Hmm. What Now?

Before I forget bore you with this post, I wanted to let you all know that my sister-in-law and I are hosting our very first link-up tomorrow: Three Thanks. We would LOVE for you all to join us, as the happiest, healthiest people are also the most grateful. The link-up will go live at 12:01 Thursday, March 27th, and the only thing you need to do is write a post about three things for which you are thankful. The rest of the directions will be in tomorrow morning's post. :)

I thought that as soon as I had my hood, my diploma, and the last grade posted for my graduate degree, I would be relieved.

I thought that as soon as I stepped across the finish line after running 26.2 miles I would be thrilled beyond belief.

Yes, I was relieved when I earned my masters degree, and yes, I was thrilled when I ran my marathon.

But I was also dejected: after all, these were feats that took months to accomplish, events that I had spent countless hours preparing for, milestones that I had looked forward to for ridiculous amounts of time. After I had invested those months, those hours, that time, what was I supposed to do when all of it was over?

Honestly, that's kind of how I feel now. I finished my Whole30 yesterday. I don't "have to" continue: I already accomplished my goal. I spent the last 30 days thinking solely in terms of #whole30approved, #whole30challenge, and #paleo; talking to whomever cared and would listen about nutrition and healthy living; and writing about pretty much only Whole30-related things.

Now that my Whole30 is officially over, what am I supposed to do?

Set another goal, of course.

As they've told us a million and a half times at work -- and as Melissa and Dallas told us during Whole30 -- it is extremely important to set SMART goals:

According to Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, there are nine factors that are crucial to optimum health. (I first discussed the Whole9 when introducing my goals for the Whole30).

For the purposes of my next Whole30 (30 days of whatever I choose to make my goal), I am going to focus on nutrition (yet again) and healthy movement.

• Nutrition: I will continue following Whole30 guidelines regarding food and nutrition for the next 30 days, aside from Days 17-19 and Days 28-30*.
• Healthy Movement: I will workout -- either run or attend Farrell's -- at least four days each week for the next 30 days.

I asterisked the specific days in my nutritional goal that I will be out of town, first for my friend's bachelorette party in St. Louis and second for a professional conference in Atlanta. While I am going to try to maintain as close to a Whole30 diet as possible, I know I will likely stray in St. Louis (primarily because I would like to have a drink or two with my girlfriends) and in Atlanta (primarily because breakfast and lunch are catered to us and because I would like to have a drink or two with my colleagues). Again, I will maintain a somewhat Whole30 diet while traveling, but I do not want to set myself up for failure by expecting to be 100% compliant.

"Attainable" is the "A" in SMART goals, remember.

I wanted to include a fitness-related goal for the next 30 days since I feel like I have been totally slacking in that department lately. I'm pretty thrilled that I lost six-and-a-half pounds just by changing my diet, but I want to see what that would look like if I bump up the exercise, too.

I've had such good intentions of working out and have gone on a few runs here and there, but it's been sporadic at best. I am really good at making excuses: today's, for instance, was that it was "too windy." I mean, who runs in 30-40 mph wind gusts?

I was almost persuaded to get out there and just do it when I heard the middle-school track team sprint up the hill by my house, but then I talked myself out of it: I'd have to change, shower, etc., and I just don't know if I have time to do all of that before bowling.

Seriously.

I suck.

So anyway, that is the game plan for the next 30 days: continue eating Whole30 (aside from my two trips out of town) and exercise at least four times each week. And, per a suggestion from one of my new blog friends, Melissa (hey girl!), I am going to post my workout plan each week along with my meal plan. 

Let's start with the plan for the rest of this week. Tomorrow, I am planning on running two miles with one of my work friends; it is supposed to rain, however, so if it does, I think we will either run on the treadmill (kill me now) or through the halls at school. Saturday, I am planning on running 7-8 miles.

On Sunday, I'll post next week's plan along with my weekly menu. 

Hold me accountable, friends.

Breakfast: I didn't take a picture, but I made the ever-delicious blueberry scrambled eggs. I've been in the mood for sweet breakfasts more than savory breakfasts lately, and this dish is a bit in between the two and absolutely hits the spot.

Lunch: 

I brought my leftover Jalapeno Chicken Burgers to school today but thought that a.) since I finished Whole30 and b.) actually had a break for lunch for a change, Linds and Mags and I could eat at a restaurant like real grown-ups. We headed to Gusto, a super-awesome pizza joint in town, and all three of us ordered salads. :)

This is the same salad I ordered last Friday when I went with Kate, Shaw, and BFF. It was so ridiculously good that I had been thinking about it since then. I inhaled it, yet again.

It was a nice "celebration" (i.e. a break from lunch alone with students chatting my ears off in my classroom) with great friends.

Dinner:

Tonight's dinner was supposed to be Grilled Swordfish with Peach-Avocado Salsa from PaleOMG (without honey in the marinade -- still stuck on Whole30 principles). However, as soon as I went to make the salsa, I realized that my peaches had been sitting in my fridge a bit too long: brown peaches were a no-go. Also, apparently chopped red onions aren't good three weeks later. So, I improvised: I made my salsa with an avocado, some blueberries, a bit of cilantro, some salt, a plop of olive oil, some lime juice, and of course, a freakin' shit-ton of jalapeno.

I'm pretty sure you could put jalapenos and avocado on dog poop and I'd think it was delicious.

I was nervous about making swordfish, as I've never cooked it before and have only recently (within the past couple of years) become comfortable with "easy" fish like salmon and tilapia. The swordfish actually turned out okay! I put a bit of olive oil in a pan and let 'er cook on each side for a while, and then I pretty much demolished it with a knife to make sure it was done in the middle.

Then, I inhaled the whole dish.

Nom nom nom.

Since I'm no longer "technically" on the Whole30 challenge, I'm not going to continue posting how I feel physically or emotionally, and I'm not going to post about my cravings (since they've been fairly non-existent for quite a while anyway). However, if something drastic (or, okay, interesting) changes, I'll keep you posted.

See you tomorrow for a super-fun link-up! Please cross your fingers that it actually works. :)