positive changes you may have noticed
over the last five and a half weeks. There is a chance you may have seen a
difference on the scale, but there is a higher chance that you may not. This is
perfectly fine, because we aren’t looking for quick fixes, but slow, steady,
sustainable change!

Get out your motivation journal and make a new page. Write at the top: NSV:
Non-Scale Victories

On this page I want you to begin keeping a list of any positive changes that
you may notice that do NOT rely on the scale. Some examples might be:
-more energy
-Sleeping better
-Clearer skin
-more patience with my kids/spouse/friends/co-workers/etc.
-pants fit better

We have got to get our eyes OFF of the scale if we’re going
to keep moving forward. If you’re willing, head over the facebook page and
share a NSV with us that you’re noticing.

Day #18: February 8th:
Today I’m challenging you to try something new: intervals. This type of
training is super-effective at getting results for people and can be done in a
short amount of time. For more info, watch this video.

These can be done using almost ANY form of exercise- walking, running,
swimming, biking, dancing, etc. Pick the type that you prefer and then GO FOR
IT.

I recommend you add these to your weekly routine at least 1 time but not more
than 3 times per week as they are pretty taxing on the body.

Day #19: February 9th:

Today starts a new week! Get out your motivation journal.
Read through your WHY. Update any of your quotes as needed, and also update
your goals page. Are you getting closer to your goals or further away? Even if
you’ve struggled to get going, THIS MOMENT is the perfect chance to start
again.

Pull out your calendar or agenda and schedule your exercise  time for the week. Make it an appointment
just like you would for a doctor or dentist visit or a meeting at work. This
time is IMPORTANT for many reasons- including not just physical benefits but
also emotional and mental. If may mean that you have to get up earlier. I know
that is hard, but it is a great time to get up and get going.

Some tips for early morning exercise:
-Set more than 1 alarm and put at least one of them across the room from your
bed so that you have to get up to turn it off.
-Lay out any needed equipment the night before. If you’re leaving to drive to a
gym or workout group lay out your keys, water bottle, and any other needed
items.
-Sleep in your workout clothes- this isn’t a good option for everyone but works
GREAT for me on the nights before I teach my early morning exercise classes.
-Have an accountability partner. Text/email a friend and ask them to hold you
accountable. Or join a group such as Hello Mornings or Good Morning Girls and
use your group for accountability.

Day #20: February 10th:

Your task today: While exercising (if possible) only listen
to Christian music. Spend the entire time intentionally focused on God and what
He has for you. If this isn’t possible due to the environment of your preferred
exercise, then spend 10 minutes walking and listening to praise music. Don’t
have any? Use your smart phone and stream free music from Pandora. Type in the
name of your favorite Christian band or artist and it will select music for
you.

I’ve said this before, but WHAT YOU PUT IN WILL COME OUT.  The music we choose to listen to influences
our heart and our focus. Make your exercise time your worship time.

Day #21: February 11th:
You did it. Three weeks of focusing on physical activity. This one can be hard
to sustain if you haven’t found a way to make it fit into your everyday life.
If you still haven’t been able to do so, keep working. You don’t have to be
able to go out and run 5 miles a day, but you CAN move your body in some way
each day. Be creative, explore at-home options if needed, but do what YOUR body
is able to do.

Go check in on the Facebook page and let me know how these three weeks have
been for you. Greatest challenges? Greatest successes? Helpful hints and tips?

One Month In…

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(This was a post I first shared on Feb. 1, 2014. I’ve made some changes and updates and am posting it again. Hope it helps you!)

Happy Saturday, friends!

Here we are, one month in to this journey together.

Sad to tell you this, but statistics say that around 60% of you have already thrown in the towel. Did you read that? 60% .
Take the numbers for our facebook group- We currently have 3,419 people who follow the Wellness Witness page.

Theoretically, if we speculated that ALL of those people were trying to get healthier in 2015, then statistics say that around 
over 2,051 of you have already given up. You’ve decided it’s just easier, more
comfortable, and safer to just keep on living as you had been in the
past. Or you’ve decided that as much as you want to, you just can’t make the changes necessary.

But, I don’t think this is the case.

I think that we are a group of people united for a greater cause then
just fitting into a smaller pants size or wearing a bikini and looking
good.

I believe that we are a group of believers committed to living a
healthier lifestyle because it honors the giver of all good things.

I believe that we have decided to press on even when it’s difficult, due to our faith in knowing that the way we steward our health matters and that we are accountable for doing so.

I know in my heart that although there will be setbacks, that you CAN and you WILL change your life because you’re not walking through this thing alone.

You’ve joined our community and linked arms with people committed to the same goals. And more than that, you’re doing this in His strength. Not your own.

Last week one of my Momsanity coaches posted this picture.

I think this sums up the way that most of us live. (I can’t tell you how
many HUNDREDS of times I’ve done this in the past). But one day it
clicked for me…

I can get back on track towards my healthier lifestyle with the very next meal.
So if I’ve had a meal full of bad choices, (or a day of them), or if
I’ve neglected physical exercise for a while, I can get back on track RIGHT AWAY.

No more waiting until Monday. No more stuffing myself full of junk so
that I can eat it all up and start fresh on Monday. Your healthy lifestyle
is going to be a series of choices that most of the time won’t be easy. But the more times we choose to persevere and get back on track, the easier it gets.

If you’re struggling with this concept, know that you are not alone. Know that we’re here for you and we’re cheering you on.

I encourage you to keep a notebook
or journal of pictures and/or quotes that motivate you to persevere in
difficulties. Here is one you can add to get you started:

“Our health–as a Believer in Christ–is so much more than what society
says it to be. For us–it is about stewardship. It is about obedience
and full submission, turning this gift of life and the tool (our
bodies!) He uses to do His work, back to Him…If it’s been a while
since you’ve asked God what He may want you to do in regards to your
health, then I encourage you to do that. Just like the areas of
parenting, marriage, finances, schooling etc–it will look different for
each of us, but it’s our duty to ask, listen, and then obey…” Quote
from: ”Discipline: The Glad Surrender” by Elisabeth Elliot. 

Like Elisabeth wrote, it is our DUTY to ask God what He wants in regards to your health, to listen to what He says, and then to obey.

With Him, you CAN and you WILL!

Join us over on our Facebook page for daily encouragement and motivation.

And if you haven’t yet, check out the Back to Basics 2015 Healthy Habits Challenge. We’re doing this journey HIS way and would love to have you join us!

Praying for each of you today and CHEERING YOU ON!