A few months ago, one of my best friends had mentioned to me she was going to do the Whole30 starting January 1.
Always being up for a challenge, and looking to kick it up a notch myself, I invited myself to join along with her. Not only that, but this girlfriend is my happy hour buddy, so if she was taking an entire month off from vino and greasy food, I figured I might as well too.
Enter, the stressing.
I spent WEEKS researching. Started a Pinterest board, started putting away the non-compliant foods in the cabinet, bought all the books. All of the preparation seriously stressed me out.
It was too hard. No way could I do it. Black coffee tastes like poop. It’s not for me.
Once I found out my boot camp was closing indefinitely, I decided “enough is enough” and finally got to work.
Prepping
Read. Read. Read. And then go for a walk.
Honestly, the books are helpful for reference, but most of the information you need can all be found on the whole30 website. I think investing in the books mentally made me want to “get my money’s worth” so it’s pushing me more. But aside from the brief review I did, I haven’t cracked any of them. I bookmarked the resources page instead and use it frequently.
In case you are like me and actually WANT the books, you can find them all on Amazon:
- The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom Click here
- The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook: 150 Simply Delicious Everyday Recipes for Your Whole30 Click here
- The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole30 Success Click here (THIS I actually use daily and HIGHLY recommend)
- The Whole30 Cookbook: 150 Delicious and Totally Compliant Recipes to Help You Succeed with the Whole30 and Beyond Click here
I joined some online Facebook groups to join other beginners and others starting in January. They provided some great tips for compliant dressings, seasonings, meal ideas, etc. But, I’m finding many people just post the ingredients label and asking if it’s compliant, rather than educating themselves.
Planning
I am a creature of routine, so my day food is usually the same every day. The only thing I really switch up is my dinner. And honestly, my evening cooking is my therapy.
So, I wrote out a plan of what my day food will look like for the week, as well as a plan of what my dinners will look like each day. I love having a routine and a plan for the week, with the flexibility to change it up if I’m feeling like it.
I LOVE using Google Chrome on my laptop to bookmark recipes online and then opening Google Chrome on my iPad or iPhone to get the recipe while cooking. It makes things so easy and takes away time looking for the recipe again.
Week 1
I’m officially done with Week 1 of Whole30 and I have to say, it’s honestly not THAT hard. It takes label-reading, discipline, and planning. Period. End of story. That’s all folks.
The program encourages you to eat three whole meals per day with zero to minimal snacking. Which was a challenge for me the first two days, since I’m used to eating every 2-3 hours and smaller meals.
So, here’s what I ate.
7 AM: Black coffee on my way to work. A few times I added some Nutpods and a little cinnamon, which was a subtle addition of flavor.
9 AM: Egg casserole (a ton of sautéed veggies baked with eggs), a single container of guacamole, and a banana (note: If I was really hungry on my way into work, I’d have my banana then).
12:30 PM: Kale salad with cucumbers, peppers, red onion, and compliant bacon. Topped with seasoned chicken and ½ avocado.
Snacks: I always have almonds in my purse and my office – just in case – but also started to carry around Cashew LunaBars (AMAZING).
Dinner:
...Tuesday – Herbed salmon w/ cauliflower rice and green beans
...Wednesday – Lemon chicken thighs with roasted potato
...Thursday – Garlic and rosemary pork tenderloin with roasted broccoli
...Friday – Cilantro lime shrimp over cauliflower rice with asparagus
...Saturday – Chimichurri flank steak with sweet potato and green beans
...Sunday – Bacon burgers with roasted Brussels sprouts
...Monday – Sicilian-style grilled swordfish with cauliflower rice and green beans
Workouts:
...Tuesday – A Little Obsessed Total Body Core & Jazzercise (1-hour)
...Wednesday – A Little Obsessed Booty & Jazzercise (1-hour)
...Thursday – Rest (we had a crazy snow storm)
...Friday – A Little Obsessed AAA & Jazzercise (30-min)
...Saturday – Jazzercise (1 hour)
...Sunday – Coffee & Jesus
...Monday – A Little Obsessed Total Body Core & Jazzercise (1-hour)
Results so far
Pros: My energy throughout the day is definitely up, and I notice I’m more of a positive and patient person. I’ve always been a great sleeper, but I notice I sleep extra hard lately (with some crazy dreams) and wake up feeling really refreshed.
I’m not supposed to weigh myself, but I do daily. And, according to the scale I’m down 8 lbs already! I can definitely feel a difference in my clothing and my stomach area.
Cons: I convinced my step-dad to do this with me (which is a huge pro), so prepping for two people for ~4 days at a time takes about 1.5-2 hours each time.
I also have what I’m now calling “Whole30 Brain.” Aside from 2-3 days of snappiness, I now can’t remember anything. For example, I told my stepdad his food was “on the top-left of the shower,” almost put crushed red pepper on my almond butter-topped apple, and it took me 10 mins and a scroll through my iPhone pictures to see what I made for dinner last night.
Cheers to 1 week down and 3 weeks to go!
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