There's Always Something... // Monday Musings

Isn't that how we all feel at times (or all the time)? There's always something...always somewhere to go, always someplace to be, always someone we need to follow up with, always a task to complete, always one last thing to squeeze in before the end of the day. My iPhone is both a blessing and a curse, because it's a constant reminder that there's always something I could be doing instead of resting, relaxing or just being.

It's the easiest thing in the world for me to check my email or social media. With two taps, I'm there. Seeing how my blog engagement was yesterday. Checking on that one photo that's been pinned a crazy amount of times since last year. Making sure I respond to any inquiries as quickly as possible. It seems like as soon as I put down my phone, I'm picking it back up again for some reason.

When I got a smart phone, I always vowed to never be that person. The one who isn't present with life because she's always checking something. The one who doesn't enjoy the sunrise because the first thing she does in the morning is check all of those 'important' things that had to wait a whole 6 hours overnight.

Something that Nathan said to me awhile ago really stuck with me. I was sitting down, relaxing (which I'm learning to do more frequently!), but I was also checking my email; seeing if the last post I made was as successful as I hoped it would be. And he said to me, "Are you resting, or are you working? You can't do both. Make the choice to rest. Work will come later."

He's so right. I can't keep my brain engaged and my mind going and still rest. The whole point of taking a break is - you guessed it - to take a break. I knew something had to give, so one of my off-season goals was to set social media guidelines. So I've decided that after 8pm, the apps are done. No Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or email. No scrolling through my news feed, even if I'm not working. If it's after 8pm, I'll get to it tomorrow. Yep, even inquiries. I'm slowly learning that there needs to be a clear distinction between working and resting. The more I fuzz those boundaries, the more tired I'll be at working, and the less likely I'll be to rest.

Living in this world often requires us to be 'on' ALL the time. And that's just not possible, and it's certainly not healthy. So I'm changing that, and I encourage you to do the same! Whether it's time in the evening or time in the morning, take some time to let your brain shut down and rest. Spend time plugged into the people around you, or even nothing at all. Times like these can only refresh us and make us better at what we do - and isn't that what we all want anyways?!

I hope you have the best of Mondays!

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What I Learned through Whole30 // Monday Musings

A little over a month ago, I began a journey through a month of completely clean eating. This meant no sugar, dairy, grains, gluten, or legumes (and for those who don't know, peanuts are legumes!). When I first started, the task seemed a little insurmountable. My diet consisted of so many of those things each day, I wasn't sure what to eat, and in no way did I want to go hungry for even a day, let alone a whole month!

What I discovered has profoundly changed the way I think about food, hopefully forever. If you haven't done something like Whole30 yet, I'd encourage you to do it immediately. While it was extreme, I can't imagine what my life and food habits would be like going forward without having learned what I did. Here are some of my major takeaways, with more to come, I'm sure!

1) There is added sugar in EVERYTHING.
I don't know how I didn't notice before, but food manufacturers add sugar everywhere. Chips, lunch meat, rotisserie chicken, crackers...the list goes on. I was dumbfounded. Even without eating a daily dessert, I imagine I was still meeting more than my daily quota of sugar. There are also insane amounts of chemicals in almost all processed foods, but that's a whole different story!

2) I wasn't eating enough fat.
Some of you will cheer at this statement, but a lot of people are still under the misconception that fat is bad. It's not! And if you don't believe me, read these articles: Everyone Was Wrong: Saturated Fat Is Good For You; 7 Reactions to a High Fat Diet; Rethinking Fat; and more!
Either way, I wasn't getting enough because I thought I shouldn't be eating much! I went through a time of getting daily headaches this summer, and I'm realizing that a lot of that, and my general brain fogginess, was due to a lack of fat in my diet. I need fat to feed my brain. So do you. So eat (good) fat!

3) I eat a lot.
I kind of knew this about myself, but one big aspect of my Whole30 was not losing weight. Since I knew I was eating only extremely healthy foods, I didn't worry about portion sizes. I simply ate until I was full at each meal. And you know what? I eat a lot. I eat more than most of my friends. Sometimes, after a hard workout day, I can eat as much as my husband. That used to bother me, but I've realized that's just how I am - and I'm ok with that!

4) I can't do Whole30 forever.
Well, maybe I could, but I shouldn't. Once you get the hang of it, Whole30 feels like a security blanket. You know exactly what you can and can't eat, no guessing! It's restrictive, but so freeing to know that you don't have to worry about making good choices or not. But even though I can't stay in it forever, I do know that from here on out, I'll be eating a much more Whole30-like diet. And when I do choose to grab a dessert, I am going to enjoy it SO much - because it's going to be way fewer and further between!

What about you? Have you ever tried Whole30 (or something similar)? What's keeping you from trying it out?

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