How to Balance Healthy Living and a Social Life

Our culture revolves around food.

I'll be the first one to admit that I'm obsessed with food. Not even just healthy food (though a good insalata de mare can rock my world), but "bad for you" food, too. Ice cream, peanut butter sandwiches, french fries dipped in a milkshake, Cheez-its. Processed food is pretty damn delicious, even if it will eventually kill you. 

And it seems like the rest of society, not only in the Western world but, as Bizarre Foods and No Reservations will show you, every community on earth, uses food as a way to bring people together in celebrations, even if it's just a Tuesday night family dinner. Holidays like Easter or Christmas just wouldn't be the same without a big family feast, and could you imagine Halloween without candy, or birthdays without birthday cake? Celebration food has become a ritual, and it seems there's always something to celebrate.

You can eat birthday cake. Just don't eat the whole thing.

The Dilemma 

So what do you do when you're avoiding sugar, dairy, grains, or even alcohol? Are you immediately ostracized from your circle of friends because you can't go to Happy Hour, or called a Debbie Downer because you assure them, actually, yes, one slice of cake will kill you? Are a healthy lifestyle and a social life mutually exclusive?

Thankfully, no! 

In my personal experience, I have been able to follow a super duper healthy lifestyle for three solid years now, and still: celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, got married, went on an Italian honeymoon, kept a circle of friends, and even brought members of my family onboard. All without compromising my health or my relationships. 

Finding Balance

If your number one priority right now is advancing your health, then let your friends and family know this. You'll be surprised how supportive they can be once they realize this isn't just a phase, but a true lifestyle change. They might even join you! Hey, you never know.

A healthy lifestyle does not mean total elimination of "bad for you" foods. We're all human, and like I said, our society is built around food. When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of everything you eat should be clean, healthy, fresh and unprocessed. That leaves you 20% for wiggle room, which is where you fit in birthday cake, and Sunday evening glasses of wine, even a once-a-week "cheat" meal of Chinese takeout. 

As long as 80% of your life is clean, the other 20% won't do much but keep you sane.

When you live an unhealthy lifestyle, constantly eating things that are harming your body, you feel terrible, and honestly, food doesn't taste as good as it can. But when you allow only 20% of your diet to be "bad", then they really do become tasty treats, something to look forward to and cherish. Plus, you'll feel so much better. 

A healthy diet leaves room for burgers with friends.

The key to finding your own personal balance is understanding your priorities and then sticking to them. For example, if going out with your friends every Saturday night has become a true tradition, then by all means, continue doing it. It might mean, however, that you'll have to cut out other things, like your weeknight glasses of wine. Don't let that 20% creep up to 30, 40, 50, 60%! 

My own personal balance has to include fancy dinners out with my husband. Food is something that both of us truly enjoy, and I'm not about to give up tasting menus because they might have used heavy cream or flour in a beautiful dish. However, our fancy dinners are not nightly occurrences, but real treats. And that's the way I like it. 

What's your balance? What celebratory food do you put in your 20%?

Coming up: Katy's Before/After for her second Whole30!

Lift. Eat. Love. Sleep. 

Top Ten Tips for Surviving the Whole30

If you're reading this, you're probably interested in completing the Whole30. Congratulations!

Deciding to take your health into your own hands is a big step, and should be celebrated as such! You're about to embark on a full month of no alcohol, grains, sugar, dairy, soy, beans, or peanut butter, with absolutely no cheats. It may sound daunting, but I promise you it is doable. Lots of people have completed the Whole30 successfully and reaped myriad benefits, and so can you.

You just need some help.

Whole30. You can do it!

Introducing my personal top ten tips for surviving the Whole30 without feeling deprived, hungry, or regretful about all of your life choices. These come from first-hand experience, and may not apply to every person, but they just might put a light bulb over your head and give you the strength to push through to Day 30. 

Top Ten Tips for Surviving the Whole30

1. Replace peanut butter with almond butter. Trader Joe's has a salted crunchy almond butter that is out of this world. 

2. Keep hardboiled eggs in your fridge at all times. They're 70 calories of straight protein and fat, and will keep you satiated for a while. 

3. If possible, keep all non-Whole30-approved foods out of your house, or at least in one cupboard that is strictly off-limits for you. Out of sight, out of mind. You can't eat ice cream if it's not in your freezer. 

Put some caution tape over the cupboard if that's what you need to do.

4. Salt all of your food. Most likely, you're coming off of a diet of processed and canned foods that are loaded with sodium. Switching to fresh veggies, meats and vegetables means a sharp decline in the amount of sodium you're ingesting, and while too much sodium is bad for you, too little is bad, too. Plus, salt=taste, and you do not want to be skimping on that right now. 

Gotta love some natural sea salt. 

5. Speaking of taste, add ground spices and fresh herbs to every meal. You'll be surprised how much a sprinkle of curry powder or a few sprigs of parsley can add to an eating experience. 

6. If you get munchy, drink some coffee, tea or water. Most likely, you're just thirsty. Plus, caffeine (which is thankfully allowed on this program) is an appetite suppressant. Or, munch on some raw veggies, like celery or baby carrots. 

7. As a general rule, if you find yourself asking, "Hm, is this Whole30-approved?", the answer is probably no. This includes some almond milk (due to carrageenan), edamame (soy), some deli meats (sugar), and sugar-free gum (sugar substitutes). Ignorance of the law is not an excuse here. Your body will know if something bad went into it. Better safe than sorry. 

This blog is Whole30 Approved!

8. Allow yourself Whole30 "cheat days." Let me explain. On these days, if you were calculating macronutrients and calories, stop. Just, stop. Eat when you're hungry, and eat whatever Whole30-approved things you want, regardless of macronutrients or calories. This means you can have some coconut oil-smothered sweet potatoes with cinnamon and dates. Or a big, fat juicy broiled steak. Unlimited amounts of almond flour-crusted chicken fingers and far too many slices of pineapple. You get the idea. It allows you to keep sane, which is important not only now, but in the long run.

9. Eat dessert. Warm up some frozen berries. Have a fruit salad. Eat a "granola" of pecans, unsweetened coconut flakes and raw cacao nibs (find them at Vitamin Shoppe). It will make you feel like you're not really depriving yourself (because, well, you're not), and will put an end cap on the eating for the day.

Fruit salad is freaking delicious. You know it. I know it.

10. Take it one day at a time. Plan your meals for the day, and don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Health is a step-by-step process, and the Whole30 is no different. You will find Day 30 comes quicker than you think it would. Enjoy the challenge.

Good luck, and feel free to email me or ask a question on our Facebook page! 

Lift.Eat.Love.Sleep.

The Whole30: Day 9

Day 9 of the Whole30: Thoughts and Progress

Today is my ninth day of my second Whole30. My initial thoughts, thus far, are that this isn't as difficult as it was last time, and that I'm actually enjoying my food. 

I'm not going to say I don't miss some of the things I was eating before; the other day, Giada from Food Network was eating a dark chocolate cake with vanilla icing and I literally had to shut off the television so I wouldn't choke on my saliva. But in general, this isn't too bad. 

Breakfast

Breakfast has typically consisted of two eggs, either fried in coconut oil or hard-boiled, and a tomato.

Yum!

Both the first time and this time around, eggs have been my savior. They're so filling, and luckily I'm a pretty good cook and can have them any way I like. Plus they're cheap and transportable. Gotta love that. 

Lunch

Lunch is really no different from pre-Whole30 lunch: a giant salad, usually with olive oil, nuts, bell peppers, avocado, carrots, and maybe some tuna or turkey breast.

A terrible picture of a salad.

If and when I run out of lettuce (I usually use an entire head of romaine for each salad), I make guacamole instead with some veggies to dip. It's rarely as satisfying, as it normally takes me 45 minutes to eat my giant salad and only 5 to finish the guac, but delicious and Whole30-approved nonetheless. 

Snack

Snacks are almond butter, straight out of the jar, pork rinds*, cashews, coconut flakes, cacao nibs, frozen veggies, and deli meats. Plus too many cups of coffee and tea. 

When I found crunchy almond butter, the sun broke through the clouds.

Be careful with deli meats; some have added sugars (you know, like sweet german bologna, which is freaking delicious, but a no-no on this diet), but plain old turkey breast is usually okay. 

Dinner

Dinner is the only real full meal I've been eating because I can eat it at home. My coworkers may frown upon me heating up some salmon and brussels sprouts at my desk, ya know?

Coconut flour-crusted tilapia, shrimp and guac.

Lemon-garlic snapper with broccoli and cauliflower.

Here are two examples. The fact that they're both fish is a coincidence; I've also been eating a LOT of chicken breast, and recently made some ground beef. It's a classic homemade dinner minus the whole grain, which I don't miss at all.

How I Feel

As aforementioned, I occasionally get a craving for chocolate cake or specialty pizza. But generally I'm doing just fine, and actually look forward to my meals. I'm trying not to weigh myself until the final day, but I can tell I've dropped water weight and bloating is all but gone. Whether or not these effects are due to the Whole30 itself or the low-carb version of it I'm following is not clear. Either way, I'm happy with my progress thus far. 

Let me know your thoughts! If you're following the Whole30, too, how do you feel? 

Lift.Eat.Love.Sleep.

*Okay, so I'm not 100% sure pork rinds are okay on the Whole30, but they're essentially just pork skin fried in its own fat. No sugar, no additives, no canola oil, and a lot of protein. So I'm going to keep eating them until someone tells me not to.

SuperGirl J's Progress: 2 Weeks

SuperGirl J is halfway there!

SuperGirl J's abs are coming in to save the day!

When we last saw our heroine, she was a leaner, but hungrier, low-fat eating machine. How has another week treated her?

Week 2 Progress Pictures

SuperGirl J says she thinks her arms are getting slimmer, even if she doesn't feel like her tummy is. Plus, she's lost an additional 2 pounds for a total of 5 pounds in 2 weeks!

End of Week 1

End of Week 2

Sample Workout Number Two

Upper Body Workout

Cardio: 20 minutes

(All of the following are with 10 lb dumbbells)

Bicep Curls: 6x20

Overhead Tricep Extensions: 3x20 

Shoulder Press: 3x20

Lateral Raises: 3x15-20

Abs: Leg Raises: 3x15

How She Feels

SGJ reports far less hunger than in the first week, so that's pretty awesome. She notes that she's not really eating less food than she had been, but healthier food.

Keep it up, SuperGirl J!

Coming Up: Katy reports on her first week of the Whole30. Big congrats to CK and KR for joining her on her quest to be super healthy!

Lift.Eat.Love.Sleep.

My Challenge: Are You Strong Enough?

Are you ready for a challenge?

For the past few days, I've been hinting that I'm going to challenge you, ALL of you, to do something with me. I know my LELS readers are fierce competitors, dead-set on changing their lives for the better. And one of the best things you can do for yourself is to set out to complete something you're not 100% sure you can accomplish.

You can do it.

Growth begins at the edge of your comfort zone. It's time to starting growing.

And the challenge is...

 

DO THE WHOLE30 WITH ME FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH.

 

I know what you're thinking: Katy, no. Just, no. Maybe you can do it, but that's too hard for me.*

But here's the thing: The first time I did it, it was hard for me, too! I was addicted to gum, and after years of loving the Keto diet, I was forced to give up butter. It was a shock to my system.

But that shock is exactly why I want to do it again, and why I think every single person reading this should give it a go. After about 15 days into the diet, I had NO cravings, NO hunger pangs, and looked forward to my almond-flour crusted tilapia with a side of coconut-oil drenched cauliflower (one of my most favorite meals now).

Yes, it sucks having to give up some things, and it does require a shift in mindset, but I PROMISE YOU, the rewards make up for it and then some.

If you're still not sure if it's worth it, check out my article from when I did my first Whole30.

Ready? Here are the rules.

The Whole30 Rules

No Sugar: This means no artificial sweeteners either, and no gum. No honey, no corn syrup, no coconut sugars, no agave, no anything that is meant to sweeten your food. The one exception is all-natural, 100% fruit juices.

No Dairy: No butter, yogurt, greek yogurt, kefir, milk. You may have ghee (clarified butter).

No Grains: This includes rice, quinoa, and all the other "healthy" grains becoming so popular nowadays.

No Beans: Including soybeans, or any soy product, peanuts, peanut butter, and chick peas.

No Alcohol: Not even a little bit. Yes, I'm talking to you.

NO CHEATING: If at any point you intentionally eat something you're not allowed to eat on the Whole30, you have to go back to Day 1 and start all over. We're not kidding around.

What you can eat.

Vegetables. Fruits. Potatoes. Coconut oil. Meat. Eggs. Poultry. Fish. Seeds. Olives. Avocados. Nuts. Cacao nibs. And thankfully, coffee. Essentially, you can eat real food. And you will feel amazing.

Any other rules?

There are no time constraints on when you can eat, and you do not have to count any macronutrients or calories. Eat real food when you're hungry. That's it.

So are you ready to take the Whole 30 Challenge with me?

Put this on your Facebook/Twitter proudly!

It may seem daunting, but I will be with you every step of the way, starting today: March 1. Any questions, comments, gripes and complaints can be directed to me, and I will help get you through it. I'll post recipes and tricks, too.

Or, just go to www.Whole30.com. They have complete guides to help you along.

Comment here or on the Facebook page to let me know you're in!

Lift.Eat.Love.Sleep.

*If you have any dietary restrictions due to a medical condition, please consult your physician before starting or ending any diet or exercise program.