Checking in!

It's been a while since my last actual blog post so just wanted to write a quick one to check in with you all!

I'm using Instagram a lot at the moment to help keep me on track, taking lots of pictures of my meals, and it's really helping to motivate me to make the effort each and every day!

In an ideal world I'd post here on a weekly basis, but writing seems to be taking a back seat at the moment, in amongst work, holidays, and general household revamps! I've also decided that I'd like to go back to education this September, so I've applied for an Access to Science HE course at my local college, with the aim to go on to study for a degree in NUTRITION! I love my current job and know 100% that I want to expand my knowledge and qualifications within the industry and although I've thought about a degree in nutrition on and off for around 4/5 years I've always put it off because of the financial implications as well as the worry of being a mature student. Since finding Whole30 though, I've become determined to make a real difference where possible and have already spread the word to many friends, family members and clients.

I've had two big holidays since I was last really active on here, one to celebrate my 30th in the USA, doing a tour of San Francisco, Yosemite, Las Vegas and LA, of which I loved every second of. My eating and drinking habits still remained fairly healthy, only indulging in things I REALLY wanted, but upon my return home really struggled to get back into the Whole30 way of eating. We then had Christmas, and I was really surprised at how well we ate in comparison to the year before, we didn't drink much alcohol  and ate no where near as much crap.

The real turning point for me though came after Christmas when I made a real effort to get back to 90% Whole30 before our snowboarding trip to Whistler. On this holiday I found myself making my own breakfasts instead of reaching for convenience foods, I stuck with almond milk lattes (I haven't drank milk since September last year), and the thought of stodgy pasta just made me feel sick! Instead I chose lots of meat/fish with vegetables and no sauce (the way I prefer it) and options like warm kale salad. We had a few alcoholic beverages but once again, nothing compared to what we would usually drink on holiday! I used to LOVE cheesecake, and I bought some one day as a treat, after it had been sat in the fridge for 24 hours + (what!) I fancied a nibble so cracked it open and just thought "meh"... I decided to chuck it, for me if something doesn't taste worth the knowledge it's full of crap, it's not worth it. Don't get me wrong, if it had tasted amazing I would have eaten the lot and suffered the consequences! In a previous lifetime any cheesecake, good or bad would have been eaten with tremendous gluttony!

Coming back from Canada was far easier than coming back from the USA, I have eased straight back into Whole30 eating with the odd piece of dark chocolate (or glass of wine), but I've been consistently cooking healthy meals for breakfast and dinner and trying my hardest to eat lunch (something I still struggle with).

I feel so much better eating this way, and don't feel as if I'm missing out at all. I have so much more energy and my skin has slowly been getting better, as well as having much less bloating!

I hope to blog more often, but in the meantime would love for you to follow me on Instagram or Twitter where I'm more active (links to the right of this page)! In the very near future I hope I can share more of my creations with you on here, and if any of you have gone back to education as a mature student I'd love to know how you got on!