All right folks I’m here to do a Whole 30 check-in. It has now been seven days of eating nothing but vegetables, fruit, meat, nuts and avocado. There have been ups and downs but overall I’m so very thankful I’m doing this and I’m even more thankful that my husband, Aaron, is doing it with me. I definitely recommend doing Whole 30 with a buddy. It helps give you more confidence and someone to understand what you are going through (not like it’s some horrible thing but just that it’s change and change is hard). So, I’m going to try to break it down to some categories for you. Here we go:
Grocery:
Like I mentioned in my first post about Whole 30 Aaron has been joining me and Foster on our weekly grocery trips during this challenge. I’m so thankful because our first trip took two hours and frankly we were all exhausted and enlightened by the end of the trip. Who knew there was so much crap in EVERYTHING! I’m only on day seven and this experience has opened my eyes to what I put in my body. This matters to me even more now since I have two precious eyes watching everything I put into my mouth. I am so aware of what I feed Foster, so I should do the same for myself, right?!
Ok, so our second shopping trip was much better! We once again went to Aldi and Publix. This time Aldi had a lot more fresh produce, so we were able to do the majority of our shopping there. We just needed to go to Publix to buy Justin’s Almond Butter, Lara Bars(there are only certain approved ones) and lunch meat. Not bad at all!
As far as money goes we have gone about $100 over our grocery budget so far. Which is not a huge deal because we are not using dinner or personal money as much since frankly there’s not much we can buy in those areas. So, we’ve decided to pull that money and use it on groceries. I also look at it as an investment in our health, so I’m good with it.
Meals:
I started day one and two taking pics of everything I ate, so I could share it. My documentation went pretty well and I was happy with my food choices.
Then on days three through six I stopped taking pics because I stopped eating “meals”. Instead I was just kind of snacking here and there. I would grab some fruit in the morning. Then a boiled egg when I got hungry again. After that I’d get some nuts and some veggies. And this process continued throughout they until it was time for dinner and then I would have the meal that I prepared for us.
I have found that eating like this makes me feel starving all day long! I have also found that this is not the preferred way to eat on this challenge. I need to read the Whole 30 book. I think that’s why I missed this bit of information. I’ve just been getting information from their web site, which is a wealth of great information!
They recommend you eating three meals and no snacking (only if you absolutely have to). So, I have been eating approved foods but not in the way that is recommended. So, I plan to make a modification in the way I eat which will be a bit of a challenge for me during this stage of life.
Right now it’s hard for me to fix a real meal during the day and sit down to eat it. It’s easier for me to grab something here and there versus fixing a meal because it saves time and time is definitely of the essence when taking care of a little one. But, it’s important so I’m going to try to stick to real meals instead of snacking.
This new way of eating has also challenged me to cook new things which I really like. I’ve attempted Cauliflower Rice and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. Both were delicious. I’ve also made Salmon, which I had never prepared before. I realize this isn’t a big feat for some folks but it is for me. All in all it’s challenging me to be more creative with my meal preparing which is a good thing in my eyes.
Feelings:
Let me just say that all the feels have been happening all over the place. I told you before that we are documenting our days on this board with an adjective for each day. It’s really insightful to look back on each day to see how I did. I’m even more interested if we’ll see some kind of pattern of feelings by the time we are to day 30.
On day 5 notice that I put emotional and I think the more accurate word would have been hot mess!! I had a mild break down this day, but in all honesty I don’t think it was all due to Whole 30. It was a perfect storm really. Foster had fallen earlier in the morning which I was beating myself up about because I felt like it was my fault, it was that lovely time of month for me and I just wanted a dang diet coke and some gum(my perfect duo of goodness but not really). So, I think this all blended together for break down city. Thankfully I have a super supportive husband who encouraged me to just get out of the house for a bit on my own (I think he may have been scared of me :)) Clearing my head definitely helped me refocus and breathe!
But, most days have been really great. I’ve had some days that I was really hungry but I think that goes back to the snacking.
Body:
Like I’ve mentioned before neither of us are doing this to loose weight(as our first goal). The main reason I wanted to take on this challenge was to do just that…challenge our bodies to step outside of the norm. I wanted to see if we could reset ourselves and if Whole 30 really held true to all they hype I’ve heard about. Most importantly, we have a little man depending on us, so we need to take care of our one and only bodies.
That being said…weight is not my number one goal but it still matters. I mean I am a woman after all. I try not to make weight as big of a deal as I once did but I still think about it. So, I’m kind of excited to announce that my jeans are fitting looser than they did seven days ago. I was actually pretty surprised that they were but of course happy. I also took a before picture and I took a seven day pic. I can tell a difference but I’m not sure if anyone else could and I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to post it. So, I’m still debating that one.
But overall my body is feeling clean and strong! When our alarm goes off in the morning I’m ready to get up instead of wanting to put the covers back over my head. I have more energy and I just feel good.
Things I Miss Most:
Without a doubt the things I miss most are gum, diet drink(I’m fine with pepsi or coke), chocolate and I miss them in that order.
I had/have a serious gum addiction. Like I’m talking two pack a day addiction. I chew the stuff from the moment I wake up until l go to sleep. So, going cold turkey and not chewing it at all has been hard. But, I know chewing that much gum is not good for any part of me, so it just needed to be done. Regardless, it is a struggle to not pop in a piece or four at my normal times of day, but I’m staying strong!
Diet Coke from McDonalds is my next vice. This was one in SUPER hard because it’s kind of like a treat for me. I would often drive around when we were running errands and get one to drink along our drive. It’s only 99 cents and it’s so delicious! But, once again…not good for me. I’m very aware of the terrible things diet drinks can do to your health, but that doesn’t mean they are not delicious and that I crave them like a crazy lady!
Last but not least…chocolate! I couldn’t even post a pic because I tried to look at one to share and it was just too much even looking at them. Chocolate was always my Friday treat and something I looked forward to. I’m not picky either. I’ll eat and love pretty much any kind of chocolate.
They say that eventually your cravings go away and you don’t even want the foods you used to. I sincerely hope this is true!
So, there you have it…my seven day check in! I’ll be back in another seven to fill you in on the latest.
Do you think you would like Whole 30?
I did The Whole 30 about6 years ago & it was tough! It did open my eyes to all the junk in food. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you reach the end. I do Highly recommend going to the book to see the timeline that’s laid out on how you will possibly feel, it was pretty close.
As a former Diet Coke addict, I recommend Pellagrino infused with some fruit, veggies or herbs. I also like to make herbal teas (chilled) & do 1/2 & 1/2 with Pellagrino—fizz & flavor. Once you are through the 30 days, you can decide, but I will occasionally used flavored stevia in my Pellagrino.
Hope the rest goes/went well!
Thank you so much Beth! You are so right about the added junk put into food. It was really eye opening once we started pay close attention to the ingredients in what we thought were healthy foods. It has definitely changed the way we eat over all.
Also, great advice about the Pellegrino! I’ll try that. We have been drinking La Croix and that helps as well!
I hope you and your sweet family are doing well!!