When Jess asked me to contribute to this blog, the first thought I had was, "What the heck am I going to write about? Surely, not everything I say is that fascinating." Then I remembered all of the random stuff I would say to no one in particular while doing my Whole30... "Give me all the carbs,"and "I want to eat all the ice creams," are two gems that come to mind. I still can't believe I went without carbs and sugars for 30 days. The former me literally lived off of that for 25+ years; there was a time I could eat an entire pound of pasta without thinking twice about it.
I grew up in an Italian home where everything centered around food. No matter what time of day it was, you were probably eating and if your meal didn't include pasta and bread it wasn't a complete meal. I never thought of food as a "bad" thing, and I never looked at something and thought it was "unhealthy." Frankly, I just didn't care. If it tasted good and I wanted to eat it, I was going to have it. Period. Once I reached 197 lbs at 22 years old, I knew I had to make some serious changes. So, I joined LA Weight Loss Center. Seemed logical, right? I lost 42 lbs by starving myself, drinking some horrible juice cleanse concoction and eating disgusting, processed "meal bars" that contained who-knows-what. LA Weight Loss was closed down and had a class action law suit filed against the company, so I was forced to discontinue the plan. I'm unsure of what the particulars of the law suit were, but I did get a check for $9.26 when it was all over. (#winning). Needless to say, all the weight came back on and I spent the remainder of my 20s yo-yoing between 178 and 198 lbs. There were times when I didn't care what I ate, and there were other times when I was obsessed with Lean Cuisines and low-fat, fat-free and diet everything. What I can say for certain, is I was unhealthy both physically and mentally.
Now, let's fast forward to February 2014. I went into the new year vowing I would not turn 30 (in September) and be unhappy with my body. I wanted my 30th year to be the kick-off of a new chapter in my life. However, I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to accomplish my goals of gaining confidence, shedding pounds and just keeping it tight all around. That's right, I said "keeping it tight." Anyway, I was perusing Facebook one day and saw Jess post something about the Whole30. I read into it and for some reason, I got seriously excited and motivated to do it. I haven't felt that way about any kind of health regimen ever in my life, so that was already a good sign. What drew me to the plan was that it wasn't a "diet." It was about being more conscious of what we put into our bodies, and it was about eating real food and changing your relationship with it. For me, food was like that long-time BFF that you love and sometimes hate, but you can't ditch because you've literally been friends your entire life.* I went to the Whole30 Website and from there, knew this was going to be my chance. I forwarded the link to my husband immediately and in the email said, "We're doing this." My first Whole30 was an eye-opening, life changing experience. I lost 25 lbs in 30 days, and my thoughts about food are forever changed.
So, here I am at the beginning of my second Whole30 and adding the title of Blogger to my "List of Things I Do And May or May Not Be Good At." And as the timer goes off for my hard-boiled eggs, I'm confident that the next 30 days are going to be as amazing as the first. Stay tuned for my random musings about my Whole30, momming, wifing, friending, #winning, #failing, attempting to keep plants alive and whatever else comes to mind.
It's been nice chatting with you. I'm Lauren, and I no longer want all the carbs.
- L
*Lucky for me, I don't have one of those kinds of friends in real life. Because, my best friend Sarah is absolutely amazing! It was just a metaphor, see?
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