My Whole30 Journey

30 days ago I started out on a journey to challenge my mind, body and digestive system.  It was not easy but it was definitely worth it.  I had read about Whole30 on several different blogs and after one of my co-workers tried it, I decided I was in.  This is kind of a lengthy post so no hard feelings if you don't make it all the way through....we can still be besties :)

Why I did it
After starting a new job in the liquor industry, my life kinda changed.  I was out in my accounts eating amazing food and having amazing cocktails almost everyday.  Going from eating a homemade clean lunch everyday to eating burgers, steak, pasta and sushi (not to mention the alcohol) did a huge number on my digestive system.  I felt bloated and puffy all the time and while I was working out like a crazy woman, I was starting to see fat in places I had never seen it before.  I knew that something drastic had to be done and Whole30 seemed like the perfect solution.

What I ate
 Honestly everything I ate was delicious!  Almost all of my meals came from the Whole30 book and they will definitely stay in my rotation of things I cook.  I did find myself eating a lot more red meat than I normally did BUT I finally learned how to cook it.  I also ate more fruit than normal but I think I was trying to replace my daily dose of chocolate.  Generally my meals looked like this:

Breakfast
Usually a couple of fried eggs, lean ground turkey and fresh guacamole.

Lunch
Either the famous Whole30 protein salad or leftovers from the day before.

Dinner
I made everything from chimichurri steak kabobs to spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce, to grilled shrimp with pesto to ground beef "tacos".

How I feel
Lean and clean!  Honestly I have only felt bloaty a couple of times and that was usually because I ate too fast and too much.  While I never have felt the big energy surge that has been reported, I have felt like I make it through much longer days before I get sleepy.  However, my sleeping patterns haven't changed.  I still have at least 1 night a week where I don't sleep at all and I still wake up a lot of mornings wanting to crawl back into bed.

Changes I noticed
I will say I am disappointed that my energy didn't seem to change much.  A big energy surge seems to be a common thing everyone reports and for some reason I just never felt that.  I almost wonder if I ate too much fruit so my blood sugar never had a chance to regulate (who knows, I'm not a doctor or a dietician so I'm guessing).

Like I said above, I can tell I'm a lot leaner.  Those little patches of fat that had formed are not there anymore.  I don't own a scale so I have no clue how much weight I lost but I feel like I have lost at least an inch or two.  A friend of mine picked me up the other day and commented that I was a lot lighter than I was a month ago.  I'll take that as a huge compliment to Whole30 :)

I definitely would recommend Whole30 to anyone who wants to get a better handle on what they're eating.  It was a huge eye opener to see all of the things that I thought were healthy have so much sugar or other things in them.  I will definitely be reading my labels A LOT more closely.

Tips on Whole30
1. Don't say it's HARD
Like Melissa and Dallas say in their book "It is not hard.  Beating cancer is hard."  I have to agree with them.  The only time I thought it was a little hard was when I had to stare at my favorite dessert all night but even then it came down to my choices.  I chose not to give in and eat the dessert, I chose not to have champagne. Had it gone the other way, it still would have been my choice.

2. Be prepared
You have to cook A LOT.  Whether you prep everything at once or do a little each day, you will spend a lot of time in your kitchen.  Every week I would make a long list of everything I needed for every recipe that week.  I also kept a list on my fridge of every single thing that was inside.  This way when I ran out of an ingredient, I knew it immediately and didn't have any surprises when I started cooking.  Also, invest in a ton of tupperware.  You'll use it, trust me.

3. Inform your friends and family
I told everyone in my life that I was doing this.  I was honestly a little surprised that I didn't catch more hell for it.  I never heard "Oh come on! Just one bite" or "Just 1 drink won't hurt you".  My friends were all super supportive and my sweet mom almost missed out on dessert because she didn't want to eat it if I couldn't.

4. Stay positive
You have to keep your eyes on the prize and remember why you started this journey in the first place.  This way when you get to Day 20 and you really want that piece of pizza, you'll be a little less tempted.  This last weekend was probably that hardest for me because I could see the finish line.  I kept finding myself thinking "One cookie would be ok" but there was no way I was going to let myself get this close and not reach my goal.


Whew...I feel like I could go on and on but I just want anyone that is interested to have the details from my experience.  My plan now is to continue eating Whole30 based recipes with a few little treats every now and then.  I am really enjoying the way I feel on the inside and the changes on the outside are a nice bonus!

“It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your ‘struggles’.” - See more at: http://whole30.com/2012/04/sometimes-it-is-hard/#sthash.1OyIBJoC.dpuf

“It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your ‘struggles’.” - See more at: http://whole30.com/2012/04/sometimes-it-is-hard/#sthash.1OyIBJoC.dpuf

“It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your ‘struggles’.” - See more at: http://whole30.com/2012/04/sometimes-it-is-hard/#sthash.1OyIBJoC.dpuf

“It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your ‘struggles’.” - See more at: http://whole30.com/2012/04/sometimes-it-is-hard/#sthash.1OyIBJoC.dpuf