1 Week of Lessons

1 - what bloating feels like
2 - that within moments of consuming dairy, the rumblings in my tummy rival the largest caldera in Yellowstone
3 - even though I don't crave sugar, I still haven't developed enough self-control to bake a cake and pretend like I won't attempt to eat it all in one night
3a - ...what a real sugar high feels like
4 - Body composition changes > a number on a scale
5 - indulging a little bit doesn't (literally) hurt but going balls to the wall with a weekend of mostly bad decisions is going to leave some (figurative) bruising

Since completing the Whole30 I've allowed myself quite a bit of no-no's. The first night was a chocolate bar and a sip of red wine which - I swear - gave me a buzz! The second and third bites of that chocolate were nowhere near as incredible as the first - I think I've been chasing the dragon the past seven days. I managed to have two - three sips of wine in the following nights before handing my glass to Husband to finish for me. 


This past weekend I helped to celebrate a friend's birthday; a gaggle of hot bitches piled into a party bus and headed towards Coast in Charleston. After some drinks, food, and cake (see below) we took in the magic of a drag show at Pantheon. Home before 3 a.m. with most of our shoes in tact = GREAT SUCCESS. 

Happy birthday, Melyssa! We truly adore you!

Some sweet collage action courtesy of Julie

On Sunday I headed back downtown to pick up the leftover cake and was early so I stopped for some espresso gelato (see lessons # 1 & 2) from a spot off King Street, Paolo's. Oh man, it was so good I felt naughty for enjoying it in public. ...but not as naughty as I really was that night when I brought home leftover Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Cream Frosting and then hovered over it like a psychotic beaver (the fork serving as my deadly front teeth, of course.) Refer to lesson #3 & 3a. I think that might have been the first time I've ever been able to identify a sugar rush - I was a mile a minute last night, especially! And I also slept AWFUL. I'm blaming it all on the cake and am feeling so glad I pawned it off on some unsuspecting neighbors (thanks, ladies!). 

But damn, that is the best chocolate cake I've ever. EVER. had. I'd be more humble if I didn't just simply follow directions. Actually, that's a lie, I did mess up the directions but its still delicious without having to fix your own mistakes (I used 4oz too much Guinness).

I'm really looking forward to living a Paleo lifestyle and am trying to figure out if I'll be more successful by doing back-to-back Whole30 challenges or by trying to exert non-goal oriented self-control. I think another Whole30 under the belt will be best for me but dear Husband disagrees. I did mark my bathroom with Day 1 today, though...