Last Meal and Testament

First things first. I have two winners to announce. 

Congrats to JANE and KATHERINE ELIZABETH!

Jane, you won the red shirt, and Katherine Elizabeth, you won the white shirt! 

Please send me an e-mail with the design you'd like, your shirt size, and your mailing address. 

You can reach me at mccallald@yahoo.com. 

And if I don't hear from you by Friday, I'll draw a new winner, so don't drag your tootsies! :) 

And now, let's take about my latest endeavor. 

I am a girl who loves a challenge. 

Apparently, I am also a girl who loves sugar detox headaches, because starting Monday, I am partaking in the WHOLE 30. 

What is the Whole 30, you ask? 

Well, you may want to ask me again next week, because today I'll tell that it's pure torture. 

But, really it's more like an eating program designed to detox your body of the bad stuff as you fill it with the good stuff. And it lasts for thirty days. It's supposed to help you rethink eating and establish new habits while also getting rid of the bad stuff. 

By "bad" stuff, I mean:

-no sugar or sugar substitutes of any kind except for the natural sugar found in fruit. (Have you tried shopping for things that don't contain sugar? Good luck. I now believe that EVERYTHING contains sugar. Boo on this.)

-no grains. That means no bread. Bread in my house is a food group all its own. No bread=no fun for me.

-no beans except for green beans. I DO like green beans, so this one I'm OK with...

-no dairy. Not a huge problem for me seeing as how I'm allergic to milk protein. I know, it's terribly nerdy and inconvenient. But, for the first time in my life, it's coming in handy; I can't miss the dairy that I'm already used to not eating. 

-no alcohol. Also not a problem for me. 

-no peanuts. No soy. No white potatoes or rice. 

So, basically this means I can eat the following: 

-meat (except for prepackaged meats that are sitting in a sugar preservative bath. Told you sugar is in everything. I spent fifteen minutes reading the ingredients of every package of bacon the other day trying to find some not soaked in sugar. No such luck.) And no ketchup or barbecue sauce or honey mustard, all of which hold a special place in my heart.

-veggies. No sauce or dressing though. (Not a huge help for me....do NOT make fun, but I really don't eat a lot of vegetables. It's shameful, I know.)

-fruit. This one I can handle. I like smoothies, and I like fruit. However, I can't live off fruit for the next thirty days..... I'm also not supposed to drink fruit juice but can use it as a sweetener. 

-nuts. Almonds and cashews. Again, I like them, but three days in and they are already getting old. 

-Unsweetened almond milk. I use it in my smoothies. 

-eggs. Well, I can't actually eat eggs. I'm allergic to egg protein. Terrible, I know. But if you do Whole 30, YOU can eat eggs. Enjoy them for the the both of us, OK? 

-coffee. Again, I won't be drinking coffee. I can't bring myself to drink it black. This is huge for me, BTW. I will surely miss my cup o' Joe every day during fourth period. 

If you're still here after reading that, it means you: 

A.) Think I'm crazy and want to hear more from the crazy lady who is saying no to chocolate, bread, ketchup, and coffee for the next month. 

B.) Think I'm noble and brave. (Although let me say I didn't feel so brave when I was drooling over the Pizza Hut commercial last night...)

C.) Are simply curious and want to see if I actually survive. (That makes two of us, BTW.)

D.) All of the above. 

If you know me  in real life you know that my eating habits closely resemble those of a college kid. Seriously, it's bad. And very un-grown-up like. And while I think it's OK to not grow up in some ways, good eating habits are not one of those areas. So, this is me trying to make a positive change in my life. 

I promise to keep you posted. 

Until then, I'll be dreaming about my last meal, the one I enjoyed Sunday night which consisted of stuffed crust pizza, a large fountain Coke from Sonic, M&M's, and homemade cookies. I went all out. 

Three days down; twenty-seven days to go. 

Prayers for self-control are greatly appreciated. 

And if you didn't win my giveaway, don't be discouraged; I have another one coming up next week. 

It's a good one. 

Get excited. 

And in case you're wondering where I came up with semi-crazy idea, well you can thank one of my favorite bloggers for inspiring me to take this food adventure. Emily, thanks for being an awesome role model. Let's hope I can be as focused and creative as you have been! And you're right. The banana ice cream is the bomber.comer.