Sunday, August 4, 2013

My second Whole30

Tomorrow I will be embarking on my second Whole30.  This is a 30 day clean eating challenge.  It's not necessarily a weight loss challenge though some participants do see weight loss. It's more about giving your body a break and letting it heal.  I do have to make some adjustments since I have the j-pouch.  I can't do a ton of raw vegetables.  Eating a bunch of raw veggies is basically a waste of time and money for me as they just don't digest well.  I highly recommend reading through the program and pretty much through Dallas and Melissa Hartwigs' site. They are brilliant.

Here is a quick rundown of what kinds of things I'm avoiding:

  • Dairy- I'm pretty certain I'm lactose intolerant anyway, but oh how I love cheese. 
  • Grains- I mostly avoid these already, but sometimes the call of pizza or a buttery croissant is too loud. 
  • Grain/seed based vegetable oils- I don't cook with these at home but almost all restaurants use them.
  • Sugar- All added sugar including my beloved maple syrup. Juice counts as this as well. 
  • Legumes- I can't digest them so this one is easy.  Peanuts are also legumes though :(
  • Alcohol- Goodbye wine. I don't drink a lot normally because I dehydrate so quickly but I do love some red wine.  Or margaritas. 

I'm going to be driving to the other Vancouver down in Washington (the original Vancouver btw) to visit my family.  I'm hoping to convince my sister to do the Whole30 with me because she has some crazy health issues of her own.  I would like to be able to document everything, but it might have to be after the fact due to spotty computer access. 


UPDATE 1/3/14: Obviously, this did not happen as I was sad and lazy. 

Friday, August 2, 2013

Capilano Suspension Bridge and Stanley Park

Last weekend one of my close friends from Seattle came up to visit for a few days.  We spent most of the time exploring by foot and by the time she left I had acquired a couple of blisters.  The first day we walked around the False Creek Seawall from David Lam Park to Granville Island and then took the ferry back across False Creek. 

The second day we took a shuttle up to Capilano Suspension Bridge. My sister and I went here back in March and I thought it was pretty cool. Unfortunately I forgot that this was a weekend in summer rather than a weekday in early spring.   It was jam packed with people and I felt bad for bringing everyone up there.  It was still pretty though. 

The shuttle dropped us off near Stanley Park on the way back into Vancouver so we hiked around there for a bit before heading to Second Beach and taking the Seawall back home. 



I forgot to take any pictures during both of those walks except for when we saw an owl in Stanley Park.
 



On Sunday we were dead on our feet, so we drove up the Sea to Sky highway towards Squamish again. This is the view from this cute little coffee shop along the highway. 



We then went to Shannon Falls Park. Again, super busy but gorgeous. 




Monday before she left we went and walked around Gastown and Chinatown. Once again, I didn't take any pictures except for this funny sign.  By this time, I think a combo of dehydration and eating super bad over the weekend made things very uncomfortable for me and I was running to the bathroom every hour or so. Lesson not learned, of course. I'm not sure why I keep doing this to myself.  



Here are a couple of pictures of my cat in our rooftop garden :)