Hi there! For the past 30 days I have been participating in the Whole30. If you're unfamiliar with what the Whole30 is, you can read all about it here. This is something I've always wanted to do (but really didn't think I could!) and I'm so excited to share my journey with you. In order for this to not get too lengthy of a post, I'm splitting it up into two parts.
Welcome to Part 1!
Here's how I got here: *Warning* I'm about to get real...
For the past few months, I haven’t been eating the healthiest. I’ve been eating out a ton and not exercising consistently. I am a true blue emotional eater, and it has been a very emotional year and a half. Fast forward to the inevitable weight gain. It wasn't a lot, but definitely enough for people to notice and not have a problem bringing it up to me (or my mom). Cue the tears and plummeting self esteem. (Although I’m sarcastic, it is a very touchy subject to me) I began exercising regularly and watching my calories, but wasn’t seeing the results I was hoping for (rather as quickly as I was hoping for). I was at my heaviest weight I'd ever been.
One night when I couldn’t sleep, I was lying in my bed thinking about what I was doing that was hindering any change in my body. I follow Whole30 on Twitter and saw a tweet by them and clicked through to the website. After reading what exactly what all went into it and realizing maybe my body was in a “food rut” and resetting it for a few weeks may be just what I needed. It's recommended not to start the Whole30 with the intention of losing weight, but that was exactly mine. Along side possibly shedding a few pounds, I was also interested is clearing up my seasonal allergies as spring was approaching and not feel so sluggish all the time.
Let's back up for a minute:
I've always struggled with food and body image. I've constantly gone up and down with my weight, never being satisified. In the past, I've gone from one extreme to the other. For months at a time I would try to see how many calories I could forgo without anyone really noticing in hopes that my stomach would be flatter than a piece of paper to months where I would stuff myself to the gills because I was stressed out or sad and food gave me comfort. I couldn't eat a single thing without thinking about how many calories were in it, or how much I would need to exercise the next day to cancel it out. Sometimes, I still can't. My hope with the Whole30 was that by fueling my body with the correct nutrients, it would respond accordingly and maybe I could sever my unhealthy relationship with food. The truth is, I love food and I love exercising. I love being good to my body. I love having an able body to do the things I want to do. The trick is finding the right balance.
I decided to start this the very next day. (Mind you, it was already around 2am that morning...)
Let's back up for a minute:
I've always struggled with food and body image. I've constantly gone up and down with my weight, never being satisified. In the past, I've gone from one extreme to the other. For months at a time I would try to see how many calories I could forgo without anyone really noticing in hopes that my stomach would be flatter than a piece of paper to months where I would stuff myself to the gills because I was stressed out or sad and food gave me comfort. I couldn't eat a single thing without thinking about how many calories were in it, or how much I would need to exercise the next day to cancel it out. Sometimes, I still can't. My hope with the Whole30 was that by fueling my body with the correct nutrients, it would respond accordingly and maybe I could sever my unhealthy relationship with food. The truth is, I love food and I love exercising. I love being good to my body. I love having an able body to do the things I want to do. The trick is finding the right balance.
I decided to start this the very next day. (Mind you, it was already around 2am that morning...)
During my 30 days, I journaled what I ate daily and how I felt after each day. Since it would be too lengthy to include each day, I'll share my first day and how I overcame it because it was quite the doozy!
Day 1: Monday
Because I started this on the fly (I don’t recommend), I wasn’t prepared for my first day, but I prevailed nonetheless.
Breakfast: I started my day off with 2 hard boiled eggs and a green smoothie. Before I started the Whole30, I was already eating this for breakfast, so luckily I didn’t have to change it up too much on my first day.
Lunch: This was a disaster waiting to happen because I wasn’t prepared at all. I underestimated how easy it would be to find a Whole30 approved lunch quickly and conveniently. My office is very close to our local Publix, so I thought that would be a good place to start. I considered tuna, avocado and tomatoes mixed together, but then realized the tuna I prefer contains soy, a Whole30 no-no, and any other meat options that I could get instantly were pretty limited. So, after scrambling around for most of my lunch hour, I picked up some avocados, grape tomatoes, bananas and apples and snacked on those throughout the afternoon.
Dinner: Because of my light lunch, I was SO hungry by dinner time. I cooked a burger in the pan with ghee, topped it with a fried egg, some Whole30 approved mayo, an avocado, and tomato. Not too bad!
How I felt: After my lunch fiasco, I was definitely feeling the hanger (so real, folks) when I got off work and was wondering if I could actually do this. I stopped by Starbucks and got a venti black iced tea (unsweetened) and made my way to the grocery store. My head was pounding but I still went to the gym and tried to finish out the evening as I normally would.
What I bought on my first day grocery shopping:
boneless skinless chicken breasts
ground beef
grape tomatoes
avocados
lettuce wraps
apples
bananas
almond butter
ghee (clarified butter)
strawberries
spinach
eggs
sweet potatoes
Primal Kitchen avocado oil mayo
Now that I actually had things to prepare food with, it was all uphill from there!
I quickly realized that I didn’t have very many options and in order to not burn out after a week of eating the same meal, I was going to have to get creative.
Here's a summary of my meals.
Breakfast: The first two weeks I was really good about preparing food the night before. I would roast cinnamon sweet potatoes and boil eggs at night and in the morning I would eat the potatoes, cut up an avocado, and eat those with my eggs and a side of fruit (pictured below). I did some version of this everyday for the first two weeks. I was definitely getting lazier my last two weeks so I would just boil some eggs at night and grab those in the morning with some fruit or nuts. I also noticed not being as hungry and feeling like I needed such a big breakfast the further I got.
Picture overload ahead.
For some reason I ended up taking more breakfast pictures than any other meal.
Lunch: For lunch I basically ate a different protein with a side of veggies and/or potatoes. If I went out for dinner, I would get some grilled chicken or steak and save half of it for the next day to decrease prep time. One day I made a Whole30 approved chili that I ate on for 3 days that I loved. I also made a couple of roasts in the crockpot that got me by for a few days as well and I would just pair that with a potato and veggies. If I didn't feel like cooking anything or didn’t already have something prepared, I would just grab some boiled eggs and snack on halos, nuts and tomatoes (not altogether ;) ).
Dinner: I was most worried about dinner because my boyfriend and I eat out a considerable amount. I know, why couldn’t I just cook for the 30 days and avoid it altogether? Cooking got old SO fast and it’s not something I particularly love anyways. Thankfully, my boyfriend was gracious enough to really consider where I could and couldn’t eat which made things so much easier. We would only go places where I knew I could get some sort of grilled protein, veggies and sometimes a potato. It actually ended up benefiting the both of us because we started ordering meals we could share (like steak & shrimp w/ an extra side) and that way we both got to cut down on calories and be more cost effective. We are both bad about ordering too much food and never being able to eat it and not take to-go boxes. Win win!
How I did my chicken and roast. Both turned out SO tender and delicious.
Crock pot salsa: 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, one can of homemade or Whole30 approved salsa
Roast in the crockpot: 1lb roast with water or beef broth and salt/pepper to taste.
I hope you enjoyed Part 1! Come back for Part 2: My Results & Takeaways tomorrow!
Stay sunny,
Katie
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