Deep Thoughts: Why Whole30??

First, let me tell you a bit about myself.

I am a mom to 2 (Bubbs and MJ), 

wife to Handsome,

 and we have a sweet Labradoodle named Minnie. 

I have always been interested in food and try to eat healthy. I have never really liked sweets (except for Skittles and Dirty Dr. Peppers...), so eating "healthy" was never too hard for me. But let me tell you a bit about how I got to where I am:

My Whole30 (click the link to find out what Whole30 is) journey really began before I even knew what the heck it was. So flashback to December of 2011. My husband and I were hoping to get pregnant with our 2nd baby. We found out we were pregnant and the weirdest thing happened: I wasn't excited about it. I felt this weird sense of dread and that my body was super "off". I was so confused. We wanted this baby more than anything. Why did I feel this way? A few weeks later I ended up having a miscarriage. My body knew that something with this pregnancy was off and that explained why I felt the way I did. It is interesting because I have talked to a lot of women about this feeling and they said their bodies felt the same way before they miscarried. We were blessed to get pregnant shortly afterwards with Bubbs. His pregnancy was anything but easy. It was emotionally and mentally stressful because I was constantly worried I would have a miscarriage. It was physically stressful because I ended up being diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and having thyroid issues. Plus, he measured small my entire pregnancy so that just added to the constant worry. Not to mention I carried him so low I felt as if he was just going to fall out at any moment...pregnancy problems...

So, the real question: Why in the world did I have Gestational Diabetes? I am 5' 3.5" and petite (the .5" does matter...to me...). I have never been overweight in my life. I eat really healthy. I was 24. I had no family history of it. I literally met ZERO of the risk factors. My doctor couldn't explain it either. The thyroid issues were another conundrum. Again, no family history of it, I have never had issues with it either.

After an extremely stressful and frustrating 9 months, Bubbs was born. It was such a relief to finally have our sweet boy here safely but it was also a relief that my body finally went back to normal...well sort of. I have never really felt the same since his birth. He is almost 18 months and I still feel a bit "off". Nothing is wrong with me, really, but I just don't feel 100%. I truly believe that going through 3 pregnancies has really screwed up my body and hormones. I am not emotionally unstable (although sometimes I am sure Handsome would disagree), but I just don't feel like I am myself.

So, a few months ago I started researching Whole30. I would stalk Instagram accounts of Whole30-ers and just drool over all the food they posted. I finally broke down and read the book "It Starts With Food" by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig and it completely opened up my eyes. It makes so much sense! I really feel my body needs a hard reset to get it back into top working condition. It has been through a lot and needs some tough love to get back to where it needs to be.

So, to answer the question that I seem to have been asked by many people when I told them I was going to do Whole30...

Why?? Why would you do that to yourself? Are you crazy? That would be SOO hard!!

Because I want my body back. I want to be able to have energy to play with my very wild, crazy, and hilarious kids. I want to be able to go on runs with my dog (although that might be hard because she will probably trip me with the leash, she is a bit spastic). I want to be able to be in top condition for when we decide to have another baby. I want to improve in my long distance running. I want to figure out my relationship with food and conquer my food "demons". I want to really figure out how my body reacts to different foods and I want to actually eat 3 meals a day (all you moms out there can understand how hard it is to actually eat 3 meals every day). I want to be able to actually sleep through the night and not wake up spending the night thinking of everything I have to do and then worrying about things that are never going to happen (Zombie Apocalypse, Meteor hitting my house, you know just normal stuff). I am not doing this because I feel I need to diet. I don't even consider this a diet. I hate that word. I am being 100% honest with you when I say I could not care less if I lose weight. I consider this a lifestyle change for the better. And honestly, it isn't hard. Yes it will be difficult but giving birth is hard, experiencing divorce is hard, running a 5k as fast as you possibly can is hard, losing a loved one is hard, not eating dairy or grains or sugar is NOT hard! It will be tough but it isn't going to be the worst thing you will ever have to experience in your life.

So, this little blog is going to help me express my feelings, share recipes, explain what works for me, and hold me accountable throughout my journey. I would love your support and encouragement. And if you think I am crazy, I would love you to keep your mouth shut ;). You can also follow along with me on Instagram @darcieats

Alright folks...here we go!