christina-thebarber-yogi

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

I got through almost all of the whole 30. Last night I was over it and had polenta with some chicken. I made it without any dairy or added sugar and today I forgot to do my reintroduction with only one thing but I had beans and grains and something made me very bloated. It may have been the added sugar alcohol in my smoothie powder. I'll try it again with just almond butter and no protein powder. My salad from Sweetgreen had chickpeas and I opted for the bread with it. It was supposed to have quinoa but someone left it off. Last night the polenta didn't bother me so I fried my mushrooms with arepa flour and then made a big jerk seasoned arepa with the leftover flour from my dredge. I'm so full because nobody ate the mushrooms but me (they were ok). I had lion's mane and oyster mushrooms. I might try the recipe again eventually but for now I'll just stick to the basic bitch mushrooms like baby bellas and shiitakes. Anyway I didn't dive off the diet with pizza but I guess tomorrow I'll go back to the whole 30 approved foods for two or three days and then try some rice. I'm ready to cut way back on the meat, if not eliminate it altogether. Here is my chicken cacciatore and polenta aka GRITS because THIS IS THE SOUTH!

#whole30

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

It's almost over. I feel like I've been more of a crybaby about this than I was about the 75 hard challenge. Maybe because I didn't cut out the junk during the 75 hard; I just made my diet full vegan. So I didn't really lose any weight because I was still eating my feelings but I think I toned up a little bit last year. I have two more days to go and I cannot wait to eat some damn rice and put some cornstarch and some of my things that I'm making… And properly fry these oyster mushrooms I got. I might just fix the mushrooms anyway and say screw it. I've had a couple of little cheats… Trying my kids' oatmeal that they don't fix like I do, using vegan mayo because I draw the line at making my own damn mayonnaise. Whatever oil be damned. I made my own ketchup for Christ's sake and it was gross. The best thing I ate in a lettuce cup however was either the seasoned turkey burgers or the tuna salad I had today. Last night I ate some shrimp at a party and have had stomach issues all day. I love shrimp but I never wanna eat it again. I don't know if I posted these food pictures already but here are a few of the meals I've had in the past few days. I love Chia pudding so that was a treat to have regularly.

#whole30 #eggs #farmers market #chia pudding #watermelon radish #hot soup for cold days

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

I have no food pics today. This weekend was challenging. I had to go out of town to work and I'm so used to making my own food that going out to eat while on the whole 30 is challenging but I discovered a place that I really enjoyed. It's a place that's been in Birmingham for a really long time and I had never eaten there for whatever reason. But I had potatoes, salmon and a Greek salad with no feta. And then I ordered a veggie plate with potatoes and another Greek salad with no feta, with the idea that I was going to mix the vegetables with the eggs from the hotels free breakfast. But the eggs were not like anything I've ever seen. Normally they're scrambled but these were like little egg discs. They were weird. Everything else just came from the grocery store. I want chocolate and tacos and fajitas and pizza and I'm grumpy and overtired. I don't know why I do these challenges during my slowest time of year for my business where  I am the most broke.

#whole30 #eggs

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Things I've learned from the whole 30 so far. 1. Raw/barely cooked fish gives me wicked gas. 2. Cashew milk yogurt with a little salt makes a great sour cream replacement. 3. Coconut liquid aminos are weird and I can't quite find a place for them in my cooking. They're not salty; they're just sweet and a little smoky. Maybe they'll be good in a marinade to mimic barbecue flavor. 4. I still love potatoes. 5. Coconut milk is gross in coffee but makes for great chia pudding. I do like the nut pods brand unsweetened creamer that's part almond milk and part coconut milk. Perfect weight for coffee. I also love it for creamy dishes when my nut-allergic child is not here...otherwise it's unsweetened coconut milk. 5. My palate can be retrained to crave sweets less. It has more to do with managing emotions than the actual taste. 6. My grocery bill is way lower eating this way, even with the farmers market trips. 7. I like this way of eating because it gives me less to choose from. I make enough decisions and it makes my day less overwhelming. 8. Balsamic while you're cooking adds a great sweet and sour flavor. I may have put this in my last post but it's kind of a big deal

Here is some food

#whole30 #eggs #farmers market #whole30hacks #nut pods

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Yesterday marked the halfway point of the whole 30 for me. I feel ok. A lot of emotional stuff is coming out that I would stuff down with food and it's affecting my relationship which isn't that great to begin with. It started out good but as time went on, I started feeling taken for granted and rather than stand my ground, I found myself stuffing down my emotions to get along. I'm glad the stuff has been coming out but it's like an abscess that can't heal until it's drained. But I digress. I weighed myself the other day, which I'm not supposed to do but I hadn't weighed myself in months so I wanted to confirm that my clothes were fitting differently because I had indeed lost weight. When I work out or skate, it comes easy but the cold and overcast weather makes me want to go to bed. I made some good food...so many eggs...so many potatoes. I did make lettuce wraps that taste better than they look and I tried a watermelon radish for the first time. I like it a lot. Spicy like a radish should be. Last night I fixed ground chicken with green beans and potatoes and added balsamic vinegar to the pan. It tasted kinda like sweet and sour over a potato. I've also been putting fresh dill in my eggs and it's been a game changer. The power of fresh stuff.

#whole30 #farmers market #eggs #lettuce wraps #whole foods

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Goofy cats, Ginger and Boo, for your enjoyment. They look like Halloween.

#cats #halloween #kitty

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

I'm now starting day 12 of the whole 30 and it's getting easier. I'm not tired of potatoes yet, thank goodness. I still want pizza and oatmeal but I'm finding the joy of cooking with beautiful ingredients that I had on the first few days. The people in my house don't share my enthusiasm for this except my almost-14-year-old who was irritated that I told her she could eat the rice my boyfriend cooked but she wanted me to fix her a potato to avoid inflammation and blood sugar spikes 🤦🏻‍♀️thank goodness for microwaves. I'm surprised at the amount of energy I have for workouts that it's getting easier to get through my day with less than 8 hours of sleep. I forgot to weigh myself when I started but I'm going to do it when I finish. The last time I weighed myself I was creeping back up to where I was before I started my weight lifting class that I teach as well as take. Here are some food pics. I've discovered that I prefer rotel vegetables in soups to using it as a salsa substitute.

#whole30 #eggs #exotic fruits #health #more energy #sweetgreen #farmers market

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Hey y'all!! I know it's been a while but I'm back with more new year new me bs. I am not doing the 75 hard challenge this year. Instead I'm doing the whole 30 elimination diet. I won't be posting daily body pics but I'll post some food pics and all that. I meant to start with the updates sooner but here we are. I'm on day 8 and it feels like day 80. I "practiced" a little bit before the new year and I felt like I could do it....

For those who aren't familiar with the whole 30, participants basically cut everything out that is known to cause inflammation and cravings, a reset, if you will. What is eliminated is added sugar (all sources except fruit juice which is weird to me but whatever), alcohol (I haven't drank since before the challenge last year anyway), white flour (pasta, tortillas, pizza), dairy (I don't like it anyway), grains (rice, oats etc), corn (I guess it's also a grain), beans, diet soda, basically anything that makes you feel like 💩. However, it's quite meat heavy for me. I like eggs but I don't want them every day. I prefer oat milk to almond milk especially in my coffee. It's only 30 days but I think fish is making me bloated and gassy. I've tried several kinds (since I'm not buying snacks on bogo now and can afford it) and most have caused me gastrointestinal distress. I don't want to eat chicken every day but nuts and seeds only take me so far without lentils and quinoa and rice to bulk up my diet. I love fruits and vegetables and I really ate eggs sparingly (and they come from the fancy farms and all that) to begin with and very little meat. There is a plant based version that I might try after the reintroduction period. I miss overnight oats with date paste and chia seeds and walnuts. My boyfriend just came in the room with a bag of chips ahoy and I want one. My daughter has been making homemade chocolate sauce and she puts very little sugar in it but I still can't try it for 20 more days 😩

It's not all terrible though. I sleep better. I don't wake up with yukmouth. My clothes have gotten a little looser. My joints hurt less. I. Cook. Everything. So not going out to eat or grabbing a coffee has saved me the money I need to get the best of what I want to fix so that I'll actually want it and the people in my house who share it with me don't complain that it's not good. I'm waiting on the boundless energy that I was promised. I'm waiting for January 31st so I can have an oatmeal pancake and some lentils and rice and grits and maybe even pizza (vegan pls). I'm waiting on these Tums to kick in that I don't feel like I should red by now. Anyone else doing this?

The pics are of my last meal of 2023 (lions mane mushrooms over polenta with microgreens) and my first dinner of 2024 (before I smashed it it was roasted chicken and sweet potatoes, garlic kale, romanesco and purple cauliflower)

#whole30 #eliminationdiet #eatyourveggies

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

So it's been almost three weeks after the challenge ended. I haven't made any videos lately because I GOT SICK! I went on a cheezit bender, worked too much that week and then my kids stressed me out way more than usual and I could feel the mucus forming 😩😷 I wasn't completely out but my sinuses wouldn't let me be great. The pollen here in Atlanturrrrr has been quite nasty too... a perfect recipe for lowered immunity. Anyway, I don't think I've gained any weight. I'm still going for walks every day, I haven't drank any alcohol and I try to drink the same amount of water daily. I take a picture here and there and mostly stick to the plant based diet.

#75hard #plantbased #yogalife #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #yogainstructor #lululemon

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

One week-ish update: so the challenge was over after last Thursday and I have been eating cheez its almost every day since. I've relaxed my eating habits but not by a lot. I'm not interested in alcohol and I'm still taking walks outside most days and skating when I can. My food stamps got cut off so I'll be losing that weight now that I had expected to lose during the challenge. I'm still reading the book about infidelity but I'm not reading ten pages every day...most days though. My water consumption has gone down a little bit but not by much. I've always drank a lot of water to begin with. So that's that. I'll take a picture soon when I'm not being a lazy mf in the bed typing this 🤣

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Today was the last day of the challenge. I decided to keep going even though I had a couple of slip-ups, mainly diet related. Even with that part I still was at 94% success with my cheez its and birthday cake I had a couple of times. The old lady change (aka MENOPAUSE) decided to pull up and I'm not able to eat as much because of the related digestive system changes. So today and yesterday, I had one regular meal, one smoothie and when I thought I was going to starve to death, some cheez its because it's all I happened to have in the car 🥴. I don't think I am going to start all over again just yet but there are some aspects that I will continue. I may have to find some AA groups to meet people who have the same struggles as me. I like the outside exercises and drinking a lot more water than before. The diet part and the full hour and a half for workouts was the most challenging part and I didn't love taking pictures of myself either.

#75hard #plantbased #yogalife #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #ladybarber #corepower #yogainstructor #yoga #lululemon

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Yesterday I stuffed myself with some great vegan sides from envegan in Atlanta and skated and walked all over the place. I also had some ice cream from a vegan "bodega" in Ponce city market. It was quite a generous portion and delicious. I definitely got in all my exercise and had to get the water in a little later than usual because I didn't leave the house prepared. My stomach has been a mess lately and I think I'm getting to that age where I'm not fertile anymore. On one hand I'm cool but what is happening in my body is uncomfortable. Fruit and potatoes and rice and white pasta are the only things that don't bother me

#75hard #plantbased #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #vegan treats #ladybarber #yogainstructor #rollerskater

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

I have three more days of this. I'm tired of taking pictures

#75hard #plantbased #thickthighssavelives #ladybarber #sweatpants

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Just a few more days! I'm honestly considering doing the challenge again, mainly to stay on track with my fitness goals and not drinking. I read a lot already, nonfiction included, and I normally drink a lot of water but I enjoyed the outdoors more than I expected. I didn't like walks a whole lot previously but now I'm using that time to catch up with friends on the phone. I also got a little creative with my outdoor activities like I grabbed a step from my apartment gym and did some step aerobics outside by the pool the other night (lovely view). I struggled with keeping my diet 100% vegan. The culprit? Birthday cake. Twice. It's the only thing I had and I feel like I cheated. I would also like to get deeper into plant based foods with less added sugar. If there was one thing that kept me from losing weight, it would have to be sugar and eating my feelings at night. I don't love taking photos of myself either but it'll be interesting to see what has changed.

#75hard #plantbased #yogalife #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #vegan treats #corepower #ladybarber #yogainstructor #yoga #aloyoga #air max

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

As I come to the last week of the challenge, I'm reflecting on how much of it I want to continue. I like the going outside part more than I expected. I like the vegan/vegetarian part although my stomach is bubbly more so than when I fell off the vegan wagon for a few months. I definitely want to continue the not drinking part but I'm over taking pictures of myself.

#75hard #plantbased #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #vegan treats #ladybarber #yogainstructor #vuori

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

I'm tired of this challenge. We only have a week or so left to go but I'm over it. Maybe because I do the most in my day-to-day idk. Here are some pics

#75hard #plantbased #yogalife #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #vegan treats #ladybarber #yogainstructor #rollerskater

[christina-thebarber-yogi]

Yesterday was easy as far as exercise goes but on the way back from my little trip to Birmingham, I had coffee and the only creamer was the dairy kind. Bucees had NO NONDAIRY MILK WHATSOEVER. I went to the cooler too but...🤷🏻‍♀️ so my vegan streak was ruined by a splash of creamer but it wasn't a steak so I'm not gonna sweat it. I skated outside and inside for a few hours. I forgot to get a picture but I'm positive the one from yoga class and this morning. I'm going to a party today so abstaining from alcohol is going to be my biggest challenge today.

#75hard #plantbased #yogalife #soberagain #thickthighssavelives #corepower #yogainstructor #lululemon #yoga #slutty vegan #vegan treats