Health concerns & my Whole30 "why"

Many may ask why someone would put themselves through an entire month of no cheese, no chocolate, no cookies, no bread, no pasta, no chips, no alcohol, etc., (I sometimes find myself asking the same question), but for me, the answer is pretty simple: I want to feel better. I have always had a pretty sensitive stomach. Even when I was a little baby, my stomach would be upset pretty frequently. I've noticed that it's especially prominent after eating really heavy/rich foods, such as pizza or a really creamy pasta...which is like...DUH, Becca. Of course those types of foods are going to upset your stomach. But it also happens after eating foods that you wouldn't think would be any problem, such as a grilled chicken wrap with fresh veggies. It can be pretty unpredictable, which makes life stressful.

It doesn't help that I'm pretty sure I'm an (undiagnosed) hypochondriac. LOL. But the fear is REAL you guys... I could hear the faintest of conversations about a colleague's kid having the stomach flu and I immediately become nauseous. Literally instantly. And we all know that stress and worry cause stomach and digestive issues. So, you combine an already sensitive stomach with a hypochondriac mind...and you've got a serious problem on your hands. AKA...me. Not to mention I'm just kind of spastic in general. HA. All I have to say is "good luck" to Clint once we start having children. :P

This past spring my stomach issues turned into digestive concerns (I won't get into the details with you...nobody needs to know that...yikes) and I started taking probiotics. Initially it started with a very generic women's probiotic from Walmart that did pretty much nothing for me. Then I did some research and found Hyperbiotics Pro-15, which helped a little, but didn't reduce it enough to where I wasn't constantly worrying about it (shocker). So I went on my research kick for probably the 10th time and found a fairly new product called Holigos. Holigos is actually a prebiotic, where as Hyperbiotics is just a probiotic. So I thought I'd give it a shot and started taking Holigos along with Hyperbiotics, and my symptoms pretty drastically reduced (thank the Lord). However, it still hasn't eliminated the sensitive stomach issue and I still have occasional digestive problems. Which is where Whole30 comes into play. Not to mention I'd eventually like to get off the pre/probiotics as I'd rather take a completely holistic approach to maintaining my digestive health instead of using medications (even though these are pretty harmless).

Constantly stressing about your digestive health is...seriously...no fun. You're always worrying about when you may need to "go"...lol...and it can cause a snowball effect, additionally compromising your mental and physical health. It's SO important that we find a way to eliminate any unnecessary stresses, and if eating healthier is going to do that for me, then I'm 100% on board.

Prior to starting Whole30, I had been doing my best to eliminate dairy products and, for the most part, succeeded. I never drink whole milk anymore and use almond or coconut milk as a substitute when needed. I cut cheese whenever possible, never adding it to sandwiches or wraps at work. The only thing I didn't really make an effort to cut was butter, so I'll be interested to see if that has any impact on me after completing Whole30. It's a hard balance to strike because dairy products also contain probiotics, which are obviously essential to your digestive health. So not being able to consume yogurt has been pretty toughand I'm hoping I'll be able to add it back into my diet come February!

If you all have any suggestions on ways to add natural pre/probiotics into your meals, please add them in the comments section below! Any tips/tricks are welcome.

So, we are technically on day 3 of our challenge and we've both cheated...LOL. For New Year's Eve we went and got Mexican and both ate our fair share of chips and salsa + some margaritas #whoops. But since then, we've been good and plan on going strong! My family is doing it as well, so we can all hold each other accountable, which helps when entering into a new nutritional journey. BRING ON THE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIES. Here's to being happy and healthy in 2020!

A place to be #unapologeticallyme