McMe

So I am about to start my Whole30 – and this blog is to serve as my personal journal of sorts. So I guess, in order to see the change and differences that the Whole30 makes I need to have a starting point… or as some people call it, a “Before”.

If you are what you eat… then allow me to introduce you to McMe:

- Big Macs (probably an average of 2 a week) (and fries and coke, because who can have JUST a Big Mac?)

- Pepsi, Coke, Cherry Dr. Pepper, just about anything carbonated – and I drink a LOT of it. If there is a 2L in the house, don’t expect it to last more than 24 hours.

- Candy. Any of it. I have been known to finish what I like to call a “candy bowl bag” of candy on my own. In a day. Recently its been Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. But candy and I have an emotional affair – things like the holiday colored M&Ms remind me of childhood and help to give the house a “splash of that holiday cheer” whatever holiday it is (Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, you name it M&Ms have come up with color combos to cover EVERY one – and they just look so darn cute in a nice bowl on my counter.) (The trouble is that they need to be eaten… they’re not just for show.) The same theory applies to Hershey Kisses – these are candies you will consistently find in pretty bowls on my counter to match whatever holiday or season is around the corner.

- Little Debbie Snack cakes – again with the childhood memories and holiday themes.

- Chick-fil-A. Because yum and why not support a good Christian company where you almost always run into someone you know.

- Crystal Light drinks – because it’s not water.

- I eat the chicken skin off the chicken and leave the meat behind.

- I don’t just want a handful or even a bowl full of potato chips – I want the entire. bag.

- I eat veggies at dinner. But mostly because I have a kid and she needs to eat veggies. But if I eat any other veggies during the day its either hidden in Mac & Cheese (nicely done, Kraft, by the way) or it was lettuce on my Big Mac (do pickles on a chicken sandwich count?)

- If I have a serving of fruit in a day… well, that happens SO rarely that I can’t even give you an example of how it would happen. (Juice maybe?)

- When we eat lunch at home it is usually leftovers and I usually choose the carb and MAYBE a few veggies (so if we had chicken with mac & cheese and broccoli, I eat the mac & cheese and a few pieces of the broccoli the next day for lunch).

- I like dips. Condiments. Sauces. And not a proper-lady amount… an entire packet for one fry amount.

- Cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or an acceptable breakfast food like pancakes but with an absurd amount of syrup (the fake corn-syruppy kind too, not that watered down real maple stuff. (yuck.)). is a perfectly good breakfast in my book.

- Water….(what’s water?)

Well, you get the point. To be honest, I can’t really even think of anything else that I eat… on a REGULAR basis anyway. (This will give you a slight indication as to how hard coming up with a menu plan for this Whole30 was for me, more on that later – but essentially, REAL, WHOLE food is SO foreign to me that coming up with a simple protein+veggie+fat combo was like moving from 1st grade addition and subtraction to Calculus!)

And McMe is all very deeply rooted. When I was younger I was skinny. Not thin… skinny. Like, my friends told me I was gross, kind of skinny. All the way through high school. It wasn’t cause I didn’t eat though. I had a ridiculously high metabolism and was very active. But even before high school when I was really young – it was entertainment quality stuff to watch me eat nonstop – like a bottomless pit – and never get full or gain any weight from it. Family would laugh and smile and almost cheer me on  as I devoured piece after piece of cake or an entire bottle of honey in one sitting (gross, I know – and that time I actually did get sick, but until that unfortunate messiness, I was being cheered on and a small crowd of uncles, aunts and grandparents gathered to watch). Then in High School and college I made friends or impressed people with what I could eat and/or how much. Three brownies and a chocolate shake for breakfast – heck yea!

I have been this person for as long as I can remember. But only now is there someone holding me accountable for it. And that someone is ME. (Well, a little bit it’s my husband too – not that he has said anything about my weight or anything – but he does mention how much soda I drink and that it is A. LOT. or that I should lay off the Big Macs).

The point is – I am starting my Whole30 in two days – and THIS is where I am starting from.

(To be very frank, I think my Whole30 will look more like a Whole45 or Whole60 because, to use my analogy from my previous post, I have an almost completely burned down temple that first needs the fire to be put out and then has a LOT of rebuilding to do (more rebuilding than the average Whole30 participant I imagine)… but we shall see).