Whole 30 Update

So.

{beware this is long}

I know a lot of you reading this are whole 30 experts.  And some of you have no idea what I'm even talking about.  But I thought since I'm trying this and I'm not a health nut or all that great at being organized and have 3 little kids at home and live in the south and grew up on casseroles made up of cream of something soups and red velvet cake and everything fried - if I can do this and it works for me - then ANYONE can do it.  So maybe it will encourage some of you.

After all - I watched several friends try this and finally decided I could do this!

So Whole 30 is basically eating clean.

No Sugar
No Grains
No Legumes
No dairy
No alcohol
No processed foods

You are only shopping the perimeter of your grocery store.  Not the inner aisles if that makes sense.

You do it for 30 days and it basically helps you reset how you eat.  Also if you are having health problems, it can help you narrow down what is bothering you.  When the 30 days are off, you introduce one thing back at a time and see if it's the one that's been causing you trouble.

I knew I needed to change the way I eat permanently and be more healthy.


So here is my update:

1.   WEIGHT 

One of the main rules is you are not supposed to weigh in or take measurements until the 30 days are up.

But that's not how I roll.  I just need to know how it's going.

Y'ALL.   I have lost NINE POUNDS since Monday!!!!! NINE! I'm dying!!!!

I'm totally prepared that I might not lose but one pound in the next week but I'm SO excited.

Also - I'm so much less bloated.

2.  HEALTH

I didn't do this for this reason but I realize my stomach has hurt constantly for as long as I can remember and I have felt SO much better this past week.

I have been exhausted because of the sugar and caffeine detox but I feel like if I can get past this I will start getting a lot of energy back.

I didn't work out much last week because I was so tired but yesterday we took a long walk and I plan to add in work outs this week.

3.  FAMILY

Scott is doing this with me.

And we are trying to get the girls on it as much as possible.  They love yogurt so I'm not taking away dairy.  But they are eating mostly what we eat for dinner.  They are SUPER picky so it's tough but it's a good step to get them to eat healthier.  We keep telling them the whole family is going to get healthy this summer.  We took them on a 3 hour slow hike yesterday and they didn't even know they were getting exercise.  And then they went swimming.

4.  OVERALL THOUGHTS

It's a lot of work.  I'm constantly shopping, cooking or cleaning.  But I'm getting more in the rhythm and it's so worth it.

I'm not hungry because the food is super filling and I'm not craving food.

But I AM craving diet coke still something fierce.  I have been drinking a ton of water but I don't know if I will ever not miss my precious diet coke. ha!

5. MEALS

Okay - once again - I'm not some whole 30 expert so this is a simple guide.  Like the Dummies guide to Whole 30.  You can get overwhelmed because you can search instagram or pinterest and there are a zillion recipes and ideas out there.  I decided to start out just keeping it very basic and once that got boring - I could branch out into more stuff.  I'm going to post what we have been eating and how I made it and I hope this gives you a good idea if you are interested.  

My breakfast looks like this almost every day.  I hate scrambled eggs but I will eat hardboiled eggs (just the whites).  So I eat 3-4 and some strawberries.  A couple of days I just ate fruit. 

Monday lunch:  I grilled chicken on the night before.  I just used lime, cilantro and salt and marinated it.  Roasted zucchini and cucumbers and tomatoes (with a little bit of red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt).  

Monday night:  Salmon that I just put a little olive oil, lemons and salt on, roasted new potatoes (a little olive or avocado oil and salt) and roasted okra.  

Tuesday lunch:  Leftover salmon, roasted green beans and cucumber salad. 

Tuesday night:  Grilled chicken, grilled artichoke, roasted sweet potatoes (just a little olive oil and salt - I have never fixed them this way and they are AMAZING)

Wednesday lunch: Salmon, a sweet potato (you can add cinnamon - I didn't add anything), okra and zucchini.  

Wednesday night:  Hamburgers (just made with salt and pepper), roasted sweet potatoes and cucumber salad.  

Thursday was the only meal I ate out.  It was Hollis' preschool graduation and my parents were in town and we went out to celebrate.  I was able to get a salad with shrimp and avocado and just oil and vinegar dressing.  It was as compliant as I could get it.  

Thursday night was a repeat of Wednesday's meal.  

Friday:  Salmon and green beans.  

Friday I cooked a roast in the crockpot.  I used gluten free beef stock and some salt and thyme and bay leaves.  That's it and it was delicious.  We had it for dinner.  

Saturday for lunch we had a hamburger and the leftover vegetables from the roast.  

Saturday night we grilled steaks (mine got a little well done) and roasted broccoli and a sweet potato. So crazy but I only ate less than half of this - I wasn't even hungry at this point.  

Sundays are tricky because we get home from church at noon and are all starving and I can't take 30-45 minute to cook lunch.  So I put a pork tenderloin in the crockpot last night with lime, orange and garlic.  It was delicious.  We ate it with an avocado and cucumber salad (didn't need cooking).  We had this same meal for dinner.  

So - see the food is plentiful and good.  I miss mexican food and chips and salsa but that's about it.  This is a lifestyle I could do probably 80% of the time forever and just eat other stuff in major moderation.  

I will give another update next Sunday/ Monday and if I lose a few more pounds - I will post a before and after picture.  

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