Clean Gut check in!

Good morning and happy Monday!

How was every one's weekend?  Good?  Hope so!  Mine was pretty darn nice.  It involved lots of running, hanging with friends, and relaxing, and in my opinion (not that it's worth much) those 3 things make for a pretty darn good time.

Ok, so I haven't mentioned the Clean Gut program since last time I was here, but I just started my 3rd week so I wanted to pop in and let you know how things are going. As I mentioned before I was going to try really hard to be super prepared and make these changes as easy as possible, and I have to say, a little prep and thought make all the difference.  I will share a few of my favorite recipes from the book in a later post, but I have to say that everything I've made as turned out awesome! But before that, I'll go back.  The first week wasn't too bad, but I did find that on Tuesday-Wednesday of the first and 2nd week I found myself hungrier than normal.  Nothing too bad, but it was something I noticed (wonder why those days??).  Also, due to the fact that I would rather not lock myself in my house and would like to have a life, I have kind of told myself that I will just do the best I can.  My first weekend on the program, we went up north, and while I did my best, I did end up eating gluten, dairy and sugar on Saturday night and Sunday for lunch.  Not that this is horrible, but the biggest thing I noticed was when I woke up the next day I just felt lazy, unmotivated and kind of cranky.  I didn't want to go for my run, and when I did, my stomach hated me for it! (Note - I haven't had ANY stomach issues while on this program, which is a HUGE deal for me).  I got back to normal once we got home and by the end of the 2nd week felt much better again. 

This weekend we had friends over for homemade pizza ( I made a cauliflower crust pizza for mine) and a somewhat belated birthday for me.  Jake was nice enough to get a cake and there was no way I was going to turn that down!  Life is too short!  So I made the decision to have a piece, and wouldn't you know it, I woke up on Sunday feeling crabby (could have been the result of sugar, or maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed), but I could tell there was something off.  I made it to the gym and felt better once I left.  Last night we went to a friends house to watch the Superbowl, and again, I'm not going to just hold up in my house because I might not be able to eat everything, but I just did the best I could, and was able to still enjoy myself and for the most part avoided sugar, dairy and most gluten.  Although, our friend made the BEST guacamole and I couldn't resist having some with tortilla chips, it was totally worth it cause it was awesome!  Although I do feel a little but "puffy" in my stomach today, and I'm sure my run might involve a bathroom break, but who know, maybe I'll be fine.  This is all part of this process of figuring out what foods are effecting me, and what will make me feel the best.

I have already noticed a few changes too.  Now, I don't actually think I've lost any weight, but that wasn't really the point of this, I also don't have a scale either so who knows!  But all I know is that I feel better, my stomach feels "flatter" and less bloated, my energy levels are becoming more even - I no longer am tired in the morning, and don't go through my "3:00pm slump" like I used too.  I wouldn't say I have more energy, I just feel like my levels are now consistent all day, which is really nice.  I also cant say that I'm sleeping better, but I no longer wake up 2-3 times a night, so I guess that counts for something.

All in all this is working really well for me.  I'm learning a lot each day, and really paying attention to how I feel.  I have learned to really enjoy vegetables, and am learning new ways to cook things.  So this is the last week of the "elimination" portion of the program (meaning I have cut out all gluten, dairy and sugar for 3 weeks), and next week I will start to slowly add in each of those items to find out what, if any, are effecting me.

In the book they say that your gut acts like your second brain, and it really does.  What you eat effects so much more that what you think, and how your gut functions effects so much of how you feel in daily life, its kind of amazing, and I look forward to learning more and continuing  with this process.

Wow, riveting stuff right??  If you made it to the end, congrats? Kind of boring I know, but lucky for you I'm going to be back later today with some super exciting news!!!  

Have a great morning!