Whole30

I recently completed 30 days from the Whole30 challenge.  It made me feel amazing and I'm grumpy about it.

My mom and dad completed the Whole30 program early this year and they tried to convince all their kids to try it.  They told us that we would feel amazing and love how lean we feel.  blahblahblah I wasn't convince.  Yes, they both looked great.  But I just wasn't willing to put the work into a full diet overhaul.  Plus, I thought we already ate pretty well.

Well, after my most recent idiopathic anaphylactic shock my mom finally had the leverage to convince me to try it.  She said that my body could use a reboot and I reluctantly agreed.  Jake was on board with whatever I wanted to do.  So we decided to jump right in.  I was going to wait til after our bday's but that was two weeks away - and really, there is ALWAYS a holiday/party/celebration/reason to postpone a diet.  My mom said something that really resonated with me: how many 30 day groups have gone by and nothing has changed in your body.  Just give me the next 30 days and if nothing happens, then you can go back and I won't bug you again.  Fine.

Whole30 Program

I haven't read the Whole30 book like my mom, but they have a lot of information on their website.  Basically the program boils down to a few simple rules:

Eat real food:

Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed.

Avoid for 30 days:

Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial.  Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking.  Do not eat grains.  Do not eat legumes.  Do not eat dairy.  Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites.  Do not try to re-create baked goods, junk foods, or treats with “approved” ingredients. 

One last and final rule: 

You are not allowed to step on the scale or take any body measurements for the duration of the program. This is about so much more than just weight loss, and to focus on your body composition means you’ll miss out on the most dramatic and lifelong benefits this plan has to offer. So, no weighing yourself, analyzing body fat or taking comparative measurements during your Whole30. (We do encourage you to weigh yourself before and after, however, so you can see one of the more tangible results of your efforts when your program is over.)  And if you cheat you have to start your 30 days over again.

The Beginning Sucks

Jake and I finally decided to try it out over the weekend, with no preparation or real thought.  We woke up Monday morning with a hungry belly and a fridge full of food we couldn't eat.  So the first two weeks were extra difficult.  I think that if I had prepared our pantry first it would have been more manageable.

But still, the first week will suck.  If you are addicted to sugar you WILL go through withdrawals.  You might even think that you don't eat sugar that much... but once you start reading labels you'll see that sugar is in EVERYTHING!  Oh my goodness, your body will go through shock when you stop eating it.

On top of sugar withdrawals, kicking the Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry "habit" will give you major headaches and energy crashes.

I felt like I had the flu for several days.  Shivers, ornery, headaches, nasty, grumpy, gross, bleh...  Then the diarrheas will set in.  Every single piece of junk food that you've consumed in the past 10 years will scream at you as it dislodges from your intestines and shoots out your body.  Fun times!!!

Then You Feel AMAZING

After a week I started to feel amazing.  Jake said that he no longer had the "afternoon crash" at work - just great energy all day.  One day we ate an orange with our dinner and oh. my. goodness. it tasted like a piece of heaven.  I think it was the best fruit we've ever eaten in our entire lives!!!  Then after that every single piece of fruit tasted like the best thing ever!  I used to think that the pioneers were missing out cause they didn't have Oreos, but without all the sugar in our diet real fruit tasted like an amazing dessert!  (I still feel a little bad for them, but mostly cause they didn't have tampons).

My heartburn was gone, my heart didn't race at night, it was easier to fall asleep and even to wake up, my stomach wasn't bloated and I felt so skinny.  That made it easier to stick with the program for the rest of the time.  By the third week I was so glad that we decided to do this for our bodies.  By the end of the program my skin was beautiful, my mind was clear, and I felt the skinniest I've been in years.  (these pictures were about 2.5 weeks into the program).

1950s Housewife

Jake kept teasing me that I was such a 1950s housewife cause I was in the kitchen ALL THE TIME.  Cooking or doing dishes suddenly became a big portion of my day.  It was way more food preparation than I am used to, but maybe that's part of the secret.  Processed foods contain all sorts of chemicals and preservatives.

We didn't do a great job of exercising during this month.  That became apparent when the girls and I had a little dance party and I had to use my rescue inhaler after (exercise induced asthma, aka: outofshapema).  So I think that going forward I need to implement more workouts into our new lifestyle.  If you want to be skinny/lean - eat well.  If you want to be in shape/toned - workout.  You need both pieces of the puzzle for a healthy lifestyle.

I know it sounds crazy but I'm already planning a second 30 day round of the Whole30 program.  Something really happened to my body when I was dedicated during that time.  It's like my body reset and it has been leaner ever since.  While on vacation this summer though I've been eating all sorts of junk and undoing all my hard work.  So I'm looking forward to rededicating myself to health when I get back to my normal routine.  I need to figure out how to eat close to this all the time and not binging on sugar and Pepsi on day 31.

Our Menu Ideas

I hate that I'm one of "those" people now.  I make clarified butter, I whipped up homemade mayo, I even ask people "is that a hint of coriander seed I detect?"  When did I become a foodie?  Who am I?!?

For our weekdays I usually tried to make a big batch of breakfast food and freeze it into smaller portions so we could just pull them out in the morning, heat, and go.  Then for lunch we usually ate left overs from the night before.  Dinner was a new recipe.  I tried to have some cooked chicken in the freezer for emergencies.

I put my fave recipes over at my cookbook blog.  Here are a few that we tried.  These photos are from my actual meals (my mom did Whole30 with us so I would text her what we were eating - sharing ideas).  I just love how colorful and amazing everything looks!!!  I found many recipes online, and several we still need to try!

Breakfast

All Day Frittata.  Can make so many ways.  Freezes and reheats well.

Paleo Fauxtmeal.  Basically the 2-ingredient pancakes that people make, but you just mix them together to look and feel like oatmeal.

Lunch/Dinner

Coconut Chicken Curry on Cauliflower Rice.

Paleo Stuffed Peppers. 

Artichoke Meatloaf.  Seriously a huge favorite.  In fact, I made it for two different families that I took dinner to that month and they loved it too!

Pork Chops with natural applesauce and sweet potato fries.

Homemade fajitas.

Pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce.

Zucchini Noodles with Spaghetti Sauce.

Easy Chicken Salad.

I made a variation of one of our fave soups.  Many soups are easy to convert to Whole30. 

Snacks

Kale Chips.

Coconut Flakes.  One of my FAVE new snacks!

Desserts

Coconut cream and fresh fruit or mulberries (from Target) and cacao.  These bags from Target only have 1 ingredient.

Chocolate Truffles.  These SAVED us!!!

Coconut Milk Ice Cream.  This recipe lists artificial sweetener.  In it's place I used white grape or pear frozen extract (like the kind you use to make juice).  

Other Things to Make/Buy

Tomatillo Ranch.  It is soooo tasty and amazing!!!  You can also buy sugar free dressings at Whole Foods.

Clarified Butter (Ghee).  Makes the butter dairy free.  Pretty easy to do too.

While you're looking in the natural foods section at the store or if you venture over to Whole Foods, look for: Coconut Aminos (tastes a lot like soy sauce).  Avocado Oil for cooking.  Sweet potato chips (look at the ingredients on the back, should only be sweet potatoes, salt, and real oil like coconut oil).  Wholly guacamolly (so much easier to use than avocados and makes a great dip for chips or topping on meats or eggs).   Freeze dried fruit and 100% fruit strips.  Makes a good snack for emergencies.

Like I said, we're going to probably do this again soon.  So let me know if you want to join us or if you come across any other whole food recipes!