A Happy Hour at the Barre

I have been in a major workout slump ever since it started to get cold. I love to run outside and take my bike to work so spring, summer, and fall are great times for me to stay active but winter is another story. I have a treadmill in our garage but I pretty much refused to use it this winter because I couldn't fathom the idea of going out into the cold. That left me basically doing nothing all winter.

Lately, I've been trying to get out of my workout slump by trying some new things to pass the time until I can hit my feet to the pavement again. That's why I enlisted my old gym buddy Erika to try something new with me: Barre Class.

If you want to know the real reason I decided to try Barre class it's really as simple as this: beside pilates, this is pretty much the workout that every damn celebrity thanks for their amazing bodies. That was enough for me.

When I thought of Barre I thought of ballet, but I knew it was apparently a lot more than that.

The class we took was a mix of ballet, dance, and strength training. The part we were most excited about was using the barre so we could pretend we were ballerinas, regardless of how graceless we were.

What ended up being the most fun for me was the dancing, it made me really want to take some sort of dance workout class, zumba maybe, or even a hip hop class? Plus the soundtrack was pretty amazing and included "Wasn't Me" by Shaggy, who would complain about that?

This class made me sweat so much and my legs were hurting for DAYS after. Seriously, I took this class on Thursday and my legs were killing me until Monday. Success.

If anyone local wants to try it out we went here! They did a great job and they have lots of different classes to try so check them out!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Bumbling Ballerina

WHOLE30 DAY 30!

Paws up if it's your last day on the Whole30!

I was pretty happy today when I woke up this morning knowing that this was my last day on the Whole30, but it does feel like the end of an era so I tried my best to document my morning for you.

I made a delicious breakfast that I cannot wait to add some store bought salsa to when I make it tomorrow.

Today felt weirdly like my birthday or something. I'm finally at the end of something I worked so hard to accomplish and it just felt like a bit of a celebration for actually completing something I had set out to do. It was kind of a runner's high so-to-speak, maybe we could call it an eater's high? So of course I did what I do on my birthdays: try to incorporate something sparkly into my wardrobe:

I'm thinking of what I'll eat tomorrow and I really don't think there will be any big change. I may add some salsa that I didn't have to physically chop every single ingredient for to my eggs, or have some almond butter with a banana as a snack, but I really don't think (and I hope) that I will keep this up. I feel like I've battled a serious ketchup addiction, found ways to make meals that aren't centred around bread (toast was my number one meal choice in the past, breakfast, lunch or dinner), and really flexed my willpower.

Tomorrow I'll be striking off today's date in my calendar and I couldn't be more excited to see what I can do next. So thank you for letting me take you through a month of every single thing I ate, every complaint I had, and every boring development about how I love black coffee now, or how I've learned a new way to make chicken. I'll completely understand if you never want to hear the phrase Whole30, although I probably won't listen to you.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Wearer of a Whole30 Badge of Honor

Whole30 Days 23-29

Is tomorrow seriously my last day? This feels so crazy!

I'm at the point where it feels like this Whole30 has gone by so fast, but the idea of another one would seem like a million years in the future.

It's also been a while since I updated you. I have some good excuses! I've been working piles of overtime at work (I worked 50 hours last week) plus we've been incredibly busy this week just enjoying the company of our friends and family. We seriously only had one night where we didn't have anything planned. It was a wonderfully busy week.

Since we last talked I have become obsessed with whipping up batches of guacamole. I just started throwing all the ingredients into a bowl and while this can cause some of the ingredients to be over-represented, it's still a delicious snack. I like to put it on meats, especially my hamburgers but its good to dip fries in too!

I was also having a serious craving for smoothies. Technically, smoothies are a cautionary item on Whole30, which is why I've avoided them thus far. Smoothies tend to be filled with fruits that you mindlessly consume because it's just so easy to with a smoothie. Keeping this in mind I've been trying to make sure my smoothies are actually doing something for me. I try to keep the ration of half greens to half fruit and add kombucha as a my base. They are so fufilling!

With tomorrow being my last day I'm sure you're wondering what I'm gonna do when it's all over. Well, I really want to steer clear of rewarding myself with food, so I rewarded myself with lulu lemon instead.

I couldn't resist taking my new pants out for a spin on the rock walls this weekend :) This gave me an excuse to spend that money on something I really want, while keeping my away from using food as a reward- something I've worked so hard to break over the past 29 days.

Tomorrow is the big day! Day 30!

See you at the finish line.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Yes I know Guac is Extra

Life After Whole30

With my last full week of being on the Whole30 upon me, I've already started thinking about what things will be like when I don't need to prep my meals every couple of days, or ask a million questions to my waitress at a restaurant, or keep a ridiculous amount of snacks in my purse at all times.

To start with, the main point of the Whole30 is to cleanse your body of foods that commonly cause issues in your digestion and then to slowly reintroduce those foods back into your diet to see how they affect you. So I've been trying to decide what to re-introduce first. At the top of my list are the big three: sugar, dairy and wheat. I think sugar may have to come first since avoiding it is the hardest, followed by wheat, and finally dairy. I don't know exactly how long I'll wait between re-introductions but I do plan to do it one group at a time.

I hope to continue to eat some of the delicious foods, prepare some of the amazing meals, and carry forward the great habits I've been building over the past month.

The great thing about being off of the whole30 will be the lack of restriction. Since being on the Whole30 I have turned down dinner or drinks out with friends because there isn't much of a point in bringing me to to most places. Once the Whole30 is over I won't have that restriction on my life.

What I've really gained is a handful of amazing habits, so many new skills, and a kickstart to the healthier life I was looking for. I definitely don't see myself going back to where I was before so I'm excited to see what life looks like with Whole30 incorporated into my everyday life with the ability to every once in a while treat myself:

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Doing the Whole30 Alone

Hey guys, this is Jordan and he's my boyffriiiennnddd (oOoOoOoOoOoOo)

Whatta pair.

The two of us live together and he has been through this entire Whole30 with me. That being said, no, he is not doing the Whole30.

When I decided to do the Whole30 I floated the idea Jordan's way and he was incredibly supportive. When I asked him if he wanted to do it with me his response was something along the lines of "absolutely not."

 Fair enough.

While I am going through this with Tessa, she lives 5 hours away in Ottawa. It's so wonderful to be able to talk this through with her and send snaps to each other of our meals, but I still can't actually have her next to me to make meals with, and things like that. That's where Jordan comes in.

While Jordan has seriously enjoyed all of the meals I've been making and the constantly stocked refrigerator, he still has no interest in actually eating exactly like I've been eating.

Exhibit A:

<< My Meal>>

<< Jordan's Meal. Please note the cheese and hot sauce>>

He has also been known to make a batch of cookies and make our house smell like a freakin' dream (or in my case, nightmare), eat a chocolate bar while I am sitting next to him eating carrot sticks, and make me stop with him for pizza on our way home from rock climbing. True stories.

Does this bother me? Absolutely not. 

Why?

1. I actually am not bothered when someone is eating something around me that I currently cannot eat. I do find that when I have foods that I don't even give myself an option to eat then it's very easy for me to say no. So when I see these foods, even though they smell delicious, I know it's not even an option so I don't put too much thought into it. 

2. I made this decision for me. I need to have the strength to do it on my own, without someone else as my crutch. Besides that, forcing someone to do something is just going to make you both more miserable. This thing is enough work on it's own.

3. Jordan supports me in other ways. He makes me Whole30 compliant dinners, he spends hours in the kitchen with me helping me try new recipes, he cooks me chicken breasts when I don't have time to, and he helps me do mounds of dishes that he didn't even create. He has been so supportive during this thing. He is my biggest cheerleader and that makes me even more determined. I'm sure if it really did bother me to have cookies wafting through the house he would avoid that but he supports me eating what I want to eat so I'll do the same for him. 

In the end, what I'm getting at here, is that you don't need anyone else to make these changes. All you need is someone to support you while you do it. The rest is up to you. 

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Whole30 Loner Ranger

Whole30 days 20-22

You guys, this is the last full week that I'll be on Whole30, Can you believe it? Me neither.

Friday night I came home to realize we had no meat, which was a real treat. I know that rhymed, but it was not as fun as that short poem. With absolutely no will to head out to the grocery store I decided to make this:

That's right: half green beans, half fries. A well balanced meal (?) Whatever.

Saturday I came home to find out that Jordan had made me dinner. It was ah-maze-ing.

 << I know you've seen us make a roasted chicken before but I photographed this one from a more respectable angle, also it was way better>>

<< He roasted be a cauliflower. Is there anything more romantic than that? No? >>

Sunday was a day to head to the grocery store and do some delicious meal prep. We made ourself some chicken bone broth using the carcasses of our devoured chickens (we sound so medieval right now). 

<< Hashtag yes>>

I also made some breakfast sausage to cure my breakfast boredom. I enjoyed some this morning and it was dee-lish:

Sidenote: I totally drink black coffee now, and I even enjoy it! It started out due to the inability to keep almond milk at work and has grown into a new love. I never thought I would actually like drinking black coffee! 

Today they ordered pizza into the office for lunch...and that was totally coooool.

I spent my lunch wafting in the sweet aroma of pizza while eating a chicken breast with pineapple salsa. It actually wasn't that bad, I'm just very dramatic.

Tonight we decided to be adventurous and make two things for the first time: chicken wings and cauliflower garlic mash and both were a success!

The cauliflower mash was a huge surprise! It actually tasted like you were eating mashed potatoes! We probably could have made them fluffier but hey, they all end up in the same place.

Those have been my adventures over the past few days. T-minus 8 days and counting!

From the desk of:


Taylor Brown

Whole30 Days 16-19

You guys, I'm almost 2/3rds done this crazy thing! It blows my mind to say that I haven't had any added sugars or preservatives in almost 20 days, let alone dairy or wheat.

So what's been new? Well I discovered the actifry and have basically been living my best life ever since:

If you haven't heard of the actifry, it's an amazing appliance that "fries" your food using one tablespoon of oil. This has seriously cured by carb woes, we've eaten fries the last three nights in a row.

I'm smitten and next week we're going to try to make some sweet potatoes fries and even some chicken drumsticks. Stay tuned.

Earlier this week I had another revelation when I roasted an entire chicken:

I'm the weird person at my family Thanksgiving who bribes people for the skin off of their turkey so the opportunity to not have to eat a boneless, skinless chicken breast for the first time in over two weeks was a welcome change. That meal was amazing.

Last night we invited Nathan and Jeremy up for dinner and had a freaking amazing meal:

The boys brought the salad and avocado spread and we treated them to some fries and Whole30 compliant burgers. That meal was so so good.

What else is new with me? Well, I'm starting to see an end in sight of this Whole30 so I've already started searching for the new Lulu Lemon pants that I'll be rewarding myself with when this is over. Big plans, big plans.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
High on a Fry