I've gotten some questions since I posted that I was doing a Whole30, and now that I'm all done, I've gotten even more! I am so happy to share with you my experience of "doing a Whole30." First let me say, that if you're interested in doing a Whole30, checkout their website! Their website has SO MUCH information on it, lots of specifics -
whole30.com, like the program rules, shopping lists, etc. I'll post some other resources I found helpful at the bottom!
Full disclosure: this was my THIRD attempt at a Whole30 and my first time making it all the way through! I think when it comes to doing this, you HAVE to be mentally in the game. This time, I finally was!
I remember exactly the first time I had heard about the Whole30. It was in March of 2014. I was at a Moms' Night Out at one of the Stroller Strides instructor's house and we were all standing in the kitchen. In walked Becky, she was at the time the owner of Stroller Strides Honolulu. I had just seen her about a month ago at Valentine's Day workout at the zoo. And she looked different! Noticeably different! Her skin was glowing! She had clearly lost weight. She looked amazing beforehand, but wow. Immediately I was like, "GIRL. What the what? Tell me ALL your secrets." She proceeded to explain the Whole30 to me and thus changed my life. Seriously.
At that time, Whole30 only had one book out called, "
It Starts with Food." I purchased it right away. I read it, and it made SO MUCH SENSE. I mean, it's SO simple. Eat REAL FOOD. Not really anything new, right?? They describe the Whole30 as a "30 day nutritional reset." This book details the WHY, the science behind it, but in a very easy and engaging format. I was not bored, and my simple mind did not find this hard to read. ;) The Whole30 eliminates particular foods for 30 days, but they also explain why they chose those foods. Foods that aren't necessarily BAD, but may cause inflammation, or have been known to aggravate certain conditions.
But I think more importantly than the "what can I eat?" specifics, the Whole30 focuses on our RELATIONSHIP with food. A lot of people start a Whole30 (*raises hand*) to get a jumpstart on weight loss, but you will not be weighing yourself while on the Whole30. It's against the rules. It's SO MUCH MORE than your weight. It becomes SO MUCH MORE than your weight. I got to take a good hard look at how I view food, my snacking habits, and how obsessed I am with the number on the scale. Not good, I promise. And NO counting calories! This was huge for me. I get so obsessive about numbers and calories, but because you're eating REAL food to satisfy HUNGER, you don't have to count calories. Ah, so simple, WHY is this so revolutionary?
In my opinion, the key to success on the Whole30 is PREPARATION. This is not a "fly by the seat of your pants" sort of thing. At least it wasn't for me. The Whole30 requires you to sit down and eat 3 meals a day. (And a bonus meal if you're exercising.) This was probably one of the most challenging aspects for me. I'm a BUSY stay-at-home-mom with two little ones, and it's hard for me to just hop in the kitchen and whip something delicious and nutritious up ONCE a day, let alone three times a day. Also, do you know me? I don't cook. Except while I'm doing a Whole30... which Rob loves. Hah! I still struggle with meal prep, because I don't like to make straight up meals a full week in advance, but having some things on hand, chopped and ready to go helped A LOT.
Staple foods to have on hand for me were: eggs, sweet potatoes, sweet bell peppers, organic baby spinach (or some other mixed greens), cherry/grape tomatoes, asparagus, avocados,
Bruce Aidell's Chicken Apple sausage, organic chicken breast, frozen fish, ground beef, ground turkey, coconut milk, coconut oil, apples, almond butter (peanut butter not allowed! It's a legume), olives, and vegetable stock (read the label!).
Because the cost of food/groceries is so expensive in Hawaii, I did almost ALL of my shopping exclusively at Costco, which is normal for us anyway. The coconut milk I had to go to the regular grocery store for.
So what did a typical day of food look like for me?? It's not perfect, but it worked for me. Also what worked for me: keeping it SIMPLE. Three meals a day. If you nourish yourself, you won't be hungry between meals.
Breakfast:
BLACK coffee
2 eggs - hard boiled, soft boiled, fried, or scrambled. Whatever mood I was in.
1/4 avocado and a handful of cherry tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Sweet potatoes in some form.
Sautéed spinach
Sometimes if I had left over veggies from the night before (like asparagus), that too. If I scrambled my eggs, I added in full fat coconut milk (the kind in the CAN, not in the box).
Thai Kitchen was the only brand I could find that was Whole30 compliant. I always scrambled or fried my eggs in coconut oil, EVOO, or avocado oil.
Lunch:
BIG ol' salad - greens, 1/4 avocado, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cucumber, carrots if I was brave (hate carrots), hard boiled egg, some other type of protein like chicken or fish, canned tuna* seasoned with salt and pepper, fresh lemon juice, a little EVOO.
Half (or whole) apple, or some other small amount of fruit.
Dinner:
This was the hardest for me AND where I felt I needed to be most prepared, especially if Rob was on a trip. If I was in a pinch, I made eggs. But I can't tell you how many times I made the Whole30 Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie (found in the Whole30 book), and had leftovers for at least the next day. I also loved Sweet Potato Turkey Burger sliders. I cooked asparagus A LOT too. Many nights I'd bake a frozen fish in the oven and season with salt and pepper and fresh lemon juice, and maybe a little coconut oil. Veggies on the side, add a little side salad, and good to go! I also loved pork shoulder in the crockpot seasoned with paprika and salt and pepper. And then shredded pork on EVERYTHING. So so so good.
*READ YOUR LABELS! My canned tuna had SOY in it. WHY???? My frozen salmon had food coloring added to it. WHY???? So obviously, I didn't eat those. You will quickly see how much sneaky crap is in your food.
Here are some of the meals I cooked along the way!
I did workout almost every day as well. A post-workout meal would be a hard boiled egg (or a few egg whites), and some sweet potatoes. Maybe half an apple with some almond butter.
SO... what happened during the Whole30. Those first few days were HARD. I had a headache, I was sluggish, and a bit crankier than I normally am. Haha! BUT, within that first week or so, I noticed that my clothes were fitting better! ONE WEEK. That was motivation enough to keep me going. Here's a handy
timeline posted on the Whole30 website. It's a little tongue in cheek, but it's actually quite accurate. After the fog cleared, I felt more rested and the biggest change? MORE ENERGY aka "Tiger Blood." So much more energy. (I did not experience the "my clothes are tighter" milestone in the timeline. Thank goodness or else I would have cried.) At the end of the night, I had energy for the first time in a long time to stay up past when the kids went to bed. I actually did laundry. Gasp. I felt more rested at night, even though Cora is still waking up too much during the night.
I lost 10 pounds. I never weighed myself throughout, I never counted calories, and I never measured out anything. I just ate real, whole food, drank lots of water (probably almost 100 oz. a day), exercised, and I didn't snack.
If I was out and about, and in a pinch, and hungry because it was time for lunch, I would eat a Coconut Cream Pie Lara Bar (picked up at Target) to hold me over. I only had to do this a few times. Also, I did not eat out at all while on the Whole30. This wasn't too hard since we hardly ever eat out anyway.
I used other resources along the way to help out with recipe ideas or just general encouragement. A little disclaimer: JUST because someone says something is Whole30 does NOT mean it is. Make sure you know what's compliant and what isn't. If you have a question about a particular ingredient, google " [whatever ingredient] whole30" and I guarantee someone knows. Also beware of books (EVEN on Amazon) that says it's a Whole30 cookbook. IT'S NOT. The ONLY two books that are legit, for sure, 100% Whole30 are the two books written by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. Don't be duped.
Here are a few websites that I love!
Nom Nom Paleo -
http://nomnompaleo.com (It's not Whole30 per se, but she does do a lot of Whole30 and obviously paleo recipes. She's very transparent about what is Whole30 and isn't.)
How's life AFTER my Whole30? Pretty good! Am I still eating Whole30 compliant? For the most part YES. I had a little bit of cheese on some rice crackers because I was making cheese crackers for Christian's lunch and I was STARVING, so I had a few. I've had a smoothie with Shakeology and store bought almond milk (NO SMOOTHIES on Whole30!!), and I just ate some gluten free bread with avocado and turkey breast. GF bread is OUT for the Whole30, and sliced turkey is technically fine IF it's compliant. Again, read the ingredients. And sigh, why does turkey have "ingredients" to begin with?? I have had a small headache off and on since coming off the Whole30 and I know it's because I didn't do the "life after Whole30" reintroduction like the book suggested. Oh well. Maybe next time? I am still drinking my coffee black though! AND I LIKE IT!
So.
If you're thinking about doing it, DO IT. If I can do it, anyone can! I promise! For the FIRST TIME EVER IN MY LIFE, I did not eat any Halloween candy. But more than that, I didn't WANT any Halloween candy. Reese's Cups are my favorite forever and ever amen, but not even that little orange wrapper could tempt me this time. Am I saying that I'm NEVER going to eat a Reese's Cup again? Um, no. Do you know me at all? :) But for now, I'm good.
